Navigation in VR for visual analytics using the latest consumer-grade hardware

The Virtual Reality (VR) hardware market has been evolving rapidly since 2016. Consumer-level VR headsets or HMDs (head-mounted display), such as HTC Vive, have become more affordable and accessible during the last few years. As the hardware specifications improve, a greater level of immersion will be able to be achieved. This trend is paving the way for exciting new opportunities in the software market for exploiting the new possibilities afforded by these interactive display systems. One new avenue of design research in this space is immersive analytics, which refers to data visualization using immersive technologies. Many design challenges remain in such VR-based platforms such as user navigation and interface design. My research re-examines the validity of existing navigation techniques and VR interface design by building and testing an immersive data visualization environment using the latest VR hardware and software packages

Compara

: The OCAD Visual Analytics Laboratory (VAL) has developed a taxonomy of end users, software systems, data types, tasks and interactivity within the domain of smart city transportation planning. This paper contributes to the taxonomy by creating Compara, an intuitive, interactive and searchable index that visualizes the attributes of software from a wide-range of applications and technologies. The taxonomy began as a spreadsheet that we transformed into a custom interactive data visualization that could help users find and understand existing tools and their attributes The taxonomy and interactive index are a component of the iCity project which brings together academic, government, and industrial partners in order to improve the quality of life for urban residents and visitors through the development and integration of advanced IT infrastructure for the purpose of managing transit and transportation. The taxonomy and resulting tools discussed in this paper have expanded to include resources for urban planning which also impact transit and transportation. One of the primary uses of the taxonomy is to help various iCity project teams and stakeholders locate software that may be useful to their design and development process, as well as to understand the end-users of this technology. The taxonomy may be used to develop a city management dashboard for city planners and analysts, or equally, to design a city-services facing mobile service application

Analyzing student travel patterns with augmented data visualizations

Visualization and visual analytics tools can provide critical support for experts and stakeholders to understand transportation flows and related human activities. Correlating and representing quantitative data with data from human actors can provide explanations for patterns and anomalies. We conducted research to compare and contrast the capabilities of several tools available for visualization and decision support as a part of an integrated urban informatics and visualization research project that develops tools for transportation planning and decision making. For this research we used the data collected by the StudentMoveTO (Toronto) survey which was conducted in the fall of 2015 by Toronto's four universities with the goal of collecting detailed data to understand travel behaviour and its effect on the daily routines of the students. This paper discusses the usefulness of new software which can allow designers to build meaningful narratives integrating 3D representations to assist in Geo-spatial analysis of the data

A heterozygous moth genome provides insights into herbivory and detoxification

How an insect evolves to become a successful herbivore is of profound biological and practical importance. Herbivores are often adapted to feed on a specific group of evolutionarily and biochemically related host plants1, but the genetic and molecular bases for adaptation to plant defense compounds remain poorly understood2. We report the first whole-genome sequence of a basal lepidopteran species, Plutella xylostella, which contains 18,071 protein-coding and 1,412 unique genes with an expansion of gene families associated with perception and the detoxification of plant defense compounds. A recent expansion of retrotransposons near detoxification-related genes and a wider system used in the metabolism of plant defense compounds are shown to also be involved in the development of insecticide resistance. This work shows the genetic and molecular bases for the evolutionary success of this worldwide herbivore and offers wider insights into insect adaptation to plant feeding, as well as opening avenues for more sustainable pest management.Minsheng You … Simon W Baxter … et al

StoryFacets: A design study on storytelling with visualizations for collaborative data analysis

Tracking the sensemaking process is a well-established practice in many data analysis tools, and many visualization tools facilitate overview and recall during and after exploration. However, the resulting communication materials such as presentations or infographics often omit provenance information for the sake of simplicity. This unfortunately limits later viewers from engaging in further collaborative sensemaking or discussion about the analysis. We present a design study where we introduced visual provenance and analytics to urban transportation planning. Maintaining the provenance of all analyses was critical to support collaborative sensemaking among the many and diverse stakeholders. Our system, STORYFACETS, exposes several different views of the same analysis session, each view designed for a specific audience: (1) the trail view provides a data flow canvas that supports in-depth exploration + provenance (expert analysts); (2) the dashboard view organizes visualizations and other content into a space-filling layout to support high-level analysis (managers); and (3) the slideshow view supports linear storytelling via interactive step-by-step presentations (laypersons). Views are linked so that when one is changed, provenance is maintained. Visual provenance is available on demand to support iterative sensemaking for any team member

Comparative methodology: Compara & Vizland

The first of the two prototypes focuses on the mapping of relationships. A worksheet was created in our research group with the intent to make it a first attempt towards a taxonomy in visual analytics for iCity. The potential created by this effort is to create a discourse around visualization methods and software tools that deliver or utilize these methods

Metagenomic Sequencing of Diamondback Moth Gut Microbiome Unveils Key Holobiont Adaptations for Herbivory

Herbivore specialists adapt to feed on a specific group of host plants by evolving various mechanisms to respond to plant defenses. Insects also possess complex gut microbiotas but their potential role in adaptation is poorly understood. Our previous study of the genome of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, revealed an intrinsic capacity to detoxify plant defense compounds, which is an important factor in its success as a pest. Here we expand on that work with a complete taxonomic and functional profile of the P. xylostella gut microbiota obtained by metagenomic sequencing. Gene enrichment in the metagenome, accompanied by functional identification, revealed an important role of specific gut bacteria in the breakdown of plant cell walls, detoxification of plant phenolics, and synthesis of amino acids. Microbes participating in these pathways mainly belonged to three highly abundant bacteria: Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter asburiae, and Carnobacterium maltaromaticum. Results show that while the gut microbial community may be complex, a small number of functionally active species can be disproportionally important. The presence of specific enzymes in the microbiota community, such as supporting amino acid synthesis, digestion and detoxification functions, demonstrates the beneficial interactions between P. xylostella and its gut microbiota. These interactions can be potential targets for manipulation to provide novel pest management approaches

DNA sequencing reveals the midgut microbiota of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) and a possible relationship with insecticide resistance.

Insect midgut microbiota is important in host nutrition, development and immune response. Recent studies indicate possible links between insect gut microbiota and resistance to biological and chemical toxins. Studies of this phenomenon and symbionts in general have been hampered by difficulties in culture-based approach. In the present study, DNA sequencing was used to examine the midgut microbiota of diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.), a destructive pest that attacks cruciferous crops worldwide. Its ability to develop resistance to many types of synthetic insecticide and even Bacillus thuringiensis toxins makes it an important species to study.Bacteria of the DBM larval midgut in a susceptible and two insecticide (chlorpyrifos and fipronil) resistant lines were examined by Illumina sequencing sampled from an insect generation that was not exposed to insecticide. This revealed that more than 97% of the bacteria were from three orders: Enterobacteriales, Vibrionales and Lactobacillales. Both insecticide-resistant lines had more Lactobacillales and the much scarcer taxa Pseudomonadales and Xanthomonadales with fewer Enterobacteriales compared with the susceptible strain. Consistent with this, a second study observed an increase in the proportion of Lactobacillales in the midgut of DBM individuals from a generation treated with insecticides.This is the first report of high-throughput DNA sequencing of the entire microbiota of DBM. It reveals differences related to inter- and intra-generational exposure to insecticides. Differences in the midgut microbiota among susceptible and insecticide-resistant lines are independent of insecticide exposure in the sampled generations. While this is consistent with the hypothesis that Lactobacillales or other scarcer taxa play a role in conferring DBM insecticide resistance, further studies are necessary to rule out other possibilities. Findings constitute the basis for future molecular work on the functions of insect midgut microbiota taxa and their possible role in conferring host resistance to toxins