Discovering data lineage in data warehouse : methods and techniques for tracing the origins of data in data-warehouse

A data warehouse enables enterprise-wide analysis and reporting functionality that is usually used to support decision-making. Data warehousing system integrates data from different data sources. Typically, the data are extracted from different data sources, then transformed several times and integrated before they are finally stored in the central repository. The extraction and transformation processes vary widely - both in theory and between solution providers. Some are generic, others are tailored to users' transformation and reporting requirements through hand-coded solutions. Most research related to data integration is focused on this area, i.e., on the transformation of data. Since data in a data warehouse undergo various complex transformation processes, often at many different levels and in many stages, it is very important to be able to ensure the quality of the data that the data warehouse contains. The objective of this thesis is to study and compare existing approaches (methods and techniques) for tracing data lineage, and to propose a data lineage solution specific to a business enterprise data warehouse

Crab biodiversity under different management schemes of mangrove ecosystems

Reforestation is one of the Philippines’ government efforts to restore and rehabilitate degraded mangrove ecosystems. Although there is recovery of the ecosystem in terms of vegetation, the recovery of closely-linked faunal species in terms of community structure is still understudied. This research investigates the community structure of mangrove crabs under two different management schemes: protected mangroves and reforested mangroves. The transect-plot method was employed in each management scheme to quantify the vegetation, crab assemblages and environmental variables. Community composition of crabs and mangrove trees were compared between protected and reforested mangroves using non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and analysis of similarity in PRIMER 6. Chi-squared was used to test the variance of sex ration of the crabs. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to determine the relationship between crabs and environmental parameters. A total of twelve species of crabs belonging to six families were identified in protected mangroves while only four species were documented in reforested mangroves. Perisesarma indiarum and Baptozius vinosus were the most dominant species in protected and reforested mangrove, respectively.  Univariate analysis of variance of crab assemblage data revealed significant differences in crab composition and abundance between protected mangroves and from reforested mangroves (

Antimicrobial test of five ethnomedicinal plants in an ancestral forest area

The basic premise of this research was to assess the ethnomedicinal uses of plants in an ancestral forest area at Naawan, Misamis Oriental and determine its inhibition effect against bacterial strains. The assessment of plants was conducted using the transect-plot method. Ethnomedicinal uses and the mode of preparations were obtained using a semi-structured interview questionnaire. Five ethnomedicinal plants: Crinum asiaticum L., Pavetta indica L., Bauhinia purpurea L., Mollugo pentaphylla L., and Cinnamomum mercadoi S. Vidalwere selected for the anti-microbial test against cultured bacterial strains; the Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using the disc diffusion method. These species are commonly used by the indigenous people and known to cure stomach disorder and wounds. The mode of preparation of the extracts follows the traditional method of the indigenous people. Chloramphenicol, on the other hand, was used as positive control. Thirty-three out of 61 identified species were locally claimed to have medicinal value and are known to cure stomach disorders, poisoning, bleeding, cough, fever and wounds, among others. Antimicrobial test showed greater inhibitory effect of Pavetta indica and Bauhinia purpurea against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, correspondingly; however, the synthetic chloramphenicol exhibited greater antibacterial action than any of the plant extracts. In areas where civilization is afar, importance of forest in terms of medicinal uses is highly acknowledged by the local community. Indigenous people, in particular, know the importance of the forest especially in relation to health care system and they believe that there is a need to conserve the resources to sustain the services it provides

Denitrification potential in subsoils: A mechanism to reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater

peer-reviewedUnderstanding subsurface denitrification potential will give greater insights into landscape nitrate (NO3−) delivery to groundwater and indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions to the atmosphere. Potential denitrification rates and ratios of N2O/(N2O + N2) were investigated in intact soil cores collected from 0–0.10, 0.45–0.55 and 1.20–1.30 m depths representing A, B and C soil horizons, respectively from three randomly selected locations within a single intensively managed grazed grassland plot in south eastern Ireland. The soil was moderately well drained with textures ranging from loam to clay loam (gleysol) in the A to C horizon. An experiment was carried out by amending soils from each horizon with (i) 90 mg NO3−–N as KNO3, (ii) 90 mg NO3−–N + 150 mg glucose-C, (iii) 90 mg NO3−–N + 150 mg DOC (dissolved organic carbon, prepared using top soil of intensively managed grassland) kg−1 dry soil. An automated laboratory incubation system was used to measure simultaneously N2O and N2, at 15 ◦C, with the moisture content raised by 3% (by weight) above the moisture content at field capacity (FC), giving a water-filled pore space (WFPS) of 80, 85 and 88% in the A, B and C horizons, respectively. There was a significant effect (p < 0.01) of soil horizon and added carbon on cumulative N2O emissions. N2O emissions were higher from the A than the B and C horizons and were significantly lower from soils that received only nitrate than soils that received NO3 − + either of the C sources. The two C sources gave similar N2O emissions. The N2 fluxes differed significantly (p < 0.05) only between the A and C horizons. During a 17-day incubation, total denitrification losses of the added N decreased significantly (p < 0.01) with soil depth and were increased by the addition of either C source. The fraction of the added N lost from each horizon were A: 25, 61, 45%; B: 12, 29, 28.5% and C: 4, 20, 18% for nitrate, nitrate + glucose-C and nitrate + DOC, respectively. The ratios of N2O to N2O + N2 differed significantly (p < 0.05) only between soil horizons, being higher in the A (0.58–0.75) than in the deeper horizons (0.10–0.36 in B and 0.06–0.24 in C), clearly indicating the potential of subsoils for a more complete reduction of N2O to N2. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that N2O flux increased with total organic C and total N but decreased with NO3 −–N which together explained 88% of the variance (p < 0.001). The N2 flux was best explained (R2 = 0.45, p < 0.01) by soluble organic nitrogen (SON) (positive) and with NO3−–N (negative). Stepwise multiple regression revealed a best fit for total denitrification rates which were positive for total C and negative for NO3 −–N with the determination coefficient of 0.76 (p < 0.001). The results suggest that without C addition, potential denitrification rate below the root zone was low. Therefore, the added C sources in subsoils can satisfactorily increase nitrate depletion via denitrification where the mole fraction of N2O would be further reduced to N2 during diffusional transport through the soil profile to the atmosphere and/or to groundwater. Subsoil denitrification can be accelerated either through introducing C directly into permeable reactive barriers and/or indirectly, by irrigating dirty water and manipulating agricultural plant composition and diversity.Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Ireland - Research Stimulus Fund Programme (Grant RSF 06 383)