Recommending multimedia visiting paths in cultural heritage applications

The valorization and promotion of worldwide Cultural Heritage by the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies represent nowadays some of the most important research issues with a large variety of potential applications. This challenge is particularly perceived in the Italian scenario, where the artistic patrimony is one of the most diverse and rich of the world, able to attract millions of visitors every year to monuments, archaeological sites and museums. In this paper, we present a general recommendation framework able to uniformly manage heterogeneous multimedia data coming from several web repositories and to provide context-aware recommendation techniques supporting intelligent multimedia services for the users—i.e. dynamic visiting paths for a given environment. Specific applications of our system within the cultural heritage domain are proposed by means of real case studies in the mobile environment related both to an outdoor and indoor scenario, together with some results on user’s satisfaction and system accuracy.     

A new cyclodextrin-grafted viscose loaded with aescin formulations for a cosmeto-textile approach to chronic venous insufficiency

Cosmeto-textile applications can be used in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency in legs by means of elastic bandages loaded with natural products which possess flebotonic properties. We have developed an efficient synthetic procedure for the preparation of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-grafted viscose by means of a 2-step ultrasound-assisted reaction. The highly grafted fabric bearing bis-urethane bridged β-CD has been characterized by ATR-FTIR and CP-MAS spectra and by an empiric colorimetric method which used phenolphthalein as the CD guest. We have also developed a suitable cosmetic preparation containing natural substances and extracts (aescin, menthol, Centella asiatica and Ginkgo biloba) to recharge the CD-grafted textile. The efficacy of the new cosmeto-textile has been corroborated by in vitro studies of diffusion through membranes, cutaneous permeation and accumulation in porcine skin. Aescin was taken as a reference compound and its concentration in the different compartments was monitored by HPLC analysis. This cost effective cosmeto-textile shows excellent application compliance and is easily recharged and so has the strong base characteristics needed for possible industrial production.     

Retrieval in multimedia presentations

In this paper we discuss issues concerning the consistent retrieval of parts of multimedia presentations from multimedia repositories. We introduce a class of multimedia presentations made of independent and synchronized media and discuss retrieval requirements of presentation fragments. Then we discuss a retrieval model capable of reconstructing the fragments of a presentation from the atomic components returned by the execution of queries to multimedia presentation repositories. The retrieval model is based on an automaton that formally describes the presentation states entered by the events that trigger media playback. Retrieving a consistent fragment corresponds to building a new presentation with all the media related to the retrieved ones, with their original structural and synchronization relationships.     

The role of abduction in database view updating

The problem of view updating in databases consists in modifying the extension of view relations (i.e., relations defined in terms of base ones) transforming only the content of the extensional database, i.e., the extensional representation of base relations. This task is non-deductive in nature and its relationships with non-monotonic reasoning, and specifically with abduction, have been recently pointed out.In the paper we investigate the role of abduction in view updating, singling out similarities and differences between view updating and abduction. View updating is regarded as a two-step process: first, view definitions (and constraints) are used to reduce a view update into updates on base relations; then, the content of the extensional database is taken into account to determine the actual transformations to be performed. The first step is abductive in nature; we apply to such a step a definition of abduction based on deduction, which characterizes by means of a unique logical formula the conditions on base predicates which accomplish an update request. We then show how, in the second step, the set of transactions to be performed can be obtained from the formula generated in the first step. We provide a formal result showing the correctness of the approach.     

System support for exploration and expert feedback in resolving conflicts during integration of metadata

A critical reality in integration is that knowledge obtained from different sources may often be conflicting. Conflict-resolution, whether performed during the design phase or during run-time, can be costly and, if done without a proper understanding of the usage context, can be ineffective. In this paper, we propose a novel exploration and feedback-based approach [FICSR (Pronounced as “fixer”)] to conflict-resolution when integrating metadata from different sources. Rather than relying on purely automated conflict-resolution mechanisms, FICSR brings the domain expert in the conflict-resolution process and informs the integration based on the expert’s feedback. In particular, instead of relying on traditional model based definition of consistency (which, whenever there are conflicts, picks a possible world among many), we introduce a ranked interpretation of the metadata and statements about the metadata. This not only enables FICSR to avoid committing to an interpretation too early, but also helps in achieving a more direct correspondence between the experts’ (subjective) interpretation of the data and the system’s (objective) treatment of the available alternatives. Consequently, the ranked interpretation leads to new opportunities for exploratory feedback for conflict-resolution: within the context of a given statement of interest, (a) a preliminary ranking of candidate matches, representing different resolutions of the conflicts, informs the user about the alternative interpretations of the metadata, while (b) user feedback regarding the preferences among alternatives is exploited to inform the system about the expert’s relevant domain knowledge. The expert’s feedback, then, is used for resolving not only the conflicts among different sources, but also possible mis-alignments due to the initial matching phase. To enable this feedback process, we develop data structures and algorithms for efficient off-line conflict/agreement analysis of the integrated metadata. We also develop algorithms for efficient on-line query processing, candidate result enumeration, validity analysis, and system feedback. The results are brought together and evaluated in the Feedback-based InConSistency Resolution (FICSR) system. This research has been funded with NSF Grant, AOC: Archaeological Data Integration for the Study of Long-Term Human and Social Dynamics, 2007–2009. This work was done while the M. L. Sapino was at ASU for sabbatical.     

Presence and significance of oxytocin receptors in human neuroblastomas and glial tumors

The potential contribution of cell-cell interactions and extracellular factors to cytoarchitectonic abnormalities in the cerebellum of the reeler mutant mouse was investigated by forming chimeras between the reeler and normal animals. The strain origin of Purkinje cells, granule cells and Golgi epithelial cells was immunohistologically identified with a strain-specific antibody. We analyzed 16 overt coat color chimeras, 10 reeler <--> C3H and 6 reeler <--> Balb/c. Abnormal behavioral traits of reeler were rescued in all chimeras. However, cerebellar histology was more affected in reeler <--> C3H chimeras than in reeler <--> Balb/c. Purkinje cells from the normal genotype occupy ectopic positions, and reeler genotype cells are arranged appropriately in the same chimeric cerebellum. We also obtained histologically normal chimeras with a significantly high contribution of the reeler genotype in Purkinje cells, Golgi epithelial cells and granule cells. These results clearly indicate that the abnormal cell positioning and cytoarchitecture of neurons and glia in the reeler is caused by a deficiency of extracellular environments, but is not determined cell-autonomously. The present data on chimeric mice suggest that Reelin is one of the important extracellular environmental factors that affects indirectly radial glial cells during cerebellar histogenesis.