Type-Based Detection of XML Query-Update Independence

This paper presents a novel static analysis technique to detect XML query-update independence, in the presence of a schema. Rather than types, our system infers chains of types. Each chain represents a path that can be traversed on a valid document during query/update evaluation. The resulting independence analysis is precise, although it raises a challenging issue: recursive schemas may lead to infer infinitely many chains. A sound and complete approximation technique ensuring a finite analysis in any case is presented, together with an efficient implementation performing the chain-based analysis in polynomial space and time.Comment: VLDB201

Ontology-Mediated Queries for NOSQL Databases

This paper is an extended abstract of the paper with the same title presented at AAAI 2016.International audienceOntology-Based Data Access has been studied so far for relational structures and deployed on top of relational databases. This paradigm enables a uniform access to heterogeneous data sources, also coping with incomplete information. Whether OBDA is suitable also for non-relational structures, like those shared by increasingly popular NOSQL languages, is still an open question. In this paper, we study the problem of answering ontology-mediated queries on top of key-value stores. We formalize the data model and core queries of these systems, and introduce a rule language to express lightweight ontologies on top of data. We study the decidability and data complexity of query answering in this setting

Semantic Filtering of Scientific Articles guided by a Domain Ontology

International audienceThe problem that we address in this paper is how to improve the accuracy of retrieving specialized information within a textual scientific corpus. We present a new approach in which the keywords expressing the bibliographical needs of a researcher are related to a domain ontology. We illustrate how such a declarative ontolology-based approach can be used both for computing varied statistics, and also for helping experts to find useful fine-grained information within a textual corpus

My Corporis Fabrica: Making Anatomy Easy

International audienceCharacters with precise internal anatomy are important in film and visual effects, as well as in medical applications. However, setting up detailed anatomical models has been a difficult task, especially for simulation. We demonstrate MyCorporisFabrica(MyCF), the first assistant tool for modeling and simulating anatomical structures such as bones, muscles, viscera and fat tissues. This is done by transferring a reference anatomical model from an input template to an arbitrary target character, only defined by its skin. Given the target character in a similar pose as the reference anatomy, and optionally a distribution of fat, the method runs automatically. This allows to quickly generate anatomical models for a large range of target characters, while maintaining anatomical constraints. Moreover, the tool includes a novel anatomy knowledge base designed to help selecting anatomical entities based on their contribution to physiological functions. Finally, the knowledge base contains mechanical data used to set up different mechanical models of the selected entities, which we export to a simulator. This dramatically eases biomechanical modeling and makes it possible for non-expert users to enter that field. The application works in a web browser. In this 20 minute talk, we demonstrate this technology and detail a practical example

My Corporis Fabrica Embryo: An ontology-based 3D spatio-temporal modeling of human embryo development

International audienceBackground: Embryology is a complex morphologic discipline involving a set of entangled mechanisms, sometime difficult to understand and to visualize. Recent computer based techniques ranging from geometrical to physically based modeling are used to assist the visualization and the simulation of virtual humans for numerous domains such as surgical simulation and learning. On the other side, the ontology-based approach applied to knowledge representation is more and more successfully adopted in the life-science domains to formalize biological entities and phenomena, thanks to a declarative approach for expressing and reasoning over symbolic information. 3D models and ontologies are two complementary ways to describe biological entities that remain largely separated. Indeed, while many ontologies providing a unified formalization of anatomy and embryology exist, they remain only descriptive and make the access to anatomical content of complex 3D embryology models and simulations difficult. Results: In this work, we present a novel ontology describing the development of the human embryology deforming 3D models. Beyond describing how organs and structures are composed, our ontology integrates a procedural description of their 3D representations, temporal deformation and relations with respect to their developments. We also created inferences rules to express complex connections between entities. It results in a unified description of both the knowledge of the organs deformation and their 3D representations enabling to visualize dynamically the embryo deformation during the Carnegie stages. Through a simplified ontology, containing representative entities which are linked to spatial position and temporal process information, we illustrate the added-value of such a declarative approach for interactive simulation and visualization of 3D embryos.Conclusions: Combining ontologies and 3D models enables a declarative description of different embryological models that capture the complexity of human developmental anatomy. Visualizing embryos with 3D geometric models and their animated deformations perhaps paves the way towards some kind of hypothesis-driven application. These can also be used to assist the learning process of this complex knowledge.Availability: http://www.mycorporisfabrica.org

A Single Approach to Decide Chase Termination on Linear Existential Rules

Existential rules, long known as tuple-generating dependencies in database theory, have been intensively studied in the last decade as a powerful formalism to represent ontological knowledge in the context of ontology-based query answering. A knowledge base is then composed of an instance that contains incomplete data and a set of existential rules, and answers to queries are logically entailed from the knowledge base. This brought again to light the fundamental chase tool, and its different variants that have been proposed in the literature. It is well-known that the problem of determining, given a chase variant and a set of existential rules, whether the chase will halt on any instance, is undecidable. Hence, a crucial issue is whether it becomes decidable for known subclasses of existential rules. In this work, we consider linear existential rules with atomic head, a simple yet important subclass of existential rules that generalizes inclusion dependencies. We show the decidability of the all-instance chase termination problem on these rules for three main chase variants, namely semi-oblivious, restricted and core chase. To obtain these results, we introduce a novel approach based on so-called derivation trees and a single notion of forbidden pattern. Besides the theoretical interest of a unified approach and new proofs for the semi-oblivious and core chase variants, we provide the first positive decidability results concerning the termination of the restricted chase, proving that chase termination on linear existential rules with atomic head is decidable for both versions of the problem: Does every chase sequence terminate? Does some chase sequence terminate

Detection de l'independance entre requête XML et mise à jour XML : une approche basée sur le typage

In the last decade XML became one of the main standards for data storage and exchange on the Web. Detecting XML query-update independence is crucial to efficiently perform data management tasks, like those concerning view-maintenance, concurrency control, and security. This thesis presents a novel static analysis technique to detect XML query-update independence, in the presence of a schema. Rather than types, the presented system infers chains of types. Each chain represents a path that can be traversed on a valid document during query/update evaluation. The resulting independence analysis is precise, although it raises a challenging issue: recursive schemas may lead to infer infinitely many chains. This thesis presents a sound and complete approximation technique ensuring a finite analysis in any case, together with an efficient implementation performing the chain-based analysis in polynomial space and time.Pendant la dernière décennie, le format de données XML est devenu l'un des principaux moyens de représentation et d'échange de données sur le Web. La détection de l'indépendance entre une requête et une mise à jour, qui a lieu en absence d'impact d'une mise à jour sur une requête, est un problème crucial pour la gestion efficace de tâches comme la maintenance des vues, le contrôle de concurrence et de sécurité. Cette thèse présente une nouvelle technique d'analyse statique pour détecter l'indépendance entre requête et mise à jour XML, dans le cas où les données sont typées par un schéma. La contribution de la thèse repose sur une notion de type plus riche que celle employée jusqu'ici dans la littérature. Au lieu de caractériser les éléments d'un document XML utiles ou touchés par une requête ou mise à jour en utilisant un ensemble d’étiquettes, ceux-ci sont caractérisés par un ensemble de chaînes d'étiquettes, correspondants aux chemins parcourus pendant l'évaluation de l’expression dans un document valide pour le schéma. L'analyse d'indépendance résulte du développement d'un système d'inférence de type pour les chaînes. Cette analyse précise soulève une question importante et difficile liés aux schémas récursifs: un ensemble infini de chaînes pouvant être inférées dans ce cas, est-il possible et comment se ramener à une analyse effective donc finie. Cette thèse présente donc une technique d'approximation correcte et complète assurant une analyse finie. L'analyse de cette technique a conduit à développer des algorithmes pour une implantation efficace de l'analyse, et de mener une large série de tests validant à la fois la qualité de l'approche et son efficacité