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

'Clinical triad' findings in pediatric Klippel-Feil patients

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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

Artificial intelligence and visual analytics in geographical space and cyberspace: Research opportunities and challenges

In recent decades, we have witnessed great advances on the Internet of Things, mobile devices, sensor-based systems, and resulting big data infrastructures, which have gradually, yet fundamentally influenced the way people interact with and in the digital and physical world. Many human activities now not only operate in geographical (physical) space but also in cyberspace. Such changes have triggered a paradigm shift in geographic information science (GIScience), as cyberspace brings new perspectives for the roles played by spatial and temporal dimensions, e.g., the dilemma of placelessness and possible timelessness. As a discipline at the brink of even bigger changes made possible by machine learning and artificial intelligence, this paper highlights the challenges and opportunities associated with geographical space in relation to cyberspace, with a particular focus on data analytics and visualization, including extended AI capabilities and virtual reality representations. Consequently, we encourage the creation of synergies between the processing and analysis of geographical and cyber data to improve sustainability and solve complex problems with geospatial applications and other digital advancements in urban and environmental sciences

Effects of acutely inhibiting PI3K isoforms and mTOR on regulation of glucose metabolism in vivo

In in vitro studies class-I PI3Ks (phosphoinositide 3-kinases), class-II PI3Ks and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) have all been described as having roles in the regulation of glucose metabolism. The relative role each plays in the normal signalling processes regulating glucose metabolism in vivo is less clear. Knockout and knockin mouse models have provided some evidence that the class-I PI3K isoforms p110α, p110β, and to a lesser extent p110γ, are necessary for processes regulating glucose metabolism and appetite. However, in these models the PI3K activity is chronically reduced. Therefore we analysed the effects of acutely inhibiting PI3K isoforms alone, or PI3K and mTOR, on glucose metabolism and food intake. In the present study impairments in glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance and increased hepatic glucose output were observed in mice treated with the pan-PI3K/mTOR inhibitors PI-103 and NVP-BEZ235. The finding that ZSTK474 has similar effects indicates that these effects are due to inhibition of PI3K rather than mTOR. The p110α-selective inhibitors PIK75 and A66 also induced these phenotypes, but inhibitors of p110β, p110δ or p110γ induced only minor effects. These drugs caused no significant effects on BMR (basal metabolic rate), O2 consumption or water intake, but BEZ235, PI-103 and PIK75 did cause a small reduction in food consumption. Surprisingly, pan-PI3K inhibitors or p110α inhibitors caused reductions in animal movement, although the cause of this is not clear. Taken together these studies provide pharmacological evidence to support a pre-eminent role for the p110α isoform of PI3K in pathways acutely regulating glucose metabolism

Zinc Finger Recombinases with Adaptable DNA Sequence Specificity

Site-specific recombinases have become essential tools in genetics and molecular biology for the precise excision or integration of DNA sequences. However, their utility is currently limited to circumstances where the sites recognized by the recombinase enzyme have been introduced into the DNA being manipulated, or natural ‘pseudosites’ are already present. Many new applications would become feasible if recombinase activity could be targeted to chosen sequences in natural genomic DNA. Here we demonstrate efficient site-specific recombination at several sequences taken from a 1.9 kilobasepair locus of biotechnological interest (in the bovine β-casein gene), mediated by zinc finger recombinases (ZFRs), chimaeric enzymes with linked zinc finger (DNA recognition) and recombinase (catalytic) domains. In the "Z-sites" tested here, 22 bp casein gene sequences are flanked by 9 bp motifs recognized by zinc finger domains. Asymmetric Z-sites were recombined by the concomitant action of two ZFRs with different zinc finger DNA-binding specificities, and could be recombined with a heterologous site in the presence of a third recombinase. Our results show that engineered ZFRs may be designed to promote site-specific recombination at many natural DNA sequences