OpenSDM - An Open Sensor Data Management Tool

Exchange of scientific data and metadata between single users or organizations is a challenging task due to differences in data formats, the genesis of data collection, ontologies and prior knowledge of the users. Different data storage requirements, mostly defined by the structure, size and access scenarios, require also different data storage solutions, since there is no and there cannot be a data format which is suitable for all tasks and needs that occur especially in a scientific workflow. Besides data, the generation and handling of additional corresponding metadata leads us to the additional challenge of defining the meaning of data, which should be formulated in a way that it can be commonly understood to get out a maximum of expected and shareable information of the observed processes. In our domain we are able to take advantage of standards defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium, namely the standards defined by the Sensor Web Enablement, WaterML and CF-NetCDF working groups. Even though these standards are freely available and some of them are commonly used in specialized software packages, the adaption in widespread end-user software solutions still seems to be in its beginnings. This contribution describes a software solution developed at Graz University of Technology, which targets the storage and exchange of measurement data with a special focus on meteorological, water quantity and water quality observation data collected within the last three decades. The solution was planned on basis of long-term experience in sewer monitoring and was built on top of open-source software only. It allows high-performance storage of time series and associated metadata, access-controlled web services for programmatic access, validation tasks, event detection, automated alerting and notification. An additional web-based graphical user interface was created which gives full control to end-users. The OpenSDM software approach makes it easier for measurement station operators, maintainers and end-users to take advantage of the standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium, which usage should be promoted in the water related communities

An iconic language for the graphical representation of medical concepts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many medication errors are encountered in drug prescriptions, which would not occur if practitioners could remember the drug properties. They can refer to drug monographs to find these properties, however drug monographs are long and tedious to read during consultation. We propose a two-step approach for facilitating access to drug monographs. The first step, presented here, is the design of a graphical language, called VCM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The VCM graphical language was designed using a small number of graphical primitives and combinatory rules. VCM was evaluated over 11 volunteer general practitioners to assess if the language is easy to learn, to understand and to use. Evaluators were asked to register their VCM training time, to indicate the meaning of VCM icons and sentences, and to answer clinical questions related to randomly generated drug monograph-like documents, supplied in text or VCM format.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>VCM can represent the various signs, diseases, physiological states, life habits, drugs and tests described in drug monographs. Grammatical rules make it possible to generate many icons by combining a small number of primitives and reusing simple icons to build more complex ones. Icons can be organized into simple sentences to express drug recommendations. Evaluation showed that VCM was learnt in 2 to 7 hours, that physicians understood 89% of the tested VCM icons, and that they answered correctly to 94% of questions using VCM (versus 88% using text, <it>p </it>= 0.003) and 1.8 times faster (<it>p </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>VCM can be learnt in a few hours and appears to be easy to read. It can now be used in a second step: the design of graphical interfaces facilitating access to drug monographs. It could also be used for broader applications, including the design of interfaces for consulting other types of medical document or medical data, or, very simply, to enrich medical texts.</p

Nutzung multipler Standards zur nachhaltigen integrierten wasserwirtschaftlichen Simulation am Beispiel der Standards netCDF und OpenMI

Zur Beurteilung wasserwirtschaftlicher Systeme sind zukünftig mehrere urbane Gebiete zusammen mit dem empfangenden Gewässer sowohl in hydraulischer als auch in stofflicher Hinsicht integriert zu betrachten. Auf Grund der Komplexität dieses Zusammenwirkens bietet sich die Modellierung als Werkzeug an. Um vorhandene und damit erprobte Simulationskomponenten weiterhin nutzen zu können, sind generische Schnittstellentechnologien und universelle Datenformate eine vielversprechende Lösung, um diese Simulationskomponenten verknüpfen zu können und damit ein nachhaltiges und praxistaugliches (Meta)Modellsystem zu entwickeln. Dieses Paper zeigt den Entwurf eines nachhaltigen integrierten Modellsystems durch Nutzung der Standards netCDF und OpenMI

A Cross-Disciplinary Bibliography on Visual Languages for Information Sharing and Archiving

This bibliography offers citations for people who are interested in learning more about visual language, new types of communicating and archiving information with emphases on novel technologies and theoretical works in these multidisciplinary areas. This bibliography is considered in its broadest sense and covers references of research in humanities and social sciences as well as computer technology. Far from being exhaustive, it nevertheless covers essential resources in a selective way, so that the material can provide starting points for many different directions. What is not included here are references to visual programming languages

Foundations of MIRACLE: Multimedia Information Repository, A Computer-supported Language Effort

Research in neurosciences, cognitive psychology and media sciences indicates that "visual thinking" carries a potential of the human mind that is generally still neglected today but could heavily be fostered by novel types of communicating and archiving information. Computer technology (information systems, telecommunication and visual tools) in turn promises to provide a wide range of highly effective tools to support visual, dynamic communication. MIRACLE treads new paths to address a crucial issue: In what way and to what extent can and should current and future systems support new ways of communicating and archiving information using dynamic, visual information? This paper gives a survey of the numerous attempts that have been made so far to overcome language barriers by introducing artificial languages (both on a spoken/text and on a visual basis). It also analyzes the general status of technology (computer hardware and software) to support such efforts as well as a number of specific projects. From this overview we draw the conclusion that computer-based systems designed to support communicating and archiving dynamic visual information should focus on the following features: Support dynamic language elements on a structural level in addition to traditional animated icons, Incorporate gestural language elements (inspired by natural sign languages) anticipating future ways of human-computer interaction, Allow evolutionary development of the language in a group-dynamic and interactive process involving large international groups of participants. In a final section we give a brief outline of the cluster of specific projects carried out under the heading of MIRACLE

Sensitivity of Model-Based Water Balance to Low Impact Development Parameters

Low impact development (LID) strategies aim to mitigate the adverse impacts of urbanization, like the increase of runoff and the decrease of evapotranspiration. Hydrological simulation is a reasonable option to evaluate the LID performance with respect to the complete water balance. The sensitivity of water balance components to LID parameters is important for the modeling and planning process of LIDs. This contribution presents the results of a global sensitivity analysis of model-based water balance components (runoff volume, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge/storage change) using the US Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model to the parameters (e.g., soil thickness, porosity) of a green roof, an infiltration trench, and a bio-retention cell. All results are based on long-term simulations. The water balance and sensitivity analyses are evaluated for the long-term as well as single storm events. The identification of non-influential and most influential LID parameters for the water balance components is the main outcome of this work. Additionally, the influence of the storm event characteristics precipitation depth and antecedent dry period on the sensitivity of water balance components to LID parameters is shown