A Spatial Decision Support System for Tourism Land Use Planning

One of the most complex challenges the tourism industry faces is keeping up to date with information technology developments caused by the globalisation of information and advances in technology. The development of robust decision support systems for tourism land use planning is a way to address this challenge.This paper demonstrates how a spatial decision support system (SDSS), called the Land Use Decision sUpport System (LUDUS), can contribute in allocating complex forms of tourism. The system combines an artificial intelligence technique, called ontologies, with Geographic Information Systems and object-oriented programming to support decision-making in spatial planning. The system consists of two subsystems: the Insert Data Subsystem and the Graphic Imaging and Decision Support Subsystem. The core of the system is an ontology that is aligned to a standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium, called Geosparql.The case study of this paper is the Mastichochoria area of Chios Island, Greece. Therefore, the structure of the ontology was modelled according to the provisions of Greek legislation. The results produced confirmed the correct coding and application of the system’s criteria. The validity, accuracy and reliability of the results were also confirmed.The adopted approach facilitates the identification of alternative options for allocating, among other land use types, complex forms of tourism development in suburban areas, by examining the provisions of the legal framework as well as their geology and terrain

Probabilistically-robust nonlinear control of offshore structures

A controller design for offshore structures is discussed in this study. Stochastic simulation is considered for evaluation of the system's performance in the design stage. This way, nonlinear characteristics of the structural response and excitation are explicitly incorporated into the model assumed for the system. Model parameters that have some level of uncertainty are probabilistically described. In this context, the controller is designed for optimal reliability, quantified as the probability, based on the available information, that the performance will not exceed some acceptable bounds. This treatment leads to a robust-to-uncertainty design. The methodology is illustrated in an example involving the control of a Tension Leg Platform in a random sea environment. Multifold nonlinearities are taken into account for the evaluation of the platform's dynamic response and a probabilistic description is adopted for characterizing the random sea environment

Broad redshifted line as a signature of outflow

We formulate and solve the diffusion problem of line photon propagation in a bulk outflow from a compact object (black hole or neutron star) using a generic assumption regarding the distribution of line photons within the outflow. Thomson scattering of the line photons within the expanding flow leads to a decrease of their energy which is of first order in v/c, where v is the outflow velocity and c is the speed of light. We demonstrate that the emergent line profile is closely related to the time distribution of photons diffusing through the flow (the light curve) and consists of a broad redshifted feature. We analyzed the line profiles for the general case of outflow density distribution. We emphasize that the redshifted lines are intrinsic properties of the powerful outflow that are supposed to be in many compact objects.Comment: 16 pages, 1 black-white figure and 2 color figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

西村先生講話 第二回

Nexus file containing phased alleles from BDNF sequences of Sunda shelf Crocidura. This alignment was used to generate the gene trees in Figures S1 and S

A vision for care fit for the twenty-first century: Commission on Residential Care

In 2013-14, Demos is hosted a Commission into the future of residential care, chaired by former MP and Care Services Minister Paul Burstow. The Commission was formed with the aim of developing a vision of residential care that is fit for the 21st century

Comparative Population Genomics of African Montane Forest Mammals Support Population Persistence across a Climatic Gradient and Quaternary Climatic Cycles

The Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot (EABH) has the highest concentration of biodiversity in tropical Africa, yet few studies have investigated recent historical diversification processes in EABH lineages. Herein, we analyze restriction-site associated DNA-sequences (RAD-Seq) to study recent historical processes in co-distributed mouse (Hylomyscus) and shrew (Sylvisorex) species complexes, with an aim to better determine how historical paleoenvironmental processes might have contributed to the EABH’s high diversity. We analyzed complete SNP matrices of \u3e 50,000 RAD loci to delineate populations, reconstruct the history of isolation and admixture, and discover geographic patterns of genetic partitioning. These analyses demonstrate that persistently unsuitable habitat may have isolated multiple populations distributed across montane habitat islands in the Itombwe Massif and Albertine Rift to the west as well as Mt Elgon and Kenyan Highlands to the east. We detected low genetic diversity in Kenyan Highland populations of both genera, consistent with smaller historical population sizes in this region. We additionally tested predictions that Albertine Rift populations are older and more persistently isolated compared to the Kenyan Highlands. Phylogenetic analyses support greater historical isolation among Albertine Rift populations of both shrews and mice compared to the Kenyan Highlands and suggest that there are genetically isolated populations from both focal genera in the Itombwe Massif, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Albertine Rift ecoregion has the highest mammalian tropical forest species richness per unit area on earth. Our results clearly support accelerating efforts to conserve this diversity

Canalicular adenoma with unicystic morphology. A rare entity

Canalicular adenoma (CA) is a benign salivary gland tumor (SGT) almost exclusively affecting the minor salivary glands, predominantly of the upper lip, and exhibiting characteristic histopathologic features. As observed in several other SGTs, a commonly

Electronic Structure Calculations of an Oxygen Vacancy in KH2PO4

We present first-principles total-energy density-functional theory electronic structure calculations for the neutral and charge states of an oxygen vacancy in KH{sub 2}PO{sub 4} (KDP). Even though the overall DOS profiles for the defective KDP are quite similar to those of the perfect KDP, the oxygen vacancy in the neutral and +1 charge states induces defect states in the band gap. For the neutral oxygen vacancy, the gap states are occupied by two electrons. The difference between the integral of the total density of states (DOS) and the sum of the DOS projected on the atoms of 0.98 |e|, indicates that one of the two electrons resulting from the removal of the oxygen atom is trapped in the vacancy, while the other tends to delocalize in the neighboring atoms. For the +1 charge oxygen vacancy, the addition of the hole reduces the occupation of the filled gap-states in the neutral case from two to one electron and produces new empty states in the gap. The new empty gap states are very close to the highest occupied states, leading to a dramatic decrease of the band gap. The difference between the integral of the total DOS and the sum of the DOS projected on the atoms is 0.56 |e|, which implies that more than 56% of the redundant electron is trapped in the oxygen vacancy, and 44% spreads over the neighboring atoms. In sharp contrast, no defect states appear in the energy gap for the +2 charge O vacancy. Thus, the addition of the two holes completely compensates the two redundant electrons, and removes in turn the occupied gap states in the neutral case

Imaging of Tissue Micro-Structures using a Multi-Modal Microscope Design

We investigate a microscope design that offers high signal sensitivity and hyperspectral imaging capabilities and allows for implementation of various optical imaging approaches while its operational complexity is minimized. This system utilizes long working distance microscope objectives that enable for off-axis illumination of the tissue thereby allowing for excitation at any optical wavelength and nearly eliminating spectral noise from the optical elements. Preliminary studies using human and animal tissues demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for real-time imaging of intact tissue microstructures using autofluorescence and light scattering imaging methods

Linear-Accelerator Program

Contains reports on one research project