Using an ontology for interoperability and browsing of museum, library and archive information

Ontologies play an important part in the development of the future ‘semantic web’; the CIDOC conceptual reference model (CRM) is an ontology aimed at the cultural heritage domain. This paper describes a Concept Browser, developed for the EU/IST-funded SCULPTEUR project (semantic and content-based multimedia exploitation for European benefit environment (programme IST-2001-no. 35372); May 2002 to May 2005), which is able to access different museum information systems through a common ontology, the CRM. The development of this Concept Browser has required mappings from the legacy museum database systems to the CRM. The crucial process of creating the mappings is described, using the C2RMF catalogue (EROS) and library databases as a case study

Interpretation of the European legal framework for the microbiological classification of bivalve mollusc production areas

Water quality, in terms of the bacteria and viruses present, affects the incidence of microbial contamination in bivalve molluscs. The European Union Official Control Regulations manage these potential human health risks, requiring all Member States to routinely monitor the level of faecal contamination in production and relaying areas, and to classify these production areas accordingly. How a site is classified can affect business flexibility, operating costs, and even the ability to trade. The protection of public health is the primary remit of the national competent authorities implementing the regulations, while businesses are keen to achieve and maintain a classification indicative of good water quality, and to minimise the likelihood of a site being downgraded or closed. Equally, they do not want to make their customers sick. Balancing protection of public health and the viability of bivalve shellfish production is most easily achieved with a regulatory system that is responsive, adaptive and ultimately risk-based. Despite the standard legislation and supplementary guidance to ensure consistency of approach, interpretation and implementation varies across countries. Some take a risk based and more permissive approach, whilst others are much more restrictive. This indicates the ability of Member States to exert some independence within the overarching legal framework, reflecting regional variation in environmental conditions, historical approaches to shellfish hygiene controls as well as the range of relationships between producers and regulators

Mirror Writing and a Dissociative Identity Disorder

Individuals with dissociative identity disorder (DID) have been known to show varied skills and talents as they change from one dissociative state to another. For example, case reports have described people who have changed their handedness or have spoken foreign languages during their dissociative states. During an interview with a patient with DID, a surprising talent emerged when she wrote a sentence for the Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam—mirror writing. It is not known whether her mirror writing had a deeper level of meaning; however, it does emphasize the idiosyncratic nature of dissociative identity disorder

Bias in Matter Power Spectra ?

We review the constraints given by the linear matter power spectra data on cosmological and bias parameters, comparing the data from the PSCz survey (Hamilton et al., 2000) and from the matter power spectrum infered by the study of Lyman alpha spectra at z=2.72 (Croft et al., 2000). We consider flat--$\Lambda$ cosmologies, allowing $\Lambda$, $H_0$ and $n$ to vary, and we also let the two ratio factors $r_{pscz}$ and $r_{lyman}$ ($r^2_i = \frac{P_{i}(k)}{P_{CMB}(k)}$) vary independently. Using a simple $\chi^2$ minimisation technique, we find confidence intervals on our parameters for each dataset and for a combined analysis. Letting the 5 parameters vary freely gives almost no constraints on cosmology, but requirement of a universal ratio for both datasets implies unacceptably low values of $H_0$ and $\Lambda$. Adding some reasonable priors on the cosmological parameters demonstrates that the power derived by the PSCz survey is higher by a factor $\sim 1.75$ compared to the power from the Lyman $\alpha$ forest survey.Comment: Accepted in A&

The perimeter of large planar Voronoi cells: a double-stranded random walk

Let $p\_n$ be the probability for a planar Poisson-Voronoi cell to have exactly $n$ sides. We construct the asymptotic expansion of $\log p\_n$ up to terms that vanish as $n\to\infty$. We show that {\it two independent biased random walks} executed by the polar angle determine the trajectory of the cell perimeter. We find the limit distribution of (i) the angle between two successive vertex vectors, and (ii) the one between two successive perimeter segments. We obtain the probability law for the perimeter's long wavelength deviations from circularity. We prove Lewis' law and show that it has coefficient 1/4.Comment: Slightly extended version; journal reference adde

Waveguide-induced dispersion interaction between two two-level atoms with orthogonal in-transverse-plane dipoles

We study the dispersion interaction between two ground-state two-level atoms near a cylindrical vacuum-clad optical waveguide. We focus on the case where the electric-dipole matrix-element vectors of the atoms are perpendicular to each other and to the interatomic axis. When these atoms are in free space, the dispersion interaction between them vanishes. In the presence of a waveguide aligned parallel to the interatomic axis, the energy of the dispersion interaction between the atoms may become nonzero and comparable to the average energy of the dispersion interaction between two atoms with arbitrarily oriented dipoles in free space. This waveguide-induced dispersion interaction is a consequence of the anisotropy of the medium around the atoms

A diffusion approach to Stein's method on Riemannian manifolds

We detail an approach to develop Stein's method for bounding integral metrics on probability measures defined on a Riemannian manifold $\mathbf{M}$. Our approach exploits the relationship between the generator of a diffusion on $\mathbf{M}$ with target invariant measure and its characterising Stein operator. We consider a pair of such diffusions with different starting points, and investigate properties of solution to the Stein equation based on analysis of the distance process between the pair. Several examples elucidating the role of geometry of $\mathbf{M}$ in these developments are presented

Variations in amount and direction of seafloor spreading along the northeast Atlantic Ocean and resulting deformation of the continental margin of northwest Europe

International audienceThe NE Atlantic Ocean opened progressively between Greenland and NW Europe during the Cenozoic. Seafloor spreading occurred along three ridge systems: the Reykjanes Ridge south of Iceland, the Mohns Ridge north of the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone (JMFZ), and the Aegir and Kolbeinsey Ridges between Iceland and the JMFZ. At the same time, compressional structures developed along the continental margin of NW Europe. We investigate how these compressional structures may have resulted from variations in the amount and direction of seafloor spreading along the ridge system. Assuming that Greenland is rigid and stationary, we have used a least squares method of palinspastic restoration to calculate differences in direction and rate of spreading along the Reykjanes, Kolbeinsey/Aegir and Mohns Ridges. The restoration generates relative rotations and displacements between the oceanic segments and predicts two main periods of left-lateral strike slip along the main oceanic fracture zones: (1) early Eocene to late Oligocene, along the Faeroe Fracture Zone and (2) late Eocene to early Oligocene and during the Miocene, along the JMFZ. Such left-lateral motion and relative rotation between the oceanic segments are compatible with the development of inversion structures on the Faeroe-Rockall Plateau and Norwegian Margin at those times and probably with the initiation of the Fugløy Ridge in the Faeroe-Shetland Basin during the Eocene and Oligocene. The Iceland Mantle Plume appears to have been in a position to generate differential seafloor spreading along the NE Atlantic and resulting deformation of the European margin