Correspondence matching with modal clusters

The modal correspondence method of Shapiro and Brady aims to match point-sets by comparing the eigenvectors of a pairwise point proximity matrix. Although elegant by means of its matrix representation, the method is notoriously susceptible to differences in the relational structure of the point-sets under consideration. In this paper, we demonstrate how the method can be rendered robust to structural differences by adopting a hierarchical approach. To do this, we place the modal matching problem in a probabilistic setting in which the correspondences between pairwise clusters can be used to constrain the individual point correspondences. We demonstrate the utility of the method on a number of synthetic and real-world point-pattern matching problems

Eschatology and the epistle to the Hebrews

Not availabl

Developing a Mammalian Behaviour Ontology

The use of the Entity + Quality (EQ) model in phenotypic descriptions is dependent on the use of specialised domain ontologies to define the entity under observation. A domain currently lacking a specialised ontology is mammalian behaviour, and so the Mammalian Behaviour Ontology is being constructed to address this. Top-level class distinctions are made between behavioural activities and behavioural functions of individuals, and those between two or more individuals. The ontology is manually developed and encourages contributions from domain experts

Editorial: biological ontologies and semantic biology

As the amount of biological information and its diversity accumulates massively there is a critical need to facilitate the integration of this data to allow new and unexpected conclusions to be drawn from it. The Semantic Web is a new wave of web- based technologies that allows the linking of data between diverse data sets via standardised data formats (“big data”). Semantic Biology is the application of semantic web technology in the biological domain (including medical and health informatics). The Special Topic encompasses papers in this very broad area, including not only ontologies (development and applications), but also text mining, data integration and data analysis making use of the technologies of the Semantic Web. Ontologies are a critical requirement for such integration as they allow conclusions drawn about biological experiments, or descriptions of biological entities, to be understandable and integratable despite being contained in different databases and analysed by different software systems. Ontologies are the standard structures used in biology, and more broadly in computer science, to hold standardized terminologies for particular domains of knowledge. Ontologies consist of sets of standard terms, which are defined and may have synonyms for ease of searching and to accommodate different usages by different communities. These terms are linked by standard relationships, such as “is_a” (an eye “is_a” sense organ) or “part_of” (an eye is “part_of” a head). By linking terms in this way, more detailed, or granular, terms can be linked to broader terms, allowing computation to be carried out that takes these relationships into account

Challenges in the Conservation of marine turtles in Portuguese speaking countries: searching for solutions in tourism

[Resumo] A grande procura de destinos turísticos balneares, assim como a crescente procura de atividades turísticas marinhas tem aumentado a pressão colocada sobre a zona costeira. Sendo “espécies bandeiras”, e animais bastante carismáticos, as tartarugas marinhas são frequentemente promovidas como atração turística, sendo usadas para transmitir aos públicos-alvo a necessidade da sua conservação, e dos habitats de que dependem. Este artigo faz uma reflexão sobre o impacto do turismo na conservação das tartarugas marinhas, olhando particularmente para casos em Cabo Verde e São Tomé e Príncipe, chamando a atenção para a necessidade de promover e gerir o turismo nas zonas costeiras, de modo a minimizar o seu impacto no ambiente e comunidades, e reduzir os conflitos entre estas e os programas de conservação.[Abstract] The increasing demand for beachfront destinations and activities has put much pressure on the costal areas. As flagship species, and therefore charismatic, marine turtles are frequently promoted as tourist attraction, being also used to pass on to target groups the knowledge of the need of protecting them, as well as the habitats upon which they depend. This article will make discuss the impact of tourism in the conservation of these animals, looking particularly at cases in Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe, drawing the attention to the need of promoting and manage tourism in the coastal areas, in such a way that its impacts in the environment and local communities is minimized, and thus conflicts with conservation projects are reduced

Progressing diversity in HRD theory and practice

N