From Linked Data to Relevant Data -- Time is the Essence

The Semantic Web initiative puts emphasis not primarily on putting data on the Web, but rather on creating links in a way that both humans and machines can explore the Web of data. When such users access the Web, they leave a trail as Web servers maintain a history of requests. Web usage mining approaches have been studied since the beginning of the Web given the log's huge potential for purposes such as resource annotation, personalization, forecasting etc. However, the impact of any such efforts has not really gone beyond generating statistics detailing who, when, and how Web pages maintained by a Web server were visited.Comment: 1st International Workshop on Usage Analysis and the Web of Data (USEWOD2011) in the 20th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW2011), Hyderabad, India, March 28th, 201

Cooperative catalysis by silica-supported organic functional groups

Hybrid inorganic–organic materials comprising organic functional groups tethered from silica surfaces are versatile, heterogeneous catalysts. Recent advances have led to the preparation of silica materials containing multiple, different functional groups that can show cooperative catalysis; that is, these functional groups can act together to provide catalytic activity and selectivity superior to what can be obtained from either monofunctional materials or homogeneous catalysts. This tutorial review discusses cooperative catalysis of silica-based catalytic materials, focusing on the cooperative action of acid–base, acid–thiol, amine–urea, and imidazole–alcohol–carboxylate groups. Particular attention is given to the effect of the spatial arrangement of these organic groups and recent developments in the spatial organization of multiple groups on the silica surface

Elastic Cheerios effect: self-assembly of cylinders on a soft solid

A rigid cylinder placed on a soft gel deforms its surface. When multiple cylinders are placed on the surface, they interact with each other via the topography of the deformed gel which serves as an energy landscape; as they move, the landscape changes which in turn changes their interaction. We use a combination of experiments, simple scaling estimates and numerical simulations to study the self-assembly of cylinders in this elastic analog of the Cheerios effect for capillary interactions on a fluid interface. Our results show that the effective two body interaction can be well described by an exponential attraction potential as a result of which the dynamics also show an exponential behavior with respect to the separation distance. When many cylinders are placed on the gel, the cylinders cluster together if they are not too far apart; otherwise their motion gets elastically arrested

Using Google Analytics, Voyant and Other Tools to Better Understand Use of Manuscript Collections at L. Tom Perry Special Collections

[Excerpt] Developing strategies for making data-driven, objective decisions for digitization and value-added processing. based on patron usage has been an important effort in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections (hereafter Perry Special Collections). In a previous study, the authors looked at how creating a matrix using both Web analytics and in-house use statistics could provide a solid basis for making decisions about which collections to digitize as well as which collections merited deeper description. Along with providing this basis for decision making, the study also revealed some intriguing insights into how our collections were being used and raised some important questions about the impact of description on both digital and physical usage. We have continued analyzing the data from our first study and that data forms the basis of the current study. It is helpful to review the major outcomes of our previous study before looking at what we have learned in this deeper analysis. In the first study, we utilized three sources of statistical data to compare two distinct data points (in-house use and online finding aid use) and determine if there were any patterns or other information that would help curators in the department make better decisions about the items or collections selected for digitization or value-added processing. To obtain our data points, we combined two data sources related to the in-person use of manuscript collections in the Perry Special Collections reading room and one related to the use of finding aids for manuscript collections made available online through the department’s Finding Aid database ( http://findingaid.lib.byu.edu/). We mapped the resulting data points into a four quadrant graph (see figure 1)

Cartilage on the Move: Cartilage Lineage Tracing During Tadpole Metamorphosis

The reorganization of cranial cartilages during tadpole metamorphosis is a set of complex processes. The fates of larval cartilage-forming cells (chondrocytes) and sources of adult chondrocytes are largely unknown. Individual larval cranial cartilages may either degenerate or remodel, while many adult cartilages appear to form de novo during metamorphosis. Determining the extent to which adult chondrocytes/cartilages are derived from larval chondrocytes during metamorphosis requires new techniques in chondrocyte lineage tracing. We have developed two transgenic systems to label cartilage cells throughout the body with fluorescent proteins. One system strongly labels early tadpole cartilages only. The other system inducibly labels forming cartilages at any developmental stage. We examined cartilages of the skull (viscero- and neurocranium), and identified larval cartilages that either resorb or remodel into adult cartilages. Our data show that the adult otic capsules, tecti anterius and posterius, hyale, and portions of Meckel\u27s cartilage are derived from larval chondrocytes. Our data also suggest that most adult cartilages form de novo, though we cannot rule out the potential for extreme larval chondrocyte proliferation or de- and re-differentiation, which could dilute our fluorescent protein signal. The transgenic lineage tracing strategies developed here are the first examples of inducible, skeleton-specific, lineage tracing in Xenopus

Gaining assurance in a voter-verifiable voting system

The literature on e-voting systems has many examples of discussion of the correctness of the computer and communication algorithms of such systems, as well as discussions of their vulnerabilities. However, a gap in the literature concerns the practical need (before adoption of a specific e-voting system) for a complete case demonstrating that the system as a whole has sufficiently high probability of exhibiting the desired properties when in use in an actual election. This paper discusses the problem of producing such a case, with reference to a specific system: a version of the Prêt à Voter scheme for voter-verifiable e-voting. We show a possible organisation of a case in terms of four main requirements – accuracy, privacy, termination and ‘trustedness’– and show some of the detailed organisation that such a case should have, the diverse kinds of evidence that needs to be gathered and some of the interesting difficulties that arise

Contamination control concepts for space station customer servicing

The customer servicing operations envisioned for the space station, which include instrument repair, orbital replacement unit (ORU) changeout, and fluid replenishment for free-flying and attached payloads, are expected to create requirements for a unique contamination control subsystem for the customer servicing facility (CSF). Both the core space station and the CSF users present unique requirements/sensitivities, not all of which are currently defined with common criteria. Preliminary results from an assessment of the effects of the CSF-induced contamination environment are reported. Strategies for a comprehensive contamination control approach and a description of specific hardware devices and their applicability are discussed