Handling qualitative preferences in SPARQL over virtual ontology-based data access

With the increase of data volume in heterogeneous datasets that are being published following Open Data initiatives, new operators are necessary to help users to find the subset of data that best satisfies their preference criteria. Quantitative approaches such as top-k queries may not be the most appropriate approaches as they require the user to assign weights that may not be known beforehand to a scoring function. Unlike the quantitative approach, under the qualitative approach, which includes the well-known skyline, preference criteria are more intuitive in certain cases and can be expressed more naturally. In this paper, we address the problem of evaluating SPARQL qualitative preference queries over an Ontology-Based Data Access (OBDA) approach, which provides uniform access over multiple and heterogeneous data sources. Our main contribution is Morph-Skyline++, a framework for processing SPARQL qualitative preferences by directly querying relational databases. Our framework implements a technique that translates SPARQL qualitative preference queries directly into queries that can be evaluated by a relational database management system. We evaluate our approach over different scenarios, reporting the effects of data distribution, data size, and query complexity on the performance of our proposed technique in comparison with state-of-the-art techniques. Obtained results suggest that the execution time can be reduced by up to two orders of magnitude in comparison to current techniques scaling up to larger datasets while identifying precisely the result set.

Preference criteria for regorafenib in treating refractory metastatic colorectal cancer are the small tumor burden, slow growth and poor/scanty spread

Given the unclear preference criteria for regorafenib in treating refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), this study aimed to construct an algorithm in selecting right patients for regorafenib. This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Patients with pathology confirmed mCRC and administered with regorafenib for > 3 weeks were enrolled. Patients with good response were defined to have progression-free survival (PFS) of ≥ 4 months. The Kaplan–Meier plot was used to analyze survival. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze univariate and multivariate prognostic factors and was visualized using forest plot. A clustering heatmap was used to classify patients according to responses. The decision tree and nomogram were used to construct the approaching algorithm. A total of 613 patients was analyzed. The median PFS and overall survival (OS) were 2.7 and 10.6 months, respectively. The partial response and stable disease rate are 2.4% and 36.4%. The interval between metastasis (M1) and regorafenib, metastatic status (number, liver, and brain), and CEA level were independent prognostics factors of PFS that classifies patients into three groups: good, bad and modest-1/modest-2 group with PFS > = 4 months rates of 51%, 20%, 39% and 30%, respectively. Results were used to develop the decision tree and nomogram for approaching patients indicated with regorafenib. The preference criteria for regorafenib in treating patients with refractory mCRC are small tumor burden (CEA), slow growth (interval between metastasis and regorafenib) and poor/scanty spread (metastatic status: number and sites of metastasis): The 3S rules.TRIAL registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03829852; Date of first registration (February 11, 2019).

Criteria for sportswear preference of Turkish runners

Nowadays, while the importance of doing sports for a healthy life is spreading all over the world, consumers expect someperformance and functional properties from sports products. It is expected that the sportswear must be in harmony withthe body, do not create discomfort and do not affect the performance. The comfort of sportswear is an important criterionthat affects the performance and motivates the athlete. There are dynamic and fundamental changes in the preferencesof sports people with the change in the context; type of sports, the geography they live in, season, climate, their cultural,demographic and anthropologic characteristics, etc. While offering sportswear products to the market, brands shouldpay attention not only to quality parameters, but also to these criteria.This article aims to determine Turkish runners’ sportswear preference criteria and expectations that are evaluatedagainst past experiences and present desires. For the study, data were collected from 195 runners and statisticallyanalyzed. With the data obtained from the questionnaires, the runner and running habits were analyzed, the perspectiveof sportswear shopping and purchasing preference criteria, sportswear size and fit issues, evaluation of the fabricproperties, and the demands of the runners for sportswear were determined.This research gives resourceful information for sportswear manufacturers and comfort researchers since the compiledconsumer feedback from runners provide tools for product improvement to enhance utility

Consumer Perceptions of Critical Success Factors for Small Local Consumer Brands

Local or regional fast-moving consumer (FMCG) brands sold mostly in delimited geographic areas are a growing trend. This study aims to understand consumer attitudes towards such products and to identify factors critical to their success. The paper is a comparative study between developed (Germany) and emerging (South Africa) nations to identify differences between the preference criteria for FMCG. The methodology involved an online cross section survey in the two countries. Respondents from both countries preferred local brands and believe they are better quality and more supportive of, and connected to, local communities. South Africans feel this more strongly, show greater commitment, and are prepared to pay more than Germans. ‘Beliefs’ regarding quality, value for money, and trust in local brands are critical.

Sistem Penentuan Penginapan dengan Metode Promethee

Every person who travels to a place for a period of days requires lodging with certain criteria and different possibilities for each person. The problem lies in determining the desired lodging recommendations because there are too many choices and various criteria. This study conducted a search for lodging in Yogyakarta with criteria for distance, price, class of lodging, room facilities and supporting facilities. The Promethee method is used to get the rankings of each alternatef by calculating the weights for each criterion. Alternative values desired by visitors are processed to find the value of criteria and preference criteria to then be calculated leaving flow and entering flow to get net flow. This research produces a ranking of data that has been tested using a system with the highest net flow value is 0.5 ie alternative lodging 1 with this is prioritized according to the criteria desired by visitors.

Farmers’ management of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) diversity, their varietal preference traits and uses in Southern and Central Benin

Background Peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the major oilseed legumes contributing to food security and poverty reduction in Benin. Unfortunately, several constraints hamper peanut production in Benin leading to a low yield. Knowing that seed is crucial for increase agricultural productivity, a good knowledge of on-farm management of grown peanut diversity and uses that allow its maintenance in traditional Beninese agriculture are prerequisites to establish an efficient breeding and conservation programs. Therefore, this study aim to document peanut varietal diversity, folk nomenclature, seed system, storage constraints, seeds pest management practices, varietal preference criteria, cultural taboos and uses in southern and central Benin. Methods Two hundred and sixteen (216) farmers were surveyed through 32 villages in southern and central Benin using research tools and techniques of rural appraisal such as field visits, group surveys and individual surveys using a questionnaire. Results Fifty-four peanut folk varieties grouped into 8 morphotypes based on the seed characteristics were registered in the study area. All local names given to peanut folk varieties by ethnic groups have meaning. The number of folk varieties maintained per village ranged from 1 to 11 (an average of 4) and varied between 1 and 4 per household. Some peanut producers reported the disappearance of some folk varieties. The drop in yield was the main reason of peanut varietal disappearance in the study area. Rodent attacks were the most important constraints of peanut production in the study area. Varietal preference criteria varied from ethnic groups with seed size and many pod/seeds per plant as the main preferred traits. Peanut seed system was mainly informal. For peanut seed conservation, farmers use various storage tools. To alleviate pest problems in stored peanut, producers used plant biocides and synthetic chemicals. Some cultural taboos and various uses (food, feed and medicinal) of peanuts have been recorded in the southern and central Benin. Conclusions Our results suggest that for boost peanut production in central and southern Benin, breeders must create high yielding peanut varieties. For the adoption of these new varieties, it is important to take in account the preference varietal criteria of each ethnic group. To a good estimation of peanut diversity in the study area, morphological and molecular characterizations were recommended.

A Survey on Recent Recommendation Systems for the Tourism Industry

Data mining is an important field that derives insights from the data and recommendation systems. Recommendation systems have become common in recent years in the field of tourism. These are widely used as a tool that can input various selection criteria and user preferences and yields travel recommendations to tourists. User's style and preferences should be constructed accurately so as to supply most relevant suggestions. Researchers proposed various types of tourism recommendation systems (TRS) in order to improve the accuracy and user satisfaction. In this chapter, the authors studied the current state of tourism recommendation system models and discussed their preference criteria. As a part of that, the authors studied various important preference factors in TRS and categorized them based on their likeness. This chapter reports TRS model future directions and compiles a comprehensive reference list to assist researchers.

Experimental validation of colour rendition specification criteria based on ANSI/IES TM-30-18

An experiment was conducted to examine colour rendition specification criteria. Twenty-five participants each evaluated 90 lighting scenes in a room filled with objects. The lighting scenes included nine chromaticity groups, each with 10 systematically-varied colour rendition conditions designed to meet or not meet previously proposed colour preference specification criteria using the ANSI/IES TM-30-18 measures: Fidelity Index ( Rf), Gamut Index ( Rg) and red Local Chroma Shift ( Rcs,h1). The colour rendition conditions did not meet the criterion for none, one, two or all three of these measures. Participants, who chromatically adapted to each chromaticity group, rated the objects' colour appearance on eight-point scales for saturated–dull, normal–shifted and like-dislike (preference), as well as a binary for acceptable or unacceptable. The findings corroborate past work, but also indicate that colour preference criteria could be adjusted slightly to improve performance, with Tier A having Rf ≥ 78, Rg ≥ 95 and −1% ≤ Rcs,h1 ≤ 15%, Tier B having Rf ≥ 74, Rg ≥ 92 and −7% ≤ Rcs,h1 ≤ 19%, and Tier C having Rf ≥ 70, Rg ≥ 89 and −12% ≤ Rcs,h1 ≤ 23%. A companion regression analysis shows models based on Rf, Rg and Rcs,h1 were superior in predicting colour preference compared to those using other measures of colour rendition.