An Ontology Engineering Approach to User Profiling for Virtual Tours of Museums and Galleries

This paper describes a study of the development of a hierarchical ontology for producing and maintaining personalized profiles to improve the experience of visitors to virtual art galleries and museums. The paper begins by describing some of the features of virtual exhibitions and offers examples of virtual tours that the reader may wish to examine in more detail. The paper then discusses the ontology engineering (OE) approach and domain modelling languages (e.g. KACTUS, SENSUS and METHONTOLOGY). It then follows a basic OE approach to define classes for a cultural heritage virtual tour and to produce a Visitor Profile Ontology that is hierarchical and has static and dynamic elements. It concludes by suggesting ways in which the ontology may be automated to provide a richer, more immersive personalized visitor experience

e-Tourism and Culture through Virtual Art Galleries: A pilot study of the usability of an interface

Virtual tours of museums and galleries are becoming an increasingly common aspect of e-Tourism marketing. This paper reports on a usability pilot study that analyses the design of icons in a German 3-D virtual art gallery interface. It evaluates the extent to which a sample of typical computer users can interpret the meaning of icons from the interface taken ‘out of context’. This was done by assessing a sample of twenty-one icons representing the ‘action’, ‘information’ and ‘navigation’ functions. An Icon Intuitiveness Test (IIT) was used to measure their Icon Recognition Rate (IRR) and to classify them as ‘identifiable’, ‘mediocre’ or ‘vague’ according to an adapted stereotypy. The IIT results show that the meaning of almost 30% of the icons was misinterpreted or confused, which can seriously compromise the usability of an interface. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for icon redesign and replacement and it is concluded that further research is needed into the ‘learnability’ of icons and users’ understanding of icons in context. It is contended that increased usability leading to an improved user experience can have an economic impact on e-Tourism

Sex differences in the influence of body mass index on anatomical architecture of brain networks.

Background/objectivesThe brain has a central role in regulating ingestive behavior in obesity. Analogous to addiction behaviors, an imbalance in the processing of rewarding and salient stimuli results in maladaptive eating behaviors that override homeostatic needs. We performed network analysis based on graph theory to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and network measures of integrity, information flow and global communication (centrality) in reward, salience and sensorimotor regions and to identify sex-related differences in these parameters.Subjects/methodsStructural and diffusion tensor imaging were obtained in a sample of 124 individuals (61 males and 63 females). Graph theory was applied to calculate anatomical network properties (centrality) for regions of the reward, salience and sensorimotor networks. General linear models with linear contrasts were performed to test for BMI and sex-related differences in measures of centrality, while controlling for age.ResultsIn both males and females, individuals with high BMI (obese and overweight) had greater anatomical centrality (greater connectivity) of reward (putamen) and salience (anterior insula) network regions. Sex differences were observed both in individuals with normal and elevated BMI. In individuals with high BMI, females compared to males showed greater centrality in reward (amygdala, hippocampus and nucleus accumbens) and salience (anterior mid-cingulate cortex) regions, while males compared to females had greater centrality in reward (putamen) and sensorimotor (posterior insula) regions.ConclusionsIn individuals with increased BMI, reward, salience and sensorimotor network regions are susceptible to topological restructuring in a sex-related manner. These findings highlight the influence of these regions on integrative processing of food-related stimuli and increased ingestive behavior in obesity, or in the influence of hedonic ingestion on brain topological restructuring. The observed sex differences emphasize the importance of considering sex differences in obesity pathophysiology

Manganese carbonyl complexes of 2,5-dimethylbismolyl. The crystal and molecular structure of ([eta]1-2,5-dimethylbismolyl) manganese pentacarbonyl

([eta]-1-2,5-Dimethylbismolyl)manganese pentacarbonyl (8) has been obtained from the reaction of 1-phenyl-2,5-dimethylbismole with lithium followed by BrMn(CO)5. Heating 8 to its melting point causes the loss of CO to produce ([eta]5-2,5-dimethylbismolyl)manganese tricarbonyl. Compound 8 crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, space group P 21 (No. 4) with a = 6.838(2) A, b = 6.424(1) A, c = 15.787(4) A, [beta] = 95.68(2)[deg] V= 6901.(2) A3 and Z = 2. A full structure has been determined and is compared with those of analogous compounds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30847/1/0000509.pd

Density Matrix in Quantum Mechanics and Distinctness of Ensembles Having the Same Compressed Density Matrix

We clarify different definitions of the density matrix by proposing the use of different names, the full density matrix for a single-closed quantum system, the compressed density matrix for the averaged single molecule state from an ensemble of molecules, and the reduced density matrix for a part of an entangled quantum system, respectively. We show that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix can be physically distinguished by observing fluctuations of various observables. This is in contrast to a general belief that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix are identical. Explicit expression for the fluctuation of an observable in a specified ensemble is given. We have discussed the nature of nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing. We show that the conclusion that there is no quantum entanglement in the current nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing experiment is based on the unjustified belief that ensembles having the same compressed density matrix are identical physically. Related issues in quantum communication are also discussed.Comment: 26 pages. To appear in Foundations of Physics, 36 (8), 200

Inception of a global atlas of sea levels since the Last Glacial Maximum

Determining the rates, mechanisms, and geographic variability of relative sea-level (RSL) change following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) provides insight into the sensitivity of ice sheets to climate change, the response of the solid Earth and gravity field to ice-mass redistribution, and constrains statistical and physical models used to project future sea-level rise. To do so in a scientifically robust way requires standardized datasets that enable broad spatial comparisons that minimize bias. As part of a larger goal to develop a unified, spatially-comprehensive post-LGM global RSL database, in this special issue we provide a standardized global synthesis of regional RSL data that resulted from the first ‘Geographic variability of HOLocene relative SEA level (HOLSEA)’ meetings in Mt Hood, Oregon (2016) and St Lucia, South Africa (2017). The HOLSEA meetings brought together sea-level researchers to agree upon a consistent protocol to standardize, interpret, and incorporate realistic uncertainties of RSL data. This special issue provides RSL data from ten geographical regions including new databases from Atlantic Europe and the Russian Arctic and revised/expanded databases from Atlantic Canada, the British Isles, the Netherlands, the western Mediterranean, the Adriatic, Israel, Peninsular Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. In total, the database derived from this special issue includes 5634 (5290 validated) index (n = 3202) and limiting points (n = 2088) that span from ∼20,000 years ago to present. Progress in improving the standardization of sea-level databases has also been accompanied by advancements in statistical and analytical methods used to infer spatial patterns and rates of RSL change from geological data that have a spatially and temporally sparse distribution and geochronological and elevational uncertainties. This special issue marks the inception of a unified, spatially-comprehensive post-LGM global RSL database

Living between languages: The politics of translation in Leila Aboulela’s Minaret and Xiaolu Guo’s A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers

This is the author's final draft post-refereeing as published in The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 2012 47: 207 DOI:10.1177/0021989412440433. The online version of this article can be found at: http://jcl.sagepub.com/content/47/2/20

Phonon drag thermopower and weak localization

Previous experimental work on a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in a Si-on-sapphire device led to the conclusion that both conductivity and phonon drag thermopower $S^g$ are affected to the same relative extent by weak localization. The present paper presents further experimental and theoretical results on these transport coefficients for two very low mobility 2D electron gases in $\delta-$doped GaAs/Ga$_x$Al$_{1-x}$As quantum wells. The experiments were carried out in the temperature range 3-7K where phonon drag dominates the thermopower and, contrary to the previous work, the changes observed in the thermopower due to weak localization were found to be an order of magnitude less than those in the conductivity. A theoretical framework for phonon drag thermopower in 2D and 3D semiconductors is presented which accounts for this insensitivity of $S^g$ to weak localization. It also provides transparent physical explanations of many previous experimental and theoretical results.Comment: 19 page Revtex file, 3 Postscript figur