An Intuitive Graphical Query Interface for Protégé Knowledge Bases

Emily is a graphical query engine for Protégé knowledge bases that was developed by the Structural Informatics Group (SIG) at the University of Washington. Currently this application is adapted for a specific knowledge model, the Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) [1], but it could readily be generalized for use with other Protégé knowledge bases. In developing the Emily query interface, our intent was to provide a tool that was simple and intuitive to use, like the Queries tab provided with Protégé, but with improved information retrieval capabilities. Although some more advanced query mechanisms exist, currently they are too complicated for non-expert end users. The Algernon tab [2], for example, provides extensive Protégé query capabilities but requires users to learn a query scripting language. We sought to develop a query interface that was intuitive enough for end users to operate, with only minor instruction, yet was powerful enough to gather interesting information from a knowledge base that was not easily attained by browsing alone

Learning from users for radical innovation

In today's environment of rapid technological change companies can not rely on incremental innovations alone. To sustain long-term competitiveness companies need to develop radical innovations as well. Such innovations typically incorporate new and highly complex technologies, create new markets or shift existing market structures, and require user learning as they often induce significant behaviour changes on side of the users. To systematically develop radical innovations firms need to involve the proper actors. One such important external actor in the development process of new products is the user. Our study focuses on the question what kind of users are able to actively contribute to the development of radical innovations and what firms can learn from them to improve their innovative capability. A multiple case study analysis was conducted in the field of medical technology. Five radical innovation projects were selected including medical robots and computer-assisted navigation systems. The case study analysis reveals that users with a unique set of characteristics can contribute substantially to the development of radical innovations. These users have a high motivation toward new solutions, are open to new technologies, possess diverse competencies, and are embedded into a very supportive context. Manufacturers that took over the ideas and prototypes of the inventive users benefited significantly. By learning from these users, firms were able to significantly improve their radical innovative capability. The paper contributes to technology and innovation management research in two ways. First, by exploring critical user characteristics for distinct phases of the radical innovation process, we provide first insights how manufacturing firms can more effectively identify and leverage valuable users for their radical innovation work. Thereby, we highlight the involvement of capable users as an effective learning mechanism to improve the radical innovation capability of a firm. Second, new perspectives on lead user research are provided by enriching the lead user concept with other crucial characteristics of innovative users. --Produktinnovation,Produktentwicklung,Benutzer / Beteiligung

Impact of pig slurry amendments on phosphorus, suspended sediment and metal losses in laboratory runoff boxes under simulated rainfall

peer-reviewedLosses of phosphorus (P) when pig slurry applications to land are followed by a rainfall event or losses from soils with high P contents can contribute to eutrophication of receiving waters. The addition of amendments to pig slurry spread on high P Index soils may reduce P and suspended sediment (SS) losses. This hypothesis was tested at laboratory-scale using runoff boxes under simulated rainfall conditions. Intact grassed soil samples, 100 cm-long, 22.5 cm-wide and 5 cm-deep, were placed in runoff boxes and pig slurry or amended pig slurry was applied to the soil surface. The amendments examined were: (1) commercial grade liquid alum (8% Al2O3) applied at a rate of 0.88:1 [Al:total phosphorus (TP)] (2) commercial-grade liquid ferric chloride (38% FeCl3) applied at a rate of 0.89:1 [Fe:TP] and (3) commercial-grade liquid poly-aluminium chloride (PAC) (10% Al2O3) applied at a rate of 0.72:1 [Al:TP]. The grassed soil was then subjected to three rainfall events (10.3 ± 0.15 mm h−1) at time intervals of 48, 72, and 96 h following slurry application. Each sod received rainfall on 3 occasions. Results across three rainfall events showed that for the control treatment, the average flow weighted mean concentration (FWMC) of TP was 0.61 mg L−1, of which 31% was particulate phosphorus (PP), and the average FWMC of SS was 38.1 mg L−1. For the slurry treatment, there was an average FWMC of 2.2 mg TP L−1, 47% of which was PP, and the average FWMC of SS was 71.5 mg L−1. Ranked in order of effectiveness from best to worst, PAC reduced the average FWMC of TP to 0.64 mg L−1 (42% PP), FeCl3 reduced TP to 0.91 mg L−1 (52% PP) and alum reduced TP to 1.08 mg L−1 (56% PP). The amendments were in the same order when ranked for effectiveness at reducing SS: PAC (74%), FeCl3 (66%) and alum (39%). Total phosphorus levels in runoff plots receiving amended slurry remained above those from soil only, indicating that, although incidental losses could be mitigated by chemical amendment, chronic losses from the high P index soil in the current study could not be reduced.The first author gratefully acknowledges the award of the EMBARK scholarship from IRCSET to support this study

Probate Document Regarding Estates of John P. Varnum, Josephine L. Varnum, Nora Varnum

State of Florida, County of Hillsboro...no record of any administration or probate proceedings upon the estates of John P. Varnum, Josephine L. Varnum or Nora Varnum...September 13, 1926

The Z=82 shell closure in neutron-deficient Pb isotopes

Recent mass measurements show a substantial weakening of the binding energy difference delta_{2p} (Z,N) = E(Z-2,N) - 2 E(Z,N) + E(Z+2,N) in the neutron-deficient Pb isotopes. As delta_{2p} is often attributed to the size of the proton magic gap, it might be speculated that the reduction in delta_{2p} is related to a weakening of the spherical Z=82 shell. We demonstrate that the observed trend is described quantitatively by self-consistent mean-field models in terms of deformed ground states of Hg and Po isotopes.Comment: submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Parable

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. \u27Excuse me, sir. Would you mind telling me the time?\u27 The bartender looked at the pretty young woman in front of him. \u27It\u27s half past eleven;\u27 he said, glancing stonily at a clock on the wall