The potential of semantic paradigm in warehousing of big data

Big data have analytical potential that was hard to realize with available technologies. After new storage paradigms intended for big data such as NoSQL databases emerged, traditional systems got pushed out of the focus. The current research is focused on their reconciliation on different levels or paradigm replacement. Similarly, the emergence of NoSQL databases has started to push traditional (relational) data warehouses out of the research and even practical focus. Data warehousing is known for the strict modelling process, capturing the essence of the business processes. For that reason, a mere integration to bridge the NoSQL gap is not enough. It is necessary to deal with this issue on a higher abstraction level during the modelling phase. NoSQL databases generally lack clear, unambiguous schema, making the comprehension of their contents difficult and their integration and analysis harder. This motivated involving semantic web technologies to enrich NoSQL database contents by additional meaning and context. This paper reviews the application of semantics in data integration and data warehousing and analyses its potential in integrating NoSQL data and traditional data warehouses with some focus on document stores. Also, it gives a proposal of the future pursuit directions for the big data warehouse modelling phases

Nature Inspired Metaheuristics for Optimizing Problems at a Container Terminal

Nowadays, maritime transport is the backbone of the international trade of goods. Therefore, seaports play a very important role in global transport. The use of containers is significantly represented in the maritime transport. Considering the increased number of container shipments in the global transport, seaport container terminals have to be adapted to a new situation and provide the best possible service of container transfer by reducing the transfer cost and the container transit time. Therefore, there is a need for optimization of the whole container transport process within the terminal. The logistic problems of the container terminals have become very complex and logistics experts cannot manually adjust the operations of terminal processes that will optimize the usage of resources. Hence, to achieve further improvements of terminal logistics, there is a need to introduce scientific methods such as metaheuristics that will enable better and optimized use of the terminal resources in an automated way. There is a large number of research papers that have successfully proposed the solutions of optimizing the container logistic problems with well-known metaheuristics inspired by the nature. However, there is a continuous emergence of new nature inspired metaheuristics today, like artificial bee colony algorithm, firefly algorithm and bat algorithm, that outperform the well-known metaheuristics considering the most popular optimization problems like travel salesman problem. Considering these results of comparing algorithms, we assume that better results of optimization of container terminal logistic problems can be achieved by introducing these new nature inspired metaheuristics. In this paper we have described and classified the main subsystems of the container terminal and its logistic problems that need to be optimized. We have also presented a review of new nature inspired metaheuristics (bee, firefly and bat algorithm) that could be used in the optimization of these problems within the terminal

The Single Window Concept in International Trade, Transport and Seaports

This paper presents a review of electronic data exchange and Single Window concept in international trade, transport and seaports. The theoretic framework of international trade, trade facilitation, Single Window, transport sector, maritime transport and seaports is provided, as well as the definition of electronic data exchange and standards for data exchange. The time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with documentary compliance procedure (exporting and importing a shipment of goods) are shown in order to better understand the complexity and the importance of simplifying administrative processes. The importance of stakeholder connectivity in the transport sector (with special emphasis on seaports) is demonstrated, and factors which affect the successful electronic data exchange in seaports are shown. The advantages of smoother electronic data exchange are provided through the analysis of several Single Window examples, which present regional best practices

Optimization of container relocation operations in port container terminals

The relocation of containers is a crucial operation in container ports all around the world. The Container Relocation Problem (CRP) is focused upon to find a sequence of container retrievals in a defined order from a single yard container bay with a minimum number of relocations. The goal of this paper is to find out if Genetic Algorithm (GA) can give new insights in the problem of solving the CRP. In this paper we focus on the two-dimensional, static, offline and restricted CRP of real-world yard container bays. Four rules are proposed for determining the position of relocated containers. We applied GA to find the best sequence of container retrievals according to these four rules in order to minimize the number of relocations within the bay. The experimental testing was run on a total of 800 different instances with varying bay sizes and number of containers. The given results are compared with the results of different authors using other heuristic methods. The results show that the proposed model solves CRP and achieves near optimal solutions. First published online 9 December 201

Variations in the concentration of 17ß-oestradiol and testosterone levels in calves of different sex, age, breed and farm origin

Fiziološke koncentracije spolnih hormona 17β-estradiola i testosterona varijaju s obzirom na vrstu životinje, dob, spol, pasminu, način držanja, hranidbu, stres i okolišne čimbenike. Navedeni hormoni su nužni za rast i razvoj životinje te njihovu spolnu zrelost i reproduktivnu funkciju. Zbog svog anaboličkog učinka koristili su se u prošlosti u intenzivnoj stočarskoj proizvodnji kao promotori rasta, putem stočne hrane ili u obliku implatanta. No, zbog svojih toksičnih učinaka u životinja i ljudi, uključujući mutagenost, kancerogenost i teratogenost, njihova je uporaba zabranjena u svrhu proizvodnje hrane životinjskog podrijetla. Danas je dopušteno korištenje prirodnih hormona samo u terapeutske svrhe za liječenje poremećaja reprodukcije i gravidnosti. S obzirom na stalni razvoj novih sintetskih tvari koje bi mogle imati anabolički učinak i mogu zlouporabu, nužno je tijekom redovitog provođenja kontrole te poznavanja fizioloških vrijednosti razina ovih hormona. Cilj ovog rada, uzimajući u obzir sve navedeno, bilo je istražiti razine prirodnih hormona 17β-estradiola i testosterona u krvi teladi različitog spola, pasmina, dobi i farmskog podrijetla na području Republike Hrvatske. U tu svrhu s tri različite farme na području Republike Hrvatske nasumično su izabrana 32 teleta različitog spola (5 muških i 27 ženskih), dobi 2 ‒ 5 mjeseci starosti, različitih pasmina i kategorija (13 teladi simentalske pasmine, 2 teladi mesne pasmine, 17 teladi holštajnske pasmine). Prilikom općeg kliničkog pregleda životinje od strane nadležnog veterinara, nisu primijećeni nikakvi znaci bolesti ili stanja koje bi mogle utjecati na razine ovih hormona. Prosječna razina 17β-estradiola iznosila je 28,8±11,0 ng/L. Koncentracija testosterona bila je niža od limita detekcije primjenjene analitičke metode u 24 uzorka plazme teladi, a detektirana je u 8 uzoraka s prosječnom koncentracijom od 126,7±167,5 ng/L, ukazujući na široku varijabilnost u koncentracijama ovog hormona. Statistički značajna razlika u koncentracijama određena je jedino za 17β-estradiol s obzirom na pasminski sastav i farmu podrijetla (P<0,05). S obzirom da su ustvrđene koncentracije u skladu s fiziološkim razinama iz ranije provedenih istraživanja u literaturi, u pretraživane teladi se može isključiti sumnja na ilegalnu uporabu sredstava s anaboličkim učinkom.Physiological levels of the sex hormones 17β-oestradiol and testosterone vary based on animal species, age, sex, breed, rearing technology, nutrition, stress and environmental factors. These hormones are essential for growth and development, and for sexual maturity and reproductive function. Due to their anabolic effects, they have been used as growth promoters in intensive livestock production, applied in feed or as an implant. However, due to their toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic and cancerogenic effects in animals and humans, their use is now banned in food animal production. Today, the use of these natural hormones is permitted exclusively for therapeutic purposes in the treatment of reproductive and pregnancy disorders. Considering the constant development of new synthetic substances that might have anabolic effects and their possible misuse, it is necessary to perform regular controls during the fattening period to determine the physiological values of the levels of these hormones. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the physiological levels of the natural hormones 17β-oestradiol and testosterone in the blood of calves of different sex, age, breed and farm origin in the Republic of Croatia. For this purpose, 32 calves of both sexes (5 males and 27 females), aged 2-5 months, of different breeds and categories (13 calves of Simmental breed, 2 calves of meat breed and 17 calves of Holstein breed) were randomly selected from three farms for inclusion in this study. During general clinical examination by an authorized veterinarian, no visible clinical changes or conditions were observed that could influence the physiological levels of the investigated hormones. The average level of 17β-oestradiol was 28.83±10.95 ng/L. The concentration of testosterone was lower than the detection limit of the analytical method applied in 24 samples of calf plasma. In eight samples in which this hormone was detected, the average concentration was 126.7±167.5 ng/L, indicating wide variability in the levels of this hormone. A statistically significant difference was determined only for 17β-oestradiol, taking into account the composition of breeds tested (P<0.05). Considering that the established concentrations of the analysed hormones were consistent with the physiological concentrations recorded in the literature, any suspected illegal use of anabolic agents in the examined calves is excluded

Automatic ontology matching by parallel composition of basic methods

Sve je veci broj heterogenih izvora podataka koji opisuju istu domenu interesa, a potrebno ih je povezati. Ontologija obogacuje znanje o izvorima podataka opisujuci entitete i njihove relacije unutar domene interesa i stoga njeno korištenje olakšava integraciju heterogenih izvora podataka. Kako bi integracija bila što uspješnija, potrebno je napraviti sustav za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu entiteta razlicitih ontologija. Disertacija se bavi automatizacijom pronalaženja podudarnosti izmedu ontologija. Fokus je na izradi metode za automatsko odredivanje težinskih faktora u težinskoj agregaciji paralelne kompozicije osnovnih metoda za pronalaženje podudarnosti. Takoder, izradena je metoda za automatsko odredivanje završnog poravnanja odgovarajucih parova entiteta usporedivanih ontologija. Implementiran je i prototip programskog sustava za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu ontologija u svrhu verifikacije izradenih metoda. Evaluacija prototipa programskog sustava izvršena je usporedbom prototipa programskog sustava s aktualnim programskim sustavima za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu ontologija. Rezultati evaluacije pokazuju da prototip programskog sustava uspješno pronalazi podudarnosti izmedu entiteta razlicitih ontologija.The number of heterogeneous data sources that describe the same domain of interest is increasing and these sources need to be related. Ontology enriches the knowledge about data sources by describing entities and relationships between them within the domain of interest. Therefore, the use of ontologies facilitates the integration of heterogeneous data sources. In order to accomplish a successful integration, it is necessary to make an ontology matching system that will find similar entities among two ontologies. The dissertation deals with the automation of ontology matching. The focus is on the development of the method for automatic assignment of weighted factors in the weighted aggregation of parallel composition of basic methods. A method for automatically determining the final alignment of similar entities of compared ontologies is also made. The prototype of the software system for ontology matching is developed in order to verify proposed methods. The evaluation of the prototype was performed by comparing the prototype of the software system with current software systems for ontology matching. The evaluation results show that the prototype of the software system successfully finds correspondences between entities of different ontologies

Automatically Specifying a Parallel Composition of Matchers in Ontology Matching Process by Using Genetic Algorithm

Today, there is a rapid increase of the available data because of advances in information and communications technology. Therefore, many mutually heterogeneous data sources that describe the same domain of interest exist. To facilitate the integration of these heterogeneous data sources, an ontology can be used as it enriches the knowledge of a data source by giving a detailed description of entities and their mutual relations within the domain of interest. Ontology matching is a key issue in integrating heterogeneous data sources described by ontologies as it eases the management of data coming from various sources. The ontology matching system consists of several basic matchers. To determine high-quality correspondences between entities of compared ontologies, the matching results of these basic matchers should be aggregated by an aggregation method. In this paper, a new weighted aggregation method for parallel composition of basic matchers based on genetic algorithm is presented. The evaluation has confirmed a high quality of the new aggregation method as this method has improved the process of matching two ontologies by obtaining higher confidence values of correctly found correspondences and thus increasing the quality of matching results

Automatic ontology matching by parallel composition of basic methods

Sve je veci broj heterogenih izvora podataka koji opisuju istu domenu interesa, a potrebno ih je povezati. Ontologija obogacuje znanje o izvorima podataka opisujuci entitete i njihove relacije unutar domene interesa i stoga njeno korištenje olakšava integraciju heterogenih izvora podataka. Kako bi integracija bila što uspješnija, potrebno je napraviti sustav za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu entiteta razlicitih ontologija. Disertacija se bavi automatizacijom pronalaženja podudarnosti izmedu ontologija. Fokus je na izradi metode za automatsko odredivanje težinskih faktora u težinskoj agregaciji paralelne kompozicije osnovnih metoda za pronalaženje podudarnosti. Takoder, izradena je metoda za automatsko odredivanje završnog poravnanja odgovarajucih parova entiteta usporedivanih ontologija. Implementiran je i prototip programskog sustava za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu ontologija u svrhu verifikacije izradenih metoda. Evaluacija prototipa programskog sustava izvršena je usporedbom prototipa programskog sustava s aktualnim programskim sustavima za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu ontologija. Rezultati evaluacije pokazuju da prototip programskog sustava uspješno pronalazi podudarnosti izmedu entiteta razlicitih ontologija.The number of heterogeneous data sources that describe the same domain of interest is increasing and these sources need to be related. Ontology enriches the knowledge about data sources by describing entities and relationships between them within the domain of interest. Therefore, the use of ontologies facilitates the integration of heterogeneous data sources. In order to accomplish a successful integration, it is necessary to make an ontology matching system that will find similar entities among two ontologies. The dissertation deals with the automation of ontology matching. The focus is on the development of the method for automatic assignment of weighted factors in the weighted aggregation of parallel composition of basic methods. A method for automatically determining the final alignment of similar entities of compared ontologies is also made. The prototype of the software system for ontology matching is developed in order to verify proposed methods. The evaluation of the prototype was performed by comparing the prototype of the software system with current software systems for ontology matching. The evaluation results show that the prototype of the software system successfully finds correspondences between entities of different ontologies

Automatic ontology matching by parallel composition of basic methods

Sve je veci broj heterogenih izvora podataka koji opisuju istu domenu interesa, a potrebno ih je povezati. Ontologija obogacuje znanje o izvorima podataka opisujuci entitete i njihove relacije unutar domene interesa i stoga njeno korištenje olakšava integraciju heterogenih izvora podataka. Kako bi integracija bila što uspješnija, potrebno je napraviti sustav za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu entiteta razlicitih ontologija. Disertacija se bavi automatizacijom pronalaženja podudarnosti izmedu ontologija. Fokus je na izradi metode za automatsko odredivanje težinskih faktora u težinskoj agregaciji paralelne kompozicije osnovnih metoda za pronalaženje podudarnosti. Takoder, izradena je metoda za automatsko odredivanje završnog poravnanja odgovarajucih parova entiteta usporedivanih ontologija. Implementiran je i prototip programskog sustava za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu ontologija u svrhu verifikacije izradenih metoda. Evaluacija prototipa programskog sustava izvršena je usporedbom prototipa programskog sustava s aktualnim programskim sustavima za pronalaženje podudarnosti izmedu ontologija. Rezultati evaluacije pokazuju da prototip programskog sustava uspješno pronalazi podudarnosti izmedu entiteta razlicitih ontologija.The number of heterogeneous data sources that describe the same domain of interest is increasing and these sources need to be related. Ontology enriches the knowledge about data sources by describing entities and relationships between them within the domain of interest. Therefore, the use of ontologies facilitates the integration of heterogeneous data sources. In order to accomplish a successful integration, it is necessary to make an ontology matching system that will find similar entities among two ontologies. The dissertation deals with the automation of ontology matching. The focus is on the development of the method for automatic assignment of weighted factors in the weighted aggregation of parallel composition of basic methods. A method for automatically determining the final alignment of similar entities of compared ontologies is also made. The prototype of the software system for ontology matching is developed in order to verify proposed methods. The evaluation of the prototype was performed by comparing the prototype of the software system with current software systems for ontology matching. The evaluation results show that the prototype of the software system successfully finds correspondences between entities of different ontologies

CroMatcher -Results for OAEI 2015

Abstract. CroMatcher is an ontology matching system based on parallel composition of basic ontology matchers. There are two fundamental parts of the system: first, automated weighted aggregation of correspondences produced by different basic matchers in the parallel composition; second, an iterative final alignment method. This is the second time CroMatcher has been involved in the OAEI campaign. Basic improvement with respect to the previous version has been implemented in order to speed up the system. Presentation of the system CroMatcher is an automatic ontology matching system for discovering correspondences between entities of two different ontologies. This is the second version of the system. The first version State, purpose, general statement As stated before, the architecture of the new version of the system remained unchanged according to the first version [1] from 2013. To recapitulate, CroMatcher contains several terminological and structural matchers connected through sequential-parallel 1 Presently at Ericsson Nikola Tesla, the research was done while working at the University of Zagre