Innovating Data Discovery In NOAA OneStop By Integrating With Social Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakositz, A.; McQuinn, E.; Delk, Z.; Shapiro, J.; Partee, R.; Richerson, E.

2017-12-01

Tasked with improving discovery of and access to NOAA data, the OneStop project has to consider a broad array of data types and end-users in the overall design. While work on the OneStop web interface and backend API is of utmost importance for enabling a variety of users to explore available NOAA data, the challenge of bringing those users to the OneStop portal in the first place remains. In this presentation, we highlight the benefits of using social media - namely YouTube - to attract users to both the data and tools existing in the NOAA realm. Furthermore, we discuss the ways in which varying data types can be discovered from the same portal, triggering different views (for instance, a streaming video), based on maintaining consistent metadata standards.

Distributed Item Review: Administrator User Guide. Technical Report #1603

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irvin, P. Shawn

2016-01-01

The Distributed Item Review (DIR) is a secure and flexible, web-based system designed to present test items to expert reviewers across a broad geographic area for evaluation of important dimensions of quality (e.g., alignment with standards, bias, sensitivity, and student accessibility). The DIR is comprised of essential features that allow system…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Transportation Secure Data Center (TSDC) at www.nrel.gov/tsdc provides free, web-based access to detailed transportation data from a variety of travel surveys conducted across the nation. While preserving the privacy of survey participants, this online repository makes vital transportation data broadly available to users from the comfort of their own desks via a secure online connection.

Integration of design information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderton, G. L.

1980-01-01

The overall concepts of the integrated programs for aerospace-vehicle design (IPAD) from the user's viewpoint are discussed. Also a top-level view of what the user requires from such a system is provided, and the interactions between the system and user are described. The four major components discussed are design process; data storage, management and manipulation; user interface; and project management. Although an outgrowth of aerospace production experience, the basic concepts discussed, and especially their emphasis on integration, are considered applicable to all problem solving. Thus, these concepts may offer a broad base for exploitation by industry in general. This is the first in a set of three papers, the other two being Future Integrated Design Process, by D. D. Mayer, and Requirements for Company-Wide Management of Engineering Information, by J. W. Southall. In addition to tying the three together, how project management can be handled in a computing environment and also the user interface needs are discussed in detail.

Application of remote sensing data to surveys of the Alaskan environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belon, A. E.; Miller, J. M.

1974-01-01

Coupling of satellite data to resource management problems in Alaska is implemented through feasibility studies of applicability of Landsat data to specific environmental surveys in ecology, agriculture, hydrology, wildlife management, oceanography, geology, etc.; and using the results of these studies to extend the benefits of satellite data applications to the operational needs of mission-oriented agencies of federal, state, and regional governments, as well as private industry. Activities designed to encourage the participation of users in the Landsat program at levels most appropriate to the users' interests are described and include: observation, coordination, and information exchange; training courses and workshops; data exchange; consulting services; data processing services; user participation in University research projects; and university participation in the operational projects of user agencies. Progress in these areas is reported. The effectiveness of this broad-based approach in overcoming the initial apprehensiveness of users is demonstrated.

sscMap: an extensible Java application for connecting small-molecule drugs using gene-expression signatures.

PubMed

Zhang, Shu-Dong; Gant, Timothy W

2009-07-31

Connectivity mapping is a process to recognize novel pharmacological and toxicological properties in small molecules by comparing their gene expression signatures with others in a database. A simple and robust method for connectivity mapping with increased specificity and sensitivity was recently developed, and its utility demonstrated using experimentally derived gene signatures. This paper introduces sscMap (statistically significant connections' map), a Java application designed to undertake connectivity mapping tasks using the recently published method. The software is bundled with a default collection of reference gene-expression profiles based on the publicly available dataset from the Broad Institute Connectivity Map 02, which includes data from over 7000 Affymetrix microarrays, for over 1000 small-molecule compounds, and 6100 treatment instances in 5 human cell lines. In addition, the application allows users to add their custom collections of reference profiles and is applicable to a wide range of other 'omics technologies. The utility of sscMap is two fold. First, it serves to make statistically significant connections between a user-supplied gene signature and the 6100 core reference profiles based on the Broad Institute expanded dataset. Second, it allows users to apply the same improved method to custom-built reference profiles which can be added to the database for future referencing. The software can be freely downloaded from http://purl.oclc.org/NET/sscMap.

The biometric menagerie.

PubMed

Yager, Neil; Dunstone, Ted

2010-02-01

It is commonly accepted that users of a biometric system may have differing degrees of accuracy within the system. Some people may have trouble authenticating, while others may be particularly vulnerable to impersonation. Goats, wolves, and lambs are labels commonly applied to these problem users. These user types are defined in terms of verification performance when users are matched against themselves (goats) or when matched against others (lambs and wolves). The relationship between a user's genuine and impostor match results suggests four new user groups: worms, doves, chameleons, and phantoms. We establish formal definitions for these animals and a statistical test for their existence. A thorough investigation is conducted using a broad range of biometric modalities, including 2D and 3D faces, fingerprints, iris, speech, and keystroke dynamics. Patterns that emerge from the results expose novel, important, and encouraging insights into the nature of biometric match results. A new framework for the evaluation of biometric systems based on the biometric menagerie, as opposed to collective statistics, is proposed.

Query-Based Outlier Detection in Heterogeneous Information Networks.

PubMed

Kuck, Jonathan; Zhuang, Honglei; Yan, Xifeng; Cam, Hasan; Han, Jiawei

2015-03-01

Outlier or anomaly detection in large data sets is a fundamental task in data science, with broad applications. However, in real data sets with high-dimensional space, most outliers are hidden in certain dimensional combinations and are relative to a user's search space and interest. It is often more effective to give power to users and allow them to specify outlier queries flexibly, and the system will then process such mining queries efficiently. In this study, we introduce the concept of query-based outlier in heterogeneous information networks, design a query language to facilitate users to specify such queries flexibly, define a good outlier measure in heterogeneous networks, and study how to process outlier queries efficiently in large data sets. Our experiments on real data sets show that following such a methodology, interesting outliers can be defined and uncovered flexibly and effectively in large heterogeneous networks.

User Procedures Standardization for Network Access. NBS Technical Note 799.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, A. J.

User access procedures to information systems have become of crucial importance with the advent of computer networks, which have opened new types of resources to a broad spectrum of users. This report surveys user access protocols of six representative systems: BASIC, GE MK II, INFONET, MEDLINE, NIC/ARPANET and SPIRES. Functional access…

Open Scenario Study, Phase I. Volume 3. Questionnaire Response

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

a conceptual framework to assist users to grasp new ideas. As the concepts are used by a broad community and internationally, classified scenarios are...framework to assist users to grasp new ideas. As the concepts are used by a broad community and internationally, classified scenarios are not necessary for...from other sources Comment: Normally have an old version that we can update. Occasionally we’ve had to develop new scenarios - the SSSP for example - we

Leveraging Globus to Support Access and Delivery of Scientific Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cram, T.; Schuster, D.; Ji, Z.; Worley, S. J.

2015-12-01

The NCAR Research Data Archive (RDA; http://rda.ucar.edu) contains a large and diverse collection of meteorological and oceanographic observations, operational and reanalysis outputs, and remote sensing datasets to support atmospheric and geoscience research. The RDA contains greater than 600 dataset collections which support the varying needs of a diverse user community. The number of RDA users is increasing annually, and the most popular method used to access the RDA data holdings is through web based protocols, such as wget and cURL based scripts. In the year 2014, 11,000 unique users downloaded greater than 1.1 petabytes of data from the RDA, and customized data products were prepared for more than 45,000 user-driven requests. In order to further support this increase in web download usage, the RDA has implemented the Globus data transfer service (www.globus.org) to provide a GridFTP data transfer option for the user community. The Globus service is broadly scalable, has an easy to install client, is sustainably supported, and provides a robust, efficient, and reliable data transfer option for the research community. This presentation will highlight the technical functionality, challenges, and usefulness of the Globus data transfer service for accessing the RDA data holdings.

An intelligent user interface for browsing satellite data catalogs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cromp, Robert F.; Crook, Sharon

1989-01-01

A large scale domain-independent spatial data management expert system that serves as a front-end to databases containing spatial data is described. This system is unique for two reasons. First, it uses spatial search techniques to generate a list of all the primary keys that fall within a user's spatial constraints prior to invoking the database management system, thus substantially decreasing the amount of time required to answer a user's query. Second, a domain-independent query expert system uses a domain-specific rule base to preprocess the user's English query, effectively mapping a broad class of queries into a smaller subset that can be handled by a commercial natural language processing system. The methods used by the spatial search module and the query expert system are explained, and the system architecture for the spatial data management expert system is described. The system is applied to data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, and results are given.

Metabolic Pathways and Networks Associated with Tobacco Use in Military Personnel

PubMed Central

Jones, Dean P.; Walker, Douglas I.; Uppal, Karan; Rohrbeck, Patricia; Mallon, Timothy M.; Go, Young-Mi

2016-01-01

Objective Use high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) to identify metabolic pathways and networks associated with tobacco use in military personnel. Methods Four hundred de-identified samples obtained from the Department of Defense Serum Repository were classified as tobacco users or non-users according to cotinine content. HRM and bioinformatic methods were used to determine pathways and networks associated with classification. Results Eighty individuals were classified as tobacco users compared to 320 non-users based on cotinine levels ≥10 ng/mL. Alterations in lipid and xenobiotic metabolism, and diverse effects on amino acid, sialic acid and purine and pyrimidine metabolism were observed. Importantly, network analysis showed broad effects on metabolic associations not simply linked to well-defined pathways. Conclusions Tobacco use has complex metabolic effects which must be considered in evaluation of deployment-associated environmental exposures in military personnel. PMID:27501098

Advanced Optical Technologies in NASA's Space Communication Program: Status, Challenges, and Future Plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pouch, John

2004-01-01

A goal of the NASA Space Communications Project is to enable broad coverage for high-data-rate delivery to the users by means of ground, air, and space-based assets. The NASA Enterprise need will be reviewed. A number of optical space communications technologies being developed by NASA will be described, and the prospective applications will be discussed.

Gynecologic Cancer Information on YouTube: Will Women Watch Advertisements to Learn More?

PubMed Central

Cooper, Crystale Purvis; Chu, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The quality and accuracy of health content posted on YouTube varies widely. To increase dissemination of evidence-based gynecologic cancer information to US YouTube users, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored two types of advertisements: (1) pre-roll videos that users had to watch for at least 5 s before seeing a video they selected and (2) keyword-targeted listings that appeared in search results when users entered terms related to gynecologic cancer. From July 2012 to November 2013, pre-roll videos were shown 9.2 million times, viewed (watched longer than the mandatory 5 s) 1.6 million times (17.6%), and cost $0.09 per view. Keyword-targeted listings were displayed 15.3 million times, viewed (activated by users) 59,766 times (0.4%), and cost $0.31 per view. CDC videos in advertisements played completely in 17.0% of pre-roll video views and 44.4% of keyword-targeted listing views. Advertisements on YouTube can disseminate evidence-based cancer information broadly with minimal cost. PMID:25877466

Gynecologic Cancer Information on YouTube: Will Women Watch Advertisements to Learn More?

PubMed

Cooper, Crystale Purvis; Gelb, Cynthia A; Chu, Jennifer

2016-09-01

The quality and accuracy of health content posted on YouTube varies widely. To increase dissemination of evidence-based gynecologic cancer information to US YouTube users, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored two types of advertisements: (1) pre-roll videos that users had to watch for at least 5 s before seeing a video they selected and (2) keyword-targeted listings that appeared in search results when users entered terms related to gynecologic cancer. From July 2012 to November 2013, pre-roll videos were shown 9.2 million times, viewed (watched longer than the mandatory 5 s) 1.6 million times (17.6 %), and cost $0.09 per view. Keyword-targeted listings were displayed 15.3 million times, viewed (activated by users) 59,766 times (0.4 %), and cost $0.31 per view. CDC videos in advertisements played completely in 17.0 % of pre-roll video views and 44.4 % of keyword-targeted listing views. Advertisements on YouTube can disseminate evidence-based cancer information broadly with minimal cost.

Performance characterization of a combined material identification and screening algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Robert L.; Hargreaves, Michael D.; Gardner, Craig M.

2013-05-01

Portable analytical devices based on a gamut of technologies (Infrared, Raman, X-Ray Fluorescence, Mass Spectrometry, etc.) are now widely available. These tools have seen increasing adoption for field-based assessment by diverse users including military, emergency response, and law enforcement. Frequently, end-users of portable devices are non-scientists who rely on embedded software and the associated algorithms to convert collected data into actionable information. Two classes of problems commonly encountered in field applications are identification and screening. Identification algorithms are designed to scour a library of known materials and determine whether the unknown measurement is consistent with a stored response (or combination of stored responses). Such algorithms can be used to identify a material from many thousands of possible candidates. Screening algorithms evaluate whether at least a subset of features in an unknown measurement correspond to one or more specific substances of interest and are typically configured to detect from a small list potential target analytes. Thus, screening algorithms are much less broadly applicable than identification algorithms; however, they typically provide higher detection rates which makes them attractive for specific applications such as chemical warfare agent or narcotics detection. This paper will present an overview and performance characterization of a combined identification/screening algorithm that has recently been developed. It will be shown that the combined algorithm provides enhanced detection capability more typical of screening algorithms while maintaining a broad identification capability. Additionally, we will highlight how this approach can enable users to incorporate situational awareness during a response.

Integrated Data Base Program: a status report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Notz, K.J.; Klein, J.A.

1984-06-01

The Integrated Data Base (IDB) Program provides official Department of Energy (DOE) data on spent fuel and radioactive waste inventories, projections, and characteristics. The accomplishments of FY 1983 are summarized for three broad areas: (1) upgrading and issuing of the annual report on spent fuel and radioactive waste inventories, projections, and characteristics, including ORIGEN2 applications and a quality assurance plan; (2) creation of a summary data file in user-friendly format for use on a personal computer and enhancing user access to program data; and (3) optimizing and documentation of the data handling methodology used by the IDB Program and providingmore » direct support to other DOE programs and sites in data handling. Plans for future work in these three areas are outlined. 23 references, 11 figures.« less

Fragment-Based Docking: Development of the CHARMMing Web User Interface as a Platform for Computer-Aided Drug Design

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Web-based user interfaces to scientific applications are important tools that allow researchers to utilize a broad range of software packages with just an Internet connection and a browser.1 One such interface, CHARMMing (CHARMM interface and graphics), facilitates access to the powerful and widely used molecular software package CHARMM. CHARMMing incorporates tasks such as molecular structure analysis, dynamics, multiscale modeling, and other techniques commonly used by computational life scientists. We have extended CHARMMing’s capabilities to include a fragment-based docking protocol that allows users to perform molecular docking and virtual screening calculations either directly via the CHARMMing Web server or on computing resources using the self-contained job scripts generated via the Web interface. The docking protocol was evaluated by performing a series of “re-dockings” with direct comparison to top commercial docking software. Results of this evaluation showed that CHARMMing’s docking implementation is comparable to many widely used software packages and validates the use of the new CHARMM generalized force field for docking and virtual screening. PMID:25151852

Fragment-based docking: development of the CHARMMing Web user interface as a platform for computer-aided drug design.

PubMed

Pevzner, Yuri; Frugier, Emilie; Schalk, Vinushka; Caflisch, Amedeo; Woodcock, H Lee

2014-09-22

Web-based user interfaces to scientific applications are important tools that allow researchers to utilize a broad range of software packages with just an Internet connection and a browser. One such interface, CHARMMing (CHARMM interface and graphics), facilitates access to the powerful and widely used molecular software package CHARMM. CHARMMing incorporates tasks such as molecular structure analysis, dynamics, multiscale modeling, and other techniques commonly used by computational life scientists. We have extended CHARMMing's capabilities to include a fragment-based docking protocol that allows users to perform molecular docking and virtual screening calculations either directly via the CHARMMing Web server or on computing resources using the self-contained job scripts generated via the Web interface. The docking protocol was evaluated by performing a series of "re-dockings" with direct comparison to top commercial docking software. Results of this evaluation showed that CHARMMing's docking implementation is comparable to many widely used software packages and validates the use of the new CHARMM generalized force field for docking and virtual screening.

The Design Implementation Framework: Iterative Design from the Lab to the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Melissa L.; Kent, Kevin M.; Roscoe, Rod D.; Corley, Kathleen M.; Allen, Laura K.; McNamara, Danielle S.

2017-01-01

This chapter explores three broad principles of user-centered design methodologies: participatory design, iteration, and usability considerations. The authors highlight the importance of considering teachers as a prominent type of ITS end user, by describing the barriers teachers face as users and their role in educational technology design. To…

Implementation of CycleTel Family Advice: an SMS-based service to provide family planning and fertility awareness information in India.

PubMed

Ashcroft, Nicki; Shelus, Victoria; Garg, Himanshu; McLarnon-Silk, Courtney; Jennings, Victoria H

2017-01-01

CycleTel Family Advice (CFA), an SMS-based service designed to improve knowledge of fertility and family planning (FP), was delivered to over 100,000 people in India from April to August 2015. The goal of CFA was to increase knowledge on a range of reproductive health topics, e.g., the menstrual cycle, fertility, and FP, and to increase positive perceptions and use of FP. This paper focuses on the best practices and operational challenges for providing an SMS service based on the implementation experience of CFA. The implementation process for CFA was well documented, specifically program design, commercial partnerships, formative research, design of messages, and recruitment of users. The impact of CFA on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors was assessed through phone surveys before and after message delivery. Programmatic data and phone surveys resulted in several operational findings, particularly in the areas of user behavior, partnership management, and mHealth research. While there were improvements in knowledge, there were not significant changes in FP use and couple communication. The intervention yielded insights into designing an mHealth intervention as well as the opportunities and challenges of implementing a stand-alone SMS-based service with a broad audience. Lessons learned were that (I) SMS-based interventions, without other supporting systems, may not lead to high user engagement or behavior change; (II) partnerships with private sector technical platforms can help overcome the difficult problem of marketing and outreach, but they bring limitations to user interface and dependencies on a commercial structure; (III) collecting demographic data required to provide tailored content may be a barrier to user acquisition; and (IV) while phone surveys are useful for evaluation of mHealth interventions, reaching users is challenging and response rates are low.

A Web-Based Earth-Systems Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Agnese, F. A.; Turner, A. K.

2010-12-01

In support of complex water-resource sustainability projects in the Great Basin region of the United States, Earth Knowledge, Inc. has developed several web-based data management and analysis platforms that have been used by its scientists, clients, and public to facilitate information exchanges, collaborations, and decision making. These platforms support accurate water-resource decision-making by combining second-generation internet (Web 2.0) technologies with traditional 2D GIS and web-based 2D and 3D mapping systems such as Google Maps, and Google Earth. Most data management and analysis systems use traditional software systems to address the data needs and usage behavior of the scientific community. In contrast, these platforms employ more accessible open-source and “off-the-shelf” consumer-oriented, hosted web-services. They exploit familiar software tools using industry standard protocols, formats, and APIs to discover, process, fuse, and visualize earth, engineering, and social science datasets. Thus, they respond to the information needs and web-interface expectations of both subject-matter experts and the public. Because the platforms continue to gather and store all the contributions of their broad-spectrum of users, each new assessment leverages the data, information, and expertise derived from previous investigations. In the last year, Earth Knowledge completed a conceptual system design and feasibility study for a platform, which has a Knowledge Portal providing access to users wishing to retrieve information or knowledge developed by the science enterprise and a Collaboration Environment Module, a framework that links the user-access functions to a Technical Core supporting technical and scientific analyses including Data Management, Analysis and Modeling, and Decision Management, and to essential system administrative functions within an Administrative Module. The over-riding technical challenge is the design and development of a single technical platform that is accessed through a flexible series of knowledge portal and collaboration environment styles reflecting the information needs and user expectations of a diverse community of users. Recent investigations have defined the information needs and expectations of the major end-users and also have reviewed and assessed a wide variety of modern web-based technologies. Combining these efforts produced design specifications and recommendations for the selection and integration of web- and client-based tools. When fully developed, the resulting platform will: -Support new, advanced information systems and decision environments that take full advantage of multiple data sources and platforms; -Provide a distribution network tailored to the timely delivery of products to a broad range of users that are needed to support applications in disaster management, resource management, energy, and urban sustainability; -Establish new integrated multiple-user requirements and knowledge databases that support researchers and promote infusion of successful technologies into existing processes; and -Develop new decision support strategies and presentation methodologies for applied earth science applications to reduce risk, cost, and time.

The Georgetown University Library Information System (LIS): a minicomputer-based integrated library system.

PubMed Central

Broering, N C

1983-01-01

Georgetown University's Library Information System (LIS), an integrated library system designed and implemented at the Dahlgren Memorial Library, is broadly described from an administrative point of view. LIS' functional components consist of eight "user-friendly" modules: catalog, circulation, serials, bibliographic management (including Mini-MEDLINE), acquisitions, accounting, networking, and computer-assisted instruction. This article touches on emerging library services, user education, and computer information services, which are also changing the role of staff librarians. The computer's networking capability brings the library directly to users through personal or institutional computers at remote sites. The proposed Integrated Medical Center Information System at Georgetown University will include interface with LIS through a network mechanism. LIS is being replicated at other libraries, and a microcomputer version is being tested for use in a hospital setting. PMID:6688749

Emergence of Scale-Free Leadership Structure in Social Recommender Systems

PubMed Central

Zhou, Tao; Medo, Matúš; Cimini, Giulio; Zhang, Zi-Ke; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2011-01-01

The study of the organization of social networks is important for the understanding of opinion formation, rumor spreading, and the emergence of trends and fashion. This paper reports empirical analysis of networks extracted from four leading sites with social functionality (Delicious, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube) and shows that they all display a scale-free leadership structure. To reproduce this feature, we propose an adaptive network model driven by social recommending. Artificial agent-based simulations of this model highlight a “good get richer” mechanism where users with broad interests and good judgments are likely to become popular leaders for the others. Simulations also indicate that the studied social recommendation mechanism can gradually improve the user experience by adapting to tastes of its users. Finally we outline implications for real online resource-sharing systems. PMID:21857891

Improving Critical Thinking Using a Web-Based Tutorial Environment.

PubMed

Wiesner, Stephen M; Walker, J D; Creeger, Craig R

2017-01-01

With a broad range of subject matter, students often struggle recognizing relationships between content in different subject areas. A scenario-based learning environment (SaBLE) has been developed to enhancing clinical reasoning and critical thinking among undergraduate students in a medical laboratory science program and help them integrate their new knowledge. SaBLE incorporates aspects of both cognitive theory and instructional design, including reduction of extraneous cognitive load, goal-based learning, feedback timing, and game theory. SaBLE is a website application that runs in most browsers and devices, and is used to develop randomly selected scenarios that challenge user thinking in almost any scenario-based instruction. User progress is recorded to allow comprehensive data analysis of changes in user performance. Participation is incentivized using a point system and digital badges or awards. SaBLE was deployed in one course with a total exposure for the treatment group of approximately 9 weeks. When assessing performance of SaBLE participants, and controlling for grade point average as a possible confounding variable, there was a statistically significant correlation between the number of SaBLE levels completed and performance on selected critical-thinking exam questions addressing unrelated content.

Review of ride quality technology needs of industry and user groups

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckenzie, J. R.; Brumaghim, S. H.

1975-01-01

A broad survey of ride quality technology state-of-the-art and a review of user evaluation of this technology were conducted. During the study 17 users of ride quality technology in 10 organizations representing land, marine and air passenger transportation modes were interviewed. Interim results and conclusions of this effort are reported.

Shaping the Library to the Life of the User: Adapting, Empowering, Partnering, Engaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proffitt, Merrilee; Michalko, James; Renspie, Melissa

2015-01-01

What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research…

Granatum: a graphical single-cell RNA-Seq analysis pipeline for genomics scientists.

PubMed

Zhu, Xun; Wolfgruber, Thomas K; Tasato, Austin; Arisdakessian, Cédric; Garmire, David G; Garmire, Lana X

2017-12-05

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) is an increasingly popular platform to study heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Computational methods to process scRNA-Seq data are not very accessible to bench scientists as they require a significant amount of bioinformatic skills. We have developed Granatum, a web-based scRNA-Seq analysis pipeline to make analysis more broadly accessible to researchers. Without a single line of programming code, users can click through the pipeline, setting parameters and visualizing results via the interactive graphical interface. Granatum conveniently walks users through various steps of scRNA-Seq analysis. It has a comprehensive list of modules, including plate merging and batch-effect removal, outlier-sample removal, gene-expression normalization, imputation, gene filtering, cell clustering, differential gene expression analysis, pathway/ontology enrichment analysis, protein network interaction visualization, and pseudo-time cell series construction. Granatum enables broad adoption of scRNA-Seq technology by empowering bench scientists with an easy-to-use graphical interface for scRNA-Seq data analysis. The package is freely available for research use at http://garmiregroup.org/granatum/app.

User preferences for a text message-based smoking cessation intervention.

PubMed

Bock, Beth C; Heron, Kristin E; Jennings, Ernestine G; Magee, Joshua C; Morrow, Kathleen M

2013-04-01

Younger adults are more likely to smoke and less likely to seek treatment than older smokers. They are also frequent users of communication technology. In the current study, we conducted focus groups to obtain feedback about preferences for a text message-based smoking cessation program from potential users. Participants (N = 21, M age = 25.6 years, age range = 20-33 years) were current or recently quit smokers (M cigarettes/day = 12.8) who used text messaging. Participants completed questionnaires and participated in a 2-hour focus group. Focus groups were conducted using an a priori semistructured interview guide to promote discussion of the content and functionality of the intervention. Major themes from analysis of the focus groups included support for the acceptability of a text-based cessation program, suggestions for a more technologically broad-based program, and adjustments to the program structure. Participants recommended including social networking functions, user control of program output through an online profile, and text message features to promote interaction with the system. Interestingly, many participants suggested the program should begin on individuals' identified quit day, challenging the procedures used in most cessation programs, which begin by preparing participants for a future quit date. Overall, younger adult smokers appear to be interested in participating in a smoking cessation program that uses text messages and web-based elements. Qualitative feedback regarding the perceived optimal features and structure of a technology-based intervention challenged traditional methods of implementing smoking cessation interventions and will inform the development of future programs.

Descriptive Summaries of the Research Development Test & Evaluation Army Appropriation FY 1983. Supporting Data FY 1983, Budget Estimate Submitted to Congress February 1982. Volume II.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-01

Defense (BHD) Advanced Technology Program is a broadly based rsearch and development effort designed to exploit new and emerging technologies...11-363 DK13 NON -COMMUNICATIONS ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES SYSTEMS .............................. .11-368 DK14 EXPENDABLE JAMMERS...NAVSTAR GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEMS (GPS) USER EQUIPMENT .................................. 111-366 DEFENSEWIDE MISSION SUPPORT 6.37.38.A NON -SYSTEMS

Portable paper-based device for quantitative colorimetric assays relying on light reflectance principle.

PubMed

Li, Bowei; Fu, Longwen; Zhang, Wei; Feng, Weiwei; Chen, Lingxin

2014-04-01

This paper presents a novel paper-based analytical device based on the colorimetric paper assays through its light reflectance. The device is portable, low cost (<20 dollars), and lightweight (only 176 g) that is available to assess the cost-effectiveness and appropriateness of the original health care or on-site detection information. Based on the light reflectance principle, the signal can be obtained directly, stably and user-friendly in our device. We demonstrated the utility and broad applicability of this technique with measurements of different biological and pollution target samples (BSA, glucose, Fe, and nitrite). Moreover, the real samples of Fe (II) and nitrite in the local tap water were successfully analyzed, and compared with the standard UV absorption method, the quantitative results showed good performance, reproducibility, and reliability. This device could provide quantitative information very conveniently and show great potential to broad fields of resource-limited analysis, medical diagnostics, and on-site environmental detection. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Challenges of Moving IPG into Production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schulbach, Cathy

2004-01-01

Over the past 5-6 years, NASA has been developing the Information Power Grid and has a persistent testbed currently based on GT2.4.2. This presentation will begin with an overview of IPG status and services, discuss key milestones in IPG development, and present early as well as expected applications. The presentation will discuss some of the issues encountered in developing a grid including the tension between providing centralized and distributed computing. These issues also affect how the grid is moved into full production. Finally, the presentation will provide current plans for moving IPG into full production, including gaining broad user input, developing acceptance criteria from the production operations group, planning upgrades, and training users.

Mobile phone-based biosensing: An emerging "diagnostic and communication" technology.

PubMed

Quesada-González, Daniel; Merkoçi, Arben

2017-06-15

In this review we discuss recent developments on the use of mobile phones and similar devices for biosensing applications in which diagnostics and communications are coupled. Owing to the capabilities of mobile phones (their cameras, connectivity, portability, etc.) and to advances in biosensing, the coupling of these two technologies is enabling portable and user-friendly analytical devices. Any user can now perform quick, robust and easy (bio)assays anywhere and at any time. Among the most widely reported of such devices are paper-based platforms. Herein we provide an overview of a broad range of biosensing possibilities, from optical to electrochemical measurements; explore the various reported designs for adapters; and consider future opportunities for this technology in fields such as health diagnostics, safety & security, and environment monitoring. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Earth Science Data Education through Cooking Up Recipes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weigel, A. M.; Maskey, M.; Smith, T.; Conover, H.

2016-12-01

One of the major challenges in Earth science research and applications is understanding and applying the proper methods, tools, and software for using scientific data. These techniques are often difficult and time consuming to identify, requiring novel users to conduct extensive research, take classes, and reach out for assistance, thus hindering scientific discovery and real-world applications. To address these challenges, the Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC) DAAC has developed a series of data recipes that novel users such as students, decision makers, and general Earth scientists can leverage to learn how to use Earth science datasets. Once the data recipe content had been finalized, GHRC computer and Earth scientists collaborated with a web and graphic designer to ensure the content is both attractively presented to data users, and clearly communicated to promote the education and use of Earth science data. The completed data recipes include, but are not limited to, tutorials, iPython Notebooks, resources, and tools necessary for addressing key difficulties in data use across a broad user base. These recipes enable non-traditional users to learn how to use data, but also curates and communicates common methods and approaches that may be difficult and time consuming for these users to identify.

Policy for Robust Space-based Earth Science, Technology and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly Elizabeth; Escobar, Vanessa Marie; Aschbacher, Josef; Milagro-Pérez, Maria Pilar; Doorn, Bradley; Macauley, Molly K.; Friedl, Lawrence

2013-01-01

Satellite remote sensing technology has contributed to the transformation of multiple earth science domains, putting space observations at the forefront of innovation in earth science. With new satellite missions being launched every year, new types of earth science data are being incorporated into science models and decision-making systems in a broad array of organizations. Policy guidance can influence the degree to which user needs influence mission design and when, and ensure that satellite missions serve both the scientific and user communities without becoming unfocused and overly expensive. By considering the needs of the user community early on in the mission-design process, agencies can ensure that satellites meet the needs of multiple constituencies. This paper describes the mission development process in NASA and ESA and compares and contrasts the successes and challenges faced by these agencies as they try to balance science and applications within their missions.

DOD Rapid Innovation Program: Some Technologies Have Transitioned to Military Users, but Steps Can Be Taken to Improve Program Metrics and Outcomes

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-01

Abbreviations ASD /R&E Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering BAA Broad Agency Announcement DOD Department of Defense...solicitation of proposals; • merit-based selection of the most promising cost-effective proposals for funding through contracts, cooperative ...representatives appointed by the military service acquisition executives, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering ( ASD /R&E), and

Binaural Pitch Fusion in Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Reiss, Lina A J; Fowler, Jennifer R; Hartling, Curtis L; Oh, Yonghee

Binaural pitch fusion is the fusion of stimuli that evoke different pitches between the ears into a single auditory image. Individuals who use hearing aids or bimodal cochlear implants (CIs) experience abnormally broad binaural pitch fusion, such that sounds differing in pitch by as much as 3-4 octaves are fused across ears, leading to spectral averaging and speech perception interference. The goal of this study was to determine if adult bilateral CI users also experience broad binaural pitch fusion. Stimuli were pulse trains delivered to individual electrodes. Fusion ranges were measured using simultaneous, dichotic presentation of reference and comparison stimuli in opposite ears, and varying the comparison stimulus to find the range that fused with the reference stimulus. Bilateral CI listeners had binaural pitch fusion ranges varying from 0 to 12 mm (average 6.1 ± 3.9 mm), where 12 mm indicates fusion over all electrodes in the array. No significant correlations of fusion range were observed with any subject factors related to age, hearing loss history, or hearing device history, or with any electrode factors including interaural electrode pitch mismatch, pitch match bandwidth, or within-ear electrode discrimination abilities. Bilateral CI listeners have abnormally broad fusion, similar to hearing aid and bimodal CI listeners. This broad fusion may explain the variability of binaural benefits for speech perception in quiet and in noise in bilateral CI users.

Home health care and patterns of subsequent VA and medicare health care utilization for veterans.

PubMed

Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Jeffreys, Amy S; Coffman, Cynthia J

2008-10-01

The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HHC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched controls. We also consider crossover between the VA and Medicare. This is a retrospective study using propensity score and stratified analysis to control for selection bias on observable characteristics. We examined the full cohort of 2002 VA HHC users (n = 24,169) and a 2:1 sample of age- and race-based nonusers (n = 53,356). Utilization measures included VA and Medicare outpatient, inpatient, nursing home, and hospice use, as well as VA home-based primary care, respite care, and adult day health care. VA HHC users had a higher absolute probability of outpatient use by around 3%, of inpatient use by 12%, and nursing home use by 6% than their propensity-score-matched controls. Veterans who used HHC services had a higher rate of VA service use in the subsequent year than controls did, even after we adjusted for differences in observed health status, eligibility advantages, and supplemental insurance status. High utilization for VA home health users spilled over into high Medicare utilization.

An Improved Single-Step Cloning Strategy Simplifies the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation (ATMT)-Based Gene-Disruption Method for Verticillium dahliae.

PubMed

Wang, Sheng; Xing, Haiying; Hua, Chenlei; Guo, Hui-Shan; Zhang, Jie

2016-06-01

The soilborne fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae infects a broad range of plant species to cause severe diseases. The availability of Verticillium genome sequences has provided opportunities for large-scale investigations of individual gene function in Verticillium strains using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT)-based gene-disruption strategies. Traditional ATMT vectors require multiple cloning steps and elaborate characterization procedures to achieve successful gene replacement; thus, these vectors are not suitable for high-throughput ATMT-based gene deletion. Several advancements have been made that either involve simplification of the steps required for gene-deletion vector construction or increase the efficiency of the technique for rapid recombinant characterization. However, an ATMT binary vector that is both simple and efficient is still lacking. Here, we generated a USER-ATMT dual-selection (DS) binary vector, which combines both the advantages of the USER single-step cloning technique and the efficiency of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase negative-selection marker. Highly efficient deletion of three different genes in V. dahliae using the USER-ATMT-DS vector enabled verification that this newly-generated vector not only facilitates the cloning process but also simplifies the subsequent identification of fungal homologous recombinants. The results suggest that the USER-ATMT-DS vector is applicable for efficient gene deletion and suitable for large-scale gene deletion in V. dahliae.

AppEEARS: A Simple Tool that Eases Complex Data Integration and Visualization Challenges for Users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maiersperger, T.

2017-12-01

The Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis-Ready Samples (AppEEARS) offers a simple and efficient way to perform discovery, processing, visualization, and acquisition across large quantities and varieties of Earth science data. AppEEARS brings significant value to a very broad array of user communities by 1) significantly reducing data volumes, at-archive, based on user-defined space-time-variable subsets, 2) promoting interoperability across a wide variety of datasets via format and coordinate reference system harmonization, 3) increasing the velocity of both data analysis and insight by providing analysis-ready data packages and by allowing interactive visual exploration of those packages, and 4) ensuring veracity by making data quality measures more apparent and usable and by providing standards-based metadata and processing provenance. Development and operation of AppEEARS is led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC). The LP DAAC also partners with several other archives to extend the capability across a larger federation of geospatial data providers. Over one hundred datasets are currently available, covering a diversity of variables including land cover, population, elevation, vegetation indices, and land surface temperature. Many hundreds of users have already used this new web-based capability to make the complex tasks of data integration and visualization much simpler and more efficient.

National Space Council Users' Advisory Group

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-06-19

Users' Advisory Group member Faith Ozmen, CEO of the Sierra Nevada Corporation is seen durring the first meeting of the National Space Council Users' Advisory Group, Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Users' Advisory Group will advise and inform the National Space Council on a broad range of aerospace topics, including the impacts of U.S. and international laws and regulations, national security space priorities, scientific and human space exploration priorities, and ways to bolster support. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Query-Based Outlier Detection in Heterogeneous Information Networks

PubMed Central

Kuck, Jonathan; Zhuang, Honglei; Yan, Xifeng; Cam, Hasan; Han, Jiawei

2015-01-01

Outlier or anomaly detection in large data sets is a fundamental task in data science, with broad applications. However, in real data sets with high-dimensional space, most outliers are hidden in certain dimensional combinations and are relative to a user’s search space and interest. It is often more effective to give power to users and allow them to specify outlier queries flexibly, and the system will then process such mining queries efficiently. In this study, we introduce the concept of query-based outlier in heterogeneous information networks, design a query language to facilitate users to specify such queries flexibly, define a good outlier measure in heterogeneous networks, and study how to process outlier queries efficiently in large data sets. Our experiments on real data sets show that following such a methodology, interesting outliers can be defined and uncovered flexibly and effectively in large heterogeneous networks. PMID:27064397

Web Based Monitoring in the CMS Experiment at CERN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Badgett, William; Borrello, Laura; Chakaberia, Irakli

2014-09-03

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a large and complex general purpose experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), built and maintained by many collaborators from around the world. Efficient operation of the detector requires widespread and timely access to a broad range of monitoring and status information. To this end the Web Based Monitoring (WBM) system was developed to present data to users located anywhere from many underlying heterogeneous sources, from real time messaging systems to relational databases. This system provides the power to combine and correlate data in both graphical and tabular formats of interest to themore » experimenters, including data such as beam conditions, luminosity, trigger rates, detector conditions, and many others, allowing for flexibility on the user side. This paper describes the WBM system architecture and describes how the system was used during the first major data taking run of the LHC.« less

Mac OS X for Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierfederici, F.; Pirzkal, N.; Hook, R. N.

Mac OS X is the new Unix based version of the Macintosh operating system. It combines a high performance DisplayPDF user interface with a standard BSD UNIX subsystem and provides users with simultaneous access to a broad range of applications which were not previously available on a single system such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop, as well as legacy X11-based scientific tools and packages like IRAF, SuperMongo, MIDAS, etc. The combination of a modern GUI layered on top of a familiar UNIX environment paves the way for new, more flexible and powerful astronomical tools to be developed while assuring compatibility with already existing, older programs. In this paper, we outline the strengths of the Mac OS X platform in a scientific environment, astronomy in particular, and point to the numerous astronomical software packages available for this platform; most notably the Scisoft collection which we have compiled.

Deactivating stimulation sites based on low-rate thresholds improves spectral ripple and speech reception thresholds in cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Zhou, Ning

2017-03-01

The study examined whether the benefit of deactivating stimulation sites estimated to have broad neural excitation was attributed to improved spectral resolution in cochlear implant users. The subjects' spatial neural excitation pattern was estimated by measuring low-rate detection thresholds across the array [see Zhou (2016). PLoS One 11, e0165476]. Spectral resolution, as assessed by spectral-ripple discrimination thresholds, significantly improved after deactivation of five high-threshold sites. The magnitude of improvement in spectral-ripple discrimination thresholds predicted the magnitude of improvement in speech reception thresholds after deactivation. Results suggested that a smaller number of relatively independent channels provide a better outcome than using all channels that might interact.

iVirus: facilitating new insights in viral ecology with software and community data sets imbedded in a cyberinfrastructure.

PubMed

Bolduc, Benjamin; Youens-Clark, Ken; Roux, Simon; Hurwitz, Bonnie L; Sullivan, Matthew B

2017-01-01

Microbes affect nutrient and energy transformations throughout the world's ecosystems, yet they do so under viral constraints. In complex communities, viral metagenome (virome) sequencing is transforming our ability to quantify viral diversity and impacts. Although some bottlenecks, for example, few reference genomes and nonquantitative viromics, have been overcome, the void of centralized data sets and specialized tools now prevents viromics from being broadly applied to answer fundamental ecological questions. Here we present iVirus, a community resource that leverages the CyVerse cyberinfrastructure to provide access to viromic tools and data sets. The iVirus Data Commons contains both raw and processed data from 1866 samples and 73 projects derived from global ocean expeditions, as well as existing and legacy public repositories. Through the CyVerse Discovery Environment, users can interrogate these data sets using existing analytical tools (software applications known as 'Apps') for assembly, open reading frame prediction and annotation, as well as several new Apps specifically developed for analyzing viromes. Because Apps are web based and powered by CyVerse supercomputing resources, they enable scalable analyses for a broad user base. Finally, a use-case scenario documents how to apply these advances toward new data. This growing iVirus resource should help researchers utilize viromics as yet another tool to elucidate viral roles in nature.

iVirus: facilitating new insights in viral ecology with software and community data sets imbedded in a cyberinfrastructure

PubMed Central

Bolduc, Benjamin; Youens-Clark, Ken; Roux, Simon; Hurwitz, Bonnie L; Sullivan, Matthew B

2017-01-01

Microbes affect nutrient and energy transformations throughout the world's ecosystems, yet they do so under viral constraints. In complex communities, viral metagenome (virome) sequencing is transforming our ability to quantify viral diversity and impacts. Although some bottlenecks, for example, few reference genomes and nonquantitative viromics, have been overcome, the void of centralized data sets and specialized tools now prevents viromics from being broadly applied to answer fundamental ecological questions. Here we present iVirus, a community resource that leverages the CyVerse cyberinfrastructure to provide access to viromic tools and data sets. The iVirus Data Commons contains both raw and processed data from 1866 samples and 73 projects derived from global ocean expeditions, as well as existing and legacy public repositories. Through the CyVerse Discovery Environment, users can interrogate these data sets using existing analytical tools (software applications known as ‘Apps') for assembly, open reading frame prediction and annotation, as well as several new Apps specifically developed for analyzing viromes. Because Apps are web based and powered by CyVerse supercomputing resources, they enable scalable analyses for a broad user base. Finally, a use-case scenario documents how to apply these advances toward new data. This growing iVirus resource should help researchers utilize viromics as yet another tool to elucidate viral roles in nature. PMID:27420028

The long-term effects of cocaine use on cognitive functioning: A systematic critical review.

PubMed

Frazer, Kirsten M; Richards, Qwynten; Keith, Diana R

2018-08-01

The predominant view of chronic cocaine use maintains that it causes a broad range of cognitive deficits. However, concerns about the possibly deleterious impact of cocaine on cognitive functioning have yet to be thoroughly vetted. This review addresses the impact of cocaine use on such cognitive domains as executive function, memory, language, and psychomotor speed. Additionally, relevant neuroimaging data is considered to understand the neural basis underlying cocaine-related effects on cognitive functioning. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase using the search terms "cocaine and cognition," "cocaine and cognitive functioning," and "cocaine and cognitive deficits or impairment." To meet inclusion criteria we evaluated only cognitive and neuroimaging studies describing the long-term effects of cocaine on cognitive functioning published from 1999 to 2016. The majority of studies reported statistically significant differences between cocaine users and non-drug-using controls in brain structures, blood-oxygen-level dependent signals, and brain metabolism. However, differences in cognitive performance were observed on a minority of measures. Additionally, the majority of studies were not compared against normative data. The current evidence does not support the view that chronic cocaine use is associated with broad cognitive deficits. The view that cocaine users have broad cognitive deficits is inaccurate based upon current evidence, and the perpetuation of this view may have negative implications for treatment programs and development of public policies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ergatis: a web interface and scalable software system for bioinformatics workflows

PubMed Central

Orvis, Joshua; Crabtree, Jonathan; Galens, Kevin; Gussman, Aaron; Inman, Jason M.; Lee, Eduardo; Nampally, Sreenath; Riley, David; Sundaram, Jaideep P.; Felix, Victor; Whitty, Brett; Mahurkar, Anup; Wortman, Jennifer; White, Owen; Angiuoli, Samuel V.

2010-01-01

Motivation: The growth of sequence data has been accompanied by an increasing need to analyze data on distributed computer clusters. The use of these systems for routine analysis requires scalable and robust software for data management of large datasets. Software is also needed to simplify data management and make large-scale bioinformatics analysis accessible and reproducible to a wide class of target users. Results: We have developed a workflow management system named Ergatis that enables users to build, execute and monitor pipelines for computational analysis of genomics data. Ergatis contains preconfigured components and template pipelines for a number of common bioinformatics tasks such as prokaryotic genome annotation and genome comparisons. Outputs from many of these components can be loaded into a Chado relational database. Ergatis was designed to be accessible to a broad class of users and provides a user friendly, web-based interface. Ergatis supports high-throughput batch processing on distributed compute clusters and has been used for data management in a number of genome annotation and comparative genomics projects. Availability: Ergatis is an open-source project and is freely available at http://ergatis.sourceforge.net Contact: jorvis@users.sourceforge.net PMID:20413634

ERIC Users' Interchange, September 1993-Spring/Summer 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC Users' Interchange, 2000

2000-01-01

This newsletter is prepared semiannually by the staff of Access ERIC in order to communicate matters of interest to users of the ERIC database and of other ERIC products and services. The newsletter disseminates a broad spectrum of information pertaining to ERIC, including price changes, microfiche products, ERIC clearinghouse news, search…

ERIC Users' Interchange, February 1988-March 1993.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC User's Interchange, 1993

1993-01-01

The Interchange newsletter is prepared semiannually by the staff of Access ERIC in order to communicate matters of interest to users of the ERIC database and of other ERIC products and services. The newsletter disseminates a broad spectrum of information pertaining to ERIC, including: price changes, microfiche products, ERIC Clearinghouse news,…

New SECAA/ NSSDC Capabilities for Accessing ITM Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilitza, D.; Papitashvili, N.; McGuire, R.

NASA's National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) archives a large volume of data and models that are of relevance to the International Living with a Star (ILWS) project. Working with NSSDC its sister organization the Sun Earth Connection Active Archive (SECAA) has developed a number of data access and browse tools to facilitate user access to this important data source. For the most widely used empirical models (IRI, IGRF, MSIS/CIRA, AE/AP-8) Java-based web interfaces let users compute, list, plot, and download model parameters. We will report about recent enhancements and extensions of these data and model services in the area of ionospheric-thermospheric-mesospheric (ITM) physics. The ATMOWeb system (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/atmoweb/) includes data from many of the ITM satellite missions of the sixties, seventies, and eighties (BE-B, DME-A, Alouette 2, AE-B, OGO-6, ISIS-1, ISIS-2, AEROS-A, AE-C, AE-D, AE-E, DE-2, and Hinotori). New capabilities of the ATMOWeb system include in addition to time series plots and data retrievals, ATMOWeb now lets user generate scatter plots and linear regression fits for any pair of parameters. Optional upper and lower boundaries let users filter out specific segments of the data and/or certain ranges of orbit parameters (altitude, longitude, local time, etc.). Data from TIMED is being added to the CDAWeb system, including new web service capabilities, to be available jointly with the broad scope of space physics data already served by CDAWeb. We will also present the newest version of the NSSDC/SECAA models web pages. The layout and sequence of these entry pages to the models catalog, archive, and web interfaces was greatly simplified and broad up-to-date.

An Optimizing Space Data-Communications Scheduling Method and Algorithm with Interference Mitigation, Generalized for a Broad Class of Optimization Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rash, James

2014-01-01

NASA's space data-communications infrastructure-the Space Network and the Ground Network-provide scheduled (as well as some limited types of unscheduled) data-communications services to user spacecraft. The Space Network operates several orbiting geostationary platforms (the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)), each with its own servicedelivery antennas onboard. The Ground Network operates service-delivery antennas at ground stations located around the world. Together, these networks enable data transfer between user spacecraft and their mission control centers on Earth. Scheduling data-communications events for spacecraft that use the NASA communications infrastructure-the relay satellites and the ground stations-can be accomplished today with software having an operational heritage dating from the 1980s or earlier. An implementation of the scheduling methods and algorithms disclosed and formally specified herein will produce globally optimized schedules with not only optimized service delivery by the space data-communications infrastructure but also optimized satisfaction of all user requirements and prescribed constraints, including radio frequency interference (RFI) constraints. Evolutionary algorithms, a class of probabilistic strategies for searching large solution spaces, is the essential technology invoked and exploited in this disclosure. Also disclosed are secondary methods and algorithms for optimizing the execution efficiency of the schedule-generation algorithms themselves. The scheduling methods and algorithms as presented are adaptable to accommodate the complexity of scheduling the civilian and/or military data-communications infrastructure within the expected range of future users and space- or ground-based service-delivery assets. Finally, the problem itself, and the methods and algorithms, are generalized and specified formally. The generalized methods and algorithms are applicable to a very broad class of combinatorial-optimization problems that encompasses, among many others, the problem of generating optimal space-data communications schedules.

"Do Users Do What They Think They Do?"- A Comparative Study of User Perceived and Actual Information Searching Behaviour in the National Electronic Library of Infection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Anjana; Kostkova, Patty; Catchpole, Mike; Carson, Ewart

In the last decade, the Internet has profoundly changed the delivery of healthcare. Medical websites for professionals and patients are playing an increasingly important role in providing the latest evidence-based knowledge for professionals, facilitating virtual patient support groups, and providing an invaluable information source for patients. Information seeking is the key user activity on the Internet. However, the discrepancy between what information is available and what the user is able to find has a profound effect on user satisfaction. The UK National electronic Library of Infection (NeLI, www.neli.org.uk) and its subsidiary projects provide a single-access portal for quality-appraised evidence in infectious diseases. We use this national portal, as test-bed for investigating our research questions. In this paper, we investigate actual and perceived user navigation behaviour that reveals important information about user perceptions and actions, in searching for information. Our results show: (i) all users were able to access information they were seeking; (ii) broadly, there is an agreement between "reported" behaviour (from questionnaires) and "observed" behaviour (from web logs), although some important differences were identified; (iii) both browsing and searching were equally used to answer specific questions and (iv) the preferred route for browsing for data on the NeLI website was to enter via the "Top Ten Topics" menu option. These findings provide important insights into how to improve user experience and satisfaction with health information websites.

Digital Repositories and the Question of Data Usefulness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, J. S.; Downs, R. R.

2017-12-01

The advent of ISO standards for trustworthy long-term digital repositories provides both a set of principles to develop long-term data repositories and the instruments to assess them for trustworthiness. Such mandatory high-level requirements are broad enough to be achievable, to some extent, by many scientific data centers, archives, and other repositories. But the requirement that the data be useful in the future, the requirement that is usually considered to be most relevant to the value of the repository for its user communities, largely remains subject to various interpretations and misunderstanding. However, current and future users will be relying on repositories to preserve and disseminate the data and information needed to discover, understand, and utilize these resources to support their research, learning, and decision-making objectives. Therefore, further study is needed to determine the approaches that can be adopted by repositories to make data useful to future communities of users. This presentation will describe approaches for enabling scientific data and related information, such as software, to be useful for current and potential future user communities and will present the methodology chosen to make one science discipline's data useful for both current and future users. The method uses an ontology-based information model to define and capture the information necessary to make the data useful for contemporary and future users.

Development and empirical user-centered evaluation of semantically-based query recommendation for an electronic health record search engine.

PubMed

Hanauer, David A; Wu, Danny T Y; Yang, Lei; Mei, Qiaozhu; Murkowski-Steffy, Katherine B; Vydiswaran, V G Vinod; Zheng, Kai

2017-03-01

The utility of biomedical information retrieval environments can be severely limited when users lack expertise in constructing effective search queries. To address this issue, we developed a computer-based query recommendation algorithm that suggests semantically interchangeable terms based on an initial user-entered query. In this study, we assessed the value of this approach, which has broad applicability in biomedical information retrieval, by demonstrating its application as part of a search engine that facilitates retrieval of information from electronic health records (EHRs). The query recommendation algorithm utilizes MetaMap to identify medical concepts from search queries and indexed EHR documents. Synonym variants from UMLS are used to expand the concepts along with a synonym set curated from historical EHR search logs. The empirical study involved 33 clinicians and staff who evaluated the system through a set of simulated EHR search tasks. User acceptance was assessed using the widely used technology acceptance model. The search engine's performance was rated consistently higher with the query recommendation feature turned on vs. off. The relevance of computer-recommended search terms was also rated high, and in most cases the participants had not thought of these terms on their own. The questions on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use received overwhelmingly positive responses. A vast majority of the participants wanted the query recommendation feature to be available to assist in their day-to-day EHR search tasks. Challenges persist for users to construct effective search queries when retrieving information from biomedical documents including those from EHRs. This study demonstrates that semantically-based query recommendation is a viable solution to addressing this challenge. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Trace saver: A tool for network service improvement and personalised analysis of user centric statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilal, Muhammad; Asfand-e-Yar, Mockford, Steve; Khan, Wasiq; Awan, Irfan

2012-11-01

Mobile technology is among the fastest growing technologies in today's world with low cost and highly effective benefits. Most important and entertaining areas in mobile technology development and usage are location based services, user friendly networked applications and gaming applications. However, concern towards network operator service provision and improvement has been very low. The portable applications available for a range of mobile operating systems which help improve the network operator services are desirable by the mobile operators. This paper proposes a state of the art mobile application Tracesaver, which provides a great achievement over the barriers in gathering device and network related information, for network operators to improve their network service provision. Tracesaver is available for a broad range of mobile devices with different mobile operating systems and computational capabilities. The availability of Tracesaver in market has proliferated over the last year since it was published. The survey and results show that Tracesaver is being used by millions of mobile users and provides novel ways of network service improvement with its highly user friendly interface.

The NOAA OneStop System: From Well-Curated Metadata to Data Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McQuinn, E.; Jakositz, A.; Caldwell, A.; Delk, Z.; Neufeld, D.; Shapiro, J.; Partee, R.; Milan, A.

2017-12-01

The NOAA OneStop project is a pathfinder in the realm of enabling users to search for, discover, and access NOAA data. As the project continues along its path to maturity, it has become evident that three areas are of utmost importance to its success in the Earth science community: ensuring quality metadata, building a robust and scalable backend architecture, and keeping the user interface simple to use. Why is this the case? Because, simply put, we are dealing with all aspects of a Big Data problem: large volumes of disparate data needing to be quickly and easily processed and retrieved. In this presentation we discuss the three key aspects of OneStop architecture and how development in each area must be done through cross-team collaboration in order to succeed. We cover aspects of the web-based user interface and OneStop API and how metadata curators and software engineers have worked together to continually iterate on an ever-improving data discovery tool meant to be used by a variety of users searching across a broad assortment of data types.

Evaluating Mobile Survey Tools (MSTs) for Field-Level Monitoring and Data Collection: Development of a Novel Evaluation Framework, and Application to MSTs for Rural Water and Sanitation Monitoring

PubMed Central

Fisher, Michael B.; Mann, Benjamin H.; Cronk, Ryan D.; Shields, Katherine F.; Klug, Tori L.; Ramaswamy, Rohit

2016-01-01

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) such as mobile survey tools (MSTs) can facilitate field-level data collection to drive improvements in national and international development programs. MSTs allow users to gather and transmit field data in real time, standardize data storage and management, automate routine analyses, and visualize data. Dozens of diverse MST options are available, and users may struggle to select suitable options. We developed a systematic MST Evaluation Framework (EF), based on International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) software quality modeling standards, to objectively assess MSTs and assist program implementers in identifying suitable MST options. The EF is applicable to MSTs for a broad variety of applications. We also conducted an MST user survey to elucidate needs and priorities of current MST users. Finally, the EF was used to assess seven MSTs currently used for water and sanitation monitoring, as a validation exercise. The results suggest that the EF is a promising method for evaluating MSTs. PMID:27563916

Evaluating Mobile Survey Tools (MSTs) for Field-Level Monitoring and Data Collection: Development of a Novel Evaluation Framework, and Application to MSTs for Rural Water and Sanitation Monitoring.

PubMed

Fisher, Michael B; Mann, Benjamin H; Cronk, Ryan D; Shields, Katherine F; Klug, Tori L; Ramaswamy, Rohit

2016-08-23

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) such as mobile survey tools (MSTs) can facilitate field-level data collection to drive improvements in national and international development programs. MSTs allow users to gather and transmit field data in real time, standardize data storage and management, automate routine analyses, and visualize data. Dozens of diverse MST options are available, and users may struggle to select suitable options. We developed a systematic MST Evaluation Framework (EF), based on International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) software quality modeling standards, to objectively assess MSTs and assist program implementers in identifying suitable MST options. The EF is applicable to MSTs for a broad variety of applications. We also conducted an MST user survey to elucidate needs and priorities of current MST users. Finally, the EF was used to assess seven MSTs currently used for water and sanitation monitoring, as a validation exercise. The results suggest that the EF is a promising method for evaluating MSTs.

University multi-user facility survey-2010.

PubMed

Riley, Melissa B

2011-12-01

Multi-user facilities serve as a resource for many universities. In 2010, a survey was conducted investigating possible changes and successful characteristics of multi-user facilities, as well as identifying problems in facilities. Over 300 surveys were e-mailed to persons identified from university websites as being involved with multi-user facilities. Complete responses were received from 36 facilities with an average of 20 years of operation. Facilities were associated with specific departments (22%), colleges (22%), and university research centers (8.3%) or were not affiliated with any department or college within the university (47%). The five most important factors to succeed as a multi-user facility were: 1) maintaining an experienced, professional staff in an open atmosphere; 2) university-level support providing partial funding; 3) broad client base; 4) instrument training programs; and 5) an effective leader and engaged strategic advisory group. The most significant problems were: 1) inadequate university financial support and commitment; 2) problems recovering full service costs from university subsidies and user fees; 3) availability of funds to repair and upgrade equipment; 4) inability to retain highly qualified staff; and 5) unqualified users dirtying/damaging equipment. Further information related to these issues and to fee structure was solicited. Overall, there appeared to be a decline in university support for facilities and more emphasis on securing income by serving clients outside of the institution and by obtaining grants from entities outside of the university.

User involvement in the implementation of clinical guidelines for common mental health disorders: a review and compilation of strategies and resources.

PubMed

Moreno, Eliana M; Moriana, Juan Antonio

2016-08-09

There is now broad consensus regarding the importance of involving users in the process of implementing guidelines. Few studies, however, have addressed this issue, let alone the implementation of guidelines for common mental health disorders. The aim of this study is to compile and describe implementation strategies and resources related to common clinical mental health disorders targeted at service users. The literature was reviewed and resources for the implementation of clinical guidelines were compiled using the PRISMA model. A mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed based on a series of categories developed ad hoc. A total of 263 items were included in the preliminary analysis and 64 implementation resources aimed at users were analysed in depth. A wide variety of types, sources and formats were identified, including guides (40%), websites (29%), videos and leaflets, as well as instruments for the implementation of strategies regarding information and education (64%), self-care, or users' assessment of service quality. The results reveal the need to establish clear criteria for assessing the quality of implementation materials in general and standardising systems to classify user-targeted strategies. The compilation and description of key elements of strategies and resources for users can be of interest in designing materials and specific actions for this target audience, as well as improving the implementation of clinical guidelines.

Development Strategy for Mobilecommunications Market in Chinese Rural Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Liwei; Zhang, Yanjun; Xu, Liying; Li, Daoliang

Based on full analysis of rural mobile communication market, in order to explore mobile operators in rural areas of information services for sustainable development model, this paper presents three different aspects, including rural mobile communications market demand, the rural market for mobile communications business model and development strategies for rural mobile communications market research business. It supplies some valuable references for operators to develop rural users rapidly, develop the rural market effectively and to get access to develop a broad space.

Engaging Elderly People in Telemedicine Through Gamification

PubMed Central

Tabak, Monique; Dekker - van Weering, Marit; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam

2015-01-01

Background Telemedicine can alleviate the increasing demand for elderly care caused by the rapidly aging population. However, user adherence to technology in telemedicine interventions is low and decreases over time. Therefore, there is a need for methods to increase adherence, specifically of the elderly user. A strategy that has recently emerged to address this problem is gamification. It is the application of game elements to nongame fields to motivate and increase user activity and retention. Objective This research aims to (1) provide an overview of existing theoretical frameworks for gamification and explore methods that specifically target the elderly user and (2) explore user classification theories for tailoring game content to the elderly user. This knowledge will provide a foundation for creating a new framework for applying gamification in telemedicine applications to effectively engage the elderly user by increasing and maintaining adherence. Methods We performed a broad Internet search using scientific and nonscientific search engines and included information that described either of the following subjects: the conceptualization of gamification, methods to engage elderly users through gamification, or user classification theories for tailored game content. Results Our search showed two main approaches concerning frameworks for gamification: from business practices, which mostly aim for more revenue, emerge an applied approach, while academia frameworks are developed incorporating theories on motivation while often aiming for lasting engagement. The search provided limited information regarding the application of gamification to engage elderly users, and a significant gap in knowledge on the effectiveness of a gamified application in practice. Several approaches for classifying users in general were found, based on archetypes and reasons to play, and we present them along with their corresponding taxonomies. The overview we created indicates great connectivity between these taxonomies. Conclusions Gamification frameworks have been developed from different backgrounds—business and academia—but rarely target the elderly user. The effectiveness of user classifications for tailored game content in this context is not yet known. As a next step, we propose the development of a framework based on the hypothesized existence of a relation between preference for game content and personality. PMID:26685287

Engaging Elderly People in Telemedicine Through Gamification.

PubMed

de Vette, Frederiek; Tabak, Monique; Dekker-van Weering, Marit; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam

2015-12-18

Telemedicine can alleviate the increasing demand for elderly care caused by the rapidly aging population. However, user adherence to technology in telemedicine interventions is low and decreases over time. Therefore, there is a need for methods to increase adherence, specifically of the elderly user. A strategy that has recently emerged to address this problem is gamification. It is the application of game elements to nongame fields to motivate and increase user activity and retention. This research aims to (1) provide an overview of existing theoretical frameworks for gamification and explore methods that specifically target the elderly user and (2) explore user classification theories for tailoring game content to the elderly user. This knowledge will provide a foundation for creating a new framework for applying gamification in telemedicine applications to effectively engage the elderly user by increasing and maintaining adherence. We performed a broad Internet search using scientific and nonscientific search engines and included information that described either of the following subjects: the conceptualization of gamification, methods to engage elderly users through gamification, or user classification theories for tailored game content. Our search showed two main approaches concerning frameworks for gamification: from business practices, which mostly aim for more revenue, emerge an applied approach, while academia frameworks are developed incorporating theories on motivation while often aiming for lasting engagement. The search provided limited information regarding the application of gamification to engage elderly users, and a significant gap in knowledge on the effectiveness of a gamified application in practice. Several approaches for classifying users in general were found, based on archetypes and reasons to play, and we present them along with their corresponding taxonomies. The overview we created indicates great connectivity between these taxonomies. Gamification frameworks have been developed from different backgrounds-business and academia-but rarely target the elderly user. The effectiveness of user classifications for tailored game content in this context is not yet known. As a next step, we propose the development of a framework based on the hypothesized existence of a relation between preference for game content and personality.

SWAT Check: A screening tool to assist users in the identification of potential model application problems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a basin scale hydrologic model developed by the US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. SWAT's broad applicability, user friendly model interfaces, and automatic calibration software have led to a rapid increase in the number of new u...

Staying True to the Core: Designing the Future Academic Library Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Steven J.

2014-01-01

In 2014, the practice of user experience design in academic libraries continues to evolve. It is typically applied in the context of interactions with digital interfaces. Some academic librarians are applying user experience approaches more broadly to design both environments and services with human-centered strategies. As the competition for the…

An MRI study of white matter tract integrity in regular cannabis users: effects of cannabis use and age.

PubMed

Jakabek, David; Yücel, Murat; Lorenzetti, Valentina; Solowij, Nadia

2016-10-01

Conflicting evidence exists on the effects of cannabis use on brain white matter integrity. The extant literature has exclusively focused on younger cannabis users, with no studies sampling older cannabis users. We recruited a sample with a broad age range to examine the integrity of major white matter tracts in association with cannabis use parameters and neurodevelopmental stage. Regular cannabis users (n = 56) and non-users (n = 20) with a mean age of 32 (range 18-55 years) underwent structural and diffusion MRI scans. White matter was examined using voxel-based statistics and via probabilistic tract reconstruction. The integrity of tracts was assessed using average fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity. Diffusion measures were compared between users and non-users and as group-by-age interactions. Correlations between diffusion measures and age of onset, duration, frequency and dose of current cannabis use were examined. Cannabis users overall had lower fractional anisotropy than healthy non-users in the forceps minor tract only (p = .015, partial eta = 0.07), with no voxel-wise differences observed. Younger users showed predominantly reduced axial diffusivity, whereas older users had higher radial diffusivity in widespread tracts. Higher axial diffusivity was associated with duration of cannabis use in the cingulum angular bundle (beta = 5.00 × 10(-5), p = .003). Isolated higher AD in older cannabis users was also observed. The findings suggest that exogenous cannabinoids alter normal brain maturation, with differing effects at various neurodevelopmental stages of life. These age-related differences are posited to account for the disparate results described in the literature.

Exposing the Strategies that can Reduce the Obstacles: Improving the Science User Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindsay, F. E.; Brennan, J.; Behnke, J.; Lynnes, C.

2017-12-01

It is now well established that pursuing generic solutions to what seem are common problems in Earth science data access and use can often lead to disappointing results for both system developers and the intended users. This presentation focuses on real-world experience of managing a large and complex data system, NASA's Earth Science Data and Information Science System (EOSDIS), whose mission is to serve both broad user communities and those in smaller niche applications of Earth science data and services. In the talk, we focus on our experiences with known data user obstacles characterizing EOSDIS approaches, including various technological techniques, for engaging and bolstering, where possible, user experiences with EOSDIS. For improving how existing and prospective users discover and access NASA data from EOSDIS we introduce our cross-archive tool: Earthdata Search. This new search and order tool further empowers users to quickly access data sets using clever and intuitive features. The Worldview data visualization tool is also discussed highlighting how many users are now performing extensive data exploration without necessarily downloading data. Also, we explore our EOSDIS data discovery and access webinars, data recipes and short tutorials, targeted technical and data publications, user profiles and and social media as additional tools and methods used for improving our outreach and communications to a diverse user community. These efforts have paid substantial dividends for our user communities by allowing us to target discipline specific community needs. The desired take-away from this presentation will be an improved understanding of how EOSDIS has approached, and in several instances achieved, removing or lowering the barriers to data access and use. As we look ahead to more complex Earth science missions, EOSDIS will continue to focus on our user communities, both broad and specialized, so that our overall data system can continue to serve the needs of science and applications users.

Exposing the Strategies that Can Reduce the Obstacles: Improving the Science User Experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindsay, Francis E.; Brennan, Jennifer; Behnke, Jeanne; Lynnes, Chris

2017-01-01

It is now well established that pursuing generic solutions to what seem are common problems in Earth science data access and use can often lead to disappointing results for both system developers and the intended users. This presentation focuses on real-world experience of managing a large and complex data system, NASAs Earth Science Data and Information Science System (EOSDIS), whose mission is to serve both broad user communities and those in smaller niche applications of Earth science data and services. In the talk, we focus on our experiences with known data user obstacles characterizing EOSDIS approaches, including various technological techniques, for engaging and bolstering, where possible, user experiences with EOSDIS. For improving how existing and prospective users discover and access NASA data from EOSDIS we introduce our cross-archive tool: Earthdata Search. This new search and order tool further empowers users to quickly access data sets using clever and intuitive features. The Worldview data visualization tool is also discussed highlighting how many users are now performing extensive data exploration without necessarily downloading data. Also, we explore our EOSDIS data discovery and access webinars, data recipes and short tutorials, targeted technical and data publications, user profiles and social media as additional tools and methods used for improving our outreach and communications to a diverse user community. These efforts have paid substantial dividends for our user communities by allowing us to target discipline specific community needs. The desired take-away from this presentation will be an improved understanding of how EOSDIS has approached, and in several instances achieved, removing or lowering the barriers to data access and use. As we look ahead to more complex Earth science missions, EOSDIS will continue to focus on our user communities, both broad and specialized, so that our overall data system can continue to serve the needs of science and applications users.

How to support forest management in a world of change: results of some regional studies.

PubMed

Fürst, C; Lorz, C; Vacik, H; Potocic, N; Makeschin, F

2010-12-01

This article presents results of several studies in Middle, Eastern and Southeastern Europe on needs and application areas, desirable attributes and marketing potentials of forest management support tools. By comparing present and future application areas, a trend from sectoral planning towards landscape planning and integration of multiple stakeholder needs is emerging. In terms of conflicts, where management support tools might provide benefit, no clear tendencies were found, neither on local nor on regional level. In contrast, on national and European levels, support of the implementation of laws, directives, and regulations was found to be of highest importance. Following the user-requirements analysis, electronic tools supporting communication are preferred against paper-based instruments. The users identified most important attributes of optimized management support tools: (i) a broad accessibility for all users at any time should be guaranteed, (ii) the possibility to integrate iteratively experiences from case studies and from regional experts into the knowledge base (learning system) should be given, and (iii) a self-explanatory user interface is demanded, which is also suitable for users rather inexperienced with electronic tools. However, a market potential analysis revealed that the willingness to pay for management tools is very limited, although the participants specified realistic ranges of maximal amounts of money, which would be invested if the products were suitable and payment inevitable. To bridge the discrepancy between unwillingness to pay and the need to use management support tools, optimized financing or cooperation models between practice and science must be found.

How to Support Forest Management in a World of Change: Results of Some Regional Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fürst, C.; Lorz, C.; Vacik, H.; Potocic, N.; Makeschin, F.

2010-12-01

This article presents results of several studies in Middle, Eastern and Southeastern Europe on needs and application areas, desirable attributes and marketing potentials of forest management support tools. By comparing present and future application areas, a trend from sectoral planning towards landscape planning and integration of multiple stakeholder needs is emerging. In terms of conflicts, where management support tools might provide benefit, no clear tendencies were found, neither on local nor on regional level. In contrast, on national and European levels, support of the implementation of laws, directives, and regulations was found to be of highest importance. Following the user-requirements analysis, electronic tools supporting communication are preferred against paper-based instruments. The users identified most important attributes of optimized management support tools: (i) a broad accessibility for all users at any time should be guaranteed, (ii) the possibility to integrate iteratively experiences from case studies and from regional experts into the knowledge base (learning system) should be given, and (iii) a self-explanatory user interface is demanded, which is also suitable for users rather inexperienced with electronic tools. However, a market potential analysis revealed that the willingness to pay for management tools is very limited, although the participants specified realistic ranges of maximal amounts of money, which would be invested if the products were suitable and payment inevitable. To bridge the discrepancy between unwillingness to pay and the need to use management support tools, optimized financing or cooperation models between practice and science must be found.

An Android based location service using GSMCellID and GPS to obtain a graphical guide to the nearest cash machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, Jurma; Edlich, Stefan

2009-02-01

There is a broad range of potential useful mobile location-based applications. One crucial point seems to be to make them available to the public at large. This case illuminates the abilities of Android - the operating system for mobile devices - to fulfill this demand in the mashup way by use of some special geocoding web services and one integrated web service for getting the nearest cash machines data. It shows an exemplary approach for building mobile location-based mashups for everyone: 1. As a basis for reaching as many people as possible the open source Android OS is assumed to spread widely. 2. Everyone also means that the handset has not to be an expensive GPS device. This is realized by re-utilization of the existing GSM infrastructure with the Cell of Origin (COO) method which makes a lookup of the CellID in one of the growing web available CellID databases. Some of these databases are still undocumented and not yet published. Furthermore the Google Maps API for Mobile (GMM) and the open source counterpart OpenCellID are used. The user's current position localization via lookup of the closest cell to which the handset is currently connected to (COO) is not as precise as GPS, but appears to be sufficient for lots of applications. For this reason the GPS user is the most pleased one - for this user the system is fully automated. In contrary there could be some users who doesn't own a GPS cellular. This user should refine his/her location by one click on the map inside of the determined circular region. The users are then shown and guided by a path to the nearest cash machine by integrating Google Maps API with an overlay. Additionally, the GPS user can keep track of him- or herself by getting a frequently updated view via constantly requested precise GPS data for his or her position.

Possibilities for mixed mode chip manufacturing in EUROPRACTICE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, C.

1997-02-01

EUROPRACTICE is an EC initiative under the ESPRIT programme which aims to stimulate the wider exploitation of state-of-the-art microelectronics technologies by European industry and to enhance European industrial competitiveness in the global market-place. Through EUROPRACTICE, the EC has created a range of Basic Services that offer users a cost-effective and flexible means of accessing three main microelectronics-based technologies: Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASICs), Multi-Chip Modules (MCMs) and Microsystems. EUROPRACTICE Basic Services reduce the cost and risk for companies wishing to begin using these technologies. EUROPRACTICE offers a fully supported, low cost route for companies to design and fabricate ASICs for their individual applications. Low cost is achieved by consolidating designs from many users onto a single semiconductor wafer (MPW: Multi Project Wafer). The EUROPRACTICE IC Manufacturing Service (ICMS) offers a broad range of fabrication technologies including CMOS, BiCMOS and GaAs. The Service extends from enabling users to produce prototype ASICs for testing and evaluation, through to low-volume production runs.

An evaluation of machine processing techniques of ERTS-1 data for user applications. [urban land use and soil association mapping in Indiana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landgrebe, D.

1974-01-01

A broad study is described to evaluate a set of machine analysis and processing techniques applied to ERTS-1 data. Based on the analysis results in urban land use analysis and soil association mapping together with previously reported results in general earth surface feature identification and crop species classification, a profile of general applicability of this procedure is beginning to emerge. Put in the hands of a user who knows well the information needed from the data and also is familiar with the region to be analyzed it appears that significantly useful information can be generated by these methods. When supported by preprocessing techniques such as the geometric correction and temporal registration capabilities, final products readily useable by user agencies appear possible. In parallel with application, through further research, there is much potential for further development of these techniques both with regard to providing higher performance and in new situations not yet studied.

Architectures for paediatric palliative care: how to improve quality of life and environmental well-being.

PubMed

Gola, Marco; Francalanza, Paolo Carlo; Galloni, Giulio; Pagella, Bianca; Capolongo, Stefano

2016-01-01

The influence of the environment on wellness, not only for patients themselves but for all care-givers as well, refers to the humanisation principles of spaces of care. Commencing with an analysis of existing paediatric hospices, the paper examines design suggestions for prosthetic environments, considered as a fundamental component in the healing process. A prosthetic environment can be created only through a specific knowledge of the real needs of users. Therefore, some scholars have conducted research work for defining the best practices for healing environments, supported by an assessment and comparison of case studies. The methodology is based on two phases: the first is based on interviews with experts in hospice design and management and the second, through the application of a questionnaire to several users. Discussion and Results. The output of the work is the achievement of a logical, sequential and participatory broad-spectrum process in the design of health facilities in order to cause a sustainable awareness in paediatric hospices. Starting from the research work, it is necessary to define a scientific method for implementing knowledge on health, psychological, perceptual and behavioural needs to contribute towards proper planning for meeting the real requirements of users.

Survey of computer programs for heat transfer analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K.

1986-01-01

An overview is given of the current capabilities of thirty-three computer programs that are used to solve heat transfer problems. The programs considered range from large general-purpose codes with broad spectrum of capabilities, large user community, and comprehensive user support (e.g., ABAQUS, ANSYS, EAL, MARC, MITAS II, MSC/NASTRAN, and SAMCEF) to the small, special-purpose codes with limited user community such as ANDES, NTEMP, TAC2D, TAC3D, TEPSA and TRUMP. The majority of the programs use either finite elements or finite differences for the spatial discretization. The capabilities of the programs are listed in tabular form followed by a summary of the major features of each program. The information presented herein is based on a questionnaire sent to the developers of each program. This information is preceded by a brief background material needed for effective evaluation and use of computer programs for heat transfer analysis. The present survey is useful in the initial selection of the programs which are most suitable for a particular application. The final selection of the program to be used should, however, be based on a detailed examination of the documentation and the literature about the program.

GOTree Machine (GOTM): a web-based platform for interpreting sets of interesting genes using Gene Ontology hierarchies

PubMed Central

Zhang, Bing; Schmoyer, Denise; Kirov, Stefan; Snoddy, Jay

2004-01-01

Background Microarray and other high-throughput technologies are producing large sets of interesting genes that are difficult to analyze directly. Bioinformatics tools are needed to interpret the functional information in the gene sets. Results We have created a web-based tool for data analysis and data visualization for sets of genes called GOTree Machine (GOTM). This tool was originally intended to analyze sets of co-regulated genes identified from microarray analysis but is adaptable for use with other gene sets from other high-throughput analyses. GOTree Machine generates a GOTree, a tree-like structure to navigate the Gene Ontology Directed Acyclic Graph for input gene sets. This system provides user friendly data navigation and visualization. Statistical analysis helps users to identify the most important Gene Ontology categories for the input gene sets and suggests biological areas that warrant further study. GOTree Machine is available online at . Conclusion GOTree Machine has a broad application in functional genomic, proteomic and other high-throughput methods that generate large sets of interesting genes; its primary purpose is to help users sort for interesting patterns in gene sets. PMID:14975175

“Thanks for Letting Us All Share Your Mammogram Experience Virtually”: Developing a Web-Based Hub for Breast Cancer Screening

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background The decision around whether to attend breast cancer screening can often involve making sense of confusing and contradictory information on its risks and benefits. The Word of Mouth Mammogram e-Network (WoMMeN) project was established to create a Web-based resource to support decision making regarding breast cancer screening. This paper presents data from our user-centered approach in engaging stakeholders (both health professionals and service users) in the design of this Web-based resource. Our novel approach involved creating a user design group within Facebook to allow them access to ongoing discussion between researchers, radiographers, and existing and potential service users. Objective This study had two objectives. The first was to examine the utility of an online user design group for generating insight for the creation of Web-based health resources. We sought to explore the advantages and limitations of this approach. The second objective was to analyze what women want from a Web-based resource for breast cancer screening. Methods We recruited a user design group on Facebook and conducted a survey within the group, asking questions about design considerations for a Web-based breast cancer screening hub. Although the membership of the Facebook group varied over time, there were 71 members in the Facebook group at the end point of analysis. We next conducted a framework analysis on 70 threads from Facebook and a thematic analysis on the 23 survey responses. We focused additionally on how the themes were discussed by the different stakeholders within the context of the design group. Results Two major themes were found across both the Facebook discussion and the survey data: (1) the power of information and (2) the hub as a place for communication and support. Information was considered as empowering but also recognized as threatening. Communication and the sharing of experiences were deemed important, but there was also recognition of potential miscommunication within online discussion. Health professionals and service users expressed the same broad concerns, but there were subtle differences in their opinions. Importantly, the themes were triangulated between the Facebook discussions and the survey data, supporting the validity of an online user design group. Conclusions Online user design groups afford a useful method for understanding stakeholder needs. In contrast to focus groups, they afford access to users from diverse geographical locations and traverse time constraints, allowing more follow-ups to responses. The use of Facebook provides a familiar and naturalistic setting for discussion. Although we acknowledge the limitations in the sample, this approach has allowed us to understand the views of stakeholders in the user-centered design of the WoMMeN hub for breast cancer screening. PMID:29079555

The Cochrane Library review titles that are important to users of health care, a Cochrane Consumer Network project

PubMed Central

Wale, Janet L.; Belizán, María; Nadel, Jane; Jeffrey, Claire; Vij, Sita L.

2011-01-01

Abstract Background  The Cochrane Consumer Network is an internet‐based community of international users of health care contributing to the work of The Cochrane Collaboration, whose mission is to inform healthcare decision making through development of systematic reviews of best evidence on healthcare interventions. Objective  To prioritize existing review titles listed on The Cochrane Library from a healthcare user perspective, with particular emphasis on patients, carers and health consumers. Design  An online survey was developed and after piloting was made available internationally. The broad dissemination strategy targeted Consumer Network members and Cochrane Review Group editorial staff to identify champions who notified patient support groups and participated in snowballing. The first part of the survey defined criteria that could be applied to review titles and asked survey respondents to rank them. The second part asked respondents to select a health area and prioritize review titles that were of importance to them. Each health area corresponded to a Cochrane Review Group. Results and discussion  Sufficient responses were obtained from 522 valid responses to prioritize review topics in 19 health areas. A total of 321 respondents completed the titles assessment. The types of prioritized interventions were determined by the health area. An important observation was the emphasis on lifestyle and non‐medication therapies in many of the included health areas. The clearest exception to this broad observation was where acute care is required such as antibiotics for acute respiratory tract and HIV‐associated infections and for cardiac conditions. For some cancers, advanced cancer interventions were prioritized. The most important criteria were for the title to convey a clear meaning and the title conveyed that the review would have an impact on health and well‐being. The least important criteria were that the topic was newsworthy or prioritized in the healthcare system. Conclusion  This project was able to identify priority Cochrane review topics for users of health care in 19 of the 50 areas of health care covered by The Cochrane Collaboration. Reviews addressing lifestyle and non‐medical interventions were strongly represented in the prioritized review titles. These findings highlight the importance of developing readable, informative lay summaries to support evidence‐based decision making by healthcare users. PMID:21895902

Photonic crystals: emerging biosensors and their promise for point-of-care applications.

PubMed

Inan, Hakan; Poyraz, Muhammet; Inci, Fatih; Lifson, Mark A; Baday, Murat; Cunningham, Brian T; Demirci, Utkan

2017-01-23

Biosensors are extensively employed for diagnosing a broad array of diseases and disorders in clinical settings worldwide. The implementation of biosensors at the point-of-care (POC), such as at primary clinics or the bedside, faces impediments because they may require highly trained personnel, have long assay times, large sizes, and high instrumental cost. Thus, there exists a need to develop inexpensive, reliable, user-friendly, and compact biosensing systems at the POC. Biosensors incorporated with photonic crystal (PC) structures hold promise to address many of the aforementioned challenges facing the development of new POC diagnostics. Currently, PC-based biosensors have been employed for detecting a variety of biotargets, such as cells, pathogens, proteins, antibodies, and nucleic acids, with high efficiency and selectivity. In this review, we provide a broad overview of PCs by explaining their structures, fabrication techniques, and sensing principles. Furthermore, we discuss recent applications of PC-based biosensors incorporated with emerging technologies, including telemedicine, flexible and wearable sensing, smart materials and metamaterials. Finally, we discuss current challenges associated with existing biosensors, and provide an outlook for PC-based biosensors and their promise at the POC.

Databases in the United Kingdom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chadwyck-Healey, Charles

This overview of the status of online databases in the United Kingdom describes online users' attitudes and practices in light of two surveys conducted in the past two years. The Online Information Centre at ASLIB sampled 325 users, and Chadwyck-Healey, Ltd., conducted a face-to-face survey of librarians in a broad cross-section of 76 libraries.…

User-Adaptable Microcomputer Graphics Software for Life Science Instruction. Final Project Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spain, James D.

The objectives of the SUMIT project was to develop, evaluate, and disseminate 20 course modules (microcomputer programs) for instruction in general biology and ecology. To encourage broad utilization, the programs were designed for the Apple II microcomputer and written in Applesoft Basic with a user-adaptable format. Each package focused on a key…

A systematic narrative review of consumer-directed care for older people: implications for model development.

PubMed

Ottmann, Goetz; Allen, Jacqui; Feldman, Peter

2013-11-01

Consumer-directed care is increasingly becoming a mainstream option in community-based aged care. However, a systematic review describing how the current evaluation research translates into practise has not been published to date. This review aimed to systematically establish an evidence base of user preferences for and satisfaction with services associated with consumer-directed care programmes for older people. Twelve databases were searched, including MedLine, BioMed Central, Cinahl, Expanded Academic ASAP, PsychInfo, ProQuest, Age Line, Science Direct, Social Citation Index, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. Google Scholar and Google were also searched. Eligible studies were those reporting on choice, user preferences and service satisfaction outcomes regarding a programme or model of home-based care in the United States or United Kingdom. This systematic narrative review retrieved literature published from January 1992 to August 2011. A total of 277 references were identified. Of these 17 met the selection criteria and were reviewed. Findings indicate that older people report varying preferences for consumer-directed care with some demonstrating limited interest. Clients and carers reported good service satisfaction. However, research comparing user preferences across countries or investigating how ecological factors shape user preferences has received limited attention. Policy-makers and practitioners need to carefully consider the diverse contexts, needs and preferences of older adults in adopting consumer-directed care approaches in community aged care. The review calls for the development of consumer-directed care programmes offering a broad range of options that allow for personalisation and greater control over services without necessarily transferring the responsibility for administrative responsibilities to service users. Review findings suggest that consumer-directed care approaches have the potential to empower older people. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Geospatial analysis based on GIS integrated with LADAR.

PubMed

Fetterman, Matt R; Freking, Robert; Fernandez-Cull, Christy; Hinkle, Christopher W; Myne, Anu; Relyea, Steven; Winslow, Jim

2013-10-07

In this work, we describe multi-layered analyses of a high-resolution broad-area LADAR data set in support of expeditionary activities. High-level features are extracted from the LADAR data, such as the presence and location of buildings and cars, and then these features are used to populate a GIS (geographic information system) tool. We also apply line-of-sight (LOS) analysis to develop a path-planning module. Finally, visualization is addressed and enhanced with a gesture-based control system that allows the user to navigate through the enhanced data set in a virtual immersive experience. This work has operational applications including military, security, disaster relief, and task-based robotic path planning.

Three-dimensional viscous design methodology for advanced technology aircraft supersonic inlet systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, B. H.

1983-01-01

A broad program to develop advanced, reliable, and user oriented three-dimensional viscous design techniques for supersonic inlet systems, and encourage their transfer into the general user community is discussed. Features of the program include: (1) develop effective methods of computing three-dimensional flows within a zonal modeling methodology; (2) ensure reasonable agreement between said analysis and selective sets of benchmark validation data; (3) develop user orientation into said analysis; and (4) explore and develop advanced numerical methodology.

National Space Council Users' Advisory Group

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-06-19

James Uthmeier, of the Department of Commerce, speaks about deregulation and space traffic management initiatives at the first meeting of the National Space Council Users' Advisory Group, Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Users' Advisory Group will advise and inform the National Space Council on a broad range of aerospace topics, including the impacts of U.S. and international laws and regulations, national security space priorities, scientific and human space exploration priorities, and ways to bolster support. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Individual psychological therapy in an acute inpatient setting: Service user and psychologist perspectives.

PubMed

Small, Catherine; Pistrang, Nancy; Huddy, Vyv; Williams, Claire

2018-01-18

The acute inpatient setting poses potential challenges to delivering one-to-one psychological therapy; however, there is little research on the experiences of both receiving and delivering therapies in this environment. This qualitative study aimed to explore service users' and psychologists' experiences of undertaking individual therapy in acute inpatient units. It focused on the relationship between service users and psychologists, what service users found helpful or unhelpful, and how psychologists attempted to overcome any challenges in delivering therapy. The study used a qualitative, interview-based design. Eight service users and the six psychologists they worked with were recruited from four acute inpatient wards. They participated in individual semi-structured interviews eliciting their perspectives on the therapy. Service users' and psychologists' transcripts were analysed together using Braun and Clarke's (2006, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77) method of thematic analysis. The accounts highlighted the importance of forming a 'human' relationship - particularly within the context of the inpatient environment - as a basis for therapeutic work. Psychological therapy provided valued opportunities for meaning-making. To overcome the challenges of acute mental health crisis and environmental constraints, psychologists needed to work flexibly and creatively; the therapeutic work also extended to the wider context of the inpatient unit, in efforts to promote a shared understanding of service users' difficulties. Therapeutic relationships between service users and clinicians need to be promoted more broadly within acute inpatient care. Psychological formulation can help both service users and ward staff in understanding crisis and working collaboratively. Practice-based evidence is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of adapted psychological therapy models. Developing 'human' relationships at all levels of acute inpatient care continues to be an important challenge for clinical practice. Due to the distress of individuals and the constraints of the acute inpatient environment, psychologists need to be flexible and adaptable in delivering individual therapy. Making meaning and psychological formulation can give service users a sense of hope and empowerment, and can contribute to a shared understanding within the ward team of service users' difficulties. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Transition, Training, and Assessment of Multispectral Composite Imagery in Support of the NWS Aviation Forecast Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuell, Kevin; Jedlovec, Gary; Leroy, Anita; Schultz, Lori

2015-01-01

The NASA/Short-term Prediction, Research, and Transition (SPoRT) Program works closely with NOAA/NWS weather forecasters to transition unique satellite data and capabilities into operations in order to assist with nowcasting and short-term forecasting issues. Several multispectral composite imagery (i.e. RGB) products were introduced to users in the early 2000s to support hydrometeorology and aviation challenges as well as incident support. These activities lead to SPoRT collaboration with the GOES-R Proving Ground efforts where instruments such as MODIS (Aqua, Terra) and S-NPP/VIIRS imagers began to be used as near-realtime proxies to future capabilities of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). One of the composite imagery products introduced to users was the Night-time Microphysics RGB, originally developed by EUMETSAT. SPoRT worked to transition this imagery to NWS users, provide region-specific training, and assess the impact of the imagery to aviation forecast needs. This presentation discusses the method used to interact with users to address specific aviation forecast challenges, including training activities undertaken to prepare for a product assessment. Users who assessed the multispectral imagery ranged from southern U.S. inland and coastal NWS weather forecast offices (WFOs), to those in the Rocky Mountain Front Range region and West Coast, as well as highlatitude forecasters of Alaska. These user-based assessments were documented and shared with the satellite community to support product developers and the broad users of new generation satellite data.

Earthdata Search: How Usability Drives Innovation To Enable A Broad User Base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reese, M.; Siarto, J.; Lynnes, C.; Shum, D.

2017-12-01

Earthdata Search (https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov) is a modern web application allowing users to search, discover, visualize, refine, and access NASA Earth Observation data using a wide array of service offerings. Its goal is to ease the technical burden on data users by providing a high-quality application that makes it simple to interact with NASA Earth observation data, freeing them to spend more effort on innovative endeavors. This talk would detail how we put end users first in our design and development process, focusing on usability and letting usability needs drive requirements for the underlying technology. Just a few examples of how this plays out practically, Earthdata Search teams with a lightning fast metadata repository, allowing it to be an extremely responsive UI that updates as the user changes criteria not only at the dataset level, but also at the file level. This results in a better exploration experience as the time penalty is greatly reduced. Also, since Earthdata Search uses metadata from over 35,000 datasets that are managed by different data providers, metadata standards, quality and consistency will vary. We found that this was negatively impacting users' search and exploration experience. We have resolved this problem with the introduction of "humanizers", which is a community-driven process to both "smooth out" metadata values and provide non-jargonistic representations of some content within the Earthdata Search UI. This is helpful for both the experience data scientist and our users that are brand new to the discipline.

Evolving the Land Information System into a Cloud Computing Service

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Houser, Paul R.

The Land Information System (LIS) was developed to use advanced flexible land surface modeling and data assimilation frameworks to integrate extremely large satellite- and ground-based observations with advanced land surface models to produce continuous high-resolution fields of land surface states and fluxes. The resulting fields are extremely useful for drought and flood assessment, agricultural planning, disaster management, weather and climate forecasting, water resources assessment, and the like. We envisioned transforming the LIS modeling system into a scientific cloud computing-aware web and data service that would allow clients to easily setup and configure for use in addressing large water management issues.more » The focus of this Phase 1 project was to determine the scientific, technical, commercial merit and feasibility of the proposed LIS-cloud innovations that are currently barriers to broad LIS applicability. We (a) quantified the barriers to broad LIS utility and commercialization (high performance computing, big data, user interface, and licensing issues); (b) designed the proposed LIS-cloud web service, model-data interface, database services, and user interfaces; (c) constructed a prototype LIS user interface including abstractions for simulation control, visualization, and data interaction, (d) used the prototype to conduct a market analysis and survey to determine potential market size and competition, (e) identified LIS software licensing and copyright limitations and developed solutions, and (f) developed a business plan for development and marketing of the LIS-cloud innovation. While some significant feasibility issues were found in the LIS licensing, overall a high degree of LIS-cloud technical feasibility was found.« less

Clinician accessible tools for GUI computational models of transcranial electrical stimulation: BONSAI and SPHERES.

PubMed

Truong, Dennis Q; Hüber, Mathias; Xie, Xihe; Datta, Abhishek; Rahman, Asif; Parra, Lucas C; Dmochowski, Jacek P; Bikson, Marom

2014-01-01

Computational models of brain current flow during transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), are increasingly used to understand and optimize clinical trials. We propose that broad dissemination requires a simple graphical user interface (GUI) software that allows users to explore and design montages in real-time, based on their own clinical/experimental experience and objectives. We introduce two complimentary open-source platforms for this purpose: BONSAI and SPHERES. BONSAI is a web (cloud) based application (available at neuralengr.com/bonsai) that can be accessed through any flash-supported browser interface. SPHERES (available at neuralengr.com/spheres) is a stand-alone GUI application that allow consideration of arbitrary montages on a concentric sphere model by leveraging an analytical solution. These open-source tES modeling platforms are designed go be upgraded and enhanced. Trade-offs between open-access approaches that balance ease of access, speed, and flexibility are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

QR Codes: Outlook for Food Science and Nutrition.

PubMed

Sanz-Valero, Javier; Álvarez Sabucedo, Luis M; Wanden-Berghe, Carmina; Santos Gago, Juan M

2016-01-01

QR codes opens up the possibility to develop simple-to-use, cost-effective-cost, and functional systems based on the optical recognition of inexpensive tags attached to physical objects. These systems, combined with Web platforms, can provide us with advanced services that are already currently broadly used on many contexts of the common life. Due to its philosophy, based on the automatic recognition of messages embedded on simple graphics by means of common devices such as mobile phones, QR codes are very convenient for the average user. Regretfully, its potential has not yet been fully exploited in the domains of food science and nutrition. This paper points out some applications to make the most of this technology for these domains in a straightforward manner. For its characteristics, we are addressing systems with low barriers to entry and high scalability for its deployment. Therefore, its launching among professional and final users is quite simple. The paper also provides high-level indications for the evaluation of the technological frame required to implement the identified possibilities of use.

Five-year trends in patterns of drug use among people who use stimulants in dance contexts in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

McCambridge, Jim; Mitcheson, Luke; Winstock, Adam; Hunt, Neil

2005-08-01

To describe and evaluate trends in the use of stimulant drugs over a 5-year period using an under-studied data collection method. Repeated-measures cross-sectional survey. Annual magazine-based survey targeting people who use stimulant drugs in dance contexts. Life-time use prevalence (ever used), age of first use, current use prevalence (any use within the last month) and extent of use within the last month (number of days used) for a range of stimulant drugs. Additional measures of quantity of ecstasy used were also collected. Trends in life-time and current prevalence over time have been detected and comparisons made between different stimulant drugs. Evidence is obtained of broad stability in patterns of stimulant use in respect of age of first use and frequency of use among ongoing users. Despite an apparent reduction in the current prevalence of ecstasy use, the proportion of heavy users (usually >4 pills per session) has more than doubled between 1999 and 2003. This purposively sampled population study has yielded time trend data broadly consistent with other indicators, where they exist, and also has demonstrable potential to identify new drug trends. Further comparisons of purposive samples and randomly formed samples are needed.

The Effects of Web-Based Patient Access to Laboratory Results in British Columbia: A Patient Survey on Comprehension and Anxiety.

PubMed

Mák, Geneviève; Smith Fowler, Heather; Leaver, Chad; Hagens, Simon; Zelmer, Jennifer

2015-08-04

Web-based patient access to personal health information is limited but increasing in Canada and internationally. This exploratory study aimed to increase understanding of how Web-based access to laboratory test results in British Columbia (Canada), which has been broadly available since 2010, affects patients' experiences. In November 2013, we surveyed adults in British Columbia who had had a laboratory test in the previous 12 months. Using a retrospective cohort design, we compared reported wait-time for results, test result comprehension, and anxiety levels of "service users" who had Web-based access to their test results (n=2047) with those of a general population panel that did not have Web-based access (n=1245). The vast majority of service users (83.99%, 95% CI 82.31-85.67) said they received their results within "a few days", compared to just over a third of the comparison group (37.84%, 95% CI 34.96-40.73). Most in both groups said they understood their test results, but the rate was lower for service users than the comparison group (75.55%, 95% CI 73.58-77.49 vs 84.69%, 95% CI 82.59-86.81). There was no significant difference between groups in levels of reported anxiety after receiving test results. While most patients who received their laboratory test results online reported little anxiety after receiving their results and were satisfied with the service, there may be opportunities to improve comprehension of results.

Evaluating Model-Driven Development for large-scale EHRs through the openEHR approach.

PubMed

Christensen, Bente; Ellingsen, Gunnar

2016-05-01

In healthcare, the openEHR standard is a promising Model-Driven Development (MDD) approach for electronic healthcare records. This paper aims to identify key socio-technical challenges when the openEHR approach is put to use in Norwegian hospitals. More specifically, key fundamental assumptions are investigated empirically. These assumptions promise a clear separation of technical and domain concerns, users being in control of the modelling process, and widespread user commitment. Finally, these assumptions promise an easy way to model and map complex organizations. This longitudinal case study is based on an interpretive approach, whereby data were gathered through 440h of participant observation, 22 semi-structured interviews and extensive document studies over 4 years. The separation of clinical and technical concerns seemed to be aspirational, because both designing the technical system and modelling the domain required technical and clinical competence. Hence developers and clinicians found themselves working together in both arenas. User control and user commitment seemed not to apply in large-scale projects, as modelling the domain turned out to be too complicated and hence to appeal only to especially interested users worldwide, not the local end-users. Modelling proved to be a complex standardization process that shaped both the actual modelling and healthcare practice itself. A broad assemblage of contributors seems to be needed for developing an archetype-based system, in which roles, responsibilities and contributions cannot be clearly defined and delimited. The way MDD occurs has implications for medical practice per se in the form of the need to standardize practices to ensure that medical concepts are uniform across practices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tools4miRs – one place to gather all the tools for miRNA analysis

PubMed Central

Lukasik, Anna; Wójcikowski, Maciej; Zielenkiewicz, Piotr

2016-01-01

Summary: MiRNAs are short, non-coding molecules that negatively regulate gene expression and thereby play several important roles in living organisms. Dozens of computational methods for miRNA-related research have been developed, which greatly differ in various aspects. The substantial availability of difficult-to-compare approaches makes it challenging for the user to select a proper tool and prompts the need for a solution that will collect and categorize all the methods. Here, we present tools4miRs, the first platform that gathers currently more than 160 methods for broadly defined miRNA analysis. The collected tools are classified into several general and more detailed categories in which the users can additionally filter the available methods according to their specific research needs, capabilities and preferences. Tools4miRs is also a web-based target prediction meta-server that incorporates user-designated target prediction methods into the analysis of user-provided data. Availability and Implementation: Tools4miRs is implemented in Python using Django and is freely available at tools4mirs.org. Contact: piotr@ibb.waw.pl Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:27153626

Tools4miRs - one place to gather all the tools for miRNA analysis.

PubMed

Lukasik, Anna; Wójcikowski, Maciej; Zielenkiewicz, Piotr

2016-09-01

MiRNAs are short, non-coding molecules that negatively regulate gene expression and thereby play several important roles in living organisms. Dozens of computational methods for miRNA-related research have been developed, which greatly differ in various aspects. The substantial availability of difficult-to-compare approaches makes it challenging for the user to select a proper tool and prompts the need for a solution that will collect and categorize all the methods. Here, we present tools4miRs, the first platform that gathers currently more than 160 methods for broadly defined miRNA analysis. The collected tools are classified into several general and more detailed categories in which the users can additionally filter the available methods according to their specific research needs, capabilities and preferences. Tools4miRs is also a web-based target prediction meta-server that incorporates user-designated target prediction methods into the analysis of user-provided data. Tools4miRs is implemented in Python using Django and is freely available at tools4mirs.org. piotr@ibb.waw.pl Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Computer-based physician order entry: the state of the art.

PubMed Central

Sittig, D F; Stead, W W

1994-01-01

Direct computer-based physician order entry has been the subject of debate for over 20 years. Many sites have implemented systems successfully. Others have failed outright or flirted with disaster, incurring substantial delays, cost overruns, and threatened work actions. The rationale for physician order entry includes process improvement, support of cost-conscious decision making, clinical decision support, and optimization of physicians' time. Barriers to physician order entry result from the changes required in practice patterns, roles within the care team, teaching patterns, and institutional policies. Key ingredients for successful implementation include: the system must be fast and easy to use, the user interface must behave consistently in all situations, the institution must have broad and committed involvement and direction by clinicians prior to implementation, the top leadership of the organization must be committed to the project, and a group of problem solvers and users must meet regularly to work out procedural issues. This article reviews the peer-reviewed scientific literature to present the current state of the art of computer-based physician order entry. PMID:7719793

Applications and Outreach for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janney, D. W.; Kirschbaum, D.

2017-12-01

Too much or too little rain can serve as a tipping point for triggering catastrophic flooding and landslides or widespread drought. Knowing when, where and how much rain is falling globally is vital to understanding how people may be more or less impacted by disasters, the spread of water or vector-borne disease, or crop shortages. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission provides near real-time precipitation data worldwide that is used by a broad range of end users, from tropical cyclone forecasters to agricultural modelers to researchers evaluating the spread of diseases. The GPM mission has an active applications and outreach program designed to engage and work closely with user communities across a broad spectrum of societal benefit areas with the goal of extending the application of GPM and other NASA data to support decision making. This presentation will outline some examples of how GPM has been engaging with the user community, highlighting some past and planned initiatives with specific organizations and across several thematic areas.

Self-Guided Web-Based Interventions: Scoping Review on User Needs and the Potential of Embodied Conversational Agents to Address Them

PubMed Central

Kelders, Saskia M; Van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia EWC

2017-01-01

Background Web-based mental health interventions have evolved from innovative prototypes to evidence-based and clinically applied solutions for mental diseases such as depression and anxiety. Open-access, self-guided types of these solutions hold the promise of reaching and treating a large population at a reasonable cost. However, a considerable factor that currently hinders the effectiveness of these self-guided Web-based interventions is the high level of nonadherence. The absence of a human caregiver apparently has a negative effect on user adherence. It is unknown to what extent this human support can be handed over to the technology of the intervention to mitigate this negative effect. Objective The first objective of this paper was to explore what is known in literature about what support a user needs to stay motivated and engaged in an electronic health (eHealth) intervention that requires repeated use. The second objective was to explore the current potential of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) to provide this support. Methods This study reviews and interprets the available literature on (1) support within eHealth interventions that require repeated use and (2) the potential of ECAs by means of a scoping review. The rationale for choosing a scoping review is that the subject is broad, diverse, and largely unexplored. Themes for (1) and (2) were proposed based on grounded theory and mapped on each other to find relationships. Results The results of the first part of this study suggest the presence of user needs that largely remain implicit and unaddressed. These support needs can be categorized as task-related support and emotion-related support. The results of the second part of this study suggest that ECAs are capable of engaging and motivating users of information technology applications in the domains of learning and behavioral change. Longitudinal studies must be conducted to determine under what circumstances ECAs can create and maintain a productive user relationship. Mapping the user needs on the ECAs’ capabilities suggests that different kinds of ECAs may provide different solutions for improving the adherence levels. Conclusions Autonomous ECAs that do not respond to a user’s expressed emotion in real time but take on empathic roles may be sufficient to motivate users to some extent. It is unclear whether those types of ECAs are competent enough and create sufficient believability among users to address the user’s deeper needs for support and empathy. Responsive ECAs may offer a better solution. However, at present, most of these ECAs have difficulties to assess a user’s emotional state in real time during an open dialogue. By conducting future research with relationship theory–based ECAs, the added value of ECAs toward user needs can be better understood. PMID:29146567

Leveraging Collection Structure in Information Retrieval with Applications to Search in Conversational Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elsas, Jonathan L.

2011-01-01

Social media collections are becoming increasingly important in the everyday life of Internet users. Recent statistics show that sites hosting social media and community-generated content account for five of the top ten most visited websites in the United States [4] are visited regularly by a broad cross-section of Internet users [61, 67, 115] and…

Hikers and recreational stock users: Predicting and managing recreation conflicts in three wildernesses

Treesearch

Alan E. Watson; Michael J. Niccolucci; Daniel R. Williams

1993-01-01

A long-term problem that continues to grow in many wildland areas is the displeasure hikers express about meeting recreational livestock (primarily horses and mules) and seeing impacts from stock use. Three studies were conducted to provide a broad look at this interaction in wilderness and some of the contributors to the conflict between hikers and horse users....

Usability of a new disposable autoinjector platform device: results of a formative study conducted with a broad user population.

PubMed

Lange, Jakob; Richard, Philipp; Bradley, Nick

2015-01-01

This article presents a late-stage formative usability study of an autoinjector platform device. Such devices are used for the subcutaneous delivery of biopharmaceuticals, primarily for self-administration by the patient. Previous usability work on autoinjectors reported in the literature has been specific to single indications. This study was instead conducted with a broad user population, defined to represent user characteristics across a range of indications. The goals of the study were to evaluate whether users could use the devices safely and effectively, and could understand the instructions for use (IFU) as well as the accompanying training. Further objectives were to capture any usability issues and to obtain participants' subjective ratings on the IFU and training as well as the confidence and comfort in using the device. A total of 43 participants in 5 groups received training and performed simulated injections either into an injection pad or a mannequin. All participants were able to successfully use the device. The device was well appreciated by all users, with a reported degree of confidence in using the device of 98%, of user comfort of 93%, and of comprehensibility of IFU and training of 98%. These values are higher than other comparable results reported in the literature. The presence of both audible and visible feedback during injection was seen to be a significant factor contributing to injection success. The observation that the device can be safely and efficiently used by all tested user groups provides confidence that the device and IFU in their current form will pass future summative testing in specific applications.

Microblogging as an extension of science reporting.

PubMed

Büchi, Moritz

2017-11-01

Mass media have long provided general publics with science news. New media such as Twitter have entered this system and provide an additional platform for the dissemination of science information. Based on automated collection and analysis of >900 news articles and 70,000 tweets, this study explores the online communication of current science news. Topic modeling (latent Dirichlet allocation) was used to extract five broad themes of science reporting: space missions, the US government shutdown, cancer research, Nobel Prizes, and climate change. Using content and network analysis, Twitter was found to extend public science communication by providing additional voices and contextualizations of science issues. It serves a recommender role by linking to web resources, connecting users, and directing users' attention. This article suggests that microblogging adds a new and relevant layer to the public communication of science.

Using SDI-12 with ST microelectronics MCU's

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saari, Alexandra; Hinzey, Shawn Adrian; Frigo, Janette Rose

2015-09-03

ST Microelectronics microcontrollers and processors are readily available, capable and economical processors. Unfortunately they lack a broad user base like similar offerings from Texas Instrument, Atmel, or Microchip. All of these devices could be useful in economical devices for remote sensing applications used with environmental sensing. With the increased need for environmental studies, and limited budgets, flexibility in hardware is very important. To that end, and in an effort to increase open support of ST devices, I am sharing my teams' experience in interfacing a common environmental sensor communication protocol (SDI-12) with ST devices.

Principled design for an integrated computational environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Disessa, A.A.

Boxer is a computer language designed to be the base of an integrated computational environment providing a broad array of functionality -- from text editing to programming -- for naive and novice users. It stands in the line of Lisp inspired languages (Lisp, Logo, Scheme), but differs from these in achieving much of its understandability from pervasive use of a spatial metaphor reinforced through suitable graphics. This paper describes a set of learnability and understandability issues first and then uses them to motivate design decisions made concerning Boxer and the environment in which it is embedded.

Development and utilization of USGS ShakeCast for rapid post-earthquake assessment of critical facilities and infrastructure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wald, David J.; Lin, Kuo-wan; Kircher, C.A.; Jaiswal, Kishor; Luco, Nicolas; Turner, L.; Slosky, Daniel

2017-01-01

The ShakeCast system is an openly available, near real-time post-earthquake information management system. ShakeCast is widely used by public and private emergency planners and responders, lifeline utility operators and transportation engineers to automatically receive and process ShakeMap products for situational awareness, inspection priority, or damage assessment of their own infrastructure or building portfolios. The success of ShakeCast to date and its broad, critical-user base mandates improved software usability and functionality, including improved engineering-based damage and loss functions. In order to make the software more accessible to novice users—while still utilizing advanced users’ technical and engineering background—we have developed a “ShakeCast Workbook”, a well documented, Excel spreadsheet-based user interface that allows users to input notification and inventory data and export XML files requisite for operating the ShakeCast system. Users will be able to select structure based on a minimum set of user-specified facility (building location, size, height, use, construction age, etc.). “Expert” users will be able to import user-modified structural response properties into facility inventory associated with the HAZUS Advanced Engineering Building Modules (AEBM). The goal of the ShakeCast system is to provide simplified real-time potential impact and inspection metrics (i.e., green, yellow, orange and red priority ratings) to allow users to institute customized earthquake response protocols. Previously, fragilities were approximated using individual ShakeMap intensity measures (IMs, specifically PGA and 0.3 and 1s spectral accelerations) for each facility but we are now performing capacity-spectrum damage state calculations using a more robust characterization of spectral deamnd.We are also developing methods for the direct import of ShakeMap’s multi-period spectra in lieu of the assumed three-domain design spectrum (at 0.3s for constant acceleration; 1s or 3s for constant velocity and constant displacement at very long response periods). As part of ongoing ShakeCast research and development, we will also explore the use of ShakeMap IM uncertainty estimates and evaluate the assumption of employing multiple response spectral damping values rather than the single 5%-damped value currently employed. Developing and incorporating advanced fragility assignments into the ShakeCast Workbook requires related software modifications and database improvements; these enhancements are part of an extensive rewrite of the ShakeCast application.

Evaluation of the user requirements processes for NASA terrestrial applications programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

To support the evolution of increasingly sound user requirements definition processes that would meet the broad range of NASA's terrestrial applications planning and management needs during the 1980's, the user requirements processes as they function in the real world at the senior and middle management levels were evaluated. Special attention was given to geologic mapping and domestic crop reporting to provide insight into problems associated with the development and management of user established conventional practices and data sources. An attempt was made to identify alternative NASA user interfaces that sustain strengths, alleviate weaknesses, maximize application to multiple problems, and simplify management cognizance. Some of the alternatives are outlined and evaluated. It is recommended that NASA have an identified organizational point of focus for consolidation and oversight of the user processes.

Building flexibility and managing complexity in community mental health: lessons learned in a large urban centre.

PubMed

Stergiopoulos, Vicky; Saab, Dima; Francombe Pridham, Kate; Aery, Anjana; Nakhost, Arash

2018-01-24

Across many jurisdictions, adults with complex mental health and social needs face challenges accessing appropriate supports due to system fragmentation and strict eligibility criteria of existing services. To support this underserviced population, Toronto's local health authority launched two novel community mental health models in 2014, inspired by Flexible Assertive Community Team principles. This study explores service user and provider perspectives on the acceptability of these services, and lessons learned during early implementation. We purposively sampled 49 stakeholders (staff, physicians, service users, health systems stakeholders) and conducted 17 semi-structured qualitative interviews and 5 focus groups between October 23, 2014 and March 2, 2015, exploring stakeholder perspectives on the newly launched team based models, as well as activities and strategies employed to support early implementation. Interviews and focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed wide-ranging endorsement for the two team-based models' success in engaging the target population of adults with complex service needs. Implementation strengths included the broad recognition of existing service gaps, the use of interdisciplinary teams and experienced service providers, broad partnerships and collaboration among various service sectors, training and team building activities. Emerging challenges included lack of complementary support services such as suitable housing, organizational contexts reluctant to embrace change and risk associated with complexity, as well as limited service provider and organizational capacity to deliver evidence-based interventions. Findings identified implementation drivers at the practitioner, program, and system levels, specific to the implementation of community mental health interventions for adults with complex health and social needs. These can inform future efforts to address the health and support needs of this vulnerable population.

Assessing the elimination of user fees for delivery services in Laos.

PubMed

Boudreaux, Chantelle; Chanthala, Phetdara; Lindelow, Magnus

2014-01-01

A pilot eliminating user fees associated with delivery at the point of services was introduced in two districts of Laos in March 2009. Following two years of implementation, an evaluation was conducted to assess the pilot impact, as well as to document the pilot design and implementation challenges. Study results show that, even in the presence of the substantial access and cultural barriers, user fees associated with delivery at health facilities act as a serious deterrent to care seeking behavior. We find a tripling of facility-based delivery rates in the intervention areas, compared to a 40% increase in the control areas. While findings from the control region suggest that facility-based delivery rates may be on the rise across the country, the substantially higher increase in the pilot areas highlight the impact of financial burden associated with facility-based delivery fees. These fees can play an important role in rapidly increasing the uptake of facility delivery to reach the national targets and, ultimately, to improve maternal and child health outcomes. The pilot achieved important gains while relying heavily on capacity and systems already in place. However, the high cost associated with monitoring and evaluation suggest broad-scale expansion of the pilot activities is likely to necessitate targeted capacity building initiatives, especially in areas with limited district level capacity to manage funds and deliver detailed and timely reports.

Diagnostics aid for mass spectrometer trouble-shooting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filby, E. E.; Rankin, R. A.; Webb, G. W.

The MS Expert system provides problem diagnostics for instruments used in the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (MSL). The most critical results generated on these mass spectrometers are the uranium concentration and isotopic content data used for process control and materials accountability at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. The two purposes of the system are: (1) to minimize instrument downtime and thereby provide the best possible support to the Plant, and (2) to improve long-term data quality. This system combines the knowledge of several experts on mass spectrometry to provide a diagnostic tool, and can make these skills available on a more timely basis. It integrates code written in the Pascal language with a knowledge base entered into a commercial expert system shell. The user performs some preliminary status checks, and then selects from among several broad diagnostic categories. These initial steps provide input to the rule base. The overall analysis provides the user with a set of possible solutions to the observed problems, graded as to their probabilities. Besides the trouble-shooting benefits expected from this system, it will also provide structures diagnostic training for lab personnel. In addition, development of the system knowledge base has already produced a better understanding of instrument behavior. Two key findings are that a good user interface is necessary for full acceptance of the tool, and a development system should include standard programming capabilities as well as the expert system shell.

Attitudes of Health Professional Educators Toward the Use of Social Media as a Teaching Tool: Global Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Henningham, Lucy; Zou, Runyu; Huang, Jessica; O'Sullivan, Elizabeth; Last, Jason; Ho, Kendall

2017-01-01

Background The use of social media in health education has witnessed a revolution within the past decade. Students have already adopted social media informally to share information and supplement their lecture-based learning. Although studies show comparable efficacy and improved engagement when social media is used as a teaching tool, broad-based adoption has been slow and the data on barriers to uptake have not been well documented. Objective The objective of this study was to assess attitudes of health educators toward social media use in education, examine differences between faculty members who do and do not use social media in teaching practice, and determine contributing factors for an increase in the uptake of social media. Methods A cross-sectional Web-based survey was disseminated to the faculty of health professional education departments at 8 global institutions. Respondents were categorized based on the frequency of social media use in teaching as “users” and “nonusers.” Users sometimes, often, or always used social media, whereas nonusers never or rarely used social media. Results A total of 270 health educators (52.9%, n=143 users and 47.0%, n=127 nonusers) were included in the survey. Users and nonusers demonstrated significant differences on perceived barriers and potential benefits to the use of social media. Users were more motivated by learner satisfaction and deterred by lack of technology compatibility, whereas nonusers reported the need for departmental and skill development support. Both shared concerns of professionalism and lack of evidence showing enhanced learning. Conclusions The majority of educators are open-minded to incorporating social media into their teaching practice. However, both users and nonusers have unique perceived challenges and needs, and engaging them to adapt social media into their educational practice will require previously unreported approaches. Identification of these differences and areas of overlap presents opportunities to determine a strategy to increase adoption. PMID:28778841

"Very much evolving": a qualitative study of the views of psychiatrists about peer support workers.

PubMed

Collins, Rachael; Firth, Lucy; Shakespeare, Tom

2016-06-01

Mental health services continue to develop service user involvement, including a growth in employment of peer support workers (PSWs). Despite the importance of the views and attitudes expressed by psychiatrists, this topic has not previously been studied. To gain insight into the views and attitudes psychiatrists have about PSWs. A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 11 psychiatrists in the East of England. Psychiatrists were broadly positive and supportive of PSWs. Interviewees not only could anticipate a range of possible benefits of employing PSWs, but also had concerns regarding their implementation and management. There was a lack of clarity and consistency between interviewees about what the exact role of a PSW might involve. This study provides insights into how PSWs are perceived by psychiatrists. While broadly positive attitudes exist, the research highlights certain challenges, particularly role ambiguity.

Quantifying the Accuracy of Digital Hemispherical Photography for Leaf Area Index Estimates on Broad-Leaved Tree Species.

PubMed

Gilardelli, Carlo; Orlando, Francesca; Movedi, Ermes; Confalonieri, Roberto

2018-03-29

Digital hemispherical photography (DHP) has been widely used to estimate leaf area index (LAI) in forestry. Despite the advancement in the processing of hemispherical images with dedicated tools, several steps are still manual and thus easily affected by user's experience and sensibility. The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of user's subjectivity on DHP LAI estimates for broad-leaved woody canopies using the software Can-Eye. Following the ISO 5725 protocol, we quantified the repeatability and reproducibility of the method, thus defining its precision for a wide range of broad-leaved canopies markedly differing for their structure. To get a complete evaluation of the method accuracy, we also quantified its trueness using artificial canopy images with known canopy cover. Moreover, the effect of the segmentation method was analysed. The best results for precision (restrained limits of repeatability and reproducibility) were obtained for high LAI values (>5) with limits corresponding to a variation of 22% in the estimated LAI values. Poorer results were obtained for medium and low LAI values, with a variation of the estimated LAI values that exceeded the 40%. Regardless of the LAI range explored, satisfactory results were achieved for trees in row-structured plantations (limits almost equal to the 30% of the estimated LAI). Satisfactory results were achieved for trueness, regardless of the canopy structure. The paired t -test revealed that the effect of the segmentation method on LAI estimates was significant. Despite a non-negligible user effect, the accuracy metrics for DHP are consistent with those determined for other indirect methods for LAI estimates, confirming the overall reliability of DHP in broad-leaved woody canopies.

"Thanks for Letting Us All Share Your Mammogram Experience Virtually": Developing a Web-Based Hub for Breast Cancer Screening.

PubMed

Galpin, Adam; Meredith, Joanne; Ure, Cathy; Robinson, Leslie

2017-10-27

The decision around whether to attend breast cancer screening can often involve making sense of confusing and contradictory information on its risks and benefits. The Word of Mouth Mammogram e-Network (WoMMeN) project was established to create a Web-based resource to support decision making regarding breast cancer screening. This paper presents data from our user-centered approach in engaging stakeholders (both health professionals and service users) in the design of this Web-based resource. Our novel approach involved creating a user design group within Facebook to allow them access to ongoing discussion between researchers, radiographers, and existing and potential service users. This study had two objectives. The first was to examine the utility of an online user design group for generating insight for the creation of Web-based health resources. We sought to explore the advantages and limitations of this approach. The second objective was to analyze what women want from a Web-based resource for breast cancer screening. We recruited a user design group on Facebook and conducted a survey within the group, asking questions about design considerations for a Web-based breast cancer screening hub. Although the membership of the Facebook group varied over time, there were 71 members in the Facebook group at the end point of analysis. We next conducted a framework analysis on 70 threads from Facebook and a thematic analysis on the 23 survey responses. We focused additionally on how the themes were discussed by the different stakeholders within the context of the design group. Two major themes were found across both the Facebook discussion and the survey data: (1) the power of information and (2) the hub as a place for communication and support. Information was considered as empowering but also recognized as threatening. Communication and the sharing of experiences were deemed important, but there was also recognition of potential miscommunication within online discussion. Health professionals and service users expressed the same broad concerns, but there were subtle differences in their opinions. Importantly, the themes were triangulated between the Facebook discussions and the survey data, supporting the validity of an online user design group. Online user design groups afford a useful method for understanding stakeholder needs. In contrast to focus groups, they afford access to users from diverse geographical locations and traverse time constraints, allowing more follow-ups to responses. The use of Facebook provides a familiar and naturalistic setting for discussion. Although we acknowledge the limitations in the sample, this approach has allowed us to understand the views of stakeholders in the user-centered design of the WoMMeN hub for breast cancer screening. ©Adam Galpin, Joanne Meredith, Cathy Ure, Leslie Robinson. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (http://cancer.jmir.org), 27.10.2017.

Home Health Care and Patterns of Subsequent VA and Medicare Health Care Utilization for Veterans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Jeffreys, Amy S.; Coffman, Cynthia J.

2008-01-01

Purpose: The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HOC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched…

EHME: a new word database for research in Basque language.

PubMed

Acha, Joana; Laka, Itziar; Landa, Josu; Salaburu, Pello

2014-11-14

This article presents EHME, the frequency dictionary of Basque structure, an online program that enables researchers in psycholinguistics to extract word and nonword stimuli, based on a broad range of statistics concerning the properties of Basque words. The database consists of 22.7 million tokens, and properties available include morphological structure frequency and word-similarity measures, apart from classical indexes: word frequency, orthographic structure, orthographic similarity, bigram and biphone frequency, and syllable-based measures. Measures are indexed at the lemma, morpheme and word level. We include reliability and validation analysis. The application is freely available, and enables the user to extract words based on concrete statistical criteria 1 , as well as to obtain statistical characteristics from a list of words

Share Data with OPeNDAP Hyrax: New Features and Improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallagher, James

2016-01-01

During the upcoming Summer 2016 meeting of the ESIP Federation (July 19-22), OpenDAP will hold a Developers and Users Workshop. While a broad set of topics will be covered, a key focus is capitalizing on recent EOSDIS-sponsored advances in Hyrax, OPeNDAPs own software for server-side realization of the DAP2 and DAP4 protocols. These Hyrax advances are as important to data users as to data providers, and the workshop will include hands-on experiences of value to both. Specifically, a balanced set of presentations and hands-on tutorials will address advances in 1. server installation, 2. server configuration, 3. Hyrax aggregation capabilities, 4. support for data-access from clients that are HTTP-based, JSON-based or OGC-compliant (especially WCS and WMS), 5. support for DAP4,6.use and extension of server-side computational capabilities, and7.several performance-affecting matters. Topics 2 through 7 will be relevant to data consumers, data providers and notably, due to the open-source nature of all OPeNDAP software to developers wishing to extend Hyrax, to build compatible clients and servers, and/or to employ Hyrax as middleware that enables interoperability across a variety of end-user and source-data contexts. A session for contributed talks will elaborate the topics listed above and embrace additional ones.

Advancing the Power and Utility of Server-Side Aggregation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fulker, Dave; Gallagher, James

2016-01-01

During the upcoming Summer 2016 meeting of the ESIP Federation (July 19-22), OpenDAP will hold a Developers and Users Workshop. While a broad set of topics will be covered, a key focus is capitalizing on recent EOSDIS-sponsored advances in Hyrax, OPeNDAPs own software for server-side realization of the DAP2 and DAP4 protocols. These Hyrax advances are as important to data users as to data providers, and the workshop will include hands-on experiences of value to both. Specifically, a balanced set of presentations and hands-on tutorials will address advances in1.server installation,2.server configuration,3.Hyrax aggregation capabilities,4.support for data-access from clients that are HTTP-based, JSON-based or OGC-compliant (especially WCS and WMS),5.support for DAP4,6.use and extension of server-side computational capabilities, and7.several performance-affecting matters.Topics 2 through 7 will be relevant to data consumers, data providers andnotably, due to the open-source nature of all OPeNDAP softwareto developers wishing to extend Hyrax, to build compatible clients and servers, andor to employ Hyrax as middleware that enables interoperability across a variety of end-user and source-data contexts. A session for contributed talks will elaborate the topics listed above and embrace additional ones.

Integrated Instrument Simulator Suites for Earth Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanelli, Simone; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Matsui, Toshihisa; Hostetler, Chris; Hair, Johnathan; Butler, Carolyn; Kuo, Kwo-Sen; Niamsuwan, Noppasin; Johnson, Michael P.; Jacob, Joseph C.;

Fusing Bluetooth Beacon Data with Wi-Fi Radiomaps for Improved Indoor Localization

PubMed Central

Kanaris, Loizos; Kokkinis, Akis; Liotta, Antonio; Stavrou, Stavros

2017-01-01

Indoor user localization and tracking are instrumental to a broad range of services and applications in the Internet of Things (IoT) and particularly in Body Sensor Networks (BSN) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) scenarios. Due to the widespread availability of IEEE 802.11, many localization platforms have been proposed, based on the Wi-Fi Received Signal Strength (RSS) indicator, using algorithms such as K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE). In this paper, we introduce a hybrid method that combines the simplicity (and low cost) of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and the popular 802.11 infrastructure, to improve the accuracy of indoor localization platforms. Building on KNN, we propose a new positioning algorithm (dubbed i-KNN) which is able to filter the initial fingerprint dataset (i.e., the radiomap), after considering the proximity of RSS fingerprints with respect to the BLE devices. In this way, i-KNN provides an optimised small subset of possible user locations, based on which it finally estimates the user position. The proposed methodology achieves fast positioning estimation due to the utilization of a fragment of the initial fingerprint dataset, while at the same time improves positioning accuracy by minimizing any calculation errors. PMID:28394268

Fusing Bluetooth Beacon Data with Wi-Fi Radiomaps for Improved Indoor Localization.

PubMed

Kanaris, Loizos; Kokkinis, Akis; Liotta, Antonio; Stavrou, Stavros

2017-04-10

Indoor user localization and tracking are instrumental to a broad range of services and applications in the Internet of Things (IoT) and particularly in Body Sensor Networks (BSN) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) scenarios. Due to the widespread availability of IEEE 802.11, many localization platforms have been proposed, based on the Wi-Fi Received Signal Strength (RSS) indicator, using algorithms such as K -Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE). In this paper, we introduce a hybrid method that combines the simplicity (and low cost) of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and the popular 802.11 infrastructure, to improve the accuracy of indoor localization platforms. Building on KNN, we propose a new positioning algorithm (dubbed i-KNN) which is able to filter the initial fingerprint dataset (i.e., the radiomap), after considering the proximity of RSS fingerprints with respect to the BLE devices. In this way, i-KNN provides an optimised small subset of possible user locations, based on which it finally estimates the user position. The proposed methodology achieves fast positioning estimation due to the utilization of a fragment of the initial fingerprint dataset, while at the same time improves positioning accuracy by minimizing any calculation errors.

An Open Architecture to Support Social and Health Services in a Smart TV Environment.

PubMed

Costa, Carlos Rivas; Anido-Rifon, Luis E; Fernandez-Iglesias, Manuel J

2017-03-01

To design, implement, and test a solution to provide social and health services for the elderly at home based on smart TV technologies and access to all services. The architecture proposed is based on an open software platform and standard personal computing hardware. This provides great flexibility to develop new applications over the underlying infrastructure or to integrate new devices, for instance to monitor a broad range of vital signs in those cases where home monitoring is required. An actual system as a proof-of-concept was designed, implemented, and deployed. Applications range from social network clients to vital signs monitoring; from interactive TV contests to conventional online care applications such as medication reminders or telemedicine. In both cases, the results have been very positive, confirming the initial perception of the TV as a convenient, easy-to-use technology to provide social and health care. The TV set is a much more familiar computing interface for most senior users, and as a consequence, smart TVs become a most convenient solution for the design and implementation of applications and services targeted to this user group. This proposal has been tested in real setting with 62 senior people at their homes. Users included both individuals with experience using computers and others reluctant to them.

ChimericSeq: An open-source, user-friendly interface for analyzing NGS data to identify and characterize viral-host chimeric sequences.

PubMed

Shieh, Fwu-Shan; Jongeneel, Patrick; Steffen, Jamin D; Lin, Selena; Jain, Surbhi; Song, Wei; Su, Ying-Hsiu

2017-01-01

Identification of viral integration sites has been important in understanding the pathogenesis and progression of diseases associated with particular viral infections. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has enabled researchers to understand the impact that viral integration has on the host, such as tumorigenesis. Current computational methods to analyze NGS data of virus-host junction sites have been limited in terms of their accessibility to a broad user base. In this study, we developed a software application (named ChimericSeq), that is the first program of its kind to offer a graphical user interface, compatibility with both Windows and Mac operating systems, and optimized for effectively identifying and annotating virus-host chimeric reads within NGS data. In addition, ChimericSeq's pipeline implements custom filtering to remove artifacts and detect reads with quantitative analytical reporting to provide functional significance to discovered integration sites. The improved accessibility of ChimericSeq through a GUI interface in both Windows and Mac has potential to expand NGS analytical support to a broader spectrum of the scientific community.

Design and development of the first exoskeletal garment to enhance arm mobility for children with movement impairments.

PubMed

Hall, Martha L; Lobo, Michele A

2017-05-25

Children with a variety of diagnoses have impairments that limit their arm function. Despite the fact that arm function is important for early learning and activities of daily living, there are few tools to assist movement for these children, and existing devices have challenges related to cost, accessibility, comfort, and aesthetics. In this article, we describe the design process and development of the first garment-based exoskeleton to assist arm movement in young children with movement impairments: the Playskin Lift TM . We outline our design process, which contrasts with the traditional medical model in that it is interdisciplinary, user-centered, and addresses the broad needs of users, rather than device function alone. Then we report the results of field-testing with the initial prototype with respect to our design metrics on a toddler with significant bilateral arm movement impairments. Finally, we summarize our ongoing development aimed at increasing comfort, aesthetics, and accessibility of the garment. The interdisciplinary, user-centered approach to assistive technology design presented here can result in innovative and impactful design solutions that translate to the real world.

Robot-mediated Imitation Skill Training for Children with Autism

PubMed Central

Zheng, Zhi; Young, Eric M.; Swanson, Amy R.; Weitlauf, Amy S.; Warren, Zachary E.; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2016-01-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts 1 in 68 children in the US, with tremendous individual and societal costs. Technology-aided intervention, more specifically robotic intervention, has gained momentum in recent years due to the inherent affinity of many children with ASD towards technology. In this paper we present a novel robot-mediated intervention system for imitation skill learning, which is considered a core deficit area for children with ASD. The Robot-mediated Imitation Skill Training Architecture (RISTA) is designed in such a manner that it can operate either completely autonomously or in coordination with a human therapist depending on the intervention need. Experimental results are presented from small user studies validating system functionality, assessing user tolerance, and documenting subject performance. Preliminary results show that this novel robotic system draws more attention from the children with ASD and teaches gestures more effectively as compared to a human therapist. While no broad generalized conclusions can be made about the effectiveness of RISTA based on our small user studies, initial results are encouraging and justify further exploration in the future. PMID:26353376

Survey of computer programs for heat transfer analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noor, A. K.

An overview is presented of the current capabilities of thirty-eight computer programs that can be used for solution of heat transfer problems. These programs range from the large, general-purpose codes with a broad spectrum of capabilities, large user community and comprehensive user support (e.g., ANSYS, MARC, MITAS 2 MSC/NASTRAN, SESAM-69/NV-615) to the small, special purpose codes with limited user community such as ANDES, NNTB, SAHARA, SSPTA, TACO, TEPSA AND TRUMP. The capabilities of the programs surveyed are listed in tabular form followed by a summary of the major features of each program. As with any survey of computer programs, the present one has the following limitations: (1) It is useful only in the initial selection of the programs which are most suitable for a particular application. The final selection of the program to be used should, however, be based on a detailed examination of the documentation and the literature about the program; (2) Since computer software continually changes, often at a rapid rate, some means must be found for updating this survey and maintaining some degree of currency.

ChimericSeq: An open-source, user-friendly interface for analyzing NGS data to identify and characterize viral-host chimeric sequences

PubMed Central

Shieh, Fwu-Shan; Jongeneel, Patrick; Steffen, Jamin D.; Lin, Selena; Jain, Surbhi; Song, Wei

2017-01-01

Identification of viral integration sites has been important in understanding the pathogenesis and progression of diseases associated with particular viral infections. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has enabled researchers to understand the impact that viral integration has on the host, such as tumorigenesis. Current computational methods to analyze NGS data of virus-host junction sites have been limited in terms of their accessibility to a broad user base. In this study, we developed a software application (named ChimericSeq), that is the first program of its kind to offer a graphical user interface, compatibility with both Windows and Mac operating systems, and optimized for effectively identifying and annotating virus-host chimeric reads within NGS data. In addition, ChimericSeq’s pipeline implements custom filtering to remove artifacts and detect reads with quantitative analytical reporting to provide functional significance to discovered integration sites. The improved accessibility of ChimericSeq through a GUI interface in both Windows and Mac has potential to expand NGS analytical support to a broader spectrum of the scientific community. PMID:28829778

Survey of computer programs for heat transfer analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, A. K.

1982-01-01

An overview is presented of the current capabilities of thirty-eight computer programs that can be used for solution of heat transfer problems. These programs range from the large, general-purpose codes with a broad spectrum of capabilities, large user community and comprehensive user support (e.g., ANSYS, MARC, MITAS 2 MSC/NASTRAN, SESAM-69/NV-615) to the small, special purpose codes with limited user community such as ANDES, NNTB, SAHARA, SSPTA, TACO, TEPSA AND TRUMP. The capabilities of the programs surveyed are listed in tabular form followed by a summary of the major features of each program. As with any survey of computer programs, the present one has the following limitations: (1) It is useful only in the initial selection of the programs which are most suitable for a particular application. The final selection of the program to be used should, however, be based on a detailed examination of the documentation and the literature about the program; (2) Since computer software continually changes, often at a rapid rate, some means must be found for updating this survey and maintaining some degree of currency.

A Survey of Authentication Schemes in Telecare Medicine Information Systems.

PubMed

Aslam, Muhammad Umair; Derhab, Abdelouahid; Saleem, Kashif; Abbas, Haider; Orgun, Mehmet; Iqbal, Waseem; Aslam, Baber

2017-01-01

E-Healthcare is an emerging field that provides mobility to its users. The protected health information of the users are stored at a remote server (Telecare Medical Information System) and can be accessed by the users at anytime. Many authentication protocols have been proposed to ensure the secure authenticated access to the Telecare Medical Information System. These protocols are designed to provide certain properties such as: anonymity, untraceability, unlinkability, privacy, confidentiality, availability and integrity. They also aim to build a key exchange mechanism, which provides security against some attacks such as: identity theft, password guessing, denial of service, impersonation and insider attacks. This paper reviews these proposed authentication protocols and discusses their strengths and weaknesses in terms of ensured security and privacy properties, and computation cost. The schemes are divided in three broad categories of one-factor, two-factor and three-factor authentication schemes. Inter-category and intra-category comparison has been performed for these schemes and based on the derived results we propose future directions and recommendations that can be very helpful to the researchers who work on the design and implementation of authentication protocols.

Differential responses to cannabis potency: a typology of users based on self-reported consumption behaviour.

PubMed

Korf, Dirk J; Benschop, Annemieke; Wouters, Marije

2007-05-01

To determine whether a classification of cannabis users into different types can help to clarify the relationship between cannabis potency and consumption behaviour, harmful physical effects and psychological dependency. A field sample of 388 respondents was recruited who had smoked cannabis at least once in the past month. They were contacted and interviewed in 28 cannabis coffee shops located in five Dutch cities. Data were collected with an assisted self-completion questionnaire. Cluster analysis was performed using the k-means method. Various ways were observed in which cannabis users in natural settings adjusted their intake to the potency of the drug. Cluster analysis identified three broad types of cannabis users. The strongest high type was the youngest, consumed the highest monthly dose, inhaled higher-potency cannabis more deeply, and scored highest on psychological cannabis dependency. The consistent high type preferred milder cannabis, consumed the lowest monthly dose, and compensated for stronger cannabis by inhaling less deeply and smoking less. The steady quantity type was the oldest, usually smoked alone, consumed an intermediate monthly dose, and did not tend to adjust the depth of inhalation to the potency of the cannabis. The results suggest that this typology might also reflect three successive stages in the careers of continuing cannabis users. Laboratory studies to assess the effects of higher THC concentrations on external and internal exposure to cannabis should allow for the possibility that the types of users studied can affect the results.

Attitudes of Health Professional Educators Toward the Use of Social Media as a Teaching Tool: Global Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

D'Souza, Karan; Henningham, Lucy; Zou, Runyu; Huang, Jessica; O'Sullivan, Elizabeth; Last, Jason; Ho, Kendall

2017-08-04

The use of social media in health education has witnessed a revolution within the past decade. Students have already adopted social media informally to share information and supplement their lecture-based learning. Although studies show comparable efficacy and improved engagement when social media is used as a teaching tool, broad-based adoption has been slow and the data on barriers to uptake have not been well documented. The objective of this study was to assess attitudes of health educators toward social media use in education, examine differences between faculty members who do and do not use social media in teaching practice, and determine contributing factors for an increase in the uptake of social media. A cross-sectional Web-based survey was disseminated to the faculty of health professional education departments at 8 global institutions. Respondents were categorized based on the frequency of social media use in teaching as "users" and "nonusers." Users sometimes, often, or always used social media, whereas nonusers never or rarely used social media. A total of 270 health educators (52.9%, n=143 users and 47.0%, n=127 nonusers) were included in the survey. Users and nonusers demonstrated significant differences on perceived barriers and potential benefits to the use of social media. Users were more motivated by learner satisfaction and deterred by lack of technology compatibility, whereas nonusers reported the need for departmental and skill development support. Both shared concerns of professionalism and lack of evidence showing enhanced learning. The majority of educators are open-minded to incorporating social media into their teaching practice. However, both users and nonusers have unique perceived challenges and needs, and engaging them to adapt social media into their educational practice will require previously unreported approaches. Identification of these differences and areas of overlap presents opportunities to determine a strategy to increase adoption. ©Karan D'Souza, Lucy Henningham, Runyu Zou, Jessica Huang, Elizabeth O'Sullivan, Jason Last, Kendall Ho. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (http://mededu.jmir.org), 04.08.2017.

[A Terahertz Spectral Database Based on Browser/Server Technique].

PubMed

Zhang, Zhuo-yong; Song, Yue

2015-09-01

With the solution of key scientific and technical problems and development of instrumentation, the application of terahertz technology in various fields has been paid more and more attention. Owing to the unique characteristic advantages, terahertz technology has been showing a broad future in the fields of fast, non-damaging detections, as well as many other fields. Terahertz technology combined with other complementary methods can be used to cope with many difficult practical problems which could not be solved before. One of the critical points for further development of practical terahertz detection methods depends on a good and reliable terahertz spectral database. We developed a BS (browser/server) -based terahertz spectral database recently. We designed the main structure and main functions to fulfill practical requirements. The terahertz spectral database now includes more than 240 items, and the spectral information was collected based on three sources: (1) collection and citation from some other abroad terahertz spectral databases; (2) collected from published literatures; and (3) spectral data measured in our laboratory. The present paper introduced the basic structure and fundament functions of the terahertz spectral database developed in our laboratory. One of the key functions of this THz database is calculation of optical parameters. Some optical parameters including absorption coefficient, refractive index, etc. can be calculated based on the input THz time domain spectra. The other main functions and searching methods of the browser/server-based terahertz spectral database have been discussed. The database search system can provide users convenient functions including user registration, inquiry, displaying spectral figures and molecular structures, spectral matching, etc. The THz database system provides an on-line searching function for registered users. Registered users can compare the input THz spectrum with the spectra of database, according to the obtained correlation coefficient one can perform the searching task very fast and conveniently. Our terahertz spectral database can be accessed at http://www.teralibrary.com. The proposed terahertz spectral database is based on spectral information so far, and will be improved in the future. We hope this terahertz spectral database can provide users powerful, convenient, and high efficient functions, and could promote the broader applications of terahertz technology.

Analysis of satellite servicing cost benefits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Builteman, H. O.

1982-01-01

Under the auspices of NASA/JSC a methodology was developed to estimate the value of satellite servicing to the user community. Time and funding precluded the development of an exhaustive computer model; instead, the concept of Design Reference Missions was involved. In this approach, three space programs were analyzed for various levels of servicing. The programs selected fall into broad categories which include 80 to 90% of the missions planned between now and the end of the century. Of necessity, the extrapolation of the three program analyses to the user community as a whole depends on an average mission model and equivalency projections. The value of the estimated cost benefits based on this approach depends largely on how well the equivalency assumptions and the mission model match the real world. A careful definition of all assumptions permits the analysis to be extended to conditions beyond the scope of this study.

Capabilities of NASA's Space Physics Data Facility as Resources to Enable the Heliophysics Virtual discipline Observatories (VxOs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGuire, Robert E.; Candey, Robert M.

2007-01-01

SPDF now supports a broad range of data, user services and other activities. These include: CDAWeb current multi-mission data graphics, listings, file subsetting and supersetting by time and parameters; SSCWeb and 3-D Java client orbit graphics, listings and conjunction queries; OMNIWeb 1/5/60 minute interplanetary parameters at Earth; product-level SPASE descriptions of data including holdings of nssdcftp; VSPO SPASE-based heliophysics-wide product site finding and data use;, standard Data format Translation Webservices (DTWS); metrics software and others. These data and services are available through standard user and application webservices interfaces, so middleware services such as the Heliophysics VxOs, and externally-developed clients or services, can readily leverage our data and capabilities. Beyond a short summary of the above, we will then conduct the talk as a conversation to evolving VxO needs and planned approach to leverage such existing and ongoing services.

Interactive information retrieval systems with minimalist representation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Domeshek, E.; Kedar, S.; Gordon, A.

Almost any information you might want is becoming available on-line. The problem is how to find what you need. One strategy to improve access to existing information sources, is intelligent information agents - an approach based on extensive representation and inference. Another alternative is to simply concentrate on better information organization and indexing. Our systems use a form of conceptual indexing sensitive to users` task-specific information needs. We aim for minimalist representation, coding only select aspects of stored items. Rather than supporting reliable automated inference, the primary purpose of our representations is to provide sufficient discrimination and guidance to amore » user for a given domain and task. This paper argues, using case studies, that minimal representations can make strong contributions to the usefulness and usability of interactive information systems, while minimizing knowledge engineering effort. We demonstrate this approach in several broad spectrum applications including video retrieval and advisory systems.« less

Software-based measurement of thin filament lengths: an open-source GUI for Distributed Deconvolution analysis of fluorescence images

PubMed Central

Gokhin, David S.; Fowler, Velia M.

2016-01-01

The periodically arranged thin filaments within the striated myofibrils of skeletal and cardiac muscle have precisely regulated lengths, which can change in response to developmental adaptations, pathophysiological states, and genetic perturbations. We have developed a user-friendly, open-source ImageJ plugin that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for super-resolution measurement of thin filament lengths by applying Distributed Deconvolution (DDecon) analysis to periodic line scans collected from fluorescence images. In the workflow presented here, we demonstrate thin filament length measurement using a phalloidin-stained cryosection of mouse skeletal muscle. The DDecon plugin is also capable of measuring distances of any periodically localized fluorescent signal from the Z- or M-line, as well as distances between successive Z- or M-lines, providing a broadly applicable tool for quantitative analysis of muscle cytoarchitecture. These functionalities can also be used to analyze periodic fluorescence signals in nonmuscle cells. PMID:27644080

Evaluation of automated decisionmaking methodologies and development of an integrated robotic system simulation. Appendix A: ROBSIM user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haley, D. C.; Almand, B. J.; Thomas, M. M.; Krauze, L. D.; Gremban, K. D.; Sanborn, J. C.; Kelley, J. H.; Depkovich, T. M.; Wolfe, W. J.; Nguyen, T.

1986-01-01

The purpose of the Robotics Simulation Program is to provide a broad range of computer capabilities to assist in the design, verification, simulation, and study of robotics systems. ROBSIM is program in FORTRAN 77 for use on a VAX 11/750 computer under the VMS operating system. This user's guide describes the capabilities of the ROBSIM programs, including the system definition function, the analysis tools function and the postprocessor function. The options a user may encounter with each of these executables are explained in detail and the different program prompts appearing to the user are included. Some useful suggestions concerning the appropriate answers to be given by the user are provided. An example user interactive run in enclosed for each of the main program services, and some of the capabilities are illustrated.

Bridging the Gap - Networking Educators using Real-Time Seismic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz, A. M.; Renwald, M. D.; Baldwin, T. K.; Hall, M. K.

2004-12-01

After nearly a decade, the seismology community has made critical advances in identifying what is effective and what is needed for success in incorporating real-time seismic data in the classroom. Today's K-16 classroom teachers have many options and opportunities for incorporating short- and long-term inquiry activities for monitoring earthquakes and analyzing seismic data in their daily instruction. Through the SpiNet program, we are providing web-based tools that support educators working with real-time seismic data (http://www.scieds.com/spinet/). Our site includes a Recent Seismicity section, which allows users to share seismic data in real-time, and provides near real-time information about global seismicity. Our Activities section provides data and lessons to assist educators who wish to integrate seismology into their classroom. The Research section, currently under development, will allow educators to share general information about how they teach seismology in their classroom through a discussion board and by posting lesson plans. In addition, we are developing a user-friendly tool for students to post results of their research projects. Designing a website which targets a range of users requires a working knowledge of both user needs and website programming and design. User needs include providing a logical navigational structure and accounting for differences in browser functionality, internet access, and users' abilities. Using website development tools, such as PHP, MySQL, RDF feeds, and specialized geoscience applications, we are automating site maintenance; incorporating databases for information storage and retrieval; and providing accessibility for users with a range of skills and physical limitations. By incorporating these features, we have built a dynamic interface for a broad range of users interested in educational seismology.

Applying a Data Stewardship Maturity Matrix to the NOAA Observing System Portfolio Integrated Assessment Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, G.; Austin, M.

2017-12-01

Identification and prioritization of targeted user community needs are not always considered until after data has been created and archived. Gaps in data curation and documentation in the data production and delivery phases limit data's broad utility specifically for decision makers. Expert understanding and knowledge of a particular dataset is often required as a part of the data and metadata curation process to establish the credibility of the data and support informed decision-making. To enhance curation practices, content from NOAA's Observing System Integrated Assessment (NOSIA) Value Tree, NOAA's Data Catalog/Digital Object Identifier (DOI) projects (collection-level metadata) have been integrated with Data/Stewardship Maturity Matrices (data and stewardship quality information) focused on assessment of user community needs. This results in user focused evidence based decision making tools created by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) through identification and assessment of data content gaps related to scientific knowledge and application to key areas of societal benefit. Through enabling user need feedback from the beginning of data creation through archive allows users to determine the quality and value of data that is fit for purpose. Data gap assessment and prioritization are presented in a user-friendly way using the data stewardship maturity matrices as measurement of data management quality. These decision maker tools encourages data producers and data providers/stewards to consider users' needs prior to data creation and dissemination resulting in user driven data requirements increasing return on investment. A use case focused on need for NOAA observations linked societal benefit will be used to demonstrate the value of these tools.

A user-friendly workflow for analysis of Illumina gene expression bead array data available at the arrayanalysis.org portal.

PubMed

Eijssen, Lars M T; Goelela, Varshna S; Kelder, Thomas; Adriaens, Michiel E; Evelo, Chris T; Radonjic, Marijana

2015-06-30

Illumina whole-genome expression bead arrays are a widely used platform for transcriptomics. Most of the tools available for the analysis of the resulting data are not easily applicable by less experienced users. ArrayAnalysis.org provides researchers with an easy-to-use and comprehensive interface to the functionality of R and Bioconductor packages for microarray data analysis. As a modular open source project, it allows developers to contribute modules that provide support for additional types of data or extend workflows. To enable data analysis of Illumina bead arrays for a broad user community, we have developed a module for ArrayAnalysis.org that provides a free and user-friendly web interface for quality control and pre-processing for these arrays. This module can be used together with existing modules for statistical and pathway analysis to provide a full workflow for Illumina gene expression data analysis. The module accepts data exported from Illumina's GenomeStudio, and provides the user with quality control plots and normalized data. The outputs are directly linked to the existing statistics module of ArrayAnalysis.org, but can also be downloaded for further downstream analysis in third-party tools. The Illumina bead arrays analysis module is available at http://www.arrayanalysis.org . A user guide, a tutorial demonstrating the analysis of an example dataset, and R scripts are available. The module can be used as a starting point for statistical evaluation and pathway analysis provided on the website or to generate processed input data for a broad range of applications in life sciences research.

Low Striatal Dopamine D2-type Receptor Availability is Linked to Simulated Drug Choice in Methamphetamine Users.

PubMed

Moeller, Scott J; Okita, Kyoji; Robertson, Chelsea L; Ballard, Michael E; Konova, Anna B; Goldstein, Rita Z; Mandelkern, Mark A; London, Edythe D

2018-03-01

Individuals with drug use disorders seek drugs over other rewarding activities, and exhibit neurochemical deficits related to dopamine, which is involved in value-based learning and decision-making. Thus, a dopaminergic disturbance may underpin drug-biased choice in addiction. Classical drug-choice assessments, which offer drug-consumption opportunities, are inappropriate for addicted individuals seeking treatment or abstaining. Fifteen recently abstinent methamphetamine users and 15 healthy controls completed two laboratory paradigms of 'simulated' drug choice (choice for drug-related vs affectively pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images), and underwent positron emission tomography measurements of dopamine D2-type receptor availability, indicated by binding potential (BP ND ) for [ 18 F]fallypride. Thirteen of the methamphetamine users and 10 controls also underwent [ 11 C]NNC112 PET scans to measure dopamine D1-type receptor availability. Group analyses showed that, compared with controls, methamphetamine users chose to view more methamphetamine-related images on one task, with a similar trend on the second task. Regression analyses showed that, on both tasks, the more methamphetamine users chose to view methamphetamine images, specifically vs pleasant images (the most frequently chosen images across all participants), the lower was their D2-type BP ND in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, an important region in value-based choice. No associations were observed with D2-type BP ND in striatal regions, or with D1-type BP ND in any region. These results identify a neurochemical correlate for a laboratory drug-seeking paradigm that can be administered to treatment-seeking and abstaining drug-addicted individuals. More broadly, these results refine the central hypothesis that dopamine-system deficits contribute to drug-biased decision-making in addiction, here showing a role for the orbitofrontal cortex.

Decision support system development at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fox, Timothy J.; Nelson, J. C.; Rohweder, Jason J.

2014-01-01

A Decision Support System (DSS) can be defined in many ways. The working definition used by the U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) is, “A spatially based computer application or data that assists a researcher or manager in making decisions.” This is quite a broad definition—and it needs to be, because the possibilities for types of DSSs are limited only by the user group and the developer’s imagination. There is no one DSS; the types of DSSs are as diverse as the problems they help solve. This diversity requires that DSSs be built in a variety of ways, using the most appropriate methods and tools for the individual application. The skills of potential DSS users vary widely as well, further necessitating multiple approaches to DSS development. Some small, highly trained user groups may want a powerful modeling tool with extensive functionality at the expense of ease of use. Other user groups less familiar with geographic information system (GIS) and spatial data may want an easy-to-use application for a nontechnical audience. UMESC has been developing DSSs for almost 20 years. Our DSS developers offer our partners a wide variety of technical skills and development options, ranging from the most simple Web page or small application to complex modeling application development.

CIP Training Manual: Collaborative Information Portal Advance Training Information for Field Test Participants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schreiner, John; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Collaborative Information Portal (CIP) is a web-based information management and retrieval system. Its purpose is to provide users at MER (Mars Exploration Rover) mission operations with easy access to a broad range of mission data and products and contextual information such as the current operations schedule. The CIP web-server provides this content in a user customizable web-portal environment. Since CIP is still under development, only a subset of the full feature set will be available for the EDO field test. The CIP web-portal will be accessed through a standard web browser. CIP is intended to be intuitive and simple to use, however, at the training session, users will receive a one to two page reference guide, which should aid them in using CIP. Users must provide their own computers for accessing CIP during the field test. These computers should be configured with Java 1.3 and a Java 2 enabled browser. Macintosh computers should be running OS 10.1.3 or later. Classic Mac OS (OS 9) is not supported. For more information please read section 7.3 in the FIASCO Rover Science Operations Test Mission Plan. Several screen shots of the Beta Release of CIP are shown on the following pages.

Temporary traffic control handbook, 2016 edition.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

This handbook provides a broad, easy to understand : reference for temporary traffic control in work zones, : addressing the safe and efficient accommodation of all road : users: motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and those with special : needs. Whe...

Heliospotlight: An Information Resource for Heliophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, C.; Wawro, M.; Schenk, L. C.

2013-12-01

The NASA Goddard Heliophysics Science Division (HSD) EPO and mission websites are rich with content covering the broad subject of heliophysics. This includes detailed information for many age groups, a large range of descriptive imagery and dynamic video and interactive material. The weakness of all this content is that it is scattered over so many websites as opposed to being organized and focused in one user friendly location. The website heliospotlight.org is being developed to address all these concerns, leveraging the vast content already developed while using state-of-the-art web technologies. This will provide a rich user experience simultaneously tailoring to the needs of the broad audience of students, educators, scientists, journalists and the general public. The website will use well supported, open source technologies enabling future flexibility and expansion. HSD EPO will support the development of this information resource.

Technical Review: Microscopy and Image Processing Tools to Analyze Plant Chromatin: Practical Considerations.

PubMed

Baroux, Célia; Schubert, Veit

2018-01-01

In situ nucleus and chromatin analyses rely on microscopy imaging that benefits from versatile, efficient fluorescent probes and proteins for static or live imaging. Yet the broad choice in imaging instruments offered to the user poses orientation problems. Which imaging instrument should be used for which purpose? What are the main caveats and what are the considerations to best exploit each instrument's ability to obtain informative and high-quality images? How to infer quantitative information on chromatin or nuclear organization from microscopy images? In this review, we present an overview of common, fluorescence-based microscopy systems and discuss recently developed super-resolution microscopy systems, which are able to bridge the resolution gap between common fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy. We briefly present their basic principles and discuss their possible applications in the field, while providing experience-based recommendations to guide the user toward best-possible imaging. In addition to raw data acquisition methods, we discuss commercial and noncommercial processing tools required for optimal image presentation and signal evaluation in two and three dimensions.

Understanding critical barriers to implementing a clinical information system in a nursing home through the lens of a socio-technical perspective.

PubMed

Or, Calvin; Dohan, Michael; Tan, Joseph

2014-09-01

This paper addresses key barriers to implementing a clinical information system (CIS) in a Hong Kong nursing home setting, from a healthcare specific socio-technical perspective. Data was collected through field observations (n = 12) and semi-structured individual interviews (n = 18) of CIS stakeholders in a Hong Kong nursing home, and analyzed using the immersion/crystallization approach. Complex interactions relevant to our case were contextualized and interpreted within the perspective of the Sittig-Singh Healthcare Socio-Technical Framework (HSTF). Three broad clusters of implementation barriers from the eight HSTF dimensions were identified: (a) Infrastructure-based barriers, which relate to conflict between government regulations and system functional needs of users; lack of financial support; inconsistency between workflow, work policy, and procedures; and inadequacy of hardware-software infrastructural and technical support; (b) Process-based barriers, which relate to mismatch between the technology, existing work practice and workflow, and communication; low system speed, accessibility, and stability; deficient computer literacy; more experience in health care profession; clinical content inadequacy and unavailability; as well as poor system usefulness and user interface design; and (c) Outcome-based barriers, which relate to the lack of measurement and monitoring of system effectiveness. Two additional dimensions underlining the importance of the ability of a CIS to change are proposed to extend the Sittig-Singh HSTF. First, advocacy would promote the articulation and influence of changes in the system and subsequent outcomes by CIS stakeholders, and second, adaptability would ensure the ability of the system to adjust to emerging needs. The broad set of discovered implementation shortcomings expands prior research on why CIS can fail in nursing home settings. Moreover, our investigation offers a knowledge base and recommendations that can serve as a guide for future implementation strategies and policies in CIS initiatives.

From Data to Knowledge: GEOSS experience and the GEOSS Knowledge Base contribution to the GCI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santoro, M.; Nativi, S.; Mazzetti, P., Sr.; Plag, H. P.

2016-12-01

According to systems theory, data is raw, it simply exists and has no significance beyond its existence; while, information is data that has been given meaning by way of relational connection. The appropriate collection of information, such that it contributes to understanding, is a process of knowledge creation.The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) developed by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a set of coordinated, independent Earth observation, information and processing systems that interact and provide access to diverse information for a broad range of users in both public and private sectors. GEOSS links these systems to strengthen the monitoring of the state of the Earth. In the past ten years, the development of GEOSS has taught several lessons dealing with the need to move from (open) data to information and knowledge sharing. Advanced user-focused services require to move from a data-driven framework to a knowledge sharing platform. Such a platform needs to manage information and knowledge, in addition to datasets linked to them. For this scope, GEO has launched a specific task called "GEOSS Knowledge Base", which deals with resources, like user requirements, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), observation and processing ontologies, publications, guidelines, best practices, business processes/algorithms, definition of advanced concepts like Essential Variables (EVs), indicators, strategic goals, etc. In turn, information and knowledge (e.g. guidelines, best practices, user requirements, business processes, algorithms, etc.) can be used to generate additional information and knowledge from shared datasets. To fully utilize and leverage the GEOSS Knowledge Base, the current GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) model will be extended and advanced to consider important concepts and implementation artifacts, such as data processing services and environmental/economic models as well as EVs, Primary Indicators, and SDGs. The new GCI model will link these concepts to the present dataset, observation and sensor concepts, enabling a set of very important new capabilities to be offered to GEOSS users.

Persuasive features in web-based alcohol and smoking interventions: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Lehto, Tuomas; Oinas-Kukkonen, Harri

2011-07-22

In the past decade, the use of technologies to persuade, motivate, and activate individuals' health behavior change has been a quickly expanding field of research. The use of the Web for delivering interventions has been especially relevant. Current research tends to reveal little about the persuasive features and mechanisms embedded in Web-based interventions targeting health behavior change. The purpose of this systematic review was to extract and analyze persuasive system features in Web-based interventions for substance use by applying the persuasive systems design (PSD) model. In more detail, the main objective was to provide an overview of the persuasive features within current Web-based interventions for substance use. We conducted electronic literature searches in various databases to identify randomized controlled trials of Web-based interventions for substance use published January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2009, in English. We extracted and analyzed persuasive system features of the included Web-based interventions using interpretive categorization. The primary task support components were utilized and reported relatively widely in the reviewed studies. Reduction, self-monitoring, simulation, and personalization seem to be the most used features to support accomplishing user's primary task. This is an encouraging finding since reduction and self-monitoring can be considered key elements for supporting users to carry out their primary tasks. The utilization of tailoring was at a surprisingly low level. The lack of tailoring may imply that the interventions are targeted for too broad an audience. Leveraging reminders was the most common way to enhance the user-system dialogue. Credibility issues are crucial in website engagement as users will bind with sites they perceive credible and navigate away from those they do not find credible. Based on the textual descriptions of the interventions, we cautiously suggest that most of them were credible. The prevalence of social support in the reviewed interventions was encouraging. Understanding the persuasive elements of systems supporting behavior change is important. This may help users to engage and keep motivated in their endeavors. Further research is needed to increase our understanding of how and under what conditions specific persuasive features (either in isolation or collectively) lead to positive health outcomes in Web-based health behavior change interventions across diverse health contexts and populations.

Redefining the bureaucratic encounter between service providers and service users: evidence from the Norwegian HUSK projects.

PubMed

Carnochan, Sarah; Austin, Michael J

2015-01-01

The HUSK projects, involving collaboration between service users, providers, educators, and researchers, coincided with the reorganization of national government services (NAV). The NAV reorganization brought together employment services, social insurance, and municipal social service benefits, and called for a service model where users would be empowered to influence the provision of services. In this analysis of the HUSK cases the authors focus on the relationship between the service user and the service provider, identifying themes in two broad domains: concepts of the individual that included the service user and the service provider and concepts of the relationship that included power, role, activity, interaction, and communication. Within each theme, the analysis highlights the transition from a traditional or historical state to a new or desired state and draws upon some of the classic literature that frames the encounters between service users and providers.

Goals of Government-Funded Public Domain Software Efforts

PubMed Central

Rishel, Wesley J.

1980-01-01

The development of public domain software under Federal aegis and support has made possible a broadly competitive field of computer - oriented management information system consulting organizations with high technical competence and the potential for strong user orientation and loyalty. The impact of this assumption of major “front-end costs” by the Federal government has additional spin-off effects in terms of standardization and transportability features as well as reduced capital costs to the user.

SYNAISTHISI: an IoT-powered smart visitor management and cognitive recommendations system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thanos, Giorgos Konstandinos; Karafylli, Christina; Karafylli, Maria; Zacharakis, Dimitris; Papadimitriou, Apostolis; Dimitros, Kostantinos; Kanellopoulou, Konstantina; Kyriazanos, Dimitris M.; Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.

2016-05-01

Location-based and navigation services are really needed to help visitors and audience of big events, complex buildings, shopping malls, airports and large companies. However, the lack of GPS and proper mapping indoors usually renders location-based applications and services useless or simply not applicable in such environments. SYNAISTHISI introduces a mobile application for smartphones which offers navigation capabilities outside and inside buildings and through multiple floor levels. The application comes together with a suite of helpful services, including personalized recommendations, visit/event management and a helpful search functionality in order to navigate to a specific location, event or person. As the user finds his way towards his destination, NFC-enabled checkpoints and bluetooth beacons assist him, while offering re-routing, check-in/out capabilities and useful information about ongoing meetings and nearby events. The application is supported by a back-end GIS system which can provide a broad and clear view to event organizers, campus managers and field personnel for purposes of event logistics, safety and security. SYNAISTHISI system comes with plenty competitive advantages including (a) Seamless Navigation as users move between outdoor and indoor areas and different floor levels by using innovative routing algorithms, (b) connection to and powered by IoT platform, for localization and real-time information feedback, (c) dynamic personalized recommendations based on user profile, location and real-time information provided by the IoT platform and (d) Indoor localization without the need for expensive infrastructure and installations.

Binaural pitch fusion: Comparison of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listenersa)

PubMed Central

Reiss, Lina A. J.; Shayman, Corey S.; Walker, Emily P.; Bennett, Keri O.; Fowler, Jennifer R.; Hartling, Curtis L.; Glickman, Bess; Lasarev, Michael R.; Oh, Yonghee

2017-01-01

Binaural pitch fusion is the fusion of dichotically presented tones that evoke different pitches between the ears. In normal-hearing (NH) listeners, the frequency range over which binaural pitch fusion occurs is usually <0.2 octaves. Recently, broad fusion ranges of 1–4 octaves were demonstrated in bimodal cochlear implant users. In the current study, it was hypothesized that hearing aid (HA) users would also exhibit broad fusion. Fusion ranges were measured in both NH and hearing-impaired (HI) listeners with hearing losses ranging from mild-moderate to severe-profound, and relationships of fusion range with demographic factors and with diplacusis were examined. Fusion ranges of NH and HI listeners averaged 0.17 ± 0.13 octaves and 1.7 ± 1.5 octaves, respectively. In HI listeners, fusion ranges were positively correlated with a principal component measure of the covarying factors of young age, early age of hearing loss onset, and long durations of hearing loss and HA use, but not with hearing threshold, amplification level, or diplacusis. In NH listeners, no correlations were observed with age, hearing threshold, or diplacusis. The association of broad fusion with early onset, long duration of hearing loss suggests a possible role of long-term experience with hearing loss and amplification in the development of broad fusion. PMID:28372056

Binaural pitch fusion: Pitch averaging and dominance in hearing-impaired listeners with broad fusion.

PubMed

Oh, Yonghee; Reiss, Lina A J

2017-08-01

Both bimodal cochlear implant and bilateral hearing aid users can exhibit broad binaural pitch fusion, the fusion of dichotically presented tones over a broad range of pitch differences between ears [Reiss, Ito, Eggleston, and Wozny. (2014). J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. 15(2), 235-248; Reiss, Eggleston, Walker, and Oh. (2016). J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. 17(4), 341-356; Reiss, Shayman, Walker, Bennett, Fowler, Hartling, Glickman, Lasarev, and Oh. (2017). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 143(3), 1909-1920]. Further, the fused binaural pitch is often a weighted average of the different pitches perceived in the two ears. The current study was designed to systematically measure these pitch averaging phenomena in bilateral hearing aid users with broad fusion. The fused binaural pitch of the reference-pair tone combination was initially measured by pitch-matching to monaural comparison tones presented to the pair tone ear. The averaged results for all subjects showed two distinct trends: (1) The fused binaural pitch was dominated by the lower-pitch component when the pair tone was either 0.14 octaves below or 0.78 octaves above the reference tone; (2) pitch averaging occurred when the pair tone was between the two boundaries above, with the most equal weighting at 0.38 octaves above the reference tone. Findings from two subjects suggest that randomization or alternation of the comparison ear can eliminate this asymmetry in the pitch averaging range. Overall, these pitch averaging phenomena suggest that spectral distortions and thus binaural interference may arise during binaural stimulation in hearing-impaired listeners with broad fusion.

Bicycle and pedestrian data : sources, needs, & gaps

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

This report provides a review of existing sources of bicycle and pedestrian-related information, including their uses, quality, and limitations. It also includes information from a broad range of decision-makers, researchers, planners, and other user...

A Prototype for Content-Rich Decision-Making Support in NOAA using Data as an Asset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, M.; Peng, G.

2015-12-01

Data Producers and Data Providers do not always collaborate to ensure that the data meets the needs of a broad range of user communities. User needs are not always considered in the beginning of the data production and delivery phases. Often data experts are required to explain or create custom output so that the data can be used by decision makers. Lack of documentation and quality information can result in poor user acceptance or data misinterpretation. This presentation will describe how new content integration tools have been created by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to improve quality throughout the data management lifecycle. The prototype integrates contents into a decision-making support tool from NOAA's Observing System Integrated Assessment (NOSIA) Value Tree, NOAA's Data Catalog/Digital Object Identifier (DOI) projects (collection-level metadata) and Data/Stewardship Maturity Matrices (Data and Stewardship Quality Rating Information). The National Centers for Environmental Information's (NCEI) Global Historical Climatology Network-Monthly (GHCN) dataset is used as a case study to formulate/develop the prototype tool and demonstrate its power with the content-centric approach in addition to completeness of metadata elements. This demonstrates the benefits of the prototype tool in both bottom roll-up and top roll-down fashion. The prototype tool delivers a standards based methodology that allows users to determine the quality and value of data that is fit for purpose. It encourages data producers and data providers/stewards to consider users' needs prior to data creation and dissemination resulting in user driven data requirements increasing return on investment.

A client/server system for Internet access to biomedical text/image databanks.

PubMed

Thoma, G R; Long, L R; Berman, L E

1996-01-01

Internet access to mixed text/image databanks is finding application in the medical world. An example is a database of medical X-rays and associated data consisting of demographic, socioeconomic, physician's exam, medical laboratory and other information collected as part of a nationwide health survey conducted by the government. Another example is a collection of digitized cryosection images, CT and MR taken of cadavers as part of the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human Project. In both cases, the challenge is to provide access to both the image and the associated text for a wide end user community to create atlases, conduct epidemiological studies, to develop image-specific algorithms for compression, enhancement and other types of image processing, among many other applications. The databanks mentioned above are being created in prototype form. This paper describes the prototype system developed for the archiving of the data and the client software to enable a broad range of end users to access the archive, retrieve text and image data, display the data and manipulate the images. System design considerations include; data organization in a relational database management system with object-oriented extensions; a hierarchical organization of the image data by different resolution levels for different user classes; client design based on common hardware and software platforms incorporating SQL search capability, X Window, Motif and TAE (a development environment supporting rapid prototyping and management of graphic-oriented user interfaces); potential to include ultra high resolution display monitors as a user option; intuitive user interface paradigm for building complex queries; and contrast enhancement, magnification and mensuration tools for better viewing by the user.

The Problem of “Just for Fun”: Patterns of Use Situations among Active Club Drug Users

PubMed Central

Starks, Tyrel J.; Golub, Sarit; Kelly, Brian C.; Parsons, Jeffrey T.

2010-01-01

Existing research has demonstrated the significance of situational antecedents to substance use. The current study used a cluster analytic approach to identify groups of club drug users who report using substances in similar situations (assessed by the Inventory of Drug Taking Situations) with longitudinal data from 400 active drug users. A three-cluster solution emerged in baseline data and was replicated in 12-month follow-up data. Groups were identified as Situationally Restricted, Pleasure Driven, and Situationally Broad users. Group differences were observed on measures of mental health, attitudes towards substance use, amount of substance use, and rates of substance dependence. Cluster membership predicted substance dependence after controlling for past dependence, current use, and current depression/anxiety. PMID:20696530

NASA technology transfer network communications and information system: TUNS user survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Applied Expertise surveyed the users of the deployed Technology Utilization Network System (TUNS) and surveyed prospective new users in order to gather background information for developing the Concept Document of the system that will upgrade and replace TUNS. Survey participants broadly agree that automated mechanisms for acquiring, managing, and disseminating new technology and spinoff benefits information can and should play an important role in meeting NASA technology utilization goals. However, TUNS does not meet this need for most users. The survey describes a number of systematic improvements that will make it easier to use the technology transfer mechanism, and thus expedite the collection and dissemination of technology information. The survey identified 26 suggestions for enhancing the technology transfer system and related processes.

Sustainable Land Imaging User Requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Z.; Snyder, G.; Vadnais, C. M.

2017-12-01

The US Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program (LRSP) has collected user requirements from a range of applications to help formulate the Landsat 9 follow-on mission (Landsat 10) through the Requirements, Capabilities and Analysis (RCA) activity. The USGS is working with NASA to develop Landsat 10, which is scheduled to launch in the 2027 timeframe as part of the Sustainable Land Imaging program. User requirements collected through RCA will help inform future Landsat 10 sensor designs and mission characteristics. Current Federal civil community users have provided hundreds of requirements through systematic, in-depth interviews. Academic, State, local, industry, and international Landsat user community input was also incorporated in the process. Emphasis was placed on spatial resolution, temporal revisit, and spectral characteristics, as well as other aspects such as accuracy, continuity, sampling condition, data access and format. We will provide an overview of the Landsat 10 user requirements collection process and summary results of user needs from the broad land imagining community.

Synthesis of Multispectral Bands from Hyperspectral Data: Validation Based on Images Acquired by AVIRIS, Hyperion, ALI, and ETM+

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blonksi, Slawomir; Gasser, Gerald; Russell, Jeffrey; Ryan, Robert; Terrie, Greg; Zanoni, Vicki

2001-01-01

Multispectral data requirements for Earth science applications are not always studied rigorously studied before a new remote sensing system is designed. A study of the spatial resolution, spectral bandpasses, and radiometric sensitivity requirements of real-world applications would focus the design onto providing maximum benefits to the end-user community. To support systematic studies of multispectral data requirements, the Applications Research Toolbox (ART) has been developed at NASA's Stennis Space Center. The ART software allows users to create and assess simulated datasets while varying a wide range of system parameters. The simulations are based on data acquired by existing multispectral and hyperspectral instruments. The produced datasets can be further evaluated for specific end-user applications. Spectral synthesis of multispectral images from hyperspectral data is a key part of the ART software. In this process, hyperspectral image cubes are transformed into multispectral imagery without changes in spatial sampling and resolution. The transformation algorithm takes into account spectral responses of both the synthesized, broad, multispectral bands and the utilized, narrow, hyperspectral bands. To validate the spectral synthesis algorithm, simulated multispectral images are compared with images collected near-coincidentally by the Landsat 7 ETM+ and the EO-1 ALI instruments. Hyperspectral images acquired with the airborne AVIRIS instrument and with the Hyperion instrument onboard the EO-1 satellite were used as input data to the presented simulations.

Intro and Recent Advances: Remote Data Access via OPeNDAP Web Services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fulker, David

2016-01-01

During the upcoming Summer 2016 meeting of the ESIP Federation (July 19-22), OpenDAP will hold a Developers and Users Workshop. While a broad set of topics will be covered, a key focus is capitalizing on recent EOSDIS-sponsored advances in Hyrax, OPeNDAPs own software for server-side realization of the DAP2 and DAP4 protocols. These Hyrax advances are as important to data users as to data providers, and the workshop will include hands-on experiences of value to both. Specifically, a balanced set of presentations and hands-on tutorials will address advances in1.server installation,2.server configuration,3.Hyrax aggregation capabilities,4.support for data-access from clients that are HTTP-based, JSON-based or OGC-compliant (especially WCS and WMS),5.support for DAP4,6.use and extension of server-side computational capabilities, and7.several performance-affecting matters. Topics 2 through 7 will be relevant to data consumers, data providers and notably, due to the open-source nature of all OPeNDAP software to developers wishing to extend Hyrax, to build compatible clients and servers, and/or to employ Hyrax as middleware that enables interoperability across a variety of end-user and source-data contexts. A session for contributed talks will elaborate the topics listed above and embrace additional ones.

Categorization of common sounds by cochlear implanted and normal hearing adults.

PubMed

Collett, E; Marx, M; Gaillard, P; Roby, B; Fraysse, B; Deguine, O; Barone, P

2016-05-01

Auditory categorization involves grouping of acoustic events along one or more shared perceptual dimensions which can relate to both semantic and physical attributes. This process involves both high level cognitive processes (categorization) and low-level perceptual encoding of the acoustic signal, both of which are affected by the use of a cochlear implant (CI) device. The goal of this study was twofold: I) compare the categorization strategies of CI users and normal hearing listeners (NHL) II) investigate if any characteristics of the raw acoustic signal could explain the results. 16 experienced CI users and 20 NHL were tested using a Free-Sorting Task of 16 common sounds divided into 3 predefined categories of environmental, musical and vocal sounds. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Hierarchical Clustering based on Principal Components (HCPC) show that CI users followed a similar categorization strategy to that of NHL and were able to discriminate between the three different types of sounds. However results for CI users were more varied and showed less inter-participant agreement. Acoustic analysis also highlighted the average pitch salience and average autocorrelation peak as being important for the perception and categorization of the sounds. The results therefore show that on a broad level of categorization CI users may not have as many difficulties as previously thought in discriminating certain kinds of sound; however the perception of individual sounds remains challenging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Survey of upper limb prosthesis users in Sweden, the United Kingdom and Canada.

PubMed

Kyberd, Peter J; Hill, Wendy

2011-06-01

As part of the process of improving prosthetic arms, it is important to obtain the opinions of the user population. To identify factors that should be focused on to improve prosthesis provision. Postal questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to 292 adults (aged 18 to 70 years) with upper-limb loss or absence at five centres (four in Europe) Participants were identified as regular attendees of the centres. This questionnaire received a response from 180 users (response rate 62%) of different types of prosthetic devices. Responses showed that the type of prosthesis generally used was associated with gender, level of loss and use for work (Pearson chi-square, p-values below 0.05). The type of prosthesis was not associated with cause, side, usage (length per day, sports or driving) or reported problems. The findings did not identify any single factor requiring focus for the improvement of prostheses or prosthetic provision. Every part of the process of fitting a prosthesis can be improved, which will have an effect for some of the population who use their devices regularly. There is, however, no single factor that would bring greater improvement to all users. Based on information gained from a broad range of prosthesis users, no single aspect of prosthetic provision will have a greater impact on the use of upper limb prostheses than any other. Efforts to improve the designs of prosthetic systems can cover any aspect of provision.

The notes from nature tool for unlocking biodiversity records from museum records through citizen science

PubMed Central

Hill, Andrew; Guralnick, Robert; Smith, Arfon; Sallans, Andrew; Rosemary Gillespie; Denslow, Michael; Gross, Joyce; Murrell, Zack; Tim Conyers; Oboyski, Peter; Ball, Joan; Thomer, Andrea; Prys-Jones, Robert; de Torre, Javier; Kociolek, Patrick; Fortson, Lucy

2012-01-01

Abstract Legacy data from natural history collections contain invaluable and irreplaceable information about biodiversity in the recent past, providing a baseline for detecting change and forecasting the future of biodiversity on a human-dominated planet. However, these data are often not available in formats that facilitate use and synthesis. New approaches are needed to enhance the rates of digitization and data quality improvement. Notes from Nature provides one such novel approach by asking citizen scientists to help with transcription tasks. The initial web-based prototype of Notes from Nature is soon widely available and was developed collaboratively by biodiversity scientists, natural history collections staff, and experts in citizen science project development, programming and visualization. This project brings together digital images representing different types of biodiversity records including ledgers , herbarium sheets and pinned insects from multiple projects and natural history collections. Experts in developing web-based citizen science applications then designed and built a platform for transcribing textual data and metadata from these images. The end product is a fully open source web transcription tool built using the latest web technologies. The platform keeps volunteers engaged by initially explaining the scientific importance of the work via a short orientation, and then providing transcription “missions” of well defined scope, along with dynamic feedback, interactivity and rewards. Transcribed records, along with record-level and process metadata, are provided back to the institutions.  While the tool is being developed with new users in mind, it can serve a broad range of needs from novice to trained museum specialist. Notes from Nature has the potential to speed the rate of biodiversity data being made available to a broad community of users. PMID:22859890

The notes from nature tool for unlocking biodiversity records from museum records through citizen science.

PubMed

Hill, Andrew; Guralnick, Robert; Smith, Arfon; Sallans, Andrew; Rosemary Gillespie; Denslow, Michael; Gross, Joyce; Murrell, Zack; Tim Conyers; Oboyski, Peter; Ball, Joan; Thomer, Andrea; Prys-Jones, Robert; de Torre, Javier; Kociolek, Patrick; Fortson, Lucy

2012-01-01

Legacy data from natural history collections contain invaluable and irreplaceable information about biodiversity in the recent past, providing a baseline for detecting change and forecasting the future of biodiversity on a human-dominated planet. However, these data are often not available in formats that facilitate use and synthesis. New approaches are needed to enhance the rates of digitization and data quality improvement. Notes from Nature provides one such novel approach by asking citizen scientists to help with transcription tasks. The initial web-based prototype of Notes from Nature is soon widely available and was developed collaboratively by biodiversity scientists, natural history collections staff, and experts in citizen science project development, programming and visualization. This project brings together digital images representing different types of biodiversity records including ledgers , herbarium sheets and pinned insects from multiple projects and natural history collections. Experts in developing web-based citizen science applications then designed and built a platform for transcribing textual data and metadata from these images. The end product is a fully open source web transcription tool built using the latest web technologies. The platform keeps volunteers engaged by initially explaining the scientific importance of the work via a short orientation, and then providing transcription "missions" of well defined scope, along with dynamic feedback, interactivity and rewards. Transcribed records, along with record-level and process metadata, are provided back to the institutions.  While the tool is being developed with new users in mind, it can serve a broad range of needs from novice to trained museum specialist. Notes from Nature has the potential to speed the rate of biodiversity data being made available to a broad community of users.

Patient and professional user experiences of simple telehealth for hypertension, medication reminders and smoking cessation: a service evaluation

PubMed Central

Cottrell, Elizabeth; Cox, Tracey; O'Connell, Phil; Chambers, Ruth

2015-01-01

Objectives To establish patient and professional user satisfaction with the Advice & Interactive Messaging (AIM) for Health programme delivered using a mobile phone-based, simple telehealth intervention, ‘Florence’. Design A service evaluation using data extracted from Florence and from a professional user electronic survey. Setting 425 primary care practices across 31 Clinical Commissioning Groups in England. Participants 3381 patients registered on 1 of 10 AIM protocols between March 2013 and January 2014 and 77 professional users. Intervention The AIM programme offered 10 clinical protocols, in three broad groups: (1) hypertension diagnosis/monitoring, (2) medication reminders and (3) smoking cessation. Florence sent patients prompts to submit clinical information, educational messages and user satisfaction questions. Patient responses were reviewed by their primary healthcare providers. Primary outcome measures Patients and professional user experiences of using AIM, and within this, Florence. Results Patient activity using Florence was generally good at month 1 for the hypertension protocols (71–80%), but reduced over 2–3 months (31–60%). For the other protocols, patient activity was 0–39% at 3 months. Minimum target days of texting were met for half the hypertension protocols. 1707/2304 (74%) patients sent evaluative texts responded at least once. Among responders, agreement with the adapted friends and family statement generally exceeded preproject aspirations. Professional responders were generally positive or equivocal about the programme. Conclusions Satisfaction with AIM appeared optimal when patients were carefully selected for the protocol; professional users were familiar with the system, the programme addressed a problem with the previous service delivery that was identified by users and users took an active approach to achieve clinical goals. However, there was a significant decrease in patients’ use of Florence over time. Future applications may be optimised by identifying and addressing reasons for the waning use of the service and enhancing support during implementation of the service. PMID:25795698

Cloud-based Web Services for Near-Real-Time Web access to NPP Satellite Imagery and other Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, J. D.; Valente, E. G.

2010-12-01

We are building a scalable, cloud computing-based infrastructure for Web access to near-real-time data products synthesized from the U.S. National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) and other geospatial and meteorological data. Given recent and ongoing changes in the the NPP and NPOESS programs (now Joint Polar Satellite System), the need for timely delivery of NPP data is urgent. We propose an alternative to a traditional, centralized ground segment, using distributed Direct Broadcast facilities linked to industry-standard Web services by a streamlined processing chain running in a scalable cloud computing environment. Our processing chain, currently implemented on Amazon.com's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), retrieves raw data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and synthesizes data products such as Sea-Surface Temperature, Vegetation Indices, etc. The cloud computing approach lets us grow and shrink computing resources to meet large and rapid fluctuations (twice daily) in both end-user demand and data availability from polar-orbiting sensors. Early prototypes have delivered various data products to end-users with latencies between 6 and 32 minutes. We have begun to replicate machine instances in the cloud, so as to reduce latency and maintain near-real time data access regardless of increased data input rates or user demand -- all at quite moderate monthly costs. Our service-based approach (in which users invoke software processes on a Web-accessible server) facilitates access into datasets of arbitrary size and resolution, and allows users to request and receive tailored and composite (e.g., false-color multiband) products on demand. To facilitate broad impact and adoption of our technology, we have emphasized open, industry-standard software interfaces and open source software. Through our work, we envision the widespread establishment of similar, derived, or interoperable systems for processing and serving near-real-time data from NPP and other sensors. A scalable architecture based on cloud computing ensures cost-effective, real-time processing and delivery of NPP and other data. Access via standard Web services maximizes its interoperability and usefulness.

Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity survey pre-modeling tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Terry, Neil; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Robinson, Judith L.; Slater, Lee D.; Halford, Keith J.; Binley, Andrew; Lane, John W.; Werkema, Dale D.

2017-01-01

Geophysical tools have much to offer users in environmental, water resource, and geotechnical fields; however, techniques such as electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) are often oversold and/or overinterpreted due to a lack of understanding of the limitations of the techniques, such as the appropriate depth intervals or resolution of the methods. The relationship between ERI data and resistivity is nonlinear; therefore, these limitations depend on site conditions and survey design and are best assessed through forward and inverse modeling exercises prior to field investigations. In this approach, proposed field surveys are first numerically simulated given the expected electrical properties of the site, and the resulting hypothetical data are then analyzed using inverse models. Performing ERI forward/inverse modeling, however, requires substantial expertise and can take many hours to implement. We present a new spreadsheet-based tool, the Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity (SEER), which features a graphical user interface that allows users to manipulate a resistivity model and instantly view how that model would likely be interpreted by an ERI survey. The SEER tool is intended for use by those who wish to determine the value of including ERI to achieve project goals, and is designed to have broad utility in industry, teaching, and research.

Point Analysis in Java applied to histological images of the perforant pathway: a user's account.

PubMed

Scorcioni, Ruggero; Wright, Susan N; Patrick Card, J; Ascoli, Giorgio A; Barrionuevo, Germán

2008-01-01

The freeware Java tool Point Analysis in Java (PAJ), created to perform 3D point analysis, was tested in an independent laboratory setting. The input data consisted of images of the hippocampal perforant pathway from serial immunocytochemical localizations of the rat brain in multiple views at different resolutions. The low magnification set (x2 objective) comprised the entire perforant pathway, while the high magnification set (x100 objective) allowed the identification of individual fibers. A preliminary stereological study revealed a striking linear relationship between the fiber count at high magnification and the optical density at low magnification. PAJ enabled fast analysis for down-sampled data sets and a friendly interface with automated plot drawings. Noted strengths included the multi-platform support as well as the free availability of the source code, conducive to a broad user base and maximum flexibility for ad hoc requirements. PAJ has great potential to extend its usability by (a) improving its graphical user interface, (b) increasing its input size limit, (c) improving response time for large data sets, and (d) potentially being integrated with other Java graphical tools such as ImageJ.

Measurement of multiple nicotine dependence domains among cigarette, non-cigarette and poly-tobacco users: Insights from item response theory.

PubMed

Strong, David R; Messer, Karen; Hartman, Sheri J; Conway, Kevin P; Hoffman, Allison C; Pharris-Ciurej, Nikolas; White, Martha; Green, Victoria R; Compton, Wilson M; Pierce, John

2015-07-01

Nicotine dependence (ND) is a key construct that organizes physiological and behavioral symptoms associated with persistent nicotine intake. Measurement of ND has focused primarily on cigarette smokers. Thus, validation of brief instruments that apply to a broad spectrum of tobacco product users is needed. We examined multiple domains of ND in a longitudinal national study of the United States population, the United States National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). We used methods based in item response theory to identify and validate increasingly brief measures of ND that included symptoms to assess ND similarly among cigarette, cigar, smokeless, and poly tobacco users. Confirmatory factor analytic models supported a single, primary dimension underlying symptoms of ND across tobacco use groups. Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis generated little support for systematic differences in response to symptoms of ND across tobacco use groups. We established significant concurrent and predictive validity of brief 3- and 5-symptom indices for measuring ND. Measuring ND across tobacco use groups with a common set of symptoms facilitates evaluation of tobacco use in an evolving marketplace of tobacco and nicotine products. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flexible Near-Field Wireless Optoelectronics as Subdermal Implants for Broad Applications in Optogenetics.

PubMed

Shin, Gunchul; Gomez, Adrian M; Al-Hasani, Ream; Jeong, Yu Ra; Kim, Jeonghyun; Xie, Zhaoqian; Banks, Anthony; Lee, Seung Min; Han, Sang Youn; Yoo, Chul Jong; Lee, Jong-Lam; Lee, Seung Hee; Kurniawan, Jonas; Tureb, Jacob; Guo, Zhongzhu; Yoon, Jangyeol; Park, Sung-Il; Bang, Sang Yun; Nam, Yoonho; Walicki, Marie C; Samineni, Vijay K; Mickle, Aaron D; Lee, Kunhyuk; Heo, Seung Yun; McCall, Jordan G; Pan, Taisong; Wang, Liang; Feng, Xue; Kim, Tae-Il; Kim, Jong Kyu; Li, Yuhang; Huang, Yonggang; Gereau, Robert W; Ha, Jeong Sook; Bruchas, Michael R; Rogers, John A

2017-02-08

In vivo optogenetics provides unique, powerful capabilities in the dissection of neural circuits implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. Conventional hardware for such studies, however, physically tethers the experimental animal to an external light source, limiting the range of possible experiments. Emerging wireless options offer important capabilities that avoid some of these limitations, but the current size, bulk, weight, and wireless area of coverage is often disadvantageous. Here, we present a simple but powerful setup based on wireless, near-field power transfer and miniaturized, thin, flexible optoelectronic implants, for complete optical control in a variety of behavioral paradigms. The devices combine subdermal magnetic coil antennas connected to microscale, injectable light-emitting diodes (LEDs), with the ability to operate at wavelengths ranging from UV to blue, green-yellow, and red. An external loop antenna allows robust, straightforward application in a multitude of behavioral apparatuses. The result is a readily mass-producible, user-friendly technology with broad potential for optogenetics applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Flexible near field wireless optoelectronics as subdermal implants for broad applications in optogenetics

PubMed Central

Shin, Gunchul; Gomez, Adrian M.; Al-Hasani, Ream; Jeong, Yu Ra; Kim, Jeonghyun; Xie, Zhaoqian; Banks, Anthony; Lee, Seung Min; Han, Sang Youn; Yoo, Chul Jong; Lee, Jong-Lam; Lee, Seung Hee; Kurniawan, Jonas; Tureb, Jacob; Guo, Zhongzhu; Yoon, Jangyeol; Park, Sung-Il; Bang, Sang Yun; Nam, Yoonho; Walicki, Marie C.; Samineni, Vijay K.; Mickle, Aaron D.; Lee, Kunhyuk; Heo, Seung Yun; McCall, Jordan G.; Pan, Taisong; Wang, Liang; Feng, Xue; Kim, Taeil; Kim, Jong Kyu; Li, Yuhang; Huang, Yonggang; Gereau, Robert W.; Ha, Jeong Sook; Bruchas, Michael R.; Rogers, John A.

2017-01-01

Summary In vivo optogenetics provides unique, powerful capabilities in the dissection of neural circuits implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. Conventional hardware for such studies, however, physically tethers the experimental animal to an external light source limiting the range of possible experiments. Emerging wireless options offer important capabilities that avoid some of these limitations, but the current size, bulk, weight, and wireless area of coverage is often disadvantageous. Here, we present a simple but powerful setup based on wireless, near-field power transfer and miniaturized, thin flexible optoelectronic implants, for complete optical control in a variety of behavioral paradigms. The devices combine subdermal magnetic coil antennas connected to microscale, injectable LEDs, with the ability to operate at wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to blue, green/yellow, and red. An external loop antenna allows robust, straightforward application in a multitude of behavioral apparatuses. The result is a readily mass-producible, user-friendly technology with broad potential for optogenetics applications. PMID:28132830

Impact of an online medical internet site on knowledge and practice of health care providers: a mixed methods study of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence project.

PubMed

Eng, Janice J; Noonan, Vanessa K; Townson, Andrea F; Higgins, Caroline E; Rogers, Jess; Wolfe, Dalton L

2014-12-23

It is not known whether ongoing access to a broad-based Internet knowledge resource can influence the practice of health care providers. We undertook a study to evaluate the impact of a Web-based knowledge resource on increasing access to evidence and facilitating best practice of health care providers. The objective of this study was to evaluate (1) the impact of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence (SCIRE) project on access to information for health care providers and researchers and (2) how SCIRE influenced health care providers' management of clients. A 4-part mixed methods evaluation was undertaken: (1) monitoring website traffic and utilization using Google Analytics, (2) online survey of users who accessed the SCIRE website, (3) online survey of targeted end-users, that is, rehabilitation health care providers known to work with spinal cord injury (SCI) clients, as well as researchers, and (4) focus groups with health care providers who had previously accessed SCIRE. The online format allowed the content for a relatively specialized field to have far reach (eg, 26 countries and over 6500 users per month). The website survey and targeted end-user survey confirmed that health care providers, as well as researchers perceived that the website increased their access to SCI evidence. Access to SCIRE not only improved knowledge of SCI evidence but helped inform changes to the health providers' clinical practice and improved their confidence in treating SCI clients. The SCIRE information directly influenced the health providers' clinical decision making, in terms of choice of intervention, equipment needs, or assessment tool. A Web-based knowledge resource may be a relatively inexpensive method to increase access to evidence-based information, increase knowledge of the evidence, inform changes to the health providers' practice, and influence their clinical decision making.

Impact of an Online Medical Internet Site on Knowledge and Practice of Health Care Providers: A Mixed Methods Study of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence Project

PubMed Central

Noonan, Vanessa K; Townson, Andrea F; Higgins, Caroline E; Rogers, Jess; Wolfe, Dalton L

2014-01-01

Background It is not known whether ongoing access to a broad-based Internet knowledge resource can influence the practice of health care providers. We undertook a study to evaluate the impact of a Web-based knowledge resource on increasing access to evidence and facilitating best practice of health care providers. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate (1) the impact of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence (SCIRE) project on access to information for health care providers and researchers and (2) how SCIRE influenced health care providers' management of clients. Methods A 4-part mixed methods evaluation was undertaken: (1) monitoring website traffic and utilization using Google Analytics, (2) online survey of users who accessed the SCIRE website, (3) online survey of targeted end-users, that is, rehabilitation health care providers known to work with spinal cord injury (SCI) clients, as well as researchers, and (4) focus groups with health care providers who had previously accessed SCIRE. Results The online format allowed the content for a relatively specialized field to have far reach (eg, 26 countries and over 6500 users per month). The website survey and targeted end-user survey confirmed that health care providers, as well as researchers perceived that the website increased their access to SCI evidence. Access to SCIRE not only improved knowledge of SCI evidence but helped inform changes to the health providers’ clinical practice and improved their confidence in treating SCI clients. The SCIRE information directly influenced the health providers’ clinical decision making, in terms of choice of intervention, equipment needs, or assessment tool. Conclusions A Web-based knowledge resource may be a relatively inexpensive method to increase access to evidence-based information, increase knowledge of the evidence, inform changes to the health providers’ practice, and influence their clinical decision making. PMID:25537167

Tools and Services for Working with Multiple Land Remote Sensing Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krehbiel, C.; Friesz, A.; Harriman, L.; Quenzer, R.; Impecoven, K.; Maiersperger, T.

2016-12-01

The availability of increasingly large and diverse satellite remote sensing datasets provides both an opportunity and a challenge across broad Earth science research communities. On one hand, the extensive assortment of available data offer unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of Earth science and enable data use across a multitude of science disciplines. On the other hand, increasingly complex formats, data structures, and metadata can be an obstacle to data use for the broad user community that is interested in incorporating remote sensing Earth science data into their research. NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) provides easy to use Python notebook tutorials for services such as accessing land remote sensing data from the LP DAAC Data Pool and interpreting data quality information from MODIS. We use examples to demonstrate the capabilities of the Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS), such as spatially and spectrally subsetting data, decoding valuable quality information, and exploring initial analysis results within the user interface. We also show data recipes for R and Python scripts that help users process ASTER L1T and ASTER Global Emissivity Datasets.

Ceiling effect of online user interests for the movies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Jing; Zhang, Yi-Lu; Hu, Zhao-Long; Song, Wen-Jun; Hou, Lei; Guo, Qiang; Liu, Jian-Guo

2014-05-01

Online users' collective interests play an important role for analyzing the online social networks and personalized recommendations. In this paper, we introduce the information entropy to measure the diversity of the user interests. We empirically analyze the information entropy of the objects selected by the users with the same degree in both the MovieLens and Netflix datasets. The results show that as the user degree increases, the entropy increases from the lowest value at first to the highest value and then begins to fall, which indicates that the interests of the small-degree and large-degree users are more centralized, while the interests of normal users are more diverse. Furthermore, a null model is proposed to compare with the empirical results. In a null model, we keep the number of users and objects as well as the user degrees unchangeable, but the selection behaviors are totally random in both datasets. Results show that the diversity of the majority of users in the real datasets is higher than that the random case, with the exception of the diversity of only a fraction of small-degree users. That may because new users just like popular objects, while with the increase of the user experiences, they quickly become users of broad interests. Therefore, small-degree users' interests are much easier to predict than the other users', which may shed some light for the cold-start problem.

Access to the NCAR Research Data Archive via the Globus Data Transfer Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cram, T.; Schuster, D.; Ji, Z.; Worley, S. J.

2014-12-01

The NCAR Research Data Archive (RDA; http://rda.ucar.edu) contains a large and diverse collection of meteorological and oceanographic observations, operational and reanalysis outputs, and remote sensing datasets to support atmospheric and geoscience research. The RDA contains greater than 600 dataset collections which support the varying needs of a diverse user community. The number of RDA users is increasing annually, and the most popular method used to access the RDA data holdings is through web based protocols, such as wget and cURL based scripts. In the year 2013, 10,000 unique users downloaded greater than 820 terabytes of data from the RDA, and customized data products were prepared for more than 29,000 user-driven requests. In order to further support this increase in web download usage, the RDA is implementing the Globus data transfer service (www.globus.org) to provide a GridFTP data transfer option for the user community. The Globus service is broadly scalable, has an easy to install client, is sustainably supported, and provides a robust, efficient, and reliable data transfer option for RDA users. This paper highlights the main functionality and usefulness of the Globus data transfer service for accessing the RDA holdings. The Globus data transfer service, developed and supported by the Computation Institute at The University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, uses the GridFTP as a fast, secure, and reliable method for transferring data between two endpoints. A Globus user account is required to use this service, and data transfer endpoints are defined on the Globus web interface. In the RDA use cases, the access endpoint is created on the RDA data server at NCAR. The data user defines the receiving endpoint for the data transfer, which can be the main file system at a host institution, a personal work station, or laptop. Once initiated, the data transfer runs as an unattended background process by Globus, and Globus ensures that the transfer is accurately fulfilled. Users can monitor the data transfer progress on the Globus web interface and optionally receive an email notification once it is complete. Globus also provides a command-line interface to support scripted transfers, which can be useful when embedded in data processing workflows.

Human Factors Plan for the Aeronautical Information Subsystem

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-10-01

This human factors plan covers the human factors effort for the development of the Aeronautical Information Subsystem (AIS) of the Operational Data Management System (ODMS). Broadly the goals of the human factors effort are to provide a user interfac...

Highway-rail intersection user service

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-02-26

As a result of the Federal Register announcement at the end of 1994 which sought a : broad review of the third draft of the NPP, Mr. Hoy Richards prepared a responsive : statement to the Federal Highway Administration's Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Sy...

Abnormal white matter integrity in chronic users of codeine-containing cough syrups: a tract-based spatial statistics study.

PubMed

Qiu, Y-W; Su, H-H; Lv, X-F; Jiang, G-H

2015-01-01

Codeine-containing cough syrups have become one of the most popular drugs of abuse in young people in the world. Chronic codeine-containing cough syrup abuse is related to impairments in a broad range of cognitive functions. However, the potential brain white matter impairment caused by chronic codeine-containing cough syrup abuse has not been reported previously. Our aim was to investigate abnormalities in the microstructure of brain white matter in chronic users of codeine-containing syrups and to determine whether these WM abnormalities are related to the duration of the use these syrups and clinical impulsivity. Thirty chronic codeine-containing syrup users and 30 matched controls were evaluated. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed by using a single-shot spin-echo-planar sequence. Whole-brain voxelwise analysis of fractional anisotropy was performed by using tract-based spatial statistics to localize abnormal WM regions. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 was surveyed to assess participants' impulsivity. Volume-of-interest analysis was used to detect changes of diffusivity indices in regions with fractional anisotropy abnormalities. Abnormal fractional anisotropy was extracted and correlated with clinical impulsivity and the duration of codeine-containing syrup use. Chronic codeine-containing syrup users had significantly lower fractional anisotropy in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus of the bilateral temporo-occipital regions, right frontal region, and the right corona radiata WM than controls. There were significant negative correlations among fractional anisotropy values of the right frontal region of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and the right superior corona radiata WM and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale total scores, and between the right frontal region of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and nonplan impulsivity scores in chronic codeine-containing syrup users. There was also a significant negative correlation between fractional anisotropy values of the right frontal region of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and the duration of codeine-containing syrup use in chronic users. Chronic codeine-containing syrup abuse may be associated with disruptions in brain WM integrity. These WM microstructural deficits may be linked to higher impulsivity in chronic codeine-containing syrup users. © 2015 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Working More Productively: Tools for Administrative Data

PubMed Central

Roos, Leslie L; Soodeen, Ruth-Ann; Bond, Ruth; Burchill, Charles

2003-01-01

Objective This paper describes a web-based resource () that contains a series of tools for working with administrative data. This work in knowledge management represents an effort to document, find, and transfer concepts and techniques, both within the local research group and to a more broadly defined user community. Concepts and associated computer programs are made as “modular” as possible to facilitate easy transfer from one project to another. Study Setting/Data Sources Tools to work with a registry, longitudinal administrative data, and special files (survey and clinical) from the Province of Manitoba, Canada in the 1990–2003 period. Data Collection Literature review and analyses of web site utilization were used to generate the findings. Principal Findings The Internet-based Concept Dictionary and SAS macros developed in Manitoba are being used in a growing number of research centers. Nearly 32,000 hits from more than 10,200 hosts in a recent month demonstrate broad interest in the Concept Dictionary. Conclusions The tools, taken together, make up a knowledge repository and research production system that aid local work and have great potential internationally. Modular software provides considerable efficiency. The merging of documentation and researcher-to-researcher dissemination keeps costs manageable. PMID:14596394

Community Coordinated Modeling Center: Addressing Needs of Operational Space Weather Forecasting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuznetsova, M.; Maddox, M.; Pulkkinen, A.; Hesse, M.; Rastaetter, L.; Macneice, P.; Taktakishvili, A.; Berrios, D.; Chulaki, A.; Zheng, Y.;

Using archetypes to design services for high users of healthcare.

PubMed

Vaillancourt, Samuel; Shahin, Ilan; Aggarwal, Payal; Pomedli, Steve; Hayden, Leigh; Pus, Laura; Bhattacharyya, Onil

2014-01-01

A subset of people with complex health and social needs account for the majority of healthcare costs in Ontario. There is broad agreement that better solutions for these patients could lead to better health outcomes and lower costs, but we have few tools to design services around their diverse needs. Predictive modelling may help determine numbers of high users, but design methods such as user archetypes may offer important ways of understanding how to meet their needs. We studied a range of patient profiles and interviews with frequent emergency department users to develop four archetypes of patients with complex needs to orient the service design process. These can be refined and adapted for use within initiatives like Health Links to help provide more appropriate cost-effective care.

The Langley Stability and Transition Analysis Code (LASTRAC) : LST, Linear and Nonlinear PSE for 2-D, Axisymmetric, and Infinite Swept Wing Boundary Layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Chau-Lyan

2003-01-01

During the past two decades, our understanding of laminar-turbulent transition flow physics has advanced significantly owing to, in a large part, the NASA program support such as the National Aerospace Plane (NASP), High-speed Civil Transport (HSCT), and Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST). Experimental, theoretical, as well as computational efforts on various issues such as receptivity and linear and nonlinear evolution of instability waves take part in broadening our knowledge base for this intricate flow phenomenon. Despite all these advances, transition prediction remains a nontrivial task for engineers due to the lack of a widely available, robust, and efficient prediction tool. The design and development of the LASTRAC code is aimed at providing one such engineering tool that is easy to use and yet capable of dealing with a broad range of transition related issues. LASTRAC was written from scratch based on the state-of-the-art numerical methods for stability analysis and modem software technologies. At low fidelity, it allows users to perform linear stability analysis and N-factor transition correlation for a broad range of flow regimes and configurations by using either the linear stability theory (LST) or linear parabolized stability equations (LPSE) method. At high fidelity, users may use nonlinear PSE to track finite-amplitude disturbances until the skin friction rise. Coupled with the built-in receptivity model that is currently under development, the nonlinear PSE method offers a synergistic approach to predict transition onset for a given disturbance environment based on first principles. This paper describes the governing equations, numerical methods, code development, and case studies for the current release of LASTRAC. Practical applications of LASTRAC are demonstrated for linear stability calculations, N-factor transition correlation, non-linear breakdown simulations, and controls of stationary crossflow instability in supersonic swept wing boundary layers.

Proposal for an Accelerator R&D User Facility at Fermilab's Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Church, M.; Edwards, H.; Harms, E.

2013-10-01

Fermilab is the nation’s particle physics laboratory, supported by the DOE Office of High Energy Physics (OHEP). Fermilab is a world leader in accelerators, with a demonstrated track-record— spanning four decades—of excellence in accelerator science and technology. We describe the significant opportunity to complete, in a highly leveraged manner, a unique accelerator research facility that supports the broad strategic goals in accelerator science and technology within the OHEP. While the US accelerator-based HEP program is oriented toward the Intensity Frontier, which requires modern superconducting linear accelerators and advanced highintensity storage rings, there are no accelerator test facilities that support themore » accelerator science of the Intensity Frontier. Further, nearly all proposed future accelerators for Discovery Science will rely on superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) acceleration, yet there are no dedicated test facilities to study SRF capabilities for beam acceleration and manipulation in prototypic conditions. Finally, there are a wide range of experiments and research programs beyond particle physics that require the unique beam parameters that will only be available at Fermilab’s Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA). To address these needs we submit this proposal for an Accelerator R&D User Facility at ASTA. The ASTA program is based on the capability provided by an SRF linac (which provides electron beams from 50 MeV to nearly 1 GeV) and a small storage ring (with the ability to store either electrons or protons) to enable a broad range of beam-based experiments to study fundamental limitations to beam intensity and to develop transformative approaches to particle-beam generation, acceleration and manipulation which cannot be done elsewhere. It will also establish a unique resource for R&D towards Energy Frontier facilities and a test-bed for SRF accelerators and high brightness beam applications in support of the OHEP mission of Accelerator Stewardship.« less

Data Evaluation of Actinide Cross Sections: 238Pu, 237Pu, and 236Pu

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guaglioni, S.; Jurgenson, E.; Descalle, M. A.

This report documents the recent evaluation of the 236Pu, 237Pu, and 238Pu cross section sets. Nuclear data evaluation is the fundamental interface that takes measured nuclear cross section data and turns them into a continuous curve that 1) is consistent with other measurements and nuclear reaction theory/models, and 2) is required by down-stream users. All experiments that generate nuclear data need to include an evaluation step for their data to be broadly useful to the end users.

Analysis of Critical Earth Observation Priorities for Societal Benefit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zell, E. R.; Huff, A. K.; Carpenter, A. T.; Friedl, L.

2011-12-01

To ensure that appropriate near real-time (NRT) and historical Earth observation data are available to benefit society and meet end-user needs, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) sponsored a multi-disciplinary study to identify a set of critical and common Earth observations associated with 9 Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs): Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate, Disasters, Ecosystems, Energy, Health, Water, and Weather. GEO is an intergovernmental organization working to improve the availability, access, and use of Earth observations to benefit society through a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The study, overseen by the GEO User Interface Committee, focused on the "demand" side of Earth observation needs: which users need what types of data, and when? The methodology for the study was a meta-analysis of over 1,700 publicly available documents addressing Earth observation user priorities, under the guidance of expert advisors from around the world. The result was a ranking of 146 Earth observation parameters that are critical and common to multiple SBAs, based on an ensemble of 4 statistically robust methods. Within the results, key details emerged on NRT observations needed to serve a broad community of users. The NRT observation priorities include meteorological parameters, vegetation indices, land cover and soil property observations, water body and snow cover properties, and atmospheric composition. The results of the study and examples of NRT applications will be presented. The applications are as diverse as the list of priority parameters. For example, NRT meteorological and soil moisture information can support monitoring and forecasting for more than 25 infectious diseases, including epidemic diseases, such as malaria, and diseases of major concern in the U.S., such as Lyme disease. Quickly evolving events that impact forests, such as fires and insect outbreaks, can be monitored and forecasted with a combination of vegetation indices, fuel moisture content, burn scars, and meteorological parameters. Impacts to public health and livelihoods due to food insecurity, algal blooms, and air pollution can be addressed through NRT monitoring of specific events utilizing land cover, atmospheric composition, water quality, and meteorological observations. More broadly, the assessment of water availability for drinking and agriculture and the development of floods and storms rely on continuous feeds of NRT meteorological and atmospheric composition observations. Overall, this multi-disciplinary study of user needs for NRT data and products can inform the design and operation of NRT data systems. Follow-on work for this study will also be presented, focusing on the availability of current and future satellite measurements (including NRT) of the 30 most critical Earth observation priorities, as well as a detailed analysis of users' needs for precipitation data. The results of this study summarize the priorities for critical Earth observations utilized globally for societal benefit.

Web-based resources for mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics: a user's guide.

PubMed

Tohge, Takayuki; Fernie, Alisdair R

2009-03-01

In recent years, a plethora of web-based tools aimed at supporting mass-spectrometry-based metabolite profiling and metabolomics applications have appeared. Given the huge hurdles presented by the chemical diversity and dynamic range of the metabolites present in the plant kingdom, profiling the levels of a broad range of metabolites is highly challenging. Given the scale and costs involved in defining the plant metabolome, it is imperative that data are effectively shared between laboratories pursuing this goal. However, ensuring accurate comparison of samples run on the same machine within the same laboratory, let alone cross-machine and cross-laboratory comparisons, requires both careful experimentation and data interpretation. In this review, we present an overview of currently available software that aids either in peak identification or in the related field of peak alignment as well as those with utility in defining structural information of compounds and metabolic pathways.

MGDS: Free, on-line, cutting-edge tools to enable the democratisation of geoscience data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodwillie, A. M.; Ryan, W. B.; O'Hara, S.; Ferrini, V.; Arko, R. A.; Coplan, J.; Chan, S.; Carbotte, S. M.; Nitsche, F. O.; Bonczkowski, J.; Morton, J. J.; Weissel, R.; Leung, A.

2010-12-01

The availability of user-friendly, effective cyber-information resources for accessing and manipulating geoscience data has grown rapidly in recent years. Based at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory the MGDS group has developed a number of free tools that have wide application across the geosciences for both educators and researchers. A simple web page (http://www.marine-geo.org/) allows users to search for and download many types of data by key word, geographical region, or published citation. The popular Create Maps and Grids function and the downloadable Google Earth-compatible KML files appeal to a wide user base. MGDS MediaBank galleries (http://media.marine-geo.org/) enable users to view and download compelling images that are purposefully selected for their educational value from NSF-funded field programs. GeoMapApp (http://www.geomapapp.org), a free map-based interactive tool that works on any machine, is increasingly being adopted across a broad suite of users from middle school students to university researchers. GeoMapApp allows users to plot, manipulate and present data in an intuitive geographical reference frame. GeoMapApp offers a convenient way to explore the wide range of built-in data sets, to quickly generate maps and images that aid visualisation and, when importing their own gridded and tabular data sets, to access the same rich built-in functionality. A user guide, short multi-media tutorials, and webinar are available on-line. The regularly-updated Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) Synthesis is used as the default GeoMapApp base map and is an increasingly popular means to rapidly create location maps. Additionally, the layer manager offers a fast way to overlay and compare multiple data sets and is augmented by the ability to alter layer transparency so that underlying layers become visible. Examples of GeoMapApp built-in data sets include high-resolution land topography and ocean floor bathymetry derived from satellite and multi-beam swath mapping systems - these can be profiled, shaded, and contoured; geo-registered geochemical sample analyses from the EarthChem database; plate boundary, earthquake and volcano catalogues; physical oceanography global and water column data; seafloor photos and Alvin dive video images; geological maps at various scales; and, high-quality coastline, lakes and rivers data. Customised data portals offer enhanced functionality for multi-channel seismic profiles, drill core logs, and earthquake animations. GeoMapApp is used in many MARGINS undergraduate-level off-the-shelf interactive learning activities called mini-lessons (http://serc.carleton.edu/margins/collection.html). Examples of educational applicability will be shown.

PYCHEM: a multivariate analysis package for python.

PubMed

Jarvis, Roger M; Broadhurst, David; Johnson, Helen; O'Boyle, Noel M; Goodacre, Royston

2006-10-15

We have implemented a multivariate statistical analysis toolbox, with an optional standalone graphical user interface (GUI), using the Python scripting language. This is a free and open source project that addresses the need for a multivariate analysis toolbox in Python. Although the functionality provided does not cover the full range of multivariate tools that are available, it has a broad complement of methods that are widely used in the biological sciences. In contrast to tools like MATLAB, PyChem 2.0.0 is easily accessible and free, allows for rapid extension using a range of Python modules and is part of the growing amount of complementary and interoperable scientific software in Python based upon SciPy. One of the attractions of PyChem is that it is an open source project and so there is an opportunity, through collaboration, to increase the scope of the software and to continually evolve a user-friendly platform that has applicability across a wide range of analytical and post-genomic disciplines. http://sourceforge.net/projects/pychem

SUMOFLUX: A Generalized Method for Targeted 13C Metabolic Flux Ratio Analysis

PubMed Central

Kogadeeva, Maria

2016-01-01

Metabolic fluxes are a cornerstone of cellular physiology that emerge from a complex interplay of enzymes, carriers, and nutrients. The experimental assessment of in vivo intracellular fluxes using stable isotopic tracers is essential if we are to understand metabolic function and regulation. Flux estimation based on 13C or 2H labeling relies on complex simulation and iterative fitting; processes that necessitate a level of expertise that ordinarily preclude the non-expert user. To overcome this, we have developed SUMOFLUX, a methodology that is broadly applicable to the targeted analysis of 13C-metabolic fluxes. By combining surrogate modeling and machine learning, we trained a predictor to specialize in estimating flux ratios from measurable 13C-data. SUMOFLUX targets specific flux features individually, which makes it fast, user-friendly, applicable to experimental design and robust in terms of experimental noise and exchange flux magnitude. Collectively, we predict that SUMOFLUX's properties realistically pave the way to high-throughput flux analyses. PMID:27626798

Invisible Light: a global infotainment community based on augmented reality technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Israel, Kai; Wozniak, Peter; Vauderwange, Oliver; Curticapean, Dan

2015-10-01

Theoretical details about optics and photonics are not common knowledge nowadays. Physicists are keen to scientifically explain `light,' which has a huge impact on our lives. It is necessary to examine it from multiple perspectives and to make the knowledge accessible to the public in an interdisciplinary, scientifically well-grounded and appealing medial way. To allow an information exchange on a global scale, our project "Invisible Light" establishes a worldwide accessible platform. Its contents will not be created by a single instance, but user-generated, with the help of the global community. The article describes the infotainment portal "Invisible Light," which stores scientific articles about light and photonics and makes them accessible worldwide. All articles are tagged with geo-coordinates, so they can be clearly identified and localized. A smartphone application is used for visualization, transmitting the information to users in real time by means of an augmented reality application. Scientific information is made accessible for a broad audience and in an attractive manner.

tranSMART: An Open Source and Community-Driven Informatics and Data Sharing Platform for Clinical and Translational Research.

PubMed

Athey, Brian D; Braxenthaler, Michael; Haas, Magali; Guo, Yike

2013-01-01

tranSMART is an emerging global open source public private partnership community developing a comprehensive informatics-based analysis and data-sharing cloud platform for clinical and translational research. The tranSMART consortium includes pharmaceutical and other companies, not-for-profits, academic entities, patient advocacy groups, and government stakeholders. The tranSMART value proposition relies on the concept that the global community of users, developers, and stakeholders are the best source of innovation for applications and for useful data. Continued development and use of the tranSMART platform will create a means to enable "pre-competitive" data sharing broadly, saving money and, potentially accelerating research translation to cures. Significant transformative effects of tranSMART includes 1) allowing for all its user community to benefit from experts globally, 2) capturing the best of innovation in analytic tools, 3) a growing 'big data' resource, 4) convergent standards, and 5) new informatics-enabled translational science in the pharma, academic, and not-for-profit sectors.

Networked information: Management issues for the acquisitions librarian

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawrence, Gregory

1994-01-01

Historically, libraries have been the depositories and public access points to both domestic and international government information. A change in the information seeking behavior of the public is driving a change in government information publishing and dissemination. Patrons who traditionally used libraries for access to printed government information have become familiar and comfortable with the electronic environment. These data users are showing an increased interest in certain types of government information in electronic format, including indexes, numeric files, statistics, and hypertext documents. Government response to increased demand for electronic information has led to a flurry of special initiatives, with the production of information products on diskette, CD-ROM, and dissemination via the Internet. Libraries, and acquisitions units in particular, are being challenged to provide consistent and timely management of the information. The rapidly developing communications infrastructure, which frequently redesigns access to the information environment, poses significant obstacles to, and the tremendous opportunities for, making large bodies of government information available to a broad base of users.

Studying Military Community Health, Well-being, and Discourse through the Social Media Lens

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pavalanathan, Umashanthi; Datla, Vivek V.; Volkova, Svitlana

Social media can provide a resource for characterizing communities and targeted populations through activities and content shared online. For instance, studying the armed forces‚Äô use of social media may provide insights into their health and wellbeing. In this paper, we address three broad research questions: (1) How do military populations use social media? (2) What topics do military users discuss in social media? (3) Do military users talk about health and well-being differently than civilians? Military Twitter users were identified through keywords in the profile description of users who posted geotagged tweets at military installations. These military tweets were comparedmore » with the tweets from remaining population. Our analysis indicate that military users talk more about military related responsibilities and events, whereas non-military users talk more about school, work, and leisure activities. A significant difference in online content generated by both populations was identified, involving sentiment, health, language, and social media features.« less

DE-FG02-04ER25606 Identity Federation and Policy Management Guide: Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Humphrey, Marty, A

The goal of this 3-year project was to facilitate a more productive dynamic matching between resource providers and resource consumers in Grid environments by explicitly specifying policies. There were broadly two problems being addressed by this project. First, there was a lack of an Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA)-compliant mechanism for expressing, storing and retrieving user policies and Virtual Organization (VO) policies. Second, there was a lack of tools to resolve and enforce policies in the Open Services Grid Architecture. To address these problems, our overall approach in this project was to make all policies explicit (e.g., virtual organization policies,more » resource provider policies, resource consumer policies), thereby facilitating policy matching and policy negotiation. Policies defined on a per-user basis were created, held, and updated in MyPolMan, thereby providing a Grid user to centralize (where appropriate) and manage his/her policies. Organizationally, the corresponding service was VOPolMan, in which the policies of the Virtual Organization are expressed, managed, and dynamically consulted. Overall, we successfully defined, prototyped, and evaluated policy-based resource management and access control for OGSA-based Grids. This DOE project partially supported 17 peer-reviewed publications on a number of different topics: General security for Grids, credential management, Web services/OGSA/OGSI, policy-based grid authorization (for remote execution and for access to information), policy-directed Grid data movement/placement, policies for large-scale virtual organizations, and large-scale policy-aware grid architectures. In addition to supporting the PI, this project partially supported the training of 5 PhD students.« less

Evidence mapping: illustrating an emerging methodology to improve evidence-based practice in youth mental health.

PubMed

Hetrick, Sarah E; Parker, Alexandra G; Callahan, Patrick; Purcell, Rosemary

2010-12-01

Within the field of evidence-based practice, a process termed 'evidence mapping' is emerging as a less exhaustive yet systematic and replicable methodology that allows an understanding of the extent and distribution of evidence in a broad clinical area, highlighting both what is known and where gaps in evidence exist. This article describes the general principles of mapping methodology by using illustrations derived from our experience conducting an evidence map of interventions for youth mental-health disorders. Evidence maps are based on an explicit research question relating to the field of enquiry, which may vary in depth, but should be informed by end-users. The research question then drives the search for, and collection of, appropriate studies utilizing explicit and reproducible methods at each stage. This includes clear definition of components of the research question, development of a thorough and reproducible search strategy, development of explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, and transparent decisions about the level of information to be obtained from each study. Evidence mapping is emerging as a rigorous methodology for gathering and disseminating up-to-date information to end-users. Thoughtful planning and assessment of available resources (e.g. staff, time, budget) are required by those applying this methodology to their particular field of clinical enquiry given the potential scope of the work. The needs of the end-user need to be balanced with available resources. Information derived needs to be effectively communicated, with the uptake of that evidence into clinical practice the ultimate aim. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

"BreastfeedingBasics": web-based education that meets current knowledge competencies.

PubMed

Lewin, Linda Orkin; O'Connor, Mary E

2012-08-01

The United States has not met the majority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goals for breastfeeding duration. Studies have shown a lack of knowledge about breastfeeding by health care professionals and students (HCP/S). Web-based education can be a cost-effective manner of education for HCP/S. "BreastfeedingBasics" is an online free educational program available for use. This study compares information in "BreastfeedingBasics" to the breastfeeding knowledge competencies recommended by the US Breastfeeding Committee (USBC). It also evaluates usage of "BreastfeedingBasics" by users and health care professional faculty. Using anonymous information from Web site users, the authors compared mean pre-test and post-test scores of the modules as a measure of the knowledge gained by HCP/S users. They evaluated usage by demographic information and used a Web-based survey to assess benefits of usage of "BreastfeedingBasics" to faculty. Overall, 15 020 HCP/S used the Web site between April 1999 and December 2009. "BreastfeedingBasics" meets 8 of the 11 USBC knowledge competencies. Mean post-test scores increased (P < .001) for all modules. Faculty reported its benefits to be free, broad scope, and the ability to be completed on the students' own time; 84% of the faculty combined the use of "BreastfeedingBasics" with clinical work. Use of "BreastfeedingBasics" can help HCP/S meet the USBC core breastfeeding knowledge competencies and gain knowledge. Faculty are satisfied with its use. Wider use of "BreastfeedingBasics" to help improve the knowledge of HCP/S may help in improving breastfeeding outcomes.

Hearing loss on social media: Who is winning hearts and minds?

PubMed

Crowson, Matthew G; Tucci, Debara L; Kaylie, David

2018-06-01

To analyze specific patterns of Twitter usage using common references to hearing loss, and characterize the virtual public that comprises the hearing loss community to inform hearing loss stakeholders for opportunities for engagement and outreach. Social media network analysis. Twitter tweets were sampled from July 2016 to September 2016 using #hearing, #hearingloss, #deaf, #hearingimpairment, #hardofhearing, #deafness, #hearingmatters, #hearinghealth, and #hearingimpaired tags. User and Twitter social community metrics were examined including temporal trends, tweet content, user activity, tweet reach, and an analysis of the tweets' social network. We identified and analyzed 49,208 tweets from July 2016 to September 2016 with tags relevant to hearing loss. Of the 100 most active Twitter accounts, organizations owned 67% compared to 33% owned by individuals. Commercial/for profit and informational organizations were the most common organization account owners (26% and 16%, respectively). Five unique tweets were identified as each having a reach of over 100,000 Twitter users, with the greatest reach exceeding 250,000 users. Temporal analysis identified marked retweet outliers (>300 retweets per hour) that corresponded with a widely publicized event involving the dismissal of a deaf employee from a fast-food chain store. Twitter accounts owned by organizations outnumbered individual accounts, and commercial/for profit user accounts were the most frequently active organization account type. Tweets pertaining to hearing loss may have a broad reach to a large community base. Analyses of social media use can be helpful in discovering issues of interest to the hearing loss community, as well as determining which users and organizations are dominating social network conversations. NA. Laryngoscope, 128:1453-1461, 2018. © 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Mars Data analysis and visualization with Marsoweb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulick, V. G.; Deardorff, D. G.

2003-04-01

Marsoweb is a collaborative web environment that has been developed for the Mars research community to better visualize and analyze Mars orbiter data. Its goal is to enable online data discovery by providing an intuitive, interactive interface to data from the Mars Global Surveyor and other orbiters. Recently Marsoweb has served a prominent role as a resource center for the site selection process for the Mars Explorer Rover 2003 missions. In addition to hosting a repository of landing site memoranda and workshop talks, it includes a Java-based interface to a variety of data maps and images. This interface enables the display and numerical querying of data, and allows data profiles to be rendered from user-drawn cross-sections. High-resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images (currently, over 100,000) can be graphically perused; browser-based image processing tools can be used on MOC images of potential landing sites. An automated VRML atlas allows users to construct "flyovers" of their own regions-of-interest in 3D. These capabilities enable Marsoweb to be used for general global data studies, in addition to those specific to landing site selection. As of December 2002, Marsoweb has been viewed by 88,000 distinct users with a total of 3.3 million hits (801,000 page requests in all) from NASA, USGS, academia, and the general public have accessed Marsoweb. The High Resolution Imaging Experiment team for the Mars 2005 Orbiter (HiRISE, PI Alfred McEwen) plans to cast a wide net to collect targeting suggestions. Members of the general public as well as the broad Mars science community will be able to submit suggestions of high resolution imaging targets. The web-based interface for target suggestion input (HiWeb) will be based upon Marsoweb (http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov).

Frameworks for risk communication and disease management: the case of Lyme disease and countryside users

PubMed Central

Quine, Christopher P.; Barnett, Julie; Dobson, Andrew D. M.; Marcu, Afrodita; Marzano, Mariella; Moseley, Darren; O'Brien, Liz; Randolph, Sarah E.; Taylor, Jennifer L.; Uzzell, David

2011-01-01

Management of zoonotic disease is necessary if countryside users are to gain benefit rather than suffer harm from their activities, and to avoid disproportionate reaction to novel threats. We introduce a conceptual framework based on the pressure–state–response model with five broad responses to disease incidence. Influencing public behaviour is one response and requires risk communication based on an integration of knowledge about the disease with an understanding of how publics respond to precautionary advice. A second framework emphasizes how risk communication involves more than information provision and should address dimensions including points-of-intervention over time, place and audience. The frameworks are developed by reference to tick-borne Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease), for which informed precautionary behaviour is particularly relevant. Interventions to influence behaviour can be directed by knowledge of spatial and temporal variation of tick abundance, what constitutes risky behaviour, how people respond to information of varying content, and an understanding of the social practices related to countryside use. The frameworks clarify the response options and help identify who is responsible for risk communication. These aspects are not consistently understood, and may result in an underestimation of the role of land-based organizations in facilitating appropriate precautionary behaviour. PMID:21624921

Frameworks for risk communication and disease management: the case of Lyme disease and countryside users.

PubMed

Quine, Christopher P; Barnett, Julie; Dobson, Andrew D M; Marcu, Afrodita; Marzano, Mariella; Moseley, Darren; O'Brien, Liz; Randolph, Sarah E; Taylor, Jennifer L; Uzzell, David

2011-07-12

Management of zoonotic disease is necessary if countryside users are to gain benefit rather than suffer harm from their activities, and to avoid disproportionate reaction to novel threats. We introduce a conceptual framework based on the pressure-state-response model with five broad responses to disease incidence. Influencing public behaviour is one response and requires risk communication based on an integration of knowledge about the disease with an understanding of how publics respond to precautionary advice. A second framework emphasizes how risk communication involves more than information provision and should address dimensions including points-of-intervention over time, place and audience. The frameworks are developed by reference to tick-borne Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease), for which informed precautionary behaviour is particularly relevant. Interventions to influence behaviour can be directed by knowledge of spatial and temporal variation of tick abundance, what constitutes risky behaviour, how people respond to information of varying content, and an understanding of the social practices related to countryside use. The frameworks clarify the response options and help identify who is responsible for risk communication. These aspects are not consistently understood, and may result in an underestimation of the role of land-based organizations in facilitating appropriate precautionary behaviour.

GAUSS Project Trials Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Fazio, Antonella; Vernucci, Antonio; Rossini, Eugenio

2003-07-01

GAUSS is a Research and Technological Development project co-funded by European Commission, within the frame of the IST (Information Society Technologies) V Programme. It is a two-year project, starting from December 2000, and successfully completed.The GAUSS Team involves a Consortium of nine European companies, including ARNI (Azienda Regionale per la Navigazione Interna, I), ASCOM (CH), ERICSSON Telecomunicazioni (I), GMV (E), TELEFONICA (E), THALES Navigation (F), TTI Norte (E), Space Engineering (I) and TELESPAZIO (I) as project co-ordinator.GAUSS objective was to design and demonstrate the feasibility of a system providing Location-based services, from the integration of Satellite Navigation and Communications, within the contexts of GALILEO and the UMTS technology. The GAUSS proposed solution supports highly reliable, near real-time two-way communication between Mobile Users and Service Centre/Provider. The services considered for GAUSS are based on exchange at low data rate transmission of small data packets carrying very accurate positioning & timing information, as typically required by Info-Mobility and Inter-Modality oriented applications. These services are characterised by bursty and unbalanced traffic, generated by a large number of Mobile Users towards a relatively small number of Service Providers, and viceversa from the Service Providers towards widely geographically sparse Mobile Users (i.e. greater amount of traffic in the return link with respect to the forward link). The GAUSS system supports both asynchronous and synchronous communication, based on: ß broad-casting (i.e. data distribution from a Service Provider to Mobile Users)ß broad-catching (i.e. data collection from MUs to a SP)ß point-to-point schemes.Resource access is based on CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), according to the UMTS standard. A Demonstrator was built up by combining existing facilities with innovative hardware and software components, ad-hoc developed by some of the Consortium Partners. The former ones constitute the ground and space segments, the latter ones include the advanced user terminal and the applications. The assembled system was used as test-bed during the trail campaign, to validate and prove the provided services and developed applications.The GAUSS Demonstrator includes the following components:ß The Mobile User Terminal installed on a car (van) or on a boat. An innovative multi-mode user equipment was developed, consisting of the following main components:- An integrated NAV / COM digital receive front-end (DFRE), able to de-multiplex the NAV signals (the current GNSS1 band and the simulated Galileo bands), and the COM signal in the S-UMTS band;- For COM: a transmit front-end, and a baseband & control section operating in CDMA and supporting the upper protocol layers (UMTS packet transmission standard based - for short packet); a RF subsystem, including the L→S bands conversion;- For NAV: a GNSS (GPS, EGNOS) navigation receiver, the GNSS1 System (MTB - Mediterranean Test bed, ESTB / EGNOS System Test Bed) for navigation;* The Communication capacity on the INMARSAT 3F5 Satellite* The Gateway, located in LARIO Telespazio premises* The Lario07 Station* The Service Centre* The Service Provider.The GAUSS Demonstrator reflects all the main elements of a complete user platform for service provisioning: mobility assistance, safety and transport efficient management are the core of the developed applications. Applications were developed, specifically to provide reliable and effective services to the citizens: road info-mobility and fleet management, inland waterways vessel traffic management and information, port/terminals appointment monitoring & control, dangerous goods transhipment supervision, emergency assistance.A trial campaign, run into real environments, was performed in Summer 2002. GAUSS Demonstrator performances and benefits were validated with the direct involvement of an inter-modal transport user, specifically operating in inland- waterways and roads. Safety-of-life applications for assisted vessel navigation and for management of hazardous goods (gas) transhipment over the Po river were thoroughly tested and assessed. Applications for emergency assistance, Point of Interest inquiry, localisation of commercial fleet were also proven.GAUSS successfully demonstrated integrated GNSS1 precise positioning based on EGNOS and satellite UMTS packet communication. The new technology with respect to the current state-of the art, developed within the project, was validated during the trial campaign, including the implemented broadcasting and multicasting communication of data packet compliant to 3GPP standard (current release 4). Horizontal accuracy better than 3-m was achieved in the trial area (Northern Italy - Lario - Como Lake, Parma and Po river areas), thanks to the navigation functions based on GPS signals augmented with SBAS techniques. The MTB (Mediterranean Test Bed) was utilised because of the poor performance coverage of the ESTB system over the Italian regions.In this paper, the results of the GAUSS trial campaign are reported, along with their assessment and evaluation in terms of possible enhancements and future exploitations.

Beam dynamics and expected performance of Sweden's new storage-ring light source: MAX IV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leemann, S. C.; Andersson, Å.; Eriksson, M.; Lindgren, L.-J.; Wallén, E.; Bengtsson, J.; Streun, A.

2009-12-01

MAX IV will be Sweden’s next-generation high-performance synchrotron radiation source. The project has recently been granted funding and construction is scheduled to begin in 2010. User operation for a broad and international user community should commence in 2015. The facility is comprised of two storage rings optimized for different wavelength ranges, a linac-based short-pulse facility and a free-electron laser for the production of coherent radiation. The main radiation source of MAX IV will be a 528 m ultralow emittance storage ring operated at 3 GeV for the generation of high-brightness hard x rays. This storage ring was designed to meet the requirements of state-of-the-art insertion devices which will be installed in nineteen 5 m long dispersion-free straight sections. The storage ring is based on a novel multibend achromat design delivering an unprecedented horizontal bare lattice emittance of 0.33 nm rad and a vertical emittance below the 8 pm rad diffraction limit for 1 Å radiation. In this paper we present the beam dynamics considerations behind this storage-ring design and detail its expected unique performance.

[Discovering pathways for health research in dealing with the social movement].

PubMed

Smeke, E L

1993-01-01

This article is about methodology for scientific research in health, where the researcher is an important part of the object of investigation. The implementation of a broad-based Health Reform in Brazil depends on the involvement of users. It is important to guarantee these social rights. Many experiences sharing this concern are going on in this country. Still, research on the relationship between institutional work in health and the Social Movement lacks a predefined methodology. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are the following: to contribute to the discussion of possible ways of approaching the mechanisms of relationships between health and users of health services, and to collaborate with the development of the citizenship process. This work was done through theoretical research on participatory methodology and "action-based research". The following aspects are particularly important: definition of the object of study, self-positioning by the researcher, subjective explanations, documentary surveys and interviews for case studies, and feedback to theory. Finally, the author concludes that this methodology allows for an understanding of some mechanisms that explain the relationship between macro- and micro-structural analyses. In addition, one also observes a maturation process in the research protagonists.

On-demand Simulation of Atmospheric Transport Processes on the AlpEnDAC Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hachinger, S.; Harsch, C.; Meyer-Arnek, J.; Frank, A.; Heller, H.; Giemsa, E.

2016-12-01

The "Alpine Environmental Data Analysis Centre" (AlpEnDAC) develops a data-analysis platform for high-altitude research facilities within the "Virtual Alpine Observatory" project (VAO). This platform, with its web portal, will support use cases going much beyond data management: On user request, the data are augmented with "on-demand" simulation results, such as air-parcel trajectories for tracing down the source of pollutants when they appear in high concentration. The respective back-end mechanism uses the Compute Cloud of the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) to transparently calculate results requested by the user, as far as they have not yet been stored in AlpEnDAC. The queuing-system operation model common in supercomputing is replaced by a model in which Virtual Machines (VMs) on the cloud are automatically created/destroyed, providing the necessary computing power immediately on demand. From a security point of view, this allows to perform simulations in a sandbox defined by the VM configuration, without direct access to a computing cluster. Within few minutes, the user receives conveniently visualized results. The AlpEnDAC infrastructure is distributed among two participating institutes [front-end at German Aerospace Centre (DLR), simulation back-end at LRZ], requiring an efficient mechanism for synchronization of measured and augmented data. We discuss our iRODS-based solution for these data-management tasks as well as the general AlpEnDAC framework. Our cloud-based offerings aim at making scientific computing for our users much more convenient and flexible than it has been, and to allow scientists without a broad background in scientific computing to benefit from complex numerical simulations.

A Language for Specifying Compiler Optimizations for Generic Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willcock, Jeremiah J.

2007-01-01

Compiler optimization is important to software performance, and modern processor architectures make optimization even more critical. However, many modern software applications use libraries providing high levels of abstraction. Such libraries often hinder effective optimization — the libraries are difficult to analyze using current compiler technology. For example, high-level libraries often use dynamic memory allocation and indirectly expressed control structures, such as iteratorbased loops. Programs using these libraries often cannot achieve an optimal level of performance. On the other hand, software libraries have also been recognized as potentially aiding in program optimization. One proposed implementation of library-based optimization is to allowmore » the library author, or a library user, to define custom analyses and optimizations. Only limited systems have been created to take advantage of this potential, however. One problem in creating a framework for defining new optimizations and analyses is how users are to specify them: implementing them by hand inside a compiler is difficult and prone to errors. Thus, a domain-specific language for librarybased compiler optimizations would be beneficial. Many optimization specification languages have appeared in the literature, but they tend to be either limited in power or unnecessarily difficult to use. Therefore, I have designed, implemented, and evaluated the Pavilion language for specifying program analyses and optimizations, designed for library authors and users. These analyses and optimizations can be based on the implementation of a particular library, its use in a specific program, or on the properties of a broad range of types, expressed through concepts. The new system is intended to provide a high level of expressiveness, even though the intended users are unlikely to be compiler experts.« less

A GeoServices Infrastructure for Near-Real-Time Access to Suomi NPP Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, J. D.; Valente, E. G.; Hao, W.; Chettri, S.

2012-12-01

The new Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite extends NASA's moderate-resolution, multispectral observations with a suite of powerful imagers and sounders to support a broad array of research and applications. However, NPP data products consist of a complex set of data and metadata files in highly specialized formats; which NPP's operational ground segment delivers to users only with several hours' delay. This severely limits their use in critical applications such as weather forecasting, emergency / disaster response, search and rescue, and other activities that require near-real-time access to satellite observations. Alternative approaches, based on distributed Direct Broadcast facilities, can reduce the delay in NPP data delivery from hours to minutes, and can make products more directly usable by practitioners in the field. To assess and fulfill this potential, we are developing a suite of software that couples Direct Broadcast data feeds with a streamlined, scalable processing chain and geospatial Web services, so as to permit many more time-sensitive applications to use NPP data. The resulting geoservices infrastructure links a variety of end-user tools and applications to NPP data from different sources, and to other rapidly-changing geospatial data. By using well-known, standard software interfaces (such as OGC Web Services or OPeNDAP), this infrastructure serves a variety of end-user analysis and visualization tools, giving them access into datasets of arbitrary size and resolution and allowing them to request and receive tailored products on demand. The standards-based approach may also streamline data sharing among independent satellite receiving facilities, thus helping them to interoperate in providing frequent, composite views of continent-scale or global regions. To enable others to build similar or derived systems, the service components we are developing (based in part on the Community Satellite Processing Package (CSPP) from the University of Wisconsin and the International Polar-Orbiter Processing Package (IPOPP) from NASA) are being released as open source software. Furthermore, they are configured to operate in a cloud computing environment, so as to allow even small organizations to process and serve NPP data without large hardware investments; and to maintain near-real-time performance cost-effectively by growing and shrinking their use of computing resources to meet large, rapid fluctuations in end-user demand, data availability, and processing needs. (This is especially important for polar-orbiting satellites like NPP, which pass within range of a receiver only a few times each day.) We will discuss the design of the infrastructure, highlight its capabilities, and sketch its potential to facilitate broad access to satellite data processing and visualization, and to enhance near-real-time applications via distributed NPP data streams.

MSAT wide-area fleet management: End-user requirements and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedersen, Allister

1995-01-01

MSAT (Mobile SATellite) Services will become a reality in North America in 1995. MSAT will provide wide-area voice, data and fax services to land, marine and aeronautical mobile users anywhere in North America including 200 nautical miles off the coasts and into the Arctic waters. MSAT will also convey GPS position information from mobiles to dispatch centers. One broad application of MSAT is Wide Area Fleet Management (WAFM). This paper defines WAFM, outlines end-user requirements and identifies potential applications of MSAT WAFM. The paper draws from information obtained in several preMSAT WAFM field trials in land, marine and aeronautical mobile environments. The paper concludes with an outline of the potential benefits of MSAT WAFM.

Version 1.00 programmer`s tools used in constructing the INEL RML/analytical radiochemistry sample tracking database and its user interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Femec, D.A.

This report describes two code-generating tools used to speed design and implementation of relational databases and user interfaces: CREATE-SCHEMA and BUILD-SCREEN. CREATE-SCHEMA produces the SQL commands that actually create and define the database. BUILD-SCREEN takes templates for data entry screens and generates the screen management system routine calls to display the desired screen. Both tools also generate the related FORTRAN declaration statements and precompiled SQL calls. Included with this report is the source code for a number of FORTRAN routines and functions used by the user interface. This code is broadly applicable to a number of different databases.

IDEA: Interactive Display for Evolutionary Analyses.

PubMed

Egan, Amy; Mahurkar, Anup; Crabtree, Jonathan; Badger, Jonathan H; Carlton, Jane M; Silva, Joana C

2008-12-08

The availability of complete genomic sequences for hundreds of organisms promises to make obtaining genome-wide estimates of substitution rates, selective constraints and other molecular evolution variables of interest an increasingly important approach to addressing broad evolutionary questions. Two of the programs most widely used for this purpose are codeml and baseml, parts of the PAML (Phylogenetic Analysis by Maximum Likelihood) suite. A significant drawback of these programs is their lack of a graphical user interface, which can limit their user base and considerably reduce their efficiency. We have developed IDEA (Interactive Display for Evolutionary Analyses), an intuitive graphical input and output interface which interacts with PHYLIP for phylogeny reconstruction and with codeml and baseml for molecular evolution analyses. IDEA's graphical input and visualization interfaces eliminate the need to edit and parse text input and output files, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving processing time. Further, its interactive output display gives the user immediate access to results. Finally, IDEA can process data in parallel on a local machine or computing grid, allowing genome-wide analyses to be completed quickly. IDEA provides a graphical user interface that allows the user to follow a codeml or baseml analysis from parameter input through to the exploration of results. Novel options streamline the analysis process, and post-analysis visualization of phylogenies, evolutionary rates and selective constraint along protein sequences simplifies the interpretation of results. The integration of these functions into a single tool eliminates the need for lengthy data handling and parsing, significantly expediting access to global patterns in the data.

IDEA: Interactive Display for Evolutionary Analyses

PubMed Central

Egan, Amy; Mahurkar, Anup; Crabtree, Jonathan; Badger, Jonathan H; Carlton, Jane M; Silva, Joana C

2008-01-01

Background The availability of complete genomic sequences for hundreds of organisms promises to make obtaining genome-wide estimates of substitution rates, selective constraints and other molecular evolution variables of interest an increasingly important approach to addressing broad evolutionary questions. Two of the programs most widely used for this purpose are codeml and baseml, parts of the PAML (Phylogenetic Analysis by Maximum Likelihood) suite. A significant drawback of these programs is their lack of a graphical user interface, which can limit their user base and considerably reduce their efficiency. Results We have developed IDEA (Interactive Display for Evolutionary Analyses), an intuitive graphical input and output interface which interacts with PHYLIP for phylogeny reconstruction and with codeml and baseml for molecular evolution analyses. IDEA's graphical input and visualization interfaces eliminate the need to edit and parse text input and output files, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving processing time. Further, its interactive output display gives the user immediate access to results. Finally, IDEA can process data in parallel on a local machine or computing grid, allowing genome-wide analyses to be completed quickly. Conclusion IDEA provides a graphical user interface that allows the user to follow a codeml or baseml analysis from parameter input through to the exploration of results. Novel options streamline the analysis process, and post-analysis visualization of phylogenies, evolutionary rates and selective constraint along protein sequences simplifies the interpretation of results. The integration of these functions into a single tool eliminates the need for lengthy data handling and parsing, significantly expediting access to global patterns in the data. PMID:19061522

The Relationship between Social Networking Site Use and the Internalization of a Thin Ideal in Females: A Meta-Analytic Review.

PubMed

Mingoia, John; Hutchinson, Amanda D; Wilson, Carlene; Gleaves, David H

2017-01-01

Previous research has indicated that exposure to traditional media (i.e., television, film, and print) predicts the likelihood of internalization of a thin ideal; however, the relationship between exposure to internet-based social media on internalization of this ideal remains less understood. Social media differ from traditional forms of media by allowing users to create and upload their own content that is then subject to feedback from other users. This meta-analysis examined the association linking the use of social networking sites (SNSs) and the internalization of a thin ideal in females. Systematic searches were performed in the databases: PsychINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Communication and Mass Media Complete, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Six studies were included in the meta-analysis that yielded 10 independent effect sizes and a total of 1,829 female participants ranging in age from 10 to 46 years. We found a positive association between extent of use of SNSs and extent of internalization of a thin ideal with a small to moderate effect size ( r = 0.18). The positive effect indicated that more use of SNSs was associated with significantly higher internalization of a thin ideal. A comparison was also made between study outcomes measuring broad use of SNSs and outcomes measuring SNS use solely as a function of specific appearance-related features (e.g., posting or viewing photographs). The use of appearance-related features had a stronger relationship with the internalization of a thin ideal than broad use of SNSs. The finding suggests that the ability to interact with appearance-related features online and be an active participant in media creation is associated with body image disturbance. Future research should aim to explore the way SNS users interact with the media posted online and the relationship linking the use of specific appearance features and body image disturbance.

The Relationship between Social Networking Site Use and the Internalization of a Thin Ideal in Females: A Meta-Analytic Review

PubMed Central

Mingoia, John; Hutchinson, Amanda D.; Wilson, Carlene; Gleaves, David H.

2017-01-01

Previous research has indicated that exposure to traditional media (i.e., television, film, and print) predicts the likelihood of internalization of a thin ideal; however, the relationship between exposure to internet-based social media on internalization of this ideal remains less understood. Social media differ from traditional forms of media by allowing users to create and upload their own content that is then subject to feedback from other users. This meta-analysis examined the association linking the use of social networking sites (SNSs) and the internalization of a thin ideal in females. Systematic searches were performed in the databases: PsychINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Communication and Mass Media Complete, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Six studies were included in the meta-analysis that yielded 10 independent effect sizes and a total of 1,829 female participants ranging in age from 10 to 46 years. We found a positive association between extent of use of SNSs and extent of internalization of a thin ideal with a small to moderate effect size (r = 0.18). The positive effect indicated that more use of SNSs was associated with significantly higher internalization of a thin ideal. A comparison was also made between study outcomes measuring broad use of SNSs and outcomes measuring SNS use solely as a function of specific appearance-related features (e.g., posting or viewing photographs). The use of appearance-related features had a stronger relationship with the internalization of a thin ideal than broad use of SNSs. The finding suggests that the ability to interact with appearance-related features online and be an active participant in media creation is associated with body image disturbance. Future research should aim to explore the way SNS users interact with the media posted online and the relationship linking the use of specific appearance features and body image disturbance. PMID:28824519

StreamStats in North Carolina: a water-resources Web application

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weaver, J. Curtis; Terziotti, Silvia; Kolb, Katharine R.; Wagner, Chad R.

2012-01-01

A statewide StreamStats application for North Carolina was developed in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Transportation following completion of a pilot application for the upper French Broad River basin in western North Carolina (Wagner and others, 2009). StreamStats for North Carolina, available at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/streamstats/north_carolina.html, is a Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) application developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in consultation with Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri) to provide access to an assortment of analytical tools that are useful for water-resources planning and management (Ries and others, 2008). The StreamStats application provides an accurate and consistent process that allows users to easily obtain streamflow statistics, basin characteristics, and descriptive information for USGS data-collection sites and user-selected ungaged sites. In the North Carolina application, users can compute 47 basin characteristics and peak-flow frequency statistics (Weaver and others, 2009; Robbins and Pope, 1996) for a delineated drainage basin. Selected streamflow statistics and basin characteristics for data-collection sites have been compiled from published reports and also are immediately accessible by querying individual sites from the web interface. Examples of basin characteristics that can be computed in StreamStats include drainage area, stream slope, mean annual precipitation, and percentage of forested area (Ries and others, 2008). Examples of streamflow statistics that were previously available only through published documents include peak-flow frequency, flow-duration, and precipitation data. These data are valuable for making decisions related to bridge design, floodplain delineation, water-supply permitting, and sustainable stream quality and ecology. The StreamStats application also allows users to identify stream reaches upstream and downstream from user-selected sites and obtain information for locations along streams where activities occur that may affect streamflow conditions. This functionality can be accessed through a map-based interface with the user’s Web browser, or individual functions can be requested remotely through Web services (Ries and others, 2008).

GECKO: a complete large-scale gene expression analysis platform.

PubMed

Theilhaber, Joachim; Ulyanov, Anatoly; Malanthara, Anish; Cole, Jack; Xu, Dapeng; Nahf, Robert; Heuer, Michael; Brockel, Christoph; Bushnell, Steven

2004-12-10

Gecko (Gene Expression: Computation and Knowledge Organization) is a complete, high-capacity centralized gene expression analysis system, developed in response to the needs of a distributed user community. Based on a client-server architecture, with a centralized repository of typically many tens of thousands of Affymetrix scans, Gecko includes automatic processing pipelines for uploading data from remote sites, a data base, a computational engine implementing approximately 50 different analysis tools, and a client application. Among available analysis tools are clustering methods, principal component analysis, supervised classification including feature selection and cross-validation, multi-factorial ANOVA, statistical contrast calculations, and various post-processing tools for extracting data at given error rates or significance levels. On account of its open architecture, Gecko also allows for the integration of new algorithms. The Gecko framework is very general: non-Affymetrix and non-gene expression data can be analyzed as well. A unique feature of the Gecko architecture is the concept of the Analysis Tree (actually, a directed acyclic graph), in which all successive results in ongoing analyses are saved. This approach has proven invaluable in allowing a large (approximately 100 users) and distributed community to share results, and to repeatedly return over a span of years to older and potentially very complex analyses of gene expression data. The Gecko system is being made publicly available as free software http://sourceforge.net/projects/geckoe. In totality or in parts, the Gecko framework should prove useful to users and system developers with a broad range of analysis needs.

User acquaintance with mobile interfaces.

PubMed

Ehrler, Frederic; Walesa, Magali; Sarrey, Evelyne; Wipfli, Rolf; Lovis, Christian

2013-01-01

Handheld technology finds slowly its place in the healthcare world. Some clinicians already use intensively dedicated mobile applications to consult clinical references. However, handheld technology hasn't still broadly embraced to the core of the healthcare business, the hospitals. The weak penetration of handheld technology in the hospitals can be partly explained by the caution of stakeholders that must be convinced about the efficiency of these tools before going forward. In a domain where temporal constraints are increasingly strong, caregivers cannot loose time on playing with gadgets. All users are not comfortable with tactile manipulations and the lack of dedicated peripheral complicates entering data for novices. Stakeholders must be convinced that caregivers will be able to master handheld devices. In this paper, we make the assumption that the proper design of an interface may influence users' performances to record information. We are also interested to find out whether users increase their efficiency when using handheld tools repeatedly. To answer these questions, we have set up a field study to compare users' performances on three different user interfaces while recording vital signs. Some user interfaces were familiar to users, and others were totally innovative. Results showed that users' familiarity with smartphone influences their performances and that users improve their performances by repeating a task.

Mephedrone and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine: Comparative psychobiological effects as reported by recreational polydrug users.

PubMed

Jones, Lewis; Reed, Phil; Parrott, Andrew

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of mephedrone and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), as reported by young recreational polydrug users. 152 MDMA users and 81 mephedrone users were recruited through snowballing on social network sites. They completed a standard online questionnaire for either mephedrone or MDMA. The questions covered the average amount taken per session, the longest duration of usage in the last 12-months, subjective effects while on-drug, and recovery effects in the days afterwards. Mephedrone users reported a significantly longer maximum session of use than MDMA users. Mephedrone users also reported a significantly greater average amount used per session. The majority of on-drug subjective ratings did not differ between drugs, with similar increases in entactogenic effects. Although mephedrone users did report significantly more frequent issues with sleeping, anger and anxiety. In relation to recovery, mephedrone users reported more frequent craving, nasal irritation, paranoia, and relationship difficulties. Mephedrone users also rated general recovery effects as more severe over the seven-day period following use, taking more days to feel normal. The acute effects of MDMA and mephedrone were broadly similar. However, the recovery period for mephedrone was more enduring, possibly due to the longer duration of acute session usage. © The Author(s) 2016.

Distributed Simulation as a modelling tool for the development of a simulation-based training programme for cardiovascular specialties.

PubMed

Kelay, Tanika; Chan, Kah Leong; Ako, Emmanuel; Yasin, Mohammad; Costopoulos, Charis; Gold, Matthew; Kneebone, Roger K; Malik, Iqbal S; Bello, Fernando

2017-01-01

Distributed Simulation is the concept of portable, high-fidelity immersive simulation. Here, it is used for the development of a simulation-based training programme for cardiovascular specialities. We present an evidence base for how accessible, portable and self-contained simulated environments can be effectively utilised for the modelling, development and testing of a complex training framework and assessment methodology. Iterative user feedback through mixed-methods evaluation techniques resulted in the implementation of the training programme. Four phases were involved in the development of our immersive simulation-based training programme: ( 1) initial conceptual stage for mapping structural criteria and parameters of the simulation training framework and scenario development ( n  = 16), (2) training facility design using Distributed Simulation , (3) test cases with clinicians ( n  = 8) and collaborative design, where evaluation and user feedback involved a mixed-methods approach featuring (a) quantitative surveys to evaluate the realism and perceived educational relevance of the simulation format and framework for training and (b) qualitative semi-structured interviews to capture detailed feedback including changes and scope for development. Refinements were made iteratively to the simulation framework based on user feedback, resulting in (4) transition towards implementation of the simulation training framework, involving consistent quantitative evaluation techniques for clinicians ( n  = 62). For comparative purposes, clinicians' initial quantitative mean evaluation scores for realism of the simulation training framework, realism of the training facility and relevance for training ( n  = 8) are presented longitudinally, alongside feedback throughout the development stages from concept to delivery, including the implementation stage ( n  = 62). Initially, mean evaluation scores fluctuated from low to average, rising incrementally. This corresponded with the qualitative component, which augmented the quantitative findings; trainees' user feedback was used to perform iterative refinements to the simulation design and components (collaborative design), resulting in higher mean evaluation scores leading up to the implementation phase. Through application of innovative Distributed Simulation techniques, collaborative design, and consistent evaluation techniques from conceptual, development, and implementation stages, fully immersive simulation techniques for cardiovascular specialities are achievable and have the potential to be implemented more broadly.

Evaluation of RPE-Select: A Web-Based Respiratory Protective Equipment Selector Tool.

PubMed

Vaughan, Nick; Rajan-Sithamparanadarajah, Bob; Atkinson, Robert

2016-08-01

This article describes the evaluation of an open-access web-based respiratory protective equipment selector tool (RPE-Select, accessible at http://www.healthyworkinglives.com/rpe-selector). This tool is based on the principles of the COSHH-Essentials (C-E) control banding (CB) tool, which was developed for the exposure risk management of hazardous chemicals in the workplace by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and general practice H&S professionals. RPE-Select can be used for identifying adequate and suitable RPE for dusts, fibres, mist (solvent, water, and oil based), sprays, volatile solids, fumes, gases, vapours, and actual or potential oxygen deficiency. It can be applied for substances and products with safety data sheets as well as for a large number of commonly encountered process-generated substances (PGS), such as poultry house dusts or welding fume. Potential international usability has been built-in by using the Hazard Statements developed for the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) and providing recommended RPE in picture form as well as with a written specification. Illustration helps to compensate for the variabilities in assigned protection factors across the world. RPE-Select uses easily understandable descriptions/explanations and an interactive stepwise flow for providing input/answers at each step. The output of the selection process is a report summarising the user input data and a selection of RPE, including types of filters where applicable, from which the user can select the appropriate one for each wearer. In addition, each report includes 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' for the recommended RPE. RPE-Select outcomes, based on up to 20 hypothetical use scenarios, were evaluated in comparison with other available RPE selection processes and tools, and by 32 independent users with a broad range of familiarities with industrial use scenarios in general and respiratory protection in particular. For scenarios involving substances having safety data sheets, 87% of RPE-Select outcomes resulted in a 'safe' RPE selection, while 98% 'safe' outcomes were achieved for scenarios involving process-generated substances. Reasons for the outliers were examined. User comments and opinions on the mechanics and usability of RPE-Select are also presented. © Crown copyright 2016.

Evaluation of RPE-Select: A Web-Based Respiratory Protective Equipment Selector Tool

PubMed Central

Vaughan, Nick; Rajan-Sithamparanadarajah, Bob; Atkinson, Robert

2016-01-01

This article describes the evaluation of an open-access web-based respiratory protective equipment selector tool (RPE-Select, accessible at http://www.healthyworkinglives.com/rpe-selector). This tool is based on the principles of the COSHH-Essentials (C-E) control banding (CB) tool, which was developed for the exposure risk management of hazardous chemicals in the workplace by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and general practice H&S professionals. RPE-Select can be used for identifying adequate and suitable RPE for dusts, fibres, mist (solvent, water, and oil based), sprays, volatile solids, fumes, gases, vapours, and actual or potential oxygen deficiency. It can be applied for substances and products with safety data sheets as well as for a large number of commonly encountered process-generated substances (PGS), such as poultry house dusts or welding fume. Potential international usability has been built-in by using the Hazard Statements developed for the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) and providing recommended RPE in picture form as well as with a written specification. Illustration helps to compensate for the variabilities in assigned protection factors across the world. RPE-Select uses easily understandable descriptions/explanations and an interactive stepwise flow for providing input/answers at each step. The output of the selection process is a report summarising the user input data and a selection of RPE, including types of filters where applicable, from which the user can select the appropriate one for each wearer. In addition, each report includes ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ for the recommended RPE. RPE-Select outcomes, based on up to 20 hypothetical use scenarios, were evaluated in comparison with other available RPE selection processes and tools, and by 32 independent users with a broad range of familiarities with industrial use scenarios in general and respiratory protection in particular. For scenarios involving substances having safety data sheets, 87% of RPE-Select outcomes resulted in a ‘safe’ RPE selection, while 98% ‘safe’ outcomes were achieved for scenarios involving process-generated substances. Reasons for the outliers were examined. User comments and opinions on the mechanics and usability of RPE-Select are also presented. PMID:27286763

World Wide Web Based Image Search Engine Using Text and Image Content Features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Bo; Wang, Xiaogang; Tang, Xiaoou

2003-01-01

Using both text and image content features, a hybrid image retrieval system for Word Wide Web is developed in this paper. We first use a text-based image meta-search engine to retrieve images from the Web based on the text information on the image host pages to provide an initial image set. Because of the high-speed and low cost nature of the text-based approach, we can easily retrieve a broad coverage of images with a high recall rate and a relatively low precision. An image content based ordering is then performed on the initial image set. All the images are clustered into different folders based on the image content features. In addition, the images can be re-ranked by the content features according to the user feedback. Such a design makes it truly practical to use both text and image content for image retrieval over the Internet. Experimental results confirm the efficiency of the system.

GeoMapApp, Virtual Ocean, and other Free Data Resources for the 21st Century Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodwillie, A. M.; Ryan, W.; Carbotte, S.; Melkonian, A.; Coplan, J.; Arko, R.; Ferrini, V.; O'Hara, S.; Leung, A.; Bonckzowski, J.

2008-12-01

With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS) (http://www.marine-geo.org/) is developing GeoMapApp (http://www.geomapapp.org) - a computer application that provides wide-ranging map-based visualization and manipulation options for interdisciplinary geosciences research and education. The novelty comes from the use of this visual tool to discover and explore data, with seamless links to further discovery using traditional text-based approaches. Users can generate custom maps and grids and import their own data sets. Built-in functionality allows users to readily explore a broad suite of interactive data sets and interfaces. Examples include multi-resolution global digital models of topography, gravity, sediment thickness, and crustal ages; rock, fluid, biology and sediment sample information; research cruise underway geophysical and multibeam data; earthquake events; submersible dive photos of hydrothermal vents; geochemical analyses; DSDP/ODP core logs; seismic reflection profiles; contouring, shading, profiling of grids; and many more. On-line audio-visual tutorials lead users step-by-step through GeoMapApp functionality (http://www.geomapapp.org/tutorials/). Virtual Ocean (http://www.virtualocean.org/) integrates GeoMapApp with a 3-D earth browser based upon NASA WorldWind, providing yet more powerful capabilities. The searchable MGDS Media Bank (http://media.marine-geo.org/) supports viewing of remarkable images and video from the NSF Ridge 2000 and MARGINS programs. For users familiar with Google Earth (tm), KML files are available for viewing several MGDS data sets (http://www.marine-geo.org/education/kmls.php). Examples of accessing and manipulating a range of geoscience data sets from various NSF-funded programs will be shown. GeoMapApp, Virtual Ocean, the MGDS Media Bank and KML files are free MGDS data resources and work on any type of computer. They are currently used by educators, researchers, school teachers and the general public.

Broad issues to consider for library involvement in bioinformatics*

PubMed Central

Geer, Renata C.

2006-01-01

Background: The information landscape in biological and medical research has grown far beyond literature to include a wide variety of databases generated by research fields such as molecular biology and genomics. The traditional role of libraries to collect, organize, and provide access to information can expand naturally to encompass these new data domains. Methods: This paper discusses the current and potential role of libraries in bioinformatics using empirical evidence and experience from eleven years of work in user services at the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Findings: Medical and science libraries over the last decade have begun to establish educational and support programs to address the challenges users face in the effective and efficient use of a plethora of molecular biology databases and retrieval and analysis tools. As more libraries begin to establish a role in this area, the issues they face include assessment of user needs and skills, identification of existing services, development of plans for new services, recruitment and training of specialized staff, and establishment of collaborations with bioinformatics centers at their institutions. Conclusions: Increasing library involvement in bioinformatics can help address information needs of a broad range of students, researchers, and clinicians and ultimately help realize the power of bioinformatics resources in making new biological discoveries. PMID:16888662

User Authentication from Web Browsing Behavior

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

ourselves with a cognitive personal fingerprint. Attribution is broadly defined as the assignment of an ef- fect to a cause. We differentiate between...reusable patterns of behavior. We encode the semantic and stylistic content Figure 4: Burstiness profile below 1 min aggregated across all sessions for

Family-based interventions for substance misuse: a systematic review of systematic reviews--protocol.

PubMed

Akram, Yasmin; Copello, Alex; Moore, David

2014-08-15

Worldwide, there are an estimated 15 million individuals with drug use disorders and over five times as many with alcohol use disorders (WHO 1:2, 2005). Most individuals with substance misuse have families who are affected. Initial scoping searches identified an expanse of broad and disparate studies and reviews on the family interventions for substance misuse. This systematic review of systematic reviews aims to bring together the expanse of research on the effectiveness of family-based interventions in substance misuse.Initial scoping searches identified an expanse of broad and disparate studies and reviews on the family interventions for substance misuse. This systematic review of systematic reviews aims to bring together the expanse of research on the effectiveness of family-based interventions in substance misuse. Extensive electronic and manual searches will be undertaken. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment will be undertaken by two reviewers with disagreements resolved through discussion.The inclusion criteria will be that the study is a systematically undertaken review, the population is individuals with substance misuse problems and the interventions include a family-focused component. Reviews that focus on prevention rather than treatment will be excluded. The reviews will be assessed for quality and relevance. The evidence from included systematic reviews will be mapped by focus of intervention (promoting engagement of user into treatment/joint involvement in treatment of user/treating family member in own right) for both adults and adolescents for drug and/or alcohol misusers to allow assessment of the density of available evidence. The higher-quality, up-to-date evidence for each domain will be identified and described, and conclusions will be drawn with limitations of the evidence highlighted. This systematic review of systematic reviews will be an efficient and robust way of looking at the current state of the evidence in the field of family-based interventions for substance misuse. It will evaluate all the available systematic-review-level literature to report on the effectiveness of family-based psychological interventions in improving substance-related outcomes and improving health and wellbeing of substance misusers and/or their families. This will inform future treatment policies and commissioning decisions.In addition, it will identify areas of poor quality, inconsistency and gaps in the evidence base for family-based psychological interventions in substance misuse with respect to secondary evidence in order to inform future research. PROSPERO CRD42014006834.

Persuasive Features in Web-Based Alcohol and Smoking Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In the past decade, the use of technologies to persuade, motivate, and activate individuals’ health behavior change has been a quickly expanding field of research. The use of the Web for delivering interventions has been especially relevant. Current research tends to reveal little about the persuasive features and mechanisms embedded in Web-based interventions targeting health behavior change. Objectives The purpose of this systematic review was to extract and analyze persuasive system features in Web-based interventions for substance use by applying the persuasive systems design (PSD) model. In more detail, the main objective was to provide an overview of the persuasive features within current Web-based interventions for substance use. Methods We conducted electronic literature searches in various databases to identify randomized controlled trials of Web-based interventions for substance use published January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2009, in English. We extracted and analyzed persuasive system features of the included Web-based interventions using interpretive categorization. Results The primary task support components were utilized and reported relatively widely in the reviewed studies. Reduction, self-monitoring, simulation, and personalization seem to be the most used features to support accomplishing user’s primary task. This is an encouraging finding since reduction and self-monitoring can be considered key elements for supporting users to carry out their primary tasks. The utilization of tailoring was at a surprisingly low level. The lack of tailoring may imply that the interventions are targeted for too broad an audience. Leveraging reminders was the most common way to enhance the user-system dialogue. Credibility issues are crucial in website engagement as users will bind with sites they perceive credible and navigate away from those they do not find credible. Based on the textual descriptions of the interventions, we cautiously suggest that most of them were credible. The prevalence of social support in the reviewed interventions was encouraging. Conclusions Understanding the persuasive elements of systems supporting behavior change is important. This may help users to engage and keep motivated in their endeavors. Further research is needed to increase our understanding of how and under what conditions specific persuasive features (either in isolation or collectively) lead to positive health outcomes in Web-based health behavior change interventions across diverse health contexts and populations. PMID:21795238

CentiServer: A Comprehensive Resource, Web-Based Application and R Package for Centrality Analysis.

PubMed

Jalili, Mahdi; Salehzadeh-Yazdi, Ali; Asgari, Yazdan; Arab, Seyed Shahriar; Yaghmaie, Marjan; Ghavamzadeh, Ardeshir; Alimoghaddam, Kamran

2015-01-01

Various disciplines are trying to solve one of the most noteworthy queries and broadly used concepts in biology, essentiality. Centrality is a primary index and a promising method for identifying essential nodes, particularly in biological networks. The newly created CentiServer is a comprehensive online resource that provides over 110 definitions of different centrality indices, their computational methods, and algorithms in the form of an encyclopedia. In addition, CentiServer allows users to calculate 55 centralities with the help of an interactive web-based application tool and provides a numerical result as a comma separated value (csv) file format or a mapped graphical format as a graph modeling language (GML) file. The standalone version of this application has been developed in the form of an R package. The web-based application (CentiServer) and R package (centiserve) are freely available at http://www.centiserver.org/.

CentiServer: A Comprehensive Resource, Web-Based Application and R Package for Centrality Analysis

PubMed Central

Jalili, Mahdi; Salehzadeh-Yazdi, Ali; Asgari, Yazdan; Arab, Seyed Shahriar; Yaghmaie, Marjan; Ghavamzadeh, Ardeshir; Alimoghaddam, Kamran

2015-01-01

Various disciplines are trying to solve one of the most noteworthy queries and broadly used concepts in biology, essentiality. Centrality is a primary index and a promising method for identifying essential nodes, particularly in biological networks. The newly created CentiServer is a comprehensive online resource that provides over 110 definitions of different centrality indices, their computational methods, and algorithms in the form of an encyclopedia. In addition, CentiServer allows users to calculate 55 centralities with the help of an interactive web-based application tool and provides a numerical result as a comma separated value (csv) file format or a mapped graphical format as a graph modeling language (GML) file. The standalone version of this application has been developed in the form of an R package. The web-based application (CentiServer) and R package (centiserve) are freely available at http://www.centiserver.org/ PMID:26571275

Operational efficiency subpanel advanced mission control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedland, Peter

1990-01-01

Herein, the term mission control will be taken quite broadly to include both ground and space based operations as well as the information infrastructure necessary to support such operations. Three major technology areas related to advanced mission control are examined: (1) Intelligent Assistance for Ground-Based Mission Controllers and Space-Based Crews; (2) Autonomous Onboard Monitoring, Control and Fault Detection Isolation and Reconfiguration; and (3) Dynamic Corporate Memory Acquired, Maintained, and Utilized During the Entire Vehicle Life Cycle. The current state of the art space operations are surveyed both within NASA and externally for each of the three technology areas and major objectives are discussed from a user point of view for technology development. Ongoing NASA and other governmental programs are described. An analysis of major research issues and current holes in the program are provided. Several recommendations are presented for enhancing the technology development and insertion process to create advanced mission control environments.

QUASAR--scoring and ranking of sequence-structure alignments.

PubMed

Birzele, Fabian; Gewehr, Jan E; Zimmer, Ralf

2005-12-15

Sequence-structure alignments are a common means for protein structure prediction in the fields of fold recognition and homology modeling, and there is a broad variety of programs that provide such alignments based on sequence similarity, secondary structure or contact potentials. Nevertheless, finding the best sequence-structure alignment in a pool of alignments remains a difficult problem. QUASAR (quality of sequence-structure alignments ranking) provides a unifying framework for scoring sequence-structure alignments that aids finding well-performing combinations of well-known and custom-made scoring schemes. Those scoring functions can be benchmarked against widely accepted quality scores like MaxSub, TMScore, Touch and APDB, thus enabling users to test their own alignment scores against 'standard-of-truth' structure-based scores. Furthermore, individual score combinations can be optimized with respect to benchmark sets based on known structural relationships using QUASAR's in-built optimization routines.

"MXing it up": how African adolescents may affect social change through mobile phone use.

PubMed

Napolitano, Christopher M

2010-01-01

This chapter outlines mobile phone use among African (particularly South African) adolescents. With an estimated 350 million active mobile phone subscriptions, improving network infrastructure, low-cost Internet-ready handsets, innovative programs and applications, mobiles in Africa, and their increasingly younger, increasingly poorer, and increasingly savvy users have the potential to act as conduits for local and regional socially just change. This broad-based connectedness not only provides access to information, but also, and crucially, connects individuals and their social, intellectual, and financial capital. It may represent a powerful, transformative shift in a region where access to similar technologies was historically limited to a privileged few. In order to best leverage these developments and opportunities to promote socially just change, I argue that future mobile-based programs or initiatives in the region should be based in both contemporary developmental systems theory as well as current, popular mobile applications and services.

Does individual learning styles influence the choice to use a web-based ECG learning programme in a blended learning setting?

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The compressed curriculum in modern knowledge-intensive medicine demands useful tools to achieve approved learning aims in a limited space of time. Web-based learning can be used in different ways to enhance learning. Little is however known regarding its optimal utilisation. Our aim was to investigate if the individual learning styles of medical students influence the choice to use a web-based ECG learning programme in a blended learning setting. Methods The programme, with three types of modules (learning content, self-assessment questions and interactive ECG interpretation training), was offered on a voluntary basis during a face to face ECG learning course for undergraduate medical students. The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) and a general questionnaire including questions about computer and Internet usage, preferred future speciality and prior experience of E-learning were used to explore different factors related to the choice of using the programme or not. Results 93 (76%) out of 123 students answered the ILS instrument and 91 the general questionnaire. 55 students (59%) were defined as users of the web-based ECG-interpretation programme. Cronbach's alpha was analysed with coefficients above 0.7 in all of the four dimensions of ILS. There were no significant differences with regard to learning styles, as assessed by ILS, between the user and non-user groups; Active/Reflective; Visual/Verbal; Sensing/Intuitive; and Sequential/Global (p = 0.56-0.96). Neither did gender, prior experience of E-learning or preference for future speciality differ between groups. Conclusion Among medical students, neither learning styles according to ILS, nor a number of other characteristics seem to influence the choice to use a web-based ECG programme. This finding was consistent also when the usage of the different modules in the programme were considered. Thus, the findings suggest that web-based learning may attract a broad variety of medical students. PMID:22248183

Does individual learning styles influence the choice to use a web-based ECG learning programme in a blended learning setting?

PubMed

Nilsson, Mikael; Östergren, Jan; Fors, Uno; Rickenlund, Anette; Jorfeldt, Lennart; Caidahl, Kenneth; Bolinder, Gunilla

2012-01-16

The compressed curriculum in modern knowledge-intensive medicine demands useful tools to achieve approved learning aims in a limited space of time. Web-based learning can be used in different ways to enhance learning. Little is however known regarding its optimal utilisation. Our aim was to investigate if the individual learning styles of medical students influence the choice to use a web-based ECG learning programme in a blended learning setting. The programme, with three types of modules (learning content, self-assessment questions and interactive ECG interpretation training), was offered on a voluntary basis during a face to face ECG learning course for undergraduate medical students. The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) and a general questionnaire including questions about computer and Internet usage, preferred future speciality and prior experience of E-learning were used to explore different factors related to the choice of using the programme or not. 93 (76%) out of 123 students answered the ILS instrument and 91 the general questionnaire. 55 students (59%) were defined as users of the web-based ECG-interpretation programme. Cronbach's alpha was analysed with coefficients above 0.7 in all of the four dimensions of ILS. There were no significant differences with regard to learning styles, as assessed by ILS, between the user and non-user groups; Active/Reflective; Visual/Verbal; Sensing/Intuitive; and Sequential/Global (p = 0.56-0.96). Neither did gender, prior experience of E-learning or preference for future speciality differ between groups. Among medical students, neither learning styles according to ILS, nor a number of other characteristics seem to influence the choice to use a web-based ECG programme. This finding was consistent also when the usage of the different modules in the programme were considered. Thus, the findings suggest that web-based learning may attract a broad variety of medical students.

User's guide to the Octopus computer network (the SHOC manual)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, C.; Thompson, D.; Whitten, G.

1977-07-18

This guide explains how to enter, run, and debug programs on the Octopus network. It briefly describes the network's operation, and directs the reader to other documents for further information. It stresses those service programs that will be most useful in the long run; ''quick'' methods that have little flexibility are not discussed. The Octopus timesharing network gives the user access to four CDC 7600 computers, two CDC STAR computers, and a broad array of peripheral equipment, from any of 800 or so remote terminals. 16 figures, 7 tables.

User's guide to the Octopus computer network (the SHOC manual)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, C.; Thompson, D.; Whitten, G.

1976-10-07

This guide explains how to enter, run, and debug programs on the Octopus network. It briefly describes the network's operation, and directs the reader to other documents for further information. It stresses those service programs that will be most useful in the long run; ''quick'' methods that have little flexibility are not discussed. The Octopus timesharing network gives the user access to four CDC 7600 computers, two CDC STAR computers, and a broad array of peripheral equipment, from any of 800 or so remote terminals. 8 figures, 4 tables.

User's guide to the Octopus computer network (the SHOC manual)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, C.; Thompson, D.; Whitten, G.

1975-06-02

This guide explains how to enter, run, and debug programs on the Octopus network. It briefly describes the network's operation, and directs the reader to other documents for further information. It stresses those service programs that will be most useful in the long run; ''quick'' methods that have little flexibility are not discussed. The Octopus timesharing network gives the user access to four CDC 7600 computers and a broad array of peripheral equipment, from any of 800 remote terminals. Octopus will soon include the Laboratory's STAR-100 computers. 9 figures, 5 tables. (auth)

A multipurpose computing center with distributed resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chudoba, J.; Adam, M.; Adamová, D.; Kouba, T.; Mikula, A.; Říkal, V.; Švec, J.; Uhlířová, J.; Vokáč, P.; Svatoš, M.

2017-10-01

The Computing Center of the Institute of Physics (CC IoP) of the Czech Academy of Sciences serves a broad spectrum of users with various computing needs. It runs WLCG Tier-2 center for the ALICE and the ATLAS experiments; the same group of services is used by astroparticle physics projects the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). OSG stack is installed for the NOvA experiment. Other groups of users use directly local batch system. Storage capacity is distributed to several locations. DPM servers used by the ATLAS and the PAO are all in the same server room, but several xrootd servers for the ALICE experiment are operated in the Nuclear Physics Institute in Řež, about 10 km away. The storage capacity for the ATLAS and the PAO is extended by resources of the CESNET - the Czech National Grid Initiative representative. Those resources are in Plzen and Jihlava, more than 100 km away from the CC IoP. Both distant sites use a hierarchical storage solution based on disks and tapes. They installed one common dCache instance, which is published in the CC IoP BDII. ATLAS users can use these resources using the standard ATLAS tools in the same way as the local storage without noticing this geographical distribution. Computing clusters LUNA and EXMAG dedicated to users mostly from the Solid State Physics departments offer resources for parallel computing. They are part of the Czech NGI infrastructure MetaCentrum with distributed batch system based on torque with a custom scheduler. Clusters are installed remotely by the MetaCentrum team and a local contact helps only when needed. Users from IoP have exclusive access only to a part of these two clusters and take advantage of higher priorities on the rest (1500 cores in total), which can also be used by any user of the MetaCentrum. IoP researchers can also use distant resources located in several towns of the Czech Republic with a capacity of more than 12000 cores in total.

WebVR: an interactive web browser for virtual environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barsoum, Emad; Kuester, Falko

2005-03-01

The pervasive nature of web-based content has lead to the development of applications and user interfaces that port between a broad range of operating systems and databases, while providing intuitive access to static and time-varying information. However, the integration of this vast resource into virtual environments has remained elusive. In this paper we present an implementation of a 3D Web Browser (WebVR) that enables the user to search the internet for arbitrary information and to seamlessly augment this information into virtual environments. WebVR provides access to the standard data input and query mechanisms offered by conventional web browsers, with the difference that it generates active texture-skins of the web contents that can be mapped onto arbitrary surfaces within the environment. Once mapped, the corresponding texture functions as a fully integrated web-browser that will respond to traditional events such as the selection of links or text input. As a result, any surface within the environment can be turned into a web-enabled resource that provides access to user-definable data. In order to leverage from the continuous advancement of browser technology and to support both static as well as streamed content, WebVR uses ActiveX controls to extract the desired texture skin from industry strength browsers, providing a unique mechanism for data fusion and extensibility.

Authoring Tours of Geospatial Data With KML and Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barcay, D. P.; Weiss-Malik, M.

2008-12-01

As virtual globes become widely adopted by the general public, the use of geospatial data has expanded greatly. With the popularization of Google Earth and other platforms, GIS systems have become virtual reality platforms. Using these platforms, a casual user can easily explore the world, browse massive data-sets, create powerful 3D visualizations, and share those visualizations with millions of people using the KML language. This technology has raised the bar for professionals and academics alike. It is now expected that studies and projects will be accompanied by compelling, high-quality visualizations. In this new landscape, a presentation of geospatial data can be the most effective form of advertisement for a project: engaging both the general public and the scientific community in a unified interactive experience. On the other hand, merely dumping a dataset into a virtual globe can be a disorienting, alienating experience for many users. To create an effective, far-reaching presentation, an author must take care to make their data approachable to a wide variety of users with varying knowledge of the subject matter, expertise in virtual globes, and attention spans. To that end, we present techniques for creating self-guided interactive tours of data represented in KML and visualized in Google Earth. Using these methods, we provide the ability to move the camera through the world while dynamically varying the content, style, and visibility of the displayed data. Such tours can automatically guide users through massive, complex datasets: engaging a broad user-base, and conveying subtle concepts that aren't immediately apparent when viewing the raw data. To the casual user these techniques result in an extremely compelling experience similar to watching video. Unlike video though, these techniques maintain the rich interactive environment provided by the virtual globe, allowing users to explore the data in detail and to add other data sources to the presentation.

Attitudes Toward Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) for Genetic Disorders Among Potential Users in Malaysia.

PubMed

Olesen, Angelina Patrick; Nor, Siti Nurani Mohd; Amin, Latifah

2016-02-01

While pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is available and legal in Malaysia, there is an ongoing controversy debate about its use. There are few studies available on individuals' attitudes toward PGD, particularly among those who have a genetic disease, or whose children have a genetic disease. To the best of our knowledge, this is, in fact, the first study of its kind in Malaysia. We conducted in-depth interviews, using semi-structured questionnaires, with seven selected potential PGD users regarding their knowledge, attitudes and decisions relating to the use PGD. The criteria for selecting potential PGD users were that they or their children had a genetic disease, and they desired to have another child who would be free of genetic disease. All participants had heard of PGD and five of them were considering its use. The participants' attitudes toward PGD were based on several different considerations that were influenced by various factors. These included: the benefit-risk balance of PGD, personal experiences of having a genetic disease, religious beliefs, personal values and cost. The study's findings suggest that the selected Malaysian participants, as potential PGD users, were supportive but cautious regarding the use of PGD for medical purposes, particularly in relation to others whose experiences were similar. More broadly, the paper highlights the link between the participants' personal experiences and their beliefs regarding the appropriateness, for others, of individual decision-making on PGD, which has not been revealed by previous studies.

CARES/Life Ceramics Durability Evaluation Software Used for Mars Microprobe Aeroshell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemeth, Noel N.

1998-01-01

The CARES/Life computer program, which was developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center, predicts the probability of a monolithic ceramic component's failure as a function of time in service. The program has many features and options for materials evaluation and component design. It couples commercial finite element programs-which resolve a component's temperature and stress distribution-to-reliability evaluation and fracture mechanics routines for modeling strength-limiting defects. These routines are based on calculations of the probabilistic nature of the brittle material's strength. The capability, flexibility, and uniqueness of CARES/Life has attracted many users representing a broad range of interests and has resulted in numerous awards for technological achievements and technology transfer.

USGS perspectives on an integrated approach to watershed and coastal management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, Matthew C.; Hamilton, Pixie A.; Haines, John W.; Mason, Jr., Robert R.

2010-01-01

The writers discuss three critically important steps necessary for achieving the goal for improved integrated approaches on watershed and coastal protection and management. These steps involve modernization of monitoring networks, creation of common data and web services infrastructures, and development of modeling, assessment, and research tools. Long-term monitoring is needed for tracking the effectiveness approaches for controlling land-based sources of nutrients, contaminants, and invasive species. The integration of mapping and monitoring with conceptual and mathematical models, and multidisciplinary assessments is important in making well-informed decisions. Moreover, a better integrated data network is essential for mapping, statistical, and modeling applications, and timely dissemination of data and information products to a broad community of users.

Concept definition study for recovery of tumbling satellites. Volume 2: Supporting research and technology report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cable, D. A.; Derocher, W. L., Jr.; Cathcart, J. A.; Keeley, M. G.; Madayev, L.; Nguyen, T. K.; Preese, J. R.

1986-01-01

A number of areas of research and laboratory experiments were identified which could lead to development of a cost efficient remote, disable satellite recovery system. Estimates were planned of disabled satellite motion. A concept is defined as a Tumbling Satellite Recovery kit which includes a modular system, composed of a number of subsystem mechanisms that can be readily integrated into varying combinations. This would enable the user to quickly configure a tailored remote, disabled satellite recovery kit to meet a broad spectrum of potential scenarios. The capability was determined of U.S. Earth based satellite tracking facilities to adequately determine the orientation and motion rates of disabled satellites.

Weather and place-based human behavior: recreational preferences and sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Freitas, C. R.

2015-01-01

This study examines the links between biometeorological variables and the behavior of beach recreationists along with their rating of overall weather conditions. To identify and describe significance of on-site atmospheric conditions, two separate forms of response are examined. The first is sensory perception of the immediate atmospheric surround expressed verbally, which was the subject of earlier work. In the research reported here, on-site observations of behavior that reflect the effects of weather and climate are examined. By employing, independently, separate indicators of on-site experience, the reliability of each is examined and interpreted and apparent threshold conditions verified. The study site is King's Beach located on the coast of Queensland, Australia. On-site observations of atmospheric variables and beach user behavior are made for the daylight hours of 45 days spread over a 12-month period. The results show that behavioral data provide reliable and meaningful indications of the significance of the atmospheric environment for leisure. Atmospheric conditions within the zone of acceptability are those that the beach users can readily cope with or modify by a range of minor behavioral adjustments. Optimal weather conditions appear to be those requiring no specific behavioral adjustment. Attendance levels reflect only the outer limits of acceptability of the meteorological environment, while duration of visit enables calibration of levels of approval in so far as it reflects rating of on-site weather within a broad zone of tolerance. In a broad theoretical sense, the results add to an understanding of the relationship between weather and human behavior. This information is potentially useful in effective tourism management and planning.

Assessment of Soil Moisture Data Requirements by the Potential SMAP Data User Community: Review of SMAP Mission User Community

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.; Escobar, Vanessa M.

2013-01-01

NASA's Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission is planned for launch in October 2014 and will provide global measurements of soil moisture and freeze thaw state. The project is driven by both basic research and applied science goals. Understanding how application driven end-users will apply SMAP data, prior to the satellite's launch, is an important goal of NASA's applied science program and SMAP mission success. Because SMAP data are unique, there are no direct proxy data sets that can be used in research and operational studies to determine how the data will interact with existing processes. The objective of this study is to solicit data requirements, accuracy needs, and current understanding of the SMAP mission from the potential user community. This study showed that the data to be provided by the SMAP mission did substantially meet the user community needs. Although there was a broad distribution of requirements stated, the SMAP mission fit within these requirements.

ECO-Report - Halfway home

Treesearch

Jane Kapler Smith; Janet Sullivan; Clinton E. Carlson; L. Jack Lyon; J. Tewksbury; S. Hejl; T. Martin; Stephen F. Arno; Ward McCaughey; Cathy Stewart; Colin Hardy; J. Greg Jones; Madelyn Kempf; Leslie Weldon

1996-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

EnviroAtlas: Two Use Cases in the EnviroAtlas

EPA Science Inventory

EnviroAtlas is an online spatial decision support tool for viewing and analyzing the supply, demand, and drivers of change related to natural and built infrastructure at multiple scales for the nation. To maximize usefulness to a broad range of users, EnviroAtlas contains trainin...

Distance Learning: Information Access and Services for Virtual Users.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iyer, Hemalata, Ed.

This volume centers broadly on information support services for distance education. The articles in this book can be categorized into two areas: access to information resources for distance learners, and studies of distance learning programs. Contents include: "The Challenges and Benefits of Asynchronous Learning Networks" (Daphne…

APPLICATION OF THE HSPF MODEL TO THE SOUTH FORK OF THE BROAD RIVER WATERSHED IN NORTHEASTERN GEORGIA

EPA Science Inventory

The Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) is a comprehensive watershed model which simulates hydrology and water quality at user-specified temporal and spatial scales. Well-established model calibration and validation procedures are followed when adjusting model paramete...

Considerations for Developing Interfaces for Collecting Patient-Reported Outcomes That Allow the Inclusion of Individuals With Disabilities

PubMed Central

Harniss, Mark; Amtmann, Dagmar; Cook, Debbie; Johnson, Kurt

2010-01-01

PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System) is developing a set of tools for collecting patient reported outcomes, including computerized adaptive testing that can be administered using different modes, such as computers or phones. The user interfaces for these tools will be designed using the principles of universal design to ensure that it is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. We review the rationale for making health assessment instruments accessible to users with disabilities, briefly review the standards and guidelines that exist to support developers in the creation of user interfaces with accessibility in mind, and describe the usability and accessibility testing PROMIS will conduct with content experts and users with and without disabilities. Finally, we discuss threats to validity and reliability presented by universal design principles. We argue that the social and practical benefits of interfaces designed to include a broad range of potential users, including those with disabilities, seem to outweigh the need for standardization. Suggestions for future research are also included. PMID:17443119

Crime and Violence among MDMA Users in the United States

PubMed Central

Vaughn, Michael G.; Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; DeLisi, Matt; Perron, Brian E.; Cordova, David

2015-01-01

The question of whether MDMA use is associated with increased crime and violence has not been adequately explored especially in nationally representative samples. This study used data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to assess the association between MDMA use and violent and non-violent antisocial behavior while controlling for sociodemographic variables, lifetime psychiatric, alcohol and drug use disorders, and family history of antisocial behavior. MDMA users, both male and female, were involved in a number of crimes in acts of violence including drunk driving, shoplifting, theft, intimate partner violence, and fighting. Notably, female MDMA users were more antisocial than male non-MDMA users. Although adjusting the results for numerous confounds attenuated the relationships, MDMA users were still at significantly greater odds of engaging in violent and nonviolent crime than non-MDMA users. Although MDMA has been considered a facilitator of empathy and closeness, the current study suggests a dark side as MDMA is associated with a broad array of crimes and transgressions. Additional tests of the MDMA-crime link are needed to properly inform policy. PMID:29546096

Automotive HMI design and participatory user involvement: review and perspectives.

PubMed

François, Mathilde; Osiurak, François; Fort, Alexandra; Crave, Philippe; Navarro, Jordan

2017-04-01

Automotive human-machine interface (HMI) design is facing new challenges due to the technological advances of the last decades. The design process has to be adapted in order to address human factors and road safety challenges. It is now widely accepted that user involvement in the HMI design process is valuable. However, the current form of user involvement in industry remains at the stages of concept assessment and usability tests. Moreover, the literature in other fields (e.g. information systems) promotes a broader user involvement with participatory design (i.e. the user is fully involved in the development process). This article reviews the established benefits of participatory design and reveals perspectives for automotive HMI quality improvement in a cognitive ergonomic framework. Practitioner Summary: Automotive HMI quality determines, in part, drivers' ability to perform primary driving tasks while using in-vehicle devices. User involvement in the design process is a key point to contribute to HMI quality. This article reports the potential benefits of a broad involvement from drivers to meet automotive HMI design challenges.

Additions and improvements to the high energy density physics capabilities in the FLASH code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamb, D. Q.; Flocke, N.; Graziani, C.; Tzeferacos, P.; Weide, K.

2016-10-01

FLASH is an open source, finite-volume Eulerian, spatially adaptive radiation magnetohydrodynamics code that has the capabilities to treat a broad range of physical processes. FLASH performs well on a wide range of computer architectures, and has a broad user base. Extensive high energy density physics (HEDP) capabilities have been added to FLASH to make it an open toolset for the academic HEDP community. We summarize these capabilities, emphasizing recent additions and improvements. In particular, we showcase the ability of FLASH to simulate the Faraday Rotation Measure produced by the presence of magnetic fields; and proton radiography, proton self-emission, and Thomson scattering diagnostics with and without the presence of magnetic fields. We also describe several collaborations with the academic HEDP community in which FLASH simulations were used to design and interpret HEDP experiments. This work was supported in part at the University of Chicago by the DOE NNSA ASC through the Argonne Institute for Computing in Science under field work proposal 57789; and the NSF under Grant PHY-0903997.

Broad consent versus dynamic consent in biobank research: Is passive participation an ethical problem?

PubMed Central

Steinsbekk, Kristin Solum; Kåre Myskja, Bjørn; Solberg, Berge

2013-01-01

In the endeavour of biobank research there is dispute concerning what type of consent and which form of donor–biobank relationship meet high ethical standards. Up until now, a ‘broad consent' model has been used in many present-day biobank projects. However it has been, by some scholars, deemed as a pragmatic, and not an acceptable ethical solution. Calls for change have been made on the basis of avoidance of paternalism, intentions to fulfil the principle of autonomy, wish for increased user participation, a questioning of the role of experts and ideas advocating reduction of top–down governance. Recently, an approach termed ‘dynamic consent' has been proposed to meet such challenges. Dynamic consent uses modern communication strategies to inform, involve, offer choices and last but not the least obtain consent for every research projects based on biobank resources. At first glance dynamic consent seems appealing, and we have identified six claims of superiority of this model; claims pertaining to autonomy, information, increased engagement, control, social robustness and reciprocity. However, after closer examination, there seems to be several weaknesses with a dynamic consent approach; among others the risk of inviting people into the therapeutic misconception as well as individualizing the ethical review of research projects. When comparing the two models, broad consent still holds and can be deemed a good ethical solution for longitudinal biobank research. Nevertheless, there is potential for improvement in the broad model, and criticism can be met by adapting some of the modern communication strategies proposed in the dynamic consent approach. PMID:23299918

DCS - A global satellite environmental data collection system.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claire, E. J.

1973-01-01

This paper presents a summary of the results of a comparative study of satellite data collection systems which utilize remote ground data collection platforms transmitting data directly to a satellite and down to low-cost direct read-out local user terminals. The general objective of the study was to evaluate cost and technical feasibility of five medium orbiting and six geo-synchronous satellite data collection system (DCS) configurations with varying degrees of spacecraft and local user terminal (LUT) complexity. The goal of trading spacecraft and LUT complexity was to determine practical feasible systems with low-cost terminals, yet with a reasonable overall system cost the would permit the broad worldwide utilization of a highly beneficial data collection system. Results presented include data collection system analyses, satellite and local user terminal designs, and estimated costs. A summary of the types of local users and their requirements is also included.

Internet and Audiology: A Review of the First International Meeting.

PubMed

Andersson, Gerhard; Lunner, Thomas; Laplante-Lévesque, Ariane; Preminger, Jill E

2015-09-01

The purpose of this research forum article is to describe the impetus for holding the First International Meeting on Internet and Audiology (October 2014) and to introduce the special research forum that arose from the meeting. The rationale for the First International Meeting on Internet and Audiology is described. This is followed by a short description of the research sections and articles appearing in the special issue. Six articles consider the process of health care delivery over the Internet; this includes health care specific to hearing, tinnitus, and balance. Four articles discuss the development of effective Internet-based treatment programs. Six articles describe and evaluate Internet-based interventions specific to adult hearing aid users. The fledgling field of Internet and audiology is remarkably broad. The Second International Meeting on Internet and Audiology ocurred in September 2015.

Engineering designer transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) by REAL or REAL-Fast assembly.

PubMed

Reyon, Deepak; Khayter, Cyd; Regan, Maureen R; Joung, J Keith; Sander, Jeffry D

2012-10-01

Engineered transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) are broadly useful tools for performing targeted genome editing in a wide variety of organisms and cell types including plants, zebrafish, C. elegans, rat, human somatic cells, and human pluripotent stem cells. Here we describe detailed protocols for the serial, hierarchical assembly of TALENs that require neither PCR nor specialized multi-fragment ligations and that can be implemented by any laboratory. These restriction enzyme and ligation (REAL)-based protocols can be practiced using plasmid libraries and user-friendly, Web-based software that both identifies target sites in sequences of interest and generates printable graphical guides that facilitate assembly of TALENs. With the described platform of reagents, protocols, and software, researchers can easily engineer multiple TALENs within 2 weeks using standard cloning techniques. 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ACTRIS Data Centre: An atmospheric data portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myhre, C. Lund; Fahre Vik, A.; Logna, R.; Torseth, K.; Linné, H.; O'Connor, E.

2012-04-01

ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network) is a European Project aiming at integrating European ground-based stations equipped with advanced instrumentation for studying aerosols, clouds, and short-lived gas-phase species. The ACTRIS activities result in improved atmospheric measurements data made at more than 60 European sites, from numerous instruments and includes variables measured by ground based in situ and remote sensing technologies. Core variables are in situ aerosol optical, physical and chemical properties, short-lived trace gases (volatile organic carbon and nitrogen oxides), aerosol scattering and extinction profiles, and cloud properties. The ACTRIS data centre (ACTRIS DC) is giving free and open access to all data resulting from the activities of the infrastructure network, complemented with data from other relevant networks and data bases. The overall goal is to facilitate scientists and other user groups access to atmospheric observational data, and to provide mature products for analysis and interpretation of atmospheric composition change. The ACTRIS DC aims at substantially increasing the number of high-quality data by providing long-term observational data relevant to climate and air quality research produced with standardized or comparable procedures throughout the network. The backbone of the ACTRIS DC is the three core data bases: - EARLINET Data Base hosting aerosol lidar data from more than 30 European sites - EBAS hosting ground based atmospheric in situ data from more than 1000 sites globally - Cloudnet hosting remote sensing cloud data and products from 5 European sites Furthermore, a joint portal is developed combining information from various data sources to gain new information not presently available from standalone databases or networks. The data centre will provide tools and services to facilitate the use of measurements for broad user communities. Higher level and integrated products will be developed stage-by-stage during the project, and user requirements, interactions and feedbacks are essential. The first version of ACTRIS DC is a web portal that allows users to search for atmospheric composition data from a multitude of data archives through a single user interface. Examples of data bases and frameworks included are EMEP, the GAW- world data centres, EARLINET, NDACC, CARIBIC-GEOmon, HTAP, AMAP amongst others. Currently the portal provides an overview of more than 800 000 data sets from more than 20 data bases/frameworks globally. For some of the databases included in the portal, the interface furthermore allows you to download data directly through the portal. A map functionality is implemented facilitating the identification of data and making it possible to search for collocation of observations, variables and sites both in time and space. The data portal can serve as "one-stop-shop" of atmospheric high-quality data, and the portal will also offer a direct interface towards external users like the MACC II project and GMES in-situ. The data dissemination will take into account the principles outlined in SEIS, INSPIRE, WIS and GEOSS.

DoOPSearch: a web-based tool for finding and analysing common conserved motifs in the promoter regions of different chordate and plant genes

PubMed Central

Sebestyén, Endre; Nagy, Tibor; Suhai, Sándor; Barta, Endre

2009-01-01

Background The comparative genomic analysis of a large number of orthologous promoter regions of the chordate and plant genes from the DoOP databases shows thousands of conserved motifs. Most of these motifs differ from any known transcription factor binding site (TFBS). To identify common conserved motifs, we need a specific tool to be able to search amongst them. Since conserved motifs from the DoOP databases are linked to genes, the result of such a search can give a list of genes that are potentially regulated by the same transcription factor(s). Results We have developed a new tool called DoOPSearch for the analysis of the conserved motifs in the promoter regions of chordate or plant genes. We used the orthologous promoters of the DoOP database to extract thousands of conserved motifs from different taxonomic groups. The advantage of this approach is that different sets of conserved motifs might be found depending on how broad the taxonomic coverage of the underlying orthologous promoter sequence collection is (consider e.g. primates vs. mammals or Brassicaceae vs. Viridiplantae). The DoOPSearch tool allows the users to search these motif collections or the promoter regions of DoOP with user supplied query sequences or any of the conserved motifs from the DoOP database. To find overrepresented gene ontologies, the gene lists obtained can be analysed further using a modified version of the GeneMerge program. Conclusion We present here a comparative genomics based promoter analysis tool. Our system is based on a unique collection of conserved promoter motifs characteristic of different taxonomic groups. We offer both a command line and a web-based tool for searching in these motif collections using user specified queries. These can be either short promoter sequences or consensus sequences of known transcription factor binding sites. The GeneMerge analysis of the search results allows the user to identify statistically overrepresented Gene Ontology terms that might provide a clue on the function of the motifs and genes. PMID:19534755

Formalisms for user interface specification and design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Auernheimer, Brent J.

1989-01-01

The application of formal methods to the specification and design of human-computer interfaces is described. A broad outline of human-computer interface problems, a description of the field of cognitive engineering and two relevant research results, the appropriateness of formal specification techniques, and potential NASA application areas are described.

ECO-Report - Research-management-public partnership continues

Treesearch

Jane Kapler Smith; Greg Jones; Nan Christianson; Lucia Solorzano; Gloria Weisgerber; Steve Arno; Sallie J. Hejl; F. Jeremy Wheeler; Timothy S. Redman; Joshua J. Tewksbury; Tom DeLuca; K. Zouhar

1998-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

ECO-Report - Great issues, great diversions

Treesearch

Janie Canton-Thompson; Jim Saveland; Sharon Ritter; Yvette K Ortega; Dean F. Pearson; Mick Harrington; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Clint Cook; Greg Jones

2004-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

ECO-Report - Scientific independence: A key to credibility

Treesearch

Sharon Ritter; Janie Canton-Thompson; Leonard F. Ruggiero; Greg Jones; Janet Sullivan; Ward McCaughey; Yvette Ortega; Neal Christensen; Mick Harrington; Deborah Page-Dumroese

2007-01-01

EcoReport is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

ECO-Report - One ranger's experience in summer 2000

Treesearch

Janie Canton-Thompson; Greg Jones; Jane Kapler Smith; Peter Rice; Mick Harrington; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Kevin McKelvey; Yvette Ortega; Ward McCaughey; Robert Pfister; Greg Jones; Larry Swanson; Vita Wright

2001-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

Expectations and Reality: Evaluating Patterns of Learning Behaviour Using Audit Trails

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Gregor E.; Judd, Terry S.

2007-01-01

Developers of educational multimedia programs have expectations about the way in which they will be used. These expectations can be broadly categorised as either functional (primarily related to the interface) or educational (related to learning designs, processes and outcomes). However, student users will not always engage with educational…

Understanding Competence. A Development Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. of Adult Continuing Education, Leicester (England). Unit for the Development of Adult Continuing Education.

Competence is one of the outcomes of learning. Competence embraces both specific task skills and the understanding, knowledge, attitude, and personal skills required to carry out that task effectively. An education and training system built on a broad definition of competence would give greater control to the users of the system (the individuals…

75 FR 41164 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-15

... Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Education Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, 725... sources of information and assistance on a broad range of education-related topics. Users of the directory... for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ...

Universal mobile electrochemical detector designed for use in resource-limited applications

PubMed Central

Nemiroski, Alex; Christodouleas, Dionysios C.; Hennek, Jonathan W.; Kumar, Ashok A.; Maxwell, E. Jane; Fernández-Abedul, Maria Teresa; Whitesides, George M.

2014-01-01

This paper describes an inexpensive, handheld device that couples the most common forms of electrochemical analysis directly to “the cloud” using any mobile phone, for use in resource-limited settings. The device is designed to operate with a wide range of electrode formats, performs on-board mixing of samples by vibration, and transmits data over voice using audio—an approach that guarantees broad compatibility with any available mobile phone (from low-end phones to smartphones) or cellular network (second, third, and fourth generation). The electrochemical methods that we demonstrate enable quantitative, broadly applicable, and inexpensive sensing with flexibility based on a wide variety of important electroanalytical techniques (chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and potentiometry), each with different uses. Four applications demonstrate the analytical performance of the device: these involve the detection of (i) glucose in the blood for personal health, (ii) trace heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and zinc) in water for in-field environmental monitoring, (iii) sodium in urine for clinical analysis, and (iv) a malarial antigen (Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2) for clinical research. The combination of these electrochemical capabilities in an affordable, handheld format that is compatible with any mobile phone or network worldwide guarantees that sophisticated diagnostic testing can be performed by users with a broad spectrum of needs, resources, and levels of technical expertise. PMID:25092346

CCBuilder: an interactive web-based tool for building, designing and assessing coiled-coil protein assemblies.

PubMed

Wood, Christopher W; Bruning, Marc; Ibarra, Amaurys Á; Bartlett, Gail J; Thomson, Andrew R; Sessions, Richard B; Brady, R Leo; Woolfson, Derek N

2014-11-01

The ability to accurately model protein structures at the atomistic level underpins efforts to understand protein folding, to engineer natural proteins predictably and to design proteins de novo. Homology-based methods are well established and produce impressive results. However, these are limited to structures presented by and resolved for natural proteins. Addressing this problem more widely and deriving truly ab initio models requires mathematical descriptions for protein folds; the means to decorate these with natural, engineered or de novo sequences; and methods to score the resulting models. We present CCBuilder, a web-based application that tackles the problem for a defined but large class of protein structure, the α-helical coiled coils. CCBuilder generates coiled-coil backbones, builds side chains onto these frameworks and provides a range of metrics to measure the quality of the models. Its straightforward graphical user interface provides broad functionality that allows users to build and assess models, in which helix geometry, coiled-coil architecture and topology and protein sequence can be varied rapidly. We demonstrate the utility of CCBuilder by assembling models for 653 coiled-coil structures from the PDB, which cover >96% of the known coiled-coil types, and by generating models for rarer and de novo coiled-coil structures. CCBuilder is freely available, without registration, at http://coiledcoils.chm.bris.ac.uk/app/cc_builder/. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

"It's not rocket science, what I do": Self-directed harm reduction strategies among drug using ethno-racially diverse gay and bisexual men.

PubMed

Greenspan, Nicole R; Aguinaldo, Jeffrey P; Husbands, Winston; Murray, James; Ho, Peter; Sutdhibhasilp, Noulmook; Cedano, José; Lau, Chris; Gray, Trevor; Maharaj, Rajendra

2011-01-01

Research on harm reduction has typically focused on broad-based or organisational strategies such as needle exchange and opiate substitute programmes. Less attention has been paid to the self-directed harm reduction practices of substance users themselves. Few studies have focused on sexual minority populations such as gay and bisexual men and fewer still on the marginalised groups that constitute these populations. This paper identifies self-directed harm reduction strategies among substance using ethno-racially diverse gay and bisexual men. This article presents findings from the Party Drugs Study in Toronto's gay dance club scene, a community-based qualitative study in Toronto, Canada. We present a thematic analysis of interviews with 43 gay and bisexual men from diverse ethno-racial backgrounds about their substance use in the gay dance club scene. We identify five self-directed harm reduction strategies: rationing, controlling or avoiding mixing, controlling quality, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and following guidelines during substance use. We discuss our findings in relation to prior research and to critical theory. We suggest that drug users' awareness of possible harm, and their personal investment in harm reduction, constitute a viable platform from which community-based and public health organisations may promote and strengthen harm reduction among gay and bisexual men from ethno-racially diverse backgrounds. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A PDA-based system for online recording and analysis of concurrent events in complex behavioral processes.

PubMed

Held, Jürgen; Manser, Tanja

2005-02-01

This article outlines how a Palm- or Newton-based PDA (personal digital assistant) system for online event recording was used to record and analyze concurrent events. We describe the features of this PDA-based system, called the FIT-System (flexible interface technique), and its application to the analysis of concurrent events in complex behavioral processes--in this case, anesthesia work processes. The patented FIT-System has a unique user interface design allowing the user to design an interface template with a pencil and paper or using a transparency film. The template usually consists of a drawing or sketch that includes icons or symbols that depict the observer's representation of the situation to be observed. In this study, the FIT-System allowed us to create a design for fast, intuitive online recording of concurrent events using a set of 41 observation codes. An analysis of concurrent events leads to a description of action density, and our results revealed a characteristic distribution of action density during the administration of anesthesia in the operating room. This distribution indicated the central role of the overlapping operations in the action sequences of medical professionals as they deal with the varying requirements of this complex task. We believe that the FIT-System for online recording of concurrent events in complex behavioral processes has the potential to be useful across a broad spectrum of research areas.

Mapping Deforestation area in North Korea Using Phenology-based Multi-Index and Random Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Y.; Sung, S.; Lee, D. K.; Jeong, S.

2016-12-01

Forest ecosystem provides ecological benefits to both humans and wildlife. Growing global demand for food and fiber is accelerating the pressure on the forest ecosystem in whole world from agriculture and logging. In recently, North Korea lost almost 40 % of its forests to crop fields for food production and cut-down of forest for fuel woods between 1990 and 2015. It led to the increased damage caused by natural disasters and is known to be one of the most forest degraded areas in the world. The characteristic of forest landscape in North Korea is complex and heterogeneous, the major landscape types in the forest are hillside farm, unstocked forest, natural forest and plateau vegetation. Remote sensing can be used for the forest degradation mapping of a dynamic landscape at a broad scale of detail and spatial distribution. Confusion mostly occurred between hillside farmland and unstocked forest, but also between unstocked forest and forest. Most previous forest degradation that used focused on the classification of broad types such as deforests area and sand from the perspective of land cover classification. The objective of this study is using random forest for mapping degraded forest in North Korea by phenological based vegetation index derived from MODIS products, which has various environmental factors such as vegetation, soil and water at a regional scale for improving accuracy. The model created by random forest resulted in an overall accuracy was 91.44%. Class user's accuracy of hillside farmland and unstocked forest were 97.2% and 84%%, which indicate the degraded forest. Unstocked forest had relative low user accuracy due to misclassified hillside farmland and forest samples. Producer's accuracy of hillside farmland and unstocked forest were 85.2% and 93.3%, repectly. In this case hillside farmland had lower produce accuracy mainly due to confusion with field, unstocked forest and forest. Such a classification of degraded forest could supply essential information to decide the priority of forest management and restoration in degraded forest area.

anyFish 2.0: An open-source software platform to generate and share animated fish models to study behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingley, Spencer J.; Rahmani Asl, Mohammad; Wu, Chengde; Cui, Rongfeng; Gadelhak, Mahmoud; Li, Wen; Zhang, Ji; Simpson, Jon; Hash, Chelsea; Butkowski, Trisha; Veen, Thor; Johnson, Jerald B.; Yan, Wei; Rosenthal, Gil G.

2015-12-01

Experimental approaches to studying behaviors based on visual signals are ubiquitous, yet these studies are limited by the difficulty of combining realistic models with the manipulation of signals in isolation. Computer animations are a promising way to break this trade-off. However, animations are often prohibitively expensive and difficult to program, thus limiting their utility in behavioral research. We present anyFish 2.0, a user-friendly platform for creating realistic animated 3D fish. anyFish 2.0 dramatically expands anyFish's utility by allowing users to create animations of members of several groups of fish from model systems in ecology and evolution (e.g., sticklebacks, Poeciliids, and zebrafish). The visual appearance and behaviors of the model can easily be modified. We have added several features that facilitate more rapid creation of realistic behavioral sequences. anyFish 2.0 provides a powerful tool that will be of broad use in animal behavior and evolution and serves as a model for transparency, repeatability, and collaboration.

jORCA: easily integrating bioinformatics Web Services.

PubMed

Martín-Requena, Victoria; Ríos, Javier; García, Maximiliano; Ramírez, Sergio; Trelles, Oswaldo

2010-02-15

Web services technology is becoming the option of choice to deploy bioinformatics tools that are universally available. One of the major strengths of this approach is that it supports machine-to-machine interoperability over a network. However, a weakness of this approach is that various Web Services differ in their definition and invocation protocols, as well as their communication and data formats-and this presents a barrier to service interoperability. jORCA is a desktop client aimed at facilitating seamless integration of Web Services. It does so by making a uniform representation of the different web resources, supporting scalable service discovery, and automatic composition of workflows. Usability is at the top of the jORCA agenda; thus it is a highly customizable and extensible application that accommodates a broad range of user skills featuring double-click invocation of services in conjunction with advanced execution-control, on the fly data standardization, extensibility of viewer plug-ins, drag-and-drop editing capabilities, plus a file-based browsing style and organization of favourite tools. The integration of bioinformatics Web Services is made easier to support a wider range of users. .

Monte Carlo capabilities of the SCALE code system

DOE PAGES

Rearden, Bradley T.; Petrie, Jr., Lester M.; Peplow, Douglas E.; ...

2014-09-12

SCALE is a broadly used suite of tools for nuclear systems modeling and simulation that provides comprehensive, verified and validated, user-friendly capabilities for criticality safety, reactor physics, radiation shielding, and sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. For more than 30 years, regulators, licensees, and research institutions around the world have used SCALE for nuclear safety analysis and design. SCALE provides a “plug-and-play” framework that includes three deterministic and three Monte Carlo radiation transport solvers that can be selected based on the desired solution, including hybrid deterministic/Monte Carlo simulations. SCALE includes the latest nuclear data libraries for continuous-energy and multigroup radiation transport asmore » well as activation, depletion, and decay calculations. SCALE’s graphical user interfaces assist with accurate system modeling, visualization, and convenient access to desired results. SCALE 6.2 will provide several new capabilities and significant improvements in many existing features, especially with expanded continuous-energy Monte Carlo capabilities for criticality safety, shielding, depletion, and sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. Finally, an overview of the Monte Carlo capabilities of SCALE is provided here, with emphasis on new features for SCALE 6.2.« less

Manifest: A computer program for 2-D flow modeling in Stirling machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gedeon, David

1989-01-01

A computer program named Manifest is discussed. Manifest is a program one might want to use to model the fluid dynamics in the manifolds commonly found between the heat exchangers and regenerators of Stirling machines; but not just in the manifolds - in the regenerators as well. And in all sorts of other places too, such as: in heaters or coolers, or perhaps even in cylinder spaces. There are probably nonStirling uses for Manifest also. In broad strokes, Manifest will: (1) model oscillating internal compressible laminar fluid flow in a wide range of two-dimensional regions, either filled with porous materials or empty; (2) present a graphics-based user-friendly interface, allowing easy selection and modification of region shape and boundary condition specification; (3) run on a personal computer, or optionally (in the case of its number-crunching module) on a supercomputer; and (4) allow interactive examination of the solution output so the user can view vector plots of flow velocity, contour plots of pressure and temperature at various locations and tabulate energy-related integrals of interest.

MCNP Version 6.2 Release Notes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Werner, Christopher John; Bull, Jeffrey S.; Solomon, C. J.

Monte Carlo N-Particle or MCNP ® is a general-purpose Monte Carlo radiation-transport code designed to track many particle types over broad ranges of energies. This MCNP Version 6.2 follows the MCNP6.1.1 beta version and has been released in order to provide the radiation transport community with the latest feature developments and bug fixes for MCNP. Since the last release of MCNP major work has been conducted to improve the code base, add features, and provide tools to facilitate ease of use of MCNP version 6.2 as well as the analysis of results. These release notes serve as a general guidemore » for the new/improved physics, source, data, tallies, unstructured mesh, code enhancements and tools. For more detailed information on each of the topics, please refer to the appropriate references or the user manual which can be found at http://mcnp.lanl.gov. This release of MCNP version 6.2 contains 39 new features in addition to 172 bug fixes and code enhancements. There are still some 33 known issues the user should familiarize themselves with (see Appendix).« less

Introduction: evidence-based action in humanitarian crises.

PubMed

Dijkzeul, Dennis; Hilhorst, Dorothea; Walker, Peter

2013-07-01

This introductory paper sets the stage for this special issue of Disasters on evidence-based action in humanitarian crises. It reviews definition(s) of evidence and it examines the different disciplinary and methodological approaches to collecting and analysing evidence. In humanitarian action, the need for evidence-based approaches sometimes is viewed in tension with a principled approach, often unnecessarily. Choosing appropriate research methods depends on the objectives of the researcher, in particular whether the research focuses on the intervention and/or the context and the length and complexity of the causal chains involved. The paper concludes by defining some trends in evidence-based approaches in crises: the move away from inputs and outputs of humanitarian action towards outcomes and impacts; the shift towards a higher degree of partnerships in research, and the participation of users and target groups; and the acceptance of a broad array of approaches to establish evidence. © 2013 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2013.

Context-aware access control for pervasive access to process-based healthcare systems.

PubMed

Koufi, Vassiliki; Vassilacopoulos, George

2008-01-01

Healthcare is an increasingly collaborative enterprise involving a broad range of healthcare services provided by many individuals and organizations. Grid technology has been widely recognized as a means for integrating disparate computing resources in the healthcare field. Moreover, Grid portal applications can be developed on a wireless and mobile infrastructure to execute healthcare processes which, in turn, can provide remote access to Grid database services. Such an environment provides ubiquitous and pervasive access to integrated healthcare services at the point of care, thus improving healthcare quality. In such environments, the ability to provide an effective access control mechanism that meets the requirement of the least privilege principle is essential. Adherence to the least privilege principle requires continuous adjustments of user permissions in order to adapt to the current situation. This paper presents a context-aware access control mechanism for HDGPortal, a Grid portal application which provides access to workflow-based healthcare processes using wireless Personal Digital Assistants. The proposed mechanism builds upon and enhances security mechanisms provided by the Grid Security Infrastructure. It provides tight, just-in-time permissions so that authorized users get access to specific objects according to the current context. These permissions are subject to continuous adjustments triggered by the changing context. Thus, the risk of compromising information integrity during task executions is reduced.

VASCOMP 2. The V/STOL aircraft sizing and performance computer program. Volume 6: User's manual, revision 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoen, A. H.; Rosenstein, H.; Stanzione, K.; Wisniewski, J. S.

1980-01-01

This report describes the use of the V/STOL Aircraft Sizing and Performance Computer Program (VASCOMP II). The program is useful in performing aircraft parametric studies in a quick and cost efficient manner. Problem formulation and data development were performed by the Boeing Vertol Company and reflects the present preliminary design technology. The computer program, written in FORTRAN IV, has a broad range of input parameters, to enable investigation of a wide variety of aircraft. User oriented features of the program include minimized input requirements, diagnostic capabilities, and various options for program flexibility.

Reinventing Image Detective: An Evidence-Based Approach to Citizen Science Online

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romano, C.; Graff, P. V.; Runco, S.

2017-12-01

Usability studies demonstrate that web users are notoriously impatient, spending as little as 15 seconds on a home page. How do you get users to stay long enough to understand a citizen science project? How do you get users to complete complex citizen science tasks online?Image Detective, a citizen science project originally developed by scientists and science engagement specialists at the NASA Johnson Space center to engage the public in the analysis of images taken from space by astronauts to help enhance NASA's online database of astronaut imagery, partnered with the CosmoQuest citizen science platform to modernize, offering new and improved options for participation in Image Detective. The challenge: to create a web interface that builds users' skills and knowledge, creating engagement while learning complex concepts essential to the accurate completion of tasks. The project team turned to usability testing for an objective understanding of how users perceived Image Detective and the steps required to complete required tasks. A group of six users was recruited online for unmoderated and initial testing. The users followed a think-aloud protocol while attempting tasks, and were recorded on video and audio. The usability test examined users' perception of four broad areas: the purpose of and context for Image Detective; the steps required to successfully complete the analysis (differentiating images of Earth's surface from those showing outer space and identifying common surface features); locating the image center point on a map of Earth; and finally, naming geographic locations or natural events seen in the image.Usability test findings demonstrated that the following best practices can increase participation in Image Detective and can be applied to the successful implementation of any citizen science project:• Concise explanation of the project, its context, and its purpose;• Including a mention of the funding agency (in this case, NASA);• A preview of the specific tasks required of participants;• A dedicated user interface for the actual citizen science interaction.In addition, testing revealed that users may require additional context when a task is complex, difficult, or unusual (locating a specific image and its center point on a map of Earth). Video evidence will be made available with this presentation.

Reinventing Image Detective: An Evidence-Based Approach to Citizen Science Online

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romano, Cia; Graff, Paige V.; Runco, Susan

2017-01-01

Usability studies demonstrate that web users are notoriously impatient, spending as little as 15 seconds on a home page. How do you get users to stay long enough to understand a citizen science project? How do you get users to complete complex citizen science tasks online? Image Detective, a citizen science project originally developed by scientists and science engagement specialists at the NASA Johnson Space center to engage the public in the analysis of images taken from space by astronauts to help enhance NASA's online database of astronaut imagery, partnered with the CosmoQuest citizen science platform to modernize, offering new and improved options for participation in Image Detective. The challenge: to create a web interface that builds users' skills and knowledge, creating engagement while learning complex concepts essential to the accurate completion of tasks. The project team turned to usability testing for an objective understanding of how users perceived Image Detective and the steps required to complete required tasks. A group of six users was recruited online for unmoderated and initial testing. The users followed a think-aloud protocol while attempting tasks, and were recorded on video and audio. The usability test examined users' perception of four broad areas: the purpose of and context for Image Detective; the steps required to successfully complete the analysis (differentiating images of Earth's surface from those showing outer space and identifying common surface features); locating the image center point on a map of Earth; and finally, naming geographic locations or natural events seen in the image. Usability test findings demonstrated that the following best practices can increase participation in Image Detective and can be applied to the successful implementation of any citizen science project: (1) Concise explanation of the project, its context, and its purpose; (2) Including a mention of the funding agency (in this case, NASA); (3) A preview of the specific tasks required of participants; (4) A dedicated user interface for the actual citizen science interaction. In addition, testing revealed that users may require additional context when a task is complex, difficult, or unusual (locating a specific image and its center point on a map of Earth). Video evidence will be made available with this presentation.

The Geohazards Exploitation Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laur, Henri; Casu, Francesco; Bally, Philippe; Caumont, Hervé; Pinto, Salvatore

2016-04-01

The Geohazards Exploitation Platform, or Geohazards TEP (GEP), is an ESA originated R&D activity of the EO ground segment to demonstrate the benefit of new technologies for large scale processing of EO data. This encompasses on-demand processing for specific user needs, systematic processing to address common information needs of the geohazards community, and integration of newly developed processors for scientists and other expert users. The platform supports the geohazards community's objectives as defined in the context of the International Forum on Satellite EO and Geohazards organised by ESA and GEO in Santorini in 2012. The GEP is a follow on to the Supersites Exploitation Platform (SSEP) an ESA initiative to support the Geohazards Supersites & Natural Laboratories initiative (GSNL). Today the GEP allows to exploit 70+ Terabyte of ERS and ENVISAT archive and the Copernicus Sentinel-1 data available on line. The platform has already engaged 22 European early adopters in a validation activity initiated in March 2015. Since September, this validation has reached 29 single user projects. Each project is concerned with either integrating an application, running on demand processing or systematically generating a product collection using an application available in the platform. The users primarily include 15 geoscience centres and universities based in Europe: British Geological Survey (UK), University of Leeds (UK), University College London (UK), ETH University of Zurich (CH), INGV (IT), CNR-IREA and CNR-IRPI (IT), University of L'Aquila (IT), NOA (GR), Univ. Blaise Pascal & CNRS (FR), Ecole Normale Supérieure (FR), ISTERRE / University of Grenoble-Alpes (FR). In addition, there are users from Africa and North America with the University of Rabat (MA) and the University of Miami (US). Furthermore two space agencies and four private companies are involved: the German Space Research Centre DLR (DE), the European Space Agency (ESA), Altamira Information (ES), DEIMOS Space (ES), eGEOS (IT) and SATIM (PL). The GEP is now pursuing these projects with early adopters integrating additional conventional and advanced EO processors. It will also expand its user base to gradually reach a total of 60 separate users in pre-operations in 2017 with 6 new pilot projects being taken on board: photogrammetric processing using Optical EO data with University of Strasbourg (FR); optical based processing method for volcanic hazard monitoring with INGV (IT); systematic generation of Interferometric displacement time series based on the Sentinel-1 data with CNR IREA (IT); systematic processing of Sentinel-1 Interferometric Browse imagery with DLR (DE); precise terrain motion mapping with SPN Persistent Scatterers Interferometric chain of Altamira Information (ES); and a campaign to test and exploit GEP applications with the Corinth Rift Laboratory in which Greek and French experts of seismic hazards are engaged. Following the pre-operations phase starting in 2017 the Geohazards platform is intended to support a broad user community and has already established partnerships with large user networks, a particular example of which being the EPOS research infrastructure. Within EPOS, the GEP is intended to act as the main interface for accessing, processing, analysing and sharing products related to the Satellite Data Thematic Service.

A Web-based Google-Earth Coincident Imaging Tool for Satellite Calibration and Validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Killough, B. D.; Chander, G.; Gowda, S.

2009-12-01

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is coordinating international efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to meet the needs of its nine “Societal Benefit Areas”, of which the most demanding, in terms of accuracy, is climate. To accomplish this vision, satellite on-orbit and ground-based data calibration and validation (Cal/Val) of Earth observation measurements are critical to our scientific understanding of the Earth system. Existing tools supporting space mission Cal/Val are often developed for specific campaigns or events with little desire for broad application. This paper describes a web-based Google-Earth based tool for the calculation of coincident satellite observations with the intention to support a diverse international group of satellite missions to improve data continuity, interoperability and data fusion. The Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS), which includes 28 space agencies and 20 other national and international organizations, are currently operating and planning over 240 Earth observation satellites in the next 15 years. The technology described here will better enable the use of multiple sensors to promote increased coordination toward a GEOSS. The CEOS Systems Engineering Office (SEO) and the Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) support the development of the CEOS Visualization Environment (COVE) tool to enhance international coordination of data exchange, mission planning and Cal/Val events. The objective is to develop a simple and intuitive application tool that leverages the capabilities of Google-Earth web to display satellite sensor coverage areas and for the identification of coincident scene locations along with dynamic menus for flexibility and content display. Key features and capabilities include user-defined evaluation periods (start and end dates) and regions of interest (rectangular areas) and multi-user collaboration. Users can select two or more CEOS missions from a database including Satellite Tool Kit (STK) generated orbit information and perform rapid calculations to identify coincident scenes where the groundtracks of the CEOS mission instrument fields-of-view intersect. Calculated results are displayed on a customized Google-Earth web interface to view location and time information along with optional output to EXCEL table format. In addition, multiple viewports can be used for comparisons. COVE was first introduced to the CEOS WGCV community in May 2009. Since that time, the development of a prototype version has progressed. It is anticipated that the capabilities and applications of COVE can support a variety of international Cal/Val activities as well as provide general information on Earth observation coverage for education and societal benefit. This project demonstrates the utility of a systems engineering tool with broad international appeal for enhanced communication and data evaluation opportunities among international CEOS agencies. The COVE tool is publicly accessible via NASA servers.

Getting Together to Improve the School Environment: User Consultation, Participatory Design and Student Voice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolner, Pam; Hall, Elaine; Wall, Kate; Dennison, David

2007-01-01

This article first investigates historical trends in both the practice and the understanding of consultation, considering the often contrasting perspectives of architects and designers, compared to teachers and educationalists. Differing assumptions held by these two broad groups of professionals can lead to conflicting aims and objectives for…

EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: AVAILABILITY OF BROAD-SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR USE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING APPLICATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) has collected a suite of environmental data over a four year period from estuarine system in the mid-Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. ata are currently available for secondary users including environmental modelers. he data w...

ECO-Report - Finding common ground: Montana Forest Restoration Committee

Treesearch

Sharon Ritter; Greg Jones; Alan Watson; Ward McCaughey; Mick Harrington; Rafal Zwolak; Kerry Foresman; Elizabeth Crone; Dean Pearson; Yvette Ortega; Dan Loeffler

2008-01-01

EcoReport is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

ECO-News - BEMRP: A first of its kind within the Forest Service

Treesearch

Madelyn Kempf; Kerry Foresman; Jack Lyon; Steve Arno; Cindy Chojnacky

1995-01-01

ECO-News is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

ECO-Report - 1999 Symposium highlights five years of learning

Treesearch

Janie Canton-Thompson; Jane Kapler Smith; Greg Jones; Perry J. Brown; Stephen F. Arno; Orville L. Daniels; Dale A. Burk; Colin C. Hardy; Dave Silvieus; Kristi D. Pflug; Bruce Winhorst; Brooke Thompson; Yvette K. Ortega; Kevin S. McKelvey; Tom Thompson; Dean E. Pearson; Cathy Stewart; Janet Sullivan

1999-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

The Power of Portals: Personalizing the Web To Build Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Dan

2001-01-01

Describes how the director of information systems for the computing and communications department and a team of software developers embarked on the task of creating and refining portal technology for a broad community of users with various relationships to the University of Washington. Discusses focus on individual needs; authentication, the…

ECO-Report - Collaboration at the heart of the job

Treesearch

Jane Kapler Smith; Lucia Solorzano; Janet Howard; Steve Arno; Thomas G. Wagner; Robert Keane; L. Jack Lyon; J. Greg Jones; Sue Heald

1997-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

By the Numbers: Current Research in the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, Elizabeth Blakesley, Ed.

2008-01-01

This article highlights various literature covering a broad range of topics that are of interest to public services librarians, from collections and user services to one's own research and professional development. Although addressing many topics, these authors have all used or advocate for solid research methods and data analysis in their works,…

Factors affecting people's response to invasive species management

Treesearch

Paul H. Gobster

2011-01-01

Natural areas managers contend with an increasingly diverse array of invasive species in their mission to conserve the health and integrity of ecosystems under their charge. As users, nearby neighbours and de facto 'owners' of the lands where many significant natural areas reside, the public is often highly supportive of broad programme goals for management...

From Pedagogically Relevant Corpora to Authentic Language Learning Contents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braun, Sabine

2005-01-01

The potential of corpora for language learning and teaching has been widely acknowledged and their ready availability on the Web has facilitated access for a broad range of users, including language teachers and learners. However, the integration of corpora into general language learning and teaching practice has so far been disappointing. In this…

ECO-Report - Scale matters - some thoughts on landscape sustainability

Treesearch

Sharon Ritter; Janie Canton-Thompson; Greg Jones; Ward McCaughey; Dave Calkin; Mick Harrington; Peter Kolb; LaWen Hollingsworth; Joe Jensen; Katie Knotek; Brooke Thompson

2005-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

Design of an On-Line Query Language for Full Text Patent Search.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glantz, Richard S.

The design of an English-like query language and an interactive computer environment for searching the full text of the U.S. patent collection are discussed. Special attention is paid to achieving a transparent user interface, to providing extremely broad search capabilities (including nested substitution classes, Kleene star events, and domain…

Re-Using Today's Metadata for Tomorrow's Research: Five Practical Examples for Enhancing Access to Digital Collections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tzoc, Elias

2011-01-01

According to the "Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections," a good collection is broadly available and avoids unnecessary impediments to use. Two challenges, however, are the constant change in users' expectations and the increasing volume of information in local repositories. Therefore, as academic and research…

An Optimizing Space Data-Communications Scheduling Method and Algorithm with Interference Mitigation, Generalized for a Broad Class of Optimization Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rash, James L.

2010-01-01

NASA's space data-communications infrastructure, the Space Network and the Ground Network, provide scheduled (as well as some limited types of unscheduled) data-communications services to user spacecraft via orbiting relay satellites and ground stations. An implementation of the methods and algorithms disclosed herein will be a system that produces globally optimized schedules with not only optimized service delivery by the space data-communications infrastructure but also optimized satisfaction of all user requirements and prescribed constraints, including radio frequency interference (RFI) constraints. Evolutionary search, a class of probabilistic strategies for searching large solution spaces, constitutes the essential technology in this disclosure. Also disclosed are methods and algorithms for optimizing the execution efficiency of the schedule-generation algorithm itself. The scheduling methods and algorithms as presented are adaptable to accommodate the complexity of scheduling the civilian and/or military data-communications infrastructure. Finally, the problem itself, and the methods and algorithms, are generalized and specified formally, with applicability to a very broad class of combinatorial optimization problems.

The National Biological Information Infrastructure as an E-Government tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sepic, R.; Kase, K.

2002-01-01

Coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a Web-based system that provides access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. Although it was begun in 1993, predating any formal E-Government initiative, the NBII typifies the E-Government concepts outlined in the President's Management Agenda, as well as in the proposed E-Government Act of 2002. This article-an individual case study and not a broad survey with extensive references to the literature-explores the structure and operation of the NBII in relation to several emerging trends in E-Government: end-user focus, defined and scalable milestones, public-private partnerships, alliances with stakeholders, and interagency cooperation. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

A national econometric forecasting model of the dental sector.

PubMed Central

Feldstein, P J; Roehrig, C S

1980-01-01

The Econometric Model of the the Dental Sector forecasts a broad range of dental sector variables, including dental care prices; the amount of care produced and consumed; employment of hygienists, dental assistants, and clericals; hours worked by dentists; dental incomes; and number of dentists. These forecasts are based upon values specified by the user for the various factors which help determine the supply an demand for dental care, such as the size of the population, per capita income, the proportion of the population covered by private dental insurance, the cost of hiring clericals and dental assistants, and relevant government policies. In a test of its reliability, the model forecast dental sector behavior quite accurately for the period 1971 through 1977. PMID:7461974

System safety checklist Skylab program report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcnail, E. M.

1974-01-01

Design criteria statement applicable to a wide variety of flight systems, experiments and other payloads, associated ground support equipment and facility support systems are presented. The document reflects a composite of experience gained throughout the aerospace industry prior to Skylab and additional experience gained during the Skylab Program. It has been prepared to provide current and future program organizations with a broad source of safety-related design criteria and to suggest methods for systematic and progressive application of the criteria beginning with preliminary development of design requirements and specifications. Recognizing the users obligation to shape the checklist to his particular needs, a summary of the historical background, rationale, objectives, development and implementation approach, and benefits based on Skylab experience has been included.

Ten factors to consider when developing usability scenarios and tasks for health information technology.

PubMed

Russ, Alissa L; Saleem, Jason J

2018-02-01

The quality of usability testing is highly dependent upon the associated usability scenarios. To promote usability testing as part of electronic health record (EHR) certification, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology requires that vendors test specific capabilities of EHRs with clinical end-users and report their usability testing process - including the test scenarios used - along with the results. The ONC outlines basic expectations for usability testing, but there is little guidance in usability texts or scientific literature on how to develop usability scenarios for healthcare applications. The objective of this article is to outline key factors to consider when developing usability scenarios and tasks to evaluate computer-interface based health information technologies. To achieve this goal, we draw upon a decade of our experience conducting usability tests with a variety of healthcare applications and a wide range of end-users, to include healthcare professionals as well as patients. We discuss 10 key factors that influence scenario development: objectives of usability testing; roles of end-user(s); target performance goals; evaluation time constraints; clinical focus; fidelity; scenario-related bias and confounders; embedded probes; minimize risks to end-users; and healthcare related outcome measures. For each factor, we present an illustrative example. This article is intended to aid usability researchers and practitioners in their efforts to advance health information technologies. The article provides broad guidance on usability scenario development and can be applied to a wide range of clinical information systems and applications. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Integrating Information Networks for Collective Planetary Stewardship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, A.

2016-12-01

Responsible behaviour resulting from climate literacy in global environmental movement is limited to policy and planning institutions in the Global South, while remaining absent for ends-user. Thus, planetary stewardship exists only at earth system boundaries where pressures sink to the local scale while ethics remains afloat. Existing citizen participation is restricted within policy spheres, appearing synonymous to enforcements in social psychology. Much, accounted reason is that existing information mechanisms operate mostly through linear exchanges between institutions and users, therefore reinforcing only hierarchical relationships. This study discloses such relationships that contribute to broad networking gaps through information demand assessment of stakeholders in a dozen development projects based in South Asia. Two parameters widely used for this purpose are: a. Feedback: Ends-user feedback to improve consumption literacy of climate sensitive resources (through consumption displays, billing, advisory services ecolabelling, sensors) and, b. Institutional Policy: Rewarding punishing to enforce desired behaviour (subsidies, taxation). Research answered: 1. Who gets the information (Equity in Information Distribution)? As existing information publishing mechanisms are designed by and for analysts, 2. How information translates to climate action Transparency of Execution)? Findings suggested that climate goals manifested in economic policy, than environmental policy, have potential clear short-term benefits and costs, and coincide with people's economic goals Also grassroots roles for responsible behaviour are empowered with presence of end user information. Barier free climate communication process and decision making is ensured among multiplicity of stakeholders with often conflicting perspectives. Research finds significance where collaboration among information networks can better translate regional policies into local action for climate adaptation and resilience capacity building.

Prevalence of the use of anchorage miniscrews among French orthodontists.

PubMed

Barthelemi, Stéphane; Beauval, Hélène

2015-12-01

Since always, anchorage has raised frequent problems for orthodontists. Since the early 2000s, the use of anchorage miniscrews has spread on a vast scale among practitioners. For the first time, a broad epidemiological survey (733 exploitable responses) has looked into the habits of French orthodontists regarding the use of anchorage miniscrews. The survey reveals that the majority of French practitioners have adopted miniscrews in their daily practice (66%), particularly among those using the lingual technique. However, the number of patients concerned still remains small for most practitioners (fewer than 10 patients for 65% of users). Seventy-four percent of users are satisfied with their experience with miniscrews although a majority uses them exclusively in adults (64%). The movements most sought by miniscrew users are mesialization/distalization and intrusion/extrusion. Among non-users, 60% have never placed an anchorage miniscrew but are thinking about doing so, whereas 20% of practitioners have used them but have since abandoned them. Finally, 20% of non-users have never used anchorage miniscrews and do not intend to do so. Copyright © 2015 CEO. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Collection development using interlibrary loan borrowing and acquisitions statistics.

PubMed Central

Byrd, G D; Thomas, D A; Hughes, K E

1982-01-01

Libraries, especially those supporting the sciences, continually face the problem of selecting appropriate new books for their users. Traditional collection development techniques include the use of librarian or user subject specialists, user recommendations, and approval plans. These methods of selection, however, are most effective in large libraries and do not systemically correlate new book purchases with the actual demands of users served. This paper describes a statistical method for determining subject strengths and weaknesses in a library book collection in relation to user demand. Using interlibrary loan borrowing and book acquisition statistics gathered for one fiscal year from three health sciences libraries, the authors developed a way to graph the broad and narrow subject fields of strength and potential weakness in a book collection. This method has the advantages of simplicity, speed of implementation, and clarity. It can also be used over a period of time to verify the success or failure of a collection development program. Finally, the method has potential as a tool for use by two or more libraries seeking to improve cooperative collection development in a network or consortium. PMID:7059712

eHealth research from the user's perspective.

PubMed

Hesse, Bradford W; Shneiderman, Ben

2007-05-01

The application of information technology (IT) to issues of healthcare delivery has had a long and tortuous history in the United States. Within the field of eHealth, vanguard applications of advanced computing techniques, such as applications in artificial intelligence or expert systems, have languished in spite of a track record of scholarly publication and decisional accuracy. The problem is one of purpose, of asking the right questions for the science to solve. Historically, many computer science pioneers have been tempted to ask "what can the computer do?" New advances in eHealth are prompting developers to ask "what can people do?" How can eHealth take part in national goals for healthcare reform to empower relationships between healthcare professionals and patients, healthcare teams and families, and hospitals and communities to improve health equitably throughout the population? To do this, eHealth researchers must combine best evidence from the user sciences (human factors engineering, human-computer interaction, psychology, and usability) with best evidence in medicine to create transformational improvements in the quality of care that medicine offers. These improvements should follow recommendations from the Institute of Medicine to create a healthcare system that is (1) safe, (2) effective (evidence based), (3) patient centered, and (4) timely. Relying on the eHealth researcher's intuitive grasp of systems issues, improvements should be made with considerations of users and beneficiaries at the individual (patient-physician), group (family-staff), community, and broad environmental levels.

The impact of landsat satellite monitoring on conservation biology.

PubMed

Leimgruber, Peter; Christen, Catherine A; Laborderie, Alison

2005-07-01

Landsat 7's recent malfunctioning will result in significant gaps in long-term satellite monitoring of Earth, affecting not only the research of the Earth science community but also conservation users of these data. To determine whether or how important Landsat monitoring is for conservation and natural resource management, we reviewed the Landsat program's history with special emphasis on the development of user groups. We also conducted a bibliographic search to determine the extent to which conservation research has been based on Landsat data. Conservation biologists were not an early user group of Landsat data because a) biologists lacked technical capacity--computers and software--to analyze these data; b) Landsat's 1980s commercialization rendered images too costly for biologists' budgets; and c) the broad-scale disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology did not develop until the mid-to-late 1980s. All these conditions had changed by the 1990s and Landsat imagery became an important tool for conservation biology. Satellite monitoring and Landsat continuity are mandated by the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992. This legislation leaves open commercial options. However, past experiments with commercial operations were neither viable nor economical, and severely reduced the quality of monitoring, archiving and data access for academia and the public. Future satellite monitoring programs are essential for conservation and natural resource management, must provide continuity with Landsat, and should be government operated.

White Matter Fiber-based Analysis of T1w/T2w Ratio Map.

PubMed

Chen, Haiwei; Budin, Francois; Noel, Jean; Prieto, Juan Carlos; Gilmore, John; Rasmussen, Jerod; Wadhwa, Pathik D; Entringer, Sonja; Buss, Claudia; Styner, Martin

2017-02-01

To develop, test, evaluate and apply a novel tool for the white matter fiber-based analysis of T1w/T2w ratio maps quantifying myelin content. The cerebral white matter in the human brain develops from a mostly non-myelinated state to a nearly fully mature white matter myelination within the first few years of life. High resolution T1w/T2w ratio maps are believed to be effective in quantitatively estimating myelin content on a voxel-wise basis. We propose the use of a fiber-tract-based analysis of such T1w/T2w ratio data, as it allows us to separate fiber bundles that a common regional analysis imprecisely groups together, and to associate effects to specific tracts rather than large, broad regions. We developed an intuitive, open source tool to facilitate such fiber-based studies of T1w/T2w ratio maps. Via its Graphical User Interface (GUI) the tool is accessible to non-technical users. The framework uses calibrated T1w/T2w ratio maps and a prior fiber atlas as an input to generate profiles of T1w/T2w values. The resulting fiber profiles are used in a statistical analysis that performs along-tract functional statistical analysis. We applied this approach to a preliminary study of early brain development in neonates. We developed an open-source tool for the fiber based analysis of T1w/T2w ratio maps and tested it in a study of brain development.

White matter fiber-based analysis of T1w/T2w ratio map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Haiwei; Budin, Francois; Noel, Jean; Prieto, Juan Carlos; Gilmore, John; Rasmussen, Jerod; Wadhwa, Pathik D.; Entringer, Sonja; Buss, Claudia; Styner, Martin

2017-02-01

Purpose: To develop, test, evaluate and apply a novel tool for the white matter fiber-based analysis of T1w/T2w ratio maps quantifying myelin content. Background: The cerebral white matter in the human brain develops from a mostly non-myelinated state to a nearly fully mature white matter myelination within the first few years of life. High resolution T1w/T2w ratio maps are believed to be effective in quantitatively estimating myelin content on a voxel-wise basis. We propose the use of a fiber-tract-based analysis of such T1w/T2w ratio data, as it allows us to separate fiber bundles that a common regional analysis imprecisely groups together, and to associate effects to specific tracts rather than large, broad regions. Methods: We developed an intuitive, open source tool to facilitate such fiber-based studies of T1w/T2w ratio maps. Via its Graphical User Interface (GUI) the tool is accessible to non-technical users. The framework uses calibrated T1w/T2w ratio maps and a prior fiber atlas as an input to generate profiles of T1w/T2w values. The resulting fiber profiles are used in a statistical analysis that performs along-tract functional statistical analysis. We applied this approach to a preliminary study of early brain development in neonates. Results: We developed an open-source tool for the fiber based analysis of T1w/T2w ratio maps and tested it in a study of brain development.

The Web Based Monitoring Project at the CMS Experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lopez-Perez, Juan Antonio; Badgett, William; Behrens, Ulf

The Compact Muon Solenoid is a large a complex general purpose experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), built and maintained by many collaborators from around the world. Efficient operation of the detector requires widespread and timely access to a broad range of monitoring and status information. To the end the Web Based Monitoring (WBM) system was developed to present data to users located anywhere from many underlying heterogeneous sources, from real time messaging systems to relational databases. This system provides the power to combine and correlate data in both graphical and tabular formats of interest to the experimenters,more » including data such as beam conditions, luminosity, trigger rates, detector conditions, and many others, allowing for flexibility on the user’s side. This paper describes the WBM system architecture and describes how the system has been used from the beginning of data taking until now (Run1 and Run 2).« less

The web based monitoring project at the CMS experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez-Perez, Juan Antonio; Badgett, William; Behrens, Ulf; Chakaberia, Irakli; Jo, Youngkwon; Maeshima, Kaori; Maruyama, Sho; Patrick, James; Rapsevicius, Valdas; Soha, Aron; Stankevicius, Mantas; Sulmanas, Balys; Toda, Sachiko; Wan, Zongru

2017-10-01

The Compact Muon Solenoid is a large a complex general purpose experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), built and maintained by many collaborators from around the world. Efficient operation of the detector requires widespread and timely access to a broad range of monitoring and status information. To that end the Web Based Monitoring (WBM) system was developed to present data to users located anywhere from many underlying heterogeneous sources, from real time messaging systems to relational databases. This system provides the power to combine and correlate data in both graphical and tabular formats of interest to the experimenters, including data such as beam conditions, luminosity, trigger rates, detector conditions, and many others, allowing for flexibility on the user’s side. This paper describes the WBM system architecture and describes how the system has been used from the beginning of data taking until now (Run1 and Run 2).

Flexible missile autopilot design studies with PC-MATLAB/386

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruth, Michael J.

1989-01-01

Development of a responsive, high-bandwidth missile autopilot for airframes which have structural modes of unusually low frequency presents a challenging design task. Such systems are viable candidates for modern, state-space control design methods. The PC-MATLAB interactive software package provides an environment well-suited to the development of candidate linear control laws for flexible missile autopilots. The strengths of MATLAB include: (1) exceptionally high speed (MATLAB's version for 80386-based PC's offers benchmarks approaching minicomputer and mainframe performance); (2) ability to handle large design models of several hundred degrees of freedom, if necessary; and (3) broad extensibility through user-defined functions. To characterize MATLAB capabilities, a simplified design example is presented. This involves interactive definition of an observer-based state-space compensator for a flexible missile autopilot design task. MATLAB capabilities and limitations, in the context of this design task, are then summarized.

User-based Resource Design in Earth Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luby, M.; Haber, J.; Wittenberg, K.

2001-12-01

Reform in the classroom, and certainly in academic publishing, is greatly influenced not only by educational research, but also by direct surveys of students and instructors. This presentation looks at changes to Columbia Earthscape, www.earthscape.org, based on an ongoing series of evaluation and testing measures. Two years ago, the Earthscape project was introduced as a central online resource. It aimed to select and make available authoritative materials from all the disciplines that constitute Earth-system science. Its design harnessed the dynamics of the Web and the interrelatedness of research, education, and public policy. In response to substantial class tests, involving five universities in the United States and abroad, three focus groups of geoscience faculty and librarians, user feedback, internal editorial-board review, and extensive consultation with colleagues in commercial and nonprofit educational publishing, Earthscape is implementing broad changes in design and content. These include arranging the site into sections that correspond to user profiles (scientist, policy-maker, teacher, and student), providing easier search or browsing (by research area, policy content, or lesson concept), and streamlining the presentation of links among our resources. These changes are implemented through more advanced searching capabilities, greater specificity of content metatags, and an overall increase in content from journals, books, and original material. The metatags now include all core geoscience disciplines or a range of pertinent issues (such as climate change, geologic hazards, and pollution). Reflecting the evaluation by librarians, Earthscape's revised interface will permit users to begin with a primary area of interest based on who they are, their "profile." They can then either browse the site's entire holdings in that area, perform searches within each area, or follow the extensive hyperlinks to explore connections to other areas and user needs. Another two focus groups consisting of undergraduate geoscience teaching faculty brought about a rearrangement of hyperlinked resources within course-module pages. This involved less-cluttered hot-linking in running text and uniform lists of video and images links and research links at the end of all modules. Finally, after analyzing the results of a survey questionnaire administered to hundreds of students, we increased and revised content metatags to produce more specific search returns and redistributed lists of annotated links throughout the site. We are also are continuing to seek more full-text content, including original student research and exposition.

PCIPS 2.0: Powerful multiprofile image processing implemented on PCs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smirnov, O. M.; Piskunov, N. E.

1992-01-01

Over the years, the processing power of personal computers has steadily increased. Now, 386- and 486-based PC's are fast enough for many image processing applications, and inexpensive enough even for amateur astronomers. PCIPS is an image processing system based on these platforms that was designed to satisfy a broad range of data analysis needs, while requiring minimum hardware and providing maximum expandability. It will run (albeit at a slow pace) even on a 80286 with 640K memory, but will take full advantage of bigger memory and faster CPU's. Because the actual image processing is performed by external modules, the system can be easily upgraded by the user for all sorts of scientific data analysis. PCIPS supports large format lD and 2D images in any numeric type from 8-bit integer to 64-bit floating point. The images can be displayed, overlaid, printed and any part of the data examined via an intuitive graphical user interface that employs buttons, pop-up menus, and a mouse. PCIPS automatically converts images between different types and sizes to satisfy the requirements of various applications. PCIPS features an API that lets users develop custom applications in C or FORTRAN. While doing so, a programmer can concentrate on the actual data processing, because PCIPS assumes responsibility for accessing images and interacting with the user. This also ensures that all applications, even custom ones, have a consistent and user-friendly interface. The API is compatible with factory programming, a metaphor for constructing image processing procedures that will be implemented in future versions of the system. Several application packages were created under PCIPS. The basic package includes elementary arithmetics and statistics, geometric transformations and import/export in various formats (FITS, binary, ASCII, and GIF). The CCD processing package and the spectral analysis package were successfully used to reduce spectra from the Nordic Telescope at La Palma. A photometry package is also available, and other packages are being developed. A multitasking version of PCIPS that utilizes the factory programming concept is currently under development. This version will remain compatible (on the source code level) with existing application packages and custom applications.

A survey of how clinicians in forensic personality disorder services engage their service users in treatment

PubMed Central

Clarke, Martin; Fardouly, Peter; McMurran, Mary

2014-01-01

Non-completion is a significant problem in treatments for personality disorder (PD), and is associated with poorer outcomes. Clinicians routinely attend to engagement issues with people diagnosed with PD and so we accessed their views about the techniques they used to facilitate treatment engagement with service users with PD. Twenty-three clinicians from a range of disciplines were asked how they defined treatment engagement, what they thought were the causes of treatment engagement problems in people with PD, and what techniques or strategies they used to enhance engagement of people with PD. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Staff working with people with PD have broad views on the factors that are implicated in treatment engagement for their client group. Consequently, the techniques they use to engage service users are wide-ranging, addressing issues to do with services, individuals, therapies and therapists. Given the limited published data thus far, the suggestions generated may be of value to other practitioners in improving service user engagement. PMID:25202229

A global organism detection and monitoring system for non-native species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graham, J.; Newman, G.; Jarnevich, C.; Shory, R.; Stohlgren, T.J.

2007-01-01

Harmful invasive non-native species are a significant threat to native species and ecosystems, and the costs associated with non-native species in the United States is estimated at over $120 Billion/year. While some local or regional databases exist for some taxonomic groups, there are no effective geographic databases designed to detect and monitor all species of non-native plants, animals, and pathogens. We developed a web-based solution called the Global Organism Detection and Monitoring (GODM) system to provide real-time data from a broad spectrum of users on the distribution and abundance of non-native species, including attributes of their habitats for predictive spatial modeling of current and potential distributions. The four major subsystems of GODM provide dynamic links between the organism data, web pages, spatial data, and modeling capabilities. The core survey database tables for recording invasive species survey data are organized into three categories: "Where, Who & When, and What." Organisms are identified with Taxonomic Serial Numbers from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. To allow users to immediately see a map of their data combined with other user's data, a custom geographic information system (GIS) Internet solution was required. The GIS solution provides an unprecedented level of flexibility in database access, allowing users to display maps of invasive species distributions or abundances based on various criteria including taxonomic classification (i.e., phylum or division, order, class, family, genus, species, subspecies, and variety), a specific project, a range of dates, and a range of attributes (percent cover, age, height, sex, weight). This is a significant paradigm shift from "map servers" to true Internet-based GIS solutions. The remainder of the system was created with a mix of commercial products, open source software, and custom software. Custom GIS libraries were created where required for processing large datasets, accessing the operating system, and to use existing libraries in C++, R, and other languages to develop the tools to track harmful species in space and time. The GODM database and system are crucial for early detection and rapid containment of invasive species. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Fuzzy Integral Ensemble Method in Visual P300 Brain-Computer Interface.

PubMed

Cavrini, Francesco; Bianchi, Luigi; Quitadamo, Lucia Rita; Saggio, Giovanni

2016-01-01

We evaluate the possibility of application of combination of classifiers using fuzzy measures and integrals to Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) based on electroencephalography. In particular, we present an ensemble method that can be applied to a variety of systems and evaluate it in the context of a visual P300-based BCI. Offline analysis of data relative to 5 subjects lets us argue that the proposed classification strategy is suitable for BCI. Indeed, the achieved performance is significantly greater than the average of the base classifiers and, broadly speaking, similar to that of the best one. Thus the proposed methodology allows realizing systems that can be used by different subjects without the need for a preliminary configuration phase in which the best classifier for each user has to be identified. Moreover, the ensemble is often capable of detecting uncertain situations and turning them from misclassifications into abstentions, thereby improving the level of safety in BCI for environmental or device control.

m2-ABKS: Attribute-Based Multi-Keyword Search over Encrypted Personal Health Records in Multi-Owner Setting.

PubMed

Miao, Yinbin; Ma, Jianfeng; Liu, Ximeng; Wei, Fushan; Liu, Zhiquan; Wang, Xu An

2016-11-01

Online personal health record (PHR) is more inclined to shift data storage and search operations to cloud server so as to enjoy the elastic resources and lessen computational burden in cloud storage. As multiple patients' data is always stored in the cloud server simultaneously, it is a challenge to guarantee the confidentiality of PHR data and allow data users to search encrypted data in an efficient and privacy-preserving way. To this end, we design a secure cryptographic primitive called as attribute-based multi-keyword search over encrypted personal health records in multi-owner setting to support both fine-grained access control and multi-keyword search via Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption. Formal security analysis proves our scheme is selectively secure against chosen-keyword attack. As a further contribution, we conduct empirical experiments over real-world dataset to show its feasibility and practicality in a broad range of actual scenarios without incurring additional computational burden.

A data-based conservation planning tool for Florida panthers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Murrow, Jennifer L.; Thatcher, Cindy A.; Van Manen, Frank T.; Clark, Joseph D.

2013-01-01

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest threats to the endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi). We developed a data-based habitat model and user-friendly interface so that land managers can objectively evaluate Florida panther habitat. We used a geographic information system (GIS) and the Mahalanobis distance statistic (D2) to develop a model based on broad-scale landscape characteristics associated with panther home ranges. Variables in our model were Euclidean distance to natural land cover, road density, distance to major roads, human density, amount of natural land cover, amount of semi-natural land cover, amount of permanent or semi-permanent flooded area–open water, and a cost–distance variable. We then developed a Florida Panther Habitat Estimator tool, which automates and replicates the GIS processes used to apply the statistical habitat model. The estimator can be used by persons with moderate GIS skills to quantify effects of land-use changes on panther habitat at local and landscape scales. Example applications of the tool are presented.

Towards an integrated set of surface meterological observations for climate science and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunn, Robert; Thorne, Peter

2017-04-01

We cannot predict what is not observed, and we cannot analyse what is not archived. To meet current scientific and societal demands, as well as future requirements for climate services, it is vital that the management and curation of land-based meteorological data holdings is improved. A comprehensive global set of data holdings, of known provenance, integrated across both climate variable and timescale are required to meet the wide range of user needs. Presently, the land-based holdings are highly fractured into global, region and national holdings for different variables and timescales, from a variety of sources, and in a mixture of formats. We present a high level overview, based on broad community input, of the steps that are required to bring about this integration and progress towards such a database. Any long-term, international, program creating such an integrated database will transform the our collective ability to provide societally relevant research, analysis and predictions across the globe.

Hierarchical Structure of the Eysenck Personality Inventory in a Large Population Sample: Goldberg's Trait-Tier Mapping Procedure

PubMed Central

Chapman, Benjamin P.; Weiss, Alexander; Barrett, Paul; Duberstein, Paul

2014-01-01

The structure of the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) is poorly understood, and applications have mostly been confined to the broad Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Lie scales. Using a hierarchical factoring procedure, we mapped the sequential differentiation of EPI scales from broad, molar factors to more specific, molecular factors, in a UK population sample of over 6500 persons. Replicable facets at the lowest tier of Neuroticism included emotional fragility, mood lability, nervous tension, and rumination. The lowest order set of replicable Extraversion facets consisted of social dynamism, sociotropy, decisiveness, jocularity, social information seeking, and impulsivity. The Lie scale consisted of an interpersonal virtue and a behavioral diligence facet. Users of the EPI may be well served in some circumstances by considering its broad Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Lie scales as multifactorial, a feature that was explicitly incorporated into subsequent Eysenck inventories and is consistent with other hierarchical trait structures. PMID:25983361

Streamlining On-Demand Access to Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Data Products for Weather Forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, J. D.; Tislin, D.

2017-12-01

Observations from the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) support National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters, whose Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) Data Delivery (DD) will access JPSS data products on demand from the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Product Distribution and Access (PDA) service. Based on the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Coverage Service, this on-demand service promises broad interoperability and frugal use of data networks by serving only the data that a user needs. But the volume, velocity, and variety of JPSS data products impose several challenges to such a service. It must be efficient to handle large volumes of complex, frequently updated data, and to fulfill many concurrent requests. It must offer flexible data handling and delivery, to work with a diverse and changing collection of data, and to tailor its outputs into products that users need, with minimal coordination between provider and user communities. It must support 24x7 operation, with no pauses in incoming data or user demand; and it must scale to rapid changes in data volume, variety, and demand as new satellites launch, more products come online, and users rely increasingly on the service. We are addressing these challenges in order to build an efficient and effective on-demand JPSS data service. For example, on-demand subsetting by many users at once may overload a server's processing capacity or its disk bandwidth - unless alleviated by spatial indexing, geolocation transforms, or pre-tiling and caching. Filtering by variable (/ band / layer) may also alleviate network loads, and provide fine-grained variable selection; to that end we are investigating how best to provide random access into the variety of spatiotemporal JPSS data products. Finally, producing tailored products (derivatives, aggregations) can boost flexibility for end users; but some tailoring operations may impose significant server loads. Operating this service in a cloud computing environment allows cost-effective scaling during the development and early deployment phases - and perhaps beyond. We will discuss how NESDIS and NWS are assessing and addressing these challenges to provide timely and effective access to JPSS data products for weather forecasters throughout the country.

Descriptive Analysis of Selected Data Referral Networks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MAXIMA Corp., Silver Spring, MD.

The National Environmental Data Referral Service (NEDRES) is being developed in response to a national need to improve the awareness of and access to a broad range of environmental data files. Two studies were conducted in support of this effort: a survey of prospective users confirming the need for and willingness to pay fees for the service and…

Using FIA data in the Forest Vegetation Simulator

Treesearch

John D. Shaw

2009-01-01

The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a national system of forest growth models maintained by the USDA Forest Service. It is the official tool for stand growth projection on National Forest lands, but it is also used widely on other ownerships. Model extensions and post-processors permit FVS users to perform a broad range of functions, including silvicultural...

ECO-Report - Fire recovery in the Bitterroot: "It’s a lot of work!"

Treesearch

Janie Canton-Thompson; Sharon Ritter; Dave Campbell; Julie Schreck; Peter Kolb; Brooke Thompson; Hans Zuuring; Alan Watson; Yvette Ortega; Kevin McKelvey; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Greg Jones

2002-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

Assessing the remote sensing derived evaporative stress index with ground observations of crop conditions to advance drought early warning

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Drought has significant impacts over broad spatial and temporal scales, and information about the timing and extent of such conditions is of critical importance to many end users in the agricultural and water resource management communities. The ability to accurately monitor effects on crops, and p...

ECO-Report - The case for research: How it makes a difference to managers

Treesearch

Janie Canton-Thompson; Marcia Patton-Mallory; Sue Heald; Sharon Ritter; Robert D. Pfister; Dean E. Pearson; Yvette K. Ortega; Alan Watson; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Greg Jones

2003-01-01

ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

Professional Development Of Junior Full Time Support Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officers

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

management information system NAMP naval aviation maintenance program OCS officer candidate school OOMA optimized organizational maintenance activity...retrieval of information is effective and efficient. 13 Knowledge management solutions broadly fall into two categories, enterprise solutions...designed to manage large amounts of knowledge and information , access by many concurrent users at multiple organization units and locations, and

TypingSuite: Integrated Software for Presenting Stimuli, and Collecting and Analyzing Typing Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazerolle, Erin L.; Marchand, Yannick

2015-01-01

Research into typing patterns has broad applications in both psycholinguistics and biometrics (i.e., improving security of computer access via each user's unique typing patterns). We present a new software package, TypingSuite, which can be used for presenting visual and auditory stimuli, collecting typing data, and summarizing and analyzing the…

Highly Interactive WWW Services: A New Type of Information Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanouplines, Patrick; Nieuwenhuysen, P.

The World Wide Web is evolving from a collection of texts linked by hypertext and hypermedia toward services that operate interactively with the information user, and which offer results through use of a broad spectrum of tools. This paper presents a collection of interactive WWW services. The services are classified on the basis of the client…

Fleet DNA Brings Fleet Data to Life, Informs R&D | News | NREL

Science.gov Websites

over 11.5 million miles of real-world data from more than 1,700 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles -cycle summaries and visualizations similar to real-world genetics, helping users understand the broad real-world data is a national resource that enables insight critical to the successful development of

The contribution of the Geohazards Exploitation Platform for the GEO Supersites community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manunta, Michele; Caumont, Hervé; Mora, Oscar; Casu, Francesco; Zinno, Ivana; De Luca, Claudio; Pepe, Susi; Pepe, Antonio; Brito, Fabrice; Romero, Laia; Stumpf, Andre; Malet, Jean-Philippe; Brcic, Ramon; Rodriguez Gonzalez, Fernando; Musacchio, Massimo; Buongiorno, Fabrizia; Briole, Pierre

2016-04-01

The European Space Agency (ESA) initiative for the creation of an ecosystem of Thematic Exploitation Platforms (TEP) focuses on the capitalization of Ground Segment capabilities and ICT technologies to maximize the exploitation of EO data from past and future missions. A TEP refers to a computing platform that complies to a set of exploitation scenarios involving scientific users, data providers and ICT providers, aggregated around an Earth Science thematic area. The Exploitation Platforms are targeted to cover different capacities and they define, implement and validate a platform for effective data exploitation of EO data sources in a given thematic area. In this framework, the Geohazards Thematic Exploitation Platform or Geohazards TEP (GEP) aims at providing on-demand processing services for specific user needs as well as systematic processing services to address the need of the geohazards community for common information layers and, finally, to integrate newly developed processors for scientists and other expert users. The GEP has now on-boarded over 40 European early adopters and will transition during 2016 to pre-operations by developing six new Pilot applications that will significantly augment the Platform's capabilities for systematic production and community building. Each project on the Platform is concerned with either integrating an application, running on demand processing using an application available in the platform or systematically generating a new product collection. The platform will also expand its user base in 2016, to gradually reach a total of about 65 individual users. Under a Consortium lead by Terradue Srl, six new pilot projects have been taken on board: photogrammetric processing using optical EO data with University of Strasbourg (FR), optical based processing method for volcanic hazard monitoring with INGV (IT), systematic generation of deformation time-series with Sentinel-1 data with CNR IREA (IT), systematic processing of Sentinel-1 interferometric imagery with DLR (DE), precise terrain motion mapping with SPN Persistent Scatterers Interferometric chain of Altamira Information (ES) and a campaign to test and exploit GEP applications with the Corinth Rift Laboratory in which Greek and French experts of seismic hazards are engaged. The consortium is in charge of the resources and services management under a sustainable and fair governance model to ensure alignment of the Platform with user community needs, broad collaboration with main data and service providers in the domain, and excellence among user initiatives willing to contribute. In this work we show how the GEO Geohazards Supersites community can fully benefit from availability of an advanced IT infrastructure, where satellite and in-situ data, processing tools and web-based visualization instruments are at the disposal of users to address scientific questions. In particular, we focus on the contributions provided by GEP for the management of EO data, for the implementation of a European e-infrastructure, and for the monitoring and modelling of ground deformations and seismic activity.

GRDC. A Collaborative Framework for Radiological Background and Contextual Data Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brian J. Quiter; Ramakrishnan, Lavanya; Mark S. Bandstra

The Radiation Mobile Analysis Platform (RadMAP) is unique in its capability to collect both high quality radiological data from both gamma-ray detectors and fast neutron detectors and a broad array of contextual data that includes positioning and stance data, high-resolution 3D radiological data from weather sensors, LiDAR, and visual and hyperspectral cameras. The datasets obtained from RadMAP are both voluminous and complex and require analyses from highly diverse communities within both the national laboratory and academic communities. Maintaining a high level of transparency will enable analysis products to further enrich the RadMAP dataset. It is in this spirit of openmore » and collaborative data that the RadMAP team proposed to collect, calibrate, and make available online data from the RadMAP system. The Berkeley Data Cloud (BDC) is a cloud-based data management framework that enables web-based data browsing visualization, and connects curated datasets to custom workflows such that analysis products can be managed and disseminated while maintaining user access rights. BDC enables cloud-based analyses of large datasets in a manner that simulates real-time data collection, such that BDC can be used to test algorithm performance on real and source-injected datasets. Using the BDC framework, a subset of the RadMAP datasets have been disseminated via the Gamma Ray Data Cloud (GRDC) that is hosted through the National Energy Research Science Computing (NERSC) Center, enabling data access to over 40 users at 10 institutions.« less

User involvement in the construction of a mental health charter: an exercise in communicative rationality?

PubMed

Hodge, Suzanne M

2009-09-01

This paper uses Jürgen Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action as a lens through which to examine the development of a local mental health charter. To assess whether the Charter represents the product of a communicatively rational process. RESEARCH DESIGN AND SETTING: The paper is based on an analysis of the text of the Charter, and on documentation relating to its development, including notes of discussion groups used to identify its themes. An analysis of the notes of the discussion groups against the text of the Charter shows that the Charter's themes are based broadly on the views generated in the discussion groups. However, they also draw on norms derived from wider discourses not reflected in the discussion groups, and exclude other specific local issues. The strength of feeling expressed in the discussion groups is also toned down in the language of the Charter. The development of the Charter was based on a participatory process that can be said to have contained elements of both communicative and strategic rationality. The strategic rationality involved in translating service users' views into language that would be acceptable to those working in the system can be seen as necessary for the Charter to succeed in bringing about change. In drawing also on communicatively generated norms from the wider public sphere the Charter can be seen as reflecting a form of generalized communicative rationality. The Charter represents a 'sluice' by which communicative rationality is drawn into the mental health system.

Application of machine learning methods to describe the effects of conjugated equine estrogens therapy on region-specific brain volumes

PubMed Central

Casanova, Ramon; Espeland, Mark A.; Goveas, Joseph S.; Davatzikos, Christos; Gaussoin, Sarah A.; Maldjian, Joseph A.; Brunner, Robert L.; Kuller, Lewis H.; Johnson, Karen C.; Mysiw, W. Jerry; Wagner, Benjamin; Resnick, Susan M.

2011-01-01

Use of conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) has been linked to smaller regional brain volumes in women aged ≥65 years, however it is unknown whether this results in a broad-based characteristic pattern of effects. Structural MRI was used to assess regional volumes of normal tissue and ischemic lesions among 513 women who had been enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of CEE therapy for an average of 6.6 years, beginning at ages 65-80 years. A multivariate pattern analysis, based on a machine learning technique that combined Random Forest and logistic regression with L1 penalty, was applied to identify patterns among regional volumes associated with therapy and whether patterns discriminate between treatment groups. The multivariate pattern analysis detected smaller regional volumes of normal tissue within the limbic and temporal lobes among women that had been assigned to CEE therapy. Mean decrements ranged as high as 7% in the left entorhinal cortex and 5% in the left perirhinal cortex, which exceeded the effect sizes reported previously in frontal lobe and hippocampus. Overall accuracy of classification based on these patterns, however, was projected to be only 54.5%. Prescription of CEE therapy for an average of 6.6 years is associated with lower regional brain volumes, but it does not induce a characteristic spatial pattern of changes in brain volumes of sufficient magnitude to discriminate users and non-users. PMID:21292420

iSyTE 2.0: a database for expression-based gene discovery in the eye

PubMed Central

Kakrana, Atul; Yang, Andrian; Anand, Deepti; Djordjevic, Djordje; Ramachandruni, Deepti; Singh, Abhyudai; Huang, Hongzhan

2018-01-01

Abstract Although successful in identifying new cataract-linked genes, the previous version of the database iSyTE (integrated Systems Tool for Eye gene discovery) was based on expression information on just three mouse lens stages and was functionally limited to visualization by only UCSC-Genome Browser tracks. To increase its efficacy, here we provide an enhanced iSyTE version 2.0 (URL: http://research.bioinformatics.udel.edu/iSyTE) based on well-curated, comprehensive genome-level lens expression data as a one-stop portal for the effective visualization and analysis of candidate genes in lens development and disease. iSyTE 2.0 includes all publicly available lens Affymetrix and Illumina microarray datasets representing a broad range of embryonic and postnatal stages from wild-type and specific gene-perturbation mouse mutants with eye defects. Further, we developed a new user-friendly web interface for direct access and cogent visualization of the curated expression data, which supports convenient searches and a range of downstream analyses. The utility of these new iSyTE 2.0 features is illustrated through examples of established genes associated with lens development and pathobiology, which serve as tutorials for its application by the end-user. iSyTE 2.0 will facilitate the prioritization of eye development and disease-linked candidate genes in studies involving transcriptomics or next-generation sequencing data, linkage analysis and GWAS approaches. PMID:29036527

The Globus Galaxies Platform. Delivering Science Gateways as a Service

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madduri, Ravi; Chard, Kyle; Chard, Ryan

We use public cloud computers to host sophisticated scientific data; software is then used to transform scientific practice by enabling broad access to capabilities previously available only to the few. The primary obstacle to more widespread use of public clouds to host scientific software (‘cloud-based science gateways’) has thus far been the considerable gap between the specialized needs of science applications and the capabilities provided by cloud infrastructures. We describe here a domain-independent, cloud-based science gateway platform, the Globus Galaxies platform, which overcomes this gap by providing a set of hosted services that directly address the needs of science gatewaymore » developers. The design and implementation of this platform leverages our several years of experience with Globus Genomics, a cloud-based science gateway that has served more than 200 genomics researchers across 30 institutions. Building on that foundation, we have also implemented a platform that leverages the popular Galaxy system for application hosting and workflow execution; Globus services for data transfer, user and group management, and authentication; and a cost-aware elastic provisioning model specialized for public cloud resources. We describe here the capabilities and architecture of this platform, present six scientific domains in which we have successfully applied it, report on user experiences, and analyze the economics of our deployments. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.« less

NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services - Technologies for Visualizing Earth Science Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cechini, M. F.; Boller, R. A.; Baynes, K.; Schmaltz, J. E.; Thompson, C. K.; Roberts, J. T.; Rodriguez, J.; Wong, M. M.; King, B. A.; King, J.; De Luca, A. P.; Pressley, N. N.

2017-12-01

For more than 20 years, the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) has collected earth science data for thousands of scientific parameters now totaling nearly 15 Petabytes of data. In 2013, NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) formed its vision to "transform how end users interact and discover [EOS] data through visualizations." This vision included leveraging scientific and community best practices and standards to provide a scalable, compliant, and authoritative source for EOS earth science data visualizations. Since that time, GIBS has grown quickly and now services millions of daily requests for over 500 imagery layers representing hundreds of earth science parameters to a broad community of users. For many of these parameters, visualizations are available within hours of acquisition from the satellite. For others, visualizations are available for the entire mission of the satellite. The GIBS system is built upon the OnEarth and MRF open source software projects, which are provided by the GIBS team. This software facilitates standards-based access for compliance with existing GIS tools. The GIBS imagery layers are predominantly rasterized images represented in two-dimensional coordinate systems, though multiple projections are supported. The OnEarth software also supports the GIBS ingest pipeline to facilitate low latency updates to new or updated visualizations. This presentation will focus on the following topics: Overview of GIBS visualizations and user community Current benefits and limitations of the OnEarth and MRF software projects and related standards GIBS access methods and their in/compatibilities with existing GIS libraries and applications Considerations for visualization accuracy and understandability Future plans for more advanced visualization concepts including Vertical Profiles and Vector-Based Representations Future plans for Amazon Web Service support and deployments

Metabolic syndrome and obesity among users of second generation antipsychotics: A global challenge for modern psychopharmacology.

PubMed

Rojo, Leonel E; Gaspar, Pablo A; Silva, H; Risco, L; Arena, Pamela; Cubillos-Robles, Karen; Jara, Belen

2015-11-01

Second generation antipsychotics (SGAs), such as clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine, are among the most effective therapies to stabilize symptoms schizophrenia (SZ) spectrum disorders. In fact, clozapine, olanzapine and risperidone have improved the quality of life of billions SZ patients worldwide. Based on the broad spectrum of efficacy and low risk of extrapyramidal symptoms displayed by SGAs, some regulatory agencies approved the use of SGAs in non-schizophrenic adults, children and adolescents suffering from a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, increasing number of reports have shown that SGAs are strongly associated with accelerated weight gain, insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and increased cardiovascular risk. These metabolic alterations can develop in as short as six months after the initiation of pharmacotherapy, which is now a controversial fact in public disclosure. Although the percentage of schizophrenic patients, the main target group of SGAs, is estimated in only 1% of the population, during the past ten years there was an exponential increase in the number of SGAs users, including millions of non-SZ patients. The scientific bases of SGAs metabolic side effects are not yet elucidated, but the evidence shows that the activation of transcriptional factor SRBP1c, the D1/D2 dopamine, GABA2 and 5HT neurotransmitions are implicated in the SGAs cardiovascular toxicity. Polypharmacological interventions are either non- or modestly effective in maintaining low cardiovascular risk in SGAs users. In this review we critically discuss the clinical and molecular evidence on metabolic alterations induced by SGAs, the evidence on the efficacy of classical antidiabetic drugs and the emerging concept of antidiabetic polyphenols as potential coadjutants in SGA-induced metabolic disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Observation chart design features affect the detection of patient deterioration: a systematic experimental evaluation.

PubMed

Christofidis, Melany J; Hill, Andrew; Horswill, Mark S; Watson, Marcus O

2016-01-01

To systematically evaluate the impact of several design features on chart-users' detection of patient deterioration on observation charts with early-warning scoring-systems. Research has shown that observation chart design affects the speed and accuracy with which abnormal observations are detected. However, little is known about the contribution of individual design features to these effects. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 mixed factorial design, with data-recording format (drawn dots vs. written numbers), scoring-system integration (integrated colour-based system vs. non-integrated tabular system) and scoring-row placement (grouped vs. separate) varied within-participants and scores (present vs. absent) varied between-participants by random assignment. 205 novice chart-users, tested between March 2011-March 2014, completed 64 trials where they saw real patient data presented on an observation chart. Each participant saw eight cases (four containing abnormal observations) on each of eight designs (which represented a factorial combination of the within-participants variables). On each trial, they assessed whether any of the observations were physiologically abnormal, or whether all observations were normal. Response times and error rates were recorded for each design. Participants responded faster (scores present and absent) and made fewer errors (scores absent) using drawn-dot (vs. written-number) observations and an integrated colour-based (vs. non-integrated tabular) scoring-system. Participants responded faster using grouped (vs. separate) scoring-rows when scores were absent, but separate scoring-rows when scores were present. Our findings suggest that several individual design features can affect novice chart-users' ability to detect patient deterioration. More broadly, the study further demonstrates the need to evaluate chart designs empirically. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Web-Based Geographic Information System Tool for Accessing Hanford Site Environmental Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Triplett, Mark B.; Seiple, Timothy E.; Watson, David J.

Data volume, complexity, and access issues pose severe challenges for analysts, regulators and stakeholders attempting to efficiently use legacy data to support decision making at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site. DOE has partnered with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on the PHOENIX (PNNL-Hanford Online Environmental Information System) project, which seeks to address data access, transparency, and integration challenges at Hanford to provide effective decision support. PHOENIX is a family of spatially-enabled web applications providing quick access to decades of valuable scientific data and insight through intuitive query, visualization, and analysis tools. PHOENIX realizes broad, public accessibilitymore » by relying only on ubiquitous web-browsers, eliminating the need for specialized software. It accommodates a wide range of users with intuitive user interfaces that require little or no training to quickly obtain and visualize data. Currently, PHOENIX is actively hosting three applications focused on groundwater monitoring, groundwater clean-up performance reporting, and in-tank monitoring. PHOENIX-based applications are being used to streamline investigative and analytical processes at Hanford, saving time and money. But more importantly, by integrating previously isolated datasets and developing relevant visualization and analysis tools, PHOENIX applications are enabling DOE to discover new correlations hidden in legacy data, allowing them to more effectively address complex issues at Hanford.« less

Differences in prescription rates and odds ratios of antidepressant drugs in relation to individual hormonal contraceptives: a nationwide population-based study with age-specific analyses.

PubMed

Lindberg, Malou; Foldemo, Anniqa; Josefsson, Ann; Wiréhn, Ann-Britt

2012-04-01

To examine, among young women, the association of individual hormonal contraceptives, within two broad groupings, with antidepressant therapy. In a nationwide register-based study, we examined the prescription rates of antidepressant drugs in relation to individual combined hormonal and progestin-only contraceptives among Swedish women aged 16-31 years (N = 917,993). Drug data were obtained from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register for the period 1 July 2005-30 June 2008. Data on the total population of women aged 16-31 in 2008 were obtained from the Total Population Register of Statistics Sweden. The proportion of women using both hormonal contraception and antidepressants, and odds ratios (ORs) for antidepressant use for hormonal contraceptive users versus non-users, were calculated, the latter by logistic regression, for each formulation. The highest antidepressant OR in all age groups, particularly in the 16-19 years age group, related to medroxyprogesterone-only, followed by etonogestrel-only, levonorgestrel-only and ethinylestradiol/norelgestromin formulations. Oral contraceptives containing ethinylestradiol combined with lynestrenol or drospirenone had considerably higher ORs than other pills. ORs significantly lower than 1 were observed when ethinylestradiol was combined with norethisterone, levonorgestrel or desogestrel. The association between use of hormonal contraceptives and antidepressant drugs varies considerably within both the combined hormonal contraceptive and the progestin-only groups.

Interactive multimedia for prenatal ultrasound training.

PubMed

Lee, W; Ault, H; Kirk, J S; Comstock, C H

1995-01-01

This demonstration project examines the utility of interactive multimedia for prenatal ultrasound training. A laser-disc library was linked to a three-dimensional (3-D) heart model and other computer-based training materials through interactive multimedia. A testing module presented ultrasound anomalies and related questions to house-staff physicians through the image library. Users were asked to evaluate these training materials on the basis of perceived instructional value, question content, subjects covered, graphics interface, and ease of use; users were also asked for their comments. House-staff physicians indicated that they consider interactive multimedia to be a helpful adjunct to their core fetal imaging rotation. During a 9-month period, 16 house-staff physicians correctly diagnosed 78 +/- 4% of unknown cases presented through the testing module. The 3-D heart model was also perceived to be a useful teaching aid for spatial orientation skills. Our findings suggest that interactive multimedia and volume visualization models can be used to supplement traditional prenatal ultrasound training. The system provides a broad exposure to ultrasound anomalies, increases opportunities for postnatal correlation, emphasizes motion video for ultrasound training, encourages development of independent diagnostic ability, and helps physicians understand anatomic orientation. We hypothesize that interactive multimedia-based tutorials provide a better overall training experience for house-staff physicians. However, these supplementary methods will require formal evaluation of effectiveness to better understand their potential educational impact.

An introduction to electronic learning and its use to address challenges in surgical training.

PubMed

Baran, Szczepan W; Johnson, Elizabeth J; Kehler, James

2009-06-01

The animal research community faces a shortage of surgical training opportunities along with an increasing demand for expertise in surgical techniques. One possible means of overcoming this challenge is the use of computer-based or electronic learning (e-learning) to disseminate material to a broad range of animal users. E-learning platforms can take many different forms, ranging from simple text documents that are posted online to complex virtual courses that incorporate dynamic video or audio content and in which students and instructors can interact in real time. The authors present an overview of e-learning and discuss its potential benefits as a supplement to hands-on rodent surgical training. They also discuss a few basic considerations in developing and implementing electronic courses.

Ten years of change: National Library of Medicine TOXMAP gets a new look.

PubMed

Hochstein, Colette; Gemoets, Darren; Goshorn, Jeanne

2014-01-01

The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) TOXNET® databases < http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov > provide broad coverage of environmental health information covering a wide variety of topics, including access to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA)'s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data. The NLM web-based geographic information system (GIS), TOXMAP® < http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/ >, provides interactive maps which show where TRI chemicals are released into the environment and links to TOXNET for information about these chemicals. TOXMAP also displays locations of Superfund sites on the EPA National Priority List, as well as information about the chemical contaminants at these sites. This column focuses on a new version of TOXMAP which brings it up to date with current web GIS technologies and user expectations.

Public computer surfaces are reservoirs for methicillin-resistant staphylococci.

PubMed

Kassem, Issmat I; Sigler, Von; Esseili, Malak A

2007-07-01

The role of computer keyboards used by students of a metropolitan university as reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci was determined. Putative methicillin (oxacillin)-resistant staphylococci isolates were identified from keyboard swabs following a combination of biochemical and genetic analyses. Of 24 keyboards surveyed, 17 were contaminated with staphylococci that grew in the presence of oxacillin (2 mg l(-1)). Methicillin (oxacillin)-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), -S. epidermidis (MRSE) and -S. hominis (MRSH) were present on two, five and two keyboards, respectively, while all three staphylococci co-contaminated one keyboard. Furthermore, these were found to be part of a greater community of oxacillin-resistant bacteria. Combined with the broad user base common to public computers, the presence of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci on keyboard surfaces might impact the transmission and prevalence of pathogens throughout the community.

E-Hitz: a word frequency list and a program for deriving psycholinguistic statistics in an agglutinative language (Basque).

PubMed

Perea, Manuel; Urkia, Miriam; Davis, Colin J; Agirre, Ainhoa; Laseka, Edurne; Carreiras, Manuel

2006-11-01

We describe a Windows program that enables users to obtain a broad range of statistics concerning the properties of word and nonword stimuli in an agglutinative language (Basque), including measures of word frequency (at the whole-word and lemma levels), bigram and biphone frequency, orthographic similarity, orthographic and phonological structure, and syllable-based measures. It is designed for use by researchers in psycholinguistics, particularly those concerned with recognition of isolated words and morphology. In addition to providing standard orthographic and phonological neighborhood measures, the program can be used to obtain information about other forms of orthographic similarity, such as transposed-letter similarity and embedded-word similarity. It is available free of charge from www .uv.es/mperea/E-Hitz.zip.

Functional assessment and performance evaluation for assistive robotic manipulators: Literature review.

PubMed

Chung, Cheng-Shiu; Wang, Hongwu; Cooper, Rory A

2013-07-01

The user interface development of assistive robotic manipulators can be traced back to the 1960s. Studies include kinematic designs, cost-efficiency, user experience involvements, and performance evaluation. This paper is to review studies conducted with clinical trials using activities of daily living (ADLs) tasks to evaluate performance categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) frameworks, in order to give the scope of current research and provide suggestions for future studies. We conducted a literature search of assistive robotic manipulators from 1970 to 2012 in PubMed, Google Scholar, and University of Pittsburgh Library System - PITTCat. Twenty relevant studies were identified. Studies were separated into two broad categories: user task preferences and user-interface performance measurements of commercialized and developing assistive robotic manipulators. The outcome measures and ICF codes associated with the performance evaluations are reported. Suggestions for the future studies include (1) standardized ADL tasks for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of task efficiency and performance to build comparable measures between research groups, (2) studies relevant to the tasks from user priority lists and ICF codes, and (3) appropriate clinical functional assessment tests with consideration of constraints in assistive robotic manipulator user interfaces. In addition, these outcome measures will help physicians and therapists build standardized tools while prescribing and assessing assistive robotic manipulators.

An integrative data analysis platform for gene set analysis and knowledge discovery in a data warehouse framework.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-An; Tripathi, Lokesh P; Mizuguchi, Kenji

2016-01-01

Data analysis is one of the most critical and challenging steps in drug discovery and disease biology. A user-friendly resource to visualize and analyse high-throughput data provides a powerful medium for both experimental and computational biologists to understand vastly different biological data types and obtain a concise, simplified and meaningful output for better knowledge discovery. We have previously developed TargetMine, an integrated data warehouse optimized for target prioritization. Here we describe how upgraded and newly modelled data types in TargetMine can now survey the wider biological and chemical data space, relevant to drug discovery and development. To enhance the scope of TargetMine from target prioritization to broad-based knowledge discovery, we have also developed a new auxiliary toolkit to assist with data analysis and visualization in TargetMine. This toolkit features interactive data analysis tools to query and analyse the biological data compiled within the TargetMine data warehouse. The enhanced system enables users to discover new hypotheses interactively by performing complicated searches with no programming and obtaining the results in an easy to comprehend output format. Database URL: http://targetmine.mizuguchilab.org. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

An integrative data analysis platform for gene set analysis and knowledge discovery in a data warehouse framework

PubMed Central

Chen, Yi-An; Tripathi, Lokesh P.; Mizuguchi, Kenji

2016-01-01

Data analysis is one of the most critical and challenging steps in drug discovery and disease biology. A user-friendly resource to visualize and analyse high-throughput data provides a powerful medium for both experimental and computational biologists to understand vastly different biological data types and obtain a concise, simplified and meaningful output for better knowledge discovery. We have previously developed TargetMine, an integrated data warehouse optimized for target prioritization. Here we describe how upgraded and newly modelled data types in TargetMine can now survey the wider biological and chemical data space, relevant to drug discovery and development. To enhance the scope of TargetMine from target prioritization to broad-based knowledge discovery, we have also developed a new auxiliary toolkit to assist with data analysis and visualization in TargetMine. This toolkit features interactive data analysis tools to query and analyse the biological data compiled within the TargetMine data warehouse. The enhanced system enables users to discover new hypotheses interactively by performing complicated searches with no programming and obtaining the results in an easy to comprehend output format. Database URL: http://targetmine.mizuguchilab.org PMID:26989145

Web Program for Development of GUIs for Cluster Computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Czikmantory, Akos; Cwik, Thomas; Klimeck, Gerhard; Hua, Hook; Oyafuso, Fabiano; Vinyard, Edward

2003-01-01

WIGLAF (a Web Interface Generator and Legacy Application Facade) is a computer program that provides a Web-based, distributed, graphical-user-interface (GUI) framework that can be adapted to any of a broad range of application programs, written in any programming language, that are executed remotely on any cluster computer system. WIGLAF enables the rapid development of a GUI for controlling and monitoring a specific application program running on the cluster and for transferring data to and from the application program. The only prerequisite for the execution of WIGLAF is a Web-browser program on a user's personal computer connected with the cluster via the Internet. WIGLAF has a client/server architecture: The server component is executed on the cluster system, where it controls the application program and serves data to the client component. The client component is an applet that runs in the Web browser. WIGLAF utilizes the Extensible Markup Language to hold all data associated with the application software, Java to enable platform-independent execution on the cluster system and the display of a GUI generator through the browser, and the Java Remote Method Invocation software package to provide simple, effective client/server networking.

Dermatology on YouTube.

PubMed

Boyers, Lindsay N; Quest, Tyler; Karimkhani, Chante; Connett, Jessica; Dellavalle, Robert P

2014-06-15

YouTube, reaches upwards of six billion users on a monthly basis and is a unique source of information distribution and communication. Although the influence of YouTube on personal health decision-making is well established, this study assessed the type of content and viewership on a broad scope of dermatology related content on YouTube. Select terms (i.e. dermatology, sun protection, skin cancer, skin cancer awareness, and skin conditions) were searched on YouTube. Overall, the results included 100 videos with over 47 million viewers. Advocacy was the most prevalent content type at 24% of the total search results. These 100 videos were "shared" a total of 101,173 times and have driven 6,325 subscriptions to distinct YouTube user pages. Of the total videos, 35% were uploaded by or featured an MD/DO/PhD in dermatology or other specialty/field, 2% FNP/PA, 1% RN, and 62% other. As one of the most trafficked global sites on the Internet, YouTube is a valuable resource for dermatologists, physicians in other specialties, and the general public to share their dermatology-related content and gain subscribers. However, challenges of accessing and determining evidence-based data remain an issue.

MetaStorm: A Public Resource for Customizable Metagenomics Annotation

PubMed Central

Arango-Argoty, Gustavo; Singh, Gargi; Heath, Lenwood S.; Pruden, Amy; Xiao, Weidong; Zhang, Liqing

2016-01-01

Metagenomics is a trending research area, calling for the need to analyze large quantities of data generated from next generation DNA sequencing technologies. The need to store, retrieve, analyze, share, and visualize such data challenges current online computational systems. Interpretation and annotation of specific information is especially a challenge for metagenomic data sets derived from environmental samples, because current annotation systems only offer broad classification of microbial diversity and function. Moreover, existing resources are not configured to readily address common questions relevant to environmental systems. Here we developed a new online user-friendly metagenomic analysis server called MetaStorm (http://bench.cs.vt.edu/MetaStorm/), which facilitates customization of computational analysis for metagenomic data sets. Users can upload their own reference databases to tailor the metagenomics annotation to focus on various taxonomic and functional gene markers of interest. MetaStorm offers two major analysis pipelines: an assembly-based annotation pipeline and the standard read annotation pipeline used by existing web servers. These pipelines can be selected individually or together. Overall, MetaStorm provides enhanced interactive visualization to allow researchers to explore and manipulate taxonomy and functional annotation at various levels of resolution. PMID:27632579

MetaStorm: A Public Resource for Customizable Metagenomics Annotation.

PubMed

Arango-Argoty, Gustavo; Singh, Gargi; Heath, Lenwood S; Pruden, Amy; Xiao, Weidong; Zhang, Liqing

2016-01-01

Metagenomics is a trending research area, calling for the need to analyze large quantities of data generated from next generation DNA sequencing technologies. The need to store, retrieve, analyze, share, and visualize such data challenges current online computational systems. Interpretation and annotation of specific information is especially a challenge for metagenomic data sets derived from environmental samples, because current annotation systems only offer broad classification of microbial diversity and function. Moreover, existing resources are not configured to readily address common questions relevant to environmental systems. Here we developed a new online user-friendly metagenomic analysis server called MetaStorm (http://bench.cs.vt.edu/MetaStorm/), which facilitates customization of computational analysis for metagenomic data sets. Users can upload their own reference databases to tailor the metagenomics annotation to focus on various taxonomic and functional gene markers of interest. MetaStorm offers two major analysis pipelines: an assembly-based annotation pipeline and the standard read annotation pipeline used by existing web servers. These pipelines can be selected individually or together. Overall, MetaStorm provides enhanced interactive visualization to allow researchers to explore and manipulate taxonomy and functional annotation at various levels of resolution.

BaffleText: a Human Interactive Proof

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chew, Monica; Baird, Henry S.

2003-01-01

Internet services designed for human use are being abused by programs. We present a defense against such attacks in the form of a CAPTCHA (Completely Automatic Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) that exploits the difference in ability between humans and machines in reading images of text. CAPTCHAs are a special case of 'human interactive proofs,' a broad class of security protocols that allow people to identify themselves over networks as members of given groups. We point out vulnerabilities of reading-based CAPTCHAs to dictionary and computer-vision attacks. We also draw on the literature on the psychophysics of human reading, which suggests fresh defenses available to CAPTCHAs. Motivated by these considerations, we propose BaffleText, a CAPTCHA which uses non-English pronounceable words to defend against dictionary attacks, and Gestalt-motivated image-masking degradations to defend against image restoration attacks. Experiments on human subjects confirm the human legibility and user acceptance of BaffleText images. We have found an image-complexity measure that correlates well with user acceptance and assists in engineering the generation of challenges to fit the ability gap. Recent computer-vision attacks, run independently by Mori and Jitendra, suggest that BaffleText is stronger than two existing CAPTCHAs.

Identifying preferences for mobile health applications for self-monitoring and self-management: focus group findings from HIV-positive persons and young mothers.

PubMed

Ramanathan, Nithya; Swendeman, Dallas; Comulada, W Scott; Estrin, Deborah; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

2013-04-01

Self-management of risk behaviors is a cornerstone of future population health interventions. Using mobile phones for routine self-monitoring and feedback is a cost-efficient strategy for self-management and ecological momentary interventions (EMI). However, mobile health applications need to be designed to be highly attractive and acceptable to a broad range of user groups. To inform the design of an adaptable mobile health application we aimed to identify the dimensions and range of user preferences for application features by different user groups. Five focus group interviews were conducted: two (n=9; n=20) with people living with HIV (PLH) and three with young mothers (n=6; n=8; n=10). Thematic analyses were conducted on the focus group sessions' notes and transcripts. Both groups considered customization of reminders and prompts as necessary, and goal setting, motivational messaging, problem solving, and feedback as attractive. For PLH, automated and location-based reminders for medication adherence and sharing data with healthcare providers were both acceptable and attractive features. Privacy protection and invasiveness were the primary concerns, particularly around location tracking, illegal drug use, and sexual partner information. Concerns were ameliorated by use scenario or purpose, monetary incentives, and password protection. Privacy was not a major concern to mothers who considered passwords burdensome. Mothers' preferences focused on customization that supports mood, exercise and eating patterns, and especially using the mobile phone camera to photograph food to increase self-accountability. Individualization emerged as the key feature and design principle to reduce user burden and increase attractiveness and acceptability. Mobile phone EMI uniquely enables individualization, context-aware and real-time feedback, and tailored intervention delivery. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Developing Vocabularies to Improve Understanding and Use of NOAA Observing Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, M.

2014-12-01

The NOAA Observing System Integrated Analysis project (NOSIA II), is an attempt to capture and tell the story of how valuable observing systems are in producing products and services that are required to fulfill the NOAA's diverse mission. NOAA's goals and mission areas cover a broad range of environmental data; a complexity exists in terms and vocabulary as applied to the creation of observing system derived products. The NOSIA data collection focused first on decomposing NOAA's goals in the creation and acceptance of Mission Service Areas (MSAs) by NOAA senior leadership. Products and services that supported the MSAs were then identified through the process of interviewing product producers across NOAA organization. Product Data inputs including models, databases and observing system were also identified. The NOSIA model contains over 20,000 nodes each representing levels in a network connecting products, datasources, users and desired outcomes. An immediate need became apparent that the complexity and variety of the data collected required data management to mature the quality and the content of the NOSIA model. The NOSIA Analysis Database (ADB) was developed initially to improve consistency of terms and data types to allow for the linkage of observing systems, products and NOAA's Goals and mission. The ADB also allowed for the prototyping of reports and product generation in an easily accessible and comprehensive format for the first time. Web based visualization of relationships between products, datasources, users, producers were generated to make the information easily understood This includes developing ontologies/vocabularies that are used for the development of users type specific products for NOAA leadership, Observing System Portfolio mangers and the users of NOAA data.

A Multi-User Model for Effectively Communicating Research Through Electronic Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinds, J. J.; Fairley, J. P.

2003-12-01

Electronic media have demonstrated potential for data exchange, dissemination of results to other scientists, communication with community interest groups, and education of the general public regarding scientific advances. Few researchers, however, receive training in the skills required to capture the attention of the broad spectrum of Internet users. Because different people assimilate information in different ways, effective communication is best accomplished using an appropriate mix of photographs, graphics, tables, and text. In addition, effective web page design requires a clear, consistent organizational structure, easily-navigated layout, and attention to details such as page printability, downloading time, and minimal page scrolling. One of the strengths of electronic media is that the user can chose an appropriate level of involvement for his or her interest. In designing a web page for the multidisciplinary NSF/EPSCoR "Biocomplexity in Extreme Environments" project, we divided potential users into three categories based on our perception of the level of detail they required: 1) project participants, 2) non-participants with technical backgrounds, and 3) the general public. By understanding the needs and expectations of potential viewers, it was possible to present each group with an appropriate balance of visual and textural elements. For example, project participants are often most interested in raw data, which can be effectively presented in tabular format. Non-participants with technical backgrounds are more interested in analyzed data, while a project overview, presented through photographs and graphics with minimal text, will be most effective for communicating with the general public. The completed web page illustrates one solution for effectively communicating with a diverse audience, and provides examples for meeting many of the challenges of web page design.

VISL: A Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory For Outreach and K-12 Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halkides, D. J.; Larour, E. Y.; Cheng, D. L.; Perez, G.; Romero, V.; Saks, O.

2014-12-01

We present a prototype Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory (VISL) geared to K-12 classrooms and the general public, with the goal of improving climate literacy, especially in regards to the crucial role of the polar ice sheets in Earth's climate and sea level. VISL will allow users to perform guided experiments using the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM), a state-of-the-art ice flow model developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and UC Irvine that simulates the near-term evolution of the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica. VISL users will access ISSM via a graphical interface that can be launched from a web browser on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Users select climate conditions and run time by moving graphic sliders then watch how a given region evolves in time under those conditions. Lesson plans will include conceptual background, instructions for table top experiments related to the concepts addressed in a given lesson, and a guide for performing model experiments and interpreting their results. Activities with different degrees of complexity will aim for consistency with NGSS Physical Science criteria for different grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12), although they will not be labeled as such to encourage a broad user base. Activities will emphasize the development of physical intuition and critical thinking skills, understanding conceptual and computational models, as well as observation recording, concept articulation, hypothesis formulation and testing, and mathematical analysis. At our present phase of development, we seek input from the greater science education and outreach communities regarding VISL's planned content, as well as additional features and topic areas that educators and students would find useful.

VISL: A Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory For Outreach and K-12 Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, D. L. C.; Halkides, D. J.; Larour, E. Y.; Moore, J.; Dunn, S.; Perez, G.

2015-12-01

We present an update on our developing Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory (VISL). Geared to K-12 classrooms and the general public, VISL's main goal is to improve climate literacy, especially in regards to the crucial role of the polar ice sheets in Earth's climate and sea level. VISL will allow users to perform guided experiments using the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM), a state-of-the-art ice flow model developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and UC Irvine that simulates the near-term evolution of the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica. VISL users will access ISSM via a graphical interface that can be launched from a web browser on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Users select climate conditions and run time by moving graphic sliders then watch how a given region evolves in time under those conditions. Lesson plans will include conceptual background, instructions for table top experiments related to the concepts addressed in a given lesson, and a guide for performing model experiments and interpreting their results. Activities with different degrees of complexity will aim for consistency with NGSS Physical Science criteria for different grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12), although they will not be labeled as such to encourage a broad user base. Activities will emphasize the development of physical intuition and critical thinking skills, understanding conceptual and computational models, as well as observation recording, concept articulation, hypothesis formulation and testing, and mathematical analysis. At our present phase of development, we seek input from the greater science education and outreach communities regarding VISL's planned content, as well as additional features and topic areas that educators and students would find useful.

A Pre-launch Analysis of NASA's SMAP Mission Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escobar, V. M.; Brown, M. E.

2012-12-01

Product applications have become an integral part of converting the data collected into actionable knowledge that can be used to inform policy. Successfully bridging scientific research with operational decision making in different application areas requires looking into thematic user requirements and data requirements. NASA's Soil Moisture Active/Passive mission (SMAP) has an applications program that actively seeks to integrate the data prior to launch into a broad range of environmental monitoring and decision making systems from drought and flood guidance to disease risk assessment and national security SMAP is a a combined active/passive microwave instrument, which will be launched into a near-polar orbit in late 2014. It aims to produce a series of soil moisture products and soil freeze/thaw products with an accuracy of +/- 10%, a nominal resolution of between 3 and 40km, and latency between 12 hours and 7 days. These measurements will be used to enhance the understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. The driving success of the SMAP applications program is joining mission scientists to thematic end users and leveraging the knowledge base of soil moisture data applications, increase the speed SMAP data product ingestion into critical processes and research, improving societal benefits to science. Because SMAP has not yet launched, the mission is using test algorithms to determine how the data will interact with existing processes. The objective of this profession review is to solicit data requirements, accuracy needs and current understanding of the SMAP mission from the user community and then feed that back into mission product development. Thus, understanding how users will apply SMAP data, prior to the satellite's launch, is an important component of SMAP Applied Sciences and one of NASA's measures for mission success. This paper presents an analysis of an email-based review of expert end-users and earth science researchers to eliciting how pre-launch activities and research is being conducted in thematic group's organizations. Our focus through the SMAP Applications Program will be to (1) improve the missions understanding of the SMAP user community requirements, (2) document and communicate the perceived challenges and advantages to the mission scientists, and (3) facilitate the movement of science into policy and decision making arenas. We will analyze the data of this review to understand the perceived benefits to pre-launch efforts, user engagement and define areas were the connection between science development and user engagement can continue to improve and further benefit future mission pre launch efforts. The research will facilitate collaborative opportunities between agencies, broadening the fields of science where soil moisture observation data can be applied.

Security in Distributed Collaborative Environments: Limitations and Solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saadi, Rachid; Pierson, Jean-Marc; Brunie, Lionel

The main goal of establishing collaboration between heterogeneous environment is to create such as Pervasive context which provide nomadic users with ubiquitous access to digital information and surrounding resources. However, the constraints of mobility and heterogeneity arise a number of crucial issues related to security, especially authentication access control and privacy. First of all, in this chapter we explore the trust paradigm, specially the transitive capability to enable a trust peer to peer collaboration. In this manner, when each organization sets its own security policy to recognize (authenticate) users members of a trusted community and provide them a local access (access control), the trust transitivity between peers will allows users to gain a broad, larger and controlled access inside the pervasive environment. Next, we study the problem of user's privacy. In fact in pervasive and ubiquitous environments, nomadic users gather and exchange certificates or credential which providing them rights to access by transitivity unknown and trusted environments. These signed documents embeds increasing number of attribute that require to be filtered according to such contextual situation. In this chapter, we propose a new morph signature enabling each certificate owner to preserve his privacy by discloses or blinds some sensitive attributes according to faced situation.

A psychotechnological review on eye-tracking systems: towards user experience.

PubMed

Mele, Maria Laura; Federici, Stefano

2012-07-01

The aim of the present work is to show a critical review of the international literature on eye-tracking technologies by focusing on those features that characterize them as 'psychotechnologies'. A critical literature review was conducted through the main psychology, engineering, and computer sciences databases by following specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 46 matches from 1998 to 2010 were selected for content analysis. Results have been divided into four broad thematic areas. We found that, although there is a growing attention to end-users, most of the studies reviewed in this work are far from being considered as adopting holistic human-computer interaction models that include both individual differences and needs of users. User is often considered only as a measurement object of the functioning of the technological system and not as a real alter-ego of the intrasystemic interaction. In order to fully benefit from the communicative functions of gaze, the research on eye-tracking must emphasize user experience. Eye-tracking systems would become an effective assistive technology for integration, adaptation and neutralization of the environmental barrier only when a holistic model can be applied for both design processes and assessment of the functional components of the interaction.

'In some ways it all helps but in some ways it doesn't': The complexities of service users' experiences of inpatient mental health care in Australia.

PubMed

Isobel, Sophie

2018-06-13

Recovery-oriented mental health care requires active involvement of service users in the evaluation of care. While experience of care surveys is routinely given out upon discharge, capturing the depth and detail of service users' experiences in such a way to meaningfully improve services may require more in-depth and targeted approaches. This study aimed to gather voluntary and involuntary service users' experiences of care during hospitalization in two acute adult mental health inpatient units, through the collaborative completion of a purpose designed tool. The purpose of the study was to examine broad experiences of care and to identify the utility of proactive approaches to ongoing service evaluation. Overall, 67 participants were interviewed. Findings highlight the complexity of experiences of care including how an admission can seemingly facilitate clinical recovery while not being recovery-oriented. The findings also detail areas for improvement in the way that care is delivered and evaluated. The implications are particularly pertinent for mental health nurses to consider how, within the existing constraints of their roles, they can provide therapeutic care to all service users. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

HIV prevalence and sexual risk behaviour among non-injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

PubMed

Deiss, Robert G; Lozada, Remedios M; Burgos, Jose Luis; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Gallardo, Manuel; Cuevas, Jazmine; Garfein, Richard S

2012-01-01

Prior studies estimate HIV prevalence of 4% among injection drug users (IDUs), compared with 0.8% in the general population of Tijuana, Mexico. However, data on HIV prevalence and correlates among non-injecting drug users (NIDUs) are sparse. Individuals were recruited through street outreach for HIV testing and behavioural risk assessment interviews to estimate HIV prevalence and identify associated sexual risk behaviours among NIDUs in Tijuana. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise 'low-risk' NIDUs (drug users who were not commercial sex workers or men who have sex with men). Results showed that HIV prevalence was 3.7% among low-risk NIDUs. During the prior six months, 52% of NIDUs reported having >1 casual partner; 35% reported always using condoms with a casual partner; and 13% and 15%, respectively, reported giving or receiving something in exchange for sex. Women were significantly more likely than men to have unprotected sex with an IDU (p<0.01). The finding that HIV prevalence among NIDUs was similar to that of IDUs suggests that HIV transmission has occurred outside of traditional core groups in Tijuana. Broad interventions including HIV testing, condom promotion and sexual risk reduction should be offered to all drug users in Tijuana.

Graphene-based quantum Hall resistance standards grown by chemical vapor deposition on silicon carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro-Palau, Rebeca; Lafont, Fabien; Kazazis, Dimitris; Michon, Adrien; Couturaud, Olivier; Consejo, Christophe; Jouault, Benoit; Poirier, Wilfrid; Schopfer, Felicien

2015-03-01

Replace GaAs-based quantum Hall resistance standards (GaAs-QHRS) by a more convenient one, based on graphene (Gr-QHRS), is an ongoing goal in metrology. The new Gr-QHRS are expected to work in less demanding experimental conditions than GaAs ones. It will open the way to a broad dissemination of quantum standards, potentially towards industrial end-users, and it will support the implementation of a new International System of Units based on fixed fundamental constants. Here, we present accurate quantum Hall resistance measurements in large graphene Hall bars, grown by the hybrid scalable technique of propane/hydrogen chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on silicon carbide (SiC). This new Gr-QHRS shows a relative accuracy of 1 ×10-9 of the Hall resistance under the lowest magnetic field ever achieved in graphene. These experimental conditions surpass those of the most wildely used GaAs-QHRS. These results confirm the promises of graphene for resistance metrology applications and emphasizes the quality of the graphene produced by the CVD on SiC for applications as demanding as the resistance metrology.

The simcyp population based simulator: architecture, implementation, and quality assurance.

PubMed

Jamei, Masoud; Marciniak, Steve; Edwards, Duncan; Wragg, Kris; Feng, Kairui; Barnett, Adrian; Rostami-Hodjegan, Amin

2013-01-01

Developing a user-friendly platform that can handle a vast number of complex physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) models both for conventional small molecules and larger biologic drugs is a substantial challenge. Over the last decade the Simcyp Population Based Simulator has gained popularity in major pharmaceutical companies (70% of top 40 - in term of R&D spending). Under the Simcyp Consortium guidance, it has evolved from a simple drug-drug interaction tool to a sophisticated and comprehensive Model Based Drug Development (MBDD) platform that covers a broad range of applications spanning from early drug discovery to late drug development. This article provides an update on the latest architectural and implementation developments within the Simulator. Interconnection between peripheral modules, the dynamic model building process and compound and population data handling are all described. The Simcyp Data Management (SDM) system, which contains the system and drug databases, can help with implementing quality standards by seamless integration and tracking of any changes. This also helps with internal approval procedures, validation and auto-testing of the new implemented models and algorithms, an area of high interest to regulatory bodies.

Hybrid Orientation Based Human Limbs Motion Tracking Method

PubMed Central

Glonek, Grzegorz; Wojciechowski, Adam

2017-01-01

One of the key technologies that lays behind the human–machine interaction and human motion diagnosis is the limbs motion tracking. To make the limbs tracking efficient, it must be able to estimate a precise and unambiguous position of each tracked human joint and resulting body part pose. In recent years, body pose estimation became very popular and broadly available for home users because of easy access to cheap tracking devices. Their robustness can be improved by different tracking modes data fusion. The paper defines the novel approach—orientation based data fusion—instead of dominating in literature position based approach, for two classes of tracking devices: depth sensors (i.e., Microsoft Kinect) and inertial measurement units (IMU). The detailed analysis of their working characteristics allowed to elaborate a new method that let fuse more precisely limbs orientation data from both devices and compensates their imprecisions. The paper presents the series of performed experiments that verified the method’s accuracy. This novel approach allowed to outperform the precision of position-based joints tracking, the methods dominating in the literature, of up to 18%. PMID:29232832

Retrieving the unretrievable in electronic imaging systems: emotions, themes, and stories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joergensen, Corinne

1999-05-01

New paradigms such as 'affective computing' and user-based research are extending the realm of facets traditionally addressed in IR systems. This paper builds on previous research reported to the electronic imaging community concerning the need to provide access to more abstract attributes of images than those currently amenable to a variety of content-based and text-based indexing techniques. Empirical research suggest that, for visual materials, in addition to standard bibliographic data and broad subject, and in addition to such visually perceptual attributes such as color, texture, shape, and position or focal point, additional access points such as themes, abstract concepts, emotions, stories, and 'people-related' information such as social status would be useful in image retrieval. More recent research demonstrates that similar results are also obtained with 'fine arts' images, which generally have no access provided for these types of attributes. Current efforts to match image attributes as revealed in empirical research with those addressed both in current textural and content-based indexing systems are discussed, as well as the need for new representations for image attributes and for collaboration among diverse communities of researchers.

How Relations are Built within a SNS World -- Social Network Analysis on Mixi --

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuo, Yutaka; Yasud, Yuki

Our purpose here is to (1) investigate the structure of the personal networks developed on mixi, a Japanese social networking service (SNS), and (2) to consider the governing mechanism which guides participants of a SNS to form an aggregate network. Our findings are as follows:the clustering coefficient of the network is as high as 0.33 while the characteristic path lenght is as low as 5.5. A network among central users (over 300 edges) consist of two cliques, which seems to be very fragile. Community-affiliation network suggests there are several easy-entry communities which later lead users to more high-entry, unique-theme communities. The analysis on connectedness within a community reveals the importance of real-world interaction. Lastly, we depict a probable image of the entire ecology on {\\\\em mixi} among users and communities, which contributes broadly to social systems on the Web.

Designing attractive gamification features for collaborative storytelling websites.

PubMed

Hsu, Shang Hwa; Chang, Jen-Wei; Lee, Chun-Chia

2013-06-01

Gamification design is considered as the predictor of collaborative storytelling websites' success. Although aforementioned studies have mentioned a broad range of factors that may influence gamification, they neither depicted the actual design features nor relative attractiveness among them. This study aims to identify attractive gamification features for collaborative storytelling websites. We first constructed a hierarchical system structure of gamification design of collaborative storytelling websites and conducted a focus group interview with eighteen frequent users to identify 35gamification features. After that, this study determined the relative attractiveness of these gamification features by administrating an online survey to 6333 collaborative storytelling websites users. The results indicated that the top 10 most attractive gamification features could account for more than 50% of attractiveness among these 35 gamification features. The feature of unpredictable time pressure is important to website users, yet not revealed in previous relevant studies. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Secure Remote Access Issues in a Control Center Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, Lee; McNair, Ann R. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The ISS finally reached an operational state and exists for local and remote users. Onboard payload systems are managed by the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC). Users access HOSC systems by internet protocols in support of daily operations, preflight simulation, and test. In support of this diverse user community, a modem security architecture has been implemented. The architecture has evolved over time from an isolated but open system to a system which supports local and remote access to the ISS over broad geographic regions. This has been accomplished through the use of an evolved security strategy, PKI, and custom design. Through this paper, descriptions of the migration process and the lessons learned are presented. This will include product decision criteria, rationale, and the use of commodity products in the end architecture. This paper will also stress the need for interoperability of various products and the effects of seemingly insignificant details.

Secure Payload Access to the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, R. Lee; Reid, Chris

2002-01-01

The ISS finally reached an operational state and exists for local and remote users. Onboard payload systems are managed by the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC). Users access HOSC systems by internet protocols in support of daily operations, preflight simulation, and test. In support of this diverse user community, a modem security architecture has been implemented. The architecture has evolved over time from an isolated but open system to a system which supports local and remote access to the ISS over broad geographic regions. This has been accomplished through the use of an evolved security strategy, PKI, and custom design. Through this paper, descriptions of the migration process and the lessons learned are presented. This will include product decision criteria, rationale, and the use of commodity products in the end architecture. This paper will also stress the need for interoperability of various products and the effects of seemingly insignificant details.

New watershed-based climate forecast products for hydrologists and water managers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, S. A.; Wood, A.; Rajagopalan, B.; Lehner, F.; Peng, P.; Ray, A. J.; Barsugli, J. J.; Werner, K.

2017-12-01

Operational sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) climate predictions have advanced in skill in recent years but are yet to be broadly utilized by stakeholders in the water management sector. While some of the challenges that relate to fundamental predictability are difficult or impossible to surmount, other hurdles related to forecast product formulation, translation, relevance, and accessibility can be directly addressed. These include products being misaligned with users' space-time needs, products disseminated in formats users cannot easily process, and products based on raw model outputs that are biased relative to user climatologies. In each of these areas, more can be done to bridge the gap by enhancing the usability, quality, and relevance of water-oriented predictions. In addition, water stakeholder impacts can benefit from short-range extremes predictions (such as 2-3 day storms or 1-week heat waves) at S2S time-scales, for which few products exist. We present interim results of a Research to Operations (R2O) effort sponsored by the NOAA MAPP Climate Testbed to (1) formulate climate prediction products so as to reduce hurdles to in water stakeholder adoption, and to (2) explore opportunities for extremes prediction at S2S time scales. The project is currently using CFSv2 and National Multi-­Model Ensemble (NMME) reforecasts and forecasts to develop real-time watershed-based climate forecast products, and to train post-processing approaches to enhance the skill and reliability of raw real-time S2S forecasts. Prototype S2S climate data products (forecasts and associated skill analyses) are now being operationally staged at NCAR on a public website to facilitate further product development through interactions with water managers. Initial demonstration products include CFSv2-based bi-weekly climate forecasts (weeks 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4) for sub-regional scale hydrologic units, and NMME-based monthly and seasonal prediction products. Raw model mean skill at these time-space resolutions for some periods (e.g., weeks 3-4) is unusably low, but for other periods, and for multi-month leads with NMME, precipitation and particularly temperature forecasts exhibit useful skill. Website: http://hydro.rap.ucar.edu/s2s/

Using daily field-scale evapotranspiration (ET) derived with multi-sensor data fusion for monitoring crop condition and yield in central Iowa, United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Drought has significant impacts over broad spatial and temporal scales, and information about the timing and extent of such conditions is of critical importance to many end users in the agricultural and water resource management communities. The ability to accurately monitor effects on crops and pr...

Soldier-Machine Interface for the Army Future Combat System: Literature Review, Requirements, and Emerging Design Principles

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-04-01

Development vs . Iterative Design ............................ II-7 3. Getting to Know the User: Designing for Usability, Utility, and Pleasure...III-1 2. Terrain Focus .................................................................................... III-1 3. Display vs . Control...heterogeneous, and it diverged into broad philosophical issues, such as “design as engineering” vs . “design as art” and the utility of controlled

Preparing for Harvesting Radioisotopes from FRIB

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peaslee, Graham F.; Lapi, Suzanne E.

2015-02-02

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is the next generation accelerator facility under construction at Michigan State University. FRIB will produce a wide variety of rare isotopes by a process called projectile fragmentation for a broad range of new experiments when it comes online in 2020. The accelerated rare isotope beams produced in this facility will be more intense than any current facility in the world - in many cases by more than 1000-fold. These beams will be available to the primary users of FRIB in order to do exciting new fundamental research with accelerated heavy ions. In themore » standard mode of operation, this will mean one radioisotope will be selected at a time for the user. However, the projectile fragmentation process also yields hundreds of other radioisotopes at these bombarding energies, and many of these rare isotopes are long-lived and could have practical applications in medicine, national security or the environment. This project developed new methods to collect these long-lived rare isotopes that are by-products of the standard FRIB operation. These isotopes are important to many areas of research, thus this project will have a broad impact in several scientific areas including medicine, environment and homeland security.« less

A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences.

PubMed

Wilson, Robert E; Gosling, Samuel D; Graham, Lindsay T

2012-05-01

With over 800 million active users, Facebook is changing the way hundreds of millions of people relate to one another and share information. A rapidly growing body of research has accompanied the meteoric rise of Facebook as social scientists assess the impact of Facebook on social life. In addition, researchers have recognized the utility of Facebook as a novel tool to observe behavior in a naturalistic setting, test hypotheses, and recruit participants. However, research on Facebook emanates from a wide variety of disciplines, with results being published in a broad range of journals and conference proceedings, making it difficult to keep track of various findings. And because Facebook is a relatively recent phenomenon, uncertainty still exists about the most effective ways to do Facebook research. To address these issues, the authors conducted a comprehensive literature search, identifying 412 relevant articles, which were sorted into 5 categories: descriptive analysis of users, motivations for using Facebook, identity presentation, the role of Facebook in social interactions, and privacy and information disclosure. The literature review serves as the foundation from which to assess current findings and offer recommendations to the field for future research on Facebook and online social networks more broadly. © The Author(s) 2012.

Integrating Stakeholders and Users into the Geography Discipline's Research Process

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hermans, Caroline M.; Taketa, Richard

2006-01-01

Future research priorities of Geography emphasize the discipline's leadership role in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in multidisciplinary and integrated research on human and environmental systems and how these systems are interrelated and respond to change Geography's research priorities also emphasize providing science that is usable to society and creating decision support products applicable to given customer problems. To achieve these goals, we must understand the relationship between our research and our customer, and how to integrate the customer into the research process. This report details the elements of the research process that help achieve the degree of stakeholder involvement necessary to ensure a successful end-product. It offers suggestions that can help researchers better understand stakeholders and customers and involve them in the research process more effectively, while preserving the integrity of the science. Its aim is to help researchers understand the problems and challenges faced by our customers and communicate the ways in which Geography can help address their problems. Adopting these guidelines can improve the efficiency of the research process and lead to higher quality output. We will be able to conduct better research because we will have an improved understanding of the research problem and the stakeholders involved. This report covers a broad range of topics, from identifying and communicating with stakeholders and users, to the use of language, to how to effectively present scientific information to the user. It does not offer a 'one size fits all' method. Instead, perhaps only specific sections are suitable for a given project and customers, depending on project scope and needs. This report is based on the objectives of Geography's strategic plan, U. S. Geological Survey's strategic plan, and Department of Interior's strategic plan. Section 2 of these guidelines describes the purpose of the research process in Geography and the need for better user involvement in the process. Section 3 explains how to conduct a stakeholder analysis. Section 4 explains how to conduct a user-needs assessment.

ClimatePipes: User-Friendly Data Access, Manipulation, Analysis & Visualization of Community Climate Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudhary, A.; DeMarle, D.; Burnett, B.; Harris, C.; Silva, W.; Osmari, D.; Geveci, B.; Silva, C.; Doutriaux, C.; Williams, D. N.

2013-12-01

The impact of climate change will resonate through a broad range of fields including public health, infrastructure, water resources, and many others. Long-term coordinated planning, funding, and action are required for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Unfortunately, widespread use of climate data (simulated and observed) in non-climate science communities is impeded by factors such as large data size, lack of adequate metadata, poor documentation, and lack of sufficient computational and visualization resources. We present ClimatePipes to address many of these challenges by creating an open source platform that provides state-of-the-art, user-friendly data access, analysis, and visualization for climate and other relevant geospatial datasets, making the climate data available to non-researchers, decision-makers, and other stakeholders. The overarching goals of ClimatePipes are: - Enable users to explore real-world questions related to climate change. - Provide tools for data access, analysis, and visualization. - Facilitate collaboration by enabling users to share datasets, workflows, and visualization. ClimatePipes uses a web-based application platform for its widespread support on mainstream operating systems, ease-of-use, and inherent collaboration support. The front-end of ClimatePipes uses HTML5 (WebGL, Canvas2D, CSS3) to deliver state-of-the-art visualization and to provide a best-in-class user experience. The back-end of the ClimatePipes is built around Python using the Visualization Toolkit (VTK, http://vtk.org), Climate Data Analysis Tools (CDAT, http://uv-cdat.llnl.gov), and other climate and geospatial data processing tools such as GDAL and PROJ4. ClimatePipes web-interface to query and access data from remote sources (such as ESGF). Shown in the figure is climate data layer from ESGF on top of map data layer from OpenStreetMap. The ClimatePipes workflow editor provides flexibility and fine grained control, and uses the VisTrails (http://www.vistrails.org) workflow engine in the backend.

A new visual navigation system for exploring biomedical Open Educational Resource (OER) videos

PubMed Central

Zhao, Baoquan; Xu, Songhua; Lin, Shujin; Luo, Xiaonan; Duan, Lian

2016-01-01

Objective Biomedical videos as open educational resources (OERs) are increasingly proliferating on the Internet. Unfortunately, seeking personally valuable content from among the vast corpus of quality yet diverse OER videos is nontrivial due to limitations of today’s keyword- and content-based video retrieval techniques. To address this need, this study introduces a novel visual navigation system that facilitates users’ information seeking from biomedical OER videos in mass quantity by interactively offering visual and textual navigational clues that are both semantically revealing and user-friendly. Materials and Methods The authors collected and processed around 25 000 YouTube videos, which collectively last for a total length of about 4000 h, in the broad field of biomedical sciences for our experiment. For each video, its semantic clues are first extracted automatically through computationally analyzing audio and visual signals, as well as text either accompanying or embedded in the video. These extracted clues are subsequently stored in a metadata database and indexed by a high-performance text search engine. During the online retrieval stage, the system renders video search results as dynamic web pages using a JavaScript library that allows users to interactively and intuitively explore video content both efficiently and effectively. Results The authors produced a prototype implementation of the proposed system, which is publicly accessible at https://patentq.njit.edu/oer. To examine the overall advantage of the proposed system for exploring biomedical OER videos, the authors further conducted a user study of a modest scale. The study results encouragingly demonstrate the functional effectiveness and user-friendliness of the new system for facilitating information seeking from and content exploration among massive biomedical OER videos. Conclusion Using the proposed tool, users can efficiently and effectively find videos of interest, precisely locate video segments delivering personally valuable information, as well as intuitively and conveniently preview essential content of a single or a collection of videos. PMID:26335986

Semi-autonomous unmanned ground vehicle control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Jonathan; Lee, Dah-Jye; Schoenberger, Robert; Wei, Zhaoyi; Archibald, James

2006-05-01

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) have advantages over people in a number of different applications, ranging from sentry duty, scouting hazardous areas, convoying goods and supplies over long distances, and exploring caves and tunnels. Despite recent advances in electronics, vision, artificial intelligence, and control technologies, fully autonomous UGVs are still far from being a reality. Currently, most UGVs are fielded using tele-operation with a human in the control loop. Using tele-operations, a user controls the UGV from the relative safety and comfort of a control station and sends commands to the UGV remotely. It is difficult for the user to issue higher level commands such as patrol this corridor or move to this position while avoiding obstacles. As computer vision algorithms are implemented in hardware, the UGV can easily become partially autonomous. As Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) become larger and more powerful, vision algorithms can run at frame rate. With the rapid development of CMOS imagers for consumer electronics, frame rate can reach as high as 200 frames per second with a small size of the region of interest. This increase in the speed of vision algorithm processing allows the UGVs to become more autonomous, as they are able to recognize and avoid obstacles in their path, track targets, or move to a recognized area. The user is able to focus on giving broad supervisory commands and goals to the UGVs, allowing the user to control multiple UGVs at once while still maintaining the convenience of working from a central base station. In this paper, we will describe a novel control system for the control of semi-autonomous UGVs. This control system combines a user interface similar to a simple tele-operation station along with a control package, including the FPGA and multiple cameras. The control package interfaces with the UGV and provides the necessary control to guide the UGV.

The behavioral intervention technology model: an integrated conceptual and technological framework for eHealth and mHealth interventions.

PubMed

Mohr, David C; Schueller, Stephen M; Montague, Enid; Burns, Michelle Nicole; Rashidi, Parisa

2014-06-05

A growing number of investigators have commented on the lack of models to inform the design of behavioral intervention technologies (BITs). BITs, which include a subset of mHealth and eHealth interventions, employ a broad range of technologies, such as mobile phones, the Web, and sensors, to support users in changing behaviors and cognitions related to health, mental health, and wellness. We propose a model that conceptually defines BITs, from the clinical aim to the technological delivery framework. The BIT model defines both the conceptual and technological architecture of a BIT. Conceptually, a BIT model should answer the questions why, what, how (conceptual and technical), and when. While BITs generally have a larger treatment goal, such goals generally consist of smaller intervention aims (the "why") such as promotion or reduction of specific behaviors, and behavior change strategies (the conceptual "how"), such as education, goal setting, and monitoring. Behavior change strategies are instantiated with specific intervention components or "elements" (the "what"). The characteristics of intervention elements may be further defined or modified (the technical "how") to meet the needs, capabilities, and preferences of a user. Finally, many BITs require specification of a workflow that defines when an intervention component will be delivered. The BIT model includes a technological framework (BIT-Tech) that can integrate and implement the intervention elements, characteristics, and workflow to deliver the entire BIT to users over time. This implementation may be either predefined or include adaptive systems that can tailor the intervention based on data from the user and the user's environment. The BIT model provides a step towards formalizing the translation of developer aims into intervention components, larger treatments, and methods of delivery in a manner that supports research and communication between investigators on how to design, develop, and deploy BITs.

Implementing Recommendations From Web Accessibility Guidelines: Would They Also Provide Benefits to Nondisabled Users.

PubMed

Schmutz, Sven; Sonderegger, Andreas; Sauer, Juergen

2016-06-01

We examined the consequences of implementing Web accessibility guidelines for nondisabled users. Although there are Web accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities available, they are rarely used in practice, partly due to the fact that practitioners believe that such guidelines provide no benefits, or even have negative consequences, for nondisabled people, who represent the main user group of Web sites. Despite these concerns, there is a lack of empirical research on the effects of current Web accessibility guidelines on nondisabled users. Sixty-one nondisabled participants used one of three Web sites differing in levels of accessibility (high, low, and very low). Accessibility levels were determined by following established Web accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0). A broad methodological approach was used, including performance measures (e.g., task completion time) and user ratings (e.g., perceived usability). A high level of Web accessibility led to better performance (i.e., task completion time and task completion rate) than low or very low accessibility. Likewise, high Web accessibility improved user ratings (i.e., perceived usability, aesthetics, workload, and trustworthiness) compared to low or very low Web accessibility. There was no difference between the very low and low Web accessibility conditions for any of the outcome measures. Contrary to some concerns in the literature and among practitioners, high conformance with Web accessibility guidelines may provide benefits to users without disabilities. The findings may encourage more practitioners to implement WCAG 2.0 for the benefit of users with disabilities and nondisabled users. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Quality of Life and Unmet Need in People with Psychosis in the London Borough of Haringey, UK

PubMed Central

Lambri, Maria; Chakraborty, Apu; Leavey, Gerard; King, Michael

2012-01-01

Objectives. Deinstitutionalization of long-term psychiatric patients produced various community-based residential care facilities. However, inner-city areas have many patients with severe mental illness (SMI) as well as deprivation, unemployment, and crime. This makes meeting their community needs complex. We undertook a needs assessment of service provision and consonance between service users' evaluation of need and by care workers. Design. Cross-sectional study with random sample of SMI service users in four housing settings: rehabilitation units; high-supported; medium-supported; low-supported housing. Setting. London Borough of Haringey. Outcome Measures. 110 SMI service users and 110 keyworkers were interviewed, using Camberwell Assessment of Need; SF-36; Lancashire Quality-of-Life profile; demographic and clinical information. Results. People in “low-support” and “high-support” housing had similar symptom scores, though low support had significantly lower quality of life. Quality of life was positively predicted by self-reported mental-health score and negatively predicted by unmet-need score in whole sample and in medium-support residents. Residents' and care-workers' assessments of need differed considerably. Conclusions. Although patients' housing needs were broadly met, those in low-supported housing fared least well. Attendance to self-reported mental health and unmet social needs to quality of life underpins planning of residential services for those with SMI. Social and personal needs of people in supported housing may be underestimated and overlooked; service providers need to prioritise these if concept of “recovery” is to advance. PMID:23213300

Evaluation of herbal cannabis characteristics by medical users: a randomized trial

PubMed Central

Ware, Mark A; Ducruet, Thierry; Robinson, Ann R

2006-01-01

Background Cannabis, in herbal form, is widely used as self-medication by patients with diseases such as HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis suffering from symptoms including pain, muscle spasticity, stress and insomnia. Valid clinical studies of herbal cannabis require a product which is acceptable to patients in order to maximize adherence to study protocols. Methods We conducted a randomized controlled crossover trial of 4 different herbal cannabis preparations among 8 experienced and authorized cannabis users with chronic pain. Preparations were varied with respect to grind size, THC content and humidity. Subjects received each preparation on a separate day and prepared the drug in their usual way in a dedicated and licensed clinical facility. They were asked to evaluate the products based on appearance (smell, colour, humidity, grind size, ease of preparation and overall appearance) and smoking characteristics (burn rate, hotness, harshness and taste). Five-point Likert scores were assigned to each characteristic. Scores were compared between preparations using ANOVA. Results Seven subjects completed the study, and the product with highest THC content (12%), highest humidity (14%) and largest grind size (10 mm) was rated highest overall. Significant differences were noted between preparations on overall appearance and colour (p = 0.003). Discussion While the small size of the study precludes broad conclusions, the study shows that medical cannabis users can appreciate differences in herbal product. A more acceptable cannabis product may increase recruitment and retention in clinical studies of medical cannabis. PMID:17101054

"More bang for the buck": exploring optimal approaches for guideline implementation through interviews with international developers.

PubMed

Gagliardi, Anna R

2012-11-15

Population based studies show that guidelines are underused. Surveys of international guideline developers found that many do not implement their guidelines. The purpose of this research was to interview guideline developers about implementation approaches and resources. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with representatives of guideline development agencies identified in the National Guideline Clearinghouse and sampled by country, type of developer, and guideline clinical indication. Participants were asked to comment on the benefits and resource implications of three approaches for guideline implementation that varied by responsibility: developers, intermediaries, or users. Thirty individuals from seven countries were interviewed, representing government (n = 12) and professional (n = 18) organizations that produced guidelines for a variety of clinical indications. Organizations with an implementation mandate featured widely inconsistent funding and staffing models, variable approaches for choosing promotional strategies, and an array of dissemination activities. When asked to choose a preferred approach, most participants selected the option of including information within guidelines that would help users to implement them. Given variable mandate and resources for implementation, it was considered the most feasible approach, and therefore most likely to have impact due to potentially broad use. While implementation approaches and strategies need not be standardized across organizations, the findings may be used by health care policy makers and managers, and guideline developers to generate strategic and operational plans that optimize implementation capacity. Further research is needed to examine how to optimize implementation capacity by guideline developers, intermediaries and users.

Virtual Sensors in a Web 2.0 Digital Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Hill, D. J.; Marini, L.; Kooper, R.; Rodriguez, A.; Myers, J. D.

2008-12-01

The lack of rainfall data in many watersheds is one of the major barriers for modeling and studying many environmental and hydrological processes and supporting decision making. There are just not enough rain gages on the ground. To overcome this data scarcity issue, a Web 2.0 digital watershed is developed at NCSA(National Center for Supercomputing Applications), where users can point-and-click on a web-based google map interface and create new precipitation virtual sensors at any location within the same coverage region as a NEXRAD station. A set of scientific workflows are implemented to perform spatial, temporal and thematic transformations to the near-real-time NEXRAD Level II data. Such workflows can be triggered by the users' actions and generate either rainfall rate or rainfall accumulation streaming data at a user-specified time interval. We will discuss some underlying components of this digital watershed, which consists of a semantic content management middleware, a semantically enhanced streaming data toolkit, virtual sensor management functionality, and RESTful (REpresentational State Transfer) web service that can trigger the workflow execution. Such loosely coupled architecture presents a generic framework for constructing a Web 2.0 style digital watershed. An implementation of this architecture at the Upper Illinois Rive Basin will be presented. We will also discuss the implications of the virtual sensor concept for the broad environmental observatory community and how such concept will help us move towards a participatory digital watershed.

VESPA: A community-driven Virtual Observatory in Planetary Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erard, S.; Cecconi, B.; Le Sidaner, P.; Rossi, A. P.; Capria, M. T.; Schmitt, B.; Génot, V.; André, N.; Vandaele, A. C.; Scherf, M.; Hueso, R.; Määttänen, A.; Thuillot, W.; Carry, B.; Achilleos, N.; Marmo, C.; Santolik, O.; Benson, K.; Fernique, P.; Beigbeder, L.; Millour, E.; Rousseau, B.; Andrieu, F.; Chauvin, C.; Minin, M.; Ivanoski, S.; Longobardo, A.; Bollard, P.; Albert, D.; Gangloff, M.; Jourdane, N.; Bouchemit, M.; Glorian, J.-M.; Trompet, L.; Al-Ubaidi, T.; Juaristi, J.; Desmars, J.; Guio, P.; Delaa, O.; Lagain, A.; Soucek, J.; Pisa, D.

2018-01-01

The VESPA data access system focuses on applying Virtual Observatory (VO) standards and tools to Planetary Science. Building on a previous EC-funded Europlanet program, it has reached maturity during the first year of a new Europlanet 2020 program (started in 2015 for 4 years). The infrastructure has been upgraded to handle many fields of Solar System studies, with a focus both on users and data providers. This paper describes the broad lines of the current VESPA infrastructure as seen by a potential user, and provides examples of real use cases in several thematic areas. These use cases are also intended to identify hints for future developments and adaptations of VO tools to Planetary Science.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christon, Mark A.; Bakosi, Jozsef; Lowrie, Robert B.

Hydra-TH is a hybrid finite-element/finite-volume code built using the Hydra toolkit specifically to attack a broad class of incompressible, viscous fluid dynamics problems prevalent in the thermalhydraulics community. The purpose for this manual is provide sufficient information for an experience analyst to use Hydra-TH in an effective way. The Hydra-TH User's Manual present a brief overview of capabilities and visualization interfaces. The execution and restart models are described before turning to the detailed description of keyword input. Finally, a series of example problems are presented with sufficient data to permit the user to verify the local installation of Hydra-TH, andmore » to permit a convenient starting point for more detailed and complex analyses.« less

The Virtual Mission - A step-wise approach to large space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Elaine; Jones, Morgan; Hooke, Adrian; Pomphrey, Richard

1992-01-01

Attention is given to the Virtual Mission (VM) concept, wherein multiple scientific instruments will be on different platforms, in different orbits, operated from different control centers, at different institutions, and reporting to different user groups. The VM concept enables NASA's science and application users to accomplish their broad science goals with a fleet made up of smaller, more focused spacecraft and to alleviate the difficulties involved with single, large, complex spacecraft. The concept makes possible the stepwise 'go-as-you-pay' extensible approach recommended by Augustine (1990). It enables scientists to mix and match the use of many smaller satellites in novel ways to respond to new scientific ideas and needs.

Discrete memory impairments in largely pure chronic users of MDMA.

PubMed

Wunderli, Michael D; Vonmoos, Matthias; Fürst, Marina; Schädelin, Katrin; Kraemer, Thomas; Baumgartner, Markus R; Seifritz, Erich; Quednow, Boris B

2017-10-01

Chronic use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") has repeatedly been associated with deficits in working memory, declarative memory, and executive functions. However, previous findings regarding working memory and executive function are inconclusive yet, as in most studies concomitant stimulant use, which is known to affect these functions, was not adequately controlled for. Therefore, we compared the cognitive performance of 26 stimulant-free and largely pure (primary) MDMA users, 25 stimulant-using polydrug MDMA users, and 56 MDMA/stimulant-naïve controls by applying a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Neuropsychological tests were grouped into four cognitive domains. Recent drug use was objectively quantified by 6-month hair analyses on 17 substances and metabolites. Considerably lower mean hair concentrations of stimulants (amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylphenidate, cocaine), opioids (morphine, methadone, codeine), and hallucinogens (ketamine, 2C-B) were detected in primary compared to polydrug users, while both user groups did not differ in their MDMA hair concentration. Cohen's d effect sizes for both comparisons, i.e., primary MDMA users vs. controls and polydrug MDMA users vs. controls, were highest for declarative memory (d primary =.90, d polydrug =1.21), followed by working memory (d primary =.52, d polydrug =.96), executive functions (d primary =.46, d polydrug =.86), and attention (d primary =.23, d polydrug =.70). Thus, primary MDMA users showed strong and relatively discrete declarative memory impairments, whereas MDMA polydrug users displayed broad and unspecific cognitive impairments. Consequently, even largely pure chronic MDMA use is associated with decreased performance in declarative memory, while additional deficits in working memory and executive functions displayed by polydrug MDMA users are likely driven by stimulant co-use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

The HydroShare Collaborative Repository for the Hydrology Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Ames, D. P.; Goodall, J. L.; Couch, A.; Hooper, R. P.; Dash, P. K.; Stealey, M.; Yi, H.; Bandaragoda, C.; Castronova, A. M.

2017-12-01

HydroShare is an online, collaboration system for sharing of hydrologic data, analytical tools, and models. It supports the sharing of, and collaboration around, "resources" which are defined by standardized content types for data formats and models commonly used in hydrology. With HydroShare you can: Share your data and models with colleagues; Manage who has access to the content that you share; Share, access, visualize and manipulate a broad set of hydrologic data types and models; Use the web services application programming interface (API) to program automated and client access; Publish data and models and obtain a citable digital object identifier (DOI); Aggregate your resources into collections; Discover and access data and models published by others; Use web apps to visualize, analyze and run models on data in HydroShare. This presentation will describe the functionality and architecture of HydroShare highlighting our approach to making this system easy to use and serving the needs of the hydrology community represented by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc. (CUAHSI). Metadata for uploaded files is harvested automatically or captured using easy to use web user interfaces. Users are encouraged to add or create resources in HydroShare early in the data life cycle. To encourage this we allow users to share and collaborate on HydroShare resources privately among individual users or groups, entering metadata while doing the work. HydroShare also provides enhanced functionality for users through web apps that provide tools and computational capability for actions on resources. HydroShare's architecture broadly is comprised of: (1) resource storage, (2) resource exploration website, and (3) web apps for actions on resources. System components are loosely coupled and interact through APIs, which enhances robustness, as components can be upgraded and advanced relatively independently. The full power of this paradigm is the extensibility it supports. Web apps are hosted on separate servers, which may be 3rd party servers. They are registered in HydroShare using a web app resource that configures the connectivity for them to be discovered and launched directly from resource types they are associated with.

How (Not) to Talk on Twitter: Effects of Politicians' Tweets on Perceptions of the Twitter Environment.

PubMed

Lyons, Benjamin A; Veenstra, Aaron S

2016-01-01

Politicians' Twitter habits can vary considerably. Those who choose to use may do so as part of a broad discussion community or as a one-to-many broadcaster. Because each user sees a different mix of tweets, a politician seen by one user as interacting with the public may be seen by another as engaging in one-way communication, potentially prompting different evaluations of the politician, the ongoing discussion, or even Twitter itself. This study uses an experiment to test the effects of different engagement and framing styles in politician tweets on evaluations of the politician, other discussants, and Twitter itself. Findings suggest that politicians who use Twitter to broadcast, rather than engage with other users, not only receive worse evaluations themselves but that the negative evaluation carries over to other users discussing the same topics, as well as to evaluations of the utility of Twitter as an information source. This effect is attributed to intramedium interaction, in which reactions to one aspect of a multimedia object carry over to other aspects of the same object.

From Web accessibility to Web adaptability.

PubMed

Kelly, Brian; Nevile, Liddy; Sloan, David; Fanou, Sotiris; Ellison, Ruth; Herrod, Lisa

2009-07-01

This article asserts that current approaches to enhance the accessibility of Web resources fail to provide a solid foundation for the development of a robust and future-proofed framework. In particular, they fail to take advantage of new technologies and technological practices. The article introduces a framework for Web adaptability, which encourages the development of Web-based services that can be resilient to the diversity of uses of such services, the target audience, available resources, technical innovations, organisational policies and relevant definitions of 'accessibility'. The article refers to a series of author-focussed approaches to accessibility through which the authors and others have struggled to find ways to promote accessibility for people with disabilities. These approaches depend upon the resource author's determination of the anticipated users' needs and their provision. Through approaches labelled as 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, the authors have widened their focus to account for contexts and individual differences in target audiences. Now, the authors want to recognise the role of users in determining their engagement with resources (including services). To distinguish this new approach, the term 'adaptability' has been used to replace 'accessibility'; new definitions of accessibility have been adopted, and the authors have reviewed their previous work to clarify how it is relevant to the new approach. Accessibility 1.0 is here characterised as a technical approach in which authors are told how to construct resources for a broadly defined audience. This is known as universal design. Accessibility 2.0 was introduced to point to the need to account for the context in which resources would be used, to help overcome inadequacies identified in the purely technical approach. Accessibility 3.0 moved the focus on users from a homogenised universal definition to recognition of the idiosyncratic needs and preferences of individuals and to cater for them. All of these approaches placed responsibility within the authoring/publishing domain without recognising the role the user might want to play, or the roles that other users in social networks, or even Web services might play. Adaptability shifts the emphasis and calls for greater freedom for the users to facilitate individual accessibility in the open Web environment.

A new visual navigation system for exploring biomedical Open Educational Resource (OER) videos.

PubMed

Zhao, Baoquan; Xu, Songhua; Lin, Shujin; Luo, Xiaonan; Duan, Lian

2016-04-01

Biomedical videos as open educational resources (OERs) are increasingly proliferating on the Internet. Unfortunately, seeking personally valuable content from among the vast corpus of quality yet diverse OER videos is nontrivial due to limitations of today's keyword- and content-based video retrieval techniques. To address this need, this study introduces a novel visual navigation system that facilitates users' information seeking from biomedical OER videos in mass quantity by interactively offering visual and textual navigational clues that are both semantically revealing and user-friendly. The authors collected and processed around 25 000 YouTube videos, which collectively last for a total length of about 4000 h, in the broad field of biomedical sciences for our experiment. For each video, its semantic clues are first extracted automatically through computationally analyzing audio and visual signals, as well as text either accompanying or embedded in the video. These extracted clues are subsequently stored in a metadata database and indexed by a high-performance text search engine. During the online retrieval stage, the system renders video search results as dynamic web pages using a JavaScript library that allows users to interactively and intuitively explore video content both efficiently and effectively.ResultsThe authors produced a prototype implementation of the proposed system, which is publicly accessible athttps://patentq.njit.edu/oer To examine the overall advantage of the proposed system for exploring biomedical OER videos, the authors further conducted a user study of a modest scale. The study results encouragingly demonstrate the functional effectiveness and user-friendliness of the new system for facilitating information seeking from and content exploration among massive biomedical OER videos. Using the proposed tool, users can efficiently and effectively find videos of interest, precisely locate video segments delivering personally valuable information, as well as intuitively and conveniently preview essential content of a single or a collection of videos. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The ‘who’ and ‘what’ of #diabetes on Twitter

PubMed Central

Beguerisse-Díaz, Mariano; McLennan, Amy K.; Garduño-Hernández, Guillermo; Barahona, Mauricio; Ulijaszek, Stanley J.

2017-01-01

Social media are being increasingly used for health promotion, yet the landscape of users, messages and interactions in such fora is poorly understood. Studies of social media and diabetes have focused mostly on patients, or public agencies addressing it, but have not looked broadly at all of the participants or the diversity of content they contribute. We study Twitter conversations about diabetes through the systematic analysis of 2.5 million tweets collected over 8 months and the interactions between their authors. We address three questions. (1) What themes arise in these tweets? (2) Who are the most influential users? (3) Which type of users contribute to which themes? We answer these questions using a mixed-methods approach, integrating techniques from anthropology, network science and information retrieval such as thematic coding, temporal network analysis and community and topic detection. Diabetes-related tweets fall within broad thematic groups: health information, news, social interaction and commercial. At the same time, humorous messages and references to popular culture appear consistently, more than any other type of tweet. We classify authors according to their temporal ‘hub’ and ‘authority’ scores. Whereas the hub landscape is diffuse and fluid over time, top authorities are highly persistent across time and comprise bloggers, advocacy groups and NGOs related to diabetes, as well as for-profit entities without specific diabetes expertise. Top authorities fall into seven interest communities as derived from their Twitter follower network. Our findings have implications for public health professionals and policy makers who seek to use social media as an engagement tool and to inform policy design. PMID:29942579

Crossing the river: Developing a strategy to support understanding of uncertainty within probabilistic climate projections.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walton, P.; Lamb, R.

2010-09-01

The UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) was established by government in 1997 to support the UK's engagement with becoming better adapted to a changing climate. As the lead organisation in the UK on climate change adaptation, UKCIP oversaw the development of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) which were launched in June 2009 providing, for the first time, probabilistic climate projections for the UK. As with previous generations of UKCIP climate scenarios, they were freely accessible and intended for a whole spectrum of users, from technical experts to a lay audience. . Prior to the launch of UKCP09 it was acknowledged that users would need support in understanding key concepts, such as the uncertainty inherent in the projections, to be able to use them appropriately. The user support strategy was therefore developed. It is founded on robust pedagogical principles and draws on the latest thinking on public understanding of science (PUS) that places the user at the centre of the communication process. The adopted approach first identifies profiles of the key users of the climate projections and the ways in which they would use and access the data. Based on these profiles it is possible to identify a range of mechanisms that allow the user to engage with understanding the projections in different ways and situations including lectures, workshops and online learning. Within this blended strategy an exercise was developed specifically to support users' understanding of the concept of uncertainty within the probabilistic climate projections. The ‘Crossing the River' exercise encourages the participants to actively consider the nature of information they are using, and how it could be applied in a specific decision. Reflection and discussion are key elements in supporting the users' understanding of the concept and allowing them to apply the principles in the exercise to their own context. Their reflection is facilitated through a range of mechanisms that provide social and personal spaces and is guided by the communicator. The exercise has been used successfully with a broad range of users (from government officers to environmental managers) in groups ranging from small community events to large corporate conferences. Feedback has shown that the majority of people who completed the exercise had a better understanding of the concept of uncertainty within the probabilistic climate projections as a result. We are now working to create an online version that can be freely accessed by users along with other resources that develop understanding of other key concepts associated with UKCP09 and the broader climate change adaptation agenda. This paper evaluates the development and application of the user support strategy and provides a practical illustration of how it can be used within a face-to-face group setting and also as an online resource.

The IS-ENES climate4impact portal: bridging the CMIP5 and CORDEX data to impact users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Som de Cerff, Wim; Plieger, Maarten; Page, Christian; Tatarinova, Natalia; Hutjes, Ronald; de Jong, Fokke; Bärring, Lars; Sjökvist, Elin; Vega Saldarriaga, Manuel; Santiago Cofiño Gonzalez, Antonio

2015-04-01

The aim of climate4impact (climate4impact.eu) is to enhance the use of Climate Research Data and to enhance the interaction with climate effect/impact communities. The portal is based on 17 impact use cases from 5 different European countries, and is evaluated by a user panel consisting of use case owners. It has been developed within the IS-ENES European project and is currently operated and further developed in the IS ENES2 project. As the climate impact community is very broad, the focus is mainly on the scientific impact community. Climate4impact is connected to the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) nodes containing global climate model data (GCM data) from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and regional climate model data (RCM) data from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX). This global network of climate model data centers offers services for data description, discovery and download. The climate4impact portal connects to these services using OpenID, and offers a user interface for searching, visualizing and downloading global climate model data and more. A challenging task is to describe the available model data and how it can be used. The portal informs users about possible caveats when using climate model data. All impact use cases are described in the documentation section, using highlighted keywords pointing to detailed information in the glossary. Climate4impact currently has two main objectives. The first one is to work on a web interface which automatically generates a graphical user interface on WPS endpoints. The WPS calculates climate indices and subset data using OpenClimateGIS/icclim on data stored in ESGF data nodes. Data is then transmitted from ESGF nodes over secured OpenDAP and becomes available in a new, per user, secured OpenDAP server. The results can then be visualized again using ADAGUC WMS. Dedicated wizards for processing of climate indices will be developed in close collaboration with users. The second one is to expose climate4impact services, so as to offer standardized services which can be used by other portals (like the future Copernicus platform, developed in the EU FP7 CLIPC project). This has the advantage to add interoperability between several portals, as well as to enable the design of specific portals aimed at different impact communities, either thematic or national. In the presentation the following subjects will be detailed: - Lessons learned developing climate4impact.eu - Download: Directly from ESGF nodes and other THREDDS catalogs - Connection with the downscaling portal of the university of Cantabria - Experiences on the question and answer site via Askbot - Visualization: Visualize data from ESGF data nodes using ADAGUC Web Map Services. - Processing: Transform data, subset, export into other formats, and perform climate indices calculations using Web Processing Services implemented by PyWPS, based on NCAR NCPP OpenClimateGIS and IS-ENES2 icclim. - Security: Login using OpenID for access to the ESGF data nodes. The ESGF works in conjunction with several external websites and systems. The climate4impact portal uses X509 based short lived credentials, generated on behalf of the user with a MyProxy service. Single Sign-on (SSO) is used to make these websites and systems work together. - Discovery: Facetted search based on e.g. variable name, model and institute using the ESGF search services. A catalog browser allows for browsing through CMIP5 and any other climate model data catalogues (e.g. ESSENCE, EOBS, UNIDATA).

Education and Communication for the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiff, Patricia H.; Cline, Troy D.

2016-03-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) proposed a balanced portfolio of education and communication activities and products, including broadly distributed materials for the general public, special programs and materials for teachers, targeted activities and materials for underserved groups, and intensive experiences for future scientists and engineers. Our plan includes creation and dissemination of educational software, podcasts and vodcasts, planetarium shows, teacher and student activities, 3D models, social media and smartphone apps. We have surveyed users of NASA data to determine which modes of learning were effective in their youth and which are the most effective now, and use those results to inform our education and communication plans. All materials will be reviewed and placed in NASA online educational archives for broad dissemination.

Aeropropulsion 1987. Session 5: Subsonic Propulsion Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

NASA is conducting aeropropulsion research over a broad range of Mach numbers. In addition to the high-speed propulsion research described, major progress was recorded in research aimed at the subsonic flight regimes of interest to many commercial and military users. Recent progress and future directions in such areas as small engine technology, rotorcraft transmissions, icing, Hot Section Technology (HOST) and the Advanced Turboprop Program (ATP) are covered.

Pathfinder. Volume 9, Number 1, January/February 2011

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

that users can access global foundation, imagery, product and activity layers online whenever and wherever they need to, much the way we access data...Professional Development Strengthening mission performance starts with an expert, diverse and collaborative global work force that rapidly shifts and...universities. The RAND study addressed two broad ques- tions: How future global development and trends result in new operational demands being placed on

Engineering and Development Program Plan, Aircraft Cabin Fire Safety.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

relative to a postcrash fuel fire, or whether advanced materials provide a significant safety benefit in comparison to inservice materials. if either...have always been controlled by early detection and prompt extinguishment action by effectively trained crew members. In addition, the fire resistant...occupants. g. Develop a computer fire test data bank with broad user availability for inservice and candidate cabin interior materials. h. Identify

Aeropropulsion '87. Session 5: Subsonic propulsion technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1987-11-01

NASA is conducting aeropropulsion research over a broad range of Mach numbers. In addition to the high-speed propulsion research described, major progress was recorded in research aimed at the subsonic flight regimes of interest to many commercial and military users. Recent progress and future directions in such areas as small engine technology, rotorcraft transmissions, icing, Hot Section Technology (HOST) and the Advanced Turboprop Program (ATP) are covered.

3D micro-mapping: Towards assessing the quality of crowdsourcing to support 3D point cloud analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herfort, Benjamin; Höfle, Bernhard; Klonner, Carolin

2018-03-01

In this paper, we propose a method to crowdsource the task of complex three-dimensional information extraction from 3D point clouds. We design web-based 3D micro tasks tailored to assess segmented LiDAR point clouds of urban trees and investigate the quality of the approach in an empirical user study. Our results for three different experiments with increasing complexity indicate that a single crowdsourcing task can be solved in a very short time of less than five seconds on average. Furthermore, the results of our empirical case study reveal that the accuracy, sensitivity and precision of 3D crowdsourcing are high for most information extraction problems. For our first experiment (binary classification with single answer) we obtain an accuracy of 91%, a sensitivity of 95% and a precision of 92%. For the more complex tasks of the second Experiment 2 (multiple answer classification) the accuracy ranges from 65% to 99% depending on the label class. Regarding the third experiment - the determination of the crown base height of individual trees - our study highlights that crowdsourcing can be a tool to obtain values with even higher accuracy in comparison to an automated computer-based approach. Finally, we found out that the accuracy of the crowdsourced results for all experiments is hardly influenced by characteristics of the input point cloud data and of the users. Importantly, the results' accuracy can be estimated using agreement among volunteers as an intrinsic indicator, which makes a broad application of 3D micro-mapping very promising.

An Inter-Personal Information Sharing Model Based on Personalized Recommendations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamei, Koji; Funakoshi, Kaname; Akahani, Jun-Ichi; Satoh, Tetsuji

In this paper, we propose an inter-personal information sharing model among individuals based on personalized recommendations. In the proposed model, we define an information resource as shared between people when both of them consider it important --- not merely when they both possess it. In other words, the model defines the importance of information resources based on personalized recommendations from identifiable acquaintances. The proposed method is based on a collaborative filtering system that focuses on evaluations from identifiable acquaintances. It utilizes both user evaluations for documents and their contents. In other words, each user profile is represented as a matrix of credibility to the other users' evaluations on each domain of interests. We extended the content-based collaborative filtering method to distinguish other users to whom the documents should be recommended. We also applied a concept-based vector space model to represent the domain of interests instead of the previous method which represented them by a term-based vector space model. We introduce a personalized concept-base compiled from each user's information repository to improve the information retrieval in the user's environment. Furthermore, the concept-spaces change from user to user since they reflect the personalities of the users. Because of different concept-spaces, the similarity between a document and a user's interest varies for each user. As a result, a user receives recommendations from other users who have different view points, achieving inter-personal information sharing based on personalized recommendations. This paper also describes an experimental simulation of our information sharing model. In our laboratory, five participants accumulated a personal repository of e-mails and web pages from which they built their own concept-base. Then we estimated the user profiles according to personalized concept-bases and sets of documents which others evaluated. We simulated inter-personal recommendation based on the user profiles and evaluated the performance of the recommendation method by comparing the recommended documents to the result of the content-based collaborative filtering.

The "wild shot": photography for more biology in natural history collections, not for replacing vouchers.

PubMed

Garrouste, Romain

2017-05-24

Recently a correspondence in Zootaxa (Ceríaco et al., 2016) with more than 450 signatories including taxonomists, curators and other taxonomy users from all continents has received wide attention and has stimulated extensive discussion (a true buzz) around the possible interpretations of the Code (ICZN) about photography in taxonomy (Researchgate website link). This short note was necessary to recall the necessity of preserved specimens as vouchers for taxonomy, in response to photography-based taxonomy (PBT) as defended by Pape et al. (2016), and in a broad sense, for all the life sciences. This had been widely discussed and argued by Dubois & Nemésio (2007) who concluded on the importance of vouchers in taxonomy. But if the subject of these papers and discussions are about photography as the only way to document a new species, none of them discussed really what photography could represent in enhancing knowledge in natural sciences based on collections of specimens including type series and in association with other media (video and sound).

Multi-media authoring - Instruction and training of air traffic controllers based on ASRS incident reports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armstrong, Herbert B.; Roske-Hofstrand, Renate J.

1989-01-01

This paper discusses the use of computer-assisted instructions and flight simulations to enhance procedural and perceptual motor task training. Attention is called to the fact that incorporating the accident and incident data contained in reports filed with the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) would be a valuable training tool which the learner could apply for other situations. The need to segment the events is emphasized; this would make it possible to modify events in order to suit the needs of the training environment. Methods were developed for designing meaningful scenario development on runway incursions on the basis of analysis of ASRS reports. It is noted that, while the development of interactive training tools using the ASRS and other data bases holds much promise, the design and production of interactive video programs and laser disks are very expensive. It is suggested that this problem may be overcome by sharing the costs of production to develop a library of materials available to a broad range of users.

Falling Less in Kansas: Development of a Fall Risk Reduction Toolkit

PubMed Central

Radebaugh, Teresa S.; Bahner, Candace A.; Ballard-Reisch, Deborah; Epp, Michael; Hale, LaDonna S.; Hanley, Rich; Kendrick, Karen; Rogers, Michael E.; Rogers, Nicole L.

2011-01-01

Falls are a serious health risk for older adults. But for those living in rural and frontier areas of the USA, the risks are higher because of limited access to health care providers and resources. This study employed a community-based participatory research approach to develop a fall prevention toolkit to be used by residents of rural and frontier areas without the assistance of health care providers. Qualitative data were gathered from both key informant interviews and focus groups with a broad range of participants. Data analysis revealed that to be effective and accepted, the toolkit should be not only evidence based but also practical, low-cost, self-explanatory, and usable without the assistance of a health care provider. Materials must be engaging, visually interesting, empowering, sensitive to reading level, and appropriate for low-vision users. These findings should be useful to other researchers developing education and awareness materials for older adults in rural areas. PMID:21941655

Simple sequence repeat marker loci discovery using SSR primer.

PubMed

Robinson, Andrew J; Love, Christopher G; Batley, Jacqueline; Barker, Gary; Edwards, David

2004-06-12

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have become important molecular markers for a broad range of applications, such as genome mapping and characterization, phenotype mapping, marker assisted selection of crop plants and a range of molecular ecology and diversity studies. With the increase in the availability of DNA sequence information, an automated process to identify and design PCR primers for amplification of SSR loci would be a useful tool in plant breeding programs. We report an application that integrates SPUTNIK, an SSR repeat finder, with Primer3, a PCR primer design program, into one pipeline tool, SSR Primer. On submission of multiple FASTA formatted sequences, the script screens each sequence for SSRs using SPUTNIK. The results are parsed to Primer3 for locus-specific primer design. The script makes use of a Web-based interface, enabling remote use. This program has been written in PERL and is freely available for non-commercial users by request from the authors. The Web-based version may be accessed at http://hornbill.cspp.latrobe.edu.au/

PIVOT: platform for interactive analysis and visualization of transcriptomics data.

PubMed

Zhu, Qin; Fisher, Stephen A; Dueck, Hannah; Middleton, Sarah; Khaladkar, Mugdha; Kim, Junhyong

2018-01-05

Many R packages have been developed for transcriptome analysis but their use often requires familiarity with R and integrating results of different packages requires scripts to wrangle the datatypes. Furthermore, exploratory data analyses often generate multiple derived datasets such as data subsets or data transformations, which can be difficult to track. Here we present PIVOT, an R-based platform that wraps open source transcriptome analysis packages with a uniform user interface and graphical data management that allows non-programmers to interactively explore transcriptomics data. PIVOT supports more than 40 popular open source packages for transcriptome analysis and provides an extensive set of tools for statistical data manipulations. A graph-based visual interface is used to represent the links between derived datasets, allowing easy tracking of data versions. PIVOT further supports automatic report generation, publication-quality plots, and program/data state saving, such that all analysis can be saved, shared and reproduced. PIVOT will allow researchers with broad background to easily access sophisticated transcriptome analysis tools and interactively explore transcriptome datasets.

Integrative interactive visualization of crystal structure, band structure, and Brillouin zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Robert; Hinke, Ben; van Koevering, Matthew; Oses, Corey; Toher, Cormac; Hicks, David; Gossett, Eric; Plata Ramos, Jose; Curtarolo, Stefano; Aflow Collaboration

The AFLOW library is an open-access database for high throughput ab-initio calculations that serves as a resource for the dissemination of computational results in the area of materials science. Our project aims to create an interactive web-based visualization of any structure in the AFLOW database that has associate band structure data in a way that allows novel simultaneous exploration of the crystal structure, band structure, and Brillouin zone. Interactivity is obtained using two synchronized JSmol implementations, one for the crystal structure and one for the Brillouin zone, along with a D3-based band-structure diagram produced on the fly from data obtained from the AFLOW database. The current website portal (http://aflowlib.mems.duke.edu/users/jmolers/matt/website) allows interactive access and visualization of crystal structure, Brillouin zone and band structure for more than 55,000 inorganic crystal structures. This work was supported by the US Navy Office of Naval Research through a Broad Area Announcement administered by Duke University.

CosmoQuest:Using Data Validation for More Than Just Data Validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehan, C.; Gay, P.

2016-12-01

It is often taken for granted that different scientists completing the same task (e.g. mapping geologic features) will get the same results, and data validation is often skipped or under-utilized due to time and funding constraints. Robbins et. al (2014), however, demonstrated that this is a needed step, as large variation can exist even among collaborating team members completing straight-forward tasks like marking craters. Data Validation should be much more than a simple post-project verification of results. The CosmoQuest virtual research facility employs regular data-validation for a variety of benefits, including real-time user feedback, real-time tracking to observe user activity while it's happening, and using pre-solved data to analyze users' progress and to help them retain skills. Some creativity in this area can drastically improve project results. We discuss methods of validating data in citizen science projects and outline the variety of uses for validation, which, when used properly, improves the scientific output of the project and the user experience for the citizens doing the work. More than just a tool for scientists, validation can assist users in both learning and retaining important information and skills, improving the quality and quantity of data gathered. Real-time analysis of user data can give key information in the effectiveness of the project that a broad glance would miss, and properly presenting that analysis is vital. Training users to validate their own data, or the data of others, can significantly improve the accuracy of misinformed or novice users.

Functional assessment and performance evaluation for assistive robotic manipulators: Literature review

PubMed Central

Chung, Cheng-Shiu; Wang, Hongwu; Cooper, Rory A.

2013-01-01

Context The user interface development of assistive robotic manipulators can be traced back to the 1960s. Studies include kinematic designs, cost-efficiency, user experience involvements, and performance evaluation. This paper is to review studies conducted with clinical trials using activities of daily living (ADLs) tasks to evaluate performance categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) frameworks, in order to give the scope of current research and provide suggestions for future studies. Methods We conducted a literature search of assistive robotic manipulators from 1970 to 2012 in PubMed, Google Scholar, and University of Pittsburgh Library System – PITTCat. Results Twenty relevant studies were identified. Conclusion Studies were separated into two broad categories: user task preferences and user-interface performance measurements of commercialized and developing assistive robotic manipulators. The outcome measures and ICF codes associated with the performance evaluations are reported. Suggestions for the future studies include (1) standardized ADL tasks for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of task efficiency and performance to build comparable measures between research groups, (2) studies relevant to the tasks from user priority lists and ICF codes, and (3) appropriate clinical functional assessment tests with consideration of constraints in assistive robotic manipulator user interfaces. In addition, these outcome measures will help physicians and therapists build standardized tools while prescribing and assessing assistive robotic manipulators. PMID:23820143

Scientists as Communicators: Inclusion of a Science/Education Liaison on Research Expeditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sautter, L. R.

2004-12-01

Communication of research and scientific results to an audience outside of one's field poses a challenge to many scientists. Many research scientists have a natural ability to address the challenge, while others may chose to seek assistance. Research cruise PIs maywish to consider including a Science/Education Liaison (SEL) on future grants. The SEL is a marine scientist whose job before, during and after the cruise is to work with the shipboard scientists to document the science conducted. The SEL's role is three-fold: (1) to communicate shipboard science activities near-real-time to the public via the web; (2) to develop a variety of web-based resources based on the scientific operations; and (3) to assist educators with the integration of these resources into classroom curricula. The first role involves at-sea writing and relaying from ship-to-shore (via email) a series of Daily Logs. NOAA Ocean Exploration (OE) has mastered the use of web-posted Daily Logs for their major expeditions (see their OceanExplorer website), introducing millions of users to deep sea exploration. Project Oceanica uses the OE daily log model to document research expeditions. In addition to writing daily logs and participating on OE expeditions, Oceanica's SEL also documents the cruise's scientific operations and preliminary findings using video and photos, so that web-based resources (photo galleries, video galleries, and PhotoDocumentaries) can be developed during and following the cruise, and posted on the expedition's home page within the Oceanica web site (see URL). We have created templates for constructing these science resources which allow the shipboard scientists to assist with web resource development. Bringing users to the site is achieved through email communications to a growing list of educators, scientists, and students, and through collaboration with the COSEE network. With a large research expedition-based inventory of web resources now available, Oceanica is training teachers and college faculty on the use and incorporation of these resources into middle school, high school and introductory college classrooms. Support for a SEL on shipboard expeditions serves to catalyze the dissemination of the scientific operations to a broad audience of users.

Quantum lattice model solver HΦ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamura, Mitsuaki; Yoshimi, Kazuyoshi; Misawa, Takahiro; Yamaji, Youhei; Todo, Synge; Kawashima, Naoki

2017-08-01

HΦ [aitch-phi ] is a program package based on the Lanczos-type eigenvalue solution applicable to a broad range of quantum lattice models, i.e., arbitrary quantum lattice models with two-body interactions, including the Heisenberg model, the Kitaev model, the Hubbard model and the Kondo-lattice model. While it works well on PCs and PC-clusters, HΦ also runs efficiently on massively parallel computers, which considerably extends the tractable range of the system size. In addition, unlike most existing packages, HΦ supports finite-temperature calculations through the method of thermal pure quantum (TPQ) states. In this paper, we explain theoretical background and user-interface of HΦ. We also show the benchmark results of HΦ on supercomputers such as the K computer at RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) and SGI ICE XA (Sekirei) at the Institute for the Solid State Physics (ISSP).

Overview of critical risk factors in Power-Two-Wheeler safety.

PubMed

Vlahogianni, Eleni I; Yannis, George; Golias, John C

2012-11-01

Power-Two-Wheelers (PTWs) constitute a vulnerable class of road users with increased frequency and severity of accidents. The present paper focuses of the PTW accident risk factors and reviews existing literature with regard to the PTW drivers' interactions with the automobile drivers, as well as interactions with infrastructure elements and weather conditions. Several critical risk factors are revealed with different levels of influence to PTW accident likelihood and severity. A broad classification based on the magnitude and the need for further research for each risk factor is proposed. The paper concludes by discussing the importance of dealing with accident configurations, the data quality and availability, methods implemented to model risk and exposure and risk identification which are critical for a thorough understanding of the determinants of PTW safety. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using complex networks towards information retrieval and diagnostics in multidimensional imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Soumya Jyoti; Azharuddin, Mohammad; Sen, Debanjan; Savale, Smruti; Datta, Himadri; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr; Roy, Soumen

2015-12-01

We present a fresh and broad yet simple approach towards information retrieval in general and diagnostics in particular by applying the theory of complex networks on multidimensional, dynamic images. We demonstrate a successful use of our method with the time series generated from high content thermal imaging videos of patients suffering from the aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE) disease. Remarkably, network analyses of thermal imaging time series of contact lens users and patients upon whom Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (Lasik) surgery has been conducted, exhibit pronounced similarity with results obtained from ADDE patients. We also propose a general framework for the transformation of multidimensional images to networks for futuristic biometry. Our approach is general and scalable to other fluctuation-based devices where network parameters derived from fluctuations, act as effective discriminators and diagnostic markers.

Accessing space: A catalogue of process, equipment and resources for commercial users

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

This catalogue, produced by NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, provides a broad source of information for the commercial developer interested in the areas of microgravity research and remote sensing. Methods for accessing space for research are reviewed including the shuttle, expendable launch vehicles, suborbital sounding rockets, experimental aircraft, and drop towers and other ground-based facilities. Procedures for using these vehicles and facilities are described along with funding options to pay for their use. Experiment apparatus and carriers for microgravity research are also described. A separate directory of resources and services is also included which contains a listing of transportation products and services, a listing of businesses and industries which provide space-related services and products, and a listing of the NASA and CCDS (Center for the Commercial Development of Space) points of contact.

CHARMM-GUI PDB manipulator for advanced modeling and simulations of proteins containing nonstandard residues.

PubMed

Jo, Sunhwan; Cheng, Xi; Islam, Shahidul M; Huang, Lei; Rui, Huan; Zhu, Allen; Lee, Hui Sun; Qi, Yifei; Han, Wei; Vanommeslaeghe, Kenno; MacKerell, Alexander D; Roux, Benoît; Im, Wonpil

2014-01-01

CHARMM-GUI, http://www.charmm-gui.org, is a web-based graphical user interface to prepare molecular simulation systems and input files to facilitate the usage of common and advanced simulation techniques. Since it is originally developed in 2006, CHARMM-GUI has been widely adopted for various purposes and now contains a number of different modules designed to setup a broad range of simulations including free energy calculation and large-scale coarse-grained representation. Here, we describe functionalities that have recently been integrated into CHARMM-GUI PDB Manipulator, such as ligand force field generation, incorporation of methanethiosulfonate spin labels and chemical modifiers, and substitution of amino acids with unnatural amino acids. These new features are expected to be useful in advanced biomolecular modeling and simulation of proteins. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using complex networks towards information retrieval and diagnostics in multidimensional imaging.

PubMed

Banerjee, Soumya Jyoti; Azharuddin, Mohammad; Sen, Debanjan; Savale, Smruti; Datta, Himadri; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr; Roy, Soumen

2015-12-02

We present a fresh and broad yet simple approach towards information retrieval in general and diagnostics in particular by applying the theory of complex networks on multidimensional, dynamic images. We demonstrate a successful use of our method with the time series generated from high content thermal imaging videos of patients suffering from the aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE) disease. Remarkably, network analyses of thermal imaging time series of contact lens users and patients upon whom Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (Lasik) surgery has been conducted, exhibit pronounced similarity with results obtained from ADDE patients. We also propose a general framework for the transformation of multidimensional images to networks for futuristic biometry. Our approach is general and scalable to other fluctuation-based devices where network parameters derived from fluctuations, act as effective discriminators and diagnostic markers.

Using complex networks towards information retrieval and diagnostics in multidimensional imaging

PubMed Central

Banerjee, Soumya Jyoti; Azharuddin, Mohammad; Sen, Debanjan; Savale, Smruti; Datta, Himadri; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr; Roy, Soumen

2015-01-01

We present a fresh and broad yet simple approach towards information retrieval in general and diagnostics in particular by applying the theory of complex networks on multidimensional, dynamic images. We demonstrate a successful use of our method with the time series generated from high content thermal imaging videos of patients suffering from the aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE) disease. Remarkably, network analyses of thermal imaging time series of contact lens users and patients upon whom Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (Lasik) surgery has been conducted, exhibit pronounced similarity with results obtained from ADDE patients. We also propose a general framework for the transformation of multidimensional images to networks for futuristic biometry. Our approach is general and scalable to other fluctuation-based devices where network parameters derived from fluctuations, act as effective discriminators and diagnostic markers. PMID:26626047

The planning cycle.

PubMed

Johnson, William

2005-01-01

Information technology planning can be described as a continuous cyclical process composed of three phases whose primary purpose is optimum allocation of scarce resources. In the assessment phase, planners assess user needs, environmental factors, business objectives, and IT infrastructure needs to develop IT projects that address needs in each of these areas. A major goal of this phase is to develop a broad IT inventory. The prioritization phase seeks to ensure optimum allocation of scarce resources by prioritizing ITprojects based on: Costs--total life cycle costs. Benefits--both quantitative and non-quantitative, including support for the organization's strategic business objectives. Risks--subjective assessments of technological and non-technological risks. Implementation requirements--time and personnel requirements to implement the system. The scheduling phase incorporates sequencing considerations, personnel availability, and budgetary constraints to produce an IT plan in which project priorities are adjusted to meet organizational realities.

Additions and improvements to the high energy density physics capabilities in the FLASH code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamb, D.; Bogale, A.; Feister, S.; Flocke, N.; Graziani, C.; Khiar, B.; Laune, J.; Tzeferacos, P.; Walker, C.; Weide, K.

2017-10-01

FLASH is an open-source, finite-volume Eulerian, spatially-adaptive radiation magnetohydrodynamics code that has the capabilities to treat a broad range of physical processes. FLASH performs well on a wide range of computer architectures, and has a broad user base. Extensive high energy density physics (HEDP) capabilities exist in FLASH, which make it a powerful open toolset for the academic HEDP community. We summarize these capabilities, emphasizing recent additions and improvements. We describe several non-ideal MHD capabilities that are being added to FLASH, including the Hall and Nernst effects, implicit resistivity, and a circuit model, which will allow modeling of Z-pinch experiments. We showcase the ability of FLASH to simulate Thomson scattering polarimetry, which measures Faraday due to the presence of magnetic fields, as well as proton radiography, proton self-emission, and Thomson scattering diagnostics. Finally, we describe several collaborations with the academic HEDP community in which FLASH simulations were used to design and interpret HEDP experiments. This work was supported in part at U. Chicago by DOE NNSA ASC through the Argonne Institute for Computing in Science under FWP 57789; DOE NNSA under NLUF Grant DE-NA0002724; DOE SC OFES Grant DE-SC0016566; and NSF Grant PHY-1619573.

Expanding Access and Usage of NASA Near Real-Time Imagery and Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cechini, M.; Murphy, K. J.; Boller, R. A.; Schmaltz, J. E.; Thompson, C. K.; Huang, T.; McGann, J. M.; Ilavajhala, S.; Alarcon, C.; Roberts, J. T.

2013-12-01

In late 2009, the Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) was created to greatly expand the range of near real-time data products from a variety of Earth Observing System (EOS) instruments. Since that time, NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) developed the Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) to provide highly responsive, scalable, and expandable imagery services that distribute near real-time imagery in an intuitive and geo-referenced format. The GIBS imagery services provide access through standards-based protocols such as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) and standard mapping file formats such as the Keyhole Markup Language (KML). Leveraging these standard mechanisms opens NASA near real-time imagery to a broad landscape of mapping libraries supporting mobile applications. By easily integrating with mobile application development libraries, GIBS makes it possible for NASA imagery to become a reliable and valuable source for end-user applications. Recently, EOSDIS has taken steps to integrate near real-time metadata products into the EOS ClearingHOuse (ECHO) metadata repository. Registration of near real-time metadata allows for near real-time data discovery through ECHO clients. In kind with the near real-time data processing requirements, the ECHO ingest model allows for low-latency metadata insertion and updates. Combining with the ECHO repository, the fast visual access of GIBS imagery can now be linked directly back to the source data file(s). Through the use of discovery standards such as OpenSearch, desktop and mobile applications can connect users to more than just an image. As data services, such as OGC Web Coverage Service, become more prevalent within the EOSDIS system, applications may even be able to connect users from imagery to data values. In addition, the full resolution GIBS imagery provides visual context to other GIS data and tools. The NASA near real-time imagery covers a broad set of Earth science disciplines. By leveraging the ECHO and GIBS services, these data can become a visual context within which other GIS activities are performed. The focus of this presentation is to discuss the GIBS imagery and ECHO metadata services facilitating near real-time discovery and usage. Existing synergies and future possibilities will also be discussed. The NASA Worldview demonstration client will be used to show an existing application combining the ECHO and GIBS services.

Based on user interest level of modeling scenarios and browse content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yang

2017-08-01

User interest modeling is the core of personalized service, taking into account the impact of situational information on user preferences, the user behavior days of financial information. This paper proposes a method of user interest modeling based on scenario information, which is obtained by calculating the similarity of the situation. The user's current scene of the approximate scenario set; on the "user - interest items - scenarios" three-dimensional model using the situation pre-filtering method of dimension reduction processing. View the content of the user interested in the theme, the analysis of the page content to get each topic of interest keywords, based on the level of vector space model user interest. The experimental results show that the user interest model based on the scenario information is within 9% of the user's interest prediction, which is effective.

The Environment-Power System Analysis Tool development program. [for spacecraft power supplies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jongeward, Gary A.; Kuharski, Robert A.; Kennedy, Eric M.; Wilcox, Katherine G.; Stevens, N. John; Putnam, Rand M.; Roche, James C.

1989-01-01

The Environment Power System Analysis Tool (EPSAT) is being developed to provide engineers with the ability to assess the effects of a broad range of environmental interactions on space power systems. A unique user-interface-data-dictionary code architecture oversees a collection of existing and future environmental modeling codes (e.g., neutral density) and physical interaction models (e.g., sheath ionization). The user-interface presents the engineer with tables, graphs, and plots which, under supervision of the data dictionary, are automatically updated in response to parameter change. EPSAT thus provides the engineer with a comprehensive and responsive environmental assessment tool and the scientist with a framework into which new environmental or physical models can be easily incorporated.

ToxReporter: viewing the genome through the eyes of a toxicologist.

PubMed

Gosink, Mark

2016-01-01

One of the many roles of a toxicologist is to determine if an observed adverse event (AE) is related to a previously unrecognized function of a given gene/protein. Towards that end, he or she will search a variety of public and propriety databases for information linking that protein to the observed AE. However, these databases tend to present all available information about a protein, which can be overwhelming, limiting the ability to find information about the specific toxicity being investigated. ToxReporter compiles information from a broad selection of resources and limits display of the information to user-selected areas of interest. ToxReporter is a PERL-based web-application which utilizes a MySQL database to streamline this process by categorizing public and proprietary domain-derived information into predefined safety categories according to a customizable lexicon. Users can view gene information that is 'red-flagged' according to the safety issue under investigation. ToxReporter also uses a scoring system based on relative counts of the red-flags to rank all genes for the amount of information pertaining to each safety issue and to display their scored ranking as an easily interpretable 'Tox-At-A-Glance' chart. Although ToxReporter was originally developed to display safety information, its flexible design could easily be adapted to display disease information as well.Database URL: ToxReporter is freely available at https://github.com/mgosink/ToxReporter. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Evidence from district level inputs to improve quality of care for maternal and newborn health: interventions and findings.

PubMed

Salam, Rehana A; Lassi, Zohra S; Das, Jai K; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2014-09-04

District level healthcare serves as a nexus between community and district level facilities. Inputs at the district level can be broadly divided into governance and accountability mechanisms; leadership and supervision; financial platforms; and information systems. This paper aims to evaluate the effectivness of district level inputs for imporving maternal and newborn health. We considered all available systematic reviews published before May 2013 on the pre-defined district level interventions and included 47 systematic reviews. Evidence suggests that supervision positively influenced provider's practice, knowledge and client/provider satisfaction. Involving local opinion leaders to promote evidence-based practice improved compliance to the desired practice. Audit and feedback mechanisms and tele-medicine were found to be associated with improved immunization rates and mammogram uptake. User-directed financial schemes including maternal vouchers, user fee exemption and community based health insurance showed significant impact on maternal health service utilization with voucher schemes showing the most significant positive impact across all range of outcomes including antenatal care, skilled birth attendant, institutional delivery, complicated delivery and postnatal care. We found insufficient evidence to support or refute the use of electronic health record systems and telemedicine technology to improve maternal and newborn health specific outcomes. There is dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of district level inputs to improve maternal newborn health outcomes. Future studies should evaluate the impact of supervision and monitoring; electronic health record and tele-communication interventions in low-middle-income countries.

NPOESS Preparatory Project Validation Program for Atmsophere Data Products from VIIRS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starr, D.; Wong, E.

2009-12-01

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite Suite (NPOESS) Program, in partnership with National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational NPOESS launch. The NPOESS Program, in partnership with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS), will execute the NPP Validation program to ensure the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies. Data from the NPP Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will be used to produce Environmental Data Records (EDR's) for aerosol and clouds, specifically Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT), Aerosol Particle Size Parameter (APSP), and Suspended Matter (SM); and Cloud Optical Thickness (COT), Cloud Effective Particle Size (CEPS), Cloud Top Temperature (CTT), Height (CTH) and Pressure (CTP), and Cloud Base Height (CBH). The Aerosol and Cloud EDR Validation Program is a multifaceted effort to characterize and validate these data products. The program involves systematic comparison to heritage data products, e.g., MODIS, and ground-based correlative data, such as AERONET and ARM data products, and potentially airborne field measurements. To the extent possible, the domain is global. The program leverages various investments that have and are continuing to be made by national funding agencies in such resources, as well as the operational user community and the broad Earth science user community. This presentation will provide an overview of the approaches, data and schedule for the validation of the NPP VIIRS Aerosol and Cloud environmental data products.

Haystack, a web-based tool for metabolomics research

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LCMS) has become a widely used technique in metabolomics research for differential profiling, the broad screening of biomolecular constituents across multiple samples to diagnose phenotypic differences and elucidate relevant features. However, a significant limitation in LCMS-based metabolomics is the high-throughput data processing required for robust statistical analysis and data modeling for large numbers of samples with hundreds of unique chemical species. Results To address this problem, we developed Haystack, a web-based tool designed to visualize, parse, filter, and extract significant features from LCMS datasets rapidly and efficiently. Haystack runs in a browser environment with an intuitive graphical user interface that provides both display and data processing options. Total ion chromatograms (TICs) and base peak chromatograms (BPCs) are automatically displayed, along with time-resolved mass spectra and extracted ion chromatograms (EICs) over any mass range. Output files in the common .csv format can be saved for further statistical analysis or customized graphing. Haystack's core function is a flexible binning procedure that converts the mass dimension of the chromatogram into a set of interval variables that can uniquely identify a sample. Binned mass data can be analyzed by exploratory methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) to model class assignment and identify discriminatory features. The validity of this approach is demonstrated by comparison of a dataset from plants grown at two light conditions with manual and automated peak detection methods. Haystack successfully predicted class assignment based on PCA and cluster analysis, and identified discriminatory features based on analysis of EICs of significant bins. Conclusion Haystack, a new online tool for rapid processing and analysis of LCMS-based metabolomics data is described. It offers users a range of data visualization options and supports non-biased differential profiling studies through a unique and flexible binning function that provides an alternative to conventional peak deconvolution analysis methods. PMID:25350247

Clearing your Desk! Software and Data Services for Collaborative Web Based GIS Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Ames, D. P.; Goodall, J. L.; Band, L. E.; Merwade, V.; Couch, A.; Hooper, R. P.; Maidment, D. R.; Dash, P. K.; Stealey, M.; Yi, H.; Gan, T.; Gichamo, T.; Yildirim, A. A.; Liu, Y.

2015-12-01

Can your desktop computer crunch the large GIS datasets that are becoming increasingly common across the geosciences? Do you have access to or the know-how to take advantage of advanced high performance computing (HPC) capability? Web based cyberinfrastructure takes work off your desk or laptop computer and onto infrastructure or "cloud" based data and processing servers. This talk will describe the HydroShare collaborative environment and web based services being developed to support the sharing and processing of hydrologic data and models. HydroShare supports the upload, storage, and sharing of a broad class of hydrologic data including time series, geographic features and raster datasets, multidimensional space-time data, and other structured collections of data. Web service tools and a Python client library provide researchers with access to HPC resources without requiring them to become HPC experts. This reduces the time and effort spent in finding and organizing the data required to prepare the inputs for hydrologic models and facilitates the management of online data and execution of models on HPC systems. This presentation will illustrate the use of web based data and computation services from both the browser and desktop client software. These web-based services implement the Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Model (TauDEM) tools for watershed delineation, generation of hydrology-based terrain information, and preparation of hydrologic model inputs. They allow users to develop scripts on their desktop computer that call analytical functions that are executed completely in the cloud, on HPC resources using input datasets stored in the cloud, without installing specialized software, learning how to use HPC, or transferring large datasets back to the user's desktop. These cases serve as examples for how this approach can be extended to other models to enhance the use of web and data services in the geosciences.

Haystack, a web-based tool for metabolomics research.

PubMed

Grace, Stephen C; Embry, Stephen; Luo, Heng

2014-01-01

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LCMS) has become a widely used technique in metabolomics research for differential profiling, the broad screening of biomolecular constituents across multiple samples to diagnose phenotypic differences and elucidate relevant features. However, a significant limitation in LCMS-based metabolomics is the high-throughput data processing required for robust statistical analysis and data modeling for large numbers of samples with hundreds of unique chemical species. To address this problem, we developed Haystack, a web-based tool designed to visualize, parse, filter, and extract significant features from LCMS datasets rapidly and efficiently. Haystack runs in a browser environment with an intuitive graphical user interface that provides both display and data processing options. Total ion chromatograms (TICs) and base peak chromatograms (BPCs) are automatically displayed, along with time-resolved mass spectra and extracted ion chromatograms (EICs) over any mass range. Output files in the common .csv format can be saved for further statistical analysis or customized graphing. Haystack's core function is a flexible binning procedure that converts the mass dimension of the chromatogram into a set of interval variables that can uniquely identify a sample. Binned mass data can be analyzed by exploratory methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) to model class assignment and identify discriminatory features. The validity of this approach is demonstrated by comparison of a dataset from plants grown at two light conditions with manual and automated peak detection methods. Haystack successfully predicted class assignment based on PCA and cluster analysis, and identified discriminatory features based on analysis of EICs of significant bins. Haystack, a new online tool for rapid processing and analysis of LCMS-based metabolomics data is described. It offers users a range of data visualization options and supports non-biased differential profiling studies through a unique and flexible binning function that provides an alternative to conventional peak deconvolution analysis methods.

Space Station Freedom Workshop Opportunities for Commercial Users and Providers: Issues and Recommendations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The responses to issues and questions raised at the Space Station Freedom Workshops are compiled. The findings are presented under broad divisions of general, materials processing in space, commercial earth and ocean observations, life sciences, infrastructure services, and infrastructure policy. The responses represent the best answers available at this time and future modifications may be expected. Contact names, telephone numbers, and organizations are included.

Phenology Data Products to Support Assessment and Forecasting of Phenology on Multiple Spatiotemporal Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerst, K.; Enquist, C.; Rosemartin, A.; Denny, E. G.; Marsh, L.; Moore, D. J.; Weltzin, J. F.

2014-12-01

The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN; www.usanpn.org) serves science and society by promoting a broad understanding of plant and animal phenology and the relationships among phenological patterns and environmental change. The National Phenology Database maintained by USA-NPN now has over 3.7 million records for plants and animals for the period 1954-2014, with the majority of these observations collected since 2008 as part of a broad, national contributory science strategy. These data have been used in a number of science, conservation and resource management applications, including national assessments of historical and potential future trends in phenology, regional assessments of spatio-temporal variation in organismal activity, and local monitoring for invasive species detection. Customizable data downloads are freely available, and data are accompanied by FGDC-compliant metadata, data-use and data-attribution policies, vetted and documented methodologies and protocols, and version control. While users are free to develop custom algorithms for data cleaning, winnowing and summarization prior to analysis, the National Coordinating Office of USA-NPN is developing a suite of standard data products to facilitate use and application by a diverse set of data users. This presentation provides a progress report on data product development, including: (1) Quality controlled raw phenophase status data; (2) Derived phenometrics (e.g. onset, duration) at multiple scales; (3) Data visualization tools; (4) Tools to support assessment of species interactions and overlap; (5) Species responsiveness to environmental drivers; (6) Spatially gridded phenoclimatological products; and (7) Algorithms for modeling and forecasting future phenological responses. The prioritization of these data products is a direct response to stakeholder needs related to informing management and policy decisions. We anticipate that these products will contribute to broad understanding of plant and animal phenology across scientific disciplines.

“More bang for the buck”: exploring optimal approaches for guideline implementation through interviews with international developers

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Population based studies show that guidelines are underused. Surveys of international guideline developers found that many do not implement their guidelines. The purpose of this research was to interview guideline developers about implementation approaches and resources. Methods Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with representatives of guideline development agencies identified in the National Guideline Clearinghouse and sampled by country, type of developer, and guideline clinical indication. Participants were asked to comment on the benefits and resource implications of three approaches for guideline implementation that varied by responsibility: developers, intermediaries, or users. Results Thirty individuals from seven countries were interviewed, representing government (n = 12) and professional (n = 18) organizations that produced guidelines for a variety of clinical indications. Organizations with an implementation mandate featured widely inconsistent funding and staffing models, variable approaches for choosing promotional strategies, and an array of dissemination activities. When asked to choose a preferred approach, most participants selected the option of including information within guidelines that would help users to implement them. Given variable mandate and resources for implementation, it was considered the most feasible approach, and therefore most likely to have impact due to potentially broad use. Conclusions While implementation approaches and strategies need not be standardized across organizations, the findings may be used by health care policy makers and managers, and guideline developers to generate strategic and operational plans that optimize implementation capacity. Further research is needed to examine how to optimize implementation capacity by guideline developers, intermediaries and users. PMID:23153052

Organizational and physician perspectives about facilitating handheld computer use in clinical practice: results of a cross-site qualitative study.

PubMed

McAlearney, Ann Scheck; Schweikhart, Sharon B; Medow, Mitchell A

2005-01-01

To describe strategies that organizations select to support physicians' use of handheld computers (HHCs) in clinical practice and to explore issues about facilitating HHC use. A multidisciplinary team used focus groups and interviews with clinical, administrative, and information technology (IT) staff to gather data from 161 informants at seven sites. Transcripts were coded using a combination of deductive and inductive approaches to both answer research questions and identify patterns and themes that emerged in the data. Answers to questions about strategies for HHC support and themes about (1) how to facilitate physician adoption and use and (2) organizational concerns. Three main organizational strategies for HHC support were characterized among sites: (1) active support for broad-based use, (2) active support for niche use, and (3) basic support for individual physician users. Three high-level themes emerged around how to best facilitate physician adoption and use of HHCs: (1) improving usability and usefulness, (2) promoting HHCs and device use, and (3) providing training and support. However, four major themes also emerged related to organizations' concerns about HHC use: (1) security-related concerns, (2) economic concerns, (3) technical concerns, and (4) strategic concerns. An organizational approach to HHC support that involves individualized attention to existing and potential physician users rather than one-size-fits-all, organization-wide implementation efforts was an important facilitator promoting physician use of HHCs. Health care organizations interested in supporting HHC use must consider issues related to security, economics, and IT strategy that may not be prominent concerns for physician users.

What's all the talk about? Topic modelling in a mental health Internet support group.

PubMed

Carron-Arthur, Bradley; Reynolds, Julia; Bennett, Kylie; Bennett, Anthony; Griffiths, Kathleen M

2016-10-28

The majority of content in an Internet Support Group (ISG) is contributed by 1 % of the users ('super users'). Computational methods, such as topic modelling, can provide a large-scale quantitative objective description of this content. Such methods may provide a new perspective on the nature of engagement on ISGs including the role of super users and their possible effect on other users. A topic model was computed for all posts (N = 131,004) in the ISG BlueBoard using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. A model containing 25 topics was selected on the basis of intelligibility as determined by diagnostic metrics and qualitative investigation. This model yielded 21 substantive topics for further analysis. Two chi-square tests were conducted separately for each topic to ascertain: (i) if the odds of super users' and other users' posting differed for each topic; and (ii) if for super users the odds of posting differed depending on whether the response was to a super user or to another user. The 21 substantive topics covered a range of issues related to mental health and peer-support. There were significantly higher odds that super users wrote content on 13 topics, with the greatest effects being for Parenting Role (OR [95%CI] = 7.97 [7.85-8.10]), Co-created Fiction (4.22 [4.17-4.27]), Mental Illness (3.13 [3.11-3.16]) and Positive Change (2.82 [2.79-2.84]). There were significantly lower odds for super users on 7 topics, with the greatest effects being for the topics Depression (OR = 0.27 [0.27-0.28]), Medication (0.36 [0.36-0.37]), Therapy (0.55 [0.54-0.55]) and Anxiety (0.55 [0.55-0.55]). However, super users were significantly more likely to write content on 5 out of these 7 topics when responding to other users than when responding to fellow super users. The findings suggest that super users serve the role of emotionally supportive companions with a focus on topics broadly resembling the consumer/carer model of recovery. Other users engage in topics with a greater focus on experiential knowledge, disclosure and informational support, a pattern resembling the clinical symptom-focussed approach to recovery. However, super users modify their content in response to other users in a manner consistent with being 'active help providers'.

The AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD): progress, current projects, and prospects for making astronomy accessible to all

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aarnio, Alicia; Diaz-Merced, Wanda; Monkiewicz, Jacqueline; Knierman, Karen; AAS WGAD

2018-01-01

Representation of astronomers with disabilities is low at the earliest career stages and losses compound with career stage thereafter; single-digit and lower percentage representation statistics are in large part due to systemic barriers to access and failure to accommodate the needs of users of a wide range of abilities. In this presentation, we discuss the barriers currently inhibiting broad access to astronomical publications, databases, and conferences. The WGAD was formed in January of 2016 to work toward removal of these barriers to make our field inclusive of astronomers with disabilities at all career stages. We have productively engaged with publishers and accessibility audits have been performed. Database accessibility evaluation is underway, and we are working with the AAS and other professional organizations on conference accessibility. We are keeping users centrally focused via surveys and user test groups, and holding paramount the overarching idea that meeting present accessibility standards is a necessary but insufficient condition for full access.

Looking back, looking forward: Recovery journeys in a high secure hospital.

PubMed

McKeown, Mick; Jones, Fiona; Foy, Paul; Wright, Karen; Paxton, Tracey; Blackmon, Mike

2016-06-01

A qualitative study of staff and service users' views of recovery was undertaken in a UK high secure hospital working to implement recovery practices. 30 staff and 25 service users participated in semi-structured interviews or focus groups. Thematic analysis identified four broad accounts of how recovery was made sense of in the high secure environment: the importance of meaningful occupation; valuing relationships; recovery journeys and dialogue with the past; and recovery as personal responsibility. These themes are discussed with an emphasis on service user strategies of cooperation or resistance, respectively advancing or impeding progress through the system. In this context the notion of cooperation is, for many, commensurate with compliance with a dominant medical model. The policy framing of recovery opens up contemplation of treatment alternatives, more participatory approaches to risk management, and emphasise the value of relational skills, but may not elude the overarching bio-psychiatric episteme. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

The voice of the customer--Part 2: Benchmarking battery chargers against the Consumer's Ideal Product.

PubMed

Bauer, S M; Lane, J P; Stone, V I; Unnikrishnan, N

1998-01-01

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Evaluation and Transfer is exploring how the end users of assistive technology devices define the ideal device. This work is called the Consumer Ideal Product program. In this work, end users identify and establish the importance of a broad range of product design features, along with the related product support and service provided by manufacturers and vendors. This paper describes a method for systematically transforming end-user defined requirements into a form that is useful and accessible to product designers, manufacturers, and vendors. In particular, product requirements, importance weightings, and metrics are developed from the Consumer Ideal Product battery charger outcomes. Six battery charges are benchmarked against these product requirements using the metrics developed. The results suggest improvements for each product's design, service, and support. Overall, the six chargers meet roughly 45-75% of the ideal product's requirements. Many of the suggested improvements are low-cost changes that, if adopted, could provide companies a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Handheld emissions detector (HED): overview and development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentino, George J.; Schimmel, David

2009-05-01

Nova Engineering, Cincinnati OH, a division of L-3 Communications (L-3 Nova), under the sponsorship of Program Manager Soldier Warrior (PM-SWAR), Fort Belvoir, VA, has developed a Soldier portable, light-weight, hand-held, geolocation sensor and processing system called the Handheld Emissions Detector (HED). The HED is a broadband custom receiver and processor that allows the user to easily sense, direction find, and locate a broad range of emitters in the user's surrounding area. Now in its second design iteration, the HED incorporates a set of COTS components that are complemented with L-3 Nova custom RF, power, digital, and mechanical components, plus custom embedded and application software. The HED user interfaces are designed to provide complex information in a readily-understandable form, thereby providing actionable results for operators. This paper provides, where possible, the top-level characteristics of the HED as well as the rationale behind its design philosophy along with its applications in both DOD and Commercial markets.

Pragmatic Applications of RE-AIM for Health Care Initiatives in Community and Clinical Settings

PubMed Central

Estabrooks, Paul E.

2018-01-01

The RE-AIM (Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance) planning and evaluation framework has been applied broadly, but users often have difficulty in applying the model because of data collection needs across multiple domains and sources. Questions in the more common “who, what, where, how, when, and why” format may be an effective guide to ensure that individual participants, organization staff, and the perspectives of the setting are considered in planning and evaluation. Such a format can also help users in typical community and clinical settings to identify which outcomes are most valued and to focus limited measurement resources. Translations of RE-AIM that are easy to understand and apply are needed for application in real-world community and clinical settings where research and evaluation resources are limited. The purpose of this article is to provide simplified, pragmatic, user-centered and stakeholder-centered recommendations to increase the use of RE-AIM in community and clinical settings and in translational research. PMID:29300695

OpenSeesPy: Python library for the OpenSees finite element framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Minjie; McKenna, Frank; Scott, Michael H.

2018-01-01

OpenSees, an open source finite element software framework, has been used broadly in the earthquake engineering community for simulating the seismic response of structural and geotechnical systems. The framework allows users to perform finite element analysis with a scripting language and for developers to create both serial and parallel finite element computer applications as interpreters. For the last 15 years, Tcl has been the primary scripting language to which the model building and analysis modules of OpenSees are linked. To provide users with different scripting language options, particularly Python, the OpenSees interpreter interface was refactored to provide multi-interpreter capabilities. This refactoring, resulting in the creation of OpenSeesPy as a Python module, is accomplished through an abstract interface for interpreter calls with concrete implementations for different scripting languages. Through this approach, users are able to develop applications that utilize the unique features of several scripting languages while taking advantage of advanced finite element analysis models and algorithms.

Functional imaging studies in cannabis users.

PubMed

Chang, Linda; Chronicle, Edward P

2007-10-01

Cannabis remains the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. This update examines the available literature on neuroimaging studies of the brains of cannabis users. The majority of studies examining the acute effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration used PET methods and concluded that administration of THC leads to increased activation in frontal and paralimbic regions and the cerebellum. These increases in activation are broadly consistent with the behavioral effects of the drug. Although there is only equivocal evidence that chronic cannabis use might result in structural brain changes, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent-fMRI studies in chronic users consistently show alterations, or neuroadaptation, in the activation of brain networks responsible for higher cognitive functions. It is not yet certain whether these changes are reversible with abstinence. Given the high prevalence of cannabis use among adolescents, studies are needed to evaluate whether cannabis use might affect the developing brain. Considerable further work, employing longitudinal designs, is also required to determine whether cannabis use causes permanent functional alterations in the brains of adults.

The Self-Organized Archive: SPASE, PDS and Archive Cooperatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, T. A.; Hughes, J. S.; Roberts, D. A.; Walker, R. J.; Joy, S. P.

2005-05-01

Information systems with high quality metadata enable uses and services which often go beyond the original purpose. There are two types of metadata: annotations which are items that comment on or describe the content of a resource and identification attributes which describe the external properties of the resource itself. For example, annotations may indicate which columns are present in a table of data, whereas an identification attribute would indicate source of the table, such as the observatory, instrument, organization, and data type. When the identification attributes are collected and used as the basis of a search engine, a user can constrain on an attribute, the archive can then self-organize around the constraint, presenting the user with a particular view of the archive. In an archive cooperative where each participating data system or archive may have its own metadata standards, providing a multi-system search engine requires that individual archive metadata be mapped to a broad based standard. To explore how cooperative archives can form a larger self-organized archive we will show how the Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) data model will allow different systems to create a cooperative and will use Planetary Data System (PDS) plus existing space physics activities as a demonstration.

The Proteins API: accessing key integrated protein and genome information

PubMed Central

Antunes, Ricardo; Alpi, Emanuele; Gonzales, Leonardo; Liu, Wudong; Luo, Jie; Qi, Guoying; Turner, Edd

2017-01-01

Abstract The Proteins API provides searching and programmatic access to protein and associated genomics data such as curated protein sequence positional annotations from UniProtKB, as well as mapped variation and proteomics data from large scale data sources (LSS). Using the coordinates service, researchers are able to retrieve the genomic sequence coordinates for proteins in UniProtKB. This, the LSS genomics and proteomics data for UniProt proteins is programmatically only available through this service. A Swagger UI has been implemented to provide documentation, an interface for users, with little or no programming experience, to ‘talk’ to the services to quickly and easily formulate queries with the services and obtain dynamically generated source code for popular programming languages, such as Java, Perl, Python and Ruby. Search results are returned as standard JSON, XML or GFF data objects. The Proteins API is a scalable, reliable, fast, easy to use RESTful services that provides a broad protein information resource for users to ask questions based upon their field of expertise and allowing them to gain an integrated overview of protein annotations available to aid their knowledge gain on proteins in biological processes. The Proteins API is available at (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/proteins/api/doc). PMID:28383659

Conceptualizing and Advancing Research Networking Systems.

PubMed

Schleyer, Titus; Butler, Brian S; Song, Mei; Spallek, Heiko

2012-03-01

Science in general, and biomedical research in particular, is becoming more collaborative. As a result, collaboration with the right individuals, teams, and institutions is increasingly crucial for scientific progress. We propose Research Networking Systems (RNS) as a new type of system designed to help scientists identify and choose collaborators, and suggest a corresponding research agenda. The research agenda covers four areas: foundations, presentation, architecture , and evaluation . Foundations includes project-, institution- and discipline-specific motivational factors; the role of social networks; and impression formation based on information beyond expertise and interests. Presentation addresses representing expertise in a comprehensive and up-to-date manner; the role of controlled vocabularies and folksonomies; the tension between seekers' need for comprehensive information and potential collaborators' desire to control how they are seen by others; and the need to support serendipitous discovery of collaborative opportunities. Architecture considers aggregation and synthesis of information from multiple sources, social system interoperability, and integration with the user's primary work context. Lastly, evaluation focuses on assessment of collaboration decisions, measurement of user-specific costs and benefits, and how the large-scale impact of RNS could be evaluated with longitudinal and naturalistic methods. We hope that this article stimulates the human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work, and related communities to pursue a broad and comprehensive agenda for developing research networking systems.

Addiction-Related Stigma and Discrimination: A Qualitative Study in Treatment Centers in Mexico City.

PubMed

Mora-Ríos, Jazmín; Ortega-Ortega, Miriam; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena

2017-04-16

Social rejection of drug use is greater than that directed at other psychiatric conditions, like depression and anxiety, which may lead to social exclusion of substance users and prevent them from seeking and receiving treatment. The objective of this study is to investigate the stigma and discrimination related to addiction in treatment centers in Mexico City. Data are from a broad mixed methods study. The present study is a qualitative analysis of 35 in-depth interviews of drug users, family members, and providers, using guidelines for the exploration of experiences of stigma and discrimination related to substance abuse. A thematic analysis was carried out using specialized software (Atlas.ti 6.2.23). The common practices of stigma and discrimination (e.g., judging, mockery, inappropriate comments, overprotection, and hostile looks), were identified in participant testimonies. The narratives provide evidence of varied conditions of social and gender inequality, as well as experience of violence and abuse, that refer to a structural context of discrimination surrounding addiction, and that constitute obstacles to treatment. The findings allow for a description of the stigmatization process surrounding addiction as a shared problem that requires the implementation of coordinated treatment strategies. They also suggest the need for more comprehensive policies of inclusion, based on human rights, which favor prevention and treatment.

Advanced algorithms for the identification of mixtures using condensed-phase FT-IR spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnó, Josep; Andersson, Greger; Levy, Dustin; Tomczyk, Carol; Zou, Peng; Zuidema, Eric

2011-06-01

FT-IR spectroscopy is the technology of choice to identify solid and liquid phase unknown samples. Advances in instrument portability have made possible the use of FT-IR spectroscopy in emergency response and military field applications. The samples collected in those harsh environments are rarely pure and typically contain multiple chemical species in water, sand, or inorganic matrices. In such critical applications, it is also desired that in addition to broad chemical identification, the user is warned immediately if the sample contains a threat or target class material (i.e. biological, narcotic, explosive). The next generation HazMatID 360 combines the ruggedized design and functionality of the current HazMatID with advanced mixture analysis algorithms. The advanced FT-IR instrument allows effective chemical assessment of samples that may contain one or more interfering materials like water or dirt. The algorithm was the result of years of cumulative experience based on thousands of real-life spectra sent to our ReachBack spectral analysis service by customers in the field. The HazMatID 360 combines mixture analysis with threat detection and chemical hazard classification capabilities to provide, in record time, crucial information to the user. This paper will provide an overview of the software and algorithm enhancements, in addition to examples of improved performance in mixture identification.

proGenomes: a resource for consistent functional and taxonomic annotations of prokaryotic genomes.

PubMed

Mende, Daniel R; Letunic, Ivica; Huerta-Cepas, Jaime; Li, Simone S; Forslund, Kristoffer; Sunagawa, Shinichi; Bork, Peer

2017-01-04

The availability of microbial genomes has opened many new avenues of research within microbiology. This has been driven primarily by comparative genomics approaches, which rely on accurate and consistent characterization of genomic sequences. It is nevertheless difficult to obtain consistent taxonomic and integrated functional annotations for defined prokaryotic clades. Thus, we developed proGenomes, a resource that provides user-friendly access to currently 25 038 high-quality genomes whose sequences and consistent annotations can be retrieved individually or by taxonomic clade. These genomes are assigned to 5306 consistent and accurate taxonomic species clusters based on previously established methodology. proGenomes also contains functional information for almost 80 million protein-coding genes, including a comprehensive set of general annotations and more focused annotations for carbohydrate-active enzymes and antibiotic resistance genes. Additionally, broad habitat information is provided for many genomes. All genomes and associated information can be downloaded by user-selected clade or multiple habitat-specific sets of representative genomes. We expect that the availability of high-quality genomes with comprehensive functional annotations will promote advances in clinical microbial genomics, functional evolution and other subfields of microbiology. proGenomes is available at http://progenomes.embl.de. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Toward seamless wearable sensing: Automatic on-body sensor localization for physical activity monitoring.

PubMed

Saeedi, Ramyar; Purath, Janet; Venkatasubramanian, Krishna; Ghasemzadeh, Hassan

2014-01-01

Mobile wearable sensors have demonstrated great potential in a broad range of applications in healthcare and wellness. These technologies are known for their potential to revolutionize the way next generation medical services are supplied and consumed by providing more effective interventions, improving health outcomes, and substantially reducing healthcare costs. Despite these potentials, utilization of these sensor devices is currently limited to lab settings and in highly controlled clinical trials. A major obstacle in widespread utilization of these systems is that the sensors need to be used in predefined locations on the body in order to provide accurate outcomes such as type of physical activity performed by the user. This has reduced users' willingness to utilize such technologies. In this paper, we propose a novel signal processing approach that leverages feature selection algorithms for accurate and automatic localization of wearable sensors. Our results based on real data collected using wearable motion sensors demonstrate that the proposed approach can perform sensor localization with 98.4% accuracy which is 30.7% more accurate than an approach without a feature selection mechanism. Furthermore, utilizing our node localization algorithm aids the activity recognition algorithm to achieve 98.8% accuracy (an increase from 33.6% for the system without node localization).

The Proteins API: accessing key integrated protein and genome information.

PubMed

Nightingale, Andrew; Antunes, Ricardo; Alpi, Emanuele; Bursteinas, Borisas; Gonzales, Leonardo; Liu, Wudong; Luo, Jie; Qi, Guoying; Turner, Edd; Martin, Maria

2017-07-03

The Proteins API provides searching and programmatic access to protein and associated genomics data such as curated protein sequence positional annotations from UniProtKB, as well as mapped variation and proteomics data from large scale data sources (LSS). Using the coordinates service, researchers are able to retrieve the genomic sequence coordinates for proteins in UniProtKB. This, the LSS genomics and proteomics data for UniProt proteins is programmatically only available through this service. A Swagger UI has been implemented to provide documentation, an interface for users, with little or no programming experience, to 'talk' to the services to quickly and easily formulate queries with the services and obtain dynamically generated source code for popular programming languages, such as Java, Perl, Python and Ruby. Search results are returned as standard JSON, XML or GFF data objects. The Proteins API is a scalable, reliable, fast, easy to use RESTful services that provides a broad protein information resource for users to ask questions based upon their field of expertise and allowing them to gain an integrated overview of protein annotations available to aid their knowledge gain on proteins in biological processes. The Proteins API is available at (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/proteins/api/doc). © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Optimisation of cascaded Yb fiber amplifier chains using numerical-modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, F.; Price, J. H.; Vu, K. T.; Malinowski, A.; Sahu, J. K.; Richardson, D. J.

2006-12-01

We show that it is possible to adapt existing software packages developed originally for modeling telecommunication devices and systems to reliably predict and optimize the performance of high-power Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier and laser systems. The ready availability of a flexible, user-friendly design tool should be of considerable practical interest to scientists and engineers working with this important new laser technology since Ytterbium amplifier and amplifier cascades are often difficult to optimize experimentally due to the three-level nature of the Ytterbium laser transition. As examples of the utility and accuracy of the software, as well as the complexity of the systems and amplifier properties that can be successfully modeled, we present a comparison of experimental and theoretical results for individual core and cladding pumped amplifiers, and also for an ultra-short pulse four-stage amplifier system optimized both to provide a broad gain bandwidth and to minimize nonlinear effects. We also show how high energy 100 ns pulses with complex user definable temporal profiles can be created in a gain-saturated amplifier by suitable pre-shaping of the low-energy input pulses. Furthermore, with appropriate modifications the same software package can be applied to fiber amplifiers based on other rare-earth elements and glass hosts.

Identifying online user reputation in terms of user preference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Lu; Guo, Qiang; Liu, Xiao-Lu; Liu, Jian-Guo; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2018-03-01

Identifying online user reputation is significant for online social systems. In this paper, taking into account the preference physics of online user collective behaviors, we present an improved group-based rating method for ranking online user reputation based on the user preference (PGR). All the ratings given by each specific user are mapped to the same rating criteria. By grouping users according to their mapped ratings, the online user reputation is calculated based on the corresponding group sizes. Results for MovieLens and Netflix data sets show that the AUC values of the PGR method can reach 0.9842 (0.9493) and 0.9995 (0.9987) for malicious (random) spammers, respectively, outperforming the results generated by the traditional group-based method, which indicates that the online preference plays an important role for measuring user reputation.

Usability engineering for augmented reality: employing user-based studies to inform design.

PubMed

Gabbard, Joseph L; Swan, J Edward

2008-01-01

A major challenge, and thus opportunity, in the field of human-computer interaction and specifically usability engineering is designing effective user interfaces for emerging technologies that have no established design guidelines or interaction metaphors or introduce completely new ways for users to perceive and interact with technology and the world around them. Clearly, augmented reality is one such emerging technology. We propose a usability engineering approach that employs user-based studies to inform design, by iteratively inserting a series of user-based studies into a traditional usability engineering lifecycle to better inform initial user interface designs. We present an exemplar user-based study conducted to gain insight into how users perceive text in outdoor augmented reality settings and to derive implications for design in outdoor augmented reality. We also describe lessons learned from our experiences conducting user-based studies as part of the design process.

Evaluating user reputation in online rating systems via an iterative group-based ranking method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jian; Zhou, Tao

2017-05-01

Reputation is a valuable asset in online social lives and it has drawn increased attention. Due to the existence of noisy ratings and spamming attacks, how to evaluate user reputation in online rating systems is especially significant. However, most of the previous ranking-based methods either follow a debatable assumption or have unsatisfied robustness. In this paper, we propose an iterative group-based ranking method by introducing an iterative reputation-allocation process into the original group-based ranking method. More specifically, the reputation of users is calculated based on the weighted sizes of the user rating groups after grouping all users by their rating similarities, and the high reputation users' ratings have larger weights in dominating the corresponding user rating groups. The reputation of users and the user rating group sizes are iteratively updated until they become stable. Results on two real data sets with artificial spammers suggest that the proposed method has better performance than the state-of-the-art methods and its robustness is considerably improved comparing with the original group-based ranking method. Our work highlights the positive role of considering users' grouping behaviors towards a better online user reputation evaluation.

Space technology, sustainable development and community applications: Internet as a facilitator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Nicolas; Afrin, Nadia; Goh, Gérardine; Chester, Ed

2006-07-01

Among other approaches, space technologies are currently being deployed for disaster management, environmental monitoring, urban planning, health applications, communications, etc. Although space-based applications have tremendous potential for socioeconomic development, they are primarily technology driven and the requirements from the end-users (i.e. the development community) are rarely taken into consideration during the initial development stages. This communication gap between the "space" and "development" communities can be bridged with the help of the web-based knowledge sharing portal focused on space applications for development. This online community uses the development gateway foundation's sophisticated content management system. It is modeled after the development gateway's knowledge sharing portals ( http://topics.developmentgateway.org) and draws from their expertise in knowledge management, partnership building and marketing. These types of portal are known to facilitate broad-based partnerships across sectors, regions and the various stakeholders but also to facilitate North-South and South-South cooperation. This paper describes the initiative "Space for Development" ( http://topics.developmentgateway.org/space) started in 2004 which aims to demonstrate how such a web-based portal can be structured to facilitate knowledge sharing in order to bridge the gap between the "space" and "development" communities in an innovative and global manner.

KernPaeP - a web-based pediatric palliative documentation system for home care.

PubMed

Hartz, Tobias; Verst, Hendrik; Ueckert, Frank

2009-01-01

KernPaeP is a new web-based on- and offline documentation system, which has been developed for pediatric palliative care-teams supporting patient documentation and communication among health care professionals. It provides a reliable system making fast and secure home care documentation possible. KernPaeP is accessible online by registered users using any web-browser. Home care teams use an offline version of KernPaeP running on a netbook for patient documentation on site. Identifying and medical patient data are strictly separated and stored on two database servers. The system offers a stable, enhanced two-way algorithm for synchronization between the offline component and the central database servers. KernPaeP is implemented meeting highest security standards while still maintaining high usability. The web-based documentation system allows ubiquitous and immediate access to patient data. Sumptuous paper work is replaced by secure and comprehensive electronic documentation. KernPaeP helps saving time and improving the quality of documentation. Due to development in close cooperation with pediatric palliative professionals, KernPaeP fulfils the broad needs of home-care documentation. The technique of web-based online and offline documentation is in general applicable for arbitrary home care scenarios.

Semantic Data Access Services at NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffer, E.; Hertz, J.; Kusterer, J.

2012-12-01

The corpus of Earth Science data products at the Atmospheric Science Data Center at NASA's Langley Research Center comprises a widely heterogeneous set of products, even among those whose subject matter is very similar. Two distinct data products may both contain data on the same parameter, for instance, solar irradiance; but the instruments used, and the circumstances under which the data were collected and processed, may differ significantly. Understanding the differences is critical to using the data effectively. Data distribution services must be able to provide prospective users with enough information to allow them to meaningfully compare and evaluate the data products offered. Semantic technologies - ontologies, triple stores, reasoners, linked data - offer functionality for addressing this issue. Ontologies can provide robust, high-fidelity domain models that serve as common schema for discovering, evaluating, comparing and integrating data from disparate products. Reasoning engines and triple stores can leverage ontologies to support intelligent search applications that allow users to discover, query, retrieve, and easily reformat data from a broad spectrum of sources. We argue that because of the extremely complex nature of scientific data, data distribution systems should wholeheartedly embrace semantic technologies in order to make their data accessible to a broad array of prospective end users, and to ensure that the data they provide will be clearly understood and used appropriately by consumers. Toward this end, we propose a distribution system in which formal ontological models that accurately and comprehensively represent the ASDC's data domain, and fully leverage the expressivity and inferential capabilities of first order logic, are used to generate graph-based representations of the relevant relationships among data sets, observational systems, metadata files, and geospatial, temporal and scientific parameters to help prospective data consumers navigate directly to relevant data sets and query, subset, retrieve and compare the measurement and calculation data they contain. A critical part of developing semantically-enabled data distribution capabilities is developing an ontology that adequately describes 1) the data products - their structure, their content, and any supporting documentation; 2) the data domain - the objects and processes that the products denote; and 3) the relationship between the data and the domain. The ontology, in addition, should be machine readable and capable of integrating with the larger data distribution system to provide an interactive user experience. We will demonstrate how a formal, high-fidelity, queriable ontology representing the atmospheric science domain objects and data products, together with a robust set of inference rules for generating interactive graphs, allows researchers to navigate quickly and painlessly through the large volume of data at the ASDC. Scientists will be able to discover data products that exactly meet their particular criteria, link to information about the instruments and processing methods that generated the data; and compare and contrast related products.

Back to the future: virtualization of the computing environment at the W. M. Keck Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCann, Kevin L.; Birch, Denny A.; Holt, Jennifer M.; Randolph, William B.; Ward, Josephine A.

2014-07-01

Over its two decades of science operations, the W.M. Keck Observatory computing environment has evolved to contain a distributed hybrid mix of hundreds of servers, desktops and laptops of multiple different hardware platforms, O/S versions and vintages. Supporting the growing computing capabilities to meet the observatory's diverse, evolving computing demands within fixed budget constraints, presents many challenges. This paper describes the significant role that virtualization is playing in addressing these challenges while improving the level and quality of service as well as realizing significant savings across many cost areas. Starting in December 2012, the observatory embarked on an ambitious plan to incrementally test and deploy a migration to virtualized platforms to address a broad range of specific opportunities. Implementation to date has been surprisingly glitch free, progressing well and yielding tangible benefits much faster than many expected. We describe here the general approach, starting with the initial identification of some low hanging fruit which also provided opportunity to gain experience and build confidence among both the implementation team and the user community. We describe the range of challenges, opportunities and cost savings potential. Very significant among these was the substantial power savings which resulted in strong broad support for moving forward. We go on to describe the phasing plan, the evolving scalable architecture, some of the specific technical choices, as well as some of the individual technical issues encountered along the way. The phased implementation spans Windows and Unix servers for scientific, engineering and business operations, virtualized desktops for typical office users as well as more the more demanding graphics intensive CAD users. Other areas discussed in this paper include staff training, load balancing, redundancy, scalability, remote access, disaster readiness and recovery.

Preliminary competencies for comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Segal, Jodi B; Kapoor, Wishwa; Carey, Timothy; Mitchell, Pamela H; Murray, Michael D; Saag, Kenneth G; Schumock, Glen; Jonas, Daniel; Steinman, Michael; Filart, Rosemarie; Weinberger, Morris; Selker, Harry

2012-12-01

The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Workgroup for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Education, Training, and Workforce Development identified a need to delineate the competencies that practitioners and users of CER for patient-centered outcomes research, should acquire. With input from CTSA representatives and collaborators, we began by describing the workforce. We recognize the workforce that conducts CER and the end users who use CER to improve the health of individuals and communities. We generated a preliminary set of competencies and solicited feedback from the CER representatives at each member site of the CTSA consortium. We distinguished applied competencies (i.e., skills needed by individuals who conduct CER) from foundational competencies that are needed by the entire CER workforce, including end users of CER. Key competency categories of relevance to both practitioners and users of CER were: (1) asking relevant research questions; (2) recognizing or designing ideal CER studies; (3) executing or using CER studies; (4) using appropriate statistical analyses for CER; and (5) communicating and disseminating CER study results to improve health. Although CER is particularly broad concept, we anticipate that these preliminary, relatively generic competencies will be used in tailoring curricula to individual learners from a variety of programmatic perspectives. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Acceptance Criteria Framework for Autonomous Biological Detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dzenitis, J M

2006-12-12

The purpose of this study was to examine a set of user acceptance criteria for autonomous biological detection systems for application in high-traffic, public facilities. The test case for the acceptance criteria was the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System (APDS) operating in high-traffic facilities in New York City (NYC). However, the acceptance criteria were designed to be generally applicable to other biological detection systems in other locations. For such detection systems, ''users'' will include local authorities (e.g., facility operators, public health officials, and law enforcement personnel) and national authorities [including personnel from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the BioWatch Program,more » the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]. The panel members brought expertise from a broad range of backgrounds to complete this picture. The goals of this document are: (1) To serve as informal guidance for users in considering the benefits and costs of these systems. (2) To serve as informal guidance for developers in understanding the needs of users. In follow-up work, this framework will be used to systematically document the APDS for appropriateness and readiness for use in NYC.« less

Access to digital library databases in higher education: design problems and infrastructural gaps.

PubMed

Oswal, Sushil K

2014-01-01

After defining accessibility and usability, the author offers a broad survey of the research studies on digital content databases which have thus far primarily depended on data drawn from studies conducted by sighted researchers with non-disabled users employing screen readers and low vision devices. This article aims at producing a detailed description of the difficulties confronted by blind screen reader users with online library databases which now hold most of the academic, peer-reviewed journal and periodical content essential for research and teaching in higher education. The approach taken here is borrowed from descriptive ethnography which allows the author to create a complete picture of the accessibility and usability problems faced by an experienced academic user of digital library databases and screen readers. The author provides a detailed analysis of the different aspects of accessibility issues in digital databases under several headers with a special focus on full-text PDF files. The author emphasizes that long-term studies with actual, blind screen reader users employing both qualitative and computerized research tools can yield meaningful data for the designers and developers to improve these databases to a level that they begin to provide an equal access to the blind.

Satellite missions, global environment, and the concept of a global satellite observation information network. The role of the committee on Earth observation satellites (CEOS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, D. Brent; Williams, David F.; Fujita, Akihiro

The paper traces the development of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) since its November 1990 Plenary: its restructuring to include major intergovernmental user and international scientific organizational affiliates; its focus on data sharing issues and completion of a CEOS resolution guaranteeing global change researchers access to satellite data at the cost of filling a user request; unfolding of a CEOS-associated initiative of the UK Prime Minister reporting to UNCED delegations on the relevance of satellite missions to the study of the global environment; development of a "Dossier" providing detailed information on all CEOS agency satellite missions, including sensor specifications, ground systems, standard data products, and other information relevant to users; creation of a permanent CEOS Secretariat; and efforts currently underway to assess the feasibility of a global satellite observation information network. Of particular relevance to developing countries, the paper will discuss CEOS efforts to assure broad user access and to foster acceptance of applications in such important areas as disaster monitoring and mitigation, land cover change, weather forecasting, and long-term climate modeling.

SEDAC information gateway plan V(1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Robert S. (Compiler)

1995-01-01

This annual update of the Information Gateway Plan incorporates changes recommended by the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) User Working Group (UWG) and reflects comments and suggestions from users, collaborators, and the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR). The Information Gateway Plan is a concise and specific plan that outlines SEDAC activities and services in support of the earth and social sciences and other user communities. The SEDAC Information Gateway effort is a primary means by which the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) can link meaningfully with a broad range of social science data sources and users in ways that lead to tangible benefits to the American people. The SEDAC Information Gateway provides interdisciplinary access to socioeconomic and physical science data and information resources held by SEDAC and numerous other institutions and networks around the world. The Plan describes the areas of research of earth scientists and socioeconomic scientists where interchange of data and information is most needed. It sets guidelines for the continued development of SEDAC's directory of social science datasets and establishes priorities for efforts to make data held by SEDAC or accessible through SEDAC available to the user community. The Plan also describes the means by which the SEDAC user community can access information products specified by the SEDAC Data and Applications Development Plan (DADP). Among other major activities, SEDAC will continue to enhance and operate a directory capability, interoperable with the Global Change Master Directory, that provides the socioeconomic community with information about earth science products and the earth science research community with information about socioeconomic data. The Information Gateway also serves as a unique and powerful access pathway for a wide range of users and potential users of socioeconomic and earth science data, including especially remote sensing data.

The importance of service-users' perspectives: A systematic review of qualitative evidence reveals overlooked critical features of weight management programmes.

PubMed

Sutcliffe, Katy; Melendez-Torres, G J; Burchett, Helen E D; Richardson, Michelle; Rees, Rebecca; Thomas, James

2018-03-14

Extensive research effort shows that weight management programmes (WMPs) targeting both diet and exercise are broadly effective. However, the critical features of WMPs remain unclear. To develop a deeper understanding of WMPs critical features, we undertook a systematic review of qualitative evidence. We sought to understand from a service-user perspective how programmes are experienced, and may be effective, on the ground. We identified qualitative studies from existing reviews and updated the searches of one review. We included UK studies capturing the views of adult WMP users. Thematic analysis was used inductively to code and synthesize the evidence. Service users were emphatic that supportive relationships, with service providers or WMP peers, are the most critical aspect of WMPs. Supportive relationships were described as providing an extrinsic motivator or "hook" which helped to overcome barriers such as scepticism about dietary advice or a lack confidence to engage in physical activity. The evidence revealed that service-users' understandings of the critical features of WMPs differ from the focus of health promotion guidance or descriptions of evaluated programmes which largely emphasize educational or goal setting aspects of WMPs. Existing programme guidance may not therefore fully address the needs of service users. The study illustrates that the perspectives of service users can reveal unanticipated intervention mechanisms or underemphasized critical features and underscores the value of a holistic understanding about "what happens" in complex psychosocial interventions such as WMPs. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Future View: Web Navigation based on Learning User's Browsing Strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagino, Norikatsu; Yamada, Seiji

In this paper, we propose a Future View system that assists user's usual Web browsing. The Future View will prefetch Web pages based on user's browsing strategies and present them to a user in order to assist Web browsing. To learn user's browsing strategy, the Future View uses two types of learning classifier systems: a content-based classifier system for contents change patterns and an action-based classifier system for user's action patterns. The results of learning is applied to crawling by Web robots, and the gathered Web pages are presented to a user through a Web browser interface. We experimentally show effectiveness of navigation using the Future View.

77 FR 73498 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Rule Related to Multi-Class Broad- Based Index Option... Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend its rule related to multi-class broad-based index option... is to (i) clarify that the term ``Multi-Class Broad-Based Index Option Spread Order (Multi-Class...

Hidden costs: the direct and indirect impact of user fees on access to malaria treatment and primary care in Mali.

PubMed

Johnson, Ari; Goss, Adeline; Beckerman, Jessica; Castro, Arachu

2012-11-01

About 20 years after initial calls for the introduction of user fees in health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, a growing coalition is advocating for their removal. Several African countries have abolished user fees for health care for some or all of their citizens. However, fee-for-service health care delivery remains a primary health care funding model in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the impact of user fees on utilization of health services and household finances has been studied extensively, further research is needed to characterize the multi-faceted health and social problems associated with charging user fees. This ethnographic study aims to identify consequences of user fees on gender inequality, food insecurity, and household decision-making for a group of women living in poverty. Ethnographic life history interviews were conducted with 24 women in Yirimadjo, Mali in 2007. Purposive sampling selected participants across a broad socio-economic spectrum. Semi-structured interviews addressed participants' past medical history, socio-economic status, social and family history, and access to health care. Interview transcripts were coded using the guiding analytical framework of structural violence. Interviews revealed that user fees for health care not only decreased utilization of health services, but also resulted in delayed presentation for care, incomplete or inadequate care, compromised food security and household financial security, and reduced agency for women in health care decision making. The effects of user fees were amplified by conditions of poverty, as well as gender and health inequality; user fees in turn reinforced the inequalities created by those very conditions. The qualitative data reveal multi-faceted health and socioeconomic effects of user fees, and illustrate that user fees for health care may impact quality of care, health outcomes, food insecurity, and gender inequality, in addition to impacting health care utilization and household finances. As many countries consider user fee abolition policies, these findings indicate the need to create a broader evaluation framework-one that can measure the health and socioeconomic impacts of user fee polices and of their removal. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

AUI&GIV: Recommendation with Asymmetric User Influence and Global Importance Value.

PubMed

Zhao, Zhi-Lin; Wang, Chang-Dong; Lai, Jian-Huang

2016-01-01

The user-based collaborative filtering (CF) algorithm is one of the most popular approaches for making recommendation. Despite its success, the traditional user-based CF algorithm suffers one serious problem that it only measures the influence between two users based on their symmetric similarities calculated by their consumption histories. It means that, for a pair of users, the influences on each other are the same, which however may not be true. Intuitively, an expert may have an impact on a novice user but a novice user may not affect an expert at all. Besides, each user may possess a global importance factor that affects his/her influence to the remaining users. To this end, in this paper, we propose an asymmetric user influence model to measure the directed influence between two users and adopt the PageRank algorithm to calculate the global importance value of each user. And then the directed influence values and the global importance values are integrated to deduce the final influence values between two users. Finally, we use the final influence values to improve the performance of the traditional user-based CF algorithm. Extensive experiments have been conducted, the results of which have confirmed that both the asymmetric user influence model and global importance value play key roles in improving recommendation accuracy, and hence the proposed method significantly outperforms the existing recommendation algorithms, in particular the user-based CF algorithm on the datasets of high rating density.

AUI&GIV: Recommendation with Asymmetric User Influence and Global Importance Value

PubMed Central

Zhao, Zhi-Lin; Wang, Chang-Dong; Lai, Jian-Huang

2016-01-01

The user-based collaborative filtering (CF) algorithm is one of the most popular approaches for making recommendation. Despite its success, the traditional user-based CF algorithm suffers one serious problem that it only measures the influence between two users based on their symmetric similarities calculated by their consumption histories. It means that, for a pair of users, the influences on each other are the same, which however may not be true. Intuitively, an expert may have an impact on a novice user but a novice user may not affect an expert at all. Besides, each user may possess a global importance factor that affects his/her influence to the remaining users. To this end, in this paper, we propose an asymmetric user influence model to measure the directed influence between two users and adopt the PageRank algorithm to calculate the global importance value of each user. And then the directed influence values and the global importance values are integrated to deduce the final influence values between two users. Finally, we use the final influence values to improve the performance of the traditional user-based CF algorithm. Extensive experiments have been conducted, the results of which have confirmed that both the asymmetric user influence model and global importance value play key roles in improving recommendation accuracy, and hence the proposed method significantly outperforms the existing recommendation algorithms, in particular the user-based CF algorithm on the datasets of high rating density. PMID:26828803

The Ocean Observatories Initiative: Data Access and Visualization via the Graphical User Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garzio, L. M.; Belabbassi, L.; Knuth, F.; Smith, M. J.; Crowley, M. F.; Vardaro, M.; Kerfoot, J.

2016-02-01

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), funded by the National Science Foundation, is a broad-scale, multidisciplinary effort to transform oceanographic research by providing users with real-time access to long-term datasets from a variety of deployed physical, chemical, biological, and geological sensors. The global array component of the OOI includes four high latitude sites: Irminger Sea off Greenland, Station Papa in the Gulf of Alaska, Argentine Basin off the coast of Argentina, and Southern Ocean near coordinates 55°S and 90°W. Each site is composed of fixed moorings, hybrid profiler moorings and mobile assets, with a total of approximately 110 instruments at each site. Near real-time (telemetered) and recovered data from these instruments can be visualized and downloaded via the OOI Graphical User Interface. In this Interface, the user can visualize scientific parameters via six different plotting functions with options to specify time ranges and apply various QA/QC tests. Data streams from all instruments can also be downloaded in different formats (CSV, JSON, and NetCDF) for further data processing, visualization, and comparison to supplementary datasets. In addition, users can view alerts and alarms in the system, access relevant metadata and deployment information for specific instruments, and find infrastructure specifics for each array including location, sampling strategies, deployment schedules, and technical drawings. These datasets from the OOI provide an unprecedented opportunity to transform oceanographic research and education, and will be readily accessible to the general public via the OOI's Graphical User Interface.

"It was fun, it was dangerous": Heroin, young urbanities and opening reforms in China's borderlands.

PubMed

Zoccatelli, Giulia

2014-07-01

An unprecedented flow of opiates flooded China's southern regions in the wake of the country's opening reforms in the 1980s. After the Maoist war on drugs had turned the People's Republic of China into an almost entirely drug-free area for three decades, heroin reappeared to become the most widely used illicit substance in the country. As the number of users rose by 1200% between 1988 and 1998, a generation of young people found themselves facing the consequences of addiction. Based on ethnographic data collected during 13 months of field research among a community of heroin users in the county-level city of Qilin in Yunnan Province, this paper explores the interplay of historical and social factors that led southern China's young urbanities to turn to heroin in the 1980s and 1990s. Towards this end, it draws on a broad array of research methods including the collection of life histories, extensive participant observation, and focus groups among the members of Qilin's local community of heroin users. I argue that the spread of heroin among southern China's young urbanities should be read as the aggregate outcome of such seemingly disparate factors as the opening of new global routes for the trafficking of opiates, the almost complete lack of Chinese public discourse around drugs in the immediate post-Mao period, the increased individualization of young people's ambitions, desires and forms of socialization, and the rise of a consumerist market economy in the country. Based on the data collected, I claim that the boom in the diffusion of heroin use in post-reform China cannot be described exclusively as a matter of deviant individual behaviours. Rather, it has to be interpreted as a complex social act, which is only understandable when framed within the social and historical context in which it was performed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PACE Continuous Innovation Indicators—a novel tool to measure progress in cancer treatments

PubMed Central

Paddock, Silvia; Brum, Lauren; Sorrow, Kathleen; Thomas, Samuel; Spence, Susan; Maulbecker-Armstrong, Catharina; Goodman, Clifford; Peake, Michael; McVie, Gordon; Geipel, Gary; Li, Rose

2015-01-01

Concerns about rising health care costs and the often incremental nature of improvements in health outcomes continue to fuel intense debates about ‘progress’ and ‘value’ in cancer research. In times of tightening fiscal constraints, it is increasingly important for patients and their representatives to define what constitutes ’value’ to them. It is clear that diverse stakeholders have different priorities. Harmonisation of values may be neither possible nor desirable. Stakeholders lack tools to visualise or otherwise express these differences and to track progress in cancer treatments based on variable sets of values. The Patient Access to Cancer care Excellence (PACE) Continuous Innovation Indicators are novel, scientifically rigorous progress trackers that employ a three-step process to quantify progress in cancer treatments: 1) mine the literature to determine the strength of the evidence supporting each treatment; 2) allow users to weight the analysis according to their priorities and values; and 3) calculate Evidence Scores (E-Scores), a novel measure to track progress, based on the strength of the evidence weighted by the assigned value. We herein introduce a novel, flexible value model, show how the values from the model can be used to weight the evidence from the scientific literature to obtain E-Scores, and illustrate how assigning different values to new treatments influences the E-Scores. The Indicators allow users to learn how differing values lead to differing assessments of progress in cancer research and to check whether current incentives for innovation are aligned with their value model. By comparing E-Scores generated by this tool, users are able to visualise the relative pace of innovation across areas of cancer research and how stepwise innovation can contribute to substantial progress against cancer over time. Learning from experience and mapping current unmet needs will help to support a broad audience of stakeholders in their efforts to accelerate and maximise progress against cancer. PMID:25624879