Givetian trilete spores of Geminospora from the Volyn–Podillya (Western Ukraine)

Givetian sediments are widely distributed within the Volyn-Podillia margin of the East-European platform (VPO EEP). These are terrigenous-carbonate cyclically constructed formations with a thickness of 102 to 165 m, the stratification of which is complicated due to the facial variability of rocks. Therefore, when studying this stratum, palynology and the implementation of palynostratigraphic delimitation are of great importance. The initial stage of palynological research of Devonian VPO EEP deposits is clear identification of miospores and their monographic study, the main components of which are morphological and morphometric research, taxonomic determination of genera and species by morphological-comparative method, elucidation of their stratigraphic and geographical distribution. The object of research is dispersed miospores. During their taxonomic study, M. V. Oshurkova’s artificial, or formal, taxonomy was used, which modernized the morphological classification of R. Potonier and G. Kremp, clarified palynological terminology, detailed diagnostics of taxa, and gave unified diagnoses of genus forms. For the first time, a monographic description of five species is given according to this classification. They are Geminospora extensa (Naumova) Gao (from 36 to 51 %); up to 10 %: G. decora (Naumova) Archangelskaja, G. tuberculata (Kedo) Allen, G. micromanifesta (Naumova) Archangelskaja, G. notata (Naumova) Obukhovskaja. belonging to the genus Geminospora (Balme) Owens of infraturma Pseudosacciti, subturma Zonocavatitriletes, suprasubturma Cavatitriletes turma Triletes. These are trilete radial zonate cavate hilate spores with ornamented exine. They are main indicators, key and characteristic species of palyzone E of the Givetian of the Middle Devonian.

Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity

With the continuing increase in online communications, virtual proximity as well as physical proximity has become a common way to connect individuals. Virtual proximity refers to the psychological closeness felt by people based on their participation in a virtual space. Hence, augmenting physical proximity with virtual types is believed to enhance connectivity within social networks, and applications that consider both types have the capability to provide new forms of interaction. However, despite the importance of their coexistence, these proximity concepts have been studied separately or are being integrated using diverse terminologies that often lead to misunderstandings. Furthermore, although some applications reflect the two proximity types (e.g., location-based services), there is no metric of comparison. This paper proposes the concept of augmented proximity (AP), which combines physical and virtual forms into a network analogous to one of mixed reality (MR). The concept provides a clear distinction between physical and virtual proximity using a single quantitative value. Using this concept, a formal taxonomy is established to compare and evaluate AP-based networks. The taxonomy consists of three dimensions that can be analyzed using graph theory, including the extent of connectivity degree, diffusion effect, and extent of perceived closeness. Furthermore, using the services underlying AP-based network, the proposed taxonomy can be applied to evaluate the suitability of the services as an indicator for comparison. The results show that one of the two services has a higher taxonomy-based value, and a reasonable basis for selecting one based on proximity is established. This study suggests that AP will play an important role as a quantitative indicator in developing and comparing applications that consider proximity in both virtual and physical modes.

"What Happened Here!?" A Taxonomy for User Interaction with Spatio-Temporal Game Data Visualization

Currently, there is no formal taxonomy for the activities that users engage in when interacting with and making meaning from spatio-temporal game data visualizations. As data visualization, especially spatio-temporal visualization, becomes more popular for game data analytics, it becomes increasingly crucial that we develop a formal understanding of how users, especially players, interact with and extract meaning from game data using these systems. However, existing taxonomies developed for InfoVis are not directly applicable due to domain differences and a lack of consensus within the literature. This paper presents the beginnings of a taxonomy for user interaction with spatio-temporal data specific to the domain of games, developed from the results of a qualitative user study (n=7) in which experienced players were tasked with using a spatio-temporal visualization system to explore and understand telemetry data from Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2). The taxonomy includes seven activities organized into three categories: Data Interaction, Sense Making, and Validation. We discuss the implications of these activities on design and future research.

Methods for detecting and correcting contextual data quality problems

Knowledge extraction, data mining, e-learning or web applications platforms use heterogeneous and distributed data. The proliferation of these multifaceted platforms faces many challenges such as high scalability, the coexistence of complex similarity metrics, and the requirement of data quality evaluation. In this study, an extended complete formal taxonomy and some algorithms that utilize in achieving the detection and correction of contextual data quality anomalies were developed and implemented on structured data. Our methods were effective in detecting and correcting more data anomalies than existing taxonomy techniques, and also highlighted the demerit of Support Vector Machine (SVM). These proposed techniques, therefore, will be of relevance in detection and correction of errors in large contextual data (Big data).

Development and Validation of a Useful Taxonomy of Patient Portals Based on Characteristics of Patient Engagement

Objective Taxonomies are classification systems used to reduce complexity and better understand a domain. The present research aims to develop a useful taxonomy for health information managers to classify and compare patient portals based on characteristics appropriate to promote patient engagement. As a result, the taxonomy should contribute to understanding the differences and similarities of the portals. Further, the taxonomy shall support health information managers to more easily define which general type and functionalities of patient portals they need and to select the most suitable solution offered on the market. Methods We followed the formal taxonomy-building method proposed by Nickerson et al. Based on a literature review, we created a preliminary taxonomy following the conceptional approach of the model. We then evaluated each taxa's appropriateness by analyzing and classifying 17 patient portals offered by software vendors and 11 patient portals offered by health care providers. After each iteration, we examined the achievement of the determined objective and subjective ending conditions. Results After two conceptional approaches to create our taxonomy, and two empirical approaches to evaluate it, the final taxonomy consists of 20 dimensions and 49 characteristics. To make the taxonomy easy to comprehend, we assigned to the dimensions seven aspects related to patient engagement. These aspects are (1) portal design, (2) management, (3) communication, (4) instruction, (5) self-management, (6) self-determination, and (7) data management. The taxonomy is considered finished and useful after all ending conditions that defined beforehand have been fulfilled. We demonstrated that the taxonomy serves to understand the differences and similarities by comparing patient portals. We call our taxonomy “Taxonomy of Patient Portals based on Characteristics of Patient Engagement (TOPCOP).” Conclusion We developed the first useful taxonomy for health information managers to classify and compare patient portals. The taxonomy is based on characteristics promoting patient engagement. With 20 dimensions and 49 characteristics, our taxonomy is particularly suitable to discriminate among patient portals and can easily be applied to compare portals. The TOPCOP taxonomy enables health information managers to better understand the differences and similarities of patient portals. Further, the taxonomy may help them to define the type and general functionalities needed. But it also supports them in searching and comparing patient portals offered on the market to select the most suitable solution.

Between lexical verbs and auxiliaries

This chapter classifies Japanese V-V complexes into four major types on the basis of morphosyntactic criteria and shows that the formal taxonomy has semantic underpinnings. Type 1: lexical thematic compound verbs (lexical verb + lexical verb), Type 2: lexical aspectual compound verbs (lexical verb + delexicalized aktionsart verb), Type 3: syntactic compound verbs (verb phrase + delexicalized phasal verb), Type 4: V-te V complex predicates (verb phrase + delexicalized aspectual/attitudinal/benefactive verb). The delexicalized V2s in Types 2, 3, and 4 modify the event structures of the first verbs with an array of aktionsart, phasal, pragmatic, and subjective meanings that are largely comparable to those of Indian vector verbs. These delexicalized verbs, coupled with the auxiliary verbs of a fifth type designating politeness or contempt, are conceived of as “semilexical” categories representing intermediate stages of development on a verb-to-auxiliary grammaticalization cline.

The Role of Vocabulary Mediation to Discover and Represent Relevant Information in Privacy Policies

To date, the effort made by existing vocabularies to provide a shared representation of the data protection domain is not fully exploited. Different natural language processing (NLP) techniques have been applied to the text of privacy policies without, however, taking advantage of existing vocabularies to provide those documents with a shared semantic superstructure. In this paper we show how a recently released domain-specific vocabulary, i.e. the Data Privacy Vocabulary (DPV), can be used to discover, in privacy policies, the information that is relevant with respect to the concepts modelled in the vocabulary itself. We also provide a machine-readable representation of this information to bridge the unstructured textual information to the formal taxonomy modelled in it. This is the first approach to the automatic processing of privacy policies that relies on the DPV, fuelling further investigation on the applicability of existing semantic resources to promote the reuse of information and the interoperability between systems in the data protection domain.

Taxonomy of the apicomplexan symbionts of coral, including Corallicolida ord. nov., reassignment of the genus Gemmocystis, and description of new species Corallicola aquarius gen. nov. sp. nov. and Anthozoaphila gnarlus gen. nov. sp. nov

Corals (Metazoa; Cnidaria; Anthozoa) have recently been shown to play host to a widespread and diverse group of intracellular symbionts of the phylum Apicomplexa. These symbionts, colloquially called ‘corallicolids’, are mostly known through molecular analyses, and no formal taxonomy has been proposed. Another apicomplexan, Gemmocystis cylindrus (described from the coral Dendrogyra cylindrus), may be related to corallicolids, but lacks molecular data. Here, we isolate and describe motile trophozoite (feeding) corallicolids cells using microscopic (light, SEM, and TEM) and molecular phylogenetic analysis to provide the basis for a formal description. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear and plastid rRNA operons, and three mitochondrial protein sequences derived from single cell transcriptomes, all confirm that these organisms fall into a discrete deep-branching clade within the Apicomplexa not closely related to any known species or major subgroup. As a result, we assign this clade to a new order, Corallicolida ord. nov., and family, Corallicolidae fam. nov. We describe a type species, Corallicola aquarius gen. nov. sp. nov. from its Rhodactis sp. host, and also describe a second species, Anthozoaphila gnarlus gen. nov. sp. nov., from the coral host Madracis mirabilis. Finally, we propose reassigning the incertae sedis taxon G. cylindrus from the order Agamococcidiorida to the Corallicolida, based on similarities in morphology and host localization to that of the corallicolids.

A multidimensional platform ecosystem framework

Purpose Ecosystems that support digital businesses maximize the economic value of network connections. This forces a shift toward platforms and ecosystems that are collaborative by nature by applying business models with multiple actors playing multiple roles. The purpose of this study is to show how the main concepts emerging from research on digital platform ecosystems (DPEs) could be organized in a taxonomy-based framework with different levels or dimensions of analysis. This study discusses some of the contingencies at these different levels and argues that future research needs to study DPEs across multiple levels of analysis. While this integrative framework allows the comparison, contrast and integration of various perspectives at different levels of analysis, further theorizing will be needed to advance the DPE research. The multidimensional framework proposed here involves the use of a multimethodological approach that incorporates a synergy of businesses, technological innovations and management methods to provide support for research in interrelationships across platform ecosystems (PEs) on a regular basis. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a new PE framework by constructing a formal taxonomy model that explains a vast group of phenomena produced by the PEs. Findings In addition to illustrating the PE taxonomy framework, this study also proposes a clear and precise description and structuring of the information in the ecosystem domain. The PE framework assists in identification, creation, assessment and disclosure research of platform business ecosystems. Research limitations/implications Because of the large number of taxonomy concepts (over 200), only main taxonomy fragments are shown in the paper. Practical implications The outcomes of this research could be used for planning, oversight and control over ecosystem management and the use of ecosystem’s knowledge-related resources for research purposes. Originality/value The PE framework is original and represents an effective tool for observing PEs.