User interface for ground-water modeling: Arcview extension

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tsou, Ming‐shu; Whittemore, Donald O.

2001-01-01

Numerical simulation for ground-water modeling often involves handling large input and output data sets. A geographic information system (GIS) provides an integrated platform to manage, analyze, and display disparate data and can greatly facilitate modeling efforts in data compilation, model calibration, and display of model parameters and results. Furthermore, GIS can be used to generate information for decision making through spatial overlay and processing of model results. Arc View is the most widely used Windows-based GIS software that provides a robust user-friendly interface to facilitate data handling and display. An extension is an add-on program to Arc View that provides additional specialized functions. An Arc View interface for the ground-water flow and transport models MODFLOW and MT3D was built as an extension for facilitating modeling. The extension includes preprocessing of spatially distributed (point, line, and polygon) data for model input and postprocessing of model output. An object database is used for linking user dialogs and model input files. The Arc View interface utilizes the capabilities of the 3D Analyst extension. Models can be automatically calibrated through the Arc View interface by external linking to such programs as PEST. The efficient pre- and postprocessing capabilities and calibration link were demonstrated for ground-water modeling in southwest Kansas.

Web accessibility support for visually impaired users using link content analysis.

PubMed

Iwata, Hajime; Kobayashi, Naofumi; Tachibana, Kenji; Shirogane, Junko; Fukazawa, Yoshiaki

2013-12-01

Web pages are used for a variety of purposes. End users must understand dynamically changing content and sequentially follow page links to find desired material, requiring significant time and effort. However, for visually impaired users using screen readers, it can be difficult to find links to web pages when link text and alternative text descriptions are inappropriate. Our method supports the discovery of content by analyzing 8 categories of link types, and allows visually impaired users to be aware of the content represented by links in advance. This facilitates end users access to necessary information on web pages. Our method of classifying web page links is therefore effective as a means of evaluating accessibility.

JAva GUi for Applied Research (JAGUAR) v 3.0

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

JAGUAR is a Java software tool for automatically rendering a graphical user interface (GUI) from a structured input specification. It is designed as a plug-in to the Eclipse workbench to enable users to create, edit, and externally execute analysis application input decks and then view the results. JAGUAR serves as a GUI for Sandia's DAKOTA software toolkit for optimization and uncertainty quantification. It will include problem (input deck)set-up, option specification, analysis execution, and results visualization. Through the use of wizards, templates, and views, JAGUAR helps uses navigate the complexity of DAKOTA's complete input specification. JAGUAR is implemented in Java, leveragingmore » Eclipse extension points and Eclipse user interface. JAGUAR parses a DAKOTA NIDR input specification and presents the user with linked graphical and plain text representations of problem set-up and option specification for DAKOTA studies. After the data has been input by the user, JAGUAR generates one or more input files for DAKOTA, executes DAKOTA, and captures and interprets the results« less

Using speech recognition to enhance the Tongue Drive System functionality in computer access.

PubMed

Huo, Xueliang; Ghovanloo, Maysam

2011-01-01

Tongue Drive System (TDS) is a wireless tongue operated assistive technology (AT), which can enable people with severe physical disabilities to access computers and drive powered wheelchairs using their volitional tongue movements. TDS offers six discrete commands, simultaneously available to the users, for pointing and typing as a substitute for mouse and keyboard in computer access, respectively. To enhance the TDS performance in typing, we have added a microphone, an audio codec, and a wireless audio link to its readily available 3-axial magnetic sensor array, and combined it with a commercially available speech recognition software, the Dragon Naturally Speaking, which is regarded as one of the most efficient ways for text entry. Our preliminary evaluations indicate that the combined TDS and speech recognition technologies can provide end users with significantly higher performance than using each technology alone, particularly in completing tasks that require both pointing and text entry, such as web surfing.

On-board B-ISDN fast packet switching architectures. Phase 1: Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faris, Faris; Inukai, Thomas; Lee, Fred; Paul, Dilip; Shyy, Dong-Jye

1993-01-01

The broadband integrate services digital network (B-ISDN) is an emerging telecommunications technology that will meet most of the telecommunications networking needs in the mid-1990's to early next century. The satellite-based system is well positioned for providing B-ISDN service with its inherent capabilities of point-to-multipoint and broadcast transmission, virtually unlimited connectivity between any two points within a beam coverage, short deployment time of communications facility, flexible and dynamic reallocation of space segment capacity, and distance insensitive cost. On-board processing satellites, particularly in a multiple spot beam environment, will provide enhanced connectivity, better performance, optimized access and transmission link design, and lower user service cost. The following are described: the user and network aspects of broadband services; the current development status in broadband services; various satellite network architectures including system design issues; and various fast packet switch architectures and their detail designs.

Earth Observatory Satellite system definition study. Report no. 7: EOS system definition report. Appendixes A through D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

An analysis of the systems involved in the operation and support of the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) is presented. Among the systems considered are the following: (1) the data management system, (2) observatory to primary ground station communications links, (3) local user system, (4) techniques for recognizing ground control points, (5) the central data processing-implementation concept, and (6) program effectiveness analysis.

Tracking and data relay satellite system configuration and tradeoff study. Volume 1: TDRS system summary, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

A Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) concept for service of low and medium data rate user spacecraft has been defined. The TDRS system uses two geosynchronous dual spin satellites compatible with Delta 2914 to provide command, tracking, and telemetry service between multiple low earth orbiting users and a centrally located ground station. The low data rate user service capability via each TDRS is as follows: (1) forward link at UHF: voice to one user, commands to 20 users (sequential), range and range rate service, and (2) return link at VHF: voice from one user, data from 20 users (simultaneous), range and range rate return signals. The medium data rate user service via each TDRS is as follows: (1) forward link at S band: voice or command and tracking signals to one user, and (2) return link at S band: voice, data and tracking signals from one user "order wire" for high priority service requests (implemented with an earth coverage antenna).

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System user impact and network compatibility study. [antenna design and telecommunication links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The report contains data on antenna configurations for the low data rate users of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). It treats the coverage and mutual visibility considerations between the user satellites and the relay satellites and relates these considerations to requirements of antenna beamwidth and fractional user orbital coverage. A final section includes user/TDRS telecommunication link budgets and forward and return link data rate tradeoffs.

Spacewire on Earth orbiting scatterometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachmann, Alex; Lang, Minh; Lux, James; Steffke, Richard

2002-01-01

The need for a high speed, reliable and easy to implement communication link has led to the development of a space flight oriented version of IEEE 1355 called SpaceWire. SpaceWire is based on high-speed (200 Mbps) serial point-to-point links using Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS). SpaceWIre has provisions for routing messages between a large network of processors, using wormhole routing for low overhead and latency. {additionally, there are available space qualified hybrids, which provide the Link layer to the user's bus}. A test bed of multiple digital signal processor breadboards, demonstrating the ability to meet signal processing requirements for an orbiting scatterometer has been implemented using three Astrium MCM-DSPs, each breadboard consists of a Multi Chip Module (MCM) that combines a space qualified Digital Signal Processor and peripherals, including IEEE-1355 links. With the addition of appropriate physical layer interfaces and software on the DSP, the SpaceWire link is used to communicate between processors on the test bed, e.g. sending timing references, commands, status, and science data among the processors. Results are presented on development issues surrounding the use of SpaceWire in this environment, from physical layer implementation (cables, connectors, LVDS drivers) to diagnostic tools, driver firmware, and development methodology. The tools, methods, and hardware, software challenges and preliminary performance are investigated and discussed.

Lost in Virtual Reality: Pathfinding Algorithms Detect Rock Fractures and Contacts in Point Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiele, S.; Grose, L.; Micklethwaite, S.

2016-12-01

UAV-based photogrammetric and LiDAR techniques provide high resolution 3D point clouds and ortho-rectified photomontages that can capture surface geology in outstanding detail over wide areas. Automated and semi-automated methods are vital to extract full value from these data in practical time periods, though the nuances of geological structures and materials (natural variability in colour and geometry, soft and hard linkage, shadows and multiscale properties) make this a challenging task. We present a novel method for computer assisted trace detection in dense point clouds, using a lowest cost path solver to "follow" fracture traces and lithological contacts between user defined end points. This is achieved by defining a local neighbourhood network where each point in the cloud is linked to its neighbours, and then using a least-cost path algorithm to search this network and estimate the trace of the fracture or contact. A variety of different algorithms can then be applied to calculate the best fit plane, produce a fracture network, or map properties such as roughness, curvature and fracture intensity. Our prototype of this method (Fig. 1) suggests the technique is feasible and remarkably good at following traces under non-optimal conditions such as variable-shadow, partial occlusion and complex fracturing. Furthermore, if a fracture is initially mapped incorrectly, the user can easily provide further guidance by defining intermediate waypoints. Future development will include optimization of the algorithm to perform well on large point clouds and modifications that permit the detection of features such as step-overs. We also plan on implementing this approach in an interactive graphical user environment.

Leveling up: enabling diverse users to locate and effectively use unfamiliar data sets through NCAR's Research Data Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, G. S.

2016-12-01

Research necessarily expands upon the volume and variety of data used in prior work. Increasingly, investigators look outside their primary areas of expertise for data to incorporate into their research. Locating and using the data that they need, which may be described in terminology from other fields of science or be encoded in unfamiliar data formats, present often insurmountable barriers for potential users. As a data provider of a diverse collection of over 600 atmospheric and oceanic data sets (DS) (http://rda.ucar.edu), we seek to reduce or remove those barriers. Serving a broadening and increasing user base with fixed and finite resources requires automation. Our software harvests metadata descriptors about the data from the data files themselves. Data curators/subject matter experts augment the machine-generated metadata as needed. Metadata powers our data search tools. Users may search for data in a myriad of ways ranging from free text queries to GCMD keywords to faceted searches capable of narrowing down selections by specific criteria. Users are offered customized lists of DSs fitting their criteria with links to DS main information pages that provide detailed information about each DS. Where appropriate, they link to the NCAR Climate Data Guide for expert guidance about strengths and weaknesses of that particular DS. Once users find the data sets they need, we provide modular lessons for common data tasks. The lessons may be data tool install guides, data recipes, blog posts, or short YouTube videos. Rather than overloading users with reams of information, we provide targeted lessons when the user is most receptive, e.g. when they want to use data in an unfamiliar format. We add new material when we discover common points of confusion. Each educational resource is tagged with DS ID numbers so that they are automatically linked with the relevant DSs. How can data providers leverage the work of other data providers? Can a common tagging scheme for data education materials help us automatically share our data lessons? Research is at the frontier of knowledge. Questions from users seeking to create new uses for old data will not always be answerable with canned responses. Humans will remain in the loop. But we need automation and cross-center cooperation to reduce the areas spanned by "edge cases."

KnowledgeLink: Impact of Context-Sensitive Information Retrieval on Clinicians' Information Needs

PubMed Central

Maviglia, Saverio M.; Yoon, Catherine S.; Bates, David W.; Kuperman, Gilad

2006-01-01

Objective: Infobuttons are message-based content search and retrieval functions embedded within other applications that dynamically return information relevant to the clinical task at hand. The objective of this study was to determine whether infobuttons effectively answer providers' questions about medications or affect patient care decisions. Design: The authors implemented and evaluated a medication infobutton application called KnowledgeLink. Health care providers at 18 outpatient clinics were randomized to one of two versions of KnowledgeLink, one that linked to information from Micromedex (Thomson Micromedex, Greenwood Village, Co) and the other to material from SkolarMD (Wolters Kluwer Health, Palo Alto, CA). Measurements: Data were collected about the frequency of use and demographics of users, patients, and drugs that were queried. Users were periodically surveyed with short questionnaires and then with a more extensive survey at the end of one year. Results: During the first year, KnowledgeLink was used 7,972 times by 359 users to look up information about 1,723 medications for 4,961 patients. Clinicians used KnowledgeLink twice a month on average, and during an average of 1.2% of patient encounters. KnowledgeLink was used by a wide variety of medical staff, not just physicians and nurse practitioners. The frequency of usage and the questions asked varied with user role (primary care physician, specialist physician, nurse practitioner). Although the median KnowledgeLink session was brief (21 seconds), KnowledgeLink answered users' queries 84% of the time, and altered patient care decisions 15% of the time. Users rated KnowledgeLink favorably on multiple scales, recommended extending KnowledgeLink to other content domains, and suggested enhancing the interface to allow refinement of the query and selection of the target resource. Conclusion: An infobutton can satisfy information needs about medications. Although used infrequently and for brief sessions, KnowledgeLink was positively received, answered most users' questions, and had a significant impact on medical decision making. The next steps would be to broaden the domains that KnowledgeLink covers to more specifically tailor results to the user type, to provide options when queries are not immediately answered, and to implement KnowledgeLink within other electronic clinical applications. PMID:16221942

RPT: A Low Overhead Single-End Probing Tool for Detecting Network Congestion Positions

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-12-20

complete evaluation on the Internet , we need to know the real available bandwidth on all the links of a network path. But that information is hard to...School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Abstract Detecting the points of network congestion is an intriguing...research problem, because this infor- mation can benefit both regular network users and Internet Service Providers. This is also a highly challenging

The Myth of Spatial Reuse with Directional Antennas in Indoor Wireless Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmanan, Sriram; Sundaresan, Karthikeyan; Rangarajan, Sampath; Sivakumar, Raghupathy

Interference among co-channel users is a fundamental problem in wireless networks, which prevents nearby links from operating concurrently. Directional antennas allow the radiation patterns of wireless transmitters to be shaped to form directed beams. Conventionally, such beams are assumed to improve the spatial reuse (i.e. concurrency) in indoor wireless networks. In this paper, we use experiments in an indoor office setting of Wifi Access points equipped with directional antennas, to study their potential for interference mitigation and spatial reuse. In contrast to conventional wisdom, we observe that the interference mitigation benefits of directional antennas are minimal. On analyzing our experimental traces we observe that directional links do not reduce interference to nearby links due to the lack of signal confinement due to indoor multipath fading. We then use the insights derived from our study to develop an alternative approach that provides better interference reduction in indoor networks compared to directional links.

Trade-off analysis of modes of data handling for earth resources (ERS), volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Data handling requirements are reviewed for earth observation missions along with likely technology advances. Parametric techniques for synthesizing potential systems are developed. Major tasks include: (1) review of the sensors under development and extensions of or improvements in these sensors; (2) development of mission models for missions spanning land, ocean, and atmosphere observations; (3) summary of data handling requirements including the frequency of coverage, timeliness of dissemination, and geographic relationships between points of collection and points of dissemination; (4) review of data routing to establish ways of getting data from the collection point to the user; (5) on-board data processing; (6) communications link; and (7) ground data processing. A detailed synthesis of three specific missions is included.

Using a linked data approach to aid development of a metadata portal to support Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Chris

2016-04-01

Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), EU Member States are mandated to achieve or maintain 'Good Environmental Status' (GES) in their marine areas by 2020, through a series of Programme of Measures (PoMs). The Celtic Seas Partnership (CSP), an EU LIFE+ project, aims to support policy makers, special-interest groups, users of the marine environment, and other interested stakeholders on MSFD implementation in the Celtic Seas geographical area. As part of this support, a metadata portal has been built to provide a signposting service to datasets that are relevant to MSFD within the Celtic Seas. To ensure that the metadata has the widest possible reach, a linked data approach was employed to construct the database. Although the metadata are stored in a traditional RDBS, the metadata are exposed as linked data via the D2RQ platform, allowing virtual RDF graphs to be generated. SPARQL queries can be executed against the end-point allowing any user to manipulate the metadata. D2RQ's mapping language, based on turtle, was used to map a wide range of relevant ontologies to the metadata (e.g. The Provenance Ontology (prov-o), Ocean Data Ontology (odo), Dublin Core Elements and Terms (dc & dcterms), Friend of a Friend (foaf), and Geospatial ontologies (geo)) allowing users to browse the metadata, either via SPARQL queries or by using D2RQ's HTML interface. The metadata were further enhanced by mapping relevant parameters to the NERC Vocabulary Server, itself built on a SPARQL endpoint. Additionally, a custom web front-end was built to enable users to browse the metadata and express queries through an intuitive graphical user interface that requires no prior knowledge of SPARQL. As well as providing means to browse the data via MSFD-related parameters (Descriptor, Criteria, and Indicator), the metadata records include the dataset's country of origin, the list of organisations involved in the management of the data, and links to any relevant INSPIRE-compliant services relating to the dataset. The web front-end therefore enables users to effectively filter, sort, or search the metadata. As the MSFD timeline requires Member States to review their progress on achieving or maintaining GES every six years, the timely development of this metadata portal will not only aid interested stakeholders in understanding how member states are meeting their targets, but also shows how linked data can be used effectively to support policy makers and associated legislative bodies.

Retweets as a Predictor of Relationships among Users on Social Media.

PubMed

Tsugawa, Sho; Kito, Kosuke

2017-01-01

Link prediction is the problem of detecting missing links or predicting future link formation in a network. Application of link prediction to social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, is useful both for developing novel services and for sociological analyses. While most existing research on link prediction uses only the social network topology for the prediction, in social media, records of user activities such as posting, replying, and reposting are available. These records are expected to reflect user interest, and so incorporating them should improve link prediction. However, research into link prediction using the records of user activities is still in its infancy, and the effectiveness of such records for link prediction has not been fully explored. In this study, we focus in particular on records of reposting as a promising source that could be useful for link prediction, and investigate their effectiveness for link prediction on the popular social media platform Twitter. Our results show that (1) the prediction accuracy of techniques using reposting records is higher than that of popular topology-based techniques such as common neighbors and resource allocation for actively retweeting users, (2) the accuracy of link prediction techniques that use network topology alone can be improved by incorporating reposting records.

Retweets as a Predictor of Relationships among Users on Social Media

PubMed Central

Kito, Kosuke

2017-01-01

Link prediction is the problem of detecting missing links or predicting future link formation in a network. Application of link prediction to social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, is useful both for developing novel services and for sociological analyses. While most existing research on link prediction uses only the social network topology for the prediction, in social media, records of user activities such as posting, replying, and reposting are available. These records are expected to reflect user interest, and so incorporating them should improve link prediction. However, research into link prediction using the records of user activities is still in its infancy, and the effectiveness of such records for link prediction has not been fully explored. In this study, we focus in particular on records of reposting as a promising source that could be useful for link prediction, and investigate their effectiveness for link prediction on the popular social media platform Twitter. Our results show that (1) the prediction accuracy of techniques using reposting records is higher than that of popular topology-based techniques such as common neighbors and resource allocation for actively retweeting users, (2) the accuracy of link prediction techniques that use network topology alone can be improved by incorporating reposting records. PMID:28107489

NERIES: Seismic Data Gateways and User Composed Datasets Metadata Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spinuso, Alessandro; Trani, Luca; Kamb, Linus; Frobert, Laurent

2010-05-01

One of the NERIES EC project main objectives is to establish and improve the networking of seismic waveform data exchange and access among four main data centers in Europe: INGV, GFZ, ORFEUS and IPGP. Besides the implementation of the data backbone, several investigations and developments have been conducted in order to offer to the users the data available from this network, either programmatically or interactively. One of the challenges is to understand how to enable users` activities such as discovering, aggregating, describing and sharing datasets to obtain a decrease in the replication of similar data queries towards the network, exempting the data centers to guess and create useful pre-packed products. We`ve started to transfer this task more and more towards the users community, where the users` composed data products could be extensively re-used. The main link to the data is represented by a centralized webservice (SeismoLink) acting like a single access point to the whole data network. Users can download either waveform data or seismic station inventories directly from their own software routines by connecting to this webservice, which routes the request to the data centers. The provenance of the data is maintained and transferred to the users in the form of URIs, that identify the dataset and implicitly refer to the data provider. SeismoLink, combined with other webservices (eg EMSC-QuakeML earthquakes catalog service), is used from a community gateway such as the NERIES web portal (http://www.seismicportal.eu). Here the user interacts with a map based portlet which allows the dynamic composition of a data product, binding seismic event`s parameters with a set of seismic stations. The requested data is collected by the back-end processes of the portal, preserved and offered to the user in a personal data cart, where metadata can be generated interactively on-demand. The metadata, expressed in RDF, can also be remotely ingested. They offer rating, provenance and user annotation properties. Once generated they are included into a proprietary taxonomy, used by the overall architecture of the web portal. The metadata are made available through a SPARQL endpoint, thus allowing the datasets to be aggregated and shared among users in a meaningful way, enabling at the same time the development of third party visualization tools beyond the portal infrastructure. The SEE-GRID-SCI and the JISC-funded RapidSeis projects investigate the usage of this framework to enable the waveform data processing over the Grid.

Web GIS in practice V: 3-D interactive and real-time mapping in Second Life

PubMed Central

Boulos, Maged N Kamel; Burden, David

2007-01-01

This paper describes technologies from Daden Limited for geographically mapping and accessing live news stories/feeds, as well as other real-time, real-world data feeds (e.g., Google Earth KML feeds and GeoRSS feeds) in the 3-D virtual world of Second Life, by plotting and updating the corresponding Earth location points on a globe or some other suitable form (in-world), and further linking those points to relevant information and resources. This approach enables users to visualise, interact with, and even walk or fly through, the plotted data in 3-D. Users can also do the reverse: put pins on a map in the virtual world, and then view the data points on the Web in Google Maps or Google Earth. The technologies presented thus serve as a bridge between mirror worlds like Google Earth and virtual worlds like Second Life. We explore the geo-data display potential of virtual worlds and their likely convergence with mirror worlds in the context of the future 3-D Internet or Metaverse, and reflect on the potential of such technologies and their future possibilities, e.g. their use to develop emergency/public health virtual situation rooms to effectively manage emergencies and disasters in real time. The paper also covers some of the issues associated with these technologies, namely user interface accessibility and individual privacy. PMID:18042275

Across the health-social care divide: elderly people as active users of health care and social care.

PubMed

Roberts, K

2001-03-01

Several ways in which elderly people may assume an active role when using welfare services are discussed here. Selected findings are presented from a study that explored the experience and behaviour of elderly people on discharge from inpatient care with regard to criteria indicating user influence or control (namely participation, representation, access, choice, information and redress). Data were collected via semistructured interviews with service users (n = 30) soon after their return home from hospital. A number of differences were revealed between health care and social care in relation to users being provided with opportunities to assume an active role and in being willing and able to assume an active role. These differences were manifest in elderly service users accessing services, seeking information, exercising choice and acting independently of service providers. It appeared paradoxical that contact points were more easily defined with regard to health care yet users were more likely to exercise choice and act independently in securing social care. It is suggested that social care needs and appropriate service delivery are more easily recognised than making the link between perceived health care needs and appropriate services. In addition, it appeared that informal and private providers are more widely available and accessible for social care. If comprehensive continuing care is to be provided, incorporating both health and social care elements, greater uniformity appears to be required across the welfare sector. Lessons for social care provision from the delivery of health care suggest the clear definition of contact points to facilitate service use. Making health care more accessible, however, does not appear to be easily attainable due to the monopoly provision of health care and the lack of direct purchasing power by potential users.

Trend of Narratives in the Age of Misinformation.

PubMed

Bessi, Alessandro; Zollo, Fabiana; Del Vicario, Michela; Scala, Antonio; Caldarelli, Guido; Quattrociocchi, Walter

2015-01-01

Social media enabled a direct path from producer to consumer of contents changing the way users get informed, debate, and shape their worldviews. Such a disintermediation might weaken consensus on social relevant issues in favor of rumors, mistrust, or conspiracy thinking-e.g., chem-trails inducing global warming, the link between vaccines and autism, or the New World Order conspiracy. Previous studies pointed out that consumers of conspiracy-like content are likely to aggregate in homophile clusters-i.e., echo-chambers. Along this path we study, by means of a thorough quantitative analysis, how different topics are consumed inside the conspiracy echo-chamber in the Italian Facebook. Through a semi-automatic topic extraction strategy, we show that the most consumed contents semantically refer to four specific categories: environment, diet, health, and geopolitics. We find similar consumption patterns by comparing users activity (likes and comments) on posts belonging to these different semantic categories. Finally, we model users mobility across the distinct topics finding that the more a user is active, the more he is likely to span on all categories. Once inside a conspiracy narrative users tend to embrace the overall corpus.

Shuttle/TDRSS modelling and link simulation study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braun, W. R.; Mckenzie, T. M.; Biederman, L.; Lindsey, W. C.

1979-01-01

A Shuttle/TDRSS S-band and Ku-band link simulation package called LinCsim was developed for the evaluation of link performance for specific Shuttle signal designs. The link models were described in detail and the transmitter distortion parameters or user constraints were carefully defined. The overall link degradation (excluding hardware degradations) relative to an ideal BPSK channel were given for various sets of user constraint values. The performance sensitivity to each individual user constraint was then illustrated. The effect of excessive Spacelab clock jitter on the return link BER performance was also investigated as was the problem of subcarrier recovery for the K-band Shuttle return link signal.

Linking User Identities Across the DataONE Federation of Data Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. B.; Mecum, B.; Leinfelder, B.; Jones, C. S.; Walker, L.

2016-12-01

DataONE provides services for identifying, authenticating, and authorizing researchers to access and contribute data to repositories within the DataONE federation. In the earth sciences, thousands of institutional and disciplinary repositories have created their own user identity and authentication systems with their own user directory based on a database or web content management systems. Thus, researchers have many identities that are neither linked nor interoperable, making it difficult to reference the identity of these users across systems. Key user information is hidden, and only a non-disambiguated name is often available. From a sample of 160,000 data sets within DataONE, a super-majority of references to the data creators lack even an email address. In an attempt to disambiguate these people via the GeoLink project, we conservatively estimate they represent at least 57,000 unique identities, but without a clear user identifier, there could be as many as 223,000. Interoperability among repositories is critical to improving the scope of scientific synthesis and capabilities for research collaboration. While many have focused on the convenience of Single Sign-On (SSO), we have found that sharing user identifiers is far more useful for interoperability. With an unambiguous user identity in incoming metadata, DataONE has built user-profiles that present that user's data across repositories, that link users and their organizational affiliations, and that allow users to work collaboratively in private groups that span repository systems. DataONE's user identity solution leverages existing systems such as InCommon, CILogon, Google, and ORCID to not further proliferate user identities. DataONE provides a core service allowing users to link their multiple identities so that authenticating with one identity (e.g., ORCID) can authorize access to data protected via another identity (e.g., InCommon). Currently, DataONE is using ORCID identities to link and identify users, but challenges must still be overcome to support historical records for which ORCIDs can not be used because the associated people are unavailable to confirm their identity. DataONE's identity systems facilitate crosslinking between user identities and scientific metadata to accelerate collaboration and synthesis.

Search without Boundaries Using Simple APIs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tong, Qi

2009-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Library, where the author serves as the digital services librarian, is increasingly challenged to make it easier for users to find information from many heterogeneous information sources. Information is scattered throughout different software applications (i.e., library catalog, federated search engine, link resolver, and vendor websites), and each specializes in one thing. How could the library integrate the functionalities of one application with another and provide a single point of entry for users to search across? To improve the user experience, the library launched an effort to integrate the federated search engine into the library's intranet website. The result is a simple search box that leverages the federated search engine's built-in application programming interfaces (APIs). In this article, the author describes how this project demonstrated the power of APIs and their potential to be used by other enterprise search portals inside or outside of the library.

DiversePathsJ: diverse shortest paths for bioimage analysis.

PubMed

Uhlmann, Virginie; Haubold, Carsten; Hamprecht, Fred A; Unser, Michael

2018-02-01

We introduce a formulation for the general task of finding diverse shortest paths between two end-points. Our approach is not linked to a specific biological problem and can be applied to a large variety of images thanks to its generic implementation as a user-friendly ImageJ/Fiji plugin. It relies on the introduction of additional layers in a Viterbi path graph, which requires slight modifications to the standard Viterbi algorithm rules. This layered graph construction allows for the specification of various constraints imposing diversity between solutions. The software allows obtaining a collection of diverse shortest paths under some user-defined constraints through a convenient and user-friendly interface. It can be used alone or be integrated into larger image analysis pipelines. http://bigwww.epfl.ch/algorithms/diversepathsj. michael.unser@epfl.ch or fred.hamprecht@iwr.uni-heidelberg.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Using Speech Recognition to Enhance the Tongue Drive System Functionality in Computer Access

PubMed Central

Huo, Xueliang; Ghovanloo, Maysam

2013-01-01

Tongue Drive System (TDS) is a wireless tongue operated assistive technology (AT), which can enable people with severe physical disabilities to access computers and drive powered wheelchairs using their volitional tongue movements. TDS offers six discrete commands, simultaneously available to the users, for pointing and typing as a substitute for mouse and keyboard in computer access, respectively. To enhance the TDS performance in typing, we have added a microphone, an audio codec, and a wireless audio link to its readily available 3-axial magnetic sensor array, and combined it with a commercially available speech recognition software, the Dragon Naturally Speaking, which is regarded as one of the most efficient ways for text entry. Our preliminary evaluations indicate that the combined TDS and speech recognition technologies can provide end users with significantly higher performance than using each technology alone, particularly in completing tasks that require both pointing and text entry, such as web surfing. PMID:22255801

The Power of Ground User in Recommender Systems

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yanbo; Lü, Linyuan; Liu, Weiping; Zhang, Jianlin

2013-01-01

Accuracy and diversity are two important aspects to evaluate the performance of recommender systems. Two diffusion-based methods were proposed respectively inspired by the mass diffusion (MD) and heat conduction (HC) processes on networks. It has been pointed out that MD has high recommendation accuracy yet low diversity, while HC succeeds in seeking out novel or niche items but with relatively low accuracy. The accuracy-diversity dilemma is a long-term challenge in recommender systems. To solve this problem, we introduced a background temperature by adding a ground user who connects to all the items in the user-item bipartite network. Performing the HC algorithm on the network with ground user (GHC), it showed that the accuracy can be largely improved while keeping the diversity. Furthermore, we proposed a weighted form of the ground user (WGHC) by assigning some weights to the newly added links between the ground user and the items. By turning the weight as a free parameter, an optimal value subject to the highest accuracy is obtained. Experimental results on three benchmark data sets showed that the WGHC outperforms the state-of-the-art method MD for both accuracy and diversity. PMID:23936380

Investigation on iterative multiuser detection physical layer network coding in two-way relay free-space optical links with turbulences and pointing errors.

PubMed

Abu-Almaalie, Zina; Ghassemlooy, Zabih; Bhatnagar, Manav R; Le-Minh, Hoa; Aslam, Nauman; Liaw, Shien-Kuei; Lee, It Ee

2016-11-20

Physical layer network coding (PNC) improves the throughput in wireless networks by enabling two nodes to exchange information using a minimum number of time slots. The PNC technique is proposed for two-way relay channel free space optical (TWR-FSO) communications with the aim of maximizing the utilization of network resources. The multipair TWR-FSO is considered in this paper, where a single antenna on each pair seeks to communicate via a common receiver aperture at the relay. Therefore, chip interleaving is adopted as a technique to separate the different transmitted signals at the relay node to perform PNC mapping. Accordingly, this scheme relies on the iterative multiuser technique for detection of users at the receiver. The bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed system is examined under the combined influences of atmospheric loss, turbulence-induced channel fading, and pointing errors (PEs). By adopting the joint PNC mapping with interleaving and multiuser detection techniques, the BER results show that the proposed scheme can achieve a significant performance improvement against the degrading effects of turbulences and PEs. It is also demonstrated that a larger number of simultaneous users can be supported with this new scheme in establishing a communication link between multiple pairs of nodes in two time slots, thereby improving the channel capacity.

Cognitive deficit in methamphetamine users relative to childhood academic performance: link to cortical thickness.

PubMed

Dean, Andy C; Morales, Angelica M; Hellemann, Gerhard; London, Edythe D

2018-04-20

Individuals with cognitive problems may be predisposed to develop substance use disorders; therefore, differences in cognitive function between methamphetamine users and control participants may be attributable to premorbid factors rather than methamphetamine use. The goal of this study was to clarify the extent to which this is the case. Childhood academic transcripts were obtained for 37 methamphetamine-dependent adults and 41 control participants of similar educational level and premorbid IQ. Each participant completed a comprehensive cognitive battery and received a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. Data from control participants and linear regression were used to develop a normative model to describe the relationship between childhood academic performance and scores on the cognitive battery. Using this model, cognitive performance of methamphetamine users was predicted from their premorbid academic scores. Results indicated that methamphetamine users' childhood grade point average was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.05). Further, methamphetamine users' overall cognitive performance was lower than was predicted from their grade point average prior to methamphetamine use (p = 0.001), with specific deficits in attention/concentration and memory (ps < 0.01). Memory deficits were associated with lower whole-brain cortical thickness (p < 0.05). Thus, in addition to having an apparent premorbid weakness in cognition, methamphetamine users exhibit subsequent cognitive function that is significantly lower than premorbid estimates would predict. The results support the view that chronic methamphetamine use causes a decline in cognition and/or a failure to develop normative cognitive abilities, although aside from methamphetamine use per se, other drug use and unidentified factors likely contribute to the observed effects.

Effect of Pointing Error on the BER Performance of an Optical CDMA FSO Link with SIK Receiver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nazrul Islam, A. K. M.; Majumder, S. P.

2017-12-01

An analytical approach is presented for an optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) system over free space optical (FSO) channel considering the effect of pointing error between the transmitter and the receiver. Analysis is carried out with an optical sequence inverse keying (SIK) correlator receiver with intensity modulation and direct detection (IM/DD) to find the bit error rate (BER) with pointing error. The results are evaluated numerically in terms of signal-to-noise plus multi-access interference (MAI) ratio, BER and power penalty due to pointing error. It is noticed that the OCDMA FSO system is highly affected by pointing error with significant power penalty at a BER of 10-6 and 10-9. For example, penalty at BER 10-9 is found to be 9 dB corresponding to normalized pointing error of 1.4 for 16 users with processing gain of 256 and is reduced to 6.9 dB when the processing gain is increased to 1,024.

Optoelectronics research for communication programs at the Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krainak, Michael A.

1991-01-01

Current optoelectronics research and development of high-power, high-bandwidth laser transmitters, high-bandwidth, high-sensitivity optical receivers, pointing, acquisition and tracking components, and experimental and theoretical system modeling at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is reviewed. Program hardware and space flight milestones are presented. It is believed that these experiments will pave the way for intersatellite optical communications links for both the NASA Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System and commercial users in the 21st century.

Long-range wireless mesh network for weather monitoring in unfriendly geographic conditions.

PubMed

Toledano-Ayala, Manuel; Herrera-Ruiz, Gilberto; Soto-Zarazúa, Genaro M; Rivas-Araiza, Edgar A; Bazán Trujillo, Rey D; Porrás-Trejo, Rafael E

2011-01-01

In this paper a long-range wireless mesh network system is presented. It consists of three main parts: Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), Base Terminal Units (BTUs) and a Central Server (CS). The RTUs share a wireless network transmitting in the industrial, scientific and medical applications ISM band, which reaches up to 64 Km in a single point-to-point communication. A BTU controls the traffic within the network and has as its main task interconnecting it to a Ku-band satellite link using an embedded microcontroller-based gateway. Collected data is stored in a CS and presented to the final user in a numerical and a graphical form in a web portal.

Wikipedias: Collaborative web-based encyclopedias as complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zlatić, V.; Božičević, M.; Štefančić, H.; Domazet, M.

2006-07-01

Wikipedia is a popular web-based encyclopedia edited freely and collaboratively by its users. In this paper we present an analysis of Wikipedias in several languages as complex networks. The hyperlinks pointing from one Wikipedia article to another are treated as directed links while the articles represent the nodes of the network. We show that many network characteristics are common to different language versions of Wikipedia, such as their degree distributions, growth, topology, reciprocity, clustering, assortativity, path lengths, and triad significance profiles. These regularities, found in the ensemble of Wikipedias in different languages and of different sizes, point to the existence of a unique growth process. We also compare Wikipedias to other previously studied networks.

Wikipedias: collaborative web-based encyclopedias as complex networks.

PubMed

Zlatić, V; Bozicević, M; Stefancić, H; Domazet, M

2006-07-01

Wikipedia is a popular web-based encyclopedia edited freely and collaboratively by its users. In this paper we present an analysis of Wikipedias in several languages as complex networks. The hyperlinks pointing from one Wikipedia article to another are treated as directed links while the articles represent the nodes of the network. We show that many network characteristics are common to different language versions of Wikipedia, such as their degree distributions, growth, topology, reciprocity, clustering, assortativity, path lengths, and triad significance profiles. These regularities, found in the ensemble of Wikipedias in different languages and of different sizes, point to the existence of a unique growth process. We also compare Wikipedias to other previously studied networks.

Introducing Products to DoD Using Specifications and Standards

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-18

to utilize the Product Introduction Tool. Search ~Favorites .S » Links ~Customize Links ~ EDS-NMCI ~Free Hotmail Product Introduction Process User...the Product Introduction Tool. Search ~Favorites .S » Links ~Customize Links ~ EDS-NMCI ~Free Hotmail Product Introduction Process User Pol icy...Links i1 EDS-NMCI ~ Free Hotmail i] I] Go ldentitify Categories/Subcategories Identify the category/subcategory that most closely covers your

User's manual for the VAX-Gerber link software package. Revision 1. 0

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

Isobe, G.W.

1985-10-01

This manual provides a user the information necessary to run the VAX-Gerber link software package. It is expected that the user already knows how to login to the VAX, and is familiar with the Gerber Photo Plotter. It is also highly desirable that the user be familiar with the full screen editor on the VAX, EDT.

Trend of Narratives in the Age of Misinformation

PubMed Central

Bessi, Alessandro; Zollo, Fabiana; Del Vicario, Michela; Scala, Antonio; Caldarelli, Guido; Quattrociocchi, Walter

2015-01-01

Social media enabled a direct path from producer to consumer of contents changing the way users get informed, debate, and shape their worldviews. Such a disintermediation might weaken consensus on social relevant issues in favor of rumors, mistrust, or conspiracy thinking—e.g., chem-trails inducing global warming, the link between vaccines and autism, or the New World Order conspiracy. Previous studies pointed out that consumers of conspiracy-like content are likely to aggregate in homophile clusters—i.e., echo-chambers. Along this path we study, by means of a thorough quantitative analysis, how different topics are consumed inside the conspiracy echo-chamber in the Italian Facebook. Through a semi-automatic topic extraction strategy, we show that the most consumed contents semantically refer to four specific categories: environment, diet, health, and geopolitics. We find similar consumption patterns by comparing users activity (likes and comments) on posts belonging to these different semantic categories. Finally, we model users mobility across the distinct topics finding that the more a user is active, the more he is likely to span on all categories. Once inside a conspiracy narrative users tend to embrace the overall corpus. PMID:26275043

MAPA: an interactive accelerator design code with GUI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruhwiler, David L.; Cary, John R.; Shasharina, Svetlana G.

1999-06-01

The MAPA code is an interactive accelerator modeling and design tool with an X/Motif GUI. MAPA has been developed in C++ and makes full use of object-oriented features. We present an overview of its features and describe how users can independently extend the capabilities of the entire application, including the GUI. For example, a user can define a new model for a focusing or accelerating element. If the appropriate form is followed, and the new element is "registered" with a single line in the specified file, then the GUI will fully support this user-defined element type after it has been compiled and then linked to the existing application. In particular, the GUI will bring up windows for modifying any relevant parameters of the new element type. At present, one can use the GUI for phase space tracking, finding fixed points and generating line plots for the Twiss parameters, the dispersion and the accelerator geometry. The user can define new types of simulations which the GUI will automatically support by providing a menu option to execute the simulation and subsequently rendering line plots of the resulting data.

Inter and intra-modal deformable registration: continuous deformations meet efficient optimal linear programming.

PubMed

Glocker, Ben; Paragios, Nikos; Komodakis, Nikos; Tziritas, Georgios; Navab, Nassir

2007-01-01

In this paper we propose a novel non-rigid volume registration based on discrete labeling and linear programming. The proposed framework reformulates registration as a minimal path extraction in a weighted graph. The space of solutions is represented using a set of a labels which are assigned to predefined displacements. The graph topology corresponds to a superimposed regular grid onto the volume. Links between neighborhood control points introduce smoothness, while links between the graph nodes and the labels (end-nodes) measure the cost induced to the objective function through the selection of a particular deformation for a given control point once projected to the entire volume domain, Higher order polynomials are used to express the volume deformation from the ones of the control points. Efficient linear programming that can guarantee the optimal solution up to (a user-defined) bound is considered to recover the optimal registration parameters. Therefore, the method is gradient free, can encode various similarity metrics (simple changes on the graph construction), can guarantee a globally sub-optimal solution and is computational tractable. Experimental validation using simulated data with known deformation, as well as manually segmented data demonstrate the extreme potentials of our approach.

Hepatitis C: clinical and biological features related to different forms of cocaine use.

PubMed

Schuch-Goi, Silvia Bassani; Scherer, Juliana Nichterwitz; Kessler, Felix Henrique Paim; Sordi, Anne Orgler; Pechansky, Flavio; von Diemen, Lisia

2017-01-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is related with several liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinomas, leading to more than 0.5 million deaths every year and to a great global burden. It is known that injection drug users show a high prevalence of HCV infection, being considered a risk group for this disease. Cocaine users seem to be in greater risk than other drug users, and several hypotheses for this association are being studied. To review data on HCV infection in cocaine users, taking into consideration the relevance of the different routes of drug administration and other risk behaviors. This was a narrative review performed in the main scientific databases. Data suggest that cocaine use could be associated with HCV infection due to the specificities of cocaine consumption pattern, even in those subjects who do not inject drugs, in addition to other risky behaviors, such as tattooing and unprotected sex. Injectable cocaine users seem to be more susceptible to contamination than users who do not inject drugs. However, evidence is pointing to the possibility of infection by sharing drug paraphernalia other than syringes. Moreover, specific immune system impairments caused by cocaine use are also being linked with HCV infection susceptibility, persistence and increased pathological effects.

The Impact of Stakeholder Preferences on Service User Adherence to Treatments for Schizophrenia and Metabolic Comorbidities.

PubMed

Poremski, Daniel; Sagayadevan, Vathsala D/O; Wang, Peizhi; Lum, Alvin; Subramaniam, Mythily; Ann, Chong Siow

2016-01-01

To determine how stakeholder opinions of treatments influence service user decisions to adhere to courses of actions necessary to treat metabolic conditions. Qualitative open-ended interviews were conducted with 20 service providers, 25 service users, and 9 caregivers. Grounded theory was used to generate an understanding that linked preferences of care with adherence to follow-up treatments. Participants spoke about several considerations when discussing adherence: Resource limitations were the predominant consideration. Social considerations such as stigma and support surfaced in caregiver and service-user interviews. The influence of symptoms, especially their absence could reduce adherence, and organizational considerations related to the opinions they had about the qualifications of professionals. A rational patient model partially organizes our findings, but emotional components related to stigma and the opinion of service providers do not fit well into such a model. If service providers do not consider components of the decision making process which fall outside of the rational patient model, they may incorrectly be leveraging suboptimal values to bring about adherence to treatment plans. Being sensitive to the values of service users and their caregivers may allow service providers to better act on points that may bring about change in non-compliant service users with schizophrenia and metabolic comorbidities.

Forward and inverse solutions for Risley prism based on the Denavit-Hartenberg methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beltran-Gonzalez, A.; Garcia-Torales, G.; Strojnik, M.; Flores, J. L.; Garcia-Luna, J. L.

2017-08-01

In this work forward and inverse solutions for two-element Risley prism for pointing and scanning beam systems are developed. A more efficient and faster algorithm is proposed to make an analogy of the Risley prism system compared with a robotic system with two degrees of freedom. This system of equations controls each Risley prism individually as a planar manipulator arm of two links. In order to evaluate the algorithm we implement it in a pointing system. We perform popular routines such as the linear, spiral and loops traces. Using forward and inverse solutions for two-element Risley prism it is also possible to point at coordinates specified by the user, provided they are within the pointer area of work area. Experimental results are showed as a validation of our proposal.

GIS learning tool for USA's tallest skyscrapers and their construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajah Nagarajasetty, Kanaka Nethra

Urban development in the twenty-first century takes many forms, but for many none quite so interesting as the skyscraper. With swelling cities and growing concerns about the environment, vertical living has become the preferred way of life for millions of people around the world. But just how these tall buildings are designed, constructed and operated remains a mystery to many--even to those who live in them. The motivation behind this application is to build an interactive and one-stop Geographic Information systems (GIS) learning tool that will help users learn about structural facts and geography of tallest skyscrapers around the metro cities of USA. For purpose of this application development, any building more than 700ft (213m) is considered as one of the tallest skyscrapers. The points displayed on USA map are the metro cities hosting these skyscrapers. When users click on cities, a brief description about the city along with a link to the top three skyscrapers is displayed. The links of the skyscrapers opens a HTML page that has a photo gallery, embedded video, facts, structural information etc., in a web browser. Map Objects Java Objects (MOJO), a set of Java API's provided by ESRI, is used to display a map of the United States of America and skyscrapers locations in the form of points. Along with MOJO, other technical languages used to develop this application are HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and Java Swing.

EpiCollect+: linking smartphones to web applications for complex data collection projects

PubMed Central

Aanensen, David M.; Huntley, Derek M.; Menegazzo, Mirko; Powell, Chris I.; Spratt, Brian G.

2014-01-01

Previously, we have described the development of the generic mobile phone data gathering tool, EpiCollect, and an associated web application, providing two-way communication between multiple data gatherers and a project database. This software only allows data collection on the phone using a single questionnaire form that is tailored to the needs of the user (including a single GPS point and photo per entry), whereas many applications require a more complex structure, allowing users to link a series of forms in a linear or branching hierarchy, along with the addition of any number of media types accessible from smartphones and/or tablet devices (e.g., GPS, photos, videos, sound clips and barcode scanning). A much enhanced version of EpiCollect has been developed (EpiCollect+). The individual data collection forms in EpiCollect+ provide more design complexity than the single form used in EpiCollect, and the software allows the generation of complex data collection projects through the ability to link many forms together in a linear (or branching) hierarchy. Furthermore, EpiCollect+ allows the collection of multiple media types as well as standard text fields, increased data validation and form logic. The entire process of setting up a complex mobile phone data collection project to the specification of a user (project and form definitions) can be undertaken at the EpiCollect+ website using a simple ‘drag and drop’ procedure, with visualisation of the data gathered using Google Maps and charts at the project website. EpiCollect+ is suitable for situations where multiple users transmit complex data by mobile phone (or other Android devices) to a single project web database and is already being used for a range of field projects, particularly public health projects in sub-Saharan Africa. However, many uses can be envisaged from education, ecology and epidemiology to citizen science. PMID:25485096

EpiCollect+: linking smartphones to web applications for complex data collection projects.

PubMed

Aanensen, David M; Huntley, Derek M; Menegazzo, Mirko; Powell, Chris I; Spratt, Brian G

2014-01-01

Previously, we have described the development of the generic mobile phone data gathering tool, EpiCollect, and an associated web application, providing two-way communication between multiple data gatherers and a project database. This software only allows data collection on the phone using a single questionnaire form that is tailored to the needs of the user (including a single GPS point and photo per entry), whereas many applications require a more complex structure, allowing users to link a series of forms in a linear or branching hierarchy, along with the addition of any number of media types accessible from smartphones and/or tablet devices (e.g., GPS, photos, videos, sound clips and barcode scanning). A much enhanced version of EpiCollect has been developed (EpiCollect+). The individual data collection forms in EpiCollect+ provide more design complexity than the single form used in EpiCollect, and the software allows the generation of complex data collection projects through the ability to link many forms together in a linear (or branching) hierarchy. Furthermore, EpiCollect+ allows the collection of multiple media types as well as standard text fields, increased data validation and form logic. The entire process of setting up a complex mobile phone data collection project to the specification of a user (project and form definitions) can be undertaken at the EpiCollect+ website using a simple 'drag and drop' procedure, with visualisation of the data gathered using Google Maps and charts at the project website. EpiCollect+ is suitable for situations where multiple users transmit complex data by mobile phone (or other Android devices) to a single project web database and is already being used for a range of field projects, particularly public health projects in sub-Saharan Africa. However, many uses can be envisaged from education, ecology and epidemiology to citizen science.

Solid rocket booster performance evaluation model. Volume 1: Engineering description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The space shuttle solid rocket booster performance evaluation model (SRB-II) is made up of analytical and functional simulation techniques linked together so that a single pass through the model will predict the performance of the propulsion elements of a space shuttle solid rocket booster. The available options allow the user to predict static test performance, predict nominal and off nominal flight performance, and reconstruct actual flight and static test performance. Options selected by the user are dependent on the data available. These can include data derived from theoretical analysis, small scale motor test data, large motor test data and motor configuration data. The user has several options for output format that include print, cards, tape and plots. Output includes all major performance parameters (Isp, thrust, flowrate, mass accounting and operating pressures) as a function of time as well as calculated single point performance data. The engineering description of SRB-II discusses the engineering and programming fundamentals used, the function of each module, and the limitations of each module.

Line drawing titled 'TDRS Spacecraft On-Orbit Configuration'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Line drawing titled 'TDRS Spacecraft On-Orbit Configuration' identifies the various tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) components (solar arrays, C-Band antenna, K-Band antenna, space ground link (SGL) antenna, single access antennas, multiple access antenna, omni antenna, solar sail). A TDRS will be deployed during the STS-26 mission. Including the space shuttle, the TDRS will be equipped to support up to 26 user spacecraft simultaneously. It will provide two types of service: 1) multiple access which can relay data from as many as 20 low data rate (100 bits per second to 50 kilobits per second) user satellites simultaneously and; 2) single access which will provide two high data rate (to 300 megabits per second) communication relays. The TDRS is three-axis stabilizrd with the body fixed antennas pointing constantly at the Earth while the solar arrays track the Sun. TDR satellites do no processing of user traffic in either direction. Rather, they operate as 'bent pipe' repeaters,

A Missing Link: People, Practice and Some Precarious Research!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higdon, Carolyn Wiles; Higdon, Lawrence W.

2004-01-01

The field of augmentative and alternative communication's (AAC) missing link is the discrepancy between what the research community identifies as needs and what the clinical community, including the AAC user, believes to be the AAC user's needs. An unrealistic picture of the AAC user occurs, developing a top-down effect of limited outcomes,…

Why should we publish Linked Data?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blower, Jon; Riechert, Maik; Koubarakis, Manolis; Pace, Nino

2016-04-01

We use the Web every day to access information from all kinds of different sources. But the complexity and diversity of scientific data mean that discovering accessing and interpreting data remains a large challenge to researchers, decision-makers and other users. Different sources of useful information on data, algorithms, instruments and publications are scattered around the Web. How can we link all these things together to help users to better understand and exploit earth science data? How can we combine scientific data with other relevant data sources, when standards for describing and sharing data vary so widely between communities? "Linked Data" is a term that describes a set of standards and "best practices" for sharing data on the Web (http://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/data). These principles can be summarised as follows: 1. Create unique and persistent identifiers for the important "things" in a community (e.g. datasets, publications, algorithms, instruments). 2. Allow users to "look up" these identifiers on the web to find out more information about them. 3. Make this information machine-readable in a community-neutral format (such as RDF, Resource Description Framework). 4. Within this information, embed links to other things and concepts and say how these are related. 5. Optionally, provide web service interfaces to allow the user to perform sophisticated queries over this information (using a language such as SPARQL). The promise of Linked Data is that, through these techniques, data will be more discoverable, more comprehensible and more usable by different communities, not just the community that produced the data. As a result, many data providers (particularly public-sector institutions) are now publishing data in this way. However, this area is still in its infancy in terms of real-world applications. Data users need guidance and tools to help them use Linked Data. Data providers need reassurance that the investments they are making in publishing Linked Data will result in tangible user benefits. This presentation will address a number of these issues, using real-world experience gathered from four recent European projects: MELODIES (http://melodiesproject.eu), LEO (http://linkedeodata.eu), CHARMe (http://linkedeodata.eu) and TELEIOS (http://www.earthobservatory.eu). These projects have all applied Linked Data techniques in practical, real-world situations involving the use of diverse data (including earth science data) by both industrial and academic users. Specifically, we will: • Identify a set of practical and valuable uses for Linked Data, focusing on areas where Linked Data fills gaps left by other technologies. These uses include: enabling the discovery of earth science data using mass-market search engines, helping users to understand data and its uses, combining data from multiple sources and enabling the annotation of data by users. • Enumerate some common challenges faced by developers of data-driven services who wish to use Linked Data in their applications. • Describe a new suite of tools for managing, processing and visualising Linked Data in earth science applications (including geospatial Linked Data).

Utilizing semantic Wiki technology for intelligence analysis at the tactical edge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Little, Eric

2014-05-01

Challenges exist for intelligence analysts to efficiently and accurately process large amounts of data collected from a myriad of available data sources. These challenges are even more evident for analysts who must operate within small military units at the tactical edge. In such environments, decisions must be made quickly without guaranteed access to the kinds of large-scale data sources available to analysts working at intelligence agencies. Improved technologies must be provided to analysts at the tactical edge to make informed, reliable decisions, since this is often a critical collection point for important intelligence data. To aid tactical edge users, new types of intelligent, automated technology interfaces are required to allow them to rapidly explore information associated with the intersection of hard and soft data fusion, such as multi-INT signals, semantic models, social network data, and natural language processing of text. Abilities to fuse these types of data is paramount to providing decision superiority. For these types of applications, we have developed BLADE. BLADE allows users to dynamically add, delete and link data via a semantic wiki, allowing for improved interaction between different users. Analysts can see information updates in near-real-time due to a common underlying set of semantic models operating within a triple store that allows for updates on related data points from independent users tracking different items (persons, events, locations, organizations, etc.). The wiki can capture pictures, videos and related information. New information added directly to pages is automatically updated in the triple store and its provenance and pedigree is tracked over time, making that data more trustworthy and easily integrated with other users' pages.

Demonstration of free-space optical communication for long-range data links between balloons on Project Loon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moision, Bruce; Erkmen, Baris; Keyes, Edward; Belt, Todd; Bowen, Oliver; Brinkley, Devin; Csonka, Paul; Eglington, Michael; Kazmierski, Andrei; Kim, Nam-hyong; Moody, John; Tu, Thanh; Vermeer, William

2017-02-01

Internet connectivity is limited and in some cases non-existent for a significant part of the world's population. Project Loon aims to address this with a network of high-altitude balloons traveling in the stratosphere, at an altitude of approximately 20 km. The balloons navigate by using the stratified wind layers at different altitudes, adjusting the balloon's altitude to catch winds in a desired direction. Data transfer is achieved by 1) uplinking a signal from an Internet-connected ground station to a balloon terminal, 2) crosslinking the signal through the balloon network to reach the geographic area of the users, and 3) downlinking the signal directly to the end-users' phones or other LTE-enabled devices. We describe Loon's progress on utilizing free-space optical communications (FSOC) for the inter-balloon crosslinks. FSOC, offering high data rates and long communication ranges, is well-suited for communication between high-altitude platforms. A stratospheric link is sufficiently high to be above weather events (clouds, fog, rain, etc.), and the impact of atmospheric turbulence is significantly weaker than at ground level. In addition, being in the stratosphere as opposed to space helps avoid the typical challenges faced by space-based systems, namely operation in a vacuum environment with significant radiation. Finally, the angular pointing disturbances introduced by a floating balloon-based platform are notably less than any propelled platform, which simplifies the disturbance rejection requirements on the FSOC system. We summarize results from Project Loon's early-phase experimental inter-balloon links at 20 km altitude, demonstrating full duplex 130 Mbps throughput at distances in excess of 100 km over the course of several-day flights. The terminals utilize a monostatic design, with dual wavelengths for communication and a dedicated wide-angle beacon for pointing, acquisition, and tracking. We summarize the constraints on the terminal design, and the key design trades that led to our initial system. We illustrate measured performance during flight tests: received signal power variations with range, pointing system performance, and data throughput.

A DTN-Based Multiple Access Fast Forward Service for the NASA Space Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, David; Davis, Faith; Marquart. Jane

2011-01-01

The NASA Space Network provides a demand access return link service capable of providing users a space link "on demand". An equivalent service in the forward link direction is not possible due to Tracking and Data Relay Spacecraft (TDRS) constraints. A Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN)-based Multiple Access Fast Forward (MAFF) service has been proposed to provide a forward link to a user as soon as possible. Previous concept studies have identified a basic architecture and implementation approach. This paper reviews the user scenarios and benefits of an MAFF service and proposes an implementation approach based on the use of DTN protocols.

SOCIAL MEDIA--risk management.

PubMed

Springer, Rachelle

2012-01-01

Approximately 8% of the world's population and 42.3% of the entire American population are on Facebook. About 9% of the adult U.S. internet population has used Twitter as of the end of 2010. More than 200 million people currently access Facebook through their mobile devices. LinkedIn has more than 100 million users worldwide. There are more than 2 billion video views on YouTube everyday. These staggering statistics point to the fact that social media is an integral part of our lives, and that it is here to stay.

A CLIPS-based tool for aircraft pilot-vehicle interface design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fowler, Thomas D.; Rogers, Steven P.

1991-01-01

The Pilot-Vehicle Interface of modern aircraft is the cognitive, sensory, and psychomotor link between the pilot, the avionics modules, and all other systems on board the aircraft. To assist pilot-vehicle interface designers, a C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) based tool was developed that allows design information to be stored in a table that can be modified by rules representing design knowledge. Developed for the Apple Macintosh, the tool allows users without any CLIPS programming experience to form simple rules using a point and click interface.

Google Scholar Users and User Behaviors: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera, Gail

2011-01-01

The University of Mississippi Library created a profile to provide linking from Google Scholar (GS) to library resources in 2005. Although Google Scholar does not provide usage statistics for institutions, use of Google Scholar is clearly evident in looking at library link resolver logs. The purpose of this project is to examine users of Google…

Comparison and Evaluation of End-User Interfaces for Online Public Access Catalogs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zumer, Maja

End-user interfaces for the online public access catalogs (OPACs) of OhioLINK, a system linking major university and research libraries in Ohio, and its 16 member libraries, accessible through the Internet, are compared and evaluated from the user-oriented perspective. A common, systematic framework was used for the scientific observation of the…

Measuring Consortium Impact on User Perceptions: OhioLINK and LibQUAL+[TM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatten, Jeffrey N.

2004-01-01

What is the impact of an academic library consortium on the perceptions of library services experienced by users of the member institutions' libraries? What is the impact of an academic library consortium on the perceptions of library services experienced by users of the member institutions libraries? In 2002 and 2003, OhioLINK (Ohio's consortium…

OhioLINK Electronic Journal Use at Ohio State University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connell, Tschera Harkness; Rogers, Sally A.; Diedrichs, Carol Pitts

2005-01-01

A five-question survey randomly presented to users at Ohio State University (OSU) as they viewed articles in OhioLINK's Electronic Journal Center (EJC) in fall 2002 probed the user's status, academic unit, reason for viewing, path to the article, and frequency of EJC use. Usage by faculty and graduate students, by frequent users, and by those in…

LINKEDIN TRILOGY: Part 1. Top 10 Reasons You Should NOT Join LinkedIn Professional Network!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berk, Ronald A.

2013-01-01

Disclaimer: I have been an active "free" user of LinkedIn for 5.463 years with more than 3000 (1st degree) connections from all over the world. I have no vested interest in LinkedIn other than as a user of the services it provides. Despite the fact that LinkedIn was originally designed as a network for business professionals, not…

Assessing country-level efforts to link research to action.

PubMed Central

Lavis, John N.; Lomas, Jonathan; Hamid, Maimunah; Sewankambo, Nelson K.

2006-01-01

We developed a framework for assessing country-level efforts to link research to action. The framework has four elements. The first element assesses the general climate (how those who fund research, universities, researchers and users of research support or place value on efforts to link research to action). The second element addresses the production of research (how priority setting ensures that users' needs are identified and how scoping reviews, systematic reviews and single studies are undertaken to address these needs). The third element addresses the mix of four clusters of activities used to link research to action. These include push efforts (how strategies are used to support action based on the messages arising from research), efforts to facilitate "user pull" (how "one-stop shopping" is provided for optimally packaged high-quality reviews either alone or as part of a national electronic library for health, how these reviews are profiled during "teachable moments" such as intense media coverage, and how rapid-response units meet users' needs for the best research), "user pull" efforts undertaken by those who use research (how users assess their capacity to use research and how structures and processes are changed to support the use of research) and exchange efforts (how meaningful partnerships between researchers and users help them to jointly ask and answer relevant questions). The fourth element addresses approaches to evaluation (how support is provided for rigorous evaluations of efforts to link research to action). PMID:16917649

GIS tool to locate major Sikh temples in USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Saumya

This tool is a GIS based interactive and graphical user interface tool, which locates the major Sikh temples of USA on a map. This tool is using Java programming language along with MOJO (Map Object Java Object) provided by ESRI that is the organization that provides the GIS software. It also includes some of the integration with Google's API's like Google Translator API. This application will tell users about the origin of Sikhism in India and USA, the major Sikh temples in each state of USA, location, name and detail information through their website. The primary purpose of this application is to make people aware about this religion and culture. This tool will also measure the distance between two temple points in a map and display the result in miles and kilometers. Also, there is an added support to convert each temple's website language from English to Punjabi or any other language using a language convertor tool so that people from different nationalities can understand their culture. By clicking on each point on a map, a new window will pop up showing the picture of the temple and a hyperlink that will redirect to the website of that particular temple .It will also contain links to their dance, music, history, and also a help menu to guide the users to use the software efficiently.

On the Value of Estimating Human Arm Stiffness during Virtual Teleoperation with Robotic Manipulators

PubMed Central

Buzzi, Jacopo; Ferrigno, Giancarlo; Jansma, Joost M.; De Momi, Elena

2017-01-01

Teleoperated robotic systems are widely spreading in multiple different fields, from hazardous environments exploration to surgery. In teleoperation, users directly manipulate a master device to achieve task execution at the slave robot side; this interaction is fundamental to guarantee both system stability and task execution performance. In this work, we propose a non-disruptive method to study the arm endpoint stiffness. We evaluate how users exploit the kinetic redundancy of the arm to achieve stability and precision during the execution of different tasks with different master devices. Four users were asked to perform two planar trajectories following virtual tasks using both a serial and a parallel link master device. Users' arm kinematics and muscular activation were acquired and combined with a user-specific musculoskeletal model to estimate the joint stiffness. Using the arm kinematic Jacobian, the arm end-point stiffness was derived. The proposed non-disruptive method is capable of estimating the arm endpoint stiffness during the execution of virtual teleoperated tasks. The obtained results are in accordance with the existing literature in human motor control and show, throughout the tested trajectory, a modulation of the arm endpoint stiffness that is affected by task characteristics and hand speed and acceleration. PMID:29018319

Semantics of directly manipulating spatializations.

PubMed

Hu, Xinran; Bradel, Lauren; Maiti, Dipayan; House, Leanna; North, Chris; Leman, Scotland

2013-12-01

When high-dimensional data is visualized in a 2D plane by using parametric projection algorithms, users may wish to manipulate the layout of the data points to better reflect their domain knowledge or to explore alternative structures. However, few users are well-versed in the algorithms behind the visualizations, making parameter tweaking more of a guessing game than a series of decisive interactions. Translating user interactions into algorithmic input is a key component of Visual to Parametric Interaction (V2PI) [13]. Instead of adjusting parameters, users directly move data points on the screen, which then updates the underlying statistical model. However, we have found that some data points that are not moved by the user are just as important in the interactions as the data points that are moved. Users frequently move some data points with respect to some other 'unmoved' data points that they consider as spatially contextual. However, in current V2PI interactions, these points are not explicitly identified when directly manipulating the moved points. We design a richer set of interactions that makes this context more explicit, and a new algorithm and sophisticated weighting scheme that incorporates the importance of these unmoved data points into V2PI.

From the mouths of social media users: A focus group study exploring the social casino gaming-online gambling link.

PubMed

Kim, Hyoun S; Wohl, Michael J A; Gupta, Rina; Derevensky, Jeffrey

2016-03-01

Background and aims The potential link between social casino gaming and online gambling has raised considerable concerns among clinicians, researchers and policy makers. Unfortunately, however, there is a paucity of research examining this potential link, especially among young adults. This represents a significant gap given young adults are frequently exposed to and are players of social casino games. Methods To better understand the potential link between social casino games and online gambling, we conducted three focus groups (N = 30) at two large Canadian Universities with college students who were avid social media users (who are regularly exposed to social casino games). Results Many participants spontaneously mentioned that social casino games were a great opportunity to build gambling skills before playing for real money. Importantly, some participants expressed a belief that there is a direct progression from social casino gaming to online gambling. Conversely, others believed the transition to online gambling depended on a person's personality, rather than mere exposure to social casino games. While many young adults in our focus groups felt immune to the effects of social casino games, there was a general consensus that social casino games may facilitate the transition to online gambling among younger teenagers (i.e., 12-14 yr olds), due to the ease of accessibility and early exposure. Discussion The results of the present research point to the need for more study on the effects of social casino gambling as well as a discussion concerning regulation of social casino games in order to minimize their potential risks.

From the mouths of social media users: A focus group study exploring the social casino gaming–online gambling link

PubMed Central

Kim, Hyoun S.; Wohl, Michael J. A.; Gupta, Rina; Derevensky, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

Background and aims The potential link between social casino gaming and online gambling has raised considerable concerns among clinicians, researchers and policy makers. Unfortunately, however, there is a paucity of research examining this potential link, especially among young adults. This represents a significant gap given young adults are frequently exposed to and are players of social casino games. Methods To better understand the potential link between social casino games and online gambling, we conducted three focus groups (N = 30) at two large Canadian Universities with college students who were avid social media users (who are regularly exposed to social casino games). Results Many participants spontaneously mentioned that social casino games were a great opportunity to build gambling skills before playing for real money. Importantly, some participants expressed a belief that there is a direct progression from social casino gaming to online gambling. Conversely, others believed the transition to online gambling depended on a person’s personality, rather than mere exposure to social casino games. While many young adults in our focus groups felt immune to the effects of social casino games, there was a general consensus that social casino games may facilitate the transition to online gambling among younger teenagers (i.e., 12–14 yr olds), due to the ease of accessibility and early exposure. Discussion The results of the present research point to the need for more study on the effects of social casino gambling as well as a discussion concerning regulation of social casino games in order to minimize their potential risks. PMID:28092197

Quantifying the role of motor imagery in brain-machine interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchesotti, Silvia; Bassolino, Michela; Serino, Andrea; Bleuler, Hannes; Blanke, Olaf

2016-04-01

Despite technical advances in brain machine interfaces (BMI), for as-yet unknown reasons the ability to control a BMI remains limited to a subset of users. We investigate whether individual differences in BMI control based on motor imagery (MI) are related to differences in MI ability. We assessed whether differences in kinesthetic and visual MI, in the behavioral accuracy of MI, and in electroencephalographic variables, were able to differentiate between high- versus low-aptitude BMI users. High-aptitude BMI users showed higher MI accuracy as captured by subjective and behavioral measurements, pointing to a prominent role of kinesthetic rather than visual imagery. Additionally, for the first time, we applied mental chronometry, a measure quantifying the degree to which imagined and executed movements share a similar temporal profile. We also identified enhanced lateralized μ-band oscillations over sensorimotor cortices during MI in high- versus low-aptitude BMI users. These findings reveal that subjective, behavioral, and EEG measurements of MI are intimately linked to BMI control. We propose that poor BMI control cannot be ascribed only to intrinsic limitations of EEG recordings and that specific questionnaires and mental chronometry can be used as predictors of BMI performance (without the need to record EEG activity).

LabVIEW Serial Driver Software for an Electronic Load

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scullin, Vincent; Garcia, Christopher

2003-01-01

A LabVIEW-language computer program enables monitoring and control of a Transistor Devices, Inc., Dynaload WCL232 (or equivalent) electronic load via an RS-232 serial communication link between the electronic load and a remote personal computer. (The electronic load can operate at constant voltage, current, power consumption, or resistance.) The program generates a graphical user interface (GUI) at the computer that looks and acts like the front panel of the electronic load. Once the electronic load has been placed in remote-control mode, this program first queries the electronic load for the present values of all its operational and limit settings, and then drops into a cycle in which it reports the instantaneous voltage, current, and power values in displays that resemble those on the electronic load while monitoring the GUI images of pushbuttons for control actions by the user. By means of the pushbutton images and associated prompts, the user can perform such operations as changing limit values, the operating mode, or the set point. The benefit of this software is that it relieves the user of the need to learn one method for operating the electronic load locally and another method for operating it remotely via a personal computer.

Quantifying the role of motor imagery in brain-machine interfaces

PubMed Central

Marchesotti, Silvia; Bassolino, Michela; Serino, Andrea; Bleuler, Hannes; Blanke, Olaf

2016-01-01

Despite technical advances in brain machine interfaces (BMI), for as-yet unknown reasons the ability to control a BMI remains limited to a subset of users. We investigate whether individual differences in BMI control based on motor imagery (MI) are related to differences in MI ability. We assessed whether differences in kinesthetic and visual MI, in the behavioral accuracy of MI, and in electroencephalographic variables, were able to differentiate between high- versus low-aptitude BMI users. High-aptitude BMI users showed higher MI accuracy as captured by subjective and behavioral measurements, pointing to a prominent role of kinesthetic rather than visual imagery. Additionally, for the first time, we applied mental chronometry, a measure quantifying the degree to which imagined and executed movements share a similar temporal profile. We also identified enhanced lateralized μ-band oscillations over sensorimotor cortices during MI in high- versus low-aptitude BMI users. These findings reveal that subjective, behavioral, and EEG measurements of MI are intimately linked to BMI control. We propose that poor BMI control cannot be ascribed only to intrinsic limitations of EEG recordings and that specific questionnaires and mental chronometry can be used as predictors of BMI performance (without the need to record EEG activity). PMID:27052520

SpaceWire: IP, Components, Development Support and Test Equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parkes, S.; McClements, C.; Mills, S.; Martin, I.

SpaceWire is a communications network for use onboard spacecraft. It is designed to connect high data-rate sensors, large solid-state memories, processing units and the downlink telemetry subsystem providing an integrated data-handling network. SpaceWire links are serial, high-speed (2 Mbits/sec to 400 Mbits/sec), bi-directional, full-duplex, pointto- point data links which connect together SpaceWire equipment. Application information is sent along a SpaceWire link in discrete packets. Control and time information can also be sent along SpaceWire links. SpaceWire is defined in the ECSS-E50-12A standard [1]. With the adoption of SpaceWire on many space missions the ready availability of intellectual property (IP) cores, components, software drivers, development support, and test equipment becomes a major issue for those developing satellites and their electronic subsystems. This paper describes the work being done at the University of Dundee and STAR-Dundee Ltd with ESA, BNSC and internal funding to make these essential items available. STAR-Dundee is a spin-out company of the University of Dundee set up specifically to support users of SpaceWire.

Uptake of an Incentive-Based mHealth App: Process Evaluation of the Carrot Rewards App

PubMed Central

Oh, Paul; Alter, David; Leahey, Tricia; Kwan, Matthew; Faulkner, Guy

2017-01-01

Background Behavioral economics has stimulated renewed interest in financial health incentives worldwide. The Carrot Rewards app was developed as part of a public-private partnership to reward Canadians with loyalty points (eg, movies and groceries) for downloading the app, referring friends, and completing an average of 1 to 2 educational health quizzes per week (“micro-learning”), with long-term objectives of increasing health knowledge and encouraging healthy behaviors. Objective The main objective of this study was to evaluate uptake of a loyalty points-based mHealth app during the exclusive 3-month launch period in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The secondary aims were to describe the health and sociodemographic characteristics of users, as well as participation levels (eg, proportion of quizzes completed and friends referred). Methods The app was promoted via loyalty program email campaigns (1.64 million emails). Number of downloads and registrations (users enter age, gender, and valid BC postal code to register) were collected. Additional sociodemographics were inferred by linking postal codes with census data at the local health area (LHA) level. Health risk assessments were also deployed. Participation levels were collected over 3 months and descriptive data were presented. Results In 3 months, 67,464 individuals downloaded the app; in its first week, Carrot Rewards was the most downloaded health app in Canada. Among valid users (n=57,885; at least one quiz completed), the majority were female (62.96%; 36,446/57,885) and aged 18 to 34 years (54.34%; 31,459/57,885). More than half of the users (52.40%; 30,332/57,885) resided in LHAs where the median personal income was below the provincial average (Can $28,765). Furthermore, 64.42% (37,291/57,885) of users lived in metropolitan (ie, urban) LHAs, compared with 56.17% of the general BC population. The most prevalent risk factors were “not” meeting physical activity guidelines (72.70%; 31,765/43,692) and “not” getting the flu shot last year (67.69%; 30,286/44,739). Regarding participation, 60.05% (34,761/57,885) of users were classified as “very high” engagers (>75% quiz completion rate). Conclusions Early results suggest that loyalty points may promote mHealth app uptake. The app was downloaded by younger females especially, and BC residents from higher and lower income regions were equally represented. Loyalty points appear to have driven participation throughout the inaugural 3-month period (ie, quiz completion). PMID:28559224

Quantum key distribution in a multi-user network at gigahertz clock rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez, Veronica; Gordon, Karen J.; Collins, Robert J.; Townsend, Paul D.; Cova, Sergio D.; Rech, Ivan; Buller, Gerald S.

2005-07-01

In recent years quantum information research has lead to the discovery of a number of remarkable new paradigms for information processing and communication. These developments include quantum cryptography schemes that offer unconditionally secure information transport guaranteed by quantum-mechanical laws. Such potentially disruptive security technologies could be of high strategic and economic value in the future. Two major issues confronting researchers in this field are the transmission range (typically <100km) and the key exchange rate, which can be as low as a few bits per second at long optical fiber distances. This paper describes further research of an approach to significantly enhance the key exchange rate in an optical fiber system at distances in the range of 1-20km. We will present results on a number of application scenarios, including point-to-point links and multi-user networks. Quantum key distribution systems have been developed, which use standard telecommunications optical fiber, and which are capable of operating at clock rates of up to 2GHz. They implement a polarization-encoded version of the B92 protocol and employ vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with emission wavelengths of 850 nm as weak coherent light sources, as well as silicon single-photon avalanche diodes as the single photon detectors. The point-to-point quantum key distribution system exhibited a quantum bit error rate of 1.4%, and an estimated net bit rate greater than 100,000 bits-1 for a 4.2 km transmission range.

AISIM (Automated Interactive Simulation Modeling System) VAX Version Training Manual.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-01

node to which the link is to run, a-nd-(3) a user-given name of the link. To pi’ace a link called " LINKI " from NODE1 to NODE2, type CON NODE1,NODE2...example, to eliminate the connection between NODEI and NODE2 type DELETE LINKI The result on the screen would be that the link named "LINK1" would...the user should now enter the command: DEFINE PATH,NODE2 ,NODE4, LINKI ,LINK4 not only would the path from NODE2 to NODE4 be established, but the path

Information Tailoring Enhancements for Large-Scale Social Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-15

Linked Accounts: In addition to linking Twitter accounts, users can now link their Instagram accounts. This is encouraged because users can use their...privileges regarding Twitter data collection is shown here.  Instagram Limits: All limits and privileges regarding Instagram data collection is shown...here. Page | 5 Intelligent Automation Incorporated  Analytics Limits: The availability of analytics for Twitter and Instagram is shown

Designing Two-Layer Optical Networks with Statistical Multiplexing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Addis, B.; Capone, A.; Carello, G.; Malucelli, F.; Fumagalli, M.; Pedrin Elli, E.

The possibility of adding multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) support to transport networks is considered an important opportunity by telecom carriers that want to add packet services and applications to their networks. However, the question that arises is whether it is suitable to have MPLS nodes just at the edge of the network to collect packet traffic from users, or also to introduce MPLS facilities on a subset of the core nodes in order to exploit packet switching flexibility and multiplexing, thus providing induction of a better bandwidth allocation. In this article, we address this complex decisional problem with the support of a mathematical programming approach. We consider two-layer networks where MPLS is overlaid on top of transport networks-synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) or wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)-depending on the required link speed. The discussions' decisions take into account the trade-off between the cost of adding MPLS support in the core nodes and the savings in the link bandwidth allocation due to the statistical multiplexing and the traffic grooming effects induced by MPLS nodes. The traffic matrix specifies for each point-to-point request a pair of values: a mean traffic value and an additional one. Using this traffic model, the effect of statistical multiplexing on a link allows the allocation of a capacity equal to the sum of all the mean values of the traffic demands routed on the link and only the highest additional one. The proposed approach is suitable to solve real instances in reasonable time.

EAGLEView: A surface and grid generation program and its data management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remotigue, M. G.; Hart, E. T.; Stokes, M. L.

1992-01-01

An old and proven grid generation code, the EAGLE grid generation package, is given an added dimension of a graphical interface and a real time data base manager. The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Panel Library is used for the graphical user interface. Through the panels, EAGLEView constructs the EAGLE script command and sends it to EAGLE to be processed. After the object is created, the script is saved in a mini-buffer which can be edited and/or saved and reinterpreted. The graphical objects are set-up in a linked-list and can be selected or queried by pointing and clicking the mouse. The added graphical enhancement to the EAGLE system emphasizes the unique capability to construct field points around complex geometry and visualize the construction every step of the way.

Data Link Test and Analysis System/TCAS Monitor User's Guide

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-02-01

This document is a user's guide for the Data Link Test and Analysis System : (DATAS) Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) monitor application. : It provides a brief overall hardware description of DATAS configured as a TCAS : Monitor, ...

A general UNIX interface for biocomputing and network information retrieval software.

PubMed

Kiong, B K; Tan, T W

1993-10-01

We describe a UNIX program, HYBROW, which can integrate without modification a wide range of UNIX biocomputing and network information retrieval software. HYBROW works in conjunction with a separate set of ASCII files containing embedded hypertext-like links. The program operates like a hypertext browser featuring five basic links: file link, execute-only link, execute-display link, directory-browse link and field-filling link. Useful features of the interface may be developed using combinations of these links with simple shell scripts and examples of these are briefly described. The system manager who supports biocomputing users should find the program easy to maintain, and useful in assisting new and infrequent users; it is also simple to incorporate new programs. Moreover, the individual user can customize the interface, create dynamic menus, hypertext a document, invoke shell scripts and new programs simply with a basic understanding of the UNIX operating system and any text editor. This program was written in C language and uses the UNIX curses and termcap libraries. It is freely available as a tar compressed file (by anonymous FTP from nuscc.nus.sg).

How the structure of Wikipedia articles influences user navigation.

PubMed

Lamprecht, Daniel; Lerman, Kristina; Helic, Denis; Strohmaier, Markus

2017-01-02

In this work we study how people navigate the information network of Wikipedia and investigate (i) free-form navigation by studying all clicks within the English Wikipedia over an entire month and (ii) goal-directed Wikipedia navigation by analyzing wikigames, where users are challenged to retrieve articles by following links. To study how the organization of Wikipedia articles in terms of layout and links affects navigation behavior, we first investigate the characteristics of the structural organization and of hyperlinks in Wikipedia and then evaluate link selection models based on article structure and other potential influences in navigation, such as the generality of an article's topic. In free-form Wikipedia navigation, covering all Wikipedia usage scenarios, we find that click choices can be best modeled by a bias towards article structure, such as a tendency to click links located in the lead section. For the goal-directed navigation of wikigames, our findings confirm the zoom-out and the homing-in phases identified by previous work, where users are guided by generality at first and textual similarity to the target later. However, our interpretation of the link selection models accentuates that article structure is the best explanation for the navigation paths in all except these initial and final stages. Overall, we find evidence that users more frequently click on links that are located close to the top of an article. The structure of Wikipedia articles, which places links to more general concepts near the top, supports navigation by allowing users to quickly find the better-connected articles that facilitate navigation. Our results highlight the importance of article structure and link position in Wikipedia navigation and suggest that better organization of information can help make information networks more navigable.

How the structure of Wikipedia articles influences user navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamprecht, Daniel; Lerman, Kristina; Helic, Denis; Strohmaier, Markus

2017-01-01

In this work we study how people navigate the information network of Wikipedia and investigate (i) free-form navigation by studying all clicks within the English Wikipedia over an entire month and (ii) goal-directed Wikipedia navigation by analyzing wikigames, where users are challenged to retrieve articles by following links. To study how the organization of Wikipedia articles in terms of layout and links affects navigation behavior, we first investigate the characteristics of the structural organization and of hyperlinks in Wikipedia and then evaluate link selection models based on article structure and other potential influences in navigation, such as the generality of an article's topic. In free-form Wikipedia navigation, covering all Wikipedia usage scenarios, we find that click choices can be best modeled by a bias towards article structure, such as a tendency to click links located in the lead section. For the goal-directed navigation of wikigames, our findings confirm the zoom-out and the homing-in phases identified by previous work, where users are guided by generality at first and textual similarity to the target later. However, our interpretation of the link selection models accentuates that article structure is the best explanation for the navigation paths in all except these initial and final stages. Overall, we find evidence that users more frequently click on links that are located close to the top of an article. The structure of Wikipedia articles, which places links to more general concepts near the top, supports navigation by allowing users to quickly find the better-connected articles that facilitate navigation. Our results highlight the importance of article structure and link position in Wikipedia navigation and suggest that better organization of information can help make information networks more navigable.

How the structure of Wikipedia articles influences user navigation

PubMed Central

Lamprecht, Daniel; Lerman, Kristina; Helic, Denis; Strohmaier, Markus

2017-01-01

In this work we study how people navigate the information network of Wikipedia and investigate (i) free-form navigation by studying all clicks within the English Wikipedia over an entire month and (ii) goal-directed Wikipedia navigation by analyzing wikigames, where users are challenged to retrieve articles by following links. To study how the organization of Wikipedia articles in terms of layout and links affects navigation behavior, we first investigate the characteristics of the structural organization and of hyperlinks in Wikipedia and then evaluate link selection models based on article structure and other potential influences in navigation, such as the generality of an article's topic. In free-form Wikipedia navigation, covering all Wikipedia usage scenarios, we find that click choices can be best modeled by a bias towards article structure, such as a tendency to click links located in the lead section. For the goal-directed navigation of wikigames, our findings confirm the zoom-out and the homing-in phases identified by previous work, where users are guided by generality at first and textual similarity to the target later. However, our interpretation of the link selection models accentuates that article structure is the best explanation for the navigation paths in all except these initial and final stages. Overall, we find evidence that users more frequently click on links that are located close to the top of an article. The structure of Wikipedia articles, which places links to more general concepts near the top, supports navigation by allowing users to quickly find the better-connected articles that facilitate navigation. Our results highlight the importance of article structure and link position in Wikipedia navigation and suggest that better organization of information can help make information networks more navigable. PMID:28670171

An Integrated Chemical Environment to Support 21st-Century Toxicology.

PubMed

Bell, Shannon M; Phillips, Jason; Sedykh, Alexander; Tandon, Arpit; Sprankle, Catherine; Morefield, Stephen Q; Shapiro, Andy; Allen, David; Shah, Ruchir; Maull, Elizabeth A; Casey, Warren M; Kleinstreuer, Nicole C

2017-05-25

SUMMARY : Access to high-quality reference data is essential for the development, validation, and implementation of in vitro and in silico approaches that reduce and replace the use of animals in toxicity testing. Currently, these data must often be pooled from a variety of disparate sources to efficiently link a set of assay responses and model predictions to an outcome or hazard classification. To provide a central access point for these purposes, the National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods developed the Integrated Chemical Environment (ICE) web resource. The ICE data integrator allows users to retrieve and combine data sets and to develop hypotheses through data exploration. Open-source computational workflows and models will be available for download and application to local data. ICE currently includes curated in vivo test data, reference chemical information, in vitro assay data (including Tox21 TM /ToxCast™ high-throughput screening data), and in silico model predictions. Users can query these data collections focusing on end points of interest such as acute systemic toxicity, endocrine disruption, skin sensitization, and many others. ICE is publicly accessible at https://ice.ntp.niehs.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1759.

An Integrated Chemical Environment to Support 21st-Century Toxicology

PubMed Central

Bell, Shannon M.; Phillips, Jason; Sedykh, Alexander; Tandon, Arpit; Sprankle, Catherine; Morefield, Stephen Q.; Shapiro, Andy; Allen, David; Shah, Ruchir; Maull, Elizabeth A.; Casey, Warren M.

2017-01-01

Summary: Access to high-quality reference data is essential for the development, validation, and implementation of in vitro and in silico approaches that reduce and replace the use of animals in toxicity testing. Currently, these data must often be pooled from a variety of disparate sources to efficiently link a set of assay responses and model predictions to an outcome or hazard classification. To provide a central access point for these purposes, the National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods developed the Integrated Chemical Environment (ICE) web resource. The ICE data integrator allows users to retrieve and combine data sets and to develop hypotheses through data exploration. Open-source computational workflows and models will be available for download and application to local data. ICE currently includes curated in vivo test data, reference chemical information, in vitro assay data (including Tox21TM/ToxCast™ high-throughput screening data), and in silico model predictions. Users can query these data collections focusing on end points of interest such as acute systemic toxicity, endocrine disruption, skin sensitization, and many others. ICE is publicly accessible at https://ice.ntp.niehs.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1759 PMID:28557712

Data link test and analysis system/TCAS monitor user's guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandongen, John; Wapelhorst, Leo

1991-02-01

This document is a user's guide for the Data Link Test and Analysis System (DATAS) Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) monitor. It provides a brief overall hardware description of DATAS configured as a TCAS monitor, and the applications software.

Information Tailoring Enhancements for Large-Scale Social Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-26

Accounts: In addition to linking Twitter accounts, users can now link their Instagram accounts. This is encouraged because users can use their token (as...regarding Twitter data collection is shown here.  Instagram Limits: All limits and privileges regarding Instagram data collection is shown here...Analytics Limits: The availability of analytics for Twitter and Instagram is shown here. These privileges are based on user or group.  Manage

Real-time services in IP network architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilardi, Antonella

1996-12-01

The worldwide internet system seems to be the success key for the provision of real time multimedia services to both residential and business users and someone says that in such a way broadband networks will have a reason to exist. This new class of applications that use multiple media (voice, video and data) impose constraints to the global network nowadays consisting of subnets with various data links. The attention will be focused on the interconnection of IP non ATM and ATM networks. IETF and ATM forum are currently involved in the developing specifications suited to adapt the connectionless IP protocol to the connection oriented ATM protocol. First of all the link between the ATM and the IP service model has to be set in order to match the QoS and traffic requirements defined in the relative environment. A further significant topic is represented by the mapping of IP resource reservation model onto the ATM signalling and in the end it is necessary to define how the routing works when there are QoS parameters associated. This paper, considering only unicast applications, will examine the above issues taking as a starting point the situation where an host launches as call set up request with the relevant QoS and traffic descriptor and at some point a router at the edge of the ATM network has to decide how forwarding and request in order to establish an end to end link with the right capabilities. The aim is to compare the proposals emerging from different standard bodies to point out convergency or incompatibility.

Meteor reporting made easy- The Fireballs in the Sky smartphone app

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sansom, E.; Ridgewell, J.; Bland, P.; Paxman, J.

2016-01-01

Using smartphone technology, the award-winning 'Fireballs in the Sky' app provides a new approach to public meteor reporting. Using the internal GPS and sensors of a smartphone, a user can record the start and end position of a meteor sighting with a background star field as reference. Animations are used to visualize the duration and characteristics of the meteor. The intuitive application can be used in situ, providing a more accurate eye witness account than after-the-fact reports (although reports may also be made through a website interface). Since its launch in 2013, the app has received over 2000 submissions, including 73 events which were reported by multiple users. The app database is linked to the Desert Fireball Network in Australia (DFN), meaning app reports can be confirmed by DFN observatories. Supporting features include an integrated meteor shower tool that provides updates on active showers, their visibility based on moon phase, as well as a tool to point the user toward the radiant. The locations of reports are also now shown on a live map on the Fireballs in the Sky webpage.

Near-field self-interference cancellation and quality of service multicast beamforming in full-duplex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Fei; Shao, Shihai; Tang, Youxi

2016-10-01

To enable simultaneous multicast downlink transmit and receive operations on the same frequency band, also known as full-duplex links between an access point and mobile users. The problem of minimizing the total power of multicast transmit beamforming is considered from the viewpoint of ensuring the suppression amount of near-field line-of-sight self-interference and guaranteeing prescribed minimum signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) at each receiver of the multicast groups. Based on earlier results for multicast groups beamforming, the joint problem is easily shown to be NP-hard. A semidefinite relaxation (SDR) technique with linear program power adjust method is proposed to solve the NP-hard problem. Simulation shows that the proposed method is feasible even when the local receive antenna in nearfield and the mobile user in far-filed are in the same direction.

An analytical investigation of acquisition techniques and system integration studies for a radar aircraft guidance research facility, phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, W. S.; Ruedger, W. H.

1973-01-01

A review of user requirements and updated instrumentation plans are presented for the aircraft tracking and guidance facility at NASA Wallops Station. User demand has increased as a result of new flight research programs; however, basic requirements remain the same as originally reported. Instrumentation plans remain essentially the same but with plans for up- and down-link telemetry more firm. With slippages in the laser acquisition schedule, added importance is placed on the FPS-16 radar as the primary tracking device until the laser is available. Limited simulation studies of a particular Kalman-type filter are also presented. These studies simulated the use of the filter in a helicopter guidance loop in a real-time mode. Disadvantages and limitations of this mode of operation are pointed out. Laser eyesafety calculations show that laser tracking of aircraft is readily feasible from the eyesafety viewpoint.

Leveraging Social Links for Trust and Privacy in Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cutillo, Leucio Antonio; Molva, Refik; Strufe, Thorsten

Existing on-line social networks (OSN) such as Facebook suffer from several weaknesses regarding privacy and security due to their inherent handling of personal data. As pointed out in [4], a preliminary analysis of existing OSNs shows that they are subject to a number of vulnerabilities, ranging from cloning legitimate users to sybil attacks through privacy violations. Starting from these OSN vulnerabilities as the first step of a broader research activity, we came up with a new approach that is very promising in re-visiting security and privacy problems in distributed systems and networks. We suggest a solution that both aims at avoiding any centralized control and leverages on the real life trust between users, that is part of the social network application itself. An anonymization technique based on multi-hop routing among trusted nodes guarantees privacy in data access and, generally speaking, in all the OSN operations.

Persistent Identifiers Implementation in EOSDIS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramapriyan, H. K. " Rama"

2016-01-01

This presentation provides the motivation for and status of implementation of persistent identifiers in NASA's Earth Observation System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). The motivation is provided from the point of view of long-term preservation of datasets such that a number of questions raised by current and future users can be answered easily and precisely. A number of artifacts need to be preserved along with datasets to make this possible, especially when the authors of datasets are no longer available to address users questions. The artifacts and datasets need to be uniquely and persistently identified and linked with each other for full traceability, understandability and scientific reproducibility. Current work in the Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project and the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in assigning Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) is discussed as well as challenges that remain to be addressed in the future.

A simplified dynamic model of the T700 turboshaft engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duyar, Ahmet; Gu, Zhen; Litt, Jonathan S.

1992-01-01

A simplified open-loop dynamic model of the T700 turboshaft engine, valid within the normal operating range of the engine, is developed. This model is obtained by linking linear state space models obtained at different engine operating points. Each linear model is developed from a detailed nonlinear engine simulation using a multivariable system identification and realization method. The simplified model may be used with a model-based real time diagnostic scheme for fault detection and diagnostics, as well as for open loop engine dynamics studies and closed loop control analysis utilizing a user generated control law.

Weighted log-linear models for service delivery points in Ethiopia: a case of modern contraceptive users at health facilities.

PubMed

Workie, Demeke Lakew; Zike, Dereje Tesfaye; Fenta, Haile Mekonnen; Mekonnen, Mulusew Admasu

2018-05-10

Ethiopia is among countries with low contraceptive usage prevalence rate and resulted in high total fertility rate and unwanted pregnancy which intern affects the maternal and child health status. This study aimed to investigate the major factors that affect the number of modern contraceptive users at service delivery point in Ethiopia. The Performance Monitoring and Accountability2020/Ethiopia data collected between March and April 2016 at round-4 from 461 eligible service delivery points were in this study. The weighted log-linear negative binomial model applied to analyze the service delivery point's data. Fifty percent of service delivery points in Ethiopia given service for 61 modern contraceptive users with the interquartile range of 0.62. The expected log number of modern contraceptive users at rural was 1.05 (95% Wald CI: - 1.42 to - 0.68) lower than the expected log number of modern contraceptive users at urban. In addition, the expected log count of modern contraceptive users at others facility type was 0.58 lower than the expected log count of modern contraceptive users at the health center. The numbers of nurses/midwives were affecting the number of modern contraceptive users. Since, the incidence rate of modern contraceptive users increased by one due to an additional nurse in the delivery point. Among different factors considered in this study, residence, region, facility type, the number of days per week family planning offered, the number of nurses/midwives and number of medical assistants were to be associated with the number of modern contraceptive users. Thus, the Government of Ethiopia would take immediate steps to address causes of the number of modern contraceptive users in Ethiopia.

The MAGIC Touch: Combining MAGIC-Pointing with a Touch-Sensitive Mouse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drewes, Heiko; Schmidt, Albrecht

In this paper, we show how to use the combination of eye-gaze and a touch-sensitive mouse to ease pointing tasks in graphical user interfaces. A touch of the mouse positions the mouse pointer at the current gaze position of the user. Thus, the pointer is always at the position where the user expects it on the screen. This approach changes the user experience in tasks that include frequent switching between keyboard and mouse input (e.g. working with spreadsheets). In a user study, we compared the touch-sensitive mouse with a traditional mouse and observed speed improvements for pointing tasks on complex backgrounds. For pointing task on plain backgrounds, performances with both devices were similar, but users perceived the gaze-sensitive interaction of the touch-sensitive mouse as being faster and more convenient. Our results show that using a touch-sensitive mouse that positions the pointer on the user’s gaze position reduces the need for mouse movements in pointing tasks enormously.

Self-descriptions on LinkedIn: Recruitment or friendship identity?

PubMed

Garcia, Danilo; Cloninger, Kevin M; Granjard, Alexandre; Molander-Söderholm, Kristian; Amato, Clara; Sikström, Sverker

2018-04-26

We used quantitative semantics to find clusters of words in LinkedIn users' self-descriptions to an employer or a friend. Some of these clusters discriminated between worker and friend conditions (e.g., flexible vs. caring) and between LinkedIn users with high and low education (e.g., analytical vs. messy). © 2018 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Tracking and data relay satellite system configuration and tradeoff study. Volume 5: TDRS spacecraft design, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

A dual spin stabilized TDR spacecraft design is presented for low data rate (LDR) and medium data rate (MDR) user spacecraft telecommunication relay service. The relay satellite provides command and data return channels for unmanned users together with duplex voice and data communication channels for manned user spacecraft. TDRS/ground links are in the Ku band. Command links are provided at UHF for LDR users and S band for MDR users. Voice communication channels are provided at UHF/VHF for LDR users and at S band for MDR users. The spacecraft is designed for launch on the Delta 2914 with system deployment planned for 1978. This volume contains a description of the overall TDR spacecraft configuration, a detailed description of the spacecraft subsystems, a reliability analysis, and a product effectiveness plan.

Implementing a user-driven online quality improvement toolkit for cancer care.

PubMed

Luck, Jeff; York, Laura S; Bowman, Candice; Gale, Randall C; Smith, Nina; Asch, Steven M

2015-05-01

Peer-to-peer collaboration within integrated health systems requires a mechanism for sharing quality improvement lessons. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) developed online compendia of tools linked to specific cancer quality indicators. We evaluated awareness and use of the toolkits, variation across facilities, impact of social marketing, and factors influencing toolkit use. A diffusion of innovations conceptual framework guided the collection of user activity data from the Toolkit Series SharePoint site and an online survey of potential Lung Cancer Care Toolkit users. The VA Toolkit Series site had 5,088 unique visitors in its first 22 months; 5% of users accounted for 40% of page views. Social marketing communications were correlated with site usage. Of survey respondents (n = 355), 54% had visited the site, of whom 24% downloaded at least one tool. Respondents' awareness of the lung cancer quality performance of their facility, and facility participation in quality improvement collaboratives, were positively associated with Toolkit Series site use. Facility-level lung cancer tool implementation varied widely across tool types. The VA Toolkit Series achieved widespread use and a high degree of user engagement, although use varied widely across facilities. The most active users were aware of and active in cancer care quality improvement. Toolkit use seemed to be reinforced by other quality improvement activities. A combination of user-driven tool creation and centralized toolkit development seemed to be effective for leveraging health information technology to spread disease-specific quality improvement tools within an integrated health care system. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Satellite Communication Hardware Emulation System (SCHES)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, Ted

1993-01-01

Satellite Communication Hardware Emulator System (SCHES) is a powerful simulator that emulates the hardware used in TDRSS links. SCHES is a true bit-by-bit simulator that models communications hardware accurately enough to be used as a verification mechanism for actual hardware tests on user spacecraft. As a credit to its modular design, SCHES is easily configurable to model any user satellite communication link, though some development may be required to tailor existing software to user specific hardware.

VIPER: Virtual Intelligent Planetary Exploration Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Laurence; Flueckiger, Lorenzo; Nguyen, Laurent; Washington, Richard

2001-01-01

Simulation and visualization of rover behavior are critical capabilities for scientists and rover operators to construct, test, and validate plans for commanding a remote rover. The VIPER system links these capabilities. using a high-fidelity virtual-reality (VR) environment. a kinematically accurate simulator, and a flexible plan executive to allow users to simulate and visualize possible execution outcomes of a plan under development. This work is part of a larger vision of a science-centered rover control environment, where a scientist may inspect and explore the environment via VR tools, specify science goals, and visualize the expected and actual behavior of the remote rover. The VIPER system is constructed from three generic systems, linked together via a minimal amount of customization into the integrated system. The complete system points out the power of combining plan execution, simulation, and visualization for envisioning rover behavior; it also demonstrates the utility of developing generic technologies. which can be combined in novel and useful ways.

EVITHERM: The Virtual Institute of Thermal Metrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redgrove, J.; Filtz, J.-R.; Fischer, J.; Le Parlouër, P.; Mathot, V.; Nesvadba, P.; Pavese, F.

2007-12-01

Evitherm is a web-based thermal resource centre, resulting from a 3-year project partly funded by the EU’s GROWTH programme (2002 05). Evitherm links together the widely distributed centres of excellence (NMIs, research and teaching institutes, consultants, etc.) and others concerned with thermal measurements and technology to provide a focal point for information exchange and knowledge transfer between all these organizations and industry. To facilitate the quick and easy flow of thermal knowledge to users of thermal technologies, evitherm has a website (www.evitherm.org) through which it disseminates information and by which it also provides access to resources such as training, property data, measurements and experts. Among the resources available from the website are (1) thermal property data—offering access to some of the world’s leading databases; (2) expertise— evitherm has a database of consultants, an Advice line, a public Forum and a unique Consultancy Brokering Service whereby users are linked to the expert they need to solve their thermal industrial problems; (3) industry resources—thermal information for particular industry sectors; (4) services—information directories on thermal property measurement, training, equipment supply, reference materials, etc.; (5) literature—links to books, papers, standards, etc.; (6) events—conferences, meetings, seminars, organizations and networks, what’s happening. A user only has to register (for free) to gain access to all the information on the evitherm website. Much of the thermal property data can be accessed for free and in a few cases we have negotiated affordable rates for access to some leading databases, such as CINDAS, THERSYST and NELFOOD. This article illustrates the aims and structure of the evitherm Society, how it is directed, and how it serves the thermal community worldwide in its need for quick and easy access to the resources needed to help ensure a well resourced industrial work force and clean and efficient thermal processes.

Sharing and executing linked data queries in a collaborative environment.

PubMed

García Godoy, María Jesús; López-Camacho, Esteban; Navas-Delgado, Ismael; Aldana-Montes, José F

2013-07-01

Life Sciences have emerged as a key domain in the Linked Data community because of the diversity of data semantics and formats available through a great variety of databases and web technologies. Thus, it has been used as the perfect domain for applications in the web of data. Unfortunately, bioinformaticians are not exploiting the full potential of this already available technology, and experts in Life Sciences have real problems to discover, understand and devise how to take advantage of these interlinked (integrated) data. In this article, we present Bioqueries, a wiki-based portal that is aimed at community building around biological Linked Data. This tool has been designed to aid bioinformaticians in developing SPARQL queries to access biological databases exposed as Linked Data, and also to help biologists gain a deeper insight into the potential use of this technology. This public space offers several services and a collaborative infrastructure to stimulate the consumption of biological Linked Data and, therefore, contribute to implementing the benefits of the web of data in this domain. Bioqueries currently contains 215 query entries grouped by database and theme, 230 registered users and 44 end points that contain biological Resource Description Framework information. The Bioqueries portal is freely accessible at http://bioqueries.uma.es. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The Airspace Concepts Evaluation System Architecture and System Plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Windhorst, Robert; Meyn, Larry; Manikonda, Vikram; Carlos, Patrick; Capozzi, Brian

2006-01-01

The Airspace Concepts Evaluation System is a simulation of the National Airspace System. It includes models of flights, airports, airspaces, air traffic controls, traffic flow managements, and airline operation centers operating throughout the United States. It is used to predict system delays in response to future capacity and demand scenarios and perform benefits assessments of current and future airspace technologies and operational concepts. Facilitation of these studies requires that the simulation architecture supports plug and play of different air traffic control, traffic flow management, and airline operation center models and multi-fidelity modeling of flights, airports, and airspaces. The simulation is divided into two parts that are named, borrowing from classical control theory terminology, control and plant. The control consists of air traffic control, traffic flow management, and airline operation center models, and the plant consists of flight, airport, and airspace models. The plant can run open loop, in the absence of the control. However, undesired affects, such as conflicts and over congestions in the airspaces and airports, can occur. Different controls are applied, "plug and played", to the plant. A particular control is evaluated by analyzing how well it managed conflicts and congestions. Furthermore, the terminal area plants consist of models of airports and terminal airspaces. Each model consists of a set of nodes and links which are connected by the user to form a network. Nodes model runways, fixes, taxi intersections, gates, and/or other points of interest, and links model taxiways, departure paths, and arrival paths. Metering, flow distribution, and sequencing functions can be applied at nodes. Different fidelity model of how a flight transits are can be used by links. The fidelity of the model can be adjusted by the user by either changing the complexity of the node/link network-or the way that the link models how the flights transit from one node to the other.

Four-fold increase in users of time-wavelength division multiplexing (TWDM) passive optical network (PON) by delayed optical amplitude modulation (AM) upstream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kachhatiya, Vivek; Prince, Shanthi

2016-12-01

In this paper, we have proposed and simulated optical time division multiplexed passive optical network (TDM-PON) using delayed optical amplitude modulation (AM). Eight upstream wavelengths are demonstrated to show optical time wavelength division multiplexed (TWDM) by combining optical network units (ONU) users data at the remote node (RN). Each ONU generates 2.5 Gb/s user data, and it is modulated using novel return to zero (RZ) delayed AM. Optical TDM aggregates 10 Gb/s data per wavelength from four 2.5 Gb/s upstream user data, which facilitates four different ONU data on the same wavelength as 10 Gb/s per upstream wavelength and, simplify the laser requirements (2.5 Gb/s) at each optical network unit (ONU) transmitter. Upstream optical TWDM-PON is investigated for eight wavelengths with wavelength spacing of 100 GHz. Novel optical TDM for upstream increased the number of the simultaneous user to fourfold from conventional TWDM-PON using delayed AM with a high-quality-factor of received signal. Despite performance degradation due to different fiber reach and dispersion compensation technique, Optical TWDM link shows significant improvement regarding receiver sensitivity when compared with common TWDM link. Hence, it offers optimistic thinking to show optical TDM at this phase as one of the future direction, where complex digital signal processing (DSP) and coherent optical communication are frequently demonstrated to serve the access network. Downstream side conventional TWDM eight wavelengths are multiplexed at the OLT and sent downstream to serve distributed tunable ONU receivers through an optical distribution network (ODN). Each downstream wavelengths are modulated at the peak rate of 10 Gb/s using non-return to zero external modulation (NRZ-EM). The proposed architecture is cost efficient and supports high data rates as well as ;pay as you grow; network for both service providers and the users perspectives. Users are classified into two categories viz home-user and business-user, with an option for easy up-gradation. Proposed architecture operates on next generation passive optical network stage 2 (NG-PON2) wavelength plan, with symmetrical data rate. Downstream performance is investigated by comparing, high power laser source with a conventional laser source and the L-band Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) of gain 10 dB and 20 dB. Downstream eight wavelengths perform error-free up to 40 Km fiber reach and 1024 splitting points. Power budget of the proposed architecture incorporates the N1, N2, E1 and E2 optical path loss class.

How Effective is Routing for Wireless Networking

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-05

Routing (LAR) [31]. The basic mechanism of how link-based routing schemes operate is as follows: a user broadcasts a control message (called a “ hello ...to all of its neighbors. If a series of hello messages are exchanged between two users, a link is considered to exist between them. Routes are then be...description of ETX is as follows. For a given window of time, the number of hello packets that a user receives from a neighbor is counted. A cost is then

47 CFR 27.14 - Construction requirements; Criteria for renewal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... at least 40 percent of the license area's population by March 13, 2017, and to at least 75 percent of... a license area by March 13, 2017, and 30 point-to-point links per million persons (one link per 33... minimum of 15 point-to-point links by March 13, 2017, and a minimum of 15 point-to-point links by...

Marijuana Use at School and Achievement-Linked Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Kristin V.

2012-01-01

Marijuana remains one of the most frequently used drugs among adolescents and usage has increased in recent years. In addition to general use, many high school students use marijuana during the school day. The present study focused on achievement-linked correlates of in-school marijuana use by comparing non-users, general users, and school users…

Nessi: An EEG-Controlled Web Browser for Severely Paralyzed Patients

PubMed Central

Bensch, Michael; Karim, Ahmed A.; Mellinger, Jürgen; Hinterberger, Thilo; Tangermann, Michael; Bogdan, Martin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Birbaumer, Niels

2007-01-01

We have previously demonstrated that an EEG-controlled web browser based on self-regulation of slow cortical potentials (SCPs) enables severely paralyzed patients to browse the internet independently of any voluntary muscle control. However, this system had several shortcomings, among them that patients could only browse within a limited number of web pages and had to select links from an alphabetical list, causing problems if the link names were identical or if they were unknown to the user (as in graphical links). Here we describe a new EEG-controlled web browser, called Nessi, which overcomes these shortcomings. In Nessi, the open source browser, Mozilla, was extended by graphical in-place markers, whereby different brain responses correspond to different frame colors placed around selectable items, enabling the user to select any link on a web page. Besides links, other interactive elements are accessible to the user, such as e-mail and virtual keyboards, opening up a wide range of hypertext-based applications. PMID:18350132

Whose point-of-view is it anyway?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garvey, Gregory P.

2011-03-01

Shared virtual worlds such as Second Life privilege a single point-of-view, namely that of the user. When logged into Second Life a user sees the virtual world from a default viewpoint, which is from slightly above and behind the user's avatar (the user's alter ego 'in-world.') This point-of-view is as if the user were viewing his or her avatar using a camera floating a few feet behind it. In fact it is possible to set the view to as if you were seeing the world through the eyes of your avatar or you can even move the camera completely independent of your avatar. A change in point-of-view, means, more than just a different camera point-of-view. The practice of using multiple avatars requires a transformation of identity and personality. When a user 'enacts' the identity of a particular avatar, their 'real' personality is masked by the assumed personality. The technology of virtual worlds permits both a change of point-of -view and also facilitates a change in identity. Does this cause any psychological distress? Or is the ability to be someone else and see a world (a game, a virtual world) through a different set of eyes somehow liberating and even beneficial?

Gaze3DFix: Detecting 3D fixations with an ellipsoidal bounding volume.

PubMed

Weber, Sascha; Schubert, Rebekka S; Vogt, Stefan; Velichkovsky, Boris M; Pannasch, Sebastian

2017-10-26

Nowadays, the use of eyetracking to determine 2-D gaze positions is common practice, and several approaches to the detection of 2-D fixations exist, but ready-to-use algorithms to determine eye movements in three dimensions are still missing. Here we present a dispersion-based algorithm with an ellipsoidal bounding volume that estimates 3D fixations. Therefore, 3D gaze points are obtained using a vector-based approach and are further processed with our algorithm. To evaluate the accuracy of our method, we performed experimental studies with real and virtual stimuli. We obtained good congruence between stimulus position and both the 3D gaze points and the 3D fixation locations within the tested range of 200-600 mm. The mean deviation of the 3D fixations from the stimulus positions was 17 mm for the real as well as for the virtual stimuli, with larger variances at increasing stimulus distances. The described algorithms are implemented in two dynamic linked libraries (Gaze3D.dll and Fixation3D.dll), and we provide a graphical user interface (Gaze3DFixGUI.exe) that is designed for importing 2-D binocular eyetracking data and calculating both 3D gaze points and 3D fixations using the libraries. The Gaze3DFix toolkit, including both libraries and the graphical user interface, is available as open-source software at https://github.com/applied-cognition-research/Gaze3DFix .

Neuroimaging meta-analysis of cannabis use studies reveals convergent functional alterations in brain regions supporting cognitive control and reward processing.

PubMed

Yanes, Julio A; Riedel, Michael C; Ray, Kimberly L; Kirkland, Anna E; Bird, Ryan T; Boeving, Emily R; Reid, Meredith A; Gonzalez, Raul; Robinson, Jennifer L; Laird, Angela R; Sutherland, Matthew T

2018-03-01

Lagging behind rapid changes to state laws, societal views, and medical practice is the scientific investigation of cannabis's impact on the human brain. While several brain imaging studies have contributed important insight into neurobiological alterations linked with cannabis use, our understanding remains limited. Here, we sought to delineate those brain regions that consistently demonstrate functional alterations among cannabis users versus non-users across neuroimaging studies using the activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis framework. In ancillary analyses, we characterized task-related brain networks that co-activate with cannabis-affected regions using data archived in a large neuroimaging repository, and then determined which psychological processes may be disrupted via functional decoding techniques. When considering convergent alterations among users, decreased activation was observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and limbic areas and was linked with cognitive control processes. Similarly, decreased activation was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which co-activated with frontal and occipital areas and linked with attention-related processes. Conversely, increased activation among users was observed in the striatum, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and other limbic areas and linked with reward processing. These meta-analytic outcomes indicate that cannabis use is linked with differential, region-specific effects across the brain.

Easy boundary definition for EGUN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, R.

1989-06-01

The relativistic electron optics program EGUN [1] has reached a broad distribution, and many users have asked for an easier way of boundary input. A preprocessor to EGUN has been developed that accepts polygonal input of boundary points, and offers features such as rounding off of corners, shifting and squeezing of electrodes and simple input of slanted Neumann boundaries. This preprocessor can either be used on a PC that is linked to a mainframe using the FORTRAN version of EGUN, or in connection with the version EGNc, which also runs on a PC. In any case, direct graphic response on the PC greatly facilitates the creation of correct input files for EGUN.

Tracking Data Acquisition System (TDAS) for the 1990's. Volume 6: TDAS navigation system architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elrod, B. D.; Jacobsen, A.; Cook, R. A.; Singh, R. N. P.

1983-01-01

One-way range and Doppler methods for providing user orbit and time determination are examined. Forward link beacon tracking, with on-board processing of independent navigation signals broadcast continuously by TDAS spacecraft; forward link scheduled tracking; with on-board processing of navigation data received during scheduled TDAS forward link service intervals; and return link scheduled tracking; with ground-based processing of user generated navigation data during scheduled TDAS return link service intervals are discussed. A system level definition and requirements assessment for each alternative, an evaluation of potential navigation performance and comparison with TDAS mission model requirements is included. TDAS satellite tracking is also addressed for two alternatives: BRTS and VLBI tracking.

Challenge: How Effective is Routing for Wireless Networking

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-03

sage (called a“ hello ”) to all of its neighbors. If a series of hello messages are exchanged between two users, a link is considered to exist between...these schemes. A brief description of ETX is as follows. For a given window of time, the number of hello packets that a user receives from a neighbor is...counted. A cost is then assigned to the link based on how many hello messages were heard; a link that has fewer hellos successfully transmitted across

Challenge: How Effective is Routing for Wireless Networking

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-07

sage (called a“ hello ”) to all of its neighbors. If a series of hello messages are exchanged between two users, a link is considered to exist between...these schemes. A brief description of ETX is as follows. For a given window of time, the number of hello packets that a user receives from a neighbor is...counted. A cost is then assigned to the link based on how many hello messages were heard; a link that has fewer hellos successfully transmitted across

The network and transmission of based on the principle of laser multipoint communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Qiang; Liu, Xianzhu; Jiang, Huilin; Hu, Yuan; Jiang, Lun

2014-11-01

Space laser communication is the perfectly choose to the earth integrated information backbone network in the future. This paper introduces the structure of the earth integrated information network that is a large capacity integrated high-speed broadband information network, a variety of communications platforms were densely interconnected together, such as the land, sea, air and deep air users or aircraft, the technologies of the intelligent high-speed processing, switching and routing were adopt. According to the principle of maximum effective comprehensive utilization of information resources, get accurately information, fast processing and efficient transmission through inter-satellite, satellite earth, sky and ground station and other links. Namely it will be a space-based, air-based and ground-based integrated information network. It will be started from the trends of laser communication. The current situation of laser multi-point communications were expounded, the transmission scheme of the dynamic multi-point between wireless laser communication n network has been carefully studied, a variety of laser communication network transmission schemes the corresponding characteristics and scope described in detail , described the optical multiplexer machine that based on the multiport form of communication is applied to relay backbone link; the optical multiplexer-based on the form of the segmentation receiver field of view is applied to small angle link, the optical multiplexer-based form of three concentric spheres structure is applied to short distances, motorized occasions, and the multi-point stitching structure based on the rotation paraboloid is applied to inter-satellite communications in detail. The multi-point laser communication terminal apparatus consist of the transmitting and receiving antenna, a relay optical system, the spectroscopic system, communication system and communication receiver transmitter system. The communication forms of optical multiplexer more than four goals or more, the ratio of received power and volume weight will be Obvious advantages, and can track multiple moving targets in flexible.It would to provide reference for the construction of earth integrated information networks.

User Evaluation of Automatically Generated Semantic Hypertext Links in a Heavily Used Procedural Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tebbutt, John

1999-01-01

Discusses efforts at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to construct an information discovery tool through the fusion of hypertext and information retrieval that works by parsing a contiguous document base into smaller documents and inserting semantic links between them. Also presents a case study that evaluated user reactions.…

Subjective aggression during alcohol and cannabis intoxication before and after aggression exposure.

PubMed

De Sousa Fernandes Perna, E B; Theunissen, E L; Kuypers, K P C; Toennes, S W; Ramaekers, J G

2016-09-01

Alcohol and cannabis use have been implicated in aggression. Alcohol consumption is known to facilitate aggression, whereas a causal link between cannabis and aggression has not been clearly demonstrated. This study investigated the acute effects of alcohol and cannabis on subjective aggression in alcohol and cannabis users, respectively, following aggression exposure. Drug-free controls served as a reference. It was hypothesized that aggression exposure would increase subjective aggression in alcohol users during alcohol intoxication, whereas it was expected to decrease subjective aggression in cannabis users during cannabis intoxication. Heavy alcohol (n = 20) and regular cannabis users (n = 21), and controls (n = 20) were included in a mixed factorial study. Alcohol and cannabis users received single doses of alcohol and placebo or cannabis and placebo, respectively. Subjective aggression was assessed before and after aggression exposure consisting of administrations of the point-subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP) and the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT). Testosterone and cortisol levels in response to alcohol/cannabis treatment and aggression exposure were recorded as secondary outcome measures. Subjective aggression significantly increased following aggression exposure in all groups while being sober. Alcohol intoxication increased subjective aggression whereas cannabis decreased the subjective aggression following aggression exposure. Aggressive responses during the PSAP increased following alcohol and decreased following cannabis relative to placebo. Changes in aggressive feeling or response were not correlated to the neuroendocrine response to treatments. It is concluded that alcohol facilitates feelings of aggression whereas cannabis diminishes aggressive feelings in heavy alcohol and regular cannabis users, respectively.

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.

Precipitation links (PrecipLinks) - a prototype directory for precipitation information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velanthapillia, Balendran; Stocker, Erich Franz

2006-01-01

This poster describes a web directory of research oriented precipitation links. In this era of sophisticated search engines and web agents, it might seem counterproductive to establish such a directory of links. However, entering precipitation into a search engine like google will yield over one million hits. To further exacerbate this situation many of the returned links are dead, duplicates of other links, incomplete, or only marginally related to research precipitation or even the broader precipitation area. Sometimes connecting the linked URL causes the browser to lose context and not be able to get back to the original page. Even using more sophisticated search engines query parameters or agents while reducing the overall return doesn't eliminate all of the other issues listed. As part of the development of the measurement-based Precipitation Processing System (PPS) that will support Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) version 7 reprocessing and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission a precipitation links (PrecipLinks) facility is being developed. PrecipLinks is intended to share locations of other sites that contain information or data pertaining to precipitation research. Potential contributors can log-on to the PrecipLinks website and register their site for inclusion in the directory. The price for inclusion is the requirement to place a link back to PrecipLinks on the webpage that is registered. This ensures that users will be able to easily get back to PrecipLinks regardless of any context issues that browsers might have. Perhaps more importantly users while visiting one site that they know can be referred to a location that has many others sites with which they might not be familiar. PrecipLinks is designed to have a very flat structure. This poster summarizes these categories (information, data, services) and the reasons for their selection. Providers may register multiple pages to which they wish to direct users. However, each page may be attached to only one of these categories. Each page to which they refer users will also have a return link to PrecipLinks. The poster describes the operation of the system both the automated and the human processes. It also provides images for the various steps in the registration and use.

Regional information guidance system based on hypermedia concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matoba, Hiroshi; Hara, Yoshinori; Kasahara, Yutako

1990-08-01

A regional information guidance system has been developed on an image workstation. Two main features of this system are hypermedia data structure and friendly visual interface realized by the full-color frame memory system. As the hypermedia data structure manages regional information such as maps, pictures and explanations of points of interest, users can retrieve those information one by one, next to next according to their interest change. For example, users can retrieve explanation of a picture through the link between pictures and text explanations. Users can also traverse from one document to another by using keywords as cross reference indices. The second feature is to utilize a full-color, high resolution and wide space frame memory for visual interface design. This frame memory system enables real-time operation of image data and natural scene representation. The system also provides half tone representing function which enables fade-in/out presentations. This fade-in/out functions used in displaying and erasing menu and image data, makes visual interface soft for human eyes. The system we have developed is a typical example of multimedia applications. We expect the image workstation will play an important role as a platform for multimedia applications.

Design and flight test results of high speed optical bidirectional link between stratospheric platforms for aerospace applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briatore, S.; Akhtyamov, R.; Golkar, A.

2017-08-01

As small and nanosatellites become increasingly relevant in the aerospace industry1, 2, the need of efficient, lightweight and cost-effective networking solutions drives the need for the development of lightweight and low cost networking and communication terminals. In this paper we propose the design and prototype results of a hybrid optical and radio communication architecture developed to fit the coarse pointing capabilities of nanosatellites, tested through a proxy flight experiment on stratospheric balloons. This system takes advantage of the higher data-rate offered by optical communication channels while relying on the more mature and stable technology of conventional radio systems for link negotiation and low-speed data exchange. Such architecture allows the user to overcome the licensing requirements and scarce availability of high data-rate radio frequency channels in the commonly used bands. Outlined are the architecture, development and test of the mentioned terminal, with focus on the communication part and supporting technologies, including the navigation algorithm, the developed fail-safe approach, and the evolution of the pointing system continuing previous work done in 3. The system has been built with commercial-off-the-shelf components and demonstrated on a stratospheric balloon launch campaign. The paper outlines the results of an in-flight demonstration, where the two platforms successfully established an optical link at stratospheric altitudes. The results are then analyzed and contextualized in plans of future work for nanosatellite implementations.

Security Concepts for Satellite Links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobehn, C.; Penné, B.; Rathje, R.; Weigl, A.; Gorecki, Ch.; Michalik, H.

2008-08-01

The high costs to develop, launch and maintain a satellite network makes protecting the assets imperative. Attacks may be passive such as eavesdropping on the payload data. More serious threat are active attacks that try to gain control of the satellite, which may lead to the total lost of the satellite asset. To counter these threats, new satellite and ground systems are using cryptographic technologies to provide a range of services: confidentiality, entity & message authentication, and data integrity. Additionally, key management cryptographic services are required to support these services. This paper describes the key points of current satellite control and operations, that are authentication of the access to the satellite TMTC link and encryption of security relevant TM/TC data. For payload data management the key points are multi-user ground station access and high data rates both requiring frequent updates and uploads of keys with the corresponding key management methods. For secure satellite management authentication & key negotiation algorithms as HMAC-RIPEMD160, EC- DSA and EC-DH are used. Encryption of data uses algorithms as IDEA, AES, Triple-DES, or other. A channel coding and encryption unit for payload data provides download data rates up to Nx250 Mbps. The presented concepts are based on our experience and heritage of the security systems for all German MOD satellite projects (SATCOMBw2, SAR-Lupe multi- satellite system and German-French SAR-Lupe-Helios- II systems inter-operability) as well as for further international (KOMPSAT-II Payload data link system) and ESA activities (TMTC security and GMES).

Stanford Aerospace Research Laboratory research overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballhaus, W. L.; Alder, L. J.; Chen, V. W.; Dickson, W. C.; Ullman, M. A.

1993-01-01

Over the last ten years, the Stanford Aerospace Robotics Laboratory (ARL) has developed a hardware facility in which a number of space robotics issues have been, and continue to be, addressed. This paper reviews two of the current ARL research areas: navigation and control of free flying space robots, and modelling and control of extremely flexible space structures. The ARL has designed and built several semi-autonomous free-flying robots that perform numerous tasks in a zero-gravity, drag-free, two-dimensional environment. It is envisioned that future generations of these robots will be part of a human-robot team, in which the robots will operate under the task-level commands of astronauts. To make this possible, the ARL has developed a graphical user interface (GUI) with an intuitive object-level motion-direction capability. Using this interface, the ARL has demonstrated autonomous navigation, intercept and capture of moving and spinning objects, object transport, multiple-robot cooperative manipulation, and simple assemblies from both free-flying and fixed bases. The ARL has also built a number of experimental test beds on which the modelling and control of flexible manipulators has been studied. Early ARL experiments in this arena demonstrated for the first time the capability to control the end-point position of both single-link and multi-link flexible manipulators using end-point sensing. Building on these accomplishments, the ARL has been able to control payloads with unknown dynamics at the end of a flexible manipulator, and to achieve high-performance control of a multi-link flexible manipulator.

LinkWinds: An Approach to Visual Data Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, Allan S.

1992-01-01

The Linked Windows Interactive Data System (LinkWinds) is a prototype visual data exploration and analysis system resulting from a NASA/JPL program of research into graphical methods for rapidly accessing, displaying and analyzing large multivariate multidisciplinary datasets. It is an integrated multi-application execution environment allowing the dynamic interconnection of multiple windows containing visual displays and/or controls through a data-linking paradigm. This paradigm, which results in a system much like a graphical spreadsheet, is not only a powerful method for organizing large amounts of data for analysis, but provides a highly intuitive, easy to learn user interface on top of the traditional graphical user interface.

Podium: Ranking Data Using Mixed-Initiative Visual Analytics.

PubMed

Wall, Emily; Das, Subhajit; Chawla, Ravish; Kalidindi, Bharath; Brown, Eli T; Endert, Alex

2018-01-01

People often rank and order data points as a vital part of making decisions. Multi-attribute ranking systems are a common tool used to make these data-driven decisions. Such systems often take the form of a table-based visualization in which users assign weights to the attributes representing the quantifiable importance of each attribute to a decision, which the system then uses to compute a ranking of the data. However, these systems assume that users are able to quantify their conceptual understanding of how important particular attributes are to a decision. This is not always easy or even possible for users to do. Rather, people often have a more holistic understanding of the data. They form opinions that data point A is better than data point B but do not necessarily know which attributes are important. To address these challenges, we present a visual analytic application to help people rank multi-variate data points. We developed a prototype system, Podium, that allows users to drag rows in the table to rank order data points based on their perception of the relative value of the data. Podium then infers a weighting model using Ranking SVM that satisfies the user's data preferences as closely as possible. Whereas past systems help users understand the relationships between data points based on changes to attribute weights, our approach helps users to understand the attributes that might inform their understanding of the data. We present two usage scenarios to describe some of the potential uses of our proposed technique: (1) understanding which attributes contribute to a user's subjective preferences for data, and (2) deconstructing attributes of importance for existing rankings. Our proposed approach makes powerful machine learning techniques more usable to those who may not have expertise in these areas.

Using Linked Open Data and Semantic Integration to Search Across Geoscience Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickle, A.; Raymond, L. M.; Shepherd, A.; Arko, R. A.; Carbotte, S. M.; Chandler, C. L.; Cheatham, M.; Fils, D.; Hitzler, P.; Janowicz, K.; Jones, M.; Krisnadhi, A.; Lehnert, K. A.; Narock, T.; Schildhauer, M.; Wiebe, P. H.

2014-12-01

The MBLWHOI Library is a partner in the OceanLink project, an NSF EarthCube Building Block, applying semantic technologies to enable knowledge discovery, sharing and integration. OceanLink is testing ontology design patterns that link together: two data repositories, Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R), Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO); the MBLWHOI Library Institutional Repository (IR) Woods Hole Open Access Server (WHOAS); National Science Foundation (NSF) funded awards; and American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference presentations. The Library is collaborating with scientific users, data managers, DSpace engineers, experts in ontology design patterns, and user interface developers to make WHOAS, a DSpace repository, linked open data enabled. The goal is to allow searching across repositories without any of the information providers having to change how they manage their collections. The tools developed for DSpace will be made available to the community of users. There are 257 registered DSpace repositories in the United Stated and over 1700 worldwide. Outcomes include: Integration of DSpace with OpenRDF Sesame triple store to provide SPARQL endpoint for the storage and query of RDF representation of DSpace resources, Mapping of DSpace resources to OceanLink ontology, and DSpace "data" add on to provide resolvable linked open data representation of DSpace resources.

Clinically relevant lessons from Family HealthLink: a cancer and coronary heart disease familial risk assessment tool.

PubMed

Sweet, Kevin; Sturm, Amy C; Rettig, Amy; McElroy, Joseph; Agnese, Doreen

2015-06-01

A descriptive retrospective study was performed using two separate user cohorts to determine the effectiveness of Family HealthLink as a clinical triage tool. Cohort 1 consisted of 2,502 users who accessed the public website. Cohort 2 consisted of 194 new patients in a Comprehensive Breast Center setting. For patient users, we assessed documentation of family history and genetics referral. For all users seen in a genetics clinic, the Family HealthLink assessment was compared with that performed by genetic counselors and genetic testing outcomes. For general public users, the percentage meeting high-risk criteria were: for cancer only, 22.2%; for coronary heart disease only, 24.3%; and for both diseases, 10.4%. These risk stratification percentages were similar for the patient users. For the patient users, there often was documentation of family history of certain cancer types by oncology professionals, but age of onset and coronary heart disease family history were less complete. Of 142 with high-risk assignments seen in a genetics clinic, 130 (91.5%) of these assignments were corroborated. Forty-two underwent genetic testing and 17 (40.5%) had new molecular diagnoses established. A significant percentage of individuals are at high familial risk and may require more intensive screening and referral. Interactive family history triage tools can aid this process.Genet Med 17 6, 493-500.

ACIRF user's guide: Theory and examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dana, Roger A.

1989-12-01

Design and evaluation of radio frequency systems that must operate through ionospheric disturbances resulting from high altitude nuclear detonations requires an accurate channel model. This model must include the effects of high gain antennas that may be used to receive the signals. Such a model can then be used to construct realizations of the received signal for use in digital simulations of trans-ionospheric links or for use in hardware channel simulators. The FORTRAN channel model ACIRF (Antenna Channel Impulse Response Function) generates random realizations of the impulse response function at the outputs of multiple antennas. This user's guide describes the FORTRAN program ACIRF (version 2.0) that generates realizations of channel impulse response functions at the outputs of multiple antennas with arbitrary beamwidths, pointing angles, and relatives positions. This channel model is valid under strong scattering conditions when Rayleigh fading statistics apply. Both frozen-in and turbulent models for the temporal fluctuations are included in this version of ACIRF. The theory of the channel model is described and several examples are given.

Web-Based, Pictograph-Formatted Discharge Instructions for Low-Literacy Older Adults After Hip Replacement Surgery: Findings of End-User Evaluation of the Website.

PubMed

Choi, Jeungok; Jacelon, Cynthia S; Kalmakis, Karen A

The purpose of this study was to develop web-based, pictograph-formatted discharge instructions and evaluate the website with intended users to maximize the relevance and clarity of the website. A descriptive study. Low-literacy text and 45 sets of pictographs were implemented in web-based instructions. The content, design, function, and navigation of the website were reviewed by 15 low-literate older adults following hip replacement surgery. Participants observed that the simple line drawings with clear background were well suited to web pages and helped to convey the points made. They also suggested changes such as adding an additional alphabetical index menu to enhance easy navigation and removing hypertext links to avoid distraction. Web-based, pictograph-formatted discharge instructions were well received by low-literate older adults, who perceived the website easy to use and understand. A pictograph-formatted approach may provide effective strategies to promote understanding of lengthy, complex action-based discharge instructions in rehabilitation facilities.

Organizational effects of information and communication technology (ICT) in elderly homecare: a case study.

PubMed

Vimarlund, Vivian; Olve, Nils-Göran; Scandurra, Isabella; Koch, Sabine

2008-09-01

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support integrated healthcare services in elderly homecare is becoming more established. In particular, ICT can enable information exchange, knowledge sharing and documentation at the point-of-care (POC). The aim of this study was to explore these effects using the Old@Home prototype. Old@Home was perceived to contribute in developing horizontal links for communication between individuals who work together, independent of geographical distance or organizational affiliation, and to contribute to increased work efficiency. The prototype was further seen to reduce professional isolation by providing a holistic overview of the care process. User centred design and implementation of Old@Home was considered key to facilitating acceptance of organizational changes. Participation of care professionals not only led to a better understanding of the needs of involved organizations, but also increased end-users' involvement and commitment, stimulating them to test and improve the prototype until the final version.

Analyzing Hidden Semantics in Social Bookmarking of Open Educational Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minguillón, Julià

Web 2.0 services such as social bookmarking allow users to manage and share the links they find interesting, adding their own tags for describing them. This is especially interesting in the field of open educational resources, as delicious is a simple way to bridge the institutional point of view (i.e. learning object repositories) with the individual one (i.e. personal collections), thus promoting the discovering and sharing of such resources by other users. In this paper we propose a methodology for analyzing such tags in order to discover hidden semantics (i.e. taxonomies and vocabularies) that can be used to improve descriptions of learning objects and make learning object repositories more visible and discoverable. We propose the use of a simple statistical analysis tool such as principal component analysis to discover which tags create clusters that can be semantically interpreted. We will compare the obtained results with a collection of resources related to open educational resources, in order to better understand the real needs of people searching for open educational resources.

The Paleontology Portal: An online resource meeting the needs a spectrum of learners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindberg, D.; Scotchmoor, J. G.

2005-12-01

The Paleontology Portal website provides a central, interactive entry point to high-quality North American paleontology resources on the Internet for multiple audiences: the research community, government and industry, K-16 students, and the general public. The Portal successfully blends research and education, pulling together information with reviewed and annotated website links for a wide variety of informal learners. Using web-based technology and relational databases, users can explore an interactive map and associated stratigraphic column to access information about particular geographic regions, geologic time periods, depositional environments, and representative taxa. Users are also able to search multiple museum collection databases using a single query form of their own design. Other features include highlights of famous fossil sites and assemblages and a fossil image gallery. Throughout the site, users find images and links to information specific to each time period or geographic region, including current research projects and publications, websites, on-line exhibits and educational materials, and information on collecting fossils. The next phase of development will target the development of resource modules on topics such as collection management and fossil preparation, appropriate for users ranging from the general public to professional paleontologists. Another initiative includes developing methods of personalizing the Portal to support exhibits at museums and other venues on geological history and paleontology. The Paleontology Portal, built by the UC Museum of Paleontology, is a joint project of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, the Paleontological Society, and the US Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Paleontological Research Institution, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, which serve as hubs for the project. Paleoportal serves as an effective model in two aspects: (1) providing access to a spectrum of reviewed resources from a single starting interface that enables users from novice to professional to access background-appropriate information, and (2) involvement of a wide range of stakeholders (professional societies, universities and museums, and individuals) in both concept development and management. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation under award no. 0234594

US Gateway to SIMBAD Astronomical Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichhorn, G.; Oliversen, R. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

During the last year the US SIMBAD Gateway Project continued to provide services like user registration to the US users of the SIMBAD database in France. Currently there are over 3400 US users registered. We also provide user support by answering questions from users and handling requests for lost passwords when still necessary. We have implemented in cooperation with the CDS SIMBAD project access to the SIMBAD database for US users on an Internet address basis. This allows most US users to access SIMBAD without having to enter passwords. We have maintained the mirror copy of the SIMBAD database on a server at SAO. This has allowed much faster access for the US users. We also supported a demonstration of the SIMBAD database at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January. We shipped computer equipment to the meeting and provided support for the demonstration activities at the SIMBAD booth. We continued to improve the cross-linking between the SIMBAD project and the Astrophysics Data System. This cross-linking between these systems is very much appreciated by the users of both the SIMBAD database and the ADS Abstract Service. The mirror of the SIMBAD database at SAO makes this connection faster for the US astronomers. We exchange information between the ADS and SIMBAD on a daily basis. The close cooperation between the CDS in Strasbourg and SAO, facilitated by this project, is an important part of the astronomy-wide digital library initiative called Urania. It has proven to be a model in how different data centers can collaborate and enhance the value of their products by linking with other data centers.

Comics, Crowdsourcing and Up-Votes: EFL on the Front Page of the Internet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

York, James; Stiller, Scott

2013-01-01

The social-media news website "Reddit" boasts a huge readership with over 35 million unique visitors for December 2011 alone. Content is generated by users, who submit links from other websites to the various sub-forums. Users also have the ability to comment on links, providing the means for a community to be developed. Both content and…

Single-user MIMO versus multi-user MIMO in distributed antenna systems with limited feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, Stefan; Heath, Robert W.; Rupp, Markus

2013-12-01

This article investigates the performance of cellular networks employing distributed antennas in addition to the central antennas of the base station. Distributed antennas are likely to be implemented using remote radio units, which is enabled by a low latency and high bandwidth dedicated link to the base station. This facilitates coherent transmission from potentially all available antennas at the same time. Such distributed antenna system (DAS) is an effective way to deal with path loss and large-scale fading in cellular systems. DAS can apply precoding across multiple transmission points to implement single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) transmission. The throughput performance of various SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO transmission strategies is investigated in this article, employing a Long-Term evolution (LTE) standard compliant simulation framework. The previously theoretically established cell-capacity improvement of MU-MIMO in comparison to SU-MIMO in DASs is confirmed under the practical constraints imposed by the LTE standard, even under the assumption of imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the base station. Because practical systems will use quantized feedback, the performance of different CSI feedback algorithms for DASs is investigated. It is shown that significant gains in the CSI quantization accuracy and in the throughput of especially MU-MIMO systems can be achieved with relatively simple quantization codebook constructions that exploit the available temporal correlation and channel gain differences.

Characterizing Deficiencies of Path-Based Routing for Wireless Multi-Hop Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

called a “ hello ”) to all of its neighbors. If a series of hello messages are exchanged between two users, a link is considered to exist between them...A brief description of ETX is as follows. For a given window of time, the number of hello packets that a user receives from a neighbor is counted. A...cost is then assigned to the link based on how many hello messages were heard; a link that has fewer hellos successfully transmitted across it will be

Partial Automation of Requirements Tracing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayes, Jane; Dekhtyar, Alex; Sundaram, Senthil; Vadlamudi, Sravanthi

2006-01-01

Requirements Tracing on Target (RETRO) is software for after-the-fact tracing of textual requirements to support independent verification and validation of software. RETRO applies one of three user-selectable information-retrieval techniques: (1) term frequency/inverse document frequency (TF/IDF) vector retrieval, (2) TF/IDF vector retrieval with simple thesaurus, or (3) keyword extraction. One component of RETRO is the graphical user interface (GUI) for use in initiating a requirements-tracing project (a pair of artifacts to be traced to each other, such as a requirements spec and a design spec). Once the artifacts have been specified and the IR technique chosen, another component constructs a representation of the artifact elements and stores it on disk. Next, the IR technique is used to produce a first list of candidate links (potential matches between the two artifact levels). This list, encoded in Extensible Markup Language (XML), is optionally processed by a filtering component designed to make the list somewhat smaller without sacrificing accuracy. Through the GUI, the user examines a number of links and returns decisions (yes, these are links; no, these are not links). Coded in XML, these decisions are provided to a "feedback processor" component that prepares the data for the next application of the IR technique. The feedback reduces the incidence of erroneous candidate links. Unlike related prior software, RETRO does not require the user to assign keywords, and automatically builds a document index.

Cosmic-Ray Moisture Probe on North Slope of Alaska Field Campaign Report

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

Desilets, Darin

2016-06-15

In September of 2014 a wide-area snow monitoring device was installed at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Barrow, Alaska Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility site. The device is special in that it uses measurements of cosmic-ray neutrons as a proxy for snow water equivalent (SWE) depth. A unique characteristic of the technology is that it integrates over a wide area (as much as 40 ha), in contrast to conventional ground-based technologies, which essentially give point samples. Conventional point-scale technologies are problematic in the Arctic, both because extreme weather conditions are taxing on equipment, and because point measurementsmore » can fail to accurately characterize the average SWE over a larger area, even when excellent precision is obtained. The sensor installed in Barrow is, by far, the northernmost of a constellation of sites that makeup the U.S. COsmic ray Soil Moisture Observing System (COSMOS). The sensor is used for SWE measurements in winter and soil moisture measurements in summer. The ability of this type of sensor to operate in the Arctic had not been verified until now. The cosmic-ray sensor was installed on a tripod located approximately 150 m south of the ARM User Facility (Figure 1), and within boundaries of land managed by the ARM Facility. The sensor consists of both “bare” and “moderated” channels, where the moderated channel is the primary output used to calculate SWE. A QDL2100 data logger with pressure sensor was located inside of the User Facility, and a Campbell CS215 temperature and humidity sensor was attached to a rail on the upper deck of the User Facility, to enable near-real-time absolute humidity corrections to the data. The cosmic-ray sensors are connected to the data logger using an armored Cat5e cable that lies on top of the tundra. Data are retrieved hourly via Iridium satellite link.« less

The optical communication link outage probability in satellite formation flying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnon, Shlomi; Gill, Eberhard

2014-02-01

In recent years, several space systems consisting of multiple satellites flying in close formation have been proposed for various purposes such as interferometric synthetic aperture radar measurement (TerraSAR-X and the TanDEM-X), detecting extra-solar earth-like planets (Terrestrial Planet Finder-TPF and Darwin), and demonstrating distributed space systems (DARPA F6 project). Another important purpose, which is the concern of this paper, is for improving radio frequency communication to mobile terrestrial and maritime subscribers. In this case, radio frequency signals from several satellites coherently combine such that the received/transmit signal strength is increased proportionally with the number of satellites in the formation. This increase in signal strength allows to enhance the communication data rate and/or to reduce energy consumption and the antenna size of terrestrial mobile users' equipment. However, a coherent combination of signals without aligning the phases of the individual communication signals interrupts the communication and outage link between the satellites and the user. The accuracy of the phase estimation is a function of the inter-satellite laser ranging system performance. This paper derives an outage probability model of a coherent combination communication system as a function of the pointing vibration and jitter statistics of an inter-satellite laser ranging system tool. The coherent combination probability model, which could be used to improve the communication to mobile subscribers in air, sea and ground is the main importance of this work.

User-assisted video segmentation system for visual communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zhengping; Chen, Chun

2002-01-01

Video segmentation plays an important role for efficient storage and transmission in visual communication. In this paper, we introduce a novel video segmentation system using point tracking and contour formation techniques. Inspired by the results from the study of the human visual system, we intend to solve the video segmentation problem into three separate phases: user-assisted feature points selection, feature points' automatic tracking, and contour formation. This splitting relieves the computer of ill-posed automatic segmentation problems, and allows a higher level of flexibility of the method. First, the precise feature points can be found using a combination of user assistance and an eigenvalue-based adjustment. Second, the feature points in the remaining frames are obtained using motion estimation and point refinement. At last, contour formation is used to extract the object, and plus a point insertion process to provide the feature points for next frame's tracking.

Objectifying user critique. A means of continuous quality assurance for physician discharge letter composition.

PubMed

Oschem, M; Mahler, V; Prokosch, H U

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to objectify user critique rendering it usable for quality assurance. Based on formative and summative evaluation results we strive to promote software improvements; in our case, the physician discharge letter composition process at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany. We developed a novel six-step approach to objectify user critique: 1) acquisition of user critique using subjectivist methods, 2) creation of a workflow model, 3) definition of hypothesis and indicators, 4) measuring of indicators, 5) analyzing results, 6) optimization of the system regarding both subjectivist and objectivist evaluation results. In particular, we derived indicators and workflows directly from user critique/narratives. The identified indicators were mapped onto workflow activities, creating a link between user critique and the evaluated system. Users criticized a new discharge letter system as "too slow" and "too labor-intensive" in comparison with the previously used system. In a stepwise approach we collected subjective user critique, derived a comprehensive process model including deviations and deduced a set of five indicators for objectivist evaluation: processing time, system-related waiting time, number of mouse clicks, number of keyboard inputs, and throughput time. About 3500 measurements have been performed to compare the workflow-steps of both systems, regarding 20 discharge letters. Although the difference of the mean total processing time between both systems was statistically insignificant (2011.7 s vs. 1971.5 s; p = 0.457), we detected a significant difference in waiting times (101.8 s vs. 37.2 s; p <0.001) and number of user interactions (77 vs. 69; p <0.001) in favor of the old system, thus objectifying user critique. Our six-step approach enables objectification of user critique, resulting in objective values for continuous quality assurance. To our knowledge no previous study in medical informatics mapped user critique onto workflow steps. Subjectivist analysis prompted us to use the indicator system-related waiting time for the objectivist study, which was rarely done before. We consider combining subjectivist and objectivist methods as a key point of our approach. Future work will concentrate on automated measurement of indicators.

47 CFR 27.14 - Construction requirements; Criteria for renewal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...'s population by March 13, 2017, and to at least 75 percent of the license area's population by...-point links per million persons (one link per 67,000 persons) in a license area by March 13, 2017, and...-point links by March 13, 2017, and a minimum of 15 point-to-point links by September 13, 2019. (4) Under...

A Resolution in Service: SFX Usage Logs as a Basis for Link Resolver Menu Redesign

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Highsmith, Anne L.; Ponsford, Bennett Claire

2011-01-01

In this study, three years of SFX usage logs at Texas A&M University were analyzed to determine how patrons use link resolver services. The study contrasts the actions taken by users when full text is and is not available and compares public versus staff usage. The results confirmed users' preference for full-text services but also provided…

Albertian errors in head-mounted displays: I. Choice of eye-point location for a near- or far-field task visualization.

PubMed

Rolland, Jannick; Ha, Yonggang; Fidopiastis, Cali

2004-06-01

A theoretical investigation of rendered depth and angular errors, or Albertian errors, linked to natural eye movements in binocular head-mounted displays (HMDs) is presented for three possible eye-point locations: the center of the entrance pupil, the nodal point, and the center of rotation of the eye. A numerical quantification was conducted for both the pupil and the center of rotation of the eye under the assumption that the user will operate solely in either the near field under an associated instrumentation setting or the far field under a different setting. Under these conditions, the eyes are taken to gaze in the plane of the stereoscopic images. Across conditions, results show that the center of the entrance pupil minimizes rendered angular errors, while the center of rotation minimizes rendered position errors. Significantly, this investigation quantifies that under proper setting of the HMD and correct choice of the eye points, rendered depth and angular errors can be brought to be either negligible or within specification of even the most stringent applications in performance of tasks in either the near field or the far field.

Indoor communications networks realized through hybrid free-space optical and Wi-Fi links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liverman, Spencer; Wang, Qiwei; Chu, Yu-Chung; Borah, Anindita; Wang, Songtao; Natarajan, Arun; Nguyen, Thinh; Wang, Alan X.

2018-01-01

Recently, free-space optical (FSO) networks have been investigated as a potential replacement for traditional WiFi networks due to their large bandwidth potentials. However, FSO networks often suffer from a lack of mobility. We present a hybrid free-space optical and radio frequency (RF) system that we have named WiFO, which seamlessly integrates free-space optical links with pre-existing WiFi networks. The free-space optical link in this system utilizes infrared LEDs operating at a wavelength of 850nm and is capable of transmitting 50Mbps over a three-meter distance. In this hybrid system, optical transmitters are embedded periodically throughout the ceiling of a workspace. Each transmitter directs an optical signal downward in a diffuse light cone, establishing a line of sight optical link. Line of sight communications links have an intrinsic physical layer of security due to the fact that a user must be directly in the path of transmission to access the link; however, this feature also poses a challenge for mobility. In our system, if the free-space optical link is interrupted, a control algorithm redirects traffic over a pre-existing WiFi link ensuring uninterrupted transmissions. After data packets are received, acknowledgments are sent back to a central access point via a WiFi link. As the demand for wireless bandwidth continues to increase exponentially, utilizing the unregulated bandwidth contained within optical spectrum will become necessary. Our fully functional hybrid free-space optical and WiFi prototype system takes full advantage of the untapped bandwidth potential in the optical spectrum, while also maintaining the mobility inherent in WiFi networks.

Orbit Design Based on the Global Maps of Telecom Metrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Charles H.; Cheung, Kar-Ming; Edwards, Chad; Noreen, Gary K.; Vaisnys, Arvydas

2004-01-01

In this paper we describe an orbit design aide tool, called Telecom Orbit Analysis and Simulation Tool(TOAST). Although it can be used for studying and selecting orbits for any planet, we solely concentrate on its use for Mars. By specifying the six orbital elements for an orbit, a time frame of interest, a horizon mask angle, and some telecom parameters such as the transmitting power, frequency, antenna gains, antenna losses, link margin, received threshold powers for the rates, etc. this tool enables the user to view the animation of the orbit in two and three-dimensional different telecom metrics at any point on the Mars, namely the global planetary map.

US Gateway to SIMBAD Astronomical Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichhorn, G.

1998-01-01

During the last year the US SIMBAD Gateway Project continued to provide services like user registration to the US users of the SIMBAD database in France. User registration is required by the SIMBAD project in France. Currently, there are almost 3000 US users registered. We also provide user support by answering questions from users and handling requests for lost passwords. We have worked with the CDS SIMBAD project to provide access to the SIMBAD database to US users on an Internet address basis. This will allow most US users to access SIMBAD without having to enter passwords. This new system was installed in August, 1998. The SIMBAD mirror database at SAO is fully operational. We worked with the CDS to adapt it to our computer system. We implemented automatic updating procedures that update the database and password files daily. This mirror database provides much better access to the US astronomical community. We also supported a demonstration of the SIMBAD database at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January. We shipped computer equipment to the meeting and provided support for the demonstration activities at the SIMBAD booth. We continued to improve the cross-linking between the SIMBAD project and the Astro- physics Data System. This cross-linking between these systems is very much appreciated by the users of both the SIMBAD database and the ADS Abstract Service. The mirror of the SIMBAD database at SAO makes this connection faster for the US astronomers. The close cooperation between the CDS in Strasbourg and SAO, facilitated by this project, is an important part of the astronomy-wide digital library initiative called Urania. It has proven to be a model in how different data centers can collaborate and enhance the value of their products by linking with other data centers.

Generic Bluetooth Data Module

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-09-01

to Ref (1). 34 RS232.java Serial Coomunication port class To Bluetooth module HCI.java Host Control Interface class L2CAP.java Logical Link Control...standard protocol for transporting IP datagrams over point-to-point link . It is designed to run over RFCOMM to accomplish point-to-point connections...Control and Adaption Host Controller Interface Link Manager Baseband / Link Controller Radio Figure 2. Bluetooth layers (From Ref. [3].) C

Full-Text Linking: Affiliated versus Nonaffiliated Access in a Free Database.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grogg, Jill E.; Andreadis, Debra K.; Kirk, Rachel A.

2002-01-01

Presents a comparison of access to full-text articles from a free bibliographic database (PubSCIENCE) for affiliated and unaffiliated users. Found that affiliated users had access to more full-text articles than unaffiliated users had, and that both types of users could increase their level of access through additional searching and greater…

Providing nearest neighbor point-to-point communications among compute nodes of an operational group in a global combining network of a parallel computer

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles J.; Faraj, Ahmad A.; Inglett, Todd A.; Ratterman, Joseph D.

2012-10-23

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for providing nearest neighbor point-to-point communications among compute nodes of an operational group in a global combining network of a parallel computer, each compute node connected to each adjacent compute node in the global combining network through a link, that include: identifying each link in the global combining network for each compute node of the operational group; designating one of a plurality of point-to-point class routing identifiers for each link such that no compute node in the operational group is connected to two adjacent compute nodes in the operational group with links designated for the same class routing identifiers; and configuring each compute node of the operational group for point-to-point communications with each adjacent compute node in the global combining network through the link between that compute node and that adjacent compute node using that link's designated class routing identifier.

BCM Search Launcher--an integrated interface to molecular biology data base search and analysis services available on the World Wide Web.

PubMed

Smith, R F; Wiese, B A; Wojzynski, M K; Davison, D B; Worley, K C

1996-05-01

The BCM Search Launcher is an integrated set of World Wide Web (WWW) pages that organize molecular biology-related search and analysis services available on the WWW by function, and provide a single point of entry for related searches. The Protein Sequence Search Page, for example, provides a single sequence entry form for submitting sequences to WWW servers that offer remote access to a variety of different protein sequence search tools, including BLAST, FASTA, Smith-Waterman, BEAUTY, PROSITE, and BLOCKS searches. Other Launch pages provide access to (1) nucleic acid sequence searches, (2) multiple and pair-wise sequence alignments, (3) gene feature searches, (4) protein secondary structure prediction, and (5) miscellaneous sequence utilities (e.g., six-frame translation). The BCM Search Launcher also provides a mechanism to extend the utility of other WWW services by adding supplementary hypertext links to results returned by remote servers. For example, links to the NCBI's Entrez data base and to the Sequence Retrieval System (SRS) are added to search results returned by the NCBI's WWW BLAST server. These links provide easy access to auxiliary information, such as Medline abstracts, that can be extremely helpful when analyzing BLAST data base hits. For new or infrequent users of sequence data base search tools, we have preset the default search parameters to provide the most informative first-pass sequence analysis possible. We have also developed a batch client interface for Unix and Macintosh computers that allows multiple input sequences to be searched automatically as a background task, with the results returned as individual HTML documents directly to the user's system. The BCM Search Launcher and batch client are available on the WWW at URL http:@gc.bcm.tmc.edu:8088/search-launcher.html.

Association Between Electronic Cigarette Marketing Near Schools and E-cigarette Use Among Youth.

PubMed

Giovenco, Daniel P; Casseus, Myriam; Duncan, Dustin T; Coups, Elliot J; Lewis, M Jane; Delnevo, Cristine D

2016-12-01

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are now the most popular tobacco product among youth. Little is known about the relationship between exposure to e-cigarette marketing at the point-of-sale and youth e-cigarette use. Research staff collected data on e-cigarette availability and promotion in tobacco retailers within a half-mile of 41 schools participating in the 2014 New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey. These data were linked with participant responses from the New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey (n = 3,909) and log-Poisson regression models estimated adjusted prevalence ratios for ever and past-month e-cigarette use. Nearly a quarter of high school students in New Jersey have tried e-cigarettes (24.1%) and 12.1% were past-month users. Prevalence was highest among males, non-Hispanic whites, and students who have used other tobacco products. After controlling for covariates and the clustered nature of the data, e-cigarette retailer density around schools was positively associated with ever and past-month use of e-cigarettes (p < .05). E-cigarette advertising volume significantly increased the probability of being a past-month e-cigarette user (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.03, p = .031). This study suggests that the point-of-sale environment around schools may contribute to e-cigarette use among youth. Policy efforts to restrict tobacco promotion at the point-of-sale may play a role in reducing the use of e-cigarettes. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An assessment of the effect of user fee policy reform on facility-based deliveries in rural Zambia.

PubMed

Chama-Chiliba, Chitalu Miriam; Koch, Steven Fredric

2016-12-07

Improving maternal health outcomes by reducing barriers to accessing maternal health services is a key goal for most developing countries. This paper analyses the effect of user fee removal, which was announced for rural areas of Zambia in April 2006, on the use of public health facilities for childbirth. Data from the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey, including birth histories for the five years preceding the survey, is linked to administrative data and geo-referenced health facility census data. We exploit a difference-in-differences design, due to a differential change in user fees at the district level; fees were removed in 54 rural districts, but not in the 18 remaining urban districts. We use multilevel modelling to estimate the effect of this policy change, based on 4018 births from May 2002 to September 2007, covering a period before and after the policy announcement in April 2006. The difference-in-difference estimates point to statistically insignificant changes in the proportion of women giving birth at home and in public facilities, but significant changes are found for deliveries in private (faith-based) facilities. Thus, the abolition of delivery fees is found to have some effect on where Zambian mothers choose to have their children born. The removal of user fees has not overcome barriers to the utilisation of delivery services at public facilities. User fee removal may also yield unintended consequences deterring the utilisation of delivery services. Therefore, abolishing user fees, alone, may not be sufficient to affect changes in utilisation; instead, other efforts, such as improving service quality, may have a greater impact.

Communication Styles of Interactive Tools for Self-Improvement.

PubMed

Niess, Jasmin; Diefenbach, Sarah

Interactive products for self-improvement (e.g., online trainings to reduce stress, fitness gadgets) have become increasingly popular among consumers and healthcare providers. In line with the idea of positive computing, these tools aim to support their users on their way to improved well-being and human flourishing. As an interdisciplinary domain, the design of self-improvement technologies requires psychological, technological, and design expertise. One needs to know how to support people in behavior change, and one needs to find ways to do this through technology design. However, as recent reviews show, the interlocking relationship between these disciplines is still improvable. Many existing technologies for self-improvement neglect psychological theory on behavior change, especially motivational factors are not sufficiently considered. To counteract this, we suggest a focus on the dialog and emerging communication between product and user, considering the self-improvement tool as an interactive coach and advisor. The present qualitative interview study (N = 18) explored the user experience of self-improvement technologies. A special focus was on the perceived dialog between tool and user, which we analyzed in terms of models from communication psychology. Our findings show that users are sensible to the way the product "speaks to them" and consider this as essential for their experience and successful change. Analysis revealed different communication styles of self-improvement tools (e.g., helpful-cooperative, rational-distanced, critical-aggressive), each linked to specific emotional consequences. These findings form one starting point for a more psychologically founded design of self-improvement technology. On a more general level, our approach aims to contribute to a better integration of psychological and technological knowledge, and in consequence, supporting users on their way to enhanced well-being.

Extracting the Information Backbone in Online System

PubMed Central

Zhang, Qian-Ming; Zeng, An; Shang, Ming-Sheng

2013-01-01

Information overload is a serious problem in modern society and many solutions such as recommender system have been proposed to filter out irrelevant information. In the literature, researchers have been mainly dedicated to improving the recommendation performance (accuracy and diversity) of the algorithms while they have overlooked the influence of topology of the online user-object bipartite networks. In this paper, we find that some information provided by the bipartite networks is not only redundant but also misleading. With such “less can be more” feature, we design some algorithms to improve the recommendation performance by eliminating some links from the original networks. Moreover, we propose a hybrid method combining the time-aware and topology-aware link removal algorithms to extract the backbone which contains the essential information for the recommender systems. From the practical point of view, our method can improve the performance and reduce the computational time of the recommendation system, thus improving both of their effectiveness and efficiency. PMID:23690946

Cooperative processing user interfaces for AdaNET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gutzmann, Kurt M.

1991-01-01

A cooperative processing user interface (CUI) system shares the task of graphical display generation and presentation between the user's computer and a remote host. The communications link between the two computers is typically a modem or Ethernet. The two main purposes of a CUI are reduction of the amount of data transmitted between user and host machines, and provision of a graphical user interface system to make the system easier to use.

Characterizing and modeling the dynamics of activity and popularity.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Li, Menghui; Gao, Liang; Fan, Ying; Di, Zengru

2014-01-01

Social media, regarded as two-layer networks consisting of users and items, turn out to be the most important channels for access to massive information in the era of Web 2.0. The dynamics of human activity and item popularity is a crucial issue in social media networks. In this paper, by analyzing the growth of user activity and item popularity in four empirical social media networks, i.e., Amazon, Flickr, Delicious and Wikipedia, it is found that cross links between users and items are more likely to be created by active users and to be acquired by popular items, where user activity and item popularity are measured by the number of cross links associated with users and items. This indicates that users generally trace popular items, overall. However, it is found that the inactive users more severely trace popular items than the active users. Inspired by empirical analysis, we propose an evolving model for such networks, in which the evolution is driven only by two-step random walk. Numerical experiments verified that the model can qualitatively reproduce the distributions of user activity and item popularity observed in empirical networks. These results might shed light on the understandings of micro dynamics of activity and popularity in social media networks.

Characterizing and Modeling the Dynamics of Activity and Popularity

PubMed Central

Zhang, Peng; Li, Menghui; Gao, Liang; Fan, Ying; Di, Zengru

2014-01-01

Social media, regarded as two-layer networks consisting of users and items, turn out to be the most important channels for access to massive information in the era of Web 2.0. The dynamics of human activity and item popularity is a crucial issue in social media networks. In this paper, by analyzing the growth of user activity and item popularity in four empirical social media networks, i.e., Amazon, Flickr, Delicious and Wikipedia, it is found that cross links between users and items are more likely to be created by active users and to be acquired by popular items, where user activity and item popularity are measured by the number of cross links associated with users and items. This indicates that users generally trace popular items, overall. However, it is found that the inactive users more severely trace popular items than the active users. Inspired by empirical analysis, we propose an evolving model for such networks, in which the evolution is driven only by two-step random walk. Numerical experiments verified that the model can qualitatively reproduce the distributions of user activity and item popularity observed in empirical networks. These results might shed light on the understandings of micro dynamics of activity and popularity in social media networks. PMID:24586586

Multi-agents and learning: Implications for Webusage mining.

PubMed

Lotfy, Hewayda M S; Khamis, Soheir M S; Aboghazalah, Maie M

2016-03-01

Characterization of user activities is an important issue in the design and maintenance of websites. Server weblog files have abundant information about the user's current interests. This information can be mined and analyzed therefore the administrators may be able to guide the users in their browsing activity so they may obtain relevant information in a shorter span of time to obtain user satisfaction. Web-based technology facilitates the creation of personally meaningful and socially useful knowledge through supportive interactions, communication and collaboration among educators, learners and information. This paper suggests a new methodology based on learning techniques for a Web-based Multiagent-based application to discover the hidden patterns in the user's visited links. It presents a new approach that involves unsupervised, reinforcement learning, and cooperation between agents. It is utilized to discover patterns that represent the user's profiles in a sample website into specific categories of materials using significance percentages. These profiles are used to make recommendations of interesting links and categories to the user. The experimental results of the approach showed successful user pattern recognition, and cooperative learning among agents to obtain user profiles. It indicates that combining different learning algorithms is capable of improving user satisfaction indicated by the percentage of precision, recall, the progressive category weight and F 1-measure.

Is the GUI approach to Computer Development (For Example, Mac, and Windows Technology) a Threat to Computer Users Who Are Blind?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melrose, S.; And Others

1995-01-01

In this point/counterpoint feature, S. Melrose contends that complex graphical user interfaces (GUIs) threaten the independence and equal employment of individuals with blindness. D. Wakefield then points out that access to the Windows software program for blind computer users is extremely unpredictable, and J. Gill describes a major European…

Two Types of Well Followed Users in the Followership Networks of Twitter

PubMed Central

Saito, Kodai; Masuda, Naoki

2014-01-01

In the Twitter blogosphere, the number of followers is probably the most basic and succinct quantity for measuring popularity of users. However, the number of followers can be manipulated in various ways; we can even buy follows. Therefore, alternative popularity measures for Twitter users on the basis of, for example, users' tweets and retweets, have been developed. In the present work, we take a purely network approach to this fundamental question. First, we find that two relatively distinct types of users possessing a large number of followers exist, in particular for Japanese, Russian, and Korean users among the seven language groups that we examined. A first type of user follows a small number of other users. A second type of user follows approximately the same number of other users as the number of follows that the user receives. Then, we compare local (i.e., egocentric) followership networks around the two types of users with many followers. We show that the second type, which is presumably uninfluential users despite its large number of followers, is characterized by high link reciprocity, a large number of friends (i.e., those whom a user follows) for the followers, followers' high link reciprocity, large clustering coefficient, large fraction of the second type of users among the followers, and a small PageRank. Our network-based results support that the number of followers used alone is a misleading measure of user's popularity. We propose that the number of friends, which is simple to measure, also helps us to assess the popularity of Twitter users. PMID:24416209

Design and Development of a Linked Open Data-Based Health Information Representation and Visualization System: Potentials and Preliminary Evaluation

PubMed Central

Kauppinen, Tomi; Keßler, Carsten; Fritz, Fleur

2014-01-01

Background Healthcare organizations around the world are challenged by pressures to reduce cost, improve coordination and outcome, and provide more with less. This requires effective planning and evidence-based practice by generating important information from available data. Thus, flexible and user-friendly ways to represent, query, and visualize health data becomes increasingly important. International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) regularly publish vital data on priority health topics that can be utilized for public health policy and health service development. However, the data in most portals is displayed in either Excel or PDF formats, which makes information discovery and reuse difficult. Linked Open Data (LOD)—a new Semantic Web set of best practice of standards to publish and link heterogeneous data—can be applied to the representation and management of public level health data to alleviate such challenges. However, the technologies behind building LOD systems and their effectiveness for health data are yet to be assessed. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate whether Linked Data technologies are potential options for health information representation, visualization, and retrieval systems development and to identify the available tools and methodologies to build Linked Data-based health information systems. Methods We used the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for data representation, Fuseki triple store for data storage, and Sgvizler for information visualization. Additionally, we integrated SPARQL query interface for interacting with the data. We primarily use the WHO health observatory dataset to test the system. All the data were represented using RDF and interlinked with other related datasets on the Web of Data using Silk—a link discovery framework for Web of Data. A preliminary usability assessment was conducted following the System Usability Scale (SUS) method. Results We developed an LOD-based health information representation, querying, and visualization system by using Linked Data tools. We imported more than 20,000 HIV-related data elements on mortality, prevalence, incidence, and related variables, which are freely available from the WHO global health observatory database. Additionally, we automatically linked 5312 data elements from DBpedia, Bio2RDF, and LinkedCT using the Silk framework. The system users can retrieve and visualize health information according to their interests. For users who are not familiar with SPARQL queries, we integrated a Linked Data search engine interface to search and browse the data. We used the system to represent and store the data, facilitating flexible queries and different kinds of visualizations. The preliminary user evaluation score by public health data managers and users was 82 on the SUS usability measurement scale. The need to write queries in the interface was the main reported difficulty of LOD-based systems to the end user. Conclusions The system introduced in this article shows that current LOD technologies are a promising alternative to represent heterogeneous health data in a flexible and reusable manner so that they can serve intelligent queries, and ultimately support decision-making. However, the development of advanced text-based search engines is necessary to increase its usability especially for nontechnical users. Further research with large datasets is recommended in the future to unfold the potential of Linked Data and Semantic Web for future health information systems development. PMID:25601195

Design and development of a linked open data-based health information representation and visualization system: potentials and preliminary evaluation.

PubMed

Tilahun, Binyam; Kauppinen, Tomi; Keßler, Carsten; Fritz, Fleur

2014-10-25

Healthcare organizations around the world are challenged by pressures to reduce cost, improve coordination and outcome, and provide more with less. This requires effective planning and evidence-based practice by generating important information from available data. Thus, flexible and user-friendly ways to represent, query, and visualize health data becomes increasingly important. International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) regularly publish vital data on priority health topics that can be utilized for public health policy and health service development. However, the data in most portals is displayed in either Excel or PDF formats, which makes information discovery and reuse difficult. Linked Open Data (LOD)-a new Semantic Web set of best practice of standards to publish and link heterogeneous data-can be applied to the representation and management of public level health data to alleviate such challenges. However, the technologies behind building LOD systems and their effectiveness for health data are yet to be assessed. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether Linked Data technologies are potential options for health information representation, visualization, and retrieval systems development and to identify the available tools and methodologies to build Linked Data-based health information systems. We used the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for data representation, Fuseki triple store for data storage, and Sgvizler for information visualization. Additionally, we integrated SPARQL query interface for interacting with the data. We primarily use the WHO health observatory dataset to test the system. All the data were represented using RDF and interlinked with other related datasets on the Web of Data using Silk-a link discovery framework for Web of Data. A preliminary usability assessment was conducted following the System Usability Scale (SUS) method. We developed an LOD-based health information representation, querying, and visualization system by using Linked Data tools. We imported more than 20,000 HIV-related data elements on mortality, prevalence, incidence, and related variables, which are freely available from the WHO global health observatory database. Additionally, we automatically linked 5312 data elements from DBpedia, Bio2RDF, and LinkedCT using the Silk framework. The system users can retrieve and visualize health information according to their interests. For users who are not familiar with SPARQL queries, we integrated a Linked Data search engine interface to search and browse the data. We used the system to represent and store the data, facilitating flexible queries and different kinds of visualizations. The preliminary user evaluation score by public health data managers and users was 82 on the SUS usability measurement scale. The need to write queries in the interface was the main reported difficulty of LOD-based systems to the end user. The system introduced in this article shows that current LOD technologies are a promising alternative to represent heterogeneous health data in a flexible and reusable manner so that they can serve intelligent queries, and ultimately support decision-making. However, the development of advanced text-based search engines is necessary to increase its usability especially for nontechnical users. Further research with large datasets is recommended in the future to unfold the potential of Linked Data and Semantic Web for future health information systems development.

What words and where? Applying usability testing techniques to name a new live reference service.

PubMed

Duncan, Vicky; Fichter, Darlene M

2004-04-01

A user-focused design approach was taken to develop a new "live reference" service at the Health Sciences Library, University of Saskatchewan. The name of the service, the placement of the links, and the design of a graphical button were seen as key elements in creating service awareness and its subsequent use. To ensure library users recognized and understood the label for the new service, selected library users were given an opportunity to choose a phrase that would best describe the service. The top two preferred phrases were then placed on the library Web pages as text and graphic images for further testing. Some pages had links in multiple locations to determine which placement worked best. Task-based usability testing was carried out with participants who were unaware of the new service. Participants were observed as they completed seven Website tasks arranged in increasing levels of difficulty to see whether they would notice the live reference service and seek assistance. The high level of recognition and use of the service indicate that the label name and link placement were effective with library Website users. Using user-centered design methodology helped ensure that the new live reference service was visible and used and demonstrated the effectiveness of the user-centered design approach for adding new services to an existing Website.

Proposal for massively parallel data storage system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mansuripur, M.

1992-01-01

An architecture for integrating large numbers of data storage units (drives) to form a distributed mass storage system is proposed. The network of interconnected units consists of nodes and links. At each node there resides a controller board, a data storage unit and, possibly, a local/remote user-terminal. The links (twisted-pair wires, coax cables, or fiber-optic channels) provide the communications backbone of the network. There is no central controller for the system as a whole; all decisions regarding allocation of resources, routing of messages and data-blocks, creation and distribution of redundant data-blocks throughout the system (for protection against possible failures), frequency of backup operations, etc., are made locally at individual nodes. The system can handle as many user-terminals as there are nodes in the network. Various users compete for resources by sending their requests to the local controller-board and receiving allocations of time and storage space. In principle, each user can have access to the entire system, and all drives can be running in parallel to service the requests for one or more users. The system is expandable up to a maximum number of nodes, determined by the number of routing-buffers built into the controller boards. Additional drives, controller-boards, user-terminals, and links can be simply plugged into an existing system in order to expand its capacity.

Semiautomated skeletonization of the pulmonary arterial tree in micro-CT images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanger, Christopher C.; Haworth, Steven T.; Molthen, Robert C.; Dawson, Christopher A.

2001-05-01

We present a simple and robust approach that utilizes planar images at different angular rotations combined with unfiltered back-projection to locate the central axes of the pulmonary arterial tree. Three-dimensional points are selected interactively by the user. The computer calculates a sub- volume unfiltered back-projection orthogonal to the vector connecting the two points and centered on the first point. Because more x-rays are absorbed at the thickest portion of the vessel, in the unfiltered back-projection, the darkest pixel is assumed to be the center of the vessel. The computer replaces this point with the newly computer-calculated point. A second back-projection is calculated around the original point orthogonal to a vector connecting the newly-calculated first point and user-determined second point. The darkest pixel within the reconstruction is determined. The computer then replaces the second point with the XYZ coordinates of the darkest pixel within this second reconstruction. Following a vector based on a moving average of previously determined 3- dimensional points along the vessel's axis, the computer continues this skeletonization process until stopped by the user. The computer estimates the vessel diameter along the set of previously determined points using a method similar to the full width-half max algorithm. On all subsequent vessels, the process works the same way except that at each point, distances between the current point and all previously determined points along different vessels are determined. If the difference is less than the previously estimated diameter, the vessels are assumed to branch. This user/computer interaction continues until the vascular tree has been skeletonized.

Association between adherence to concomitant proton pump inhibitor therapy in current NSAID users and upper gastrointestinal complications.

PubMed

Jonasson, Christian; Hatlebakk, Jan G; Lundell, Lars; Kouri, Jukka P; Andersen, Morten; Granath, Fredrik

2013-05-01

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) play a well-documented role as a gastroprotective agent among NSAID users at an increased risk of peptic ulcer and bleeding. Observational studies have, however, suggested that the clinical efficacy of PPI therapy may be reduced because of poor adherence. To study the association between adherence to concomitant PPI in current NSAID users and the risk of peptic ulcer and bleeding. Case-control study linking nationwide data from the Swedish Patient Registry with the Swedish Drug Prescription Database. The study population included patients admitted for a first-time peptic ulcer or bleeding and who were incident users of NSAID. Each case was matched on age, sex, NSAID duration, and calendar month with five controls. PPI adherence was calculated as the proportion of NSAID days being covered by PPI therapy. Matched and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression. A total of 3649 cases were identified. Patients with poor adherence (<20% PPI coverage) had a significantly increased risk of upper gastrointestinal complications (OR=1.88, 95% CI 1.22-2.88) compared with fully adherent patients (≥80% PPI coverage). As a continuous variable, the risk of an event increased with 6% points for every 10% decrease in PPI adherence (OR=1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.10). The gastroprotective effect of PPI in NSAID users is highly dependent on adherence, with about twice the risk in patients with poor adherence. Efforts to increase adherence should be an integrated part of clinical practice.

Identification of influential spreaders in online social networks using interaction weighted K-core decomposition method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-garadi, Mohammed Ali; Varathan, Kasturi Dewi; Ravana, Sri Devi

2017-02-01

Online social networks (OSNs) have become a vital part of everyday living. OSNs provide researchers and scientists with unique prospects to comprehend individuals on a scale and to analyze human behavioral patterns. Influential spreaders identification is an important subject in understanding the dynamics of information diffusion in OSNs. Targeting these influential spreaders is significant in planning the techniques for accelerating the propagation of information that is useful for various applications, such as viral marketing applications or blocking the diffusion of annoying information (spreading of viruses, rumors, online negative behaviors, and cyberbullying). Existing K-core decomposition methods consider links equally when calculating the influential spreaders for unweighted networks. Alternatively, the proposed link weights are based only on the degree of nodes. Thus, if a node is linked to high-degree nodes, then this node will receive high weight and is treated as an important node. Conversely, the degree of nodes in OSN context does not always provide accurate influence of users. In the present study, we improve the K-core method for OSNs by proposing a novel link-weighting method based on the interaction among users. The proposed method is based on the observation that the interaction of users is a significant factor in quantifying the spreading capability of user in OSNs. The tracking of diffusion links in the real spreading dynamics of information verifies the effectiveness of our proposed method for identifying influential spreaders in OSNs as compared with degree centrality, PageRank, and original K-core.

A General Comparison of SharePoint 2007 and SharePoint 2010

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

rich as some dedicated Wiki offerings, e.g. Confluence, appropriately authorised users can collaboratively develop content. Unlike Wiki pages...Workspace 2010 uses Windows credentials instead of a Groove-specific logon for authenticating users, thus improving consistency with the rest of the Office...environment, such as authentication properties. In SharePoint 2010 the Business Data Connectivity service is the new version of SharePoint 2007’s Business

Utility-Based Link Recommendation in Social Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Zhepeng

2013-01-01

Link recommendation, which suggests links to connect currently unlinked users, is a key functionality offered by major online social networking platforms. Salient examples of link recommendation include "people you may know"' on Facebook and "who to follow" on Twitter. A social networking platform has two types of stakeholder:…

Multimedia information processing in the SWAN mobile networked computing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agrawal, Prathima; Hyden, Eoin; Krzyzanowsji, Paul; Srivastava, Mani B.; Trotter, John

1996-03-01

Anytime anywhere wireless access to databases, such as medical and inventory records, can simplify workflow management in a business, and reduce or even eliminate the cost of moving paper documents. Moreover, continual progress in wireless access technology promises to provide per-user bandwidths of the order of a few Mbps, at least in indoor environments. When combined with the emerging high-speed integrated service wired networks, it enables ubiquitous and tetherless access to and processing of multimedia information by mobile users. To leverage on this synergy an indoor wireless network based on room-sized cells and multimedia mobile end-points is being developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories. This research network, called SWAN (Seamless Wireless ATM Networking), allows users carrying multimedia end-points such as PDAs, laptops, and portable multimedia terminals, to seamlessly roam while accessing multimedia data streams from the wired backbone network. A distinguishing feature of the SWAN network is its use of end-to-end ATM connectivity as opposed to the connectionless mobile-IP connectivity used by present day wireless data LANs. This choice allows the wireless resource in a cell to be intelligently allocated amongst various ATM virtual circuits according to their quality of service requirements. But an efficient implementation of ATM in a wireless environment requires a proper mobile network architecture. In particular, the wireless link and medium-access layers need to be cognizant of the ATM traffic, while the ATM layers need to be cognizant of the mobility enabled by the wireless layers. This paper presents an overview of SWAN's network architecture, briefly discusses the issues in making ATM mobile and wireless, and describes initial multimedia applications for SWAN.

Publishing Data on Physical Samples Using the GeoLink Ontology and Linked Data Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, P.; Arko, R. A.; Lehnert, K. A.; Song, L.; Carter, M. R.; Hsu, L.

2015-12-01

Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA), one of partners in EarthCube GeoLink project, seeks to explore the extent to which the use of GeoLink reusable Ontology Design Patterns (ODPs) and linked data platforms in IEDA data infrastructure can make research data more easily accessible and valuable. Linked data for the System for Earth Sample Registration (SESAR) is the first effort of IEDA to show how linked data enhance the presentation of IEDA data system architecture. SESAR Linked Data maps each table and column in SESAR database to RDF class and property based on GeoLink view, which build on the top of GeoLink ODPs. Then, uses D2RQ dumping the contents of SESAR database into RDF triples on the basis of mapping results. And, the dumped RDF triples is loaded into GRAPHDB, an RDF graph database, as permanent data in the form of atomic facts expressed as subjects, predicates and objects which provide support for semantic interoperability between IEDA and other GeoLink partners. Finally, an integrated browsing and searching interface build on Callimachus, a highly scalable platform for publishing linked data, is introduced to make sense of data stored in triplestore. Drill down and through features are built in the interface to help users locating content efficiently. The drill down feature enables users to explore beyond the summary information in the instance list of a specific class and into the detail from the specific instance page. The drill through feature enables users to jump from one instance to another one by simply clicking the link of the latter nested in the former region. Additionally, OpenLayers map is embedded into the interface to enhance the attractiveness of the presentation of instance which has geospatial information. Furthermore, by linking instances in the SESAR datasets to matching or corresponding instances in external sets, the presentation has been enriched with additional information about related classes like person, cruise, etc.

Effects of Link Annotations on Search Performance in Layered and Unlayered Hierarchically Organized Information Spaces.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraser, Landon; Locatis, Craig

2001-01-01

Investigated the effects of link annotations on high school user search performance in Web hypertext environments having deep (layered) and shallow link structures. Results confirmed previous research that shallow link structures are better than deep (layered) link structures, and also showed that annotations had virtually no effect on search…

Sea Ice Characteristics and the Open-Linked Data World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalsa, S. J. S.; McGuinness, D. L.; Duerr, R.; Pulsifer, P. L.; Fox, P. A.; Thompson, C.; Yan, R.

2014-12-01

The audience for sea ice data sets has broadened dramatically over the past several decades. Initially the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) sea ice products were used primarily by sea ice specialists. However, now they are in demand by researchers in many different domains and some are used by the public. This growth in the number and type of users has presented challenges to content providers aimed particularly at supporting interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary data use. In our experience, it is generally insufficient to simply make the data available as originally formatted. New audiences typically need data in different forms; forms that meet their needs, that work with their specific tools. Moreover, simple data reformatting is rarely enough. The data needs to be aggregated, transformed or otherwise converted into forms that better serve the needs of the new audience. The Semantic Sea Ice Interoperability Initiative (SSIII) is an NSF-funded research project aimed at making sea ice data more useful to more people using semantic technologies. The team includes domain and science data experts as well as knowledge representation and linked data experts. Beginning with a series of workshops involving members of the operations, sea ice research and modeling communities, as well as members of local communities in Alaska, a suite of ontologies describing the physical characteristics of sea ice have been developed and used to provide one of NSIDC's data sets, the operational Arctic sea ice charts obtained from the Canadian Ice Center, as open-linked data. These data extend nearly a decade into the past and can now be queried either directly through a publicly available SPARQL end point (for those who are familiar with open-linked data) or through a simple Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards map-based query tool. Questions like "What were the characteristics (i.e., sea ice concentration, form and stage of development) of the sea ice in the region surrounding my ship/polar bear on date X?" can now be answered. This service may be of interest within the broad polar community - especially those who already are familiar with either open-linked data or OGC services. We seek feedback, collaborators, and users.

Asynchronous transfer mode link performance over ground networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chow, E. T.; Markley, R. W.

1993-01-01

The results of an experiment to determine the feasibility of using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology to support advanced spacecraft missions that require high-rate ground communications and, in particular, full-motion video are reported. Potential nodes in such a ground network include Deep Space Network (DSN) antenna stations, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a set of national and international end users. The experiment simulated a lunar microrover, lunar lander, the DSN ground communications system, and distributed science users. The users were equipped with video-capable workstations. A key feature was an optical fiber link between two high-performance workstations equipped with ATM interfaces. Video was also transmitted through JPL's institutional network to a user 8 km from the experiment. Variations in video depending on the networks and computers were observed, the results are reported.

Method of recommending items to a user based on user interest

DOEpatents

Bollen, John; Van De Sompel, Herbert

2013-11-05

Although recording of usage data is common in scholarly information services, its exploitation for the creation of value-added services remains limited due to concerns regarding, among others, user privacy, data validity, and the lack of accepted standards for the representation, sharing and aggregation of usage data. A technical, standards-based architecture for sharing usage information is presented. In this architecture, OpenURL-compliant linking servers aggregate usage information of a specific user community as it navigates the distributed information environment that it has access to. This usage information is made OAI-PMH harvestable so that usage information exposed by many linking servers can be aggregated to facilitate the creation of value-added services with a reach beyond that of a single community or a single information service.

User's Manual for the New England Water-Use Data System (NEWUDS)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horn, Marilee A.

2003-01-01

Water is used in a variety of ways that need to be understood for effective management of water resources. Water-use activities need to be categorized and included in a database management system to understand current water uses and to provide information to water-resource management policy decisionmakers. The New England Water-Use Data System (NEWUDS) is a complex database developed to store water-use information that allows water to be tracked from a point of water-use activity (called a 'Site'), such as withdrawal from a resource (reservoir or aquifer), to a second Site, such as distribution to a user (business or irrigator). NEWUDS conceptual model consists of 10 core entities: system, owner, address, location, site, data source, resource, conveyance, transaction/rate, and alias, with tables available to store user-defined details. Three components--site (with both a From Site and a To Site), a conveyance that connects them, and a transaction/rate associated with the movement of water over a specific time interval form the core of the basic NEWUDS network model. The most important step in correctly translating real-world water-use activities into a storable format in NEWUDS depends on choosing the appropriate sites and linking them correctly in a network to model the flow of water from the initial From Site to the final To Site. Ten water-use networks representing real-world activities are described--three withdrawal networks, three return networks, two user networks, two complex community-system networks. Ten case studies of water use, one for each network, also are included in this manual to illustrate how to compile, store, and retrieve the appropriate data. The sequence of data entry into tables is critical because there are many foreign keys. The recommended core entity sequence is (1) system, (2) owner, (3) address, (4) location, (5) site, (6) data source, (7) resource, (8) conveyance, (9) transaction, and (10) rate; with (11) alias and (12) user-defined detail subject areas populated as needed. After each step in data entry, quality-assurance queries should be run to ensure the data are correctly entered so that it can be retrieved accurately. The point of data storage is retrieval. Several retrieval queries that focus on retrieving only relevant data to specific questions are presented in this manual as examples for the NEWUDS user.

Perceptions of the solarium ban in Australia: 'Fake it, don't bake it'.

PubMed

Prichard, Ivanka; Dobbinson, Suzanne; Wilson, Carlene; Hutchinson, Amanda D; Rayner, Joanne; Makin, Jen

2015-08-01

The causal link between ultraviolet radiation from solarium use and skin cancer is well established. In 2012 and 2013, state governments across Australia announced plans to ban commercial solarium use from 31 December 2014. The present study examined the responses of solarium and non-solarium users to the ban on commercial solariums in Australia. Participants (n = 488; 388 females, 100 males; mean age = 26.02, s.d. = 9.95) completed an online questionnaire during the summer prior to the ban relating to solarium usage and their opinions about the ban. Overall, 49% (n = 237) of participants were aware of the impending ban; 17% (n = 83) had used a solarium at some point in their life. The response to the solarium ban was positive; however, some current solarium users intended post-ban to use privately owned sunbeds and or spend a greater amount of time sun-tanning. These findings indicate a high level of public support for the solarium ban, which has removed a risky source of ultraviolet radiation in Australia. SO WHAT? Further steps are now needed to monitor the tanning behaviours of previous solarium users post-ban and their access to private sunbed use and other potentially dangerous methods of tanning (e.g. tanning injections).

Altering user' acceptance of automation through prior automation exposure.

PubMed

Bekier, Marek; Molesworth, Brett R C

2017-06-01

Air navigation service providers worldwide see increased use of automation as one solution to overcome the capacity constraints imbedded in the present air traffic management (ATM) system. However, increased use of automation within any system is dependent on user acceptance. The present research sought to determine if the point at which an individual is no longer willing to accept or cooperate with automation can be manipulated. Forty participants underwent training on a computer-based air traffic control programme, followed by two ATM exercises (order counterbalanced), one with and one without the aid of automation. Results revealed after exposure to a task with automation assistance, user acceptance of high(er) levels of automation ('tipping point') decreased; suggesting it is indeed possible to alter automation acceptance. Practitioner Summary: This paper investigates whether the point at which a user of automation rejects automation (i.e. 'tipping point') is constant or can be manipulated. The results revealed after exposure to a task with automation assistance, user acceptance of high(er) levels of automation decreased; suggesting it is possible to alter automation acceptance.

A Query Analysis of Consumer Health Information Retrieval

PubMed Central

Hong, Yi; de la Cruz, Norberto; Barnas, Gary; Early, Eileen; Gillis, Rick

2002-01-01

The log files of MCW HealthLink web site were analyzed to study users' needs for consumer health information and get a better understanding of the health topics users are searching for, the paths users usually take to find consumer health information and the way to improve search effectiveness.

Navigation To and From a Page: Which Links Get Clicked From Where

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Use Google Analytics navigation summary data to find out what page users most frequently click your Contact Us link from (Previous Page Path), or which links on your homepage are popular or unpopular (Next Page Path).

US Astronomers Access to SIMBAD in Strasbourg, France

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichhorn, G.; Oliverson, Ronald J. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

During the last year the US SIMBAD Gateway Project continued to provide services like user registration to the US users of the SIMBAD database in France. Currently there are over 4300 US users registered. We also provided user support by answering questions from users and handling requests for lost passwords when still necessary. Even though almost all users now access SIMBAD without a password, based on hostnames/IP addresses, there are still some users that need individual passwords. We continued to maintain the mirror copy of the SIMBAD database on a server at SAO. This allows much faster access for the US users. During the past year we moved this mirror to a faster server to improve access for the US users. We again supported a demonstration of the SIMBAD database at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January. We provided support for the demonstration activities at the SIMBAD booth. We paid part of the fee for the SIMBAD demonstration. We continued to improve the cross-linking between the SIMBAD project and the Astrophysics Data System. This cross-linking between these systems is very much appreciated by the users of both the SIMBAD database and the ADS Abstract Service. The mirror of the SIMBAD database at SAO makes this connection faster for the US astronomers. We exchange information between the ADS and SIMBAD on a daily basis. The close cooperation between the CDS in Strasbourg and SAO, facilitated by this project, is an important part of the astronomy-wide digital library initiative. It has proven to be a model in how different data centers can collaborate and enhance the value of their products by linking with other data centers. We continue this collaboration in order to provide better services to both the US and European astronomical community. This collaboration is even more important in light of the developments for the Virtual Observatory projects in the different countries.

Uncovering the essential links in online commercial networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Wei; Fang, Meiling; Shao, Junming; Shang, Mingsheng

2016-09-01

Recommender systems are designed to effectively support individuals' decision-making process on various web sites. It can be naturally represented by a user-object bipartite network, where a link indicates that a user has collected an object. Recently, research on the information backbone has attracted researchers' interests, which is a sub-network with fewer nodes and links but carrying most of the relevant information. With the backbone, a system can generate satisfactory recommenda- tions while saving much computing resource. In this paper, we propose an enhanced topology-aware method to extract the information backbone in the bipartite network mainly based on the information of neighboring users and objects. Our backbone extraction method enables the recommender systems achieve more than 90% of the accuracy of the top-L recommendation, however, consuming only 20% links. The experimental results show that our method outperforms the alternative backbone extraction methods. Moreover, the structure of the information backbone is studied in detail. Finally, we highlight that the information backbone is one of the most important properties of the bipartite network, with which one can significantly improve the efficiency of the recommender system.

Individual and Group-Based Engagement in an Online Physical Activity Monitoring Program in Georgia.

PubMed

Smith, Matthew Lee; Durrett, Nicholas K; Bowie, Maria; Berg, Alison; McCullick, Bryan A; LoPilato, Alexander C; Murray, Deborah

2018-06-07

Given the rising prevalence of obesity in the United States, innovative methods are needed to increase physical activity (PA) in community settings. Evidence suggests that individuals are more likely to engage in PA if they are given a choice of activities and have support from others (for encouragement, motivation, and accountability). The objective of this study was to describe the use of the online Walk Georgia PA tracking platform according to whether the user was an individual user or group user. Walk Georgia is a free, interactive online tracking platform that enables users to log PA by duration, activity, and perceived difficulty, and then converts these data into points based on metabolic equivalents. Users join individually or in groups and are encouraged to set weekly PA goals. Data were examined for 6,639 users (65.8% were group users) over 28 months. We used independent sample t tests and Mann-Whitney U tests to compare means between individual and group users. Two linear regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with activity logging. Users logged 218,766 activities (15,119,249 minutes of PA spanning 592,714 miles [41,858,446 points]). On average, group users had created accounts more recently than individual users (P < .001); however, group users logged more activities (P < .001). On average, group users logged more minutes of PA (P < .001) and earned more points (P < .001). Being in a group was associated with a larger proportion of weeks in which 150 minutes or more of weekly PA was logged (B = 20.47, P < .001). Use of Walk Georgia was significantly higher among group users than among individual users. To expand use and dissemination of online tracking of PA, programs should target naturally occurring groups (eg, workplaces, schools, faith-based groups).

Measuring Link-Resolver Success: Comparing 360 Link with a Local Implementation of WebBridge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera, Gail

2011-01-01

This study reviewed link resolver success comparing 360 Link and a local implementation of WebBridge. Two methods were used: (1) comparing article-level access and (2) examining technical issues for 384 randomly sampled OpenURLs. Google Analytics was used to collect user-generated OpenURLs. For both methods, 360 Link out-performed the local…

SciLinks

Science.gov Websites

SciLinks Forgot your login? Sign up for FREE access Log In I'm a ... Teacher Student User Name questions and satisfy their curiosity Learn More Sign up for Free Access Sites in the SciLinks program . SciLinks-Targeted, Grade-Specific Web Content for your Books Free web content to extend and expand student

Calculated Communications In A Concave World

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-16

Defense Intelligence Agency Chair 16 February 2016 DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. DISCLAIMER The...including those implemented by public affairs, public diplomacy, and information operations professionals.”4 These definitions provide a platform to...1.49 billion users • Tablet – 1 billion owners • LinkedIn – 380 million users • Twitter – 304 million users • Instagram – 300 million users

Linking Disparate Datasets of the Earth Sciences with the SemantEco Annotator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seyed, P.; Chastain, K.; McGuinness, D. L.

2013-12-01

Use of Semantic Web technologies for data management in the Earth sciences (and beyond) has great potential but is still in its early stages, since the challenges of translating data into a more explicit or semantic form for immediate use within applications has not been fully addressed. In this abstract we help address this challenge by introducing the SemantEco Annotator, which enables anyone, regardless of expertise, to semantically annotate tabular Earth Science data and translate it into linked data format, while applying the logic inherent in community-standard vocabularies to guide the process. The Annotator was conceived under a desire to unify dataset content from a variety of sources under common vocabularies, for use in semantically-enabled web applications. Our current use case employs linked data generated by the Annotator for use in the SemantEco environment, which utilizes semantics to help users explore, search, and visualize water or air quality measurement and species occurrence data through a map-based interface. The generated data can also be used immediately to facilitate discovery and search capabilities within 'big data' environments. The Annotator provides a method for taking information about a dataset, that may only be known to its maintainers, and making it explicit, in a uniform and machine-readable fashion, such that a person or information system can more easily interpret the underlying structure and meaning. Its primary mechanism is to enable a user to formally describe how columns of a tabular dataset relate and/or describe entities. For example, if a user identifies columns for latitude and longitude coordinates, we can infer the data refers to a point that can be plotted on a map. Further, it can be made explicit that measurements of 'nitrate' and 'NO3-' are of the same entity through vocabulary assignments, thus more easily utilizing data sets that use different nomenclatures. The Annotator provides an extensive and searchable library of vocabularies to assist the user in locating terms to describe observed entities, their properties, and relationships. The Annotator leverages vocabulary definitions of these concepts to guide the user in describing data in a logically consistent manner. The vocabularies made available through the Annotator are open, as is the Annotator itself. We have taken a step towards making semantic annotation/translation of data more accessible. Our vision for the Annotator is as a tool that can be integrated into a semantic data 'workbench' environment, which would allow semantic annotation of a variety of data formats, using standard vocabularies. These vocabularies involved enable search for similar datasets, and integration with any semantically-enabled applications for analysis and visualization.

Visualizing Rank Time Series of Wikipedia Top-Viewed Pages.

PubMed

Xia, Jing; Hou, Yumeng; Chen, Yingjie Victor; Qian, Zhenyu Cheryl; Ebert, David S; Chen, Wei

2017-01-01

Visual clutter is a common challenge when visualizing large rank time series data. WikiTopReader, a reader of Wikipedia page rank, lets users explore connections among top-viewed pages by connecting page-rank behaviors with page-link relations. Such a combination enhances the unweighted Wikipedia page-link network and focuses attention on the page of interest. A set of user evaluations shows that the system effectively represents evolving ranking patterns and page-wise correlation.

Providing Personal Assistance in the SAGRES Virtual Museum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bertoletti, Ana Carolina; Moraes, Marcia Cristina; da Rocha Costa, Antonio Carlos

The SAGRES system is an educational environment built on the Web that facilitates the organization of visits to museums, presenting museum information bases in a way adapted to the user's characteristics (capacities and preferences). The system determines the group of links appropriate to the user(s) and shows them in a resultant HTML page. In…

A medical digital library to support scenario and user-tailored information retrieval.

PubMed

Chu, W W; Johnson, D B; Kangarloo, H

2000-06-01

Current large-scale information sources are designed to support general queries and lack the ability to support scenario-specific information navigation, gathering, and presentation. As a result, users are often unable to obtain desired specific information within a well-defined subject area. Today's information systems do not provide efficient content navigation, incremental appropriate matching, or content correlation. We are developing the following innovative technologies to remedy these problems: 1) scenario-based proxies, enabling the gathering and filtering of information customized for users within a pre-defined domain; 2) context-sensitive navigation and matching, providing approximate matching and similarity links when an exact match to a user's request is unavailable; 3) content correlation of documents, creating semantic links between documents and information sources; and 4) user models for customizing retrieved information and result presentation. A digital medical library is currently being constructed using these technologies to provide customized information for the user. The technologies are general in nature and can provide custom and scenario-specific information in many other domains (e.g., crisis management).

Emodnet Med Sea Check-Point - Indicators for decision- maker

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besnard, Sophie; Claverie, Vincent; Blanc, Frédérique

2015-04-01

The Emodnet Checkpoint projects aim is to assess the cost-effectiveness, reliability and utility of the existing monitoring at the sea basin level. This involves the development of monitoring system indicators and a GIS Platform to perform the assessment and make it available. Assessment or production of Check-Point information is made by developing targeted products based on the monitoring data and determining whether the products are meeting the needs of industry and public authorities. Check-point users are the research community, the 'institutional' policy makers for IMP and MSFD implementation, the 'intermediate users', i.e., users capable to understand basic raw data but that benefit from seeing the Checkpoint targeted products and the assessment of the fitness for purpose. We define assessment criteria aimed to characterize/depict the input datasets in terms of 3 territories capable to show performance and gaps of the present monitoring system, appropriateness, availability and fitness for purpose. • Appropriateness: What is made available to users? What motivate/decide them to select this observation rather than this one. • Availability: How this is made available to the user? Place to understand the readiness and service performance of the EU infrastructure • Fitness for use / fitness for purpose: Ability for non-expert user to appreciate the data exploitability (feedback on efficiency & reliability of marine data) For each territory (appropriateness, Availability and Fitness for purpose / for use), we define several indicators. For example, for Availability we define Visibility, Accessibility and Performance. And Visibility is itself defined by "Easily found" and "EU service". So these indicators can be classified according to their territory and sub-territory as seen above, but also according to the complexity to build them. Indicators are built from raw descriptors in 3 stages:  Stage 1: to give a neutral and basic status directly computed from the raw checkpoint descriptors.  Stage 2: to get a more sectorial status, aggregating level 1 results for instance depending on processing level.  Stage 3: to synthesize and focus view at characteristic level for decision making and actions plan. They are computed from stage 2 indicators. To produce this checkpoint information, we describe upstream data as input data sets which are uniquely identified as a combination of (variable, dataset, intended use) or of (geographical feature, dataset, intended use) depending on their nature. The information is called descriptors. The descriptors cover 8 sections: 1. Characteristics (= What) 2. Data sources (= From) 3. Overview elements (= Why for) 4. Spatial coverage (= Where) 5. Temporal coverage (= When) 6. Accessibility (= How) 7. Quality elements (= ISO 19113 quality elements) 8. Other information (= for administration/management needs) Check-Point services should be permanent services, because: • Monitoring systems will evolve and every few years there is need to re-assess; • Different/more use cases of monitoring are required to really show gaps and complementarities in the monitoring system components; • Monitoring system evolution for the European Sea and the global ocean require constant upgrade of the assessment indicators and descriptors; • Need to establish strong & permanent links with intermediate and end users from industry to public authorities and 'regional' approach is appropriate and feasible. • Need to maintain the process, methodology used and to be applied.

Statins and physical activity in older men: the osteoporotic fractures in men study.

PubMed

Lee, David S H; Markwardt, Sheila; Goeres, Leah; Lee, Christine G; Eckstrom, Elizabeth; Williams, Craig; Fu, Rongwei; Orwoll, Eric; Cawthon, Peggy M; Stefanick, Marcia L; Mackey, Dawn; Bauer, Douglas C; Nielson, Carrie M

2014-08-01

Muscle pain, fatigue, and weakness are common adverse effects of statin medications and may decrease physical activity in older men. To determine whether statin use is associated with physical activity, longitudinally and cross-sectionally. Men participating in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (N = 5994), a multicenter prospective cohort study of community-living men 65 years and older, enrolled between March 2000 and April 2002. Follow-up was conducted through 2009. Statin use as determined by an inventory of medications (taken within the last 30 days). In cross-sectional analyses (n = 4137), statin use categories were users and nonusers. In longitudinal analyses (n = 3039), categories were prevalent users (baseline use and throughout the study), new users (initiated use during the study), and nonusers (never used). Self-reported physical activity at baseline and 2 follow-up visits using the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). At the third visit, an accelerometer measured metabolic equivalents (METs [kilocalories per kilogram per hour]) and minutes of moderate activity (METs ≥3.0), vigorous activity (METs ≥6.0), and sedentary behavior (METs ≤1.5). At baseline, 989 men (24%) were users and 3148 (76%) were nonusers. The adjusted difference in baseline PASE between users and nonusers was -5.8 points (95% CI, -10.9 to -0.7 points). A total of 3039 men met the inclusion criteria for longitudinal analysis: 727 (24%) prevalent users, 845 (28%) new users, and 1467 (48%) nonusers. PASE score declined by a mean (95% CI) of 2.5 (2.0 to 3.0) points per year for nonusers and 2.8 (2.1 to 3.5) points per year for prevalent users, a nonstatistical difference (0.3 [-0.5 to 1.0] points). For new users, annual PASE score declined at a faster rate than nonusers (difference of 0.9 [95% CI, 0.1 to 1.7] points). A total of 3071 men had adequate accelerometry data, 1542 (50%) were statin users. Statin users expended less METs (0.03 [95% CI, 0.02-0.04] METs less) and engaged in less moderate physical activity (5.4 [95% CI, 1.9-8.8] fewer minutes per day), less vigorous activity (0.6 [95% CI, 0.1-1.1] fewer minutes per day), and more sedentary behavior (7.6 [95% CI, 2.6-12.4] greater minutes per day). Statin use was associated with modestly lower physical activity among community-living men, even after accounting for medical history and other potentially confounding factors. The clinical significance of these findings deserves further investigation.

PhotoExam: adoption of an iOS-based clinical image capture application at Mayo Clinic.

PubMed

Wyatt, Kirk D; Willaert, Brian N; Pallagi, Peter J; Uribe, Richard A; Yiannias, James A; Hellmich, Thomas R

2017-12-01

Mayo Clinic developed an internal iOS-based, point-of-care clinical image capture application for clinicians. We aimed to assess the adoption and utilization of the application at Mayo Clinic. Metadata of 22,784 photos of 6417 patients taken by 606 users over 8040 clinical encounters between 3/1/2015 and 10/31/2015 were analyzed. A random sample of photos from 100 clinical encounters was assessed for quality using a five-item rubric. Use of traditional medical photography services before and after application launch were compared. The largest group of users was residents/fellows, accounting for 31% of users but only 18% of all photos. Attending physicians accounted for 29% of users and 30% of photos. Nurses accounted for 14% of users and 28% of photos. Surgical specialties had the most users (36% of users), followed by dermatology (14% of users); however, dermatology accounted for 54% of all photos, and surgery accounted for 26% of photos. Images received an average of 91% of possible points on the quality scoring rubric. Most frequent reasons for missing points were the location on the body not clearly being demonstrated (19% of encounters) and the perspective/scale not being clearly demonstrated (12% of encounters). There was no discernible pre-post effect of the application's launch on use of traditional medical photography services. Point-of-care clinical photography is a growing phenomenon with potential to become the new standard of care. Patient and provider attitudes and the impact on patient outcomes remain unclear. © 2017 The International Society of Dermatology.

Advanced display object selection methods for enhancing user-computer productivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osga, Glenn A.

1993-01-01

The User-Interface Technology Branch at NCCOSC RDT&E Division has been conducting a series of studies to address the suitability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) graphic user-interface (GUI) methods for efficiency and performance in critical naval combat systems. This paper presents an advanced selection algorithm and method developed to increase user performance when making selections on tactical displays. The method has also been applied with considerable success to a variety of cursor and pointing tasks. Typical GUI's allow user selection by: (1) moving a cursor with a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, joystick, touchscreen; and (2) placing the cursor on the object. Examples of GUI objects are the buttons, icons, folders, scroll bars, etc. used in many personal computer and workstation applications. This paper presents an improved method of selection and the theoretical basis for the significant performance gains achieved with various input devices tested. The method is applicable to all GUI styles and display sizes, and is particularly useful for selections on small screens such as notebook computers. Considering the amount of work-hours spent pointing and clicking across all styles of available graphic user-interfaces, the cost/benefit in applying this method to graphic user-interfaces is substantial, with the potential for increasing productivity across thousands of users and applications.

Development of Cooperative Communication Techniques for a Network of Small Satellites and Cubesats in Deep Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Babuscia, Alessandra; Cheung, Kar-Ming; Divsalar, Dariush; Lee, Charles

2014-01-01

This paper aims to address this problem by proposing cooperative communication approaches in which multiple CubeSats communicate cooperatively together to improve the link performance with respect to the case of a single satellite transmitting. Three approaches are proposed: a beam-forming approach, a coding approach, and a network approach. The approaches are applied to the specific case of a proposed constellation of CubeSats at the Lunar Lagrangian point L1 which aims to perform radio astronomy at very low frequencies (30 KHz -3 MHz). The paper describes the development of the approaches, the simulation and a graphical user interface developed in Matlab which allows to perform trade-offs across multiple constellation's configurations.

TaDb: A time-aware diffusion-based recommender algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wen-Jun; Xu, Yuan-Yuan; Dong, Qiang; Zhou, Jun-Lin; Fu, Yan

2015-02-01

Traditional recommender algorithms usually employ the early and recent records indiscriminately, which overlooks the change of user interests over time. In this paper, we show that the interests of a user remain stable in a short-term interval and drift during a long-term period. Based on this observation, we propose a time-aware diffusion-based (TaDb) recommender algorithm, which assigns different temporal weights to the leading links existing before the target user's collection and the following links appearing after that in the diffusion process. Experiments on four real datasets, Netflix, MovieLens, FriendFeed and Delicious show that TaDb algorithm significantly improves the prediction accuracy compared with the algorithms not considering temporal effects.

iBoard/CDX User Guide for Nonfederal Individuals and Company/Organization Points of Contact

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This user guide describes the process that individuals or company/organization points of contact (POCs) must follow to submit non-EPA personnel data through the EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) iBoard application for review and approval.

Tobacco point of sale advertising increases positive brand user imagery

PubMed Central

Donovan, R; Jancey, J; Jones, S

2002-01-01

Objectives: To determine the potential impact of point of sale advertising on adolescents so as to inform changes to the Tobacco Control Act. Design: Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the control condition, students were exposed to a photograph of a packet of cigarettes; in the intervention condition, students were exposed to an ad for cigarettes, typical of point of sale advertising posters. All students then rated the brand user on a set of 12 bipolar adjectives. Two brands were used in the study: Benson & Hedges, and Marlboro. Subjects: One hundred year (grade) 6 and 7 students (age range 10–12 years), from four Western Australian metropolitan primary schools, participated in the study. Results: In a majority of the brand user descriptions, the cigarette advertisements increased brand user imagery in a positive way, especially for Benson & Hedges. For example, participants viewing the Benson & Hedges advertisement, as distinct from those viewing the Benson & Hedges pack only, were more likely to describe the Benson & Hedges user as relaxed, interesting, cool, rich, adventurous, and classy. Relative to the Marlboro pack only, the Marlboro ad increased positive perceptions of the Marlboro user on adventurous, interesting, and relaxed. Conclusions: The results presented here support restrictions being placed on advertising at point of sale, since such ads have the potential to increase positive brand user imagery directly in the situation where a product purchase can take place, and hence the potential to increase the likelihood of impulse purchasing. PMID:12198267

Tobacco point of sale advertising increases positive brand user imagery.

PubMed

Donovan, R J; Jancey, J; Jones, S

2002-09-01

To determine the potential impact of point of sale advertising on adolescents so as to inform changes to the Tobacco Control Act. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the control condition, students were exposed to a photograph of a packet of cigarettes; in the intervention condition, students were exposed to an ad for cigarettes, typical of point of sale advertising posters. All students then rated the brand user on a set of 12 bipolar adjectives. Two brands were used in the study: Benson & Hedges, and Marlboro. One hundred year (grade) 6 and 7 students (age range 10-12 years), from four Western Australian metropolitan primary schools, participated in the study. In a majority of the brand user descriptions, the cigarette advertisements increased brand user imagery in a positive way, especially for Benson & Hedges. For example, participants viewing the Benson & Hedges advertisement, as distinct from those viewing the Benson & Hedges pack only, were more likely to describe the Benson & Hedges user as relaxed, interesting, cool, rich, adventurous, and classy. Relative to the Marlboro pack only, the Marlboro ad increased positive perceptions of the Marlboro user on adventurous, interesting, and relaxed. The results presented here support restrictions being placed on advertising at point of sale, since such ads have the potential to increase positive brand user imagery directly in the situation where a product purchase can take place, and hence the potential to increase the likelihood of impulse purchasing.

A software module for implementing auditory and visual feedback on a video-based eye tracking system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosanlall, Bharat; Gertner, Izidor; Geri, George A.; Arrington, Karl F.

2016-05-01

We describe here the design and implementation of a software module that provides both auditory and visual feedback of the eye position measured by a commercially available eye tracking system. The present audio-visual feedback module (AVFM) serves as an extension to the Arrington Research ViewPoint EyeTracker, but it can be easily modified for use with other similar systems. Two modes of audio feedback and one mode of visual feedback are provided in reference to a circular area-of-interest (AOI). Auditory feedback can be either a click tone emitted when the user's gaze point enters or leaves the AOI, or a sinusoidal waveform with frequency inversely proportional to the distance from the gaze point to the center of the AOI. Visual feedback is in the form of a small circular light patch that is presented whenever the gaze-point is within the AOI. The AVFM processes data that are sent to a dynamic-link library by the EyeTracker. The AVFM's multithreaded implementation also allows real-time data collection (1 kHz sampling rate) and graphics processing that allow display of the current/past gaze-points as well as the AOI. The feedback provided by the AVFM described here has applications in military target acquisition and personnel training, as well as in visual experimentation, clinical research, marketing research, and sports training.

A web service framework for astronomical remote observation in Antarctica by using satellite link

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, M.-h.; Chen, Y.-q.; Zhang, G.-y.; Jiang, P.; Zhang, H.; Wang, J.

2018-07-01

Many telescopes are deployed in Antarctica as it offers excellent astronomical observation conditions. However, because Antarctica's environment is harsh to humans, remote operation of telescope is necessary for observation. Furthermore, communication to devices in Antarctica through satellite link with low bandwidth and high latency limits the effectiveness of remote observation. This paper introduces a web service framework for remote astronomical observation in Antarctica. The framework is based on Python Tornado. RTS2-HTTPD and REDIS are used as the access interface to the telescope control system in Antarctica. The web service provides real-time updates through WebSocket. To improve user experience and control effectiveness under the poor satellite link condition, an agent server is deployed in the mainland to synchronize the Antarctic server's data and send it to domestic users in China. The agent server will forward the request of domestic users to the Antarctic master server. The web service was deployed and tested on Bright Star Survey Telescope (BSST) in Antarctica. Results show that the service meets the demands of real-time, multiuser remote observation and domestic users have a better experience of remote operation.

Linking information and people in a social system for academic conferences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brusilovsky, Peter; Oh, Jung Sun; López, Claudia; Parra, Denis; Jeng, Wei

2017-04-01

This paper investigates the feasibility of maintaining a social information system to support attendees at an academic conference. The main challenge of this work was to create an infrastructure where users' social activities, such as bookmarking, tagging, and social linking could be used to enhance user navigation and maximize the users' ability to locate two important types of information in conference settings: presentations to attend and attendees to meet. We developed Conference Navigator 3, a social conference support system that integrates a conference schedule planner with a social linking service. We examined its potential and functions in the context of a medium-scale academic conference. In this paper, we present the design of the system's socially enabled features and report the results of a conference-based study. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of social information systems for supporting academic conferences. Despite the low number of potential users and the short timeframe in which conferences took place, the usage of the system was high enough to provide sufficient data for social mechanisms. The study shows that most critical social features were highly appreciated and used, and provides direction for further research.

Design and Fabrication of an Instrumented Handrim to Measure the Kinetic and Kinematic Information by the Hand of User for 3D Analysis of Manual Wheelchair Propulsion Dynamics

PubMed Central

Mallakzadeh, Mohammadreza; Akbari, Hossein

2014-01-01

The repetitious nature of propelling a wheelchair has been associated with the high incidence of injury among manual wheelchair users (MWUs), mainly in the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Recent literature has found a link between handrim biomechanics and risk of injury to the upper extremity. The valid measurement of three-dimensional net joint forces and torques, however, can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of injury, the development of prevention techniques, and the reduction of serious injuries to the joints. In this project, an instrumented wheel system was developed to measure the applied loads dynamically by the hand of the user and the angular position of the wheelchair user's hand on the handrim during the propulsion phase. The system is composed of an experimental six-axis load cell, and a wireless eight channel data logger mounted on a wheel hub. The angular position of the wheel is measured by an absolute magnetic encoder. The angular position of the wheelchair user's hand on the handrim during the propulsion phase (ɸ) or point of force application (PFA) is calculated by means of a new-experimental method using 36 pairs of infrared emitter/receiver diodes mounted around the handrim. In this regard, the observed data extracted from an inexperienced able-bodied subject pushed a wheelchair with the instrumented handrim are presented to show the output behavior of the instrumented handrim. The recorded forces and torques were in agreement with previously reported magnitudes. However, this paper can provide readers with some technical insights into possible solutions for measuring the manual wheelchair propulsion biomechanical data. PMID:25426429

Design and Fabrication of an Instrumented Handrim to Measure the Kinetic and Kinematic Information by the Hand of User for 3D Analysis of Manual Wheelchair Propulsion Dynamics.

PubMed

Mallakzadeh, Mohammadreza; Akbari, Hossein

2014-10-01

The repetitious nature of propelling a wheelchair has been associated with the high incidence of injury among manual wheelchair users (MWUs), mainly in the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Recent literature has found a link between handrim biomechanics and risk of injury to the upper extremity. The valid measurement of three-dimensional net joint forces and torques, however, can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of injury, the development of prevention techniques, and the reduction of serious injuries to the joints. In this project, an instrumented wheel system was developed to measure the applied loads dynamically by the hand of the user and the angular position of the wheelchair user's hand on the handrim during the propulsion phase. The system is composed of an experimental six-axis load cell, and a wireless eight channel data logger mounted on a wheel hub. The angular position of the wheel is measured by an absolute magnetic encoder. The angular position of the wheelchair user's hand on the handrim during the propulsion phase (ɸ) or point of force application (PFA) is calculated by means of a new-experimental method using 36 pairs of infrared emitter/receiver diodes mounted around the handrim. In this regard, the observed data extracted from an inexperienced able-bodied subject pushed a wheelchair with the instrumented handrim are presented to show the output behavior of the instrumented handrim. The recorded forces and torques were in agreement with previously reported magnitudes. However, this paper can provide readers with some technical insights into possible solutions for measuring the manual wheelchair propulsion biomechanical data.

The National Hydrography Dataset

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1999-01-01

The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a newly combined dataset that provides hydrographic data for the United States. The NHD is the culmination of recent cooperative efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It combines elements of USGS digital line graph (DLG) hydrography files and the USEPA Reach File (RF3). The NHD supersedes RF3 and DLG files by incorporating them, not by replacing them. Users of RF3 or DLG files will find the same data in a new, more flexible format. They will find that the NHD is familiar but greatly expanded and refined. The DLG files contribute a national coverage of millions of features, including water bodies such as lakes and ponds, linear water features such as streams and rivers, and also point features such as springs and wells. These files provide standardized feature types, delineation, and spatial accuracy. From RF3, the NHD acquires hydrographic sequencing, upstream and downstream navigation for modeling applications, and reach codes. The reach codes provide a way to integrate data from organizations at all levels by linking the data to this nationally consistent hydrographic network. The feature names are from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The NHD provides comprehensive coverage of hydrographic data for the United States. Some of the anticipated end-user applications of the NHD are multiuse hydrographic modeling and water-quality studies of fish habitats. Although based on 1:100,000-scale data, the NHD is planned so that it can incorporate and encourage the development of the higher resolution data that many users require. The NHD can be used to promote the exchange of data between users at the national, State, and local levels. Many users will benefit from the NHD and will want to contribute to the dataset as well.

A serial digital data communications device. [for real time flight simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fetter, J. L.

1977-01-01

A general purpose computer peripheral device which is used to provide a full-duplex, serial, digital data transmission link between a Xerox Sigma computer and a wide variety of external equipment, including computers, terminals, and special purpose devices is reported. The interface has an extensive set of user defined options to assist the user in establishing the necessary data links. This report describes those options and other features of the serial communications interface and its performance by discussing its application to a particular problem.

Rate-based congestion control in networks with smart links, revision. B.S. Thesis - May 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heybey, Andrew Tyrrell

1990-01-01

The author uses a network simulator to explore rate-based congestion control in networks with smart links that can feed back information to tell senders to adjust their transmission rates. This method differs in a very important way from congestion control in which a congested network component just drops packets - the most commonly used method. It is clearly advantageous for the links in the network to communicate with the end users about the network capacity, rather than the users unilaterally picking a transmission rate. The components in the middle of the network, not the end users, have information about the capacity and traffic in the network. The author experiments with three different algorithms for calculating the control rate to feed back to the users. All of the algorithms exhibit problems in the form of large queues when simulated with a configuration modeling the dynamics of a packet-voice system. However, the problems are not with the algorithms themselves, but with the fact that feedback takes time. If the network steady-state utilization is low enough that it can absorb transients in the traffic through it, then the large queues disappear. If the users are modified to start sending slowly, to allow the network to adapt to a new flow without causing congestion, a greater portion of the network's bandwidth can be used.

Connecting the Astrophysics Data System and Planetary Data System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichhorn, G.; Kurtz, M. J.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Murray, S. S.; Hughes, J. S.; Mortellaro, J.; McMahon, S. K.

1997-07-01

The Astrophysics Data System (ADS) provides access to astronomical literature through a sophisticated search engine. Over 10,000 users retrieve almost 5 million references and read more than 25,000 full text articles per month. ADS cooperates closely with all the main astronomical journals and data centers to create and maintain a state-of-the-art digital library. The Planetary Data System (PDS) publishes high quality peer reviewed planetary science data products, defines planetary archiving standards to make products usable, and provides science expertise to users in data product preparation and use. Data products are available to users on CD media, with more than 600 CD-ROM titles in the inventory from past missions as well as the recent releases from active planetary missions and observations. The ADS and PDS serve overlapping communities and offer complementary functions. The ADS and PDS are both part of the NASA Space Science Data System, sponsored by the Office of Space Science, which curates science data products for researchers and the general public. We are in the process of connecting these two data systems. As a first step we have included entries for PDS data sets in the ADS abstract service. This allows ADS users to find PDS data sets by searching for their descriptions through the ADS search system. The information returned from the ADS links directly to the data set's entry in the PDS data set catalog. After linking to this catalog, the user will have access to more comprehensive data set information, related ancillary information, and on-line data products. The PDS on the other hand will use the ADS to provide access to bibliographic information. This includes links from PDS data set catalog bibliographic citations to ADS abstracts and on-line articles. The cross-linking between these data systems allows each system to concentrate on its main objectives and utilize the other system to provide more and improved services to the users of both systems.

Enhancing user acceptance of mandated mobile health information systems: the ePOC (electronic point-of-care project) experience.

PubMed

Burgess, Lois; Sargent, Jason

2007-01-01

From a clinical perspective, the use of mobile technologies, such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) within hospital environments is not new. A paradigm shift however is underway towards the acceptance and utility of these systems within mobile-based healthcare environments. Introducing new technologies and associated work practices has intrinsic risks which must be addressed. This paper contends that intervening to address user concerns as they arise throughout the system development lifecycle will lead to greater levels of user acceptance, while ultimately enhancing the deliverability of a system that provides a best fit with end user needs. It is envisaged this research will lead to the development of a formalised user acceptance framework based on an agile approach to user acceptance measurement. The results of an ongoing study of user perceptions towards a mandated electronic point-of-care information system in the Northern Illawarra Ambulatory Care Team (TACT) are presented.

Speaking of Users: On User Discourses in the Field of Public Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedemark, Ase; Hedman, Jenny; Sundin, Olof

2005-01-01

Introduction: The aim of the study reported is to examine user discourses identified in the Swedish public library field. The following questions are posed: What user discourses can be found and what characterises them? How are users categorised and what does this categorisation imply? The departure point in this paper is that the ways users are…

US Astronomers Access to SIMBAD in Strasbourg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliversen, Ronald (Technical Monitor); Eichhorn, Guenther

2004-01-01

During the last year the US SIMBAD Gateway Project continued to provide services like user registration to the US users of the SIMBAD database in France. Currently there are over 4500 US users registered. We also provided user support by answering questions from users and handling requests for lost passwords when still necessary. Even though almost all users now access SIMBAD without a password, based on hostnames/IP addresses, there are still some users that need individual passwords. We continued to maintain the mirror copy of the SIMBAD database on a server at SAO. This allows much faster access for the US users. During the past year we again moved this mirror to a faster server to improve access for the US users. We again supported a demonstration of the SIMBAD database at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January. We provided support for the demonstration activities at the SIMBAD booth. We paid part of the fee for the SIMBAD demonstration. We continued to improve the cross-linking between the SIMBAD project and the Astrophysics Data System. This cross-linking between these systems is very much appreciated by the users of both the SIMBAD database and the ADS Abstract Service. The mirror of the SIMBAD database at SA0 makes this connection faster for the US astronomers. We exchange information between the ADS and SIMBAD on a daily basis. During the last year we also installed a mirror copy of the Vizier system from the CDS, in addition to the SIMBAD mirror.

47 CFR 101.103 - Frequency coordination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Assignment of frequencies will be made only in such a manner as to facilitate the rendition of communication...-point basis may not be extended or otherwise modified through the addition of point-to-point links. Such... modified through the addition of point-to-point links. Such operations licensed on a point-to-radius basis...

47 CFR 101.103 - Frequency coordination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Assignment of frequencies will be made only in such a manner as to facilitate the rendition of communication...-point basis may not be extended or otherwise modified through the addition of point-to-point links. Such... modified through the addition of point-to-point links. Such operations licensed on a point-to-radius basis...

47 CFR 101.103 - Frequency coordination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Assignment of frequencies will be made only in such a manner as to facilitate the rendition of communication...-point basis may not be extended or otherwise modified through the addition of point-to-point links. Such... modified through the addition of point-to-point links. Such operations licensed on a point-to-radius basis...

TopoCad - A unified system for geospatial data and services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felus, Y. A.; Sagi, Y.; Regev, R.; Keinan, E.

2013-10-01

"E-government" is a leading trend in public sector activities in recent years. The Survey of Israel set as a vision to provide all of its services and datasets online. The TopoCad system is the latest software tool developed in order to unify a number of services and databases into one on-line and user friendly system. The TopoCad system is based on Web 1.0 technology; hence the customer is only a consumer of data. All data and services are accessible for the surveyors and geo-information professional in an easy and comfortable way. The future lies in Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies through which professionals can upload their own data for quality control and future assimilation with the national database. A key issue in the development of this complex system was to implement a simple and easy (comfortable) user experience (UX). The user interface employs natural language dialog box in order to understand the user requirements. The system then links spatial data with alpha-numeric data in a flawless manner. The operation of the TopoCad requires no user guide or training. It is intuitive and self-taught. The system utilizes semantic engines and machine understanding technologies to link records from diverse databases in a meaningful way. Thus, the next generation of TopoCad will include five main modules: users and projects information, coordinates transformations and calculations services, geospatial data quality control, linking governmental systems and databases, smart forms and applications. The article describes the first stage of the TopoCad system and gives an overview of its future development.

Pointo - a Low Cost Solution to Point Cloud Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houshiar, H.; Winkler, S.

2017-11-01

With advance in technology access to data especially 3D point cloud data becomes more and more an everyday task. 3D point clouds are usually captured with very expensive tools such as 3D laser scanners or very time consuming methods such as photogrammetry. Most of the available softwares for 3D point cloud processing are designed for experts and specialists in this field and are usually very large software packages containing variety of methods and tools. This results in softwares that are usually very expensive to acquire and also very difficult to use. Difficulty of use is caused by complicated user interfaces that is required to accommodate a large list of features. The aim of these complex softwares is to provide a powerful tool for a specific group of specialist. However they are not necessary required by the majority of the up coming average users of point clouds. In addition to complexity and high costs of these softwares they generally rely on expensive and modern hardware and only compatible with one specific operating system. Many point cloud customers are not point cloud processing experts or willing to spend the high acquisition costs of these expensive softwares and hardwares. In this paper we introduce a solution for low cost point cloud processing. Our approach is designed to accommodate the needs of the average point cloud user. To reduce the cost and complexity of software our approach focuses on one functionality at a time in contrast with most available softwares and tools that aim to solve as many problems as possible at the same time. Our simple and user oriented design improve the user experience and empower us to optimize our methods for creation of an efficient software. In this paper we introduce Pointo family as a series of connected softwares to provide easy to use tools with simple design for different point cloud processing requirements. PointoVIEWER and PointoCAD are introduced as the first components of the Pointo family to provide a fast and efficient visualization with the ability to add annotation and documentation to the point clouds.

KML-Based Access and Visualization of High Resolution LiDAR Topography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosby, C. J.; Blair, J. L.; Nandigam, V.; Memon, A.; Baru, C.; Arrowsmith, J. R.

2008-12-01

Over the past decade, there has been dramatic growth in the acquisition of LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) high-resolution topographic data for earth science studies. Capable of providing digital elevation models (DEMs) more than an order of magnitude higher resolution than those currently available, LiDAR data allow earth scientists to study the processes that contribute to landscape evolution at resolutions not previously possible yet essential for their appropriate representation. These datasets also have significant implications for earth science education and outreach because they provide an accurate representation of landforms and geologic hazards. Unfortunately, the massive volume of data produced by LiDAR mapping technology can be a barrier to their use. To make these data available to a larger user community, we have been exploring the use of Keyhole Markup Language (KML) and Google Earth to provide access to LiDAR data products and visualizations. LiDAR digital elevation models are typically delivered in a tiled format that lends itself well to a KML-based distribution system. For LiDAR datasets hosted in the GEON OpenTopography Portal (www.opentopography.org) we have developed KML files that show the extent of available LiDAR DEMs and provide direct access to the data products. Users interact with these KML files to explore the extent of the available data and are able to select DEMs that correspond to their area of interest. Selection of a tile loads a download that the user can then save locally for analysis in their software of choice. The GEON topography system also has tools available that allow users to generate custom DEMs from LiDAR point cloud data. This system is powerful because it enables users to access massive volumes of raw LiDAR data and to produce DEM products that are optimized to their science applications. We have developed a web service that converts the custom DEM models produced by the system to a hillshade that is delivered to the user as a KML groundoverlay. The KML product enables users to quickly and easily visualize the DEMs in Google Earth. By combining internet-based LiDAR data processing with KML visualization products, users are able to execute computationally intensive data sub-setting, processing and visualization without having local access to computing resources, GIS software, or data processing expertise. Finally, GEON has partnered with the US Geological Survey to generate region-dependant network linked KML visualizations for large volumes of LiDAR derived hillshades of the Northern San Andreas fault system. These data, acquired by the NSF-funded GeoEarthScope project, offer an unprecedented look at active faults in the northern portion of the San Andreas system. Through the region-dependant network linked KML, users can seamlessly access 1 meter hillshades (both 315 and 45 degree sun angles) for the full 1400 square kilometer dataset, without downloading huge volumes of data. This type of data access has great utility for users ranging from earthquake scientists to K-12 educators who wish to introduce cutting edge real world data into their earth science lessons.

E-Center: A Collaborative Platform for Wide Area Network Users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoriev, M.; DeMar, P.; Tierney, B.; Lake, A.; Metzger, J.; Frey, M.; Calyam, P.

2012-12-01

The E-Center is a social collaborative web-based platform for assisting network users in understanding network conditions across network paths of interest to them. It is designed to give a user the necessary tools to isolate, identify, and resolve network performance-related problems. E-Center provides network path information on a link-by-link level, as well as from an end-to-end perspective. In addition to providing current and recent network path data, E-Center is intended to provide a social media environment for them to share issues, ideas, concerns, and problems. The product has a modular design that accommodates integration of other network services that make use of the same network path and performance data.

Overrepresentation of seat belt non-users in traffic crashes

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1988-04-01

This study used observations of driver belt use linked with driver history information to conclude that non-users of belts are overrepresented in traffic crashes. Examining average numbers of accidents and violations per observed belted and unbelted ...

Anatomy of an experimental two-link flexible manipulator under end-point control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oakley, Celia M.; Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1990-01-01

The design and experimental implementation of an end-point controller for two-link flexible manipulators are presented. The end-point controller is based on linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) theory and is shown to exhibit significant improvements in trajectory tracking over a conventional controller design. To understand the behavior of the manipulator structure under end-point control, a strobe sequence illustrating the link deflections during a typical slew maneuver is included.

Multi-agents and learning: Implications for Webusage mining

PubMed Central

Lotfy, Hewayda M.S.; Khamis, Soheir M.S.; Aboghazalah, Maie M.

2015-01-01

Characterization of user activities is an important issue in the design and maintenance of websites. Server weblog files have abundant information about the user’s current interests. This information can be mined and analyzed therefore the administrators may be able to guide the users in their browsing activity so they may obtain relevant information in a shorter span of time to obtain user satisfaction. Web-based technology facilitates the creation of personally meaningful and socially useful knowledge through supportive interactions, communication and collaboration among educators, learners and information. This paper suggests a new methodology based on learning techniques for a Web-based Multiagent-based application to discover the hidden patterns in the user’s visited links. It presents a new approach that involves unsupervised, reinforcement learning, and cooperation between agents. It is utilized to discover patterns that represent the user’s profiles in a sample website into specific categories of materials using significance percentages. These profiles are used to make recommendations of interesting links and categories to the user. The experimental results of the approach showed successful user pattern recognition, and cooperative learning among agents to obtain user profiles. It indicates that combining different learning algorithms is capable of improving user satisfaction indicated by the percentage of precision, recall, the progressive category weight and F1-measure. PMID:26966569

Elucidation of metabolic pathways from enzyme classification data.

PubMed

McDonald, Andrew G; Tipton, Keith F

2014-01-01

The IUBMB Enzyme List is widely used by other databases as a source for avoiding ambiguity in the recognition of enzymes as catalytic entities. However, it was not designed for metabolic pathway tracing, which has become increasingly important in systems biology. A Reactions Database has been created from the material in the Enzyme List to allow reactions to be searched by substrate/product, and pathways to be traced from any selected starting/seed substrate. An extensive synonym glossary allows searches by many of the alternative names, including accepted abbreviations, by which a chemical compound may be known. This database was necessary for the development of the application Reaction Explorer ( http://www.reaction-explorer.org ), which was written in Real Studio ( http://www.realsoftware.com/realstudio/ ) to search the Reactions Database and draw metabolic pathways from reactions selected by the user. Having input the name of the starting compound (the "seed"), the user is presented with a list of all reactions containing that compound and then selects the product of interest as the next point on the ensuing graph. The pathway diagram is then generated as the process iterates. A contextual menu is provided, which allows the user: (1) to remove a compound from the graph, along with all associated links; (2) to search the reactions database again for additional reactions involving the compound; (3) to search for the compound within the Enzyme List.

Medium-Frequency Data Link for Differential NAVSTAR/GPS Broadcasts

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-06-01

Differential GPS must communicate differential corrections to civilian users of the Global Positioning System. Modulation of existing marine radiobeacons can provide the needed communication link for DGPS, provided the operation of existing radiobeac...

Information Switching Processor (ISP) contention analysis and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shyy, D.; Inukai, T.

1993-01-01

Future satellite communications, as a viable means of communications and an alternative to terrestrial networks, demand flexibility and low end-user cost. On-board switching/processing satellites potentially provide these features, allowing flexible interconnection among multiple spot beams, direct to the user communications services using very small aperture terminals (VSAT's), independent uplink and downlink access/transmission system designs optimized to user's traffic requirements, efficient TDM downlink transmission, and better link performance. A flexible switching system on the satellite in conjunction with low-cost user terminals will likely benefit future satellite network users.

Fault-tolerant Remote Quantum Entanglement Establishment for Secure Quantum Communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Chia-Wei; Lin, Jason

2016-07-01

This work presents a strategy for constructing long-distance quantum communications among a number of remote users through collective-noise channel. With the assistance of semi-honest quantum certificate authorities (QCAs), the remote users can share a secret key through fault-tolerant entanglement swapping. The proposed protocol is feasible for large-scale distributed quantum networks with numerous users. Each pair of communicating parties only needs to establish the quantum channels and the classical authenticated channels with his/her local QCA. Thus, it enables any user to communicate freely without point-to-point pre-establishing any communication channels, which is efficient and feasible for practical environments.

Elevation Difference and Bouguer Anomaly Analysis Tool (EDBAAT) User's Guide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smittle, Aaron M.; Shoberg, Thomas G.

2017-06-16

This report describes a software tool that imports gravity anomaly point data from the Gravity Database of the United States (GDUS) of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and University of Texas at El Paso along with elevation data from The National Map (TNM) of the U.S. Geological Survey that lie within a user-specified geographic area of interest. Further, the tool integrates these two sets of data spatially and analyzes the consistency of the elevation of each gravity station from the GDUS with TNM elevation data; it also evaluates the consistency of gravity anomaly data within the GDUS data repository. The tool bins the GDUS data based on user-defined criteria of elevation misfit between the GDUS and TNM elevation data. It also provides users with a list of points from the GDUS data, which have Bouguer anomaly values that are considered outliers (two standard deviations or greater) with respect to other nearby GDUS anomaly data. “Nearby” can be defined by the user at time of execution. These outputs should allow users to quickly and efficiently choose which points from the GDUS would be most useful in reconnaissance studies or in augmenting and extending the range of individual gravity studies.

Automated Help System For A Supercomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callas, George P.; Schulbach, Catherine H.; Younkin, Michael

1994-01-01

Expert-system software developed to provide automated system of user-helping displays in supercomputer system at Ames Research Center Advanced Computer Facility. Users located at remote computer terminals connected to supercomputer and each other via gateway computers, local-area networks, telephone lines, and satellite links. Automated help system answers routine user inquiries about how to use services of computer system. Available 24 hours per day and reduces burden on human experts, freeing them to concentrate on helping users with complicated problems.

The Use of Social Media to Maximize Energy Performance in the United States Marine Corps

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

foster user interaction was blogs. 63 The Obama campaign blog allowed the most citizen- generated content compared to other channels. “Four-in... Instagram , Pinterest, and LinkedIn. More users use multiple sites than only one. The frequency which users access social media is also an important and...distinguishing characteristic. Figure 5 displays the number of daily Facebook, Twitter, 8 and Instagram users dwarf the number of less frequent

A user-centred evaluation framework for the Sealife semantic web browsers

PubMed Central

Oliver, Helen; Diallo, Gayo; de Quincey, Ed; Alexopoulou, Dimitra; Habermann, Bianca; Kostkova, Patty; Schroeder, Michael; Jupp, Simon; Khelif, Khaled; Stevens, Robert; Jawaheer, Gawesh; Madle, Gemma

2009-01-01

Background Semantically-enriched browsing has enhanced the browsing experience by providing contextualised dynamically generated Web content, and quicker access to searched-for information. However, adoption of Semantic Web technologies is limited and user perception from the non-IT domain sceptical. Furthermore, little attention has been given to evaluating semantic browsers with real users to demonstrate the enhancements and obtain valuable feedback. The Sealife project investigates semantic browsing and its application to the life science domain. Sealife's main objective is to develop the notion of context-based information integration by extending three existing Semantic Web browsers (SWBs) to link the existing Web to the eScience infrastructure. Methods This paper describes a user-centred evaluation framework that was developed to evaluate the Sealife SWBs that elicited feedback on users' perceptions on ease of use and information findability. Three sources of data: i) web server logs; ii) user questionnaires; and iii) semi-structured interviews were analysed and comparisons made between each browser and a control system. Results It was found that the evaluation framework used successfully elicited users' perceptions of the three distinct SWBs. The results indicate that the browser with the most mature and polished interface was rated higher for usability, and semantic links were used by the users of all three browsers. Conclusion Confirmation or contradiction of our original hypotheses with relation to SWBs is detailed along with observations of implementation issues. PMID:19796398

A user-centred evaluation framework for the Sealife semantic web browsers.

PubMed

Oliver, Helen; Diallo, Gayo; de Quincey, Ed; Alexopoulou, Dimitra; Habermann, Bianca; Kostkova, Patty; Schroeder, Michael; Jupp, Simon; Khelif, Khaled; Stevens, Robert; Jawaheer, Gawesh; Madle, Gemma

2009-10-01

Semantically-enriched browsing has enhanced the browsing experience by providing contextualized dynamically generated Web content, and quicker access to searched-for information. However, adoption of Semantic Web technologies is limited and user perception from the non-IT domain sceptical. Furthermore, little attention has been given to evaluating semantic browsers with real users to demonstrate the enhancements and obtain valuable feedback. The Sealife project investigates semantic browsing and its application to the life science domain. Sealife's main objective is to develop the notion of context-based information integration by extending three existing Semantic Web browsers (SWBs) to link the existing Web to the eScience infrastructure. This paper describes a user-centred evaluation framework that was developed to evaluate the Sealife SWBs that elicited feedback on users' perceptions on ease of use and information findability. Three sources of data: i) web server logs; ii) user questionnaires; and iii) semi-structured interviews were analysed and comparisons made between each browser and a control system. It was found that the evaluation framework used successfully elicited users' perceptions of the three distinct SWBs. The results indicate that the browser with the most mature and polished interface was rated higher for usability, and semantic links were used by the users of all three browsers. Confirmation or contradiction of our original hypotheses with relation to SWBs is detailed along with observations of implementation issues.

Mediators of interpersonal violence and drug addiction severity among methamphetamine users in Cape Town, South Africa

PubMed Central

Hobkirk, Andréa L.; Watt, Melissa H.; Green, Kimberly T.; Beckham, Jean C.; Skinner, Donald; Meade, Christina S.

2014-01-01

South Africa has high rates of interpersonal violence and a rapidly growing methamphetamine epidemic. Previous research has linked experiences of interpersonal violence to higher rates of substance use, and identified mental health constructs as potential mediators of this association. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between interpersonal violence and addiction severity among active methamphetamine users in Cape Town, South Africa, and to explore symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use coping as mediators of this relationship. A community sample of 360 methamphetamine users was recruited through respondent driven sampling and surveyed on their experiences of violence, mental health, coping, and drug use and severity. A series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine the relationship of self-reported interpersonal violence with drug addiction severity, and multiple mediation analyses were used to determine if PTSD symptoms and substance use coping mediated this relationship. The majority (87%) of the sample reported experiencing at least one instance of interpersonal violence in their lifetime, and the number of violent experiences was associated with increased drug addiction severity. PTSD and substance use coping were significant mediators of this association. Only the indirect effect of substance use coping remained significant for the female sample when the mediation model was conducted separately for men and women. The findings point to the need for integrated treatments that address drug use and PTSD for methamphetamine users in South Africa and highlight the importance of coping interventions for women. PMID:25479528

Neuropsychological performance in adolescent marijuana users with co-occurring alcohol use: A three-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Jacobus, Joanna; Squeglia, Lindsay M; Infante, M Alejandra; Castro, Norma; Brumback, Ty; Meruelo, Alejandro D; Tapert, Susan F

2015-11-01

The effect of adolescent marijuana use on brain development remains unclear despite relaxing legal restrictions, decreased perceived harm, and increasing use rates among youth. The aim of this 3-year prospective study was to evaluate the long-term neurocognitive effects of adolescent marijuana use. Adolescent marijuana users with concomitant alcohol use (MJ + ALC, n = 49) and control teens with limited substance use histories (CON, n = 59) were given neuropsychological and substance use assessments at project baseline, when they were ages 16-19. They were then reassessed 18 and 36 months later. Changes in neuropsychological measures were evaluated with repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for lifetime alcohol use, and examined the effects of group, time, and group by time interactions on cognitive functioning. MJ + ALC users performed significantly worse than controls, across time points, in the domains of complex attention, memory, processing speed, and visuospatial functioning (ps <.05). Earlier age of marijuana use onset was associated with poorer processing speed and executive functioning by the 3-year follow-up (ps ≤.02). Frequent marijuana use throughout adolescence and into young adulthood appeared linked to worsened cognitive performance. Earlier age of onset appears to be associated with poorer neurocognitive outcomes that emerge by young adulthood, providing further support for the notion that the brain may be uniquely sensitive to frequent marijuana exposure during the adolescent phase of neurodevelopment. Continued follow-up of adolescent marijuana users will determine the extent of neural recovery that may occur if use abates. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Mediators of interpersonal violence and drug addiction severity among methamphetamine users in Cape Town, South Africa.

PubMed

Hobkirk, Andréa L; Watt, Melissa H; Green, Kimberly T; Beckham, Jean C; Skinner, Donald; Meade, Christina S

2015-03-01

South Africa has high rates of interpersonal violence and a rapidly growing methamphetamine epidemic. Previous research has linked experiences of interpersonal violence to higher rates of substance use, and identified mental health constructs as potential mediators of this association. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between interpersonal violence and addiction severity among active methamphetamine users in Cape Town, South Africa, and to explore symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use coping as mediators of this relationship. A community sample of 360 methamphetamine users was recruited through respondent driven sampling and surveyed on their experiences of violence, mental health, coping, and drug use and severity. A series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine the relationship of self-reported interpersonal violence with drug addiction severity, and multiple mediation analyses were used to determine if PTSD symptoms and substance use coping mediated this relationship. The majority (87%) of the sample reported experiencing at least one instance of interpersonal violence in their lifetime, and the number of violent experiences was associated with increased drug addiction severity. PTSD and substance use coping were significant mediators of this association. Only the indirect effect of substance use coping remained significant for the female sample when the mediation model was conducted separately for men and women. The findings point to the need for integrated treatments that address drug use and PTSD for methamphetamine users in South Africa and highlight the importance of coping interventions for women. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BTS guide to good statistical practice

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-09-01

Quality of data has many faces. Primarily, it has to be relevant to its users. Relevance is : an outcome that is achieved through a series of steps starting with a planning process that : link user needs to data requirements. It continues through acq...

Joint transfer of time and frequency signals and multi-point synchronization via fiber network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nan, Cheng; Wei, Chen; Qin, Liu; Dan, Xu; Fei, Yang; You-Zhen, Gui; Hai-Wen, Cai

2016-01-01

A system of jointly transferring time signals with a rate of 1 pulse per second (PPS) and frequency signals of 10 MHz via a dense wavelength division multiplex-based (DWDM) fiber is demonstrated in this paper. The noises of the fiber links are suppressed and compensated for by a controlled fiber delay line. A method of calibrating and characterizing time is described. The 1PPS is synchronized by feed-forward calibrating the fiber delays precisely. The system is experimentally examined via a 110 km spooled fiber in laboratory. The frequency stabilities of the user end with compensation are 1.8×10-14 at 1 s and 2.0×10-17 at 104 s average time. The calculated uncertainty of time synchronization is 13.1 ps, whereas the direct measurement of the uncertainty is 12 ps. Next, the frequency and 1PPS are transferred via a metropolitan area optical fiber network from one central site to two remote sites with distances of 14 km and 110 km. The frequency stabilities of 14 km link reach 3.0×10-14 averaged in 1 s and 1.4×10-17 in 104 s respectively; and the stabilities of 110 km link are 8.3×10-14 and 1.7×10-17, respectively. The accuracies of synchronization are estimated to be 12.3 ps for the 14 km link and 13.1 ps for the 110 km link, respectively. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61405227).

Geophysical Event Casting: Assembling & Broadcasting Data Relevant to Events and Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manipon, G. M.; Wilson, B. D.

2012-12-01

Broadcast Atom feeds are already being used to publish metadata and support discovery of data collections, granules, and web services. Such data and service casting advertises the existence of new granules in a dataset and available services to access or transform data. Similarly, data and services relevant to studying topical geophysical events (earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.) or periodic/regional structures (El Nino, deep convection) can be broadcast by publishing new entries and links in a feed for that topic. By using the geoRSS conventions, the time and space location of the event (e.g. a moving hurricane track) is specified in the feed, along with science description, images, relevant data granules, and links to useful web services (e.g. OGC/WMS). The topic cast is used to assemble all of the relevant data/images as they come in, and publish the metadata (images, links, services) to a broad group of subscribers. All of the information in the feed is structured using standardized XML tags (e.g. georss for space & time, and tags to point to external data & services), and is thus machine-readable, which is an improvement over collecting ad hoc links on a wiki. We have created a software suite in python to generate such "event casts" when a geophysical event first happens, then update them with more information as it becomes available, and display them as an event album in a web browser. Figure 1 shows a snapshot of our Event Cast Browser displaying information from a set of casts about the hurricanes in the Western Pacific during the year 2011. The 19th cyclone is selected in the left panel, so the top right panels display the entries in that feed with metadata such as maximum wind speed, while the bottom right panel displays the hurricane track (positions every 12 hours) as KML in the Google Earth plug-in, where additional data/image layers from the feed can be turned on or off by the user. The software automatically converts (georss) space & time information to KML placemarks, and can also generate various KML visualizations for other data layers that are pointed to in the feed. The user can replay all of the data images as an animation over the several days as the cyclone develops. The goal of "event casting" is to standardize several metadata micro-formats and use them within Atom feeds to create a rich ecosystem of topical event data that can be automatically manipulated by scripts and many interfaces. For our event cast browser, the same code can display all kinds of casts, whether about hurricanes, fire, earthquakes, or even El Nino. The presentation will describe: the event cast format and its standard micro-formats, software to generate and augment casts, and the browser GUI with KML visualizations.;

Requirements for a mobile communications satellite system. Volume 2: Technical report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horstein, M.

1983-01-01

Three types of satellite aided mobile communications are considered for users in areas not served by (terrestrial) cellular radio systems. In system 1, mobile units are provided a direct satellite link to a gateway station, which serves as the interface to the terrestrial toll network. In system 2, a terrestrial radio link similar to those in cellular systems connects the mobile unit to a translator station; each translator relays the traffic from mobile units in its vicinity, via satellite, to the regional gateway. It is not feasible for system 2 to provide obiquitous coverage. Therefore, system 3 is introduced, in which the small percentage of users not within range of a translator are provided a direct satellite link as in system 1.

Multipurpose broadcast data link architecture

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-04-07

The aviation community has recently expressed significant interest in a broadcast mode of data link services. A broadcast mode of delivery is well suited for applications of a general interest to many users and for applications that require periodic ...

Exploring creative activity: a software environment for multimedia systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrett, Peter W.; Jardine, David A.

1992-03-01

This paper examines various issues related to the theory, design, and implementation of a system that supports creative activity for a multimedia environment. The system incorporates artificial intelligence notions to acquire concepts of the problem domain. This paper investigates this environment by considering a model that is a basis for a system, which supports a history of user interaction. A multimedia system that supports creative activity is problematic. It must function as a tool allowing users to experiment dynamically with their own creative reasoning process--a very nebulous task environment. It should also support the acquisition of domain knowledge so that empirical observation can be further evaluated. This paper aims to illustrate that via the reuse of domain-specific knowledge, closely related ideas can be quickly developed. This approach is useful in the following sense: Multimedia navigational systems hardcode referential links with respect to a web or network. Although users can access or control navigation in a nonlinear (static) manner, these referential links are 'frozen' and can not capture their creative actions, which are essential in tutoring or learning applications. This paper describes a multimedia assistant based on the notion of knowledge- links, which allows users to navigate through creative information in a nonlinear (dynamic) fashion. A selection of prototype code based on object-oriented techniques and logic programming partially demonstrates this.

Can a More User-Friendly Medicare Plan Finder Improve Consumers' Selection of Medicare Plans?

PubMed

Martino, Steven C; Kanouse, David E; Miranda, David J; Elliott, Marc N

2017-10-01

To evaluate the efficacy for consumers of two potential enhancements to the Medicare Plan Finder (MPF)-a simplified data display and a "quick links" home page designed to match the specific tasks that users seek to accomplish on the MPF. Participants (N = 641) were seniors and adult caregivers of seniors who were recruited from a national online panel. Participants browsed a simulated version of the MPF, made a hypothetical plan choice, and reported on their experience. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions in a fully factorial design: 2 home pages (quick links, current MPF home page) × 2 data displays (simplified, current MPF display) × 2 plan types (stand-alone prescription drug plan [PDP], Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage [MA-PD]). The quick links page resulted in more favorable perceptions of the MPF, improved users' understanding of the information, and increased the probability of choosing the objectively best plan. The simplified data display resulted in a more favorable evaluation of the website, better comprehension of the displayed information, and, among those choosing a PDP only, an increased probability of choosing the best plan. Design enhancements could markedly improve average website users' understanding, ability to use, and experience of using the MPF. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Social Features of Online Networks: The Strength of Intermediary Ties in Online Social Media

PubMed Central

Grabowicz, Przemyslaw A.; Ramasco, José J.; Moro, Esteban; Pujol, Josep M.; Eguiluz, Victor M.

2012-01-01

An increasing fraction of today's social interactions occur using online social media as communication channels. Recent worldwide events, such as social movements in Spain or revolts in the Middle East, highlight their capacity to boost people's coordination. Online networks display in general a rich internal structure where users can choose among different types and intensity of interactions. Despite this, there are still open questions regarding the social value of online interactions. For example, the existence of users with millions of online friends sheds doubts on the relevance of these relations. In this work, we focus on Twitter, one of the most popular online social networks, and find that the network formed by the basic type of connections is organized in groups. The activity of the users conforms to the landscape determined by such groups. Furthermore, Twitter's distinction between different types of interactions allows us to establish a parallelism between online and offline social networks: personal interactions are more likely to occur on internal links to the groups (the weakness of strong ties); events transmitting new information go preferentially through links connecting different groups (the strength of weak ties) or even more through links connecting to users belonging to several groups that act as brokers (the strength of intermediary ties). PMID:22247773

Developing a Framework to Link Catchment Modelling tools to Decision Support Systems for Catchment Management and Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Russell; Owen, Gareth

2015-04-01

Over the past few years a series of catchment monitoring studies in the UK have developed a wide range of tools to enable managers and planners to make informed decisions to target several key outcomes. These outcomes include the mitigation of diffuse pollution and the reduction of flood risk. Good progress has been but additional steps are still required to link together more detailed models that represent catchment processes with the decision support systems (often termed matrices; i.e. DSMs) which form the basis of these planning and management tools. Examples include: (i) the FARM tools developed by the PROACTIVE team at Newcastle University to assess different catchment management options for mitigating against flooding events, (ii) TOPMANAGE, a suite of algorithms that link with high resolution DEMs to enable surface flow pathways, having the potential to be mitigated by Natural Flood Management (NFM) features (in order to target diffuse pollution due to nutrients and sediments) to be identified. To date, these DSMs have not been underpinned by models that can be run in real-time to quantify the benefits in terms of measurable reductions in flood or nutrient pollution risks. Their use has therefore been mostly as qualitative assessment tools. This study aims to adapt an existing spreadsheet-based model, the CRAFT, in order for it to become fully coupled to a DSM approach. Previous catchment scale applications of the CRAFT have focussed on meso-scale studies where any management interventions at a local scale are unlikely to be detectable at the monitoring point (the catchment outlet). The model has however been reasonably successful in identifying potential flow and transport pathways that link the headwater subcatchments to the outlet. Furthermore, recent enhancements to the model enable features such as sedimentation ponds and lagoons that can trap and remove nutrients and sediments to be added, once data become available from different types of NFM features to parameterise these. The model can be used to investigate runoff attenuation (in this case primarily through a lagged routing term applied to surface runoff) as a result of implementing mitigation measures. However to be fully integrated within a DSM framework requires the CRAFT to be linked to a user-friendly interface that will allow the user to modify key parameters, preferably using a web-based expert system, which will be explored further.

Estimation of Missed Statin Prescription Use in an Administrative Claims Dataset.

PubMed

Wade, Rolin L; Patel, Jeetvan G; Hill, Jerrold W; De, Ajita P; Harrison, David J

2017-09-01

Nonadherence to statin medications is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and poses a challenge to lipid management in patients who are at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have examined statin adherence based on administrative claims data; however, these data may underestimate statin use in patients who participate in generic drug discount programs or who have alternative coverage. To estimate the proportion of patients with missing statin claims in a claims database and determine how missing claims affect commonly used utilization metrics. This retrospective cohort study used pharmacy data from the PharMetrics Plus (P+) claims dataset linked to the IMS longitudinal pharmacy point-of-sale prescription database (LRx) from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2014. Eligible patients were represented in the P+ and LRx datasets, had ≥1 claim for a statin (index claim) in either database, and had ≥ 24 months of continuous enrollment in P+. Patients were linked between P+ and LRx using a deterministic method. Duplicate claims between LRx and P+ were removed to produce a new dataset comprised of P+ claims augmented with LRx claims. Statin use was then compared between P+ and the augmented P+ dataset. Utilization metrics that were evaluated included percentage of patients with ≥ 1 missing statin claim over 12 months in P+; the number of patients misclassified as new users in P+; the number of patients misclassified as nonstatin users in P+; the change in 12-month medication possession ratio (MPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC) in P+; the comparison between P+ and LRx of classifications of statin treatment patterns (statin intensity and patients with treatment modifications); and the payment status for missing statin claims. Data from 965,785 patients with statin claims in P+ were analyzed (mean age 56.6 years; 57% male). In P+, 20.1% had ≥ 1 missing statin claim post-index; 13.7% were misclassified as nonstatin users; and 14.9% were misclassified as new statin users. MPR was higher in the augmented P+ dataset versus the P+ dataset alone for all patients (79.4% vs. 76.7%, P < 0.001) and new users (61.4% vs. 58.7%, P < 0.001). Similarly, mean PDC was higher in the P+ dataset augmented with LRx versus the P+ dataset alone for all patients (76.0% vs. 74.0%, P < 0.001) and new users (58.5% vs. 56.5%, P < 0.001). Most patients received moderate-intensity statins; few changes in dose, intensity, or discontinuation of statins were observed when the P+ dataset was augmented. The most common reasons for missing data were payment by an alternate third-party program (66.3%) and use of cash, coupon, or discount cards (18.7%). Augmenting commercial claims data with point-of-sale data provides a more accurate assessment of statin use than claims data alone. This study was funded by Amgen, which contributed to data interpretation and manuscript preparation. Wade, Hill, and De are employees of QuintilesIMS, which received funding from Amgen for work on this study. Patel and Harrison are employees of Amgen and own Amgen stock/stock options. Study concept and design were contributed by Wade, Hill, Patel, and Harrison. De took the lead in data collection, along with the other authors, and all authors contributed to data analysis. The manuscript was written and revised by all the authors.

Microreact: visualizing and sharing data for genomic epidemiology and phylogeography

PubMed Central

Argimón, Silvia; Abudahab, Khalil; Goater, Richard J. E.; Fedosejev, Artemij; Bhai, Jyothish; Glasner, Corinna; Feil, Edward J.; Holden, Matthew T. G.; Yeats, Corin A.; Grundmann, Hajo; Spratt, Brian G.

2016-01-01

Visualization is frequently used to aid our interpretation of complex datasets. Within microbial genomics, visualizing the relationships between multiple genomes as a tree provides a framework onto which associated data (geographical, temporal, phenotypic and epidemiological) are added to generate hypotheses and to explore the dynamics of the system under investigation. Selected static images are then used within publications to highlight the key findings to a wider audience. However, these images are a very inadequate way of exploring and interpreting the richness of the data. There is, therefore, a need for flexible, interactive software that presents the population genomic outputs and associated data in a user-friendly manner for a wide range of end users, from trained bioinformaticians to front-line epidemiologists and health workers. Here, we present Microreact, a web application for the easy visualization of datasets consisting of any combination of trees, geographical, temporal and associated metadata. Data files can be uploaded to Microreact directly via the web browser or by linking to their location (e.g. from Google Drive/Dropbox or via API), and an integrated visualization via trees, maps, timelines and tables provides interactive querying of the data. The visualization can be shared as a permanent web link among collaborators, or embedded within publications to enable readers to explore and download the data. Microreact can act as an end point for any tool or bioinformatic pipeline that ultimately generates a tree, and provides a simple, yet powerful, visualization method that will aid research and discovery and the open sharing of datasets. PMID:28348833

Food Web Designer: a flexible tool to visualize interaction networks.

PubMed

Sint, Daniela; Traugott, Michael

Species are embedded in complex networks of ecological interactions and assessing these networks provides a powerful approach to understand what the consequences of these interactions are for ecosystem functioning and services. This is mandatory to develop and evaluate strategies for the management and control of pests. Graphical representations of networks can help recognize patterns that might be overlooked otherwise. However, there is a lack of software which allows visualizing these complex interaction networks. Food Web Designer is a stand-alone, highly flexible and user friendly software tool to quantitatively visualize trophic and other types of bipartite and tripartite interaction networks. It is offered free of charge for use on Microsoft Windows platforms. Food Web Designer is easy to use without the need to learn a specific syntax due to its graphical user interface. Up to three (trophic) levels can be connected using links cascading from or pointing towards the taxa within each level to illustrate top-down and bottom-up connections. Link width/strength and abundance of taxa can be quantified, allowing generating fully quantitative networks. Network datasets can be imported, saved for later adjustment and the interaction webs can be exported as pictures for graphical display in different file formats. We show how Food Web Designer can be used to draw predator-prey and host-parasitoid food webs, demonstrating that this software is a simple and straightforward tool to graphically display interaction networks for assessing pest control or any other type of interaction in both managed and natural ecosystems from an ecological network perspective.

Design and modelling of a link monitoring mechanism for the Common Data Link (CDL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichelberger, John W., III

1994-09-01

The Common Data Link (CDL) is a full duplex, point-to-point microwave communications system used in imagery and signals intelligence collection systems. It provides a link between two remote Local Area Networks (LAN's) aboard collection and surface platforms. In a hostile environment, there is an overwhelming need to dynamically monitor the link and thus, limit the impact of jamming. This work describes steps taken to design, model, and evaluate a link monitoring system suitable for the CDL. The monitoring system is based on features and monitoring constructs of the Link Control Protocol (LCP) in the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) suite. The CDL model is based on a system of two remote Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) LAN's. In particular, the policies and mechanisms associated with monitoring are described in detail. An implementation of the required mechanisms using the OPNET network engineering tool is described. Performance data related to monitoring parameters is reported. Finally, integration of the FDDI-CDL model with the OPNET Internet model is described.

Permissive Attitude Towards Drug Use, Life Satisfaction, and Continuous Drug Use Among Psychoactive Drug Users in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Cheung, N Wt; Cheung, Y W; Chen, X

2016-06-01

To examine the effects of a permissive attitude towards regular and occasional drug use, life satisfaction, self-esteem, depression, and other psychosocial variables in the drug use of psychoactive drug users. Psychosocial factors that might affect a permissive attitude towards regular / occasional drug use and life satisfaction were further explored. We analysed data of a sample of psychoactive drug users from a longitudinal survey of psychoactive drug abusers in Hong Kong who were interviewed at 6 time points at 6-month intervals between January 2009 and December 2011. Data of the second to the sixth time points were stacked into an individual time point structure. Random-effects probit regression analysis was performed to estimate the relative contribution of the independent variables to the binary dependent variable of drug use in the last 30 days. A permissive attitude towards drug use, life satisfaction, and depression at the concurrent time point, and self-esteem at the previous time point had direct effects on drug use in the last 30 days. Interestingly, permissiveness to occasional drug use was a stronger predictor of drug use than permissiveness to regular drug use. These 2 permissive attitude variables were affected by the belief that doing extreme things shows the vitality of young people (at concurrent time point), life satisfaction (at concurrent time point), and self-esteem (at concurrent and previous time points). Life satisfaction was affected by sense of uncertainty about the future (at concurrent time point), self-esteem (at concurrent time point), depression (at both concurrent and previous time points), and being stricken by stressful events (at previous time point). A number of psychosocial factors could affect the continuation or discontinuation of drug use, as well as the permissive attitude towards regular and occasional drug use, and life satisfaction. Implications of the findings for prevention and intervention work targeted at psychoactive drug users are discussed.

Our Deming Users' Group.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinklocker, Christina

1992-01-01

After training in the Total Quality Management concept, a suburban Ohio school district created a Deming Users' Group to link agencies, individuals, and ideas. The group has facilitated ongoing school/business collaboration, networking among individuals from diverse school systems, mentoring and cooperative learning activities, and resource…

Guide to good statistical practice in the transportation field

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-05-01

Quality of data has many faces. Primarily, it has to be relevant (i.e., useful) to its users. Relevance is achieved through a series of steps starting with a planning process that links user needs to data requirements. It continues through acquisitio...

[Centralization of health services in primary care in summer: Patients and professionals view during two consecutive years].

PubMed

Giménez, N; Martínez, J M; Clanchet, T

2015-01-01

The Spanish primary health care, gateway and pillar of the Health Care System has his resources increasingly constrained by current crisis. To know the opinion of users and professionals on two primary care centers which centralized in August 2011 and 2012 the attendance of seven primary care centers. Two questionnaires were designed: a telephone survey of a random sample of users and a self-completed questionnaire for health care professionals. The variables were scored on a scale of 1-10 (low to high). Cronbach's coefficient α>0,84. 1293 people responded (836 users and 357 professionals). Users rated, in 2011, the satisfaction with 6.7 points in August and 7.3 points the rest of the year (P<.001). And, in 2012, with 7.7 points in August and 8.1 points the rest of the year (P<.001). Health care professionals, rated their satisfaction with 6.8 points in 2011 and 7.3 points in 2012. The waiting time was the only variable best scores in August that the rest of the year. The perception of the solution given in consultation did not change. Satisfaction, marking, care and treatment were highest rated in the regular center than in the reference center (P<.001). The centralization of primary health care during periods of reduced demand could reduce costs while maintaining quality. The experience of centralizing primary care services during August was perceived as acceptable and improved over time. Users showed a slight, but significant, preference for their usual primary care center. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

a Web-Based Interactive Platform for Co-Clustering Spatio-Temporal Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, X.; Poorthuis, A.; Zurita-Milla, R.; Kraak, M.-J.

2017-09-01

Since current studies on clustering analysis mainly focus on exploring spatial or temporal patterns separately, a co-clustering algorithm is utilized in this study to enable the concurrent analysis of spatio-temporal patterns. To allow users to adopt and adapt the algorithm for their own analysis, it is integrated within the server side of an interactive web-based platform. The client side of the platform, running within any modern browser, is a graphical user interface (GUI) with multiple linked visualizations that facilitates the understanding, exploration and interpretation of the raw dataset and co-clustering results. Users can also upload their own datasets and adjust clustering parameters within the platform. To illustrate the use of this platform, an annual temperature dataset from 28 weather stations over 20 years in the Netherlands is used. After the dataset is loaded, it is visualized in a set of linked visualizations: a geographical map, a timeline and a heatmap. This aids the user in understanding the nature of their dataset and the appropriate selection of co-clustering parameters. Once the dataset is processed by the co-clustering algorithm, the results are visualized in the small multiples, a heatmap and a timeline to provide various views for better understanding and also further interpretation. Since the visualization and analysis are integrated in a seamless platform, the user can explore different sets of co-clustering parameters and instantly view the results in order to do iterative, exploratory data analysis. As such, this interactive web-based platform allows users to analyze spatio-temporal data using the co-clustering method and also helps the understanding of the results using multiple linked visualizations.

Lunar Exploration Island, NASA’s Return to the Moon in Second Life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ireton, F. M.; Bleacher, L.; Day, B.; Hsu, B. C.; Mitchell, B. K.

2009-12-01

Second Life is a metaverse—a massively multi-user virtual world (MMVR) community. With over 9 million users worldwide, there are 40,000-50,000 users on line at any one time. Second Life hosts over 200 educational and institutional simulation locations termed “islands” or sims that are developed by users providing support for education and business endeavors. On-line tools are provided to construct structures and landforms simulating a real world in a virtual three-dimensional environment. Users develop a persona and are seen on screen as a human figure or avatar. Avatars move in Second Life by walking, flying, or teleporting and interact with other users via text or voice chat. This poster details the design and creation of the Second Life exhibit hall for NASA’s Lunar Precursor Robotics Program and the LRO/LCROSS missions. The hall has been placed on the Lunar Exploration Island (LEI) in Second Life. Avatars enter via teleportation to an orientation room with information about the project, a simulator map, and other information. A central hall of flight houses exhibits pertaining to the LRO/ LCROSS missions and includes full size models of the two spacecraft and launch vehicle. Storyboards with information about the missions interpret the exhibits while links to external websites provide further information on the missions, both spacecraft instrument suites, and EPO directed to support the missions. The sim includes several sites for meetings, a conference amphitheater with a stage and screen for video links such as live broadcasts of conferences and speakers. A link is provided to NASATV for live viewing LRO/LCROSS launch and impact activities and other NASA events. Recently visitors have viewed the Hubble servicing mission and several shuttle launches as well as the LRO/LCROSS launch. Lunar Exploration Island in Second Life

User interface for a tele-operated robotic hand system

DOEpatents

Crawford, Anthony L

2015-03-24

Disclosed here is a user interface for a robotic hand. The user interface anchors a user's palm in a relatively stationary position and determines various angles of interest necessary for a user's finger to achieve a specific fingertip location. The user interface additionally conducts a calibration procedure to determine the user's applicable physiological dimensions. The user interface uses the applicable physiological dimensions and the specific fingertip location, and treats the user's finger as a two link three degree-of-freedom serial linkage in order to determine the angles of interest. The user interface communicates the angles of interest to a gripping-type end effector which closely mimics the range of motion and proportions of a human hand. The user interface requires minimal contact with the operator and provides distinct advantages in terms of available dexterity, work space flexibility, and adaptability to different users.

Hidden Communicative Competence: Case Study Evidence Using Eye-Tracking and Video Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grayson, Andrew; Emerson, Anne; Howard-Jones, Patricia; O'Neil, Lynne

2012-01-01

A facilitated communication (FC) user with an autism spectrum disorder produced sophisticated texts by pointing, with physical support, to letters on a letterboard while their eyes were tracked and while their pointing movements were video recorded. This FC user has virtually no independent means of expression, and is held to have no literacy…

ADS's Dexter Data Extraction Applet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demleitner, M.; Accomazzi, A.; Eichhorn, G.; Grant, C. S.; Kurtz, M. J.; Murray, S. S.

The NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) now holds 1.3 million scanned pages, containing numerous plots and figures for which the original data sets are lost or inaccessible. The availability of scans of the figures can significantly ease the regeneration of the data sets. For this purpose, the ADS has developed Dexter, a Java applet that supports the user in this process. Dexter's basic functionality is to let the user manually digitize a plot by marking points and defining the coordinate transformation from the logical to the physical coordinate system. Advanced features include automatic identification of axes, tracing lines and finding points matching a template. This contribution both describes the operation of Dexter from a user's point of view and discusses some of the architectural issues we faced during implementation.

78 FR 24236 - Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-24

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda The Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee will meet on [[Page 24237... of Labor Statistics from the points of view of data users from various sectors of the U.S. economy...

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.

Linking Information to Objects: A Hypertext Prototype for Numismatists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moline, Judi

1991-01-01

This report focuses on the user of a prototype hypertext application designed to help coin collectors link ancient coins with relevant numismatic information. It is noted that hypertext systems promote the collection of information that may be multimedia in nature and may be linked so that information can be accessed in a non-linear manner. The…

How people make friends in social networking sites—A microscopic perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Haibo; Wang, Xiaofan

2012-02-01

We study the detailed growth of a social networking site with full temporal information by examining the creation process of each friendship relation that can collectively lead to the macroscopic properties of the network. We first study the reciprocal behavior of users, and find that link requests are quickly responded to and that the distribution of reciprocation intervals decays in an exponential form. The degrees of inviters/accepters are slightly negatively correlative with reciprocation time. In addition, the temporal feature of the online community shows that the distributions of intervals of user behaviors, such as sending or accepting link requests, follow a power law with a universal exponent, and peaks emerge for intervals of an integral day. We finally study the preferential selection and linking phenomena of the social networking site and find that, for the former, a linear preference holds for preferential sending and reception, and for the latter, a linear preference also holds for preferential acceptance, creation, and attachment. Based on the linearly preferential linking, we put forward an analyzable network model which can reproduce the degree distribution of the network. The research framework presented in the paper could provide a potential insight into how the micro-motives of users lead to the global structure of online social networks.

Software-defined Quantum Networking Ecosystem

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

Humble, Travis S.; Sadlier, Ronald

The software enables a user to perform modeling and simulation of software-defined quantum networks. The software addresses the problem of how to synchronize transmission of quantum and classical signals through multi-node networks and to demonstrate quantum information protocols such as quantum teleportation. The software approaches this problem by generating a graphical model of the underlying network and attributing properties to each node and link in the graph. The graphical model is then simulated using a combination of discrete-event simulators to calculate the expected state of each node and link in the graph at a future time. A user interacts withmore » the software by providing an initial network model and instantiating methods for the nodes to transmit information with each other. This includes writing application scripts in python that make use of the software library interfaces. A user then initiates the application scripts, which invokes the software simulation. The user then uses the built-in diagnostic tools to query the state of the simulation and to collect statistics on synchronization.« less

Reinventing User Applications for Mission Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay Phillip; Crocker, Alan R.

2010-01-01

In 2006, NASA Ames Research Center's (ARC) Intelligent Systems Division, and NASA Johnson Space Centers (JSC) Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) began a collaboration to move user applications for JSC's mission control center to a new software architecture, intended to replace the existing user applications being used for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. It must also carry NASA/JSC mission operations forward to the future, meeting the needs for NASA's exploration programs beyond low Earth orbit. Key requirements for the new architecture, called Mission Control Technologies (MCT) are that end users must be able to compose and build their own software displays without the need for programming, or direct support and approval from a platform services organization. Developers must be able to build MCT components using industry standard languages and tools. Each component of MCT must be interoperable with other components, regardless of what organization develops them. For platform service providers and MOD management, MCT must be cost effective, maintainable and evolvable. MCT software is built from components that are presented to users as composable user objects. A user object is an entity that represents a domain object such as a telemetry point, a command, a timeline, an activity, or a step in a procedure. User objects may be composed and reused, for example a telemetry point may be used in a traditional monitoring display, and that same telemetry user object may be composed into a procedure step. In either display, that same telemetry point may be shown in different views, such as a plot, an alpha numeric, or a meta-data view and those views may be changed live and in place. MCT presents users with a single unified user environment that contains all the objects required to perform applicable flight controller tasks, thus users do not have to use multiple applications, the traditional boundaries that exist between multiple heterogeneous applications disappear, leaving open the possibility of new operations concepts that are not constrained by the traditional applications paradigm.

New challenges in propagation research in the US

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davarian, Faramaz

1993-01-01

Earth/space propagation research in the U.S. is tied to new developments in satellite communications. In spite of the fiber optics competition for trunked point-to-point communications, a host of emerging services are discovering the great potential of satellites for wireless communications. The application of satellites for radio communications appears to grow with a rapid pace in the areas of thin-route and mobile/personal communications. An important factor influencing the future of satellite communications is the congestion of the spectral slots at Ku- and lower bands. This heavy usage of the spectrum gives rise to conflicts among the users and consequently forces regulatory organizations to relocate frequency assignments, a decision that, for obvious reasons, is unpopular with the relocated service. Because of this frequency shortage, frequencies in Ka- and higher spectral bands are currently viewed as good candidates for Earth/space communications in the future. Therefore, new challenges in propagation research in the U.S. include the characterization of mobile/personal links and the investigation of higher bands for satellite communications. The plans and the challenges of the propagation research in the U.S. are briefly reviewed.

High speed all optical networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chlamtac, Imrich; Ganz, Aura

1990-01-01

An inherent problem of conventional point-to-point wide area network (WAN) architectures is that they cannot translate optical transmission bandwidth into comparable user available throughput due to the limiting electronic processing speed of the switching nodes. The first solution to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) based WAN networks that overcomes this limitation is presented. The proposed Lightnet architecture takes into account the idiosyncrasies of WDM switching/transmission leading to an efficient and pragmatic solution. The Lightnet architecture trades the ample WDM bandwidth for a reduction in the number of processing stages and a simplification of each switching stage, leading to drastically increased effective network throughputs. The principle of the Lightnet architecture is the construction and use of virtual topology networks, embedded in the original network in the wavelength domain. For this construction Lightnets utilize the new concept of lightpaths which constitute the links of the virtual topology. Lightpaths are all-optical, multihop, paths in the network that allow data to be switched through intermediate nodes using high throughput passive optical switches. The use of the virtual topologies and the associated switching design introduce a number of new ideas, which are discussed in detail.

Gait-Cycle-Driven Transmission Power Control Scheme for a Wireless Body Area Network.

PubMed

Zang, Weilin; Li, Ye

2018-05-01

In a wireless body area network (WBAN), walking movements can result in rapid channel fluctuations, which severely degrade the performance of transmission power control (TPC) schemes. On the other hand, these channel fluctuations are often periodic and are time-synchronized with the user's gait cycle, since they are all driven from the walking movements. In this paper, we propose a novel gait-cycle-driven transmission power control (G-TPC) for a WBAN. The proposed G-TPC scheme reinforces the existing TPC scheme by exploiting the periodic channel fluctuation in the walking scenario. In the proposed scheme, the user's gait cycle information acquired by an accelerometer is used as beacons for arranging the transmissions at the time points with the ideal channel state. The specific transmission power is then determined by using received signal strength indication (RSSI). An experiment was conducted to evaluate the energy efficiency and reliability of the proposed G-TPC based on a CC2420 platform. The results reveal that compared to the original RSSI/link-quality-indication-based TPC, G-TPC reduces energy consumption by 25% on the sensor node and reduce the packet loss rate by 65%.

High capacity low delay packet broadcasting multiaccess schemes for satellite repeater systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bose, S. K.

1980-12-01

Demand assigned packet radio schemes using satellite repeaters can achieve high capacities but often exhibit relatively large delays under low traffic conditions when compared to random access. Several schemes which improve delay performance at low traffic but which have high capacity are presented and analyzed. These schemes allow random acess attempts by users, who are waiting for channel assignments. The performance of these are considered in the context of a multiple point communication system carrying fixed length messages between geographically distributed (ground) user terminals which are linked via a satellite repeater. Channel assignments are done following a BCC queueing discipline by a (ground) central controller on the basis of requests correctly received over a collision type access channel. In TBACR Scheme A, some of the forward message channels are set aside for random access transmissions; the rest are used in a demand assigned mode. Schemes B and C operate all their forward message channels in a demand assignment mode but, by means of appropriate algorithms for trailer channel selection, allow random access attempts on unassigned channels. The latter scheme also introduces framing and slotting of the time axis to implement a more efficient algorithm for trailer channel selection than the former.

Enhanced International Space Station Ku-Band Telemetry Service

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cecil, Andrew J.; Pitts, R. Lee; Welch, Steven J.; Bryan, Jason D.

2014-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is in an operational configuration. To fully utilize the ISS and take advantage of the modern protocols and updated Ku-band access, the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) has designed an approach to extend the Kuband forward link access for payload investigators to their on-orbit payloads. This dramatically increases the ground to ISS communications for those users. This access also enables the ISS flight controllers operating in the Payload Operations and Integration Center to have more direct control over the systems they are responsible for managing and operating. To extend the Ku-band forward link to the payload user community the development of a new command server is necessary. The HOSC subsystems were updated to process the Internet Protocol Encapsulated packets, enable users to use the service based on their approved services, and perform network address translation to insure that the packets are forwarded from the user to the correct payload repeating that process in reverse from ISS to the payload user. This paper presents the architecture, implementation, and lessons learned. This will include the integration of COTS hardware and software as well as how the device is incorporated into the operational mission of the ISS. Thus, this paper also discusses how this technology can be applicable to payload users of the ISS.

Designing Preclinical Perceptibility Measures to Evaluate Topical Vaginal Gel Formulations: Relating User Sensory Perceptions and Experiences to Formulation Properties

PubMed Central

Fava, Joseph L.; Rosen, Rochelle K.; Vargas, Sara; Shaw, Julia G.; Kojic, E. Milu; Kiser, Patrick F.; Friend, David R.; Katz, David F.

2014-01-01

Abstract The effectiveness of any biomedical prevention technology relies on both biological efficacy and behavioral adherence. Microbicide trials have been hampered by low adherence, limiting the ability to draw meaningful conclusions about product effectiveness. Central to this problem may be an inadequate conceptualization of how product properties themselves impact user experience and adherence. Our goal is to expand the current microbicide development framework to include product “perceptibility,” the objective measurement of user sensory perceptions (i.e., sensations) and experiences of formulation performance during use. For vaginal gels, a set of biophysical properties, including rheological properties and measures of spreading and retention, may critically impact user experiences. Project LINK sought to characterize the user experience in this regard, and to validate measures of user sensory perceptions and experiences (USPEs) using four prototype topical vaginal gel formulations designed for pericoital use. Perceptibility scales captured a range of USPEs during the product application process (five scales), ambulation after product insertion (six scales), and during sexual activity (eight scales). Comparative statistical analyses provided empirical support for hypothesized relationships between gel properties, spreading performance, and the user experience. Project LINK provides preliminary evidence for the utility of evaluating USPEs, introducing a paradigm shift in the field of microbicide formulation design. We propose that these user sensory perceptions and experiences initiate cognitive processes in users resulting in product choice and willingness-to-use. By understanding the impact of USPEs on that process, formulation development can optimize both drug delivery and adherence. PMID:24180360

Designing preclinical perceptibility measures to evaluate topical vaginal gel formulations: relating user sensory perceptions and experiences to formulation properties.

PubMed

Morrow, Kathleen M; Fava, Joseph L; Rosen, Rochelle K; Vargas, Sara; Shaw, Julia G; Kojic, E Milu; Kiser, Patrick F; Friend, David R; Katz, David F

2014-01-01

Abstract The effectiveness of any biomedical prevention technology relies on both biological efficacy and behavioral adherence. Microbicide trials have been hampered by low adherence, limiting the ability to draw meaningful conclusions about product effectiveness. Central to this problem may be an inadequate conceptualization of how product properties themselves impact user experience and adherence. Our goal is to expand the current microbicide development framework to include product "perceptibility," the objective measurement of user sensory perceptions (i.e., sensations) and experiences of formulation performance during use. For vaginal gels, a set of biophysical properties, including rheological properties and measures of spreading and retention, may critically impact user experiences. Project LINK sought to characterize the user experience in this regard, and to validate measures of user sensory perceptions and experiences (USPEs) using four prototype topical vaginal gel formulations designed for pericoital use. Perceptibility scales captured a range of USPEs during the product application process (five scales), ambulation after product insertion (six scales), and during sexual activity (eight scales). Comparative statistical analyses provided empirical support for hypothesized relationships between gel properties, spreading performance, and the user experience. Project LINK provides preliminary evidence for the utility of evaluating USPEs, introducing a paradigm shift in the field of microbicide formulation design. We propose that these user sensory perceptions and experiences initiate cognitive processes in users resulting in product choice and willingness-to-use. By understanding the impact of USPEs on that process, formulation development can optimize both drug delivery and adherence.

Multi-user investigation organizer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Panontin, Tina L. (Inventor); Williams, James F. (Inventor); Carvalho, Robert E. (Inventor); Sturken, Ian (Inventor); Wolfe, Shawn R. (Inventor); Gawdiak, Yuri O. (Inventor); Keller, Richard M. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

A system that allows a team of geographically dispersed users to collaboratively analyze a mishap event. The system includes a reconfigurable ontology, including instances that are related to and characterize the mishap, a semantic network that receives, indexes and stores, for retrieval, viewing and editing, the instances and links between the instances, a network browser interface for retrieving and viewing screens that present the instances and links to other instances and that allow editing thereof, and a rule-based inference engine, including a collection of rules associated with establishment of links between the instances. A possible conclusion arising from analysis of the mishap event may be characterized as one or more of: not a credible conclusion; an unlikely conclusion; a credible conclusion; conclusion needs analysis; conclusion needs supporting data; conclusion proposed to be closed; and an un-reviewed conclusion.

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

Van Passel, Steven, E-mail: Steven.vanpassel@uhasselt.be; University of Antwerp, Department Bioscience Engineering, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp; Meul, Marijke

Sustainability assessment is needed to build sustainable farming systems. A broad range of sustainability concepts, methodologies and applications already exists. They differ in level, focus, orientation, measurement, scale, presentation and intended end-users. In this paper we illustrate that a smart combination of existing methods with different levels of application can make sustainability assessment more profound, and that it can broaden the insights of different end-user groups. An overview of sustainability assessment tools on different levels and for different end-users shows the complementarities and the opportunities of using different methods. In a case-study, a combination of the sustainable value approach (SVA)more » and MOTIFS is used to perform a sustainability evaluation of farming systems in Flanders. SVA is used to evaluate sustainability at sector level, and is especially useful to support policy makers, while MOTIFS is used to support and guide farmers towards sustainability at farm level. The combined use of the two methods with complementary goals can widen the insights of both farmers and policy makers, without losing the particularities of the different approaches. To stimulate and support further research and applications, we propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We give an overview of sustainability assessment tools for agricultural systems. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SVA and MOTIFS are used to evaluate the sustainability of dairy farming in Flanders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Combination of methods with different levels broadens the insights of different end-user groups. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments.« less

Software and Systems Producibility Collaboration and Experimentation Environment (SPRUCE)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

represent course materials and assignments from Vanderbilt University’s Dr . Gokhale’s courses. 3.2.4. Communities of Interest Current list of...blogging platforms of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn today, these user interactions represent low-effort means for users to start getting involved. A

Algorithm research for user trajectory matching across social media networks based on paragraph2vec

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qian; Chen, Hongchang; Zhi, Hongxin; Wang, Yanchuan

2018-04-01

Identifying users across different social media networks (SMN) is to link accounts of the same user that belong to the same individual across SMNs. The problem is fundamental and important, and its results can benefit many applications such as cross SMN user modeling and recommendation. With the development of GPS technology and mobile communication, more and more social networks provide location services. This provides a new opportunity for cross SMN user identification. In this paper, we solve cross SMN user identification problem in an unsupervised manner by utilizing user trajectory data in SMNs. A paragraph2vec based algorithm is proposed in which location sequence feature of user trajectory is captured in temporal and spatial dimensions. Our experimental results validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm.

Sign language Web pages.

PubMed

Fels, Deborah I; Richards, Jan; Hardman, Jim; Lee, Daniel G

2006-01-01

The WORLD WIDE WEB has changed the way people interact. It has also become an important equalizer of information access for many social sectors. However, for many people, including some sign language users, Web accessing can be difficult. For some, it not only presents another barrier to overcome but has left them without cultural equality. The present article describes a system that allows sign language-only Web pages to be created and linked through a video-based technique called sign-linking. In two studies, 14 Deaf participants examined two iterations of signlinked Web pages to gauge the usability and learnability of a signing Web page interface. The first study indicated that signing Web pages were usable by sign language users but that some interface features required improvement. The second study showed increased usability for those features; users consequently couldnavigate sign language information with ease and pleasure.

Considerations for an Earth Relay Satellite with RF and Optical Trunklines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, David J.

2016-01-01

Support for user platforms through the use of optical links to geosynchronous relay spacecraft are expected to be part of the future space communications architecture. The European Data Relay Satellite System (EDRS) has its first node, EDRS-A, in orbit. The EDRS architecture includes space-to-space optical links with a Ka-Band feeder link or trunkline. NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) mission, originally baselined to support a space-to-space optical link relayed with an optical trunkline, has added an Radio Frequency (RF) trunkline. The use of an RF trunkline avoids the outages suffered by an optical trunkline due to clouds, but an RF trunkline will be bandwidth limited. A space relay architecture with both RF and optical trunklines could relay critical realtime data, while also providing a high data volume capacity. This paper considers the relay user scenarios that could be supported, and the implications to the space relay system and operations. System trades such as the amount of onboard processing and storage required, the use of link layer switching vs. network layer routing, and the use of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) are discussed.

Link prediction in multiplex online social networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jalili, Mahdi; Orouskhani, Yasin; Asgari, Milad; Alipourfard, Nazanin; Perc, Matjaž

2017-02-01

Online social networks play a major role in modern societies, and they have shaped the way social relationships evolve. Link prediction in social networks has many potential applications such as recommending new items to users, friendship suggestion and discovering spurious connections. Many real social networks evolve the connections in multiple layers (e.g. multiple social networking platforms). In this article, we study the link prediction problem in multiplex networks. As an example, we consider a multiplex network of Twitter (as a microblogging service) and Foursquare (as a location-based social network). We consider social networks of the same users in these two platforms and develop a meta-path-based algorithm for predicting the links. The connectivity information of the two layers is used to predict the links in Foursquare network. Three classical classifiers (naive Bayes, support vector machines (SVM) and K-nearest neighbour) are used for the classification task. Although the networks are not highly correlated in the layers, our experiments show that including the cross-layer information significantly improves the prediction performance. The SVM classifier results in the best performance with an average accuracy of 89%.

Link prediction in multiplex online social networks.

PubMed

Jalili, Mahdi; Orouskhani, Yasin; Asgari, Milad; Alipourfard, Nazanin; Perc, Matjaž

2017-02-01

Online social networks play a major role in modern societies, and they have shaped the way social relationships evolve. Link prediction in social networks has many potential applications such as recommending new items to users, friendship suggestion and discovering spurious connections. Many real social networks evolve the connections in multiple layers (e.g. multiple social networking platforms). In this article, we study the link prediction problem in multiplex networks. As an example, we consider a multiplex network of Twitter (as a microblogging service) and Foursquare (as a location-based social network). We consider social networks of the same users in these two platforms and develop a meta-path-based algorithm for predicting the links. The connectivity information of the two layers is used to predict the links in Foursquare network. Three classical classifiers (naive Bayes, support vector machines (SVM) and K-nearest neighbour) are used for the classification task. Although the networks are not highly correlated in the layers, our experiments show that including the cross-layer information significantly improves the prediction performance. The SVM classifier results in the best performance with an average accuracy of 89%.

Techniques for Updating Pedestrian Network Data Including Facilities and Obstructions Information for Transportation of Vulnerable People

PubMed Central

Park, Seula; Bang, Yoonsik; Yu, Kiyun

2015-01-01

Demand for a Pedestrian Navigation Service (PNS) is on the rise. To provide a PNS for the transportation of vulnerable people, more detailed information of pedestrian facilities and obstructions should be included in Pedestrian Network Data (PND) used for PNS. Such data can be constructed efficiently by collecting GPS trajectories and integrating them with the existing PND. However, these two kinds of data have geometric differences and topological inconsistencies that need to be addressed. In this paper, we provide a methodology for integrating pedestrian facilities and obstructions information with an existing PND. At first we extracted the significant points from user-collected GPS trajectory by identifying the geometric difference index and attributes of each point. Then the extracted points were used to make an initial solution of the matching between the trajectory and the PND. Two geometrical algorithms were proposed and applied to reduce two kinds of errors in the matching: on dual lines and on intersections. Using the final solution for the matching, we reconstructed the node/link structure of PND including the facilities and obstructions information. Finally, performance was assessed with a test site and 79.2% of the collected data were correctly integrated with the PND. PMID:26404307

Emotion Estimation Algorithm from Facial Image Analyses of e-Learning Users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shigeta, Ayuko; Koike, Takeshi; Kurokawa, Tomoya; Nosu, Kiyoshi

This paper proposes an emotion estimation algorithm from e-Learning user's facial image. The algorithm characteristics are as follows: The criteria used to relate an e-Learning use's emotion to a representative emotion were obtained from the time sequential analysis of user's facial expressions. By examining the emotions of the e-Learning users and the positional change of the facial expressions from the experiment results, the following procedures are introduce to improve the estimation reliability; (1) some effective features points are chosen by the emotion estimation (2) dividing subjects into two groups by the change rates of the face feature points (3) selection of the eigenvector of the variance-co-variance matrices (cumulative contribution rate>=95%) (4) emotion calculation using Mahalanobis distance.

Embedded Process Modeling, Analogy-Based Option Generation and Analytical Graphic Interaction for Enhanced User-Computer Interaction: An Interactive Storyboard of Next Generation User-Computer Interface Technology. Phase 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-01

structure of the interface is a mapping from the physical world [for example, the use of icons, which S have inherent meaning to users but represent...design alternatives. Mechanisms for linking the user to the computer include physical devices (keyboards), actions taken with the devices (keystrokes...VALUATION AIDES TEMLATEI IITCOM1I LATOR IACTICAL KNOWLEDGE ACGIUISITION MICNnII t 1 Fig. 9. INTACVAL. * OtJiCTs ARE PHYSICAL ENTITIES OR CONCEPTUAL EN

Interactive-cut: Real-time feedback segmentation for translational research.

PubMed

Egger, Jan; Lüddemann, Tobias; Schwarzenberg, Robert; Freisleben, Bernd; Nimsky, Christopher

2014-06-01

In this contribution, a scale-invariant image segmentation algorithm is introduced that "wraps" the algorithm's parameters for the user by its interactive behavior, avoiding the definition of "arbitrary" numbers that the user cannot really understand. Therefore, we designed a specific graph-based segmentation method that only requires a single seed-point inside the target-structure from the user and is thus particularly suitable for immediate processing and interactive, real-time adjustments by the user. In addition, color or gray value information that is needed for the approach can be automatically extracted around the user-defined seed point. Furthermore, the graph is constructed in such a way, so that a polynomial-time mincut computation can provide the segmentation result within a second on an up-to-date computer. The algorithm presented here has been evaluated with fixed seed points on 2D and 3D medical image data, such as brain tumors, cerebral aneurysms and vertebral bodies. Direct comparison of the obtained automatic segmentation results with costlier, manual slice-by-slice segmentations performed by trained physicians, suggest a strong medical relevance of this interactive approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The IBM HeadTracking Pointer: improvements in vision-based pointer control.

PubMed

Kjeldsen, Rick

2008-07-01

Vision-based head trackers have been around for some years and are even beginning to be commercialized, but problems remain with respect to usability. Users without the ability to use traditional pointing devices--the intended audience of such systems--have no alternative if the automatic bootstrapping process fails. There is room for improvement in face tracking, and the pointer movement dynamics do not support accurate and efficient pointing. This paper describes the IBM HeadTracking Pointer, a system which attempts to directly address some of these issues. Head gestures are used to provide the end user a greater level of autonomous control over the system. A novel face-tracking algorithm reduces drift under variable lighting conditions, allowing the use of absolute, rather than relative, pointer positioning. Most importantly, the pointer dynamics have been designed to take into account the constraints of head-based pointing, with a non-linear gain which allows stability in fine pointer movement, high speed on long transitions and adjustability to support users with different movement dynamics. User studies have identified some difficulties with training the system and some characteristics of the pointer motion that take time to get used to, but also good user feedback and very promising performance results.

A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders.

PubMed

Tang, Xing; Miao, Qiguang; Yu, Shangshang; Quan, Yining

2016-01-01

Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID) based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank) algorithm to identify the multi-topic influential users. Our algorithm not only effectively overcomes the shortages of PageRank but also effectively produces a measure of topic-related rank. Extensive experiments on a Weibo dataset show that our model is both effective and robust.

A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders

PubMed Central

Tang, Xing; Miao, Qiguang; Yu, Shangshang; Quan, Yining

2016-01-01

Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID) based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank) algorithm to identify the multi-topic influential users. Our algorithm not only effectively overcomes the shortages of PageRank but also effectively produces a measure of topic-related rank. Extensive experiments on a Weibo dataset show that our model is both effective and robust. PMID:27415429

User benefits of two-way data link ATC communications : aircraft delay and flight efficiency in congested en route airspace : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-02-01

This report documents the results of the first Federal Aviation Administration : (FAA) manned simulation study designed to demonstrate and quantify some of the : benefits that would accrue to National Airspace System (NAS) users in return for : equip...

Active Cooperation Between Primary Users and Cognitive Radio Users in Heterogeneous Ad-Hoc Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

processing to wireless communications and networking, including space-time coding and modulation for MIMO wireless communications, MIMO - OFDM systems, and...multiinput-multioutput ( MIMO ) system that can significantly increase the link capacity and realize a new form of spatial diversity which has been termed

Linking Online and Offline Social Worlds: Opportunities and Threats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dong, Cailing

2017-01-01

Social networks bring both opportunities and threats to the users. On one hand, social networks provide a platform for users to build online profiles, make connections with others beyond geographical boundaries, enjoy the "openness" of social networks to meet their intrinsic need of "self-presentation", explore and strengthen…

User Choice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Joy Selby

In vocational education and training (VET), user choice is a means of achieving a more client-responsive training system by allowing clients to have greater choice over how their training needs are met. Funding arrangements linked in some direct way to the expressed demands of individual clients are essential for effective operation of a user…

Understanding the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oblinger, Diana

The Internet is an international network linking hundreds of smaller computer networks in North America, Europe, and Asia. Using the Internet, computer users can connect to a variety of computers with little effort or expense. The potential for use by college faculty is enormous. The largest problem faced by most users is understanding what such…

Dynamic Capacity Allocation Algorithms for iNET Link Manager

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

algorithm that can better cope with severe congestion and misbehaving users and traffic flows. We compare the E-LM with the LM baseline algorithm (B-LM...capacity allocation algorithm that can better cope with severe congestion and misbehaving users and traffic flows. We compare the E-LM with the LM

The ADRICOSM STAR GeoPortal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgetti, Alessandra; Cesarini, Claudia; Gambetta, Marco; Reseghetti, Franco; Vinci, Matteo

2010-05-01

From Stockholm (1972) to Rio de Janeiro (1992) and to Johannesburg (2002), environmental protection objectives are related to the principles of sustainable development. This includes the following important components: participation, information, communication, training (capacity building) and education. Better information ensure more participation from individuals, and allows citizens to take part in many different actions that can influence the policy process. Participation to political decisions need access to reliable and quality controlled information. The ADRICOSM Portal was developed in order to manage data diversity, provide access to any kind of product, provide metadata completeness and accuracy. The product, as defined in ADRICOSM, is anything that can be offered to a client and that might satisfy a want or need. This implied the implementation of services that was taking into consideration the diversity of the objects to be provided to users: observations, model outputs, maps, etc. The implementation of the portal was based on two metadata levels: 1. Directory level - consisting of broad descriptions of the contents of data sets; used to locate data sets of potential interest and 2. Data level - consisting of the actual data objects. The portal was developed as a simplified front end for the partners data management systems, giving emphasis on federated access points focused on thematic aspects. This was based on the idea that specialized customer-related access points can be better carried out by delegated teams of experts who know the needs of different customers, define the user software which is most suited to them. The data management systems provide facilities for two data tracks, one in real-time (or near-realtime) and one in delayed mode. Both tracks are based on the same data sources and transmission systems, but the data follow different routes and are processed differently depending on user requirements. The real-time data and model products are checked after first use for up-grading and additional quality control to ensure that all relevant data are preserved for final archival. In summary the ADRICOSM Geoportal has: - the objective to support data exchange in Adricosm Star and the implementation of tools to facilitate the access to data and information through thematic portals, converting individual data provider systems into a federation. - provide the necessary information to users on content of data that can be accessed in the federated systems. The portal is organised in three modules and a catalog. The module 1 has been realized by giving information on the project and objectives, data policy, reasons to provide products and services, link to the themes. Skilled people can jump to the data/products/services provider by clicking on the geographical map. Module 2 is providing more specific information on centers providing data/products/services. Module 3 is providing a direct access to partners product. It contains a short description of the products and a link. Module 4 contain the catalog for each partner product and is based on What, Where, When and How.

Extended parametric representation of compressor fans and turbines. Volume 2: Part user's manual (parametric turbine)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coverse, G. L.

1984-01-01

A turbine modeling technique has been developed which will enable the user to obtain consistent and rapid off-design performance from design point input. This technique is applicable to both axial and radial flow turbine with flow sizes ranging from about one pound per second to several hundred pounds per second. The axial flow turbines may or may not include variable geometry in the first stage nozzle. A user-specified option will also permit the calculation of design point cooling flow levels and corresponding changes in efficiency for the axial flow turbines. The modeling technique has been incorporated into a time-sharing program in order to facilitate its use. Because this report contains a description of the input output data, values of typical inputs, and example cases, it is suitable as a user's manual. This report is the second of a three volume set. The titles of the three volumes are as follows: (1) Volume 1 CMGEN USER's Manual (Parametric Compressor Generator); (2) Volume 2 PART USER's Manual (Parametric Turbine); (3) Volume 3 MODFAN USER's Manual (Parametric Modulation Flow Fan).

How the new web generations are changing library and information services.

PubMed

Miranda, Giovanna F; Gualtieri, Francesca; Coccia, Paolo

2010-04-01

The new Web generations are influencing the minds and changing the habits of software developers and end users. Users, librarians, and information services professionals can interact more efficiently, creating additional information and content and generating knowledge. This new scenario is also changing the behavior of information providers and users in health sciences libraries. This article reviews the new Web environments and tools that give librarians opportunities to tailor their services better, and gives some examples of the advantages and disadvantages for them and their users. Librarians need to adapt to the new mindset of users, linking new technologies, information, and people.

Development of ISO connection-oriented/correctionless gateways

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landweber, Lawrence H.

1991-01-01

The project had two goals, establishment of a gateway between French and U.S. academic networks and studies of issues related to the development of ISO connection-oriented/connectionless (CO/CL) gateways. The first component involved installation of a 56K bps line between Princeton Univ. and INRIA in France. The end-points of these lines were connected by Vitalink link level bridges. The Princeton end was then connected to the NSFNET via the John Von Neumann Supercomputer Center. The French end was connected to Transpac, the French X.25 public data network and to the French IP research internet. U.S. users may communicate with users of the French internet by e-mail and may access computational and data resources in France by use of remote login and file transfer. The connection to Transpac enables U.S. users to access the SIMBAD astronomical database outside of Paris. Access to this database from the U.S. can be via TCP/IP or DECNET (via a DECNET to TCP/IP gateway) protocols utilizing a TCP/IP to X.25 gateway developed and operated by INRIA. The second component of the project involved experiments aimed at understanding the issues involved is ISO CO/CL gateways. An experimental gateway was developed at Wisconsin and a preliminary report was prepared. Because of the need to devote most resources to the first component of the project, work in this area did not go beyond development of a prototype gateway.

Promoting the freedom of thought of mental health service users: Nussbaum's capabilities approach meets values-based practice.

PubMed

Stenlund, Mari

2017-08-09

This article clarifies how the freedom of thought as a human right can be understood and promoted as a right of mental health service users, especially people with psychotic disorder, by using Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach and Fulford's and Fulford et al 's values-based practice. According to Nussbaum, freedom of thought seems to primarily protect the capability to think, believe and feel. This capability can be promoted in the context of mental health services by values-based practice. The article points out that both Nussbaum's approach and values-based practice recognise that people's values differ. The idea of involving different actors and service users in mental healthcare is also common in both Nussbaum's approach and values-based practice. However, there are also differences in that values-based practice relies on a 'good process' in decision-making, whereas the capabilities approach is oriented towards a 'right outcome'. However, since process and outcome are linked with each other, these two approaches do not necessarily conflict despite this difference. The article suggests that absolute rights are possible within the two approaches. It also recognises that the capabilities approach, values-based practice and human rights approach lean on liberal values and thus can be combined at least in liberal societies. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Close-range airborne photogrammetry: an effective tool for high-resolution sandy beach morphometric surveys. Examples from embayed beaches in French Guyana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunier, Guillaume; Fleury, Jules; Anthony, Edward; Gardel, Antoine; Dussouillez, Philippe

2015-04-01

Photogrammetric techniques are at a turning point in their history with the development of new algorithms, such as SIFT (Lowe, 1999) for automatic camera alignment and point cloud densification (Furukawa, 2010) integrated in user-friendly end-products. These innovations facilitate the utilization of this technique to study objects with low to mild morphological contrasts at low cost and by non-specialists. It is now possible to produce high-resolution 3D morphometric models, and derived products such as Digital Surface Models (DSM) and Orthophotographs. We conducted three photogrammetric experiments on the embayed beach of Montjoly (4 km long, 100-200 m wide) in Cayenne, French Guyana, in order to quantify morphological changes. The beach is affected by rotation induced by westward migration of mud banks from the Amazon that generate spatio-temporal changes in wave refraction and incident wave angles. The current rotation involves massive erosion of the northern part of the beach (50 m retreat between October 2013 and March 2014) and deposition in the southern sector (50 m advance). We acquired subvertical aerial photographs from a microlight aircraft using a full frame DSLR sensor with a 50 mm lens synchronized with an onboard DGPS, and flew alongshore at low elevation (900 ft). The flight plan included several parallel flight axes with a 50 m interband distance. Meanwhile on the ground, we placed around 30 square targets of 40 cm width georeferenced by RTK-DGPS with centimetre accuracy. These targets served in producing the georeferenced output 3D model. Third, we measured the topography of random points and cross-shore profiles to validate our results and assess the process accuracy. We produced the model and its derived products with user-friendly Agisoft Photoscan© software. We obtained three morphometric models realized in October 2013, March 2014 and October 2014 covering the entire beach. These models were produced at a resolution of 10 cm per pixel and have a mean vertical accuracy less than +/- 5 cm compared to the GPS control points, with a maximum of 20 cm in marginal sectors near vegetation and in the swash zone in low-water conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first time a poorly textured surface composed of sand is reconstructed by photogrammetry, contrast in the studied object being necessary for this method. Our highly accurate photo resolution and pre-processing permitted imaging enough texture to proceed. Morphological features in the upper surf zone such as rip channels, and subaerial features, such as erosion scarps and aeolian forms, clearly appear. The comparison between the DSM validates the estimation of sediment transfers and the rotation process on this beach, unlike traditional beach monitoring with GPS, which involves large uncertainty linked to sparse point acquisition. It can be claimed that photogrammetry is low-cost, user-friendly, and offers new perspectives for non-specialist users in geomorphology and other fields recquiring high-resolution topographic data. It combines the advantages of the reproducibility of GPS topographic surveys and the high density and accuracy of LIDAR, but at very advantageous cost compared to the latter.

Networking Biology: The Origins of Sequence-Sharing Practices in Genomics.

PubMed

Stevens, Hallam

2015-10-01

The wide sharing of biological data, especially nucleotide sequences, is now considered to be a key feature of genomics. Historians and sociologists have attempted to account for the rise of this sharing by pointing to precedents in model organism communities and in natural history. This article supplements these approaches by examining the role that electronic networking technologies played in generating the specific forms of sharing that emerged in genomics. The links between early computer users at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the 1960s, biologists using local computer networks in the 1970s, and GenBank in the 1980s, show how networking technologies carried particular practices of communication, circulation, and data distribution from computing into biology. In particular, networking practices helped to transform sequences themselves into objects that had value as a community resource.

Exploring expressivity and emotion with artificial voice and speech technologies.

PubMed

Pauletto, Sandra; Balentine, Bruce; Pidcock, Chris; Jones, Kevin; Bottaci, Leonardo; Aretoulaki, Maria; Wells, Jez; Mundy, Darren P; Balentine, James

2013-10-01

Emotion in audio-voice signals, as synthesized by text-to-speech (TTS) technologies, was investigated to formulate a theory of expression for user interface design. Emotional parameters were specified with markup tags, and the resulting audio was further modulated with post-processing techniques. Software was then developed to link a selected TTS synthesizer with an automatic speech recognition (ASR) engine, producing a chatbot that could speak and listen. Using these two artificial voice subsystems, investigators explored both artistic and psychological implications of artificial speech emotion. Goals of the investigation were interdisciplinary, with interest in musical composition, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), commercial voice announcement applications, human-computer interaction (HCI), and artificial intelligence (AI). The work-in-progress points towards an emerging interdisciplinary ontology for artificial voices. As one study output, HCI tools are proposed for future collaboration.

Methods for extracting social network data from chatroom logs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osesina, O. Isaac; McIntire, John P.; Havig, Paul R.; Geiselman, Eric E.; Bartley, Cecilia; Tudoreanu, M. Eduard

2012-06-01

Identifying social network (SN) links within computer-mediated communication platforms without explicit relations among users poses challenges to researchers. Our research aims to extract SN links in internet chat with multiple users engaging in synchronous overlapping conversations all displayed in a single stream. We approached this problem using three methods which build on previous research. Response-time analysis builds on temporal proximity of chat messages; word context usage builds on keywords analysis and direct addressing which infers links by identifying the intended message recipient from the screen name (nickname) referenced in the message [1]. Our analysis of word usage within the chat stream also provides contexts for the extracted SN links. To test the capability of our methods, we used publicly available data from Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a real-time computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool used by millions of people around the world. The extraction performances of individual methods and their hybrids were assessed relative to a ground truth (determined a priori via manual scoring).

SignaLink 2 – a signaling pathway resource with multi-layered regulatory networks

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Signaling networks in eukaryotes are made up of upstream and downstream subnetworks. The upstream subnetwork contains the intertwined network of signaling pathways, while the downstream regulatory part contains transcription factors and their binding sites on the DNA as well as microRNAs and their mRNA targets. Currently, most signaling and regulatory databases contain only a subsection of this network, making comprehensive analyses highly time-consuming and dependent on specific data handling expertise. The need for detailed mapping of signaling systems is also supported by the fact that several drug development failures were caused by undiscovered cross-talk or regulatory effects of drug targets. We previously created a uniformly curated signaling pathway resource, SignaLink, to facilitate the analysis of pathway cross-talks. Here, we present SignaLink 2, which significantly extends the coverage and applications of its predecessor. Description We developed a novel concept to integrate and utilize different subsections (i.e., layers) of the signaling network. The multi-layered (onion-like) database structure is made up of signaling pathways, their pathway regulators (e.g., scaffold and endocytotic proteins) and modifier enzymes (e.g., phosphatases, ubiquitin ligases), as well as transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of all of these components. The user-friendly website allows the interactive exploration of how each signaling protein is regulated. The customizable download page enables the analysis of any user-specified part of the signaling network. Compared to other signaling resources, distinctive features of SignaLink 2 are the following: 1) it involves experimental data not only from humans but from two invertebrate model organisms, C. elegans and D. melanogaster; 2) combines manual curation with large-scale datasets; 3) provides confidence scores for each interaction; 4) operates a customizable download page with multiple file formats (e.g., BioPAX, Cytoscape, SBML). Non-profit users can access SignaLink 2 free of charge at http://SignaLink.org. Conclusions With SignaLink 2 as a single resource, users can effectively analyze signaling pathways, scaffold proteins, modifier enzymes, transcription factors and miRNAs that are important in the regulation of signaling processes. This integrated resource allows the systems-level examination of how cross-talks and signaling flow are regulated, as well as provide data for cross-species comparisons and drug discovery analyses. PMID:23331499

SignaLink 2 - a signaling pathway resource with multi-layered regulatory networks.

PubMed

Fazekas, Dávid; Koltai, Mihály; Türei, Dénes; Módos, Dezső; Pálfy, Máté; Dúl, Zoltán; Zsákai, Lilian; Szalay-Bekő, Máté; Lenti, Katalin; Farkas, Illés J; Vellai, Tibor; Csermely, Péter; Korcsmáros, Tamás

2013-01-18

Signaling networks in eukaryotes are made up of upstream and downstream subnetworks. The upstream subnetwork contains the intertwined network of signaling pathways, while the downstream regulatory part contains transcription factors and their binding sites on the DNA as well as microRNAs and their mRNA targets. Currently, most signaling and regulatory databases contain only a subsection of this network, making comprehensive analyses highly time-consuming and dependent on specific data handling expertise. The need for detailed mapping of signaling systems is also supported by the fact that several drug development failures were caused by undiscovered cross-talk or regulatory effects of drug targets. We previously created a uniformly curated signaling pathway resource, SignaLink, to facilitate the analysis of pathway cross-talks. Here, we present SignaLink 2, which significantly extends the coverage and applications of its predecessor. We developed a novel concept to integrate and utilize different subsections (i.e., layers) of the signaling network. The multi-layered (onion-like) database structure is made up of signaling pathways, their pathway regulators (e.g., scaffold and endocytotic proteins) and modifier enzymes (e.g., phosphatases, ubiquitin ligases), as well as transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of all of these components. The user-friendly website allows the interactive exploration of how each signaling protein is regulated. The customizable download page enables the analysis of any user-specified part of the signaling network. Compared to other signaling resources, distinctive features of SignaLink 2 are the following: 1) it involves experimental data not only from humans but from two invertebrate model organisms, C. elegans and D. melanogaster; 2) combines manual curation with large-scale datasets; 3) provides confidence scores for each interaction; 4) operates a customizable download page with multiple file formats (e.g., BioPAX, Cytoscape, SBML). Non-profit users can access SignaLink 2 free of charge at http://SignaLink.org. With SignaLink 2 as a single resource, users can effectively analyze signaling pathways, scaffold proteins, modifier enzymes, transcription factors and miRNAs that are important in the regulation of signaling processes. This integrated resource allows the systems-level examination of how cross-talks and signaling flow are regulated, as well as provide data for cross-species comparisons and drug discovery analyses.

Rapid-Prototyping of Application Specific Signal Processors (RASSP) Education and Facilitation

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-12-01

Digest 4. User/ passwd /deskey authentication required. o single point RASSP contractor release o phone call authentication required...o user/ passwd /deskey assign over phone 5. WWW user/ passwd used to access release for in component datasheet. o single file for each model

Real-World Clinical Effectiveness and Cost Savings of Liraglutide Versus Sitagliptin in Treating Type 2 Diabetes for 1 and 2 Years.

PubMed

Li, Qian; Ganguly, Rahul; Ganz, Michael L; Gamble, Cory; Dang-Tan, Tam

2018-06-01

This study compared the clinical and economic outcomes of long-term use of liraglutide versus sitagliptin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in real-world practice in the USA. We identified adult patients (≥ 18 years old) with T2DM who initiated liraglutide or sitagliptin in 2010-2014 using a large claims database. Quarterly glycemic control measures and annual healthcare costs were assessed during the 1st and 2nd years of persistent medication use. Their associations with medication use (liraglutide or sitagliptin) were estimated using multivariable regression models adjusted for patient demographic and clinical characteristics. A total of 3113 patients persistently used liraglutide (N = 493) or sitagliptin (N = 2620) for ≥ 1 year [mean age (standard deviation, SD): 53 (8.5) vs. 56 (9.7) years; 48.3% vs. 62.3% males; both p < 0.05]; 911 (including 113 liraglutide users) were persistent users for ≥ 2 years. During the 1st-year follow-up, liraglutide users (versus sitagliptin users, after adjustment) experienced larger glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reductions from baseline (ranging from 0.34%-point in quarter 1 to 0.21%-point in quarter 4); higher likelihoods of obtaining HbA1c reductions of ≥ 1%-points or ≥ 2%-points [odds ratios (ORs) range 1.47-2.04]; and higher likelihoods of reaching HbA1c goals of < 6.5% or < 7% (ORs range 1.51-2.12) (all p < 0.05). Liraglutide users also experienced HbA1c reductions from baseline in the 2nd-year follow-up (0.53-0.33%-point, all p < 0.05). Although liraglutide users incurred higher healthcare costs than sitagliptin users during the 1st-year follow-up, they had $2674 (per patient) lower all-cause medical costs (adjusted cost ratio: 0.67, p < 0.05) and similar total costs (all-cause and diabetes-related) in the 2nd year. Long-term use of liraglutide for 1 or 2 years was associated with better glycemic control than using sitagliptin. Savings in medical costs were realized for liraglutide users during the 2nd year of persistent treatment, which offset differences in pharmacy costs. Novo Nordisk Inc.

Observatory Bibliographies as Research Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rots, Arnold H.; Winkelman, S. L.

2013-01-01

Traditionally, observatory bibliographies were maintained to provide insight in how successful a observatory is as measured by its prominence in the (refereed) literature. When we set up the bibliographic database for the Chandra X-ray Observatory (http://cxc.harvard.edu/cgi-gen/cda/bibliography) as part of the Chandra Data Archive ((http://cxc.harvard.edu/cda/), very early in the mission, our objective was to make it primarily a useful tool for our user community. To achieve this we are: (1) casting a very wide net in collecting Chandra-related publications; (2) including for each literature reference in the database a wealth of metadata that is useful for the users; and (3) providing specific links between the articles and the datasets in the archive that they use. As a result our users are able to browse the literature and the data archive simultaneously. As an added bonus, the rich metadata content and data links have also allowed us to assemble more meaningful statistics about the scientific efficacy of the observatory. In all this we collaborate closely with the Astrophysics Data System (ADS). Among the plans for future enhancement are the inclusion of press releases and the Chandra image gallery, linking with ADS semantic searching tools, full-text metadata mining, and linking with other observatories' bibliographies. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC) and depends critically on the services provided by the ADS.

PandASoft: Open Source Instructional Laboratory Administration Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, P. L.; Braasch, P.; Synkova, Y. N.

2004-12-01

PandASoft (Physics and Astronomy Software) is software for organizing and archiving a department's teaching resources and materials. An easy to use, secure interface allows faculty and staff to explore equipment inventories, see what laboratory experiments are available, find handouts, and track what has been used in different classes in the past. Divided into five sections: classes, equipment, laboratories, links, and media, its database cross links materials, allowing users to see what labs are used with which classes, what media and equipment are used with which labs, or simply what equipment is lurking in which room. Written in PHP and MySQL, this software can be installed on any UNIX / Linux platform, including Macintosh OS X. It is designed to allow users to easily customize the headers, footers and colors to blend with existing sites - no programming experience required. While initial data input is labor intensive, the system will save time later by allowing users to quickly answer questions related to what is in inventory, where it is located, how many are in stock, and where online they can learn more. It will also provide a central location for storing PDFs of handouts, and links to applets and cool sites at other universities. PandASoft comes with over 100 links to online resources pre-installed. We would like to thank Dr. Wolfgang Rueckner and the Harvard University Science Center for providing computers and resources for this project.

Performance Analysis of Diversity-Controlled Multi-User Superposition Transmission for 5G Wireless Networks

PubMed Central

Yeom, Jeong Seon; Jung, Bang Chul; Jin, Hu

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel low-complexity multi-user superposition transmission (MUST) technique for 5G downlink networks, which allows multiple cell-edge users to be multiplexed with a single cell-center user. We call the proposed technique diversity-controlled MUST technique since the cell-center user enjoys the frequency diversity effect via signal repetition over multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) sub-carriers. We assume that a base station is equipped with a single antenna but users are equipped with multiple antennas. In addition, we assume that the quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation is used for users. We mathematically analyze the bit error rate (BER) of both cell-edge users and cell-center users, which is the first theoretical result in the literature to the best of our knowledge. The mathematical analysis is validated through extensive link-level simulations. PMID:29439413

Performance Analysis of Diversity-Controlled Multi-User Superposition Transmission for 5G Wireless Networks.

PubMed

Yeom, Jeong Seon; Chu, Eunmi; Jung, Bang Chul; Jin, Hu

2018-02-10

In this paper, we propose a novel low-complexity multi-user superposition transmission (MUST) technique for 5G downlink networks, which allows multiple cell-edge users to be multiplexed with a single cell-center user. We call the proposed technique diversity-controlled MUST technique since the cell-center user enjoys the frequency diversity effect via signal repetition over multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) sub-carriers. We assume that a base station is equipped with a single antenna but users are equipped with multiple antennas. In addition, we assume that the quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation is used for users. We mathematically analyze the bit error rate (BER) of both cell-edge users and cell-center users, which is the first theoretical result in the literature to the best of our knowledge. The mathematical analysis is validated through extensive link-level simulations.

AQUA-USERS: AQUAculture USEr Driven Operational Remote Sensing Information Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laanen, Marnix; Poser, Kathrin; Peters, Steef; de Reus, Nils; Ghebrehiwot, Semhar; Eleveld, Marieke; Miller, Peter; Groom, Steve; Clements, Oliver; Kurekin, Andrey; Martinez Vicente, Victor; Brotas, Vanda; Sa, Carolina; Couto, Andre; Brito, Ana; Amorim, Ana; Dale, Trine; Sorensen, Kai; Boye Hansen, Lars; Huber, Silvia; Kaas, Hanne; Andersson, Henrik; Icely, John; Fragoso, Bruno

2015-12-01

The FP7 project AQUA-USERS provides the aquaculture industry with user-relevant and timely information based on the most up-to-date satellite data and innovative optical in-situ measurements. Its key purpose is to develop an application that brings together satellite information on water quality and temperature with in-situ observations as well as relevant weather prediction and met-ocean data. The application and its underlying database are linked to a decision support system that includes a set of (user-determined) management options. Specific focus is on the development of indicators for aquaculture management including indicators for harmful algae bloom (HAB) events. The methods and services developed within AQUA-USERS are tested by the members of the user board, who represent different geographic areas and aquaculture production systems.

Space Station communications and tracking systems modeling and RF link simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsang, Chit-Sang; Chie, Chak M.; Lindsey, William C.

1986-01-01

In this final report, the effort spent on Space Station Communications and Tracking System Modeling and RF Link Simulation is described in detail. The effort is mainly divided into three parts: frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system simulation modeling and software implementation; a study on design and evaluation of a functional computerized RF link simulation/analysis system for Space Station; and a study on design and evaluation of simulation system architecture. This report documents the results of these studies. In addition, a separate User's Manual on Space Communications Simulation System (SCSS) (Version 1) documents the software developed for the Space Station FDMA communications system simulation. The final report, SCSS user's manual, and the software located in the NASA JSC system analysis division's VAX 750 computer together serve as the deliverables from LinCom for this project effort.

The Effects of Colchicine on Risk of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality Among Patients with Gout: A Cohort Study Using Electronic Medical Records Linked with Medicare Claims

PubMed Central

Solomon, Daniel H.; Liu, Chih-Chin; Kuo, I-Hsin; Zak, Agnes; Kim, Seoyoung C.

2016-01-01

Background Colchicine may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular (CV) disease, but there are sparse data on its CV effect among patients with gout. We examined the potential association between colchicine and CV risk and all-cause mortality in gout. Methods The analyses used data from an electronic medical record (EMR) database linked with Medicare claims (2006–2011). To be eligible for the study cohort, subjects must have had a diagnosis of gout in the EMR and Medicare claims. New users of colchicine were identified and followed-up from the first colchicine dispensing date. Non-users had no evidence of colchicine prescriptions during the study period and were matched to users on the start of follow-up, age, and gender. Both groups were followed for the primary outcome, a composite of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) in Cox regression, adjusting for potential confounders. Results We matched 501 users with an equal number of non-users with a median follow-up of 16.5 months. During follow-up, 28 primary CV events were observed among users and 82 among non-users. Incidence rates per 1,000 person-years were 35.6 for users and 81.8 for non-users. After full adjustment, colchicine use was associated with a 49% lower risk (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.30 – 0.88) in the primary CV outcome as well as a 73% reduction in all-cause mortality (HR 0.27, 95% CI 017 – 0.43). Conclusion Colchicine use was associated with a reduced risk of a CV event among patients with gout. PMID:26582823

Role-based access control permissions

DOEpatents

Staggs, Kevin P.; Markham, Thomas R.; Hull Roskos, Julie J.; Chernoguzov, Alexander

2017-04-25

Devices, systems, and methods for role-based access control permissions are disclosed. One method includes a policy decision point that receives up-to-date security context information from one or more outside sources to determine whether to grant access for a data client to a portion of the system and creates an access vector including the determination; receiving, via a policy agent, a request by the data client for access to the portion of the computing system by the data client, wherein the policy agent checks to ensure there is a session established with communications and user/application enforcement points; receiving, via communications policy enforcement point, the request from the policy agent, wherein the communications policy enforcement point determines whether the data client is an authorized node, based upon the access vector received from the policy decision point; and receiving, via the user/application policy enforcement point, the request from the communications policy enforcement point.

Comparison of direct and heterodyne detection optical intersatellite communication links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, C. C.; Gardner, C. S.

1987-01-01

The performance of direct and heterodyne detection optical intersatellite communication links are evaluated and compared. It is shown that the performance of optical links is very sensitive to the pointing and tracking errors at the transmitter and receiver. In the presence of random pointing and tracking errors, optimal antenna gains exist that will minimize the required transmitter power. In addition to limiting the antenna gains, random pointing and tracking errors also impose a power penalty in the link budget. This power penalty is between 1.6 to 3 dB for a direct detection QPPM link, and 3 to 5 dB for a heterodyne QFSK system. For the heterodyne systems, the carrier phase noise presents another major factor of performance degradation that must be considered. In contrast, the loss due to synchronization error is small. The link budgets for direct and heterodyne detection systems are evaluated. It is shown that, for systems with large pointing and tracking errors, the link budget is dominated by the spatial tracking error, and the direct detection system shows a superior performance because it is less sensitive to the spatial tracking error. On the other hand, for systems with small pointing and tracking jitters, the antenna gains are in general limited by the launch cost, and suboptimal antenna gains are often used in practice. In which case, the heterodyne system has a slightly higher power margin because of higher receiver sensitivity.

What Can Funders Do to Better Link Science with Decisions? Case Studies of Coastal Communities and Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matso, Kalle E.; Becker, Mimi L.

2014-12-01

Many reports and studies have noted that a significant portion of problem-oriented coastal science does not actually link to decisions. Here, three competitively funded project case studies are studied to determine what funders can and should do to better link science with decisions. The qualitative analysis used for this study indicates that the studied program was seen as being unusually attentive to the issue of linking science to decisions, as opposed to simply generating new knowledge. Nevertheless, much of the data indicate that funders can and should do more. Three ideas figured most prominently in the qualitative data: (1) funders should do more to ensure that the problem itself is defined more thoroughly with people who are envisioned as potential users of the science; (2) funders need to allocate more resources and attention to communicating effectively (with users) throughout the project; and (3) funders need to demand more engagement of users throughout the project. These findings have important implications for how funders review and support science, especially when competitive processes are used. Most importantly, funders should adjust what kind of science they ask for. Secondly, funders need to change who is involved in the review process. Currently, review processes focus on knowledge generation, which means that the reviewers themselves have expertise in that area. Instead, review panels should be balanced between those who focus on knowledge generation and those who focus on linking knowledge to decisions; this is a separate but critical discipline currently left out of the review process.

GIS learning tool for world's largest earthquakes and their causes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Moumita

The objective of this thesis is to increase awareness about earthquakes among people, especially young students by showing the five largest and two most predictable earthquake locations in the world and their plate tectonic settings. This is a geographic based interactive tool which could be used for learning about the cause of great earthquakes in the past and the safest places on the earth in order to avoid direct effect of earthquakes. This approach provides an effective way of learning for the students as it is very user friendly and more aligned to the interests of the younger generation. In this tool the user can click on the various points located on the world map which will open a picture and link to the webpage for that point, showing detailed information of the earthquake history of that place including magnitude of quake, year of past quakes and the plate tectonic settings that made this place earthquake prone. Apart from knowing the earthquake related information students will also be able to customize the tool to suit their needs or interests. Students will be able to add/remove layers, measure distance between any two points on the map, select any place on the map and know more information for that place, create a layer from this set to do a detail analysis, run a query, change display settings, etc. At the end of this tool the user has to go through the earthquake safely guidelines in order to be safe during an earthquake. This tool uses Java as programming language and uses Map Objects Java Edition (MOJO) provided by ESRI. This tool is developed for educational purpose and hence its interface has been kept simple and easy to use so that students can gain maximum knowledge through it instead of having a hard time to install it. There are lots of details to explore which can help more about what a GIS based tool is capable of. Only thing needed to run this tool is latest JAVA edition installed in their machine. This approach makes study more fun and interactive while educating students about a very important natural disaster which has been threatening us in recent years. This tool has been developed to increase awareness of the cause and effect of earthquake and how to be safe if that kind of disaster happens.

Wafer hot spot identification through advanced photomask characterization techniques: part 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Yohan; Green, Michael; Cho, Young; Ham, Young; Lin, Howard; Lan, Andy; Yang, Richer; Lung, Mike

2017-03-01

Historically, 1D metrics such as Mean to Target (MTT) and CD Uniformity (CDU) have been adequate for mask end users to evaluate and predict the mask impact on the wafer process. However, the wafer lithographer's process margin is shrinking at advanced nodes to a point that classical mask CD metrics are no longer adequate to gauge the mask contribution to wafer process error. For example, wafer CDU error at advanced nodes is impacted by mask factors such as 3-dimensional (3D) effects and mask pattern fidelity on sub-resolution assist features (SRAFs) used in Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) models of ever-increasing complexity. To overcome the limitation of 1D metrics, there are numerous on-going industry efforts to better define wafer-predictive metrics through both standard mask metrology and aerial CD methods. Even with these improvements, the industry continues to struggle to define useful correlative metrics that link the mask to final device performance. In part 1 of this work, we utilized advanced mask pattern characterization techniques to extract potential hot spots on the mask and link them, theoretically, to issues with final wafer performance. In this paper, part 2, we complete the work by verifying these techniques at wafer level. The test vehicle (TV) that was used for hot spot detection on the mask in part 1 will be used to expose wafers. The results will be used to verify the mask-level predictions. Finally, wafer performance with predicted and verified mask/wafer condition will be shown as the result of advanced mask characterization. The goal is to maximize mask end user yield through mask-wafer technology harmonization. This harmonization will provide the necessary feedback to determine optimum design, mask specifications, and mask-making conditions for optimal wafer process margin.

Providing full point-to-point communications among compute nodes of an operational group in a global combining network of a parallel computer

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles J; Faraj, Ahmad A; Inglett, Todd A; Ratterman, Joseph D

2013-04-16

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for providing full point-to-point communications among compute nodes of an operational group in a global combining network of a parallel computer, each compute node connected to each adjacent compute node in the global combining network through a link, that include: receiving a network packet in a compute node, the network packet specifying a destination compute node; selecting, in dependence upon the destination compute node, at least one of the links for the compute node along which to forward the network packet toward the destination compute node; and forwarding the network packet along the selected link to the adjacent compute node connected to the compute node through the selected link.

76 FR 12996 - Data Users Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-09

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting... advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of data users from various sectors of the U.S. economy, including the labor, business, research, academic, and government communities, on...

GEONETCast Americas - Architecture

Science.gov Websites

contributors PRODUCTS GEONETCast Product Navigator Channel listing Admin Notes Register a product USERS About receiver stations Manufacturer list Configuration Request a product Register FAQs, Links, Pubs FAQs Links NOAA 2007-11-12 Updated product listing. Moved 21 products from Planned to Available status. Filenames

GEONETCast Americas - Architecture

Science.gov Websites

contributors PRODUCTS GEONETCast Product Navigator Channel listing Admin Notes Register a product USERS About receiver stations Manufacturer list Configuration Request a product Register FAQs, Links, Pubs FAQs Links , application, and exploitation of environmental data and products for the diverse societal benefits defined by

GEONETCast Americas - Architecture

Science.gov Websites

contributors PRODUCTS GEONETCast Product Navigator Channel listing Admin Notes Register a product USERS About receiver stations Manufacturer list Configuration Request a product Register FAQs, Links, Pubs FAQs Links list of manufacturers that have equipment that meet the requirements. Have a product that you would

How to engage end-users in smart energy behaviour?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valkering, Pieter; Laes, Erik; Kessels, Kris; Uyterlinde, Matthijs; Straver, Koen

2014-12-01

End users will play a crucial role in up-coming smart grids that aim to link end-users and energy providers in a better balanced and more efficient electricity system. Within this context, this paper aims to deliver a coherent view on current good practice in end-user engagement in smart grid projects. It draws from a recent review of theoretical insights from sustainable consumption behaviour, social marketing and innovation systems and empirical insights from recent smart grid projects to create an inventory of common motivators, enablers and barriers of behavioural change, and the end-user engagement principles that can be derived from that. We conclude with identifying current research challenges as input for a research agenda on end-user engagement in smart grids.

The NifTK software platform for image-guided interventions: platform overview and NiftyLink messaging.

PubMed

Clarkson, Matthew J; Zombori, Gergely; Thompson, Steve; Totz, Johannes; Song, Yi; Espak, Miklos; Johnsen, Stian; Hawkes, David; Ourselin, Sébastien

2015-03-01

To perform research in image-guided interventions, researchers need a wide variety of software components, and assembling these components into a flexible and reliable system can be a challenging task. In this paper, the NifTK software platform is presented. A key focus has been high-performance streaming of stereo laparoscopic video data, ultrasound data and tracking data simultaneously. A new messaging library called NiftyLink is introduced that uses the OpenIGTLink protocol and provides the user with easy-to-use asynchronous two-way messaging, high reliability and comprehensive error reporting. A small suite of applications called NiftyGuide has been developed, containing lightweight applications for grabbing data, currently from position trackers and ultrasound scanners. These applications use NiftyLink to stream data into NiftyIGI, which is a workstation-based application, built on top of MITK, for visualisation and user interaction. Design decisions, performance characteristics and initial applications are described in detail. NiftyLink was tested for latency when transmitting images, tracking data, and interleaved imaging and tracking data. NiftyLink can transmit tracking data at 1,024 frames per second (fps) with latency of 0.31 milliseconds, and 512 KB images with latency of 6.06 milliseconds at 32 fps. NiftyIGI was tested, receiving stereo high-definition laparoscopic video at 30 fps, tracking data from 4 rigid bodies at 20-30 fps and ultrasound data at 20 fps with rendering refresh rates between 2 and 20 Hz with no loss of user interaction. These packages form part of the NifTK platform and have proven to be successful in a variety of image-guided surgery projects. Code and documentation for the NifTK platform are available from http://www.niftk.org . NiftyLink is provided open-source under a BSD license and available from http://github.com/NifTK/NiftyLink . The code for this paper is tagged IJCARS-2014.

A Hierarchical Auction-Based Mechanism for Real-Time Resource Allocation in Cloud Robotic Systems.

PubMed

Wang, Lujia; Liu, Ming; Meng, Max Q-H

2017-02-01

Cloud computing enables users to share computing resources on-demand. The cloud computing framework cannot be directly mapped to cloud robotic systems with ad hoc networks since cloud robotic systems have additional constraints such as limited bandwidth and dynamic structure. However, most multirobotic applications with cooperative control adopt this decentralized approach to avoid a single point of failure. Robots need to continuously update intensive data to execute tasks in a coordinated manner, which implies real-time requirements. Thus, a resource allocation strategy is required, especially in such resource-constrained environments. This paper proposes a hierarchical auction-based mechanism, namely link quality matrix (LQM) auction, which is suitable for ad hoc networks by introducing a link quality indicator. The proposed algorithm produces a fast and robust method that is accurate and scalable. It reduces both global communication and unnecessary repeated computation. The proposed method is designed for firm real-time resource retrieval for physical multirobot systems. A joint surveillance scenario empirically validates the proposed mechanism by assessing several practical metrics. The results show that the proposed LQM auction outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms for resource allocation.

Traffic-based feedback on the web.

PubMed

Aizen, Jonathan; Huttenlocher, Daniel; Kleinberg, Jon; Novak, Antal

2004-04-06

Usage data at a high-traffic web site can expose information about external events and surges in popularity that may not be accessible solely from analyses of content and link structure. We consider sites that are organized around a set of items available for purchase or download, consider, for example, an e-commerce site or collection of online research papers, and we study a simple indicator of collective user interest in an item, the batting average, defined as the fraction of visits to an item's description that result in an acquisition of that item. We develop a stochastic model for identifying points in time at which an item's batting average experiences significant change. In experiments with usage data from the Internet Archive, we find that such changes often occur in an abrupt, discrete fashion, and that these changes can be closely aligned with events such as the highlighting of an item on the site or the appearance of a link from an active external referrer. In this way, analyzing the dynamics of item popularity at an active web site can help characterize the impact of a range of events taking place both on and off the site.

Shuttle Ku-band and S-band communications implementation study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodds, J. G.; Huth, G. K.; Nilsen, P. W.; Polydoros, A.; Simon, M. K.; Weber, C. L.

1980-01-01

Various aspects of the shuttle orbiter S-band network communication system, the S-band payload communication system, and the Ku-band communication system are considered. A method is proposed for obtaining more accurate S-band antenna patterns of the actual shuttle orbiter vehicle during flight because the preliminary antenna patterns using mock-ups are not realistic that they do not include the effects of additional appendages such as wings and tail structures. The Ku-band communication system is discussed especially the TDRS antenna pointing accuracy with respect to the orbiter and the modifications required and resulting performance characteristics of the convolutionally encoded high data rate return link to maintain bit synchronizer lock on the ground. The TDRS user constraints on data bit clock jitter and data asymmetry on unbalanced QPSK with noisy phase references are included. The S-band payload communication system study is outlined including the advantages and experimental results of a peak regulator design built and evaluated by Axiomatrix for the bent-pipe link versus the existing RMS-type regulator. The nominal sweep rate for the deep-space transponder of 250 Hz/s, and effects of phase noise on the performance of a communication system are analyzed.

Traffic-based feedback on the web

PubMed Central

Aizen, Jonathan; Huttenlocher, Daniel; Kleinberg, Jon; Novak, Antal

2004-01-01

Usage data at a high-traffic web site can expose information about external events and surges in popularity that may not be accessible solely from analyses of content and link structure. We consider sites that are organized around a set of items available for purchase or download, consider, for example, an e-commerce site or collection of online research papers, and we study a simple indicator of collective user interest in an item, the batting average, defined as the fraction of visits to an item's description that result in an acquisition of that item. We develop a stochastic model for identifying points in time at which an item's batting average experiences significant change. In experiments with usage data from the Internet Archive, we find that such changes often occur in an abrupt, discrete fashion, and that these changes can be closely aligned with events such as the highlighting of an item on the site or the appearance of a link from an active external referrer. In this way, analyzing the dynamics of item popularity at an active web site can help characterize the impact of a range of events taking place both on and off the site. PMID:14709676

PRGdb: a bioinformatics platform for plant resistance gene analysis

PubMed Central

Sanseverino, Walter; Roma, Guglielmo; De Simone, Marco; Faino, Luigi; Melito, Sara; Stupka, Elia; Frusciante, Luigi; Ercolano, Maria Raffaella

2010-01-01

PRGdb is a web accessible open-source (http://www.prgdb.org) database that represents the first bioinformatic resource providing a comprehensive overview of resistance genes (R-genes) in plants. PRGdb holds more than 16 000 known and putative R-genes belonging to 192 plant species challenged by 115 different pathogens and linked with useful biological information. The complete database includes a set of 73 manually curated reference R-genes, 6308 putative R-genes collected from NCBI and 10463 computationally predicted putative R-genes. Thanks to a user-friendly interface, data can be examined using different query tools. A home-made prediction pipeline called Disease Resistance Analysis and Gene Orthology (DRAGO), based on reference R-gene sequence data, was developed to search for plant resistance genes in public datasets such as Unigene and Genbank. New putative R-gene classes containing unknown domain combinations were discovered and characterized. The development of the PRG platform represents an important starting point to conduct various experimental tasks. The inferred cross-link between genomic and phenotypic information allows access to a large body of information to find answers to several biological questions. The database structure also permits easy integration with other data types and opens up prospects for future implementations. PMID:19906694

Electronic tools for infectious diseases and microbiology

PubMed Central

Burdette, Steven D

2007-01-01

Electronic tools for infectious diseases and medical microbiology have the ability to change the way the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases are approached. Medical information today has the ability to be dynamic, keeping up with the latest research or clinical issues, instead of being static and years behind, as many textbooks are. The ability to rapidly disseminate information around the world opens up the possibility of communicating with people thousands of miles away to quickly and efficiently learn about emerging infections. Electronic tools have expanded beyond the desktop computer and the Internet, and now include personal digital assistants and other portable devices such as cellular phones. These pocket-sized devices have the ability to provide access to clinical information at the point of care. New electronic tools include e-mail listservs, electronic drug databases and search engines that allow focused clinical questions. The goal of the present article is to provide an overview of how electronic tools can impact infectious diseases and microbiology, while providing links and resources to allow users to maximize their efficiency in accessing this information. Links to the mentioned Web sites and programs are provided along with other useful electronic tools. PMID:18978984

Technical and economic feasibility of integrated video service by satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, K. M.; Kwan, R. K.; White, L. W.; Garlow, R. K.; Henderson, T. R.

1992-01-01

A feasibility study is presented of utilizing modern satellite technology, or more advanced technology, to create a cost-effective, user-friendly, integrated video service, which can provide videophone, video conference, or other equivalent wideband service on demand. A system is described that permits a user to select a desired audience and establish the required links similar to arranging a teleconference by phone. Attention is given to video standards, video traffic scenarios, satellite system architecture, and user costs.

Establishing a research agenda for scientific and technical information (STI) - Focus on the user

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.

1992-01-01

This report addresses the relationship between library science and information science theory and practice, between the development of conceptual understanding, and the practical competence of information professionals. Consideration is given to the concept of research, linking theory with practice, and the reality of theory based practice. Attention is given to the need for research and research priorities, focus on the user and information-seeking behavior, and a user-oriented research agenda for STI.

Establishing a research agenda for Scientific and Technical Information (STI): Focus on the user

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.

1992-01-01

This report addresses the relationship between library science and information science theory and practice, between the development of conceptual understanding, and the practical competence of information professionals. Consideration is given to the concept of research, linking theory with practice, and the reality of theory based practice. Attention is given to the need for research and research priorities, focus on the user and information-seeking behavior, and a user-oriented research agenda for STI.

Space Communication Artificial Intelligence for Link Evaluation Terminal (SCAILET)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shahidi, Anoosh K.; Schlegelmilch, Richard F.; Petrik, Edward J.; Walters, Jerry L.

1992-01-01

A software application to assist end-users of the high burst rate (HBR) link evaluation terminal (LET) for satellite communications is being developed. The HBR LET system developed at NASA Lewis Research Center is an element of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) Project. The HBR LET is divided into seven major subsystems, each with its own expert. Programming scripts, test procedures defined by design engineers, set up the HBR LET system. These programming scripts are cryptic, hard to maintain and require a steep learning curve. These scripts were developed by the system engineers who will not be available for the end-users of the system. To increase end-user productivity a friendly interface needs to be added to the system. One possible solution is to provide the user with adequate documentation to perform the needed tasks. With the complexity of this system the vast amount of documentation needed would be overwhelming and the information would be hard to retrieve. With limited resources, maintenance is another reason for not using this form of documentation. An advanced form of interaction is being explored using current computer techniques. This application, which incorporates a combination of multimedia and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to provided end-users with an intelligent interface to the HBR LET system, is comprised of an intelligent assistant, intelligent tutoring, and hypermedia documentation. The intelligent assistant and tutoring systems address the critical programming needs of the end-user.

CSTutor: A Sketch-Based Tool for Visualizing Data Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchanan, Sarah; Laviola, Joseph J., Jr.

2014-01-01

We present CSTutor, a sketch-based interface designed to help students understand data structures, specifically Linked Lists, Binary Search Trees, AVL Trees, and Heaps. CSTutor creates an environment that seamlessly combines a user's sketched diagram and code. In each of these data structure modes, the user can naturally sketch a data structure on…

Missing Links--User Needs vs. Producers' Offerings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fahy, Sarah

There are a variety of reasons which prevent users from making the most of information products. The practitioner must keep current with the myriad of information sources available and try to stay aware of changes in coverage. This paper categorizes the types of data in a large financial institution as follows: press sources, mergers and…

GEONETCast Americas

Science.gov Websites

unless the user has internet access on the same machine. The products, including metadata, that are on is an access portal to GEONETCast products. It is a searchable database that can be found at -channel. This version will run on a local computer at a user site but internet links will not function

Interreality: A New Paradigm for E-health.

PubMed

Riva, Giuseppe

2009-01-01

"Interreality" is a personalized immersive e-therapy whose main novelty is a hybrid, closed-loop empowering experience bridging physical and virtual worlds. The main feature of interreality is a twofold link between the virtual and the real world: (a) behavior in the physical world influences the experience in the virtual one; (b) behavior in the virtual world influences the experience in the real one. This is achieved through: (1) 3D Shared Virtual Worlds: role-playing experiences in which one or more users interact with one another within a 3D world; (2) Bio and Activity Sensors (From the Real to the Virtual World): They are used to track the emotional/health/activity status of the user and to influence his/her experience in the virtual world (aspect, activity and access); (3) Mobile Internet Appliances (From the Virtual to the Real One): In interreality, the social and individual user activity in the virtual world has a direct link with the users' life through a mobile phone/digital assistant. The different technologies that are involved in the interreality vision and its clinical rationale are addressed and discussed.

Intuitive Tools for the Design and Analysis of Communication Payloads for Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culver, Michael R.; Soong, Christine; Warner, Joseph D.

2014-01-01

In an effort to make future communications satellite payload design more efficient and accessible, two tools were created with intuitive graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The first tool allows payload designers to graphically design their payload by using simple drag and drop of payload components onto a design area within the program. Information about each picked component is pulled from a database of common space-qualified communication components sold by commerical companies. Once a design is completed, various reports can be generated, such as the Master Equipment List. The second tool is a link budget calculator designed specifically for ease of use. Other features of this tool include being able to access a database of NASA ground based apertures for near Earth and Deep Space communication, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) base apertures, and information about the solar system relevant to link budget calculations. The link budget tool allows for over 50 different combinations of user inputs, eliminating the need for multiple spreadsheets and the user errors associated with using them. Both of the aforementioned tools increase the productivity of space communication systems designers, and have the colloquial latitude to allow non-communication experts to design preliminary communication payloads.

World Wide Web Metaphors for Search Mission Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norris, Jeffrey S.; Wallick, Michael N.; Joswig, Joseph C.; Powell, Mark W.; Torres, Recaredo J.; Mittman, David S.; Abramyan, Lucy; Crockett, Thomas M.; Shams, Khawaja S.; Fox, Jason M.;

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.

Heterogeneous Data Fusion Method to Estimate Travel Time Distributions in Congested Road Networks

PubMed Central

Lam, William H. K.; Li, Qingquan

2017-01-01

Travel times in congested urban road networks are highly stochastic. Provision of travel time distribution information, including both mean and variance, can be very useful for travelers to make reliable path choice decisions to ensure higher probability of on-time arrival. To this end, a heterogeneous data fusion method is proposed to estimate travel time distributions by fusing heterogeneous data from point and interval detectors. In the proposed method, link travel time distributions are first estimated from point detector observations. The travel time distributions of links without point detectors are imputed based on their spatial correlations with links that have point detectors. The estimated link travel time distributions are then fused with path travel time distributions obtained from the interval detectors using Dempster-Shafer evidence theory. Based on fused path travel time distribution, an optimization technique is further introduced to update link travel time distributions and their spatial correlations. A case study was performed using real-world data from Hong Kong and showed that the proposed method obtained accurate and robust estimations of link and path travel time distributions in congested road networks. PMID:29210978

Heterogeneous Data Fusion Method to Estimate Travel Time Distributions in Congested Road Networks.

PubMed

Shi, Chaoyang; Chen, Bi Yu; Lam, William H K; Li, Qingquan

2017-12-06

Travel times in congested urban road networks are highly stochastic. Provision of travel time distribution information, including both mean and variance, can be very useful for travelers to make reliable path choice decisions to ensure higher probability of on-time arrival. To this end, a heterogeneous data fusion method is proposed to estimate travel time distributions by fusing heterogeneous data from point and interval detectors. In the proposed method, link travel time distributions are first estimated from point detector observations. The travel time distributions of links without point detectors are imputed based on their spatial correlations with links that have point detectors. The estimated link travel time distributions are then fused with path travel time distributions obtained from the interval detectors using Dempster-Shafer evidence theory. Based on fused path travel time distribution, an optimization technique is further introduced to update link travel time distributions and their spatial correlations. A case study was performed using real-world data from Hong Kong and showed that the proposed method obtained accurate and robust estimations of link and path travel time distributions in congested road networks.

COMT val158met and 5-HTTLPR Genetic Polymorphisms Moderate Executive Control in Cannabis Users

PubMed Central

Verdejo-García, Antonio; Beatriz Fagundo, Ana; Cuenca, Aida; Rodriguez, Joan; Cuyás, Elisabet; Langohr, Klaus; de Sola Llopis, Susana; Civit, Ester; Farré, Magí; Peña-Casanova, Jordi; de la Torre, Rafael

2013-01-01

The adverse effects of cannabis use on executive functions are still controversial, fostering the need for novel biomarkers able to unveil individual differences in the cognitive impact of cannabis consumption. Two common genetic polymorphisms have been linked to the neuroadaptive impact of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure and to executive functions in animals: the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene val158met polymorphism and the SLC6A4 gene 5-HTTLPR polymorphism. We aimed to test if these polymorphisms moderate the harmful effects of cannabis use on executive function in young cannabis users. We recruited 144 participants: 86 cannabis users and 58 non-drug user controls. Both groups were genotyped and matched for genetic makeup, sex, age, education, and IQ. We used a computerized neuropsychological battery to assess different aspects of executive functions: sustained attention (CANTAB Rapid Visual Information Processing Test, RVIP), working memory (N-back), monitoring/shifting (CANTAB ID/ED set shifting), planning (CANTAB Stockings of Cambridge, SOC), and decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task, IGT). We used general linear model-based analyses to test performance differences between cannabis users and controls as a function of genotypes. We found that: (i) daily cannabis use is not associated with executive function deficits; and (ii) COMT val158met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms moderate the link between cannabis use and executive performance. Cannabis users carrying the COMT val/val genotype exhibited lower accuracy of sustained attention, associated with a more strict response bias, than val/val non-users. Cannabis users carrying the COMT val allele also committed more monitoring/shifting errors than cannabis users carrying the met/met genotype. Finally, cannabis users carrying the 5-HTTLPR s/s genotype had worse IGT performance than s/s non-users. COMT and SLC6A4 genes moderate the impact of cannabis use on executive functions. PMID:23449176

Knowledge-driven enhancements for task composition in bioinformatics.

PubMed

Sutherland, Karen; McLeod, Kenneth; Ferguson, Gus; Burger, Albert

2009-10-01

A key application area of semantic technologies is the fast-developing field of bioinformatics. Sealife was a project within this field with the aim of creating semantics-based web browsing capabilities for the Life Sciences. This includes meaningfully linking significant terms from the text of a web page to executable web services. It also involves the semantic mark-up of biological terms, linking them to biomedical ontologies, then discovering and executing services based on terms that interest the user. A system was produced which allows a user to identify terms of interest on a web page and subsequently connects these to a choice of web services which can make use of these inputs. Elements of Artificial Intelligence Planning build on this to present a choice of higher level goals, which can then be broken down to construct a workflow. An Argumentation System was implemented to evaluate the results produced by three different gene expression databases. An evaluation of these modules was carried out on users from a variety of backgrounds. Users with little knowledge of web services were able to achieve tasks that used several services in much less time than they would have taken to do this manually. The Argumentation System was also considered a useful resource and feedback was collected on the best way to present results. Overall the system represents a move forward in helping users to both construct workflows and analyse results by incorporating specific domain knowledge into the software. It also provides a mechanism by which web pages can be linked to web services. However, this work covers a specific domain and much co-ordinated effort is needed to make all web services available for use in such a way, i.e. the integration of underlying knowledge is a difficult but essential task.

Enrichment and Ranking of the YouTube Tag Space and Integration with the Linked Data Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhury, Smitashree; Breslin, John G.; Passant, Alexandre

The increase of personal digital cameras with video functionality and video-enabled camera phones has increased the amount of user-generated videos on the Web. People are spending more and more time viewing online videos as a major source of entertainment and "infotainment". Social websites allow users to assign shared free-form tags to user-generated multimedia resources, thus generating annotations for objects with a minimum amount of effort. Tagging allows communities to organise their multimedia items into browseable sets, but these tags may be poorly chosen and related tags may be omitted. Current techniques to retrieve, integrate and present this media to users are deficient and could do with improvement. In this paper, we describe a framework for semantic enrichment, ranking and integration of web video tags using Semantic Web technologies. Semantic enrichment of folksonomies can bridge the gap between the uncontrolled and flat structures typically found in user-generated content and structures provided by the Semantic Web. The enhancement of tag spaces with semantics has been accomplished through two major tasks: (1) a tag space expansion and ranking step; and (2) through concept matching and integration with the Linked Data cloud. We have explored social, temporal and spatial contexts to enrich and extend the existing tag space. The resulting semantic tag space is modelled via a local graph based on co-occurrence distances for ranking. A ranked tag list is mapped and integrated with the Linked Data cloud through the DBpedia resource repository. Multi-dimensional context filtering for tag expansion means that tag ranking is much easier and it provides less ambiguous tag to concept matching.

Recasting image of contraceptives.

PubMed

Rimon Jg; Kiragu, K

1993-03-01

Even though contraceptives are linked to sex which, along with sensuality and peer acceptance, is used to market consumer goods, contraceptives are promoted in a hygienic, clinical way. Glamorous images which divert from adverse health effects are used to sell unhealthy goods, e.g., alcohol and cigarettes, but technical and intimidating promotion techniques centering on risks are used to promote family planning (FP) products and services which actually save the lives of mothers and children and improve their health. Until recently, only the medical system provided FP products and services so consumers identified them with illness and a help-seeking behavior. The image of contraceptives must be remolded to gain people's attention. To avoid instilling mistrust of a method in consumers, even those who believe in birth spacing, it is important for images to be positive and to reflect accurate information. In Indonesia, the Dualima condom has been linked to responsible fatherhood thereby creating a positive image and removing the negative image of a condom being linked to illicit sex. In the US, condom adds show the user in control, especially in reference to AIDS. Prior to promotion of any contraceptive, complete, clear communication and marketing plans are needed to identify and to focus on consumers' perceived needs. A survey in Egypt shows that the most important attributes of a contraceptive are ease of use, healthiness, and effectiveness and that Egyptians considered IUDs to best fit these attributes. Images of contraceptive users often determine whether potential users do choose to use contraceptives. For example, in Cameroon and the Philippines, female users are considered to be smart, rich, educated, confident and in control of their lives. In the Philippines, male users are perceived to be loving, caring, and considerate husbands. The mass medias can improve providers' public image as was the case in Turkey and Egypt.

The links between healthy, problematic, and addicted Internet use regarding comorbidities and self-concept-related characteristics.

PubMed

Leménager, Tagrid; Hoffmann, Sabine; Dieter, Julia; Reinhard, Iris; Mann, Karl; Kiefer, Falk

2018-03-01

Background Addicted Internet users present with higher rates of comorbidities, e.g., attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depressive, and anxiety disorders. In addition, deficits in self-concept-related characteristics were found in addicted Internet gamers and social network users. The aim of this study was to examine the links between healthy, problematic, and addicted Internet use regarding comorbidities and self-concept-related characteristics. The association between recently developed ADHD-like symptoms without an underlying diagnosis and addictive Internet use was also examined. Methods n = 79 healthy controls, n = 35 problematic, and n = 93 addicted Internet users were assessed for comorbidities, social and emotional competencies, body image, self-esteem, and perceived stress. Apart from an ADHD-diagnosis, recently developed ADHD-like symptoms were also assessed. Results Addicted users showed more self-concept-related deficits and higher rates of comorbidities with ADHD, depressive, and anxiety disorders. Addicted and problematic users showed similarities in the prevalence of cluster B personality disorders and decreased levels of characteristics related to emotional intelligence. Participants with recently developed ADHD-like symptoms scored higher in lifetime and current severity of Internet use compared with those without ADHD symptoms. Addicted participants with recently developed ADHD symptoms showed higher lifetime Internet use severity compared with those without any symptoms. Conclusions Our findings indicate that cluster B personality disorders and premorbid problems in emotional intelligence might present a link between problematic and addictive Internet use. Furthermore, the findings provide a first indication that addictive Internet use is related to ADHD-like symptoms. Symptoms of ADHD should therefore be assessed against the background of possible addicted Internet use.

Proceedings: linking healthy forests and communities—successful strategies and future directions.

Treesearch

David L. Nicholls

2005-01-01

The Linking Healthy Forests and Communities conference brought together a diverse group representing government agencies, traditional forest users, landholders, scientists, and small enterprises and other businesses related to nontimber forest products. The purpose was to exchange information, encourage cooperation, and raise awareness of environmentally and...

RandomSpot: A web-based tool for systematic random sampling of virtual slides.

PubMed

Wright, Alexander I; Grabsch, Heike I; Treanor, Darren E

2015-01-01

This paper describes work presented at the Nordic Symposium on Digital Pathology 2014, Linköping, Sweden. Systematic random sampling (SRS) is a stereological tool, which provides a framework to quickly build an accurate estimation of the distribution of objects or classes within an image, whilst minimizing the number of observations required. RandomSpot is a web-based tool for SRS in stereology, which systematically places equidistant points within a given region of interest on a virtual slide. Each point can then be visually inspected by a pathologist in order to generate an unbiased sample of the distribution of classes within the tissue. Further measurements can then be derived from the distribution, such as the ratio of tumor to stroma. RandomSpot replicates the fundamental principle of traditional light microscope grid-shaped graticules, with the added benefits associated with virtual slides, such as facilitated collaboration and automated navigation between points. Once the sample points have been added to the region(s) of interest, users can download the annotations and view them locally using their virtual slide viewing software. Since its introduction, RandomSpot has been used extensively for international collaborative projects, clinical trials and independent research projects. So far, the system has been used to generate over 21,000 sample sets, and has been used to generate data for use in multiple publications, identifying significant new prognostic markers in colorectal, upper gastro-intestinal and breast cancer. Data generated using RandomSpot also has significant value for training image analysis algorithms using sample point coordinates and pathologist classifications.

The Use of Pro/Engineer CAD Software and Fishbowl Tool Kit in Ray-tracing Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nounu, Hatem N.; Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Ponomarev, Artem L.; Cucinotta, Francis A.

2009-01-01

This document is designed as a manual for a user who wants to operate the Pro/ENGINEER (ProE) Wildfire 3.0 with the NASA Space Radiation Program's (SRP) custom-designed Toolkit, called 'Fishbowl', for the ray tracing of complex spacecraft geometries given by a ProE CAD model. The analysis of spacecraft geometry through ray tracing is a vital part in the calculation of health risks from space radiation. Space radiation poses severe risks of cancer, degenerative diseases and acute radiation sickness during long-term exploration missions, and shielding optimization is an important component in the application of radiation risk models. Ray tracing is a technique in which 3-dimensional (3D) vehicle geometry can be represented as the input for the space radiation transport code and subsequent risk calculations. In ray tracing a certain number of rays (on the order of 1000) are used to calculate the equivalent thickness, say of aluminum, of the spacecraft geometry seen at a point of interest called the dose point. The rays originate at the dose point and terminate at a homogenously distributed set of points lying on a sphere that circumscribes the spacecraft and that has its center at the dose point. The distance a ray traverses in each material is converted to aluminum or other user-selected equivalent thickness. Then all equivalent thicknesses are summed up for each ray. Since each ray points to a direction, the aluminum equivalent of each ray represents the shielding that the geometry provides to the dose point from that particular direction. This manual will first list for the user the contact information for help in installing ProE and Fishbowl in addition to notes on the platform support and system requirements information. Second, the document will show the user how to use the software to ray trace a Pro/E-designed 3-D assembly and will serve later as a reference for troubleshooting. The user is assumed to have previous knowledge of ProE and CAD modeling.

Alternate-strand triple-helix formation by the 3'-3'-linked oligodeoxynucleotides with the intercalators at the junction point.

PubMed

Ueno, Y; Mikawa, M; Hoshika, S; Takeba, M; Kitade, Y; Matsuda, A

2001-01-01

3'-3'-Linked oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) with the anthraquinonyl group at the junction point were synthesized on a DNA synthesizer using a controlled pore glass (CPG), which has pentaerythritol carrying the intercalator at one of the four hydroxymethyl groups. Stability of the triplexes with the target duplexes was studied by thermal denaturation. The 3'-3'-linked ODNs with the anthraquinonyl group enhanced the thermal stability of the triplexes when compared with those without the intercalator and the unmodified nonamer. The inhibitory activity of the 3'-3'-linked ODNs against the cleavage of the target DNA by the restriction enzyme Hind III was tested. It was found that the 3'-3'-linked ODN with the anthraquinonyl group at the junction point inhibited the cleavage by the enzyme more effectively than the nonamer and the 3'-3'-linked ODN without the intercalator.

Transmission system for distribution of video over long-haul optical point-to-point links using a microwave photonic filter in the frequency range of 0.01-10 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaldívar Huerta, Ignacio E.; Pérez Montaña, Diego F.; Nava, Pablo Hernández; Juárez, Alejandro García; Asomoza, Jorge Rodríguez; Leal Cruz, Ana L.

2013-12-01

We experimentally demonstrate the use of an electro-optical transmission system for distribution of video over long-haul optical point-to-point links using a microwave photonic filter in the frequency range of 0.01-10 GHz. The frequency response of the microwave photonic filter consists of four band-pass windows centered at frequencies that can be tailored to the function of the spectral free range of the optical source, the chromatic dispersion parameter of the optical fiber used, as well as the length of the optical link. In particular, filtering effect is obtained by the interaction of an externally modulated multimode laser diode emitting at 1.5 μm associated to the length of a dispersive optical fiber. Filtered microwave signals are used as electrical carriers to transmit TV-signal over long-haul optical links point-to-point. Transmission of TV-signal coded on the microwave band-pass windows located at 4.62, 6.86, 4.0 and 6.0 GHz are achieved over optical links of 25.25 km and 28.25 km, respectively. Practical applications for this approach lie in the field of the FTTH access network for distribution of services as video, voice, and data.

Developing A Web-based User Interface for Semantic Information Retrieval

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berrios, Daniel C.; Keller, Richard M.

2003-01-01

While there are now a number of languages and frameworks that enable computer-based systems to search stored data semantically, the optimal design for effective user interfaces for such systems is still uncle ar. Such interfaces should mask unnecessary query detail from users, yet still allow them to build queries of arbitrary complexity without significant restrictions. We developed a user interface supporting s emantic query generation for Semanticorganizer, a tool used by scient ists and engineers at NASA to construct networks of knowledge and dat a. Through this interface users can select node types, node attribute s and node links to build ad-hoc semantic queries for searching the S emanticOrganizer network.

Applying n-bit floating point numbers and integers, and the n-bit filter of HDF5 to reduce file sizes of remote sensing products in memory-sensitive environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zinke, Stephan

2017-02-01

Memory sensitive applications for remote sensing data require memory-optimized data types in remote sensing products. Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5) offers user defined floating point numbers and integers and the n-bit filter to create data types optimized for memory consumption. The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) applies a compaction scheme to the disseminated products of the Day and Night Band (DNB) data of Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite's instrument Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) through the EUMETSAT Advanced Retransmission Service, converting the original 32 bits floating point numbers to user defined floating point numbers in combination with the n-bit filter for the radiance dataset of the product. The radiance dataset requires a floating point representation due to the high dynamic range of the DNB. A compression factor of 1.96 is reached by using an automatically determined exponent size and an 8 bits trailing significand and thus reducing the bandwidth requirements for dissemination. It is shown how the parameters needed for user defined floating point numbers are derived or determined automatically based on the data present in a product.

Growth Points in Linking Representations of Function: A Research-Based Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronda, Erlina

2015-01-01

This paper describes five growth points in linking representations of function developed from a study of secondary school learners. Framed within the cognitivist perspective and process-object conception of function, the growth points were identified and described based on linear and quadratic function tasks learners can do and their strategies…

Providing full point-to-point communications among compute nodes of an operational group in a global combining network of a parallel computer

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

Archer, Charles J.; Faraj, Daniel A.; Inglett, Todd A.

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for providing full point-to-point communications among compute nodes of an operational group in a global combining network of a parallel computer, each compute node connected to each adjacent compute node in the global combining network through a link, that include: receiving a network packet in a compute node, the network packet specifying a destination compute node; selecting, in dependence upon the destination compute node, at least one of the links for the compute node along which to forward the network packet toward the destination compute node; and forwarding the network packet along the selectedmore » link to the adjacent compute node connected to the compute node through the selected link.« less

75 FR 28035 - Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-19

..., Parent Company or Corporate Company, Name of Company Point of Contact (POC) for E-Verify Usage, POC Phone... information about user system usage. The information collected specifically on users includes: Name (last... improvement efforts and system enhancement planning, which may include conducting surveys, user interviews...

76 FR 61386 - Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-04

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda The Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, October...., Washington, DC. The Committee provides advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of...

78 FR 64023 - Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda The Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, November...., Washington, DC. The Committee provides advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of...

78 FR 17942 - Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-25

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda The Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday May 7..., DC. The Committee provides advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of data...

77 FR 20850 - Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-06

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda The Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday May 17..., DC. The Committee provides advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of data...

77 FR 59991 - Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-01

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting and Agenda The Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday November...., Washington, DC. The Committee provides advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of...

The Data Reliability of Volunteered Geographic Information with Using Traffic Accident Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sevinç, H. K.; Karaş, I. R.

2017-11-01

The development of mobile technologies is important in the lives of humans. Mobile devices constitute a great part of the daily lives of people. It has come to such a point that when people first wake up, they check their smart phones for the first thing. Users may share their positions with the GNSS sensors in mobile devices or they can add information about their positions in mobile applications. Users contribute to Geographical Information System with this sharing. These users consist of native (citizens) living in that geographical position not of the CBS specialists. Creating, collecting, sharing and disseminating the geographical data provided by voluntary individuals constitute the Volunteered Geographic Information System. The data in the Volunteered Geographic Information System are received from amateur users. "How reliable will the data received from amateur users instead of specialists of the field be in scientific terms?" In this study, the reliability between the data received from the voluntary users through Volunteered Geographic Information System and real data is investigated. The real data consist of the traffic accident coordinates. The data that will be received from users will be received through the speed values in the relevant coordinates and the marking of the users for possible accident points on the map.

A Privacy-Protecting Authentication Scheme for Roaming Services with Smart Cards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, Kyungho; Han, Dong-Guk; Won, Dongho

In this work we propose a novel smart card based privacy-protecting authentication scheme for roaming services. Our proposal achieves so-called Class 2 privacy protection, i.e., no information identifying a roaming user and also linking the user's behaviors is not revealed in a visited network. It can be used to overcome the inherent structural flaws of smart card based anonymous authentication schemes issued recently. As shown in our analysis, our scheme is computationally efficient for a mobile user.

Linked exploratory visualizations for uncertain MR spectroscopy data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, David; Kwock, Lester; Lee, Yueh; Taylor, Russell M., II

2010-01-01

We present a system for visualizing magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data sets. Using MRS, radiologists generate multiple 3D scalar fields of metabolite concentrations within the brain and compare them to anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. By understanding the relationship between metabolic makeup and anatomical structure, radiologists hope to better diagnose and treat tumors and lesions. Our system consists of three linked visualizations: a spatial glyph-based technique we call Scaled Data-Driven Spheres, a parallel coordinates visualization augmented to incorporate uncertainty in the data, and a slice plane for accurate data value extraction. The parallel coordinates visualization uses specialized brush interactions designed to help users identify nontrivial linear relationships between scalar fields. We describe two novel contributions to parallel coordinates visualizations: linear function brushing and new axis construction. Users have discovered significant relationships among metabolites and anatomy by linking interactions between the three visualizations.

Linked Exploratory Visualizations for Uncertain MR Spectroscopy Data

PubMed Central

Feng, David; Kwock, Lester; Lee, Yueh; Taylor, Russell M.

2010-01-01

We present a system for visualizing magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data sets. Using MRS, radiologists generate multiple 3D scalar fields of metabolite concentrations within the brain and compare them to anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. By understanding the relationship between metabolic makeup and anatomical structure, radiologists hope to better diagnose and treat tumors and lesions. Our system consists of three linked visualizations: a spatial glyph-based technique we call Scaled Data-Driven Spheres, a parallel coordinates visualization augmented to incorporate uncertainty in the data, and a slice plane for accurate data value extraction. The parallel coordinates visualization uses specialized brush interactions designed to help users identify nontrivial linear relationships between scalar fields. We describe two novel contributions to parallel coordinates visualizations: linear function brushing and new axis construction. Users have discovered significant relationships among metabolites and anatomy by linking interactions between the three visualizations. PMID:21152337

Compendium of Applications Technology Satellite user experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engler, N. A.; Strange, J. D.; Hein, G. F.

1976-01-01

The achievements of the user experiments performed with ATS satellites from 1967 to 1973 are summarized. Included are fixed and mobile point to point communications experiments involving voice, teletype and facsimile transmissions. Particular emphasis is given to the Alaska and Hawaii satellite communications experiments. The use of the ATS satellites for ranging and position fixing of ships and aircraft is also covered. The structure and operating characteristics of the various ATS satellite are briefly described.

Evaluating progressive-rendering algorithms in appearance design tasks.

PubMed

Jiawei Ou; Karlik, Ondrej; Křivánek, Jaroslav; Pellacini, Fabio

2013-01-01

Progressive rendering is becoming a popular alternative to precomputational approaches to appearance design. However, progressive algorithms create images exhibiting visual artifacts at early stages. A user study investigated these artifacts' effects on user performance in appearance design tasks. Novice and expert subjects performed lighting and material editing tasks with four algorithms: random path tracing, quasirandom path tracing, progressive photon mapping, and virtual-point-light rendering. Both the novices and experts strongly preferred path tracing to progressive photon mapping and virtual-point-light rendering. None of the participants preferred random path tracing to quasirandom path tracing or vice versa; the same situation held between progressive photon mapping and virtual-point-light rendering. The user workflow didn’t differ significantly with the four algorithms. The Web Extras include a video showing how four progressive-rendering algorithms converged (at http://youtu.be/ck-Gevl1e9s), the source code used, and other supplementary materials.

Pointing Device Performance in Steering Tasks.

PubMed

Senanayake, Ransalu; Goonetilleke, Ravindra S

2016-06-01

Use of touch-screen-based interactions is growing rapidly. Hence, knowing the maneuvering efficacy of touch screens relative to other pointing devices is of great importance in the context of graphical user interfaces. Movement time, accuracy, and user preferences of four pointing device settings were evaluated on a computer with 14 participants aged 20.1 ± 3.13 years. It was found that, depending on the difficulty of the task, the optimal settings differ for ballistic and visual control tasks. With a touch screen, resting the arm increased movement time for steering tasks. When both performance and comfort are considered, whether to use a mouse or a touch screen for person-computer interaction depends on the steering difficulty. Hence, a input device should be chosen based on the application, and should be optimized to match the graphical user interface. © The Author(s) 2016.

How Affiliation Disclosure and Control Over User-Generated Comments Affects Consumer Health Knowledge and Behavior: A Randomized Controlled Experiment of Pharmaceutical Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Social Media.

PubMed

DeAndrea, David Christopher; Vendemia, Megan Ashley

2016-07-19

More people are seeking health information online than ever before and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly marketing their drugs through social media. The aim was to examine two major concerns related to online direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising: (1) how disclosing an affiliation with a pharmaceutical company affects how people respond to drug information produced by both health organizations and online commenters, and (2) how knowledge that health organizations control the display of user-generated comments affects consumer health knowledge and behavior. We conducted a 2×2×2 between-subjects experiment (N=674). All participants viewed an infographic posted to Facebook by a health organization about a prescription allergy drug. Across conditions, the infographic varied in the degree to which the health organization and commenters appeared to be affiliated with a drug manufacturer, and the display of user-generated comments appeared to be controlled. Affiliation disclosure statements on a health organization's Facebook post increased perceptions of an organization-drug manufacturer connection, which reduced trust in the organization (point estimate -0.45, 95% CI -0.69 to -0.24) and other users who posted comments about the drug (point estimate -0.44, 95% CI -0.68 to -0.22). Furthermore, increased perceptions of an organization-manufacturer connection reduced the likelihood that people would recommend the drug to important others (point estimate -0.35, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.15), and share the drug post with others on Facebook (point estimate -0.37, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.16). An affiliation cue next to the commenters' names increased perceptions that the commenters were affiliated with the drug manufacturer, which reduced trust in the comments (point estimate -0.81, 95% CI -1.04 to -0.59), the organization that made the post (point estimate -0.68, 95% CI -0.90 to -0.49), the likelihood of participants recommending the drug (point estimate -0.61, 95% CI -0.82 to -0.43), and sharing the post with others on Facebook (point estimate -0.63, 95% CI -0.87 to -0.43). Cues indicating that a health organization removed user-generated comments from a post increased perceptions that the drug manufacturer influenced the display of the comments, which negatively affected trust in the comments (point estimate -0.35, 95% CI -0.53 to -0.20), the organization (point estimate -0.31, 95% CI -0.47 to -0.17), the likelihood of recommending the drug (point estimate -0.26, 95% CI -0.41 to -0.14), and the likelihood of sharing the post with others on Facebook (point estimate -0.28, 95% CI -0.45 to -0.15). (All estimates are unstandardized indirect effects and 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals.) Concern over pharmaceutical companies hiding their affiliations and strategically controlling user-generated comments is well founded; these practices can greatly affect not only how viewers evaluate drug information online, but also how likely they are to propagate the information throughout their online and offline social networks.

Foreign Language Teaching and the Computer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrett, Nina; Hart, Robert S.

1988-01-01

A review of the APPLE MACINTOSH-compatible software "Conjugate! Spanish," intended to drill Spanish verb forms, points out its strengths (error feedback, user manual, user interface, and feature control) and its weaknesses (pedagogical approach). (CB)

Linking Tests of English for Academic Purposes to the CEFR: The Score User's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Anthony

2018-01-01

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is widely used in setting language proficiency requirements, including for international students seeking access to university courses taught in English. When different language examinations have been related to the CEFR, the process is claimed to help score users, such as university…

Civic Participation among Seventh-Grade Social Studies Students in Multi-User Virtual Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zieger, Laura; Farber, Matthew

2012-01-01

Technological advances on the Internet now enable students to develop participation skills in virtual worlds. Similar to controlling a character in a video game, multi-user virtual environments, or MUVEs, allow participants to interact with others in synchronous, online settings. The authors of this study created a link between MUVEs and…

Linking Audio and Visual Information while Navigating in a Virtual Reality Kiosk Display

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Briana; Ware, Colin; Plumlee, Matthew

2006-01-01

3D interactive virtual reality museum exhibits should be easy to use, entertaining, and informative. If the interface is intuitive, it will allow the user more time to learn the educational content of the exhibit. This research deals with interface issues concerning activating audio descriptions of images in such exhibits while the user is…

Of What Benefit and to Whom? Linking Australian Humanities Research with Its "End Users"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitman, Tim; Berman, Judith E.

2009-01-01

There is increasing pressure for university researchers to secure "end-user" support for their research projects. Yet the ways in which this imperative affects humanities researchers, operating in a science-centric funding environment, have not yet been fully explored. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study into the…

Are Password Management Applications Viable? An Analysis of User Training and Reactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciampa, Mark

2011-01-01

Passwords have the distinction of being the most widely-used form of authentication--and the most vulnerable. With the dramatic increase today in the number of accounts that require passwords, overwhelmed users usually resort to creating weak passwords or reusing the same password for multiple accounts, thus making passwords the weakest link in…

Linking a Medical User Survey to Management for Library Effectiveness: II, A Checkland Soft Systems Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brember, V. L.

1985-01-01

Presents Checkland's soft systems methodology, discusses it in terms of the systems approach, and illustrates how it was used to relate evidence of user survey to practical problems of library management. Difficulties in using methodology are described and implications for library management and information science research are presented. (8…

Users Guide to VSMOKE-GIS for Workstations

Treesearch

Mary F. Harms; Leonidas G. Lavdas

1997-01-01

VSMOKE-GIS was developed to help prescribed burners in the national forests of the Southeastern United States visualize smoke dispersion and to plan prescribed burns. Developed for use on workstations, this decision-support system consists of a graphical user interface, written in Arc/Info Arc Macro Language, and is linked to a FORTRAN computer program. VSMOKE-GIS...

DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR AN ON-LINE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM. TECHNICAL REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LOWE, THOMAS C.

AREAS INVESTIGATED INCLUDE SLOW MEMORY DATA STORAGE, THE PROBLEM OF DECODING FROM AN INDEX TO A SLOW MEMORY ADDRESS, THE STRUCTURE OF DATA LISTS AND DATA LIST OPERATORS, COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE HUMAN USER AND THE SYSTEM, PROCESSING OF RETRIEVAL REQUESTS, AND THE USER'S CONTROL OVER THE RETURN OF INFORMATION RETRIEVED. LINEAR, LINKED AND…

Application of neogeographic tools for geochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhilin, Denis

2010-05-01

Neogeography is a usage of geographical tools for utilization by a non-expert group of users. It have been rapidly developing last ten years and is founded on (a) availability of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, that allows to obtain very precise geographical position (b) services, that allows linking geographical position with satellite images, GoogleEarth for example and (c) programs as GPS Track Maker or OziExplorer, that allows linking geographical coordinates with other raster images (for example, maps). However, the possibilities of neogeographic approach are much wider. It allows linking different parameters with geographical coordinates on the one hand and space image or map - on the other. If it is easy to measure a parameter, a great database could be collected for a very small time. The results can be presented in very different ways. One can plot a parameter versus the distance from a particular point (for example, a source of a substance), make two-dimension distribution of parameter of put the results onto a map or space image. In the case of chemical parameters it can help finding the source of pollution, trace the influence of pollution, reveal geochemical processes and patterns. The main advantage of neogeograpic approach is the employment of non-experts in collecting data. Now non-experts can easily measure electrical conductivity and pH of natural waters, concentration of different gases in the atmosphere, solar irradiation, radioactivity and so on. If the results are obtained (for example, by students of secondary schools) and shared, experts can proceed them and make significant conclusions. An interface of sharing the results (http://maps.sch192.ru/) was elaborated by V. Ilyin. Within the interface a user can load *.csv file with coordinates, type of parameter and the value of parameter in a particular point. The points are marked on the GoogleEarth map with the color corresponding the value of the parameter. The color scale can be edited manually. We would like to show some results of practical and scientific importance, obtained by non-experts. At 2006 our secondary school students investigated the distribution of snow salinity around Kosygina Street in Moscow. One can conclude that the distribution of salinity is reproducible and that the street influences the snow up to 150 meters. Another example obtained by our students is the distribution of electrical conductivity of swamp water showing extreme irregularity of this parameter within the small area (about 0.5x0.5 km) the electrical conductivity varied from 22 to 77 uS with no regularity. It points out the key role of local processes in swamp water chemistry. The third example (maps of electrical conductivity and pH of water on a large area) one can see at http://fenevo.narod.ru/maps/ec-maps.htm and http://fenevo.narod.ru/maps/ph-maps.htm. Basing on the map one can conclude mechanisms of formation of water mineralization in the area. Availability of GPS receivers and systems for easy measuring of chemical parameters can lead to neogeochemical revolution as GPS receivers have led to neogeographical. A great number of non-experts can share their geochemical results, forming huge amount of available geochemical data. It will help to falsify and visualize concepts of geochemistry and environmental chemistry and, maybe, develop new ones. Geophysical and biological data could be shared as well with the same advantages for corresponding sciences.

Linking Earth Observations and Models to Societal Information Needs: The Case of Coastal Flooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buzzanga, B. A.; Plag, H. P.

2016-12-01

Coastal flooding is expected to increase in many areas due to sea level rise (SLR). Many societal applications such as emergency planning and designing public services depend on information on how the flooding spectrum may change as a result of SLR. To identify the societal information needs a conceptual model is needed that identifies the key stakeholders, applications, and information and observation needs. In the context of the development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which is implemented by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the Socio-Economic and Environmental Information Needs Knowledge Base (SEE-IN KB) is developed as part of the GEOSS Knowledge Base. A core function of the SEE-IN KB is to facilitate the linkage of societal information needs to observations, models, information and knowledge. To achieve this, the SEE-IN KB collects information on objects such as user types, observational requirements, societal goals, models, and datasets. Comprehensive information concerning the interconnections between instances of these objects is used to capture the connectivity and to establish a conceptual model as a network of networks. The captured connectivity can be used in searches to allow users to discover products and services for their information needs, and providers to search for users and applications benefiting from their products. It also allows to answer "What if?" questions and supports knowledge creation. We have used the SEE-IN KB to develop a conceptual model capturing the stakeholders in coastal flooding and their information needs, and to link these elements to objects. We show how the knowledge base enables the transition of scientific data to useable information by connecting individuals such as city managers to flood maps. Within the knowledge base, these same users can request information that improves their ability to make specific planning decisions. These needs are linked to entities within research institutions that have the capabilities to meet them. Further, current research such as that investigating precipitation-induced flooding under different SLR scenarios is linked to the users who benefit from the knowledge, effectively creating a bi-directional channel between science and society that increases knowledge and improves foresight.

Earthdata 3.0: A Unified Experience and Platform for Earth Science Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plofchan, P.; McLaughlin, B. D.

2015-12-01

NASA's EOSDIS (Earth Observing System Data and Information System) as a multitude of websites and applications focused on serving the Earth Science community's extensive data needs. With no central user interface, theme, or mechanism for accessing that data, interrelated systems are confusing and potentially disruptive in users' searches for EOSDIS data holdings. In an effort to bring consistency across these systems, an effort was undertaken to develop Earthdata 3.0: a complete information architecture overhaul of the Earthdata website, a significant update to the Earthdata user experience and user interface, and an increased focus on searching across EOSDIS data holdings, including those housed and made available through DAAC websites. As part of this effort, and in a desire to unify the user experience across related websites, the Earthdata User Interface (EUI) was developed. The EUI is a collection of responsive design components and layouts geared toward creating websites and applications within the Earthdata ecosystem. Each component and layout has been designed specifically for Earth science-related projects which eliminates some of the complexities of building a website or application from the ground up. Its adoption will ensure both consistent markup and a unified look and feel for end users, thereby increasing usability and accessibility. Additionally, through the user of a Google Search Appliance, custom Clojure code, and in cooperation with DAACs, Earthdata 3.0 presents a variety of search results upon a user's keyword(s) entry. These results are not just textual links, but also direct links to downloadable datasets, visualizations of datasets and collections of data, and related articles and videos for further research. The end result of the development of the EUI and the enhanced multi-response type search is a consistent and usable platform for Earth scientists and users to navigate and locate data to further their research.

Improving data discovery and usability through commentary and user feedback: the CHARMe project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alegre, R.; Blower, J. D.

2014-12-01

Earth science datasets are highly diverse. Users of these datasets are similarly varied, ranging from research scientists through industrial users to government decision- and policy-makers. It is very important for these users to understand the applicability of any dataset to their particular problem so that they can select the most appropriate data sources for their needs. Although data providers often provide rich supporting information in the form of metadata, typically this information does not include community usage information that can help other users judge fitness-for-purpose.The CHARMe project (http://www.charme.org.uk) is filling this gap by developing a system for sharing "commentary metadata". These are annotations that are generated and shared by the user community and include: Links between publications and datasets. The CHARMe system can record information about why a particular dataset was used (e.g. the paper may describe the dataset, it may use the dataset as a source, or it may be publishing results of a dataset assessment). These publications may appear in the peer-reviewed literature, or may be technical reports, websites or blog posts. Free-text comments supplied by the user. Provenance information, including links between datasets and descriptions of processing algorithms and sensors. External events that may affect data quality (e.g. large volcanic eruptions or El Niño events); we call these "significant events". Data quality information, e.g. system maturity indices. Commentary information can be linked to anything that can be uniquely identified (e.g. a dataset with a DOI or a persistent web address). It is also possible to associate commentary with particular subsets of datasets, for example to highlight an issue that is confined to a particular geographic region. We will demonstrate tools that show these capabilities in action, showing how users can apply commentary information during data discovery, visualization and analysis. The CHARMe project has implemented a set of open-source tools to create, store and explore commentary information, using open Web standards. In this presentation we will describe the application of the CHARMe system to the particular case of the climate data community; however the techniques and technologies are generic and can be applied in many fields.

Optimization of infobutton design and Implementation: A systematic review.

PubMed

Teixeira, Miguel; Cook, David A; Heale, Bret S E; Del Fiol, Guilherme

2017-10-01

Infobuttons are clinical decision tools embedded in the electronic health record that attempt to link clinical data with context sensitive knowledge resources. We systematically reviewed technical approaches that contribute to improved infobutton design, implementation and functionality. We searched databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library database from inception to March 1, 2016 for studies describing the use of infobuttons. We selected full review comparative studies, usability studies, and qualitative studies examining infobutton design and implementation. We abstracted usability measures such as user satisfaction, impact, and efficiency, as well as prediction accuracy of infobutton content retrieval algorithms and infobutton adoption/interoperability. We found 82 original research studies on infobuttons. Twelve studies met criteria for detailed abstraction. These studies investigated infobutton interoperability (1 study); tools to help tailor infobutton functionality (1 study); interventions to improve user experience (7 studies); and interventions to improve content retrieval by improving prediction of relevant knowledge resources and information needs (3 studies). In-depth interviews with implementers showed the Health Level Seven (HL7) Infobutton standard to be simple and easy to implement. A usability study demonstrated the feasibility of a tool to help medical librarians tailor infobutton functionality. User experience studies showed that access to resources with which users are familiar increased user satisfaction ratings; and that links to specific subsections of drug monographs increased information seeking efficiency. However, none of the user experience improvements led to increased usage uptake. Recommender systems based on machine learning algorithms outperformed hand-crafted rules in the prediction of relevant resources and clinicians' information needs in a laboratory setting, but no studies were found using these techniques in clinical settings. Improved content indexing in one study led to improved content retrieval across three health care organizations. Best practice technical approaches to ensure optimal infobutton functionality, design and implementation remain understudied. The HL7 Infobutton standard has supported wide adoption of infobutton functionality among clinical information systems and knowledge resources. Limited evidence supports infobutton enhancements such as links to specific subtopics, configuration of optimal resources for specific tasks and users, and improved indexing and content coverage. Further research is needed to investigate user experience improvements to increase infobutton use and effectiveness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fiber optic reference frequency distribution to remote beam waveguide antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calhoun, Malcolm; Kuhnle, Paul; Law, Julius

1995-01-01

In the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network (DSN), radio science experiments (probing outer planet atmospheres, rings, gravitational waves, etc.) and very long-base interferometry (VLBI) require ultra-stable, low phase noise reference frequency signals at the user locations. Typical locations for radio science/VLBI exciters and down-converters are the cone areas of the 34 m high efficiency antennas or the 70 m antennas, located several hundred meters from the reference frequency standards. Over the past three years, fiber optic distribution links have replaced coaxial cable distribution for reference frequencies to these antenna sites. Optical fibers are the preferred medium for distribution because of their low attenuation, immunity to EMI/IWI, and temperature stability. A new network of Beam Waveguide (BWG) antennas presently under construction in the DSN requires hydrogen maser stability at tens of kilometers distance from the frequency standards central location. The topic of this paper is the design and implementation of an optical fiber distribution link which provides ultra-stable reference frequencies to users at a remote BWG antenna. The temperature profile from the earth's surface to a depth of six feet over a time period of six months was used to optimize the placement of the fiber optic cables. In-situ evaluation of the fiber optic link performance indicates Allan deviation on the order of parts in 10(exp -15) at 1000 and 10,000 seconds averaging time; thus, the link stability degradation due to environmental conditions still preserves hydrogen maser stability at the user locations. This paper reports on the implementation of optical fibers and electro-optic devices for distributing very stable, low phase noise reference signals to remote BWG antenna locations. Allan deviation and phase noise test results for a 16 km fiber optic distribution link are presented in the paper.

Fiber optic reference frequency distribution to remote beam waveguide antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calhoun, Malcolm; Kuhnle, Paul; Law, Julius

1995-05-01

In the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network (DSN), radio science experiments (probing outer planet atmospheres, rings, gravitational waves, etc.) and very long-base interferometry (VLBI) require ultra-stable, low phase noise reference frequency signals at the user locations. Typical locations for radio science/VLBI exciters and down-converters are the cone areas of the 34 m high efficiency antennas or the 70 m antennas, located several hundred meters from the reference frequency standards. Over the past three years, fiber optic distribution links have replaced coaxial cable distribution for reference frequencies to these antenna sites. Optical fibers are the preferred medium for distribution because of their low attenuation, immunity to EMI/IWI, and temperature stability. A new network of Beam Waveguide (BWG) antennas presently under construction in the DSN requires hydrogen maser stability at tens of kilometers distance from the frequency standards central location. The topic of this paper is the design and implementation of an optical fiber distribution link which provides ultra-stable reference frequencies to users at a remote BWG antenna. The temperature profile from the earth's surface to a depth of six feet over a time period of six months was used to optimize the placement of the fiber optic cables. In-situ evaluation of the fiber optic link performance indicates Allan deviation on the order of parts in 10(exp -15) at 1000 and 10,000 seconds averaging time; thus, the link stability degradation due to environmental conditions still preserves hydrogen maser stability at the user locations. This paper reports on the implementation of optical fibers and electro-optic devices for distributing very stable, low phase noise reference signals to remote BWG antenna locations. Allan deviation and phase noise test results for a 16 km fiber optic distribution link are presented in the paper.

Clinical benchmarking enabled by the digital health record.

PubMed

Ricciardi, T N; Masarie, F E; Middleton, B

2001-01-01

Office-based physicians are often ill equipped to report aggregate information about their patients and practice of medicine, since their practices have relied upon paper records for the management of clinical information. Physicians who do not have access to large-scale information technology support can now benefit from low-cost clinical documentation and reporting tools. We developed a hosted clinical data mart for users of a web-enabled charting tool, targeting the solo or small group practice. The system uses secure Java Server Pages with a dashboard-like menu to provide point-and-click access to simple reports such as case mix, medications, utilization, productivity, and patient demographics in its first release. The system automatically normalizes user-entered clinical terms to enhance the quality of structured data. Individual providers benefit from rapid patient identification for disease management, quality of care self-assessments, drug recalls, and compliance with clinical guidelines. The system provides knowledge integration by linking to trusted sources of online medical information in context. Information derived from the clinical record is clinically more accurate than billing data. Provider self-assessment and benchmarking empowers physicians, who may resent "being profiled" by external entities. In contrast to large-scale data warehouse projects, the current system delivers immediate value to individual physicians who choose an electronic clinical documentation tool.

The development of an artificial organic networks toolkit for LabVIEW.

PubMed

Ponce, Hiram; Ponce, Pedro; Molina, Arturo

2015-03-15

Two of the most challenging problems that scientists and researchers face when they want to experiment with new cutting-edge algorithms are the time-consuming for encoding and the difficulties for linking them with other technologies and devices. In that sense, this article introduces the artificial organic networks toolkit for LabVIEW™ (AON-TL) from the implementation point of view. The toolkit is based on the framework provided by the artificial organic networks technique, giving it the potential to add new algorithms in the future based on this technique. Moreover, the toolkit inherits both the rapid prototyping and the easy-to-use characteristics of the LabVIEW™ software (e.g., graphical programming, transparent usage of other softwares and devices, built-in programming event-driven for user interfaces), to make it simple for the end-user. In fact, the article describes the global architecture of the toolkit, with particular emphasis in the software implementation of the so-called artificial hydrocarbon networks algorithm. Lastly, the article includes two case studies for engineering purposes (i.e., sensor characterization) and chemistry applications (i.e., blood-brain barrier partitioning data model) to show the usage of the toolkit and the potential scalability of the artificial organic networks technique. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Developing a user-friendly Drought Monitoring and Forecasting Tool for Doctors without Borders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enenkel, Markus

2015-04-01

Humanitarian aid organizations that focus on drought-related emergency response and disaster preparedness need to take decisions under high uncertainty. Satellite-derived and modelled information can help to decrease this uncertainty. However, in order to benefit from the provided knowledge it is crucial to adapt datasets and tools to actual user requirements and existing organizational capacities. Furthermore, socio-economic vulnerabilities (e. g. current rates of malnutrition) and coping capacities (e. g. access to drought-resistant seeds) of the affected population need to be assessed to link environmental conditions (drought risk) to potential impacts (food insecurity). Forecasts with lead times up to several months are desirable from a logistic point of view, but naturally less accurate than short-term predictions. As a consequence, careful calibration is required to identify and balance forecasts with an acceptable accuracy and the risk of possible false alarms. Therefore, we calibrate modelled predictions of rainfall, temperature and soil moisture via satellite-derived observations. Field tests with Doctors without Borders in Ethiopia help to define critical thresholds, to interpret the information under real conditions and to collect the necessary additional socio-economic data via a smartphone app. The final risk maps need to be visualized in a way that is easy to interpret, but not oversimplified.

Controlling Capillary-Driven Fluid Transport in Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices Using a Movable Valve.

PubMed

Li, Bowei; Yu, Lijuan; Qi, Ji; Fu, Longwen; Zhang, Peiqing; Chen, Lingxin

2017-06-06

This paper describes a novel strategy for fabricating the movable valve on paper-based microfluidic devices to manipulate capillary-driven fluids. The movable valve fabrication is first realized using hollow rivets as the holding center to control the paper channel in different layer movement that results in the channel's connection or disconnection. The relatively simple valve fabrication procedure is robust, versatile, and compatible with microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) with differing levels of complexity. It is remarkable that the movable valve can be convenient and free to control fluid without the timing setting, advantages that make it user-friendly for untrained users to carry out the complex multistep operations. For the performance of the movable valve to be verified, several different designs of μPADs were tested and obtained with satisfactory results. In addition, in the proof-of-concept enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments, we demonstrate the use of these valves in μPADs for the successful analysis of samples of carcino-embryonic antigen, showing good sensitivity and reproducibility. We hope this technique will open new avenues for the fabrication of paper-based valves in an easily adoptable and widely available way on μPADs and provide potential point-of-care applications in the future.

Maximising the Highs and Minimising the Lows: Harm Reduction Guidance within Ecstasy Distribution Networks

PubMed Central

Duterte, Micheline; Sales, Paloma; Murphy, Sheigla

2008-01-01

Background Little is known about how users build and share knowledge concerning the highs and lows of Ecstasy and the role that Ecstasy sellers play in the exchange of this information. Methods These findings are based on a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded project, “An Exploratory Study of Ecstasy Distribution,” conducted between 2003 and 2006. We completed in-depth interviews with 120 men and women in the San Francisco Bay Area who had sold 5 or more doses 5 or more times in the 6 months prior to the interview. The research focused on buyer-seller relationships and the influence of these relationships on users’ health. Results Users constructed harm reduction strategies in attempts to maximise the Ecstasy high and minimise the risks. The social context of Ecstasy use allowed for the exchange of harm reduction information and advice on how to maximise the pleasurable aspects of Ecstasy. Some participants served as “guides” to ensure that their customers had safe and enjoyable experiences while using Ecstasy. Conclusion These findings suggest that Ecstasy sellers are important points of intervention for the dissemination of harm reduction information as friendship networks were the primary link in creating awareness of safer Ecstasy use. PMID:17964771

xiSPEC: web-based visualization, analysis and sharing of proteomics data.

PubMed

Kolbowski, Lars; Combe, Colin; Rappsilber, Juri

2018-05-08

We present xiSPEC, a standard compliant, next-generation web-based spectrum viewer for visualizing, analyzing and sharing mass spectrometry data. Peptide-spectrum matches from standard proteomics and cross-linking experiments are supported. xiSPEC is to date the only browser-based tool supporting the standardized file formats mzML and mzIdentML defined by the proteomics standards initiative. Users can either upload data directly or select files from the PRIDE data repository as input. xiSPEC allows users to save and share their datasets publicly or password protected for providing access to collaborators or readers and reviewers of manuscripts. The identification table features advanced interaction controls and spectra are presented in three interconnected views: (i) annotated mass spectrum, (ii) peptide sequence fragmentation key and (iii) quality control error plots of matched fragments. Highlighting or selecting data points in any view is represented in all other views. Views are interactive scalable vector graphic elements, which can be exported, e.g. for use in publication. xiSPEC allows for re-annotation of spectra for easy hypothesis testing by modifying input data. xiSPEC is freely accessible at http://spectrumviewer.org and the source code is openly available on https://github.com/Rappsilber-Laboratory/xiSPEC.

Generation of Micropatterned Substrates Using Micro Photopatterning

PubMed Central

Doyle, Andrew D.

2010-01-01

Micro photopatterning (µPP) has been developed to rapidly test and generate different patterns for extracellular matrix adsorption without being hindered with the process of making physical stamps through nanolithography techniques. It uses two-photon excitation guided through a point-scanning confocal microscope to locally photoablate poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA) thin films in user-defined computer-controlled patterns. PVA thin films are ideal for surface blocking, being hydrophilic substrates that deter protein adsorption and cell attachment. Because gold substrates are not used during µPP, all live-cell fluorescent imaging techniques including total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy of GFP–linked proteins can be performed with minimal loss of fluorescence signal. Furthermore, because µPP does not require physical stamps for pattern generation, multiple ECMs or other proteins can be localized within microns of each other. This unit details the setup of µPP as well as giving troubleshooting techniques. PMID:20013752

Data integration in biological research: an overview.

PubMed

Lapatas, Vasileios; Stefanidakis, Michalis; Jimenez, Rafael C; Via, Allegra; Schneider, Maria Victoria

2015-12-01

Data sharing, integration and annotation are essential to ensure the reproducibility of the analysis and interpretation of the experimental findings. Often these activities are perceived as a role that bioinformaticians and computer scientists have to take with no or little input from the experimental biologist. On the contrary, biological researchers, being the producers and often the end users of such data, have a big role in enabling biological data integration. The quality and usefulness of data integration depend on the existence and adoption of standards, shared formats, and mechanisms that are suitable for biological researchers to submit and annotate the data, so it can be easily searchable, conveniently linked and consequently used for further biological analysis and discovery. Here, we provide background on what is data integration from a computational science point of view, how it has been applied to biological research, which key aspects contributed to its success and future directions.

Optical deep space communication via relay satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gagliardi, R. M.; Vilnrotter, V. A.; Dolinar, S. J., Jr.

1981-01-01

The possible use of an optical for high rate data transmission from a deep space vehicle to an Earth-orbiting relay satellite while RF links are envisioned for the relay to Earth link was studied. A preliminary link analysis is presented for initial sizing of optical components and power levels, in terms of achievable data rates and feasible range distances. Modulation formats are restricted to pulsed laser operation, involving bot coded and uncoded schemes. The advantage of an optical link over present RF deep space link capabilities is shown. The problems of acquisition, pointing and tracking with narrow optical beams are presented and discussed. Mathematical models of beam trackers are derived, aiding in the design of such systems for minimizing beam pointing errors. The expected orbital geometry between spacecraft and relay satellite, and its impact on beam pointing dynamics are discussed.

'The waiting game': are current chlamydia and gonorrhoea near-patient/point-of-care tests acceptable to service users and will they impact on treatment?

PubMed

Atkinson, Lindsay M; Vijeratnam, Dayan; Mani, Reena; Patel, Raj

2016-07-01

The objective of this study was to assess the length of time service users were prepared to wait for chlamydia and gonorrhoea (CT/GC) near-patient/point-of-care test (NP-POCT) results and to determine the possible effect on management. Individuals attending two UK clinics from November 2013 to February 2014 were surveyed asking the maximum length of time they would wait for CT/GC NP-POCT results after consultation. Linked CT/GC prevalence and treatment rates were analysed. A total of 1817 participants were surveyed, and 1356 provided CT/GC NAAT samples, in which it was found that 115 (8.5%) could wait over 90 minutes in clinic for their result. 115 received treatment at consultation, of which 50 were CT/GC negative and 12 were treated for urethritis or cervicitis; 38 attended as CT/GC contacts. Six of this population would have waited over 90 minutes were NP-POCTs available. A total of 129 tested CT/GC positive, of whom 65 were treated at their consultation, 61 at a later date, and three were untreated. Twelve of these 129 patients would also have waited over 90 minutes for a NP-POCT result. We conclude that 90-minute NP-POCTs are not acceptable to most clinic attendees and would not have impacted on treatment rates or inappropriate prescribing, and 20-minute NP-POCTs show a marginal benefit in treating CT/GC. While NP-POCTs for CT/GC are promising, they must meet client expectations and enhance disease management in order to be accepted by patients and clinicians. © The Author(s) 2015.

Knowledge Maps for E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jae Hwa; Segev, Aviv

2012-01-01

Maps such as concept maps and knowledge maps are often used as learning materials. These maps have nodes and links, nodes as key concepts and links as relationships between key concepts. From a map, the user can recognize the important concepts and the relationships between them. To build concept or knowledge maps, domain experts are needed.…

Web-Based Knowledge Exchange through Social Links in the Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filipowski, Tomasz; Kazienko, Przemyslaw; Brodka, Piotr; Kajdanowicz, Tomasz

2012-01-01

Knowledge exchange between employees is an essential feature of recent commercial organisations on the competitive market. Based on the data gathered by various information technology (IT) systems, social links can be extracted and exploited in knowledge exchange systems of a new kind. Users of such a system ask their queries and the system…

Shared Semantics and the Use of Organizational Memories for E-Mail Communications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, David G.

1998-01-01

Examines the use of shared semantics information to link concepts in an organizational memory to e-mail communications. Presents a framework for determining shared semantics based on organizational and personal user profiles. Illustrates how shared semantics are used by the HyperMail system to help link organizational memories (OM) content to…

21 CFR 1311.55 - Requirements for systems used to process digitally signed orders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... system must use either a user identification and password combination or biometric authentication to... and any other records required in part 1305 of this chapter, including any linked data. (10) The...) A system used to receive, verify, and create linked records for orders signed with a CSOS digital...

Near Sun Free-Space Optical Communications from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biswas, Abhijit; Khatri, F.; Boroson, D.

2006-01-01

Free-space optical communications offers expanded data return capacity, from probes distributed throughout the solar system and beyond. Space-borne and Earth-based optical transceivers used for communicating optically, will periodically encounter near Sun pointing. This will result in an increase in the scattered background light flux, often contributing to degraded link performance. The varying duration of near Sun pointing link operations relative to the location of space-probes, is discussed in this paper. The impact of near Sun pointing on link performance for a direct detection photon-counting communications system is analyzed for both ground- and space-based Earth receivers. Finally, impact of near Sun pointing on spaceborne optical transceivers is discussed.

Virtual Labs (Science Gateways) as platforms for Free and Open Source Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lescinsky, David; Car, Nicholas; Fraser, Ryan; Friedrich, Carsten; Kemp, Carina; Squire, Geoffrey

2016-04-01

The Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement promotes community engagement in software development, as well as provides access to a range of sophisticated technologies that would be prohibitively expensive if obtained commercially. However, as geoinformatics and eResearch tools and services become more dispersed, it becomes more complicated to identify and interface between the many required components. Virtual Laboratories (VLs, also known as Science Gateways) simplify the management and coordination of these components by providing a platform linking many, if not all, of the steps in particular scientific processes. These enable scientists to focus on their science, rather than the underlying supporting technologies. We describe a modular, open source, VL infrastructure that can be reconfigured to create VLs for a wide range of disciplines. Development of this infrastructure has been led by CSIRO in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) with support from the National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (NeCTAR) and the Australian National Data Service (ANDS). Initially, the infrastructure was developed to support the Virtual Geophysical Laboratory (VGL), and has subsequently been repurposed to create the Virtual Hazards Impact and Risk Laboratory (VHIRL) and the reconfigured Australian National Virtual Geophysics Laboratory (ANVGL). During each step of development, new capabilities and services have been added and/or enhanced. We plan on continuing to follow this model using a shared, community code base. The VL platform facilitates transparent and reproducible science by providing access to both the data and methodologies used during scientific investigations. This is further enhanced by the ability to set up and run investigations using computational resources accessed through the VL. Data is accessed using registries pointing to catalogues within public data repositories (notably including the NCI National Environmental Research Data Interoperability Platform), or by uploading data directly from user supplied addresses or files. Similarly, scientific software is accessed through registries pointing to software repositories (e.g., GitHub). Runs are configured by using or modifying default templates designed by subject matter experts. After the appropriate computational resources are identified by the user, Virtual Machines (VMs) are spun up and jobs are submitted to service providers (currently the NeCTAR public cloud or Amazon Web Services). Following completion of the jobs the results can be reviewed and downloaded if desired. By providing a unified platform for science, the VL infrastructure enables sophisticated provenance capture and management. The source of input data (including both collection and queries), user information, software information (version and configuration details) and output information are all captured and managed as a VL resource which can be linked to output data sets. This provenance resource provides a mechanism for publication and citation for Free and Open Source Science.

Mechanical System Analysis/Design Tool (MSAT) Quick Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, HauHua; Kolb, Mark; Madelone, Jack

1998-01-01

MSAT is a unique multi-component multi-disciplinary tool that organizes design analysis tasks around object-oriented representations of configuration components, analysis programs and modules, and data transfer links between them. This creative modular architecture enables rapid generation of input stream for trade-off studies of various engine configurations. The data transfer links automatically transport output from one application as relevant input to the next application once the sequence is set up by the user. The computations are managed via constraint propagation - the constraints supplied by the user as part of any optimization module. The software can be used in the preliminary design stage as well as during the detail design of product development process.

GSFC network operations with Tracking and Data Relay Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spearing, R.; Perreten, D. E.

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) Network (TN) has been developed to provide services to all NASA User spacecraft in near-earth orbits. Three inter-relating entities will provide these services. The TN has been transformed from a network continuously changing to meet User specific requirements to a network which is flexible to meet future needs without significant changes in operational concepts. Attention is given to the evolution of the TN network, the TN capabilities-space segment, forward link services, tracking services, return link services, the three basic capabilities, single access services, multiple access services, simulation services, the White Sands Ground Terminal, the NASA communications network, and the network control center.

GSFC network operations with Tracking and Data Relay Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spearing, R.; Perreten, D. E.

1984-01-01

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) Network (TN) has been developed to provide services to all NASA User spacecraft in near-earth orbits. Three inter-relating entities will provide these services. The TN has been transformed from a network continuously changing to meet User specific requirements to a network which is flexible to meet future needs without significant changes in operational concepts. Attention is given to the evolution of the TN network, the TN capabilities-space segment, forward link services, tracking services, return link services, the three basic capabilities, single access services, multiple access services, simulation services, the White Sands Ground Terminal, the NASA communications network, and the network control center.

An automated smartphone-based diagnostic assay for point-of-care semen analysis

PubMed Central

Kanakasabapathy, Manoj Kumar; Sadasivam, Magesh; Singh, Anupriya; Preston, Collin; Thirumalaraju, Prudhvi; Venkataraman, Maanasa; Bormann, Charles L.; Draz, Mohamed Shehata; Petrozza, John C.; Shafiee, Hadi

2017-01-01

Male infertility affects up to 12% of the world’s male population and is linked to various environmental and medical conditions. Manual microscope-based testing and computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) are the current standard methods to diagnose male infertility; however, these methods are labor-intensive, expensive, and laboratory-based. Cultural and socially dominated stigma against male infertility testing hinders a large number of men from getting tested for infertility, especially in resource-limited African countries. We describe the development and clinical testing of an automated smartphone-based semen analyzer designed for quantitative measurement of sperm concentration and motility for point-of-care male infertility screening. Using a total of 350 clinical semen specimens at a fertility clinic, we have shown that our assay can analyze an unwashed, unprocessed liquefied semen sample with <5-s mean processing time and provide the user a semen quality evaluation based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines with ~98% accuracy. The work suggests that the integration of microfluidics, optical sensing accessories, and advances in consumer electronics, particularly smartphone capabilities, can make remote semen quality testing accessible to people in both developed and developing countries who have access to smartphones. PMID:28330865

Amplification-free point of care immunosensor for detecting type V collagen at a concentration level of ng/ml

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Pei-Yu; Bracho-Sanchez, Evelyn R.; Jiang, Peng; Seagrave, JeanClare; Duncan, Matthew R.; Grotendorst, Gary R.; Schultz, Gregory; Batich, Christopher

2011-06-01

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is applicable in the immediate vicinity of the patient, where timely diagnosis or prognostic information could help doctors decide the following treatment. Among types of developed POCT, gold nanoparticle based lateral flow strip technology provides advantages such as simple operation, cost-effectiveness, and a user-friendly platform. Therefore, this type of POCT is most likely to be used in battlefields and developing countries. However, conventional lateral flow strips suffer from low detection limits. Although enzyme-linked amplification was demonstrated to improve the detection limit and sensitivity by stronger visible lines or by permitting electrochemical analytical instrumentation, the enzyme labels have potential to cause interference with other enzymes in our body fluids. To eliminate this limitation, we developed an amplification-free gold nanoparticle-based immunosensor applied for detecting collagen type V, which is produced or released abnormally during rejection of lung transplants and sulfur mustard exposure. By using suitable blocking protein to stabilize gold nanoparticles as the reporter probe, a low detection limit of ng/ml was achieved. This strategy is a promising platform for clinical POCT, with potential applications in military or disaster response.

Exploratory Usability Testing of User Interface Options in LibGuides 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorngate, Sarah; Hoden, Allison

2017-01-01

Online research guides offer librarians a way to provide digital researchers with point-of-need support. If these guides are to support student learning well, it is critical that they provide an effective user experience. This article details the results of an exploratory comparison study that tested three key user interface options in LibGuides…

System Design and Cataloging Meet the User: User Interfaces to Online Public Access Catalogs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yee, Martha M.

1991-01-01

Discusses features of online public access catalogs: (1) demonstration of relationships between records; (2) provision of entry vocabularies; (3) arrangement of multiple entries on the screen; (4) provision of access points; (5) display of single records; and (6) division of catalogs into separate files or indexes. User studies and other research…

A hybrid BCI for enhanced control of a telepresence robot.

PubMed

Carlson, Tom; Tonin, Luca; Perdikis, Serafeim; Leeb, Robert; del R Millán, José

2013-01-01

Motor-disabled end users have successfully driven a telepresence robot in a complex environment using a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). However, to facilitate the interaction aspect that underpins the notion of telepresence, users must be able to voluntarily and reliably stop the robot at any moment, not just drive from point to point. In this work, we propose to exploit the user's residual muscular activity to provide a fast and reliable control channel, which can start/stop the telepresence robot at any moment. Our preliminary results show that not only does this hybrid approach increase the accuracy, but it also helps to reduce the workload and was the preferred control paradigm of all the participants.

Apollo: Giving application developers a single point of access to public health models using structured vocabularies and Web services

PubMed Central

Wagner, Michael M.; Levander, John D.; Brown, Shawn; Hogan, William R.; Millett, Nicholas; Hanna, Josh

2013-01-01

This paper describes the Apollo Web Services and Apollo-SV, its related ontology. The Apollo Web Services give an end-user application a single point of access to multiple epidemic simulators. An end user can specify an analytic problem—which we define as a configuration and a query of results—exactly once and submit it to multiple epidemic simulators. The end user represents the analytic problem using a standard syntax and vocabulary, not the native languages of the simulators. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this design by implementing a set of Apollo services that provide access to two epidemic simulators and two visualizer services. PMID:24551417

Apollo: giving application developers a single point of access to public health models using structured vocabularies and Web services.

PubMed

Wagner, Michael M; Levander, John D; Brown, Shawn; Hogan, William R; Millett, Nicholas; Hanna, Josh

2013-01-01

This paper describes the Apollo Web Services and Apollo-SV, its related ontology. The Apollo Web Services give an end-user application a single point of access to multiple epidemic simulators. An end user can specify an analytic problem-which we define as a configuration and a query of results-exactly once and submit it to multiple epidemic simulators. The end user represents the analytic problem using a standard syntax and vocabulary, not the native languages of the simulators. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this design by implementing a set of Apollo services that provide access to two epidemic simulators and two visualizer services.

A User’s Guide for LOGATAK. A Simulation Model to Analyze Logistic Network Distribution and Interdiction,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-04-15

BLANK ADD LINK DATA TO LIBRARY 0 DELETE LINK DATA FROM LIBRARY C CHANGE ONE OR MORE VARIABLES OF DEFINED LINK IN LIBARY 25 ALTERATIONST...DELETE TERMINAL DATA FROM LIBRARY C CHANGE ONE OR MORE VARIABLES OF OEFINED TERMINAL IN LIBARY Unlike link data only one card is needed to change the...sector data cards identify the sets of data to be selected from the data library. Each data set is defined by a five digit number. The first four digits

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

Kang, H; Padilla, L; Hasan, Y

Purpose: To develop a standalone application, which automatically and consistently calculates the coordinates of points A and H based solely on the implanted applicator geometry for cervical cancer HDR brachytherapy. Methods: Manchester point A and ABS point H are both located 2cm lateral from the central tandem plane. While both points are located 2cm above the cervical os, surrogates for the os differ. Point A is defined relative to the anatomical cervical os. Point H is defined relative to the intersection of the tandem with the superior aspects of the ovoids. The application takes an input text file generated bymore » the treatment planning system (TPS, BrachyVision, Varian) that specifies the source geometries. It then outputs the 3D coordinates of points A and H in both the left and right directions. The algorithm was implemented and tested on 34 CT scans of 7 patients treated with HDR brachytherapy delivered using tandem and ovoids. A single experienced user retrospectively and manually placed points A and H on the CT scans, whose coordinates were used as the gold standard for the comparison to the automatically calculated points. Results: The automatically calculated coordinates of points A and H agree within 0.7mm with the gold standard. The averages and standard deviations of the 3D coordinate difference between points placed by the two methods are 0.3±0.1 and 0.4±0.1mm for points A and H, respectively. The maximum difference in 3D magnitude is 0.7mm. Conclusion: The algorithm consistently calculates dose point coordinates independently of the planner for cervical cancer brachytherapy treated with tandem and ovoids. Automated point placement based on the geometry of the implanted applicators agrees in sub-millimeter with careful manual placements by an experienced user. This algorithm expedites the planning process and eliminates dependencies on either user input or TPS visualization tools.« less

Use of CCSDS and OSI Protocols on the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chirieleison, Don

1996-01-01

Although ACTS (Advanced Communications Technology Satellite) provides an almost error-free channel during much of the day and under most conditions, there are times when it is not suitable for reliably error-free data communications when operating in the uncoded mode. Because coded operation is not always available to every earth station, measures must be taken in the end system to maintain adequate throughput when transferring data under adverse conditions. The most effective approach that we tested to improve performance was the addition of an 'outer' Reed-Solomon code through use of CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) GOS 2 (a forward error correcting code). This addition can benefit all users of an ACTS channel including those applications that do not require totally reliable transport, but it is somewhat expensive because additional hardware is needed. Although we could not characterize the link noise statistically (it appeared to resemble uncorrelated white noise, the type that block codes are least effective in correcting), we did find that CCSDS GOS 2 gave an essentially error-free link at BER's (bit error rate) as high as 6x10(exp -4). For users that demand reliable transport, an ARQ (Automatic Repeat Queuing) protocol such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or TP4 (Transport Protocol, Class 4) will probably be used. In this category, it comes as no surprise that the best choice of the protocol suites tested over ACTS was TP4 using CCSDS GOS 2. TP4 behaves very well over an error-free link which GOS 2 provides up to a point. Without forward error correction, however, TP4 service begins to degrade in the 10(exp -7)-10(exp -6) range and by 4x10(exp -6), it barely gives any throughput at all. If Congestion Avoidance is used in TP4, the degradation is even more pronounced. Fortunately, as demonstrated here, this effect can be more than compensated for by choosing the Selective Acknowledgment option. In fact, this option can enable TP4 to deliver some throughput at error rates as high as 10(exp -5).

Social Media Use among United Kingdom Vascular Surgeons: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Cochrane, Andrew R; McDonald, James J; Brady, Richard R W

2016-05-01

Engagement with social media (SM) is increasing within the general population and medical professionals. Overall, SM engagement is divided between closed, private networks and open, public platforms, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. As engagement with SM is known to vary between specialties, this study was undertaken to evaluate the uptake of SM among vascular surgeons and to describe user demographics associated with SM engagement. Vascular surgeons were identified from the 2013 Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland Quality Improvement Project and cross-referenced with the General Medical Council registry. Identified individual surgeons were manually searched for on common SM platforms and via Google to identify both SM profiles and personal/partnership practice websites. In total, 472 surgeons (442 men, 93.6%) from 112 National Health Service Trusts were identified. Three hundred forty (63.7%) graduated from UK universities with a mean graduating year of 1987 (range 1969-2000). Cumulatively, they performed 36,300 procedures (mean 72/surgeon; range 3-257). Overall, SM engagement was 47.4%; 217 (46.0%) had LinkedIn accounts and 23 (4.8%) had Twitter profiles. LinkedIn users had a mean of 69 connections (range 0-500+) and had a mean graduating year of 1988 (range 1969-2000). Twitter users had a mean of 258 followers (range 2-2424) and had tweeted a mean of 450 times (range 0-2865); they graduated more recently than their non-Twitter engaged colleagues (mean graduation 1991 vs. 1987, P = 0.006). Overall, SM usage was associated with a more recent graduation (P = 0.038) and with working in the private sector (21.4% vs. 13.7%, P = 0.029). There were demographic differences between those who had LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. Twitter and LinkedIn engagement among vascular surgeons is higher than that of other surgical specialties. There is a significant link between the experience of the surgeon and with SM use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Drug user organizations in the Nordic countries--local, national, and international dimensions.

PubMed

Frank, Vibeke Asmussen; Anker, Jørgen; Tammi, Tuukka

2012-04-01

The article focuses on drug user organizations that represent and advocate for active "hard drug" users in the Nordic countries. It discusses the opportunities and challenges that these organizations face in their search for legitimacy and political influence. The comparative perspective points at similarities and differences in national contexts that both support and challenges the existence of drug user organizations, including drug policy, social welfare policy, trends in drug use, and organizational conditions. The article also discusses the importance of international network and transnational organizations that support drug user organizations.

Malaria rapid diagnostic test as point-of-care test: study protocol for evaluating the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan.

PubMed

Kim, Saorin; Nhem, Sina; Dourng, Dany; Ménard, Didier

2015-03-14

Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are generally considered as point-of-care tests. However, most of the studies assessing the performance of malaria RDTs are conducted by research teams that are not representative of the classical end-users, who are typically unskilled in traditional laboratory techniques for diagnosing malaria. To evaluate the performance of a malaria RDT by end-users in a malaria-endemic area, a study protocol was designed and the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan test, previously evaluated in 2013, was re-evaluated by representative end-users. Twenty end-users with four different profiles in seven communes in Kampot Province (Cambodia) were selected. A set of 20 calibrated aliquots, including negative samples, low positive samples (200 parasites/μL of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax) and high positive samples (2,000 parasites/μL of P. falciparum and P. vivax) was used. Testing was performed directly by the end-users without any practical training on the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan kit. All results obtained by the end-users were consistent with the expected results, except for the low positive (200 parasites/μL) P. vivax aliquot (35% of concordant results). No significant difference was observed between the different end-users. End-user interviews evaluating ease-of-use and ease-of-reading of the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan kit recorded 159 positive answers and only one negative answer. Out of 20 end-users, only one considered the test was not easy to perform with the support of the quick guide. The data presented in this study clearly demonstrate that the performance of the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan test when performed by traditional end-users in field conditions is similar to that obtained by a research team and that this RDT can be considered as a point-of-care tool/assay. Furthermore, the protocol designed for this study could be used systematically in parallel to conventional evaluation studies to determine the performance of malaria RDTs in field conditions.

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

This software is a plug-in that interfaces between the Phoenix Integration's Model Center and the Base SAS 9.2 applications. The end use of the plug-in is to link input and output data that resides in SAS tables or MS SQL to and from "legacy" software programs without recoding. The potential end users are users who need to run legacy code and want data stored in a SQL database.

Semantically Enhanced Topic Modeling and Its Applications in Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Lifan

2013-01-01

As we witness the prosperity of the social media in the past few years, and feel the explosion of "user-generated content" on the Internet, there is little question that we have entered an era of Big Data. Those social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora and Twitter have been important sources for a wide spectrum of users.…

Apple OS X VPN Set Up | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov Websites

software using that conf file and your UserID Start the connection using your password plus the 6-digit OTP . Configure the Client Software Start the Endian Connect App (It should have installed into Applications in an password" link, and add your UserID. Start the app, and begin configuring the connection by clicking

More than just tracking time: Complex measures of user engagement with an internet-based health promotion intervention.

PubMed

Baltierra, Nina B; Muessig, Kathryn E; Pike, Emily C; LeGrand, Sara; Bull, Sheana S; Hightow-Weidman, Lisa B

2016-02-01

There has been a rise in internet-based health interventions without a concomitant focus on new methods to measure user engagement and its effect on outcomes. We describe current user tracking methods for internet-based health interventions and offer suggestions for improvement based on the design and pilot testing of healthMpowerment.org (HMP). HMP is a multi-component online intervention for young Black men and transgender women who have sex with men (YBMSM/TW) to reduce risky sexual behaviors, promote healthy living and build social support. The intervention is non-directive, incorporates interactive features, and utilizes a point-based reward system. Fifteen YBMSM/TW (age 20-30) participated in a one-month pilot study to test the usability and efficacy of HMP. Engagement with the intervention was tracked using a customized data capture system and validated with Google Analytics. Usage was measured in time spent (total and across sections) and points earned. Average total time spent on HMP was five hours per person (range 0-13). Total time spent was correlated with total points earned and overall site satisfaction. Measuring engagement in internet-based interventions is crucial to determining efficacy. Multiple methods of tracking helped derive more comprehensive user profiles. Results highlighted the limitations of measures to capture user activity and the elusiveness of the concept of engagement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Guiding Users to Sea Level Change Data Through Content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quach, N.; Abercrombie, S. P.; Boening, C.; Brennan, H. P.; Gill, K. M.; Greguska, F. R., III; Huang, T.; Jackson, R.; Larour, E. Y.; Shaftel, H.; Tenenbaum, L. F.; Zlotnicki, V.; Boeck, A.; Moore, B.; Moore, J.

2017-12-01

The NASA Sea Level Change Portal (https://sealevel.nasa.gov) is an immersive and innovative web portal for sea level change research that addresses the needs of diverse audiences, from scientists across disparate disciplines to the general public to policy makers and businesses. Since sea level change research involves vast amounts of data from multiple fields, it becomes increasingly important to come up with novel and effective ways to guide users to the data they need. News articles published on the portal contains links to relevant data. The Missions section highlights missions and projects as well as provide a logical grouping of the data. Tools available on the portal, such as the Data Analysis Tool, a data visualization and high-performance environment for sea level analysis, and the Virtual Earth System Laboratory, a 3D simulation application, describes and links to the source data. With over 30K Facebook followers and over 23K Twitter follower, the portal outreach team also leverages social media to guide users to relevant data. This presentation focuses on how the portal uses news articles, mission and project pages, tools, and social media to connect users to the data.

Coherence transfer of subhertz-linewidth laser light via an optical fiber noise compensated by remote users.

PubMed

Wu, Lifei; Jiang, Yanyi; Ma, Chaoqun; Yu, Hongfu; Bi, Zhiyi; Ma, Longsheng

2016-09-15

We present a technique for the coherence transfer of laser light through a fiber link, where the optical phase noise induced by environmental perturbation via the fiber link is compensated by remote users. When compensating the fiber noise by remote users, the time base at the remote site independent from that at the local site does not destroy the performance of the fiber output light. Using this technique, we demonstrate the transfer of subhertz-linewidth laser light through a 25-km-long, lab-based spooled fiber. After being compensated, the relative linewidth between the fiber input and output light is 1 mHz, and the relative frequency instability is 4×10^-17 at 1 s averaging time and scales down to 2×10^-19 at 800 s averaging time. The frequency uncertainty of the light after transferring through the fiber relative to that of the input light is 3.0×10^-19. This system is suitable for the simultaneous transfer of an optical signal to a number of end users within a city.

The effects of time delays on a telepathology user interface.

PubMed Central

Carr, D.; Hasegawa, H.; Lemmon, D.; Plaisant, C.

1992-01-01

Telepathology enables a pathologist to examine physically distant tissue samples by microscope operation over a communication link. Communication links can impose time delays which cause difficulties in controlling the remote device. Such difficulties were found in a microscope teleoperation system. Since the user interface is critical to pathologist's acceptance of telepathology, we redesigned the user interface for this system, built two different versions (a keypad whose movement commands operated by specifying a start command followed by a stop command and a trackball interface whose movement commands were incremental and directly proportional to the rotation of the trackball). We then conducted a pilot study to determine the effect of time delays on the new user interfaces. In our experiment, the keypad was the faster interface when the time delay is short. There was no evidence to favor either the keypad or trackball when the time delay was longer. Inexperienced participants benefitted by allowing them to move long distances over the microscope slide by dragging the field-of-view indicator on the touchscreen control panel. The experiment suggests that changes could be made to the trackball interface which would improve its performance. PMID:1482878

Circling motion and screen edges as an alternative input method for on-screen target manipulation.

PubMed

Ka, Hyun W; Simpson, Richard C

2017-04-01

To investigate a new alternative interaction method, called circling interface, for manipulating on-screen objects. To specify a target, the user makes a circling motion around the target. To specify a desired pointing command with the circling interface, each edge of the screen is used. The user selects a command before circling the target. To evaluate the circling interface, we conducted an experiment with 16 participants, comparing the performance on pointing tasks with different combinations of selection method (circling interface, physical mouse and dwelling interface) and input device (normal computer mouse, head pointer and joystick mouse emulator). A circling interface is compatible with many types of pointing devices, not requiring physical activation of mouse buttons, and is more efficient than dwell-clicking. Across all common pointing operations, the circling interface had a tendency to produce faster performance with a head-mounted mouse emulator than with a joystick mouse. The performance accuracy of the circling interface outperformed the dwelling interface. It was demonstrated that the circling interface has the potential as another alternative pointing method for selecting and manipulating objects in a graphical user interface. Implications for Rehabilitation A circling interface will improve clinical practice by providing an alternative pointing method that does not require physically activating mouse buttons and is more efficient than dwell-clicking. The Circling interface can also work with AAC devices.

Enhancement of the NMSU Channel Error Simulator to Provide User-Selectable Link Delays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horan, Stephen; Wang, Ru-Hai

2000-01-01

This is the third in a continuing series of reports describing the development of the Space-to-Ground Link Simulator (SGLS) to be used for testing data transfers under simulated space channel conditions. The SGLS is based upon Virtual Instrument (VI) software techniques for managing the error generation, link data rate configuration, and, now, selection of the link delay value. In this report we detail the changes that needed to be made to the SGLS VI configuration to permit link delays to be added to the basic error generation and link data rate control capabilities. This was accomplished by modifying the rate-splitting VIs to include a buffer the hold the incoming data for the duration selected by the user to emulate the channel link delay. In sample tests of this configuration, the TCP/IP(sub ftp) service and the SCPS(sub fp) service were used to transmit 10-KB data files using both symmetric (both forward and return links set to 115200 bps) and unsymmetric (forward link set at 2400 bps and a return link set at 115200 bps) link configurations. Transmission times were recorded at bit error rates of 0 through 10(exp -5) to give an indication of the link performance. In these tests. we noted separate timings for the protocol setup time to initiate the file transfer and the variation in the actual file transfer time caused by channel errors. Both protocols showed similar performance to that seen earlier for the symmetric and unsymmetric channels. This time, the delays in establishing the file protocol also showed that these delays could double the transmission time and need to be accounted for in mission planning. Both protocols also showed a difficulty in transmitting large data files over large link delays. In these tests, there was no clear favorite between the TCP/IP(sub ftp) and the SCPS(sub fp). Based upon these tests, further testing is recommended to extend the results to different file transfer configurations.

Subtypes of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cannabis use.

PubMed

Loflin, Mallory; Earleywine, Mitch; De Leo, Joseph; Hobkirk, Andrea

2014-03-01

The current study examined the association between subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cannabis use within a sample of 2811 current users. Data were collected in 2012 from a national U.S. survey of cannabis users. A series of logistic regression equations and chi-squares were assessed for proportional differences between users. When asked about the ADHD symptoms they have experienced when not using cannabis, a higher proportion of daily users met symptom criteria for an ADHD diagnoses of the subtypes that include hyperactive-impulsive symptoms than the inattentive subtype. For nondaily users, the proportions of users meeting symptom criteria did not differ by subtype. These results have implications for identifying which individuals with ADHD might be more likely to self-medicate using cannabis. Furthermore, these findings indirectly support research linking relevant cannabinoid receptors to regulatory control.

Spatio-Temporal Pattern Mining on Trajectory Data Using Arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoshahval, S.; Farnaghi, M.; Taleai, M.

2017-09-01

Preliminary mobile was considered to be a device to make human connections easier. But today the consumption of this device has been evolved to a platform for gaming, web surfing and GPS-enabled application capabilities. Embedding GPS in handheld devices, altered them to significant trajectory data gathering facilities. Raw GPS trajectory data is a series of points which contains hidden information. For revealing hidden information in traces, trajectory data analysis is needed. One of the most beneficial concealed information in trajectory data is user activity patterns. In each pattern, there are multiple stops and moves which identifies users visited places and tasks. This paper proposes an approach to discover user daily activity patterns from GPS trajectories using association rules. Finding user patterns needs extraction of user's visited places from stops and moves of GPS trajectories. In order to locate stops and moves, we have implemented a place recognition algorithm. After extraction of visited points an advanced association rule mining algorithm, called Apriori was used to extract user activity patterns. This study outlined that there are useful patterns in each trajectory that can be emerged from raw GPS data using association rule mining techniques in order to find out about multiple users' behaviour in a system and can be utilized in various location-based applications.

An interactive program to display user-generated or file-based maps on a personal computer monitor

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langer, W.H.; Stephens, R.W.

1987-01-01

PC MAP-MAKER is an ADVANCED BASIC program written to provide users of IBM XT, IBM AT, and compatible computers with a straight-forward, flexible method to display geographical data on a color or monochrome PC (personal computer) monitor. Data can be political boundaries such as State and county boundaries; natural curvilinear features such as rivers, drainage areas, and geological contacts; and points such as well locations and mineral localities. Essentially any point defined by a latitude and longitude and any line defined by a series of latitude and longitude values can be displayed using the program. PC MAP MAKER allows users to view tabular data from U.S. Geological Survey files such as WATSTORE (National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System) in a map format in a time much shorter than required by sending the data to a line plotter. The screen image can be saved to disk for recall at a later date, and hard copies can be printed with a dot matrix printer. The program is user-friendly, using menus or prompts to guide user input. It is fully documented and structured to allow the user to tailor the program to the user 's specific needs. The documentation includes a tutorial designed to introduce users to the capabilities of the program using the State of Colorado as a demonstration map area. (Author 's abstract)

US HealthLink: a national information resource for health care professionals.

PubMed

Yasnoff, W A

1992-06-01

US HealthLink is a new, comprehensive online medical information system designed specifically for health care professionals. Available to individuals for a fixed fee, it includes literature, news, diagnostic decision support, drug interactions, electronic mail, and bulletin boards. It also provides user-specific current awareness via clipping service, and fax delivery of both clipping and electronic mail information. US HealthLink can now be utilized to access a wide variety of medical information sources inexpensively.

Mechanistic experimental pain assessment in computer users with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain.

PubMed

Ge, Hong-You; Vangsgaard, Steffen; Omland, Øyvind; Madeleine, Pascal; Arendt-Nielsen, Lars

2014-12-06

Musculoskeletal pain from the upper extremity and shoulder region is commonly reported by computer users. However, the functional status of central pain mechanisms, i.e., central sensitization and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), has not been investigated in this population. The aim was to evaluate sensitization and CPM in computer users with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) mapping in the neck-shoulder (15 points) and the elbow (12 points) was assessed together with PPT measurement at mid-point in the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle among 47 computer users with chronic pain in the upper extremity and/or neck-shoulder pain (pain group) and 17 pain-free computer users (control group). Induced pain intensities and profiles over time were recorded using a 0-10 cm electronic visual analogue scale (VAS) in response to different levels of pressure stimuli on the forearm with a new technique of dynamic pressure algometry. The efficiency of CPM was assessed using cuff-induced pain as conditioning pain stimulus and PPT at TA as test stimulus. The demographics, job seniority and number of working hours/week using a computer were similar between groups. The PPTs measured at all 15 points in the neck-shoulder region were not significantly different between groups. There were no significant differences between groups neither in PPTs nor pain intensity induced by dynamic pressure algometry. No significant difference in PPT was observed in TA between groups. During CPM, a significant increase in PPT at TA was observed in both groups (P < 0.05) without significant differences between groups. For the chronic pain group, higher clinical pain intensity, lower PPT values from the neck-shoulder and higher pain intensity evoked by the roller were all correlated with less efficient descending pain modulation (P < 0.05). This suggests that the excitability of the central pain system is normal in a large group of computer users with low pain intensity chronic upper extremity and/or neck-shoulder pain and that increased excitability of the pain system cannot explain the reported pain. However, computer users with higher pain intensity and lower PPTs were found to have decreased efficiency in descending pain modulation.

A design of real time image capturing and processing system using Texas Instrument's processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Toon-Joo; Chaisorn, Lekha; Rahardja, Susanto; Gan, Woon-Seng

2007-09-01

In this work, we developed and implemented an image capturing and processing system that equipped with capability of capturing images from an input video in real time. The input video can be a video from a PC, video camcorder or DVD player. We developed two modes of operation in the system. In the first mode, an input image from the PC is processed on the processing board (development platform with a digital signal processor) and is displayed on the PC. In the second mode, current captured image from the video camcorder (or from DVD player) is processed on the board but is displayed on the LCD monitor. The major difference between our system and other existing conventional systems is that image-processing functions are performed on the board instead of the PC (so that the functions can be used for further developments on the board). The user can control the operations of the board through the Graphic User Interface (GUI) provided on the PC. In order to have a smooth image data transfer between the PC and the board, we employed Real Time Data Transfer (RTDX TM) technology to create a link between them. For image processing functions, we developed three main groups of function: (1) Point Processing; (2) Filtering and; (3) 'Others'. Point Processing includes rotation, negation and mirroring. Filter category provides median, adaptive, smooth and sharpen filtering in the time domain. In 'Others' category, auto-contrast adjustment, edge detection, segmentation and sepia color are provided, these functions either add effect on the image or enhance the image. We have developed and implemented our system using C/C# programming language on TMS320DM642 (or DM642) board from Texas Instruments (TI). The system was showcased in College of Engineering (CoE) exhibition 2006 at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and have more than 40 users tried our system. It is demonstrated that our system is adequate for real time image capturing. Our system can be used or applied for applications such as medical imaging, video surveillance, etc.

Topographic mapping data semantics through data conversion and enhancement: Chapter 7

USGS Publications Warehouse

Varanka, Dalia; Carter, Jonathan; Usery, E. Lynn; Shoberg, Thomas; Edited by Ashish, Naveen; Sheth, Amit P.

2011-01-01

This paper presents research on the semantics of topographic data for triples and ontologies to blend the capabilities of the Semantic Web and The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey. Automated conversion of relational topographic data of several geographic sample areas to the triple data model standard resulted in relatively poor semantic associations. Further research employed vocabularies of feature type and spatial relation terms. A user interface was designed to model the capture of non-standard terms relevant to public users and to map those terms to existing data models of The National Map through the use of ontology. Server access for the study area triple stores was made publicly available, illustrating how the development of linked data may transform institutional policies to open government data resources to the public. This paper presents these data conversion and research techniques that were tested as open linked data concepts leveraged through a user-centered interface and open USGS server access to the public.

Network information security in a phase III Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS).

PubMed

Shea, S; Sengupta, S; Crosswell, A; Clayton, P D

1992-01-01

The developing Integrated Academic Information System (IAIMS) at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center provides data sharing links between two separate corporate entities, namely Columbia University Medical School and The Presbyterian Hospital, using a network-based architecture. Multiple database servers with heterogeneous user authentication protocols are linked to this network. "One-stop information shopping" implies one log-on procedure per session, not separate log-on and log-off procedures for each server or application used during a session. These circumstances provide challenges at the policy and technical levels to data security at the network level and insuring smooth information access for end users of these network-based services. Five activities being conducted as part of our security project are described: (1) policy development; (2) an authentication server for the network; (3) Kerberos as a tool for providing mutual authentication, encryption, and time stamping of authentication messages; (4) a prototype interface using Kerberos services to authenticate users accessing a network database server; and (5) a Kerberized electronic signature.

Personalized recommendation via an improved NBI algorithm and user influence model in a Microblog network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lian, Jie; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Zhen-jiang; Gui, Chang-ni

2013-10-01

Bipartite network based recommendations have attracted extensive attentions in recent years. Differing from traditional object-oriented recommendations, the recommendation in a Microblog network has two crucial differences. One is high authority users or one’s special friends usually play a very active role in tweet-oriented recommendation. The other is that the object in a Microblog network corresponds to a set of tweets on same topic instead of an actual and single entity, e.g. goods or movies in traditional networks. Thus repeat recommendations of the tweets in one’s collected topics are indispensable. Therefore, this paper improves network based inference (NBI) algorithm by original link matrix and link weight on resource allocation processes. This paper finally proposes the Microblog recommendation model based on the factors of improved network based inference and user influence model. Adjusting the weights of these two factors could generate the best recommendation results in algorithm accuracy and recommendation personalization.

A Comparison between Users and Non-Users of Devereux's Safe and Positive Approaches Training Curricula in the Reduction of Injury and Restraint

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Megan; Maher, Catherine; Dorrell, Mandi; Pitcher, Christianna; Henderson, Lorrie

2009-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of Devereux's Safe and Positive Approaches training curricula (SPA) in the reduction of injury and restraint. Several data points were collected including utilization rates of restrictive interventions, number of youth injuries, number of staff injuries, and whether the program/organization is a user or…

Link Analysis in the Mission Planning Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCarthy, Jessica A.; Cervantes, Benjamin W.; Daugherty, Sarah C.; Arroyo, Felipe; Mago, Divyang

2011-01-01

The legacy communications link analysis software currently used at Wallops Flight Facility involves processes that are different for command destruct, radar, and telemetry. There is a clear advantage to developing an easy-to-use tool that combines all the processes in one application. Link Analysis in the Mission Planning Lab (MPL) uses custom software and algorithms integrated with Analytical Graphics Inc. Satellite Toolkit (AGI STK). The MPL link analysis tool uses pre/post-mission data to conduct a dynamic link analysis between ground assets and the launch vehicle. Just as the legacy methods do, the MPL link analysis tool calculates signal strength and signal- to-noise according to the accepted processes for command destruct, radar, and telemetry assets. Graphs and other custom data are generated rapidly in formats for reports and presentations. STK is used for analysis as well as to depict plume angles and antenna gain patterns in 3D. The MPL has developed two interfaces with the STK software (see figure). The first interface is an HTML utility, which was developed in Visual Basic to enhance analysis for plume modeling and to offer a more user friendly, flexible tool. A graphical user interface (GUI) written in MATLAB (see figure upper right-hand corner) is also used to quickly depict link budget information for multiple ground assets. This new method yields a dramatic decrease in the time it takes to provide launch managers with the required link budgets to make critical pre-mission decisions. The software code used for these two custom utilities is a product of NASA's MPL.

User's Guide for the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation (C-MAPSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frederick, Dean K.; DeCastro, Jonathan A.; Litt, Jonathan S.

2007-01-01

This report is a Users Guide for the NASA-developed Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation (C-MAPSS) software, which is a transient simulation of a large commercial turbofan engine (up to 90,000-lb thrust) with a realistic engine control system. The software supports easy access to health, control, and engine parameters through a graphical user interface (GUI). C-MAPSS provides the user with a graphical turbofan engine simulation environment in which advanced algorithms can be implemented and tested. C-MAPSS can run user-specified transient simulations, and it can generate state-space linear models of the nonlinear engine model at an operating point. The code has a number of GUI screens that allow point-and-click operation, and have editable fields for user-specified input. The software includes an atmospheric model which allows simulation of engine operation at altitudes from sea level to 40,000 ft, Mach numbers from 0 to 0.90, and ambient temperatures from -60 to 103 F. The package also includes a power-management system that allows the engine to be operated over a wide range of thrust levels throughout the full range of flight conditions.

A novel device for head gesture measurement system in combination with eye-controlled human machine interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chern-Sheng; Ho, Chien-Wa; Chang, Kai-Chieh; Hung, San-Shan; Shei, Hung-Jung; Yeh, Mau-Shiun

2006-06-01

This study describes the design and combination of an eye-controlled and a head-controlled human-machine interface system. This system is a highly effective human-machine interface, detecting head movement by changing positions and numbers of light sources on the head. When the users utilize the head-mounted display to browse a computer screen, the system will catch the images of the user's eyes with CCD cameras, which can also measure the angle and position of the light sources. In the eye-tracking system, the program in the computer will locate each center point of the pupils in the images, and record the information on moving traces and pupil diameters. In the head gesture measurement system, the user wears a double-source eyeglass frame, so the system catches images of the user's head by using a CCD camera in front of the user. The computer program will locate the center point of the head, transferring it to the screen coordinates, and then the user can control the cursor by head motions. We combine the eye-controlled and head-controlled human-machine interface system for the virtual reality applications.

South African mental health care service user views on priorities for supporting recovery: implications for policy and service development.

PubMed

Kleintjes, Sharon; Lund, Crick; Swartz, Leslie

2012-01-01

The paper documents the views of South African mental health care service users on policy directions and service developments that are required to support their recovery. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with forty service users and service user advocates. A framework analysis approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. Service user priorities included addressing stigma, discrimination and disempowerment, and the links between mental health and poverty. They suggested that these challenges be addressed through public awareness campaigns, legislative and policy reform for rights protection, development of a national lobby to advocate for changes, and user empowerment. Users suggested that empowerment can be facilitated through opportunities for improved social relatedness and equitable access to social and economic resources. This study suggests three strategies to bridge the gap between mental health care service users rights and needs on one hand, and unsupportive attitudes, policies and practices on the other. These are: giving priority to service user involvement in policy and service reform, creating empathic alliances to promote user priorities, and building enabling partnerships to effect these priorities.

Substance Use and Depression Symptomatology: Measurement Invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) among Non-Users and Frequent-Users of Alcohol, Nicotine and Cannabis.

PubMed

Moore, Ashlee A; Neale, Michael C; Silberg, Judy L; Verhulst, Brad

2016-01-01

Depression is a highly heterogeneous condition, and identifying how symptoms present in various groups may greatly increase our understanding of its etiology. Importantly, Major Depressive Disorder is strongly linked with Substance Use Disorders, which may ameliorate or exacerbate specific depression symptoms. It is therefore quite plausible that depression may present with different symptom profiles depending on an individual's substance use status. Given these observations, it is important to examine the underlying construct of depression in groups of substance users compared to non-users. In this study we use a non-clinical sample to examine the measurement structure of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in non-users and frequent-users of various substances. Specifically, measurement invariance was examined across those who do vs. do not use alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis. Results indicate strict factorial invariance across non-users and frequent-users of alcohol and cannabis, and metric invariance across non-users and frequent-users of nicotine. This implies that the factor structure of the BDI-II is similar across all substance use groups.

FEDIX: The on-line database retrieval service of government information for colleges, universities, and other organizations. User`s guide, Version 4.0/Release 2.1

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

Not Available

FEDIX is an on-line information service that links the higher education community and the federal government to facilitate research, education, and services. The system provides accurate, timely federal agency information to colleges, universities, and other research organizations. There are no registration fees or access charges. Participating agencies include DOE, FAA, NASA, ONR, AFOSR, NSF, NSA, DOE, DOEd, HUD, and AID. This guide is intended to help users access and utilize FEDIX.

mHealth in the Wild: Using Novel Data to Examine the Reach, Use, and Impact of PTSD Coach.

PubMed

Owen, Jason E; Jaworski, Beth K; Kuhn, Eric; Makin-Byrd, Kerry N; Ramsey, Kelly M; Hoffman, Julia E

2015-01-01

A majority of Americans (58%) now use smartphones, making it possible for mobile mental health apps to reach large numbers of those who are living with untreated, or under-treated, mental health symptoms. Although early trials suggest positive effects for mobile health (mHealth) interventions, little is known about the potential public health impact of mobile mental health apps. The purpose of this study was to characterize reach, use, and impact of "PTSD Coach", a free, broadly disseminated mental health app for managing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Using a mixed-methods approach, aggregate mobile analytics data from 153,834 downloads of PTSD Coach were analyzed in conjunction with 156 user reviews. Over 60% of users engaged with PTSD Coach on multiple occasions (mean=6.3 sessions). User reviews reflected gratitude for the availability of the app and being able to use the app specifically during moments of need. PTSD Coach users reported relatively high levels of trauma symptoms (mean PTSD Checklist Score=57.2, SD=15.7). For users who chose to use a symptom management tool, distress declined significantly for both first-time users (mean=1.6 points, SD=2.6 on the 10-point distress thermometer) and return-visit users (mean=2.0, SD=2.3). Analysis of app session data identified common points of attrition, with only 80% of first-time users reaching the app's home screen and 37% accessing one of the app's primary content areas. These findings suggest that PTSD Coach has achieved substantial and sustained reach in the population, is being used as intended, and has been favorably received. PTSD Coach is a unique platform for the delivery of mobile mental health education and treatment, and continuing evaluation and improvement of the app could further strengthen its public health impact.

Smartphone app uses loyalty point incentives and push notifications to encourage influenza vaccine uptake.

PubMed

Dale, Leila Pfaeffli; White, Lauren; Mitchell, Marc; Faulkner, Guy

2018-04-23

Carrot Rewards is a free, incentive-based, smartphone health app available in participating provinces in Canada. One feature of Carrot was designed to incentivize influenza vaccine education messages and encourage vaccine uptake for users in the province of British Columbia. This study aimed to evaluate the uptake of the Carrot Flu Campaign educational quiz and to determine if mobile "push" notifications, plus loyalty point incentives, resulted in users visiting a sponsored pharmacy to discuss and receive the influenza vaccine. The Carrot Flu Campaign delivered an in-app quiz, educating users on the importance of the influenza vaccine. Push notifications were then sent to users when they came within 200 m of a sponsored pharmacy. Those who visited the pharmacy collected bonus points and completed a follow up quiz tracking influenza vaccine behaviour. A sub-sample of users completed the Flu Campaign between their baseline and follow up Health Risk Assessment (HRA), a survey which asked about influenza vaccine uptake behaviour. Descriptive statistics were summarized. A total of 38.1% (30,538/80,228) registered Carrot users completed the Flu Campaign quiz. Of those in participating cities (n = 21,469), 41% clicked on the map to show the nearest sponsored pharmacy and 78% enabled their smartphone's "locations" feature, allowing them to receive the push notifications. A small number of users spoke to a pharmacist (n = 96) and less than half reported receiving the influenza vaccine (38/96; 39.6%). From the HRA sub-sample (n = 3693), approximately 5% more users reported receiving the influenza vaccine during the 2017 influenza season compared to the previous year. Carrot Rewards used a novel delivery method to educate the general population and showed geolocation could be used to facilitate influenza vaccine uptake. Future iterations could tailor content to target those most at risk and should consider more robust evaluation methods to determine the app's effectiveness. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

mHealth in the Wild: Using Novel Data to Examine the Reach, Use, and Impact of PTSD Coach

PubMed Central

Jaworski, Beth K; Kuhn, Eric; Makin-Byrd, Kerry N; Ramsey, Kelly M; Hoffman, Julia E

2015-01-01

Background A majority of Americans (58%) now use smartphones, making it possible for mobile mental health apps to reach large numbers of those who are living with untreated, or under-treated, mental health symptoms. Although early trials suggest positive effects for mobile health (mHealth) interventions, little is known about the potential public health impact of mobile mental health apps. Objective The purpose of this study was to characterize reach, use, and impact of “PTSD Coach”, a free, broadly disseminated mental health app for managing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Methods Using a mixed-methods approach, aggregate mobile analytics data from 153,834 downloads of PTSD Coach were analyzed in conjunction with 156 user reviews. Results Over 60% of users engaged with PTSD Coach on multiple occasions (mean=6.3 sessions). User reviews reflected gratitude for the availability of the app and being able to use the app specifically during moments of need. PTSD Coach users reported relatively high levels of trauma symptoms (mean PTSD Checklist Score=57.2, SD=15.7). For users who chose to use a symptom management tool, distress declined significantly for both first-time users (mean=1.6 points, SD=2.6 on the 10-point distress thermometer) and return-visit users (mean=2.0, SD=2.3). Analysis of app session data identified common points of attrition, with only 80% of first-time users reaching the app’s home screen and 37% accessing one of the app’s primary content areas. Conclusions These findings suggest that PTSD Coach has achieved substantial and sustained reach in the population, is being used as intended, and has been favorably received. PTSD Coach is a unique platform for the delivery of mobile mental health education and treatment, and continuing evaluation and improvement of the app could further strengthen its public health impact. PMID:26543913

How Affiliation Disclosure and Control Over User-Generated Comments Affects Consumer Health Knowledge and Behavior: A Randomized Controlled Experiment of Pharmaceutical Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Social Media

PubMed Central

Vendemia, Megan Ashley

2016-01-01

Background More people are seeking health information online than ever before and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly marketing their drugs through social media. Objective The aim was to examine two major concerns related to online direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising: (1) how disclosing an affiliation with a pharmaceutical company affects how people respond to drug information produced by both health organizations and online commenters, and (2) how knowledge that health organizations control the display of user-generated comments affects consumer health knowledge and behavior. Methods We conducted a 2×2×2 between-subjects experiment (N=674). All participants viewed an infographic posted to Facebook by a health organization about a prescription allergy drug. Across conditions, the infographic varied in the degree to which the health organization and commenters appeared to be affiliated with a drug manufacturer, and the display of user-generated comments appeared to be controlled. Results Affiliation disclosure statements on a health organization’s Facebook post increased perceptions of an organization-drug manufacturer connection, which reduced trust in the organization (point estimate –0.45, 95% CI –0.69 to –0.24) and other users who posted comments about the drug (point estimate –0.44, 95% CI –0.68 to –0.22). Furthermore, increased perceptions of an organization-manufacturer connection reduced the likelihood that people would recommend the drug to important others (point estimate –0.35, 95% CI –0.59 to –0.15), and share the drug post with others on Facebook (point estimate –0.37, 95% CI –0.64 to –0.16). An affiliation cue next to the commenters' names increased perceptions that the commenters were affiliated with the drug manufacturer, which reduced trust in the comments (point estimate –0.81, 95% CI –1.04 to –0.59), the organization that made the post (point estimate –0.68, 95% CI –0.90 to –0.49), the likelihood of participants recommending the drug (point estimate –0.61, 95% CI –0.82 to –0.43), and sharing the post with others on Facebook (point estimate –0.63, 95% CI –0.87 to –0.43). Cues indicating that a health organization removed user-generated comments from a post increased perceptions that the drug manufacturer influenced the display of the comments, which negatively affected trust in the comments (point estimate –0.35, 95% CI –0.53 to –0.20), the organization (point estimate –0.31, 95% CI –0.47 to –0.17), the likelihood of recommending the drug (point estimate –0.26, 95% CI –0.41 to –0.14), and the likelihood of sharing the post with others on Facebook (point estimate –0.28, 95% CI –0.45 to –0.15). (All estimates are unstandardized indirect effects and 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals.) Conclusions Concern over pharmaceutical companies hiding their affiliations and strategically controlling user-generated comments is well founded; these practices can greatly affect not only how viewers evaluate drug information online, but also how likely they are to propagate the information throughout their online and offline social networks. PMID:27435883

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Science.gov Websites

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Turbulence mitigation scheme based on multiple-user detection in an orbital-angular-momentum multiplexed system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Li; Wang, Le; Zhao, Sheng-Mei; Chen, Han-Wu

2016-11-01

Atmospheric turbulence (AT) induced crosstalk can significantly impair the performance of a free-space optical (FSO) communication link using orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing. In this paper, we propose a multiple-user detection (MUD) turbulence mitigation scheme in an OAM-multiplexed FSO communication link. First, we present a MUD equivalent communication model for an OAM-multiplexed FSO communication link under AT. In the equivalent model, each input bit stream represents one user’s information. The deformed OAM spatial modes caused by AT, instead of the pure OAM spatial modes, are used as information carriers, and the overlapping between the deformed OAM spatial modes are computed as the correlation coefficients between the users. Then, we present a turbulence mitigation scheme based on MUD idea to enhance AT tolerance of the OAM-multiplexed FSO communication link. In the proposed scheme, the crosstalk caused by AT is used as a useful component to deduce users’ information. The numerical results show that the performance of the OAM-multiplexed communication link has greatly improved by the proposed scheme. When the turbulence strength is 1 × 10-15 m-2/3, the transmission distance is 1000 m and the channel signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 26 dB, the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of four spatial multiplexed OAM modes lm = +1,+2,+3,+4 are all close to 10-5, and there is a 2-3 fold increase in the BER performance in comparison with those results without the proposed scheme. In addition, the proposed scheme is more effective for an OAM-multiplexed FSO communication link with a larger OAM mode topological charge interval. The proposed scheme is a promising direction for compensating the interference caused by AT in the OAM-multiplexed FSO communication link. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61271238 and 61475075), the Open Research Fund of Key Lab of Broadband Wireless Communication and Sensor Network Technology, Ministry of Education, China (Grant No. NYKL2015011), the Postgraduate Innovation Research Plan of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. CXZZ13_0489), and the University Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. 16KJB510037).

JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images (J-EDI) Realizes a Virtual Journey to the Earth's Unexplored Deep Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, T.; Azuma, S.; Matsuda, S.; Nagayama, A.; Ogido, M.; Saito, H.; Hanafusa, Y.

2016-12-01

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) archives a large amount of deep-sea research videos and photos obtained by JAMSTEC's research submersibles and vehicles with cameras. The web site "JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images : J-EDI" (http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/jedi/e/) has made videos and photos available to the public via the Internet since 2011. Users can search for target videos and photos by keywords, easy-to-understand icons, and dive information at J-EDI because operating staffs classify videos and photos as to contents, e.g. living organism and geological environment, and add comments to them.Dive survey data including videos and photos are not only valiant academically but also helpful for education and outreach activities. With the aim of the improvement of visibility for broader communities, we added new functions of 3-dimensional display synchronized various dive survey data with videos in this year.New Functions Users can search for dive survey data by 3D maps with plotted dive points using the WebGL virtual map engine "Cesium". By selecting a dive point, users can watch deep-sea videos and photos and associated environmental data, e.g. water temperature, salinity, rock and biological sample photos, obtained by the dive survey. Users can browse a dive track visualized in 3D virtual spaces using the WebGL JavaScript library. By synchronizing this virtual dive track with videos, users can watch deep-sea videos recorded at a point on a dive track. Users can play an animation which a submersible-shaped polygon automatically traces a 3D virtual dive track and displays of dive survey data are synchronized with tracing a dive track. Users can directly refer to additional information of other JAMSTEC data sites such as marine biodiversity database, marine biological sample database, rock sample database, and cruise and dive information database, on each page which a 3D virtual dive track is displayed. A 3D visualization of a dive track makes users experience a virtual dive survey. In addition, by synchronizing a virtual dive track with videos, it is easy to understand living organisms and geological environments of a dive point. Therefore, these functions will visually support understanding of deep-sea environments in lectures and educational activities.

The PulsePoint Respond mobile device application to crowdsource basic life support for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Challenges for optimal implementation.

PubMed

Brooks, Steven C; Simmons, Graydon; Worthington, Heather; Bobrow, Bentley J; Morrison, Laurie J

2016-01-01

PulsePoint Respond is a novel mobile device application that notifies citizens within 400 m (∼ 1/4 mile) of a suspected cardiac arrest to facilitate resuscitation. Our objectives were to (1) characterize users, and (2) understand their behavior after being sent a notification. We sought to identify challenges for optimal implementation of PulsePoint-mediated bystander resuscitation. PulsePoint Respond users who sent a notification between 04/07/2012 and 06/16/2014 were invited to participate in an online survey. At the beginning of our study, PulsePoint Respond was active in more than 600 US communities. There were 1274 completed surveys (response rate 1448/6777, 21.4%). Respondents were firefighters (28%), paramedics (18%), emergency medical technicians (9%), nurses (7%), MDs (1%), other health care professionals (12%), and non-health care professionals (42%). Of those who received a PulsePoint notification, only 23% (189/813) responded to the PulsePoint notification. Of those who responded, 28% (52/187) did not arrive on scene. Of those who did arrive on scene, only 32% (44/135) found a person unconscious and not breathing normally. Of those who arrived on scene prior to emergency medical services and found a cardiac arrest victim, 79% (11/14) performed bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Challenges for optimal implementation of PulsePoint Respond include technical aspects of the notifications (audio volume, precision of location information), excessive activation radii, insufficient user density in the community, and suboptimal cardiac arrest notification specificity. PulsePoint Respond has the potential to improve the community response to cardiac arrest, with 80% of responders attempting basic life support when they found a cardiac arrest victim prior to EMS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

User Interface Considerations for Collecting Data at the Point of Care in the Tablet PC Computing Environment

PubMed Central

Silvey, Garry M.; Lobach, David F.; Macri, Jennifer M.; Hunt, Megan; Kacmaz, Roje O.; Lee, Paul P.

2006-01-01

Collecting clinical data directly from clinicians is a challenge. Many standard development environments designed to expedite the creation of user interfaces for electronic healthcare applications do not provide acceptable components for satisfying the requirements for collecting and displaying clinical data at the point of care on the tablet computer. Through an iterative design and testing approach using think-aloud sessions in the eye care setting, we were able to identify and resolve several user interface issues. Issues that we discovered and subsequently resolved included checkboxes that were too small to be selectable with a stylus, radio buttons that could not be unselected, and font sizes that were too small to be read at arm’s length. PMID:17238715

Age differences in search of web pages: the effects of link size, link number, and clutter.

PubMed

Grahame, Michael; Laberge, Jason; Scialfa, Charles T

2004-01-01

Reaction time, eye movements, and errors were measured during visual search of Web pages to determine age-related differences in performance as a function of link size, link number, link location, and clutter. Participants (15 young adults, M = 23 years; 14 older adults, M = 57 years) searched Web pages for target links that varied from trial to trial. During one half of the trials, links were enlarged from 10-point to 12-point font. Target location was distributed among the left, center, and bottom portions of the screen. Clutter was manipulated according to the percentage of used space, including graphics and text, and the number of potentially distracting nontarget links was varied. Increased link size improved performance, whereas increased clutter and links hampered search, especially for older adults. Results also showed that links located in the left region of the page were found most easily. Actual or potential applications of this research include Web site design to increase usability, particularly for older adults.

Linking the pharmacological content of ecstasy tablets to the subjective experiences of drug users.

PubMed

Brunt, Tibor M; Koeter, Maarten W; Niesink, Raymond J M; van den Brink, Wim

2012-04-01

Most studies on the subjective effects of ecstasy are based on the assumption that the substance that was taken is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). However, many tablets sold as ecstasy contain other substances and MDMA in varying doses. So far, few attempts have been made to take this into account while assessing subjective effects. This study aims to link the pharmacological content of tablets sold as ecstasy to the subjective experiences reported by ecstasy users. Self-reported effects on ecstasy tablets were available from 5,786 drug users who handed in their tablets for chemical analysis at the Drug Information and Monitoring System (DIMS) in the Netherlands. Logistic regression was employed to link the pharmacological content of ecstasy tablets to the self-reported subjective effects and compare effects with MDMA to other substances present. MDMA showed a strong association with desirable subjective effects, unparalleled by any other psychoactive substance. However, the association of MDMA was dose-dependent, with higher doses (>120 mg/tablet) likely to evoke more adverse effects. The novel psychostimulants mephedrone and p-fluoroamphetamine were considered relatively desirable, whereas meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) and p-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) were strongly associated with adverse subjective effects. Also, 3,4-methylene-dioxyamphetamine (MDA) and benzylpiperazine (BZP) were not appreciated as replacement for MDMA. Linking the pharmacological content of ecstasy sold on the street to subjective experiences contributes to a better understanding of the wide range of subjective effects ascribed to ecstasy and provides a strong rationale for the prolonged endurance of MDMA as the key ingredient of the ecstasy market.

How Peer Communication and Engagement Motivations Influence Social Media Shopping Behavior: Evidence from China and the United States.

PubMed

Muralidharan, Sidharth; Men, Linjuan Rita

2015-10-01

Based on consumer socialization theory, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model of social media shopping behavior, which links the antecedents of user motivations of engagement and peer communication about products to shopping behavior through social media. A cross-cultural survey was conducted with social media users in two culturally distinct markets with the largest Internet population: China (n=304) and the United States (n=328). Findings showed that social interaction, information, and remuneration were positive antecedents of peer communication for users from both countries. Peer communication positively impacted social media shopping behavior, and cultural differences were observed, with social interaction being important to Chinese users' shopping behavior, while remuneration was more important to American users. Implications are discussed.

Quantum key distribution with an entangled light emitting diode

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

Dzurnak, B.; Stevenson, R. M.; Nilsson, J.

Measurements performed on entangled photon pairs shared between two parties can allow unique quantum cryptographic keys to be formed, creating secure links between users. An advantage of using such entangled photon links is that they can be adapted to propagate entanglement to end users of quantum networks with only untrusted nodes. However, demonstrations of quantum key distribution with entangled photons have so far relied on sources optically excited with lasers. Here, we realize a quantum cryptography system based on an electrically driven entangled-light-emitting diode. Measurement bases are passively chosen and we show formation of an error-free quantum key. Our measurementsmore » also simultaneously reveal Bell's parameter for the detected light, which exceeds the threshold for quantum entanglement.« less

Quantum key distribution with an entangled light emitting diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dzurnak, B.; Stevenson, R. M.; Nilsson, J.; Dynes, J. F.; Yuan, Z. L.; Skiba-Szymanska, J.; Farrer, I.; Ritchie, D. A.; Shields, A. J.

2015-12-01

Measurements performed on entangled photon pairs shared between two parties can allow unique quantum cryptographic keys to be formed, creating secure links between users. An advantage of using such entangled photon links is that they can be adapted to propagate entanglement to end users of quantum networks with only untrusted nodes. However, demonstrations of quantum key distribution with entangled photons have so far relied on sources optically excited with lasers. Here, we realize a quantum cryptography system based on an electrically driven entangled-light-emitting diode. Measurement bases are passively chosen and we show formation of an error-free quantum key. Our measurements also simultaneously reveal Bell's parameter for the detected light, which exceeds the threshold for quantum entanglement.

5 Best Practices for Building Your Portal in a Web 2.0 World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villano, Matt

2008-01-01

Not that many years back, portals were nothing more than splash pages from which users could click on links to navigate a school's web-based resources. Today, however, they are much more: single sign-on gateways that easily enable users to do everything from pay tuition and view transcripts, to purchase parking permits, and sell used books. Still,…

The Association between Early Conduct Problems and Early Marijuana Use in College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falls, Benjamin J.; Wish, Eric D.; Garnier, Laura M.; Caldeira, Kimberly M.; O'Grady, Kevin E.; Vincent, Kathryn B.; Arria, Amelia M.

2011-01-01

Early conduct problems have been linked to early marijuana use in adolescence. The present study examines this association in a sample of 1,076 college students that was divided into three groups: (1) early marijuana users (began marijuana use prior to age 15; N = 126), (2) late marijuana users (began marijuana use at or after age 15; N = 607),…

HIV testing behaviors and attitudes among community recruited methamphetamine users in a South African township

PubMed Central

Meade, Christina S.; Towe, Sheri L.; Watt, Melissa H.; Hobkirk, Andrea; Skinner, Donald; Myers, Bronwyn; Kimani, Stephen M.; Pieterse, Desiree

2015-01-01

Background Methamphetamine users in South Africa are at high risk for HIV infection and transmission, but little is known about HIV testing in this population. Methods We examined HIV testing behaviors and attitudes in 362 methamphetamine users recruited using chain referral sampling from one peri-urban community. Results Many (44%) had not been HIV tested in the past year. HIV testing was associated with positive testing attitudes, less AIDS stigma, and greater methamphetamine stigma. Among participants who reported HIV infection (8%), less than half were linked to care. Conclusions Findings highlight the need to identify barriers to HIV service uptake for methamphetamine users. PMID:24858393

A wearable sensor based on CLYC scintillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, Benjamin S.; Myjak, Mitchell J.; Zalavadia, Mital A.; Smart, John E.; Willett, Jesse A.; Landgren, Peter C.; Greulich, Christopher R.

2016-06-01

We have developed a wearable radiation sensor using Cs2LiYCl6:Ce (CLYC) for simultaneous gamma-ray and neutron detection. The system includes two ∅ 2.5 × 2.5cm3 crystals coupled to small, metal-body photomultiplier tubes. A custom, low-power electronics base digitizes the output signal at three time points and enables both pulse height and pulse shape discrimination of gamma rays and neutrons. The total counts, anomaly detection metrics, and identified isotopes are displayed on a small screen. Users may leave the device in unattended mode to collect long-dwell energy spectra. The system stores up to 18 h of one-second data, including energy spectra, and may transfer the data to a remote computer via a wired or wireless connection. The prototype is 18 × 13 × 7.5cm3, weighs 1.3 kg, not including the protective pouch, and runs on six AA alkaline batteries for 29 h with the wireless link active, or 41 h with the wireless link disabled. In this paper, we summarize the system design and present characterization results from the detector modules. The energy resolution is about 6.5% full width at half maximum at 662 keV due to the small photomultiplier tube selected, and the linearity and pulse shape discrimination performance are very good.

Linking European Environmental Policies with the new CAP after 2020.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouma, Johan

2017-04-01

Linking European Environmental Policies with the new CAP after 2020. J.Bouma Em.prof soil science, Wageningen University, the Netherlands EU policy guidelines have been quite successful during the last decades to improve environmental quality of air, water and soil. This deserves credit. For example, the nitrate guideline of 1992 was introduced to deal with an emergency condition of groundwater in many areas of Europa and its quality has greatly improved. Comparable conclusions can be reached for other environmental components. As much new information and technologies have emerged and stakeholders become much more knowlegeable in the modern internet society, it is necessary and possible at this point in time to shift to more local approaches that are fine-tuned to local conditions and that approach land users as partners rather than as adversaries. A unique opportunity arises as the Common Agricultural Policy is being revised and a new policy will be introduced after 2020. Some suggestions will be made, based on the subsidiarity principle where the detail of measures should be in balance with the spatiale level at which they will be enforced: very general at EU level and more specific as one moves down to the level of individual enterprises. The UN Sustainable Development Goals would be an excellent guiding principle at EU level.

Automated selection of computed tomography display parameters using neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Di; Neu, Scott; Valentino, Daniel J.

2001-07-01

A collection of artificial neural networks (ANN's) was trained to identify simple anatomical structures in a set of x-ray computed tomography (CT) images. These neural networks learned to associate a point in an image with the anatomical structure containing the point by using the image pixels located on the horizontal and vertical lines that ran through the point. The neural networks were integrated into a computer software tool whose function is to select an index into a list of CT window/level values from the location of the user's mouse cursor. Based upon the anatomical structure selected by the user, the software tool automatically adjusts the image display to optimally view the structure.

Robotics virtual rail system and method

DOEpatents

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID; Few, Douglas A [Idaho Falls, ID; Walton, Miles C [Idaho Falls, ID

2011-07-05

A virtual track or rail system and method is described for execution by a robot. A user, through a user interface, generates a desired path comprised of at least one segment representative of the virtual track for the robot. Start and end points are assigned to the desired path and velocities are also associated with each of the at least one segment of the desired path. A waypoint file is generated including positions along the virtual track representing the desired path with the positions beginning from the start point to the end point including the velocities of each of the at least one segment. The waypoint file is sent to the robot for traversing along the virtual track.

Clinical Trial Results Summary for Laypersons: A User Testing Study.

PubMed

Raynor, D K; Myers, L; Blackwell, K; Kress, B; Dubost, A; Joos, A

2018-01-01

To apply "user testing" to maximize readability and acceptability of a Clinical Trial Results Laypersons Summary-a new European requirement. "User testing" (using questionnaire and semistructured interview) assessed whether people could find and understand key points. Findings were used to improve content and design, prior to retesting. Participants had a range of levels of health literacy and there was a higher education group. Participants accessed the summary on screen. In round 1 we tested 12 points of information. In round 2 a revised summary addressing round 1 findings was tested, leading to a third final version. In round 1, 2 of 12 points of information did not reach the target and interviews raised further format and content issues (some distracting technical explanations and inability to find or understand the 2 main study purposes). These findings informed revisions for the version tested in round 2, with 2 different points not reaching the target (inclusion criteria relating to duration of seasonal allergies and how researchers found out about participants' symptoms). Identified problems in both rounds were addressed and reflected in the final version. Despite improvements, participants did not consistently understand that summaries were intended for the public, or to only interpret results of single trials in the context of additional trials. All readers, including those with higher education, found the clear and straightforward language acceptable. Applying "user testing" resulted in a largely health-literate summary suitable for people across a range of backgrounds.

Cellphone-Based Hand-Held Microplate Reader for Point-of-Care Testing of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays.

PubMed

Berg, Brandon; Cortazar, Bingen; Tseng, Derek; Ozkan, Haydar; Feng, Steve; Wei, Qingshan; Chan, Raymond Yan-Lok; Burbano, Jordi; Farooqui, Qamar; Lewinski, Michael; Di Carlo, Dino; Garner, Omai B; Ozcan, Aydogan

2015-08-25

Standard microplate based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are widely utilized for various nanomedicine, molecular sensing, and disease screening applications, and this multiwell plate batched analysis dramatically reduces diagnosis costs per patient compared to nonbatched or nonstandard tests. However, their use in resource-limited and field-settings is inhibited by the necessity for relatively large and expensive readout instruments. To mitigate this problem, we created a hand-held and cost-effective cellphone-based colorimetric microplate reader, which uses a 3D-printed opto-mechanical attachment to hold and illuminate a 96-well plate using a light-emitting-diode (LED) array. This LED light is transmitted through each well, and is then collected via 96 individual optical fibers. Captured images of this fiber-bundle are transmitted to our servers through a custom-designed app for processing using a machine learning algorithm, yielding diagnostic results, which are delivered to the user within ∼1 min per 96-well plate, and are visualized using the same app. We successfully tested this mobile platform in a clinical microbiology laboratory using FDA-approved mumps IgG, measles IgG, and herpes simplex virus IgG (HSV-1 and HSV-2) ELISA tests using a total of 567 and 571 patient samples for training and blind testing, respectively, and achieved an accuracy of 99.6%, 98.6%, 99.4%, and 99.4% for mumps, measles, HSV-1, and HSV-2 tests, respectively. This cost-effective and hand-held platform could assist health-care professionals to perform high-throughput disease screening or tracking of vaccination campaigns at the point-of-care, even in resource-poor and field-settings. Also, its intrinsic wireless connectivity can serve epidemiological studies, generating spatiotemporal maps of disease prevalence and immunity.

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.

The Information Architecture of E-Commerce: An Experimental Study on User Performance and Preference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan Mohd, Wan Abdul Rahim; Md Noor, Nor Laila; Mehad, Shafie

Too often, designers of e-commerce web sites use models, concepts, guidelines, and designs that focus on the artifacts while ignoring the context in which the artifacts will be used. Furthermore, the link between culture and usability in web site IA phenomenon is still considered as uncharted area, as it lacks much theoretical consideration. In an effort toward addressing the aforementioned issues, our study provides a theoretical and empirical link between cultural and usability through the application of ‘Venustas' (Delight) drawn from the architectural field and Hofstede's cultural dimensions. We use Islamic culture as the case study and report on the experiment to investigate the effect of the IA designs based on the cultural dimensions on e-commerce web sites. The result provides partial empirical support to the theorized link between culture and usability based on the usability measurement on user performance and preference. In addition, practical web site IA cultural design prescriptions are also provided.

Hybrid attacks on model-based social recommender systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Junliang; Gao, Min; Rong, Wenge; Li, Wentao; Xiong, Qingyu; Wen, Junhao

2017-10-01

With the growing popularity of the online social platform, the social network based approaches to recommendation emerged. However, because of the open nature of rating systems and social networks, the social recommender systems are susceptible to malicious attacks. In this paper, we present a certain novel attack, which inherits characteristics of the rating attack and the relation attack, and term it hybrid attack. Furtherly, we explore the impact of the hybrid attack on model-based social recommender systems in multiple aspects. The experimental results show that, the hybrid attack is more destructive than the rating attack in most cases. In addition, users and items with fewer ratings will be influenced more when attacked. Last but not the least, the findings suggest that spammers do not depend on the feedback links from normal users to become more powerful, the unilateral links can make the hybrid attack effective enough. Since unilateral links are much cheaper, the hybrid attack will be a great threat to model-based social recommender systems.

Global health actors no longer in favor of user fees: a documentary study.

PubMed

Robert, Emilie; Ridde, Valéry

2013-07-26

Since the advent of health user fees in low- and middle-income countries in the 1980s, the discourse of global health actors (GHAs) has changed to the disadvantage of this type of healthcare financing mechanism. The aim of the study was to identify and analyze the stance of GHAs in the debate on user fees. We conducted documentary research using public documents published by and officially attributed to GHAs from 2005 to 2011. We categorized GHAs into four groups: intergovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and working groups and networks. We then classified the GHAs according to their stance relative to the abolition of user fees, and conducted a thematic analysis of their discourse to understand the arguments used by each GHA to justify its stance. We identified 56 GHAs, for which we analyzed 140 documents. Among them, 55% were in favor of the abolition of user fees or in favor of free care at the point of delivery. None of the GHAs stated that they were in favor of user fees; however, 30% did not take a stand. Only the World Bank declares that it is both in favor of user fees and in favor of free care at point of service. GHAs generally circumscribe their stance to specific populations (pregnant women, children under 5 years, etc.) or to specific health services (primary, basic, essential). Three types of arguments are used by GHAs to justify their stance: economic, moral and ethical, and pragmatic. The principle of "user pays" seems to have fizzled. Production and dissemination of evidence, as well as certain advocacy networks, may have contributed to this change in discourse. However, GHAs should go a step further and translate their words into action, so that free healthcare at the point of delivery becomes a reality in low- and middle-income countries. They should provide technical and financial support to those countries that have chosen to implement user fee exemption policies, sometimes influenced by a GHA.

Global health actors no longer in favor of user fees: a documentary study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Since the advent of health user fees in low- and middle-income countries in the 1980s, the discourse of global health actors (GHAs) has changed to the disadvantage of this type of healthcare financing mechanism. The aim of the study was to identify and analyze the stance of GHAs in the debate on user fees. Methods We conducted documentary research using public documents published by and officially attributed to GHAs from 2005 to 2011. We categorized GHAs into four groups: intergovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and working groups and networks. We then classified the GHAs according to their stance relative to the abolition of user fees, and conducted a thematic analysis of their discourse to understand the arguments used by each GHA to justify its stance. Results We identified 56 GHAs, for which we analyzed 140 documents. Among them, 55% were in favor of the abolition of user fees or in favor of free care at the point of delivery. None of the GHAs stated that they were in favor of user fees; however, 30% did not take a stand. Only the World Bank declares that it is both in favor of user fees and in favor of free care at point of service. GHAs generally circumscribe their stance to specific populations (pregnant women, children under 5 years, etc.) or to specific health services (primary, basic, essential). Three types of arguments are used by GHAs to justify their stance: economic, moral and ethical, and pragmatic. Conclusions The principle of “user pays” seems to have fizzled. Production and dissemination of evidence, as well as certain advocacy networks, may have contributed to this change in discourse. However, GHAs should go a step further and translate their words into action, so that free healthcare at the point of delivery becomes a reality in low- and middle-income countries. They should provide technical and financial support to those countries that have chosen to implement user fee exemption policies, sometimes influenced by a GHA. PMID:23889807

A Cross-Layer User Centric Vertical Handover Decision Approach Based on MIH Local Triggers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rehan, Maaz; Yousaf, Muhammad; Qayyum, Amir; Malik, Shahzad

Vertical handover decision algorithm that is based on user preferences and coupled with Media Independent Handover (MIH) local triggers have not been explored much in the literature. We have developed a comprehensive cross-layer solution, called Vertical Handover Decision (VHOD) approach, which consists of three parts viz. mechanism for collecting and storing user preferences, Vertical Handover Decision (VHOD) algorithm and the MIH Function (MIHF). MIHF triggers the VHOD algorithm which operates on user preferences to issue handover commands to mobility management protocol. VHOD algorithm is an MIH User and therefore needs to subscribe events and configure thresholds for receiving triggers from MIHF. In this regard, we have performed experiments in WLAN to suggest thresholds for Link Going Down trigger. We have also critically evaluated the handover decision process, proposed Just-in-time interface activation technique, compared our proposed approach with prominent user centric approaches and analyzed our approach from different aspects.

Interactive computer methods for generating mineral-resource maps

USGS Publications Warehouse

Calkins, James Alfred; Crosby, A.S.; Huffman, T.E.; Clark, A.L.; Mason, G.T.; Bascle, R.J.

1980-01-01

Inasmuch as maps are a basic tool of geologists, the U.S. Geological Survey's CRIB (Computerized Resources Information Bank) was constructed so that the data it contains can be used to generate mineral-resource maps. However, by the standard methods used-batch processing and off-line plotting-the production of a finished map commonly takes 2-3 weeks. To produce computer-generated maps more rapidly, cheaply, and easily, and also to provide an effective demonstration tool, we have devised two related methods for plotting maps as alternatives to conventional batch methods. These methods are: 1. Quick-Plot, an interactive program whose output appears on a CRT (cathode-ray-tube) device, and 2. The Interactive CAM (Cartographic Automatic Mapping system), which combines batch and interactive runs. The output of the Interactive CAM system is final compilation (not camera-ready) paper copy. Both methods are designed to use data from the CRIB file in conjunction with a map-plotting program. Quick-Plot retrieves a user-selected subset of data from the CRIB file, immediately produces an image of the desired area on a CRT device, and plots data points according to a limited set of user-selected symbols. This method is useful for immediate evaluation of the map and for demonstrating how trial maps can be made quickly. The Interactive CAM system links the output of an interactive CRIB retrieval to a modified version of the CAM program, which runs in the batch mode and stores plotting instructions on a disk, rather than on a tape. The disk can be accessed by a CRT, and, thus, the user can view and evaluate the map output on a CRT immediately after a batch run, without waiting 1-3 days for an off-line plot. The user can, therefore, do most of the layout and design work in a relatively short time by use of the CRT, before generating a plot tape and having the map plotted on an off-line plotter.

User interface design for mobile-based sexual health interventions for young people: design recommendations from a qualitative study on an online Chlamydia clinical care pathway.

PubMed

Gkatzidou, Voula; Hone, Kate; Sutcliffe, Lorna; Gibbs, Jo; Sadiq, Syed Tariq; Szczepura, Ala; Sonnenberg, Pam; Estcourt, Claudia

2015-08-26

The increasing pervasiveness of mobile technologies has given potential to transform healthcare by facilitating clinical management using software applications. These technologies may provide valuable tools in sexual health care and potentially overcome existing practical and cultural barriers to routine testing for sexually transmitted infections. In order to inform the design of a mobile health application for STIs that supports self-testing and self-management by linking diagnosis with online care pathways, we aimed to identify the dimensions and range of preferences for user interface design features among young people. Nine focus group discussions were conducted (n = 49) with two age-stratified samples (16 to 18 and 19 to 24 year olds) of young people from Further Education colleges and Higher Education establishments. Discussions explored young people's views with regard to: the software interface; the presentation of information; and the ordering of interaction steps. Discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Four over-arching themes emerged: privacy and security; credibility; user journey support; and the task-technology-context fit. From these themes, 20 user interface design recommendations for mobile health applications are proposed. For participants, although privacy was a major concern, security was not perceived as a major potential barrier as participants were generally unaware of potential security threats and inherently trusted new technology. Customisation also emerged as a key design preference to increase attractiveness and acceptability. Considerable effort should be focused on designing healthcare applications from the patient's perspective to maximise acceptability. The design recommendations proposed in this paper provide a valuable point of reference for the health design community to inform development of mobile-based health interventions for the diagnosis and treatment of a number of other conditions for this target group, while stimulating conversation across multidisciplinary communities.

A Collaboration in Support of LBA Science and Data Exchange: Beija-flor and EOS-WEBSTER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schloss, A. L.; Gentry, M. J.; Keller, M.; Rhyne, T.; Moore, B.

2001-12-01

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) has developed a Web-based tool that makes data, information, products, and services concerning terrestrial ecological and hydrological processes available to the Earth Science community. Our WEB-based System for Terrestrial Ecosystem Research (EOS-WEBSTER) provides a GIS-oriented interface to select, subset, reformat and download three main types of data: selected NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) remotely sensed data products, results from a suite of ecosystem and hydrological models, and geographic reference data. The Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia Project (LBA) has implemented a search engine, Beija-flor, that provides a centralized access point to data sets acquired for and produced by LBA researchers. The metadata in the Beija-flor index describe the content of the data sets and contain links to data distributed around the world. The query system returns a list of data sets that meet the search criteria of the user. A common problem when a user of a system like Beija-flor wants data products located within another system is that users are required to re-specify information, such as spatial coordinates, in the other system. This poster describes methodology by which Beija-flor generates a unique URL containing the requested search parameters and passes the information to EOS-WEBSTER, thus making the interactive services and large diverse data holdings in EOS-WEBSTER directly available to Beija-flor users. This "Calling Card" is used by EOS-WEBSTER to generate on-demand custom products tailored to each Beija-flor request. Through a collaborative effort, we have demonstrated the ability to integrate project-specific search engines such as Beija-flor with the products and services of large data systems such as EOS-WEBSTER, to provide very specific information products with a minimal amount of additional programming. This methodology has the potential to greatly facilitate research data exchange by enhancing the interoperability of diverse data systems beyond the two described here.

ToxRefDB - Release user-friendly web-based tool for mining ToxRefDB

EPA Science Inventory

The updated URL link is for a table of NCCT ToxCast public datasets. The next to last row of the table has the link for the US EPA ToxCast ToxRefDB Data Release October 2014. ToxRefDB provides detailed chemical toxicity data in a publically accessible searchable format. ToxRefD...

Knowing Where They Went: Six Years of Online Access Statistics via the Online Catalog for Federal Government Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Christopher C.

2011-01-01

As federal government information is increasingly migrating to online formats, libraries are providing links to this content via URLs or persistent URLs (PURLs) in their online public access catalogs (OPACs). Clickthrough statistics that accumulated as users visited links to online content in the University of Denver's library OPAC were gathered…

ISS Mini AERCam Radio Frequency (RF) Coverage Analysis Using iCAT Development Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolen, Steve; Vazquez, Luis; Sham, Catherine; Fredrickson, Steven; Fink, Patrick; Cox, Jan; Phan, Chau; Panneton, Robert

2003-01-01

The long-term goals of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) enterprise may require the development of autonomous free-flier (FF) robotic devices to operate within the vicinity of low-Earth orbiting spacecraft to supplement human extravehicular activities (EVAs) in space. Future missions could require external visual inspection of the spacecraft that would be difficult, or dangerous, for humans to perform. Under some circumstance, it may be necessary to employ an un-tethered communications link between the FF and the users. The interactive coverage analysis tool (ICAT) is a software tool that has been developed to perform critical analysis of the communications link performance for a FF operating in the vicinity of the International Space Station (ISS) external environment. The tool allows users to interactively change multiple parameters of the communications link parameters to efficiently perform systems engineering trades on network performance. These trades can be directly translated into design and requirements specifications. This tool significantly reduces the development time in determining a communications network topology by allowing multiple parameters to be changed, and the results of link coverage to be statistically characterized and plotted interactively.

Growth and Migration Plan for Data Insight

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-13

exceed 30 users. The group of users must select one person to be the technical point of contact (TPOC). All technical and business questions shall...CONTACT (TPOC) INFORMATION Name: Title: Site: Address: City: State: Zip Code: E-mail address: Business phone number: Business fax

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in ecstasy (MDMA) users.

PubMed

Daumann, Jörg; Fischermann, Thomas; Pilatus, Ulrich; Thron, Armin; Moeller-Hartmann, Walter; Gouzoulis-Mayfrank, Euphrosyne

2004-05-20

The popular recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) has well-recognized neurotoxic effects upon central serotonergic systems in animal studies. In humans, the use of MDMA has been linked to cognitive problems, particularly to deficits in long-term memory and learning. Recent studies with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) have reported relatively low levels of the neuronal marker N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in MDMA users, however, these results have been ambiguous. Moreover, the only available 1H MRS study of the hippocampus reported normal findings in a small sample of five MDMA users. In the present study, we compared 13 polyvalent ecstasy users with 13 matched controls. We found no differences between the NAA/creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr) ratios of users and controls in neocortical regions, and only a tendency towards lower NAA/Cr ratios in the left hippocampus of MDMA users. Thus, compared with cognitive deficits, 1H MRS appears to be a less sensitive marker of potential neurotoxic damage in ecstasy users. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Yet More Visualized JAMSTEC Cruise and Dive Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomiyama, T.; Hase, H.; Fukuda, K.; Saito, H.; Kayo, M.; Matsuda, S.; Azuma, S.

2014-12-01

Every year, JAMSTEC performs about a hundred of research cruises and numerous dive surveys using its research vessels and submersibles. JAMSTEC provides data and samples obtained during these cruises and dives to international users through a series of data sites on the Internet. The "DARWIN (http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/e)" data site disseminates cruise and dive information. On DARWIN, users can search interested cruises and dives with a combination search form or an interactive tree menu, and find lists of observation data as well as links to surrounding databases. Document catalog, physical sample databases, and visual archive of dive surveys (e. g. in http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/jmedia/portal/e) are directly accessible from the lists. In 2014, DARWIN experienced an update, which was arranged mainly for enabling on-demand data visualization. Using　login users' functions, users can put listed data items into the virtual basket and then trim, plot and download the data. The visualization tools help users to quickly grasp the quality and characteristics of observation data. Meanwhile, JAMSTEC launched a new data site named "JDIVES (http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/jdives/e)"　to visualize data and sample information obtained by dive surveys. JDIVES shows tracks of dive surveys on the "Google Earth Plugin" and diagrams of deep-sea environmental data such as temperature, salinity, and depth. Submersible camera images and links to associated databases are placed along the dive tracks. The JDVIES interface enables users to perform so-called virtual dive surveys, which can help users to understand local geometries of dive spots and geological settings of associated data and samples. It is not easy for individual researchers to organize a huge amount of information recovered from each cruise and dive. The improved visibility and accessibility of JAMSTEC databases are advantageous not only for second-hand users, but also for on-board researchers themselves.