Visual Similarity Perception of Directed Acyclic Graphs: A Study on Influencing Factors

While visual comparison of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) is commonly encountered in various disciplines (e.g., finance, biology), knowledge about humans' perception of graph similarity is currently quite limited. By graph similarity perception we mean how humans perceive commonalities and differences in graphs and herewith come to a similarity judgment. As a step toward filling this gap the study reported in this paper strives to identify factors which influence the similarity perception of DAGs. In particular, we conducted a card-sorting study employing a qualitative and quantitative analysis approach to identify 1) groups of DAGs that are perceived as similar by the participants and 2) the reasons behind their choice of groups. Our results suggest that similarity is mainly influenced by the number of levels, the number of nodes on a level, and the overall shape of the graph.Comment: Graph Drawing 2017 - arXiv Version; Keywords: Graphs, Perception, Similarity, Comparison, Visualizatio

Boundaries and Prototypes in Categorizing Direction

Projective terms such as left, right, front, back are conceptually interesting due to their flexibility of contextual usage and their central relevance to human spatial cognition. Their default acceptability areas are well known, with prototypical axes representing their most central usage and decreasing acceptability away from the axes. Previous research has shown these axes to be boundaries in certain non-linguistic tasks, indicating an inverse relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic direction concepts under specific circumstances. Given this striking mismatch, our study asks how such inverse non-linguistic concepts are represented in language, as well as how people describe their categorization. Our findings highlight two distinct grouping strategies reminiscent of theories of human categorization: prototype based or boundary based. These lead to different linguistic as well as non-linguistic patterns

A Neutralizing Human Monoclonal Antibody Protects against Lethal Disease in a New Ferret Model of Acute Nipah Virus Infection

Nipah virus is a broadly tropic and highly pathogenic zoonotic paramyxovirus in the genus Henipavirus whose natural reservoirs are several species of Pteropus fruit bats. Nipah virus has repeatedly caused outbreaks over the past decade associated with a severe and often fatal disease in humans and animals. Here, a new ferret model of Nipah virus pathogenesis is described where both respiratory and neurological disease are present in infected animals. Severe disease occurs with viral doses as low as 500 TCID50 within 6 to 10 days following infection. The underlying pathology seen in the ferret closely resembles that seen in Nipah virus infected humans, characterized as a widespread multisystemic vasculitis, with virus replicating in highly vascular tissues including lung, spleen and brain, with recoverable virus from a variety of tissues. Using this ferret model a cross-reactive neutralizing human monoclonal antibody, m102.4, targeting the henipavirus G glycoprotein was evaluated in vivo as a potential therapeutic agent. All ferrets that received m102.4 ten hours following a high dose oral-nasal Nipah virus challenge were protected from disease while all controls died. This study is the first successful post-exposure passive antibody therapy for Nipah virus using a human monoclonal antibody

Тактика ведения пациентов при синдроме Мэллори-Вейсса

МЭЛЛОРИ-ВЕЙСА СИНДРОМ /диагн /терПИЩЕВОДА ПЕРФОРАЦИЯ /диагн /терЖЕЛУДОЧНО-КИШЕЧНОЕ КРОВОТЕЧЕНИЕГЕМОСТАЗ ЭНДОСКОПИЧЕСКИ

Cognitive Invariants of Geographic Event Conceptualization: What Matters and What Refines?

Behavioral experiments addressing the conceptualization of geographic events are few and far between. Our research seeks to address this deficiency by developing an experimental framework on the conceptualization of movement patterns. In this paper, we report on a critical experiment that is designed to shed light on the question of cognitively salient invariants in such conceptualization. Invariants have been identified as being critical to human information processing, particularly for the processing of dynamic information. In our experiment, we systematically address cognitive invariants of one class of geographic events: single entity movement patterns. To this end, we designed 72 animated icons that depict the movement patterns of hurricanes around two invariants: size difference and topological equivalence class movement patterns endpoints. While the endpoint hypothesis, put forth by Regier (2007), claims a particular focus of human cognition to ending relations of events, other research suggests that simplicity principles guide categorization and, additionally, that static information is easier to process than dynamic information. Our experiments show a clear picture: Size matters. Nonetheless, we also find categorization behaviors consistent with experiments in both the spatial and temporal domain, namely that topology refines these behaviors and that topological equivalence classes are categorized consistently. These results are critical steppingstones in validating spatial formalism from a cognitive perspective and cognitively grounding work on ontologies

Estimativa do índice de desconforto térmico em Planaltina-DF.

Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho analisar o índice de desconforto térmico humano (IDT) para o município de Planaltina-DF. Os dados utilizados neste estudo foram coletados pela estação meteorológica automática principal da Embrapa Cerrados, no período de 01/01/2013 á 31/12/2013, cujas coordenadas geográficas são: latitude 15°36?04??S, longitude 47°42?50??W e altitude de 1001 m. Para a determinação do índice de desconforto térmico humano proposto por Thom, foram utilizados os componentes medidos: temperatura do ar (tar) e umidade relativa do ar (UR). Com base nessas estimativas, os valores de ID foram classificados em quatro intervalos: pouco desconfortável (IDT?14,9); confortável (15,0?IDT?19,9); parcialmente confortável (20,0?IDT?26,4); muito desconfortável (IDT?26,5). Os resultados mostraram que ao longo do período estudado, constataram-se valores de IDT variando entre 16,98 e 23,78, que ocorreram nos meses de julho e setembro, respectivamente. Verificou-se ainda que o período mais crítico ocorreu entre os meses de fevereiro e setembro onde foram observados valores de IDT entre 22,75 e 23,78. Os menores valores de IDT ocorreram entre os meses de maio (17,16) e julho (16,98). Contudo, verificou-se que a condição de IDT classificado como parcialmente confortável foi a que mais ocorreu durante o ano, representando cerca de 64% das estimativas, enquanto 36% foram classificadas como confortável. Os maiores riscos de desconforto térmico humano no município de Planaltina-DF ocorreram nos meses de março e setembro. Estes resultados podem estar associados à variabilidade da radiação solar e ao baixo número de dias chuvosos que aconteceu nestes meses. Setembro é um mês característico da época seca no Cerrado. ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was analyze the human thermal discomfort index (TDI) for the city of Planaltina-DF. The data used in this study were collected by the main automatic weather station Embrapa Cerrado, in the period 01/01/2013 to 31/12/2013, the positions are: latitude 15 ° 36'04 "S, longitude 47 ° 42 '50''W and altitude 1001 m. for determining the human thermal discomfort index proposed by Thom, were used the measured components: Air temperature (tar) and relative humidity (RH). Based on these estimates, the ID values were classified into four ranges: little uncomfortable (TDI?14,9); comfortable (15,0?TDI?19,9); partially comfortable (20,0? TDI ?26,4); very uncomfortable (TDI ?26,5). The results showed that during the study period were noted TDI values ranging between 16.98 and 23.78, which occurred in the months of July and September, respectively. It was also found that the most critical period occurred between the months of February and September where TDI values were observed between 22.75 and 23.78. Smaller TDI values occurred between the months of May (17.16) and July (16.98). However, it was found that the TDI condition classified as partially comfortable was the most occurred during the year, representing about 64% of the estimates, while 36% were classified as comfortable. The greatest risk of human thermal discomfort in Planaltina DF municipality occurred in the months of March and September. These findings may be related to the variability of solar radiation and the low number of rainy days that happened in these months. September is a typical month of the dry season in the Cerrado

The Siren Site and the Long Transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric Lifeways on the Eastern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas

On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing and data recovery investigations at the Siren site (41WM1126), a prehistoric multi-component site in the Interstate Highway 35 right-of-way along the South Fork of the San Gabriel River in Williamson County, Texas. The work was done to fulfill TxDOT’s compliance obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Antiquities Code of Texas. The testing investigations were conducted under Antiquities Permit 3834, and the subsequent data recovery was under Permit 3938. Kevin Miller served as Principal Investigator on both permits. Though the site extends far beyond the area of potential effects both horizontally and vertically, the investigations focused on Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric components within a relatively limited area that would be subject to project impacts. The investigations were conducted in February 2006. The investigations identified five isolable components that were intermittently laid down from approximately 2600 to 900 years ago. A substantial Late Prehistoric Austin phase occupation is represented by Scallorn projectile points, stone tools, burned rock, faunal materials, and radiocarbon dates from cooking features. The component feature assemblage includes a cluster of discrete, well-preserved burned rock features that range from small fire-cracked rock concentrations to a large, slab-lined feature that dominates the cluster. The underlying components include four cultural strata representing a series of phases in the final millennium or so of the long Archaic period. These components span approximately 2600 to 1500 b.p., though earlier, deeply buried components were also noted on the site. These deeper deposits were not the focus of the investigations, however, since they would not be affected by the project. The Archaic components revealed a suite of small side-notched dart points such as Ensor, Fairland, and Frio, as well as many earlier broad-bladed styles such as Castroville, Montell, Marshall, and Pedernales. These robust components contained numerous burned rock features of varying size and function, abundant tools, well-preserved faunal materials, macrobotanical remains including geophytes from several earth ovens, and a large suite of radiocarbon dates. The features include an incipient burned rock midden, burned rock clusters, a debitage reduction area, a biface cache, slab-lined hearths, basin-shaped hearths, and small circular hearths. The distributions of artifacts and features within the Archaic components across the excavation blocks showed significant variations. These differences reflect sequential components that provide a view of diachronic trends in technology, subsistence, economy, and a suite of other behaviors and activities during the long transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric adaptations. As previously determined by the testing excavations and further substantiated by the data recovery investigations, the Siren site, most notably the Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric components, is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D, 36 CFR 60.4, and eligible for State Archeological Landmark designation under Criteria 1 and 2 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Antiquities Code of Texas, 13 TAC 26.8. The excavations and subsequent analysis have mitigated the adverse effects of the bridge construction by recovering the vast majority of the affected components within the area of potential effect. No further archaeological work is recommended. Portions of the site outside the area of potential effects have not been fully evaluated, and any future impacts beyond the mitigated areas warrant further assessment