special user groups: Topics by Science.gov

Sample records for special user groups

Recommendations for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C in special population groups (migrants, intravenous drug users and prison inmates).

PubMed

Almasio, Piero L; Babudieri, Sergio; Barbarini, Giorgio; Brunetto, Maurizia; Conte, Dario; Dentico, Pietro; Gaeta, Giovanni B; Leonardi, Claudio; Levrero, Massimo; Mazzotta, Francesco; Morrone, Aldo; Nosotti, Lorenzo; Prati, Daniele; Rapicetta, Maria; Sagnelli, Evangelista; Scotto, Gaetano; Starnini, Giulio

2011-08-01

The global spread of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), their high chronicity rates and their progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, are major public health problems. Research and intervention programmes for special population groups are needed in order to assess their infection risk and set up suitable prevention and control strategies. Aim of this paper is to give health care professionals information on HBV and HCV infections amongst migrants, drug users and prison inmates. The manuscript is an official Position Paper on behalf of the following Scientific Societies: Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (A.I.S.F.), Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (S.I.M.I.T.), Italian Federation Department's Operators and Addiction Services (FederSerD), Italian Prison Medicine and Healthcare Society (S.I.M.S.Pe.). The considered population groups, having a high prevalence HBV and HCV infections, require specific interventions. In this context, the expression "special population" refers to specific vulnerable groups at risk of social exclusion, such as migrants, prison inmates, and intravenous drug users. When dealing with special population groups, social, environmental and clinical factors should be considered when selecting candidates for therapy as indicated by national and international guidelines. Copyright © 2010 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ASIST SIG/CR Classification Workshop 2000: Classification for User Support and Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soergel, Dagobert

2001-01-01

Reports on papers presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of ASIST (American Society for Information Science and Technology) for the Special Interest Group in Classification Research (SIG/CR). Topics include types of knowledge; developing user-oriented classifications, including domain analysis; classification in the user interface; and automatic…
Behaviour among children of substance-abusing women attending a Special Child Welfare Clinic in Norway, as assessed by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

PubMed

Hjerkinn, Bjørg; Lindbaek, Morten; Rosvold, Elin Olaug

2013-06-01

A Special Child Welfare Clinic (SCWC) in Norway provides care for pregnant women with substance abuse problems. Treatment is given without substitution. This investigation assesses the behaviour of the children between the ages 6 and 13 years of women who attended the clinic. It also explores the correlation between the behaviour and a neuropsychological screening performed one and a half year earlier. The study was set up to investigate the influence of prenatal substance exposure. Thirty-eight SCWC children and 63 children in a comparison group were scored by Child Behavior Check List (CBCL). Twenty-one (55%) SCWC mothers were classed as short-term users (ceased substance abuse before the end of first trimester), and 17 (45%) were classed as long-term users (continued a moderate substance abuse throughout pregnancy). Thirteen (77%) of the children of the long-term users were living in foster homes at the time of the investigation. SCWC children were scored within normal ranges for most items, but their scores were significantly worse than those of the comparison group. Children of short-term users were given lower scores than comparisons on more issues in CBCL than were children of long-term users. The SCWC children were breastfed for a shorter time (p = 0.023) and had moved house more often (p < 0.001) than comparisons. SCWC children living with their biological mothers received more special education or remedial classes (p ≤ 0.001) than children of the comparisons. Most children of long-term users were living in foster homes. Notably, children of short-term users, that is, children living with their biological mothers, were given lower scores than comparisons in CBCL. Children of short-term users were more likely to receive special education than children of comparisons. More research is needed on how to reveal parenting problems and how to guide mothers with previous or present substance abuse problems. © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.
Diver perceptions of Florida Keys Reef conditions by specialization level

Treesearch

Sarah Young; David Loomis

2010-01-01

Understanding different user-group values, preferences, and perceptions can lead to more efficient and effective management decisions, reducing conflict and helping to balance eco-societal goals. User perceptions of reef condition, ecological health, and impacts to reefs can provide valuable information to managers on motivations, values, willingness to comply with...
Viral load strategy: impact on risk behaviour and serocommunication of men who have sex with men in specialized care.

PubMed

Kuhn, E; Potthoff, A; Dirks, H; Borgmann, R; Esser, S; Scherbaum, N; Brockmeyer, N H; Skaletz-Rorowski, A

2016-09-01

Incidence and prevalence of HIV are continuously high in German men, who have sex with men (MSM). Different transmission risk minimizing strategies have been observed. The viral load strategy rates patients unlikely to be sexually infectious if their viral load under effective therapy is stably suppressed during 6 months and no other sexually transmitted infections are present. We aim to objectify the current popularity of the viral load strategy, the adherence to basic conditions and its impact on risk behaviour and serocommunication. Until now, no data on a German sample of HIV-positive MSM in regular specialized outpatient care are available. Cross-sectional study with group comparisons between user group and non-user-group of the viral load strategy. Self-report questionnaires were conducted with 269 sexually active German HIV+MSM under effective treatment in specialized outpatient care. Structured interviews gathered additional information about approach to and realization of definite action levels concerning sexual risk behaviour and transmission risk minimizing strategies. Twenty-seven of 269 participants (10%) affirmed knowledge of having an undetectable viral load and stated this to be criteria for unprotected sexual behaviour. This subgroup reported more unprotected insertive (P = 0.018) and receptive anal intercourse (P = 0.042), more anonymous sex partners (P = 0.008) and less consistent safer sex. Analysing serocommunication, less addressing HIV/AIDS in general (P = 0.043) and less disclosing to sex partners (P = 0.023) was found, especially in anonymous settings. Differentiating serocommunication characteristics, a focus on seroguessing was depicted. The user group of the viral load strategy is small. But a less frequent, more reactive and assumptive serocommunication leads to an imprecise information exchange paired with higher frequency of risky behaviour, especially in anonymous settings, where frank serocommunication is often avoided. The targeted group of the viral load strategy diverges greatly from the user group. © 2016 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.
Marketing for Special Libraries and Information Centers: The Positioning Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sterngold, Arthur

1982-01-01

The positioning process of marketing used by special libraries and information centers involves two key decisions from which other decisions are derived: to which user groups marketing programs and services will be directed; and which information needs will be served. Two cases are discussed and a bibliography is provided. (EJS)
Spring, 1980, DECUS symposium review

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

Allen, M.J.; Duffy, J.M.; McDonald, W.M.

1980-10-24

The Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS) holds biannual symposia where its membership and the host company can exchange ideas, problems, and solutions. This report by the newly formed DECUS Local User Group at LLL collects information gathered at the Spring '80 symposium in Chicago on April 22-25. Information is presented for the following special interest groups (SIGs): RSX/IAS SIG, VAX/VSM SIG, PASCAL (languages) SIG, networks SIG, TECO SIG, LSI-11 SIG, RT-11 SIG, site manager SIG, and database SIG. (RWR)
The role of marijuana use etiquette in avoiding targeted police enforcement

PubMed Central

REAM, GEOFFREY L.; JOHNSON, BRUCE D.; DUNLAP, ELOISE; BENOIT, ELLEN

2012-01-01

Internationally, where marijuana is illegal, users follow etiquette rules that prevent negative consequences of use. In this study, adherence to etiquette is hypothesized to reduce likelihood of marijuana-related police stop/search and arrest. Ethnographers administered group surveys to a diverse, purposive sample of 462 marijuana-using peer groups in several areas of New York City. Findings indicated that lack of etiquette was associated with dramatically higher likelihood of police stop/search or arrest only for users who were Black, male, and/or recruited from Harlem/South Bronx. If these users followed a few identified etiquette rules, their risk of police stop/search or arrest was comparable to that of other users. Implications are that etiquette represents an intentional conscientiousness about marijuana use. Groups that are specially targeted for anti-marijuana enforcement can remediate that heightened risk by following marijuana etiquette. PMID:23155303
VELOC - A new kind of information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittloff, H. J.; Keuser, H.; Langer, H.

Based on the Global Positioning System (GPS), VELOC (Vehicle Location) is designed to be a vehicle information system for fleet management adaptable to various user groups, e.g., haulage and delivery companies, and service enterprises with vehicle fleets. The needs of these groups vary with respect to position accuracy, position update rate, and type of communication. The authors describe the requirements, specifications, and performance of VELOC. Special emphasis is placed on some substantial features of the VELOC center, namely the integration of DGPS, a comfortable user interface, and handling of vehicle positions on digital maps.
LDEF materials special investigation group's data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strickland, John W.; Funk, Joan G.; Davis, John M.

1993-01-01

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was composed of and contained a wide array of materials, representing the largest collection of materials flown for space exposure and returned for ground-based analyses to date. The results and implications of the data from these materials are the foundation on which future space missions will be built. The LDEF Materials Special Investigation Group (MSIG) has been tasked with establishing and developing data bases to document these materials and their performance to assure not only that the data are archived for future generations but also that the data are available to the space user community in an easily accessed, user-friendly form. The format and content of the data bases developed or being developed to accomplish this task are discussed. The hardware and software requirements for each of the three data bases are discussed along with current availability of the data bases.
The LITERACY-Portal as the Subject of a Case Study on a Human-Centered Design Solution Supporting Users with Special Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagelkruys, Dominik; Motschnig, Renate

2017-01-01

Case studies help to reflect and to capture information about complex processes and domains and to make it reusable for future application in related contexts. In the case study reported in this article, we aim to capture and share processes and experience that we gained while designing a web-portal for supporting the specific user group of…
Neonatal findings among children of substance-abusing women attending a special child welfare clinic in Norway.

PubMed

Hjerkinn, Bjørg; Rosvold, Elin O; Lindbaek, Morten

2009-09-01

A special child welfare clinic (SCWC) in Norway provides care for pregnant women with substance abuse problems to prevent the adverse effects of substances. The SCWC aims to give treatment without replacements. This article describes neonatal findings among children of substance-abusing women at the clinic. This was a retrospective cohort study including 62 children whose mothers had attended the SCWC during pregnancy. A comparison group with children of women with no substance abuse was included. Data were collected from medical records and by means of a questionnaire concerning neonatal data, health, and living conditions. SCWC mothers were divided into short-term users (substance use stopped within first trimester) and long-term users (continued moderate substance use throughout pregnancy). Average birthweight and head circumference were significantly lower in the substance-abusing groups: 3084 g and 34.0 cm in the short-term group, 3048 g and 33.9 cm in the long-term group, and 3496 g and 34.8 cm in the comparison group. There was no difference in Apgar score. Substance abuse and psychiatric illness were associated with low birthweight. Long-term users were more likely than comparisons to experience premature birth and have low-birthweight children. This difference was not found among short-term users. We found no difference in Caesarean sections and vacuum extractions. Substance abusers who stop their drug use early in pregnancy tend to have birth outcomes that are similar to those of mothers with no substance abuse. The study indicates that attendance at a voluntary, low-threshold initiative for pregnant substance abusers, with a focus on prenatal care and substance abuse treatment without replacements, may reduce the harmful effect of the abuse on the newborn.
Specialized transit and elderly, disabled, and families in poverty populations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-03-01

This report presents results of three separate listening sessions to identify the transportation accessibility issues for a target group of users: the elderly, the disabled, and families in poverty. The sessions revealed that the need for coordinated...
On Some Algebraic and Combinatorial Properties of Dunkl Elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirillov, Anatol N.

2013-06-01

We introduce and study a certain class of nonhomogeneous quadratic algebras together with the special set of mutually commuting elements inside of each, the so-called Dunkl elements. We describe relations among the Dunkl elements. This result is a further generalization of similar results obtained in [S. Fomin and A. N. Kirillov, Quadratic algebras, Dunkl elements and Schubert calculus, in Advances in Geometry (eds. J.-S. Brylinski, V. Nistor, B. Tsygan and P. Xu), Progress in Math. Vol. 172 (Birkhäuser Boston, Boston, 1995), pp. 147-182, A. Postnikov, On a quantum version of Pieri's formula, in Advances in Geometry (eds. J.-S. Brylinski, R. Brylinski, V. Nistor, B. Tsygan and P. Xu), Progress in Math. Vol. 172 (Birkhäuser Boston, 1995), pp. 371-383 and A. N. Kirillov and T. Maenor, A Note on Quantum K-Theory of Flag Varieties, preprint]. As an application we describe explicitly the set of relations among the Gaudin elements in the group ring of the symmetric group, cf. [E. Mukhin, V. Tarasov and A. Varchenko, Bethe Subalgebras of the Group Algebra of the Symmetric Group, preprint arXiv:1004.4248]. Also we describe a few combinatorial properties of some special elements in the associative quasi-classical Yang-Baxter algebra in a connection with the values of the β-Grothendieck polynomials for some special permutations, and on the other hand, with the Ehrhart polynomial of the Chan-Robbins polytope.
On Some Algebraic and Combinatorial Properties of Dunkl Elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirillov, Anatol N.

2012-11-01

We introduce and study a certain class of nonhomogeneous quadratic algebras together with the special set of mutually commuting elements inside of each, the so-called Dunkl elements. We describe relations among the Dunkl elements. This result is a further generalization of similar results obtained in [S. Fomin and A. N. Kirillov, Quadratic algebras, Dunkl elements and Schubert calculus, in Advances in Geometry (eds. J.-S. Brylinski, V. Nistor, B. Tsygan and P. Xu), Progress in Math. Vol. 172 (Birkhäuser Boston, Boston, 1995), pp. 147-182, A. Postnikov, On a quantum version of Pieri's formula, in Advances in Geometry (eds. J.-S. Brylinski, R. Brylinski, V. Nistor, B. Tsygan and P. Xu), Progress in Math. Vol. 172 (Birkhäuser Boston, 1995), pp. 371-383 and A. N. Kirillov and T. Maenor, A Note on Quantum K-Theory of Flag Varieties, preprint]. As an application we describe explicitly the set of relations among the Gaudin elements in the group ring of the symmetric group, cf. [E. Mukhin, V. Tarasov and A. Varchenko, Bethe Subalgebras of the Group Algebra of the Symmetric Group, preprint arXiv:1004.4248]. Also we describe a few combinatorial properties of some special elements in the associative quasi-classical Yang-Baxter algebra in a connection with the values of the β-Grothendieck polynomials for some special permutations, and on the other hand, with the Ehrhart polynomial of the Chan-Robbins polytope.
Comparison between users of a new methodology for heart sound auscultation.

PubMed

Castro, Ana; Gomes, Pedro; Mattos, Sandra S; Coimbra, Miguel T

2016-08-01

Auscultation is a routine exam and the first line of screening in heart pathologies. The objective of this study was to assess if using a new data collection system, the DigiScope Collector, with a guided and automatic annotation of heart auscultation, different levels of expertise/experience users could collect similar digital auscultations. Data were collected within the Heart Caravan Initiative (Paraíba, Brasil). Patients were divided into two study groups: Group 1 evaluated by a third year medical student (User 1), and an experienced nurse (User 2); Group 2 evaluated by User 2 and an Information Technology professional (User 3). Patients were auscultated sequentially by the two users, according to the randomization. Features extracted from each data set included the length (HR) of the audio files, the number of repetitions per auscultation area, heart rate, first (S1) and second (S2) heart sound amplitudes, S2/S1, and aortic (A2) and pulmonary (P2) components of the second heart sound and relative amplitudes (P2/A2). Features extracted were compared between users using paired-sample test Wilcoxon test, and Spearman correlations (P<;0.05 considered significant). Twenty-seven patients were included in the study (13 Group 1, and 14 Group 2). No statistical significant differences were found between groups, except in the time of auscultation (User 2 consistently presented longer auscultation time). Correlation analysis showed significant correlations between extracted features from both groups: S2/S1 in Group 1, and S1, S2, A2, P2, P2/A2 amplitudes, and HR in Group 2. Using the DigiScope Collector, we were able to collect similar digital auscultations, according to the features evaluated. This may indicate that in sites with limited access to specialized clinical care, auscultation files may be acquired and used in telemedicine for an expert evaluation.
Treating first episode psychosis--the service users' perspective: a focus group evaluation.

PubMed

O'Toole, M S; Ohlsen, R I; Taylor, T M; Purvis, R; Walters, J; Pilowsky, L S

2004-06-01

UK national guidance has prioritized developing specialist services for first episode psychosis. Such services are in the early stages of development and a definitive treatment model has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to explore service users' experiences of a first episode intervention designed along evidence-based 'best practice' guidelines and to establish specific elements seen as effective to help inform future service planning and provision. Twelve users of a specialist first episode service participated in focus groups. These were then analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, a specialized form of content analysis. Key elements identified by the service users included the 'human' approach as a key to the recovery process, being involved in treatment decisions, flexibility of appointments, high nurse to patient ratio, reduction in psychotic symptoms, increased confidence and independence and the provision of daily structure. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic qualitative evaluation of users' experience of a specialist first episode treatment intervention. Our findings indicate that adherence to best practice guidelines was appreciated. Regular focus groups provide a continuous audit cycle incorporating service improvements in line with government recommendations, centrally informed by the service users' and caregivers' perspective.
The Ways We Serve.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonard, Gloria; And Others

1991-01-01

Four articles discuss library services to diverse user groups. Highlights include the Seattle Public Library's Human Diversity Training Program for library staff; cultural diversity at the University of Northern Colorado, including library collection development; information needs of physicists in special libraries; and library services to…
Long Duration Exposure Facility Mini-Data Base User`s Guide: Macintosh version. (Diskette)

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

Bohnhoff-Hlavacek, G.; Pippin, H.G.; Dursch, H.W.

1995-04-01

One of the objectives of the LDEF Special Investigation Group (SIG) was to develop a LDEF data base that identifies the experiment objectives and hardware flown, summarizes results and conclusions, and provides a system analysis overview, including spacecraft design guidelines and space environmental effects. Compiling the information into an easily accessible data base format, and making it available to the space community was a major task accomplished by the System and Materials SIG effort beginning in 1981. Included in this document is a short user`s manual for the LDEF Mini-Data Bases. The user`s manual contains pertinent examples from the datamore » base on specifically how to access and work with the LDEF information. Accompanying this document are the mini-data bases on disk.« less
Software design for analysis of multichannel intracardial and body surface electrocardiograms.

PubMed

Potse, Mark; Linnenbank, André C; Grimbergen, Cornelis A

2002-11-01

Analysis of multichannel ECG recordings (body surface maps (BSMs) and intracardial maps) requires special software. We created a software package and a user interface on top of a commercial data analysis package (MATLAB) by a combination of high-level and low-level programming. Our software was created to satisfy the needs of a diverse group of researchers. It can handle a large variety of recording configurations. It allows for interactive usage through a fast and robust user interface, and batch processing for the analysis of large amounts of data. The package is user-extensible, includes routines for both common and experimental data processing tasks, and works on several computer platforms. The source code is made intelligible using software for structured documentation and is available to the users. The package is currently used by more than ten research groups analysing ECG data worldwide.

Long Duration Exposure Facility mini-data base user`s guide: IBM-compatible PC computer version. (Diskette)

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

Bohnhoff-Hlavacek, G.; Pippin, G.; Dursch, H.

1995-04-01

One of the objectives of the LDEF Special Investigation Group (SIG) was to develop a LDEF data base that identifies the experiment objectives and hardware flown, summarizes results and conclusions, and provides a system analysis overview which would include spacecraft design guidelines and space environmental effects. Compiling this information into an easily accessible data base format and making it available to the space community was a major task accomplished by the System and Materials SIG effort beginning in 1991. Included in this document is a short user`s manual for the LDEF Mini-Data Bases. The user`s manual contains pertinent examples frommore » the data base on specifically how to access and work with the LDEF information. Accompanying this document are the mini-data bases on disk.« less
Research and Development for an Operational Information Ecology: The User-System Interface Agent Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivastava, Sadanand; deLamadrid, James

1998-01-01

The User System Interface Agent (USIA) is a special type of software agent which acts as the "middle man" between a human user and an information processing environment. USIA consists of a group of cooperating agents which are responsible for assisting users in obtaining information processing services intuitively and efficiently. Some of the main features of USIA include: (1) multiple interaction modes and (2) user-specific and stereotype modeling and adaptation. This prototype system provides us with a development platform towards the realization of an operational information ecology. In the first phase of this project we focus on the design and implementation of prototype system of the User-System Interface Agent (USIA). The second face of USIA allows user interaction via a restricted query language as well as through a taxonomy of windows. In third phase the USIA system architecture was revised.
Global Interconnectivity Between Mobile Satellite and Terrestrial Users: Call Signalling Issues and Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estabrook, Polly; Moon, Todd; Spade, Rob

1996-01-01

This paper will discuss some of the challenges in connecting mobile satellite users and mobile terrestrial users in a cost efficient manner and with a grade of service comparable to that of satellite to fixed user calls. Issues arising from the translation between the mobility management protocols resident at the satellite Earth station and those resident at cellular switches - either GSM (Group Special Mobile) or IS-41 (used by U.S. digital cellular systems) type - will be discussed. The impact of GSM call routing procedures on the call setup of a satellite to roaming GSM user will be described. Challenges facing provision of seamless call handoff between satellite and cellular systems will be given. A summary of the issues explored in the paper are listed and future work outlined.
Making grandma's data secure: a security architecture for home telemedicine.

PubMed Central

Starren, J.; Sengupta, S.; Hripcsak, G.; Ring, G.; Klerer, R.; Shea, S.

2001-01-01

Home telemedicine presents special challenges for data security and privacy. Experience in the Informatics for Diabetes Education And Telemedicine (IDEATel) project has demonstrated that data security is not a one-size-fits-all problem. The IDEATel users include elderly patients in their homes, nurse case managers, physicians, and researchers. The project supports multiple computer systems that require a variety of user interactions, including: data entry, data review, patient education, videoconferencing, and electronic monitoring. To meet these various needs, a number of different of security solutions were utilized, including: UserID/Password, PKI certificates, time-based tokens, IP filtering, VPNs, symmetric and asymmetric encryption schemes, firewalls and dedicated connections. These were combined in different ways to meet the needs of each user groups. PMID:11825267
PERIGRAMMA--A System for the Support of People with Cognitive or Movement Impairments Working in Secretarial Positions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Destounis, Panagiotis; Garofalakis, John; Kondilis, Theodore; Mavritsakis, George; Rigou, Maria; Sirmakessis, Spiros; Tzimas, John

In spite of the growing interest in interaction design, there remains a large user population that needs special interest: users with special needs. These users can dramatically benefit from software that better responds to their interaction needs, not to mention the fact that designing software that takes into account the special needs of such…
Impact of HIV-specialized pharmacies on adherence to medications for comorbid conditions.

PubMed

DuChane, Janeen; Clark, Bobby; Hou, John; Fitzner, Karen; Pietrandoni, Glen; Duncan, Ian

2014-01-01

To determine if patients using human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specialized pharmacies have greater adherence to drugs used to treat comorbid conditions and HIV compared with patients who use traditional pharmacies. Retrospective cohort study, with patients' propensity matched based on pharmacy use: HIV-specialized versus traditional. Nationwide pharmacy chain. Adult patients who filled at least two prescriptions for an antiretroviral therapy (ART). Patients also needed to have at least two prescriptions for an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) or a statin for analyses examining comorbid conditions. Proportion of days covered (PDC). The adherence analyses for ART, ACE inhibitors/ARBs, and statins included 14,278, 1,484, and 1,372 pairs, respectively. The mean PDC for ART patients using HIV-specialized pharmacies was higher than that for patients using traditional pharmacies (86.20% vs. 81.87%; P <0.0001). Patients taking ACE inhibitors/ARBs in the specialized group also had a higher mean PDC compared with patients in the traditional group (82.61 vs. 79.66; P = 0.0002), as did specialized pharmacy users in the statin group (83.77 vs. 81.29; P = 0.0009). HIV patients managed by an HIV-specialized pharmacy have significantly higher adherence to medication for comorbid conditions compared with patients using traditional pharmacies. Patients of HIV-specialized pharmacies also have significantly higher adherence to ART compared with peers using traditional pharmacies.
Digitized Special Collections and Multiple User Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gueguen, Gretchen

2010-01-01

Many organizations have evolved since their early attempts to mount digital exhibits on the Web and are experimenting with ways to increase the scale of their digitized collections by utilizing archival finding aid description rather than resource-intensive collections and exhibits. This article examines usability research to predict how such…
Age of onset of Cannabis use and cognitive function in first-episode non-affective psychosis patients: Outcome at three-year follow-up.

PubMed

Setién-Suero, Esther; Martínez-García, Obdulia; de la Foz, Víctor Ortiz-García; Vázquez-Bourgon, Javier; Correa-Ghisays, Patricia; Ferro, Adele; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Ayesa-Arriola, Rosa

2018-05-31

In recent years, the effects of cannabis use on cognitive functions in patients with psychosis have been widely studied. Recently, special emphasis has been placed on the impact of age at the onset of consumption on cognition in these patients. 349 patients with a first episode of non-affective psychosis were studied. Patients were classified as cannabis users and non-users. Users were divided, according to their age when they began using cannabis, into: early-onset (age < 16) and late-onset (age ≥ 16) users. Differences between groups at baseline were studied based on sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive variables. The groups were longitudinally (3-year) compared on cognitive variables. Out of the 349 patients included in this study, 38.7% (N = 135) were cannabis users. Of them, 39.3% (N = 53) were early-onset and 60.7% (N = 82) were late-onset cannabis users. No baseline differences were found between the early-onset and late-onset groups on cognitive domains. Longitudinally, only patients who had withdrawn from cannabis use during follow-up showed a significant improvement in verbal memory. Our results did not show differences between the early-onset group and the other two groups in long-term cognitive performance, even if they kept consuming cannabis during the first three years of disease progression. Further studies are needed to elucidate the true relationship between early-onset cannabis use and cognitive function in patients with a first episode of psychosis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Customizing for clients: developing a library liaison program from need to plan.

PubMed

Tennant, M R; Butson, L C; Rezeau, M E; Tucker, P J; Boyle, M E; Clayton, G

2001-01-01

Building on the experiences of librarian representatives to curriculum committees in the colleges of dentistry, medicine, and nursing, the Health Science Center Libraries (HSCL) Strategic Plan recommended the formation of a Library Liaison Work Group to create a formal Library Liaison Program to serve the six Health Science Center (HSC) colleges and several affiliated centers and institutes. The work group's charge was to define the purpose and scope of the program, identify models of best practice, and recommend activities for liaisons. The work group gathered background information, performed an environmental scan, and developed a philosophy statement, a program of liaison activities focusing on seven primary areas, and a forum for liaison communication. Hallmarks of the plan included intensive subject specialization (beyond collection development), extensive communication with users, and personal information services. Specialization was expected to promote competence, communication, confidence, comfort, and customization. Development of the program required close coordination with other strategic plan implementation teams, including teams for collection development, education, and marketing. This paper discusses the HSCL's planning process and the resulting Library Liaison Program. Although focusing on an academic health center, the planning process and liaison model may be applied to any library serving diverse, subject-specific user populations.
Customizing for clients: developing a library liaison program from need to plan*

PubMed Central

Tennant, Michele R.; Butson, Linda C.; Rezeau, Michelle E.; Tucker, Prudence J.; Boyle, Marian E.; Clayton, Greg

2001-01-01

Building on the experiences of librarian representatives to curriculum committees in the colleges of dentistry, medicine, and nursing, the Health Science Center Libraries (HSCL) Strategic Plan recommended the formation of a Library Liaison Work Group to create a formal Library Liaison Program to serve the six Health Science Center (HSC) colleges and several affiliated centers and institutes. The work group's charge was to define the purpose and scope of the program, identify models of best practice, and recommend activities for liaisons. The work group gathered background information, performed an environmental scan, and developed a philosophy statement, a program of liaison activities focusing on seven |primary areas, and a forum for liaison communication. Hallmarks of the plan included intensive subject specialization (beyond collection development), extensive communication with users, and personal information services. Specialization was expected to promote competence, communication, confidence, comfort, and customization. Development of the program required close coordination with other strategic plan implementation teams, including teams for collection development, education, and marketing. This paper discusses the HSCL's planning process and the resulting Library Liaison Program. Although focusing on an academic health center, the planning process and liaison model may be applied to any library serving diverse, subject-specific user populations. PMID:11209807
Study of the Army Helicopter Design Hover Criterion Using Temperature and Pressure Altitude

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

the Advanced Scout Helicopter Special Study Group reexamined the design point requirement. They recommended increasing the design point pressure...other combinations group between these two extremes. Ultimately, the design point for a helicopter has to be determined by the user of the...helicopter designs . 6. References Aviation Agency. 1972. “Heavy Lift Helicopter (HLH) Concept Formulation Study (U)”, Action Control Number 2958
The application of NASTRAN at Sperry Univac Holland. [analysis of engineering, modelling, and use of program system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koopmans, G.

1973-01-01

Very divergent problems arising with different calculations indicate that NASTRAN is not always accessible for common use. Problems with engineering, modelling, and use of the program system are analysed and a way of solution is outlined. Related to this, some supplementary modifications are made at Sperry Univac Holland to facilitate the program for the less skilled user. The implementation of a new element also gives an insight into the use of NASTRAN at Sperry Univac Holland. As the users of Univac computers are from very different kinds of industries like shipbuilders, petrochemical industries, and building industries, the variety of problems coming from these users is very large. This variety results in experience not with one special kind of calculation nor one special kind of construction, but with a wide area of problems arising in the use of NASTRAN. These problems can roughly be divided into three different groups: (1) recognition of what is to be calculated and how, (2) construction of a model, and (3) handling the NASTRAN program. These are the basic problems for every less skilled user of NASTRAN and the Application/Research Department of Sperry Univac has to give reasonable answers to these questions.
The IMUTUS interactive music tuition system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tambouratzis, George; Bakamidis, Stelios; Dologlou, Ioannis; Carayannis, George; Dendrinos, Markos

2002-05-01

This presentation focuses on the IMUTUS project, which concerns the creation of an innovative method for training users on traditional musical instruments with no MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) output. The entities collaborating in IMUTUS are ILSP (coordinator), EXODUS, SYSTEMA, DSI, SMF, GRAME, and KTH. The IMUTUS effectiveness is enhanced via an advanced user interface incorporating multimedia techniques. Internet plays a pivotal role during training, the student receiving guidance over the net from a specially created teacher group. Interactiveness is emphasized via automatic-scoring tools, which provide fast yet accurate feedback to the user, while virtual reality methods assist the student in perfecting his technique. IMUTUS incorporates specialized recognition technology for the transformation of acoustic signals and music scores to MIDI format and incorporation in the training process. This process is enhanced by periodically enriching the score database, while customization to each user's requirements is supported. This work is partially supported by European Community under the Information Society Technology (IST) RTD programme. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this communication. It does not represent the opinion of the European Community, and the European Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing therein.
High-Cost Users of Prescription Drugs: A Population-Based Analysis from British Columbia, Canada.

PubMed

Weymann, Deirdre; Smolina, Kate; Gladstone, Emilie J; Morgan, Steven G

2017-04-01

To examine variation in pharmaceutical spending and patient characteristics across prescription drug user groups. British Columbia's population-based linked administrative health and sociodemographic databases (N = 3,460,763). We classified individuals into empirically derived prescription drug user groups based on pharmaceutical spending patterns outside hospitals from 2007 to 2011. We examined variation in patient characteristics, mortality, and health services usage and applied hierarchical clustering to determine patterns of concurrent drug use identifying high-cost patients. Approximately 1 in 20 British Columbians had persistently high prescription costs for 5 consecutive years, accounting for 42 percent of 2011 province-wide pharmaceutical spending. Less than 1 percent of the population experienced discrete episodes of high prescription costs; an additional 2.8 percent transitioned to or from high-cost episodes of unknown duration. Persistent high-cost users were more likely to concurrently use multiple chronic medications; episodic and transitory users spent more on specialized medicines, including outpatient cancer drugs. Cluster analyses revealed heterogeneity in concurrent medicine use within high-cost groups. Whether low, moderate, or high, costs of prescription drugs for most individuals are persistent over time. Policies controlling high-cost use should focus on reducing polypharmacy and encouraging price competition in drug classes used by ordinary and high-cost users alike. © 2016 The Authors. Health Services Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Health Research and Educational Trust.
Usability research study of a specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies.

PubMed

Hunter, Gail; Burns, Laurie; Bone, Brian; Mintel, Thomas; Jimenez, Eduardo

2012-01-01

This paper summarizes the results of a longitudinal usability research study of a specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies. The usability test was conducted with fourteen (14) consumers from the St. Louis, MO, USA area who use manual toothbrushes. The study consisted of consumers using the specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies for three weeks. During the study, users participated in four toothbrush trials during weekly visits to the research facility. These trials were videotaped and were analyzed regarding brushing time, behavior, and technique. In addition, the users were required to use the toothbrush twice a day for their at-home brushing. The toothbrush had a positive impact on consumers' tooth brushing behavior. Users spent more time brushing their teeth with this toothbrush as compared to their manual toothbrush. In addition, users spent more time keeping the sonic toothbrush in the recommended angle during use. Finally, users perceived their teeth to be cleaner when using the specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies. The specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies left a positive impression on the users. The users perceived the toothbrush to clean their teeth better than a manual toothbrush.
Focus on Minorities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fort Bragg (Army), NC. Libraries.

This document is a union catalog of materials available in the Library Branch, Special Services Division, Headquarters of the Eighteenth Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, N.C., pertaining to minority group life. Each item cited has a call number and a location symbol directing the user to one or more of the five libraries shelving the item. The…
DDN Trusted Guard Gateway. Trusted Guard Gateway (TGG) Technology Assessment. Phase 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-02-02

strengthened via removal of the encrypted passwords from the password/group files, and imposition of limits on root, login, passwd , and super users. For...amongst these are the removal of the list of encoded passwords from the etc/ passwd file, and the removal of any special privileges from the root ID
Is Accessibility an Issue in the Knowledge Society? Modern Web Applications in the Light of Accessibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bártek, Luděk; Ošlejšek, Radek; Pitner, Tomáš

Recent development in Web shows a significant trend towards more user participation, massive use of new devices including portables, and high interactivity. The user participation goes hand in hand with inclusion of all potential user groups - also with special needs. However, we claim that albeit all the effort towards accessibility, it has not yet found an appopriate reflection among stakeholders of the "Top Web Applications" nor their users. This leads to undesired causes - the business-driven Web without all user participation is not a really democratic medium and, actually, does not comply with the original characteristics of Web 2.0. The paper tries to identify perspectives of further development including standardization processes and technical obstacles behind. It also shows ways and techniques to cope with the challenge based on our own research and development in accessible graphics and dialog-based systems.
User Impact on Selection, Digitization, and the Development of Digital Special Collections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Alexandra

2015-01-01

Libraries and archives digitize their special collections in an effort to increase access to rare and unique items. To ensure that resulting digital collections meet user needs, institutions have made assessment, consultation, and user participation integral to digitization initiatives and the selection process. Institutions must also build…
47 CFR 15.27 - Special accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... information required by this section may be included in the manual in that alternative form, provided the user..., shall ensure that these special accessories are provided with the equipment. The instruction manual for... responsibility of the user to use the needed special accessories supplied with the equipment. In cases where the...

Orbiter Flying Qualities (OFQ) Workstation user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, Thomas T.; Parseghian, Zareh; Hogue, Jeffrey R.

1988-01-01

This project was devoted to the development of a software package, called the Orbiter Flying Qualities (OFQ) Workstation, for working with the OFQ Archives which are specially selected sets of space shuttle entry flight data relevant to flight control and flying qualities. The basic approach to creation of the workstation software was to federate and extend commercial software products to create a low cost package that operates on personal computers. Provision was made to link the workstation to large computers, but the OFQ Archive files were also converted to personal computer diskettes and can be stored on workstation hard disk drives. The primary element of the workstation developed in the project is the Interactive Data Handler (IDH) which allows the user to select data subsets from the archives and pass them to specialized analysis programs. The IDH was developed as an application in a relational database management system product. The specialized analysis programs linked to the workstation include a spreadsheet program, FREDA for spectral analysis, MFP for frequency domain system identification, and NIPIP for pilot-vehicle system parameter identification. The workstation also includes capability for ensemble analysis over groups of missions.
Practical Strategies for Making Online Library Services and Instruction Accessible to All Patrons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wray, Christina C.

2013-01-01

Providing accessible library services and instruction to distance users with disabilities can seem daunting. This article, which grew out of a webinar presented by the author to the Health Science Special Interest Group of ACRL, provides practical strategies to help content creators utilize built-in accessibility features and provides a resources…
[Designing a software for drug management in special situations at a hospital's drug administration service].

PubMed

Sánchez Cuervo, Marina; Muñoz García, María; Gómez de Salazar López de Silanes, María Esther; Bermejo Vicedo, Teresa

2015-03-01

to describe the features of a computer program for management of drugs in special situations (off-label and compassionate use) in a Department of Hospital Pharmacy (PD). To describe the methodology followed for its implementation in the Medical Services. To evaluate their use after 2 years of practice. the design was carried out by pharmacists of the PD. The stages of the process were: selection of a software development company, establishment of a working group, selection of a development platform, design of an interactive Viewer, definition of functionality and data processing, creation of databases, connection, installation and configuration, application testing and improvements development. A directed sequential strategy was used for implementation in the Medical Services. The program's utility and experience of use were evaluated after 2 years. a multidisciplinary working group was formed and developed Pk_Usos®. The program works in web environment with a common viewer for all users enabling real time checking of the request files' status and that adapts to the management of medications in special situations procedure. Pk_Usos® was introduced first in the Oncology Department, with 15 oncologists as users of the program. 343 patients had 384 treatment requests managed, of which 363 are authorized throughout two years. PK_Usos® is the first software designed for the management of drugs in special situations in the PD. It is a dynamic and efficient tool for all professionals involved in the process by optimization of times. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.
[Clinical and social vulnerabilities in crack users according to housing status: a multicenter study in six Brazilian state capitals].

PubMed

Halpern, Silvia Chwartzmann; Scherer, Juliana Nichterwitz; Roglio, Vinicius; Faller, Sibele; Sordi, Anne; Ornell, Felipe; Dalbosco, Carla; Pechansky, Flavio; Kessler, Félix; Diemen, Lísia von

2017-07-03

The study had the goal to evaluate psychoactive substance use severity, violence, physical and emotional health of crack users who seeks specialized treatment in Psychosocial Care Centers for Alcohol and Drugs (CAPSad) concerning housing status. This is a multicenter cross-sectional study in six Brazilian capitals with 564 crack users categorized into two groups (1) users who have been homeless sometime in life (n = 266) and (2) individuals who have never lived on streets (n = 298). To assess the substance use severity and the characteristics of the individuals, the Addiction Severity Index, 6th version (ASI-6) was used. Group 1 users showed worse indicators regarding alcohol, medical and psychiatric problems, employment and family support subscales, as well as greater involvement with legal problems, violence, sexual abuse, suicide risk and health related problems such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and tuberculosis. In addition they have lower income to pay for basic needs. After analysis and control for possible confounders, not having enough income to pay for basic needs, showing depression symptoms, and having been arrested for theft remained statistically significant. This study evaluated more deeply drug use severity and housing status of crack users. Interventions developed in outpatient treatment should be designed and tailored to specific profiles and demands of drug users, especially homeless individuals.
Use of an electronic patient portal among the chronically ill: an observational study.

PubMed

Riippa, Iiris; Linna, Miika; Rönkkö, Ilona; Kröger, Virpi

2014-12-08

Electronic patient portals may enhance effective interaction between the patient and the health care provider. To grasp the full potential of patient portals, health care providers need more knowledge on which patient groups prefer electronic services and how patients should be served through this channel. The objective of this study was to assess how chronically ill patients' state of health, comorbidities, and previous care are associated with their adoption and use of a patient portal. A total of 222 chronically ill patients, who were offered access to a patient portal with their health records and secure messaging with care professionals, were included in the study. Differences in the characteristics of non-users, viewers, and interactive users of the patient portal were analyzed before access to the portal. Patients' age, gender, diagnoses, levels of the relevant physiological measurements, health care contacts, and received physiological measurements were collected from the care provider's electronic health record. In addition, patient-reported health and patient activation were assessed by a survey. Despite the broad range of measures used to indicate the patients' state of health, the portal user groups differed only in their recorded diagnosis for hypertension, which was most common in the non-user group. However, there were significant differences in the amount of care received during the year before access to the portal. The non-user group had more nurse visits and more measurements of relevant physiological outcomes than viewers and interactive users. They also had fewer referrals to specialized care during the year before access to the portal than the two other groups. The viewers and the interactive users differed from each other significantly in the number of nurse calls received, the interactive users having more calls than the viewers. No significant differences in age, gender, or patient activation were detected between the user groups. Previous care received by the patient is an important predictor for the use of a patient portal. In a group of patients with a similar disease burden, demand for different types of health services and preferences related to the service channel seem to contribute to the choice to use the patient portal. Further research on patient portal functionalities and their potential to meet patient needs by complementing or substituting for traditional health care services is suggested.
A Semantic Approach for Knowledge Discovery to Help Mitigate Habitat Loss in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramachandran, R.; Maskey, M.; Graves, S.; Hardin, D.

2008-12-01

Noesis is a meta-search engine and a resource aggregator that uses domain ontologies to provide scoped search capabilities. Ontologies enable Noesis to help users refine their searches for information on the open web and in hidden web locations such as data catalogues with standardized, but discipline specific vocabularies. Through its ontologies Noesis provides a guided refinement of search queries which produces complete and accurate searches while reducing the user's burden to experiment with different search strings. All search results are organized by categories (e. g. all results from Google are grouped together) which may be selected or omitted according to the desire of the user. During the past two years ontologies were developed for sea grasses in the Gulf of Mexico and were used to support a habitat restoration demonstration project. Currently these ontologies are being augmented to address the special characteristics of mangroves. These new ontologies will extend the demonstration project to broader regions of the Gulf including protected mangrove locations in coastal Mexico. Noesis contributes to the decision making process by producing a comprehensive list of relevant resources based on the semantic information contained in the ontologies. Ontologies are organized in a tree like taxonomies, where the child nodes represent the Specializations and the parent nodes represent the Generalizations of a node or concept. Specializations can be used to provide more detailed search, while generalizations are used to make the search broader. Ontologies are also used to link two syntactically different terms to one semantic concept (synonyms). Appending a synonym to the query expands the search, thus providing better search coverage. Every concept has a set of properties that are neither in the same inheritance hierarchy (Specializations / Generalizations) nor equivalent (synonyms). These are called Related Concepts and they are captured in the ontology through property relationships. By using Related Concepts users can search for resources with respect to a particular property. Noesis automatically generates searches that include all of these capabilities, removing the burden from the user and producing broader and more accurate search results. This presentation will demonstrate the features of Noesis and describe its application to habitat studies in the Gulf of Mexico.
The relationship of recreation specialization to the setting preferences of mountain bicyclists

Treesearch

Timothy E. Hopkin; Roger L. Moore

1995-01-01

This study gathered information about mountain bike use and users on unpaved trails in a Raleigh, North Carolina park. Specifically, it attempted to determine if levels of recreation specialization were related to the setting preferences of mountain bike users. The results offered partial support for the existence of a relationship between recreation specialization and...
Recreation specialization and gender: a comparison of Massachusetts freshwater anglers

Treesearch

Laura E. Anderson; David K. Loomis

2007-01-01

Recreation specialization describes the continuum of general to specific behavior of natural resource users and allows for the classification of these users into meaningful subgroups. While this theory has been used to study anglers, the majority of participants in recreational fishing are male. Therefore, more could be learned about how women at various specialization...
Specializing network analysis to detect anomalous insider actions

PubMed Central

Chen, You; Nyemba, Steve; Zhang, Wen; Malin, Bradley

2012-01-01

Collaborative information systems (CIS) enable users to coordinate efficiently over shared tasks in complex distributed environments. For flexibility, they provide users with broad access privileges, which, as a side-effect, leave such systems vulnerable to various attacks. Some of the more damaging malicious activities stem from internal misuse, where users are authorized to access system resources. A promising class of insider threat detection models for CIS focuses on mining access patterns from audit logs, however, current models are limited in that they assume organizations have significant resources to generate label cases for training classifiers or assume the user has committed a large number of actions that deviate from “normal” behavior. In lieu of the previous assumptions, we introduce an approach that detects when specific actions of an insider deviate from expectation in the context of collaborative behavior. Specifically, in this paper, we introduce a specialized network anomaly detection model, or SNAD, to detect such events. This approach assesses the extent to which a user influences the similarity of the group of users that access a particular record in the CIS. From a theoretical perspective, we show that the proposed model is appropriate for detecting insider actions in dynamic collaborative systems. From an empirical perspective, we perform an extensive evaluation of SNAD with the access logs of two distinct environments: the patient record access logs a large electronic health record system (6,015 users, 130,457 patients and 1,327,500 accesses) and the editing logs of Wikipedia (2,394,385 revisors, 55,200 articles and 6,482,780 revisions). We compare our model with several competing methods and demonstrate SNAD is significantly more effective: on average it achieves 20–30% greater area under an ROC curve. PMID:23399988
Implementing computerized physician order entry: the importance of special people.

PubMed

Ash, Joan S; Stavri, P Zoë; Dykstra, Richard; Fournier, Lara

2003-03-01

To articulate important lessons learned during a study to identify success factors for implementing computerized physician order entry (CPOE) in inpatient and outpatient settings. Qualitative study by a multidisciplinary team using data from observation, focus groups, and both formal and informal interviews. Data were analyzed using a grounded approach to develop a taxonomy of patterns and themes from the transcripts and field notes. The theme we call Special People is explored here in detail. A taxonomy of types of Special People includes administrative leaders, clinical leaders (champions, opinion leaders, and curmudgeons), and bridgers or support staff who interface directly with users. The recognition and nurturing of Special People should be among the highest priorities of those implementing computerized physician order entry. Their education and training must be a goal of teaching programs in health administration and medical informatics.
SCAMP and the ASP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idehara, H.; Carbon, D. F.

2004-12-01

We present two new, publicly available tools to support the examination and interpretation of spectra. SCAMP is a specialized graphical user interface for MATLAB. It allows researchers to rapidly intercompare sets of observational, theoretical, and/or laboratory spectra. Users have extensive control over the colors and placement of individual spectra, and over spectrum normalization from one spectral region to another. Spectra can be interactively assigned to user-defined groups and the groupings recalled at a later time. The user can measure/record positions and intensities of spectral features, interactively spline-fit spectra, and normalize spectra by fitted splines. User-defined wavelengths can be automatically highlighted in SCAMP plots. The user can save/print annotated graphical output suitable for a scientific notebook depicting the work at any point. The ASP is a WWW portal that provides interactive access to two spectrum data sets: a library of synthetic stellar spectra and a library of laboratory PAH spectra. The synthetic stellar spectra in the ASP are appropriate to the giant branch with an assortment of compositions. Each spectrum spans the full range from 2 to 600 microns at a variety of resolutions. The ASP is designed to allow users to quickly identify individual features at any resolution that arise from any of the included isotopic species. The user may also retrieve the depth of formation of individual features at any resolution. PAH spectra accessible through the ASP are drawn from the extensive library of spectra measured by the NASA Ames Astrochemistry Laboratory. The user may interactively choose any subset of PAHs in the data set, combine them with user-defined weights and temperatures, and view/download the resultant spectrum at any user-defined resolution. This work was funded by the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division, NASA Ames Research Center.
Persistence of touch DNA on burglary-related tools.

PubMed

Pfeifer, Céline M; Wiegand, Peter

2017-07-01

Experts are increasingly concerned by issues regarding the activity level of DNA stains. A case from our burglary-related casework pointed out the need for experiments regarding the persistence of DNA when more than one person touched a tool handle. We performed short tandem repeat (STR) analyses for three groups of tools: (1) personal and mock owned tools; (2) tools, which were first "owned" by a first user and then handled in a burglary action by a second user; and (3) tools, which were first owned by a first user and then handled in a moderate action. At least three types of tool handles were included in each of the groups. Every second user handled the tool with and without gloves. In total, 234 samples were analyzed regarding profile completeness of first and second user as well as properties like detectable major profile or mixture attributes. When second users simulated a burglary by using a tool bare handed, we could not detect the first user as major component on their handles but attribute him to the stain in 1/40 cases. When second users broke up the burglary setup using gloves, the first user matched the DNA handle profile in 37% of the cases. Moderate use of mock borrowed tools demonstrated a material-dependent persistence. In total, we observed that the outcome depends mainly on the nature of contact, the handle material, and the user-specific characteristics. This study intends to supplement present knowledge about persistence of touch DNA with a special emphasis on burglary-related cases with two consecutive users and to act as experimental data for an evaluation of the relevance of alleged hypotheses, when such is needed in a court hearing.
Lost Keys: Understanding Service Providers' Impressions of Frequent Visitors to Psychiatric Emergency Services in Singapore.

PubMed

Poremski, Daniel; Kunjithapatham, Ganesh; Koh, Doris; Lim, Xin Ya; Alexander, Mark; Lee, Cheng

2017-04-01

This study used administrative data to identify characteristics of frequent users of Singapore's largest specialized psychiatric emergency department (ED). Qualitative interviews were conducted to understand staff opinions of frequent visitors. Data were from administrative records of all adult visits to the ED (N=16,123 visits of 10,108 individual users) in 2014. Random-effects logistic regressions were used to identify demographic and diagnostic characteristics of frequent visitors. To facilitate interpretation of administrative data in a convergent mixed-methods study design, interviews were conducted with 26 service providers who worked in the ED. Frequent use was defined as five or more visits in 2014. This cutoff distinguished the top 3% of users (N=331), and this group accounted for 16% of service use. Frequent users were more likely to have a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, personality disorder, or alcohol use disorder. Service provider groups (for example, physicians, nurses, and assistants) described similar groups of frequent users and noted that frequent use was related to lack of social supports outside the hospital and feelings of belonging within it. The most frequently cited challenges were managing intoxicated service seekers, managing expectations for admission, and dealing with threats of self-harm. The profiles of frequent ED users in Singapore resembled those reported in other large urban centers. The opinions of service providers and their reactions to difficult situations were similar to those of providers in nonpsychiatric settings. The service providers' perspectives highlight how societal pressures influence the way in which individuals with mental illnesses use services.
gemcWeb: A Cloud Based Nuclear Physics Simulation Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markelon, Sam

2017-09-01

gemcWeb allows users to run nuclear physics simulations from the web. Being completely device agnostic, scientists can run simulations from anywhere with an Internet connection. Having a full user system, gemcWeb allows users to revisit and revise their projects, and share configurations and results with collaborators. gemcWeb is based on simulation software gemc, which is based on standard GEant4. gemcWeb requires no C++, gemc, or GEant4 knowledge. Using a simple but powerful GUI allows users to configure their project from geometries and configurations stored on the deployment server. Simulations are then run on the server, with results being posted to the user, and then securely stored. Python based and open-source, the main version of gemcWeb is hosted internally at Jefferson National Labratory and used by the CLAS12 and Electron-Ion Collider Project groups. However, as the software is open-source, and hosted as a GitHub repository, an instance can be deployed on the open web, or any institution's intra-net. An instance can be configured to host experiments specific to an institution, and the code base can be modified by any individual or group. Special thanks to: Maurizio Ungaro, PhD., creator of gemc; Markus Diefenthaler, PhD., advisor; and Kyungseon Joo, PhD., advisor.
Techniques and recommendations for the inclusion of users with autism in the design of assistive technologies.

PubMed

Francis, Peter; Mellor, David; Firth, Lucy

2009-01-01

The increasing numbers of technology platforms offer opportunities to develop new visual assistive aids for people with autism. However, their involvement in the design of such aids is critical to their short-term uptake and longer term use. Using a three-round Delphi study involving seven Australian psychologists specializing in treating people with autism, the authors explored the utility of four techniques that might be implemented to involve users with autism in the design process. The authors found that individual users from the target group would be likely to respond differently to the techniques and that no technique was clearly better than any other. Recommendations for using these techniques to involve individuals with autism in the design of assistive technologies are suggested.
Advances of NOAA Training Program in Climate Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timofeyeva, M. M.

2012-12-01

Since 2002, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Services Division (CSD) has offered numerous training opportunities to NWS staff. After eight-years of development, the training program offers three instructor-led courses and roughly 25 online (distance learning) modules covering various climate topics, such as: climate data and observations, climate variability and change, and NWS national / local climate products (tools, skill, and interpretation). Leveraging climate information and expertise available at all NOAA line offices and partners allows for the delivery of the most advanced knowledge and is a very critical aspect of the training program. The emerging NOAA Climate Service (NCS) requires a well-trained, climate-literate workforce at the local level capable of delivering NOAA's climate products and services as well as providing climate-sensitive decision support. NWS Weather Forecast Offices and River Forecast Centers presently serve as local outlets for the NCS climate services. Trained NWS climate service personnel use proactive and reactive approaches and professional education methods in communicating climate variability and change information to local users. Both scientifically-sound messages and amiable communication techniques are important in developing an engaged dialog between the climate service providers and users. Several pilot projects have been conducted by the NWS CSD this past year that apply the program's training lessons and expertise to specialized external user group training. The technical user groups included natural resources managers, engineers, hydrologists, and planners for transportation infrastructure. Training of professional user groups required tailoring instructions to the potential applications for each group of users. Training technical users identified the following critical issues: (1) knowledge of target audience expectations, initial knowledge status, and potential use of climate information; (2) leveraging partnership with climate services providers; and, (3) applying 3H training approach, where the first H stands for Head (trusted science), the second H stands for Heart (make it easy), and the third H for Hand (support with applications).
User’s Guide to Southeast Asia Combat Data

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-06-01

North latitude Binary coded decimal Bomb damage assessment Battle Damage Assessment and Reporting Team Brigade Basic encyclopedia A University of...and movement routes Bomb wing CALCOMP CANDLESTICK CAP CAP CAS CAS CAVD CBU , CBS California Computer Products, Inc. Call sign...Special Studies Group (a high-level Washington committee) WAC WBLC WIA WOLF WSE3 WWDMS WWMCCS W X World Aeronautical Chart Waterborne logistic
Perceptions of the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone application for the treatment of binge eating disorders: Qualitative feedback from a user population and clinicians.

PubMed

Juarascio, Adrienne S; Goldstein, Stephanie P; Manasse, Stephanie M; Forman, Evan M; Butryn, Meghan L

2015-10-01

Binge eating, a major public health problem, is characterized by recurrent episodes of out-of-control eating in which an individual consumes an unusually large amount of food in a discrete time period. Limitations of existing treatments for binge eating (both in-person psychotherapy and guided self-help) indicate that smartphone applications (apps) may be an ideal alternative or enhancement. An app for binge eating could aid treatment dissemination, engagement, and/or compliance. However, no research to date has examined user perceptions of a therapeutic app for binge eating, which is critical for development. The purposes of the current study were to conceptualize a potential app for binge eating and obtain feedback regarding feasibility and acceptability from target users (i.e., individuals with binge eating) and clinicians specializing in the treatment of binge eating. Our team conceptualized a smartphone app that contained self-help material, functions to monitor behavior, and provisions of in-the-moment interventions. We presented this app (e.g., feature explanations, mock screen shots) through phone interviews with clinicians who specialize in the treatment of binge eating (n=10), and focus groups with individuals experiencing binge eating (n=11). Participants were asked to discuss customization, user burden, terminology, attrition, data visualization, comprehensiveness, reminders, feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of the proposed app. Thematic analyses were conducted from qualitative data (e.g., audio recordings and interview notes) obtained via the focus groups and interviews. Results indicated that our proposed app would be highly feasible and acceptable to users and clinicians, though concerns about the degree of personalization and customizability were noted. The current study details highly specific feedback and ideas regarding essential app features from target users and clinicians. This information is critical for the development of future apps to treat binge eating. Ways in which data obtained from the current study may be generalized to the development of therapeutic apps for other psychological disorders is discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Perceptions of the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone application for the treatment of binge eating disorders: Qualitative feedback from a user population and clinicians

PubMed Central

Goldstein, Stephanie P.; Manasse, Stephanie M.; Forman, Evan M.; Butryn, Meghan L.

2016-01-01

Background Binge eating, a major public health problem, is characterized by recurrent episodes of out-of-control eating in which an individual consumes an unusually large amount of food in a discrete time period. Limitations of existing treatments for binge eating (both in-person psychotherapy and guided self-help) indicate that smartphone applications (apps) may be an ideal alternative or enhancement. An app for binge eating could aid treatment dissemination, engagement, and/or compliance. However, no research to date has examined user perceptions of a therapeutic app for binge eating, which is critical for development. Objectives The purposes of the current study were to conceptualize a potential app for binge eating and obtain feedback regarding feasibility and acceptability from target users (i.e., individuals with binge eating) and clinicians specializing in the treatment of binge eating. Methods Our team conceptualized a smartphone app that contained self-help material, functions to monitor behavior, and provisions of in-the-moment interventions. We presented this app (e.g., feature explanations, mock screen shots) through phone interviews with clinicians who specialize in the treatment of binge eating (n=10), and focus groups with individuals experiencing binge eating (n=11). Participants were asked to discuss customization, user burden, terminology, attrition, data visualization, comprehensiveness, reminders, feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of the proposed app. Thematic analyses were conducted from qualitative data (e.g., audio recordings and interview notes) obtained via the focus groups and interviews. Results Results indicated that our proposed app would be highly feasible and acceptable to users and clinicians, though concerns about the degree of personalization and customizability were noted. Conclusions The current study details highly specific feedback and ideas regarding essential app features from target users and clinicians. This information is critical for the development of future apps to treat binge eating. Ways in which data obtained from the current study may be generalized to the development of therapeutic apps for other psychological disorders is discussed. PMID:26113461
47 CFR 4.5 - Definitions of outage, special offices and facilities, and 911 special facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... affects at least 900,000 user-minutes; or (4) There is a loss of ANI/ALI (associated name and location... 30 minutes and potentially affecting at least 900,000 user-minutes (provided that the ANI/ALI or...

Improving self-help e-therapy for depression and anxiety among sexual minorities: an analysis of focus groups with lesbians and gay men.

PubMed

Rozbroj, Tomas; Lyons, Anthony; Pitts, Marian; Mitchell, Anne; Christensen, Helen

2015-03-11

E-therapies for depression and anxiety rarely account for lesbian and gay users. This is despite lesbians and gay men being at heightened risk of mood disorders and likely to benefit from having access to tailored self-help resources. We sought to determine how e-therapies for depression and anxiety could be improved to address the therapeutic needs of lesbians and gay men. We conducted eight focus groups with lesbians and gay men aged 18 years and older. Focus groups were presented with key modules from the popular e-therapy "MoodGYM". They were asked to evaluate the inclusiveness and relevance of these modules for lesbians and gay men and to think about ways that e-therapies in general could be modified. The focus groups were analyzed qualitatively using a thematic analysis approach to identify major themes. The focus groups indicated that some but not all aspects of MoodGYM were suitable, and suggested ways of improving e-therapies for lesbian and gay users. Suggestions included avoiding language or examples that assumed or implied users were heterosexual, improving inclusiveness by representing non-heterosexual relationships, providing referrals to specialized support services and addressing stigma-related stress, such as "coming out" and experiences of discrimination and harassment. Focus group participants suggested that dedicated e-therapies for lesbians and gay men should be developed or general e-therapies be made more inclusive by using adaptive logic to deliver content appropriate for a user's sexual identity. Findings from this study offer in-depth guidance for developing e-therapies that more effectively address mental health problems among lesbians and gay men.
Increasing Trends in Schedule II Opioid Use and Doctor Shopping during 1999–2007 in California

PubMed Central

Han, Huijun; Kass, Philip H.; Wilsey, Barth L.; Li, Chin-Shang

2013-01-01

Purpose To examine the age and gender-specific trends of schedule II opioid use among California residents, with special reference to multiple provider users (“doctor shoppers”). Methods Utilizing data from the California Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, we examined age and gender-specific trends of Schedule II opioid use during calendar years 1999–2007. Specifically, we analyzed: 1) the prevalence of Schedule II opioid users among California’s population, and 2) the proportion of these opioid users who were doctor shoppers (defined as an individual who used more than five different prescribers for all schedule II opioids he/she obtained in a calendar year). Results Among all age and gender groups, the prevalence of Schedule II opioid users in California increased by 150%–280% and the prevalence of doctor shoppers among users increased by 111%–213% over nine years. The prevalence of opioid users was lowest among 18–44 year-old males (1.25%) and highest among 65 years and older females (5.31%) by 2007. The prevalence of doctor shoppers was approximately 1.4% among those up to age 64 and 0.5% among those 65 years and older. The gender difference in doctor shoppers among all age groups was negligible. On average, the cumulative morphine-equivalent amount of Schedule II opioid per individual obtained per year was three- to six-fold higher for doctor shoppers than for the general population across different age and gender groups. Conclusions Age and gender differences in opioid use were relatively small, while the trends for use of opioids and multiple providers grew at a disquieting rate. PMID:23956137
A Bookmarking Service for Organizing and Sharing URLs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.; Wolfe, Shawn R.; Chen, James R.; Mathe, Nathalie; Rabinowitz, Joshua L.

1997-01-01

Web browser bookmarking facilities predominate as the method of choice for managing URLs. In this paper, we describe some deficiencies of current bookmarking schemes, and examine an alternative to current approaches. We present WebTagger(TM), an implemented prototype of a personal bookmarking service that provides both individuals and groups with a customizable means of organizing and accessing Web-based information resources. In addition, the service enables users to supply feedback on the utility of these resources relative to their information needs, and provides dynamically-updated ranking of resources based on incremental user feedback. Individuals may access the service from anywhere on the Internet, and require no special software. This service greatly simplifies the process of sharing URLs within groups, in comparison with manual methods involving email. The underlying bookmark organization scheme is more natural and flexible than current hierarchical schemes supported by the major Web browsers, and enables rapid access to stored bookmarks.
Police Allocation Manual User's Guide: Determination of the Number and Allocation of Personnel for Patrol Services for State Police Departments (Special Version - April 1993)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-04-01

The Police Allocation Manual User's Guide (herein after referred to as the Guide) : is intended as a companion document to the Police Allocation Manual (PAM), : Special Version, which can be used to determine the number and allocation of : personnel ...
User Survey of the New York Public Library Research Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson Associates, Inc., Washington, DC.

The report examines patron characteristics and use patterns of the New York Public Library Research Libraries. A general user survey was conducted as well as surveys of the use of the Photographic Service, Special Collections, Special Study Areas, and Reference Correspondence Service. Chapter I is a summary of principal findings and conclusions.…
Perceptions of a computer-based instruction system in special education: high school teachers and students views.

PubMed

Chiang, Hsin-Yu Ariel; Jacobs, Karen

2010-01-01

Researchers investigated how one type of computer-based instruction (CBI)--Kurzweil 3000 (K-3000), was perceived to affect the reading, functional task performance, and academic self-perception of high school students with special needs. 16 students with special needs used K-3000 (assistive software that provides students with reading support) for six months to read assignments for their English language arts class and six teachers who had previous experience with integrating K-3000 into their classes were recruited. Data from focus group interviews of students and teachers were used. The advantages and disadvantages of K-3000, the factors that affected teachers' use of CBI and users' progress were explored. After the regular use of K-3000, students and teachers reported improvement in the amount and speed of reading and increased academic self-perception, specifically related to reading comprehension and pronunciation. Teachers reported that lack of accessibility to technology, time constraints, and difficulties with class management were the major reasons that hindered CBI use in their classrooms. Student participants noted that CBI was helpful when they were engaged in functional activities related to reading and writing. The progress of students in self-perception, and the advantages and drawbacks of the K-3000, along with the mechanism of users' progression were described and discussed.
The effect of removing funding restrictions for atorvastatin differed across sociodemographic groups among New Zealanders hospitalised with cardiovascular disease: a national data linkage study.

PubMed

Mehta, Suneela; Wells, Sue; Jackson, Rod; Harrison, Jeff; Kerr, Andrew

2016-10-14

Publicly-funded atorvastatin required prior approval until September 2010 whereas simvastatin did not. Our aim was to examine if overall statin dispensing and atorvastatin dispensing among patients hospitalised for cardiovascular disease (CVD) differed systematically across sociodemographic groups during and after special authority criteria. National medication dispensing data were anonymously linked to patients hospitalised across New Zealand with CVD and discharged between 1/07/2009-31/12/2009 when special authority criteria applied and 1/09/2010-28/02/2011 after restrictions ceased. Statin dispensing at least once within six months post-discharge was analysed by sociodemographic characteristics. Overall statin use was the same (80%) among patients discharged during (n=14,094) and after (n=13,274) restrictions. With restrictions, atorvastatin dispensing was 32-33% less frequent among statin-users <45 years and >75 years than 65-74 year olds and 28-55% less among Māori, Pacific and Indian peoples than all others. Minimal relative differences occurred by sex or deprivation status. After restrictions were lifted, the proportion of statin-users dispensed atorvastatin increased around two-fold or more across all sociodemographic strata with three-four fold increases for patients >55 years and for Māori, Pacific and Indian peoples. After funding restrictions ceased, disparities in atorvastatin dispensing appeared to reduce across age and ethnic groups among patients with CVD-related hospitalisations, but overall statin use was unchanged.
Culture differences in design of portal sites.

PubMed

Fang, Xiaowen; Rau, Pei-Luen Patrick

2003-01-15

Two experiments were carried out to examine the effects of cultural differences between the Chinese and the US people on the perceived usability and search performance of World Wide Web (WWW) portal sites. Chinese users in Taiwan and US users in Chicago were recruited to perform searching tasks on two versions of Yahoo! portal site: the standard Yahoo! and Yahoo! Chinese. The layout of Yahoo! Chinese is the same as the layout of Yahoo!, and categories on Yahoo! Chinese have been translated from its US counterpart. A special browser was programmed to record all the keystroke data and participants were asked to fill out a satisfaction questionnaire after finishing the tasks. Significant differences of satisfaction and steps to perform some tasks were found between the two groups. The experiment results also provided more detailed insights into the cultural differences between the Chinese and the US users.
47 CFR 90.655 - Special licensing requirements for Specialized Mobile Radio systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Mobile Radio systems. 90.655 Section 90.655 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PRIVATE LAND MOBILE RADIO SERVICES Regulations Governing... Bands § 90.655 Special licensing requirements for Specialized Mobile Radio systems. End users of...
Special online consulting for patients with eating disorders and their relatives: analysis of user characteristics and E-mail content.

PubMed

Grunwald, Martin; Wesemann, Dorette

2007-02-01

In the treatment of chronic diseases, programs that use the internet as a medium are becoming more and more important as a complement to classical intervention techniques. Since 1998, a non-profit information and online consulting service for patients with eating disorders and their friends and relatives (www.ab-server.de) has existed. This was established by members of the Deutsche Forschungsinitiative Essstörungen e.V. (DFE) [German Research Initiative for Eating Disorders] and members of the Clinic of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Germany. For the present study, 2,176 e-mail requests from users of the online consultation service were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to better understand the differences between different types and groups of users. The analysis was related to the social field of the person requesting the consultation, the type of disorder reported, and the content of the e-mail request. Three main user groups could be identified: people who described themselves as having an eating disorder (57.2%), people who were related socially to the affected person (32.4%), and interested persons (9.8%). The consulting service was predominantly used by persons suffering from bulimia nervosa or their families and friends (63.1%). One third (33.3%) of the posted e-mails were related to behavioral patterns in dealing with the illness and the affected person. They were followed by inquiries for information about the disease (18.7%) and by those seeking help in finding specialized clinics/therapists and places in therapies. The increasing use of the online consulting service indicates that there is a substantial need for information and help in persons with eating disorders and in their relatives, who are able to easily contact professionals using this online service. Online consulting has a high potential for complementary care of affected people.
[Personality profile among cocaine users].

PubMed

Sánchez Huesca, R; Guisa Cruz, V M; Cedillo González, A; Pascual Blanco, Y

2002-01-01

Due to the psychiatric comorbidity seen among cocaine addicts, it is of clinical interest to know the personality traits associated to the use of this substance. Personality-profile comparative study of cocaine users and multiple-substance users obtained through the Multistage Personality Inventory. The study analyzed a sample of 30 cocaine users and 26 users of various substances who asked for treatment at a specialized institution. Results show the same profile for both groups, with high 8-4-2 scales. According to the Multistage Personality Inventory, this profile corresponds to an antisocial personality disorder with depressive and schizoid traits. The fact that there is a single profile for different drug users leads us to the hypothesis that there are addictive personality characteristics rather than specific traits related to the use of each substance. These subjects' personality characteristics suggest that the fear to relate to others could make it very difficult to establish a therapeutic link. This, in addition to the acting up tendency seen among users, constitutes a call of alert in terms of their likely abandonment of treatment. Further more, as they take impulses into actions, they build a barrier before words. This could be called acting up, doing instead of saying, which can become an obstacle for the appropriate development of the therapeutic process. The result must consider the size of the sample.
Proposal for Re-Usable TODO Knowledge Management System RESTER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saga, Ryosuke; Kageyama, Akinori; Tsuji, Hiroshi

This paper describes how to reuse a series of ad-hoc tasks such as special meeting arrangement and equipment procurement. Our RESTER (Reusable TODO Synthesizer) allows a group to reuse a series of tasks which are recorded in case database. Given a specific event, RESTER repairs the retrieved similar case by the ontology which describes the relationship of concept in the organization. A user has chance to check the modified case and to update it if he finds that there are incorrect repair because of deficient ontology. The user is also requested to judge if the retrieved case works or not. If he judges it is useful, the case becomes to be reused more frequently. Thus, RESTER works under the premise of human-computer collaboration. Based on the presented framework, this paper has identified several desirable attributes: (1) RESTER allows a group to externalize its experience on jobs, (2) Externalized experience are connected in case database, (3) A case is internalized by other group when it is retrieved and repaired for a new event, (4) New job generated from the previous similar job of one group is socialized by the other group.
Information Practices and User Interfaces: Student Use of an iOS Application in Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demmans Epp, Carrie; McEwen, Rhonda; Campigotto, Rachelle; Moffatt, Karyn

2016-01-01

A framework connecting concepts from user interface design with those from information studies is applied in a study that integrated a location-aware mobile application into two special education classes at different schools; this application had two support modes (one general and one location specific). The five-month study revealed several…
Accessibility to Specialized Public Oral Health Services from the Perspective of Brazilian Users

PubMed Central

de Castro, Ricardo Dias; Rangel, Marianne de Lucena; da Silva, Marcos André Azevedo; de Lucena, Brunna Thaís Lucwu; Cavalcanti, Alessandro Leite; Bonan, Paulo Rogério Ferreti; Oliveira, Julyana de Araújo

2016-01-01

The Specialized Dental Clinics (SDCs) represent the first government initiative in Latin America aimed at providing specialized oral health services. This study sought to evaluate the organizational accessibility to specialized oral health care services in Brazil and to understand the factors that may be associated with accessibility from the user’s perspective. This epidemiological, cross-sectional and quantitative study was conducted by means of interviews with individuals who sought specialized public oral health services in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil, and consisted of a sample of 590 individuals. Users expressed a favorable view of the classification and resolutive nature of specialized services offered by Brazilian public health. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed weak points highlighting the difficulty involved in obtaining such treatments leading to unfavorable evaluations. In the resolutive nature item, difficulty in accessing the location, queues and lack of materials and equipment were highlighted as statistically significant unfavorable aspects. While many of the users considered the service to be resolutive, weaknesses were mentioned that need to be detected to promote improvements and to prevent other health models adopted worldwide from reproducing the same flaws. PMID:27775584
User-friendly cognitive training for the elderly: a technical report.

PubMed

Boquete, Luciano; Rodríguez-Ascariz, José Manuel; Amo-Usanos, Carlos; Martínez-Arribas, Alejandro; Amo-Usanos, Javier; Otón, Salvador

2011-01-01

This article presents a system that implements a cognitive training program in users' homes. The system comprises various applications designed to create a daily brain-fitness regime. The proposed mental training system uses television and a remote control specially designed for the elderly. This system integrates Java applications to promote brain-fitness training in three areas: arithmetic, memory, and idea association. The system comprises the following: Standard television set, simplified wireless remote control, black box (system's core hardware and software), brain-fitness games (language Java), and Wi-Fi-enabled Internet-connected router. All data from the user training sessions are monitored through a control center. This control center analyzes the evolution of the user and the proper performance of the system during the test. The implemented system has been tested by six healthy volunteers. The results for this user group demonstrated the accessibility and usability of the system in a controlled real environment. The impressions of the users were very favorable, and they reported high adaptability to the system. The mean score for usability and accessibility assigned by the users was 3.56 out of 5 points. The operation stress test (over 200 h) was successful. The proposed system was used to implement a cognitive training program in users' homes, which was developed to be a low-cost tool with a high degree of user interactivity. The results of this preliminary study indicate that this user-friendly system could be adopted as a form of cognitive training for the elderly.
Performance Support Technology to Assess Training Effectiveness: Functional and Test-Bed Requirements

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-01

Su22ort Technologv SN Conge ~t ------------------ ------------------------------ 1. Compliance with TRADOC policy 1.1 Job aid that lays out SOP. 1.2 Tutorial...Inverse area . .Mark area after matched I-Custom cursor w rong respons,,e ¶Try again (Change Response TUpe jane) Erase feedback: SOK" Edit dlsplag OK...MANAGER for GROUP rou Choose an option: U - USER NAMES *2* A - ACTIVITIES *2* F - FILE MANAGEMENr C - CODEWORD E - ERROP REPORT *PRESENT* S - SPECIAL
Specialized Environmental Chamber Test Complex: User Test Planning Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montz, Michael E.

2011-01-01

Test process, milestones and inputs are unknowns to first-time users of the Specialized Environmental Test Complex. The User Test Planning Guide aids in establishing expectations for both NASA and non-NASA facility customers. The potential audience for this guide includes both internal and commercial spaceflight hardware/software developers. It is intended to assist their test engineering personnel in test planning and execution. Material covered includes a roadmap of the test process, roles and responsibilities of facility and user, major milestones, facility capabilities, and inputs required by the facility. Samples of deliverables, test article interfaces, and inputs necessary to define test scope, cost, and schedule are included as an appendix to the guide.
33 CFR 161.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Radiotelephone Act; or (b) Required to participate in a VMRS within a VTS area (VMRS User). VTS User's Manual...) User means a vessel, or an owner, operator, charterer, Master, or person directing the movement of a... which special operating requirements apply. VTS User means a vessel, or an owner, operator, charterer...
Valley Transit District: specialized transportation services for the elderly, handicapped, and low-income in the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut. Final report

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

Kocur, G.

1979-02-01

A multifaceted demonstration with special emphasis on service to the elderly and handicapped has been operating in the Lower Naugatuck Valley of Connecticut since January 1973. The system has included limited fixed-route service, demand responsive door-to-door service, subscription service, and contract bus service for social-service agencies and other groups in the Valley. An automated fare-collection system using credit cards and monthly billings to eliminate the need for cash payment was used from 1973 to 1975. Fare subsidization for handicapped and elderly citizens is facilitated by this computerized system which bills sponsoring agencies according to the use of the transportation servicesmore » by their clients during the previous billing period. The user-side subsidies and monthly billings were continued after 1975 using manual methods. Of the target population of 12,000 individuals, 600 are regular, heavy users of the Valley Transit District (VTD), with few of the others using the system at all. VTD users are primarily low-income, autoless elderly from small households. The system operates 10 vehicles daily to provide its services; the average hourly cost is near $12. The system has earned revenues equal to almost 50% of its costs, although 40% of its revenues have been derived from user-side subsidy funds. Finally, VTD has withstood several challenges in regulatory and institutional areas from private bus operators and has slowly expanded its services throughout the demonstration. It is currently operating in post-demonstration status under ongoing funding.« less
A proposal for a spiritual care assessment toolkit for religious volunteers and volunteer service users.

PubMed

Liu, Yi-Jung

2014-10-01

Based on the idea that volunteer services in healthcare settings should focus on the service users' best interests and providing holistic care for the body, mind, and spirit, the aim of this study was to propose an assessment toolkit for assessing the effectiveness of religious volunteers and improving their service. By analyzing and categorizing the results of previous studies, we incorporated effective care goals and methods in the proposed religious and spiritual care assessment toolkit. Two versions of the toolkit were created. The service users' version comprises 10 questions grouped into the following five dimensions: "physical care," "psychological and emotional support," "social relationships," "religious and spiritual care," and "hope restoration." Each question could either be answered with "yes" or "no". The volunteers' version contains 14 specific care goals and 31 care methods, in addition to the 10 care dimensions in the residents' version. A small sample of 25 experts was asked to judge the usefulness of each of the toolkit items for evaluating volunteers' effectiveness. Although some experts questioned the volunteer's capacity, however, to improve the spiritual care capacity and effectiveness provided by volunteers is the main purpose of developing this assessment toolkit. The toolkit developed in this study may not be applicable to other countries, and only addressed patients' general spiritual needs. Volunteers should receive special training in caring for people with special needs.

Troubled Waters: Navigating Unintended Consequences of Health Information Technology.

PubMed

Lehmann, C U; Séroussi, B; Jaulent, M-C

2016-11-10

To provide an introduction to the 2016 IMIA Yearbook of Medical Informatics by the editors. We present a brief overview of the 2016 special topic "Unintended consequences of Health IT: new problems, new solutions", we review our choice of special topic section editors, and discuss the transitions in the editorial team for next year. This edition of the Yearbook acknowledges the fact that implementation and use of Health Information Technology (HIT) may result in unintended consequences, which may lead to both adverse and sometimes beneficial outcomes. However to date, in the literature, undesired outcomes are emphasized with a focus on the complex causes and the many sources that may generate them. The growing awareness of the importance of HIT's unintended consequences and their increasing documentation reflect a wider acceptance of HIT by users (more use generating more consequences) and and a new type of users (a shift from early adopters to late adopters and laggards), whith great expectations regarding the improvement of care quality through HIT solutions. Different points of view on new problems and new solutions of unintended consequences of Health IT are presented through the keynote paper, survey papers, and the working group contributions. The regular 2016 issue of the IMIA yearbook focuses on new unintended consequences of Health IT - brought on by wider adoption and different types of users as well as solutions to addressing them.
Lip service: Public mental health services and the care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

PubMed

Molloy, Luke; Lakeman, Richard; Walker, Kim; Lees, David

2018-06-01

The failure of public mental services in Australia to provide care deemed culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has persisted despite several national reports and policies that have attempted to promote positive service change. Nurses represent the largest professional group practising within these services. This article reports on a multisited ethnography of mental health nursing practice as it relates to this group of mental health service users. It explores the beliefs and ideas that nurses identified about public mental health services and the services they provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. During the fieldwork, mental health nurses described the constricting effect of the biomedical paradigm of mental illness on their abilities to provide authentic holistic care focused on social and emotional well-being. Despite being the most numerous professional group in mental health services, the speciality of mental health nursing appears unable to change this situation and in many cases maintain this status quo to the potential detriment of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service users. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
Patterns of Availability and Use of Audiotape Cassettes in Special Libraries. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, J. M., II

1975-01-01

The availability and use of audiotape cassettes is studied in terms of user requirements. The following factors were examined: how special libraries utilize audiotape cassettes; who the users of the medium are; how the libraries acquire and maintain their collection; and opinions of librarians as to the value of the audiotape cassette as a medium for dissemination of information.
Online drug user-led harm reduction in Hungary: a review of “Daath”

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Harm reduction has been increasingly finding its way into public drug policies and healthcare practices worldwide, with successful intervention measures justifiably focussing on the highest-risk groups, such as injecting drug users. However, there are also other types of drug users in need for harm reduction, even though they pose less, low, or no public health risk. Occasionally, drug users may autonomously organise themselves into groups to provide advocacy, harm reduction, and peer-help services, sometimes online. The http://www.daath.hu website has been operated since 2001 by the “Hungarian Psychedelic Community”, an unorganised drug user group with a special interest in hallucinogenic and related substances. As of today, the website serves about 1200 visitors daily, and the online community comprises of more than 8000 registered members. The Daath community is driven by a strong commitment to the policy of harm reduction in the form of various peer-help activities that aim to expand harm reduction without promoting drug use. Our review comprehensively summarises Daath’s user-led harm reduction services and activities from the last ten years, firstly outlining the history and growth phases of Daath, along with its self-set guidelines and policies. Online services (such as a discussion board, and an Ecstasy pill database) and offline activities (such as Ecstasy pill field testing, and a documentary film about psychedelics) are described. In order to extend its harm reduction services and activities in the future, Daath has several social, commercial, and legislative challenges to face. Starting with a need to realign its focus, outlooks for the upcoming operation of Daath are pondered. Future trends in harm reduction, such as separating harm-decreasing from benefit-increasing, are also discussed. We aim to share these innovative harm reduction measures and good practices in order to be critically assessed, and – if found useful – adapted and applied elsewhere. PMID:24088321
Use of complementary and alternative medicine among patients: classification criteria determine level of use.

PubMed

Kristoffersen, Agnete Egilsdatter; Fønnebø, Vinjar; Norheim, Arne Johan

2008-10-01

Self-reported use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among patients varies widely between studies, possibly because the definition of a CAM user is not comparable. This makes it difficult to compare studies. The aim of this study is to present a six-level model for classifying patients' reported exposure to CAM. Prayer, physical exercise, special diets, over-the-counter products/CAM techniques, and personal visits to a CAM practitioner are successively removed from the model in a reductive fashion. By applying the model to responses given by Norwegian patients with cancer, we found that 72% use CAM if the user was defined to include all types of CAM. This proportion was reduced successively to only 11% in the same patient group when a CAM user was defined as a user visiting a CAM practitioner four or more times. When considering a sample of 10 recently published studies of CAM use among patients with breast cancer, we found 98% use when the CAM user was defined to include all sorts of CAM. This proportion was reduced successively to only 20% when a CAM user was defined as a user of a CAM practitioner. We recommend future surveys of CAM use to report at more than one level and to clarify which intensity level of CAM use the report is based on.
Vienna Special Analysis Center Annual Report 2012

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boehm, Johannes; Boehm, Sigrid; Krasna, Hana; Madzak, Matthias; Nilsson, Tobias; Plank, Lucia; Raposo, Virginia; Schuh, Harald; Soja, Benedikt; Sun Jing;

2013-01-01

The main activities of the VLBI group at the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation of the Vienna University of Technology were related to the development of the Vienna VLBI Software VieVS (http://vievs.hg.tuwien.ac.at/) and its application for various studies. For example, we dealt with scheduling, satellite tracking, and the estimation of geodynamical and astronomical parameters from VLBI observations. One highlight was the release of VieVS 2.0 just before the third VieVS User Workshop in September 2012.

Public release of the ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900-2009)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Storchak, Dmitry A.; Di Giacomo, Domenico; Bondára, István; Engdahl, E. Robert; Harris, James; Lee, William H.K.; Villaseñor, Antonio; Bormann, Peter

2013-01-01

The International Seismological Centre–Global Earthquake Model (ISC–GEM) Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009) is the result of a special effort to substantially extend and improve currently existing global catalogs to serve the requirements of specific user groups who assess and model seismic hazard and risk. The data from the ISC–GEM Catalogue would be used worldwide yet will prove absolutely essential in those regions where a high seismicity level strongly correlates with a high population density.
Solar photovoltaics for development applications

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

Shepperd, L.W.; Richards, E.H.

1993-08-01

This document introduces photovoltaic technology to individuals and groups specializing in development activities. Examples of actual installations illustrate the many services supplied by photovoltaic systems in development applications, including water pumping, lighting, health care, refrigeration, communications, and a variety of productive uses. The various aspects of the technology are explored to help potential users evaluate whether photovoltaics can assist them in achieving their organizational goals. Basic system design, financing techniques, and the importance of infrastructure are included, along with additional sources of information and major US photovoltaic system suppliers.
Head-mounted display systems and the special operations soldier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loyd, Rodney B.

1998-08-01

In 1997, the Boeing Company, working with DARPA under the Smart Modules program and the US Army Soldier Systems Command, embarked on an advanced research and development program to develop a wearable computer system tailored for use with soldiers of the US Special Operations Command. The 'special operations combat management system' is a rugged advanced wearable tactical computer, designed to provide the special operations soldier with enhanced situation awareness and battlefield information capabilities. Many issues must be considered during the design of wearable computers for a combat soldier, including the system weight, placement on the body with respect to other equipment, user interfaces and display system characteristics. During the initial feasibility study for the system, the operational environment was examined and potential users were interviewed to establish the proper display solution for the system. Many display system requirements resulted, such as head or helmet mounting, Night Vision Goggle compatibility, minimal visible light emissions, environmental performance and even the need for handheld or other 'off the head' type display systems. This paper will address these issues and other end user requirements for display systems for applications in the harsh and demanding environment of the Special Operations soldier.
Predictors of quitting behaviour with special reference to nicotine dependence among adult tobacco-users in a slum of Burdwan district, West Bengal, India.

PubMed

Islam, Kamirul; Saha, Indranil; Saha, Rajib; Samim Khan, Sufi Abdul; Thakur, Rupali; Shivam, Swapnil

2014-04-01

Information on predictors of quitting behaviour in adult tobacco users is scarce in Indian context. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the intention of tobacco-users towards quitting and its predictors with reference to nicotine dependence. A community-based observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 128 adult tobacco-users (89.8% male) with mean age of 41.1 ± 15.7 yr selected by complete enumeration method. Data were collected by interview using pre-designed, pre-tested schedule. Nicotine dependence was assessed by Fagerstrφm Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) questionnaire. Of the 128 users, 63.3 per cent had intention to quit. Majority of the tobacco users who did not intend to quit belonged to the age group of > 40 yr (66.0%), were illiterate (55.3%), started tobacco use at 11 - 15 yr of age (57.4%), had been using tobacco for 20 yr or more (70.2%), were daily tobacco users (91.5%), and highly dependent on nicotine (80.9%). Tobacco users having high FTND score and who started tobacco use early in life were 1.83 and 3.30 times more unintended to quit, respectively. Suitable plan for quitting should be developed depending on the FTND score of an individual, the most important determinant of quitting that would be beneficial for categorization of the treatment leading to successful quitting.
LDEF materials data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Funk, Joan G.; Strickland, John W.; Davis, John M.

1993-01-01

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) and the accompanying experiments were composed of and contained a wide variety of materials representing the largest collection of materials flown in low Earth orbit (LEO) and retrieved for ground based analysis to date. The results and implications of the mechanical, thermal, optical, and electrical data from these materials are the foundation on which future LEO space missions will be built. The LDEF Materials Special Investigation Group (MSIG) has been charged with establishing and developing data bases to document these materials and their performance to assure not only that the data are archived for future generations but also that the data are available to the spacecraft user community in an easily accessed, user-friendly form. This paper discusses the format and content of the three data bases developed or being developed to accomplish this task. The hardware and software requirements for each of these three data bases are discussed along with current availability of the data bases. This paper also serves as a user's guide to the MAPTIS LDEF Materials Data Base.
Resettlement of individuals with learning disabilities into community care: a risk audit.

PubMed

Ellis, Roger; Hogard, Elaine; Sines, David

2013-09-01

This article describes a risk audit carried out on the support provided for 36 people with profound learning disabilities who had been resettled from hospital care to supported housing. The risks were those factors identified in the literature as associated with deleterious effects on quality of life. The audit was carried out with a specially designed tool that covered 24 possible risks and involved a support worker familiar with the service user choosing the most appropriate statement regarding each risk. Their judgements were verified by care managers and social needs assessors. Whilst one or more risks were identified for 32 of the 36 service users, the overall result showed relatively low risks for the group as a whole with 62 incidences (7%) from a possible 864, which nevertheless highlighted several areas that needed attention. The results of the audit have led to action plans for the provision and for the individual service users for whom risks were identified.
Local Special Education Planning Model: User's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, Peggy L.; Hartman, William T.

To help school districts estimate the present and future needs and costs of their special education programs, this manual presents the Local Special Education Planning Model, an interactive computer program (with worksheets) that provides a framework for using a district's own data to analyze its special education program. Part 1 of the manual…
27 CFR 20.191 - Bulk articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Bulk articles. 20.191... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Operations by Users § 20.191 Bulk articles. Users who convey articles in containers exceeding one gallon may provide the recipient with a photocopy of subpart G of this...
27 CFR 20.191 - Bulk articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Bulk articles. 20.191... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Operations by Users § 20.191 Bulk articles. Users who convey articles in containers exceeding one gallon may provide the recipient with a photocopy of subpart G of this...
27 CFR 20.191 - Bulk articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Bulk articles. 20.191... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Operations by Users § 20.191 Bulk articles. Users who convey articles in containers exceeding one gallon may provide the recipient with a photocopy of subpart G of this...
27 CFR 20.191 - Bulk articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bulk articles. 20.191... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Operations by Users § 20.191 Bulk articles. Users who convey articles in containers exceeding one gallon may provide the recipient with a photocopy of subpart G of this...
27 CFR 20.191 - Bulk articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Bulk articles. 20.191... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Operations by Users § 20.191 Bulk articles. Users who convey articles in containers exceeding one gallon may provide the recipient with a photocopy of subpart G of this...
Perceptions of predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors influencing the use of a continuity of care document in special needs PLWH.

PubMed

Odlum, Michelle; Gordon, Peter; Camhi, Eli; Schnall, Rebecca; Teixeira, Paul; Bakken, Suzanne

2012-11-01

The provision of personal health information through electronic personal health management tools (EPHMT) has the potential to improve health outcomes. However, little is known about factors that affect EPHMT use in special needs people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). The purpose of this study was to describe PLWH perceptions of predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors affecting use of one type of EPHMT, a continuity of care document (CCD). Data were collected through focus groups and qualitative interviews with PLWH (n=35), health care providers (N=19) and care site managers (N=5). All participant types identified predisposing barriers to CCD use including literacy, privacy, and technology access and enabling factors to promote CCD use including user support and password simplicity. People living with HIV/AIDS also identified reinforcing factors for recurring CCD use including emergent situations and reducing test redundancy. Results inform methods to promote use of the CCD and other EPHMT by special needs PLWH.
Input data requirements for special processors in the computation system containing the VENTURE neutronics code. [LMFBR

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

Vondy, D.R.; Fowler, T.B.; Cunningham, G.W.

1979-07-01

User input data requirements are presented for certain special processors in a nuclear reactor computation system. These processors generally read data in formatted form and generate binary interface data files. Some data processing is done to convert from the user oriented form to the interface file forms. The VENTURE diffusion theory neutronics code and other computation modules in this system use the interface data files which are generated.

User needs elicitation via analytic hierarchy process (AHP). A case study on a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner.

PubMed

Pecchia, Leandro; Martin, Jennifer L; Ragozzino, Angela; Vanzanella, Carmela; Scognamiglio, Arturo; Mirarchi, Luciano; Morgan, Stephen P

2013-01-05

The rigorous elicitation of user needs is a crucial step for both medical device design and purchasing. However, user needs elicitation is often based on qualitative methods whose findings can be difficult to integrate into medical decision-making. This paper describes the application of AHP to elicit user needs for a new CT scanner for use in a public hospital. AHP was used to design a hierarchy of 12 needs for a new CT scanner, grouped into 4 homogenous categories, and to prepare a paper questionnaire to investigate the relative priorities of these. The questionnaire was completed by 5 senior clinicians working in a variety of clinical specialisations and departments in the same Italian public hospital. Although safety and performance were considered the most important issues, user needs changed according to clinical scenario. For elective surgery, the five most important needs were: spatial resolution, processing software, radiation dose, patient monitoring, and contrast medium. For emergency, the top five most important needs were: patient monitoring, radiation dose, contrast medium control, speed run, spatial resolution. AHP effectively supported user need elicitation, helping to develop an analytic and intelligible framework of decision-making. User needs varied according to working scenario (elective versus emergency medicine) more than clinical specialization. This method should be considered by practitioners involved in decisions about new medical technology, whether that be during device design or before deciding whether to allocate budgets for new medical devices according to clinical functions or according to hospital department.
Educational planning for utilization of space shuttle (ED-PLUSS). Executive summary: Identification and evaluation of educational uses and users for the STS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engle, H. A.; Christensen, D. L.

1975-01-01

The development and application of educational programs to improve public awareness of the space shuttle/space lab capabilities are reported. Special efforts were made to: identify the potential user, identify and analyze space education programs, plan methods for user involvement, develop techniques and programs to encourage new users, and compile follow-on ideas.
The GEOSS User Requirement Registry (URR): A Cross-Cutting Service-Oriented Infrastructure Linking Science, Society and GEOSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plag, H.-P.; Foley, G.; Jules-Plag, S.; Ondich, G.; Kaufman, J.

2012-04-01

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is implementing the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) as a user-driven service infrastructure responding to the needs of users in nine interdependent Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) of Earth observations (EOs). GEOSS applies an interdisciplinary scientific approach integrating observations, research, and knowledge in these SBAs in order to enable scientific interpretation of the collected observations and the extraction of actionable information. Using EOs to actually produce these societal benefits means getting the data and information to users, i.e., decision-makers. Thus, GEO needs to know what the users need and how they would use the information. The GEOSS User Requirements Registry (URR) is developed as a service-oriented infrastructure enabling a wide range of users, including science and technology (S&T) users, to express their needs in terms of EOs and to understand the benefits of GEOSS for their fields. S&T communities need to be involved in both the development and the use of GEOSS, and the development of the URR accounts for the special needs of these communities. The GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) at the core of GEOSS includes system-oriented registries enabling users to discover, access, and use EOs and derived products and services available through GEOSS. In addition, the user-oriented URR is a place for the collection, sharing, and analysis of user needs and EO requirements, and it provides means for an efficient dialog between users and providers. The URR is a community-based infrastructure for the publishing, viewing, and analyzing of user-need related information. The data model of the URR has a core of seven relations for User Types, Applications, Requirements, Research Needs, Infrastructure Needs, Technology Needs, and Capacity Building Needs. The URR also includes a Lexicon, a number of controlled vocabularies, and
Data Retention Policy | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov Websites

HPC Data Retention Policy. File storage areas on Peregrine and Gyrfalcon are either user-centric to reclaim storage. We can make special arrangements for permanent storage, if needed. User-Centric > is 3 months after the last project ends. During this retention period, the user may log in to
The Habitability Framework: Linking Human Behavior and Physical Environment in Special Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preiser, Wolfgang F. E.; Taylor, Anne

1983-01-01

The concept of environmental design cybernetics is explained, and its use by special educators and architects in creating learning environments is discussed. A proposed habitability framework is defined, and its applications to buildings and building occupants/users are offered. Research on architectural design applied to special education…
New Directions in Library and Information Science Education. Final Report. Volume 2.4: Special Librarian Competencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffiths, Jose-Marie; And Others

This document contains validated activities and competencies needed by librarians working in a special library. The activities and competencies are organized according to the functions which special librarians perform: acquisitions; cataloging; circulation and user services; collection maintenance; interlibrary loan; management; reference; and…
Does individual learning styles influence the choice to use a web-based ECG learning programme in a blended learning setting?

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

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

PubMed

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

2012-01-16

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

DOEpatents

DeRobertis, Christopher V.; Lu, Yantian T.

2010-02-23

A method, system, and program storage device for creating a new user account or user group with a unique identification number in a computing environment having multiple user registries is provided. In response to receiving a command to create a new user account or user group, an operating system of a clustered computing environment automatically checks multiple registries configured for the operating system to determine whether a candidate identification number for the new user account or user group has been assigned already to one or more existing user accounts or groups, respectively. The operating system automatically assigns the candidate identification number to the new user account or user group created in a target user registry if the checking indicates that the candidate identification number has not been assigned already to any of the existing user accounts or user groups, respectively.
End-Users: Dreams or Dollars.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Stephen E.

1987-01-01

Examines strategies for marketing online searching to new users, discusses reasons why people become online searchers, and presents data on the business information market. The pricing issue and special librarians as a market segment are also considered. (EM)
Cooperative data dissemination to mission sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Fangfei; Johnson, Matthew P.; Bar-Noy, Amotz; La Porta, Thomas F.

2010-04-01

Timely dissemination of information to mobile users is vital in many applications. In a critical situation, no network infrastructure may be available for use in dissemination, over and above the on-board storage capability of the mobile users themselves. We consider the following specialized content distribution application: a group of users equipped with wireless devices build an ad hoc network in order cooperatively to retrieve information from certain regions (the mission sites). Each user requires access to some set of information items originating from sources lying within a region. Each user desires low-latency access to its desired data items, upon request (i.e., when pulled). In order to minimize average response time, we allow users to pull data either directly from sources or, when possible, from other nearby users who have already pulled, and continue to carry, the desired data items. That is, we allow for data to be pushed to one user and then pulled by one or more additional users. The total latency experienced by a user vis-vis a certain data item is then in general a combination of the push delay and the pull delay. We assume each delay time is a function of the hop distance between the pair of points in question. Our goal in this paper is to assign data to mobile users, in order to minimize the total cost and the average latency experienced by all the users. In a static setting, we solve this problem in two different schemes, one of which is easy to solve but wasteful, one of which relates to NP-hard problems but is less so. Then in a dynamic setting, we adapt the algorithm for the static setting and develop a new algorithm with respect to users' gradual arrival. In the end we show a trade-off can be made between minimizing the cost and latency.
IAC - INTEGRATED ANALYSIS CAPABILITY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frisch, H. P.

1994-01-01

The objective of the Integrated Analysis Capability (IAC) system is to provide a highly effective, interactive analysis tool for the integrated design of large structures. With the goal of supporting the unique needs of engineering analysis groups concerned with interdisciplinary problems, IAC was developed to interface programs from the fields of structures, thermodynamics, controls, and system dynamics with an executive system and database to yield a highly efficient multi-disciplinary system. Special attention is given to user requirements such as data handling and on-line assistance with operational features, and the ability to add new modules of the user's choice at a future date. IAC contains an executive system, a data base, general utilities, interfaces to various engineering programs, and a framework for building interfaces to other programs. IAC has shown itself to be effective in automatic data transfer among analysis programs. IAC 2.5, designed to be compatible as far as possible with Level 1.5, contains a major upgrade in executive and database management system capabilities, and includes interfaces to enable thermal, structures, optics, and control interaction dynamics analysis. The IAC system architecture is modular in design. 1) The executive module contains an input command processor, an extensive data management system, and driver code to execute the application modules. 2) Technical modules provide standalone computational capability as well as support for various solution paths or coupled analyses. 3) Graphics and model generation interfaces are supplied for building and viewing models. Advanced graphics capabilities are provided within particular analysis modules such as INCA and NASTRAN. 4) Interface modules provide for the required data flow between IAC and other modules. 5) User modules can be arbitrary executable programs or JCL procedures with no pre-defined relationship to IAC. 6) Special purpose modules are included, such as MIMIC (Model Integration via Mesh Interpolation Coefficients), which transforms field values from one model to another; LINK, which simplifies incorporation of user specific modules into IAC modules; and DATAPAC, the National Bureau of Standards statistical analysis package. The IAC database contains structured files which provide a common basis for communication between modules and the executive system, and can contain unstructured files such as NASTRAN checkpoint files, DISCOS plot files, object code, etc. The user can define groups of data and relations between them. A full data manipulation and query system operates with the database. The current interface modules comprise five groups: 1) Structural analysis - IAC contains a NASTRAN interface for standalone analysis or certain structural/control/thermal combinations. IAC provides enhanced structural capabilities for normal modes and static deformation analysis via special DMAP sequences. IAC 2.5 contains several specialized interfaces from NASTRAN in support of multidisciplinary analysis. 2) Thermal analysis - IAC supports finite element and finite difference techniques for steady state or transient analysis. There are interfaces for the NASTRAN thermal analyzer, SINDA/SINFLO, and TRASYS II. FEMNET, which converts finite element structural analysis models to finite difference thermal analysis models, is also interfaced with the IAC database. 3) System dynamics - The DISCOS simulation program which allows for either nonlinear time domain analysis or linear frequency domain analysis, is fully interfaced to the IAC database management capability. 4) Control analysis - Interfaces for the ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and INCA programs allow a wide range of control system analyses and synthesis techniques. Level 2.5 includes EIGEN, which provides tools for large order system eigenanalysis, and BOPACE, which allows for geometric capabilities and finite element analysis with nonlinear material. Also included in IAC level 2.5 is SAMSAN 3.1, an engineering analysis program which contains a general purpose library of over 600 subroutin
Ergonomic audit of a specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies, the Sonicare Flexcare, and the Oral-B Smart Series 5000.

PubMed

Hunter, Gail; Burns, Laurie; Bone, Brian; Mintel, Thomas; Jimenez, Eduardo

2012-01-01

The presence of ergonomic features can impact the marketplace success of a new product. Metaphase Design Group, Inc., in partnership with the Colgate-Palmolive Company, conducted an ergonomic audit on three electric toothbrushes: a specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies, the Sonicare FlexCare, and the Oral-B Smart Series 5000. The ergonomic audit was conducted by Metaphase Design Groups's ergonomic and usability experts. Two experts used the toothbrushes over a one-week period and assessed the performance of each brush against a set of ergonomic principles. The three toothbrushes have some solid ergonomic features. They each have adequate grip zones, provide grip security with elastomeric materials, and provide easy access to the on/off button. The most distinctive feature is the longitudinal shape of the handle of the specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing and control technologies. This handle angles downward at the top end and provides additional advantages through improved grip security and visibility. Yet all three toothbrushes have different opportunities for improvement. The Sonicare Flex Care toothbrush has a cluttered and complicated user interface that is difficult to read. The disadvantages of the Oral-B Smart Series 5000 toothbrush are related to its physical dimensions and audible feedback. The specially engineered sonic powered toothbrush with unique sensing afid control technologies is surprising to use with its changes in speeds, brush movements, and resulting changes in audible feedback.
A Federal Perspective on Improving Practices, Programs, and Policies in Special Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Martin; And Others

1993-01-01

Unification of objective and subjective models is suggested as a means for contributing to a professional knowledge base for special education. The knowledge production, access, and use activities of the Office of Special Education programs are user oriented, while incorporating the empirical rigor of the initial research and evaluation. (SLD)
47 CFR 4.5 - Definitions of outage, special offices and facilities, and 911 special facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... facilities, and 911 special facilities. 4.5 Section 4.5 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL DISRUPTIONS TO COMMUNICATIONS Reporting Requirements for Disruptions to Communications § 4.5... significant degradation in the ability of an end user to establish and maintain a channel of communications as...
Working with Families of Young Children with Special Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McWilliam, R. A., Ed.

2010-01-01

This user-friendly book presents research-based best practices for serving families of children with special needs from birth to age 6. Expert contributors demonstrate how early intervention and early childhood special education can effectively address a wide range of family concerns, which in turn optimizes children's development and learning.…
[Access to high-cost drugs in Brazil from the perspective of physicians, pharmacists and patients].

PubMed

Rover, Marina Raijche Mattozo; Vargas-Pelaez, Claudia Marcela; Rocha Farias, Mareni; Nair Leite, Silvana

2016-01-01

To explore perceptions on access to medication supplied by the Specialized Component of Pharmaceutical Assistance (CEAF) within the Brazilian Unified Health System (which includes high-cost drugs) by the actors involved in the healthcare services of this component. A descriptive, qualitative study was carried out by using a focal group with 7 users and 11 semi-structured interviews with health professionals (physicians and pharmacist) in the state of Santa Catarina. According to the participants, access to medicines had improved. Two main perceptions of the CEAF Clinical Guidelines were identified: the requirements constitute a bureaucracy that limits access, and the requisites increase the demand for tests and specialized healthcare services, exceeding the capacity of the healthcare services network. These assumptions generated the search for other means of access that revealed a lack of information and understanding of the right to health among the users. In addition, according to the participants, because of the difficulties of accessing services as a whole, full access to CEAF medicines is a goal that remains to be achieved. Although access to CEAF medicines has improved, there are still some difficulties in guaranteeing treatment access and comprehensiveness. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
GPU.proton.DOCK: Genuine Protein Ultrafast proton equilibria consistent DOCKing.

PubMed

Kantardjiev, Alexander A

2011-07-01

GPU.proton.DOCK (Genuine Protein Ultrafast proton equilibria consistent DOCKing) is a state of the art service for in silico prediction of protein-protein interactions via rigorous and ultrafast docking code. It is unique in providing stringent account of electrostatic interactions self-consistency and proton equilibria mutual effects of docking partners. GPU.proton.DOCK is the first server offering such a crucial supplement to protein docking algorithms--a step toward more reliable and high accuracy docking results. The code (especially the Fast Fourier Transform bottleneck and electrostatic fields computation) is parallelized to run on a GPU supercomputer. The high performance will be of use for large-scale structural bioinformatics and systems biology projects, thus bridging physics of the interactions with analysis of molecular networks. We propose workflows for exploring in silico charge mutagenesis effects. Special emphasis is given to the interface-intuitive and user-friendly. The input is comprised of the atomic coordinate files in PDB format. The advanced user is provided with a special input section for addition of non-polypeptide charges, extra ionogenic groups with intrinsic pK(a) values or fixed ions. The output is comprised of docked complexes in PDB format as well as interactive visualization in a molecular viewer. GPU.proton.DOCK server can be accessed at http://gpudock.orgchm.bas.bg/.
Reducing non-collision injuries in special transportation services by enhanced safety culture.

PubMed

Wretstrand, Anders; Petzäll, Jan; Bylund, Per-Olof; Falkmer, Torbjörn

2010-04-01

Previous research has pointed out that non-collision injuries occur among wheelchair users in Special Transportation Services (STS - a demand-responsive transport mode). The organization of such modes is also quite complex, involving both stakeholders and key personnel at different levels. Our objective was therefore to qualitatively explore the state of safety, as perceived and discussed within a workplace context. Focus groups were held with drivers of both taxi companies and bus companies. The results indicated that passengers run the risk of being injured without being involved in a vehicle collision. The pertinent organizational and corporate culture did not prioritize safety. The drivers identified some relatively clear-cut safety threats, primarily before and after a ride, at vehicle standstill. The driver's work place seemed to be surrounded with a reactive instead of proactive structure. We conclude that not only vehicle and wheelchair technical safety must be considered in STS, but also system safety. Instead of viewing drivers' error as a cause, it should be seen as a symptom of systems failure. Human error is connected to aspects of tools, tasks, and operating environment. Enhanced understanding and influence of these connections within STS and accessible public transport systems will promote safety for wheelchair users. Copyright 2009 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
VisEL: Visualisation of Expertise Level in a Special Interest Group Knowledge Portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulhafizsyam Wan Ahmad, Wan Muhammad; Sulaiman, Shahida; Yusof, Umi Kalsom

A variety of portals are available nowadays to support diverse purposes such as commercial, publishing, personal, affinity and corporate portals. Affinity portals promote electronic communities who share common interest such as a special interest group (SIG). Knowledge portal is an emerging trend that benefits the existing portal technology by designing such portals with proper representation of the members' shared knowledge. Besides textual representation for diverse expertise levels, graphical visualisation will be able to support the requirements in searching and representing expertise level among e-community. There is a number of existing SIG portals available. However, they do not visualise effectively and accurately the expertise level of members and make it difficult for users to search their targeted experts for instance searching the highest expertise level to have a discussion and to solve their problems related to a project. The goal of this paper is to propose a graphical visualisation of expertise level method (VisEL) using an interactive tag cloud technique that represents expertise level of each member based on their knowledge in a software engineering SIG portal.

The impact of landsat satellite monitoring on conservation biology.

PubMed

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

2005-07-01

Landsat 7's recent malfunctioning will result in significant gaps in long-term satellite monitoring of Earth, affecting not only the research of the Earth science community but also conservation users of these data. To determine whether or how important Landsat monitoring is for conservation and natural resource management, we reviewed the Landsat program's history with special emphasis on the development of user groups. We also conducted a bibliographic search to determine the extent to which conservation research has been based on Landsat data. Conservation biologists were not an early user group of Landsat data because a) biologists lacked technical capacity--computers and software--to analyze these data; b) Landsat's 1980s commercialization rendered images too costly for biologists' budgets; and c) the broad-scale disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology did not develop until the mid-to-late 1980s. All these conditions had changed by the 1990s and Landsat imagery became an important tool for conservation biology. Satellite monitoring and Landsat continuity are mandated by the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992. This legislation leaves open commercial options. However, past experiments with commercial operations were neither viable nor economical, and severely reduced the quality of monitoring, archiving and data access for academia and the public. Future satellite monitoring programs are essential for conservation and natural resource management, must provide continuity with Landsat, and should be government operated.
Computer User's Guide to the Protection of Information Resources. NIST Special Publication 500-171.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helsing, Cheryl; And Others

Computers have changed the way information resources are handled. Large amounts of information are stored in one central place and can be accessed from remote locations. Users have a personal responsibility for the security of the system and the data stored in it. This document outlines the user's responsibilities and provides security and control…
User-Side Subsidy Programs for Special Needs Transportation : A Planning Handbook

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-06-01

This handbook, first of a series, provides guidance for designing and implementing a user-side subsidy program. The book is divided into two parts--Program Planning and Program Implementation. The Planning section covers six areas--Goals and Objectiv...
Wilderness at arm's length: On the outside looking in at special provisions in wilderness

Treesearch

Alan E. Watson

2012-01-01

While there is a long history of research on factors influencing wilderness recreation visitor experiences, there has been little focused research to understand the experiences of users visiting wilderness under legislative special provisions or the impact of these special provisions on wilderness recreation visitors. There are some exceptions. For example, contrasting...
New output improvements for CLASSY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rassbach, M. E. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

Additional output data and formats for the CLASSY clustering algorithm were developed. Four such aids to the CLASSY user are described. These are: (1) statistical measures; (2) special map types; (3) formats for standard output; and (4) special cluster display method.
Self-service for software development projects and HPC activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husejko, M.; Høimyr, N.; Gonzalez, A.; Koloventzos, G.; Asbury, D.; Trzcinska, A.; Agtzidis, I.; Botrel, G.; Otto, J.

2014-05-01

This contribution describes how CERN has implemented several essential tools for agile software development processes, ranging from version control (Git) to issue tracking (Jira) and documentation (Wikis). Running such services in a large organisation like CERN requires many administrative actions both by users and service providers, such as creating software projects, managing access rights, users and groups, and performing tool-specific customisation. Dealing with these requests manually would be a time-consuming task. Another area of our CERN computing services that has required dedicated manual support has been clusters for specific user communities with special needs. Our aim is to move all our services to a layered approach, with server infrastructure running on the internal cloud computing infrastructure at CERN. This contribution illustrates how we plan to optimise the management of our of services by means of an end-user facing platform acting as a portal into all the related services for software projects, inspired by popular portals for open-source developments such as Sourceforge, GitHub and others. Furthermore, the contribution will discuss recent activities with tests and evaluations of High Performance Computing (HPC) applications on different hardware and software stacks, and plans to offer a dynamically scalable HPC service at CERN, based on affordable hardware.
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).
Embodied and Distributed Parallel DJing.

PubMed

Cappelen, Birgitta; Andersson, Anders-Petter

2016-01-01

Everyone has a right to take part in cultural events and activities, such as music performances and music making. Enforcing that right, within Universal Design, is often limited to a focus on physical access to public areas, hearing aids etc., or groups of persons with special needs performing in traditional ways. The latter might be people with disabilities, being musicians playing traditional instruments, or actors playing theatre. In this paper we focus on the innovative potential of including people with special needs, when creating new cultural activities. In our project RHYME our goal was to create health promoting activities for children with severe disabilities, by developing new musical and multimedia technologies. Because of the users' extreme demands and rich contribution, we ended up creating both a new genre of musical instruments and a new art form. We call this new art form Embodied and Distributed Parallel DJing, and the new genre of instruments for Empowering Multi-Sensorial Things.
47 CFR 32.5083 - Special access revenue.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... (a) This account shall include all federally and state tariffed charges assessed for other than end user or switched access charges referred to in Account 5081, End user revenue, and Account 5082... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS...
Effective user management with high strength crypto -key in dynamic group environment in cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P. J.; Suganya, P.; Karthik, G.

2017-11-01

Cloud Clusters consists of various collections of files which are being accessed by multiple users of Cloud. The users are managed as a group and the association of the user to a particular group is dynamic in nature. Every group has a manager who handles the membership of a user to a particular group by issuing keys for encryption and decryption. Due to the dynamic nature of a user he/she may leave the group very frequently. But an attempt can be made by the user who has recently left the group to access a file maintained by that group. Key distribution becomes a critical issue while the behavior of the user is dynamic. Existing techniques to manage the users of group in terms of security and key distribution has been investigated so that to arrive at an objective to identify the scopes to increase security and key management scheme in cloud. The usage of various key combinations to measure the strength of security and efficiency of user management in dynamic cloud environment has been investigated.
Evaluating user reputation in online rating systems via an iterative group-based ranking method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jian; Zhou, Tao

2017-05-01

Reputation is a valuable asset in online social lives and it has drawn increased attention. Due to the existence of noisy ratings and spamming attacks, how to evaluate user reputation in online rating systems is especially significant. However, most of the previous ranking-based methods either follow a debatable assumption or have unsatisfied robustness. In this paper, we propose an iterative group-based ranking method by introducing an iterative reputation-allocation process into the original group-based ranking method. More specifically, the reputation of users is calculated based on the weighted sizes of the user rating groups after grouping all users by their rating similarities, and the high reputation users' ratings have larger weights in dominating the corresponding user rating groups. The reputation of users and the user rating group sizes are iteratively updated until they become stable. Results on two real data sets with artificial spammers suggest that the proposed method has better performance than the state-of-the-art methods and its robustness is considerably improved comparing with the original group-based ranking method. Our work highlights the positive role of considering users' grouping behaviors towards a better online user reputation evaluation.
AI User Support System for SAP ERP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlasov, Vladimir; Chebotareva, Victoria; Rakhimov, Marat; Kruglikov, Sergey

2017-10-01

An intelligent system for SAP ERP user support is proposed in this paper. It enables automatic replies on users’ requests for support, saving time for problem analysis and resolution and improving responsiveness for end users. The system is based on an ensemble of machine learning algorithms of multiclass text classification, providing efficient question understanding, and a special framework for evidence retrieval, providing the best answer derivation.
Smart homes to improve the quality of life for all.

PubMed

Aiello, Marco; Aloise, Fabio; Baldoni, Roberto; Cincotti, Febo; Guger, Christoph; Lazovik, Alexander; Mecella, Massimo; Pucci, Paolo; Rinsma, Johanna; Santucci, Giuseppe; Taglieri, Massimiliano

2011-01-01

A home is smart when, being aware of its own state and that of its users, is capable of controlling itself in order to support the user wishes and thus improving their quality of life. This holds both for users with special needs and for those with ordinary domestic needs. In this paper, we overview the Smart Homes for All project which represents the current state of the art with respect to software control and user interfaces in the smart homes arena.
Soft x-ray scattering facility at the Advanced Light Source with real-time data processing and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gann, E.; Young, A. T.; Collins, B. A.; Yan, H.; Nasiatka, J.; Padmore, H. A.; Ade, H.; Hexemer, A.; Wang, C.

2012-04-01

We present the development and characterization of a dedicated resonant soft x-ray scattering facility. Capable of operation over a wide energy range, the beamline and endstation are primarily used for scattering from soft matter systems around the carbon K-edge (˜285 eV). We describe the specialized design of the instrument and characteristics of the beamline. Operational characteristics of immediate interest to users such as polarization control, degree of higher harmonic spectral contamination, and detector noise are delineated. Of special interest is the development of a higher harmonic rejection system that improves the spectral purity of the x-ray beam. Special software and a user-friendly interface have been implemented to allow real-time data processing and preliminary data analysis simultaneous with data acquisition.
Crack users show high rates of antisocial personality disorder, engagement in illegal activities and other psychosocial problems.

PubMed

Paim Kessler, Felix Henrique; Barbosa Terra, Mauro; Faller, Sibele; Ravy Stolf, Anderson; Carolina Peuker, Ana; Benzano, Daniela; Pechansky, Flavio

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare three groups of Brazilian psychoactive substance (PAS) abuse patients (crack cocaine users, cocaine snorters, and non-cocaine PAS users) in terms of psychiatric comorbidities and severity of psychosocial problems. A cross-sectional, multi-center study was conducted at five Brazilian research centers. A total of 738 current PAS abusers seeking specialized treatment (outpatient and inpatient clinics) were assessed using the sixth version of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI-6): 293 patients using crack cocaine were compared with 126 using powder cocaine and 319 using non-cocaine PAS (mostly alcohol and marijuana). Psychiatric comorbidities were assessed in a smaller sample (290 cases), originating from three of the centers, using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus (MINI-Plus). Crack and powder cocaine users were significantly younger than non-cocaine PAS users (31.1 ± 8.1 and 32.9 ± 8.8 vs. 42.4 ± 12, respectively; p < .001). Crack users presented a higher rate of antisocial personality disorder (25%) than powder cocaine (9%) and non-cocaine PAS users (9%), even when adjusted for confounding factors (Pr = 2.6; 95% CI 1.10-6.40). According to ASI-6 summary scores, crack users presented a significantly higher rate of occupational, family, and legal problems and reported more illegal and violent activities such as burglary and theft (23%) and threatening or assaulting (32%) than non-cocaine PAS users. Our findings, combined with the recent increase observed in the prevalence of crack use in Brazil, highlight the severity of psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial problems related to this powerful drug and corroborate the already suggested association between crack/cocaine, violence, and legal problems. Treatment programs for crack users should routinely consider the possibility of associated psychiatric comorbidities, such as antisocial personality disorder, which may affect treatment outcomes. Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.
Computerized Vocational Objectives Manual and Data Bank for Students with Special Needs. A User's Manual and Comprehensive Data Bank of Over 3000 Vocational Entry and Exit Level Objectives Designed for Special Needs Learners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flanagan, W. Malcolm

A project was conducted by Missouri LINC to create a computerized data bank of entry and exit-level competencies that could be applied to special education students in vocational education. The competencies that were developed through that project are contained in this guide. They are expected to be useful for vocational and special education…
Interlibrary Loan Communications Subsystem: Users Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., Dublin, OH.

The OCLC Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Communications Subsystem provides participating libraries with on-line control of ILL transactions. This user manual includes a glossary of terms related to the procedures in using the system. Sections describe computer entry, searching, loan request form, loan response form, ILL procedures, the special message…
Information services and information processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Attempts made to design and extend space system capabilities are reported. Special attention was given to establishing user needs for information or services which might be provided by space systems. Data given do not attempt to detail scientific, technical, or economic bases for the needs expressed by the users.
A systematic review of balance and fall risk assessments with mobile phone technology.

PubMed

Roeing, Kathleen L; Hsieh, Katherine L; Sosnoff, Jacob J

2017-11-01

Falls are a major health concern for older adults. Preventative measures can help reduce the incidence and severity of falls. Methods for assessing balance and fall risk factors are necessary to effectively implement preventative measures. Research groups are currently developing mobile applications to enable seniors, caregivers, and clinicians to monitor balance and fall risk. The following systematic review assesses the current state of mobile health apps for testing balance as a fall risk factor. Thirteen studies were identified and included in the review and analyzed based on study design, population, sample size, measures of balance, main outcome measures, and evaluation of validity and reliability. All studies successfully tested their applications, but only 38% evaluated the validity, and 23% evaluated the reliability of their applications. Of those, all applications were found to accurately and reliably measure balance on select variables. Four of the 13 studies included special populations groups. Out of the 13 studies, 12 reported clinicians as their intended user and seven reported seniors as their intended user. Further research should examine the validity of mobile health applications as well as report on the application's usability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
My World Is Your World: Web Portal Design For Environmental Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laney, C.; Cody, R. P.; Gaylord, A. G.; Kassin, A.; Manley, W. F.; Score, R.; Tweedie, C. E.

2013-12-01

In the environmental sciences, researchers are increasingly relying on automated sensors as necessary components of their work. There are many software packages available that will help users download data from internet-connected data loggers; process, store, document, and analyze the data; or provide web-based geoportals for visualization and sharing of both spatial and time-series data. However, few (if any) software packages provide a complete, end-to-end system that will meet all of the needs of any given research group. Such systems often need to be designed and built as needed. Our group specializes in creating such systems. Our portals provide rapid data discovery and contextualization, and promote collaboration. We work at multiple scales, from a small lab working at a single site in the Chihuahuan desert (SEL-Jornada), to a community portal for environmental data from Barrow, Alaska (Barrow Area Information Database Information Management System [BAID-IMS]), to a project-tracking system for US Arctic research efforts (Arctic Research Mapping Application/Arctic Observing Viewer [ARMAP/AON]). Here, we share our experiences of creating scalable systems and improving practices that address both user community and research needs.

Could changes in the wheelchair delivery system improve safety?

PubMed Central

Kirby, R L; Coughlan, S G; Christie, M

1995-01-01

Despite emerging evidence about the high incidence and severity of wheelchair-related injuries, regulations governing wheelchair safety are almost nonexistent in Canada. The authors believe that, to improve wheelchair safety, a concerted effort by government, manufacturers, purchasing groups, users and clinicians is needed. Health Canada's Health Protection Branch should treat wheelchairs as medical devices (as defined in the Food and Drugs Act 1985) and improve its injury-reporting network. Manufacturers should give a higher priority to safety in wheelchair design, improve their educational materials and formalize postmarketing surveillance. Purchasing groups should try to ensure that they do not stifle innovation in wheelchair design by setting unrealistic reimbursement ceilings and should use their market power more effectively. Users should obtain their wheelchairs in specialized settings, heed safety warnings and make more effective use of litigation when such action is warranted. Clinicians should ensure that patients are equipped with the most appropriate wheelchair for their needs, that they are given adequate training in safe wheelchair use and that they understand the dangers involved. Rapid changes in wheelchair technology and emerging evidence about the high incidence and severity of injuries related to wheelchair use suggest that such changes are needed in the wheelchair delivery system. PMID:7489551
Risk factors special to eastern culture for the development of anal fissure.

PubMed

Erel, Serap; Adahan, Didem; Kismet, Kemal; Caylan, Ayse; Tanrikulu, Yusuf; Akkus, Mehmet Ali

2009-01-01

To reveal the effect of diet, bowel functions and toilet habits on the development of anal fissure. One hundred patients complaining of anal fissure were included to the case group; and one hundred age- and gender-matched patients referred for other reasons except for anorectal complaints were included to the control group. The information was obtained by face to face interviews using questionnaires. Statistically significant differences were found in coffee, fruit, and meat consumption between the groups. The patients suffering from anal fissure avoided paprika consumption. The rate of anal fissure incidence was higher in squat toilet users. This study is the first study which evaluates the risk factors such as paprika consumption and squat toilet usage that are specific to Eastern culture. Further studies including large numbers of population are needed to evaluate different risk factors for anal fissure development (Tab. 2, Ref. 11). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.
Farmer innovation driven by needs and understanding: building the capacities of farmer groups for improved cooking stove construction and continued adaptation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uckert, G.; Hafner, J.; Graef, F.; Hoffmann, H.; Kimaro, A.; Sererya, O.; Sieber, S.

2017-12-01

Enhancing food security is one of the main goals of subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the implementation of improved loam-made cooking stoves and its contribution to coping and livelihood strategies. Controlled combustion, air as well as smoke flue, and heat insulation facilitate the more efficient fuel consumption of improved cooking stoves compared to traditional stoves—namely three stone fires. Although the majority of small-scale farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on the free public good of firewood, the increasing time needed for collecting firewood implies high opportunity costs for productive members of the family. The primary outcomes for users of improved stoves are reduced fuel consumption, greater safety, saved time, and reduced smoke in the kitchen. The paper illustrates part of the output, outcome, and impact of a participatory action research approach for implementing improved cooking stoves. Special emphasis was put on enabling the villagers to construct their stoves without external support, hence having locally manufactured stoves made of mud, bricks, and dried grass. The impact pathway of improved cooking stoves followed the training-of-trainers concept, where members of the initially established farmer groups were trained to construct stoves on their own. Special focus was given to knowledge exchange and knowledge transfer in order to increase firewood efficiency and overall satisfaction of users of improved cook stoves. Encouraging the members to further adapt the stoves enabled them to scale-up the construction of improved cooked stoves into a business model and increase dissemination while creating income. Although many important benefits, like time and knowledge gain, were identified by the farmers after adoption of the new technology, we found adoption rates differed significantly between regions.
The 2016 Bioinformatics Open Source Conference (BOSC).

PubMed

Harris, Nomi L; Cock, Peter J A; Chapman, Brad; Fields, Christopher J; Hokamp, Karsten; Lapp, Hilmar; Muñoz-Torres, Monica; Wiencko, Heather

2016-01-01

Message from the ISCB: The Bioinformatics Open Source Conference (BOSC) is a yearly meeting organized by the Open Bioinformatics Foundation (OBF), a non-profit group dedicated to promoting the practice and philosophy of Open Source software development and Open Science within the biological research community. BOSC has been run since 2000 as a two-day Special Interest Group (SIG) before the annual ISMB conference. The 17th annual BOSC ( http://www.open-bio.org/wiki/BOSC_2016) took place in Orlando, Florida in July 2016. As in previous years, the conference was preceded by a two-day collaborative coding event open to the bioinformatics community. The conference brought together nearly 100 bioinformatics researchers, developers and users of open source software to interact and share ideas about standards, bioinformatics software development, and open and reproducible science.
Dynamic provisioning of a HEP computing infrastructure on a shared hybrid HPC system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meier, Konrad; Fleig, Georg; Hauth, Thomas; Janczyk, Michael; Quast, Günter; von Suchodoletz, Dirk; Wiebelt, Bernd

2016-10-01

Experiments in high-energy physics (HEP) rely on elaborate hardware, software and computing systems to sustain the high data rates necessary to study rare physics processes. The Institut fr Experimentelle Kernphysik (EKP) at KIT is a member of the CMS and Belle II experiments, located at the LHC and the Super-KEKB accelerators, respectively. These detectors share the requirement, that enormous amounts of measurement data must be processed and analyzed and a comparable amount of simulated events is required to compare experimental results with theoretical predictions. Classical HEP computing centers are dedicated sites which support multiple experiments and have the required software pre-installed. Nowadays, funding agencies encourage research groups to participate in shared HPC cluster models, where scientist from different domains use the same hardware to increase synergies. This shared usage proves to be challenging for HEP groups, due to their specialized software setup which includes a custom OS (often Scientific Linux), libraries and applications. To overcome this hurdle, the EKP and data center team of the University of Freiburg have developed a system to enable the HEP use case on a shared HPC cluster. To achieve this, an OpenStack-based virtualization layer is installed on top of a bare-metal cluster. While other user groups can run their batch jobs via the Moab workload manager directly on bare-metal, HEP users can request virtual machines with a specialized machine image which contains a dedicated operating system and software stack. In contrast to similar installations, in this hybrid setup, no static partitioning of the cluster into a physical and virtualized segment is required. As a unique feature, the placement of the virtual machine on the cluster nodes is scheduled by Moab and the job lifetime is coupled to the lifetime of the virtual machine. This allows for a seamless integration with the jobs sent by other user groups and honors the fairshare policies of the cluster. The developed thin integration layer between OpenStack and Moab can be adapted to other batch servers and virtualization systems, making the concept also applicable for other cluster operators. This contribution will report on the concept and implementation of an OpenStack-virtualized cluster used for HEP workflows. While the full cluster will be installed in spring 2016, a test-bed setup with 800 cores has been used to study the overall system performance and dedicated HEP jobs were run in a virtualized environment over many weeks. Furthermore, the dynamic integration of the virtualized worker nodes, depending on the workload at the institute's computing system, will be described.
Pricing Strategies for CD-ROM Products.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowley, J. E.

1994-01-01

Pricing strategies for subscriptions and licenses for CD-ROMs are different for single users and networks. The basic components of pricing strategies are charges for subscription, connect line, display/print, telecommunication, session rate, special commands, and special services. Highlights selected supplier pricing strategies for single users…
Internet use and eHealth literacy of low-income parents whose children have special health care needs.

PubMed

Knapp, Caprice; Madden, Vanessa; Wang, Hua; Sloyer, Phyllis; Shenkman, Elizabeth

2011-09-29

The Internet has revolutionized the way in which many Americans search for health care information. Unfortunately, being able to use the Internet for this purpose is predicated on having access to the Internet and being able to understand and comprehend online health information. This is especially important for parents of children with special health care needs who are forced to make many medical decisions throughout the lives of their children. Yet, no information is available about this vulnerable group. For parents of children with special health care needs we sought to (1) describe their Internet access and use, (2) determine which child and household factors were associated with Internet use, (3) describe eHealth literacy of Internet users, and (4) determine which child and household factors were associated with greater eHealth literacy. This was a cross-sectional telephone survey of 2371 parents whose children with special health care needs were enrolled in Florida's Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) programs (4072 parents were approached). To be enrolled in the program, families must have incomes that are less than or equal to 200% of the federal poverty level. The eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) was used to measure eHealth literacy. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to address the study objectives. The survey response rate was 58.2%. Participating parents were mainly female (2154/2371, 91%), white non-Hispanic (915/2371, 39%), English speaking (1827/2371, 77%), high school graduates (721/2371, 30%), married (1252/2371, 53%), and living in a two-parent household (1212/2371, 51%). Additionally, 82% of parents (1945/2371) in the sample reported that they used the Internet, and 49% of those parents used it daily (1158/2371). Almost three-quarters of Internet users had access to the Internet at home while about one-half had access at work. Parents who were African American, non-English speaking, older, and not college graduates were less likely to use the Internet than their referent groups (P < .001). About 74% of Internet users (1448/1945) reported that they knew how to find health information for their children. However, only about one-half (1030/1945) reported that they can tell high quality from low quality resources online or that they feel confident in using information accessed online to make health decisions. Multivariate regression results consistently showed that being a non-English speaker, having less than a high school education, and being older were all significantly associated with lower eHealth literacy (all P < .001). Low-income parents of children with special health care needs have access to and use the Internet as a source of information about their children's health. However, some parents are unable to distinguish between high and low quality information and are not confident in using the Internet. This information is timely because as the pressure to use the Internet to empower consumers and exchange information increases, issues related to access and disparities must be better understood.
Perception of the influence of environmental factors in the use of electronic planning devices in adults with cognitive disabilities.

PubMed

Adolfsson, Päivi; Lindstedt, Helena; Pettersson, Ingvor; Hermansson, Liselotte Norling; Janeslätt, Gunnel

2016-08-01

Adults with cognitive disabilities often have difficulties in dealing with the complexity of everyday life. With cognitive assistive technology (e.g. electronic planning devices [EPDs] and individual support), they can bring order to their often chaotic life. Assumptions are that environmental factors influence with non-use of EPDs. To explore how adults with cognitive disabilities perceive the influence of environmental factors in the use of EPDs. A reference group with experience of use of EPDs assisted the researchers. Twelve adults with cognitive disabilities and experience of using EPDs participated. An interview guide was implemented covering environmental factors according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Qualitative content analysis was applied in the analyses. Five categories and two themes emerged, which were integrated into a model of facilitating factors influencing the use of EPDs. Measures to prevent or eliminate negative influences of the device use are important to be taken. Professionals need more knowledge about EPDs, while users need individual adaption of the EPDs. EPDs need to be user-friendly, manageable and work in any seasons. Implications for Rehabilitation The users should have access to specially trained prescribers. There is a need for development of user-friendly and manageable products to function in any climate. Knowledge is lacking on how to implement the users in all stages of the prescribing process. Prescribers should increase knowledge in the use of EPDs to influence the attitudes of the social environment.
Problematics of different technical maintenance for computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dostalek, Z.

1977-01-01

Two modes of operations are used in the technical maintenance of computers: servicing provided by the equipment supplier, and that done by specially trained computer users. The advantages and disadvantages of both modes are discussed. Maintenance downtime is tabulated for two computers serviced by user employees over an eight year period.
Apparel Research Network (ARN) Apparel Order Processing Module (AOPM). Application Program for Management of Special Measurement Clothing Orders

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-09-30

Screen, abandoning changes. APPAREL ORDER PROCESSING MODULE FIELD USER MANUAL Ordering Official Screens The Ordering Official Screens are provided for...currendy selected Ordering Official will appear on the Ordering Official Information Screen. APPAREL ORDER PROCESSING MODULE FIELD USER MANUAL Ordering Official
Individually adapted imagery improves brain-computer interface performance in end-users with disability.

PubMed

Scherer, Reinhold; Faller, Josef; Friedrich, Elisabeth V C; Opisso, Eloy; Costa, Ursula; Kübler, Andrea; Müller-Putz, Gernot R

2015-01-01

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) translate oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns into action. Different mental activities modulate spontaneous EEG rhythms in various ways. Non-stationarity and inherent variability of EEG signals, however, make reliable recognition of modulated EEG patterns challenging. Able-bodied individuals who use a BCI for the first time achieve - on average - binary classification performance of about 75%. Performance in users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage is typically lower. User training generally enhances reliability of EEG pattern generation and thus also robustness of pattern recognition. In this study, we investigated the impact of mental tasks on binary classification performance in BCI users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage such as persons with stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI). Motor imagery (MI), that is the kinesthetic imagination of movement (e.g. squeezing a rubber ball with the right hand), is the "gold standard" and mainly used to modulate EEG patterns. Based on our recent results in able-bodied users, we hypothesized that pair-wise combination of "brain-teaser" (e.g. mental subtraction and mental word association) and "dynamic imagery" (e.g. hand and feet MI) tasks significantly increases classification performance of induced EEG patterns in the selected end-user group. Within-day (How stable is the classification within a day?) and between-day (How well does a model trained on day one perform on unseen data of day two?) analysis of variability of mental task pair classification in nine individuals confirmed the hypothesis. We found that the use of the classical MI task pair hand vs. feed leads to significantly lower classification accuracy - in average up to 15% less - in most users with stroke or SCI. User-specific selection of task pairs was again essential to enhance performance. We expect that the gained evidence will significantly contribute to make imagery-based BCI technology become accessible to a larger population of users including individuals with special needs due to CNS damage.
Individually Adapted Imagery Improves Brain-Computer Interface Performance in End-Users with Disability

PubMed Central

Scherer, Reinhold; Faller, Josef; Friedrich, Elisabeth V. C.; Opisso, Eloy; Costa, Ursula; Kübler, Andrea; Müller-Putz, Gernot R.

2015-01-01

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) translate oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns into action. Different mental activities modulate spontaneous EEG rhythms in various ways. Non-stationarity and inherent variability of EEG signals, however, make reliable recognition of modulated EEG patterns challenging. Able-bodied individuals who use a BCI for the first time achieve - on average - binary classification performance of about 75%. Performance in users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage is typically lower. User training generally enhances reliability of EEG pattern generation and thus also robustness of pattern recognition. In this study, we investigated the impact of mental tasks on binary classification performance in BCI users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage such as persons with stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI). Motor imagery (MI), that is the kinesthetic imagination of movement (e.g. squeezing a rubber ball with the right hand), is the "gold standard" and mainly used to modulate EEG patterns. Based on our recent results in able-bodied users, we hypothesized that pair-wise combination of "brain-teaser" (e.g. mental subtraction and mental word association) and "dynamic imagery" (e.g. hand and feet MI) tasks significantly increases classification performance of induced EEG patterns in the selected end-user group. Within-day (How stable is the classification within a day?) and between-day (How well does a model trained on day one perform on unseen data of day two?) analysis of variability of mental task pair classification in nine individuals confirmed the hypothesis. We found that the use of the classical MI task pair hand vs. feed leads to significantly lower classification accuracy - in average up to 15% less - in most users with stroke or SCI. User-specific selection of task pairs was again essential to enhance performance. We expect that the gained evidence will significantly contribute to make imagery-based BCI technology become accessible to a larger population of users including individuals with special needs due to CNS damage. PMID:25992718
Applications of the U.S. Geological Survey's global land cover product

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reed, B.

1997-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with several international agencies and universities, has produced a global land cover characteristics database. The land cover data were created using multitemporal analysis of advanced very high resolution radiometer satellite images in conjunction with other existing geographic data. A translation table permits the conversion of the land cover classes into several conventional land cover schemes that are used by ecosystem modelers, climate modelers, land management agencies, and other user groups. The alternative classification schemes include Global Ecosystems, the Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme, the Simple Biosphere, the USGS Anderson Level 2, and the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme. The distribution system for these data is through the World Wide Web (the web site address is: http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/landdaac/glcc/glcc.html) or by magnetic media upon special request The availability of the data over the World Wide Web, in conjunction with the flexible database structure, allows easy data access to a wide range of users. The web site contains a user registration form that allows analysis of the diverse applications of large-area land cover data. Currently, applications are divided among mapping (20 percent), conservation (30 percent), and modeling (35 percent).
Transition of advanced technology to military, homeland security, and law enforcement users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarrett, Stephen M.

2004-09-01

With the attack on the United States and the subsequent war on terror and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq a need has been exposed for the transition of technology to all of our defenders both combat forces on the foreign battlefield and domestic forces here at home. The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security has also provided a focus on inserting technology to dramatically improve the capability of airport security forces, law enforcement, and all first responder networks. The drastic increase in the use of Special Forces in combat has also required new advanced technology capabilities at a much faster rate of development than the standard military procurement system. Technology developers must address the questions of interoperability, cost, commercialization, of how these groups will use the technology delivered and the adoption criteria of users in the deployment environment. The successful transition to the field must address the formation of complex concepts of operations in the user's adoption criteria. Prototype transition for two systems, a pocket infrared camera and an acoustic/seismic detector, will be highlighted in their effect on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the heightening of homeland security.
Exploring sex differences in drug use, health and service use characteristics among young urban crack users in Brazil.

PubMed

Bertoni, Neilane; Burnett, Chantal; Cruz, Marcelo Santos; Andrade, Tarcisio; Bastos, Francisco I; Leal, Erotildes; Fischer, Benedikt

2014-08-28

Studies have shown important gender differences among drug (including crack) users related to: drug use patterns; health risks and consequences; criminal involvement; and service needs/use. Crack use is prevalent in Brazil; however, few comparative data by sex exist. We examined and compared by sex key drug use, health, socio-economic indicators and service use in a bi-city sample of young (18-24 years), regular and marginalized crack users in Brazil. Study participants (total n = 159; n = 124 males and n = 35 females) were recruited by community-based methods from impoverished neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Assessments occurred by an anonymous interviewer-administered questionnaire and serum collection for blood-borne virus testing between November 2010 and June 2011. Descriptive statistics and differences for key variables by sex were computed; in addition, a 'chi-squared automatic interaction detector' ('CHAID') analysis explored potential primary factors differentiating male and female participants. Most participants were non-white, and had low education and multiple income sources. More women had unstable housing and income from sex work and/or panhandling/begging, whereas more men were employed. Both groups indicated multi-year histories of and frequent daily crack use, but virtually no drug injection histories. Men reported more co-use of other drugs. More women were: involved in sex-for-drug exchanges; blood-borne virus (BBV) tested and HIV+. Both groups reported similar physical and mental health patterns; however women more commonly utilized social or health services. The CHAID analysis identified sex work; paid work; begging/panhandling; as well as physical and mental health status (all at p < 0.05) as primary differentiating factors by sex. Crack users in our study showed notable differences by sex, including socio-economic indicators, drug co-use patterns, sex risks/work, BBV testing and status, and service utilization. Results emphasize the need for targeted special interventions and services for males and female crack users in Brazil.
Injury protection and accident causation parameters for vulnerable road users based on German In-Depth Accident Study GIDAS.

PubMed

Otte, Dietmar; Jänsch, Michael; Haasper, Carl

2012-01-01

Within a study of accident data from GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study), vulnerable road users are investigated regarding injury risk in traffic accidents. GIDAS is the largest in-depth accident study in Germany. Due to a well-defined sampling plan, representativeness with respect to the federal statistics is also guaranteed. A hierarchical system ACASS (Accident Causation Analysis with Seven Steps) was developed in GIDAS, describing the human causation factors in a chronological sequence. The accordingly classified causation factors - derived from the systematic of the analysis of human accident causes ("7 steps") - can be used to describe the influence of accident causes on the injury outcome. The bases of the study are accident documentations over ten years from 1999 to 2008 with 8204 vulnerable road users (VRU), of which 3 different groups were selected as pedestrians n=2041, motorcyclists n=2199 and bicyclists n=3964, and analyzed on collisions with cars and trucks as well as vulnerable road users alone. The paper will give a description of the injury pattern and injury mechanisms of accidents. The injury frequencies and severities are pointed out considering different types of VRU and protective measures of helmet and clothes of the human body. The impact points are demonstrated on the car, following to conclusion of protective measures on the vehicle. Existing standards of protection devices as well as interdisciplinary research, including accident and injury statistics, are described. With this paper, a summarization of the existing possibilities on protective measures for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists is given and discussed by comparison of all three groups of vulnerable road users. Also the relevance of special impact situations and accident causes mainly responsible for severe injuries are pointed out, given the new orientation of research for the avoidance and reduction of accident patterns. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Soft x-ray scattering facility at the Advanced Light Source with real-time data processing and analysis.

PubMed

Gann, E; Young, A T; Collins, B A; Yan, H; Nasiatka, J; Padmore, H A; Ade, H; Hexemer, A; Wang, C

2012-04-01

We present the development and characterization of a dedicated resonant soft x-ray scattering facility. Capable of operation over a wide energy range, the beamline and endstation are primarily used for scattering from soft matter systems around the carbon K-edge (∼285 eV). We describe the specialized design of the instrument and characteristics of the beamline. Operational characteristics of immediate interest to users such as polarization control, degree of higher harmonic spectral contamination, and detector noise are delineated. Of special interest is the development of a higher harmonic rejection system that improves the spectral purity of the x-ray beam. Special software and a user-friendly interface have been implemented to allow real-time data processing and preliminary data analysis simultaneous with data acquisition. © 2012 American Institute of Physics
27 CFR 20.177 - Encased containers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Encased containers. 20.177... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Operations by Dealers § 20.177 Encased containers. (a) A dealer may package specially denatured spirits in unlabeled containers which are completely encased in wood...
27 CFR 20.170 - Physical inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Physical inventory. 20.170... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Inventory and Records § 20.170 Physical inventory. Once in each... physical inventory of each formula of new and recovered specially denatured spirits. (Approved by the...
27 CFR 20.170 - Physical inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Physical inventory. 20.170... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Inventory and Records § 20.170 Physical inventory. Once in each... physical inventory of each formula of new and recovered specially denatured spirits. (Approved by the...

27 CFR 20.170 - Physical inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Physical inventory. 20.170... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Inventory and Records § 20.170 Physical inventory. Once in each... physical inventory of each formula of new and recovered specially denatured spirits. (Approved by the...
27 CFR 20.170 - Physical inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Physical inventory. 20.170... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Inventory and Records § 20.170 Physical inventory. Once in each... physical inventory of each formula of new and recovered specially denatured spirits. (Approved by the...
27 CFR 20.170 - Physical inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Physical inventory. 20.170... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Inventory and Records § 20.170 Physical inventory. Once in each... physical inventory of each formula of new and recovered specially denatured spirits. (Approved by the...
27 CFR 20.165 - Storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Storage facilities. 20.165... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Premises and Equipment § 20.165 Storage facilities. (a) Storerooms... for locking. (b) Each stationary tank used for the storage of specially denatured spirits shall be...
27 CFR 20.165 - Storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Storage facilities. 20.165... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Premises and Equipment § 20.165 Storage facilities. (a) Storerooms... for locking. (b) Each stationary tank used for the storage of specially denatured spirits shall be...
27 CFR 20.165 - Storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Storage facilities. 20.165... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Premises and Equipment § 20.165 Storage facilities. (a) Storerooms... for locking. (b) Each stationary tank used for the storage of specially denatured spirits shall be...
27 CFR 20.165 - Storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Storage facilities. 20.165... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Premises and Equipment § 20.165 Storage facilities. (a) Storerooms... for locking. (b) Each stationary tank used for the storage of specially denatured spirits shall be...
27 CFR 20.165 - Storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Storage facilities. 20.165... Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Premises and Equipment § 20.165 Storage facilities. (a) Storerooms... for locking. (b) Each stationary tank used for the storage of specially denatured spirits shall be...
Proposal for a new practicable categorization system for food for special medical purposes - Enteral nutritional products.

PubMed

Stippler, Dietmar; Bode, Volker; Fischer, Magnus; Kollex, Katrin; Rohde, Evelyn; Tisowsky, Berta; Künstner, Jana; Pahne, Norbert

2015-12-01

Changes in the EU regulation on food for specific groups (FSG) [1] and within the German social law [2] combined with various definitions in the legal and the scientific background led to the need for development of a categorization system for "Food for special medical purposes" (FSMP) for enteral use [3]. The system was developed by an interdisciplinary working group of two German industry associations, which represent the leading manufacturers and distributors of FSMP in Europe. It aims to minimize the misunderstandings surrounding the different definitions used in relation to enteral nutritional products and incorporate the latest scientific knowledge and medical guidelines [4]. The new proposal consists of a table which shows the product categories and briefly the definitions of the used terms. The text contains the relevant definitions of terms often used within the field of enteral nutrition. This provides health care professionals with support and the decision making process for the prescription and use of such products. Additionally it also benefits the responsible authorities to formulate new directives, which are user-friendly and reflect the latest knowledge in medical nutrition. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
IAC - INTEGRATED ANALYSIS CAPABILITY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frisch, H. P.

1994-01-01

The objective of the Integrated Analysis Capability (IAC) system is to provide a highly effective, interactive analysis tool for the integrated design of large structures. With the goal of supporting the unique needs of engineering analysis groups concerned with interdisciplinary problems, IAC was developed to interface programs from the fields of structures, thermodynamics, controls, and system dynamics with an executive system and database to yield a highly efficient multi-disciplinary system. Special attention is given to user requirements such as data handling and on-line assistance with operational features, and the ability to add new modules of the user's choice at a future date. IAC contains an executive system, a data base, general utilities, interfaces to various engineering programs, and a framework for building interfaces to other programs. IAC has shown itself to be effective in automatic data transfer among analysis programs. IAC 2.5, designed to be compatible as far as possible with Level 1.5, contains a major upgrade in executive and database management system capabilities, and includes interfaces to enable thermal, structures, optics, and control interaction dynamics analysis. The IAC system architecture is modular in design. 1) The executive module contains an input command processor, an extensive data management system, and driver code to execute the application modules. 2) Technical modules provide standalone computational capability as well as support for various solution paths or coupled analyses. 3) Graphics and model generation interfaces are supplied for building and viewing models. Advanced graphics capabilities are provided within particular analysis modules such as INCA and NASTRAN. 4) Interface modules provide for the required data flow between IAC and other modules. 5) User modules can be arbitrary executable programs or JCL procedures with no pre-defined relationship to IAC. 6) Special purpose modules are included, such as MIMIC (Model Integration via Mesh Interpolation Coefficients), which transforms field values from one model to another; LINK, which simplifies incorporation of user specific modules into IAC modules; and DATAPAC, the National Bureau of Standards statistical analysis package. The IAC database contains structured files which provide a common basis for communication between modules and the executive system, and can contain unstructured files such as NASTRAN checkpoint files, DISCOS plot files, object code, etc. The user can define groups of data and relations between them. A full data manipulation and query system operates with the database. The current interface modules comprise five groups: 1) Structural analysis - IAC contains a NASTRAN interface for standalone analysis or certain structural/control/thermal combinations. IAC provides enhanced structural capabilities for normal modes and static deformation analysis via special DMAP sequences. IAC 2.5 contains several specialized interfaces from NASTRAN in support of multidisciplinary analysis. 2) Thermal analysis - IAC supports finite element and finite difference techniques for steady state or transient analysis. There are interfaces for the NASTRAN thermal analyzer, SINDA/SINFLO, and TRASYS II. FEMNET, which converts finite element structural analysis models to finite difference thermal analysis models, is also interfaced with the IAC database. 3) System dynamics - The DISCOS simulation program which allows for either nonlinear time domain analysis or linear frequency domain analysis, is fully interfaced to the IAC database management capability. 4) Control analysis - Interfaces for the ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and INCA programs allow a wide range of control system analyses and synthesis techniques. Level 2.5 includes EIGEN, which provides tools for large order system eigenanalysis, and BOPACE, which allows for geometric capabilities and finite element analysis with nonlinear material. Also included in IAC level 2.5 is SAMSAN 3.1, an engineering analysis program which contains a general purpose library of over 600 subroutines for numerical analysis. 5) Graphics - The graphics package IPLOT is included in IAC. IPLOT generates vector displays of tabular data in the form of curves, charts, correlation tables, etc. Either DI3000 or PLOT-10 graphics software is required for full graphic capability. In addition to these analysis tools, IAC 2.5 contains an IGES interface which allows the user to read arbitrary IGES files into an IAC database and to edit and output new IGES files. IAC is available by license for a period of 10 years to approved U.S. licensees. The licensed program product includes one set of supporting documentation. Additional copies may be purchased separately. IAC is written in FORTRAN 77 and has been implemented on a DEC VAX series computer operating under VMS. IAC can be executed by multiple concurrent users in batch or interactive mode. The program is structured to allow users to easily delete those program capabilities and "how to" examples they do not want in order to reduce the size of the package. The basic central memory requirement for IAC is approximately 750KB. The following programs are also available from COSMIC as separate packages: NASTRAN, SINDA/SINFLO, TRASYS II, DISCOS, ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and INCA. The development of level 2.5 of IAC was completed in 1989.
XYFREZ.4 User’s Manual.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

F T FILE I MEuSpecial Report 87-26 December 1987 US Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory XYFREZ.4 User’s manual...Freeze/thaw User’s manual 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number) - -- Using the program XYFREZ, version 4, one...may simulate two-dimensional conduction of heat, with or without phase change. The mathematical method employed uses finite elements in space and
The Case for Open Source: Open Source Has Made Significant Leaps in Recent Years. What Does It Have to Offer Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guhlin, Miguel

2007-01-01

Open source has continued to evolve and in the past three years the development of a graphical user interface has made it increasingly accessible and viable for end users without special training. Open source relies to a great extent on the free software movement. In this context, the term free refers not to cost, but to the freedom users have to…
Mobile phones and social structures: an exploration of a closed user group in rural Ghana

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background In the Millennium Villages Project site of Bonsaaso, Ghana, the Health Team is using a mobile phone closed user group to place calls amongst one another at no cost. Methods In order to determine the utilization and acceptability of the closed user group amongst users, social network analysis and qualitative methods were used. Key informants were identified and interviewed. The key informants also kept prospective call journals. Billing statements and de-identified call data from the closed user group were used to generate data for analyzing the social structure revealed by the network traffic. Results The majority of communication within the closed user group was personal and not for professional purposes. The members of the CUG felt that the group improved their efficiency at work. Conclusions The methods used present an interesting way to investigate the social structure surrounding communication via mobile phones. In addition, the benefits identified from the exploration of this closed user group make a case for supporting mobile phone closed user groups amongst professional groups. PMID:24007331
Applications of ISES for meteorology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Try, Paul D.

1990-01-01

The results are summarized from an initial assessment of the potential real-time meteorological requirements for the data from Eos systems. Eos research scientists associated with facility instruments, investigator instruments, and interdisciplinary groups with data related to meteorological support were contacted, along with those from the normal operational user and technique development groups. Two types of activities indicated the greatest need for real-time Eos data: technology transfer groups (e.g., NOAA's Forecasting System Laboratory and the DOD development laboratories), and field testing groups with airborne operations. A special concern was expressed by several non-U.S. participants who desire a direct downlink to be sure of rapid receipt of the data for their area of interest. Several potential experiments or demonstrations are recommended for ISES which include support for hurricane/typhoon forecasting, space shuttle reentry, severe weather forecasting (using microphysical cloud classification techniques), field testing, and quick reaction of instrumented aircraft to measure such events as polar stratospheric clouds and volcanic eruptions.
Wheelchair users' experience of non-adapted and adapted clothes during sailing, quad rugby or wheel-walking.

PubMed

Kratz, G; Söderback, I; Guidetti, S; Hultling, C; Rykatkin, T; Söderström, M

1997-01-01

The purpose of the present quasi-experimental post-test-design study was to compare 32 wheelchair users' (mostly para/tetraplegics) experience of wearing specially adapted clothes and non-adapted clothes for sailing, quad rugby or wheel-walking. Four existing assessment instruments were used: the Klein-Bell Activities of Daily Living Scale; a two-part Basic Information Questionnaire eliciting experience of effort, comfort and feeling of physical condition; the Experience Sampling Form for investigating the individuals' attitudes in terms of involvement and affective and activity mood states, and the Occupational Therapy Assessment of Leisure Time interview framework for collecting data about experience of leisure time. The wheelchair users all associated significantly greater comfort with use of the adapted clothes and, particularly the 'sailors', better physical condition. Overall, significantly greater involvement and more positive affect states were associated with the adapted clothes than with conventional garments, and mood state changed for the better. The wheelchair users set a higher priority upon work or leisure activities than upon independence in activities of daily living, and for this reason the Klein-Bell ratings showed great variation between the 'sailors' and the 'quad rugby players' (range 57%-93%), though these groups demonstrated more independence than the 'wheel-walkers'. The results of the study confirm the value of adapting sportswear for handicapped people. Such adaptations should also be of benefit for other activities than those studied.
[Organized civil society and mental health issues in Rio de Janeiro: a democratization of social space].

PubMed

da Silva Souza , W

2001-01-01

This article discusses the importance of political action by three associations of mental health care users and family members: the Brazilian Association of Mental Care Patients, Friends, and Family (AFDM), the Society of General Services for Occupational Integration (SOSINTRA), and the Association of Relatives and Friends of Patients in the Juliano Moreira Psychiatric Facility (APACOJUM). Our aim is to increase the visibility of these associations and to foster innovation and collective forms of solidarity and mutual help in the health care field. The article analyzes the associations as special interest groups within a specific arena, the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Health Council.
Extending software repository hosting to code review and testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez Alvarez, A.; Aparicio Cotarelo, B.; Lossent, A.; Andersen, T.; Trzcinska, A.; Asbury, D.; Hłimyr, N.; Meinhard, H.

2015-12-01

We will describe how CERN's services around Issue Tracking and Version Control have evolved, and what the plans for the future are. We will describe the services main design, integration and structure, giving special attention to the new requirements from the community of users in terms of collaboration and integration tools and how we address this challenge when defining new services based on GitLab for collaboration to replace our current Gitolite service and Code Review and Jenkins for Continuous Integration. These new services complement the existing ones to create a new global "development tool stack" where each working group can place its particular development work-flow.
SpecialNet. A National Computer-Based Communications Network.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morin, Alfred J.

1986-01-01

"SpecialNet," a computer-based communications network for educators at all administrative levels, has been established and is managed by National Systems Management, Inc. Users can send and receive electronic mail, share information on electronic bulletin boards, participate in electronic conferences, and send reports and other documents to each…
Mobile applications for diabetics: a systematic review and expert-based usability evaluation considering the special requirements of diabetes patients age 50 years or older.

PubMed

Arnhold, Madlen; Quade, Mandy; Kirch, Wilhelm

2014-04-09

A multitude of mhealth (mobile health) apps have been developed in recent years to support effective self-management of patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2. We carried out a systematic review of all currently available diabetes apps for the operating systems iOS and Android. We considered the number of newly released diabetes apps, range of functions, target user groups, languages, acquisition costs, user ratings, available interfaces, and the connection between acquisition costs and user ratings. Additionally, we examined whether the available applications serve the special needs of diabetes patients aged 50 or older by performing an expert-based usability evaluation. We identified relevant keywords, comparative categories, and their specifications. Subsequently, we performed the app review based on the information given in the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store, and the apps themselves. In addition, we carried out an expert-based usability evaluation based on a representative 10% sample of diabetes apps. In total, we analyzed 656 apps finding that 355 (54.1%) offered just one function and 348 (53.0%) provided a documentation function. The dominating app language was English (85.4%, 560/656), patients represented the main user group (96.0%, 630/656), and the analysis of the costs revealed a trend toward free apps (53.7%, 352/656). The median price of paid apps was €1.90. The average user rating was 3.6 stars (maximum 5). Our analyses indicated no clear differences in the user rating between free and paid apps. Only 30 (4.6%) of the 656 available diabetes apps offered an interface to a measurement device. We evaluated 66 apps within the usability evaluation. On average, apps were rated best regarding the criterion "comprehensibility" (4.0 out of 5.0), while showing a lack of "fault tolerance" (2.8 out of 5.0). Of the 66 apps, 48 (72.7%) offered the ability to read the screen content aloud. The number of functions was significantly negative correlated with usability. The presence of documentation and analysis functions reduced the usability score significantly by 0.36 and 0.21 points. A vast number of diabetes apps already exist, but the majority offer similar functionalities and combine only one to two functions in one app. Patients and physicians alike should be involved in the app development process to a greater extent. We expect that the data transmission of health parameters to physicians will gain more importance in future applications. The usability of diabetes apps for patients aged 50 or older was moderate to good. But this result applied mainly to apps offering a small range of functions. Multifunctional apps performed considerably worse in terms of usability. Moreover, the presence of a documentation or analysis function resulted in significantly lower usability scores. The operability of accessibility features for diabetes apps was quite limited, except for the feature "screen reader".
The online behavior of pupils with visual impairment: A preliminary report.

PubMed

Wrzesińska, Magdalena; Tabała, Klaudia; Stecz, Patryk

2016-10-01

Young people with special educational needs are also users of new media. The aim of the study was to determine whether pupils with visual impairment spend more time on Internet use than pupils without visual impairment and whether youngsters from the study group are engaged in behaviors which could increase risk of problematic Internet use. The study is based on a total of 191 pupils: a study group of 66 partially-sighted pupils and a control group comprised 125 pupils who do not have visual impairment. A self-report questionnaire was constructed for the needs of this study. Pupils with visual impairment spent significantly less time on Internet use than their peers from the reference groups. Twice as many pupils from the study group as controls reported no symptoms suggesting potentially problematic Internet use. In addition, the study group more frequently used online social networking services and e-mails or used the Internet for assignments. Little difference exists between students with visual impairment and those without with regard to Internet use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Drugs and personality: comparison of drug users, nonusers, and other clinical groups on the 16PF.

PubMed

Spotts, J V; Shontz, F C

1991-10-01

This article reviews published 16PF research on drug users. It also compares the 16PF scores of a new sample of nonusers with scores of matched groups of heavy, chronic users of cocaine, amphetamine, opiates, and barbiturates/sedative hypnotics, as well as combined groups of stimulant users, depressant users, and a combined group of users of all substances. No significant differences were found among drug user groups, but the profile of the nonuser group was distinctive. K-Means Cluster Analyses, as well as Cattell's Similarity and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients, were used to compare profiles of these new samples with the 19 groups described in an earlier meta-analysis of published 16PF studies. Data from the new samples did not cluster with data from other published research, although certain specific similarities appeared in more detailed correlational analyses. Methodological problems are discussed, and it is recommended that in future studies drug user groups be more carefully selected and defined, sample descriptions be more thorough and complete, complete profile information be routinely provided, and efforts be made to explore the utility of the Cattell CAQ in studies of drug users/misusers.
VAX CLuster upgrade: Report of a CPC task force

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

Hanson, J.; Berry, H.; Kessler, P.

The CSCF VAX cluster provides interactive computing for 100 users during prime time, plus a considerable amount of daytime and overnight batch processing. While this cluster represents less than 10% of the VAX computing power at BNL (6 MIPS out of 70), it has served as an important center for this larger network, supporting special hardware and software too expensive to maintain on every machine. In addition, it is the only unrestricted facility available to VAX/VMS users (other machines are typically dedicated to special projects). This committee's analysis shows that the cpu's on the CSCF cluster are currently badly oversaturated,more » frequently giving extremely poor interactive response. Short batch jobs (a necessary part of interactive work) typically take 3 to 4 times as long to execute as they would on an idle machine. There is also an immediate need for more scratch disk space and user permanent file space.« less
Language workbench user interfaces for data analysis

PubMed Central

Benson, Victoria M.

2015-01-01

Biological data analysis is frequently performed with command line software. While this practice provides considerable flexibility for computationally savy individuals, such as investigators trained in bioinformatics, this also creates a barrier to the widespread use of data analysis software by investigators trained as biologists and/or clinicians. Workflow systems such as Galaxy and Taverna have been developed to try and provide generic user interfaces that can wrap command line analysis software. These solutions are useful for problems that can be solved with workflows, and that do not require specialized user interfaces. However, some types of analyses can benefit from custom user interfaces. For instance, developing biomarker models from high-throughput data is a type of analysis that can be expressed more succinctly with specialized user interfaces. Here, we show how Language Workbench (LW) technology can be used to model the biomarker development and validation process. We developed a language that models the concepts of Dataset, Endpoint, Feature Selection Method and Classifier. These high-level language concepts map directly to abstractions that analysts who develop biomarker models are familiar with. We found that user interfaces developed in the Meta-Programming System (MPS) LW provide convenient means to configure a biomarker development project, to train models and view the validation statistics. We discuss several advantages of developing user interfaces for data analysis with a LW, including increased interface consistency, portability and extension by language composition. The language developed during this experiment is distributed as an MPS plugin (available at http://campagnelab.org/software/bdval-for-mps/). PMID:25755929
Automated software system for checking the structure and format of ACM SIG documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirza, Arsalan Rahman; Sah, Melike

2017-04-01

Microsoft (MS) Office Word is one of the most commonly used software tools for creating documents. MS Word 2007 and above uses XML to represent the structure of MS Word documents. Metadata about the documents are automatically created using Office Open XML (OOXML) syntax. We develop a new framework, which is called ADFCS (Automated Document Format Checking System) that takes the advantage of the OOXML metadata, in order to extract semantic information from MS Office Word documents. In particular, we develop a new ontology for Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interested Group (SIG) documents for representing the structure and format of these documents by using OWL (Web Ontology Language). Then, the metadata is extracted automatically in RDF (Resource Description Framework) according to this ontology using the developed software. Finally, we generate extensive rules in order to infer whether the documents are formatted according to ACM SIG standards. This paper, introduces ACM SIG ontology, metadata extraction process, inference engine, ADFCS online user interface, system evaluation and user study evaluations.
Transformational Play as a Curricular Scaffold: Using Videogames to Support Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barab, Sasha A.; Scott, Brianna; Siyahhan, Sinem; Goldstone, Robert; Ingram-Goble, Adam; Zuiker, Steven J.; Warren, Scott

2009-08-01

Drawing on game-design principles and an underlying situated theoretical perspective, we developed and researched a 3D game-based curriculum designed to teach water quality concepts. We compared undergraduate student dyads assigned randomly to four different instructional design conditions where the content had increasingly level of contextualization: (a) expository textbook condition, (b) simplistic framing condition, (c) immersive world condition, and (d) a single-user immersive world condition. Results indicated that the immersive-world dyad and immersive-world single user conditions performed significantly better than the electronic textbook group on standardized items. The immersive-world dyad condition also performed significantly better than either the expository textbook or the descriptive framing condition on a performance-based transfer task, and performed significantly better than the expository textbook condition on standardized test items. Implications for science education, and consistent with the goals of this special issue, are that immersive game-based learning environments provide a powerful new form of curriculum for teaching and learning science.
Involving the consumers: An exploration of users' and caregivers' needs and expectations on a fall prevention brochure: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Schoberer, Daniela; Breimaier, Helga E; Mandl, Manuela; Halfens, Ruud J G; Lohrmann, Christa

2016-01-01

This study aims to explore and compare nursing home residents', family members', and nursing staff's needs and expectations regarding a fall prevention brochure. Focus groups were carried out with 25 residents, 12 family members and 14 nursing staff separately, from three randomly selected nursing homes. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data using a concept-driven coding frame. Results showed that residents want to be informed about dealing with extrinsic fall risks and coping strategies after a fall event. In addition, family members wanted to have detailed information on intrinsic fall risks as well as specific fall prevention strategies, such as body exercises. Of special importance for nursing staff was that not all falls are preventable even when preventive measures were taken. As the need and expectations of users differ substantially, one brochure could not comprise all postulated criteria and different brochures are necessary for residents and for family members. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Structural tailoring of advanced turboprops (STAT): User's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, K. W.

1991-01-01

This user's manual describes the Structural Tailoring of Advanced Turboprops program. It contains instructions to prepare the input for optimization, blade geometry and analysis, geometry generation, and finite element program control. In addition, a sample input file is provided as well as a section describing special applications (i.e., non-standard input).
User fees for recreation services on public lands: a national assessment

Treesearch

J. Michael Bowker; H. Ken Cordell; Cassandra Y. Johnson

1999-01-01

A portion of the 1995 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment examined public opinion toward user fees as a means of funding recreation services on public lands, including campgrounds, boat ramps, trails, picnic areas, historic sites, restrooms, parking areas, special exhibits and presentations, visitor centers, and other facilities. Respondents were offered...
26 CFR 1.103-11 - Bonds held by substantial users.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... subleases space to a restaurant operator at an annual rental of $25,000 for the operation of a canteen and... by the restaurant operator are more than 5 percent of the respective amounts with respect to the entire facility. Both X and the restaurant operator are substantial users. However, absent special...
14 CFR § 1214.205 - Revisit and/or retrieval services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... accomplished on a scheduled Shuttle flight, he will only pay for added mission planning, unique hardware or... FLIGHT Reimbursement for Shuttle Services Provided to Civil U.S. Government Users and Foreign Users Who... services will be priced on the basis of estimated costs. If a special dedicated Shuttle flight is required...
Identifying online user reputation in terms of user preference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Lu; Guo, Qiang; Liu, Xiao-Lu; Liu, Jian-Guo; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2018-03-01

Identifying online user reputation is significant for online social systems. In this paper, taking into account the preference physics of online user collective behaviors, we present an improved group-based rating method for ranking online user reputation based on the user preference (PGR). All the ratings given by each specific user are mapped to the same rating criteria. By grouping users according to their mapped ratings, the online user reputation is calculated based on the corresponding group sizes. Results for MovieLens and Netflix data sets show that the AUC values of the PGR method can reach 0.9842 (0.9493) and 0.9995 (0.9987) for malicious (random) spammers, respectively, outperforming the results generated by the traditional group-based method, which indicates that the online preference plays an important role for measuring user reputation.
Current Trends in Social Media and the Department of Defense’s Social Media Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-23

environment in which these interactions occur. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube , and Instagram are social media websites that allow users to create and/or...post photographs, while YouTube specializes in user-generated videos. The accessibility of social media on mobile technology, such as smartphones...websites. • Evernote Video A video-sharing website that allows users to upload, share, view and comment on videos. • Vimeo • YouTube • Twitter Music
End-user searching: impetus for an expanding information management and technology role for the hospital librarian.

PubMed Central

Klein, M S; Ross, F

1997-01-01

Using the results of the 1993 Medical Library Association (MLA) Hospital Libraries Section survey of hospital-based end-user search services, this article describes how end-user search services can become an impetus for an expanded information management and technology role for the hospital librarian. An end-user services implementation plan is presented that focuses on software, hardware, finances, policies, staff allocations and responsibilities, educational program design, and program evaluation. Possibilities for extending end-user search services into information technology and informatics, specialized end-user search systems, and Internet access are described. Future opportunities are identified for expanding the hospital librarian's role in the face of changing health care management, advances in information technology, and increasing end-user expectations. PMID:9285126
Elderly and disabled transportation plan for the Merrimack Valley

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

Not Available

1987-09-01

This report explores ways to meet the transportation needs of elderly and disabled people in a number of communities north of Boston, Massachusetts. The study uses a process which appears to have broad applicability in other jurisdictions. It examines the demographics in the communities involved first, projecting them into the future. It then conducts a detailed inventory of transportation services, including services for the general public and special users provided by the local transit authorities, private nonprofit services for special users, and privately provided services. Conducting a community-by-community review, the process notes overall levels of demand, concentrations of special usersmore » and their destinations, and the location of transportation routes relative to them. It then recommends new services or alterations to existing services to remedy present or future mismatches. The report should be of interest to transportation planners in communities of all sizes.« less
How Non Consumers Differ from Consumers: A Qualitative Approach to Synthesize the Attributes of Iron Folic Acid End Users

PubMed Central

Bali, Surya; Tiwari, Sharad; Singh, Daneshwar; Arutagi, Viswanath; Kale, Saket; Pal, DInesh Kumar

2017-01-01

Introduction Anaemia continues to be a major hurdle to achieve optimum health in Indian population context. Although government continues to promote Iron Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation as one of the key strategies to combat with burden of anaemia, the expected level of IFA consumption and subsequent anaemia reduction could not be achieved. This study tries to investigate those influences, concerns, experiences and behaviour from an end user perspective through a qualitative methodology which may affect the IFA consumption ambi-directionally. Aim To explore and understand the several aspects related with anaemia and IFA supplementation with special emphasis to reveal the contributory factors behind low level of IFA consumption at consumer end. Materials and Methods A community based qualitative study was conducted in clusters identified through multileveled stratification from a state of central India. A conceptual construct was made in priory for this study. As the research question was related with policy, this study adapted a framework technique for making interview topic guides. Two consumers and two non consumers from each identified cluster were interviewed in depth. The data obtained through 160 in depth interviews (from 80 consumers and 80 non consumers) was utilized for thematic framework, linkage association and to typify the phenomenon. Results Ignorance, difficult intake, meaninglessness, misconceptions and discontentment with the system were the major dimensions (sub themes) associated with discontinuation. All these sub themes were further converged into major theme of informational discontinuity. Investigators further typified the users/non users into persistent user, potential defaulters, impending defaulters and absolute non users. Conclusion Informational gap seems to be the fundamental factor behind sub optimum IFA consumption. On a policy perspective, all the attempts should be done to instigate arise felt need’ among target groups for IFA consumption. PMID:28658813
Recreational user attitudes towards management strategies of Allegany State Park

Treesearch

Michael Nisengard; Miklos Gratzer

1998-01-01

This project examines attitudes towards management strategies of four Allegany State Park recreational user groups: cabin users, recreational vehicle users, tent users, and day users. It investigates recreational user group attitude differences, and attitude change over a ten year time period, in regard to the following park management strategy categories: park...
Implementation of automated external defibrillators on merchant ships.

PubMed

Oldenburg, Marcus; Baur, Xaver; Schlaich, Clara

2011-01-01

In contrast to cruise ships, ferries and merchant ships are rarely equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Germany is the first flag state worldwide that legally requires to carry AEDs on seagoing merchant vessels by September 2012 at the latest. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of training ship officers in the handling of AEDs and to explore their perceptions concerning the user-friendliness of currently available defibrillators. Using four different AEDs, 130 nautical officers performed a total of 400 resuscitation drills. One group (n = 60) used only one device before and after resuscitation training; the other group (n = 70) used all four AEDs in comparison after training. The officers' performances were timed and they were asked by questionnaire about the user-friendliness of each AED. Without resuscitation training, 81.7% of the first mentioned group delivered an effective defibrillation shock. After a 7-hour resuscitation training with special regard to defibrillation, all ship officers (n = 130) used the AED correctly. Among all AEDs, the mean time until start of analysis decreased from 72.4 seconds before to 60.4 seconds after resuscitation training (Wilcoxon test; p < 0.001). The results of the questionnaire and the differences in time to first shock indicated a different user-friendliness of the AEDs. The voice prompts and the screen messages of all AEDs were well understood by all participants. In the second mentioned group, 57.1% regarded feedback information related to depths and frequency of thorax compression as helpful. Nautical officers are able to use AEDs in a timely and effective way with proper training. However, to take advantage of all wanted features of the device (monitoring and resuscitation), the ship management has to observe practical questions of storage, maintenance, signing, training, data management, and transmission. Thus, implementation of the regulations requires proper instructions for the maritime industry by responsible bodies. © 2011 International Society of Travel Medicine.
The 2016 Bioinformatics Open Source Conference (BOSC)

PubMed Central

Harris, Nomi L.; Cock, Peter J.A.; Chapman, Brad; Fields, Christopher J.; Hokamp, Karsten; Lapp, Hilmar; Muñoz-Torres, Monica; Wiencko, Heather

2016-01-01

Message from the ISCB: The Bioinformatics Open Source Conference (BOSC) is a yearly meeting organized by the Open Bioinformatics Foundation (OBF), a non-profit group dedicated to promoting the practice and philosophy of Open Source software development and Open Science within the biological research community. BOSC has been run since 2000 as a two-day Special Interest Group (SIG) before the annual ISMB conference. The 17th annual BOSC ( http://www.open-bio.org/wiki/BOSC_2016) took place in Orlando, Florida in July 2016. As in previous years, the conference was preceded by a two-day collaborative coding event open to the bioinformatics community. The conference brought together nearly 100 bioinformatics researchers, developers and users of open source software to interact and share ideas about standards, bioinformatics software development, and open and reproducible science. PMID:27781083
Antiproteinuric effects of renin-angiotensin inhibitors in lung cancer patients receiving bevacizumab.

PubMed

Nihei, Satoru; Sato, Junya; Harada, Toshiyuki; Kuyama, Shoichi; Suzuki, Toshiro; Waga, Nobutsugu; Saito, Yoshitaka; Kisara, Shigeki; Yokota, Atsuko; Okada, Kouji; Tsuchiya, Masami; Terui, Kazufumi; Tadokoro, Yumiko; Chiba, Takeshi; Kudo, Kenzo; Oizumi, Satoshi; Inoue, Akira; Morikawa, Naoto

2018-06-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASIs) on bevacizumab (BV)-induced proteinuria in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of NSCLC patients receiving BV between 2008 and 2014 at 11 hospitals. The patients were categorized into three groups according to their antihypertensive drug use: RASI user, non-RASI user, and non-user groups. The primary outcome was a proteinuria event of any grade during the first 6 cycles of BV treatment. A total of 211 patients were included, 89 of whom received antihypertensive drugs. Of these 89 patients, 49 were in the RASI user group, and 40 were in the non-RASI user group. The non-user group comprised 122 patients. The occurrence of proteinuria in the RASI user group was significantly lower than that in the non-RASI user group (P = 0.037) but was not significantly lower than that in the non-user group (P = 0.287). Patients using RASIs had a lower rate of proteinuria than those who did not use RASIs according to multivariate analysis (odds ratio 0.32; 95% confidence interval 0.12-0.86; P = 0.024). Our study suggests that RASI administration reduces the risk of proteinuria in patients receiving BV.
Guidelines for preparing software user documentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Diane F.

1987-01-01

Clear, easy-to-use software user's manuals make strong demands on special technical communication techniques. Principles and guidelines are given for analyzing the audience and dealing with wide-ranging backgrounds of potential users. Types of information to be included in a complete manual are suggested, with a technique for creating a user-oriented rather than process-oriented organization. Accuracy verification is emphasized. Simple tips are gievn for formatting for quick comprehension and reference, for deciding on packaging, for creating helpful illustrations and examples, and for setting up clear and consistent conventions. Simple guidelines are offered for writing clearly and concisely and for editing.

15 CFR Supplement No. 7 to Part 774 - Very Sensitive List

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... designed” for real time application with towed acoustic hydrophone arrays, having “user accessible....2.f—Processing equipment, “specially designed” for real time application with bottom or bay cable...” “specially designed” for a defense article not on the USML or a commodity controlled by a “600 series” ECCN...
The National Special Education Alliance: One Year Later.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Peter

1988-01-01

The National Special Education Alliance (a national network of local computer resource centers associated with Apple Computer, Inc.) consists, one year after formation, of 24 non-profit support centers staffed largely by volunteers. The NSEA now reaches more than 1000 disabled computer users each month and more growth in the future is expected.…
Guidelines for the Training of Engineers in Specialized Information Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michel, Jean

As part of its General Information Programme, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has for many years concerned itself with training in the use of information by preparing guides and organizing meetings and seminars on the subject. There are now an enormous number of specialized information users whose…
76 FR 34845 - Medical Devices; Ear, Nose, and Throat Devices; Classification of the Wireless Air-Conduction...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-15

... control by other users with a similar medical device. Exposure to non-ionizing radiation Wireless... Administration (FDA) is classifying the wireless air-conduction hearing aid into class II (special controls). The Agency is classifying the device into class II (special controls) in order to provide a reasonable...
Using Personal Computers To Acquire Special Education Information. Revised. ERIC Digest #429.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children, Reston, VA.

This digest offers basic information about resources, available to users of personal computers, in the area of professional development in special education. Two types of resources are described: those that can be purchased on computer diskettes and those made available by linking personal computers through electronic telephone networks. Resources…
Sketching Uncertainty into Simulations.

PubMed

Ribicic, H; Waser, J; Gurbat, R; Sadransky, B; Groller, M E

2012-12-01

In a variety of application areas, the use of simulation steering in decision making is limited at best. Research focusing on this problem suggests that most user interfaces are too complex for the end user. Our goal is to let users create and investigate multiple, alternative scenarios without the need for special simulation expertise. To simplify the specification of parameters, we move from a traditional manipulation of numbers to a sketch-based input approach. Users steer both numeric parameters and parameters with a spatial correspondence by sketching a change onto the rendering. Special visualizations provide immediate visual feedback on how the sketches are transformed into boundary conditions of the simulation models. Since uncertainty with respect to many intertwined parameters plays an important role in planning, we also allow the user to intuitively setup complete value ranges, which are then automatically transformed into ensemble simulations. The interface and the underlying system were developed in collaboration with experts in the field of flood management. The real-world data they have provided has allowed us to construct scenarios used to evaluate the system. These were presented to a variety of flood response personnel, and their feedback is discussed in detail in the paper. The interface was found to be intuitive and relevant, although a certain amount of training might be necessary.
Exploring the Far Side of Mobile Health: Information Security and Privacy of Mobile Health Apps on iOS and Android

PubMed Central

Dehling, Tobias; Gao, Fangjian; Schneider, Stephan

2015-01-01

Background Mobile health (mHealth) apps aim at providing seamless access to tailored health information technology and have the potential to alleviate global health burdens. Yet, they bear risks to information security and privacy because users need to reveal private, sensitive medical information to redeem certain benefits. Due to the plethora and diversity of available mHealth apps, implications for information security and privacy are unclear and complex. Objective The objective of this study was to establish an overview of mHealth apps offered on iOS and Android with a special focus on potential damage to users through information security and privacy infringements. Methods We assessed apps available in English and offered in the categories “Medical” and “Health & Fitness” in the iOS and Android App Stores. Based on the information retrievable from the app stores, we established an overview of available mHealth apps, tagged apps to make offered information machine-readable, and clustered the discovered apps to identify and group similar apps. Subsequently, information security and privacy implications were assessed based on health specificity of information available to apps, potential damage through information leaks, potential damage through information manipulation, potential damage through information loss, and potential value of information to third parties. Results We discovered 24,405 health-related apps (iOS; 21,953; Android; 2452). Absence or scarceness of ratings for 81.36% (17,860/21,953) of iOS and 76.14% (1867/2452) of Android apps indicates that less than a quarter of mHealth apps are in more or less widespread use. Clustering resulted in 245 distinct clusters, which were consolidated into 12 app archetypes grouping clusters with similar assessments of potential damage through information security and privacy infringements. There were 6426 apps that were excluded during clustering. The majority of apps (95.63%, 17,193/17,979; of apps) pose at least some potential damage through information security and privacy infringements. There were 11.67% (2098/17,979) of apps that scored the highest assessments of potential damages. Conclusions Various kinds of mHealth apps collect and offer critical, sensitive, private medical information, calling for a special focus on information security and privacy of mHealth apps. In order to foster user acceptance and trust, appropriate security measures and processes need to be devised and employed so that users can benefit from seamlessly accessible, tailored mHealth apps without exposing themselves to the serious repercussions of information security and privacy infringements. PMID:25599627
Exploring the Far Side of Mobile Health: Information Security and Privacy of Mobile Health Apps on iOS and Android.

PubMed

Dehling, Tobias; Gao, Fangjian; Schneider, Stephan; Sunyaev, Ali

2015-01-19

Mobile health (mHealth) apps aim at providing seamless access to tailored health information technology and have the potential to alleviate global health burdens. Yet, they bear risks to information security and privacy because users need to reveal private, sensitive medical information to redeem certain benefits. Due to the plethora and diversity of available mHealth apps, implications for information security and privacy are unclear and complex. The objective of this study was to establish an overview of mHealth apps offered on iOS and Android with a special focus on potential damage to users through information security and privacy infringements. We assessed apps available in English and offered in the categories "Medical" and "Health & Fitness" in the iOS and Android App Stores. Based on the information retrievable from the app stores, we established an overview of available mHealth apps, tagged apps to make offered information machine-readable, and clustered the discovered apps to identify and group similar apps. Subsequently, information security and privacy implications were assessed based on health specificity of information available to apps, potential damage through information leaks, potential damage through information manipulation, potential damage through information loss, and potential value of information to third parties. We discovered 24,405 health-related apps (iOS; 21,953; Android; 2452). Absence or scarceness of ratings for 81.36% (17,860/21,953) of iOS and 76.14% (1867/2452) of Android apps indicates that less than a quarter of mHealth apps are in more or less widespread use. Clustering resulted in 245 distinct clusters, which were consolidated into 12 app archetypes grouping clusters with similar assessments of potential damage through information security and privacy infringements. There were 6426 apps that were excluded during clustering. The majority of apps (95.63%, 17,193/17,979; of apps) pose at least some potential damage through information security and privacy infringements. There were 11.67% (2098/17,979) of apps that scored the highest assessments of potential damages. Various kinds of mHealth apps collect and offer critical, sensitive, private medical information, calling for a special focus on information security and privacy of mHealth apps. In order to foster user acceptance and trust, appropriate security measures and processes need to be devised and employed so that users can benefit from seamlessly accessible, tailored mHealth apps without exposing themselves to the serious repercussions of information security and privacy infringements.
Relationship Between Health Service Use and Health Information Technology Use Among Older Adults: Analysis of the US National Health Interview Survey

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Older adults are the most frequent and heaviest users of health services in the United States; however, previous research on older adults’ use of health information technology (HIT) has not examined the possible association of HIT use among older adults with their use of health services. Objective This study examined the relationship between US older adults’ use of health services and their use of the Internet for health-related activities, controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and aging-related limitations in sensory and cognitive function. It also examined gender differences in the pattern of association between the types of health services used and HIT use. Methods The data for this study were drawn from the 2009 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which was the first nationally representative household survey to collect data on HIT (Internet) use. First, the rates of lifetime and 12-month HIT use among sample adults (n = 27,731) by age group (18-29 to 85 and over) were analyzed. Second, bivariate analysis of sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and health service use by HIT use status among those aged 65 or older (n = 5294) was conducted. Finally, multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses with 12-month HIT use as the dependent variable and 12-month health service uses among the age group 65 or older as possible correlates. Results The rates of HIT use were significantly lower among the age groups 65 or older compared with the younger age groups, although the age group 55 to 64 was not different from those younger. The rates of HIT use decreased from 32.2% in the age group 65 to 74 to 14.5% in the age group 75 to 84 and 4.9% in the 85 and older age group. For both genders, having seen or talked to a general practitioner increased the odds of HIT use. However, having seen or talked to a medical specialist, eye doctor, or physical therapist/occupational therapist (PT/OT) were significantly associated with HIT use only for older women, while having seen or talked to a mental health professional only marginally increased the odds of HIT use only for older men. Having visited or talked to a chiropractor and having had overnight hospitalization, surgery, and/or homecare services were not associated with the odds of HIT use for either gender. Conclusions Older-adult users of general health services were more likely to use HIT than nonusers of general health services, while older-adult users of specialized health services were not different from nonusers of specialized health services in their odds of HIT use. The findings have implications for narrowing the age-related and socioeconomic status-related gaps in HIT use. The access gaps among racial/ethnic minority older adults and poorly educated and/or low-income older adults are especially striking and call for concerted efforts to facilitate Internet access and HIT use among these disadvantaged older adults. PMID:21752784
Relationship between health service use and health information technology use among older adults: analysis of the US National Health Interview Survey.

PubMed

Choi, Namkee

2011-04-20

Older adults are the most frequent and heaviest users of health services in the United States; however, previous research on older adults' use of health information technology (HIT) has not examined the possible association of HIT use among older adults with their use of health services. This study examined the relationship between US older adults' use of health services and their use of the Internet for health-related activities, controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and aging-related limitations in sensory and cognitive function. It also examined gender differences in the pattern of association between the types of health services used and HIT use. The data for this study were drawn from the 2009 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which was the first nationally representative household survey to collect data on HIT (Internet) use. First, the rates of lifetime and 12-month HIT use among sample adults (n = 27,731) by age group (18-29 to 85 and over) were analyzed. Second, bivariate analysis of sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and health service use by HIT use status among those aged 65 or older (n = 5294) was conducted. Finally, multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses with 12-month HIT use as the dependent variable and 12-month health service uses among the age group 65 or older as possible correlates. The rates of HIT use were significantly lower among the age groups 65 or older compared with the younger age groups, although the age group 55 to 64 was not different from those younger. The rates of HIT use decreased from 32.2% in the age group 65 to 74 to 14.5% in the age group 75 to 84 and 4.9% in the 85 and older age group. For both genders, having seen or talked to a general practitioner increased the odds of HIT use. However, having seen or talked to a medical specialist, eye doctor, or physical therapist/occupational therapist (PT/OT) were significantly associated with HIT use only for older women, while having seen or talked to a mental health professional only marginally increased the odds of HIT use only for older men. Having visited or talked to a chiropractor and having had overnight hospitalization, surgery, and/or homecare services were not associated with the odds of HIT use for either gender. Older-adult users of general health services were more likely to use HIT than nonusers of general health services, while older-adult users of specialized health services were not different from nonusers of specialized health services in their odds of HIT use. The findings have implications for narrowing the age-related and socioeconomic status-related gaps in HIT use. The access gaps among racial/ethnic minority older adults and poorly educated and/or low-income older adults are especially striking and call for concerted efforts to facilitate Internet access and HIT use among these disadvantaged older adults.
E-cigarette Dual Users, Exclusive Users and Perceptions of Tobacco Products.

PubMed

Cooper, Maria; Case, Kathleen R; Loukas, Alexandra; Creamer, Melisa R; Perry, Cheryl L

2016-01-01

We examined differences in the characteristics of youth non-users, cigarette-only, e-cigarette-only, and dual e-cigarette and cigarette users. Using weighted, representative data, logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviors across tobacco usage groups. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in harm perceptions of various tobacco products and perceived peer use of e-cigarettes by tobacco usage group. Compared to non-users, dual users were more likely to be white, male, and high school students. Dual users had significantly higher prevalence of current use of all products (except hookah) than e-cigarette-only users, and higher prevalence of current use of snus and hookah than the cigarette-only group. Dual users had significantly lower harm perceptions for all tobacco products except for e-cigarettes and hookah as compared to e-cigarette-only users. Dual users reported higher peer use of cigarettes as compared to both exclusive user groups. Findings highlight dual users' higher prevalence of use of most other tobacco products, their lower harm perceptions of most tobacco products compared to e-cigarette-only users, and their higher perceived peer use of cigarettes compared to exclusive users.
21 CFR 801.421 - Hearing aid devices; conditions for sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

...) Informs the prospective user that the exercise of the waiver is not in the user's best health interest... that my best health interest would be served if I had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician (preferably a physician who specializes in diseases of the ear) before purchasing a hearing aid. I do not wish...
21 CFR 801.421 - Hearing aid devices; conditions for sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) Informs the prospective user that the exercise of the waiver is not in the user's best health interest... that my best health interest would be served if I had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician (preferably a physician who specializes in diseases of the ear) before purchasing a hearing aid. I do not wish...
21 CFR 801.421 - Hearing aid devices; conditions for sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

...) Informs the prospective user that the exercise of the waiver is not in the user's best health interest... that my best health interest would be served if I had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician (preferably a physician who specializes in diseases of the ear) before purchasing a hearing aid. I do not wish...
21 CFR 801.421 - Hearing aid devices; conditions for sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) Informs the prospective user that the exercise of the waiver is not in the user's best health interest... that my best health interest would be served if I had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician (preferably a physician who specializes in diseases of the ear) before purchasing a hearing aid. I do not wish...
21 CFR 801.421 - Hearing aid devices; conditions for sale.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...) Informs the prospective user that the exercise of the waiver is not in the user's best health interest... that my best health interest would be served if I had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician (preferably a physician who specializes in diseases of the ear) before purchasing a hearing aid. I do not wish...
Impact of Internet Search Engines on OPAC Users: A Study of Punjabi University, Patiala (India)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, Shiv

2012-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study the impact of internet search engine usage with special reference to OPAC searches in the Punjabi University Library, Patiala, Punjab (India). Design/methodology/approach: The primary data were collected from 352 users comprising faculty, research scholars and postgraduate students of the university. A…
USER SERVICES AND EXTENSION SERVICES IN SELECTED SPECIAL LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTERS IN THE UNITED STATES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

NONINI, CERISE

A SURVEY BY QUESTIONNAIRE WAS MADE OF THE PROBLEM OF USER SERVICES AND EXTENSION SERVICES USED IN THE DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS AND INFORMATION TO A SELECTED NUMBER OF INDUSTRIAL LIBRARIES. THE SURVEY RESULTED IN DATA CONCERNING STAFF SIZE, PROFESSIONAL-TO-CLERICAL RATIO, SIZE OF BOOK, DOCUMENT, PERIODICAL AND MICROFORM COLLECTIONS, LIBRARY…
The 1995 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldsmith, Frann (Editor); Mosier, Frances L. (Editor)

1995-01-01

The 1995 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a combined symposia of the Get Away Special (GAS) and Hitchhiker programs, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.
47 CFR 63.17 - Special provisions for U.S. international common carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... carrier, may interconnect its authorized private lines to the public switched network on behalf of an end user customer for the end user customer's own use. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this...'s World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib. (3) Authorized carriers filing tariffs pursuant to...

47 CFR 63.17 - Special provisions for U.S. international common carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... carrier, may interconnect its authorized private lines to the public switched network on behalf of an end user customer for the end user customer's own use. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this...'s World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib. (3) Authorized carriers filing tariffs pursuant to...
47 CFR 63.17 - Special provisions for U.S. international common carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... carrier, may interconnect its authorized private lines to the public switched network on behalf of an end user customer for the end user customer's own use. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this...'s World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib. (3) Authorized carriers filing tariffs pursuant to...
1999 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daelemans, Gerard (Editor); Mosier, Frances L. (Editor)

1999-01-01

The 1999 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a combined symposia of the Get Away Special (GAS), Space Experiment Module (SEM), and Hitchhiker programs, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.
Multiple use management preferences by visitors with differing leisure identity salience

Treesearch

Ingrid E. Schneider; Patricia B. Winter

1998-01-01

Multiple use area management is of particular interest to both outdoor and urban planners due to an increase in and diversity of users. These areas pose special management challenges due to the diverse and potential conflicting interests involved. Diverse users are frequently excluded from management decisions, however. Further, when visitor input is solicited, it is...
The 1992 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Lawrence R. (Editor); Mosier, Frances L. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The 1992 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a continuation of the Get Away Special Symposium convened from 1984 through 1988, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.
Research flight software engineering and MUST, an integrated system of support tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straeter, T. A.; Foudriat, E. C.; Will, R. W.

1977-01-01

Consideration is given to software development to support NASA flight research. The Multipurpose User-Oriented Software Technology (MUST) program, designed to integrate digital systems into flight research, is discussed. Particular attention is given to the program's special interactive user interface, subroutine library, assemblers, compiler, automatic documentation tools, and test and simulation subsystems.
Gender differences in self-reported anxiety, depression, and somatization among ecstasy/MDMA polydrug users, alcohol/tobacco users, and nondrug users.

PubMed

Milani, Raffaella M; Parrott, Andy C; Turner, John J D; Fox, Helen C

2004-07-01

Previous research has found gender differences in both psychological and physiological responses to drugs. The present investigation explores gender variability in patterns of drug use in relation to self-reported depression, anxiety, and somatization. The current study confirms that heavy illegal drug users are represented by a preponderance of males than females. However, within each drug group category, females generally reported higher psychopathology scores than males. This was significant for all three subscales in the alcohol/tobacco group, for depression scores in the alcohol/tobacco, cannabis/alcohol, and light Ecstasy users group, and for depression scores for the alcohol group. Interestingly, in the male sample, drug users reported higher symptom ratings than nondrug users, whereas women's scores remained constant across drug groups. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ltd.
Marathon Group Counseling with Illicit Drug Users: Analysis of Content.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Richard C.; Wills, Judy

1983-01-01

Summarized a 16-hour marathon group for illicit drug users (N=12) in residential treatment. Content analysis showed the group spent more time on interpersonal relationships and relatively little time on group process. Drug users were able to successfully participate in therapeutic group discussions involving self-investment. (JAC)
Risk of HIV/AIDS in China: subpopulations of special importance

PubMed Central

Qian, Z; Vermund, S; Wang, N

2005-01-01

Objective: To describe the HIV/AIDS epidemic in mainland China. Methods: We review the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the social characteristics and geographic distribution of at-risk groups in China based on published literature and unpublished official data. Results: Injection drug use has been the dominant route for HIV infection in China, and will continue to be a major risk factor with increasing numbers of new drug users and needle sharing. Commercial plasma donation with unhygienic re-infusion of red blood cells was common in rural communities in the early 1990s. While this is unlikely to constitute a major factor for future HIV spread, those already infected represent a formidable treatment challenge. Huge seasonal work migration facilitates disease spread across regions. Many homosexual men have unprotected sex with men, women, or both, and may contract or spread HIV. Though commercial sex workers have contributed to a small proportion of the reported epidemic thus far, flourishing commercial sex is of growing concern and may have a bridging role in transmitting HIV from core groups to the general population. Conclusion: Increasing numbers of sex workers and drug users, internal migration, high risk behaviours, and low condom use suggest a future upward trend for HIV/AIDS and underscore the urgency of scaling up interventions in China. PMID:16326842
The Globus Galaxies Platform. Delivering Science Gateways as a Service

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

Madduri, Ravi; Chard, Kyle; Chard, Ryan

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Zonghua; Lin, Sui

2017-05-01

Aiming at the existing problems of multi-user encrypted search scheme in cloud computing environment, a basic multi-user encrypted scheme is proposed firstly, and then the basic scheme is extended to an anonymous hierarchical management authority. Compared with most of the existing schemes, the scheme not only to achieve the protection of keyword information, but also to achieve the protection of user identity privacy; the same time, data owners can directly control the user query permissions, rather than the cloud server. In addition, through the use of a special query key generation rules, to achieve the hierarchical management of the user's query permissions. The safety analysis shows that the scheme is safe and that the performance analysis and experimental data show that the scheme is practicable.
User interface support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Clayton; Wilde, Nick

1989-01-01

Space construction will require heavy investment in the development of a wide variety of user interfaces for the computer-based tools that will be involved at every stage of construction operations. Using today's technology, user interface development is very expensive for two reasons: (1) specialized and scarce programming skills are required to implement the necessary graphical representations and complex control regimes for high-quality interfaces; (2) iteration on prototypes is required to meet user and task requirements, since these are difficult to anticipate with current (and foreseeable) design knowledge. We are attacking this problem by building a user interface development tool based on extensions to the spreadsheet model of computation. The tool provides high-level support for graphical user interfaces and permits dynamic modification of interfaces, without requiring conventional programming concepts and skills.
Evaluation of the user requirements processes for NASA terrestrial applications programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

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

PubMed

Godoy-Lorite, Antonia; Guimerà, Roger; Moore, Cristopher; Sales-Pardo, Marta

2016-12-13

With increasing amounts of information available, modeling and predicting user preferences-for books or articles, for example-are becoming more important. We present a collaborative filtering model, with an associated scalable algorithm, that makes accurate predictions of users' ratings. Like previous approaches, we assume that there are groups of users and of items and that the rating a user gives an item is determined by their respective group memberships. However, we allow each user and each item to belong simultaneously to mixtures of different groups and, unlike many popular approaches such as matrix factorization, we do not assume that users in each group prefer a single group of items. In particular, we do not assume that ratings depend linearly on a measure of similarity, but allow probability distributions of ratings to depend freely on the user's and item's groups. The resulting overlapping groups and predicted ratings can be inferred with an expectation-maximization algorithm whose running time scales linearly with the number of observed ratings. Our approach enables us to predict user preferences in large datasets and is considerably more accurate than the current algorithms for such large datasets.
Spotlight on SLA Members: An Interview with Paul O'Pecko, Librarian at the Mystic Seaport G.W. Blunt White Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Information Outlook, 1999

1999-01-01

Discusses the collection of this special library that contains materials concerning maritime commerce and related topics and is part of the Mystic Seaport Museum. Highlights include users; research; budgeting; staff; library collection size; vendors; online projects; marketing; and views on the Special Library Association. (LRW)
Evaluating the Impact of a Special Library and Information Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botha, Erika; Erasmus, Rene; van Deventer, Martie

2009-01-01

The mere fact that a library service is being used does not mean that the service makes a difference or has a positive impact on the user. This has significant implications for Special Library and Information Services (SL&IS) that have to constantly prove that they add value. Because of the difficulty of measuring impact effectively, the…
The Potential of Computer-Based Expert Systems for Special Educators in Rural Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parry, James D.; Ferrara, Joseph M.

Knowledge-based expert computer systems are addressing issues relevant to all special educators, but are particularly relevant in rural settings where human experts are less available because of distance and cost. An expert system is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that typically engages the user in a dialogue resembling the…
75 FR 72766 - Defense Support to Special Events

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-26

... Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601) because it would not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a...) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs, or the rights and... events may be funded by title 10 U.S.C. 2564 and include: (A) The Special Olympics. (B) The Paralympics...
Patterns of Internet Use and Risk of Online Victimization for Youth with and without Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wells, Melissa; Mitchell, Kimberly J.

2014-01-01

Findings from a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,560 young Internet users revealed youth receiving special education services in schools were more likely to report receiving an online interpersonal victimization in the past year, even after adjusting for other explanatory factors. These findings suggest that special education staff…
Identifying Differences Between Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) and Non-OHV User Groups for Recreation Resource Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kil, Namyun; Holland, Stephen M.; Stein, Taylor V.

2012-09-01

Off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding is among the fastest growing recreational activities in the United States. However, little research exists about the central components of outcomes-focused management (OFM) as it relates to motorized recreation. Utilizing a two-activity dichotomy, OHV and non-OHV centric user groups were compared on several key concepts associated with OFM, including desired experiences, perceived and desired recreation opportunity spectrum-type settings, and intentional behaviors (i.e., place-protective behavior, spending-time intentions) toward potential changes in settings. Results indicated that the two groups were different in terms of intensity and relative rankings of their perceived experiences and settings. Although both groups preferred social bonding, stress relief, nostalgia and learning experiences, the OHV user group ranked using equipment and achieving physical fitness experiences as more important than the non-OHV group. The non-OHV user group preferred enjoying nature and solitude/tranquility experiences more strongly than the OHV user group. Further analysis found that both groups perceived settings that they recreated in to be pristine and preferred such conditions, and both groups preferred moderate levels of rules and regulations. Finally, the OHV user group was more reactive to rules and regulations, while the non-OHV user group expressed stronger intentions to protect the environmental quality of recreation areas. The results suggest that planners and managers who understand OHV user's perceptions and behaviors could provide enhanced recreation opportunities potentially providing additional beneficial outcomes for motorized and non-motorized groups in spatially different zones. Additional implications for planners and managers and future studies are discussed.

Designing clinically useful systems: examples from medicine and dentistry.

PubMed

Koch, S

2003-12-01

Despite promising results in medical informatics research and the development of a large number of different systems, few systems get beyond a prototype state and are really used in practice. Among other factors, the lack of explicit user focus is one main reason. The research projects presented in this paper follow a user-centered system development approach based on extensive work analyses in interdisciplinary working groups, taking into account human cognitive performance. Different medical and health-care specialists, together with researchers in human-computer interaction and medical informatics, specify future clinical work scenarios. Special focus is put on analysis and design of the information and communication flow and on exploration of intuitive visualization and interaction techniques for clinical information. Adequate choice of the technical access device is made depending on the user's work situation. It is the purpose of this paper to apply this method in two different research projects and thereby to show its potential for designing clinically useful systems that do support and not hamper clinical work. These research projects cover IT support for chairside work in dentistry (http://www.dis.uu.se/mdi/research/projects/orquest) and ICT support for home health care of elderly citizens (http://www.medsci.uu.se/mie/project/closecare).
[OurPuppet - Caring support with an interactive puppet for informal caregivers : Opportunities and challenges in the social and technical developmental process].

PubMed

Kuhlmann, Andrea; Reuter, Verena; Schramek, Renate; Dimitrov, Todor; Görnig, Matthias; Matip, Eva-Maria; Matthies, Olaf; Naroska, Edwin

2018-01-01

The "OurPuppet" project comprises a sensor-based, interactive puppet that will be developed to communicate with people in need of care during a short period of absence of the informal caregiver. Specially qualified puppet guides will support the use of the new technical development. They instruct people with dementia and caregivers on how to use the puppet and supervise the (informal) care relationship through discussions on a regular basis. The article shows the specific components of users' needs for which the concrete technical development should find answers. It also focuses on the opportunities and challenges for the technical and social developmental process accompanied by these demands. The analysis of the users' needs is based on a participatory approach. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with informal caregivers, nurses and volunteers in order to identify typical situations in home care settings. The interviews were paraphrased and summarized in order to deduce inductive categories (qualitative data analysis), which describe everyday situations that the technical system should address. Such analyses provide information about the needs of potential users and indicate how to design such technical systems. Furthermore, opportunities and challenges of the development process as well as important contextual information were identified.
Ergonomics and design for sustainability in healthcare: ambient assisted living and the social-environmental impact of patients lifestyle.

PubMed

Andreoni, Giuseppe; Arslan, Pelin; Costa, Fiammetta; Muschiato, Sabrina; Romero, Maximiliano

2012-01-01

This work presents considerations on Ergonomics and Design for Sustainability in the healthcare field based on research experiences of the Technology and Design for Healthcare (TeDH) research group of INDACO (Industrial design, communication, arts and fashion) department of Politecnico di Milano. In order to develop a multidisciplinary approach to design able to answer to specific user needs such as elderly in an environmental sustainable way (1) this paper shows the results we achieved concerning ergonomics and environmental impact in product development (2), the extension of this approach to interior and home design and the advantage of the application of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT can help people with special needs to make their everyday life easier and more safe, at the same time, ICT can make social-environmental impact of everyday behavior evident and can be applied to manage sustainability. The specific theme is thus to integrate ergonomics and sustainability competences in the development of Ambient Assisted Living through a Product- Service System approach. The concept of product service system has the potential to improve product performances and services, establish new relations and networks with different actors in order to satisfy user needs and apply a systems approach considering environmental, social and economic factors in the users' environment.
A graphical user interface for infant ERP analysis.

PubMed

Kaatiala, Jussi; Yrttiaho, Santeri; Forssman, Linda; Perdue, Katherine; Leppänen, Jukka

2014-09-01

Recording of event-related potentials (ERPs) is one of the best-suited technologies for examining brain function in human infants. Yet the existing software packages are not optimized for the unique requirements of analyzing artifact-prone ERP data from infants. We developed a new graphical user interface that enables an efficient implementation of a two-stage approach to the analysis of infant ERPs. In the first stage, video records of infant behavior are synchronized with ERPs at the level of individual trials to reject epochs with noncompliant behavior and other artifacts. In the second stage, the interface calls MATLAB and EEGLAB (Delorme & Makeig, Journal of Neuroscience Methods 134(1):9-21, 2004) functions for further preprocessing of the ERP signal itself (i.e., filtering, artifact removal, interpolation, and rereferencing). Finally, methods are included for data visualization and analysis by using bootstrapped group averages. Analyses of simulated and real EEG data demonstrated that the proposed approach can be effectively used to establish task compliance, remove various types of artifacts, and perform representative visualizations and statistical comparisons of ERPs. The interface is available for download from http://www.uta.fi/med/icl/methods/eeg.html in a format that is widely applicable to ERP studies with special populations and open for further editing by users.
Actors, observers, and causal attributions of homelessness: Differences in attribution for the causes of homelessness among domiciled and homeless people in Madrid (Spain).

PubMed

Vázquez, José Juan; Panadero, Sonia; Zúñiga, Claudia

2017-01-01

The study analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness and attributions of responsibility among the members of 3 groups: homeless group, consisting of a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid, Spain (n = 188); domiciled service-users group, consisting of people at risk of homelessness (n = 164); and domiciled nonservice-users group, consisting of people at no imminent risk of homelessness (n = 180). The domiciled service-users group and domiciled nonservice-users group were matched to the homeless group or sex, age, and nationality. The article also analyzes homeless people's causal attributions as regards their own situation. The results show that compared with the domiciled nonservice-users group, a higher percentage of members of the homeless group and domiciled service-users group attributed homelessness to individualistic causes and they blamed homeless people for their situation to a greater extent. The results also show that there was no "actor-observer bias" in causal attributions for homelessness in Madrid. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
MPBEC, a Matlab Program for Biomolecular Electrostatic Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergara-Perez, Sandra; Marucho, Marcelo

2016-01-01

One of the most used and efficient approaches to compute electrostatic properties of biological systems is to numerically solve the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation. There are several software packages available that solve the PB equation for molecules in aqueous electrolyte solutions. Most of these software packages are useful for scientists with specialized training and expertise in computational biophysics. However, the user is usually required to manually take several important choices, depending on the complexity of the biological system, to successfully obtain the numerical solution of the PB equation. This may become an obstacle for researchers, experimentalists, even students with no special training in computational methodologies. Aiming to overcome this limitation, in this article we present MPBEC, a free, cross-platform, open-source software that provides non-experts in the field an easy and efficient way to perform biomolecular electrostatic calculations on single processor computers. MPBEC is a Matlab script based on the Adaptative Poisson-Boltzmann Solver, one of the most popular approaches used to solve the PB equation. MPBEC does not require any user programming, text editing or extensive statistical skills, and comes with detailed user-guide documentation. As a unique feature, MPBEC includes a useful graphical user interface (GUI) application which helps and guides users to configure and setup the optimal parameters and approximations to successfully perform the required biomolecular electrostatic calculations. The GUI also incorporates visualization tools to facilitate users pre- and post-analysis of structural and electrical properties of biomolecules.
MPBEC, a Matlab Program for Biomolecular Electrostatic Calculations

PubMed Central

Vergara-Perez, Sandra; Marucho, Marcelo

2015-01-01

One of the most used and efficient approaches to compute electrostatic properties of biological systems is to numerically solve the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation. There are several software packages available that solve the PB equation for molecules in aqueous electrolyte solutions. Most of these software packages are useful for scientists with specialized training and expertise in computational biophysics. However, the user is usually required to manually take several important choices, depending on the complexity of the biological system, to successfully obtain the numerical solution of the PB equation. This may become an obstacle for researchers, experimentalists, even students with no special training in computational methodologies. Aiming to overcome this limitation, in this article we present MPBEC, a free, cross-platform, open-source software that provides non-experts in the field an easy and efficient way to perform biomolecular electrostatic calculations on single processor computers. MPBEC is a Matlab script based on the Adaptative Poisson Boltzmann Solver, one of the most popular approaches used to solve the PB equation. MPBEC does not require any user programming, text editing or extensive statistical skills, and comes with detailed user-guide documentation. As a unique feature, MPBEC includes a useful graphical user interface (GUI) application which helps and guides users to configure and setup the optimal parameters and approximations to successfully perform the required biomolecular electrostatic calculations. The GUI also incorporates visualization tools to facilitate users pre- and post- analysis of structural and electrical properties of biomolecules. PMID:26924848
MPBEC, a Matlab Program for Biomolecular Electrostatic Calculations.

PubMed

Vergara-Perez, Sandra; Marucho, Marcelo

2016-01-01

One of the most used and efficient approaches to compute electrostatic properties of biological systems is to numerically solve the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation. There are several software packages available that solve the PB equation for molecules in aqueous electrolyte solutions. Most of these software packages are useful for scientists with specialized training and expertise in computational biophysics. However, the user is usually required to manually take several important choices, depending on the complexity of the biological system, to successfully obtain the numerical solution of the PB equation. This may become an obstacle for researchers, experimentalists, even students with no special training in computational methodologies. Aiming to overcome this limitation, in this article we present MPBEC, a free, cross-platform, open-source software that provides non-experts in the field an easy and efficient way to perform biomolecular electrostatic calculations on single processor computers. MPBEC is a Matlab script based on the Adaptative Poisson Boltzmann Solver, one of the most popular approaches used to solve the PB equation. MPBEC does not require any user programming, text editing or extensive statistical skills, and comes with detailed user-guide documentation. As a unique feature, MPBEC includes a useful graphical user interface (GUI) application which helps and guides users to configure and setup the optimal parameters and approximations to successfully perform the required biomolecular electrostatic calculations. The GUI also incorporates visualization tools to facilitate users pre- and post- analysis of structural and electrical properties of biomolecules.
NASA/FAA helicopter simulator workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larsen, William E. (Editor); Randle, Robert J., Jr. (Editor); Bray, Richard S. (Editor); Zuk, John (Editor)

1992-01-01

A workshop was convened by the FAA and NASA for the purpose of providing a forum at which leading designers, manufacturers, and users of helicopter simulators could initiate and participate in a development process that would facilitate the formulation of qualification standards by the regulatory agency. Formal papers were presented, special topics were discussed in breakout sessions, and a draft FAA advisory circular defining specifications for helicopter simulators was presented and discussed. A working group of volunteers was formed to work with the National Simulator Program Office to develop a final version of the circular. The workshop attracted 90 individuals from a constituency of simulator manufacturers, training organizations, the military, civil regulators, research scientists, and five foreign countries.
[Online addictive disease].

PubMed

Neuenschwander, Martin

2014-10-01

Digital media are indispensable in school, profession, family and leisure time. 1 to 6 % of all users show dsyfunctional ans addictive patterns, first of all in online and "social" media. In Switzerland over 80 % of young people own a smartphone and "pocket internet". Time of interaction with online-media (hours/day), as well as peer group pattern are markers for risk of addiction. Active music making and sports are protective factors. Family physicians are important in early recognition of "internet addictive disease". Care-givers with special experience in this field are often successful in reducing time of harmful interaction with the internet. Internet addictive disease is not yet classified in ICD and DSM-5 lists, even though it is an increasing reality.
Changes in fat distribution (WHR) and body weight across the menstrual cycle.

PubMed

Kirchengast, S; Gartner, M

2002-12-01

The aim of the present study was to analyze changes of the body weight and waist-to-hip ratio during menstrual cycle, with special respect to changes around ovulation. 32 healthy young women ranging in age between 19 and 30 years (X = 23.5) were enrolled in the study. Beside a basal anthropometric investigation (stature, weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, fat percentage, waist to hip ratio) the probands were instructed to take body weight, waist and hip circumference and basal body temperature every morning by themselves over a whole cycle. Three proband groups according to cycle length (average, short and long) were defined and eight hormonal contraceptive users served as controls. It turned out that body weight increased only slightly during the second cycle half in all proband groups. A marked decrease of WHR around the time of ovulation was found in the proband group who exhibited average cycle length and a successful ovulation could be assumed. Evolutionary and physiological explanations are discussed.
Size Estimation of Groups at High Risk of HIV/AIDS using Network Scale Up in Kerman, Iran

PubMed Central

Shokoohi, Mostafa; Baneshi, Mohammad Reza; Haghdoost, Ali-Akbar

2012-01-01

Objective: To estimate the size of groups at high risk of HIV, Network Scale UP (NSU), an indirect method, was used. Methods: 500 Kermanian male aged 18 to 45 were recruited. 8 groups at high risk of HIV were defined: Users of opium, unknown drug, ecstasy, and alcohol; intra-venous drug users (IDUs; males who have extra-marital sex with females (MSF); male who have sex with female sex workers (MFSW); and male who have sex with other male (MSMs). We asked respondents whether they know anybody (probability method), and if yes, how many people (frequency method) in our target groups. Results: Estimates derived in the probability method were higher than the frequency method. Based on the probability method, 13.7% (95% CI: 11.3%, 16.1%) of males used alcohol at least once in last year; the corresponding percent for opium was 13.1% (95% CI: 10.9%, 15.3%). In addition, 12% has extra-marital sex in last year (95% CI: 10%, 14%); while 7% (95% CI: 5.8%, 8.2%) had sex with a female sex worker. Conclusion: We showed that drug use is more common among young and mid-age males; although their sexual contacts were also considerable. These percentages show that special preventive program is needed to control an HIV transmission. Estimates derived from probability method were comparable with data from external sources. The underestimation in frequency method might be due to the fact that respondents are not aware of sensitive characteristics of all those in their network and underreporting is likely to occur. PMID:22891148
Strategies for Addressing the University Library Users' Changing Needs and Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musoke, Maria G. N.

2008-01-01

The paper presents a Sub-Saharan African academic Librarian's experience in trying to address the changing needs and practices of university library users. Special reference is made to Makerere University Library. Most of the changes have been brought about by the various paradigm shifts in teaching, learning and research, as well as advances in…
47 CFR 63.17 - Special provisions for U.S. international common carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... carrier, may interconnect its authorized private lines to the public switched network on behalf of an end user customer for the end user customer's own use. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this... World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib. (3) Authorized carriers filing tariffs pursuant to §§ 61...
47 CFR 63.17 - Special provisions for U.S. international common carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... carrier, may interconnect its authorized private lines to the public switched network on behalf of an end user customer for the end user customer's own use. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this... World Wide Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/ib. (3) Authorized carriers filing tariffs pursuant to §§ 61...
The Impact of Information Behavior in Academic Library Service Quality: A Case Study of the Science and Technology Area in Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinto, Maria; Fernandez-Marcial, Viviana; Gomez-Camarero, Carmen

2010-01-01

This research explores the extent of service quality in Spanish university science and technology libraries, based on the expectations and perceptions of their users: faculty and researchers. Users' information behavior is analyzed with the specially designed BiQual tool, which reveals specific needs such as the greater importance of electronic…
The 1993 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Lawrence R. (Editor); Mosier, Frances L. (Editor)

1993-01-01

The 1993 Shuttle Small Payloads Symposium is a combined symposia of the Get Away Special (GAS), Hitchhiker, and Complex Autonomous Payloads (CAP) programs, and is proposed to continue as an annual conference. The focus of this conference is to educate potential Space Shuttle Payload Bay users as to the types of carrier systems provided and for current users to share experiment concepts.
Safety aspects of whole-body cryochamber and cryosauna operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnieszka, Piotrowska

2017-12-01

Interest in low temperature treatment is constantly increasing. Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) devices are becoming available not only in medical centers but also in local gyms and spa centers. A new group of users are professional sport clubs where 3-minutes session of whole-body cryotherapy is post-training procedure to improve and speed up the recovery process. There are four different types of WBC devices available on the market and offered to commercial (non-medical) users. The American and European market is dominated by two of them: classic cryochambers and cryosaunas. Both constructions are supplied with liquid nitrogen. Low temperature inside classic cryochamber is produced by evaporating of liquid nitrogen in two or more heat exchangers. There is never a direct contact between user and cryogenic medium in any of system operation mode (closed supply system). Cryosauna is cooled down by filling with cold vapor of liquid nitrogen. Supply system is considered open because it allows for direct contact between user and cryogenic medium. Open supply system of cryosauna is primary and most questionable issue of its operational safety, particularly after tragic accident in October 2015. This paper presents the comparative analysis of classic cryochamber and cryosauna from safety point of view. Both devices have been analyzes and tested on existing systems in operation. Paper gives detailed analysis of constructions, supply systems and working parameters. Special attention has been focused to problem of oxygen deficiency hazard. Different failure or accident scenarios have been analyzed and discussed.
Development of a Methodology for Customizing Insider Threat Auditing on a Linux Operating System

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

information /etc/group, passwd ,gshadow,shadow,/security/opasswd 16 User A attempts to access User B directory 17 User A attempts to access User B file w/o...configuration Handled by audit rules for root actions Audit user write attempts to system files -w /etc/group –p wxa -w /etc/ passwd –p wxa -w /etc/gshadow –p...information (/etc/group, /etc/ passwd , /etc/gshadow, /etc/shadow, /etc/sudoers, /etc/security/opasswd) Procedure: 1. User2 logs into the system
Co-streaming classes: a follow-up study in improving the user experience to better reach users.

PubMed

Hayes, Barrie E; Handler, Lara J; Main, Lindsey R

2011-01-01

Co-streaming classes have enabled library staff to extend open classes to distance education students and other users. Student evaluations showed that the model could be improved. Two areas required attention: audio problems experienced by online participants and staff teaching methods. Staff tested equipment and adjusted software configuration to improve user experience. Staff training increased familiarity with specialized teaching techniques and troubleshooting procedures. Technology testing and staff training were completed, and best practices were developed and applied. Class evaluations indicate improvements in classroom experience. Future plans include expanding co-streaming to more classes and on-going data collection, evaluation, and improvement of classes.

Smart internet search engine through 6W

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goehler, Stephen; Cader, Masud; Szu, Harold

2006-04-01

Current Internet search engine technology is limited in its ability to display necessary relevant information to the user. Yahoo, Google and Microsoft use lookup tables or indexes which limits the ability of users to find their desired information. While these companies have improved their results over the years by enhancing their existing technology and algorithms with specialized heuristics such as PageRank, there is a need for a next generation smart search engine that can effectively interpret the relevance of user searches and provide the actual information requested. This paper explores whether a smarter Internet search engine can effectively fulfill a user's needs through the use of 6W representations.
DESAP 1: A structural design program with stress and displacement constraints. Volume 1: Theoretical and user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiusalaas, J.; Reddy, G. B.

1977-01-01

A finite element program is presented for computer-automated, minimum weight design of elastic structures with constraints on stresses (including local instability criteria) and displacements. Volume 1 of the report contains the theoretical and user's manual of the program. Sample problems and the listing of the program are included in Volumes 2 and 3. The element subroutines are organized so as to facilitate additions and changes by the user. As a result, a relatively minor programming effort would be required to make DESAP 1 into a special purpose program to handle the user's specific design requirements and failure criteria.
Specialized microbial databases for inductive exploration of microbial genome sequences

PubMed Central

Fang, Gang; Ho, Christine; Qiu, Yaowu; Cubas, Virginie; Yu, Zhou; Cabau, Cédric; Cheung, Frankie; Moszer, Ivan; Danchin, Antoine

2005-01-01

Background The enormous amount of genome sequence data asks for user-oriented databases to manage sequences and annotations. Queries must include search tools permitting function identification through exploration of related objects. Methods The GenoList package for collecting and mining microbial genome databases has been rewritten using MySQL as the database management system. Functions that were not available in MySQL, such as nested subquery, have been implemented. Results Inductive reasoning in the study of genomes starts from "islands of knowledge", centered around genes with some known background. With this concept of "neighborhood" in mind, a modified version of the GenoList structure has been used for organizing sequence data from prokaryotic genomes of particular interest in China. GenoChore , a set of 17 specialized end-user-oriented microbial databases (including one instance of Microsporidia, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a member of Eukarya) has been made publicly available. These databases allow the user to browse genome sequence and annotation data using standard queries. In addition they provide a weekly update of searches against the world-wide protein sequences data libraries, allowing one to monitor annotation updates on genes of interest. Finally, they allow users to search for patterns in DNA or protein sequences, taking into account a clustering of genes into formal operons, as well as providing extra facilities to query sequences using predefined sequence patterns. Conclusion This growing set of specialized microbial databases organize data created by the first Chinese bacterial genome programs (ThermaList, Thermoanaerobacter tencongensis, LeptoList, with two different genomes of Leptospira interrogans and SepiList, Staphylococcus epidermidis) associated to related organisms for comparison. PMID:15698474
E-cigarette Dual Users, Exclusive Users and Perceptions of Tobacco Products

PubMed Central

Cooper, Maria; Case, Kathleen R.; Loukas, Alexandra; Creamer, MeLisa R.; Perry, Cheryl L.

2016-01-01

Objectives We examined differences in the characteristics of youth non-users, cigarette-only, e-cigarette-only, and dual e-cigarette and cigarette users. Methods Using weighted, representative data, logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviors across tobacco usage groups. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine differences in harm perceptions of various tobacco products and perceived peer use of e-cigarettes by tobacco usage group. Results Compared to non-users, dual users were more likely to be white, male, and high school students. Dual users had significantly higher prevalence of current use of all products (except hookah) than e-cigarette-only users, and higher prevalence of current use of snus and hookah than the cigarette-only group. Dual users had significantly lower harm perceptions for all tobacco products except for e-cigarettes and hookah as compared to e-cigarette-only users. Dual users reported higher peer use of cigarettes as compared to both exclusive user groups. Conclusion Findings highlight dual users’ higher prevalence of use of most other tobacco products, their lower harm perceptions of most tobacco products compared to e-cigarette-only users, and their higher perceived peer use of cigarettes compared to exclusive users. PMID:26685819
IAC-1.5 - INTEGRATED ANALYSIS CAPABILITY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vos, R. G.

1994-01-01

The objective of the Integrated Analysis Capability (IAC) system is to provide a highly effective, interactive analysis tool for the integrated design of large structures. IAC was developed to interface programs from the fields of structures, thermodynamics, controls, and system dynamics with an executive system and a database to yield a highly efficient multi-disciplinary system. Special attention is given to user requirements such as data handling and on-line assistance with operational features, and the ability to add new modules of the user's choice at a future date. IAC contains an executive system, a database, general utilities, interfaces to various engineering programs, and a framework for building interfaces to other programs. IAC has shown itself to be effective in automating data transfer among analysis programs. The IAC system architecture is modular in design. 1) The executive module contains an input command processor, an extensive data management system, and driver code to execute the application modules. 2) Technical modules provide standalone computational capability as well as support for various solution paths or coupled analyses. 3) Graphics and model generation modules are supplied for building and viewing models. 4) Interface modules provide for the required data flow between IAC and other modules. 5) User modules can be arbitrary executable programs or JCL procedures with no pre-defined relationship to IAC. 6) Special purpose modules are included, such as MIMIC (Model Integration via Mesh Interpolation Coefficients), which transforms field values from one model to another; LINK, which simplifies incorporation of user specific modules into IAC modules; and DATAPAC, the National Bureau of Standards statistical analysis package. The IAC database contains structured files which provide a common basis for communication between modules and the executive system, and can contain unstructured files such as NASTRAN checkpoint files, DISCOS plot files, object code, etc. The user can define groups of data and relations between them. A full data manipulation and query system operates with the database. The current interface modules comprise five groups: 1) Structural analysis - IAC contains a NASTRAN interface for standalone analysis or certain structural/control/thermal combinations. IAC provides enhanced structural capabilities for normal modes and static deformation analysis via special DMAP sequences. 2) Thermal analysis - IAC supports finite element and finite difference techniques for steady state or transient analysis. There are interfaces for the NASTRAN thermal analyzer, SINDA/SINFLO, and TRASYS II. 3) System dynamics - A DISCOS interface allows full use of this simulation program for either nonlinear time domain analysis or linear frequency domain analysis. 4) Control analysis - Interfaces for the ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and INCA programs allow a wide range of control system analyses and synthesis techniques. 5) Graphics - The graphics packages PLOT and MOSAIC are included in IAC. PLOT generates vector displays of tabular data in the form of curves, charts, correlation tables, etc., while MOSAIC generates color raster displays of either tabular of array type data. Either DI3000 or PLOT-10 graphics software is required for full graphics capability. IAC is available by license for a period of 10 years to approved licensees. The licensed program product includes one complete set of supporting documentation. Additional copies of the documentation may be purchased separately. IAC is written in FORTRAN 77 and has been implemented on a DEC VAX series computer operating under VMS. IAC can be executed by multiple concurrent users in batch or interactive mode. The basic central memory requirement is approximately 750KB. IAC includes the executive system, graphics modules, a database, general utilities, and the interfaces to all analysis and controls programs described above. Source code is provided for the control programs ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and DISCOS. The following programs are also available from COSMIC a
IAC-1.5 - INTEGRATED ANALYSIS CAPABILITY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vos, R. G.

1994-01-01

The objective of the Integrated Analysis Capability (IAC) system is to provide a highly effective, interactive analysis tool for the integrated design of large structures. IAC was developed to interface programs from the fields of structures, thermodynamics, controls, and system dynamics with an executive system and a database to yield a highly efficient multi-disciplinary system. Special attention is given to user requirements such as data handling and on-line assistance with operational features, and the ability to add new modules of the user's choice at a future date. IAC contains an executive system, a database, general utilities, interfaces to various engineering programs, and a framework for building interfaces to other programs. IAC has shown itself to be effective in automating data transfer among analysis programs. The IAC system architecture is modular in design. 1) The executive module contains an input command processor, an extensive data management system, and driver code to execute the application modules. 2) Technical modules provide standalone computational capability as well as support for various solution paths or coupled analyses. 3) Graphics and model generation modules are supplied for building and viewing models. 4) Interface modules provide for the required data flow between IAC and other modules. 5) User modules can be arbitrary executable programs or JCL procedures with no pre-defined relationship to IAC. 6) Special purpose modules are included, such as MIMIC (Model Integration via Mesh Interpolation Coefficients), which transforms field values from one model to another; LINK, which simplifies incorporation of user specific modules into IAC modules; and DATAPAC, the National Bureau of Standards statistical analysis package. The IAC database contains structured files which provide a common basis for communication between modules and the executive system, and can contain unstructured files such as NASTRAN checkpoint files, DISCOS plot files, object code, etc. The user can define groups of data and relations between them. A full data manipulation and query system operates with the database. The current interface modules comprise five groups: 1) Structural analysis - IAC contains a NASTRAN interface for standalone analysis or certain structural/control/thermal combinations. IAC provides enhanced structural capabilities for normal modes and static deformation analysis via special DMAP sequences. 2) Thermal analysis - IAC supports finite element and finite difference techniques for steady state or transient analysis. There are interfaces for the NASTRAN thermal analyzer, SINDA/SINFLO, and TRASYS II. 3) System dynamics - A DISCOS interface allows full use of this simulation program for either nonlinear time domain analysis or linear frequency domain analysis. 4) Control analysis - Interfaces for the ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and INCA programs allow a wide range of control system analyses and synthesis techniques. 5) Graphics - The graphics packages PLOT and MOSAIC are included in IAC. PLOT generates vector displays of tabular data in the form of curves, charts, correlation tables, etc., while MOSAIC generates color raster displays of either tabular of array type data. Either DI3000 or PLOT-10 graphics software is required for full graphics capability. IAC is available by license for a period of 10 years to approved licensees. The licensed program product includes one complete set of supporting documentation. Additional copies of the documentation may be purchased separately. IAC is written in FORTRAN 77 and has been implemented on a DEC VAX series computer operating under VMS. IAC can be executed by multiple concurrent users in batch or interactive mode. The basic central memory requirement is approximately 750KB. IAC includes the executive system, graphics modules, a database, general utilities, and the interfaces to all analysis and controls programs described above. Source code is provided for the control programs ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and DISCOS. The following programs are also available from COSMIC as separate packages: NASTRAN, SINDA/SINFLO, TRASYS II, DISCOS, ORACLS, SAMSAN, NBOD2, and INCA. IAC was developed in 1985.
Electronic medical records and the transgender patient: recommendations from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health EMR Working Group

PubMed Central

Deutsch, Madeline B; Green, Jamison; Keatley, JoAnne; Mayer, Gal; Hastings, Jennifer; Hall, Alexandra M

2013-01-01

Transgender patients have particular needs with respect to demographic information and health records; specifically, transgender patients may have a chosen name and gender identity that differs from their current legally designated name and sex. Additionally, sex-specific health information, for example, a man with a cervix or a woman with a prostate, requires special attention in electronic health record (EHR) systems. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is an international multidisciplinary professional association that publishes recognized standards for the care of transgender and gender variant persons. In September 2011, the WPATH Executive Committee convened an Electronic Medical Records Working Group comprised of both expert clinicians and medical information technology specialists, to make recommendations for developers, vendors, and users of EHR systems with respect to transgender patients. These recommendations and supporting rationale are presented here. PMID:23631835
[Substance use and risk behaviors of out-of-treatment cocaine base paste and cocaine hydrochloride users].

PubMed

Santis B, Rodrigo; Hidalgo C, Carmen Gloria; Hayden C, Viviana; Anselmo M, Enzo; Rodríguez T, Jorge; Cartajena de la M, Fernando; Dreyse D, Jorge; Torres B, Rafael

2007-01-01

In Chile, cocaine base paste (CBP) is the illegal substance that produces the highest rate of addiction. Nonetheless, a marginal number of users receive treatment each year. To compare the consumption patterns and risk behavior of CBP and cocaine hydrochloride (CH) users who do not attend rehabilitation services. In a prospective research design, through a study methodology called Privileged Access Interview of hidden populations, 28 surveyors recruited 231 CBP users (group 1) and 236 CH users (group 2). The Risk Behavior Questionnaire was applied in four communities of Metropolitan Santiago, that have the highest prevalence of PBC and CH use. CBP users showed higher schools drop-out and unemployment rates. Subjects of both groups were predominantly polysubstance and polyaddicted users. The severity of addiction to CBP of group 1 was significantly higher than the severity of addiction to CH of group 2 (5.5 versus 5.1: p<0.001). CBP users showed significantly higher rates of sexual risk behaviors, antisocial behavior, self infliction of injuries, suicide attempt and child neglect. A higher vulnerability was shown for users of CBP than those of CH. Attention is drawn to the need for developing community interventions in order to alter substance abuse and the risk behavior of these vulnerable groups.
Mobile Applications for Diabetics: A Systematic Review and Expert-Based Usability Evaluation Considering the Special Requirements of Diabetes Patients Age 50 Years or Older

PubMed Central

Quade, Mandy; Kirch, Wilhelm

2014-01-01

Background A multitude of mhealth (mobile health) apps have been developed in recent years to support effective self-management of patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2. Objective We carried out a systematic review of all currently available diabetes apps for the operating systems iOS and Android. We considered the number of newly released diabetes apps, range of functions, target user groups, languages, acquisition costs, user ratings, available interfaces, and the connection between acquisition costs and user ratings. Additionally, we examined whether the available applications serve the special needs of diabetes patients aged 50 or older by performing an expert-based usability evaluation. Methods We identified relevant keywords, comparative categories, and their specifications. Subsequently, we performed the app review based on the information given in the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store, and the apps themselves. In addition, we carried out an expert-based usability evaluation based on a representative 10% sample of diabetes apps. Results In total, we analyzed 656 apps finding that 355 (54.1%) offered just one function and 348 (53.0%) provided a documentation function. The dominating app language was English (85.4%, 560/656), patients represented the main user group (96.0%, 630/656), and the analysis of the costs revealed a trend toward free apps (53.7%, 352/656). The median price of paid apps was €1.90. The average user rating was 3.6 stars (maximum 5). Our analyses indicated no clear differences in the user rating between free and paid apps. Only 30 (4.6%) of the 656 available diabetes apps offered an interface to a measurement device. We evaluated 66 apps within the usability evaluation. On average, apps were rated best regarding the criterion “comprehensibility” (4.0 out of 5.0), while showing a lack of “fault tolerance” (2.8 out of 5.0). Of the 66 apps, 48 (72.7%) offered the ability to read the screen content aloud. The number of functions was significantly negative correlated with usability. The presence of documentation and analysis functions reduced the usability score significantly by 0.36 and 0.21 points. Conclusions A vast number of diabetes apps already exist, but the majority offer similar functionalities and combine only one to two functions in one app. Patients and physicians alike should be involved in the app development process to a greater extent. We expect that the data transmission of health parameters to physicians will gain more importance in future applications. The usability of diabetes apps for patients aged 50 or older was moderate to good. But this result applied mainly to apps offering a small range of functions. Multifunctional apps performed considerably worse in terms of usability. Moreover, the presence of a documentation or analysis function resulted in significantly lower usability scores. The operability of accessibility features for diabetes apps was quite limited, except for the feature “screen reader”. PMID:24718852
Producing Decisions in Service-User Groups for People with an Intellectual Disability: Two Contrasting Facilitator Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antaki, Charles; Finlay, W. M. L.; Sheridan, Emma; Jingree, Treena; Walton, Chris

2006-01-01

Service-user groups whose goals include the promotion of self-advocacy for people with an intellectual disability aim, among other things, to encourage service users to identify problems and find solutions. However, service users' contributions to group sessions may not always be full and spontaneous. This presents a dilemma to the facilitator. In…
Techniques for using diazo materials in remote sensor data analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitebay, L. E.; Mount, S.

1978-01-01

The use of data derived from LANDSAT is facilitated when special products or computer enhanced images can be analyzed. However, the facilities required to produce and analyze such products prevent many users from taking full advantages of the LANDSAT data. A simple, low-cost method is presented by which users can make their own specially enhanced composite images from the four band black and white LANDSAT images by using the diazo process. The diazo process is described and a detailed procedure for making various color composites, such as color infrared, false natural color, and false color, is provided. The advantages and limitations of the diazo process are discussed. A brief discussion interpretation of diazo composites for land use mapping with some typical examples is included.
Interactive Voice/Web Response System in clinical research

PubMed Central

Ruikar, Vrishabhsagar

2016-01-01

Emerging technologies in computer and telecommunication industry has eased the access to computer through telephone. An Interactive Voice/Web Response System (IxRS) is one of the user friendly systems for end users, with complex and tailored programs at its backend. The backend programs are specially tailored for easy understanding of users. Clinical research industry has experienced revolution in methodologies of data capture with time. Different systems have evolved toward emerging modern technologies and tools in couple of decades from past, for example, Electronic Data Capture, IxRS, electronic patient reported outcomes, etc. PMID:26952178
Interactive Voice/Web Response System in clinical research.

PubMed

Ruikar, Vrishabhsagar

2016-01-01

Emerging technologies in computer and telecommunication industry has eased the access to computer through telephone. An Interactive Voice/Web Response System (IxRS) is one of the user friendly systems for end users, with complex and tailored programs at its backend. The backend programs are specially tailored for easy understanding of users. Clinical research industry has experienced revolution in methodologies of data capture with time. Different systems have evolved toward emerging modern technologies and tools in couple of decades from past, for example, Electronic Data Capture, IxRS, electronic patient reported outcomes, etc.
Characteristics of a self-management support programme applicable in primary health care: a qualitative study of users' and health professionals' perceptions.

PubMed

Solberg, Hilde Strøm; Steinsbekk, Aslak; Solbjør, Marit; Granbo, Randi; Garåsen, Helge

2014-11-08

Development of more self-management support programmes in primary health care has been one option used to enhance positive outcomes in chronic disease management. At present, research results provide no consensus on what would be the best way to develop support programmes into new settings. The aim of the present study was therefore to explore users' and health professionals' perceptions of what would be the vital elements in a self - management support programme applicable in primary health care, how to account for them, and why. Four qualitative, semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted in Central Norway. The informants possessed experience in development, provision, or participation in a self-management support programme. Data was analysed by the Systematic Text Condensation method. The results showed an overall positive expectation to the potential benefits of development of a self-management support programme in primary health care. Despite somewhat different arguments and perspectives, the users and the health professionals had a joint agreement on core characteristics; a self-management support programme in primary health care should therefore be generic, not disease specific, and delivered in a group- based format. A special focus should be on the everyday- life of the participants. The most challenging aspect was a present lack of competence and experience among health professionals to moderate self-management support programmes. The development and design of a relevant and applicable self-management support programme in primary health care should balance the interests of the users with the possibilities and constraints within each municipality. It would be vital to benefit from the closeness of the patients' every-day life situations. The user informants' perception of a self-management support programme as a supplement to regular medical treatment represented an expanded understanding of the self-management support concept. An exploring approach should be applied in the development of the health professionals' competence in practice. The effect of a self-management support programme based on the core characteristics found in this study needs to be evaluated.
Constraints and benefits of changing the distribution process for recreation special use permits in the U.S

Treesearch

Jessie Meybin; Robert Burns; Alan Graefe; James D. Absher

2010-01-01

A significant policy change governing recreation Special Use Permits on U.S. Federal lands was implemented in October 2008. The changes may have a major impact on current and potential recreation users, members of local communities, and existing outfitter/guide services. This paper presents findings from interviews with permit distribution supervisors about changes in...
Are the Keys loved to death? A study of diver specialization levels and preferences in the Florida Keys

Treesearch

Shona Paterson; David K. Loomis

2010-01-01

This paper presents research conducted for the Florida Reef Resilience Program on nonresident recreational SCUBA divers in three zones of the Florida Keys. When divers were segmented into specialization subgroups for analysis, divers in different subgroups tended to use different geographic locations. These results suggest differences in user preferences; yet when...
Using Social Media and Mobile Devices to Discover and Share Disaster Data Products Derived From Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandl, Daniel; Cappelaere, Patrice; Frye, Stuart; Evans, John; Moe, Karen

2014-01-01

Data products derived from Earth observing satellites are difficult to find and share without specialized software and often times a highly paid and specialized staff. For our research effort, we endeavored to prototype a distributed architecture that depends on a standardized communication protocol and applications program interface (API) that makes it easy for anyone to discover and access disaster related data. Providers can easily supply the public with their disaster related products by building an adapter for our API. Users can use the API to browse and find products that relate to the disaster at hand, without a centralized catalogue, for example floods, and then are able to share that data via social media. Furthermore, a longerterm goal for this architecture is to enable other users who see the shared disaster product to be able to generate the same product for other areas of interest via simple point and click actions on the API on their mobile device. Furthermore, the user will be able to edit the data with on the ground local observations and return the updated information to the original repository of this information if configured for this function. This architecture leverages SensorWeb functionality [1] presented at previous IGARSS conferences. The architecture is divided into two pieces, the frontend, which is the GeoSocial API, and the backend, which is a standardized disaster node that knows how to talk to other disaster nodes, and also can communicate with the GeoSocial API. The GeoSocial API, along with the disaster node basic functionality enables crowdsourcing and thus can leverage insitu observations by people external to a group to perform tasks such as improving water reference maps, which are maps of existing water before floods. This can lower the cost of generating precision water maps. Keywords-Data Discovery, Disaster Decision Support, Disaster Management, Interoperability, CEOS WGISS Disaster Architecture
Recommendations of the International Symposium on Contraceptive Research and Development for the Year 2000 and Beyond.

PubMed

1993-01-01

The government of Mexico and the UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development, and Research Training in Human Reproduction organized an international symposium on "Contraceptive Research and Development for the Year 2000 and Beyond" that was held March 8-10, 1993 in Mexico City. 11 recommendations were established: 1) reproductive and sexual health should be given priority in both governmental and nongovernmental health research agendas, with coordination and collaboration between public and private sectors, nationally and internationally; 2) more funds should be provided by international donors for such research in developing countries; 3) women's health advocates and potential users should be represented on advisory bodies and in the decision making processes; 4) the existing health infrastructure and family planning services available, method potential, and safeguards concerning safety, effectiveness, and consent should be considered before adopting a new procedure; 5) "basic biomedical, technological, clinical, epidemiological, and social science research" leading to new or improved methods that are safe, effective, affordable, suitable for different age groups and designed in response to user's needs should receive increased support; 6) support should also be increased for "introductory, sociocultural, programmatic, operational, epidemiological, and qualitative research" that improves information, method, or service delivery; 7) research is needed on sexuality, gender roles, and gender relationships in different cultures; in particular, on discrimination and violence against women, sexual behavior, risk taking attitudes toward disease transmission and pregnancy, men's perceived needs, and the reasons for refusal of or inability to use services available; 8) industry, especially in developing countries, should collaborate with national regulatory agencies in order to expedite the process of development; 9) research should be undertaken that ensures quality abortion services that are safe, affordable, and accessible; 10) special attention should be given to the needs of adolescents; and 11) research findings should be disseminated to policy and opinion makers, providers and users of methods, and the general public and applied to problem solving.
Protein Supplement Usage Among Male University Students: Comparisons Between Current and Previous Users.

PubMed

Sung, Youngmo; Choi, Jinkyung

2018-02-01

Interest in specialized dietary supplements is leading market growth, and protein supplements are popular for increasing muscle mass among young males. Therefore, this study investigated the attitudes toward and satisfaction with protein supplements to identify detailed consumer behaviors related to the consumption of protein supplements. The study sample includes male university students in their 20s in South Korea. In total, 223 responses were entered for analysis. Questions related to attitudes, satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions were asked using 5-point Likert scales. The responses were divided into two groups, current and previous users, to identify significant differences in terms of attitudes, satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions. A descriptive analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression were run. The majority of respondents prefer the powdered form of supplements in bulk with a price range between 30,000 won and 60,000 won. Online shopping was preferred, while word of mouth and friends/family were considered credible information sources. The most common side effects experienced were problems with digestion and hives, although more than 78% did not experience side effects. In comparison between current and previous users in terms of attitudes and satisfaction, the following areas showed significances. Regarding attitudes, the importance of brand, preference for products from overseas, the search for nutritional facts, and reading carefully all product information were significant, while regarding satisfaction, price, effectiveness, and ease of consumption were significant. All significances showed that current users had more positive attitudes and greater satisfaction. Overall, consumers' satisfaction regarding ease of consumption influenced future behavioral intentions. The market for protein supplements has been growing, so measuring consumers' attitudes and satisfaction would help attract potential consumers. In addition, analyzing previous users' opinions on products could guide product development and encourage customers to return for repurchase.
Mouse Curve Biometrics

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

Schulz, Douglas A.

2007-10-08

A biometric system suitable for validating user identity using only mouse movements and no specialized equipment is presented. Mouse curves (mouse movements with little or no pause between them) are individually classied and used to develop classication histograms, which are representative of an individual's typical mouse use. These classication histograms can then be compared to validate identity. This classication approach is suitable for providing continuous identity validation during an entire user session.

People with Profound and Multiple Intellectual Disabilities Using Symbols to Control a Computer: Exploration of User Engagement and Supporter Facilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunning, Karen; Kwiatkowska, Gosia; Weldin, Nick

2012-01-01

Computer usage features in everyday life for the majority of people in developed countries. Access is a problem for many users with intellectual disability. Action-research was conducted to develop and explore the potential of specially adapted, computer readable symbols for choosing and accessing media on a computer. Five people with profound and…
National Space Council Users' Advisory Group

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-06-19

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

PubMed

Pajor, Emília Margit; Oenema, Anke; Eggers, Sander Matthijs; de Vries, Hein

2017-10-01

Although dietary supplement use is increasing in Europe and the USA, little research involving adults' beliefs regarding dietary supplements has been conducted. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore and compare users' and non-users' beliefs towards dietary supplements. Thirteen focus group discussions were conducted of which seven groups were dietary supplement users and six groups were non-users. Based on the socio-cognitive factors of the Integrated Change Model, a semi-structured topic guide was set up. The discussions were audio-recorded and subjected to qualitative content analysis, applying the framework approach. Data were collected in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in 2014 and 2015. In total fifty-six individuals participated in the study, of whom twenty-eight were dietary supplement users and twenty-eight non-users. The average age of participants was 42·9 years. Dietary supplement users' attitude beliefs were mainly related to mental and physical health enhancement, illness prevention and curative health benefits. Users were critical of the nutritional knowledge of health professionals and of the quality of food products. Non-users were convinced that the human body does not need any support and that regular food is enough to cover one's nutritional needs. Users and non-users held comparable beliefs regarding the definition and risks of dietary supplements, and perceived social influences. In their decision about dietary supplement use, both groups were guided by their own convictions to a great extent. Both groups would benefit from improved understanding of the health effects of dietary supplements to improve informed decision making.
High fidelity nanopatterning of proteins onto well-defined surfaces through subtractive contact printing

PubMed Central

García, José R.; Singh, Ankur; García, Andrés J.

2016-01-01

In the pursuit to develop enhanced technologies for cellular bioassays as well as understand single cell interactions with its underlying substrate, the field of biotechnology has extensively utilized lithographic techniques to spatially pattern proteins onto surfaces in user-defined geometries. Microcontact printing (μCP) remains an incredibly useful patterning method due to its inexpensive nature, scalability, and the lack of considerable use of specialized clean room equipment. However, as new technologies emerge that necessitate various nano-sized areas of deposited proteins, traditional microcontact printing methods may not be able to supply users with the needed resolution size. Recently, our group developed a modified “subtractive microcontact printing” method which still retains many of the benefits offered by conventional μCP. Using this technique, we have been able to reach resolution sizes of fibronectin as small as 250 nm in largely spaced arrays for cell culture. In this communication, we present a detailed description of our subtractive μCP procedure that expands on many of the little tips and tricks that together make this procedure an easy and effective method for controlling protein patterning. PMID:24439290
Towards the run and walk activity classification through step detection--an android application.

PubMed

Oner, Melis; Pulcifer-Stump, Jeffry A; Seeling, Patrick; Kaya, Tolga

2012-01-01

Falling is one of the most common accidents with potentially irreversible consequences, especially considering special groups, such as the elderly or disabled. One approach to solve this issue would be an early detection of the falling event. Towards reaching the goal of early fall detection, we have worked on distinguishing and monitoring some basic human activities such as walking and running. Since we plan to implement the system mostly for seniors and the disabled, simplicity of the usage becomes very important. We have successfully implemented an algorithm that would not require the acceleration sensor to be fixed in a specific position (the smart phone itself in our application), whereas most of the previous research dictates the sensor to be fixed in a certain direction. This algorithm reviews data from the accelerometer to determine if a user has taken a step or not and keeps track of the total amount of steps. After testing, the algorithm was more accurate than a commercial pedometer in terms of comparing outputs to the actual number of steps taken by the user.
A Web Browsing System by Eye-gaze Input

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abe, Kiyohiko; Owada, Kosuke; Ohi, Shoichi; Ohyama, Minoru

We have developed an eye-gaze input system for people with severe physical disabilities, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. This system utilizes a personal computer and a home video camera to detect eye-gaze under natural light. The system detects both vertical and horizontal eye-gaze by simple image analysis, and does not require special image processing units or sensors. We also developed the platform for eye-gaze input based on our system. In this paper, we propose a new web browsing system for physically disabled computer users as an application of the platform for eye-gaze input. The proposed web browsing system uses a method of direct indicator selection. The method categorizes indicators by their function. These indicators are hierarchized relations; users can select the felicitous function by switching indicators group. This system also analyzes the location of selectable object on web page, such as hyperlink, radio button, edit box, etc. This system stores the locations of these objects, in other words, the mouse cursor skips to the object of candidate input. Therefore it enables web browsing at a faster pace.
The Cognitive Visualization System with the Dynamic Projection of Multidimensional Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorohov, V.; Vitkovskiy, V.

2008-08-01

The phenomenon of cognitive machine drawing consists in the generation on the screen the special graphic representations, which create in the brain of human operator entertainment means. These means seem man by aesthetically attractive and, thus, they stimulate its descriptive imagination, closely related to the intuitive mechanisms of thinking. The essence of cognitive effect lies in the fact that man receives the moving projection as pseudo-three-dimensional object characterizing multidimensional means in the multidimensional space. After the thorough qualitative study of the visual aspects of multidimensional means with the aid of the enumerated algorithms appears the possibility, using algorithms of standard machine drawing to paint the interesting user separate objects or the groups of objects. Then it is possible to again return to the dynamic behavior of the rotation of means for the purpose of checking the intuitive ideas of user about the clusters and the connections in multidimensional data. Is possible the development of the methods of cognitive machine drawing in combination with other information technologies, first of all with the packets of digital processing of images and multidimensional statistical analysis.
Information and communication systems for the assistance of carers based on ACTION.

PubMed

Kraner, M; Emery, D; Cvetkovic, S R; Procter, P; Smythe, C

1999-01-01

Recent advances in telecommunication technologies allow the design of information and communication systems for people who are caring for others in the home as family members or as professionals in the health or community centres. The present paper analyses and classifies the information flow and maps it to an information life cycle, which governs the design of the deployed hardware, software and the data-structure. This is based on the initial findings of ACTION (assisting carers using telematics interventions to meet older persons' needs) a European Union funded project. The proposed information architecture discusses different designs such as centralized or decentralized Web and Client server solutions. A user interface is developed reflecting the special requirements of the targeted user group, which influences the functionality and design of the software, data architecture and the integrated communication system using video-conferencing. ACTION has engineered a system using plain Web technology based on HTML, extended with JavaScript and ActiveX and a software switch enabling the integration of different types of videoconferencing and other applications providing manufacturer independence.
CHISSL: A Human-Machine Collaboration Space for Unsupervised Learning

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

Arendt, Dustin L.; Komurlu, Caner; Blaha, Leslie M.

We developed CHISSL, a human-machine interface that utilizes supervised machine learning in an unsupervised context to help the user group unlabeled instances by her own mental model. The user primarily interacts via correction (moving a misplaced instance into its correct group) or confirmation (accepting that an instance is placed in its correct group). Concurrent with the user's interactions, CHISSL trains a classification model guided by the user's grouping of the data. It then predicts the group of unlabeled instances and arranges some of these alongside the instances manually organized by the user. We hypothesize that this mode of human andmore » machine collaboration is more effective than Active Learning, wherein the machine decides for itself which instances should be labeled by the user. We found supporting evidence for this hypothesis in a pilot study where we applied CHISSL to organize a collection of handwritten digits.« less
Negotiating access: Social barriers to purchasing syringes at pharmacies in Tijuana, Mexico

PubMed Central

Davidson, Peter J.; Lozada, Remedios; Rosen, Perth C.; Macias, Armando; Gallardo, Manuel; Pollini, Robin A.

2012-01-01

Background One common public health response to the emergence of HIV has been the provision of sterile syringes to people who inject drugs. In Mexico specialized syringe exchanges are rare, and the sale of needles through pharmacies is often the only way people who inject drugs can obtain sterile syringes. However, people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico report considerable social barriers to successfully purchasing syringes at pharmacies. Methods Between October 2008 and March 2009 we conducted seven in-depth focus groups with 47 people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico. Focus group transcripts were analysed using a descriptive and thematic approach rooted in grounded theory. Results We found that injectors offered a number of explanations for why pharmacies were reluctant to sell them syringes, including fear of police; attitudes toward drug use; fear of stereotypical drug user behaviour such as petty theft, violence, or distressing behaviour; and related fears that an obvious drug using clientèle would drive away other customers. Injectors described a range of ways of attempting to re-frame or negotiate interactions with pharmacy staff so that these and related concerns were ameliorated. These included tactics as simple as borrowing cleaner clothing, through to strategies for becoming ‘known’ to pharmacy staff as an individual rather than as a member of a stigmatized group. Conclusion Increasing the ability of pharmacy staff and people who inject drugs to successfully negotiate syringe sales are highly desirable. Interventions designed to improve this likelihood need to capitalize on existing solutions developed ad-hoc by people who inject drugs and pharmacy staff, and should focus on broadening the range of ‘identities’ which pharmacy staff are able to accept as legitimate customers. Approaches to achieve this end might include sensitizing pharmacy staff to the needs of people who inject drugs; facilitating individual drug users meeting individual pharmacy staff; and working with drug users to reduce behaviours seen as problematic by pharmacy staff. PMID:22676968
ESCAP/POPIN Working Group on Development of Population Information Centres and Network: report on the meeting held from 20 to 23 June 1984.

PubMed

1984-12-01

The Expert Working Group on the Development of Population Information Centers and Networks met in June 1984 to consider the organizational and technical aspects of the development of national population information centers in the countries in the Bangkok region, as well as national, regional and global networking. Representatives from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam participated in the meeting. POPIN was represented by its coordinator. Among the major issues considered by the Working Group were the role and functions of population information centers with special reference to the positioning of centers in national population programs user-oriented products to facilitate the utilization of research findings for policy formulation and program implementation, and the possible approaches to be developed by population centers in facilitating in-country networking to extend population information services beyond capital cities to the local level. The mandate and responsibilities of national population information centers should be explicitly stated by the highest authority. Centers should contribute to the national population programs by collecting, processing and disseminating population information effectively. Greater flexibility in performing activities should be given to centers. Training of staff should be expanded; external funding should be continued; and research and evaluation techniques should be developed. Surveys of users and their needs should be periodically undertaken to determine needs. Systematic user education programs should be provided and policy makers should be informed of current research findings and policy implications. Automation of bibliographic information should be undertaken. The Asia-Pacific POPIN Newsletter produced by ESCAP should be institutionalized as a channel of information centers in the region. ESCAP should take the initiative in establishing a South Asian network along the lines of ASEAN-POPIN to facilitate exchange of ideas and information. Efforts should be directed at linking the WHO Health Literature Library and Information Serivces (HELLIS) and POPIN in the Asian and Pacific region.
Negotiating access: social barriers to purchasing syringes at pharmacies in Tijuana, Mexico.

PubMed

Davidson, Peter J; Lozada, Remedios; Rosen, Perth C; Macias, Armando; Gallardo, Manuel; Pollini, Robin A

2012-07-01

One common public health response to the emergence of HIV has been the provision of sterile syringes to people who inject drugs. In Mexico specialized syringe exchanges are rare, and the sale of needles through pharmacies is often the only way people who inject drugs can obtain sterile syringes. However, people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico report considerable social barriers to successfully purchasing syringes at pharmacies. Between October 2008 and March 2009 we conducted seven in-depth focus groups with 47 people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico. Focus group transcripts were analysed using a descriptive and thematic approach rooted in grounded theory. We found that injectors offered a number of explanations for why pharmacies were reluctant to sell them syringes, including fear of police; attitudes toward drug use; fear of stereotypical drug user behaviour such as petty theft, violence, or distressing behaviour; and related fears that an obvious drug using clientèle would drive away other customers. Injectors described a range of ways of attempting to re-frame or negotiate interactions with pharmacy staff so that these and related concerns were ameliorated. These included tactics as simple as borrowing cleaner clothing, through to strategies for becoming 'known' to pharmacy staff as an individual rather than as a member of a stigmatized group. Increasing the ability of pharmacy staff and people who inject drugs to successfully negotiate syringe sales are highly desirable. Interventions designed to improve this likelihood need to capitalize on existing solutions developed ad hoc by people who inject drugs and pharmacy staff, and should focus on broadening the range of 'identities' which pharmacy staff are able to accept as legitimate customers. Approaches to achieve this end might include sensitizing pharmacy staff to the needs of people who inject drugs; facilitating individual drug users meeting individual pharmacy staff; and working with drug users to reduce behaviours seen as problematic by pharmacy staff. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Nature based solution for improving mental health and well-being in urban areas.

PubMed

Vujcic, Maja; Tomicevic-Dubljevic, Jelena; Grbic, Mihailo; Lecic-Tosevski, Dusica; Vukovic, Olivera; Toskovic, Oliver

2017-10-01

The general disproportion of urban development and the socio-economical crisis in Serbia, followed by a number of acute and chronic stressors, as well as years of accumulated trauma, prevented the parallel physical, mental and social adaptation of society as a whole. These trends certainly affected the quality of mental health and well-being, particularly on the vulnerable urban population, increasing the absolute number of people with depression, stress and psychosomatic disorders. This study was pioneering in Serbia and was conducted in collaboration with the Faculty of Forestry, the Institute of Mental Health and the Botanical Garden in Belgrade, in order to understand how spending time and performing horticulture therapy in specially designed urban green environments can improve mental health. The participants were psychiatric patients (n=30), users of the day hospital of the Institute who were randomly selected for the study, and the control group, assessed for depression, anxiety and stress before and after the intervention, using a DASS21 scale. During the intervention period the study group stayed in the Botanical garden and participated in a special programme of horticulture therapy. In order to exclude any possible "special treatment'' or ''placebo effect", the control group was included in occupational art therapy while it continued to receive conventional therapy. The test results indicated that nature based therapy had a positive influence on the mental health and well-being of the participants. Furthermore, the difference in the test results of the subscale stress before and after the intervention for the study group was F1.28 = 5.442 and p<;.05. According to socio demographic and clinical variables, the interesting trend was recorded on the subscale of anxiety showing that the male participants in the study group were more anxious, with the most pronounced inflection noted on this scale after treatment. The results of this study have shown that recuperation from stress, depression and anxiety was possible and much more complete when participants were involved in horticulture therapy as a nature-based solution for improving mental health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
SEASAT synthetic-aperture radar data user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pravdo, S. H.; Huneycutt, B.; Holt, B. M.; Held, D. N.

1983-01-01

The SEASAT Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR) system, the data processors, the extent of the image data set, and the means by which a user obtains this data are described and the data quality is evaluated. The user is alerted to some potential problems with the existing volume of SEASAT SAR image data, and allows him to modify his use of that data accordingly. Secondly, the manual focuses on the ultimate focuses on the ultimate capabilities of the raw data set and evaluates the potential of this data for processing into accurately located, amplitude-calibrated imagery of high resolution. This allows the user to decide whether his needs require special-purpose data processing of the SAR raw data.
LDA-Based Unified Topic Modeling for Similar TV User Grouping and TV Program Recommendation.

PubMed

Pyo, Shinjee; Kim, Eunhui; Kim, Munchurl

2015-08-01

Social TV is a social media service via TV and social networks through which TV users exchange their experiences about TV programs that they are viewing. For social TV service, two technical aspects are envisioned: grouping of similar TV users to create social TV communities and recommending TV programs based on group and personal interests for personalizing TV. In this paper, we propose a unified topic model based on grouping of similar TV users and recommending TV programs as a social TV service. The proposed unified topic model employs two latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) models. One is a topic model of TV users, and the other is a topic model of the description words for viewed TV programs. The two LDA models are then integrated via a topic proportion parameter for TV programs, which enforces the grouping of similar TV users and associated description words for watched TV programs at the same time in a unified topic modeling framework. The unified model identifies the semantic relation between TV user groups and TV program description word groups so that more meaningful TV program recommendations can be made. The unified topic model also overcomes an item ramp-up problem such that new TV programs can be reliably recommended to TV users. Furthermore, from the topic model of TV users, TV users with similar tastes can be grouped as topics, which can then be recommended as social TV communities. To verify our proposed method of unified topic-modeling-based TV user grouping and TV program recommendation for social TV services, in our experiments, we used real TV viewing history data and electronic program guide data from a seven-month period collected by a TV poll agency. The experimental results show that the proposed unified topic model yields an average 81.4% precision for 50 topics in TV program recommendation and its performance is an average of 6.5% higher than that of the topic model of TV users only. For TV user prediction with new TV programs, the average prediction precision was 79.6%. Also, we showed the superiority of our proposed model in terms of both topic modeling performance and recommendation performance compared to two related topic models such as polylingual topic model and bilingual topic model.
Social networking sites: a novel portal for communication.

PubMed

Farmer, A D; Bruckner Holt, C E M; Cook, M J; Hearing, S D

2009-09-01

The internet has transformed many spheres of society. Most notably the advent of social networking websites, such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook, have attracted many millions of users worldwide. There are over 350 such sites in operation across the internet. There is a paucity of data in the adult literature examining the medical usage of this interesting facet of modern life. To ascertain whether Facebook has user groups that are connected with common medical conditions, and to classify the user groups that were identified as well as enumerating the number of individual users contained therein. We conducted a search of the entire Facebook website between December 2007 and January 2009. We used medical and lay nomenclature for the most prevalent non-communicable diseases as identified from the World Health Organisation Burden of Disease publication to identify whether they were represented among individual Facebook users and user groups. We identified 290,962 individual users who were part of 757 groups. Patient groups accounted for 47.4%, patient/carer support groups 28.1%, fund raising groups 18.6%, and others 5.8%. Notably, there were other groups containing representations from the scientific research community in addition to educational resources. The groups with the most individual members pertained to malignant neoplasms and cardiovascular disease (141,458 users) consistent with their worldwide prevalence. Facebook is providing a readily accessible portal for patients, carers and healthcare professionals to share their experiences of investigation, diagnosis and management of disease. Furthermore, this technology is being used for research, education and fundraising. Further research is warranted to explore the further potential of this new technology.
New Strategic Plan Takes the ALS into the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirz, J.; Chemla, D. S.; Feinberg, B.; Hussain, Z.; Krebs, G. F.; Padmore, H. A.; Robin, D. S.; Robinson, A. L.; Smith, N. V.; Warwick, T.

2007-01-01

A new strategic plan is in place to upgrade the ALS so it can continue to address fundamental questions, such as size-dependent and dimensional-confinement phenomena at the nanoscale; correlation and complexity in physical, biological, and environmental systems; and temporal evolution, assembly, dynamics and ultrafast phenomena. Moreover, the growing number of ALS users (now exceeding 2,000 per year) requires increased attention. Accordingly, our plan concentrates on projects that will continue to make it possible for ALS users to address grand scientific and technological challenges with incisive world-class tools and quality user support. Our highest priority is to begin top-off operation, in which electrons are injected into the storage ring at intervals of approximately 1 minute. The combination of top-off and concurrent development of small-gap in-vacuum undulators and superconducting undulators will allow an increase in brightness from eight to more than 100 times, depending on the specific undulators and photon energy range. As part of our core mission in the VUV and soft x-ray regions, we plan to exploit these accelerator developments to extend our capabilities for high spatial and temporal resolution and utilize the remarkable coherence properties of the ALS in a new generation of beamlines. Ranked by priority, several proposed beamlines will follow completion of five new beamlines already under construction or funded. The intellectual excitement of the ALS has been a powerful tool in the recruitment and retention of outstanding staff, but additional sustained efforts are required to increase diversity both in gender and in underrepresented groups. To this end, we intend to expand the ALS Doctoral Fellowship Program by giving special emphasis to underrepresented groups. We also envision a distinguished postdoctoral fellowship program with the same emphasis, to increase and diversify our pool of candidates for beamline scientist positions.
Chosen aspects of multi-criteria analysis applied to support the choice of materials for building structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szafranko, E.

2017-08-01

When planning a building structure, dilemmas arise as to what construction and material solutions are feasible. The decisions are not always obvious. A procedure for selecting the variant that will best satisfy the expectations of the investor and future users of a structure must be founded on mathematical methods. The following deserve special attention: the MCE methods, Hierarchical Analysis Methods and Weighting Methods. Another interesting solution, particularly useful when dealing with evaluations which take into account negative values, is the Indicator Method. MCE methods are relatively popular owing to the simplicity of the calculations and ease of the interpretation of the results. Having prepared the input data properly, they enable the user to compare them on the same level. In a situation where an analysis involves a large number of data, it is more convenient to divide them into groups according to main criteria and subcriteria. This option is provided by hierarchical analysis methods. They are based on ordered sets of criteria, which are evaluated in groups. In some cases, this approach yields the results that are superior and easier to read. If an analysis encompasses direct and indirect effects, an Indicator Method seems to be a justified choice for selecting the right solution. The Indicator Method is different in character and relies on weights and assessments of effects. It allows the user to evaluate effectively the analyzed variants. This article explains the methodology of conducting a multi-criteria analysis, showing its advantages and disadvantages. An example of calculations contained in the article shows what problems can be encountered when making an assessment of various solutions regarding building materials and structures. For comparison, an analysis based on graphical methods developed by the author was presented.
New Strategic Plan Takes the ALS into the Future

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

Kirz, J.; Chemla, D.S.; Feinberg, B.

2006-08-12

A new strategic plan is in place to upgrade the ALS so itcan continue to address fundamental questions, such as size-dependent anddimensional-confinement phenomena at the nanoscale; correlation andcomplexity in physical, biological, and environmental systems; andtemporal evolution, assembly, dynamics and ultrafast phenomena. Moreover,the growing number of ALS users (now exceeding 2,000 per year) requiresincreased attention. Accordingly, our plan concentrates on projects thatwill continue to make it possible for ALS users to address grandscientific and technological challenges with incisive world-class toolsand quality user support. Our highest priority is to begin top-offoperation, in which electrons are injected into the storage ring atintervals ofmore » approximately 1 minute. The combination of top-off andconcurrent development of small-gap in-vacuum undulators andsuperconducting undulators will allow an increase in brightness fromeight to more than 100 times, depending on the specific undulators andphoton energy range. As part of our core mission in the VUV and softx-ray regions, we plan to exploit these accelerator developments toextend our capabilities for high spatial and temporal resolution andutilize the remarkable coherence properties of the ALS in a newgeneration of beamlines. Ranked by priority, several proposed beamlineswill follow completion of five new beamlines already under constructionor funded. The intellectual excitement of the ALS has been a powerfultool in the recruitment and retention of outstanding staff, butadditional sustained efforts are required to increase diversity both ingender and in underrepresented groups. To this end, we intend to expandthe ALS Doctoral Fellowship Program by giving special emphasis tounderrepresented groups. We also envision a distinguished postdoctoralfellowship program with the same emphasis, to increase and diversify ourpool of candidates for beamline scientist positions.« less
Some benefits, problems, and concerns of a secondary user of yellow birch

Treesearch

John E. Bent

1969-01-01

S. Bent & Brothers, Inc. is a small furniture company located in Gardner, Massachusetts, specializing in the manufacture of Early American wooden seat chairs. Because of our size and our specialization, we do not necessarily represent the industry in our ideas about and use of yellow birch as a primary raw material. Our company during the past 100 years has made...

Systems Engineering Model and Training Application for Desktop Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

May, Jeffrey T.

2010-01-01

Provide a graphical user interface based simulator for desktop training, operations and procedure development and system reference. This simulator allows for engineers to train and further understand the dynamics of their system from their local desktops. It allows the users to train and evaluate their system at a pace and skill level based on the user's competency and from a perspective based on the user's need. The simulator will not require any special resources to execute and should generally be available for use. The interface is based on a concept of presenting the model of the system in ways that best suits the user's application or training needs. The three levels of views are Component View, the System View (overall system), and the Console View (monitor). These views are portals into a single model, so changing the model from one view or from a model manager Graphical User Interface will be reflected on all other views.
HIV infection among intravenous drug users: epidemiology and risk reduction.

PubMed

Des Jarlais, D C; Friedman, S R

1987-07-01

Research on the epidemiology of HIV infection among IV drug users is still at a relatively early stage. Multilocation studies that would permit better geographic comparisons are greatly needed. Multi-method studies within single geographic areas are also needed to assess possible biases with respect to sample recruitment and data collection procedures. The continuation of the epidemic provides a changing historical context that complicates any comparisons. Despite these problems, there are some consistencies that can be seen across studies. Studies of HIV seroprevalence among IV drug users show wide variation among cities in the United States and Europe. The time that the virus was introduced into the IV drug using group within the city is one factor in explaining these differences; other cross-city factors have yet to be identified. Once HIV has been introduced into the IV drug use group within a particular geographic area, there is the possibility of rapid spread up to seroprevalence levels of 50% or greater. Thus, a currently low seroprevalence rate should not be seen as a stable situation. Frequency of injection and sharing of equipment with multiple other drug users (particularly at shooting galleries) have been frequently associated with HIV exposure. Being female, ethnicity (in the USA) and engaging in prostitution also may be associated with increased risk for HIV exposure, suggesting that prevention programs should include special consideration of sex and ethnic differences. Studies of AIDS risk reduction show that substantial proportions of IV drug users are changing their behavior to avoid exposure to HIV. This risk reduction is probably more advanced in New York, with its high seroprevalence and incidence of cases, but is also occurring in cities with lower seroprevalence and limited numbers of cases. The primary forms of risk reduction are increasing the use of sterile equipment, reducing the number of needle sharing partners, and reducing the frequency of injection. These behavior changes are very similar to the frequently identified behavioral risk factors associated with HIV exposure, suggesting that they should be effective in at least slowing the spread of HIV among IV drug users. No linkage of risk reduction to decreases in seroconversion has yet been shown, however, and greater risk reduction is clearly required. A variety of prevention strategies will probably be needed to reduce the spread of HIV among IV drug users. Prevention of initiation into drug injection is an undeniable long-term goal for the control of HIV infection, but there is very little research being conducted in this area.
Anxiety symptoms in crack cocaine and inhalant users admitted to a psychiatric hospital in southern Brazil.

PubMed

Zubaran, Carlos; Foresti, Katia; Thorell, Mariana Rossi; Franceschini, Paulo Roberto

2013-01-01

The occurrence of psychiatric comorbidity among individuals with crack or inhalant dependence is frequently observed. The objective of this study was to investigate anxiety symptoms among crack cocaine and inhalant users in southern Brazil. The study investigated two groups of volunteers of equal size (n=50): one group consisted of crack cocaine users, and the other group consisted of inhalant users. Research volunteers completed the Portuguese versions of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ). Both crack and inhalant users experience significant symptoms of anxiety. Inhalant users presented significantly more anxiety symptoms than crack users according to the HAM-A questionnaire only. In contrast to the results of the HAM-A, the STAI failed to demonstrate a significant difference between the two groups of substance users. SRQ scores revealed that crack and inhalants users had significant degrees of morbidity. A significant difference regarding anxiety symptomatology, especially state anxiety, was observed among inhalant and crack users. Anxiety and overall mental psychopathology were significantly correlated in this sample. The results indicate that screening initiatives to detect anxiety and additional psychiatric comorbidities among crack and inhalant users are feasible and relevant. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.
Does a history of psychoactive substances abuse play a role in the level of pain of the patient with severe trauma?

PubMed

López-López, C; Arranz-Esteban, A; Martinez-Ureta, M V; Sánchez-Rascón, M C; Morales-Sánchez, C; Chico-Fernández, M

To analyse the influence of psychotropic substance use on the level of pain in patients with severe trauma. Longitudinal analytical study. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Trauma and Emergencies. severe trauma, non-communicative and mechanical ventilation >48hours. Two groups of patients were created: users and non-users of psychotropic substances according to medical records. Measurement of pain level at baseline and during mobilization, using the Pain Indicator Behaviour Scale. demographic characteristics, pain score, sedation level and type and dose of analgesia and sedation. Sample of 84 patients, 42 in each group. The pain level in both groups, during mobilisation, showed significant differences p=0.011, with a mean of 3.11(2.40) for the user group and 1.83(2.14) for the non-user group. A relative risk of 2.5 CI (1,014-6,163) was found to have moderate / severe pain in the user group compared to the non-user group. The mean dose of analgesia and continuous sedation was significantly higher in the user group: P=.032 and P=.004 respectively. There was no difference in bolus dose of analgesia and sedation with P=.624 and P=.690 respectively. Patients with a history of consumption of psychoactive substances show higher levels of pain and experience a higher risk of this being moderate/severe compared to non-users despite receiving higher doses of analgesia and sedation infusion. Key words: pain, multiple trauma, drug users. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Enfermería Intensiva y Unidades Coronarias (SEEIUC). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
Vocational Education for Special Groups. Sixth Yearbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, James E., Ed.

Issues, concepts, and strategies that impact directly on the ability of vocational education to deliver its services to special groups are the focus of this yearbook. Chapters by 24 different authors are divided into three sections. Section 1 provides an overview of special groups, how special groups evolved, their underlying structure and…
Technology User Groups and Early Childhood Education: A Preliminary Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parette, Howard P.; Hourcade, Jack J.; Blum, Craig; Watts, Emily H.; Stoner, Julia B.; Wojcik, Brian W.; Chrismore, Shannon B.

2013-01-01

This article presents a preliminary examination of the potential of Technology User Groups as a professional development venue for early childhood education professionals in developing operational and functional competence in using hardware and software components of a Technology toolkit. Technology user groups are composed of varying numbers of…
Generation of development environments for the Arden Syntax.

PubMed Central

Bång, M.; Eriksson, H.

1997-01-01

Providing appropriate development environments for specialized languages requires a significant development and maintenance effort. Specialized environments are therefore expensive when compared to their general-language counterparts. The Arden Syntax for Medical Logic Modules (MLM) is a standardized language for representing medical knowledge. We have used PROTEGE-II, a knowledge-engineering environment, to generate a number of experimental development environments for the Arden Syntax. MEDAILLE is the resulting MLM editor, which provides a user-friendly environment that allows users to create and modify MLM definitions. Although MEDAILLE is a generated editor, it has similar functionality, while reducing the programming effort, as compared to other MLM editors developed using traditional programming techniques. We discuss how developers can use PROTEGE-II to generate development environments for other standardized languages and for general programming languages. PMID:9357639
The wood cylinder method of measuring forest inflammability

Treesearch

H. T. Gisborne

1933-01-01

The best test of the practicability of any new method or device is the actual trial by numerous users who are interested only in the end product, and who have no special interest in the means employed to reach that end. Such users are not inclined to give the new method the advantage of any doubts, and they are particularly critical of the method or device insofar as...
Working Notes from the 1992 AAAI Workshop on Automating Software Design. Theme: Domain Specific Software Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M. (Editor); Barstow, David; Lowry, Michael R.; Tong, Christopher H.

1992-01-01

The goal of this workshop is to identify different architectural approaches to building domain-specific software design systems and to explore issues unique to domain-specific (vs. general-purpose) software design. Some general issues that cut across the particular software design domain include: (1) knowledge representation, acquisition, and maintenance; (2) specialized software design techniques; and (3) user interaction and user interface.
No Mickey Mouse Operation: Despite Cutting-Edge Technology, Free Book Delivery, and Bilingual Programming, Luring Users Is the Orange County Library's Greatest Challenge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Michael

2004-01-01

Living in the vast shadow cast by the spires of the Magic Kingdom presents special challenges for Orlando's Orange County Library System (OCLS), the most formidable of which is increasing its relatively small user base. The library additionally faces tension between the administration and staff, political strife on the board, and looming contract…
Generalized Method for the User Evaluation of Purchased Information Services. Report Number Three; Monthly Report (October 1 to November 30, 1975).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Homer J.

Four case histories were studied in an on-going project to develop a method for user selection of purchased scientific and technical information services. The issues involved were: (1) the value of computer search services to a small branch of a company technical library; (2) the special decision-making factors used for selecting items of very…
Expert Meeting on the Training of Information Users in Higher Education (Espoo, Finland, August 13-17, 1990). Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). General Information Programme.

The purpose of this meeting was to solicit input for action on the topic of training information users in higher education with special reference to the needs of developing countries. Two documents which had been prepared to form the basis for discussion were introduced: a report of a survey that had investigated what was being done in selected…
Use of the Go-for-Green nutrition labeling system in military dining facilities is associated with lower fat intake.

PubMed

Arsenault, Joanne E; Singleton, Michelle C; Funderburk, LesLee K

2014-07-01

Point-of-purchase nutrition labeling is a potential tool to help consumers choose healthier foods. The objectives of our study were to survey soldiers on their use of the Go-for-Green nutrition labeling system in dining facilities and compare characteristics of users and nonusers. The study population consisted of 299 US Army active duty soldiers at two US Army installations. The frequency of use of food labels and characteristics were calculated and differences in characteristics of label users and nonusers were compared using χ(2) and regression analyses. Forty-seven percent of soldiers reported using nutrition labels to make food choices always or sometimes. Users were more likely to be following a special diet (P=0.04) and to take a multivitamin or protein supplement (P<0.001) than nonusers. Users consumed a mean of 32% of energy from fat vs 36% for nonusers (P<0.0001) after adjusting for reported use of special diets. Use of the Go-for-Green nutrition labeling system is encouraging and should be further investigated to determine whether the program is actually influencing dietary choices in broader military settings. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
DEEP SPACE: High Resolution VR Platform for Multi-user Interactive Narratives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuka, Daniela; Elias, Oliver; Martins, Ronald; Lindinger, Christopher; Pramböck, Andreas; Jalsovec, Andreas; Maresch, Pascal; Hörtner, Horst; Brandl, Peter

DEEP SPACE is a large-scale platform for interactive, stereoscopic and high resolution content. The spatial and the system design of DEEP SPACE are facing constraints of CAVETM-like systems in respect to multi-user interactive storytelling. To be used as research platform and as public exhibition space for many people, DEEP SPACE is capable to process interactive, stereoscopic applications on two projection walls with a size of 16 by 9 meters and a resolution of four times 1080p (4K) each. The processed applications are ranging from Virtual Reality (VR)-environments to 3D-movies to computationally intensive 2D-productions. In this paper, we are describing DEEP SPACE as an experimental VR platform for multi-user interactive storytelling. We are focusing on the system design relevant for the platform, including the integration of the Apple iPod Touch technology as VR control, and a special case study that is demonstrating the research efforts in the field of multi-user interactive storytelling. The described case study, entitled "Papyrate's Island", provides a prototypical scenario of how physical drawings may impact on digital narratives. In this special case, DEEP SPACE helps us to explore the hypothesis that drawing, a primordial human creative skill, gives us access to entirely new creative possibilities in the domain of interactive storytelling.
Education and Communication for the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiff, Patricia H.; Cline, Troy D.

2016-03-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) proposed a balanced portfolio of education and communication activities and products, including broadly distributed materials for the general public, special programs and materials for teachers, targeted activities and materials for underserved groups, and intensive experiences for future scientists and engineers. Our plan includes creation and dissemination of educational software, podcasts and vodcasts, planetarium shows, teacher and student activities, 3D models, social media and smartphone apps. We have surveyed users of NASA data to determine which modes of learning were effective in their youth and which are the most effective now, and use those results to inform our education and communication plans. All materials will be reviewed and placed in NASA online educational archives for broad dissemination.
Developing an early alert system for metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC): Red Flag credit cards.

PubMed

Turnpenney, Jackie; Greenhalgh, Sue; Richards, Lena; Crabtree, Annamaria; Selfe, James

2015-01-01

To produce a user-friendly list of metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) Red Flags for non-specialist 'generalist' front-line clinicians working in primary-care settings. The issue of identifying MSCC early to prevent serious long-term disability was a key theme identified by the Task and Finish Group at Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cancer Network (GMCCN) in 2009. It was this group who initially brokered and then coordinated the current development as part of their strategic approach to improving care for MSCC patients. A consensus-building approach that considered the essential minimum data requirements to raise the index of suspicion suggestive of MSCC was adopted. This followed a model of cross-boundary working to facilitate the mutual sharing of expertise across a variety of relevant clinical specialisms. A guideline aimed at helping clinicians to identify the early signs and symptoms of MSCC was produced in the form of a credit card. This credit card includes key statements about MSCC, signposting to key sources of additional information and a user-friendly list of Red Flags which has been developed into an eight-item Red Flag mnemonic. To date, an excess of 120,000 cards have been printed by a variety of organisations and the distribution of the cards is ongoing across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
PHEPS: web-based pH-dependent Protein Electrostatics Server

PubMed Central

Kantardjiev, Alexander A.; Atanasov, Boris P.

2006-01-01

PHEPS (pH-dependent Protein Electrostatics Server) is a web service for fast prediction and experiment planning support, as well as for correlation and analysis of experimentally obtained results, reflecting charge-dependent phenomena in globular proteins. Its implementation is based on long-term experience (PHEI package) and the need to explain measured physicochemical characteristics at the level of protein atomic structure. The approach is semi-empirical and based on a mean field scheme for description and evaluation of global and local pH-dependent electrostatic properties: protein proton binding; ionic sites proton population; free energy electrostatic term; ionic groups proton affinities (pKa,i) and their Coulomb interaction with whole charge multipole; electrostatic potential of whole molecule at fixed pH and pH-dependent local electrostatic potentials at user-defined set of points. The speed of calculation is based on fast determination of distance-dependent pair charge-charge interactions as empirical three exponential function that covers charge–charge, charge–dipole and dipole–dipole contributions. After atomic coordinates input, all standard parameters are used as defaults to facilitate non-experienced users. Special attention was given to interactive addition of non-polypeptide charges, extra ionizable groups with intrinsic pKas or fixed ions. The output information is given as plain-text, readable by ‘RasMol’, ‘Origin’ and the like. The PHEPS server is accessible at . PMID:16845042
[Local government and public dental health services: an analysis of inequality in use].

PubMed

Soares, Felipe Fagundes; Chaves, Sônia Cristina Lima; Cangussu, Maria Cristina Teixeira

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with the use of primary and specialized public dental health services and private services. A population-based household survey was conducted in two cities of Bahia State, Brazil. Key informants provided data on socioeconomic variables and use of dental health services. Organization of the local public dental health service was ranked as worse versus better. Univariate and multivariate polytomous logistic regression was performed. Of the total of 1,290 individuals, 38.76% used private services, 33.80% used public primary care, and 17.29% used both primary care and the Center for Dental Specialties. Less use of both primary care and specialized public services was associated with lower education (OR = 1.47; 95%CI: 1.03-2.10) and worse organization of services (OR = 1.74; 95%CI: 1.22-2.48), when compared to the exclusive use of primary care. The study showed inequality in the use of dental services, even when comparing more homogeneous groups, namely users of public services.
ScienceOrganizer System and Interface Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

ScienceOrganizer is a specialized knowledge management tool designed to enhance the information storage, organization, and access capabilities of distributed NASA science teams. Users access ScienceOrganizer through an intuitive Web-based interface that enables them to upload, download, and organize project information - including data, documents, images, and scientific records associated with laboratory and field experiments. Information in ScienceOrganizer is "threaded", or interlinked, to enable users to locate, track, and organize interrelated pieces of scientific data. Linkages capture important semantic relationships among information resources in the repository, and these assist users in navigating through the information related to their projects.
Conjunctival impression cytology in computer users.

PubMed

Kumar, S; Bansal, R; Khare, A; Malik, K P S; Malik, V K; Jain, K; Jain, C

2013-01-01

It is known that the computer users develop the features of dry eye. To study the cytological changes in the conjunctiva using conjunctival impression cytology in computer users and a control group. Fifteen eyes of computer users who had used computers for more than one year and ten eyes of an age-and-sex matched control group (those who had not used computers) were studied by conjunctival impression cytology. Conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) results in the control group were of stage 0 and stage I while the computer user group showed CIC results between stages II to stage IV. Among the computer users, the majority ( > 90 %) showed stage III and stage IV changes. We found that those who used computers daily for long hours developed more CIC changes than those who worked at the computer for a shorter daily duration. © NEPjOPH.

NFFA-Europe: enhancing European competitiveness in nanoscience research and innovation (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carsughi, Flavio; Fonseca, Luis

2017-06-01

NFFA-EUROPE is an European open access resource for experimental and theoretical nanoscience and sets out a platform to carry out comprehensive projects for multidisciplinary research at the nanoscale extending from synthesis to nanocharacterization to theory and numerical simulation. Advanced infrastructures specialized on growth, nano-lithography, nano-characterization, theory and simulation and fine-analysis with Synchrotron, FEL and Neutron radiation sources are integrated in a multi-site combination to develop frontier research on methods for reproducible nanoscience research and to enable European and international researchers from diverse disciplines to carry out advanced proposals impacting science and innovation. NFFA-EUROPE will enable coordinated access to infrastructures on different aspects of nanoscience research that is not currently available at single specialized ones and without duplicating their specific scopes. Approved user projects will have access to the best suited instruments and support competences for performing the research, including access to analytical large scale facilities, theory and simulation and high-performance computing facilities. Access is offered free of charge to European users and users will receive a financial contribution for their travel, accommodation and subsistence costs. The users access will include several "installations" and will be coordinated through a single entry point portal that will activate an advanced user-infrastructure dialogue to build up a personalized access programme with an increasing return on science and innovation production. The own research activity of NFFA-EUROPE will address key bottlenecks of nanoscience research: nanostructure traceability, protocol reproducibility, in-operando nano-manipulation and analysis, open data.
AITRAC: Augmented Interactive Transient Radiation Analysis by Computer. User's information manual

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

Not Available

1977-10-01

AITRAC is a program designed for on-line, interactive, DC, and transient analysis of electronic circuits. The program solves linear and nonlinear simultaneous equations which characterize the mathematical models used to predict circuit response. The program features 100 external node--200 branch capability; conversional, free-format input language; built-in junction, FET, MOS, and switch models; sparse matrix algorithm with extended-precision H matrix and T vector calculations, for fast and accurate execution; linear transconductances: beta, GM, MU, ZM; accurate and fast radiation effects analysis; special interface for user-defined equations; selective control of multiple outputs; graphical outputs in wide and narrow formats; and on-line parametermore » modification capability. The user describes the problem by entering the circuit topology and part parameters. The program then automatically generates and solves the circuit equations, providing the user with printed or plotted output. The circuit topology and/or part values may then be changed by the user, and a new analysis, requested. Circuit descriptions may be saved on disk files for storage and later use. The program contains built-in standard models for resistors, voltage and current sources, capacitors, inductors including mutual couplings, switches, junction diodes and transistors, FETS, and MOS devices. Nonstandard models may be constructed from standard models or by using the special equations interface. Time functions may be described by straight-line segments or by sine, damped sine, and exponential functions. 42 figures, 1 table. (RWR)« less
On-line data display

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Sherman Y. T.; Brooks, Martin; Gauthier, Marc; Wein, Marceli

1993-05-01

A data display system for embedded realtime systems has been developed for use as an operator's user interface and debugging tool. The motivation for development of the On-Line Data Display (ODD) have come from several sources. In particular the design reflects the needs of researchers developing an experimental mobile robot within our laboratory. A proliferation of specialized user interfaces revealed a need for a flexible communications and graphical data display system. At the same time the system had to be readily extensible for arbitrary graphical display formats which would be required for data visualization needs of the researchers. The system defines a communication protocol transmitting 'datagrams' between tasks executing on the realtime system and virtual devices displaying the data in a meaningful way on a graphical workstation. The communication protocol multiplexes logical channels on a single data stream. The current implementation consists of a server for the Harmony realtime operating system and an application written for the Macintosh computer. Flexibility requirements resulted in a highly modular server design, and a layered modular object- oriented design for the Macintosh part of the system. Users assign data types to specific channels at run time. Then devices are instantiated by the user and connected to channels to receive datagrams. The current suite of device types do not provide enough functionality for most users' specialized needs. Instead the system design allows the creation of new device types with modest programming effort. The protocol, design and use of the system are discussed.
Psychological and drug abuse symptoms associated with nonmedical use of opioid analgesics among adolescents.

PubMed

Boyd, Carol J; Young, Amy; McCabe, Sean E

2014-01-01

Approximately 18% of US adolescents engaged in prescription opioid abuse in 2013. However, this estimate may be misleading because it includes both medical misusers and nonmedical users, and there is evidence that these are 2 groups that differ relative to substance abuse and criminal risk. Thus, this study does not combine medical and nonmedical users; rather, it seeks to better understand the characteristics of nonmedical users. This was a school-based, cross-sectional study that was conducted during 2009-2010 in southeastern Michigan with a sample of 2627 adolescents using a Web-based survey. Three mutually exclusive groups were created based on responses regarding medical and nonmedical use of opioid analgesics. Group 1 had never used an opioid analgesic, Group 2 used an opioid analgesic only as prescribed, and Group 3 nonmedically used an opioid analgesic. In addition, Group 3 was divided into 2 mutually exclusive subgroups (self-treaters and sensation-seekers) based on reasons for nonmedical use. A series of multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to determine if the groups differed on the presence of pain, psychological symptoms (e.g., affective disorder, conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]), and drug abuse. Sixty-five percent (65.0%) of the sample was white/Caucasian and 29.5% was African American. The average age was 14.8 years (SD = 1.9). Seventy percent (70.4%; n = 1850) reported no lifetime opioid use, 24.5% (n = 644) were medical users, 3.5% (n = 92) were nonmedical users who used for pain relief only, and 1.6% (n = 41) were classified as nonmedical users for reasons other than for pain relief (e.g., to get high). Both medical users and nonmedical users reported more pain and substance abuse symptoms compared with never users. Those nonmedical users who used opioids for sensation-seeking motivations had greater odds of having psychological symptoms. These data support the need to further consider subgroups of nonmedical users of opioid analgesics.
The IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library: Helping People use Climate Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blumenthal, M. B.; Grover-Kopec, E.; Bell, M.; del Corral, J.

2005-12-01

The IRI Climate Data Library (http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/) is a library of datasets. By library we mean a collection of things, collected from both near and far, designed to make them more accessible for the library's users. Our datasets come from many different sources, many different "data cultures", many different formats. By dataset we mean a collection of data organized as multidimensional dependent variables, independent variables, and sub-datasets, along with the metadata (particularly use-metadata) that makes it possible to interpret the data in a meaningful manner. Ingrid, which provides the infrastructure for the Data Library, is an environment that lets one work with datasets: read, write, request, serve, view, select, calculate, transform, ... . It hides an extraordinary amount of technical detail from the user, letting the user think in terms of manipulations to datasets rather that manipulations of files of numbers. Among other things, this hidden technical detail could be accessing data on servers in other places, doing only the small needed portion of an enormous calculation, or translating to and from a variety of formats and between "data cultures". These operations are presented as a collection of virtual directories and documents on a web server, so that an ordinary web client can instantiate a calculation simply by requesting the resulting document or image. Building on this infrastructure, we (and others) have created collections of dynamically-updated images to faciliate monitoring aspects of the climate system, as well as linking these images to the underlying data. We have also created specialized interfaces to address the particular needs of user groups that IRI needs to support.
Enhancing Peer Interaction during Guided Play in Finnish Integrated Special Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Syrjämäki, Marja; Pihlaja, Päivi; Sajaniemi, Nina

2018-01-01

This article focused on the pedagogy that enhances peer interaction in integrated special groups. In Finland, most children identified as having special educational needs (SEN) attend day-care in mainstream kindergarten groups; the rest are in integrated or segregated early childhood special education (ECSE) groups in public day-care centres…
Evaluating a Web-Based Health Risk Assessment With Tailored Feedback: What Does an Expert Focus Group Yield Compared to a Web-Based End-User Survey?

PubMed Central

Vosbergen, Sandra; Mahieu, Guy R; Laan, Eva K; Kraaijenhagen, Roderik A; Jaspers, Monique WM

2014-01-01

Background Increasingly, Web-based health applications are developed for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. However, their reach and utilization is often disappointing. Qualitative evaluations post-implementation can be used to inform the optimization process and ultimately enhance their adoption. In current practice, such evaluations are mainly performed with end-user surveys. However, a review approach by experts in a focus group may be easier to administer and might provide similar results. Objective The aim of this study was to assess whether industrial design engineers in a focus group would address the same issues as end users in a Web-based survey when evaluating a commercial Web-based health risk assessment (HRA) with tailored feedback. Methods Seven Dutch companies used the HRA as part of their corporate health management strategy. Employees using the HRA (N=2289) and 10 independent industrial designers were invited to participate in the study. The HRA consisted of four components: (1) an electronic health questionnaire, (2) biometric measurements, (3) laboratory evaluation, and (4) individually tailored feedback generated by decision support software. After participating in the HRA as end users, both end users and designers evaluated the program. End users completed an evaluation questionnaire that included a free-text field. Designers participated in a focus group discussion. Constructs from user satisfaction and technology acceptance theories were used to categorize and compare the remarks from both evaluations. Results We assessed and qualitatively analyzed 294 remarks of 189 end users and 337 remarks of 6 industrial designers, pertaining to 295 issues in total. Of those, 137 issues were addressed in the end-user survey and 148 issues in the designer focus group. Only 7.3% (10/137) of the issues addressed in the survey were also addressed in the focus group. End users made more remarks about the usefulness of the HRA and prior expectations that were not met. Designers made more remarks about how the information was presented to end users, quality of the feedback provided by the HRA, recommendations on the marketing and on how to create more unity in the design of the HRA, and on how to improve the HRA based on these issues. Conclusions End-user surveys should not be substituted for expert focus groups. Issues identified by end users in the survey and designers in the focus group differed considerably, and the focus group produced a lot of new issues. The issues addressed in the focus group often focused on different aspects of user satisfaction and technology acceptance than those addressed by the survey participants; when they did focus on the same aspects, then the nature of issues differed considerably in content. PMID:24384408
Evaluating a web-based health risk assessment with tailored feedback: what does an expert focus group yield compared to a web-based end-user survey?

PubMed

Vosbergen, Sandra; Mahieu, Guy R; Laan, Eva K; Kraaijenhagen, Roderik A; Jaspers, Monique Wm; Peek, Niels

2014-01-02

Increasingly, Web-based health applications are developed for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. However, their reach and utilization is often disappointing. Qualitative evaluations post-implementation can be used to inform the optimization process and ultimately enhance their adoption. In current practice, such evaluations are mainly performed with end-user surveys. However, a review approach by experts in a focus group may be easier to administer and might provide similar results. The aim of this study was to assess whether industrial design engineers in a focus group would address the same issues as end users in a Web-based survey when evaluating a commercial Web-based health risk assessment (HRA) with tailored feedback. Seven Dutch companies used the HRA as part of their corporate health management strategy. Employees using the HRA (N=2289) and 10 independent industrial designers were invited to participate in the study. The HRA consisted of four components: (1) an electronic health questionnaire, (2) biometric measurements, (3) laboratory evaluation, and (4) individually tailored feedback generated by decision support software. After participating in the HRA as end users, both end users and designers evaluated the program. End users completed an evaluation questionnaire that included a free-text field. Designers participated in a focus group discussion. Constructs from user satisfaction and technology acceptance theories were used to categorize and compare the remarks from both evaluations. We assessed and qualitatively analyzed 294 remarks of 189 end users and 337 remarks of 6 industrial designers, pertaining to 295 issues in total. Of those, 137 issues were addressed in the end-user survey and 148 issues in the designer focus group. Only 7.3% (10/137) of the issues addressed in the survey were also addressed in the focus group. End users made more remarks about the usefulness of the HRA and prior expectations that were not met. Designers made more remarks about how the information was presented to end users, quality of the feedback provided by the HRA, recommendations on the marketing and on how to create more unity in the design of the HRA, and on how to improve the HRA based on these issues. End-user surveys should not be substituted for expert focus groups. Issues identified by end users in the survey and designers in the focus group differed considerably, and the focus group produced a lot of new issues. The issues addressed in the focus group often focused on different aspects of user satisfaction and technology acceptance than those addressed by the survey participants; when they did focus on the same aspects, then the nature of issues differed considerably in content.
Customization of user interfaces to reduce errors and enhance user acceptance.

PubMed

Burkolter, Dina; Weyers, Benjamin; Kluge, Annette; Luther, Wolfram

2014-03-01

Customization is assumed to reduce error and increase user acceptance in the human-machine relation. Reconfiguration gives the operator the option to customize a user interface according to his or her own preferences. An experimental study with 72 computer science students using a simulated process control task was conducted. The reconfiguration group (RG) interactively reconfigured their user interfaces and used the reconfigured user interface in the subsequent test whereas the control group (CG) used a default user interface. Results showed significantly lower error rates and higher acceptance of the RG compared to the CG while there were no significant differences between the groups regarding situation awareness and mental workload. Reconfiguration seems to be promising and therefore warrants further exploration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.
Mobile phone-based interactive voice response as a tool for improving access to healthcare in remote areas in Ghana - an evaluation of user experiences.

PubMed

Brinkel, J; May, J; Krumkamp, R; Lamshöft, M; Kreuels, B; Owusu-Dabo, E; Mohammed, A; Bonacic Marinovic, A; Dako-Gyeke, P; Krämer, A; Fobil, J N

2017-05-01

To investigate and determine the factors that enhanced or constituted barriers to the acceptance of an mHealth system which was piloted in Asante-Akim North District of Ghana to support healthcare of children. Four semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 37 mothers. Participants were selected from a study population of mothers who subscribed to a pilot mHealth system which used an interactive voice response (IVR) for its operations. Data were evaluated using qualitative content analysis methods. In addition, a short quantitative questionnaire assessed system's usability (SUS). Results revealed 10 categories of factors that facilitated user acceptance of the IVR system including quality-of-care experience, health education and empowerment of women. The eight categories of factors identified as barriers to user acceptance included the lack of human interaction, lack of update and training on the electronic advices provided and lack of social integration of the system into the community. The usability (SUS median: 79.3; range: 65-97.5) of the system was rated acceptable. The principles of the tested mHealth system could be of interest during infectious disease outbreaks, such as Ebola or Lassa fever, when there might be a special need for disease-specific health information within populations. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
AstrodyToolsWeb an e-Science project in Astrodynamics and Celestial Mechanics fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López, R.; San-Juan, J. F.

2013-05-01

Astrodynamics Web Tools, AstrodyToolsWeb (http://tastrody.unirioja.es), is an ongoing collaborative Web Tools computing infrastructure project which has been specially designed to support scientific computation. AstrodyToolsWeb provides project collaborators with all the technical and human facilities in order to wrap, manage, and use specialized noncommercial software tools in Astrodynamics and Celestial Mechanics fields, with the aim of optimizing the use of resources, both human and material. However, this project is open to collaboration from the whole scientific community in order to create a library of useful tools and their corresponding theoretical backgrounds. AstrodyToolsWeb offers a user-friendly web interface in order to choose applications, introduce data, and select appropriate constraints in an intuitive and easy way for the user. After that, the application is executed in real time, whenever possible; then the critical information about program behavior (errors and logs) and output, including the postprocessing and interpretation of its results (graphical representation of data, statistical analysis or whatever manipulation therein), are shown via the same web interface or can be downloaded to the user's computer.
Pharmacotherapeutic profile of users and expenditure on high-cost drugs in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, 2014.

PubMed

Sopelsa, Mariani; Motter, Fabiane Raquel; Barcellos, Nêmora Tregnago; Leite, Heloísa Marquardt; Paniz, Vera Maria Vieira

2017-01-01

to describe the pharmacotherapeutic profile of users of the Specialized Program for Pharmaceutical Assistance, and to measure the expenditure on the most prevalent and the most expensive medications. descriptive study conducted in São Leopoldo-RS, Brazil, with secondary data regarding information about requests accepted in 2014, through administrative proceedings; delivery notes of the State Health Department/RS were used to assess the costs. 1,528 users were included in the study, mostly women (56.7%), and the average age was 52 years (standard deviation=17.9); the most frequent diagnoses were allergic asthma (17.1%), chronic kidney disease (11.5%) and rheumatoid arthritis (8.4%); the most prevalent drug was budesonide+formoterol fumarate (18.3%); among the most prevalent drugs, the highest total monthly expense was with epoetin alfa (BRL37,922.34) and among the most expensive drugs, infliximab (BRL72,503.28). the data show the importance of the Specialized Program for Pharmaceutical Assistance in the high-cost treatment of highly prevalent.
Experimental Studies of Wheelchair and Walker Users Passing Through Doors with Different Opening Force.

PubMed

Nersveen, Jonny

2016-01-01

Users of walkers and users of different categories of wheelchairs tested doors with different opening force, aiming to reveal the limit that these groups of people could manage on an everyday basis. 94.7% of the wheelchair users reported that a door opening force of 30 N was acceptable, while as 92.1% of this group described 40 N as acceptable. Similarly, 100% of the walker users reported that a door opening force of 30 N was acceptable, while as 87,5% of this group described 40 N as acceptable.
A Comparison of Mobile and Fixed Device Access on User Engagement Associated With Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Online Nutrition Education

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background Online health education has expanded its reach due to cost-effective implementation and demonstrated effectiveness. However, a limitation exists with the evaluation of online health education implementations and how the impact of the system is attenuated by the extent to which a user engages with it. Moreover, the current online health education research does not consider how this engagement has been affected by the transition from fixed to mobile user access over the last decade. Objective This paper focuses on comparing the impact mobile versus fixed devices have on user engagement key performance indicators (KPI) associated with the wichealth website (.org), an Internet-based parent-child feeding intervention offered to clients associated with the US Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Methods Data were collected from 612,201 nutrition education lessons completed by 305,735 unique WIC participants in 21 states over a 1-year period. Data consisted of system-collected measures, profile items, and items from an exit survey administered at the conclusion of each lesson. User engagement was defined based on 3 KPIs associated with usage of the wichealth website: number of link views, link view time, and progression in stage of readiness to change. Independent samples t tests were used to compare KPIs between fixed only and mobile only device users and paired samples t tests were used to compare KPIs within users who completed at least one lesson each on both a fixed and mobile device. A logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of KPI performance thresholds in the independent samples study group given access device type while controlling for confounding of user characteristics associated with these KPIs. Results Analysis of 8 user characteristics (lessons completed, race, ethnicity, language, state of residence, pregnancy status, beginning stage of change, and preferred nutrition education method) were significantly (P<.001) related to various KPI differences between mobile and fixed device access. Non-mobile users were significantly (P<.001) more likely to engage based on all 3 KPIs, even after logistic regression control for the potential confounding related to the strongly associated user characteristics identified. Conclusions The findings of this study support the idea that online health education developers need to seriously consider access device when creating programs. Online health education developers need to take extra effort to truly understand access patterns of populations being served, and whether or not access device will influence user engagement performance indicators. PMID:27847351
Context-based user grouping for multi-casting in heterogeneous radio networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mannweiler, C.; Klein, A.; Schneider, J.; Schotten, H. D.

2011-08-01

Along with the rise of sophisticated smartphones and smart spaces, the availability of both static and dynamic context information has steadily been increasing in recent years. Due to the popularity of social networks, these data are complemented by profile information about individual users. Making use of this information by classifying users in wireless networks enables targeted content and advertisement delivery as well as optimizing network resources, in particular bandwidth utilization, by facilitating group-based multi-casting. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a web service for advanced user classification based on user, network, and environmental context information. The service employs simple and advanced clustering algorithms for forming classes of users. Available service functionalities include group formation, context-aware adaptation, and deletion as well as the exposure of group characteristics. Moreover, the results of a performance evaluation, where the service has been integrated in a simulator modeling user behavior in heterogeneous wireless systems, are presented.
Impact of heterogeneity and socioeconomic factors on individual behavior in decentralized sharing ecosystems.

PubMed

Gavaldà-Miralles, Arnau; Choffnes, David R; Otto, John S; Sánchez, Mario A; Bustamante, Fabián E; Amaral, Luís A N; Duch, Jordi; Guimerà, Roger

2014-10-28

Tens of millions of individuals around the world use decentralized content distribution systems, a fact of growing social, economic, and technological importance. These sharing systems are poorly understood because, unlike in other technosocial systems, it is difficult to gather large-scale data about user behavior. Here, we investigate user activity patterns and the socioeconomic factors that could explain the behavior. Our analysis reveals that (i) the ecosystem is heterogeneous at several levels: content types are heterogeneous, users specialize in a few content types, and countries are heterogeneous in user profiles; and (ii) there is a strong correlation between socioeconomic indicators of a country and users behavior. Our findings open a research area on the dynamics of decentralized sharing ecosystems and the socioeconomic factors affecting them, and may have implications for the design of algorithms and for policymaking.
Accurate and scalable social recommendation using mixed-membership stochastic block models

PubMed Central

Godoy-Lorite, Antonia; Moore, Cristopher

2016-01-01

With increasing amounts of information available, modeling and predicting user preferences—for books or articles, for example—are becoming more important. We present a collaborative filtering model, with an associated scalable algorithm, that makes accurate predictions of users’ ratings. Like previous approaches, we assume that there are groups of users and of items and that the rating a user gives an item is determined by their respective group memberships. However, we allow each user and each item to belong simultaneously to mixtures of different groups and, unlike many popular approaches such as matrix factorization, we do not assume that users in each group prefer a single group of items. In particular, we do not assume that ratings depend linearly on a measure of similarity, but allow probability distributions of ratings to depend freely on the user’s and item’s groups. The resulting overlapping groups and predicted ratings can be inferred with an expectation-maximization algorithm whose running time scales linearly with the number of observed ratings. Our approach enables us to predict user preferences in large datasets and is considerably more accurate than the current algorithms for such large datasets. PMID:27911773
26 CFR 300.0 - User fees; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... the enrollment of an enrolled agent. (7) Enrolling an enrolled actuary. (8) Renewing the enrollment of an enrolled actuary. (9) Taking the special enrollment examination to become an enrolled retirement...
26 CFR 300.0 - User fees; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... the enrollment of an enrolled agent. (7) Enrolling an enrolled actuary. (8) Renewing the enrollment of an enrolled actuary. (9) Taking the special enrollment examination to become an enrolled retirement...
26 CFR 300.0 - User fees; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... the enrollment of an enrolled agent. (7) Enrolling an enrolled actuary. (8) Renewing the enrollment of an enrolled actuary. (9) Taking the special enrollment examination to become an enrolled retirement...

Kernel User’s Manual Version 1.0

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-02-01

especially on distributed systems. There are issues concerning functionality (amply documented in [ARTEWG 86b), customization , tool support (especially...a far lower level, including special device drivers, special message or signaling systems, and even a custom executive. There is far less general...functionality; the implementors of the language do not know how to satisfy the variety of needs of real-time applications; the vendors are unable to customize
Program For Parallel Discrete-Event Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beckman, Brian C.; Blume, Leo R.; Geiselman, John S.; Presley, Matthew T.; Wedel, John J., Jr.; Bellenot, Steven F.; Diloreto, Michael; Hontalas, Philip J.; Reiher, Peter L.; Weiland, Frederick P.

1991-01-01

User does not have to add any special logic to aid in synchronization. Time Warp Operating System (TWOS) computer program is special-purpose operating system designed to support parallel discrete-event simulation. Complete implementation of Time Warp mechanism. Supports only simulations and other computations designed for virtual time. Time Warp Simulator (TWSIM) subdirectory contains sequential simulation engine interface-compatible with TWOS. TWOS and TWSIM written in, and support simulations in, C programming language.
High-level user interfaces for transfer function design with semantics.

PubMed

Salama, Christof Rezk; Keller, Maik; Kohlmann, Peter

2006-01-01

Many sophisticated techniques for the visualization of volumetric data such as medical data have been published. While existing techniques are mature from a technical point of view, managing the complexity of visual parameters is still difficult for non-expert users. To this end, this paper presents new ideas to facilitate the specification of optical properties for direct volume rendering. We introduce an additional level of abstraction for parametric models of transfer functions. The proposed framework allows visualization experts to design high-level transfer function models which can intuitively be used by non-expert users. The results are user interfaces which provide semantic information for specialized visualization problems. The proposed method is based on principal component analysis as well as on concepts borrowed from computer animation.
Search Strategies of Visually Impaired Persons using a Camera Phone Wayfinding System

PubMed Central

Manduchi, R.; Coughlan, J.; Ivanchenko, V.

2016-01-01

We report new experiments conducted using a camera phone wayfinding system, which is designed to guide a visually impaired user to machine-readable signs (such as barcodes) labeled with special color markers. These experiments specifically investigate search strategies of such users detecting, localizing and touching color markers that have been mounted in various ways in different environments: in a corridor (either flush with the wall or mounted perpendicular to it) or in a large room with obstacles between the user and the markers. The results show that visually impaired users are able to reliably find color markers in all the conditions that we tested, using search strategies that vary depending on the environment in which they are placed. PMID:26949755
Search Strategies of Visually Impaired Persons using a Camera Phone Wayfinding System.

PubMed

Manduchi, R; Coughlan, J; Ivanchenko, V

2008-07-01

We report new experiments conducted using a camera phone wayfinding system, which is designed to guide a visually impaired user to machine-readable signs (such as barcodes) labeled with special color markers. These experiments specifically investigate search strategies of such users detecting, localizing and touching color markers that have been mounted in various ways in different environments: in a corridor (either flush with the wall or mounted perpendicular to it) or in a large room with obstacles between the user and the markers. The results show that visually impaired users are able to reliably find color markers in all the conditions that we tested, using search strategies that vary depending on the environment in which they are placed.
Marijuana Use Trajectories and Academic Outcomes among College Students

PubMed Central

Suerken, Cynthia K.; Reboussin, Beth A.; Egan, Kathleen L.; Sutfin, Erin L.; Wagoner, Kimberly G.; Spangler, John; Wolfson, Mark

2016-01-01

Background Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug by college students. Prior studies have established an association between marijuana use and poor academic performance in college, but research on the frequency of marijuana use over the entire college career is limited. The study objective was to examine the association of marijuana use trajectories on academic outcomes, including senior year enrollment, plans to graduate on time, and GPA. Methods Data were collected from a cohort of 3,146 students from 11 colleges in North Carolina and Virginia at six time points across the college career. Group-based trajectory models were used to characterize longitudinal marijuana use patterns during college. Associations between marijuana trajectory groups and academic outcomes were modeled using random-effects linear and logistic regressions. Results Five marijuana trajectory groups were identified: non-users (69.0%), infrequent users (16.6%), decreasing users (4.7%), increasing users (5.8%), and frequent users (3.9%). Decreasing users and frequent users were more likely to drop out of college and plan to delay graduation when compared to non-users. All marijuana user groups reported lower GPAs, on average, than non-users. Conclusion These results identify marijuana use patterns that put students at risk for poor academic performance in college. Students who use marijuana frequently at the beginning of the college career are especially at risk for lower academic achievement than non-users, suggesting that early intervention is critical. PMID:27020322
Electrophysiological evidence of atypical processing underlying mental set shifting in ecstasy polydrug and polydrug users.

PubMed

Roberts, Carl A; Fairclough, Stephen H; McGlone, Francis P; Fisk, John E; Montgomery, Catharine

2013-12-01

Executive functioning deficits are reported in ecstasy users. However research into mental set switching has been equivocal, with behavioral studies suggesting the function is preserved. The current study sought to address the issue of switching deficits in ecstasy users by combining behavioral performance with electrophysiological correlates (electroencephalography; EEG). Twenty ecstasy polydrug users, 20 nonecstasy polydrug users, and 20 drug naive controls were recruited. Participants completed questionnaires about their drug use, sleep quality, fluid intelligence, and current mood state. Each participant completed a mental set switching task (the number-letter task) while EEG measures were recorded. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no between-group differences on performance of the task; however a regression suggested that ecstasy use was a significant predictor for performance, after controlling for cannabis use. Mixed ANOVA revealed a significant effect of group on the P3, with significant differences between both drug groups and naives. There was also an interaction between electrode and group on the P2 component, with ecstasy users differing from both other groups. On the P3 component the results suggest a reduction in positivity at parieto-occipital electrodes for drug users compared to controls. Furthermore a significant increase in negativity in ecstasy users compared to control groups could be observed in several occipito-parietal electrodes at an N2 component as well as observable atypicalities in early processing (P2) displayed by ecstasy users and polydrug controls. The present study provides evidence of atypical processing of attentional shifting in ecstasy and polydrug users. Deficits in this executive function could reflect cognitive inflexibility and paucity of rapid behavioral adjustment, which may be problematic in real world situations.
Data and Analysis Center for Software

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

is available to DACS users. 7.4 Bibliographic Services Bibliographic inquiries to the DACS are received in many forms: by letter, by telephone call, by...of potential users concerning the DACS and its products and services. 9-4 10.0 TASK 9 - SPECIAL STUDIES AND PROJECTS 10.1 Introduction There are many ...problems related to software technology that can be solved through the full service capabilities provided by the DACS. Many of these are sizable
Analysis and Development of Management Information Systems for Private Messes Afloat

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-01

the development phase emphasis was placed on a three step approach starting with an analysis of the requirements as established by... oper - ating the mess divided by number of mess members Total Mess Bill Due Total of old bills, current bill, mess share owed, and special assessment 46...TRANSPARENCY THE SYSTEM BEHAVIOR IS TRANSPARENT TO THE USER. THAT MEANS THAT THE USER CAN DEVELOP A CONSISTENT MODEL OF THE SYSTEM WHEN WORKING
Cline Library Surveys of the NAU Faculty and Students, and Users of Media Services and Field Services, and Evaluations of the Desk Services Provided by Media Services and Special Collections and Archives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullen, Melissa J.; And Others

Results are presented from surveys conducted at Northern Arizona University (NAU) about its library services. Mail survey questionnaires were completed by 266 faculty members, and a telephone survey questioned 400 students about library services at the university's Cline Library. A mail survey completed by 121 media service users and 126 field…
Technologies for physical activity self-monitoring: a study of differences between users and non-users

PubMed Central

Åkerberg, Anna; Söderlund, Anne; Lindén, Maria

2017-01-01

Background Different kinds of physical activity (PA) self-monitoring technologies are used today to monitor and motivate PA behavior change. The user focus is essential in the development process of this technology, including potential future users such as representatives from the group of non-users. There is also a need to study whether there are differences between the groups of users and non-users. The aims of this study were to investigate possible differences between users and non-users regarding their opinions about PA self-monitoring technologies and to investigate differences in demographic variables between the groups. Materials and methods Participants were randomly selected from seven municipalities in central Sweden. In total, 107 adults responded to the Physical Activity Products Questionnaire, which consisted of 22 questions. Results Significant differences between the users and non-users were shown for six of the 20 measurement-related items: measures accurately (p=0.007), measures with high precision (p=0.024), measures distance (p=0.020), measures speed (p=0.003), shows minutes of activity (p=0.004), and shows geographical position (p=0.000). Significant differences between the users and non-users were also found for two of the 29 encouragement items: measures accurately (p=0.001) and has long-term memory (p=0.019). Significant differences between the groups were also shown for level of education (p=0.030) and level of physical exercise (p=0.037). Conclusion With a few exceptions, the users and the non-users in this study had similar opinions about PA self-monitoring technologies. Because this study showed significant differences regarding level of education and level of physical exercise, these demographic variables seemed more relevant to investigate than differences in opinions about the PA self-monitoring technologies. PMID:28280399
Single-Center Study Investigating Foreign Language Acquisition at School in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Uni- or Bilateral Cochlear Implants in the Swiss German Population.

PubMed

Beeres-Scheenstra, Renske; Ohnsorg, Claudia; Candreia, Claudia; Heinzmann, Sybille; Castellanos, Susana; De Min, Nicola; Linder, Thomas E

2017-07-01

To evaluate foreign language acquisition at school in cochlear implant patients. Cohort study. CI center. Forty three cochlear implants (CI) patients (10-18 yr) were evaluated. CI nonusers and patients with CI-explantation, incomplete datasets, mental retardation, or concomitant medical disorders were excluded. Additional data (type of schooling, foreign language learning, and bilingualism) were obtained with questionnaires. German-speaking children with foreign tuition language (English and/or French) at school were enrolled for further testing. General patient data, auditory data, and foreign language data from both questionnaires and tests were collected and analyzed. Thirty seven out of 43 questionnaires (86%) were completed. Sixteen (43%) were in mainstream education. Twenty-seven CI users (73%) have foreign language learning at school. Fifteen of these were in mainstream education (55%), others in special schooling. From 10 CI users without foreign language learning, one CI user was in mainstream education (10%) and nine patients (90%) were in special schooling. Eleven German-speaking CI users were further tested in English and six additionally in French. For reading skills, the school objectives for English were reached in 7 of 11 pupils (64%) and for French in 3 of 6 pupils (50%). For listening skills, 3 of 11 pupils (27%) reached the school norm in English and none in French. Almost 75% of our CI users learn foreign language(s) at school. A small majority of the tested CI users reached the current school norm for in English and French in reading skills, whereas for hearing skills most of them were not able to reach the norm.
Clinical features of children and adults with a muscular dystrophy using powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs: disease features, comorbidities and complications of disability.

PubMed

Frank, Andrew Oliver; De Souza, Lorraine H

2018-05-01

To describe the clinical features of electric powered indoor/outdoor wheelchair users with a muscular dystrophy, likely to influence optimal prescription; reflecting features of muscular dystrophies, conditions secondary to disability, and comorbidities impacting on equipment provision. Cross-sectional retrospective case note review of recipients of electric powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs provided by a specialist regional wheelchair service. Data on demography, diagnostic/clinical, and wheelchair prescription were systematically extracted. Fifty-one men and 14 women, mean age 23.7 (range 10-67, s.d. 12.95) years, were studied. Forty had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 22 had other forms of muscular dystrophy, and three were unclassified. Twenty-seven were aged under 19. Notable clinical features included problematic pain (10), cardiomyopathy (5), and ventilatory failure (4). Features related to disability were (kypho)scoliosis (20) and edema/cellulitis (3) whilst comorbidities included back pain (5). Comparison of younger with older users revealed younger users had more features of muscular dystrophy affecting electric powered chair provision (56%) whilst older users had more comorbidity (37%). Tilt-in-space was prescribed for 81% of users, specialized seating for 55% and complex controls for 16%. Muscular dystrophy users were prescribed electric powered indoor/outdoor chairs with many additional features reflecting the consequences of profound muscle weakness. In addition to facilitating independence and participation, electric powered indoor/outdoor chairs have major therapeutic benefits. Implications for rehabilitation Powered wheelchairs have therapeutic benefits in managing muscular dystrophy pain and weakness. The use of specialized seating needs careful consideration in supporting progressive muscle weakness and the management of scoliosis. Pain, discomfort, pressure risk, and muscle fatigue may be reduced by use of tilt-in-space.
Earth Observation oriented teaching materials development based on OGC Web services and Bashyt generated reports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stefanut, T.; Gorgan, D.; Giuliani, G.; Cau, P.

2012-04-01

Creating e-Learning materials in the Earth Observation domain is a difficult task especially for non-technical specialists who have to deal with distributed repositories, large amounts of information and intensive processing requirements. Furthermore, due to the lack of specialized applications for developing teaching resources, technical knowledge is required also for defining data presentation structures or in the development and customization of user interaction techniques for better teaching results. As a response to these issues during the GiSHEO FP7 project [1] and later in the EnviroGRIDS FP7 [2] project, we have developed the eGLE e-Learning Platform [3], a tool based application that provides dedicated functionalities to the Earth Observation specialists for developing teaching materials. The proposed architecture is built around a client-server design that provides the core functionalities (e.g. user management, tools integration, teaching materials settings, etc.) and has been extended with a distributed component implemented through the tools that are integrated into the platform, as described further. Our approach in dealing with multiple transfer protocol types, heterogeneous data formats or various user interaction techniques involve the development and integration of very specialized elements (tools) that can be customized by the trainers in a visual manner through simple user interfaces. In our concept each tool is dedicated to a specific data type, implementing optimized mechanisms for searching, retrieving, visualizing and interacting with it. At the same time, in each learning resource can be integrated any number of tools, through drag-and-drop interaction, allowing the teacher to retrieve pieces of data of various types (e.g. images, charts, tables, text, videos etc.) from different sources (e.g. OGC web services, charts created through Bashyt application, etc.) through different protocols (ex. WMS, BASHYT API, FTP, HTTP etc.) and to display them all together in a unitary manner using the same visual structure [4]. Addressing the High Power Computation requirements that are met while processing environmental data, our platform can be easily extended through tools that connect to GRID infrastructures, WCS web services, Bashyt API (for creating specialized hydrological reports) or any other specialized services (ex. graphics cluster visualization) that can be reached over the Internet. At run time, on the trainee's computer each tool is launched in an asynchronous running mode and connects to the data source that has been established by the teacher, retrieving and displaying the information to the user. The data transfer is accomplished directly between the trainee's computer and the corresponding services (e.g. OGC, Bashyt API, etc.) without passing through the core server platform. In this manner, the eGLE application can provide better and more responsive connections to a large number of users.
Modeling Goal-Directed User Exploration in Human-Computer Interaction

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

scent, other factors including the layout position and grouping of options in the user-interface also affect user exploration and the likelihood of...grouping of options in the user-interface also affect user exploration and the likelihood of success. This dissertation contributes a new model of goal...better inform UI design. 1.1 RESEARCH GAPS IN MODELING In addition to infoscent, the layout of the UI also affects the choices made during
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.
Communication and Exchange of Specialized Health-Related Support Among People With Experiential Similarity on Facebook.

PubMed

Gage-Bouchard, Elizabeth A; LaValley, Susan; Mollica, Michelle; Beaupin, Lynda Kwon

2017-10-01

Social support is an important factor that shapes how people cope with illness, and health-related communication among peers managing the same illness (network ties with experiential similarity) offers specialized information, resources, and emotional support. Facebook has become a ubiquitous part of many Americans' lives, and may offer a way for patients and caregivers experiencing a similar illness to exchange specialized health-related support. However, little is known about the content of communication among people who have coped with the same illness on personal Facebook pages. We conducted a content analysis of 12 months of data from 18 publicly available Facebook pages hosted by parents of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, focusing on communication between users who self-identified as parents of pediatric cancer patients. Support exchanges between users with experiential similarity contained highly specialized health-related information, including information about health services use, symptom recognition, compliance, medication use, treatment protocols, and medical procedures. Parents also exchanged tailored emotional support through comparison, empathy, encouragement, and hope. Building upon previous research documenting that social media use can widen and diversify support networks, our findings show that cancer caregivers access specialized health-related informational and emotional support through communication with others who have experienced the same illness on personal Facebook pages. These findings have implications for health communication practice and offer evidence to tailor M-Health interventions that leverage existing social media platforms to enhance peer support for patients and caregivers.
27 CFR 20.171 - Record of shipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS DISTRIBUTION AND USE OF DENATURED ALCOHOL AND RUM Operations by Dealers and Users of Specially Denatured Spirits Inventory and Records § 20.171 Record of shipment. (a) Dealer. When...
Temporary traffic control handbook, 2016 edition.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

This handbook provides a broad, easy to understand : reference for temporary traffic control in work zones, : addressing the safe and efficient accommodation of all road : users: motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and those with special : needs. Whe...
Small self-contained payload overview. [Space Shuttle Getaway Special project management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, D. S.

1981-01-01

The low-cost Small Self-Contained Payload Program, also known as the Getaway Special, initiated by NASA for providing a stepping stone to larger scientific and manufacturing payloads, is presented. The steps of 'getting on board,' the conditions of use, the reimbursement policy and the procedures, and the flight scheduling mechanism for flying the Getaway Special payload are given. The terms and conditions, and the interfaces between NASA and the users for entering into an agreement with NASA for launch and associated services are described, as are the philosophy and the rationale for establishing the policy and the procedures.

Focus Group in Community Mental Health Research: Need for Adaption.

PubMed

Zupančič, Vesna; Pahor, Majda; Kogovšek, Tina

2018-04-27

The article presents an analysis of the use of focus groups in researching community mental health users, starting with the reasons for using them, their implementation in mental health service users' research, and the adaptations of focus group use when researching the experiences of users. Based on personal research experience and a review of scientific publications in the Google Scholar, Web of Science, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and Scopus databases, 20 articles published between 2010 and 2016 were selected for targeted content analysis. A checklist for reporting on the use of focus groups with community mental health service users, aiming to improve the comparability, verifiability and validity was developed. Adaptations of the implementation of focus groups in relation to participants' characteristics were suggested. Focus groups are not only useful as a scientific research technique, but also for ensuring service users' participation in decision-making in community mental health and evaluating the quality of the mental health system and services .
Impaired cognitive performance in drug free users of recreational ecstasy (MDMA)

PubMed Central

Gouzoulis-Mayfran..., E.; Daumann, J.; Tuchtenhagen, F.; Pelz, S.; Becker, S.; Kunert, H.; Fimm, B.; Sass, H.

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVES—Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and related congerers: MDA, MDEA) is the name given to a group of popular recreational drugs. Animal data raise concern about neurotoxic effects of high doses of ecstasy on central serotonergic systems. The threshold dose for neurotoxicity in humans is not clear and serotonin is involved in several functions including cognition. The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive performance in a group of typical recreational ecstasy users. METHODS—A comprehensive cognitive test battery was administered to 28 abstinent ecstasy users with concomitant use of cannabis only and to two equally sized matched groups of cannabis users and non-users. The sample consisted of ecstasy users with a typical recreational use pattern and did not include very heavy users. RESULTS—Ecstasy users were unimpaired in simple tests of attention (alertness). However, they performed worse than one or both control groups in the more complex tests of attention, in memory and learning tasks, and in tasks reflecting aspects of general intelligence. Heavier ecstasy and heavier cannabis use were associated with poorer performance in the group of ecstasy users. By contrast, the cannabis users did not differ significantly in their performance from the non-users. CONCLUSIONS—The present data raise concern that use of ecstasy possibly in conjunction with cannabis may lead to cognitive decline in otherwise healthy young people. Although the nature of the emerging cognitive disturbance is not yet clear, an impairment of working memory might be the common denominator underlying or contributing to declines of performance in various tasks. The cognitive disturbance is likely to be related to the well recognised neurotoxic potential of ecstasy. The data suggest that even typical recreational doses of ecstasy are sufficient to cause neurotoxicity in humans.   PMID:10811694
Mood, cognition and serotonin transporter availability in current and former ecstasy (MDMA) users: the longitudinal perspective.

PubMed

Thomasius, R; Zapletalova, P; Petersen, K; Buchert, R; Andresen, B; Wartberg, L; Nebeling, B; Schmoldt, A

2006-03-01

Although 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a known serotonergic neurotoxin in different animal species, there is to date no conclusive evidence of its neurotoxicity in humans. MDMA use was associated with impairments of psychological well-being, verbal memory and altered serotonergic functioning in a number of cross-sectional studies. Due to inherent methodological limitations, such as the notorious polydrug use of ecstasy users and lack of control of possible pre-existing differences between ecstasy users and control participants, researchers have called for well-controlled, prospective longitudinal studies to shed more light on the issue of MDMA neurotoxicity to the human brain. This longitudinal study investigated whether mood, cognition and central serotonin transporters (SERT) would deteriorate with continued MDMA use and whether or not they would recover over increasing periods of MDMA abstinence. In a repeated-measures design, 11 current and ten ex-ecstasy users, and 11 polydrug (but not MDMA) and 15 drug-naive controls participated three times within approximately two years. Both ecstasy user groups reported a polydrug use pattern besides heavy ecstasy use. Subjective reports of ecstasy use or abstinence were verified by toxicological analyses. On each trial, the participants underwent a cognitive test battery and filled in the Symptom Check List. The availability of central SERT was assessed with positron emission tomography using the McN5652 ligand for all groups at t1, and only for the ecstasy user groups on follow-ups. The factor Group yielded significant results in the SCL-90 scales Global Severity Index, Anxiety, Obsessive/compulsive and Interpersonal sensitivity, with the ex-ecstasy users reporting the highest symptom scores. There were significant Group effects in all measures of verbal memory, with the lowest performance in the group of ex-ecstasy users. The repeated-measures analyses yielded no significant Group x Time interactions in any SCL-90 scales or measures of memory performance, with the exception of AVLT 1 immediate recall. Thus the ex-ecstasy users' psychopathological symptoms and memory performance failed to improve, and the current ecstasy users' failed to deteriorate, over time relative to the other groups. While there was a significant effect of Group in all brain regions examined (except the control region white matter), the current users' SERT availability seems to have recovered in the mesencephalon, as indicated by a significant Group x Time interaction. Reduced SERT availability might be a transient effect of heavy ecstasy use, since it partially recovered as the current users reduced their MDMA use. However, this measure may not necessarily be a valid indicator of the number or integrity of serotonergic neurons. Ex-ecstasy users' verbal memory showed no sign of improvement even after over 2.5 years of abstinence and thus may represent persistent functional consequences of MDMA neurotoxicity. However, alternative causes such as pre-existing group differences cannot be completely ruled out in spite of the longitudinal design.
Security Analysis of Accountable Anonymous Group Communication in Dissent

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-31

instance, group discussion forums or instant messaging. Misbehaving users may abuse this anonymity to disrupt communication, however, and existing...Abstract Users often wish to communicate anonymously on the Internet using, for instance, group discussion forums or instant messaging. Misbehaving users may...personal reprisal (Stein 2003). Yet anonymity makes it difficult to trace or exclude misbehaving participants (Davenport 2002). Online proto- cols
Understanding music with cochlear implants

PubMed Central

Bruns, Lisa; Mürbe, Dirk; Hahne, Anja

2016-01-01

Direct stimulation of the auditory nerve via a Cochlear Implant (CI) enables profoundly hearing-impaired people to perceive sounds. Many CI users find language comprehension satisfactory, but music perception is generally considered difficult. However, music contains different dimensions which might be accessible in different ways. We aimed to highlight three main dimensions of music processing in CI users which rely on different processing mechanisms: (1) musical discrimination abilities, (2) access to meaning in music, and (3) subjective music appreciation. All three dimensions were investigated in two CI user groups (post- and prelingually deafened CI users, all implanted as adults) and a matched normal hearing control group. The meaning of music was studied by using event-related potentials (with the N400 component as marker) during a music-word priming task while music appreciation was gathered by a questionnaire. The results reveal a double dissociation between the three dimensions of music processing. Despite impaired discrimination abilities of both CI user groups compared to the control group, appreciation was reduced only in postlingual CI users. While musical meaning processing was restorable in postlingual CI users, as shown by a N400 effect, data of prelingual CI users lack the N400 effect and indicate previous dysfunctional concept building. PMID:27558546
Post-polypectomy bleeding and thromboembolism risks associated with warfarin vs direct oral anticoagulants.

PubMed

Yanagisawa, Naohiro; Nagata, Naoyoshi; Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Iida, Tatsuhiro; Hamada, Mariko; Kobayashi, Sakurako; Shimbo, Takuro; Akiyama, Junichi; Uemura, Naomi

2018-04-14

To verify the validity of the endoscopy guidelines for patients taking warfarin or direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC). We collected data from 218 patients receiving oral anticoagulants (73 DOAC users, 145 warfarin users) and 218 patients not receiving any antithrombotics (age- and sex-matched controls) who underwent polypectomy. (1) We evaluated post-polypectomy bleeding (PPB) risk in patients receiving warfarin or DOAC compared with controls; (2) we assessed the risks of PPB and thromboembolism between three AC management methods: Discontinuing AC with heparin bridge (HPB) (endoscopy guideline recommendation), continuing AC, and discontinuing AC without HPB. PPB rate was significantly higher in warfarin users and DOAC users compared with controls (13.7% and 13.7% vs 0.9%, P < 0.001), but was not significantly different between rivaroxaban (13.2%), dabigatran (11.1%), and apixaban (13.3%) users. Two thromboembolic events occurred in warfarin users, but none in DOAC users. Compared with the continuing anticoagulant group, the discontinuing anticoagulant with HPB group (guideline recommendation) had a higher PPB rate (10.8% vs 19.6%, P = 0.087). These findings were significantly evident in warfarin but not DOAC users. One thrombotic event occurred in the discontinuing anticoagulant with HPB group and the discontinuing anticoagulant without HPB group; none occurred in the continuing anticoagulant group. PPB risk was similar between patients taking warfarin and DOAC. Thromboembolism was observed in warfarin users only. The guideline recommendations for HPB should be re-considered.
Memory is preserved in older adults taking AT1 receptor blockers.

PubMed

Ho, Jean K; Nation, Daniel A

2017-04-26

Prior work suggests that some but not all antihypertensive treatments may benefit cognition and risk for Alzheimer's disease, independent of stroke. Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) have been highlighted as one antihypertensive drug class that may confer greatest benefit. The participants comprised 1626 nondemented adults, aged 55-91 years, recruited from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative sites. Three groups were compared: ARB users (HTN-ARBs), other antihypertensive drug users (HTN-Other), and normotensives. In post hoc analyses, we also examined (1) users of ARBs and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), (2) users of blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing ARBs and users of non-BBB-crossing ARBs, and (3) users of BBB-crossing ARBs and ACEIs (BBB crossers) and users of non-BBB-crossing ARBs and ACEIs (BBB noncrossers). Groups were compared regarding cognition and magnetic resonance imaging measures of brain volume and white matter hyperintensities (WMH), using analysis of covariance and multilevel models. At baseline, the HTN-Other group performed worse than normotensives on Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) Immediate Recall (p = 0.002), Delayed Recall (p < 0.001), Recognition Memory (p = 0.001), and Trails A (p < 0.001) and B (p = 0.01). ARB users performed better than the HTN-Other group on Recognition Memory (p = 0.04) and worse than normotensives on Trails A (p = 0.04). The HTN-Other group performed worse than normotensives on Logical Memory Immediate (p = 0.02) and Delayed Recall over the 3-year follow-up (p = 0.007). Over the follow-up period, those taking BBB-crossing ARBs performed better than the HTN-Other group on AVLT Delayed Recall (p = 0.04), Logical Memory Immediate (p = 0.02), and Delayed Recall (p = 0.05). They also had fewer WMH than the HTN-Other group (p = 0.008) and those taking non-BBB-crossing ARBs (p = 0.05). There were no group differences in brain volume. Users of BBB-crossing medications (ARBs or ACEIs) showed better performance on AVLT Delayed Recall over time than all other groups, including normotensives (all p < 0.01), and had less WMH volume over time than the BBB noncrossers group (p = 0.03), although they had more WMH volume than normotensives (p = 0.01). The BBB noncrossers group performed worse than normotensives on Logical Memory Delayed Recall over time (p = 0.01), but the BBB crossers group was not significantly different (p = 0.13). Hypertensive participants demonstrated worse baseline memory and executive function, as well as greater memory decline, over the 3-year follow-up than normotensives, unless they were ARB users, who showed preserved memory compared with those taking other antihypertensive drugs. Users of BBB-crossing ARBs showed superior memory performance over time compared with other antihypertensive drug users and had less WMH volume. Users of BBB-crossing medications (ARBs or ACEIs) showed better list-learning memory performance over time than all other groups, including normotensives, and had less WMH volume over time than users of non-BBB-crossing medications. These findings demonstrate that ARBs, especially those of the BBB-crossing variety, are associated with greater memory preservation and less WMH volume than other antihypertensive medications.
Marijuana use trajectories and academic outcomes among college students.

PubMed

Suerken, Cynthia K; Reboussin, Beth A; Egan, Kathleen L; Sutfin, Erin L; Wagoner, Kimberly G; Spangler, John; Wolfson, Mark

2016-05-01

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug by college students. Prior studies have established an association between marijuana use and poor academic performance in college, but research on the frequency of marijuana use over the entire college career is limited. The study objective was to examine the association of marijuana use trajectories on academic outcomes, including senior year enrollment, plans to graduate on time, and GPA. Data were collected from a cohort of 3146 students from 11 colleges in North Carolina and Virginia at six time points across the college career. Group-based trajectory models were used to characterize longitudinal marijuana use patterns during college. Associations between marijuana trajectory groups and academic outcomes were modeled using random-effects linear and logistic regressions. Five marijuana trajectory groups were identified: non-users (69.0%), infrequent users (16.6%), decreasing users (4.7%), increasing users (5.8%), and frequent users (3.9%). Decreasing users and frequent users were more likely to drop out of college and plan to delay graduation when compared to non-users. All marijuana user groups reported lower GPAs, on average, than non-users. These results identify marijuana use patterns that put students at risk for poor academic performance in college. Students who use marijuana frequently at the beginning of the college career are especially at risk for lower academic achievement than non-users, suggesting that early intervention is critical. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
User Instructions for the Policy Analysis Modeling System (PAMS)

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

McNeil, Michael A.; Letschert, Virginie E.; Van Buskirk, Robert D.

PAMS uses country-specific and product-specific data to calculate estimates of impacts of a Minimum Efficiency Performance Standard (MEPS) program. The analysis tool is self-contained in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and requires no links to external data, or special code additions to run. The analysis can be customized to a particular program without additional user input, through the use of the pull-down menus located on the Summary page. In addition, the spreadsheet contains many areas into which user-generated input data can be entered for increased accuracy of projection. The following is a step-by-step guide for using and customizing the tool.
'Virgin gas' ban demands user rethink.

PubMed

Baillie, Jonathan

2010-05-01

A-Gas (UK), a leading UK independent blender and distributor of speciality gases and chemicals, says that many users of the highly versatile HCFC 22 (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) refrigerant gas, including hospitals, are still either unaware, or not taking action to address, this year's ban on the use of both virgin R22, and other virgin HCFC refrigerant gases, in equipment such as air conditioning plant. HEJ editor Jonathan Baillie discussed, with senior personnel, the options for existing HCFC users, and discovered that the "virgin" gas ban could present cost-cutting opportunities for those able to purchase new, more energy-efficient plant compatible with the latest replacement hydrofluorocarbon, and other modern refrigerants.
CALIL.JP, a new web service that provides one-stop searching of Japan-wide libraries' collections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshimoto, Ryuuji

Calil.JP is a new free online service that enables federated searching, marshalling and integration of Web-OPAC data on the collections of libraries from around Japan. It offers the search results through user-friendly interface. Developed with a concept of accelerating discovery of fun-to-read books and motivating users to head for libraries, Calil was initially designed mainly for public library users. It now extends to cover university libraries and special libraries. This article presents the Calil's basic capabilities, concept, progress made thus far, and plan for further development as viewed from an engineering development manager.
Quantum private query with perfect user privacy against a joint-measurement attack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yu-Guang; Liu, Zhi-Chao; Li, Jian; Chen, Xiu-Bo; Zuo, Hui-Juan; Zhou, Yi-Hua; Shi, Wei-Min

2016-12-01

The joint-measurement (JM) attack is the most powerful threat to the database security for existing quantum-key-distribution (QKD)-based quantum private query (QPQ) protocols. Wei et al. (2016) [28] proposed a novel QPQ protocol against the JM attack. However, their protocol relies on two-way quantum communication thereby affecting its real implementation and communication efficiency. Moreover, it cannot ensure perfect user privacy. In this paper, we present a new one-way QPQ protocol in which the special way of classical post-processing of oblivious key ensures the security against the JM attack. Furthermore, it realizes perfect user privacy and lower complexity of communication.
MUST - An integrated system of support tools for research flight software engineering. [Multipurpose User-oriented Software Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straeter, T. A.; Foudriat, E. C.; Will, R. W.

1977-01-01

The objectives of NASA's MUST (Multipurpose User-oriented Software Technology) program at Langley Research Center are to cut the cost of producing software which effectively utilizes digital systems for flight research. These objectives will be accomplished by providing an integrated system of support software tools for use throughout the research flight software development process. A description of the overall MUST program and its progress toward the release of a first MUST system will be presented. This release includes: a special interactive user interface, a library of subroutines, assemblers, a compiler, automatic documentation tools, and a test and simulation system.
Impact of heterogeneity and socioeconomic factors on individual behavior in decentralized sharing ecosystems

PubMed Central

Gavaldà-Miralles, Arnau; Choffnes, David R.; Otto, John S.; Sánchez, Mario A.; Bustamante, Fabián E.; Amaral, Luís A. N.; Duch, Jordi; Guimerà, Roger

2014-01-01

Tens of millions of individuals around the world use decentralized content distribution systems, a fact of growing social, economic, and technological importance. These sharing systems are poorly understood because, unlike in other technosocial systems, it is difficult to gather large-scale data about user behavior. Here, we investigate user activity patterns and the socioeconomic factors that could explain the behavior. Our analysis reveals that (i) the ecosystem is heterogeneous at several levels: content types are heterogeneous, users specialize in a few content types, and countries are heterogeneous in user profiles; and (ii) there is a strong correlation between socioeconomic indicators of a country and users behavior. Our findings open a research area on the dynamics of decentralized sharing ecosystems and the socioeconomic factors affecting them, and may have implications for the design of algorithms and for policymaking. PMID:25288755
Satisfaction with nursing care in drug users: the evolution of a scale.

PubMed

Seabra, Paulo Rosário Carvalho; Sá, Luis Octávio; Amendoeira, José Joaquim Penedos; Ribeiro, Ana Leonor

2017-07-13

To identify the degree of satisfaction with nursing care, the significant variables and contribute to the evolution of the scale. Descriptive, correlational, cross study, with 180 drug users. Data collected using the scale called "Satisfaction of users with the Nursing Health Center26", between February and December 2012 in three treatment units in the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, Portugal. Users indicated 83.3% satisfaction. The dimension "Information individualization" was the most marked (98.5%). The more stability in the programs, abstinence from stimulants and benzodiazepines and more nursing interventions, the greater the satisfaction. Better working conditions, specializing in mental health, younger ages and less experience of nurses also contributed to satisfaction. Four items of the scale were extracted, assuming new SUCECS22 designation. Satisfaction was high, influenced by structural variables of users, nurses and working conditions. The scale has proved suitable for assessment in this population.
Socio-contextual Network Mining for User Assistance in Web-based Knowledge Gathering Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajendran, Balaji; Kombiah, Iyakutti

Web-based Knowledge Gathering (WKG) is a specialized and complex information seeking task carried out by many users on the web, for their various learning, and decision-making requirements. We construct a contextual semantic structure by observing the actions of the users involved in WKG task, in order to gain an understanding of their task and requirement. We also build a knowledge warehouse in the form of a master Semantic Link Network (SLX) that accommodates and assimilates all the contextual semantic structures. This master SLX, which is a socio-contextual network, is then mined to provide contextual inputs to the current users through their agents. We validated our approach through experiments and analyzed the benefits to the users in terms of resource explorations and the time saved. The results are positive enough to motivate us to implement in a larger scale.
Characterizing User Groups in Online Social Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyarmati, László; Trinh, Tuan Anh

The users’ role is crucial in the development, deployment and the success of online social networks (OSNs). Despite this fact, little is known and even less has been published about user activities in the operating OSNs. In this paper, we present a large scale measurement analysis of user behaviour, in terms of time spent online, in some popular OSNs, namely Bebo, Flixster, MySpace, and Skyrock, and characterise user groups in OSNs. We used more than 200 PlanetLab [1] nodes for our measurement, monitored more than 3000 users for three weeks by downloading repeatedly their profile pages; more than 100 million pages were processed in total. The main findings of the paper are the following. Firstly, we create a measurement framework in order to observe user activity. Secondly, we present cumulative usage statistics of the different OSNs. Thirdly, we classify the monitored users into different groups and characterise the common properties of the members. Finally, we illustrate the wide applicability of our datasets by predicting the sign out method of the OSN users.
Early Sign Language Experience Goes Along with an Increased Cross-modal Gain for Affective Prosodic Recognition in Congenitally Deaf CI Users.

PubMed

Fengler, Ineke; Delfau, Pia-Céline; Röder, Brigitte

2018-04-01

It is yet unclear whether congenitally deaf cochlear implant (CD CI) users' visual and multisensory emotion perception is influenced by their history in sign language acquisition. We hypothesized that early-signing CD CI users, relative to late-signing CD CI users and hearing, non-signing controls, show better facial expression recognition and rely more on the facial cues of audio-visual emotional stimuli. Two groups of young adult CD CI users-early signers (ES CI users; n = 11) and late signers (LS CI users; n = 10)-and a group of hearing, non-signing, age-matched controls (n = 12) performed an emotion recognition task with auditory, visual, and cross-modal emotionally congruent and incongruent speech stimuli. On different trials, participants categorized either the facial or the vocal expressions. The ES CI users more accurately recognized affective prosody than the LS CI users in the presence of congruent facial information. Furthermore, the ES CI users, but not the LS CI users, gained more than the controls from congruent visual stimuli when recognizing affective prosody. Both CI groups performed overall worse than the controls in recognizing affective prosody. These results suggest that early sign language experience affects multisensory emotion perception in CD CI users.
User Data Package for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicles for Navy Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

already available). GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS The advantages and disadvantages for implementing a CNG-fueled vehicle fleet at a specific site vary. However...at the user’s site , if a guaranteed minimum quantity of CNG will be purchased annually by the fleet operator. Utilities are also establishing special...at low pressure and compressed on- site , several additional charges must be added to the cost charged by the natural gas supplier (see Table 1). The
Technical Communication--Taking the User into Account.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-08-01

the effect of cognitive style on instructional design, it may be more cost-effective to evaluate how different instructional formats impact different...deck, 2 SONY VCK-3210 televison cameras, and a SONY Switcher/Fader SEG-l special effects generator. One television camera was positioned next to the ...AD-A1O? 030 NEW YORK STATE COLL OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES -ETC F/ S /9 TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION--TAKING THE USER INTO ACCOUNT U) AUG Al T L

Implementing an Intrusion Detection System in the Mysea Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

password for each user passwd <username> then follow the prompts 2. PostgreSQL 7.4.18 Installation Perform the following steps as root: 1. Copy...password changed Repeat for user snort. exit After making the groups and users the group and passwd file needs to be updated. Set security and...untrusted/bin/xtsmkgroup > /etc/group chmod 644 /etc/group /xts/untrusted/bin/xtsmkpasswd > /etc/ passwd chmod 644 /etc/ passwd 3. PostgreSQL 7.4.18
Applying Utility Functions to Adaptation Planning for Home Automation Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bratskas, Pyrros; Paspallis, Nearchos; Kakousis, Konstantinos; Papadopoulos, George A.

A pervasive computing environment typically comprises multiple embedded devices that may interact together and with mobile users. These users are part of the environment, and they experience it through a variety of devices embedded in the environment. This perception involves technologies which may be heterogeneous, pervasive, and dynamic. Due to the highly dynamic properties of such environments, the software systems running on them have to face problems such as user mobility, service failures, or resource and goal changes which may happen in an unpredictable manner. To cope with these problems, such systems must be autonomous and self-managed. In this chapter we deal with a special kind of a ubiquitous environment, a smart home environment, and introduce a user-preference-based model for adaptation planning. The model, which dynamically forms a set of configuration plans for resources, reasons automatically and autonomously, based on utility functions, on which plan is likely to best achieve the user's goals with respect to resource availability and user needs.
Semiautomated landscape feature extraction and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wasilewski, Anthony A.; Faust, Nickolas L.; Ribarsky, William

2001-08-01

We have developed a semi-automated procedure for generating correctly located 3D tree objects form overhead imagery. Cross-platform software partitions arbitrarily large, geocorrected and geolocated imagery into management sub- images. The user manually selected tree areas from one or more of these sub-images. Tree group blobs are then narrowed to lines using a special thinning algorithm which retains the topology of the blobs, and also stores the thickness of the parent blob. Maxima along these thinned tree grous are found, and used as individual tree locations within the tree group. Magnitudes of the local maxima are used to scale the radii of the tree objects. Grossly overlapping trees are culled based on a comparison of tree-tree distance to combined radii. Tree color is randomly selected based on the distribution of sample tree pixels, and height is estimated form tree radius. The final tree objects are then inserted into a terrain database which can be navigated by VGIS, a high-resolution global terrain visualization system developed at Georgia Tech.
Characterizing Sleep Issues Using Twitter.

PubMed

McIver, David J; Hawkins, Jared B; Chunara, Rumi; Chatterjee, Arnaub K; Bhandari, Aman; Fitzgerald, Timothy P; Jain, Sachin H; Brownstein, John S

2015-06-08

Sleep issues such as insomnia affect over 50 million Americans and can lead to serious health problems, including depression and obesity, and can increase risk of injury. Social media platforms such as Twitter offer exciting potential for their use in studying and identifying both diseases and social phenomenon. Our aim was to determine whether social media can be used as a method to conduct research focusing on sleep issues. Twitter posts were collected and curated to determine whether a user exhibited signs of sleep issues based on the presence of several keywords in tweets such as insomnia, "can't sleep", Ambien, and others. Users whose tweets contain any of the keywords were designated as having self-identified sleep issues (sleep group). Users who did not have self-identified sleep issues (non-sleep group) were selected from tweets that did not contain pre-defined words or phrases used as a proxy for sleep issues. User data such as number of tweets, friends, followers, and location were collected, as well as the time and date of tweets. Additionally, the sentiment of each tweet and average sentiment of each user were determined to investigate differences between non-sleep and sleep groups. It was found that sleep group users were significantly less active on Twitter (P=.04), had fewer friends (P<.001), and fewer followers (P<.001) compared to others, after adjusting for the length of time each user's account has been active. Sleep group users were more active during typical sleeping hours than others, which may suggest they were having difficulty sleeping. Sleep group users also had significantly lower sentiment in their tweets (P<.001), indicating a possible relationship between sleep and pyschosocial issues. We have demonstrated a novel method for studying sleep issues that allows for fast, cost-effective, and customizable data to be gathered.
Identity-Based Authentication for Cloud Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hongwei; Dai, Yuanshun; Tian, Ling; Yang, Haomiao

Cloud computing is a recently developed new technology for complex systems with massive-scale services sharing among numerous users. Therefore, authentication of both users and services is a significant issue for the trust and security of the cloud computing. SSL Authentication Protocol (SAP), once applied in cloud computing, will become so complicated that users will undergo a heavily loaded point both in computation and communication. This paper, based on the identity-based hierarchical model for cloud computing (IBHMCC) and its corresponding encryption and signature schemes, presented a new identity-based authentication protocol for cloud computing and services. Through simulation testing, it is shown that the authentication protocol is more lightweight and efficient than SAP, specially the more lightweight user side. Such merit of our model with great scalability is very suited to the massive-scale cloud.
Internet-based support for the production of holographic stereograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gustafsson, Jonny

1998-03-01

Holographic hard-copy techniques suffers from a lack of availability for ordinary users of computer graphics. The production of holograms usually requires special skills as well as expensive equipment which means that the direct production cost will be high for an ordinary user with little or no knowledge in holography. Here it is shown how a system may be created in which the users of computer graphics can do all communication with a holography studio through a Java-based web browser. This system will facilitate for the user to understand the technique of holographic stereograms, make decisions about angles, views, lighting etc., previsualizing the end result, as well as automatically submit the 3D-data to the producer of the hologram. A prototype system has been built which uses internal scripting in VRML.
Motivation, expectations, and usability of a driven gait orthosis in stroke patients and their therapists.

PubMed

Swinnen, Eva; Lefeber, Nina; Willaert, Ward; De Neef, Fallon; Bruyndonckx, Lyn; Spooren, Annemie; Michielsen, Marc; Ramon, Tine; Kerckhofs, Eric

2017-05-01

In the development of efficacious driven gait orthoses (DGO), it is an added value to consider patients' and therapists' perspectives concerning robot-assisted gait training (RAGT). A better understanding of these issues may improve the process of care and outcome. This study aimed to examine stroke patients' motivation and expectations of RAGT, and therapists' expectations and perspectives on the usability of RAGT. Additionally, the differences in expectations between stroke patients and their therapists were analyzed. A cross sectional, multi-center, three-group trial was conducted. Included were (1) stroke patients who have experience with RAGT (i.e. the stroke user group), (2) stroke patients who have no experience with RAGT (i.e. the stroke non-user group), and (3) therapists who have experience with RAGT (i.e. the therapist user group). The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ), and Usefulness, Satisfaction and Ease of Use Questionnaire (USE) were used. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted. In total, 46 subjects were assessed (stroke user group: n = 23, stroke non-user group: n = 14, therapist user group: n = 9). IMI subscale scores ranged from 42 to 88%. Mean credibility and expectancy ranged from 80 to 85% and 57 to 72%, respectively, with no significant differences between groups. USE subscale scores ranged from 61 to 72%. Stroke user group patients seem quite motivated to train with the DGO and both patients and therapists reasonably believe that this training could improve gait functioning. Therapists are moderately satisfied with the usability of the DGO, but there is room for improvement with respect to usefulness and ease of use.
Marathon Group Therapy with Former Drug Users.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Richard C.; Mannion, John

1980-01-01

Discusses the effects of marathon group therapy on attitudes of former drug users in a residential drug treatment center. Experimental group members responded higher on the group counseling evaluative subscale and lower on the guilt evaluative subscale than control members. (Author)
Customer satisfaction at US Army Corps of Engineers-administered lakes: a compilation of two years of performance data

Treesearch

Robert C. Burns; Alan R. Graefe; John P. Titre

1998-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the application of a model which can be used to predict the overall customer satisfaction levels of water-based recreationists. Data were collected from two distinctly different user groups; boat ramp users and campground users. Results indicated that each user group had different satisfaction attributes that impacted their...
Multidisciplinary approach to successful implementation of production information system (PRISM)

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

Shariff, M.R.; Gopalakrishnan, S.G.; Francis, N.

1995-12-31

A company wide corporate and regional production database supporting all production areas was envisaged critical to the current expansion within Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB). A multi disciplinary project team was thus formed to analyze the requirements prior to developing, testing, implementing and training users. PCSB has currently evolved into a mature E & P company on par with other E & P companies within the region. This expansion necessitates a common Production Information System for the efficient dissemination of vital Production Information for Production Surveillance, Reservoir Management, Reserve Assessment, Special Studies and Standardized Group-wide Reporting. This paper will discussmore » all the phases involved in the project which includes Systems Requirement Study, Data Migration, System Development, System Implementation and Post-Implementation Plan.« less
Quality metric for spherical panoramic video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharchenko, Vladyslav; Choi, Kwang Pyo; Park, Jeong Hoon

2016-09-01

Virtual reality (VR)/ augmented reality (AR) applications allow users to view artificial content of a surrounding space simulating presence effect with a help of special applications or devices. Synthetic contents production is well known process form computer graphics domain and pipeline has been already fixed in the industry. However emerging multimedia formats for immersive entertainment applications such as free-viewpoint television (FTV) or spherical panoramic video require different approaches in content management and quality assessment. The international standardization on FTV has been promoted by MPEG. This paper is dedicated to discussion of immersive media distribution format and quality estimation process. Accuracy and reliability of the proposed objective quality estimation method had been verified with spherical panoramic images demonstrating good correlation results with subjective quality estimation held by a group of experts.
A Case-Control Study of Oral Epithelial Proliferative Markers among Sudanese Toombak Dippers Using Micronuclei Assay, Argyrophilic Nucleolar Organizer Region, Papanicolaou and Crystal Violet Methods

PubMed Central

Anass, M. Abbas; G. Ahmed, Hussain

2013-01-01

The use of Toombak has been reported to play a major role in the etiology of oral cancer in Sudan. The cellular proliferative activity on the oral epithelium of 210 Toombak dippers was assessed by applying the micronuclei frequency, mean argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) counts, Papanicolaou method, and 1% crystal violet stain. Participants were divided into 3 groups: 200 were apparently healthy individuals, 100 were Toombak users (cases), 100 were non-tobacco users (control) and 10 were patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas. Cytological atypia was identified among 4 (4%). Toombak users and was not found among the control group (P<0.04). The micronuclei frequencies were higher in Toombak users (1.026) than in the control group (0.356) (P<0.0001). The mean AgNOR counts in Toombak users (2.423) were higher than control group (1.303) (P<0.0001). Neither Toombak users nor control group showed mitotic figures in 1% crystal violet method. The results of this research showed that Toombak dipping is a high risk factor for increase in the cellular proliferation in the oral mucosa. The cytological proliferative marker methods used are useful for screening Toombak users. PMID:24179643
Comparison of seating, powered characteristics and functions and costs of electrically powered wheelchairs in a general population of users.

PubMed

Dolan, Michael John; Bolton, Megan Jennifer; Henderson, Graham Iain

2017-10-26

To profile and compare the seating and powered characteristics and functions of electrically powered wheelchairs (EPWs) in a general user population including equipment costs. Case notes of adult EPW users of a regional NHS service were reviewed retrospectively. Seating equipment complexity and type were categorized using the Edinburgh classification. Powered characteristics and functions, including control device type, were recorded. 482 cases were included; 53.9% female; mean duration EPW use 8.1 years (SD 7.4); rear wheel drive 88.0%; hand joystick 94.8%. Seating complexity: low 73.2%, medium 18.0%, high 8.7%. Most prevalent diagnoses: multiple sclerosis (MS) 25.3%, cerebral palsy (CP) 18.7%, muscular dystrophy (8.5%). Compared to CP users, MS users were significantly older at first use, less experienced, more likely to have mid-wheel drive and less complex seating. Additional costs for muscular dystrophy and spinal cord injury users were 3-4 times stroke users. This is the first large study of a general EPW user population using a seating classification. Significant differences were found between diagnostic groups; nevertheless, there was also high diversity within each group. The differences in provision and the equipment costs across diagnostic groups can be used to improve service planning. Implications for Rehabilitation At a service planning level, knowledge of a population's diagnostic group and age distribution can be used to inform decisions about the number of required EPWs and equipment costs. At a user level, purchasing decisions about powered characteristics and functions of EPWs and specialised seating equipment need to be taken on a case by case basis because of the diversity of users' needs within diagnostic groups. The additional equipment costs for SCI and MD users are several times those of stroke users and add between 60 and 70% of the cost of basic provision.
Perinatal Outcomes in Pregnant Women Users of Illegal Drugs.

PubMed

Oliveira, Tenilson Amaral; Bersusa, Ana Aparecida Sanches; Santos, Tatiana Fiorelli Dos; Aquino, Márcia Maria Auxiliadora de; Mariani Neto, Corintio

2016-04-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perinatal outcomes in pregnant women who use illicit drugs. Methods A retrospective observational study of patients who, at the time of delivery, were sent to or who spontaneously sought a public maternity hospital in the eastern area of São Paulo city. We compared the perinatal outcomes of two distinct groups of pregnant women - illicit drugs users and non-users - that gave birth in the same period and analyzed the obstetric and neonatal variables. We used Student's t-test to calculate the averages among the groups, and the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test to compare categorical data from each group. Results We analyzed 166 women (83 users and 83 non-users) in both groups with a mean of age of 26 years. Ninety-five percent of the drug users would use crack or pure cocaine alone or associated with other psychoactive substances during pregnancy. Approximately half of the users group made no prenatal visit, compared with 2.4% in the non-users group (p < 0.001). Low birth weight (2,620 g versus 3,333 g on average, p < 0.001) and maternal syphilis (15.7% versus 0%, p < 0.001) were associated with the use of these illicit drugs. Conclusions The use of illicit drugs, mainly crack cocaine, represents an important perinatal risk. Any medical intervention in this population should combine adherence to prenatal care with strategies for reducing maternal exposure to illicit drugs. Thieme Publicações Ltda Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Local anesthetic use in tumescent liposuction: an American Society of Plastic Surgeons survey.

PubMed

Paik, Angie M; Daniali, Lily N; Lee, Edward S; Hsia, Henry C

2015-02-01

Current guidelines favor the use of lidocaine in liposuction wetting solutions. The use of bupivacaine as an alternative remains controversial despite reports of its use with safe and favorable outcomes suggesting faster postoperative recovery time secondary to improved pain control. The goals of this study were to determine the prevalence of bupivacaine use, examine liposuction practices of bupivacaine users, and elucidate opinions regarding bupivacaine use. An online survey was distributed to 2500 randomly selected members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Data were collected and analyzed with special attention toward the practice and opinions of bupivacaine use. The response rate of the survey met the average American Society of Plastic Surgeons online survey response rate at 12.8% (n=320). Respondents (7.2%; n=22) reported using bupivacaine in their wetting solutions (bupivacaine group) and provided a dosage range of 62.5 to 150 mg. Respondents (83.5%; n=254) reported using either lidocaine or prilocaine (no-bupivacaine group). There were no reports of bupivacaine toxicity in 2011. The demographic profile and liposuction practices of both groups were comparable. Although 36% of the no-bupivacaine group did not know or had no opinion on when it is appropriate to use bupivacaine in liposuction wetting solutions, 85% of this group has used bupivacaine for other clinical purposes. A review of 320 plastic surgeons' experiences revealed that 7% of respondents are using bupivacaine in their tumescent solutions with no reported cases of toxicity. Bupivacaine users differed dramatically only in their opinion regarding the safety of bupivacaine in tumescent liposuction. The recent studies suggesting better postoperative pain control with bupivacaine along with the proportion of respondents reporting bupivacaine use call for distinct guidelines on bupivacaine use in liposuction. Further studies, including a rigorous clinical trial documenting the safety and efficacy of bupivacaine when compared with lidocaine, would be warranted.
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davis, James J.; Brettin, Thomas; Dietrich, Emily M.

Here, the Pathosystems Resource Integration Center (PATRIC) is the bacterial Bioinformatics Resource Center. Recent changes to PATRIC include a redesign of the web interface and some new services that provide users with a platform that takes them from raw reads to an integrated analysis experience. The redesigned interface allows researchers direct access to tools and data, and the emphasis has changed to user-created genome-groups, with detailed summaries and views of the data that researchers have selected. Perhaps the biggest change has been the enhanced capability for researchers to analyze their private data and compare it to the available public data.more » Researchers can assemble their raw sequence reads and annotate the contigs using RASTtk. PATRIC also provides services for RNA-Seq, variation, model reconstruction and differential expression analysis, all delivered through an updated private workspace. Private data can be compared by `virtual integration' to any of PATRIC's public data. The number of genomes available for comparison in PATRIC has expanded to over 80 000, with a special emphasis on genomes with antimicrobial resistance data. PATRIC uses this data to improve both subsystem annotation and k-mer classification, and tags new genomes as having signatures that indicate susceptibility or resistance to specific antibiotics.« less
Exploring the Psychosocial Impact of Wheelchair and Contextual Factors on Quality of Life of People with Neuromuscular Disorders.

PubMed

Pousada García, Thais; Groba González, Betania; Nieto Rivero, Laura; Pereira Loureiro, Javier; Díez Villoria, Emiliano; Pazos Sierra, Alejandro

2015-01-01

Neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) are a group of heterogeneous diseases that show differences in incidence, hereditary, etiology, prognosis, or functional impairments. Wheelchair use (manual or powered) is influenced by several factors, including personal and contextual factors, and comprehensive evaluation of their impact is required in order to optimize prescription and provision of wheelchairs. The authors therefore assessed the influence of wheelchair use on the quality of life (QoL) of 60 participants with NMD using the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS). The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and a specially developed questionnaire were used to obtain information about contextual factors and participants' activity profile of activities of the participants. The results showed that using a wheelchair has psychosocial benefits, with the main determinants of benefit being type of wheelchair (powered), non-ambulation ability, and independence in mobility. Ensuring a good match between user and assistive technology (AT; e.g., wheelchair), as well as the effectiveness of the particular device, will increase the likelihood that the user will adopt it and use it effectively in daily life. Clinical prescription of AT would be improved by making appropriate use of outcome measures.
On-line interactive virtual experiments on nanoscience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadar, Manuella; Ileana, Ioan; Hutanu, Constantin

2009-01-01

This paper is an overview on the next generation web which allows students to experience virtual experiments on nano science, physics devices, processes and processing equipment. Virtual reality is used to support a real university lab in which a student can experiment real lab sessions. The web material is presented in an intuitive and highly visual 3D form that is accessible to a diverse group of students. Such type of laboratory provides opportunities for professional and practical education for a wide range of users. The expensive equipment and apparatuses that build the experimental stage in a particular standard laboratory is used to create virtual educational research laboratories. Students learn how to prepare the apparatuses and facilities for the experiment. The online experiments metadata schema is the format for describing online experiments, much like the schema behind a library catalogue used to describe the books in a library. As an online experiment is a special kind of learning object, one specifies its schema as an extension to an established metadata schema for learning objects. The content of the courses, metainformation as well as readings and user data are saved on the server in a database as XML objects.
Meanings of well-being from the perspectives of youth recently diagnosed with psychosis.

PubMed

Lal, Shalini; Ungar, Michael; Malla, Ashok; Frankish, Jim; Suto, Melinda

2014-02-01

The phenomenon of well-being has attracted a surge of attention in mental health policy, clinical practice and research internationally. Yet, the definitions of well-being remain elusive, and there is limited understanding on its meanings from the perspectives of youth mental health service users. This study explored the meanings of well-being from the perspectives of youth mental health service users diagnosed with psychosis in the past 3 years. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews and participant-photography elicited focus groups with 17 youth recruited from an early intervention program for psychoses and a mental health program specializing in the delivery of psychiatric services to street youth. Analysis combined the methods of constructivist grounded theory and narrative inquiry. The findings illustrate five key themes in participants' conceptualizations of well-being: multidimensionality; active oriented states; social environment; identity; and normality. Dimensions of well-being identified in participants' accounts include: psychological, physical, emotional, moral/virtuous, financial/material, spiritual, and social aspects. Our heuristic framework for conceptualizing well-being, grounded in the narrative accounts of youth participants, can inform the future planning and design of interventions, research, and outcome measures pertaining to the well-being of youth recently diagnosed with psychosis.
A contribution to the validation of the Wii Balance Board for the assessment of standing balance.

PubMed

Pavan, Piero; Cardaioli, Matteo; Ferri, Ilaria; Gobbi, Erica; Carraro, Attilio

2015-01-01

Valid and reliable accessible measures of balance are required in a health-related fitness test battery, both in the general population and in groups with special needs. For this purpose, the capability of the Wii Balance Board (WBB) in evaluating standing balance was analysed and compared with a laboratory-graded force platform (FP). A 30-s double limb standing test with open and closed eyes was performed by 28 individuals (12 male and 16 female, mean age = 23.8, SD = ±2.7 years). A simple method of acquisition of the centre of pressure (CoP) over time was applied to compare WBB and FP simultaneously on the same signal. User-defined software was developed to obtain the CoP from WBB over time and the resulting related measures and graphical representations. The comparison of measures, such as sway path and maximum oscillations along the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral direction, obtained with the FP and the WBB shows that the latter, in conjunction with the user-defined developed software, can be appropriate, considering prescribed limits, and an easy-to-use tool for evaluating standing balance.

Case-oriented computer-based-training in radiology: concept, implementation and evaluation

PubMed Central

Dugas, Martin; Trumm, Christoph; Stäbler, Axel; Pander, Ernst; Hundt, Walter; Scheidler, Jurgen; Brüning, Roland; Helmberger, Thomas; Waggershauser, Tobias; Matzko, Matthias; Reiser, Maximillian

2001-01-01

Background Providing high-quality clinical cases is important for teaching radiology. We developed, implemented and evaluated a program for a university hospital to support this task. Methods The system was built with Intranet technology and connected to the Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). It contains cases for every user group from students to attendants and is structured according to the ACR-code (American College of Radiology) [2]. Each department member was given an individual account, could gather his teaching cases and put the completed cases into the common database. Results During 18 months 583 cases containing 4136 images involving all radiological techniques were compiled and 350 cases put into the common case repository. Workflow integration as well as individual interest influenced the personal efforts to participate but an increasing number of cases and minor modifications of the program improved user acceptance continuously. 101 students went through an evaluation which showed a high level of acceptance and a special interest in elaborate documentation. Conclusion Electronic access to reference cases for all department members anytime anywhere is feasible. Critical success factors are workflow integration, reliability, efficient retrieval strategies and incentives for case authoring. PMID:11686856
BaffleText: a Human Interactive Proof

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chew, Monica; Baird, Henry S.

2003-01-01

Internet services designed for human use are being abused by programs. We present a defense against such attacks in the form of a CAPTCHA (Completely Automatic Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) that exploits the difference in ability between humans and machines in reading images of text. CAPTCHAs are a special case of 'human interactive proofs,' a broad class of security protocols that allow people to identify themselves over networks as members of given groups. We point out vulnerabilities of reading-based CAPTCHAs to dictionary and computer-vision attacks. We also draw on the literature on the psychophysics of human reading, which suggests fresh defenses available to CAPTCHAs. Motivated by these considerations, we propose BaffleText, a CAPTCHA which uses non-English pronounceable words to defend against dictionary attacks, and Gestalt-motivated image-masking degradations to defend against image restoration attacks. Experiments on human subjects confirm the human legibility and user acceptance of BaffleText images. We have found an image-complexity measure that correlates well with user acceptance and assists in engineering the generation of challenges to fit the ability gap. Recent computer-vision attacks, run independently by Mori and Jitendra, suggest that BaffleText is stronger than two existing CAPTCHAs.
High fidelity nanopatterning of proteins onto well-defined surfaces through subtractive contact printing.

PubMed

García, José R; Singh, Ankur; García, Andrés J

2014-01-01

In the pursuit to develop enhanced technologies for cellular bioassays as well as understand single cell interactions with its underlying substrate, the field of biotechnology has extensively utilized lithographic techniques to spatially pattern proteins onto surfaces in user-defined geometries. Microcontact printing (μCP) remains an incredibly useful patterning method due to its inexpensive nature, scalability, and the lack of considerable use of specialized clean room equipment. However, as new technologies emerge that necessitate various nano-sized areas of deposited proteins, traditional μCP methods may not be able to supply users with the needed resolution size. Recently, our group developed a modified "subtractive μCP" method which still retains many of the benefits offered by conventional μCP. Using this technique, we have been able to reach resolution sizes of fibronectin as small as 250 nm in largely spaced arrays for cell culture. In this communication, we present a detailed description of our subtractive μCP procedure that expands on many of the little tips and tricks that together make this procedure an easy and effective method for controlling protein patterning. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Larger Gray Matter Volume in the Basal Ganglia of Heavy Cannabis Users Detected by Voxel-Based Morphometry and Subcortical Volumetric Analysis.

PubMed

Moreno-Alcázar, Ana; Gonzalvo, Begoña; Canales-Rodríguez, Erick J; Blanco, Laura; Bachiller, Diana; Romaguera, Anna; Monté-Rubio, Gemma C; Roncero, Carlos; McKenna, Peter J; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith

2018-01-01

Background: Structural imaging studies of cannabis users have found evidence of both cortical and subcortical volume reductions, especially in cannabinoid receptor-rich regions such as the hippocampus and amygdala. However, the findings have not been consistent. In the present study, we examined a sample of adult heavy cannabis users without other substance abuse to determine whether long-term use is associated with brain structural changes, especially in the subcortical regions. Method: We compared the gray matter volume of 14 long-term, heavy cannabis users with non-using controls. To provide robust findings, we conducted two separate studies using two different MRI techniques. Each study used the same sample of cannabis users and a different control group, respectively. Both control groups were independent of each other. First, whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to compare the cannabis users against 28 matched controls (HC1 group). Second, a volumetric analysis of subcortical regions was performed to assess differences between the cannabis users and a sample of 100 matched controls (HC2 group) obtained from a local database of healthy volunteers. Results: The VBM study revealed that, compared to the control group HC1, the cannabis users did not show cortical differences nor smaller volume in any subcortical structure but showed a cluster ( p < 0.001) of larger GM volume in the basal ganglia, involving the caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens, bilaterally. The subcortical volumetric analysis revealed that, compared to the control group HC2, the cannabis users showed significantly larger volumes in the putamen ( p = 0.001) and pallidum ( p = 0.0015). Subtle trends, only significant at the uncorrected level, were also found in the caudate ( p = 0.05) and nucleus accumbens ( p = 0.047). Conclusions: This study does not support previous findings of hippocampal and/or amygdala structural changes in long-term, heavy cannabis users. It does, however, provide evidence of basal ganglia volume increases.
Graph State-Based Quantum Group Authentication Scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Longxia; Peng, Xiaoqi; Shi, Jinjing; Guo, Ying

2017-02-01

Motivated by the elegant structure of the graph state, we design an ingenious quantum group authentication scheme, which is implemented by operating appropriate operations on the graph state and can solve the problem of multi-user authentication. Three entities, the group authentication server (GAS) as a verifier, multiple users as provers and the trusted third party Trent are included. GAS and Trent assist the multiple users in completing the authentication process, i.e., GAS is responsible for registering all the users while Trent prepares graph states. All the users, who request for authentication, encode their authentication keys on to the graph state by performing Pauli operators. It demonstrates that a novel authentication scheme can be achieved with the flexible use of graph state, which can synchronously authenticate a large number of users, meanwhile the provable security can be guaranteed definitely.
[E-learning and problem based learning integration in cardiology education].

PubMed

Gürpinar, Erol; Zayim, Neşe; Başarici, Ibrahim; Gündüz, Filiz; Asar, Mevlüt; Oğuz, Nurettin

2009-06-01

The aim of this study was to determine students' satisfaction with an e-learning environment which is developed to support classical problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education and its effect on academic achievement. In this cross-sectional study, students were provided with a web-based learning environment including learning materials related to objectives of the subject of PBL module, which could be used during independent study period. The study group comprised of all of the second year students (164 students) of Akdeniz University, Medical Faculty, during 2007-2008 education period. In order to gather data about students' satisfaction with learning environment, a questionnaire was administered to the students. Comparison of students' academic achievement was based on their performance score in PBL exam. Statistical analyses were performed using unpaired t test and Mann Whitney U test. Findings indicated that 72.6% of the students used e-learning practice. There is no statistically significant difference between mean PBL performance scores of users and non-users of e-learning practice (103.58 vs. 100.88) (t=-0.998, p=0.320). It is found that frequent users of e-learning application had statistically significant higher scores than non-frequent users (106.28 vs. 100.59) (t=-2.373, p=0.01). In addition, 72.6% of the students declared they were satisfied with the application. Our study demonstrated that the most of the students use e-learning application and are satisfied with it. In addition, it is observed that e-learning application positively affects the academic achievement of the students. This study gains special importance by providing contribution to limited literature in the area of instructional technology in PBL and Cardiology teaching.
Get People Talking: Sharing Tsunami Science Beyond the Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, S.; Jones, L.; Miller, K.; Wilson, R. I.; Bahng, B.; Borrero, J. C.; Brosnan, D. M.; Burkett, E. R.; Bwarie, J.; Campbell, N. M.; Geist, E. L.; Johnson, L.; Kirby, S. H.; Knight, W. R.; Long, K.; Lynett, P. J.; Nicolsky, D.; Oglesby, D. D.; Barberopoulou, A.; Perry, S. C.; Plumlee, G. S.; Porter, K.; Real, C. R.; Ritchie, L.; Ryan, K. J.; Suleimani, E.; Thio, H. K.; Titov, V. V.; Wein, A. M.; Whitmore, P.; Wood, N. J.

2016-12-01

The SAFRR Tsunami Scenario, a collaborative product between the USGS, NOAA, the California Geological Survey, Cal OES and other agencies and institutions, modeled the potential implications of a plausible tsunami caused by a hypothetical magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the Alaskan Peninsula. A multi-disciplinary team of researchers and practitioners looked at what such an event could mean to the coastal residents, visitors, infrastructure, economy, and environment in California. The intended users were those responsible for making mitigation decisions before and those who need to make rapid decisions during future tsunamis. The Tsunami Scenario process was evaluated by the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Center; it was the first time that a USGS scenario of that scale was formally and systematically evaluated by an external party. The scenario was published as a USGS Open-File Report (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1170/) and as a fact sheet. The report's website received over 1 million hits in the first year, demonstrating that the project received a great deal of attention. To make sure the information was accessible to the key users, we also held a series of regional workshops. These workshops brought together project scientists with emergency managers, maritime authorities, first responders, elected officials and staffers, the business sector, state agencies, local media, scientific partners, and special districts such as utilities. Each workshop had about 10 SAFRR project participants and an audience of about 40-100 potential users. The half-day workshops began with presentations on the scenario results and also included significant time for facilitated discussions to identify practical problems and propose solutions to mitigate the hazards. Two of the key lessons learned included: a) recognizing the value of having scenario developers personally present the scenario to user groups and b) stimulating dialogue among the practitioners to solve problems.
Feasibility and effectiveness of a combined individual and psychoeducational group intervention in psychiatric residential facilities: A controlled, non-randomized study.

PubMed

Magliano, Lorenza; Puviani, Marta; Rega, Sonia; Marchesini, Nadia; Rossetti, Marisa; Starace, Fabrizio

2016-01-30

This controlled, non-randomized study explored the feasibility of introducing a Combined Individual and Group Intervention (CIGI) for users with mental disorders in residential facilities, and tested whether users who received the CIGI had better functioning than users who received the Treatment-As-Usual (TAU), at two-year follow up. In the CIGI, a structured cognitivebehavioral approach called VADO (in English, Skills Assessment and Definition of Goals) was used to set specific goals with each user, while Falloon's psychoeducational treatment was applied with the users as a group. Thirty-one professionals attended a training course in CIGI, open to users' voluntary participation, and applied it for two years with all users living in 8 residential facilities of the Mental Health Department of Modena, Italy. In the same department, 5 other residential facilities providing TAU were used as controls. ANOVA for repeated measures showed a significant interaction effect between users' functioning at baseline and follow up assessments, and the intervention. In particular, change in global functioning was higher in the 55 CIGI users than in the 44 TAU users. These results suggest that CIGI can be successfully introduced in residential facilities and may be useful to improve functioning in users with severe mental disorders. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Lunar Quest in Second Life, Lunar Exploration Island, Phase II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ireton, F. M.; Day, B. H.; Mitchell, B.; Hsu, B. C.

2010-12-01

Linden Lab’s Second Life is a virtual 3D metaverse created by users. At any one time there may be 40,000-50,000 users on line. Users develop a persona and are seen on screen as a human figure or avatar. Avatars move through Second Life by walking, flying, or teleporting. Users form communities or groups of mutual interest such as music, computer graphics, and education. These groups communicate via e-mail, voice, and text within Second Life. Information on downloading the Second Life browser and joining can be found on the Second Life website: www.secondlife.com. This poster details Phase II in the development of Lunar Exploration Island (LEI) located in Second Life. Phase I LEI highlighted NASA’s LRO/LCROSS mission. Avatars enter LEI via teleportation arriving at a hall of flight housing interactive exhibits on the LRO/ LCROSS missions including 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 mission, both spacecraft’s instrument suites, and related EPO. Other lunar related activities such as My Moon and NLSI EPO programs. A special exhibit was designed for International Observe the Moon Night activities with links to websites for further information. The sim includes several sites for meetings, a conference stage to host talks, and a screen for viewing NASATV coverage of mission and other televised events. In Phase II exhibits are updated to reflect on-going lunar exploration highlights, discoveries, and future missions. A new section of LEI has been developed to showcase NASA’s Lunar Quest program. A new exhibit hall with Lunar Quest information has been designed and is being populated with Lunar Quest information, spacecraft models (LADEE is in place) and kiosks. A two stage interactive demonstration illustrates lunar phases with static and 3-D stations. As NASA’s Lunar Quest program matures further exhibits are planned. One proposal is to develop a teacher-training program to acquaint teachers with the Lunar Quest program and to provide resources.
Formation of an environmental restoration user group for radiological controls

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

Morris, R.L.

1993-12-31

An Environmental Restoration User Group for Radiological Controls will be proposed. Article 116 of the Radiological Control Manual encourages contractors to establish informal working associations that promote dialogue among similar facilities. Chem-Nuclear Geotech, Inc., is willing to initially organize and lead a users group to work on common problems, define standard methods, publish a Radiological Work Practices Handbook, and recommend regulatory changes to make environmental restoration programs more cost effective without compromising radiological control. A charter for the users group will be proposed. A questionnaire will be distributed to interested persons to assist in development of focus groups and agendamore » items for the first meeting. The first meeting is planned for May 25-26, 1993, in Grand Junction Colorado. All interested persons are welcome to attend.« less
Impaired arterial smooth muscle cell vasodilatory function in methamphetamine users.

PubMed

Nabaei, Ghaemeh; Oveisgharan, Shahram; Ghorbani, Askar; Fatehi, Farzad

2016-11-15

Methamphetamine use is a strong risk factor for stroke. This study was designed to evaluate arterial function and structure in methamphetamine users ultrasonographically. In a cross-sectional study, 20 methamphetamine users and 21 controls, aged between 20 and 40years, were enrolled. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) marker of early atherogenesis, flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) determinants of endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and nitroglycerine-mediated dilatation (NMD) independent marker of vasodilation were measured in two groups. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding demographic and metabolic characteristics. The mean (±SD) CCA-IMT in methamphetamine users was 0.58±0.09mm, versus 0.59±0.07mm in the controls (p=0.84). Likewise, FMD% was not significantly different between the two groups [7.6±6.1% in methamphetamine users vs. 8.2±5.1% in the controls; p=0.72], nor were peak flow and shear rate after hyperemia. However, NMD% was considerably decreased in the methamphetamine users [8.5±7.8% in methamphetamine users vs. 13.4±6.2% in controls; p=0.03]. According to our results, NMD is reduced among otherwise healthy methamphetamine users, which represents smooth muscle dysfunction in this group. This may contribute to the high risk of stroke among methamphetamine users. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Crucial design issues for special access technology; a Delphi study.

PubMed

O'Rourke, Pearl; Ekins, Ray; Timmins, Bernard; Timmins, Fiona; Long, Siobhan; Coyle, Eugene

2014-01-01

To develop and demonstrate a method to involve professional users of assistive technology (AT) in the development process of customisable products. Employing the ideas of user participation and mass customisation, this research addresses the need for reduced product costs and optimised product flexibility. An adaptable six-question Delphi study was developed to establish consensus among AT professionals on design issues relating to a specified AT domain requiring innovation. The study is demonstrated for the special access technology (SAT) domain. A modified morphological matrix structures the application of the study results to the product design process. Fourteen professionals from the Republic of Ireland and the UK participated. Consensus was reached on prevalent parts of SAT that malfunction, primary reasons for SAT malfunction, characteristics of clients associated with SAT selection, client needs regarding SAT use and training, desirable traits of SAT and clinicians' frustrations with SAT. The study revealed a range of problems related to SAT, highlighting the complexities of successful SAT adoption. The questions led to differentiated insights and enabled design solution conceptualisation from various perspectives. The approach was found to help facilitate efficient generation and application of professional users' knowledge during the design process of customisable AT.
Family-Based Intervention Program for Parents of Substance-Abusing Youth and Adolescents

PubMed Central

Bisetto Pons, David; González Barrón, Remedios

2016-01-01

The use of drugs among adolescents/youth often results in a high degree of distress for the family members who live with them. This in turn can lead to a deterioration of mental (psychological) health, hindering any attempt to successfully cope with the situation. The goal of our research was to study the effect of the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) program on parents of adolescents/young adult drug users. Study volunteers (n = 50) were parents from Valencia (Spain) that were divided into two groups. The experimental group (n = 25) was made up of parents whose sons and daughters exhibited problems with drug use and the constructed noncausal baseline group (n = 25) was made up of parents whose sons and daughters did not show any substance abuse problems. For both groups, self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), depression (BDI-II), anxiety (STAI), and anger (STAXI-II) were evaluated before and after the application of the CRAFT program. Results show a significant improvement in the experimental group's self-esteem, depression, and anger state and a decrease in negative moods. These changes in parents produce a positive effect on their substance-using sons and daughters: of the 25 participants, 15 contacted specialized addiction treatment resources for the first time. PMID:27800208
Special cases of AIRS v4.0.x retrievals: missing forecast surface pressure and regression-only retrieval

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hearty, Thomas; Manning, Evan

2005-01-01

This memo examines the differences that can be expected when performing two special cases of retrievals with the v.4.0.x PGE: (1) retrivals without the surface pressure from the NOAA Global Forecast System (GFS) and (2) regression only retrievals. An understanding of these differences is important for users who may want to give up some accuracy in the retrieval in exchange for a rapid solution.
The Get Away Special Program: Year 2000 and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, David A.

1999-01-01

The Get Away Special (GAS) Program flew its first payload in 1982. Since then, 157 payloads have flown on the STS. As the GAS program approaches the new millennium, interest in flying the low-cost access to space continues. Many changes are in store, or are already underway, that will impact the GAS user community in the coming years. This presentation will briefly outline some of those changes and other external impacts to the GAS Program.
Computers for the Disabled.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazzaro, Joseph J.

1993-01-01

Describes adaptive technology for personal computers that accommodate disabled users and may require special equipment including hardware, memory, expansion slots, and ports. Highlights include vision aids, including speech synthesizers, magnification, braille, and optical character recognition (OCR); hearing adaptations; motor-impaired…
Viva la Evolucion!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haro, Robert P.

1979-01-01

Developments in library services to Hispanic Americans include special collection development and outreach services to non-users but change is coming too slowly for America's fastest growing minority. Professional education has responded slowly, if at all to the Hispanic population's needs. (MBR)
What NonScanner products are available?

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-12-08

... product. More information is available in the Edition3 Data Quality Summary, including a special website to obtain user-applied corrected ... algorithm. Because of these differences, it is best to work with these two data sets separately. ERBE/ERBS ...
Dependent seniors garment design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldas, A. L.; Carvalho, M. A.; Lopes, H. P.

2017-10-01

This paper is part of a PhD research in Textile Engineering at University of Minho and aims to establish an ergonomic pattern design methodology to be used in the construction of garments for elderly women, aged 65 and over, dependent of care. The research was developed with a close contact with four institutions involved in supporting this aged population, located in the cities of Guimarães (Portugal) and Teresina (Brazil). These clothes should be adequate to their anthropometrics and their special needs, in accordance with important functional factors for the dependency of their caregiver, such as: care for the caregiver and comfort for the user. Questions regarding the functional properties of the materials, the pattern design process, trimmings and the assembling process of the garments are specially considered in the desired comfort levels, in order to provide an adequate handling by facilitating the dressing and undressing tasks, but also to assure the user the needed comfort in all its variables.
ShelXle: a Qt graphical user interface for SHELXL.

PubMed

Hübschle, Christian B; Sheldrick, George M; Dittrich, Birger

2011-12-01

ShelXle is a graphical user interface for SHELXL [Sheldrick, G. M. (2008). Acta Cryst. A64, 112-122], currently the most widely used program for small-molecule structure refinement. It combines an editor with syntax highlighting for the SHELXL-associated .ins (input) and .res (output) files with an interactive graphical display for visualization of a three-dimensional structure including the electron density (F(o)) and difference density (F(o)-F(c)) maps. Special features of ShelXle include intuitive atom (re-)naming, a strongly coupled editor, structure visualization in various mono and stereo modes, and a novel way of displaying disorder extending over special positions. ShelXle is completely compatible with all features of SHELXL and is written entirely in C++ using the Qt4 and FFTW libraries. It is available at no cost for Windows, Linux and Mac-OS X and as source code.

DEVA: An extensible ontology-based annotation model for visual document collections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jelmini, Carlo; Marchand-Maillet, Stephane

2003-01-01

The description of visual documents is a fundamental aspect of any efficient information management system, but the process of manually annotating large collections of documents is tedious and far from being perfect. The need for a generic and extensible annotation model therefore arises. In this paper, we present DEVA, an open, generic and expressive multimedia annotation framework. DEVA is an extension of the Dublin Core specification. The model can represent the semantic content of any visual document. It is described in the ontology language DAML+OIL and can easily be extended with external specialized ontologies, adapting the vocabulary to the given application domain. In parallel, we present the Magritte annotation tool, which is an early prototype that validates the DEVA features. Magritte allows to manually annotating image collections. It is designed with a modular and extensible architecture, which enables the user to dynamically adapt the user interface to specialized ontologies merged into DEVA.
An Empirical Examination of the Factors Affecting Collective Action, Social Capital, and Group Development in Third Sector Organizations: A Longitudinal Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Roderick L.

2008-01-01

User-centered design methodologies have gained increasing attention as a way to support the goals of small groups in a variety of use contexts. A central tenet of user-centered design is the direct participation of actual or potential users in the design process. As user participation becomes more prevalent, it becomes increasingly important to…
Enhancing Co-operation between Mainstream and Special Education. Thematic Group 9. Helios II Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, Middelfart (Denmark).

This booklet discusses mainstream and special education interaction through the experiences and conclusions of a working group of persons with disabilities, parents, administrators, mainstream teachers, teachers in special education, therapists, and professionals in special needs from 10 European countries. It focuses upon the special needs…
Foundation and Development of Local Trimble User Groups: Perspectives from the Beginning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, Brean W.

1996-01-01

Trimble Navigation was one of the original contractors building military grade GPS receivers and has been a dominant manufacturer in the civilian market. Two Trimble user groups have been formed. By participating in GPS user groups, members become more aware of GPS capabilities and opportunities, meet people with similar interests and needs, expand business opportunities, and provide Trimble with valuable information needed to engineer better GPS equipment.
Heavy consumption of dental services among Finnish adults.

PubMed

Nihtilä, A; Widström, E; Elonheimo, O

2010-12-01

To compare treatment of heavy and low users of dental services among adults in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in one of the biggest cities in Finland and to identify reasons for heavy use and to suggest improvements to care provision. All adults who attended the PDS in Espoo (pop. 227,500) in 2004 were allocated to a group (n = 3,173) who had made six or more dental visits and a comparison group (n = 22,820) who had three or fewer dental visits. The data were obtained from the patient register of the PDS. A sample of 320 patients was randomly selected from each group. Information on age, gender, number and types of visits, oral health status, treatment provided and fees paid was collected from treatment records. 10.5% of the adults were found to be heavy users and their treatment made up 31.6% of all adult dental visits. The proportion of men was greater among heavy users and the heavy users were on average 6.6 years older than the low users. The mean total treatment time for heavy users was 5.5 hours and 2.0 hours for low users. Heavy users had more untreated and treated caries and more periodontal pockets than low users. Restorative, endodontic and prosthetic treatment needs characterised the heavy user group, while the low users most often received restorative and periodontal treatment only. Our study indicates that complicated treatment needs of heavy users and lack of experience among the caregivers in dealing with them resulted in high numbers of dental visits for individual patients. The PDS should offer appropriate continuing education for its oral health care teams and organize a referral system offering specialist care for difficult endodontic, periodontal and prosthetic treatments.
Applied Research on Laparoscopic Simulator in the Resident Surgical Laparoscopic Operation Technical Training.

PubMed

Fu, Shangxi; Liu, Xiao; Zhou, Li; Zhou, Meisheng; Wang, Liming

2017-08-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate the effects of surgical laparoscopic operation course on laparoscopic operation skills after the simulated training for medical students with relatively objective results via data gained before and after the practice course of laparoscopic simulator of the resident standardized trainees. Experiment 1: 20 resident standardized trainees with no experience in laparoscopic surgery were included in the inexperienced group and finished simulated cholecystectomy according to simulator videos. Simulator data was collected (total operation time, path length, average speed of instrument movement, movement efficiency, number of perforations, the time cautery is applied without appropriate contact with adhesions, number of serious complications). Ten attending doctors were included in the experienced group and conducted the operation of simulated cholecystectomy directly. Data was collected with simulator. Data of two groups was compared. Experiment 2: Participants in inexperienced group were assigned to basic group (receiving 8 items of basic operation training) and special group (receiving 8 items of basic operation training and 4 items of specialized training), and 10 persons for each group. They received training course designed by us respectively. After training level had reached the expected target, simulated cholecystectomy was performed, and data was collected. Experimental data between basic group and special group was compared and then data between special group and experienced group was compared. Results of experiment 1 showed that there is significant difference between data in inexperienced group in which participants operated simulated cholecystectomy only according to instructors' teaching and operation video and data in experienced group. Result of experiment 2 suggested that, total operation time, number of perforations, number of serious complications, number of non-cauterized bleeding and the time cautery is applied without appropriate contact with adhesions in special group were all superior to those in basic group. There was no statistical difference on other data between special group and basic group. Comparing special group with experienced group, data of total operation time and the time cautery is applied without appropriate contact with adhesions in experienced group was superior to that in special group. There was no statistical difference on other data between special group and experienced group. Laparoscopic simulators are effective for surgical skills training. Basic courses could mainly improve operator's hand-eye coordination and perception of sense of the insertion depth for instruments. Specialized training courses could not only improve operator's familiarity with surgeries, but also reduce operation time and risk, and improve safety.
Effectiveness of a Brief Home-Based Social Work Motivational Intervention for Male Methamphetamine Users in Tehran: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Danaee-Far, Morteza; Maarefvand, Masoomeh; Rafiey, Hassan

2016-12-05

Methamphetamine, a highly addictive psychostimulant drug, is widely used by substance users who are not motivated to undergo treatment throughout the world, including Iran. This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief home-based social work motivational intervention (HSWMI) to encourage male methamphetamine users to participate in a treatment program. Fifty-six unmotivated male methamphetamine users participated in a randomized controlled trial. The case group received the HSWMI in addition to the usual consulting services in the clinic; the control group just received the usual consulting services. Data were collected 7 and 90 days after the intervention to evaluate participation and retention in a treatment program. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test. Drug users with a mean age of 32.55 years and mean duration of drug use of 7.73 years, participated in the case (n = 28) and control (n = 28) groups. The case group participated in treatment programs significantly more than the control group and the retention rate for the case group was significantly higher than for the control group. This brief HSWMI was effective to increase the motivation of methamphetamine users to participate and remain in treatment programs. This intervention can be implemented by social workers in substance use treatment centers.
Support for Quality Assurance in End-User Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klepper, Robert; McKenna, Edward G.

1989-01-01

Suggests an approach that organizations can take to provide centralized support services for quality assurance in end-user information systems, based on the experiences of a support group at Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. The functions of the support group include user education, software selection, and assistance in testing, implementation, and support…
[A pilot study of differences in behavioral and linguistic characteristics between Sina suicide microblog users and Sina microblog users without suicide idea].

PubMed

Guan, Li; Hao, Bibo; Liu, Tianli; Cheng, Qijin; Yip, Paul Siu Fai; Zhu, Tingshao

2015-05-01

To investigate how suicide microblog users in China "act" and "speak" differently from other microblog users without suicide idea. The suicide group consisted of 31 Chinese microblog users identified as suicide via online information provided by a Sina microblog user, and the control group consisted of 30 active microblog users without suicide idea screened by using suicide-related psychological scales. The differences in 10 microblog use behavioral characteristics and 88 linguistic characteristics between the suicide group and the control group were compared with normality test and rank sum test respectively. In the behavioral characteristics, the suicide group used hyperlinks and "@" less frequently than the control group [0.04 (0.04) vs. 0.06 (0.04), P=0.029; 0.60 (0.27) vs. 0.69 (0.18), P=0.028], and was more self-focused [0.47 (0.25) vs. 0.30 (0.10), P=0.010]. In the linguistic characteristics, the suicide group showed less frequency in using measure word, work related word and apostrophe than the control group (P<0.05), and showed more frequency in using pronoun, personal pronoun, third person singular, non-specific pronoun, word expressing social experience, word expressing anxiety, word expressing exclusion, sexual word, religious word, second person singular, human being related word, negative emotion related word, anger related word, sadness or death related word (P<0.05). Suicides seemed to interact less with others, showed more self-concern and more negative expressions, use more cognitively exclusive, death-related, religion-related words, and use less work-related words. The results of this study might be helpful for the research on suicide among netizen.
Literature concerning control and display technology applicable to the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A review is presented of the literature concerning control and display technology that is applicable to the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV), a system being developed by NASA that will enable the user to remotely pilot it during a mission in space. In addition to the general review, special consideration is given to virtual image displays and their potential for use in the system, and a preliminary partial task analysis of the user's functions is also presented.
Lewis hybrid computing system, users manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruton, W. M.; Cwynar, D. S.

1979-01-01

The Lewis Research Center's Hybrid Simulation Lab contains a collection of analog, digital, and hybrid (combined analog and digital) computing equipment suitable for the dynamic simulation and analysis of complex systems. This report is intended as a guide to users of these computing systems. The report describes the available equipment' and outlines procedures for its use. Particular is given to the operation of the PACER 100 digital processor. System software to accomplish the usual digital tasks such as compiling, editing, etc. and Lewis-developed special purpose software are described.
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.
User interface concerns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Redhed, D. D.

1978-01-01

Three possible goals for the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Facility (NASF) are: (1) a computational fluid dynamics (as opposed to aerodynamics) algorithm development tool; (2) a specialized research laboratory facility for nearly intractable aerodynamics problems that industry encounters; and (3) a facility for industry to use in its normal aerodynamics design work that requires high computing rates. The central system issue for industry use of such a computer is the quality of the user interface as implemented in some kind of a front end to the vector processor.
HOPE: Just-in-time Python compiler for astrophysical computations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akeret, Joel; Gamper, Lukas; Amara, Adam; Refregier, Alexandre

2014-11-01

HOPE is a specialized Python just-in-time (JIT) compiler designed for numerical astrophysical applications. HOPE focuses on a subset of the language and is able to translate Python code into C++ while performing numerical optimization on mathematical expressions at runtime. To enable the JIT compilation, the user only needs to add a decorator to the function definition. By using HOPE, the user benefits from being able to write common numerical code in Python while getting the performance of compiled implementation.
The integration of a LANDSAT analysis capability with a geographic information system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nordstrand, E. A.

1981-01-01

The integration of LANDSAT data was achieved through the development of a flexible, compatible analysis tool and using an existing data base to select the usable data from a LANDSAT analysis. The software package allows manipulation of grid cell data plus the flexibility to allow the user to include FORTRAN statements for special functions. Using this combination of capabilities the user can classify a LANDSAT image and then selectivity merge the results with other data that may exist for the study area.
Exploring online communication about cigarette smoking among Twitter users who self-identify as having schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Hswen, Yulin; Naslund, John A.; Chandrashekar, Pooja; Siegel, Robert; Brownstein, John S.; Hawkins, Jared B.

2018-01-01

Novel approaches are needed to address elevated tobacco use among people with schizophrenia. This exploratory study examined the frequency, timing, and type of communication about tobacco-related content on Twitter among users who self-identify as having schizophrenia compared with users from the general population. Over a 200-day period from January to July 2016, Twitter users who self-identify as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 203) and a randomly selected group of general population control users (n = 173) posted 1,544,122 tweets. Communication frequency did not differ between groups. Tweets containing tobacco-related keywords were extracted. Twitter users with schizophrenia posted significantly more tweets containing any tobacco-related terms (mean = 3.74; SD = 16.3) compared with control users (mean = 0.82; SD = 1.8). A significantly greater proportion of Twitter users with schizophrenia (45%; n = 92) posted tweets containing any tobacco terms compared with control users (30%; n = 52). Schizophrenia users showed significantly greater odds of tweeting about tobacco compared with control users (OR = 1.99; 95% CI 1.29–3.07). These findings suggest that online communication about tobacco may parallel real world trends of elevated tobacco use observed among people with schizophrenia. By showing that Twitter users who self-identify as having schizophrenia discuss tobacco-related content online, popular social media could inform smoking cessation efforts targeting this at-risk group. PMID:28841509
Multicentre evaluation of music perception in adult users of Advanced Bionics cochlear implants.

PubMed

Adams, Doris; Ajimsha, Khalid Mohamed; Barberá, Manuel Tomás; Gazibegovic, Dzemal; Gisbert, Javier; Gómez, Justo; Raveh, Eyal; Rocca, Christine; Romanet, Philipe; Seebens, Yvonne; Zarowski, Andrzej

2014-01-01

To document musical listening and enjoyment in recipients of Advanced Bionics cochlear implants (CIs) and to compare musical perception in those using early coding strategies with subjects using the newer HiRes and HiRes 120 strategies. A questionnaire was completed by 136 adult subjects, including questions on the ability to identify specific musical features. The subjects were in three groups: those using early coding strategies (n = 29), HiRes (n = 59), and HiRes 120 (n = 48), and results were compared with a group of 84 normally hearing (NH) subjects. Of the CI users, 79% reported listening to music. The NH group rated listening frequency and enjoyment higher than the CI users. Thirty-five users reported that they sang and this group had significantly higher overall performance. There were no significant differences in overall perception of specific musical features among the strategy groups, though some individual questions showed significantly higher performance in the HiRes 120 users. Users of current CI technology show a high level of musical appreciation, though still significantly less than NH subjects. Frequency of listening and enjoyment were significantly correlated and active participation in musical activities, specifically singing, resulted in significantly higher overall performance scores.
The Influences of Landscape Features on Visitation of Hospital Green Spaces-A Choice Experiment Approach.

PubMed

Chang, Kaowen Grace; Chien, Hungju

2017-07-05

Studies have suggested that visiting and viewing landscaping at hospitals accelerates patient's recovery from surgery and help staff's recovery from mental fatigue. To plan and construct such landscapes, we need to unravel landscape features desirable to different groups so that the space can benefit a wide range of hospital users. Using discrete choice modeling, we developed experimental choice sets to investigate how landscape features influence the visitations of different users in a large regional hospital in Taiwan. The empirical survey provides quantitative estimates of the influence of each landscape feature on four user groups, including patients, caregivers, staff, and neighborhood residents. Our findings suggest that different types of features promote visits from specific user groups. Landscape features facilitating physical activities effectively encourage visits across user groups especially for caregivers and staff. Patients in this study specify a strong need for contact with nature. The nearby community favors the features designed for children's play and family activities. People across user groups value the features that provide a mitigated microclimate of comfort, such as a shelter. Study implications and limitations are also discussed. Our study provides information essential for creating a better healing environment in a hospital setting.
Evidence-based health information from the users' perspective--a qualitative analysis.

PubMed

Hirschberg, Irene; Seidel, Gabriele; Strech, Daniel; Bastian, Hilda; Dierks, Marie-Luise

2013-10-10

Evidence-based information is a precondition for informed decision-making and participation in health. There are several recommendations and definitions available on the generation and assessment of so called evidence-based health information for patients and consumers (EBHI). They stress the importance of objectively informing people about benefits and harms and any uncertainties in health-related procedures. There are also studies on the comprehensibility, relevance and user-friendliness of these informational materials. But to date there has been little research on the perceptions and cognitive reactions of users or lay people towards EBHI. The aim of our study is to define the spectrum of consumers' reaction patterns to written EBHI in order to gain a deeper understanding of their comprehension and assumptions, as well as their informational needs and expectations. This study is based on an external user evaluation of EBHI produced by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), commissioned by the IQWiG. The EBHI were examined within guided group discussions, carried out with lay people. The test readers' first impressions and their appraisal of the informational content, presentation, structure, comprehensibility and effect were gathered. Then a qualitative text analysis of 25 discussion transcripts involving 94 test readers was performed. Based on the qualitative text analysis a framework for reaction patterns was developed, comprising eight main categories: (i) interest, (ii) satisfaction, (iii) reassurance and trust, (iv) activation, (v) disinterest, (vi) dissatisfaction and disappointment, (vii) anxiety and worry, (viii) doubt. Many lay people are unfamiliar with core characteristics of this special information type. Two particularly critical issues are the description of insufficient evidence and the attendant absence of clear-cut recommendations. Further research is needed to examine strategies to explain the specific character of EBHI so as to minimize unintended or adverse reaction patterns. The presented framework describes the spectrum of users' reaction patterns to EBHI. It may support existing best practice models for editing EBHI.
Chemical and mineralogical data and processing methods management system prototype with application to study of the North Caucasus Blybsky Metamorphic Complexes metamorphism PT-condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, Stanislav; Kamzolkin, Vladimir; Konilov, Aleksandr; Aleshin, Igor

2014-05-01

There are many various methods of assessing the conditions of rocks formation based on determining the composition of the constituent minerals. Our objective was to create a universal tool for processing mineral's chemical analysis results and solving geothermobarometry problems by creating a database of existing sensors and providing a user-friendly standard interface. Similar computer assisted tools are based upon large collection of sensors (geothermometers and geobarometers) are known, for example, the project TPF (Konilov A.N., 1999) - text-based sensor collection tool written in PASCAL. The application contained more than 350 different sensors and has been used widely in petrochemical studies (see A.N. Konilov , A.A. Grafchikov, V.I. Fonarev 2010 for review). Our prototype uses the TPF project concept and is designed with modern application development techniques, which allows better flexibility. Main components of the designed system are 3 connected datasets: sensors collection (geothermometers, geobarometers, oxygen geobarometers, etc.), petrochemical data and modeling results. All data is maintained by special management and visualization tools and resides in sql database. System utilities allow user to import and export data in various file formats, edit records and plot graphs. Sensors database contains up to date collections of known methods. New sensors may be added by user. Measured database should be filled in by researcher. User friendly interface allows access to all available data and sensors, automates routine work, reduces the risk of common user mistakes and simplifies information exchange between research groups. We use prototype to evaluate peak pressure during the formation of garnet-amphibolite apoeclogites, gneisses and schists Blybsky metamorphic complex of the Front Range of the Northern Caucasus. In particular, our estimation of formation pressure range (18 ± 4 kbar) agrees on independent research results. The reported study was partially supported by RFBR, research project No. 14-05-00615.

Comparative Analysis of Tear Film Levels of Inflammatory Mediators in Contact Lens Users.

PubMed

Yüksel Elgin, Cansu; İskeleli, Güzin; Talaz, Serap; Akyol, Sibel

2016-04-01

To compare tear films levels of various inflammatory cytokines in asymptomatic contact lens (CL) users. CL users of rigid gas-permeable CLs (RGPCL) (group 1) or silicone hydrogel CLs (SiHCL) (group 2) were compared with non-CL-using healthy subjects (group 3). Tear samples were collected from subjects in each group after ensuring that there were no complications secondary to CL wear in the CL-wearing participants. Tear-film levels of interleukins (ILs)-1β, -6, and -8; granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (using the Luminex method); and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) (using the ELISA method) were determined. Cytokine levels were compared among the three groups using analysis-of-variance (ANOVA) and Kruskall-Wallis tests. There were significant differences in concentrations of IL-1β, GM-CSF and LTB4 among the three groups (p = 0.002, p = 0.021 and p = 0.009, respectively), as shown by the Kruskall-Wallis test comparing all three groups for the three cytokines. There were no significant differences for IL-6 and IL-8 (p = 0.079 and 0.094, respectively) when all three groups were compared. There were substantial statistically significant differences between RGPCL users, SiHCL users and control subjects in levels of tear film cytokines. Although CL users were asymptomatic, changes in tear-film levels of several important inflammatory mediators revealed that a chronic inflammatory process occurs during CL wear.
Exploring the influence of service user involvement on health and social care services for cancer.

PubMed

Attree, Pamela; Morris, Sara; Payne, Sheila; Vaughan, Suzanne; Hinder, Susan

2011-03-01

Service user involvement in health and social care is a key policy driver in the UK. In cancer care it is central to developing services which are effective, responsive and accessible to patients. Cancer network partnership groups are set up to enable joint working between service users and health care professionals and to drive service improvements. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of the cancer network partnership groups' service user involvement activities on cancer care. This was a qualitative study involving documentary analysis and in-depth case studies of a sample of partnership groups. Five partnership groups were purposively selected as case studies from Macmillan regions across the UK; documents were collated from a further five groups. Forty people, including core group members and key stakeholders in cancer services, were interviewed. The evidence from this study suggests that cancer network partnership groups are at their most influential at 'grass roots' level - contributing to patient information resources, enhancing access to services, and improving care environments. While such improvements are undoubtedly important to patients, the groups' aim is to influence strategic changes, for example in cancer care commissioning or macro-level policy decision-making. The evolution of open, participatory relationships between service users and professionals, and recognition of the value of experiential knowledge are seen as key factors in influencing cancer care. The provision of dedicated resources to strengthen service user involvement activities is also vital. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Optimizing Search and Ranking in Folksonomy Systems by Exploiting Context Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abel, Fabian; Henze, Nicola; Krause, Daniel

Tagging systems enable users to annotate resources with freely chosen keywords. The evolving bunch of tag assignments is called folksonomy and there exist already some approaches that exploit folksonomies to improve resource retrieval. In this paper, we analyze and compare graph-based ranking algorithms: FolkRank and SocialPageRank. We enhance these algorithms by exploiting the context of tags, and evaluate the results on the GroupMe! dataset. In GroupMe!, users can organize and maintain arbitrary Web resources in self-defined groups. When users annotate resources in GroupMe!, this can be interpreted in context of a certain group. The grouping activity itself is easy for users to perform. However, it delivers valuable semantic information about resources and their context. We present GRank that uses the context information to improve and optimize the detection of relevant search results, and compare different strategies for ranking result lists in folksonomy systems.
Mindfulness impairments in individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders.

PubMed

Dakwar, Elias; Mariani, John P; Levin, Frances R

2011-05-01

Mindfulness training may be an effective treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). Little research has been done, however, on baseline levels of mindfulness in the substance using population. We investigated mindfulness levels using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in individuals presenting for substance use treatment, and compared polydrug vs. monodrug users, as well as investigated for differences between groups based on substance used, predicting that group means would fall below the mean obtained from a large national adult sample, that the different drug groups would have comparable scores, and that the polydrug users would have a significantly lower score than do monodrug users. We found that the means of most drug groups were below the national mean, and that the polydrug users had a lower score on the MAAS than did monodrug users (4 vs. 3.6, p = 0.04). We were also surprised to find that opiate users had a significantly higher score (4.31) than did users of other substances (p = 0.02). These results suggest that mindfulness deficits may be common in the substance using population, that there may be sub-groups in which these deficits are more pronounced, and that they may be a suitable focus of SUD treatment. These findings lend support to the ongoing development of mindfulness-based treatments for SUDs, and suggest that particular sub-groups may benefit more than others. Future research can aim at clarifying these deficits, and at elucidating their clinical relevance.
A Selective Group Authentication Scheme for IoT-Based Medical Information System.

PubMed

Park, YoHan; Park, YoungHo

2017-04-01

The technology of IoT combined with medical systems is expected to support advanced medical services. However, unsolved security problems, such as misuse of medical devices, illegal access to the medical server and so on, make IoT-based medical systems not be applied widely. In addition, users have a high burden of computation to access Things for the explosive growth of IoT devices. Because medical information is critical and important, but users have a restricted computing power, IoT-based medical systems are required to provide secure and efficient authentication for users. In this paper, we propose a selective group authentication scheme using Shamir's threshold technique. The property of selectivity gives the right of choice to users to form a group which consists of things users select and access. And users can get an access authority for those Things at a time. Thus, our scheme provides an efficient user authentication for multiple Things and conditional access authority for safe IoT-based medical information system. To the best of our knowledge, our proposed scheme is the first in which selectivity is combined with group authentication in IoT environments.
Wheelchair accessibility to public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana.

PubMed

Yarfi, Cosmos; Ashigbi, Evans Y K; Nakua, Emmanuel K

2017-01-01

Accessibility implies making public places accessible to every individual, irrespective of his or her disability or special need, ensuring the integration of the wheelchair user into the society and thereby granting them the capability of participating in activities of daily living and ensuring equality in daily life. This study was carried out to assess the accessibility of the physical infrastructures (public buildings) in the Kumasi metropolis to wheelchairs after the passage of the Ghanaian Disability Law (Act 716, 2006). Eighty-four public buildings housing education facilities, health facilities, ministries, departments and agencies, sports and recreation, religious groups and banks were assessed. The routes, entrances, height of steps, grade of ramps, sinks, entrance to washrooms, toilets, urinals, automated teller machines and tellers' counters were measured and computed. Out of a total of 84 buildings assessed, only 34 (40.5%) of the buildings, 52.3% of the entrances and 87.4% of the routes of the buildings were accessible to wheelchair users. A total of 25% (13 out of 52) of the public buildings with more than one floor were fitted with elevators to connect the different levels of floors. The results of this study show that public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis are not wheelchair accessible. An important observation made during this study was that there is an intention to improve accessibility when buildings are being constructed or renovated, but there are no laid down guidelines as how to make the buildings accessible for wheelchair users.
Medical device software: defining key terms.

PubMed

Pashkov, Vitalii; Gutorova, Nataliya; Harkusha, Andrii

one of the areas of significant growth in medical devices has been the role of software - as an integral component of a medical device, as a standalone device and more recently as applications on mobile devices. The risk related to a malfunction of the standalone software used within healthcare is in itself not a criterion for its qualification or not as a medical device. It is therefore, necessary to clarify some criteria for the qualification of stand-alone software as medical devices Materials and methods: Ukrainian, European Union, United States of America legislation, Guidelines developed by European Commission and Food and Drug Administration's, recommendations represented by international voluntary group and scientific works. This article is based on dialectical, comparative, analytic, synthetic and comprehensive research methods. the legal regulation of software which is used for medical purpose in Ukraine limited to one definition. In European Union and United States of America were developed and applying special guidelines that help developers, manufactures and end users to difference software on types standing on medical purpose criteria. Software becomes more and more incorporated into medical devices. Developers and manufacturers may not have initially appreciated potential risks to patients and users such situation could have dangerous results for patients or users. It is necessary to develop and adopt the legislation that will intend to define the criteria for the qualification of medical device software and the application of the classification criteria to such software, provide some illustrative examples and step by step recommendations to qualify software as medical device.
Wheelchair accessibility to public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana

PubMed Central

Ashigbi, Evans Y.K.

2017-01-01

Background Accessibility implies making public places accessible to every individual, irrespective of his or her disability or special need, ensuring the integration of the wheelchair user into the society and thereby granting them the capability of participating in activities of daily living and ensuring equality in daily life. Objective This study was carried out to assess the accessibility of the physical infrastructures (public buildings) in the Kumasi metropolis to wheelchairs after the passage of the Ghanaian Disability Law (Act 716, 2006). Methods Eighty-four public buildings housing education facilities, health facilities, ministries, departments and agencies, sports and recreation, religious groups and banks were assessed. The routes, entrances, height of steps, grade of ramps, sinks, entrance to washrooms, toilets, urinals, automated teller machines and tellers’ counters were measured and computed. Results Out of a total of 84 buildings assessed, only 34 (40.5%) of the buildings, 52.3% of the entrances and 87.4% of the routes of the buildings were accessible to wheelchair users. A total of 25% (13 out of 52) of the public buildings with more than one floor were fitted with elevators to connect the different levels of floors. Conclusion The results of this study show that public buildings in the Kumasi metropolis are not wheelchair accessible. An important observation made during this study was that there is an intention to improve accessibility when buildings are being constructed or renovated, but there are no laid down guidelines as how to make the buildings accessible for wheelchair users. PMID:29062761
Virtual in Real. Interactive Solutions for Learning and Communication in the National Archaeological Museum of Marche

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clini, P.; Nespeca, R.; Ruggeri, L.

2017-05-01

Today the ICTs are favourable additions to museum exhibitions. This work aims to realize an innovative system of digital exploitation of artefacts in the National Archaeological Museum of Marche (MANaM), in order to create a shared museum that will improve the knowledge of cultural contents through the paradigm "learning by interacting" and "edutainment". The main novelty is the implementation of stand-alone multimedia installations for digital artefacts that combine real and virtual scenarios in order to enrich the experience, the knowledge and the multi-sensory perception. A Digital Library (DL) is created using Close Range Photogrammetry (CRP) techniques applied to 21 archaeological artefacts belonging to different categories. Enriched with other data (texts, images, multimedia), all 3D models flow into the cloud data server from which are recalled in the individual exhibitions. In particular, we have chosen three types of technological solutions: VISUAL, TACTILE, SPATIAL. All the solutions take into account the possibility of group interaction, allowing the participation of the interaction to an appropriate number of users. Sharing the experience enables greater involvement, generating communicative effectiveness much higher than it would get from a lonely visit. From the "Museum Visitors Behaviour Analysis" we obtain a survey about users' needs and efficiency of the interactive solutions. The main result of this work is the educational impact in terms of increase in visitors, specially students, learning increase of historical and cultural content, greater user involvement during the visit to the museum.
GMove: Group-Level Mobility Modeling Using Geo-Tagged Social Media.

PubMed

Zhang, Chao; Zhang, Keyang; Yuan, Quan; Zhang, Luming; Hanratty, Tim; Han, Jiawei

2016-08-01

Understanding human mobility is of great importance to various applications, such as urban planning, traffic scheduling, and location prediction. While there has been fruitful research on modeling human mobility using tracking data ( e.g. , GPS traces), the recent growth of geo-tagged social media (GeoSM) brings new opportunities to this task because of its sheer size and multi-dimensional nature. Nevertheless, how to obtain quality mobility models from the highly sparse and complex GeoSM data remains a challenge that cannot be readily addressed by existing techniques. We propose GMove, a group-level mobility modeling method using GeoSM data. Our insight is that the GeoSM data usually contains multiple user groups, where the users within the same group share significant movement regularity. Meanwhile, user grouping and mobility modeling are two intertwined tasks: (1) better user grouping offers better within-group data consistency and thus leads to more reliable mobility models; and (2) better mobility models serve as useful guidance that helps infer the group a user belongs to. GMove thus alternates between user grouping and mobility modeling, and generates an ensemble of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to characterize group-level movement regularity. Furthermore, to reduce text sparsity of GeoSM data, GMove also features a text augmenter. The augmenter computes keyword correlations by examining their spatiotemporal distributions. With such correlations as auxiliary knowledge, it performs sampling-based augmentation to alleviate text sparsity and produce high-quality HMMs. Our extensive experiments on two real-life data sets demonstrate that GMove can effectively generate meaningful group-level mobility models. Moreover, with context-aware location prediction as an example application, we find that GMove significantly outperforms baseline mobility models in terms of prediction accuracy.
GMove: Group-Level Mobility Modeling Using Geo-Tagged Social Media

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chao; Zhang, Keyang; Yuan, Quan; Zhang, Luming; Hanratty, Tim; Han, Jiawei

2017-01-01

Understanding human mobility is of great importance to various applications, such as urban planning, traffic scheduling, and location prediction. While there has been fruitful research on modeling human mobility using tracking data (e.g., GPS traces), the recent growth of geo-tagged social media (GeoSM) brings new opportunities to this task because of its sheer size and multi-dimensional nature. Nevertheless, how to obtain quality mobility models from the highly sparse and complex GeoSM data remains a challenge that cannot be readily addressed by existing techniques. We propose GMove, a group-level mobility modeling method using GeoSM data. Our insight is that the GeoSM data usually contains multiple user groups, where the users within the same group share significant movement regularity. Meanwhile, user grouping and mobility modeling are two intertwined tasks: (1) better user grouping offers better within-group data consistency and thus leads to more reliable mobility models; and (2) better mobility models serve as useful guidance that helps infer the group a user belongs to. GMove thus alternates between user grouping and mobility modeling, and generates an ensemble of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to characterize group-level movement regularity. Furthermore, to reduce text sparsity of GeoSM data, GMove also features a text augmenter. The augmenter computes keyword correlations by examining their spatiotemporal distributions. With such correlations as auxiliary knowledge, it performs sampling-based augmentation to alleviate text sparsity and produce high-quality HMMs. Our extensive experiments on two real-life data sets demonstrate that GMove can effectively generate meaningful group-level mobility models. Moreover, with context-aware location prediction as an example application, we find that GMove significantly outperforms baseline mobility models in terms of prediction accuracy. PMID:28163978
A Comparison of Mobile and Fixed Device Access on User Engagement Associated With Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Online Nutrition Education.

PubMed

Brusk, John J; Bensley, Robert J

2016-11-15

Online health education has expanded its reach due to cost-effective implementation and demonstrated effectiveness. However, a limitation exists with the evaluation of online health education implementations and how the impact of the system is attenuated by the extent to which a user engages with it. Moreover, the current online health education research does not consider how this engagement has been affected by the transition from fixed to mobile user access over the last decade. This paper focuses on comparing the impact mobile versus fixed devices have on user engagement key performance indicators (KPI) associated with the wichealth website (.org), an Internet-based parent-child feeding intervention offered to clients associated with the US Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Data were collected from 612,201 nutrition education lessons completed by 305,735 unique WIC participants in 21 states over a 1-year period. Data consisted of system-collected measures, profile items, and items from an exit survey administered at the conclusion of each lesson. User engagement was defined based on 3 KPIs associated with usage of the wichealth website: number of link views, link view time, and progression in stage of readiness to change. Independent samples t tests were used to compare KPIs between fixed only and mobile only device users and paired samples t tests were used to compare KPIs within users who completed at least one lesson each on both a fixed and mobile device. A logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of KPI performance thresholds in the independent samples study group given access device type while controlling for confounding of user characteristics associated with these KPIs. Analysis of 8 user characteristics (lessons completed, race, ethnicity, language, state of residence, pregnancy status, beginning stage of change, and preferred nutrition education method) were significantly (P<.001) related to various KPI differences between mobile and fixed device access. Non-mobile users were significantly (P<.001) more likely to engage based on all 3 KPIs, even after logistic regression control for the potential confounding related to the strongly associated user characteristics identified. The findings of this study support the idea that online health education developers need to seriously consider access device when creating programs. Online health education developers need to take extra effort to truly understand access patterns of populations being served, and whether or not access device will influence user engagement performance indicators. ©John J Brusk, Robert J Bensley. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 15.11.2016.
A Group Recommender System for Tourist Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, Inma; Sebastia, Laura; Onaindia, Eva; Guzman, Cesar

This paper introduces a method for giving recommendations of tourist activities to a group of users. This method makes recommendations based on the group tastes, their demographic classification and the places visited by the users in former trips. The group recommendation is computed from individual personal recommendations through the use of techniques such as aggregation, intersection or incremental intersection. This method is implemented as an extension of the e-Tourism tool, which is a user-adapted tourism and leisure application, whose main component is the Generalist Recommender System Kernel (GRSK), a domain-independent taxonomy-driven search engine that manages the group recommendation.
Sizing the cannabis market: a demand-side and user-specific approach in seven European countries.

PubMed

van Laar, Margriet; Frijns, Tom; Trautmann, Franz; Lombi, Linda

2013-06-01

Demand-based estimates of total cannabis consumption rarely consider differences among different user types and variation across countries. To describe cannabis consumption patterns and estimate annual consumption for different user types across EU Member States, a web survey in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom (England & Wales) collected data on cannabis use patterns from 3,922 persons who had consumed cannabis at least once in the past year. They were classified into four groups based on their number of use days in the past 12 months: infrequent users or chippers (<11 days), occasional users (11-50 days), regular users (51-250 days) and intensive users (>250 days). User type specific data on typical amounts consumed were matched with data on numbers of users per user type estimated from existing population surveys, taking differences in mode of consumption, age and gender into account. Estimates were supplemented with data from populations of problem users to compensate for under coverage. Results showed remarkably consistent differences among user groups across countries. Both the average number of units consumed per typical use day and the average amount of cannabis consumed per unit increased across user types of increasing frequency of use. In all countries except Portugal, intensive users formed the smallest group of cannabis users but were responsible for the largest part of total annual cannabis consumption. Annual cannabis consumption varied across countries but confidence intervals were wide. Results are compared with previous estimates and discussed in the context of improving estimation methods.
“Thanks for Letting Us All Share Your Mammogram Experience Virtually”: Developing a Web-Based Hub for Breast Cancer Screening

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

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

PubMed

Shin, Wonkyoung; Park, Minyong

2017-01-01

Background/Study Context: The increasing longevity and health of older users as well as aging populations has created the need to develop senior-oriented product interfaces. This study aims to find user interface (UI) priorities according to older user groups based on their lifestyle and develop quality of UI (QUI) models for large electronic home appliances and mobile products. A segmentation table designed to show how older users can be categorized was created through a review of the literature to survey 252 subjects with a questionnaire. Factor analysis was performed to extract six preliminary lifestyle factors, which were then used for subsequent cluster analysis. The analysis resulted in four groups. Cross-analysis was carried out to investigate which characteristics were included in the groups. Analysis of variance was then applied to investigate the differences in the UI priorities among the user groups for various electronic devices. Finally, QUI models were developed and applied to those electronic devices. Differences in UI priorities were found according to the four lifestyles ("money-oriented," "innovation-oriented," "stability- and simplicity-oriented," and "innovation- and intellectual-oriented"). Twelve QUI models were developed for four different lifestyle groups associated with different products. Three washers and three smartphones were used as an example for testing the QUI models. The UI differences of the older user groups by the segmentation in this study using several key (i.e., demographic, socioeconomic, and physical-cognitive) variables are distinct from earlier studies made by a single variable. The differences in responses clearly indicate the benefits of integrating various factors of older users, rather than single variable, in order to design and develop more innovative and better consumer products in the future. The results of this study showed that older users with a potentially high buying power in the future are likely to have higher satisfaction when selecting products customized for their lifestyle. Designers could also use the results of UI evaluation for older users based on their lifestyle before developing products through QUI modeling. This approach would save time and costs.
Executive function deficits in short-term abstinent cannabis users.

PubMed

McHale, Sue; Hunt, Nigel

2008-07-01

Few cognitive tasks are adequately sensitive to show the small decrements in performance in abstinent chronic cannabis users. In this series of three experiments we set out to demonstrate a variety of tasks that are sufficiently sensitive to show differences in visual memory, verbal memory, everyday memory and executive function between controls and cannabis users. A series of three studies explored cognitive function deficits in cannabis users (phonemic verbal fluency, visual recognition and immediate and delayed recall, and prospective memory) in short-term abstinent cannabis users. Participants were selected using snowball sampling, with cannabis users being compared to a standard control group and a tobacco-use control group. The cannabis users, compared to both control groups, had deficits on verbal fluency, visual recognition, delayed visual recall, and short- and long-interval prospective memory. There were no differences for immediate visual recall. These findings suggest that cannabis use leads to impaired executive function. Further research needs to explore the longer term impact of cannabis use. Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
75 FR 23848 - Special Medical Advisory Group; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-04

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Special Medical Advisory Group; Notice of Meeting The Department of... Special Medical Advisory Group will meet on May 14, 2010, in Room 830 at VA Central Office, 810 Vermont... the Group is to advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under Secretary for Health on the...
76 FR 58078 - Thirteenth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 214: Working Group 78: Standards for Air Traffic Data...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-19

... Committee 214: Working Group 78: Standards for Air Traffic Data Communication Services AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 214: Working Group 78... public of a meeting of the RTCA Special Committee 214: Working Group 78: Standards for Air Traffic Data...
Building Specialized Multilingual Lexical Graphs Using Community Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daoud, Mohammad; Boitet, Christian; Kageura, Kyo; Kitamoto, Asanobu; Mangeot, Mathieu; Daoud, Daoud

We are describing methods for compiling domain-dedicated multilingual terminological data from various resources. We focus on collecting data from online community users as a main source, therefore, our approach depends on acquiring contributions from volunteers (explicit approach), and it depends on analyzing users' behaviors to extract interesting patterns and facts (implicit approach). As a generic repository that can handle the collected multilingual terminological data, we are describing the concept of dedicated Multilingual Preterminological Graphs MPGs, and some automatic approaches for constructing them by analyzing the behavior of online community users. A Multilingual Preterminological Graph is a special lexical resource that contains massive amount of terms related to a special domain. We call it preterminological, because it is a raw material that can be used to build a standardized terminological repository. Building such a graph is difficult using traditional approaches, as it needs huge efforts by domain specialists and terminologists. In our approach, we build such a graph by analyzing the access log files of the website of the community, and by finding the important terms that have been used to search in that website, and their association with each other. We aim at making this graph as a seed repository so multilingual volunteers can contribute. We are experimenting this approach with the Digital Silk Road Project. We have used its access log files since its beginning in 2003, and obtained an initial graph of around 116000 terms. As an application, we used this graph to obtain a preterminological multilingual database that is serving a CLIR system for the DSR project.

Relationship of credit attitude and debt to self-esteem and locus of control in college-age consumers.

PubMed

Pinto, Mary Beth; Mansfield, Phylis M; Parente, Diane H

2004-06-01

College-age consumers are one of the groups most highly targeted by credit card marketers. While some college students use their credit cards wisely, others are unable to control their spending. The objective of this study was to investigate differences in attitude toward credit cards and the psychological factors of self-esteem and locus of control among college students who possess one or more credit cards. Attitude was operationalized to include three underlying components: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. We separated credit users into subcategories based on amount of installment debt. Convenience users were defined as those consumers who paid the credit-card balance in full each month. Installment users were classified as consumers who carried a balance month-to-month. Convenience users were compared to mild and heavy installment users to assess significance of differences in attitudinal and psychological factors. There were no significant differences in the psychological factors across the credit-card user groups. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference on each of the attitude components (knowledge/beliefs, affect, and behavior) across user groups; convenience users, mild installment, and heavy installment users.
A Greedy Double Auction Mechanism for Grid Resource Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Ding; Luo, Siwei; Gao, Zhan

To improve the resource utilization and satisfy more users, a Greedy Double Auction Mechanism(GDAM) is proposed to allocate resources in grid environments. GDAM trades resources at discriminatory price instead of uniform price, reflecting the variance in requirements for profits and quantities. Moreover, GDAM applies different auction rules to different cases, over-demand, over-supply and equilibrium of demand and supply. As a new mechanism for grid resource allocation, GDAM is proved to be strategy-proof, economically efficient, weakly budget-balanced and individual rational. Simulation results also confirm that GDAM outperforms the traditional one on both the total trade amount and the user satisfaction percentage, specially as more users are involved in the auction market.
Nearest private query based on quantum oblivious key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Min; Shi, Run-hua; Luo, Zhen-yu; Peng, Zhen-wan

2017-12-01

Nearest private query is a special private query which involves two parties, a user and a data owner, where the user has a private input (e.g., an integer) and the data owner has a private data set, and the user wants to query which element in the owner's private data set is the nearest to his input without revealing their respective private information. In this paper, we first present a quantum protocol for nearest private query, which is based on quantum oblivious key distribution (QOKD). Compared to the classical related protocols, our protocol has the advantages of the higher security and the better feasibility, so it has a better prospect of applications.
Ocean services user needs assessment. Volume 1: Survey results, conclusions and recommendations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, D. R.; Patton, R. J.; Mccandless, S. W.

1984-01-01

An interpretation of environmental information needs of marine users, derived from a direct contact survey of eight important sectors of the marine user community is presented. Findings of the survey and results and recommendations are reported. The findings consist of specific and quantized measurement and derived product needs for each sector and comparisons of these needs with current and planned NOAA data and services. The following supportive and reference material are examined: direct contact interviews with industry members, analyses of current NOAA data gathering and derived product capabilities, evaluations of new and emerging domestic and foreign satellite data gathering capabilities, and a special commercial fishing survey conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Parsley: a Command-Line Parser for Astronomical Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deich, William

Parsley is a sophisticated keyword + value parser, packaged as a library of routines that offers an easy method for providing command-line arguments to programs. It makes it easy for the user to enter values, and it makes it easy for the programmer to collect and validate the user's entries. Parsley is tuned for astronomical applications: for example, dates entered in Julian, Modified Julian, calendar, or several other formats are all recognized without special effort by the user or by the programmer; angles can be entered using decimal degrees or dd:mm:ss; time-like intervals as decimal hours, hh:mm:ss, or a variety of other units. Vectors of data are accepted as readily as scalars.
An ethics of body scanners: requirements and future challenges from an ethical point of view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampp, Benjamin; Wolkenstein, Andreas F. X.; Ammicht Quinn, Regina

2011-05-01

At the moment, body scanners based on terahertz and millimeter-wave technologies are implemented at airports around the world. Thus, challenges of acceptance and acceptability become pressing. In this context, we present the results of an ethical research project on the development and implementation of body scanners. We will show which requirements concerning the system, its developers, and its users should be met in order that the scanners can be acceptable from an ethical point of view. These requirements involve, among others, questions of privacy, health, data protection, and security processes. A special ethical challenge for body scanners, however, still remains: Automatic anonymization processes are based on the assumption of "normal" bodies. Certain groups of persons with "deviant bodies" (e.g. persons with hidden disabilities, persons with aberrant sex characteristics, etc.) are affected in a special way: Their deviation from the standard (for instance their disability) is socially hidden, but eventually exposed by body scanners, even (and even more) if the produced pictures are anonymized. Here, we address the question how the possible discrimination against and exclusion of people with "deviant bodies" could be mitigated or prevented.
Autoplot and the HAPI Server

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faden, J.; Vandegriff, J. D.; Weigel, R. S.

2016-12-01

Autoplot was introduced in 2008 as an easy-to-use plotting tool for the space physics community. It reads data from a variety of file resources, such as CDF and HDF files, and a number of specialized data servers, such as the PDS/PPI's DIT-DOS, CDAWeb, and from the University of Iowa's RPWG Das2Server. Each of these servers have optimized methods for transmitting data to display in Autoplot, but require coordination and specialized software to work, limiting Autoplot's ability to access new servers and datasets. Likewise, groups who would like software to access their APIs must either write thier own clients, or publish a specification document in hopes that people will write clients. The HAPI specification was written so that a simple, standard API could be used by both Autoplot and server implementations, to remove these barriers to free flow of time series data. Autoplot's software for communicating with HAPI servers is presented, showing the user interface scientists will use, and how data servers might implement the HAPI specification to provide access to their data. This will also include instructions on how Autoplot is used and installed desktop computers, and used to view data from the RBSP, Juno, and other missions.
ANNIE - INTERACTIVE PROCESSING OF DATA BASES FOR HYDROLOGIC MODELS.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lumb, Alan M.; Kittle, John L.

1985-01-01

ANNIE is a data storage and retrieval system that was developed to reduce the time and effort required to calibrate, verify, and apply watershed models that continuously simulate water quantity and quality. Watershed models have three categories of input: parameters to describe segments of a drainage area, linkage of the segments, and time-series data. Additional goals for ANNIE include the development of software that is easily implemented on minicomputers and some microcomputers and software that has no special requirements for interactive display terminals. Another goal is for the user interaction to be based on the experience of the user so that ANNIE is helpful to the inexperienced user and yet efficient and brief for the experienced user. Finally, the code should be designed so that additional hydrologic models can easily be added to ANNIE.
Simple group password-based authenticated key agreements for the integrated EPR information system.

PubMed

Lee, Tian-Fu; Chang, I-Pin; Wang, Ching-Cheng

2013-04-01

The security and privacy are important issues for electronic patient records (EPRs). The goal of EPRs is sharing the patients' medical histories such as the diagnosis records, reports and diagnosis image files among hospitals by the Internet. So the security issue for the integrated EPR information system is essential. That is, to ensure the information during transmission through by the Internet is secure and private. The group password-based authenticated key agreement (GPAKE) allows a group of users like doctors, nurses and patients to establish a common session key by using password authentication. Then the group of users can securely communicate by using this session key. Many approaches about GAPKE employ the public key infrastructure (PKI) in order to have higher security. However, it not only increases users' overheads and requires keeping an extra equipment for storing long-term secret keys, but also requires maintaining the public key system. This investigation presents a simple group password-based authenticated key agreement (SGPAKE) protocol for the integrated EPR information system. The proposed SGPAKE protocol does not require using the server or users' public keys. Each user only remembers his weak password shared with a trusted server, and then can obtain a common session key. Then all users can securely communicate by using this session key. The proposed SGPAKE protocol not only provides users with convince, but also has higher security.
Formal analysis and automatic generation of user interfaces: approach, methodology, and an algorithm.

PubMed

Heymann, Michael; Degani, Asaf

2007-04-01

We present a formal approach and methodology for the analysis and generation of user interfaces, with special emphasis on human-automation interaction. A conceptual approach for modeling, analyzing, and verifying the information content of user interfaces is discussed. The proposed methodology is based on two criteria: First, the interface must be correct--that is, given the interface indications and all related information (user manuals, training material, etc.), the user must be able to successfully perform the specified tasks. Second, the interface and related information must be succinct--that is, the amount of information (mode indications, mode buttons, parameter settings, etc.) presented to the user must be reduced (abstracted) to the minimum necessary. A step-by-step procedure for generating the information content of the interface that is both correct and succinct is presented and then explained and illustrated via two examples. Every user interface is an abstract description of the underlying system. The correspondence between the abstracted information presented to the user and the underlying behavior of a given machine can be analyzed and addressed formally. The procedure for generating the information content of user interfaces can be automated, and a software tool for its implementation has been developed. Potential application areas include adaptive interface systems and customized/personalized interfaces.
User Perceptions of the "Reliability" of Library Services at Texas A&M University: A Focus Group Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Jeannette; Crowley, Gwyneth H.

2003-01-01

Explored user perceptions of dependability and accuracy of Texas A&M library services through focus groups. Reports user difficulties in locating materials, inaccurate catalog and circulation records, inadequate signage, searching the online catalog, and late notification of interlibrary loan arrivals; and discusses the library's efforts to…
Abnormal medial prefrontal cortex activity in heavy cannabis users during conscious emotional evaluation.

PubMed

Wesley, Michael J; Lile, Joshua A; Hanlon, Colleen A; Porrino, Linda J

2016-03-01

Long-term heavy cannabis users (cannabis users) who are not acutely intoxicated have diminished subconscious neural responsiveness to affective stimuli. This study sought to determine if abnormal processing extends to the conscious evaluation of emotional stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity as cannabis users (N = 16) and non-cannabis-using controls (N = 17) evaluated and categorized standardized International Affective Picture System (IAPS) stimuli. Individual judgments were used to isolate activity during the evaluation of emotional (i.e., emotional evaluation) or neutral (i.e., neutral evaluation) stimuli. Within- and between-group analyses were performed. Both groups judged the same stimuli as emotional and had activations in visual, midbrain, and middle cingulate cortices during emotional evaluation, relative to neutral. Within-group analyses also revealed amygdalar and inferior frontal gyrus activations in controls, but not cannabis users, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) deactivations in cannabis users, but not controls, during emotional evaluation, relative to neutral. Between-group comparisons found that mPFC activity during positive and negative evaluation was significantly hypoactive in cannabis users, relative to controls. Abnormal neural processing of affective content extends to the level of consciousness in cannabis users. The hypoactive mPFC responses observed resembles the attenuated mPFC responses found during increased non-affective cognitive load in prior research. These findings suggest that abnormal mPFC singling in cannabis users during emotional evaluation might be associated with increased non-affective cognitive load.
Abnormal Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity in Heavy Cannabis Users During Conscious Emotional Evaluation

PubMed Central

Lile, Joshua A.; Hanlon, Colleen A.; Porrino, Linda J.

2015-01-01

Rationale Long-term heavy cannabis users (cannabis users) who are not acutely intoxicated have diminished subconscious neural responsiveness to affective stimuli. Objective This study sought to determine if abnormal processing extends to the conscious evaluation of emotional stimuli. Methods Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity as cannabis users (N=16) and non-cannabis using controls (N=17) evaluated and categorized standardized International Affective Picture System (IAPS) stimuli. Individual judgments were used to isolate activity during the evaluation of emotional (i.e., emotional evaluation) or neutral (i.e., neutral evaluation) stimuli. Within- and between-group analyses were performed. Results Both groups judged the same stimuli as emotional and had activations in visual, midbrain, and middle cingulate cortices during emotional evaluation, relative to neutral. Within-group analyses also revealed amygdalar and inferior frontal gyrus activations in controls, but not cannabis users, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) deactivations in cannabis users, but not controls, during emotional evaluation, relative to neutral. Between-group comparisons found that mPFC activity during positive and negative evaluation was significantly hypoactive in cannabis users, relative to controls. Conclusions Abnormal neural processing of affective content extends to the level of consciousness in cannabis users. The hypoactive mPFC responses observed resembles the attenuated mPFC responses found during increased non-affective cognitive load in prior research. These findings suggest that abnormal mPFC singling in cannabis users during emotional evaluation might be associated with increased non-affective cognitive load. PMID:26690589
Issues and challenges of involving users in medical device development.

PubMed

Bridgelal Ram, Mala; Grocott, Patricia R; Weir, Heather C M

2008-03-01

User engagement has become a central tenet of health-care policy. This paper reports on a case study in progress that highlights user engagement in the research process in relation to medical device development. To work with a specific group of medical device users to uncover unmet needs, translating these into design concepts, novel technologies and products. To validate a knowledge transfer model that may be replicated for a range of medical device applications and user groups. In depth qualitative case study to elicit and analyse user needs. The focus is on identifying design concepts for medical device applications from unmet needs, and validating these in an iterative feedback loop to the users. The case study has highlighted three interrelated challenges: ensuring unmet needs drive new design concepts and technology development; managing user expectations and managing the research process. Despite the challenges, active participation of users is crucial to developing usable and clinically effective devices.
Important first encounter: Service user experience of pathways to care and early detection in first-episode psychosis.

PubMed

Jansen, Jens Einar; Pedersen, Marlene Buch; Hastrup, Lene Halling; Haahr, Ulrik Helt; Simonsen, Erik

2018-04-01

Long duration of untreated psychosis is associated with poor clinical and functional outcomes. However, few systematic attempts have been made to reduce this delay and little is known of service users' experience of early detection efforts. We explored service users' experience of an early detection service and transition to specialized treatment service, including pathway to care, understanding of illness and barriers to adequate assessment and treatment. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 service users (median age 21, range 18-27, five males and five females) who were diagnosed with a first-episode non-affective psychosis and who were seen by an early detection team (TOP) and currently enrolled in a specialized early intervention service for this disorder (OPUS). Stigma and fear of the 'psychiatric system' were reported as significant barriers to help seeking, while family members were seen as a crucial support. Moreover, the impact of traumatic events on the experience and development of psychosis was highlighted. Finally, participants were relieved by the prospect of receiving help and the early detection team seemed to create a trusting relationship by offering a friendly, 'anti-stigmatized' space, where long-term symptomatology could be disclosed through accurate and validating questioning. Early detection services have two important functions. One is to make accurate assessments and referrals. The other is to instil hope and trust, and to facilitate further treatment by forming an early therapeutic alliance. The findings in this study provide important insights into the way in which early detection efforts and pathways to care are experienced by service users, with direct implications for improving psychiatric services. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
"CAN Stop"--implementation and evaluation of a secondary group prevention for adolescent and young adult cannabis users in various contexts--study protocol.

PubMed

Baldus, Christiane; Miranda, Alejandra; Weymann, Nina; Reis, Olaf; Moré, Kerstin; Thomasius, Rainer

2011-04-18

Current research shows that overall numbers for cannabis use among adolescents and young adults dropped in recent years. However, this trend is much less pronounced in continuous cannabis use. With regard to the heightened risk for detrimental health- and development-related outcomes, adolescents and young adults with continuous cannabis use need special attention. The health services structure for adolescents and young adults with substance related problems in Germany, is multifaceted, because different communal, medical and judicial agencies are involved. This results in a rather decentralized organizational structure of the help system. This and further system-inherent characteristics make the threshold for young cannabis users rather high. Because of this, there is a need to establish evidence-based low-threshold help options for young cannabis users, which can be easily disseminated. Therefore, a training programme for young cannabis users (age 14-21) was developed in the "CAN Stop" project. Within the project, we seek to implement and evaluate the training programme within different institutions of the help system. The evaluation is sensitive to the different help systems and their specific prerequisites. Moreover, within this study, we also test the practicability of a training provision through laypersons. The CAN Stop study is a four-armed randomized wait-list controlled trial. The four arms are needed for the different help system settings, in which the CAN Stop training programme is evaluated: (a) the drug addiction aid and youth welfare system, (b) the out-patient medical system, (c) the in-patient medical system and (d) prisons for juvenile offenders. Data are collected at three points, before and after the training or a treatment as usual, and six months after the end of either intervention. The CAN Stop study is expected to provide an evidence-based programme for young cannabis users seeking to reduce or quit their cannabis use. Moreover, we seek to gain knowledge about the programme's utility within different settings of the German help system for young cannabis users and information about the settings' specific clientele. The study protocol is discussed with regard to potential difficulties within the different settings. ISRCTN: ISRCTN57036983.
Establishing a group of endpoints to support collective operations without specifying unique identifiers for any endpoints

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles J.; Blocksom, Michael A.; Ratterman, Joseph D.; Smith, Brian E.; Xue, Hanghon

2016-02-02

A parallel computer executes a number of tasks, each task includes a number of endpoints and the endpoints are configured to support collective operations. In such a parallel computer, establishing a group of endpoints receiving a user specification of a set of endpoints included in a global collection of endpoints, where the user specification defines the set in accordance with a predefined virtual representation of the endpoints, the predefined virtual representation is a data structure setting forth an organization of tasks and endpoints included in the global collection of endpoints and the user specification defines the set of endpoints without a user specification of a particular endpoint; and defining a group of endpoints in dependence upon the predefined virtual representation of the endpoints and the user specification.
Establishing a group of endpoints in a parallel computer

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles J.; Blocksome, Michael A.; Ratterman, Joseph D.; Smith, Brian E.; Xue, Hanhong

2016-02-02

A parallel computer executes a number of tasks, each task includes a number of endpoints and the endpoints are configured to support collective operations. In such a parallel computer, establishing a group of endpoints receiving a user specification of a set of endpoints included in a global collection of endpoints, where the user specification defines the set in accordance with a predefined virtual representation of the endpoints, the predefined virtual representation is a data structure setting forth an organization of tasks and endpoints included in the global collection of endpoints and the user specification defines the set of endpoints without a user specification of a particular endpoint; and defining a group of endpoints in dependence upon the predefined virtual representation of the endpoints and the user specification.
A Privacy-Preserving Platform for User-Centric Quantitative Benchmarking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrmann, Dominik; Scheuer, Florian; Feustel, Philipp; Nowey, Thomas; Federrath, Hannes

We propose a centralised platform for quantitative benchmarking of key performance indicators (KPI) among mutually distrustful organisations. Our platform offers users the opportunity to request an ad-hoc benchmarking for a specific KPI within a peer group of their choice. Architecture and protocol are designed to provide anonymity to its users and to hide the sensitive KPI values from other clients and the central server. To this end, we integrate user-centric peer group formation, exchangeable secure multi-party computation protocols, short-lived ephemeral key pairs as pseudonyms, and attribute certificates. We show by empirical evaluation of a prototype that the performance is acceptable for reasonably sized peer groups.
The Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ): identification of core items from a survey in Norway

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Questionnaires are commonly used to collect patient, or user, experiences with health care encounters; however, their adaption to specific target groups limits comparison between groups. We present the construction of a generic questionnaire (maximum of ten questions) for user evaluation across a range of health care services. Methods Based on previous testing of six group-specific questionnaires, we first constructed a generic questionnaire with 23 items related to user experiences. All questions included a "not applicable" response option, as well as a follow-up question about the item's importance. Nine user groups from one health trust were surveyed. Seven groups received questionnaires by mail and two by personal distribution. Selection of core questions was based on three criteria: applicability (proportion "not applicable"), importance (mean scores on follow-up questions), and comprehensiveness (content coverage, maximum two items per dimension). Results 1324 questionnaires were returned providing subsample sizes ranging from 52 to 323. Ten questions were excluded because the proportion of "not applicable" responses exceeded 20% in at least one user group. The number of remaining items was reduced to ten by applying the two other criteria. The final short questionnaire included items on outcome (2), clinician services (2), user involvement (2), incorrect treatment (1), information (1), organisation (1), and accessibility (1). Conclusion The Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ) is a short, generic set of questions on user experiences with specialist health care that covers important topics for a range of groups. It can be used alone or with other instruments in quality assessment or in research. The psychometric properties and the relevance of the GS-PEQ in other health care settings and countries need further evaluation. PMID:21510871

Efficient methods and readily customizable libraries for managing complexity of large networks.

PubMed

Dogrusoz, Ugur; Karacelik, Alper; Safarli, Ilkin; Balci, Hasan; Dervishi, Leonard; Siper, Metin Can

2018-01-01

One common problem in visualizing real-life networks, including biological pathways, is the large size of these networks. Often times, users find themselves facing slow, non-scaling operations due to network size, if not a "hairball" network, hindering effective analysis. One extremely useful method for reducing complexity of large networks is the use of hierarchical clustering and nesting, and applying expand-collapse operations on demand during analysis. Another such method is hiding currently unnecessary details, to later gradually reveal on demand. Major challenges when applying complexity reduction operations on large networks include efficiency and maintaining the user's mental map of the drawing. We developed specialized incremental layout methods for preserving a user's mental map while managing complexity of large networks through expand-collapse and hide-show operations. We also developed open-source JavaScript libraries as plug-ins to the web based graph visualization library named Cytsocape.js to implement these methods as complexity management operations. Through efficient specialized algorithms provided by these extensions, one can collapse or hide desired parts of a network, yielding potentially much smaller networks, making them more suitable for interactive visual analysis. This work fills an important gap by making efficient implementations of some already known complexity management techniques freely available to tool developers through a couple of open source, customizable software libraries, and by introducing some heuristics which can be applied upon such complexity management techniques to ensure preserving mental map of users.
Deep Interactive Learning with Sharkzor

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

None

Sharkzor is a web application for machine-learning assisted image sort and summary. Deep learning algorithms are leveraged to infer, augment, and automate the user’s mental model. Initially, images uploaded by the user are spread out on a canvas. The user then interacts with the images to impute their mental model into the applications algorithmic underpinnings. Methods of interaction within Sharkzor’s user interface and user experience support three primary user tasks: triage, organize and automate. The user triages the large pile of overlapping images by moving images of interest into proximity. The user then organizes said images into meaningful groups. Aftermore » interacting with the images and groups, deep learning helps to automate the user’s interactions. The loop of interaction, automation, and response by the user allows the system to quickly make sense of large amounts of data.« less
Exploring online communication about cigarette smoking among Twitter users who self-identify as having schizophrenia.

PubMed

Hswen, Yulin; Naslund, John A; Chandrashekar, Pooja; Siegel, Robert; Brownstein, John S; Hawkins, Jared B

2017-11-01

Novel approaches are needed to address elevated tobacco use among people with schizophrenia. This exploratory study examined the frequency, timing, and type of communication about tobacco-related content on Twitter among users who self-identify as having schizophrenia compared with users from the general population. Over a 200-day period from January to July 2016, Twitter users who self-identify as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 203) and a randomly selected group of general population control users (n = 173) posted 1,544,122 tweets. Communication frequency did not differ between groups. Tweets containing tobacco-related keywords were extracted. Twitter users with schizophrenia posted significantly more tweets containing any tobacco-related terms (mean = 3.74; SD = 16.3) compared with control users (mean = 0.82; SD = 1.8). A significantly greater proportion of Twitter users with schizophrenia (45%; n = 92) posted tweets containing any tobacco terms compared with control users (30%; n = 52). Schizophrenia users showed significantly greater odds of tweeting about tobacco compared with control users (OR = 1.99; 95% CI 1.29-3.07). These findings suggest that online communication about tobacco may parallel real world trends of elevated tobacco use observed among people with schizophrenia. By showing that Twitter users who self-identify as having schizophrenia discuss tobacco-related content online, popular social media could inform smoking cessation efforts targeting this at-risk group. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Time Is Money: The Decision Making of Smartphone High Users in Gain and Loss Intertemporal Choice.

PubMed

Tang, Zixuan; Zhang, Huijun; Yan, An; Qu, Chen

2017-01-01

Nowadays the smartphone plays an important role in our lives. While it brings us convenience and efficiency, its overuse can cause problems. Although a great number of studies have demonstrated that people affected by substance abuse, pathological gambling, and internet addiction disorder have lower self-control than average, scarcely any study has investigated the decision making of smartphone high users by using a behavioral paradigm. The present study employed an intertemporal task, the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11th version (BIS-11) to explore the decision control of smartphone high users in a sample of 125 college students. Participants were divided into three groups according to their SPAI scores. The upper third (69 or higher), middle third (from 61 to 68) and lower third (60 or lower) of scores were defined as high smartphone users, medium users and low users, respectively. We compared the percentage of small immediate reward/penalty choices in different conditions between the three groups. Relative to the low users group, high users and medium users were more inclined to request an immediate monetary reward. Moreover, for the two dimensions of time and money in intertemporal choice, high users and medium users showed a bias in intertemporal choice task among most of the time points and value magnitude compared to low users. These findings demonstrated that smartphone overuse was associated with problematic decision-making, a pattern similar to that seen in persons affected by a variety of addictions.
Depression, impulsiveness, sleep, and memory in past and present polydrug users of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy).

PubMed

Taurah, Lynn; Chandler, Chris; Sanders, Geoff

2014-02-01

Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is a worldwide recreational drug of abuse. Unfortunately, the results from human research investigating its psychological effects have been inconsistent. The present study aimed to be the largest to date in sample size and 5HT-related behaviors; the first to compare present ecstasy users with past users after an abstinence of 4 or more years, and the first to include robust controls for other recreational substances. A sample of 997 participants (52 % male) was recruited to four control groups (non-drug (ND), alcohol/nicotine (AN), cannabis/alcohol/nicotine (CAN), non-ecstasy polydrug (PD)), and two ecstasy polydrug groups (present (MDMA) and past users (EX-MDMA). Participants completed a drug history questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised which, in total, provided 13 psychometric measures. While the CAN and PD groups tended to record greater deficits than the non-drug controls, the MDMA and EX-MDMA groups recorded greater deficits than all the control groups on ten of the 13 psychometric measures. Strikingly, despite prolonged abstinence (mean, 4.98; range, 4-9 years), past ecstasy users showed few signs of recovery. Compared with present ecstasy users, the past users showed no change for ten measures, increased impairment for two measures, and improvement on just one measure. Given this record of impaired memory and clinically significant levels of depression, impulsiveness, and sleep disturbance, the prognosis for the current generation of ecstasy users is a major cause for concern.
Internet addiction: Prevalence and relation with mental states in adolescents.

PubMed

Kawabe, Kentaro; Horiuchi, Fumie; Ochi, Marina; Oka, Yasunori; Ueno, Shu-Ichi

2016-09-01

Internet addiction disrupts the daily lives of adolescents. We investigated the prevalence of Internet addiction in junior high school students, elucidated the relation between Internet addiction and mental states, and determined the factors associated with Internet addiction in adolescents. Junior high school students (aged 12-15 years) were assessed using Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and a questionnaire on access to electronic devices. Based on total IAT scores, 2.0% (male, 2.1%; female, 1.9%) and 21.7% (male, 19.8%; female, 23.6%) of the total 853 participants (response rate, 97.6%) were classified as addicted and possibly addicted, respectively. Total GHQ scores were significantly higher in the addicted (12.9 ± 7.4) and possibly addicted groups (8.8 ± 6.0) than in the non-addicted group (4.3 ± 4.6; P < 0.001, both groups). A comparison of the percentage of students in the pathological range of GHQ scores revealed significantly higher scores in the possibly addicted group than in the non-addicted group. Further, accessibility to smartphones was significantly associated with Internet addiction. Students in the addicted and possibly addicted groups were considered 'problematic' Internet users. Use of smartphones warrants special attention, being among the top factors contributing to Internet addiction. © 2016 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2016 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.
User Interface Technology for Formal Specification Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowry, Michael; Philpot, Andrew; Pressburger, Thomas; Underwood, Ian; Lum, Henry, Jr. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Formal specification development and modification are an essential component of the knowledge-based software life cycle. User interface technology is needed to empower end-users to create their own formal specifications. This paper describes the advanced user interface for AMPHION1 a knowledge-based software engineering system that targets scientific subroutine libraries. AMPHION is a generic, domain-independent architecture that is specialized to an application domain through a declarative domain theory. Formal specification development and reuse is made accessible to end-users through an intuitive graphical interface that provides semantic guidance in creating diagrams denoting formal specifications in an application domain. The diagrams also serve to document the specifications. Automatic deductive program synthesis ensures that end-user specifications are correctly implemented. The tables that drive AMPHION's user interface are automatically compiled from a domain theory; portions of the interface can be customized by the end-user. The user interface facilitates formal specification development by hiding syntactic details, such as logical notation. It also turns some of the barriers for end-user specification development associated with strongly typed formal languages into active sources of guidance, without restricting advanced users. The interface is especially suited for specification modification. AMPHION has been applied to the domain of solar system kinematics through the development of a declarative domain theory. Testing over six months with planetary scientists indicates that AMPHION's interactive specification acquisition paradigm enables users to develop, modify, and reuse specifications at least an order of magnitude more rapidly than manual program development.
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…
User's Guide and Download for IECCU- Indoor Environmental Concentrations in Buildings with Conditioned and Unconditioned Zones

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This program serves two purposes: (1) as a general-purpose indoor exposure model in buildings with multiple zones, multiple chemicals and multiple sources and sinks, and (2) as a special-purpose concentration model
Substance abuse in pregnant women. Experiences from a special child welfare clinic in Norway

PubMed Central

Hjerkinn, Bjørg; Lindbæk, Morten; Rosvold, Elin Olaug

2007-01-01

Background Substance abuse during pregnancy may harm the foetus and can cause neonatal abstinence syndrome. Exposure to alcohol and other substances can influence the child for the rest of its life. A special child welfare clinic was set up in 1994 in Kristiansand, Norway, targeting pregnant women with substance abuse problems in the county of Vest-Agder. Pregnancy is not an indication for opioid replacement therapy in Norway, and one of the clinic's aims was to support the drug dependent women through their pregnancy without any replacements. The object of this paper is to describe concurrent health and social problems, as well as the predictors for stopping drug abuse, in the clinic's user group. Methods Retrospective cohort study. Data was gathered from the medical records of all 102 women seen in the clinic in the period between 1992 and 2002. The study includes 59 out of 60 women that were followed until their children were two years old or placed in alternative care, and a comparison group of twice the size. Both groups were presented with a questionnaire concerning both the pregnancy and health and socio-economic issues. Results Four (4.5 percent) of the women that completed their pregnancies did not manage to reduce their substance abuse. All the others reduced their substance abuse considerably. The odds ratio for stopping substance abuse within the first trimester was significantly associated with stopping smoking (O.R. 9.7) or being victims of rape (O.R. 5.3). Conclusion A low cost and low threshold initiative organised as a child welfare clinic may support women with substance abuse problems in their efforts to stop or reduce their substance abuse during pregnancy. PMID:17996120
New Strategic Plan Takes the ALS into the Future

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

Kirz, J.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794; Chemla, D. S.

2007-01-19

A new strategic plan is in place to upgrade the ALS so it can continue to address fundamental questions, such as size-dependent and dimensional-confinement phenomena at the nanoscale; correlation and complexity in physical, biological, and environmental systems; and temporal evolution, assembly, dynamics and ultrafast phenomena. Moreover, the growing number of ALS users (now exceeding 2,000 per year) requires increased attention. Accordingly, our plan concentrates on projects that will continue to make it possible for ALS users to address grand scientific and technological challenges with incisive world-class tools and quality user support. Our highest priority is to begin top-off operation, inmore » which electrons are injected into the storage ring at intervals of approximately 1 minute. The combination of top-off and concurrent development of small-gap in-vacuum undulators and superconducting undulators will allow an increase in brightness from eight to more than 100 times, depending on the specific undulators and photon energy range. As part of our core mission in the VUV and soft x-ray regions, we plan to exploit these accelerator developments to extend our capabilities for high spatial and temporal resolution and utilize the remarkable coherence properties of the ALS in a new generation of beamlines. Ranked by priority, several proposed beamlines will follow completion of five new beamlines already under construction or funded. The intellectual excitement of the ALS has been a powerful tool in the recruitment and retention of outstanding staff, but additional sustained efforts are required to increase diversity both in gender and in underrepresented groups. To this end, we intend to expand the ALS Doctoral Fellowship Program by giving special emphasis to underrepresented groups. We also envision a distinguished postdoctoral fellowship program with the same emphasis, to increase and diversify our pool of candidates for beamline scientist positions.« less
A Spot Reminder System for the Visually Impaired Based on a Smartphone Camera

PubMed Central

Takizawa, Hotaka; Orita, Kazunori; Aoyagi, Mayumi; Ezaki, Nobuo; Mizuno, Shinji

2017-01-01

The present paper proposes a smartphone-camera-based system to assist visually impaired users in recalling their memories related to important locations, called spots, that they visited. The memories are recorded as voice memos, which can be played back when the users return to the spots. Spot-to-spot correspondence is determined by image matching based on the scale invariant feature transform. The main contribution of the proposed system is to allow visually impaired users to associate arbitrary voice memos with arbitrary spots. The users do not need any special devices or systems except smartphones and do not need to remember the spots where the voice memos were recorded. In addition, the proposed system can identify spots in environments that are inaccessible to the global positioning system. The proposed system has been evaluated by two experiments: image matching tests and a user study. The experimental results suggested the effectiveness of the system to help visually impaired individuals, including blind individuals, recall information about regularly-visited spots. PMID:28165403
A Spot Reminder System for the Visually Impaired Based on a Smartphone Camera.

PubMed

Takizawa, Hotaka; Orita, Kazunori; Aoyagi, Mayumi; Ezaki, Nobuo; Mizuno, Shinji

2017-02-04

The present paper proposes a smartphone-camera-based system to assist visually impaired users in recalling their memories related to important locations, called spots, that they visited. The memories are recorded as voice memos, which can be played back when the users return to the spots. Spot-to-spot correspondence is determined by image matching based on the scale invariant feature transform. The main contribution of the proposed system is to allow visually impaired users to associate arbitrary voice memos with arbitrary spots. The users do not need any special devices or systems except smartphones and do not need to remember the spots where the voice memos were recorded. In addition, the proposed system can identify spots in environments that are inaccessible to the global positioning system. The proposed system has been evaluated by two experiments: image matching tests and a user study. The experimental results suggested the effectiveness of the system to help visually impaired individuals, including blind individuals, recall information about regularly-visited spots.
Exploring views about mindfulness groups for voice-hearing from the perspective of service users and staff: A Q-methodology study.

PubMed

Morera, Tirma; Bucci, Sandra; Randal, Chloe; Barrett, Moya; Pratt, Daniel

2017-03-01

Despite prevailing beliefs about the potential benefits and harmfulness of mindfulness for people who hear voices, there is a paucity of research into staff and service user views. Q-methodology was used to explore views about mindfulness groups for voice-hearers. Opportunistic sampling of mental healthcare staff (N = 14) and service users with psychosis (N = 17). Both samples were analysed using principle components factor analysis to identify the range of attitudes held by staff and service users. Staff participants were particularly knowledgeable and interested in mindfulness. A single staff consensus factor was found suggesting mindfulness is helpful, and not harmful for mental health, but uncertainty surrounded its usefulness for voice-hearers. Service users held four distinct attitudes: (i) mindfulness helps to calm a racing mind; (ii) mindfulness helps to manage stress; (iii) mindfulness improves well-being, and does not alter the brain, reality beliefs, or cause madness; and (iv) mindfulness helps with managing thoughts, fostering acceptance, and is acceptable when delivered in a group format. Staff viewed mindfulness groups for psychosis as helpful, not harmful, but were uncertain about their utility. Consistent with previous research, service users viewed mindfulness groups as useful to promote well-being and reduce distress for individuals experiencing psychosis.
The Influences of Landscape Features on Visitation of Hospital Green Spaces—A Choice Experiment Approach

PubMed Central

Chang, Kaowen Grace; Chien, Hungju

2017-01-01

Studies have suggested that visiting and viewing landscaping at hospitals accelerates patient’s recovery from surgery and help staff’s recovery from mental fatigue. To plan and construct such landscapes, we need to unravel landscape features desirable to different groups so that the space can benefit a wide range of hospital users. Using discrete choice modeling, we developed experimental choice sets to investigate how landscape features influence the visitations of different users in a large regional hospital in Taiwan. The empirical survey provides quantitative estimates of the influence of each landscape feature on four user groups, including patients, caregivers, staff, and neighborhood residents. Our findings suggest that different types of features promote visits from specific user groups. Landscape features facilitating physical activities effectively encourage visits across user groups especially for caregivers and staff. Patients in this study specify a strong need for contact with nature. The nearby community favors the features designed for children’s play and family activities. People across user groups value the features that provide a mitigated microclimate of comfort, such as a shelter. Study implications and limitations are also discussed. Our study provides information essential for creating a better healing environment in a hospital setting. PMID:28678168
A Case Study of Design and Usability Evaluation of the Collaborative Problem Solving Instructional Platform System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chao, Jen-Yi; Chao, Shu-Jen; Yao, Lo-Yi; Liu, Chuan-His

2016-01-01

This study used Focus Group to analyze user requirements for user interface so as to understand what capabilities of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Instructional Platform were expected by users. After 12 focus group interviews, the following four functions had been identified as essential to the CPS Instructional Platform: CPS…
Implementing Recommendations From Web Accessibility Guidelines: A Comparative Study of Nondisabled Users and Users With Visual Impairments.

PubMed

Schmutz, Sven; Sonderegger, Andreas; Sauer, Juergen

2017-09-01

The present study examined whether implementing recommendations of Web accessibility guidelines would have different effects on nondisabled users than on users with visual impairments. The predominant approach for making Web sites accessible for users with disabilities is to apply accessibility guidelines. However, it has been hardly examined whether this approach has side effects for nondisabled users. A comparison of the effects on both user groups would contribute to a better understanding of possible advantages and drawbacks of applying accessibility guidelines. Participants from two matched samples, comprising 55 participants with visual impairments and 55 without impairments, took part in a synchronous remote testing of a Web site. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three Web sites, which differed in the level of accessibility (very low, low, and high) according to recommendations of the well-established Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). Performance (i.e., task completion rate and task completion time) and a range of subjective variables (i.e., perceived usability, positive affect, negative affect, perceived aesthetics, perceived workload, and user experience) were measured. Higher conformance to Web accessibility guidelines resulted in increased performance and more positive user ratings (e.g., perceived usability or aesthetics) for both user groups. There was no interaction between user group and accessibility level. Higher conformance to WCAG 2.0 may result in benefits for nondisabled users and users with visual impairments alike. Practitioners may use the present findings as a basis for deciding on whether and how to implement accessibility best.
Profile of Executive and Memory Function Associated with Amphetamine and Opiate Dependence

PubMed Central

Ersche, Karen D; Clark, Luke; London, Mervyn; Robbins, Trevor W; Sahakian, Barbara J

2007-01-01

Cognitive function was assessed in chronic drug users on neurocognitive measures of executive and memory function. Current amphetamine users were contrasted with current opiate users, and these two groups were compared with former users of these substances (abstinent for at least one year). Four groups of participants were recruited: amphetamine-dependent individuals, opiate-dependent individuals, former users of amphetamines, and/or opiates and healthy non-drug taking controls. Participants were administered the Tower of London (TOL) planning task and the 3D-IDED attentional set-shifting task to assess executive function, and Paired Associates Learning and Delayed Pattern Recognition Memory tasks to assess visual memory function. The three groups of substance users showed significant impairments on TOL planning, Pattern Recognition Memory and Paired Associates Learning. Current amphetamine users displayed a greater degree of impairment than current opiate users. Consistent with previous research showing that healthy men are performing better on visuo-spatial tests than women, our male controls remembered significantly more paired associates than their female counterparts. This relationship was reversed in drug users. While performance of female drug users was normal, male drug users showed significant impairment compared to both their female counterparts and male controls. There was no difference in performance between current and former drug users. Neither years of drug abuse nor years of drug abstinence were associated with performance. Chronic drug users display pronounced neuropsychological impairment in the domains of executive and memory function. Impairment persists after several years of drug abstinence and may reflect neuropathology in frontal and temporal cortices. PMID:16160707
Shilling attack detection for recommender systems based on credibility of group users and rating time series.

PubMed

Zhou, Wei; Wen, Junhao; Qu, Qiang; Zeng, Jun; Cheng, Tian

2018-01-01

Recommender systems are vulnerable to shilling attacks. Forged user-generated content data, such as user ratings and reviews, are used by attackers to manipulate recommendation rankings. Shilling attack detection in recommender systems is of great significance to maintain the fairness and sustainability of recommender systems. The current studies have problems in terms of the poor universality of algorithms, difficulty in selection of user profile attributes, and lack of an optimization mechanism. In this paper, a shilling behaviour detection structure based on abnormal group user findings and rating time series analysis is proposed. This paper adds to the current understanding in the field by studying the credibility evaluation model in-depth based on the rating prediction model to derive proximity-based predictions. A method for detecting suspicious ratings based on suspicious time windows and target item analysis is proposed. Suspicious rating time segments are determined by constructing a time series, and data streams of the rating items are examined and suspicious rating segments are checked. To analyse features of shilling attacks by a group user's credibility, an abnormal group user discovery method based on time series and time window is proposed. Standard testing datasets are used to verify the effect of the proposed method.
"Recovery" in bipolar disorder: how can service users be supported through a self-management intervention? A qualitative focus group study.

PubMed

Todd, Nicholas J; Jones, Steven H; Lobban, Fiona A

2012-04-01

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and recurrent affective disorder. Recovery is defined as the process by which people can live fulfilling lives despite experiencing symptoms. To explore how an opportunistically recruited group of service users with BD experience recovery and self-management to understand more about how a service users' recovery may be supported. Twelve service users with BD took part in a series of focus groups. Service users' responses to questions about their personal experiences of self-management and recovery were analysed. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis ([ Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101]) was employed to identify common themes in the data. Four key themes were identified: (1) Recovery is not about being symptom free; (2) Recovery requires taking responsibility for your own wellness; (3) Self-management: building on existing techniques; (4) Overcoming barriers to recovery: negativity, stigma and taboo. Service users with BD have provided further support for the concept of recovery and have suggested a number of ways recovery can be supported. A self-management approach informed by the recovery literature has been proposed as a way to support service users' recovery.

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.