A Review and Characterization of Progressive Visual Analytics

Progressive Visual Analytics (PVA) has gained increasing attention over the past years. It brings the user into the loop during otherwise long-running and non-transparent computations by producing intermediate partial results. These partial results can be shown to the user for early and continuous interaction with the emerging end result even while it is still being computed. Yet as clear-cut as this fundamental idea seems, the existing body of literature puts forth various interpretations and instantiations that have created a research domain of competing terms, various definitions, as well as long lists of practical requirements and design guidelines spread across different scientific communities. This makes it more and more difficult to get a succinct understanding of PVA’s principal concepts, let alone an overview of this increasingly diverging field. The review and discussion of PVA presented in this paper address these issues and provide (1) a literature collection on this topic, (2) a conceptual characterization of PVA, as well as (3) a consolidated set of practical recommendations for implementing and using PVA-based visual analytics solutions

Cryptic diversity, systematic and historical biogeography of the genus Manerebia Staudinger, 1897 (Satyrinae: Pronophilina) in the neotropics

ilustraciones, graficasLas mariposas Pronophilina Reuter, es una de las subtribus de la tribu Satyrini, son reconocidas como uno de los grupos de mariposas más diversificados en ambientes montañosos y presentan altos niveles de endemismo. Sin embargo, la determinación taxonómica precisa de las especies en muchos géneros de Pronophilina se ha visto afectada por la diversidad críptica y taxones taxonómicamente confusos como es el caso del género Manerebia Staudinger. Este género es un grupo de mariposas andinas, que se distribuye desde el norte de Argentina hasta Venezuela, y presenta una alta diversidad críptica y una variación fenotípica alta (polimorfismos). Se han descrito varias especies nuevas durante las últimas décadas, y otras aún esperan ser descritas. No obstante, la ubicación de Manerebia dentro de la subtribu Pronophilina debe considerarse provisional porque no hay un análisis filogenético y su monofilia aún no se ha evaluado. Además, aún se desconocen las relaciones filogenéticas de las especies dentro del género. Aunque, el género es de interés desde las perspectivas ecológica, evolutiva, biogeográfica y de conservación, pero como base necesaria para tales estudios se necesita un conocimiento sólido que ayude a comprender e inferir los patrones filogenéticos y biogeográficos sobre la historia evolutiva del género Manerebia en el Neotrópico. Por lo tanto, evaluamos la monofilia del género Manerebia, determinamos su posición taxonómica y las relaciones filogenéticas dentro de la tribu Satyrini, y proporcionamos una mejor comprensión de las relaciones a nivel de subtribu dentro de Satyrini. Encontramos a Manerebia como un grupo monofilético en Pronophilina y aclaramos sus relaciones filogenéticas. Descubrimos que el uso de un muestreo taxonómico más grande puede ayudar a mejorar los problemas al usar genes individuales y permite construir relaciones sistemáticas más sólidas. Con base en nuestros análisis, encontramos 48 especies distintas de nuestras 24 especies nominales muestreadas, de las cuales 14 son especies nuevas. Por lo tanto, de acuerdo con nuestra propuesta sistemática, el género Manerebia comprendería 58 especies nominales, pero por el momento algunas permanecen sin describir. Los análisis filogenéticos, junto con los métodos de delimitación de especies y los caracteres morfológicos, permitieron evaluar la alta diversidad críptica dentro del género. Además, nuestro análisis destaca la importancia de emplear el marco de taxonomía integradora para la detección de diversidad críptica en regiones como el Neotrópico. Generamos la primera hipótesis filogenética para el género Manerebia basada en datos de secuencias mitocondriales (COI) y utilizando herramientas filogenéticas. Se proponen nueve clados para el género Manerebia a lo largo de los Andes Central y del Norte, siendo el Norte de los Andes la zona con mayor riqueza para el género. Nuestros análisis nos permitieron aclarar algunas de las relaciones filogenéticas dentro del género a nivel de especie. Finalmente, nuestro estudio exploró la historia biogeográfica del género Manerebia estimando tiempos y tasas de diversificación de sus linajes y empleando un análisis biogeográfico parareconstruir su historia evolutiva. Nuestros resultados nos permitieron inferir que el tiempo de divergencia de Manerebia fue entre el Mioceno tardío y el Plioceno, y la mayoría de los linajes existentes ya habían aparecido en el Pleistoceno. El género tuvo un estallido temprano general en el límite del Mioceno tardío / Plioceno temprano seguido de una desaceleración debido a una disminución en la especiación a lo largo del Pleistoceno, y este patrón se refleja para todos los clados en Manerebia. Los eventos de dispersión fue posiblemente el proceso biogeográficos más común dentro del género, y nuestros resultados nos permiten confirmar el papel de la geomorfología andina en la evolución de la biodiversidad Neotropical. (Texto tomado de la fuente)The Pronophilina Reuter butterflies, one of the subtribes of the tribe Satyrini, are recognized as one of the most diversified groups of butterflies in mountain environments and present high levels of endemism. However, the accurate taxonomic determination of species in many genera of Pronophilina has been affected by the cryptic diversity and taxonomically confusing taxa as is the case of the genus Manerebia Staudinger. This genus is an Andean butterflies group, which is distributed from northern Argentina to Venezuela, and it presents a high cryptic diversity and a phenotypic variation (polymorphisms). Several new species have been described during the last few decades, and others still await description. Nevertheless, the placement of Manerebia within the subtribe Pronophilina is to be considered tentative because there isn't a phylogenetic analysis, and its monophyly is not evaluated yet. In addition, the species phylogenetic relationships within the genus are unknown yet. However, the genus is of interest from ecological, evolutionary, biogeographic, and conservation perspectives, but as a necessary base for such studies a robust knowledge is needed to help to understand and infer the phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns about the genus Manerebia evolutionary history in the Neotropic. Hence, we evaluated the monophyly of the genus Manerebia, determined its taxonomic position and phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Satyrini, and provided a better understanding of the at the subtribe level relationships within the Satyrini. We found Manerebia as a monophyletic group into Pronophilina and clarified its phylogenetic relationships. We found that using larger taxonomic sampling may help to improve the problems when using individual genes and it allows to build systematic relationships more robust. Based on our analyses we found 48 distinct species from our sampled 24 nominal species, where 14 are new species. Therefore, according to our systematic proposal, the genus Manerebia would comprise 58 nominal species, but for the moment some remain undescribed. The phylogenetic analyses, together with the species delimitation methods and the morphological characters, allowed us to evaluate the high cryptic diversity within the genus. In addition, our analysis highlights the importance of employe the integrative taxonomy framework for the detection of cryptic diversity in regions such as the Neotropics. We generated the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus Manerebia based on sequence data from mitochondrial (COI) using phylogenetic tools. Nine clades are proposed for the Manerebia along the Central and Northern Andes being the Northern Andes the zone with the most richness. Our analyses permitted us to clarify some of the phylogenetic relationships within the genus to species-level. Finally, our study explored the biogeographical history of the genus Manerebia estimating times and rates of diversification for its lineages and employing a biogeographical analysis in order to reconstruct its evolutionary history. Our results allowed us to infer that the divergence time of Manerebia was between the late Miocene and Pliocene, and most extant lineages had already appeared in the Pleistocene. The genus had an overall early burst in the late Miocene / early Pliocene boundary followed by deceleration due to a decrease in speciation along to Pleistocene, and this pattern is reflected for all clades in Manerebia. Dispersal events are possibly the most common process within the genus, and our results confirm the role of the Andean geomorphological inthe evolution of Neotropical biodiversity.This thesis was supported by an Internal Research Grant of the Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research of the Jagiellonian University, BW/IZ/ADD/2005, and by NCN grant Harmonia-10 2018/30/M/NZ8/00293 “Evolutionary biogeography and diversification of the predominantly Andean butterfly subtribe Pronophilina (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) based on phylogenetic data generated using modern molecular methods”. Molecular analysis was partly carried out in the laboratory of the Nature Education Centre, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland (CEPUJ). Finally, PROM Programme International Scholarship Exchange of Ph.D. Students and Academics. Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange-NAWA. Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. Agreement number: PPI/PRO/2018/1/00001/U/001-2019DoctoradoDoctor en Ciencias - BiologíaBiogeografi

Electronic waste, an environmental problem exported to developing countries: The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a rapidly developing environmental problem particularly for the most developed countries. There are technological solutions for processing it, but these are costly, and the cheaper option for most developed countries has been to export most of the waste to less developed countries. There are various laws and policies for regulating the processing of e-waste at different governance scales such as the international Basel Convention, the regional Bamoko Convention, and various national laws. However, many of the regulations are not fully implemented and there is substantial financial pressure to maintain the jobs created for processing e-waste. Mexico, Brazil, Ghana Nigeria, India, and China have been selected for a more detailed study of the transboundary movements of e-waste. This includes a systematic review of existing literature, the application of the Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, Response (DPSIR) framework for analysing complex problems associated with social ecological systems, and the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for evaluating the environmental impact of electronic devices from their manufacture through to their final disposal. Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and Norway have been selected for the LCA to show how e-waste is diverted to developing countries, as there is not sufficient data available for the assessment from the selected developing countries. GOOD, BAD and UGLY outcomes have been identified from this study: the GOOD is the creation of jobs and the use of e-waste as a source of raw materials; the BAD is the exacerbation of the already poor environmental conditions in developing countries; the UGLY is the negative impact on the health of workers processing e-waste due to a wide range of toxic components in this waste. There are a number of management options that are available to reduce the impact of the BAD and the UGLY, such as adopting the concept of a circular economy, urban mining, reducing loopholes and improving existing policies and regulations, as well as reducing the disparity in income between the top and bottom of the management hierarchy for e-waste disposal. The overarching message is a request for developed countries to help developing countries in the fight against e-waste, rather than exporting their environmental problems to these poorer regions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Distributed, Low-Cost, Non-Expert Fine Dust Sensing with Smartphones

Diese Dissertation behandelt die Frage, wie mit kostengünstiger Sensorik Feinstäube in hoher zeitlicher und räumlicher Auflösung gemessen werden können. Dazu wird ein neues Sensorsystem auf Basis kostengünstiger off-the-shelf-Sensoren und Smartphones vorgestellt, entsprechende robuste Algorithmen zur Signalverarbeitung entwickelt und Erkenntnisse zur Interaktions-Gestaltung für die Messung durch Laien präsentiert. Atmosphärische Aerosolpartikel stellen im globalen Maßstab ein gravierendes Problem für die menschliche Gesundheit dar, welches sich in Atemwegs- und Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen äußert und eine Verkürzung der Lebenserwartung verursacht. Bisher wird Luftqualität ausschließlich anhand von Daten relativ weniger fester Messstellen beurteilt und mittels Modellen auf eine hohe räumliche Auflösung gebracht, so dass deren Repräsentativität für die flächendeckende Exposition der Bevölkerung ungeklärt bleibt. Es ist unmöglich, derartige räumliche Abbildungen mit den derzeitigen statischen Messnetzen zu bestimmen. Bei der gesundheitsbezogenen Bewertung von Schadstoffen geht der Trend daher stark zu räumlich differenzierenden Messungen. Ein vielversprechender Ansatz um eine hohe räumliche und zeitliche Abdeckung zu erreichen ist dabei Participatory Sensing, also die verteilte Messung durch Endanwender unter Zuhilfenahme ihrer persönlichen Endgeräte. Insbesondere für Luftqualitätsmessungen ergeben sich dabei eine Reihe von Herausforderungen - von neuer Sensorik, die kostengünstig und tragbar ist, über robuste Algorithmen zur Signalauswertung und Kalibrierung bis hin zu Anwendungen, die Laien bei der korrekten Ausführung von Messungen unterstützen und ihre Privatsphäre schützen. Diese Arbeit konzentriert sich auf das Anwendungsszenario Partizipatorischer Umweltmessungen, bei denen Smartphone-basierte Sensorik zum Messen der Umwelt eingesetzt wird und üblicherweise Laien die Messungen in relativ unkontrollierter Art und Weise ausführen. Die Hauptbeiträge hierzu sind: 1. Systeme zum Erfassen von Feinstaub mit Smartphones (Low-cost Sensorik und neue Hardware): Ausgehend von früher Forschung zur Feinstaubmessung mit kostengünstiger off-the-shelf-Sensorik wurde ein Sensorkonzept entwickelt, bei dem die Feinstaub-Messung mit Hilfe eines passiven Aufsatzes auf einer Smartphone-Kamera durchgeführt wird. Zur Beurteilung der Sensorperformance wurden teilweise Labor-Messungen mit künstlich erzeugtem Staub und teilweise Feldevaluationen in Ko-Lokation mit offiziellen Messstationen des Landes durchgeführt. 2. Algorithmen zur Signalverarbeitung und Auswertung: Im Zuge neuer Sensordesigns werden Kombinationen bekannter OpenCV-Bildverarbeitungsalgorithmen (Background-Subtraction, Contour Detection etc.) zur Bildanalyse eingesetzt. Der resultierende Algorithmus erlaubt im Gegensatz zur Auswertung von Lichtstreuungs-Summensignalen die direkte Zählung von Partikeln anhand individueller Lichtspuren. Ein zweiter neuartiger Algorithmus nutzt aus, dass es bei solchen Prozessen ein signalabhängiges Rauschen gibt, dessen Verhältnis zum Mittelwert des Signals bekannt ist. Dadurch wird es möglich, Signale die von systematischen unbekannten Fehlern betroffen sind auf Basis ihres Rauschens zu analysieren und das "echte" Signal zu rekonstruieren. 3. Algorithmen zur verteilten Kalibrierung bei gleichzeitigem Schutz der Privatsphäre: Eine Herausforderung partizipatorischer Umweltmessungen ist die wiederkehrende Notwendigkeit der Sensorkalibrierung. Dies beruht zum einen auf der Instabilität insbesondere kostengünstiger Luftqualitätssensorik und zum anderen auf der Problematik, dass Endbenutzern die Mittel für eine Kalibrierung üblicherweise fehlen. Bestehende Ansätze zur sogenannten Cross-Kalibrierung von Sensoren, die sich in Ko-Lokation mit einer Referenzstation oder anderen Sensoren befinden, wurden auf Daten günstiger Feinstaubsensorik angewendet sowie um Mechanismen erweitert, die eine Kalibrierung von Sensoren untereinander ohne Preisgabe privater Informationen (Identität, Ort) ermöglicht. 4. Mensch-Maschine-Interaktions-Gestaltungsrichtlinien für Participatory Sensing: Auf Basis mehrerer kleiner explorativer Nutzerstudien wurde empirisch eine Taxonomie der Fehler erstellt, die Laien beim Messen von Umweltinformationen mit Smartphones machen. Davon ausgehend wurden mögliche Gegenmaßnahmen gesammelt und klassifiziert. In einer großen summativen Studie mit einer hohen Teilnehmerzahl wurde der Effekt verschiedener dieser Maßnahmen durch den Vergleich vier unterschiedlicher Varianten einer App zur partizipatorischen Messung von Umgebungslautstärke evaluiert. Die dabei gefundenen Erkenntnisse bilden die Basis für Richtlinien zur Gestaltung effizienter Nutzerschnittstellen für Participatory Sensing auf Mobilgeräten. 5. Design Patterns für Participatory Sensing Games auf Mobilgeräten (Gamification): Ein weiterer erforschter Ansatz beschäftigt sich mit der Gamifizierung des Messprozesses um Nutzerfehler durch den Einsatz geeigneter Spielmechanismen zu minimieren. Dabei wird der Messprozess z.B. in ein Smartphone-Spiel (sog. Minigame) eingebettet, das im Hintergrund bei geeignetem Kontext die Messung durchführt. Zur Entwicklung dieses "Sensified Gaming" getauften Konzepts wurden Kernaufgaben im Participatory Sensing identifiziert und mit aus der Literatur zu sammelnden Spielmechanismen (Game Design Patterns) gegenübergestellt

Redox-Active Molecules as Therapeutic Agents

Oxidative stress and altered redox signaling have been described in a plethora of pathological conditions. Redox-active molecules can thus potentially be used to modulate the etiology/progression of such diseases. Recent advances in molecular biology and pharmacology have strengthened this area of research by providing novel mechanistic insights. This book compiles a collection of 13 articles, covering a range of topics from in vitro studies to clinical research, focused on the potential therapeutic effects of either natural or synthetic compounds, applicable to different redox-related diseases

Property owners, workers, and public women: Stories and geographies of the late nineteenth century Manileña, 1860-1896

This thesis attempts to problematize and reveal the role women played in the development of late nineteenth century Manila’s social and economic landscape, while also linking their stories to the larger processes and events that influenced their daily lives. By combining methods from social history research with concepts and techniques from human geography, historical geography, and historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS), this study produces a collective portrait of the Manileña; one that is enhanced through a geographic analysis of their occupations and activities set within Manila’s social and physical spaces. The main body of this dissertation is composed of seven chapters categorized into themes that tackle the Manileña’s experiences and the spaces she utilized, negotiated, and contested with respect to State power, her livelihoods, and her place in society. The first three chapters underscore the contrasting experiences of privileged and working-class women in relation to the Law. While their knowledge of the Law allowed privileged women to conduct personal businesses, leave wills, and seek legal redress from abusive spouses, the colonial government enacted policies with respect to particular females that they considered threats to elite households, economic productivity, and public health. The second theme of the thesis demonstrates the significant presence of propertied and entrepreneurial women in Manila Province’s urban real estate and agricultural land market, as well as in selected businesses such as money lending, water and land-based transport, panguingue operations, and small-scale cigar and cigarette manufacturing in the city’s districts. Unlike their more privileged counterparts who held a significant ownership of Manila’s built environment, disadvantaged local and migrant women marked their presence in the city through their work in well-to-do residences, markets, cigar factories, waterways, streets, and brothels. Despite her significant presence in the city’s socioeconomic life, information from newspapers and criminal cases discussed in the last two chapters also reveal how Manila’s women suffered under a pervasive patriarchy. This includes the proliferation of ideas, illustrations, and advertisements that objectified women, determined their proper roles, and relegated them to the domestic sphere. Moreover, similar to other urbanized settlements, Manila was a site where women were commonly victims of violent and sexual crimes

Advanced Applications of Rapid Prototyping Technology in Modern Engineering

Rapid prototyping (RP) technology has been widely known and appreciated due to its flexible and customized manufacturing capabilities. The widely studied RP techniques include stereolithography apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), three-dimensional printing (3DP), fused deposition modeling (FDM), 3D plotting, solid ground curing (SGC), multiphase jet solidification (MJS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM). Different techniques are associated with different materials and/or processing principles and thus are devoted to specific applications. RP technology has no longer been only for prototype building rather has been extended for real industrial manufacturing solutions. Today, the RP technology has contributed to almost all engineering areas that include mechanical, materials, industrial, aerospace, electrical and most recently biomedical engineering. This book aims to present the advanced development of RP technologies in various engineering areas as the solutions to the real world engineering problems

Computational Intelligence and Human- Computer Interaction: Modern Methods and Applications

The present book contains all of the articles that were accepted and published in the Special Issue of MDPI’s journal Mathematics titled "Computational Intelligence and Human–Computer Interaction: Modern Methods and Applications". This Special Issue covered a wide range of topics connected to the theory and application of different computational intelligence techniques to the domain of human–computer interaction, such as automatic speech recognition, speech processing and analysis, virtual reality, emotion-aware applications, digital storytelling, natural language processing, smart cars and devices, and online learning. We hope that this book will be interesting and useful for those working in various areas of artificial intelligence, human–computer interaction, and software engineering as well as for those who are interested in how these domains are connected in real-life situations

Spacelab Science Results Study

Beginning with OSTA-1 in November 1981 and ending with Neurolab in March 1998, a total of 36 Shuttle missions carried various Spacelab components such as the Spacelab module, pallet, instrument pointing system, or mission peculiar experiment support structure. The experiments carried out during these flights included astrophysics, solar physics, plasma physics, atmospheric science, Earth observations, and a wide range of microgravity experiments in life sciences, biotechnology, materials science, and fluid physics which includes combustion and critical point phenomena. In all, some 764 experiments were conducted by investigators from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The purpose of this Spacelab Science Results Study is to document the contributions made in each of the major research areas by giving a brief synopsis of the more significant experiments and an extensive list of the publications that were produced. We have also endeavored to show how these results impacted the existing body of knowledge, where they have spawned new fields, and if appropriate, where the knowledge they produced has been applied