Visualizing Dynamic Weather and Ocean Data in Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castello, C.; Giencke, P.

2008-12-01

Katrina. Climate change. Rising sea levels. Low lake levels. These headliners, and countless others like them, underscore the need to better understand our changing oceans and lakes. Over the past decade, efforts such as the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) have added to this understanding, through the creation of interoperable ocean observing systems. These systems, including buoy networks, gliders, UAV's, etc, have resulted in a dramatic increase in the amount of Earth observation data available to the public. Unfortunately, these data tend to be restrictive to mass consumption, owing to large file sizes, incompatible formats, and/or a dearth of user friendly visualization software. Google Earth offers a flexible way to visualize Earth observation data. Marrying high resolution orthoimagery, user friendly query and navigation tools, and the power of OGC's KML standard, Google Earth can make observation data universally understandable and accessible. This presentation will feature examples of meteorological and oceanographic data visualized using KML and Google Earth, along with tools and tips for integrating other such environmental datasets.

Accurate estimation of influenza epidemics using Google search data via ARGO

PubMed Central

Yang, Shihao; Santillana, Mauricio; Kou, S. C.

2015-01-01

Accurate real-time tracking of influenza outbreaks helps public health officials make timely and meaningful decisions that could save lives. We propose an influenza tracking model, ARGO (AutoRegression with GOogle search data), that uses publicly available online search data. In addition to having a rigorous statistical foundation, ARGO outperforms all previously available Google-search–based tracking models, including the latest version of Google Flu Trends, even though it uses only low-quality search data as input from publicly available Google Trends and Google Correlate websites. ARGO not only incorporates the seasonality in influenza epidemics but also captures changes in people’s online search behavior over time. ARGO is also flexible, self-correcting, robust, and scalable, making it a potentially powerful tool that can be used for real-time tracking of other social events at multiple temporal and spatial resolutions. PMID:26553980

New Techniques for Deep Learning with Geospatial Data using TensorFlow, Earth Engine, and Google Cloud Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hancher, M.

2017-12-01

Recent years have seen promising results from many research teams applying deep learning techniques to geospatial data processing. In that same timeframe, TensorFlow has emerged as the most popular framework for deep learning in general, and Google has assembled petabytes of Earth observation data from a wide variety of sources and made them available in analysis-ready form in the cloud through Google Earth Engine. Nevertheless, developing and applying deep learning to geospatial data at scale has been somewhat cumbersome to date. We present a new set of tools and techniques that simplify this process. Our approach combines the strengths of several underlying tools: TensorFlow for its expressive deep learning framework; Earth Engine for data management, preprocessing, postprocessing, and visualization; and other tools in Google Cloud Platform to train TensorFlow models at scale, perform additional custom parallel data processing, and drive the entire process from a single familiar Python development environment. These tools can be used to easily apply standard deep neural networks, convolutional neural networks, and other custom model architectures to a variety of geospatial data structures. We discuss our experiences applying these and related tools to a range of machine learning problems, including classic problems like cloud detection, building detection, land cover classification, as well as more novel problems like illegal fishing detection. Our improved tools will make it easier for geospatial data scientists to apply modern deep learning techniques to their own problems, and will also make it easier for machine learning researchers to advance the state of the art of those techniques.

Taking Science On-air with Google+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, P.

2014-01-01

Cost has long been a deterrent when trying to stream live events to large audiences. While streaming providers like UStream have free options, they include advertising and typically limit broadcasts to originating from a single location. In the autumn of 2011, Google premiered a new, free, video streaming tool -- Hangouts on Air -- as part of their Google+ social network. This platform allows up to ten different computers to stream live content to an unlimited audience, and automatically archives that content to YouTube. In this article we discuss best practices for using this technology to stream events over the internet.

How we used two social media tools to enhance aspects of active learning during lectures.

PubMed

George, Daniel R; Dreibelbis, Tomi D; Aumiller, Betsy

2013-12-01

Medical education is evolving to include active learning approaches, yet some courses will remain lecture-based. Social media tools used by students may foster collaborative learning during lectures. We present preliminary results from a pilot study that integrated two 'social' technologies, Google Docs and SurveyMonkey, into 22 hour-long lectures for a course called "Social Influences on Health" attended by 154 students. At the conclusion of the semester, we reviewed student usage patterns with both technologies and collected data from students via course evaluations that included a standard Likert Scale. We used thematic analysis to identify emergent themes from evaluations. On average, students contributed 6 comments/questions to the Google Doc in each lecture, and 35 students participated in SurveyMonkey. Engagement with both technologies increased throughout the semester and no unprofessional incidents were observed. The mean student rating for integration of Google Docs and SurveyMonkey was 3.4 or "above average" (SD = 1.17). Thematic analysis identified perceived strengths of this approach as well as areas for improvement. Social media such as Google Docs and SurveyMonkey can facilitate interaction and provide students with control over content and flow of lecture-based courses, but educators must be mindful of practical and conceptual limitations.

Google Earth and Geo Applications: A Toolset for Viewing Earth's Geospatial Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuxen-Bettman, K.

2016-12-01

Earth scientists measure and derive fundamental data that can be of broad general interest to the public and policy makers. Yet, one of the challenges that has always faced the Earth science community is how to present their data and findings in an easy-to-use and compelling manner. Google's Geo Tools offer an efficient and dynamic way for scientists, educators, journalists and others to both access data and view or tell stories in a dynamic three-dimensional geospatial context. Google Earth in particular provides a dense canvas of satellite imagery on which can be viewed rich vector and raster datasets using the medium of Keyhole Markup Language (KML). Through KML, Google Earth can combine the analytical capabilities of Earth Engine, collaborative mapping of My Maps, and storytelling of Tour Builder and more to make Google's Geo Applications a coherent suite of tools for exploring our planet.https://earth.google.com/https://earthengine.google.com/https://mymaps.google.com/https://tourbuilder.withgoogle.com/https://www.google.com/streetview/

Exploring Google to Enhance Reference Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jia, Peijun

2011-01-01

Google is currently recognized as the world's most powerful search engine. Google is so powerful and intuitive that one does not need to possess many skills to use it. However, Google is more than just simple search. For those who have special search skills and know Google's superior search features, it becomes an extraordinary tool. To understand…

Google vs. the Library (Part II): Student Search Patterns and Behaviors When Using Google and a Federated Search Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgas, Helen

2014-01-01

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students within a research context. Student searches were recorded while the participants used Google and a library (federated) search tool to find sources (one book, two articles, and one other source of their choosing) for a selected topic. The undergraduates in this study…

Google-Earth Based Visualizations for Environmental Flows and Pollutant Dispersion in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Liu, Daoming; Kenjeres, Sasa

2017-01-01

In the present study, we address the development and application of an efficient tool for conversion of results obtained by an integrated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational reaction dynamics (CRD) approach and their visualization in the Google Earth. We focus on results typical for environmental fluid mechanics studies at a city scale that include characteristic wind flow patterns and dispersion of reactive scalars. This is achieved by developing a code based on the Java language, which converts the typical four-dimensional structure (spatial and temporal dependency) of data results in the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format. The visualization techniques most often used are revisited and implemented into the conversion tool. The potential of the tool is demonstrated in a case study of smog formation due to an intense traffic emission in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). It is shown that the Google Earth can provide a computationally efficient and user-friendly means of data representation. This feature can be very useful for visualization of pollution at street levels, which is of great importance for the city residents. Various meteorological and traffic emissions can be easily visualized and analyzed, providing a powerful, user-friendly tool for traffic regulations and urban climate adaptations. PMID:28257078

Apollo Lunar Sample Integration into Google Moon: A New Approach to Digitization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dawson, Melissa D.; Todd, nancy S.; Lofgren, Gary E.

2011-01-01

The Google Moon Apollo Lunar Sample Data Integration project is part of a larger, LASER-funded 4-year lunar rock photo restoration project by NASA s Acquisition and Curation Office [1]. The objective of this project is to enhance the Apollo mission data already available on Google Moon with information about the lunar samples collected during the Apollo missions. To this end, we have combined rock sample data from various sources, including Curation databases, mission documentation and lunar sample catalogs, with newly available digital photography of rock samples to create a user-friendly, interactive tool for learning about the Apollo Moon samples

Google Tools in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albee, E. M.; Koons, P. O.; Schauffler, M.; Zhu, Y.; Segee, B. E.

2009-12-01

The Maine Learning Technology Initiative provides every seventh and eighth grade student in the state with MacBook laptop computers. Limitless education possibilities exist with the inclusion of Google Tools and laptops as learning tools in our modern classrooms. Google Applications allow students to create documents, spreadsheets, charts, graphs, forms, and presentations and easily allows the sharing of information with their fellow classmates and teachers. These applications invite the use of inquiry and critical thinking skills, collaboration among peers, and subject integration to teach students crucial concepts. The benefits for teachers extend into the realm of using Google sites to easily create a teacher website and blog to upload classroom information and create a communication connection for parents and students as well as collaborations between the teachers and University researchers and educators. Google Applications further enhances the possibilities for learning, sharing a wealth of information, and enhancing communication inside and outside of the classroom.

A Systematic Review of Smartphone Applications for Plastic Surgery Providers: Target Audience, Uses, and Cost.

PubMed

Reusche, Ryan; Buchanan, Patrick J; Kozlow, Jeffrey H; Vercler, Christian J

2016-01-01

The growth and acceptance of smartphones among clinicians has been remarkable over the last decade. Over 87% of doctors use a smartphone or tablet capable of running third-party software known as applications (apps). In the field of plastic surgery, apps have been designed for personal practice development, education, clinical tools and guidelines, and entertainment. This study reviews the literature on apps related to plastic surgery and determines the number and types of apps available. A systematic review of the literature was performed to find articles written about plastic surgery applications. Queries were run in the Apple iPhone iOS App store and Google Play using the term "plastic surgery." Apps were reviewed for ratings, downloads, and cost. In addition, apps were categorized based on purpose. Categories include practice development, media/literature, clinical tool and guideline apps, or recreation. The literature search yielded 8 articles for review, 2 articles focused on categorizing apps and 6 articles focused on describing useful apps. Searching Apple's iTunes (iOS) store identified 273 and Google Play identified 250 apps related to plastic surgery; since 2013, a 62%, and 580% increase, respectively. The iOS store included practice development (46%), recreation (26%), media/literature (14%), and clinical tool and guideline (11%). Google Play store included recreation apps (44%), practice development (24%), clinical tools and guidelines (11%), and media and literature (9%). Apps related to the field of plastic surgery are increasing in prevalence. The content of these apps are variable, and the majority are intended for marketing and development of private practices. Apps linking to literature, texts, study materials, and clinical tools and guidelines are developed for both practicing plastic surgeons and surgical trainees. Finding "useful" apps takes time because searches are often complicated by a variety of apps.

Supporting our scientists with Google Earth-based UIs.

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

Scott, Janine

2010-10-01

Google Earth and Google Maps are incredibly useful for researchers looking for easily-digestible displays of data. This presentation will provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to begin using Google Earth to create tools that further the mission of the DOE national lab complex.

Web GIS in practice III: creating a simple interactive map of England's Strategic Health Authorities using Google Maps API, Google Earth KML, and MSN Virtual Earth Map Control

PubMed Central

Boulos, Maged N Kamel

2005-01-01

This eye-opener article aims at introducing the health GIS community to the emerging online consumer geoinformatics services from Google and Microsoft (MSN), and their potential utility in creating custom online interactive health maps. Using the programmable interfaces provided by Google and MSN, we created three interactive demonstrator maps of England's Strategic Health Authorities. These can be browsed online at – Google Maps API (Application Programming Interface) version, – Google Earth KML (Keyhole Markup Language) version, and – MSN Virtual Earth Map Control version. Google and MSN's worldwide distribution of "free" geospatial tools, imagery, and maps is to be commended as a significant step towards the ultimate "wikification" of maps and GIS. A discussion is provided of these emerging online mapping trends, their expected future implications and development directions, and associated individual privacy, national security and copyrights issues. Although ESRI have announced their planned response to Google (and MSN), it remains to be seen how their envisaged plans will materialize and compare to the offerings from Google and MSN, and also how Google and MSN mapping tools will further evolve in the near future. PMID:16176577

Web Analytics

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA’s Web Analytics Program collects, analyzes, and provides reports on traffic, quality assurance, and customer satisfaction metrics for EPA’s website. The program uses a variety of analytics tools, including Google Analytics and CrazyEgg.

Confessions of a Librarian or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Google

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunnels, Claire B.; Sisson, Amy

2009-01-01

Have you ever stopped to think about life before Google? We will make the argument that Google is the first manifestation of Web 2.0, of the power and promise of social networking and the ubiquitous wiki. We will discuss the positive influence of Google and how Google and other social networking tools afford librarians leading-edge technologies…

MARs Tools for Interactive ANalysis (MARTIAN): Google Maps Tools for Visual Exploration of Geophysical Modeling on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitrova, L. L.; Haines, M.; Holt, W. E.; Schultz, R. A.; Richard, G.; Haines, A. J.

2006-12-01

Interactive maps of surface-breaking faults and stress models on Mars provide important tools to engage undergraduate students, educators, and scientists with current geological and geophysical research. We have developed a map based on the Google Maps API -- an Internet based tool combining DHTML and AJAX, -- which allows very large maps to be viewed over the World Wide Web. Typically, small portions of the maps are downloaded as needed, rather than the entire image at once. This set-up enables relatively fast access for users with low bandwidth. Furthermore, Google Maps provides an extensible interactive interface making it ideal for visualizing multiple data sets at the user's choice. The Google Maps API works primarily with data referenced to latitudes and longitudes, which is then mapped in Mercator projection only. We have developed utilities for general cylindrical coordinate systems by converting these coordinates into equivalent Mercator projection before including them on the map. The MARTIAN project is available at http://rock.geo.sunysb.edu/~holt/Mars/MARTIAN/. We begin with an introduction to the Martian surface using a topography model. Faults from several datasets are classified by type (extension vs. compression) and by time epoch. Deviatoric stresses due to gravitational potential energy differences, calculated from the topography and crustal thickness, can be overlain. Several quantitative measures for the fit of the stress field to the faults are also included. We provide introductory text and exercises spanning a range of topics: how are faults identified, what stress is and how it relates to faults, what gravitational potential energy is and how variations in it produce stress, how the models are created, and how these models can be evaluated and interpreted. The MARTIAN tool is used at Stony Brook University in GEO 310: Introduction to Geophysics, a class geared towards junior and senior geosciences majors. Although this project is in its early stages, high school and college teachers, as well as researchers have expressed interest in using and extending these tools for visualizing and interacting with data on Earth and other planetary bodies.

Looking at plastic surgery through Google Glass: part 1. Systematic review of Google Glass evidence and the first plastic surgical procedures.

PubMed

Davis, Christopher R; Rosenfield, Lorne K

2015-03-01

Google Glass has the potential to become a ubiquitous and translational technological tool within clinical plastic surgery. Google Glass allows clinicians to remotely view patient notes, laboratory results, and imaging; training can be augmented via streamed expert master classes; and patient safety can be improved by remote advice from a senior colleague. This systematic review identified and appraised every Google Glass publication relevant to plastic surgery and describes the first plastic surgical procedures recorded using Google Glass. A systematic review was performed using PubMed National Center for Biotechnology Information, Ovid MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, following modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Key search terms "Google" and "Glass" identified mutually inclusive publications that were screened for inclusion. Eighty-two publications were identified, with 21 included for review. Google Glass publications were formal articles (n = 3), editorial/commentary articles (n = 7), conference proceedings (n = 1), news reports (n = 3), and online articles (n = 7). Data support Google Glass' positive impact on health care delivery, clinical training, medical documentation, and patient safety. Concerns exist regarding patient confidentiality, technical issues, and limited software. The first plastic surgical procedure performed using Google Glass was a blepharoplasty on October 29, 2013. Google Glass is an exciting translational technology with the potential to positively impact health care delivery, medical documentation, surgical training, and patient safety. Further high-quality scientific research is required to formally appraise Google Glass in the clinical setting.

Google walkability: a new tool for local planning and public health research?

PubMed

Vargo, Jason; Stone, Brian; Glanz, Karen

2012-07-01

We investigate the association of different composite walkability measures with individual walking behaviors to determine if multicomponent metrics of walkability are more useful for assessing the health impacts of the built environment than single component measures. We use a previously published composite walkability measure as well as a new measure that was designed to represent easier methods of combination and which includes 2 metrics obtained using Google data sources. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between walking behavior and walkability metrics. Our results suggest that composite measures of walkability are more consistent predictors of walking behavior than single component measures. Furthermore, a walkability measure developed using free, publicly available data from Google was found to be nearly as effective in predicting walking outcomes as a walkability measure derived without such publicly and nationally available measures. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of free and locally relevant data for assessing walkable environments. This facilitates the use of locally derived and adaptive tools for evaluating the health impacts of the built environment.

A Java-based tool for creating KML files from GPS waypoints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinnicutt, P. G.; Rivard, C.; Rimer, S.

2008-12-01

Google Earth provides a free tool with powerful capabilities for visualizing geoscience images and data. Commercial software tools exist for doing sophisticated digitizing and spatial modeling , but for the purposes of presentation, visualization and overlaying aerial images with data Google Earth provides much of the functionality. Likewise, with current technologies in GPS (Global Positioning System) systems and with Google Earth Plus, it is possible to upload GPS waypoints, tracks and routes directly into Google Earth for visualization. However, older technology GPS units and even low-cost GPS units found today may lack the necessary communications interface to a computer (e.g. no Bluetooth, no WiFi, no USB, no Serial, etc.) or may have an incompatible interface, such as a Serial port but no USB adapter available. In such cases, any waypoints, tracks and routes saved in the GPS unit or recorded in a field notebook must be manually transferred to a computer for use in a GIS system or other program. This presentation describes a Java-based tool developed by the author which enables users to enter GPS coordinates in a user-friendly manner, then save these coordinates in a Keyhole MarkUp Language (KML) file format, for visualization in Google Earth. This tool either accepts user-interactive input or accepts input from a CSV (Comma Separated Value) file, which can be generated from any spreadsheet program. This tool accepts input in the form of lat/long or UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates. This presentation describes this system's applicability through several small case studies. This free and lightweight tool simplifies the task of manually inputting GPS data into Google Earth for people working in the field without an automated mechanism for uploading the data; for instance, the user may not have internet connectivity or may not have the proper hardware or software. Since it is a Java application and not a web- based tool, it can be installed on one's field laptop and the GPS data can be manually entered without the need for internet connectivity. This tool provides a table view of the GPS data, but lacks a KML viewer to view the data overlain on top of an aerial view, as this viewer functionality is provided in Google Earth. The tool's primary contribution lies in its more convenient method for entering the GPS data manually when automated technologies are not available.

100 Colleges Sign Up with Google to Speed Access to Library Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Jeffrey R.

2005-01-01

More than 100 colleges and universities have arranged to give people using the Google Scholar search engine on their campuses more-direct access to library materials. Google Scholar is a free tool that searches scholarly materials on the Web and in academic databases. The new arrangements essentially let Google know which online databases the…

Integrating web 2.0 in clinical research education in a developing country.

PubMed

Amgad, Mohamed; AlFaar, Ahmad Samir

2014-09-01

The use of Web 2.0 tools in education and health care has received heavy attention over the past years. Over two consecutive years, Children's Cancer Hospital - Egypt 57357 (CCHE 57357), in collaboration with Egyptian universities, student bodies, and NGOs, conducted a summer course that supports undergraduate medical students to cross the gap between clinical practice and clinical research. This time, there was a greater emphasis on reaching out to the students using social media and other Web 2.0 tools, which were heavily used in the course, including Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Mendeley, Google Hangout, Live Streaming, Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), and Dropbox. We wanted to investigate the usefulness of integrating Web 2.0 technologies into formal educational courses and modules. The evaluation survey was filled in by 156 respondents, 134 of whom were course candidates (response rate = 94.4 %) and 22 of whom were course coordinators (response rate = 81.5 %). The course participants came from 14 different universities throughout Egypt. Students' feedback was positive and supported the integration of Web 2.0 tools in academic courses and modules. Google Drive, Facebook, and Dropbox were found to be most useful.

Planetary-Scale Geospatial Data Analysis Techniques in Google's Earth Engine Platform (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hancher, M.

2013-12-01

Geoscientists have more and more access to new tools for large-scale computing. With any tool, some tasks are easy and other tasks hard. It is natural to look to new computing platforms to increase the scale and efficiency of existing techniques, but there is a more exiting opportunity to discover and develop a new vocabulary of fundamental analysis idioms that are made easy and effective by these new tools. Google's Earth Engine platform is a cloud computing environment for earth data analysis that combines a public data catalog with a large-scale computational facility optimized for parallel processing of geospatial data. The data catalog includes a nearly complete archive of scenes from Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 that have been processed by the USGS, as well as a wide variety of other remotely-sensed and ancillary data products. Earth Engine supports a just-in-time computation model that enables real-time preview during algorithm development and debugging as well as during experimental data analysis and open-ended data exploration. Data processing operations are performed in parallel across many computers in Google's datacenters. The platform automatically handles many traditionally-onerous data management tasks, such as data format conversion, reprojection, resampling, and associating image metadata with pixel data. Early applications of Earth Engine have included the development of Google's global cloud-free fifteen-meter base map and global multi-decadal time-lapse animations, as well as numerous large and small experimental analyses by scientists from a range of academic, government, and non-governmental institutions, working in a wide variety of application areas including forestry, agriculture, urban mapping, and species habitat modeling. Patterns in the successes and failures of these early efforts have begun to emerge, sketching the outlines of a new set of simple and effective approaches to geospatial data analysis.

Google Earth as a (Not Just) Geography Education Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Todd C.

2007-01-01

The implementation of Geographic Information Science (GIScience) applications and discussion of GIScience-related themes are useful for teaching fundamental geographic and technological concepts. As one of the newest geographic information tools available on the World Wide Web, Google Earth has considerable potential to enhance methods for…

The Adversarial Route Analysis Tool: A Web Application

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

Casson, William H. Jr.

2012-08-02

The Adversarial Route Analysis Tool is a type of Google maps for adversaries. It's a web-based Geospatial application similar to Google Maps. It helps the U.S. government plan operations that predict where an adversary might be. It's easily accessible and maintainble and it's simple to use without much training.

Avoiding the Target Language with the Help of Google: Managing Language Choices in Gathering Information for EFL Project Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musk, Nigel

2014-01-01

The integration of translation tools into the Google search engine has led to a huge increase in the visibility and accessibility of such tools, with potentially far-reaching implications for the English language classroom. Although these translation tools are the focus of this study, using them is in fact only one way in which English language…

Don't Just Do the Math--Type It!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Greg

2016-01-01

Most word processors, including Google Docs™ and Microsoft® Word, include an equation editor. These are great tools for the occasional homework problem or project assignment. Getting the mathematics to display correctly means making decisions about exactly which elements of an expression go where. The feedback is immediate: Students can see…

Curating the Web: Building a Google Custom Search Engine for the Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hennesy, Cody; Bowman, John

2008-01-01

Google's first foray onto the web made search simple and results relevant. With its Co-op platform, Google has taken another step toward dramatically increasing the relevancy of search results, further adapting the World Wide Web to local needs. Google Custom Search Engine, a tool on the Co-op platform, puts one in control of his or her own search…

Google Maps offers a new way to evaluate claudication.

PubMed

Khambati, Husain; Boles, Kim; Jetty, Prasad

2017-05-01

Accurate determination of walking capacity is important for the clinical diagnosis and management plan for patients with peripheral arterial disease. The current "gold standard" of measurement is walking distance on a treadmill. However, treadmill testing is not always reflective of the patient's natural walking conditions, and it may not be fully accessible in every vascular clinic. The objective of this study was to determine whether Google Maps, the readily available GPS-based mapping tool, offers an accurate and accessible method of evaluating walking distances in vascular claudication patients. Patients presenting to the outpatient vascular surgery clinic between November 2013 and April 2014 at the Ottawa Hospital with vasculogenic calf, buttock, and thigh claudication symptoms were identified and prospectively enrolled in our study. Onset of claudication symptoms and maximal walking distance (MWD) were evaluated using four tools: history; Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ), a validated claudication survey; Google Maps distance calculator (patients were asked to report their daily walking routes on the Google Maps-based tool runningmap.com, and walking distances were calculated accordingly); and treadmill testing for onset of symptoms and MWD, recorded in a double-blinded fashion. Fifteen patients were recruited for the study. Determination of walking distances using Google Maps proved to be more accurate than by both clinical history and WIQ, correlating highly with the gold standard of treadmill testing for both claudication onset (r = .805; P < .001) and MWD (r = .928; P < .0001). In addition, distances were generally under-reported on history and WIQ. The Google Maps tool was also efficient, with reporting times averaging below 4 minutes. For vascular claudicants with no other walking limitations, Google Maps is a promising new tool that combines the objective strengths of the treadmill test and incorporates real-world walking environments. It offers an accurate, efficient, inexpensive, and readily accessible way to assess walking distances in patients with peripheral vascular disease. Copyright © 2017 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How To: Maximize Google

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branzburg, Jeffrey

2004-01-01

Google is shaking out to be the leading Web search engine, with recent research from Nielsen NetRatings reporting about 40 percent of all U.S. households using the tool at least once in January 2004. This brief article discusses how teachers and students can maximize their use of Google.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2009-12-01

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

Google Scholar and the Continuing Education Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howland, Jared L.; Howell, Scott; Wright, Thomas C.; Dickson, Cody

2009-01-01

The recent introduction of Google Scholar has renewed hope that someday a powerful research tool will bring continuing education literature more quickly, freely, and completely to one's computer. The authors suggest that using Google Scholar with other traditional search methods will narrow the research gap between what is discoverable and…

Teaching Waves with Google Earth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logiurato, Fabrizio

2012-01-01

Google Earth is a huge source of interesting illustrations of various natural phenomena. It can represent a valuable tool for science education, not only for teaching geography and geology, but also physics. Here we suggest that Google Earth can be used for introducing in an attractive way the physics of waves. (Contains 9 figures.)

When It Pays to Pay for Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsborough, Reid

2004-01-01

There comes a time when one asks even of Yahoo, even of Google, "Is this all?" Yahoo and Google do an admirable job of categorizing the Internet and making its contents more accessible. But ultimately they're search tools, not research tools. There's a great deal of information not on the Internet, particularly thoroughly researched,…

Sedimentation and erosion in Lake Diefenbaker, Canada: solutions for shoreline retreat monitoring.

PubMed

Sadeghian, Amir; de Boer, Dirk; Lindenschmidt, Karl-Erich

2017-09-15

This study looks into sedimentation and erosion rates in Lake Diefenbaker, a prairie reservoir, in Saskatchewan, Canada, which has been in operation since 1968. First, we looked at the historical data in all different formats over the last 70 years, which includes data from more than 20 years before the formation of the lake. The field observations indicate high rates of shoreline erosion, especially in the upstream portion as a potential region for shoreline retreat. Because of the great importance of this waterbody to the province, monitoring sedimentation and erosion rates is necessary for maintaining the quality of water especially after severe floods which are more common due to climate change effects. Second, we used Google Maps Elevation API, a new tool from Google that provides elevation data for cross sections drawn between two points, by drawing 24 cross sections in the upstream area extending 250 m from each bank. This feature from Google can be used as an easy and fast monitoring tool, is free of charge, and provides excellent control capabilities for monitoring changes in cross-sectional profiles.

Information Literacy Skills: Comparing and Evaluating Databases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grismore, Brian A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this database comparison is to express the importance of teaching information literacy skills and to apply those skills to commonly used Internet-based research tools. This paper includes a comparison and evaluation of three databases (ProQuest, ERIC, and Google Scholar). It includes strengths and weaknesses of each database based…

Croatian Medical Journal citation score in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar.

PubMed

Sember, Marijan; Utrobicić, Ana; Petrak, Jelka

2010-04-01

To analyze the 2007 citation count of articles published by the Croatian Medical Journal in 2005-2006 based on data from the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Web of Science and Scopus were searched for the articles published in 2005-2006. As all articles returned by Scopus were included in Web of Science, the latter list was the sample for further analysis. Total citation counts for each article on the list were retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The overlap and unique citations were compared and analyzed. Proportions were compared using chi(2)-test. Google Scholar returned the greatest proportion of articles with citations (45%), followed by Scopus (42%), and Web of Science (38%). Almost a half (49%) of articles had no citations and 11% had an equal number of identical citations in all 3 databases. The greatest overlap was found between Web of Science and Scopus (54%), followed by Scopus and Google Scholar (51%), and Web of Science and Google Scholar (44%). The greatest number of unique citations was found by Google Scholar (n=86). The majority of these citations (64%) came from journals, followed by books and PhD theses. Approximately 55% of all citing documents were full-text resources in open access. The language of citing documents was mostly English, but as many as 25 citing documents (29%) were in Chinese. Google Scholar shares a total of 42% citations returned by two others, more influential, bibliographic resources. The list of unique citations in Google Scholar is predominantly journal based, but these journals are mainly of local character. Citations received by internationally recognized medical journals are crucial for increasing the visibility of small medical journals but Google Scholar may serve as an alternative bibliometric tool for an orientational citation insight.

Students' Evaluation of Google Hangouts through a Cross-Cultural Group Discussion Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobayashi, Michiko

2015-01-01

The study investigated perceived ease of use and usefulness of Google Hangouts as an instructional/learning tool. Forty-two teacher education students at U.S and Japanese universities participated in an online cross-cultural activity using Google Hangouts and discussed cultural differences between the two countries and their teaching philosophies.…

Working Together: Google Apps Goes to School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oishi, Lindsay

2007-01-01

Online collaboration and project-management tools allow people to work together without being in the same place at the same time. However, that is not all, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, for example, allows the creation of documents and spreadsheets just like in Microsoft Word and Excel, but with more collaborative capacity. Google Calendar lets…

Google Scholar Usage: An Academic Library's Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Ya; Howard, Pamela

2012-01-01

Google Scholar is a free service that provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly works and to connect patrons with the resources libraries provide. The researchers in this study analyzed Google Scholar usage data from 2006 for three library tools at San Francisco State University: SFX link resolver, Web Access Management proxy server,…

Wearable technology: using Google Glass as a teaching tool

PubMed Central

Knight, Hui Min; Gajendragadkar, Parag Ravindra; Bokhari, Awais

2015-01-01

Wearable technology holds great promise in revolutionising healthcare delivery. The benefits can also be seen in medical education and delivering healthcare in remote places. We report the use of Google Glass technology as a teaching tool in broadcasting a procedure onto a mobile phone as a viewer, replacing expensive and often cumbersome existing equipment. PMID:25969411

Multi-Instrument Tools and Services to Access NASA Earth Science Data from the GSFC Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kempler, Steve; Leptoukh, Greg; Lynnes, Chris

2010-01-01

The presentation purpose is to describe multi-instrument tools and services that facilitate access and usability of NASA Earth science data at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). NASA's Earth observing system includes 14 satellites. Topics include EOSDIS facilities and system architecture, and overview of GSFC Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) mission, Mirador data search, Giovanni, multi-instrument data exploration, Google Earth[TM], data merging, and applications.

Presenting Big Data in Google Earth with KML

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagemark, B.

2006-12-01

KML 2.1 and Google Earth 4 provides support to enable streaming of very large datasets, with "smart" loading of data at multiple levels of resolution and incremental update to previously loaded data. This presentation demonstrates this technology for use with the Google Earth KML geometry and image primitives and shows some techniques and tools for creating this KML.

Low-cost Tools for Aerial Video Geolocation and Air Traffic Analysis for Delay Reduction Using Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zetterlind, V.; Pledgie, S.

2009-12-01

Low-cost, low-latency, robust geolocation and display of aerial video is a common need for a wide range of earth observing as well as emergency response and security applications. While hardware costs for aerial video collection systems, GPS, and inertial sensors have been decreasing, software costs for geolocation algorithms and reference imagery/DTED remain expensive and highly proprietary. As part of a Federal Small Business Innovative Research project, MosaicATM and EarthNC, Inc have developed a simple geolocation system based on the Google Earth API and Google's 'built-in' DTED and reference imagery libraries. This system geolocates aerial video based on platform and camera position, attitude, and field-of-view metadata using geometric photogrammetric principles of ray-intersection with DTED. Geolocated video can be directly rectified and viewed in the Google Earth API during processing. Work is underway to extend our geolocation code to NASA World Wind for additional flexibility and a fully open-source platform. In addition to our airborne remote sensing work, MosaicATM has developed the Surface Operations Data Analysis and Adaptation (SODAA) tool, funded by NASA Ames, which supports analysis of airport surface operations to optimize aircraft movements and reduce fuel burn and delays. As part of SODAA, MosaicATM and EarthNC, Inc have developed powerful tools to display national airspace data and time-animated 3D flight tracks in Google Earth for 4D analysis. The SODAA tool can convert raw format flight track data, FAA National Flight Data (NFD), and FAA 'Adaptation' airport surface data to a spatial database representation and then to Google Earth KML. The SODAA client provides users with a simple graphical interface through which to generate queries with a wide range of predefined and custom filters, plot results, and export for playback in Google Earth in conjunction with NFD and Adaptation overlays.

Google Translate as a Supplementary Tool for Learning Malay: A Case Study at Universiti Sains Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahri, Hossein; Mahadi, Tengku Sepora Tengku

2016-01-01

The present paper examines the use of Google Translate as a supplementary tool for helping international students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to learn and develop their knowledge and skills in learning Bahasa Malaysia (Malay Language). The participants of the study were 16 international students at the School of Languages, Literacies, and…

Wearable technology: using Google Glass as a teaching tool.

PubMed

Knight, Hui Min; Gajendragadkar, Parag Ravindra; Bokhari, Awais

2015-05-12

Wearable technology holds great promise in revolutionising healthcare delivery. The benefits can also be seen in medical education and delivering healthcare in remote places. We report the use of Google Glass technology as a teaching tool in broadcasting a procedure onto a mobile phone as a viewer, replacing expensive and often cumbersome existing equipment. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Online tools for individuals with depression and neurologic conditions: A scoping review.

PubMed

Lukmanji, Sara; Pham, Tram; Blaikie, Laura; Clark, Callie; Jetté, Nathalie; Wiebe, Samuel; Bulloch, Andrew; Holroyd-Leduc, Jayna; Macrodimitris, Sophia; Mackie, Aaron; Patten, Scott B

2017-08-01

Patients with neurologic conditions commonly have depression. Online tools have the potential to improve outcomes in these patients in an efficient and accessible manner. We aimed to identify evidence-informed online tools for patients with comorbid neurologic conditions and depression. A scoping review of online tools (free, publicly available, and not requiring a facilitator) for patients with depression and epilepsy, Parkinson disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or migraine was conducted. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials were searched from database inception to January 2017 for all 5 neurologic conditions. Gray literature using Google and Google Scholar as well as app stores for both Android and Apple devices were searched. Self-management or self-efficacy online tools were not included unless they were specifically targeted at depression and one of the neurologic conditions and met the other eligibility criteria. Only 4 online tools were identified. Of these 4 tools, 2 were web-based self-management programs for patients with migraine or MS and depression. The other 2 were mobile apps for patients with PD or TBI and depression. No online tools were found for epilepsy. There are limited depression tools for people with neurologic conditions that are evidence-informed, publicly available, and free. Future research should focus on the development of high-quality, evidence-based online tools targeted at neurologic patients.

Is Google Trends a reliable tool for digital epidemiology? Insights from different clinical settings.

PubMed

Cervellin, Gianfranco; Comelli, Ivan; Lippi, Giuseppe

2017-09-01

Internet-derived information has been recently recognized as a valuable tool for epidemiological investigation. Google Trends, a Google Inc. portal, generates data on geographical and temporal patterns according to specified keywords. The aim of this study was to compare the reliability of Google Trends in different clinical settings, for both common diseases with lower media coverage, and for less common diseases attracting major media coverage. We carried out a search in Google Trends using the keywords "renal colic", "epistaxis", and "mushroom poisoning", selected on the basis of available and reliable epidemiological data. Besides this search, we carried out a second search for three clinical conditions (i.e., "meningitis", "Legionella Pneumophila pneumonia", and "Ebola fever"), which recently received major focus by the Italian media. In our analysis, no correlation was found between data captured from Google Trends and epidemiology of renal colics, epistaxis and mushroom poisoning. Only when searching for the term "mushroom" alone the Google Trends search generated a seasonal pattern which almost overlaps with the epidemiological profile, but this was probably mostly due to searches for harvesting and cooking rather than to for poisoning. The Google Trends data also failed to reflect the geographical and temporary patterns of disease for meningitis, Legionella Pneumophila pneumonia and Ebola fever. The results of our study confirm that Google Trends has modest reliability for defining the epidemiology of relatively common diseases with minor media coverage, or relatively rare diseases with higher audience. Overall, Google Trends seems to be more influenced by the media clamor than by true epidemiological burden. Copyright © 2017 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Google Search Queries About Neurosurgical Topics: Are They a Suitable Guide for Neurosurgeons?

PubMed

Lawson McLean, Anna C; Lawson McLean, Aaron; Kalff, Rolf; Walter, Jan

2016-06-01

Google is the most popular search engine, with about 100 billion searches per month. Google Trends is an integrated tool that allows users to obtain Google's search popularity statistics from the last decade. Our aim was to evaluate whether Google Trends is a useful tool to assess the public's interest in specific neurosurgical topics. We evaluated Google Trends statistics for the neurosurgical search topic areas "hydrocephalus," "spinal stenosis," "concussion," "vestibular schwannoma," and "cerebral arteriovenous malformation." We compared these with bibliometric data from PubMed and epidemiologic data from the German Federal Monitoring Agency. In addition, we assessed Google users' search behavior for the search terms "glioblastoma" and "meningioma." Over the last 10 years, there has been an increasing interest in the topic "concussion" from Internet users in general and scientists. "Spinal stenosis," "concussion," and "vestibular schwannoma" are topics that are of special interest in high-income countries (eg, Germany), whereas "hydrocephalus" is a popular topic in low- and middle-income countries. The Google-defined top searches within these topic areas revealed more detail about people's interests (eg, "normal pressure hydrocephalus" or "football concussion" ranked among the most popular search queries within the corresponding topics). There was a similar volume of queries for "glioblastoma" and "meningioma." Google Trends is a useful source to elicit information about general trends in peoples' health interests and the role of different diseases across the world. The Internet presence of neurosurgical units and surgeons can be guided by online users' interests to achieve high-quality, professional-endorsed patient education. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Front-End to Google for Teachers' Online Searching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seyedarabi, Faezeh

2006-01-01

This paper reports on an ongoing work in designing and developing a personalised search tool for teachers' online searching using Google search engine (repository) for the implementation and testing of the first research prototype.

The Use of Google Trends in Health Care Research: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Nuti, Sudhakar V.; Wayda, Brian; Ranasinghe, Isuru; Wang, Sisi; Dreyer, Rachel P.; Chen, Serene I.; Murugiah, Karthik

2014-01-01

Background Google Trends is a novel, freely accessible tool that allows users to interact with Internet search data, which may provide deep insights into population behavior and health-related phenomena. However, there is limited knowledge about its potential uses and limitations. We therefore systematically reviewed health care literature using Google Trends to classify articles by topic and study aim; evaluate the methodology and validation of the tool; and address limitations for its use in research. Methods and Findings PRISMA guidelines were followed. Two independent reviewers systematically identified studies utilizing Google Trends for health care research from MEDLINE and PubMed. Seventy studies met our inclusion criteria. Google Trends publications increased seven-fold from 2009 to 2013. Studies were classified into four topic domains: infectious disease (27% of articles), mental health and substance use (24%), other non-communicable diseases (16%), and general population behavior (33%). By use, 27% of articles utilized Google Trends for casual inference, 39% for description, and 34% for surveillance. Among surveillance studies, 92% were validated against a reference standard data source, and 80% of studies using correlation had a correlation statistic ≥0.70. Overall, 67% of articles provided a rationale for their search input. However, only 7% of articles were reproducible based on complete documentation of search strategy. We present a checklist to facilitate appropriate methodological documentation for future studies. A limitation of the study is the challenge of classifying heterogeneous studies utilizing a novel data source. Conclusion Google Trends is being used to study health phenomena in a variety of topic domains in myriad ways. However, poor documentation of methods precludes the reproducibility of the findings. Such documentation would enable other researchers to determine the consistency of results provided by Google Trends for a well-specified query over time. Furthermore, greater transparency can improve its reliability as a research tool. PMID:25337815

The use of google trends in health care research: a systematic review.

PubMed

Nuti, Sudhakar V; Wayda, Brian; Ranasinghe, Isuru; Wang, Sisi; Dreyer, Rachel P; Chen, Serene I; Murugiah, Karthik

2014-01-01

Google Trends is a novel, freely accessible tool that allows users to interact with Internet search data, which may provide deep insights into population behavior and health-related phenomena. However, there is limited knowledge about its potential uses and limitations. We therefore systematically reviewed health care literature using Google Trends to classify articles by topic and study aim; evaluate the methodology and validation of the tool; and address limitations for its use in research. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Two independent reviewers systematically identified studies utilizing Google Trends for health care research from MEDLINE and PubMed. Seventy studies met our inclusion criteria. Google Trends publications increased seven-fold from 2009 to 2013. Studies were classified into four topic domains: infectious disease (27% of articles), mental health and substance use (24%), other non-communicable diseases (16%), and general population behavior (33%). By use, 27% of articles utilized Google Trends for casual inference, 39% for description, and 34% for surveillance. Among surveillance studies, 92% were validated against a reference standard data source, and 80% of studies using correlation had a correlation statistic ≥0.70. Overall, 67% of articles provided a rationale for their search input. However, only 7% of articles were reproducible based on complete documentation of search strategy. We present a checklist to facilitate appropriate methodological documentation for future studies. A limitation of the study is the challenge of classifying heterogeneous studies utilizing a novel data source. Google Trends is being used to study health phenomena in a variety of topic domains in myriad ways. However, poor documentation of methods precludes the reproducibility of the findings. Such documentation would enable other researchers to determine the consistency of results provided by Google Trends for a well-specified query over time. Furthermore, greater transparency can improve its reliability as a research tool.

A method for the design and development of medical or health care information websites to optimize search engine results page rankings on Google.

PubMed

Dunne, Suzanne; Cummins, Niamh Maria; Hannigan, Ailish; Shannon, Bill; Dunne, Colum; Cullen, Walter

2013-08-27

The Internet is a widely used source of information for patients searching for medical/health care information. While many studies have assessed existing medical/health care information on the Internet, relatively few have examined methods for design and delivery of such websites, particularly those aimed at the general public. This study describes a method of evaluating material for new medical/health care websites, or for assessing those already in existence, which is correlated with higher rankings on Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). A website quality assessment (WQA) tool was developed using criteria related to the quality of the information to be contained in the website in addition to an assessment of the readability of the text. This was retrospectively applied to assess existing websites that provide information about generic medicines. The reproducibility of the WQA tool and its predictive validity were assessed in this study. The WQA tool demonstrated very high reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.95) between 2 independent users. A moderate to strong correlation was found between WQA scores and rankings on Google SERPs. Analogous correlations were seen between rankings and readability of websites as determined by Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores. The use of the WQA tool developed in this study is recommended as part of the design phase of a medical or health care information provision website, along with assessment of readability of the material to be used. This may ensure that the website performs better on Google searches. The tool can also be used retrospectively to make improvements to existing websites, thus, potentially enabling better Google search result positions without incurring the costs associated with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals or paid promotion.

Towards a geospatial wikipedia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritz, S.; McCallum, I.; Schill, C.; Perger, C.; Kraxner, F.; Obersteiner, M.

2009-04-01

Based on the Google Earth (http://earth.google.com) platform we have developed a geospatial Wikipedia (geo-wiki.org). The tool allows everybody in the world to contribute to spatial validation and is made available to the internet community interested in that task. We illustrate how this tool can be used for different applications. In our first application we combine uncertainty hotspot information from three global land cover datasets (GLC, MODIS, GlobCover). With an ever increasing amount of high resolution images available on Google Earth, it is becoming increasingly possible to distinguish land cover features with a high degree of accuracy. We first direct the land cover validation community to certain hotspots of land cover uncertainty and then ask them to fill in a small popup menu on type of land cover, possibly a picture at that location with the different cardinal points as well as date and what type of validation was chosen (google earth imagery/panoramio or if the person has ground truth data). We have implemented the tool via a land cover validation community at FACEBOOK which is based on a snowball system which allows the tracking of individuals and the possibility to ignore users which misuse the system. In a second application we illustrate how the tool could possibly be used for mapping malaria occurrence and small water bodies as well as overall malaria risk. For this application we have implemented a polygon as well as attribute function using Google maps as along with virtual earth using openlayers. The third application deals with illegal logging and how an alert system for illegal logging detection within a certain land tenure system could be implemented. Here we show how the tool can be used to document illegal logging via a YouTube video.

Seasonal trends in hypertension in Poland: evidence from Google search engine query data.

PubMed

Płatek, Anna E; Sierdziński, Janusz; Krzowski, Bartosz; Szymański, Filip M

2018-01-01

Various conditions, including arterial hypertension, exhibit seasonal trends in their occurrence and magnitude. Those trends correspond to an interest exhibited in the number of Internet searches for the specific conditions per month. The aim of the study was to show seasonal trends in the hypertension prevalence in Poland relate to the data from the Google Trends tool. Internet search engine query data were retrieved from Google Trends from January 2008 to November 2017. Data were calculated as a monthly normalised search volume from the nine-year period. Data was presented for specific geographic regions, including Poland, the United States of America, Australia, and worldwide for the following search terms: "arterial hypertension (pol. nadciśnienie tętnicze)", "hypertension (pol. nadciśnienie)" and "hypertension medical condition". Seasonal effects were calculated using regression models and presented graphically. In Poland the search volume is the highest between November and May, while patients exhibit the least interest in arterial hypertension during summer holidays (p < 0.05). Seasonal variations are comparable in the United States of America representing a Northern hemisphere country, while in Australia (Southern hemisphere) they exhibit a contrary trend. In conclusion, arterial hypertension is more likely to occur during winter months, which correlates with increased interest in the search phrase "hypertension" in Google.

Streets? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Streets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, J.

2017-12-01

In 2007 Google Street View started as a project to provide 360-degree imagery along streets, but in the decade since has evolved into a platform through which to explore everywhere from the slope of everest, to the middle of the Amazon rainforest to under the ocean. As camera technology has evolved it has also become a tool for ground truthing maps, and provided scientific observations, storytelling and education. The Google Street View "special collects" team has undertaken increasingly more challenging projects across 80+ countries and every continent. All of which culminated in possibly the most ambitious collection yet, the capture of Street View on board the International Space Station. Learn about the preparation and obstacles behind this and other special collects. Explore these datasets through both Google Earth and Google Expeditions VR, an educational tool to take students on virtual field trips using 360 degree imagery.

Croatian Medical Journal Citation Score in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar

PubMed Central

Šember, Marijan; Utrobičić, Ana; Petrak, Jelka

2010-01-01

Aim To analyze the 2007 citation count of articles published by the Croatian Medical Journal in 2005-2006 based on data from the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Methods Web of Science and Scopus were searched for the articles published in 2005-2006. As all articles returned by Scopus were included in Web of Science, the latter list was the sample for further analysis. Total citation counts for each article on the list were retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The overlap and unique citations were compared and analyzed. Proportions were compared using χ2-test. Results Google Scholar returned the greatest proportion of articles with citations (45%), followed by Scopus (42%), and Web of Science (38%). Almost a half (49%) of articles had no citations and 11% had an equal number of identical citations in all 3 databases. The greatest overlap was found between Web of Science and Scopus (54%), followed by Scopus and Google Scholar (51%), and Web of Science and Google Scholar (44%). The greatest number of unique citations was found by Google Scholar (n = 86). The majority of these citations (64%) came from journals, followed by books and PhD theses. Approximately 55% of all citing documents were full-text resources in open access. The language of citing documents was mostly English, but as many as 25 citing documents (29%) were in Chinese. Conclusion Google Scholar shares a total of 42% citations returned by two others, more influential, bibliographic resources. The list of unique citations in Google Scholar is predominantly journal based, but these journals are mainly of local character. Citations received by internationally recognized medical journals are crucial for increasing the visibility of small medical journals but Google Scholar may serve as an alternative bibliometric tool for an orientational citation insight. PMID:20401951

Using Google Glass in Surgical Settings: Systematic Review.

PubMed

Wei, Nancy J; Dougherty, Bryn; Myers, Aundria; Badawy, Sherif M

2018-03-06

In recent years, wearable devices have become increasingly attractive and the health care industry has been especially drawn to Google Glass because of its ability to serve as a head-mounted wearable device. The use of Google Glass in surgical settings is of particular interest due to the hands-free device potential to streamline workflow and maintain sterile conditions in an operating room environment. The aim is to conduct a systematic evaluation of the literature on the feasibility and acceptability of using Google Glass in surgical settings and to assess the potential benefits and limitations of its application. The literature was searched for articles published between January 2013 and May 2017. The search included the following databases: PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO (EBSCO), and IEEE Xplore. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and assessed full-text articles. Original research articles that evaluated the feasibility, usability, or acceptability of using Google Glass in surgical settings were included. This review was completed following the Preferred Reporting Results of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Of the 520 records obtained, 31 met all predefined criteria and were included in this review. Google Glass was used in various surgical specialties. Most studies were in the United States (23/31, 74%) and all were conducted in hospital settings: 29 in adult hospitals (29/31, 94%) and two in children's hospitals (2/31, 7%). Sample sizes of participants who wore Google Glass ranged from 1 to 40. Of the 31 studies, 25 (81%) were conducted under real-time conditions or actual clinical care settings, whereas the other six (19%) were conducted under simulated environment. Twenty-six studies were pilot or feasibility studies (84%), three were case studies (10%), and two were randomized controlled trials (6%). The majority of studies examined the potential use of Google Glass as an intraoperative intervention (27/31, 87%), whereas others observed its potential use in preoperative (4/31, 13%) and postoperative settings (5/31, 16%). Google Glass was utilized as a videography and photography device (21/31, 68%), a vital sign monitor (6/31, 19%), a surgical navigation display (5/31, 16%), and as a videoconferencing tool to communicate with remote surgeons intraoperatively (5/31, 16%). Most studies reported moderate or high acceptability of using Google Glass in surgical settings. The main reported limitations of using Google Glass utilization were short battery life (8/31, 26%) and difficulty with hands-free features (5/31, 16%). There are promising feasibility and usability data of using Google Glass in surgical settings with particular benefits for surgical education and training. Despite existing technical limitations, Google Glass was generally well received and several studies in surgical settings acknowledged its potential for training, consultation, patient monitoring, and audiovisual recording. ©Nancy J Wei, Bryn Dougherty, Aundria Myers, Sherif M Badawy. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 06.03.2018.

Using Google Glass in Surgical Settings: Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Wei, Nancy J; Dougherty, Bryn; Myers, Aundria

2018-01-01

Background In recent years, wearable devices have become increasingly attractive and the health care industry has been especially drawn to Google Glass because of its ability to serve as a head-mounted wearable device. The use of Google Glass in surgical settings is of particular interest due to the hands-free device potential to streamline workflow and maintain sterile conditions in an operating room environment. Objective The aim is to conduct a systematic evaluation of the literature on the feasibility and acceptability of using Google Glass in surgical settings and to assess the potential benefits and limitations of its application. Methods The literature was searched for articles published between January 2013 and May 2017. The search included the following databases: PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO (EBSCO), and IEEE Xplore. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and assessed full-text articles. Original research articles that evaluated the feasibility, usability, or acceptability of using Google Glass in surgical settings were included. This review was completed following the Preferred Reporting Results of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Results Of the 520 records obtained, 31 met all predefined criteria and were included in this review. Google Glass was used in various surgical specialties. Most studies were in the United States (23/31, 74%) and all were conducted in hospital settings: 29 in adult hospitals (29/31, 94%) and two in children’s hospitals (2/31, 7%). Sample sizes of participants who wore Google Glass ranged from 1 to 40. Of the 31 studies, 25 (81%) were conducted under real-time conditions or actual clinical care settings, whereas the other six (19%) were conducted under simulated environment. Twenty-six studies were pilot or feasibility studies (84%), three were case studies (10%), and two were randomized controlled trials (6%). The majority of studies examined the potential use of Google Glass as an intraoperative intervention (27/31, 87%), whereas others observed its potential use in preoperative (4/31, 13%) and postoperative settings (5/31, 16%). Google Glass was utilized as a videography and photography device (21/31, 68%), a vital sign monitor (6/31, 19%), a surgical navigation display (5/31, 16%), and as a videoconferencing tool to communicate with remote surgeons intraoperatively (5/31, 16%). Most studies reported moderate or high acceptability of using Google Glass in surgical settings. The main reported limitations of using Google Glass utilization were short battery life (8/31, 26%) and difficulty with hands-free features (5/31, 16%). Conclusions There are promising feasibility and usability data of using Google Glass in surgical settings with particular benefits for surgical education and training. Despite existing technical limitations, Google Glass was generally well received and several studies in surgical settings acknowledged its potential for training, consultation, patient monitoring, and audiovisual recording. PMID:29510969

Technology and Information Tool Preferences of Academics in the Field of Anaesthesiology

PubMed Central

Akkaya, Akcan; Bilgi, Murat; Demirhan, Abdullah; Kurt, Adem Deniz; Tekelioğlu, Ümit Yaşar; Akkaya, Kadir; Koçoğlu, Hasan; Tekçe, Hikmet

2014-01-01

Objective Researchers use a large number of information technology tools from the beginning until the publication of a scientific study. The aim of the study is to investigate the technology and data processing tool usage preferences of academics who produce scientific publications in the field of anaesthesiology. Methods A multiple-choice survey, including 18 questions regarding the use of technology to assess the preferences of academicians, was performed. Results PubMed has been the most preferred article search portal, and the second is Google Academic. Medscape has become the most preferred medical innovation tracking website. Only 12% of academicians obtain a clinical trial registration number for their randomized clinical research. In total, 28% of respondents used the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials checklist in their clinical trials. Of all participants, 21% was using Dropbox and 9% was using Google-Drive for sharing files. Google Chrome was the most preferred internet browser (32.25%) for academic purposes. English language editing service was obtained from the Scribendi (21%) and Textcheck (12%) websites. Half of the academics were getting help from their specialist with a personal relationship, 27% was doing it themselves, and 24% was obtaining professional assistance for statistical requirements. Sixty percent of the participants were not using a reference editing program, and 21% was using EndNote. Nine percent of the academics were spending money for article writing, and the mean cost was 1287 Turkish Liras/year. Conclusion Academics in the field of anaesthesiology significantly benefit from technology and informatics tools to produce scientific publications. PMID:27366448

Use of Google Glass to Enhance Surgical Education of Neurosurgery Residents: "Proof-of-Concept" Study.

PubMed

Nakhla, Jonathan; Kobets, Andrew; De la Garza Ramos, Rafeal; Haranhalli, Neil; Gelfand, Yaroslav; Ammar, Adam; Echt, Murray; Scoco, Aleka; Kinon, Merritt; Yassari, Reza

2017-02-01

The relatively decreased time spent in the operating room and overall reduction in cases performed by neurosurgical trainees as a result of duty-hour restrictions demands that the pedagogical content within each surgical encounter be maximized and crafted toward the specific talents and shortcomings of the individual. It is imperative to future generations that the quality of training adapts to the changing administrative infrastructures and compensates for anything that may compromise the technical abilities of trainees. Neurosurgeons in teaching hospitals continue to experiment with various emerging technologies-such as simulators and virtual presence-to supplement and improve surgical training. The authors participated in the Google Glass Explorer Program in order to assess the applicability of Google Glass as a tool to enhance the operative education of neurosurgical residents. Google Glass is a type of wearable technology in the form of eyeglasses that employs a high-definition camera and allows the user to interact using voice commands. Google Glass was able to effectively capture video segments of various lengths for residents to review in a variety of clinical settings within a large, tertiary care university hospital, as well as during a surgical mission to a developing country. The resolution and quality of the video were adequate to review and use as a teaching tool. While Google Glass harbors the potential to dramatically improve both neurosurgical education and practice in a variety of ways, certain technical drawbacks of the current model limit its effectiveness as a teaching tool. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

OntoMaton: a bioportal powered ontology widget for Google Spreadsheets.

PubMed

Maguire, Eamonn; González-Beltrán, Alejandra; Whetzel, Patricia L; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Rocca-Serra, Philippe

2013-02-15

Data collection in spreadsheets is ubiquitous, but current solutions lack support for collaborative semantic annotation that would promote shared and interdisciplinary annotation practices, supporting geographically distributed players. OntoMaton is an open source solution that brings ontology lookup and tagging capabilities into a cloud-based collaborative editing environment, harnessing Google Spreadsheets and the NCBO Web services. It is a general purpose, format-agnostic tool that may serve as a component of the ISA software suite. OntoMaton can also be used to assist the ontology development process. OntoMaton is freely available from Google widgets under the CPAL open source license; documentation and examples at: https://github.com/ISA-tools/OntoMaton.

Transforming Polar Research with Google Glass Augmented Reality (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruthkoski, T.

2013-12-01

Augmented reality is a new technology with the potential to accelerate the advancement of science, particularly in geophysical research. Augmented reality is defined as a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. When paired with advanced computing techniques on cloud resources, augmented reality has the potential to improve data collection techniques, visualizations, as well as in-situ analysis for many areas of research. Google is currently a pioneer of augmented reality technology and has released beta versions of their wearable computing device, Google Glass, to a select number of developers and beta testers. This community of 'Glass Explorers' is the vehicle from which Google shapes the future of their augmented reality device. Example applications of Google Glass in geophysical research range from use as a data gathering interface in harsh climates to an on-site visualization and analysis tool. Early participation in the shaping of the Google Glass device is an opportunity for researchers to tailor this new technology to their specific needs. The purpose of this presentation is to provide geophysical researchers with a hands-on first look at Google Glass and its potential as a scientific tool. Attendees will be given an overview of the technical specifications as well as a live demonstration of the device. Potential applications to geophysical research in polar regions will be the primary focus. The presentation will conclude with an open call to participate, during which attendees may indicate interest in developing projects that integrate Google Glass into their research. Application Mockup: Penguin Counter Google Glass Augmented Reality Device

Transforming Polar Research with Google Glass Augmented Reality (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramachandran, R.; McEniry, M.; Maskey, M.

2011-12-01

Augmented reality is a new technology with the potential to accelerate the advancement of science, particularly in geophysical research. Augmented reality is defined as a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. When paired with advanced computing techniques on cloud resources, augmented reality has the potential to improve data collection techniques, visualizations, as well as in-situ analysis for many areas of research. Google is currently a pioneer of augmented reality technology and has released beta versions of their wearable computing device, Google Glass, to a select number of developers and beta testers. This community of 'Glass Explorers' is the vehicle from which Google shapes the future of their augmented reality device. Example applications of Google Glass in geophysical research range from use as a data gathering interface in harsh climates to an on-site visualization and analysis tool. Early participation in the shaping of the Google Glass device is an opportunity for researchers to tailor this new technology to their specific needs. The purpose of this presentation is to provide geophysical researchers with a hands-on first look at Google Glass and its potential as a scientific tool. Attendees will be given an overview of the technical specifications as well as a live demonstration of the device. Potential applications to geophysical research in polar regions will be the primary focus. The presentation will conclude with an open call to participate, during which attendees may indicate interest in developing projects that integrate Google Glass into their research. Application Mockup: Penguin Counter Google Glass Augmented Reality Device

USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Survey Data in Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, C.; Steele, C.; Ma, A.; Chin, J.

2006-12-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG) program has a rich data catalog of geologic field activities and metadata called InfoBank, which has been a standard tool for researchers within and outside of the agency. Along with traditional web maps, the data are now accessible in Google Earth, which greatly expands the possible user audience. The Google Earth interface provides geographic orientation and panning/zooming capabilities to locate data relative to topography, bathymetry, and coastal areas. Viewing navigation with Google Earth's background imagery allows queries such as, why areas were not surveyed (answer presence of islands, shorelines, cliffs, etc.). Detailed box core subsample photos from selected sampling activities, published geotechnical data, and sample descriptions are now viewable on Google Earth, (for example, M-1-95-MB, P-2-95-MB, and P-1-97- MB box core samples). One example of the use of Google Earth is CMG's surveys of San Francisco's Ocean Beach since 2004. The surveys are conducted with an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and shallow-water personal watercraft (PWC) equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS), and elevation and echo sounder data collectors. 3D topographic models with centimeter accuracy have been produced from these surveys to monitor beach and nearshore processes, including sand transport, sedimentation patterns, and seasonal trends. Using Google Earth, multiple track line data (examples: OB-1-05-CA and OB-2-05-CA) can be overlaid on beach imagery. The images also help explain the shape of track lines as objects are encountered.

Mapping of Sample Collection Data: GIS Tools for the Natural Product Researcher

PubMed Central

Oberlies, Nicholas H.; Rineer, James I.; Alali, Feras Q.; Tawaha, Khaled; Falkinham, Joseph O.; Wheaton, William D.

2009-01-01

Scientists engaged in the research of natural products often either conduct field collections themselves or collaborate with partners who do, such as botanists, mycologists, or SCUBA divers. The information gleaned from such collecting trips (e.g. longitude/latitude coordinates, geography, elevation, and a multitude of other field observations) have provided valuable data to the scientific community (e.g., biodiversity), even if it is tangential to the direct aims of the natural products research, which are often focused on drug discovery and/or chemical ecology. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used to display, manage, and analyze geographic data, including collection sites for natural products. However, to the uninitiated, these tools are often beyond the financial and/or computational means of the natural product scientist. With new, free, and easy-to-use geospatial visualization tools, such as Google Earth, mapping and geographic imaging of sampling data are now within the reach of natural products scientists. The goals of the present study were to develop simple tools that are tailored for the natural products setting, thereby presenting a means to map such information, particularly via open source software like Google Earth. PMID:20161345

Standing on the shoulders of giants.

PubMed

Romanovsky, Andrej A

2014-01-01

In this editorial, the author explains that the journal Temperature stands on the shoulders of giants-prominent scientists of the past and current members of the Temperature community. Temperature also uses the best tools, such as Google Scholar profiles. The editorial includes a new puzzle: why does warm water freeze faster than cold water?

Netwar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keen, Arthur A.

2006-04-01

This paper describes technology being developed at 21st Century Technologies to automate Computer Network Operations (CNO). CNO refers to DoD activities related to Attacking and Defending Computer Networks (CNA & CND). Next generation cyber threats are emerging in the form of powerful Internet services and tools that automate intelligence gathering, planning, testing, and surveillance. We will focus on "Search-Engine Hacks", queries that can retrieve lists of router/switch/server passwords, control panels, accessible cameras, software keys, VPN connection files, and vulnerable web applications. Examples include "Titan Rain" attacks against DoD facilities and the Santy worm, which identifies vulnerable sites by searching Google for URLs containing application-specific strings. This trend will result in increasingly sophisticated and automated intelligence-driven cyber attacks coordinated across multiple domains that are difficult to defeat or even understand with current technology. One traditional method of CNO relies on surveillance detection as an attack predictor. Unfortunately, surveillance detection is difficult because attackers can perform search engine-driven surveillance such as with Google Hacks, and avoid touching the target site. Therefore, attack observables represent only about 5% of the attacker's total attack time, and are inadequate to provide warning. In order to predict attacks and defend against them, CNO must also employ more sophisticated techniques and work to understand the attacker's Motives, Means and Opportunities (MMO). CNO must use automated reconnaissance tools, such as Google, to identify information vulnerabilities, and then utilize Internet tools to observe the intelligence gathering, planning, testing, and collaboration activities that represent 95% of the attacker's effort.

WorldWide Telescope and Google Sky: New Technologies to Engage Students and the Public

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landsberg, R. H.; Subbarao, M. U.; Dettloff, L.

2010-08-01

New, visually rich, astronomical software environments coupled with large web-accessible data sets hold the promise of new and exciting ways to teach, collaborate, and explore the universe. These freeware tools provide contextual views of astronomical objects, real time access to multi-wavelength sky surveys, and, most importantly, the ability to incorporate new data and to produce user created content. This interactive panel examined the capabilities of Google Sky and WorldWide Telescope, and explored case studies of how these tools have been used to create compelling and participatory educational experiences in both formal (i.e., K-12 and undergraduate non-science majors classrooms), and informal (e.g., museum) settings. The overall goal of this session was to stimulate a discussion about future uses of these technologies. Substantial time was allotted for participants to create conceptual designs of learning experiences for use at their home institutions, with feedback provided by the panel members. Activities included technical discussions (e.g., mechanisms for incorporating new data and dissemination tools), exercises in narrative preparation, and a brainstorming session to identify potential future uses of these technologies.

State of the Oceans: A Satellite Data Processing System for Visualizing Near Real-Time Imagery on Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, C. K.; Bingham, A. W.; Hall, J. R.; Alarcon, C.; Plesea, L.; Henderson, M. L.; Levoe, S.

2011-12-01

The State of the Oceans (SOTO) web tool was developed at NASA's Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as an interactive means for users to visually explore and assess ocean-based geophysical parameters extracted from the latest archived data products. The SOTO system consists of four extensible modules, a data polling tool, a preparation and imaging package, image server software, and the graphical user interface. Together, these components support multi-resolution visualization of swath (Level 2) and gridded Level 3/4) data products as either raster- or vector- based KML layers on Google Earth. These layers are automatically updated periodically throughout the day. Current parameters available include sea surface temperature, chlorophyll concentration, ocean winds, sea surface height anomaly, and sea surface temperature anomaly. SOTO also supports mash-ups, allowing KML feeds from other sources to be overlaid directly onto Google Earth such as hurricane tracks and buoy data. A version of the SOTO software has also been installed at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to support the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). The State of the Earth (SOTE) has similar functionality to SOTO but supports different data sets, among them the MODIS 250m data product.

Leveraging Google Trends, Twitter, and Wikipedia to Investigate the Impact of a Celebrity's Death From Rheumatoid Arthritis.

PubMed

Mahroum, Naim; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Sharif, Kassem; Gianfredi, Vincenza; Nucci, Daniele; Rosselli, Roberto; Brigo, Francesco; Adawi, Mohammad; Amital, Howard; Watad, Abdulla

2018-06-01

Technological advancements, such as patient-centered smartphone applications, have enabled to support self-management of the disease. Further, the accessibility to health information through the Internet has grown tremendously. This article aimed to investigate how big data can be useful to assess the impact of a celebrity's rheumatic disease on the public opinion. Variable tools and statistical/computational approaches have been used, including massive data mining of Google Trends, Wikipedia, Twitter, and big data analytics. These tools were mined using an in-house script, which facilitated the process of data collection, parsing, handling, processing, and normalization. From Google Trends, the temporal correlation between "Anna Marchesini" and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) queries resulted 0.66 before Anna Marchesini's death and 0.90 after Anna Marchesini's death. The geospatial correlation between "Anna Marchesini" and RA queries resulted 0.45 before Anna Marchesini's death and 0.52 after Anna Marchesini's death. From Wikitrends, after Anna Marchesini's death, the number of accesses to Wikipedia page for RA has increased 5770%. From Twitter, 1979 tweets have been retrieved. Numbers of likes, retweets, and hashtags have increased throughout time. Novel data streams and big data analytics are effective to assess the impact of a disease in a famous person on the laypeople.

Towards a next generation open-source video codec

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bankoski, Jim; Bultje, Ronald S.; Grange, Adrian; Gu, Qunshan; Han, Jingning; Koleszar, John; Mukherjee, Debargha; Wilkins, Paul; Xu, Yaowu

2013-02-01

Google has recently been developing a next generation opensource video codec called VP9, as part of the experimental branch of the libvpx repository included in the WebM project (http://www.webmproject.org/). Starting from the VP8 video codec released by Google in 2010 as the baseline, a number of enhancements and new tools have been added to improve the coding efficiency. This paper provides a technical overview of the current status of this project along with comparisons and other stateoftheart video codecs H. 264/AVC and HEVC. The new tools that have been added so far include: larger prediction block sizes up to 64x64, various forms of compound INTER prediction, more modes for INTRA prediction, ⅛pel motion vectors and 8tap switchable subpel interpolation filters, improved motion reference generation and motion vector coding, improved entropy coding and framelevel entropy adaptation for various symbols, improved loop filtering, incorporation of Asymmetric Discrete Sine Transforms and larger 16x16 and 32x32 DCTs, frame level segmentation to group similar areas together, etc. Other tools and various bitstream features are being actively worked on as well. The VP9 bitstream is expected to be finalized by earlyto mid2013. Results show VP9 to be quite competitive in performance with mainstream stateoftheart codecs.

Google Earth as a method for connecting scientific research with the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, J. R.

2012-12-01

Google Earth has proven itself to be an exceptionally successful and ambitious application: fully capable as a scientific tool, yet able to also satisfy the intellectual and virtual touristic needs of students, educators and the general public. It is difficult to overstate Google Earth's impact on our understanding of the World we inhabit, and yet there is also considerable potential that remains unexplored. This paper will discuss Google Earth's potential as a social network for the science community - connecting the general public with scientists, and scientists with their research. This paper will look at the University of Lethbridge's RAVE (Reaching Audiences through Virtual Entryways) project as a model for how this social network can function within the Google Earth environment.

Using Google Earth as an innovative tool for community mapping.

PubMed

Lefer, Theodore B; Anderson, Matthew R; Fornari, Alice; Lambert, Anastasia; Fletcher, Jason; Baquero, Maria

2008-01-01

Maps are used to track diseases and illustrate the social context of health problems. However, commercial mapping software requires special training. This article illustrates how nonspecialists used Google Earth, a free program, to create community maps. The Bronx, New York, is characterized by high levels of obesity and diabetes. Residents and medical students measured the variety and quality of food and exercise sources around a residency training clinic and a student-run free clinic, using Google Earth to create maps with minimal assistance. Locations were identified using street addresses or simply by pointing to them on a map. Maps can be shared via e-mail, viewed online with Google Earth or Google Maps, and the data can be incorporated into other mapping software.

Integration of Apollo Lunar Sample Data into Google Moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dawson, Melissa D.; Todd, Nancy S.; Lofgren, Gary

2010-01-01

The Google Moon Apollo Lunar Sample Data Integration project is a continuation of the Apollo 15 Google Moon Add-On project, which provides a scientific and educational tool for the study of the Moon and its geologic features. The main goal of this project is to provide a user-friendly interface for an interactive and educational outreach and learning tool for the Apollo missions. Specifically, this project?s focus is the dissemination of information about the lunar samples collected during the Apollo missions by providing any additional information needed to enhance the Apollo mission data on Google Moon. Apollo missions 15 and 16 were chosen to be completed first due to the availability of digitized lunar sample photographs and the amount of media associated with these missions. The user will be able to learn about the lunar samples collected in these Apollo missions, as well as see videos, pictures, and 360 degree panoramas of the lunar surface depicting the lunar samples in their natural state, following collection and during processing at NASA. Once completed, these interactive data layers will be submitted for inclusion into the Apollo 15 and 16 missions on Google Moon.

Feasibility of Augmented Reality in Clinical Simulations: Using Google Glass With Manikins.

PubMed

Chaballout, Basil; Molloy, Margory; Vaughn, Jacqueline; Brisson Iii, Raymond; Shaw, Ryan

2016-03-07

Studies show that students who use fidelity-based simulation technology perform better and have higher retention rates than peers who learn in traditional paper-based training. Augmented reality is increasingly being used as a teaching and learning tool in a continual effort to make simulations more realistic for students. The aim of this project was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of using augmented reality via Google Glass during clinical simulation scenarios for training health science students. Students performed a clinical simulation while watching a video through Google Glass of a patient actor simulating respiratory distress. Following participation in the scenarios students completed two surveys and were questioned if they would recommend continued use of this technology in clinical simulation experiences. We were able to have students watch a video in their field of vision of a patient who mimicked the simulated manikin. Students were overall positive about the implications for being able to view a patient during the simulations, and most students recommended using the technology in the future. Overall, students reported perceived realism with augmented reality using Google Glass. However, there were technical and usability challenges with the device. As newer portable and consumer-focused technologies become available, augmented reality is increasingly being used as a teaching and learning tool to make clinical simulations more realistic for health science students. We found Google Glass feasible and acceptable as a tool for augmented reality in clinical simulations.

A Method for the Design and Development of Medical or Health Care Information Websites to Optimize Search Engine Results Page Rankings on Google

PubMed Central

Cummins, Niamh Maria; Hannigan, Ailish; Shannon, Bill; Dunne, Colum; Cullen, Walter

2013-01-01

Background The Internet is a widely used source of information for patients searching for medical/health care information. While many studies have assessed existing medical/health care information on the Internet, relatively few have examined methods for design and delivery of such websites, particularly those aimed at the general public. Objective This study describes a method of evaluating material for new medical/health care websites, or for assessing those already in existence, which is correlated with higher rankings on Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Methods A website quality assessment (WQA) tool was developed using criteria related to the quality of the information to be contained in the website in addition to an assessment of the readability of the text. This was retrospectively applied to assess existing websites that provide information about generic medicines. The reproducibility of the WQA tool and its predictive validity were assessed in this study. Results The WQA tool demonstrated very high reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.95) between 2 independent users. A moderate to strong correlation was found between WQA scores and rankings on Google SERPs. Analogous correlations were seen between rankings and readability of websites as determined by Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores. Conclusions The use of the WQA tool developed in this study is recommended as part of the design phase of a medical or health care information provision website, along with assessment of readability of the material to be used. This may ensure that the website performs better on Google searches. The tool can also be used retrospectively to make improvements to existing websites, thus, potentially enabling better Google search result positions without incurring the costs associated with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals or paid promotion. PMID:23981848

GIS tool to locate major Sikh temples in USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Saumya

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

A better prediction model for patient surges from influenza? New Internet-based tool shows promise, say researchers.

PubMed

2012-03-01

In a study focused on Baltimore, MD, researchers have found that data culled from Google Flu Trends, a free Internet-based influenza surveillance system, shows strong correlation with hikes in ED visits from patients with flu-like symptoms. While the approach has yet to be validated in other cities or regions, experts recommend that ED administrators and providers familiarize themselves with the new surveillance tool and stay abreast of developments regarding similar surveillance mechanisms. Google Flu Trends (www.google.org/flutrends/) is a free Internet-based tool that monitors Internet-based searches for flu information. Users can customize their search by location (city, state, country). Researchers say the advantage of this approach over traditional surveillance methods is that it provides real-time data about flu-related activity in a city or region. Traditional approaches, which rely on case reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are delayed. Researchers hope to eventually leverage this tool, and perhaps other surveillance data, into a powerful early-warning mechanism that EDs can use to better plan for patient surges due to influenza.

Collection Evaluation and Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habermann, Ted; Kozimor, John

2017-01-01

We will review metadata evaluation tools and share results from our most recent CMR analysis. We will demonstrate results using Google spreadsheets and present new results in terms of number of records that include specific content. We will show evolution of UMM-compliance over time and also show results of comparing various CMR collections (NASA, non-NASA, and SciOps).

Beyond Google: The Invisible Web in the Academic Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devine, Jane; Egger-Sider, Francine

2004-01-01

This article analyzes the concept of the Invisible Web and its implication for academic librarianship. It offers a guide to tools that can be used to mine the Invisible Web and discusses the benefits of using the Invisible Web to promote interest in library services. In addition, the article includes an expanded definition, a literature review,…

Cyber Exercise Playbook

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

unclassified tools and techniques that can be shared with PNs, to include social engineering, spear phishing , fake web sites, physical access attempts, and...and instead rely on commercial services such as Yahoo or Google . Some nations have quite advanced cyber security practices, but may take vastly...unauthorized access to data/systems Inject external network scanning, email phishing , malicious website access, social engineering Sample

Google™ versus Me™: Who Owns the Rights to My Digital DNA?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freedman, Gordon

2014-01-01

The information giants, Google being the largest, trade every day and build high-valuation mega-opolies on the back of very personal information without including their sources of value with any tangible return for their investment of exclusive data. The time has come to ask the question whether the grand bargain of "cool tools" in…

An overview of the web-based Google Earth coincident imaging tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chander, Gyanesh; Kilough, B.; Gowda, S.

2010-01-01

The Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS) Visualization Environment (COVE) tool is a browser-based application that leverages Google Earth web to display satellite sensor coverage areas. The analysis tool can also be used to identify near simultaneous surface observation locations for two or more satellites. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) CEOS System Engineering Office (SEO) worked with the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) to develop the COVE tool. The CEOS member organizations are currently operating and planning hundreds of Earth Observation (EO) satellites. Standard cross-comparison exercises between multiple sensors to compare near-simultaneous surface observations and to identify corresponding image pairs are time-consuming and labor-intensive. COVE is a suite of tools that have been developed to make such tasks easier.

A Land-Use-Planning Simulation Using Google Earth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bodzin, Alec M.; Cirucci, Lori

2009-01-01

Google Earth (GE) is proving to be a valuable tool in the science classroom for understanding the environment and making responsible environmental decisions (Bodzin 2008). GE provides learners with a dynamic mapping experience using a simple interface with a limited range of functions. This interface makes geospatial analysis accessible and…

Teachable Moment: Google Earth Takes Us There

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Ann; Davinroy, Thomas C.

2015-01-01

In the current educational climate, where clearly articulated learning objectives are required, it is clear that the spontaneous teachable moment still has its place. Authors Ann Williams and Thomas Davinroy think that instructors from almost any discipline can employ Google Earth as a tool to take advantage of teachable moments through the…

BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Network (BEACON) - Bringing Measurements of CO2 Emissions to a School Near You

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teige, V. E.; Havel, E.; Patt, C.; Heber, E.; Cohen, R. C.

2011-12-01

The University of California at Berkeley in collaboration with the Chabot Space and Science Center describe a set of educational programs, workshops, and exhibits based on a multi-node greenhouse gas and air quality monitoring network being deployed over Oakland, California. Examining raw numerical data using highly engaging and effective geo-data visualization tools like Google Earth can make the science come alive for students, and provide a hook for drawing them into deeper investigations. The Climate Science Investigations teacher workshop at the Chabot Space and Science Center will make use of Google Earth, Excel, and other geo-data visualization tools to step students through the process from data acquisition to discovery. Using multiple data sources, including output from the BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Network (BEACON) project, participants will be encouraged to explore a variety of different modes of data display toward producing a unique, and ideally insightful, illumination of the data.

Analysis of Web Spam for Non-English Content: Toward More Effective Language-Based Classifiers

PubMed Central

Alsaleh, Mansour; Alarifi, Abdulrahman

2016-01-01

Web spammers aim to obtain higher ranks for their web pages by including spam contents that deceive search engines in order to include their pages in search results even when they are not related to the search terms. Search engines continue to develop new web spam detection mechanisms, but spammers also aim to improve their tools to evade detection. In this study, we first explore the effect of the page language on spam detection features and we demonstrate how the best set of detection features varies according to the page language. We also study the performance of Google Penguin, a newly developed anti-web spamming technique for their search engine. Using spam pages in Arabic as a case study, we show that unlike similar English pages, Google anti-spamming techniques are ineffective against a high proportion of Arabic spam pages. We then explore multiple detection features for spam pages to identify an appropriate set of features that yields a high detection accuracy compared with the integrated Google Penguin technique. In order to build and evaluate our classifier, as well as to help researchers to conduct consistent measurement studies, we collected and manually labeled a corpus of Arabic web pages, including both benign and spam pages. Furthermore, we developed a browser plug-in that utilizes our classifier to warn users about spam pages after clicking on a URL and by filtering out search engine results. Using Google Penguin as a benchmark, we provide an illustrative example to show that language-based web spam classifiers are more effective for capturing spam contents. PMID:27855179

Analysis of Web Spam for Non-English Content: Toward More Effective Language-Based Classifiers.

PubMed

Alsaleh, Mansour; Alarifi, Abdulrahman

2016-01-01

Web spammers aim to obtain higher ranks for their web pages by including spam contents that deceive search engines in order to include their pages in search results even when they are not related to the search terms. Search engines continue to develop new web spam detection mechanisms, but spammers also aim to improve their tools to evade detection. In this study, we first explore the effect of the page language on spam detection features and we demonstrate how the best set of detection features varies according to the page language. We also study the performance of Google Penguin, a newly developed anti-web spamming technique for their search engine. Using spam pages in Arabic as a case study, we show that unlike similar English pages, Google anti-spamming techniques are ineffective against a high proportion of Arabic spam pages. We then explore multiple detection features for spam pages to identify an appropriate set of features that yields a high detection accuracy compared with the integrated Google Penguin technique. In order to build and evaluate our classifier, as well as to help researchers to conduct consistent measurement studies, we collected and manually labeled a corpus of Arabic web pages, including both benign and spam pages. Furthermore, we developed a browser plug-in that utilizes our classifier to warn users about spam pages after clicking on a URL and by filtering out search engine results. Using Google Penguin as a benchmark, we provide an illustrative example to show that language-based web spam classifiers are more effective for capturing spam contents.

Using Mobile App Development Tools to Build a GIS Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mital, A.; Catchen, M.; Mital, K.

2014-12-01

Our group designed and built working web, android, and IOS applications using different mapping libraries as bases on which to overlay fire data from NASA. The group originally planned to make app versions for Google Maps, Leaflet, and OpenLayers. However, because the Leaflet library did not properly load on Android, the group focused efforts on the other two mapping libraries. For Google Maps, the group first designed a UI for the web app and made a working version of the app. After updating the source of fire data to one which also provided historical fire data, the design had to be modified to include the extra data. After completing a working version of the web app, the group used webview in android, a built in resource which allowed porting the web app to android without rewriting the code for android. Upon completing this, the group found Apple IOS devices had a similar capability, and so decided to add an IOS app to the project using a function similar to webview. Alongside this effort, the group began implementing an OpenLayers fire map using a simpler UI. This web app was completed fairly quickly relative to Google Maps; however, it did not include functionality such as satellite imagery or searchable locations. The group finished the project with a working android version of the Google Maps based app supporting API levels 14-19 and an OpenLayers based app supporting API levels 8-19, as well as a Google Maps based IOS app supporting both old and new screen formats. This project was implemented by high school and college students under an SGT Inc. STEM internship program

Use of Google Earth to strengthen public health capacity and facilitate management of vector-borne diseases in resource-poor environments.

PubMed

Lozano-Fuentes, Saul; Elizondo-Quiroga, Darwin; Farfan-Ale, Jose Arturo; Loroño-Pino, Maria Alba; Garcia-Rejon, Julian; Gomez-Carro, Salvador; Lira-Zumbardo, Victor; Najera-Vazquez, Rosario; Fernandez-Salas, Ildefonso; Calderon-Martinez, Joaquin; Dominguez-Galera, Marco; Mis-Avila, Pedro; Morris, Natashia; Coleman, Michael; Moore, Chester G; Beaty, Barry J; Eisen, Lars

2008-09-01

Novel, inexpensive solutions are needed for improved management of vector-borne and other diseases in resource-poor environments. Emerging free software providing access to satellite imagery and simple editing tools (e.g. Google Earth) complement existing geographic information system (GIS) software and provide new opportunities for: (i) strengthening overall public health capacity through development of information for city infrastructures; and (ii) display of public health data directly on an image of the physical environment. We used freely accessible satellite imagery and a set of feature-making tools included in the software (allowing for production of polygons, lines and points) to generate information for city infrastructure and to display disease data in a dengue decision support system (DDSS) framework. Two cities in Mexico (Chetumal and Merida) were used to demonstrate that a basic representation of city infrastructure useful as a spatial backbone in a DDSS can be rapidly developed at minimal cost. Data layers generated included labelled polygons representing city blocks, lines representing streets, and points showing the locations of schools and health clinics. City blocks were colour-coded to show presence of dengue cases. The data layers were successfully imported in a format known as shapefile into a GIS software. The combination of Google Earth and free GIS software (e.g. HealthMapper, developed by WHO, and SIGEpi, developed by PAHO) has tremendous potential to strengthen overall public health capacity and facilitate decision support system approaches to prevention and control of vector-borne diseases in resource-poor environments.

Visualizing Geographic Data in Google Earth for Education and Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, D. J.; Treves, R.

2008-12-01

Google Earth is an excellent tool to help students and the public visualize scientific data as with low technical skill scientific content can be shown in three dimensions against a background of remotely sensed imagery. It therefore has a variety of uses in university education and as a tool for public outreach. However, in both situations it is of limited value if it is only used to attract attention with flashy three dimensional animations. In this poster we shall illustrate several applications that represent what we believe is good educational practice. The first example shows how the combination of a floor map and a projection of Google Earth on a screen can be used to produce active learning. Students are asked to imagine where they would build a house on Big Island Hawaii in order to avoid volcanic hazards. In the second example Google Earth is used to illustrate evidence over a range of scales in a description of Lake Agassiz flood events which would be more difficult to comprehend in a traditional paper based format. In the final example a simple text manipulation application "TMapper" is used to change the color palette of a thematic map generated by the students in Google Earth to teach them about the use of color in map design.

Coverage of Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science: a case study of the h-index in nursing.

PubMed

De Groote, Sandra L; Raszewski, Rebecca

2012-01-01

This study compares the articles cited in CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and Google Scholar and the h-index ratings provided by Scopus, WOS, and Google Scholar. The publications of 30 College of Nursing faculty at a large urban university were examined. Searches by author name were executed in Scopus, WOS, and POP (Publish or Perish, which searches Google Scholar), and the h-index for each author from each database was recorded. In addition, the citing articles of their published articles were imported into a bibliographic management program. This data was used to determine an aggregated h-index for each author. Scopus, WOS, and Google Scholar provided different h-index ratings for authors and each database found unique and duplicate citing references. More than one tool should be used to calculate the h-index for nursing faculty because one tool alone cannot be relied on to provide a thorough assessment of a researcher's impact. If researchers are interested in a comprehensive h-index, they should aggregate the citing references located by WOS and Scopus. Because h-index rankings differ among databases, comparisons between researchers should be done only within a specified database. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Creation of a Web-Based GIS Server and Custom Geoprocessing Tools for Enhanced Hydrologic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welton, B.; Chouinard, K.; Sultan, M.; Becker, D.; Milewski, A.; Becker, R.

2010-12-01

Rising populations in the arid and semi arid parts of the World are increasing the demand for fresh water supplies worldwide. Many data sets needed for assessment of hydrologic applications across vast regions of the world are expensive, unpublished, difficult to obtain, or at varying scales which complicates their use. Fortunately, this situation is changing with the development of global remote sensing datasets and web-based platforms such as GIS Server. GIS provides a cost effective vehicle for comparing, analyzing, and querying a variety of spatial datasets as geographically referenced layers. We have recently constructed a web-based GIS, that incorporates all relevant geological, geochemical, geophysical, and remote sensing data sets that were readily used to identify reservoir types and potential well locations on local and regional scales in various tectonic settings including: (1) extensional environment (Red Sea rift), (2) transcurrent fault system (Najd Fault in the Arabian-Nubian Shield), and (3) compressional environments (Himalayas). The web-based GIS could also be used to detect spatial and temporal trends in precipitation, recharge, and runoff in large watersheds on local, regional, and continental scales. These applications were enabled through the construction of a web-based ArcGIS Server with Google Map’s interface and the development of customized geoprocessing tools. ArcGIS Server provides out-of-the-box setups that are generic in nature. This platform includes all of the standard web based GIS tools (e.g. pan, zoom, identify, search, data querying, and measurement). In addition to the standard suite of tools provided by ArcGIS Server an additional set of advanced data manipulation and display tools was also developed to allow for a more complete and customizable view of the area of interest. The most notable addition to the standard GIS Server tools is the custom on-demand geoprocessing tools (e.g., graph, statistical functions, custom raster creation, profile, TRMM). The generation of a wide range of derivative maps (e.g., buffer zone, contour map, graphs, temporal rainfall distribution maps) from various map layers (e.g., geologic maps, geophysics, satellite images) allows for more user flexibility. The use of these tools along with Google Map’s API which enables the website user to utilize high quality GeoEye 2 images provide by Google in conjunction with our data, creates a more complete image of the area being observed and allows for custom derivative maps to be created in the field and viewed immediately on the web, processes that were restricted to offline databases.

The Use of Google Scholar for Research and Research Dissemination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zientek, Linda R.; Werner, Jon M.; Campuzano, Mariela V.; Nimon, Kim

2018-01-01

The abundance of technological and Internet resources can both simplify and complicate a researcher's world. Such innovations place a burden on researchers to stay current with advances in technology and then discern the best technology tools to utilize. We first discuss benefits that Google Scholar can provide in the preparation of the literature…

Gaga for Google in the Twenty-First Century Advanced Placement Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Devon Christopher

2008-01-01

The migration of online educational needs to tools like Google applications, coupled with the realization that today's twenty-first-century students are digital natives who have lived their entire lives exposed to current technology, forces educators to find ways to use technology to enhance traditional curriculum. In this article, the author…

Student-Teachers' Use of "Google Earth" in Problem-Based Geology Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ratinen, Ilkka; Keinonen, Tuula

2011-01-01

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are adequate for analyzing complex scientific and spatial phenomena in geography education. "Google Earth" is a geographic information tool for GIS-based learning. It allows students to engage in the lesson, explore the Earth, explain what they identify and evaluate the implications of what they are…

Online Corpus Tools in Scholarly Writing: A Case of EFL Postgraduate Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotamjani, Sedigheh Shakib; Razavi, Ommehoney Fazel; Hussin, Habsah

2017-01-01

Some studies have reported the positive outcome of using concordancers and dictionaries in (ESL) context. This study aims to examine how an EFL writer consulted with concordancers and dictionaries along with Google and Google Scholar when engaging in academic writing at university level. The researcher investigated a non-English-major postgraduate…

Formative feedback from the first-person perspective using Google Glass in a family medicine objective structured clinical examination station in the United States.

PubMed

Youm, Julie; Wiechmann, Warren

2018-01-01

This case study explored the use of Google Glass in a clinical examination scenario to capture the first-person perspective of a standardized patient as a way to provide formative feedback on students' communication and empathy skills 'through the patient's eyes.' During a 3-year period between 2014 and 2017, third-year students enrolled in a family medicine clerkship participated in a Google Glass station during a summative clinical examination. At this station, standardized patients wore Google Glass to record an encounter focused on communication and empathy skills 'through the patient's eyes.' Students completed an online survey using a 4-point Likert scale about their perspectives on Google Glass as a feedback tool (N= 255). We found that the students' experiences with Google Glass 'through the patient's eyes' were largely positive and that students felt the feedback provided by the Google Glass recording to be helpful. Although a third of the students felt that Google Glass was a distraction, the majority believed that the first-person perspective recordings provided an opportunity for feedback that did not exist before. Continuing exploration of first-person perspective recordings using Google Glass to improve education on communication and empathy skills is warranted.

Leveraging Open Standards and Technologies to Search and Display Planetary Image Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rose, M.; Schauer, C.; Quinol, M.; Trimble, J.

2011-12-01

Mars and the Moon have both been visited by multiple NASA spacecraft. A large number of images and other data have been gathered by the spacecraft and are publicly available in NASA's Planetary Data System. Through a collaboration with Google, Inc., the User Centered Technologies group at NASA Ames Resarch Center has developed at tool for searching and browsing among images from multiple Mars and Moon missions. Development of this tool was facilitated by the use of several open technologies and standards. First, an open-source full-text search engine is used to search both place names on the target and to find images matching a geographic region. Second, the published API of the Google Earth browser plugin is used to geolocate the images on a virtual globe and allow the user to navigate on the globe to see related images. The structure of the application also employs standard protocols and services. The back-end is exposed as RESTful APIs, which could be reused by other client systems in the future. Further, the communication between the front- and back-end portions of the system utilizes open data standards including XML and KML (Keyhole Markup Language) for representation of textual and geographic data. The creation of the search index was facilitated by reuse of existing, publicly available metadata, including the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature from the USGS, available in KML format. And the image metadata was reused from standards-compliant archives in the Planetary Data System. The system also supports collaboration with other tools by allowing export of search results in KML, and the ability to display those results in the Google Earth desktop application. We will demonstrate the search and visualization capabilities of the system, with emphasis on how the system facilitates reuse of data and services through the adoption of open standards.

Google searches help with diagnosis in dermatology.

PubMed

Amri, Montassar; Feroz, Kaliyadan

2014-01-01

Several previous studies have tried to assess the usefulness of Google search as a diagnostic aid. The results were discordant and have led to controversies. To investigate how often Google search is helpful to reach correct diagnoses in dermatology. Two fifth-year students (A and B) and one demonstrator (C) have participated as investigators in this paper. Twenty-five diagnostic dermatological cases were selected from all the clinical cases published in the Web only images in clinical medicine from March 2005 to November 2009. The main outcome measure of our paper was to compare the number of correct diagnoses provided by the investigators without, and with Google search. Investigator A gave correct diagnoses in 9/25 (36%) cases without Google search, his diagnostic success after Google search was 18/25 (72%). Investigator B results were 11/25 (44%) correct diagnoses without Google search, and 19/25 (76%) after this search. For investigator C, the results were 12/25 (48%) without Google search, and 18/25 (72%) after the use of this tool. Thus, the total correct diagnoses provided by the three investigators were 32 (42.6%) without Google search, and 55 (73.3%) when using this facility. The difference was statistically significant between the total number of correct diagnoses given by the three investigators without, and with Google search (p = 0.0002). In the light of our paper, Google search appears to be an interesting diagnostic aid in dermatology. However, we emphasize that diagnosis is primarily an art based on clinical skills and experience.

Using Google Flu Trends data in forecasting influenza-like-illness related ED visits in Omaha, Nebraska.

PubMed

Araz, Ozgur M; Bentley, Dan; Muelleman, Robert L

2014-09-01

Emergency department (ED) visits increase during the influenza seasons. It is essential to identify statistically significant correlates in order to develop an accurate forecasting model for ED visits. Forecasting influenza-like-illness (ILI)-related ED visits can significantly help in developing robust resource management strategies at the EDs. We first performed correlation analyses to understand temporal correlations between several predictors of ILI-related ED visits. We used the data available for Douglas County, the biggest county in Nebraska, for Omaha, the biggest city in the state, and for a major hospital in Omaha. The data set included total and positive influenza test results from the hospital (ie, Antigen rapid (Ag) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) tests); an Internet-based influenza surveillance system data, that is, Google Flu Trends, for both Nebraska and Omaha; total ED visits in Douglas County attributable to ILI; and ILI surveillance network data for Douglas County and Nebraska as the predictors and data for the hospital's ILI-related ED visits as the dependent variable. We used Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average and Holt Winters methods with3 linear regression models to forecast ILI-related ED visits at the hospital and evaluated model performances by comparing the root means square errors (RMSEs). Because of strong positive correlations with ILI-related ED visits between 2008 and 2012, we validated the use of Google Flu Trends data as a predictor in an ED influenza surveillance tool. Of the 5 forecasting models we have tested, linear regression models performed significantly better when Google Flu Trends data were included as a predictor. Regression models including Google Flu Trends data as a predictor variable have lower RMSE, and the lowest is achieved when all other variables are also included in the model in our forecasting experiments for the first 5 weeks of 2013 (with RMSE = 57.61). Google Flu Trends data statistically improve the performance of predicting ILI-related ED visits in Douglas County, and this result can be generalized to other communities. Timely and accurate estimates of ED volume during the influenza season, as well as during pandemic outbreaks, can help hospitals plan their ED resources accordingly and lower their costs by optimizing supplies and staffing and can improve service quality by decreasing ED wait times and overcrowding. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Search Engines for Tomorrow's Scholars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagan, Jody Condit

2011-01-01

Today's scholars face an outstanding array of choices when choosing search tools: Google Scholar, discipline-specific abstracts and index databases, library discovery tools, and more recently, Microsoft's re-launch of their academic search tool, now dubbed Microsoft Academic Search. What are these tools' strengths for the emerging needs of…

The 21st Century Digital Student: Google Books as a Tool in Promoting Undergraduate Research in the Humanities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karpenko, Lara; Dietz, Lauri

2013-01-01

In this article, we contend that publically available, mass digitization projects, such as Google Books, present faculty, regardless of their specific institutional context, with an exciting opportunity to promote meaningful undergraduate research in the humanities. By providing a classroom case study and by proposing an institutional model, we…

Assessing Google Cardboard Virtual Reality as a Content Delivery System in Business Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Seung Hwan; Sergueeva, Ksenia; Catangui, Mathew; Kandaurova, Maria

2017-01-01

In the past, researchers have explored virtual reality (VR) as an educational tool primarily for training or therapeutic purposes. In this research, the authors examine the potential for using Google Cardboard VR in business classrooms as a content delivery platform. They specifically investigate how VR (viewing a 3-dimensional, 360° video)…

Googling "Deaf": Deafness in the World's English-Language Press

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Power, Des

2007-01-01

An Internet search tool, Google Alert, was used to survey the global English-language press July-December 2005 for references to deaf people. The survey found that such references focus on people who are deaf rather than the disability itself, thus demonstrating how well deaf people fit into the mainstream. Derogatory terminology such as "deaf and…

Custom Search Engines: Tools & Tips

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Notess, Greg R.

2008-01-01

Few have the resources to build a Google or Yahoo! from scratch. Yet anyone can build a search engine based on a subset of the large search engines' databases. Use Google Custom Search Engine or Yahoo! Search Builder or any of the other similar programs to create a vertical search engine targeting sites of interest to users. The basic steps to…

Google vs. the Library (Part III): Assessing the Quality of Sources Found by Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgas, Helen

2015-01-01

This study assesses and compares the quality of sources found by undergraduate students when doing research using both Google and a library (federated) search tool. Thirty undergraduates were asked to find four sources (one book, two articles, and one additional source of their choosing) related to a selected research topic. Students used both…

To Google Translate™ or Not? Newcomer Latino Communities in the Middle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodríguez-Castro, Mónica; Salas, Spencer; Benson, Tracey

2018-01-01

LaRocque, Kleiman, and Darling (2011) characterized parental involvement as the "missing link" in school achievement. For this reason, especially, middle grades teachers and teacher leaders want very much to reach out to newcomer Latino families--and they do. Although Google Translate™ has emerged as a go-to tool for many teachers and…

"Google Reigns Triumphant"?: Stemming the Tide of Googlitis via Collaborative, Situated Information Literacy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leibiger, Carol A.

2011-01-01

Googlitis, the overreliance on search engines for research and the resulting development of poor searching skills, is a recognized problem among today's students. Google is not an effective research tool because, in addition to encouraging keyword searching at the expense of more powerful subject searching, it only accesses the Surface Web and is…

Free or Open Access to Scholarly Documentation: Google Scholar or Academic Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, C. Sean

2013-01-01

Soon after the university movement started in the late 1800s, academic libraries became the dominant providers of the tools and services required to locate and access scholarly information. However, with the advent of alternate discovery services, such as Google Scholar, in conjunction with open access scholarly content, researchers now have the…

Paths of Discovery: Comparing the Search Effectiveness of EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, Google Scholar, and Conventional Library Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asher, Andrew D.; Duke, Lynda M.; Wilson, Suzanne

2013-01-01

In 2011, researchers at Bucknell University and Illinois Wesleyan University compared the search efficacy of Serial Solutions Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service, Google Scholar, and conventional library databases. Using a mixed-methods approach, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered on students' usage of these tools. Regardless of the…

Assessing species habitat using Google Street View: a case study of cliff-nesting vultures.

PubMed

Olea, Pedro P; Mateo-Tomás, Patricia

2013-01-01

The assessment of a species' habitat is a crucial issue in ecology and conservation. While the collection of habitat data has been boosted by the availability of remote sensing technologies, certain habitat types have yet to be collected through costly, on-ground surveys, limiting study over large areas. Cliffs are ecosystems that provide habitat for a rich biodiversity, especially raptors. Because of their principally vertical structure, however, cliffs are not easy to study by remote sensing technologies, posing a challenge for many researches and managers working with cliff-related biodiversity. We explore the feasibility of Google Street View, a freely available on-line tool, to remotely identify and assess the nesting habitat of two cliff-nesting vultures (the griffon vulture and the globally endangered Egyptian vulture) in northwestern Spain. Two main usefulness of Google Street View to ecologists and conservation biologists were evaluated: i) remotely identifying a species' potential habitat and ii) extracting fine-scale habitat information. Google Street View imagery covered 49% (1,907 km) of the roads of our study area (7,000 km²). The potential visibility covered by on-ground surveys was significantly greater (mean: 97.4%) than that of Google Street View (48.1%). However, incorporating Google Street View to the vulture's habitat survey would save, on average, 36% in time and 49.5% in funds with respect to the on-ground survey only. The ability of Google Street View to identify cliffs (overall accuracy = 100%) outperformed the classification maps derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) (62-95%). Nonetheless, high-performance DEM maps may be useful to compensate Google Street View coverage limitations. Through Google Street View we could examine 66% of the vultures' nesting-cliffs existing in the study area (n = 148): 64% from griffon vultures and 65% from Egyptian vultures. It also allowed us the extraction of fine-scale features of cliffs. This World Wide Web-based methodology may be a useful, complementary tool to remotely map and assess the potential habitat of cliff-dependent biodiversity over large geographic areas, saving survey-related costs.

Assessing Species Habitat Using Google Street View: A Case Study of Cliff-Nesting Vultures

PubMed Central

Olea, Pedro P.; Mateo-Tomás, Patricia

2013-01-01

The assessment of a species’ habitat is a crucial issue in ecology and conservation. While the collection of habitat data has been boosted by the availability of remote sensing technologies, certain habitat types have yet to be collected through costly, on-ground surveys, limiting study over large areas. Cliffs are ecosystems that provide habitat for a rich biodiversity, especially raptors. Because of their principally vertical structure, however, cliffs are not easy to study by remote sensing technologies, posing a challenge for many researches and managers working with cliff-related biodiversity. We explore the feasibility of Google Street View, a freely available on-line tool, to remotely identify and assess the nesting habitat of two cliff-nesting vultures (the griffon vulture and the globally endangered Egyptian vulture) in northwestern Spain. Two main usefulness of Google Street View to ecologists and conservation biologists were evaluated: i) remotely identifying a species’ potential habitat and ii) extracting fine-scale habitat information. Google Street View imagery covered 49% (1,907 km) of the roads of our study area (7,000 km2). The potential visibility covered by on-ground surveys was significantly greater (mean: 97.4%) than that of Google Street View (48.1%). However, incorporating Google Street View to the vulture’s habitat survey would save, on average, 36% in time and 49.5% in funds with respect to the on-ground survey only. The ability of Google Street View to identify cliffs (overall accuracy = 100%) outperformed the classification maps derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) (62–95%). Nonetheless, high-performance DEM maps may be useful to compensate Google Street View coverage limitations. Through Google Street View we could examine 66% of the vultures’ nesting-cliffs existing in the study area (n = 148): 64% from griffon vultures and 65% from Egyptian vultures. It also allowed us the extraction of fine-scale features of cliffs. This World Wide Web-based methodology may be a useful, complementary tool to remotely map and assess the potential habitat of cliff-dependent biodiversity over large geographic areas, saving survey-related costs. PMID:23355880

Seismicity map tools for earthquake studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boucouvalas, Anthony; Kaskebes, Athanasios; Tselikas, Nikos

2014-05-01

We report on the development of new and online set of tools for use within Google Maps, for earthquake research. We demonstrate this server based and online platform (developped with PHP, Javascript, MySQL) with the new tools using a database system with earthquake data. The platform allows us to carry out statistical and deterministic analysis on earthquake data use of Google Maps and plot various seismicity graphs. The tool box has been extended to draw on the map line segments, multiple straight lines horizontally and vertically as well as multiple circles, including geodesic lines. The application is demonstrated using localized seismic data from the geographic region of Greece as well as other global earthquake data. The application also offers regional segmentation (NxN) which allows the studying earthquake clustering, and earthquake cluster shift within the segments in space. The platform offers many filters such for plotting selected magnitude ranges or time periods. The plotting facility allows statistically based plots such as cumulative earthquake magnitude plots and earthquake magnitude histograms, calculation of 'b' etc. What is novel for the platform is the additional deterministic tools. Using the newly developed horizontal and vertical line and circle tools we have studied the spatial distribution trends of many earthquakes and we here show for the first time the link between Fibonacci Numbers and spatiotemporal location of some earthquakes. The new tools are valuable for examining visualizing trends in earthquake research as it allows calculation of statistics as well as deterministic precursors. We plan to show many new results based on our newly developed platform.

Search engine as a diagnostic tool in difficult immunological and allergologic cases: is Google useful?

PubMed

Lombardi, C; Griffiths, E; McLeod, B; Caviglia, A; Penagos, M

2009-07-01

Web search engines are an important tool in communication and diffusion of knowledge. Among these, Google appears to be the most popular one: in August 2008, it accounted for 87% of all web searches in the UK, compared with Yahoo's 3.3%. Google's value as a diagnostic guide in general medicine was recently reported. The aim of this comparative cross-sectional study was to evaluate whether searching Google with disease-related terms was effective in the identification and diagnosis of complex immunological and allergic cases. Forty-five case reports were randomly selected by an independent observer from peer-reviewed medical journals. Clinical data were presented separately to three investigators, blinded to the final diagnoses. Investigator A was a Consultant with an expert knowledge in Internal Medicine and Allergy (IM&A) and basic computing skills. Investigator B was a Registrar in IM&A. Investigator C was a Research Nurse. Both Investigators B and C were familiar with computers and search engines. For every clinical case presented, each investigator independently carried out an Internet search using Google to provide a final diagnosis. Their results were then compared with the published diagnoses. Correct diagnoses were provided in 30/45 (66%) cases, 39/45 (86%) cases, and in 29/45 (64%) cases by investigator A, B, and C, respectively. All of the three investigators achieved the correct diagnosis in 19 cases (42%), and all of them failed in two cases. This Google-based search was useful to identify an appropriate diagnosis in complex immunological and allergic cases. Computing skills may help to get better results.

Development of a Google-based search engine for data mining radiology reports.

PubMed

Erinjeri, Joseph P; Picus, Daniel; Prior, Fred W; Rubin, David A; Koppel, Paul

2009-08-01

The aim of this study is to develop a secure, Google-based data-mining tool for radiology reports using free and open source technologies and to explore its use within an academic radiology department. A Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant data repository, search engine and user interface were created to facilitate treatment, operations, and reviews preparatory to research. The Institutional Review Board waived review of the project, and informed consent was not required. Comprising 7.9 GB of disk space, 2.9 million text reports were downloaded from our radiology information system to a fileserver. Extensible markup language (XML) representations of the reports were indexed using Google Desktop Enterprise search engine software. A hypertext markup language (HTML) form allowed users to submit queries to Google Desktop, and Google's XML response was interpreted by a practical extraction and report language (PERL) script, presenting ranked results in a web browser window. The query, reason for search, results, and documents visited were logged to maintain HIPAA compliance. Indexing averaged approximately 25,000 reports per hour. Keyword search of a common term like "pneumothorax" yielded the first ten most relevant results of 705,550 total results in 1.36 s. Keyword search of a rare term like "hemangioendothelioma" yielded the first ten most relevant results of 167 total results in 0.23 s; retrieval of all 167 results took 0.26 s. Data mining tools for radiology reports will improve the productivity of academic radiologists in clinical, educational, research, and administrative tasks. By leveraging existing knowledge of Google's interface, radiologists can quickly perform useful searches.

[Google Scholar and the h-index in biomedicine: the popularization of bibliometric assessment].

PubMed

Cabezas-Clavijo, A; Delgado-López-Cózar, E

2013-01-01

The aim of this study is to review the features, benefits and limitations of the new scientific evaluation products derived from Google Scholar, such as Google Scholar Metrics and Google Scholar Citations, as well as the h-index, which is the standard bibliometric indicator adopted by these services. The study also outlines the potential of this new database as a source for studies in Biomedicine, and compares the h-index obtained by the most relevant journals and researchers in the field of intensive care medicine, based on data extracted from the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. Results show that although the average h-index values in Google Scholar are almost 30% higher than those obtained in Web of Science, and about 15% higher than those collected by Scopus, there are no substantial changes in the rankings generated from one data source or the other. Despite some technical problems, it is concluded that Google Scholar is a valid tool for researchers in Health Sciences, both for purposes of information retrieval and for the computation of bibliometric indicators. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

How to Verify and Manage the Translational Plagiarism?

PubMed

Wiwanitkit, Viroj

2016-09-15

The use of Google translator as a tool for determining translational plagiarism is a big challenge. As noted, plagiarism of the original papers written in Macedonian and translated into other languages can be verified after computerised translation in other languages. Attempts to screen the translational plagiarism should be supported. The use of Google Translate tool might be helpful. Special focus should be on any non-English reference that might be the source of plagiarised material and non-English article that might translate from an original English article, which cannot be detected by simple plagiarism screening tool. It is a hard job for any journal to detect the complex translational plagiarism but the harder job might be how to effectively manage the case.

How to Verify and Manage the Translational Plagiarism?

PubMed Central

Wiwanitkit, Viroj

2016-01-01

The use of Google translator as a tool for determining translational plagiarism is a big challenge. As noted, plagiarism of the original papers written in Macedonian and translated into other languages can be verified after computerised translation in other languages. Attempts to screen the translational plagiarism should be supported. The use of Google Translate tool might be helpful. Special focus should be on any non-English reference that might be the source of plagiarised material and non-English article that might translate from an original English article, which cannot be detected by simple plagiarism screening tool. It is a hard job for any journal to detect the complex translational plagiarism but the harder job might be how to effectively manage the case. PMID:27703588

Moving Forward: The Next-Gen Catalog and the New Discovery Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weare, William H., Jr.; Toms, Sue; Breeding, Marshall

2011-01-01

Do students prefer to use Google instead of the library catalog? Ever wondered why? Google is easier to use and delivers plenty of "good enough" resources to meet their needs. The current generation of online catalogs has two main problems. First, the look and feel of the interface doesn't reflect the conventions adhered to elsewhere on the web,…

The Effect of Google Earth and Wiki Models on Oral Presentation Skills of University EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan B.

2018-01-01

This article reports the results of an experimental study that investigated the effectiveness of Google Earth and Wiki tools in improving the oral presentation skills of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and boosting their motivation for learning. The participants (n =81) are enrolled in writing classes at two English-medium…

Ranking Disciplinary Journals with the Google Scholar H-Index: A New Tool for Constructing Cases for Tenure, Promotion, and Other Professional Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, David R.; Lacasse, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

Given the importance of journal rankings to tenure, promotion, and other professional decisions, this study examines a new method for ranking social work journals. The Google Scholar h-index correlated highly with the current gold standard for measuring journal quality, Thomson Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) impact factors, but…

Effects of Thinking Style and Spatial Ability on Anchoring Behavior in Geographic Information Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Dai-Yi; Lee, Mei-Hsuan; Sun, Chuen-Tsai

2013-01-01

The authors propose an instructional use for Google Earth (a GIS application) as an anchoring tool for knowledge integration. Google Earth can be used to support student explorations of world geography based on Wikipedia articles on earth science and history topics. We asked 66 Taiwanese high-school freshmen to make place marks with explanatory…

Google Earth Mapping Exercises for Structural Geology Students--A Promising Intervention for Improving Penetrative Visualization Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giorgis, Scott

2015-01-01

Three-dimensional thinking skills are extremely useful for geoscientists, and at the undergraduate level, these skills are often emphasized in structural geology courses. Google Earth is a powerful tool for visualizing the three-dimensional nature of data collected on the surface of Earth. The results of a 5 y pre- and posttest study of the…

Using Google Earth to Assess Shade for Sun Protection in Urban Recreation Spaces: Methods and Results.

PubMed

Gage, R; Wilson, N; Signal, L; Barr, M; Mackay, C; Reeder, A; Thomson, G

2018-05-16

Shade in public spaces can lower the risk of and sun burning and skin cancer. However, existing methods of auditing shade require travel between sites, and sunny weather conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of free computer software-Google Earth-for assessing shade in urban open spaces. A shade projection method was developed that uses Google Earth street view and aerial images to estimate shade at solar noon on the summer solstice, irrespective of the date of image capture. Three researchers used the method to separately estimate shade cover over pre-defined activity areas in a sample of 45 New Zealand urban open spaces, including 24 playgrounds, 12 beaches and 9 outdoor pools. Outcome measures included method accuracy (assessed by comparison with a subsample of field observations of 10 of the settings) and inter-rater reliability. Of the 164 activity areas identified in the 45 settings, most (83%) had no shade cover. The method identified most activity areas in playgrounds (85%) and beaches (93%) and was accurate for assessing shade over these areas (predictive values of 100%). Only 8% of activity areas at outdoor pools were identified, due to a lack of street view images. Reliability for shade cover estimates was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.97, 95% CI 0.97-0.98). Google Earth appears to be a reasonably accurate and reliable and shade audit tool for playgrounds and beaches. The findings are relevant for programmes focused on supporting the development of healthy urban open spaces.

Googling DNA sequences on the World Wide Web.

PubMed

Hajibabaei, Mehrdad; Singer, Gregory A C

2009-11-10

New web-based technologies provide an excellent opportunity for sharing and accessing information and using web as a platform for interaction and collaboration. Although several specialized tools are available for analyzing DNA sequence information, conventional web-based tools have not been utilized for bioinformatics applications. We have developed a novel algorithm and implemented it for searching species-specific genomic sequences, DNA barcodes, by using popular web-based methods such as Google. We developed an alignment independent character based algorithm based on dividing a sequence library (DNA barcodes) and query sequence to words. The actual search is conducted by conventional search tools such as freely available Google Desktop Search. We implemented our algorithm in two exemplar packages. We developed pre and post-processing software to provide customized input and output services, respectively. Our analysis of all publicly available DNA barcode sequences shows a high accuracy as well as rapid results. Our method makes use of conventional web-based technologies for specialized genetic data. It provides a robust and efficient solution for sequence search on the web. The integration of our search method for large-scale sequence libraries such as DNA barcodes provides an excellent web-based tool for accessing this information and linking it to other available categories of information on the web.

A Pathway to Freedom: An Evaluation of Screening Tools for the Identification of Trafficking Victims.

PubMed

Bespalova, Nadejda; Morgan, Juliet; Coverdale, John

2016-02-01

Because training residents and faculty to identify human trafficking victims is a major public health priority, the authors review existing assessment tools. PubMed and Google were searched using combinations of search terms including human, trafficking, sex, labor, screening, identification, and tool. Nine screening tools that met the inclusion criteria were found. They varied greatly in length, format, target demographic, supporting resources, and other parameters. Only two tools were designed specifically for healthcare providers. Only one tool was formally assessed to be valid and reliable in a pilot project in trafficking victim service organizations, although it has not been validated in the healthcare setting. This toolbox should facilitate the education of resident physicians and faculty in screening for trafficking victims, assist educators in assessing screening skills, and promote future research on the identification of trafficking victims.

Implications of Web of Science journal impact factor for scientific output evaluation in 16 institutions and investigators' opinion.

PubMed

Wáng, Yì-Xiáng J; Arora, Richa; Choi, Yongdoo; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Egorov, Vyacheslav I; Frahm, Jens; Kudo, Hiroyuki; Kuyumcu, Suleyman; Laurent, Sophie; Loffroy, Romaric; Maurea, Simone; Morcos, Sameh K; Ni, Yicheng; Oei, Edwin H G; Sabarudin, Akmal; Yu, Xin

2014-12-01

Journal based metrics is known not to be ideal for the measurement of the quality of individual researcher's scientific output. In the current report 16 contributors from Hong Kong SAR, India, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Belgium, France, Italy, UK, The Netherlands, Malaysia, and USA are invited. The following six questions were asked: (I) is Web of Sciences journal impact factor (IF) and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) citation the main academic output performance evaluation tool in your institution? and your country? (II) How does Google citation count in your institution? and your country? (III) If paper is published in a non-SCI journal but it is included in PubMed and searchable by Google scholar, how it is valued when compared with a paper published in a journal with an IF? (IV) Do you value to publish a piece of your work in a non-SCI journal as much as a paper published in a journal with an IF? (V) What is your personal view on the metric measurement of scientific output? (VI) Overall, do you think Web of Sciences journal IF is beneficial, or actually it is doing more harm? The results show that IF and ISI citation is heavily affecting the academic life in most of the institutions. Google citation and evaluation, while is being used and convenient and speedy, has not gain wide 'official' recognition as a tool for scientific output evaluation.

A Tropical Marine Microbial Natural Products Geobibliography as an Example of Desktop Exploration of Current Research Using Web Visualisation Tools

PubMed Central

Mukherjee, Joydeep; Llewellyn, Lyndon E; Evans-Illidge, Elizabeth A

2008-01-01

Microbial marine biodiscovery is a recent scientific endeavour developing at a time when information and other technologies are also undergoing great technical strides. Global visualisation of datasets is now becoming available to the world through powerful and readily available software such as Worldwind™, ArcGIS Explorer™ and Google Earth™. Overlaying custom information upon these tools is within the hands of every scientist and more and more scientific organisations are making data available that can also be integrated into these global visualisation tools. The integrated global view that these tools enable provides a powerful desktop exploration tool. Here we demonstrate the value of this approach to marine microbial biodiscovery by developing a geobibliography that incorporates citations on tropical and near-tropical marine microbial natural products research with Google Earth™ and additional ancillary global data sets. The tools and software used are all readily available and the reader is able to use and install the material described in this article. PMID:19172194

Comparison of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar: strengths and weaknesses.

PubMed

Falagas, Matthew E; Pitsouni, Eleni I; Malietzis, George A; Pappas, Georgios

2008-02-01

The evolution of the electronic age has led to the development of numerous medical databases on the World Wide Web, offering search facilities on a particular subject and the ability to perform citation analysis. We compared the content coverage and practical utility of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The official Web pages of the databases were used to extract information on the range of journals covered, search facilities and restrictions, and update frequency. We used the example of a keyword search to evaluate the usefulness of these databases in biomedical information retrieval and a specific published article to evaluate their utility in performing citation analysis. All databases were practical in use and offered numerous search facilities. PubMed and Google Scholar are accessed for free. The keyword search with PubMed offers optimal update frequency and includes online early articles; other databases can rate articles by number of citations, as an index of importance. For citation analysis, Scopus offers about 20% more coverage than Web of Science, whereas Google Scholar offers results of inconsistent accuracy. PubMed remains an optimal tool in biomedical electronic research. Scopus covers a wider journal range, of help both in keyword searching and citation analysis, but it is currently limited to recent articles (published after 1995) compared with Web of Science. Google Scholar, as for the Web in general, can help in the retrieval of even the most obscure information but its use is marred by inadequate, less often updated, citation information.

Researchermap: a tool for visualizing author locations using Google maps.

PubMed

Rastegar-Mojarad, Majid; Bales, Michael E; Yu, Hong

2013-01-01

We hereby present ResearcherMap, a tool to visualize locations of authors of scholarly papers. In response to a query, the system returns a map of author locations. To develop the system we first populated a database of author locations, geocoding institution locations for all available institutional affiliation data in our database. The database includes all authors of Medline papers from 1990 to 2012. We conducted a formative heuristic usability evaluation of the system and measured the system's accuracy and performance. The accuracy of finding the accurate address is 97.5% in our system.

VALIDATING the Accuracy of Sighten's Automated Shading Tool

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

Solar companies - including installers, financiers, and distributors - leverage Sighten software to deliver accurate shading calculations and solar proposals. Sighten recently partnered with Google Project Sunroof to provide automated remote shading analysis directly within the Sighten platform. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in partnership with Sighten, independently verified the accuracy of Sighten's remote-shading solar access values (SAVs) on an annual basis for locations in Los Angeles, California, and Denver, Colorado.

PHIT for Duty, a Personal Health Intervention Tool for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

smartphone or tablet computer platforms, including both Google Android™ and Apple iOS based devices. Recruiting for the pilot study was very...framework design.. 15. SUBJECT TERMS PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, mobile health, self-help, iOS , Android, mindfulness, relaxation... study and subsequent randomized controlled trial (RCT) with post-deployed personnel; and (5) adapting the developed system for several popular

Government Search Tools: Evaluating Fee and Free Search Alternatives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon-Murnane, Laura

1999-01-01

Examines four tools that provide access to federal government information: FedWorld, Usgovsearch.com, Google/Unclesam, and GovBot. Compares search features, size of collection, ease of use, and cost or subscription requirements. (LRW)

Flying across Galaxy Clusters with Google Earth: additional imagery from SDSS co-added data

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

Hao, Jiangang; Annis, James; /Fermilab

2010-10-01

Galaxy clusters are spectacular. We provide a Google Earth compatible imagery for the deep co-added images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and make it a tool for examing galaxy clusters. Google Earth (in sky mode) provides a highly interactive environment for visualizing the sky. By encoding the galaxy cluster information into a kml/kmz file, one can use Google Earth as a tool for examining galaxy clusters and fly across them freely. However, the resolution of the images provided by Google Earth is not very high. This is partially because the major imagery google earth used is from Sloan Digitalmore » Sky Survey (SDSS) (SDSS collaboration 2000) and the resolutions have been reduced to speed up the web transferring. To have higher resolution images, you need to add your own images in a way that Google Earth can understand. The SDSS co-added data are the co-addition of {approx}100 scans of images from SDSS stripe 82 (Annis et al. 2010). It provides the deepest images based on SDSS and reach as deep as about redshift 1.0. Based on the co-added images, we created color images in a way as described by Lupton et al. (2004) and convert the color images to Google Earth compatible images using wcs2kml (Brewer et al. 2007). The images are stored at a public server at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and can be accessed by the public. To view those images in Google Earth, you need to download a kmz file, which contains the links to the color images, and then open the kmz file with your Google Earth. To meet different needs for resolutions, we provide three kmz files corresponding to low, medium and high resolution images. We recommend the high resolution one as long as you have a broadband Internet connection, though you should choose to download any of them, depending on your own needs and Internet speed. After you open the downloaded kmz file with Google Earth (in sky mode), it takes about 5 minutes (depending on your Internet connection and the resolution of images you want) to get some initial images loaded. Then, additional images corresponding to the region you are browsing will be loaded automatically. So far, you have access to all the co-added images. But you still do not have the galaxy cluster position information to look at. In order to see the galaxy clusters, you need to download another kmz file that tell Google Earth where to find the galaxy clusters in the co-added data region. We provide a kmz file for a few galaxy clusters in the stripe 82 region and you can download and open it with Google Earth. In the SDSS co-added region (stripe 82 region), the imagery from Google Earth itself is from the Digitized Sky Survey (2007), which is in very poor quality. In Figure1 and Figure2, we show screenshots of a cluster with and without the new co-added imagery in Google Earth. Much more details have been revealed with the deep images.« less

Using Google Earth in Marine Research and Operational Decision Support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blower, J. D.; Bretherton, D.; Haines, K.; Liu, C.; Rawlings, C.; Santokhee, A.; Smith, I.

2006-12-01

A key advantage of Virtual Globes ("geobrowsers") such as Google Earth is that they can display many different geospatial data types at a huge range of spatial scales. In this demonstration and poster display we shall show how marine data from disparate sources can be brought together in a geobrowser in order to support both scientific research and operational search and rescue activities. We have developed the Godiva2 interactive website for browsing and exploring marine data, mainly output from supercomputer analyses and predictions of ocean circulation. The user chooses a number of parameters (e.g. sea temperature at 100m depth on 1st July 2006) and can load an image of the resulting data in Google Earth. Through the use of an automatically-refreshing NetworkLink the user can explore the whole globe at a very large range of spatial scales: the displayed data will automatically be refreshed to show data at increasingly fine resolution as the user zooms in. This is a valuable research tool for exploring these terabyte- scale datasets. Many coastguard organizations around the world use SARIS, a software application produced by BMT Cordah Ltd., to predict the drift pattern of objects in the sea in order to support search and rescue operations. Different drifting objects have different trajectories depending on factors such as their buoyancy and windage and so a computer model, supported by meteorological and oceanographic data, is needed to help rescuers locate their targets. We shall demonstrate how Google Earth is used to display output from the SARIS model (including the search target location and associated error polygon) alongside meteorological data (wind vectors) and oceanographic data (sea temperature, surface currents) from Godiva2 in order to support decision-making. We shall also discuss the limitations of using Google Earth in this context: these include the difficulties of working with time- dependent data and the need to access data securely. essc.ac.uk:8080/Godiva2

Finding Citations to Social Work Literature: The Relative Benefits of Using "Web of Science," "Scopus," or "Google Scholar"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergman, Elaine M. Lasda

2012-01-01

Past studies of citation coverage of "Web of Science," "Scopus," and "Google Scholar" do not demonstrate a consistent pattern that can be applied to the interdisciplinary mix of resources used in social work research. To determine the utility of these tools to social work researchers, an analysis of citing references to well-known social work…

Googling your hand hygiene data: Using Google Forms, Google Sheets, and R to collect and automate analysis of hand hygiene compliance monitoring.

PubMed

Wiemken, Timothy L; Furmanek, Stephen P; Mattingly, William A; Haas, Janet; Ramirez, Julio A; Carrico, Ruth M

2018-06-01

Hand hygiene is one of the most important interventions in the quest to eliminate healthcare-associated infections, and rates in healthcare facilities are markedly low. Since hand hygiene observation and feedback are critical to improve adherence, we created an easy-to-use, platform-independent hand hygiene data collection process and an automated, on-demand reporting engine. A 3-step approach was used for this project: 1) creation of a data collection form using Google Forms, 2) transfer of data from the form to a spreadsheet using Google Spreadsheets, and 3) creation of an automated, cloud-based analytics platform for report generation using R and RStudio Shiny software. A video tutorial of all steps in the creation and use of this free tool can be found on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFatMR1rXqU&t. The on-demand reporting tool can be accessed at: https://crsp.louisville.edu/shiny/handhygiene. This data collection and automated analytics engine provides an easy-to-use environment for evaluating hand hygiene data; it also provides rapid feedback to healthcare workers. By reducing some of the data management workload required of the infection preventionist, more focused interventions may be instituted to increase global hand hygiene rates and reduce infection. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Infodemiology of status epilepticus: A systematic validation of the Google Trends-based search queries.

PubMed

Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Bacigaluppi, Susanna; Robba, Chiara; Nardone, Raffaele; Trinka, Eugen; Brigo, Francesco

2016-02-01

People increasingly use Google looking for health-related information. We previously demonstrated that in English-speaking countries most people use this search engine to obtain information on status epilepticus (SE) definition, types/subtypes, and treatment. Now, we aimed at providing a quantitative analysis of SE-related web queries. This analysis represents an advancement, with respect to what was already previously discussed, in that the Google Trends (GT) algorithm has been further refined and correlational analyses have been carried out to validate the GT-based query volumes. Google Trends-based SE-related query volumes were well correlated with information concerning causes and pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments. Google Trends can provide both researchers and clinicians with data on realities and contexts that are generally overlooked and underexplored by classic epidemiology. In this way, GT can foster new epidemiological studies in the field and can complement traditional epidemiological tools. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Capturing public interest toward new tools for controlling human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection exploiting data from Google Trends.

PubMed

Mahroum, Naim; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Brigo, Francesco; Waknin, Roy; Sharif, Kassem; Mahagna, Hussein; Amital, Howard; Watad, Abdulla

2018-04-01

Human immunodeficiency virus vaccination and pre-exposure prophylaxis represent two different emerging preventive tools. Google Trends was used to assess the public interest toward these tools in terms of digital activities. Worldwide web searches concerning the human immunodeficiency virus vaccine represented 0.34 percent, 0.03 percent, and 46.97 percent of human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome treatment-related Google Trends queries, respectively. Concerning temporal trends, digital activities were shown to increase from 0 percent as of 1 January 2004 percent to 46 percent as of 8 October 2017 with two spikes observed in May and July 2012, coinciding with the US Food and Drug Administration approval. Bursts in search number and volume were recorded as human immunodeficiency virus vaccine trials emerged. This search topic has decreased in the past decade in parallel to the increase in Truvada-related topics. Concentrated searches were noticed among African countries with high human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome prevalence. Stakeholders should take advantage of public interest especially in preventive medicine in high disease burden countries.

Using geovisual analytics in Google Earth to understand disease distribution: a case study of campylobacteriosis in the Czech Republic (2008-2012).

PubMed

Marek, Lukáš; Tuček, Pavel; Pászto, Vít

2015-01-28

Visual analytics aims to connect the processing power of information technologies and the user's ability of logical thinking and reasoning through the complex visual interaction. Moreover, the most of the data contain the spatial component. Therefore, the need for geovisual tools and methods arises. Either one can develop own system but the dissemination of findings and its usability might be problematic or the widespread and well-known platform can be utilized. The aim of this paper is to prove the applicability of Google Earth™ software as a tool for geovisual analytics that helps to understand the spatio-temporal patterns of the disease distribution. We combined the complex joint spatio-temporal analysis with comprehensive visualisation. We analysed the spatio-temporal distribution of the campylobacteriosis in the Czech Republic between 2008 and 2012. We applied three main approaches in the study: (1) the geovisual analytics of the surveillance data that were visualised in the form of bubble chart; (2) the geovisual analytics of the disease's weekly incidence surfaces computed by spatio-temporal kriging and (3) the spatio-temporal scan statistics that was employed in order to identify high or low rates clusters of affected municipalities. The final data are stored in Keyhole Markup Language files and visualised in Google Earth™ in order to apply geovisual analytics. Using geovisual analytics we were able to display and retrieve information from complex dataset efficiently. Instead of searching for patterns in a series of static maps or using numerical statistics, we created the set of interactive visualisations in order to explore and communicate results of analyses to the wider audience. The results of the geovisual analytics identified periodical patterns in the behaviour of the disease as well as fourteen spatio-temporal clusters of increased relative risk. We prove that Google Earth™ software is a usable tool for the geovisual analysis of the disease distribution. Google Earth™ has many indisputable advantages (widespread, freely available, intuitive interface, space-time visualisation capabilities and animations, communication of results), nevertheless it is still needed to combine it with pre-processing tools that prepare the data into a form suitable for the geovisual analytics itself.

Disaster medicine through Google Glass.

PubMed

Carenzo, Luca; Barra, Federico Lorenzo; Ingrassia, Pier Luigi; Colombo, Davide; Costa, Alessandro; Della Corte, Francesco

2015-06-01

Nontechnical skills can make a difference in the management of disasters and mass casualty incidents and any tool helping providers in action might improve their ability to respond to such events. Google Glass, released by Google as a new personal communication device, could play a role in this field. We recently tested Google Glass during a full-scale exercise to perform visually guided augmented-reality Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment triage using a custom-made application and to identify casualties and collect georeferenced notes, photos, and videos to be incorporated into the debriefing. Despite some limitations (battery life and privacy concerns), Glass is a promising technology both for telemedicine applications and augmented-reality disaster response support to increase operators' performance, helping them to make better choices on the field; to optimize timings; and finally represents an excellent option to take professional education to a higher level.

Health information on internet: quality, importance, and popularity of persian health websites.

PubMed

Samadbeik, Mahnaz; Ahmadi, Maryam; Mohammadi, Ali; Mohseni Saravi, Beniamin

2014-04-01

The Internet has provided great opportunities for disseminating both accurate and inaccurate health information. Therefore, the quality of information is considered as a widespread concern affecting the human life. Despite the increasingly substantial growth in the number of users, Persian health websites and the proportion of internet-using patients, little is known about the quality of Persian medical and health websites. The current study aimed to first assess the quality, popularity and importance of websites providing Persian health-related information, and second to evaluate the correlation of the popularity and importance ranking with quality score on the Internet. The sample websites were identified by entering the health-related keywords into four most popular search engines of Iranian users based on the Alexa ranking at the time of study. Each selected website was assessed using three qualified tools including the Bomba and Land Index, Google PageRank and the Alexa ranking. The evaluated sites characteristics (ownership structure, database, scope and objective) really did not have an effect on the Alexa traffic global rank, Alexa traffic rank in Iran, Google PageRank and Bomba total score. Most websites (78.9 percent, n = 56) were in the moderate category (8 ≤ x ≤ 11.99) based on their quality levels. There was no statistically significant association between Google PageRank with Bomba index variables and Alexa traffic global rank (P > 0.05). The Persian health websites had better Bomba quality scores in availability and usability guidelines as compared to other guidelines. The Google PageRank did not properly reflect the real quality of evaluated websites and Internet users seeking online health information should not merely rely on it for any kind of prejudgment regarding Persian health websites. However, they can use Iran Alexa rank as a primary filtering tool of these websites. Therefore, designing search engines dedicated to explore accredited Persian health-related Web sites can be an effective method to access high-quality Persian health websites.

The Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nall, M.; French, R.; Noble, S.; Muery, K.

2010-01-01

The Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project (LMMP) is managing a suite of lunar mapping and modeling tools and data products that support lunar exploration activities, including the planning, de-sign, development, test, and operations associated with crewed and/or robotic operations on the lunar surface. Although the project was initiated primarily to serve the needs of the Constellation program, it is equally suited for supporting landing site selection and planning for a variety of robotic missions, including NASA science and/or human precursor missions and commercial missions such as those planned by the Google Lunar X-Prize participants. In addition, LMMP should prove to be a convenient and useful tool for scientific analysis and for education and public out-reach (E/PO) activities.

A Google Earth Grand Tour of the Terrestrial Planets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Paor, Declan; Coba, Filis; Burgin, Stephen

2016-01-01

Google Earth is a powerful instructional resource for geoscience education. We have extended the virtual globe to include all terrestrial planets. Downloadable Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files (Google Earth's scripting language) associated with this paper include lessons about Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars. We created "grand…

How Accurately Can the Google Web Speech API Recognize and Transcribe Japanese L2 English Learners' Oral Production?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashwell, Tim; Elam, Jesse R.

2017-01-01

The ultimate aim of our research project was to use the Google Web Speech API to automate scoring of elicited imitation (EI) tests. However, in order to achieve this goal, we had to take a number of preparatory steps. We needed to assess how accurate this speech recognition tool is in recognizing native speakers' production of the test items; we…

Google classroom as a tool for active learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaharanee, Izwan Nizal Mohd; Jamil, Jastini Mohd; Rodzi, Sarah Syamimi Mohamad

2016-08-01

As the world is being developed with the new technologies, discovering and manipulating new ideas and concepts of online education are changing rapidly. In response to these changes, many states, institutions, and organizations have been working on strategic plans to implement online education. At the same time, misconceptions and myths related to the difficulty of teaching and learning online, technologies available to support online instruction, the support and compensation needed for high-quality instructors, and the needs of online students create challenges for such vision statements and planning documents. This paper provides analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of Google Classroom's active learning activities for data mining subject under the Decision Sciences program. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been employed to measure the effectiveness of the learning activities. A total of 100 valid unduplicated responses from students who enrolled data mining subject were used in this study. The results indicated that majority of the students satisfy with the Google Classroom's tool that were introduced in the class. Results of data analyzed showed that all ratios are above averages. In particular, comparative performance is good in the areas of ease of access, perceived usefulness, communication and interaction, instruction delivery and students' satisfaction towards the Google Classroom's active learning activities.

Quantification of Plant Chlorophyll Content Using Google Glass

PubMed Central

Cortazar, Bingen; Koydemir, Hatice Ceylan; Tseng, Derek; Feng, Steve; Ozcan, Aydogan

2015-01-01

Measuring plant chlorophyll concentration is a well-known and commonly used method in agriculture and environmental applications for monitoring plant health, which also correlates with many other plant parameters including, e.g., carotenoids, nitrogen, maximum green fluorescence, etc. Direct chlorophyll measurement using chemical extraction is destructive, complex and time-consuming, which has led to the development of mobile optical readers, providing non-destructive but at the same time relatively expensive tools for evaluation of plant chlorophyll levels. Here we demonstrate accurate measurement of chlorophyll concentration in plant leaves using Google Glass and a custom-developed software application together with a cost-effective leaf holder and multi-spectral illuminator device. Two images, taken using Google Glass, of a leaf placed in our portable illuminator device under red and white (i.e., broadband) light-emitting-diode (LED) illumination are uploaded to our servers for remote digital processing and chlorophyll quantification, with results returned to the user in less than 10 seconds. Intensity measurements extracted from the uploaded images are mapped against gold-standard colorimetric measurements made through a commercially available reader to generate calibration curves for plant leaf chlorophyll concentration. Using five plant species to calibrate our system, we demonstrate that our approach can accurately and rapidly estimate chlorophyll concentration of fifteen different plant species under both indoor and outdoor lighting conditions. This Google Glass based chlorophyll measurement platform can display the results in spatiotemporal and tabular forms and would be highly useful for monitoring of plant health in environmental and agriculture related applications, including e.g., urban plant monitoring, indirect measurements of the effects of climate change, and as an early indicator for water, soil, and air quality degradation. PMID:25669673

Quantification of plant chlorophyll content using Google Glass.

PubMed

Cortazar, Bingen; Koydemir, Hatice Ceylan; Tseng, Derek; Feng, Steve; Ozcan, Aydogan

2015-04-07

Measuring plant chlorophyll concentration is a well-known and commonly used method in agriculture and environmental applications for monitoring plant health, which also correlates with many other plant parameters including, e.g., carotenoids, nitrogen, maximum green fluorescence, etc. Direct chlorophyll measurement using chemical extraction is destructive, complex and time-consuming, which has led to the development of mobile optical readers, providing non-destructive but at the same time relatively expensive tools for evaluation of plant chlorophyll levels. Here we demonstrate accurate measurement of chlorophyll concentration in plant leaves using Google Glass and a custom-developed software application together with a cost-effective leaf holder and multi-spectral illuminator device. Two images, taken using Google Glass, of a leaf placed in our portable illuminator device under red and white (i.e., broadband) light-emitting-diode (LED) illumination are uploaded to our servers for remote digital processing and chlorophyll quantification, with results returned to the user in less than 10 seconds. Intensity measurements extracted from the uploaded images are mapped against gold-standard colorimetric measurements made through a commercially available reader to generate calibration curves for plant leaf chlorophyll concentration. Using five plant species to calibrate our system, we demonstrate that our approach can accurately and rapidly estimate chlorophyll concentration of fifteen different plant species under both indoor and outdoor lighting conditions. This Google Glass based chlorophyll measurement platform can display the results in spatiotemporal and tabular forms and would be highly useful for monitoring of plant health in environmental and agriculture related applications, including e.g., urban plant monitoring, indirect measurements of the effects of climate change, and as an early indicator for water, soil, and air quality degradation.

Using Google Analytics to evaluate the impact of the CyberTraining project.

PubMed

McGuckin, Conor; Crowley, Niall

2012-11-01

A focus on results and impact should be at the heart of every project's approach to research and dissemination. This article discusses the potential of Google Analytics (GA: http://google.com/analytics ) as an effective resource for measuring the impact of academic research output and understanding the geodemographics of users of specific Web 2.0 content (e.g., intervention and prevention materials, health promotion and advice). This article presents the results of GA analyses as a resource used in measuring the impact of the EU-funded CyberTraining project, which provided a well-grounded, research-based training manual on cyberbullying for trainers through the medium of a Web-based eBook ( www.cybertraining-project.org ). The training manual includes review information on cyberbullying, its nature and extent across Europe, analyses of current projects, and provides resources for trainers working with the target groups of pupils, parents, teachers, and other professionals. Results illustrate the promise of GA as an effective tool for measuring the impact of academic research and project output with real potential for tracking and understanding intra- and intercountry regional variations in the uptake of prevention and intervention materials, thus enabling precision focusing of attention to those regions.

Recording medical students' encounters with standardized patients using Google Glass: providing end-of-life clinical education.

PubMed

Tully, Jeffrey; Dameff, Christian; Kaib, Susan; Moffitt, Maricela

2015-03-01

Medical education today frequently includes standardized patient (SP) encounters to teach history-taking, physical exam, and communication skills. However, traditional wall-mounted cameras, used to record video for faculty and student feedback and evaluation, provide a limited view of key nonverbal communication behaviors during clinical encounters. In 2013, 30 second-year medical students participated in an end-of-life module that included SP encounters in which the SPs used Google Glass to record their first-person perspective. Students reviewed the Google Glass video and traditional videos and then completed a postencounter, self-evaluation survey and a follow-up survey about the experience. Google Glass was used successfully to record 30 student/SP encounters. One temporary Google Glass hardware failure was observed. Of the 30 students, 7 (23%) reported a "positive, nondistracting experience"; 11 (37%) a "positive, initially distracting experience"; 5 (17%) a "neutral experience"; and 3 (10%) a "negative experience." Four students (13%) opted to withhold judgment until they reviewed the videos but reported Google Glass as "distracting." According to follow-up survey responses, 16 students (of 23; 70%) found Google Glass "worth including in the [clinical skills program]," whereas 7 (30%) did not. Google Glass can be used to video record students during SP encounters and provides a novel perspective for the analysis and evaluation of their interpersonal communication skills and nonverbal behaviors. Next steps include a larger, more rigorous comparison of Google Glass versus traditional videos and expanded use of this technology in other aspects of the clinical skills training program.

Using Internet Based Paraphrasing Tools: Original Work, Patchwriting or Facilitated Plagiarism?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogerson, Ann M.; McCarthy, Grace

2017-01-01

A casual comment by a student alerted the authors to the existence and prevalence of Internet-based paraphrasing tools. A subsequent quick Google search highlighted the broad range and availability of online paraphrasing tools which offer free 'services' to paraphrase large sections of text ranging from sentences, paragraphs, whole articles, book…

75 FR 359 - Google Energy LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-05

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER10-468-000] Google Energy LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section... of Google Energy LLC's application for market-based rate authority, with an accompanying rate tariff...

GeoSymbio: a hybrid, cloud-based web application of global geospatial bioinformatics and ecoinformatics for Symbiodinium-host symbioses.

PubMed

Franklin, Erik C; Stat, Michael; Pochon, Xavier; Putnam, Hollie M; Gates, Ruth D

2012-03-01

The genus Symbiodinium encompasses a group of unicellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellates that are found free living or in hospite with a wide range of marine invertebrate hosts including scleractinian corals. We present GeoSymbio, a hybrid web application that provides an online, easy to use and freely accessible interface for users to discover, explore and utilize global geospatial bioinformatic and ecoinformatic data on Symbiodinium-host symbioses. The novelty of this application lies in the combination of a variety of query and visualization tools, including dynamic searchable maps, data tables with filter and grouping functions, and interactive charts that summarize the data. Importantly, this application is hosted remotely or 'in the cloud' using Google Apps, and therefore does not require any specialty GIS, web programming or data programming expertise from the user. The current version of the application utilizes Symbiodinium data based on the ITS2 genetic marker from PCR-based techniques, including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, sequencing and cloning of specimens collected during 1982-2010. All data elements of the application are also downloadable as spatial files, tables and nucleic acid sequence files in common formats for desktop analysis. The application provides a unique tool set to facilitate research on the basic biology of Symbiodinium and expedite new insights into their ecology, biogeography and evolution in the face of a changing global climate. GeoSymbio can be accessed at https://sites.google.com/site/geosymbio/. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Google matrix analysis of directed networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermann, Leonardo; Frahm, Klaus M.; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

2015-10-01

In the past decade modern societies have developed enormous communication and social networks. Their classification and information retrieval processing has become a formidable task for the society. Because of the rapid growth of the World Wide Web, and social and communication networks, new mathematical methods have been invented to characterize the properties of these networks in a more detailed and precise way. Various search engines extensively use such methods. It is highly important to develop new tools to classify and rank a massive amount of network information in a way that is adapted to internal network structures and characteristics. This review describes the Google matrix analysis of directed complex networks demonstrating its efficiency using various examples including the World Wide Web, Wikipedia, software architectures, world trade, social and citation networks, brain neural networks, DNA sequences, and Ulam networks. The analytical and numerical matrix methods used in this analysis originate from the fields of Markov chains, quantum chaos, and random matrix theory.

Role of Google Glass in improving patient satisfaction for otolaryngology residents: a pilot study.

PubMed

Son, E; Halbert, A; Abreu, S; Hester, R; Jefferson, G; Jennings, K; Pine, H; Watts, T

2017-04-01

To demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of the Google Glass as a tool to improve patient satisfaction and patient-physician communication for otolaryngology residents in the outpatient clinic setting. The primary outcome of the study was to improve patient satisfaction scores based on physician communication-related questions from Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys. Prospective randomised trial. Tertiary care hospital. To evaluate the effect on patient satisfaction, five residents were recorded using the Google Glass in an outpatient clinic setting by 50 randomised patients. Modified surveys based on the CG-CAHPS survey were completed by patients at the conclusion of each clinic encounter. The recorded videos were evaluated by two independent faculties. Summarised data and video were distributed to each resident for review as the intervention. The residents were recorded again by 45 additional patients with evaluation by patients and faculties. After intervention, the scores from faculty surveys regarding patient satisfaction including the subject of better explanations (P > 0.001), listening carefully (P > 0.001), addressing patient questions (P > 0.001), displaying respect (P > 0.001) and spending adequate time (P = 0.0005) all significantly improved, as well as overall performance (P = 0.014). The scores from patient surveys did significantly improve. This study demonstrates the improvements in patient satisfaction and patient-physician communication can be achieved with the use of Google Glass as a first-person recording device in the outpatient otolaryngology clinic setting. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Integration of Geophysical and Geochemical Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamagishi, Y.; Suzuki, K.; Tamura, H.; Nagao, H.; Yanaka, H.; Tsuboi, S.

2006-12-01

Integration of geochemical and geophysical data would give us a new insight to the nature of the Earth. It should advance our understanding for the dynamics of the Earth's interior and surface processes. Today various geochemical and geophysical data are available on Internet. These data are stored in various database systems. Each system is isolated and provides own format data. The goal of this study is to display both the geochemical and geophysical data obtained from such databases together visually. We adopt Google Earth as the presentation tool. Google Earth is virtual globe software and is provided free of charge by Google, Inc. Google Earth displays the Earth's surface using satellite images with mean resolution of ~15m. We display any graphical features on Google Earth by KML format file. We have developed softwares to convert geochemical and geophysical data to KML file. First of all, we tried to overlay data from Georoc and PetDB and seismic tomography data on Google Earth. Georoc and PetDB are both online database systems for geochemical data. The data format of Georoc is CSV and that of PetDB is Microsoft Excel. The format of tomography data we used is plain text. The conversion software can process these different file formats. The geochemical data (e. g. compositional abundance) is displayed as a three-dimensional column on the Earth's surface. The shape and color of the column mean the element type. The size and color tone vary according to the abundance of the element. The tomography data can be converted into a KML file for each depth. This overlay plot of geochemical data and tomography data should help us to correlate internal temperature anomalies to geochemical anomalies, which are observed at the surface of the Earth. Our tool can convert any geophysical and geochemical data to a KML as long as the data is associated with longitude and latitude. We are going to support more geophysical data formats. In addition, we are currently trying to obtain scientific insights for the Earth's interior based on the view of both geophysical and geochemical data on Google Earth.

InChI in the wild: an assessment of InChIKey searching in Google

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

While chemical databases can be queried using the InChI string and InChIKey (IK) the latter was designed for open-web searching. It is becoming increasingly effective for this since more sources enhance crawling of their websites by the Googlebot and consequent IK indexing. Searchers who use Google as an adjunct to database access may be less familiar with the advantages of using the IK as explored in this review. As an example, the IK for atorvastatin retrieves ~200 low-redundancy links from a Google search in 0.3 of a second. These include most major databases and a very low false-positive rate. Results encompass less familiar but potentially useful sources and can be extended to isomer capture by using just the skeleton layer of the IK. Google Advanced Search can be used to filter large result sets. Image searching with the IK is also effective and complementary to open-web queries. Results can be particularly useful for less-common structures as exemplified by a major metabolite of atorvastatin giving only three hits. Testing also demonstrated document-to-document and document-to-database joins via structure matching. The necessary generation of an IK from chemical names can be accomplished using open tools and resources for patents, papers, abstracts or other text sources. Active global sharing of local IK-linked information can be accomplished via surfacing in open laboratory notebooks, blogs, Twitter, figshare and other routes. While information-rich chemistry (e.g. approved drugs) can exhibit swamping and redundancy effects, the much smaller IK result sets for link-poor structures become a transformative first-pass option. The IK indexing has therefore turned Google into a de-facto open global chemical information hub by merging links to most significant sources, including over 50 million PubChem and ChemSpider records. The simplicity, specificity and speed of matching make it a useful option for biologists or others less familiar with chemical searching. However, compared to rigorously maintained major databases, users need to be circumspect about the consistency of Google results and provenance of retrieved links. In addition, community engagement may be necessary to ameliorate possible future degradation of utility. PMID:23399051

Implementing Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom: Four Teachers' Accounts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kovalik, Cindy; Kuo, Chia-Ling; Cummins, Megan; Dipzinski, Erin; Joseph, Paula; Laskey, Stephanie

2014-01-01

In this paper, four teachers shared their experiences using the following free Web 2.0 tools with their students: Jing, Wix, Google Sites, and Blogger. The teachers found that students reacted positively to lessons in which these tools were used, and also noted improvements they could make when using them in the future.

The Use of Virtual Reality Tools in the Reading-Language Arts Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilgrim, J. Michael; Pilgrim, Jodi

2016-01-01

This article presents virtual reality as a tool for classroom literacy instruction. Building on the traditional use of images as a way to scaffold prior knowledge, we extend this idea to share ways virtual reality enables experiential learning through field trip-like experiences. The use of technology tools such Google Street view, Google…

An Agro-Climatological Early Warning Tool Based on the Google Earth Engine to Support Regional Food Security Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landsfeld, M. F.; Daudert, B.; Friedrichs, M.; Morton, C.; Hegewisch, K.; Husak, G. J.; Funk, C. C.; Peterson, P.; Huntington, J. L.; Abatzoglou, J. T.; Verdin, J. P.; Williams, E. L.

2015-12-01

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) focuses on food insecurity in developing nations and provides objective, evidence based analysis to help government decision-makers and relief agencies plan for and respond to humanitarian emergencies. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a platform provided by Google Inc. to support scientific research and analysis of environmental data in their cloud environment. The intent is to allow scientists and independent researchers to mine massive collections of environmental data and leverage Google's vast computational resources to detect changes and monitor the Earth's surface and climate. GEE hosts an enormous amount of satellite imagery and climate archives, one of which is the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations dataset (CHIRPS). The CHIRPS dataset is land based, quasi-global (latitude 50N-50S), 0.05 degree resolution, and has a relatively long term period of record (1981-present). CHIRPS is on a continuous monthly feed into the GEE as new data fields are generated each month. This precipitation dataset is a key input for FEWS NET monitoring and forecasting efforts. FEWS NET intends to leverage the GEE in order to provide analysts and scientists with flexible, interactive tools to aid in their monitoring and research efforts. These scientists often work in bandwidth limited regions, so lightweight Internet tools and services that bypass the need for downloading massive datasets to analyze them, are preferred for their work. The GEE provides just this type of service. We present a tool designed specifically for FEWS NET scientists to be utilized interactively for investigating and monitoring for agro-climatological issues. We are able to utilize the enormous GEE computing power to generate on-the-fly statistics to calculate precipitation anomalies, z-scores, percentiles and band ratios, and allow the user to interactively select custom areas for statistical time series comparisons and predictions.

From Tech Skills to Life Skills: Google Online Marketing Challenge and Experiential Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croes, Jo-Anne V.; Visser, Melina M.

2015-01-01

The Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC) is a global, online student competition sponsored by Google. It is a prime example of an experiential learning activity that includes using real money ($250 sponsored by Google) with a real client. The GOMC has yielded compelling results in student engagement and learning objectives related to the…

Systematic social observation of children’s neighborhoods using Google Street View: a reliable and cost-effective method

PubMed Central

Odgers, Candice L.; Caspi, Avshalom; Bates, Christopher J.; Sampson, Robert J.; Moffitt, Terrie E.

2012-01-01

Background Children growing up in poor versus affluent neighborhoods are more likely to spend time in prison, develop health problems and die at an early age. The question of how neighborhood conditions influence our behavior and health has attracted the attention of public health officials and scholars for generations. Online tools are now providing new opportunities to measure neighborhood features and may provide a cost effective way to advance our understanding of neighborhood effects on child health. Method A virtual systematic social observation (SSO) study was conducted to test whether Google Street View could be used to reliably capture the neighborhood conditions of families participating in the Environmental-Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. Multiple raters coded a subsample of 120 neighborhoods and convergent and discriminant validity was evaluated on the full sample of over 1,000 neighborhoods by linking virtual SSO measures to: (a) consumer based geo-demographic classifications of deprivation and health, (b) local resident surveys of disorder and safety, and (c) parent and teacher assessments of children’s antisocial behavior, prosocial behavior, and body mass index. Results High levels of observed agreement were documented for signs of physical disorder, physical decay, dangerousness and street safety. Inter-rater agreement estimates fell within the moderate to substantial range for all of the scales (ICCs ranged from .48 to .91). Negative neighborhood features, including SSO-rated disorder and decay and dangerousness corresponded with local resident reports, demonstrated a graded relationship with census-defined indices of socioeconomic status, and predicted higher levels of antisocial behavior among local children. In addition, positive neighborhood features, including SSO-rated street safety and the percentage of green space, were associated with higher prosocial behavior and healthy weight status among children. Conclusions Our results support the use of Google Street View as a reliable and cost effective tool for measuring both negative and positive features of local neighborhoods. PMID:22676812

Systematic social observation of children's neighborhoods using Google Street View: a reliable and cost-effective method.

PubMed

Odgers, Candice L; Caspi, Avshalom; Bates, Christopher J; Sampson, Robert J; Moffitt, Terrie E

2012-10-01

Children growing up in poor versus affluent neighborhoods are more likely to spend time in prison, develop health problems and die at an early age. The question of how neighborhood conditions influence our behavior and health has attracted the attention of public health officials and scholars for generations. Online tools are now providing new opportunities to measure neighborhood features and may provide a cost effective way to advance our understanding of neighborhood effects on child health. A virtual systematic social observation (SSO) study was conducted to test whether Google Street View could be used to reliably capture the neighborhood conditions of families participating in the Environmental-Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. Multiple raters coded a subsample of 120 neighborhoods and convergent and discriminant validity was evaluated on the full sample of over 1,000 neighborhoods by linking virtual SSO measures to: (a) consumer based geo-demographic classifications of deprivation and health, (b) local resident surveys of disorder and safety, and (c) parent and teacher assessments of children's antisocial behavior, prosocial behavior, and body mass index. High levels of observed agreement were documented for signs of physical disorder, physical decay, dangerousness and street safety. Inter-rater agreement estimates fell within the moderate to substantial range for all of the scales (ICCs ranged from .48 to .91). Negative neighborhood features, including SSO-rated disorder and decay and dangerousness corresponded with local resident reports, demonstrated a graded relationship with census-defined indices of socioeconomic status, and predicted higher levels of antisocial behavior among local children. In addition, positive neighborhood features, including SSO-rated street safety and the percentage of green space, were associated with higher prosocial behavior and healthy weight status among children. Our results support the use of Google Street View as a reliable and cost effective tool for measuring both negative and positive features of local neighborhoods. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2012 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Coming Full Circle with Boyd’s OODA Loop Ideas: An Analysis of Innovation Diffusion and Evolution

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-01

answer “what” and “how” exploratory questions and was focused on the discovery of aspects of complex ideas, a qualitative methodology was used. A... discovery rather than explanation (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994). This thesis research followed the Miles and Huberman (1994) interactive model of...conducted using the research tools FirstSearch and EBSCO and the on-line search engine Google (www.google.com). Within FirstSearch, academic and business

Generating Southern Africa Precipitation Forecast Using the FEWS Engine, a New Application for the Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landsfeld, M. F.; Hegewisch, K.; Daudert, B.; Morton, C.; Husak, G. J.; Friedrichs, M.; Funk, C. C.; Huntington, J. L.; Abatzoglou, J. T.; Verdin, J. P.

2016-12-01

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) focuses on food insecurity in developing nations and provides objective, evidence-based analysis to help government decision-makers and relief agencies plan for and respond to humanitarian emergencies. The network of FEWS NET analysts and scientists require flexible, interactive tools to aid in their monitoring and research efforts. Because they often work in bandwidth-limited regions, lightweight Internet tools and services that bypass the need for downloading massive datasets are preferred for their work. To support food security analysis FEWS NET developed a custom interface for the Google Earth Engine (GEE). GEE is a platform developed by Google to support scientific analysis of environmental data in their cloud computing environment. This platform allows scientists and independent researchers to mine massive collections of environmental data, leveraging Google's vast computational resources for purposes of detecting changes and monitoring the Earth's surface and climate. GEE hosts an enormous amount of satellite imagery and climate archives, one of which is the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations dataset (CHIRPS). CHIRPS precipitation dataset is a key input for FEWS NET monitoring and forecasting efforts. In this talk we introduce the FEWS Engine interface. We present an application that highlights the utility of FEWS Engine for forecasting the upcoming seasonal precipitation of southern Africa. Specifically, the current state of ENSO is assessed and used to identify similar historical seasons. The FEWS Engine compositing tool is used to examine rainfall and other environmental data for these analog seasons. The application illustrates the unique benefits of using FEWS Engine for on-the-fly food security scenario development.

An overview of new video coding tools under consideration for VP10: the successor to VP9

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Debargha; Su, Hui; Bankoski, James; Converse, Alex; Han, Jingning; Liu, Zoe; Xu, Yaowu

2015-09-01

Google started an opensource project, entitled the WebM Project, in 2010 to develop royaltyfree video codecs for the web. The present generation codec developed in the WebM project called VP9 was finalized in mid2013 and is currently being served extensively by YouTube, resulting in billions of views per day. Even though adoption of VP9 outside Google is still in its infancy, the WebM project has already embarked on an ambitious project to develop a next edition codec VP10 that achieves at least a generational bitrate reduction over the current generation codec VP9. Although the project is still in early stages, a set of new experimental coding tools have already been added to baseline VP9 to achieve modest coding gains over a large enough test set. This paper provides a technical overview of these coding tools.

Using Search Engine Query Data to Explore the Epidemiology of Common Gastrointestinal Symptoms.

PubMed

Hassid, Benjamin G; Day, Lukejohn W; Awad, Mohannad A; Sewell, Justin L; Osterberg, E Charles; Breyer, Benjamin N

2017-03-01

Internet searches are an increasingly used tool in medical research. To date, no studies have examined Google search data in relation to common gastrointestinal symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare trends in Internet search volume with clinical datasets for common gastrointestinal symptoms. Using Google Trends, we recorded relative changes in volume of searches related to dysphagia, vomiting, and diarrhea in the USA between January 2008 and January 2011. We queried the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) during this time period and identified cases related to these symptoms. We assessed the correlation between Google Trends and these two clinical datasets, as well as examined seasonal variation trends. Changes to Google search volume for all three symptoms correlated significantly with changes to NIS output (dysphagia: r = 0.5, P = 0.002; diarrhea: r = 0.79, P < 0.001; vomiting: r = 0.76, P < 0.001). Both Google and NIS data showed that the prevalence of all three symptoms rose during the time period studied. On the other hand, the NHAMCS data trends during this time period did not correlate well with either the NIS or the Google data for any of the three symptoms studied. Both the NIS and Google data showed modest seasonal variation. Changes to the population burden of chronic GI symptoms may be tracked by monitoring changes to Google search engine query volume over time. These data demonstrate that the prevalence of common GI symptoms is rising over time.

Development of a Carbon Sequestration Visualization Tool using Google Earth Pro

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keating, G. N.; Greene, M. K.

2008-12-01

The Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership seeks to prepare organizations throughout the western United States for a possible carbon-constrained economy. Through the development of CO2 capture and subsurface sequestration technology, the Partnership is working to enable the region to cleanly utilize its abundant fossil energy resources. The intent of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Big Sky Visualization tool is to allow geochemists, geologists, geophysicists, project managers, and other project members to view, identify, and query the data collected from CO2 injection tests using a single data source platform, a mission to which Google Earth Pro is uniquely and ideally suited . The visualization framework enables fusion of data from disparate sources and allows investigators to fully explore spatial and temporal trends in CO2 fate and transport within a reservoir. 3-D subsurface wells are projected above ground in Google Earth as the KML anchor points for the presentation of various surface subsurface data. This solution is the most integrative and cost-effective possible for the variety of users in the Big Sky community.

Tracking changes of river morphology in Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar using earth observations and surface water mapping tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piman, T.; Schellekens, J.; Haag, A.; Donchyts, G.; Apirumanekul, C.; Hlaing, K. T.

2017-12-01

River morphology changes is one of the key issues in Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar which cause impacts on navigation, riverine habitats, agriculture lands, communities and livelihoods near the bank of the river. This study is aimed to track the changes in river morphology in the middle reach of Ayeyarwady River over last 30 years from 1984-2014 to improve understanding of riverbank dynamic, erosion and deposition procress. Earth observations including LandSat-7, LandSat-8, Digital Elevation Model from SRTM Plus and, ASTER-2 GoogleMap and Open Street Map were obtained for the study. GIS and remote sensing tools were used to analyze changes in river morphology while surface water mapping tool was applied to determine how the dynamic behaviour of the surface river and effect of river morphology changes. The tool consists of two components: (1) a Google Earth Engine (GEE) javascript or python application that performs image analysis and (2) a user-friendly site/app using Google's appspot.com that exposes the application to the users. The results of this study shown that the fluvial morphology in the middle reach of Ayeyarwady River is continuously changing under the influence of high water flows in particularly from extreme flood events and land use change from mining and deforestation. It was observed that some meandering sections of the riverbank were straightened, which results in the movement of sediment downstream and created new sections of meandering riverbank. Several large islands have formed due to the stabilization by vegetation and is enforced by sedimentation while many small bars were formed and migrated dynamically due to changes in water levels and flow velocity in the wet and dry seasons. The main channel was changed to secondary channel in some sections of the river. This results a constant shift of the navigation route. We also found that some villages were facing riverbank erosion which can force villagers to relocate. The study results demonstrated that the products from earth observations and the surface water mapping tool could detect dynamic changes of river morphology in the Ayeyarwady River. This information is useful to support navigation and riverbank protection planning and formulating mitigation measures for local communities that are affecting by riverbank erosion.

Education Students' Use of Collaborative Writing Tools in Collectively Reflective Essay Papers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodahl, Cornelia; Hansen, Nils Kristian

2014-01-01

Google Docs and EtherPad are Web 2.0 tools providing opportunity for multiple users to work online on the same document consecutively or simultaneously. Over the last few years a number of research papers on the use of these collaborative tools in a teaching and learning environment have been published. This work builds on that of Brodahl,…

Novel data sources for women's health research: mapping breast screening online information seeking through Google trends.

PubMed

Fazeli Dehkordy, Soudabeh; Carlos, Ruth C; Hall, Kelli S; Dalton, Vanessa K

2014-09-01

Millions of people use online search engines everyday to find health-related information and voluntarily share their personal health status and behaviors in various Web sites. Thus, data from tracking of online information seeker's behavior offer potential opportunities for use in public health surveillance and research. Google Trends is a feature of Google which allows Internet users to graph the frequency of searches for a single term or phrase over time or by geographic region. We used Google Trends to describe patterns of information-seeking behavior in the subject of dense breasts and to examine their correlation with the passage or introduction of dense breast notification legislation. To capture the temporal variations of information seeking about dense breasts, the Web search query "dense breast" was entered in the Google Trends tool. We then mapped the dates of legislative actions regarding dense breasts that received widespread coverage in the lay media to information-seeking trends about dense breasts over time. Newsworthy events and legislative actions appear to correlate well with peaks in search volume of "dense breast". Geographic regions with the highest search volumes have passed, denied, or are currently considering the dense breast legislation. Our study demonstrated that any legislative action and respective news coverage correlate with increase in information seeking for "dense breast" on Google, suggesting that Google Trends has the potential to serve as a data source for policy-relevant research. Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatiotemporal Visualization of Tsunami Waves Using Kml on Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, H.; Delavar, M. R.; Sharifi, M. A.; Pirooz, M. D.

2017-09-01

Disaster risk is a function of hazard and vulnerability. Risk is defined as the expected losses, including lives, personal injuries, property damages, and economic disruptions, due to a particular hazard for a given area and time period. Risk assessment is one of the key elements of a natural disaster management strategy as it allows for better disaster mitigation and preparation. It provides input for informed decision making, and increases risk awareness among decision makers and other stakeholders. Virtual globes such as Google Earth can be used as a visualization tool. Proper spatiotemporal graphical representations of the concerned risk significantly reduces the amount of effort to visualize the impact of the risk and improves the efficiency of the decision-making process to mitigate the impact of the risk. The spatiotemporal visualization of tsunami waves for disaster management process is an attractive topic in geosciences to assist investigation of areas at tsunami risk. In this paper, a method for coupling virtual globes with tsunami wave arrival time models is presented. In this process we have shown 2D+Time of tsunami waves for propagation and inundation of tsunami waves, both coastal line deformation, and the flooded areas. In addition, the worst case scenario of tsunami on Chabahar port derived from tsunami modelling is also presented using KML on google earth.

A Web Portal-Based Time-Aware KML Animation Tool for Exploring Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Hydrological Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, X.; Cai, X.; Liu, Y.

2009-12-01

Understanding spatiotemporal dynamics of hydrological events such as storms and droughts is highly valuable for decision making on disaster mitigation and recovery. Virtual Globe-based technologies such as Google Earth and Open Geospatial Consortium KML standards show great promises for collaborative exploration of such events using visual analytical approaches. However, currently there are two barriers for wider usage of such approaches. First, there lacks an easy way to use open source tools to convert legacy or existing data formats such as shapefiles, geotiff, or web services-based data sources to KML and to produce time-aware KML files. Second, an integrated web portal-based time-aware animation tool is currently not available. Thus users usually share their files in the portal but have no means to visually explore them without leaving the portal environment which the users are familiar with. We develop a web portal-based time-aware KML animation tool for viewing extreme hydrologic events. The tool is based on Google Earth JavaScript API and Java Portlet standard 2.0 JSR-286, and it is currently deployable in one of the most popular open source portal frameworks, namely Liferay. We have also developed an open source toolkit kml-soc-ncsa (http://code.google.com/p/kml-soc-ncsa/) to facilitate the conversion of multiple formats into KML and the creation of time-aware KML files. We illustrate our tool using some example cases, in which drought and storm events with both time and space dimension can be explored in this web-based KML animation portlet. The tool provides an easy-to-use web browser-based portal environment for multiple users to collaboratively share and explore their time-aware KML files as well as improving the understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of the hydrological events.

Teaching Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Community-Based Navigation Skills to Take Public Transportation.

PubMed

Price, Richard; Marsh, Abbie J; Fisher, Marisa H

2018-03-01

Facilitating the use of public transportation enhances opportunities for independent living and competitive, community-based employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Four young adults with IDD were taught through total-task chaining to use the Google Maps application, a self-prompting, visual navigation system, to take the bus to locations around a college campus and the community. Three of four participants learned to use Google Maps to independently navigate public transportation. Google Maps may be helpful in supporting independent travel, highlighting the importance of future research in teaching navigation skills. Learning to independently use public transportation increases access to autonomous activities, such as opportunities to work and to attend postsecondary education programs on large college campuses.Individuals with IDD can be taught through chaining procedures to use the Google Maps application to navigate public transportation.Mobile map applications are an effective and functional modern tool that can be used to teach community navigation.

The military health system's personal health record pilot with Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health.

PubMed

Do, Nhan V; Barnhill, Rick; Heermann-Do, Kimberly A; Salzman, Keith L; Gimbel, Ronald W

2011-01-01

To design, build, implement, and evaluate a personal health record (PHR), tethered to the Military Health System, that leverages Microsoft® HealthVault and Google® Health infrastructure based on user preference. A pilot project was conducted in 2008-2009 at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. Our PHR was architected to a flexible platform that incorporated standards-based models of Continuity of Document and Continuity of Care Record to map Department of Defense-sourced health data, via a secure Veterans Administration data broker, to Microsoft® HealthVault and Google® Health based on user preference. The project design and implementation were guided by provider and patient advisory panels with formal user evaluation. The pilot project included 250 beneficiary users. Approximately 73.2% of users were < 65 years of age, and 38.4% were female. Of the users, 169 (67.6%) selected Microsoft® HealthVault, and 81 (32.4%) selected Google® Health as their PHR of preference. Sample evaluation of users reflected 100% (n = 60) satisfied with convenience of record access and 91.7% (n = 55) satisfied with overall functionality of PHR. Key lessons learned related to data-transfer decisions (push vs pull), purposeful delays in reporting sensitive information, understanding and mapping PHR use and clinical workflow, and decisions on information patients may choose to share with their provider. Currently PHRs are being viewed as empowering tools for patient activation. Design and implementation issues (eg, technical, organizational, information security) are substantial and must be thoughtfully approached. Adopting standards into design can enhance the national goal of portability and interoperability.

Medicolegal Death Scene Investigations After Natural Disaster- and Weather-Related Events: A Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Rocha, Luciana A.; Fromknecht, Catharine Q.; Redman, Sarah Davis; Brady, Joanne E.; Hodge, Sarah E.; Noe, Rebecca S.

2017-01-01

Background The number of disaster-related deaths recorded by vital statistics departments often differs from that reported by other agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-National Weather Service storm database and the American Red Cross. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched an effort to improve disaster-related death scene investigation reporting practices to make data more comparable across jurisdictions, improve accuracy of reporting disaster-related deaths, and enhance identification of risk and protective factors. We conducted a literature review to examine how death scene data are collected and how such data are used to determine disaster relatedness. Methods Two analysts conducted a parallel search using Google and Google Scholar. We reviewed published peer-reviewed articles and unpublished documents including relevant forms, protocols, and worksheets from coroners, medical examiners, and death scene investigators. Results We identified 177 documents: 32 published peer-reviewed articles and 145 other documents (grey literature). Published articles suggested no consistent approach for attributing deaths to a disaster. Researchers generally depended on death certificates to identify disaster-related deaths; several studies also drew on supplemental sources, including medical examiner, coroner, and active surveillance reports. Conclusions These results highlight the critical importance of consistent, accurate data collection during a death investigation. Review of the grey literature found variation in use of death scene data collection tools, indicating the potential for widespread inconsistency in data captured for routine reporting and public health surveillance. Findings from this review will be used to develop guidelines and tools for capturing disaster-related death investigation data. PMID:28845205

Monitoring of Non-cigarette Tobacco Use using Google Trends

PubMed Central

Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A.; Krauss, Melissa J.; Spitznagel, Edward L.; Lowery, Ashley; Grucza, Richard A.; Chaloupka, Frank J.; Bierut, Laura Jean

2014-01-01

Background Google Trends is an innovative monitoring system with unique potential to monitor and predict important phenomena that may be occurring at a population-level. We sought to validate whether Google Trends can additionally detect regional trends in youth and adult tobacco use. Methods We compared 2011 Google Trends relative search volume data for cigars, cigarillos, little cigars and smokeless tobacco with state prevalence of youth (grades 9–12) and adult (age 18 and older) use of these products using data from the 2011 United States state-level Youth Risk Behaviors Surveillance System and the 2010–2011 United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), respectively. We used the Pearson correlation coefficient to measure the associations. Results We found significant positive correlations between state Google Trends cigar relative search volume and prevalence of cigar use among youth (r=0.39, R-square=0.154, p= .018) and adults (r=0.49, R-square=0.243, p<.001). Similarly, we found that the correlations between state Google trends smokeless tobacco relative search volume and prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among youth and adults were both positive and significant (r=0.46, R-square=0.209, p=.003 and r=0.48, R-square=0.226, p<.001, respectively). Conclusion The results of this study validate that Google Trends has the potential to be a valuable monitoring tool for tobacco use. The near real-time monitoring features of Google Trends may complement traditional surveillance methods and lead to faster and more convenient monitoring of emerging trends in tobacco use. What this paper adds Efforts to promptly track tobacco use at a population-level are an important endeavor that could assist key stakeholders with making informed decisions about prevention plans and policies. Our findings establish the validity of Google Trends as an indicator of cigar and smokeless tobacco use by demonstrating that states with higher relative volumes of Google searches for cigar and smokeless tobacco products have higher prevalence of tobacco use of these products. The near real-time monitoring features of Google Trends could be used to supplement traditional survey methods to obtain deeper insight about youth and adult tobacco use. PMID:24500269

Monitoring of non-cigarette tobacco use using Google Trends.

PubMed

Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A; Krauss, Melissa J; Spitznagel, Edward L; Lowery, Ashley; Grucza, Richard A; Chaloupka, Frank J; Bierut, Laura Jean

2015-05-01

Google Trends is an innovative monitoring system with unique potential to monitor and predict important phenomena that may be occurring at a population level. We sought to validate whether Google Trends can additionally detect regional trends in youth and adult tobacco use. We compared 2011 Google Trends relative search volume data for cigars, cigarillos, little cigars and smokeless tobacco with state prevalence of youth (grades 9-12) and adult (age 18 and older) use of these products using data from the 2011 United States state-level Youth Risk Behaviors Surveillance System and the 2010-2011 United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), respectively. We used the Pearson correlation coefficient to measure the associations. We found significant positive correlations between state Google Trends cigar relative search volume and prevalence of cigar use among youth (r=0.39, R(2) = 0.154, p=0.018) and adults (r=0.49, R(2) = 0.243, p<0.001). Similarly, we found that the correlations between state Google Trends smokeless tobacco relative search volume and prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among youth and adults were both positive and significant (r=0.46, R(2) = 0.209, p=0.003 and r=0.48, R(2) = 0.226, p<0.001, respectively). The results of this study validate that Google Trends has the potential to be a valuable monitoring tool for tobacco use. The near real-time monitoring features of Google Trends may complement traditional surveillance methods and lead to faster and more convenient monitoring of emerging trends in tobacco use. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Learning GIS and exploring geolocated data with the all-in-one Geolokit toolbox for Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watlet, A.; Triantafyllou, A.; Bastin, C.

2016-12-01

GIS software are today's essential tools to gather and visualize geological data, to apply spatial and temporal analysis and finally, to create and share interactive maps for further investigations in geosciences. Such skills are especially essential to learn for students who go through fieldtrips, samples collections or field experiments. However, time is generally missing to teach in detail all the aspects of visualizing geolocated geoscientific data. For these purposes, we developed Geolokit: a lightweight freeware dedicated to geodata visualization and written in Python, a high-level, cross-platform programming language. Geolokit software is accessible through a graphical user interface, designed to run in parallel with Google Earth, benefitting from the numerous interactive capabilities. It is designed as a very user-friendly toolbox that allows `geo-users' to import their raw data (e.g. GPS, sample locations, structural data, field pictures, maps), to use fast data analysis tools and to visualize these into the Google Earth environment using KML code; with no require of third party software, except Google Earth itself. Geolokit comes with a large number of geosciences labels, symbols, colours and placemarks and is applicable to display several types of geolocated data, including: Multi-points datasets Automatically computed contours of multi-points datasets via several interpolation methods Discrete planar and linear structural geology data in 2D or 3D supporting large range of structures input format Clustered stereonets and rose diagrams 2D cross-sections as vertical sections Georeferenced maps and grids with user defined coordinates Field pictures using either geo-tracking metadata from a camera built-in GPS module, or the same-day track of an external GPS In the end, Geolokit is helpful for quickly visualizing and exploring data without losing too much time in the numerous capabilities of GIS software suites. We are looking for students and teachers to discover all the functionalities of Geolokit. As this project is under development and planned to be open source, we are definitely looking to discussions regarding particular needs or ideas, and to contributions in the Geolokit project.

Health Information on Internet: Quality, Importance, and Popularity of Persian Health Websites

PubMed Central

Samadbeik, Mahnaz; Ahmadi, Maryam; Mohammadi, Ali; Mohseni Saravi, Beniamin

2014-01-01

Background: The Internet has provided great opportunities for disseminating both accurate and inaccurate health information. Therefore, the quality of information is considered as a widespread concern affecting the human life. Despite the increasingly substantial growth in the number of users, Persian health websites and the proportion of internet-using patients, little is known about the quality of Persian medical and health websites. Objectives: The current study aimed to first assess the quality, popularity and importance of websites providing Persian health-related information, and second to evaluate the correlation of the popularity and importance ranking with quality score on the Internet. Materials and Methods: The sample websites were identified by entering the health-related keywords into four most popular search engines of Iranian users based on the Alexa ranking at the time of study. Each selected website was assessed using three qualified tools including the Bomba and Land Index, Google PageRank and the Alexa ranking. Results: The evaluated sites characteristics (ownership structure, database, scope and objective) really did not have an effect on the Alexa traffic global rank, Alexa traffic rank in Iran, Google PageRank and Bomba total score. Most websites (78.9 percent, n = 56) were in the moderate category (8 ≤ x ≤ 11.99) based on their quality levels. There was no statistically significant association between Google PageRank with Bomba index variables and Alexa traffic global rank (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The Persian health websites had better Bomba quality scores in availability and usability guidelines as compared to other guidelines. The Google PageRank did not properly reflect the real quality of evaluated websites and Internet users seeking online health information should not merely rely on it for any kind of prejudgment regarding Persian health websites. However, they can use Iran Alexa rank as a primary filtering tool of these websites. Therefore, designing search engines dedicated to explore accredited Persian health-related Web sites can be an effective method to access high-quality Persian health websites. PMID:24910795

Creating User-Friendly Tools for Data Analysis and Visualization in K-12 Classrooms: A Fortran Dinosaur Meets Generation Y

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chambers, L. H.; Chaudhury, S.; Page, M. T.; Lankey, A. J.; Doughty, J.; Kern, Steven; Rogerson, Tina M.

2008-01-01

During the summer of 2007, as part of the second year of a NASA-funded project in partnership with Christopher Newport University called SPHERE (Students as Professionals Helping Educators Research the Earth), a group of undergraduate students spent 8 weeks in a research internship at or near NASA Langley Research Center. Three students from this group formed the Clouds group along with a NASA mentor (Chambers), and the brief addition of a local high school student fulfilling a mentorship requirement. The Clouds group was given the task of exploring and analyzing ground-based cloud observations obtained by K-12 students as part of the Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) Project, and the corresponding satellite data. This project began in 1997. The primary analysis tools developed for it were in FORTRAN, a computer language none of the students were familiar with. While they persevered through computer challenges and picky syntax, it eventually became obvious that this was not the most fruitful approach for a project aimed at motivating K-12 students to do their own data analysis. Thus, about halfway through the summer the group shifted its focus to more modern data analysis and visualization tools, namely spreadsheets and Google(tm) Earth. The result of their efforts, so far, is two different Excel spreadsheets and a Google(tm) Earth file. The spreadsheets are set up to allow participating classrooms to paste in a particular dataset of interest, using the standard S'COOL format, and easily perform a variety of analyses and comparisons of the ground cloud observation reports and their correspondence with the satellite data. This includes summarizing cloud occurrence and cloud cover statistics, and comparing cloud cover measurements from the two points of view. A visual classification tool is also provided to compare the cloud levels reported from the two viewpoints. This provides a statistical counterpart to the existing S'COOL data visualization tool, which is used for individual ground-to-satellite correspondences. The Google(tm) Earth file contains a set of placemarks and ground overlays to show participating students the area around their school that the satellite is measuring. This approach will be automated and made interactive by the S'COOL database expert and will also be used to help refine the latitude/longitude location of the participating schools. Once complete, these new data analysis tools will be posted on the S'COOL website for use by the project participants in schools around the US and the world.

Exploring Research Contributions of the North American Carbon Program using Google Earth and Google Map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffith, P. C.; Wilcox, L. E.; Morrell, A.

2009-12-01

The central objective of the North American Carbon Program (NACP), a core element of the US Global Change Research Program, is to quantify the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane in North America and adjacent ocean regions. The NACP consists of a wide range of investigators at universities and federal research centers. Although many of these investigators have worked together in the past, many have had few prior interactions and may not know of similar work within knowledge domains, much less across the diversity of environments and scientific approaches in the Program. Coordinating interactions and sharing data are major challenges in conducting NACP. The Google Earth and Google Map Collections on the NACP website (www.nacarbon.org) provide a geographical view of the research products contributed by each core and affiliated NACP project. Other relevant data sources (e.g. AERONET, LVIS) can also be browsed in spatial context with NACP contributions. Each contribution links to project-oriented metadata, or “project profiles”, that provide a greater understanding of the scientific and social context of each dataset and are an important means of communicating within the NACP and to the larger carbon cycle science community. Project profiles store information such as a project's title, leaders, participants, an abstract, keywords, funding agencies, associated intensive campaigns, expected data products, data needs, publications, and URLs to associated data centers, datasets, and metadata. Data products are research contributions that include biometric inventories, flux tower estimates, remote sensing land cover products, tools, services, and model inputs / outputs. Project leaders have been asked to identify these contributions to the site level whenever possible, either through simple latitude/longitude pair, or by uploading a KML, KMZ, or shape file. Project leaders may select custom icons to graphically categorize their contributions; for example, a ship for oceanographic samples, a tower for tower measurements. After post-processing, research contributions are added to the NACP Google Earth and Google Map Collection to facilitate discovery and use in synthesis activities of the Program.

Tracking the polio virus down the Congo River: a case study on the use of Google Earth™ in public health planning and mapping

PubMed Central

Kamadjeu, Raoul

2009-01-01

Background The use of GIS in public health is growing, a consequence of a rapidly evolving technology and increasing accessibility to a wider audience. Google Earth™ (GE) is becoming an important mapping infrastructure for public health. However, generating traditional public health maps for GE is still beyond the reach of most public health professionals. In this paper, we explain, through the example of polio eradication activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, how we used GE Earth as a planning tool and we share the methods used to generate public health maps. Results The use of GE improved field operations and resulted in better dispatch of vaccination teams and allocation of resources. It also allowed the creation of maps of high quality for advocacy, training and to help understand the spatiotemporal relationship between all the entities involved in the polio outbreak and response. Conclusion GE has the potential of making mapping available to a new set of public health users in developing countries. High quality and free satellite imagery, rich features including Keyhole Markup Language or image overlay provide a flexible but yet powerful platform that set it apart from traditional GIS tools and this power is still to be fully harnessed by public health professionals. PMID:19161606

Utility of Mobile phones to support In-situ data collection for Land Cover Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oduor, P.; Omondi, S.; Wahome, A.; Mugo, R. M.; Flores, A.

2017-12-01

With the compelling need to create better monitoring tools for our landscapes to enhance better decision making processes, it becomes imperative to do so in much more sophisticated yet simple ways. Making it possible to leverage untapped potential of our "lay men" at the same time enabling us to respond to the complexity of the information we have to get out. SERVIR Eastern and Southern Africa has developed a mobile app that can be utilized with very little prior knowledge or no knowledge at all to collect spatial information on land cover. This set of in-situ data can be collected by masses because the tools is very simple to use, and have this information fed in classification algorithms than can then be used to map out our ever changing landscape. The LULC Mapper is a subset of JiMap system and is able to pull the google earth imagery and open street maps to enable user familiarize with their location. It uses phone GPS, phone network information to map location coordinates and at the same time gives the user sample picture of what to categorize their landscape. The system is able to work offline and when user gets access to internet they can push the information into an amazon database as bulk data. The location details including geotagged photos allows the data to be used in development of a lot of spatial information including land cover data. The app is currently available in Google Play Store and will soon be uploaded on Appstore for utilization by a wider community. We foresee a lot of potential in this tool in terms of making data collection cheaper and affordable. Taking advantage of the advances made in phone technology. We envisage to do a data collection campaign where we can have the tool used for crowdsourcing.

Detecting European Rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus) Disease Outbreaks by Monitoring Digital Media.

PubMed

Peacock, David E; Grillo, Tiggy L

2018-04-18

  Digital media and digital search tools offer simple and effective means to monitor for pathogens and disease outbreaks in target organisms. Using tools such as Rich Site Summary feeds, and Google News and Google Scholar specific key word searches, international digital media were actively monitored from 2012 to 2016 for pathogens and disease outbreaks in the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, with a specific focus on the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus). The primary objective was identifying pathogens for assessment as potential new biocontrol agents for Australia's pest populations of the European rabbit. A number of pathogens were detected in digital media reports. Additional benefits arose in the regular provision of case reports and research on myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus that assisted with current research.

Concordancers and Dictionaries as Problem-Solving Tools for ESL Academic Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Choongil

2016-01-01

The present study investigated how 6 Korean ESL graduate students in Canada used a suite of freely available reference resources, consisting of Web-based corpus tools, Google search engines, and dictionaries, for solving linguistic problems while completing an authentic academic writing assignment in English. Using a mixed methods design, the…

Teaching Internet Security, Safety in Our Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeFranco, Joanna F.

2011-01-01

Internet security is an important topic for educators due to curriculums now incorporating tools such as the Internet, Google docs, e-portfolios, and course management systems. Those tools require students to spend more time online, where they are susceptible to manipulation or intimidation if they do not stay on task. Kids of all ages lack…

Assessment of readability, quality and popularity of online information on ureteral stents.

PubMed

Mozafarpour, Sarah; Norris, Briony; Borin, James; Eisner, Brian H

2018-02-12

To evaluate the quality and readability of online information on ureteral stents. Google.com was queried using the search terms "ureteric stent", "ureteral stent", "double J stent" and, "Kidney stent" derived from Google AdWords. Website popularity was determined using Google Rank and the Alexa tool. Website quality assessment was performed using the following criteria: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, Health on the Net (HON) criteria, and a customized DISCERN questionnaire. The customized DISCERN questionnaire was developed by combining the short validated DISCERN questionnaire with additional stent-specific items including definition, placement, complications, limitations, removal and "when to seek help". Scores related to stent items were considered as the "stent score" (SS). Readability was evaluated using five readability tests. Thirty-two websites were included. The mean customized DISCERN score and "stent score" were 27.1 ± 7.1 (maximum possible score = 59) and 14.6 ± 3.8 (maximum possible score = 24), respectively. A minority of websites adequately addressed "stent removal" and "when to seek medical attention". Only two websites (6.3%) had HON certification (drugs.com, radiologyinfo.org) and only one website (3.3%) met all JAMA criteria (bradyurology.blogspot.com). Readability level was higher than the American Medical Association recommendation of sixth-grade level for more than 75% of the websites. There was no correlation between Google rank, Alexa rank, and the quality scores (P > 0.05). Among the 32 most popular websites on the topic of ureteral stents, online information was highly variable. The readability of many of the websites was far higher than standard recommendations and the online information was questionable in many cases. These findings suggest a need for improved online resources in order to better educate patients about ureteral stents and also should inform physicians that popular websites may have incomplete information.

Novel Data Sources for Women’s Health Research: Mapping Breast Screening Online Information Seeking Through Google Trends

PubMed Central

Dehkordy, Soudabeh Fazeli; Carlos, Ruth C.; Hall, Kelli S.; Dalton, Vanessa K.

2015-01-01

Rationale and Objectives Millions of people use online search engines every day to find health-related information and voluntarily share their personal health status and behaviors in various Web sites. Thus, data from tracking of online information seeker’s behavior offer potential opportunities for use in public health surveillance and research. Google Trends is a feature of Google which allows internet users to graph the frequency of searches for a single term or phrase over time or by geographic region. We used Google Trends to describe patterns of information seeking behavior in the subject of dense breasts and to examine their correlation with the passage or introduction of dense breast notification legislation. Materials and Methods In order to capture the temporal variations of information seeking about dense breasts, the web search query “dense breast” was entered in the Google Trends tool. We then mapped the dates of legislative actions regarding dense breasts that received widespread coverage in the lay media to information seeking trends about dense breasts over time. Results Newsworthy events and legislative actions appear to correlate well with peaks in search volume of “dense breast”. Geographic regions with the highest search volumes have either passed, denied, or are currently considering the dense breast legislation. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that any legislative action and respective news coverage correlate with increase in information seeking for “dense breast” on Google, suggesting that Google Trends has the potential to serve as a data source for policy-relevant research. PMID:24998689

Visualizing Cross-sectional Data in a Real-World Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Noten, K.; Lecocq, T.

2016-12-01

If you could fly around your research results in three dimensions, wouldn't you like to do it? Visualizing research results properly during scientific presentations already does half the job of informing the public on the geographic framework of your research. Many scientists use the Google Earth™ mapping service (V7.1.2.2041) because it's a great interactive mapping tool for assigning geographic coordinates to individual data points, localizing a research area, and draping maps of results over Earth's surface for 3D visualization. However, visualizations of research results in vertical cross-sections are often not shown simultaneously with the maps in Google Earth. A few tutorials and programs to display cross-sectional data in Google Earth do exist, and the workflow is rather simple. By importing a cross-sectional figure into in the open software SketchUp Make [Trimble Navigation Limited, 2016], any spatial model can be exported to a vertical figure in Google Earth. In this presentation a clear workflow/tutorial is presented how to image cross-sections manually in Google Earth. No software skills, nor any programming codes are required. It is very easy to use, offers great possibilities for teaching and allows fast figure manipulation in Google Earth. The full workflow can be found in "Van Noten, K. 2016. Visualizing Cross-Sectional Data in a Real-World Context. EOS, Transactions AGU, 97, 16-19".The video tutorial can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr8LwFJ4RYU&Figure: Cross-sectional Research Examples Illustrated in Google Earth

Google Earth for Landowners: Insights from Hands-on Workshops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huff, Tristan

2014-01-01

Google Earth is an accessible, user-friendly GIS that can help landowners in their management planning. I offered hands-on Google Earth workshops to landowners to teach skills, including mapmaking, length and area measurement, and database management. Workshop participants were surveyed at least 6 months following workshop completion, and learning…

Automated Assessment of the Quality of Depression Websites

PubMed Central

Tang, Thanh Tin; Hawking, David; Christensen, Helen

2005-01-01

Background Since health information on the World Wide Web is of variable quality, methods are needed to assist consumers to identify health websites containing evidence-based information. Manual assessment tools may assist consumers to evaluate the quality of sites. However, these tools are poorly validated and often impractical. There is a need to develop better consumer tools, and in particular to explore the potential of automated procedures for evaluating the quality of health information on the web. Objective This study (1) describes the development of an automated quality assessment procedure (AQA) designed to automatically rank depression websites according to their evidence-based quality; (2) evaluates the validity of the AQA relative to human rated evidence-based quality scores; and (3) compares the validity of Google PageRank and the AQA as indicators of evidence-based quality. Method The AQA was developed using a quality feedback technique and a set of training websites previously rated manually according to their concordance with statements in the Oxford University Centre for Evidence-Based Mental Health’s guidelines for treating depression. The validation phase involved 30 websites compiled from the DMOZ, Yahoo! and LookSmart Depression Directories by randomly selecting six sites from each of the Google PageRank bands of 0, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8. Evidence-based ratings from two independent raters (based on concordance with the Oxford guidelines) were then compared with scores derived from the automated AQA and Google algorithms. There was no overlap in the websites used in the training and validation phases of the study. Results The correlation between the AQA score and the evidence-based ratings was high and significant (r=0.85, P<.001). Addition of a quadratic component improved the fit, the combined linear and quadratic model explaining 82 percent of the variance. The correlation between Google PageRank and the evidence-based score was lower than that for the AQA. When sites with zero PageRanks were included the association was weak and non-significant (r=0.23, P=.22). When sites with zero PageRanks were excluded, the correlation was moderate (r=.61, P=.002). Conclusions Depression websites of different evidence-based quality can be differentiated using an automated system. If replicable, generalizable to other health conditions and deployed in a consumer-friendly form, the automated procedure described here could represent an important advance for consumers of Internet medical information. PMID:16403723

Using Google AdWords for international multilingual recruitment to health research websites.

PubMed

Gross, Margaret S; Liu, Nancy H; Contreras, Omar; Muñoz, Ricardo F; Leykin, Yan

2014-01-20

Google AdWords, the placement of sponsored links in Google search results, is a potent method of recruitment to Internet-based health studies and interventions. However, the performance of Google AdWords varies considerably depending on the language and the location of the target audience. Our goal was to describe differences in AdWords performance when recruiting participants to the same study conducted in four languages and to determine whether AdWords campaigns can be optimized in order to increase recruitment while decreasing costs. Google AdWords were used to recruit participants to the Mood Screener, a multilingual online depression screening tool available in English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. Two distinct recruitment periods are described: (1) "Unmanaged", a 6-month period in which ads were allowed to run using only the AdWords tool itself, with no human intervention, and (2) "Managed", a separate 7-week period during which we systematically sought to optimize our recruitment campaigns. During 6 months of unmanaged recruitment, our ads were shown over 1.3 million times, resulting in over 60,000 site visits. The average click-through rate (ratio of ads clicked to ads displayed) varied from 1.86% for Chinese ads to 8.48% for Russian ads, as did the average cost-per-click (from US $0.20 for Chinese ads to US $0.50 for English ads). Although Chinese speakers' click-through rate was lowest, their rate of consenting to participate was the highest, at 3.62%, with English speakers exhibiting the lowest consent rate (0.97%). The conversion cost (cost to recruit a consenting participant) varied from US $10.80 for Russian speakers to US $51.88 for English speakers. During the 7 weeks of "managed" recruitment, we attempted to improve AdWords' performance in regards to the consent rate and cost by systematically deleting underperforming ads and adjusting keywords. We were able to increase the number of people who consent after coming to the site by 91.8% while also decreasing per-consent cost by 23.3%. Our results illustrate the need to linguistically and culturally adapt Google AdWords campaigns and to manage them carefully to ensure the most cost-effective results.

Suitability of measurements used to assess mental health outcomes in men and women trafficked for sexual and labour exploitation: a systematic review.

PubMed

Doherty, S; Oram, S; Siriwardhana, C; Abas, M

2016-05-01

Trafficking is a global human rights violation with multiple and complex mental health consequences. Valid and reliable mental health assessment tools are needed to inform health-care provision. We reviewed mental health assessment tools used in research with men and women trafficked for sexual and labour exploitation. We searched nine electronic databases (PsycINFO, Ovid Medline, PubMed, Embase, Assia, the Web of Science, Global Health, Google Scholar, and Open Grey) and hand-searched the reference lists of relevant identified studies. Seven studies were included in this Review. Six of the studies screened for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety; one study screened for harmful use or abuse of alcohol and used a diagnostic tool to assess post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Two studies included men in their sample population. Although the reported prevalence of mental health problems was high, little information was provided about the validity, reliability, and cultural appropriateness of assessment tools. Further research is needed to determine which assessment tools are culturally appropriate, valid, and reliable for trafficked people. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

David Goldwasser | NREL

Science.gov Websites

. Prior to joining NREL, David worked in architectural design, 3D modeling, and interactive media. He consulted for Google on 3D modeling tools and worked in Colorado on sustainable architecture projects

Content and quality of websites supporting self-management of chronic breathlessness in advanced illness: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Luckett, Tim; Disler, Rebecca; Hosie, Annmarie; Johnson, Miriam; Davidson, Patricia; Currow, David; Sumah, Anthony; Phillips, Jane

2016-01-01

Chronic breathlessness is a common, burdensome and distressing symptom in many advanced chronic illnesses. Self-management strategies are essential to optimise treatment, daily functioning and emotional coping. People with chronic illness commonly search the internet for advice on self-management. A review was undertaken in June 2015 to describe the content and quality of online advice on breathlessness self-management, to highlight under-served areas and to identify any unsafe content. Google was searched from Sydney, Australia, using the five most common search terms for breathlessness identified by Google Trends. We also hand-searched the websites of national associations. Websites were included if they were freely available in English and provided practical advice on self-management. Website quality was assessed using the American Medical Association Benchmarks. Readability was assessed using the Flesch–Kincaid grades, with grade 8 considered the maximum acceptable for enabling access. Ninety-one web pages from 44 websites met the inclusion criteria, including 14 national association websites not returned by Google searches. Most websites were generated in the USA (n=28, 64%) and focused on breathing techniques (n=38, 86%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n=27, 61%). No websites were found to offer unsafe advice. Adherence to quality benchmarks ranged from 9% for disclosure to 77% for currency. Fifteen (54%) of 28 written websites required grade ⩾9 reading level. Future development should focus on advice and tools to support goal setting, problem solving and monitoring of breathlessness. National associations are encouraged to improve website visibility and comply with standards for quality and readability. PMID:27225898

Google's Geo Education Outreach: Results and Discussion of Outreach Trip to Alaskan High Schools.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolb, E. J.; Bailey, J.; Bishop, A.; Cain, J.; Goddard, M.; Hurowitz, K.; Kennedy, K.; Ornduff, T.; Sfraga, M.; Wernecke, J.

2008-12-01

The focus of Google's Geo Education outreach efforts (http://www.google.com/educators/geo.html) is on helping primary, secondary, and post-secondary educators incorporate Google Earth and Sky, Google Maps, and SketchUp into their classroom lessons. In partnership with the University of Alaska, our Geo Education team members visited several remote Alaskan high schools during a one-week period in September. At each school, we led several 40-minute hands-on learning sessions in which Google products were used by the students to investigate local geologic and environmental processes. For the teachers, we provided several resources including follow-on lesson plans, example KML-based lessons, useful URL's, and website resources that multiple users can contribute to. This talk will highlight results of the trip and discuss how educators can access and use Google's Geo Education resources.

Interactive Computing and Processing of NASA Land Surface Observations Using Google Earth Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Molthan, Andrew; Burks, Jason; Bell, Jordan

2016-01-01

Google's Earth Engine offers a "big data" approach to processing large volumes of NASA and other remote sensing products. h\\ps://earthengine.google.com/ Interfaces include a Javascript or Python-based API, useful for accessing and processing over large periods of record for Landsat and MODIS observations. Other data sets are frequently added, including weather and climate model data sets, etc. Demonstrations here focus on exploratory efforts to perform land surface change detection related to severe weather, and other disaster events.

Dr Google

PubMed Central

Pías-Peleteiro, Leticia; Cortés-Bordoy, Javier; Martinón-Torres, Federico

2013-01-01

Objectives: To assess and analyze the information and recommendations provided by Google Web Search™ (Google) in relation to web searches on the HPV vaccine, indications for females and males and possible adverse effects. Materials and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study of the results of 14 web searches. Comprehensive analysis of results based on general recommendation given (favorable/dissuasive), as well as compliance with pre-established criteria, namely design, content and credibility. Sub-analysis of results according to site category: general information, blog / forum and press. Results: In the comprehensive analysis of results, 72.2% of websites offer information favorable to HPV vaccination, with varying degrees of content detail, vs. 27.8% with highly dissuasive content in relation to HPV vaccination. The most frequent type of site is the blog or forum. The information found is frequently incomplete, poorly structured, and often lacking in updates, bibliography and adequate citations, as well as sound credibility criteria (scientific association accreditation and/or trust mark system). Conclusions: Google, as a tool which users employ to locate medical information and advice, is not specialized in providing information that is necessarily rigorous or valid from a scientific perspective. Search results and ranking based on Google's generalized algorithms can lead users to poorly grounded opinions and statements, which may impact HPV vaccination perception and subsequent decision making. PMID:23744505

Collaborative Writing with Web 2.0 Technologies: Education Students' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodahl, Cornelia; Hadjerrouit, Said; Hansen, Nils Kristian

2011-01-01

Web 2.0 technologies are becoming popular in teaching and learning environments. Among them several online collaborative writing tools, like wikis and blogs, have been integrated into educational settings. Research has been carried out on a wide range of subjects related to wikis, while other, comparable tools like Google Docs and EtherPad remain…

Leveraging Learning Technologies for Collaborative Writing in an Online Pharmacotherapy Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittenger, Amy L.; Olson-Kellogg, Becky

2012-01-01

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the development and delivery of a hypertext case scenario document to be used as the capstone assessment tool for doctoral-level physical therapy students. The integration of Web-based collaborative tools (PBworks[TM] and Google Sites[TM]) allowed students in this all-online course to apply their…

Teamwork Assessment Tools in Obstetric Emergencies: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Onwochei, Desire N; Halpern, Stephen; Balki, Mrinalini

2017-06-01

Team-based training and simulation can improve patient safety, by improving communication, decision making, and performance of team members. Currently, there is no general consensus on whether or not a specific assessment tool is better adapted to evaluate teamwork in obstetric emergencies. The purpose of this qualitative systematic review was to find the tools available to assess team effectiveness in obstetric emergencies. We searched Embase, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Google Scholar for prospective studies that evaluated nontechnical skills in multidisciplinary teams involving obstetric emergencies. The search included studies from 1944 until January 11, 2016. Data on reliability and validity measures were collected and used for interpretation. A descriptive analysis was performed on the data. Thirteen studies were included in the final qualitative synthesis. All the studies assessed teams in the context of obstetric simulation scenarios, but only six included anesthetists in the simulations. One study evaluated their teamwork tool using just validity measures, five using just reliability measures, and one used both. The most reliable tools identified were the Clinical Teamwork Scale, the Global Assessment of Obstetric Team Performance, and the Global Rating Scale of performance. However, they were still lacking in terms of quality and validity. More work needs to be conducted to establish the validity of teamwork tools for nontechnical skills, and the development of an ideal tool is warranted. Further studies are required to assess how outcomes, such as performance and patient safety, are influenced when using these tools.

The military health system's personal health record pilot with Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health

PubMed Central

Barnhill, Rick; Heermann-Do, Kimberly A; Salzman, Keith L; Gimbel, Ronald W

2011-01-01

Objective To design, build, implement, and evaluate a personal health record (PHR), tethered to the Military Health System, that leverages Microsoft® HealthVault and Google® Health infrastructure based on user preference. Materials and methods A pilot project was conducted in 2008–2009 at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. Our PHR was architected to a flexible platform that incorporated standards-based models of Continuity of Document and Continuity of Care Record to map Department of Defense-sourced health data, via a secure Veterans Administration data broker, to Microsoft® HealthVault and Google® Health based on user preference. The project design and implementation were guided by provider and patient advisory panels with formal user evaluation. Results The pilot project included 250 beneficiary users. Approximately 73.2% of users were <65 years of age, and 38.4% were female. Of the users, 169 (67.6%) selected Microsoft® HealthVault, and 81 (32.4%) selected Google® Health as their PHR of preference. Sample evaluation of users reflected 100% (n=60) satisfied with convenience of record access and 91.7% (n=55) satisfied with overall functionality of PHR. Discussion Key lessons learned related to data-transfer decisions (push vs pull), purposeful delays in reporting sensitive information, understanding and mapping PHR use and clinical workflow, and decisions on information patients may choose to share with their provider. Conclusion Currently PHRs are being viewed as empowering tools for patient activation. Design and implementation issues (eg, technical, organizational, information security) are substantial and must be thoughtfully approached. Adopting standards into design can enhance the national goal of portability and interoperability. PMID:21292705

EpiCollect: linking smartphones to web applications for epidemiology, ecology and community data collection.

PubMed

Aanensen, David M; Huntley, Derek M; Feil, Edward J; al-Own, Fada'a; Spratt, Brian G

2009-09-16

Epidemiologists and ecologists often collect data in the field and, on returning to their laboratory, enter their data into a database for further analysis. The recent introduction of mobile phones that utilise the open source Android operating system, and which include (among other features) both GPS and Google Maps, provide new opportunities for developing mobile phone applications, which in conjunction with web applications, allow two-way communication between field workers and their project databases. Here we describe a generic framework, consisting of mobile phone software, EpiCollect, and a web application located within www.spatialepidemiology.net. Data collected by multiple field workers can be submitted by phone, together with GPS data, to a common web database and can be displayed and analysed, along with previously collected data, using Google Maps (or Google Earth). Similarly, data from the web database can be requested and displayed on the mobile phone, again using Google Maps. Data filtering options allow the display of data submitted by the individual field workers or, for example, those data within certain values of a measured variable or a time period. Data collection frameworks utilising mobile phones with data submission to and from central databases are widely applicable and can give a field worker similar display and analysis tools on their mobile phone that they would have if viewing the data in their laboratory via the web. We demonstrate their utility for epidemiological data collection and display, and briefly discuss their application in ecological and community data collection. Furthermore, such frameworks offer great potential for recruiting 'citizen scientists' to contribute data easily to central databases through their mobile phone.

Engaging Middle School Students with Google Earth Technology to Analyze Ocean Cores as Evidence for Sea Floor Spreading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prouhet, T.; Cook, J.

2006-12-01

Google Earth's ability to captivate students' attention, its ease of use, and its high quality images give it the potential to be an extremely effective tool for earth science educators. The unique properties of Google Earth satisfy a growing demand to incorporate technology in science instruction. Google Earth is free and relatively easy to use unlike some other visualization software. Students often have difficulty conceptualizing and visualizing earth systems, such as deep-ocean basins, because of the complexity and dynamic nature of the processes associated with them (e.g. plate tectonics). Google Earth's combination of aerial photography, satellite images and remote sensing data brings a sense of realism to science concepts. The unobstructed view of the ocean floor provided by this technology illustrates three-dimensional subsurface features such as rift valleys, subduction zones, and sea-mounts enabling students to better understand the seafloor's dynamic nature. Students will use Google Earth to navigate the sea floor, and examine Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) core locations the from the Glomar Challenger Leg 3 expedition. The lesson to be implemented was expanded upon and derived from the Joint Oceanographic Insitute (JOI) Learning exercise, Nannofossils Reveal Seafloor Spreading. In addition, students take on the role of scientists as they graph and analyze paleontological data against the distance from the Mid Ocean Ridge. The integration of ocean core data in this three-dimensional view aids students' ability to draw and communicate valid conclusions about their scientific observations. A pre and post survey will be given to examine attitudes, self-efficacy, achievement and content mastery to a sample of approximately 300 eighth grade science students. The hypothesis is that the integration of Google Earth will significantly improve all areas of focus as mentioned above.

Public hospital quality report awareness: evidence from National and Californian Internet searches and social media mentions, 2012.

PubMed

Huesch, Marco D; Currid-Halkett, Elizabeth; Doctor, Jason N

2014-03-11

Publicly available hospital quality reports seek to inform consumers of important healthcare quality and affordability attributes, and may inform consumer decision-making. To understand how much consumers search for such information online on one Internet search engine, whether they mention such information in social media and how positively they view this information. A leading Internet search engine (Google) was the main focus of the study. Google Trends and Google Adwords keyword analyses were performed for national and Californian searches between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2013 for keywords related to 'top hospital', best hospital', and 'hospital quality', as well as for six specific hospital quality reports. Separately, a proprietary social media monitoring tool was used to investigate blog, forum, social media and traditional media mentions of, and sentiment towards, major public reports of hospital quality in California in 2012. (1) Counts of searches for keywords performed on Google; (2) counts of and (3) sentiment of mentions of public reports on social media. National Google search volume for 75 hospital quality-related terms averaged 610 700 searches per month with strong variation by keyword and by state. A commercial report (Healthgrades) was more commonly searched for nationally on Google than the federal government's Hospital Compare, which otherwise dominated quality-related search terms. Social media references in California to quality reports were generally few, and commercially produced hospital quality reports were more widely mentioned than state (Office of Statewide Healthcare Planning and Development (OSHPD)), or non-profit (CalHospitalCompare) reports. Consumers are somewhat aware of hospital quality based on Internet search activity and social media disclosures. Public stakeholders may be able to broaden their quality dissemination initiatives by advertising on Google or Twitter and using social media interactively with consumers looking for relevant information.

Space Situational Awareness Data Processing Scalability Utilizing Google Cloud Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenly, D.; Duncan, M.; Wysack, J.; Flores, F.

Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is a fundamental and critical component of current space operations. The term SSA encompasses the awareness, understanding and predictability of all objects in space. As the population of orbital space objects and debris increases, the number of collision avoidance maneuvers grows and prompts the need for accurate and timely process measures. The SSA mission continually evolves to near real-time assessment and analysis demanding the need for higher processing capabilities. By conventional methods, meeting these demands requires the integration of new hardware to keep pace with the growing complexity of maneuver planning algorithms. SpaceNav has implemented a highly scalable architecture that will track satellites and debris by utilizing powerful virtual machines on the Google Cloud Platform. SpaceNav algorithms for processing CDMs outpace conventional means. A robust processing environment for tracking data, collision avoidance maneuvers and various other aspects of SSA can be created and deleted on demand. Migrating SpaceNav tools and algorithms into the Google Cloud Platform will be discussed and the trials and tribulations involved. Information will be shared on how and why certain cloud products were used as well as integration techniques that were implemented. Key items to be presented are: 1.Scientific algorithms and SpaceNav tools integrated into a scalable architecture a) Maneuver Planning b) Parallel Processing c) Monte Carlo Simulations d) Optimization Algorithms e) SW Application Development/Integration into the Google Cloud Platform 2. Compute Engine Processing a) Application Engine Automated Processing b) Performance testing and Performance Scalability c) Cloud MySQL databases and Database Scalability d) Cloud Data Storage e) Redundancy and Availability

GeolOkit 1.0: a new Open Source, Cross-Platform software for geological data visualization in Google Earth environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triantafyllou, Antoine; Bastin, Christophe; Watlet, Arnaud

2016-04-01

GIS software suites are today's essential tools to gather and visualise geological data, to apply spatial and temporal analysis and in fine, to create and share interactive maps for further geosciences' investigations. For these purposes, we developed GeolOkit: an open-source, freeware and lightweight software, written in Python, a high-level, cross-platform programming language. GeolOkit software is accessible through a graphical user interface, designed to run in parallel with Google Earth. It is a super user-friendly toolbox that allows 'geo-users' to import their raw data (e.g. GPS, sample locations, structural data, field pictures, maps), to use fast data analysis tools and to plot these one into Google Earth environment using KML code. This workflow requires no need of any third party software, except Google Earth itself. GeolOkit comes with large number of geosciences' labels, symbols, colours and placemarks and may process : (i) multi-points data, (ii) contours via several interpolations methods, (iii) discrete planar and linear structural data in 2D or 3D supporting large range of structures input format, (iv) clustered stereonets and rose diagram, (v) drawn cross-sections as vertical sections, (vi) georeferenced maps and vectors, (vii) field pictures using either geo-tracking metadata from a camera built-in GPS module, or the same-day track of an external GPS. We are looking for you to discover all the functionalities of GeolOkit software. As this project is under development, we are definitely looking to discussions regarding your proper needs, your ideas and contributions to GeolOkit project.

Too Cool for School? No Way! Using the TPACK Framework: You Can Have Your Hot Tools and Teach with Them, Too

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mishra, Punya; Koehler, Matthew

2009-01-01

This is the age of cool tools. Facebook, iPhone, Flickr, blogs, cloud computing, Smart Boards, YouTube, Google Earth, and GPS are just a few examples of new technologies that bombard people from all directions. As individuals people see a new technology and can appreciate its coolness, but as educators they wonder how these tools can be used for…

Information-seeking behavior and the use of online resources: a snapshot of current health sciences faculty.

PubMed

De Groote, Sandra L; Shultz, Mary; Blecic, Deborah D

2014-07-01

The research assesses the information-seeking behaviors of health sciences faculty, including their use of online databases, journals, and social media. A survey was designed and distributed via email to 754 health sciences faculty at a large urban research university with 6 health sciences colleges. Twenty-six percent (198) of faculty responded. MEDLINE was the primary database utilized, with 78.5% respondents indicating they use the database at least once a week. Compared to MEDLINE, Google was utilized more often on a daily basis. Other databases showed much lower usage. Low use of online databases other than MEDLINE, link-out tools to online journals, and online social media and collaboration tools demonstrates a need for meaningful promotion of online resources and informatics literacy instruction for faculty. Library resources are plentiful and perhaps somewhat overwhelming. Librarians need to help faculty discover and utilize the resources and tools that libraries have to offer.

Mediated Authentic Video: A Flexible Tool Supporting a Developmental Approach to Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stutchbury, Kris; Woodward, Clare

2017-01-01

YouTube now has more searches than Google, indicating that video is a motivating and, potentially, powerful learning tool. This paper investigates how we can embrace video to support improvements in teacher education. It will draw on innovative approaches to teacher education, developed by the Open University UK, in order to explore in more depth…

Timely Reporting and Interactive Visualization of Animal Health and Slaughterhouse Surveillance Data in Switzerland.

PubMed

Muellner, Ulrich J; Vial, Flavie; Wohlfender, Franziska; Hadorn, Daniela; Reist, Martin; Muellner, Petra

2015-01-01

The reporting of outputs from health surveillance systems should be done in a near real-time and interactive manner in order to provide decision makers with powerful means to identify, assess, and manage health hazards as early and efficiently as possible. While this is currently rarely the case in veterinary public health surveillance, reporting tools do exist for the visual exploration and interactive interrogation of health data. In this work, we used tools freely available from the Google Maps and Charts library to develop a web application reporting health-related data derived from slaughterhouse surveillance and from a newly established web-based equine surveillance system in Switzerland. Both sets of tools allowed entry-level usage without or with minimal programing skills while being flexible enough to cater for more complex scenarios for users with greater programing skills. In particular, interfaces linking statistical softwares and Google tools provide additional analytical functionality (such as algorithms for the detection of unusually high case occurrences) for inclusion in the reporting process. We show that such powerful approaches could improve timely dissemination and communication of technical information to decision makers and other stakeholders and could foster the early-warning capacity of animal health surveillance systems.

Implementing Google Apps for Education as Learning Management System in Math Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widodo, S.

2017-09-01

This study aims to find the effectiveness of math education using Google Apps for Education (GAFE) as learning management system to improve mathematical communication skill primary school preservice teacher. This research used quasi-experimental approach, utilizing the control group pre-test - post-test design of two group of primary school preservice teachers at UPI Kampus Purwakarta. The result of this study showed that mathematical communication skill of primary school preservice teacher in the experiment group is better than the control group. This is because the primary school preservice teacher in the experiment group used GAFE as a tool to communicate their idea. The students can communicate their idea because they have read the learning material on the learning management system using GAFE. All in all, it can be concluded that the communication tool is very important, beside the learning material, and also the options to choose the learning model to achieve the better result.

Retrieving clinical evidence: a comparison of PubMed and Google Scholar for quick clinical searches.

PubMed

Shariff, Salimah Z; Bejaimal, Shayna Ad; Sontrop, Jessica M; Iansavichus, Arthur V; Haynes, R Brian; Weir, Matthew A; Garg, Amit X

2013-08-15

Physicians frequently search PubMed for information to guide patient care. More recently, Google Scholar has gained popularity as another freely accessible bibliographic database. To compare the performance of searches in PubMed and Google Scholar. We surveyed nephrologists (kidney specialists) and provided each with a unique clinical question derived from 100 renal therapy systematic reviews. Each physician provided the search terms they would type into a bibliographic database to locate evidence to answer the clinical question. We executed each of these searches in PubMed and Google Scholar and compared results for the first 40 records retrieved (equivalent to 2 default search pages in PubMed). We evaluated the recall (proportion of relevant articles found) and precision (ratio of relevant to nonrelevant articles) of the searches performed in PubMed and Google Scholar. Primary studies included in the systematic reviews served as the reference standard for relevant articles. We further documented whether relevant articles were available as free full-texts. Compared with PubMed, the average search in Google Scholar retrieved twice as many relevant articles (PubMed: 11%; Google Scholar: 22%; P<.001). Precision was similar in both databases (PubMed: 6%; Google Scholar: 8%; P=.07). Google Scholar provided significantly greater access to free full-text publications (PubMed: 5%; Google Scholar: 14%; P<.001). For quick clinical searches, Google Scholar returns twice as many relevant articles as PubMed and provides greater access to free full-text articles.

Immunochromatographic diagnostic test analysis using Google Glass.

PubMed

Feng, Steve; Caire, Romain; Cortazar, Bingen; Turan, Mehmet; Wong, Andrew; Ozcan, Aydogan

2014-03-25

We demonstrate a Google Glass-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) reader platform capable of qualitative and quantitative measurements of various lateral flow immunochromatographic assays and similar biomedical diagnostics tests. Using a custom-written Glass application and without any external hardware attachments, one or more RDTs labeled with Quick Response (QR) code identifiers are simultaneously imaged using the built-in camera of the Google Glass that is based on a hands-free and voice-controlled interface and digitally transmitted to a server for digital processing. The acquired JPEG images are automatically processed to locate all the RDTs and, for each RDT, to produce a quantitative diagnostic result, which is returned to the Google Glass (i.e., the user) and also stored on a central server along with the RDT image, QR code, and other related information (e.g., demographic data). The same server also provides a dynamic spatiotemporal map and real-time statistics for uploaded RDT results accessible through Internet browsers. We tested this Google Glass-based diagnostic platform using qualitative (i.e., yes/no) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and quantitative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests. For the quantitative RDTs, we measured activated tests at various concentrations ranging from 0 to 200 ng/mL for free and total PSA. This wearable RDT reader platform running on Google Glass combines a hands-free sensing and image capture interface with powerful servers running our custom image processing codes, and it can be quite useful for real-time spatiotemporal tracking of various diseases and personal medical conditions, providing a valuable tool for epidemiology and mobile health.

Immunochromatographic Diagnostic Test Analysis Using Google Glass

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

We demonstrate a Google Glass-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) reader platform capable of qualitative and quantitative measurements of various lateral flow immunochromatographic assays and similar biomedical diagnostics tests. Using a custom-written Glass application and without any external hardware attachments, one or more RDTs labeled with Quick Response (QR) code identifiers are simultaneously imaged using the built-in camera of the Google Glass that is based on a hands-free and voice-controlled interface and digitally transmitted to a server for digital processing. The acquired JPEG images are automatically processed to locate all the RDTs and, for each RDT, to produce a quantitative diagnostic result, which is returned to the Google Glass (i.e., the user) and also stored on a central server along with the RDT image, QR code, and other related information (e.g., demographic data). The same server also provides a dynamic spatiotemporal map and real-time statistics for uploaded RDT results accessible through Internet browsers. We tested this Google Glass-based diagnostic platform using qualitative (i.e., yes/no) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and quantitative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests. For the quantitative RDTs, we measured activated tests at various concentrations ranging from 0 to 200 ng/mL for free and total PSA. This wearable RDT reader platform running on Google Glass combines a hands-free sensing and image capture interface with powerful servers running our custom image processing codes, and it can be quite useful for real-time spatiotemporal tracking of various diseases and personal medical conditions, providing a valuable tool for epidemiology and mobile health. PMID:24571349

The Privilege of Ranking: Google Plays Ball.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiggins, Richard

2003-01-01

Discussion of ranking systems used in various settings, including college football and academic admissions, focuses on the Google search engine. Explains the PageRank mathematical formula that scores Web pages by connecting the number of links; limitations, including authenticity and accuracy of ranked Web pages; relevancy; adjusting algorithms;…

Using Webgis and Cloud Tools to Promote Cultural Heritage Dissemination: the Historic up Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tommasi, A.; Cefalo, R.; Zardini, F.; Nicolaucig, M.

2017-05-01

On the occasion of the First World War centennial, GeoSNav Lab (Geodesy and Satellite Navigation Laboratory), Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, Italy, in coooperation with Radici&Futuro Association, Trieste, Italy, carried out an educational Project named "Historic Up" involving a group of students from "F. Petrarca" High School of Trieste, Italy. The main goal of the project is to make available to students of Middle and High Schools a set of historical and cultural contents in a simple and immediate way, through the production of a virtual and interactive tour following the event that caused the burst of the First World War: the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia in Sarajevo occurred on June 28, 1914. A set of Google Apps was used, including Google Earth, Maps, Tour Builder, Street View, Gmail, Drive, and Docs. The Authors instructed the students about software and team-working and supported them along the research. After being checked, all the historical and geographic data have been uploaded on a Google Tour Builder to create a sequence of historical checkpoints. Each checkpoint has texts, pictures and videos that connect the tour-users to 1914. Moreover, GeoSNaV Lab researchers produced a KML (Keyhole Markup Language) file, formed by several polylines and points, representing the itinerary of the funeral procession that has been superimposed on ad-hoc georeferenced historical maps. This tour, freely available online, starts with the arrival of the royals, on June 28th 1914, and follows the couple along the events, from the assassination to the burial in Arstetten (Austria), including their passages through Trieste (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Graz and Wien (Austria).

Teaching and Learning Structural Geology Using SketchUp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rey, Patrice

2017-04-01

The books and maps we read, the posters we pin on our walls, the TV sets and computer monitors we spend hours watching, the white (or black) boards we use to teach, all reduce our world into planar images. As a result, and through years of oblivious practice, our brain is conditioned to understand the world in two dimensions (2D) only. As structural geologists, we know that the most challenging aspect of teaching and learning structural geology is that we need to be able to mentally manipulate 2D and three-dimensional (3D) objects. Although anyone can learn through practice the art of spatial visualisation, the fact remains that the initial stages of learning structural geology are for many students very challenging, as we naively use 2D images to teach 3D concepts. While interactive 3D holography is not far away, some inexpensive tools already exist allowing us to generate interactive computer images, the free rotation, scaling and manipulation of which can help students to quickly grasp the geometry and internal architecture of 3D objects. Recently, I have experimented with SketchUp (works on Mac and Windows). SketchUp was initially released in 2000 by @Last Software, as a 3D modelling tool for architects, designers and filmmakers. It was acquired by Google in 2006 to further the development of GoogleEarth. Google released SketchUp for free, and provided a portal named 3D Warehouse for users to share their models. Google sold SketchUp to Trimble Navigation in 2012, which added Extension Warehouse for users to distribute add-ons. SketchUp models can be exported in a number of formats including .dae (digital asset exchange) useful to embed interactive 3D models into iBooks and html5 documents, and .kmz (keyhole markup language zipped) to embed interactive 3D models and cross-sections into GoogleEarth. SketchUp models can be exported into 3D pdf through the add-on SimLab, and .stl for 3D printing through the add-on SketchUp STL. A free licence is available for students and educators (SketchUp Make), and a few hundred Euros will give you access to SketchUp Pro. Having the capacity to use 3D interactive sketches instead of static 2D images, and generate serial cross-sections through 3D structures, is a major step forward, which not only enhances students experience but also nurtures deeper learning. Explaining why on 2D sections upright folds can appear strongly asymmetric, or why a dextral fault can result in an apparent sinistral offset can be a very challenging thing to do. Tools like SketchUp can help make the learning process far more immediate and easier. My collection of 3D SketchUp models is available at: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/user.html?id=1151977671192710697351083 See also interaction 3D model embedded into an eBook: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/introduction-to-structural/id1085911016?mt=13

Using Google AdWords for International Multilingual Recruitment to Health Research Websites

PubMed Central

Gross, Margaret S; Liu, Nancy H; Contreras, Omar; Muñoz, Ricardo F

2014-01-01

Background Google AdWords, the placement of sponsored links in Google search results, is a potent method of recruitment to Internet-based health studies and interventions. However, the performance of Google AdWords varies considerably depending on the language and the location of the target audience. Objective Our goal was to describe differences in AdWords performance when recruiting participants to the same study conducted in four languages and to determine whether AdWords campaigns can be optimized in order to increase recruitment while decreasing costs. Methods Google AdWords were used to recruit participants to the Mood Screener, a multilingual online depression screening tool available in English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. Two distinct recruitment periods are described: (1) “Unmanaged”, a 6-month period in which ads were allowed to run using only the AdWords tool itself, with no human intervention, and (2) “Managed”, a separate 7-week period during which we systematically sought to optimize our recruitment campaigns. Results During 6 months of unmanaged recruitment, our ads were shown over 1.3 million times, resulting in over 60,000 site visits. The average click-through rate (ratio of ads clicked to ads displayed) varied from 1.86% for Chinese ads to 8.48% for Russian ads, as did the average cost-per-click (from US $0.20 for Chinese ads to US $0.50 for English ads). Although Chinese speakers’ click-through rate was lowest, their rate of consenting to participate was the highest, at 3.62%, with English speakers exhibiting the lowest consent rate (0.97%). The conversion cost (cost to recruit a consenting participant) varied from US $10.80 for Russian speakers to US $51.88 for English speakers. During the 7 weeks of “managed” recruitment, we attempted to improve AdWords’ performance in regards to the consent rate and cost by systematically deleting underperforming ads and adjusting keywords. We were able to increase the number of people who consent after coming to the site by 91.8% while also decreasing per-consent cost by 23.3%. Conclusions Our results illustrate the need to linguistically and culturally adapt Google AdWords campaigns and to manage them carefully to ensure the most cost-effective results. PMID:24446166

C++ software quality in the ATLAS experiment: tools and experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin-Haugh, S.; Kluth, S.; Seuster, R.; Snyder, S.; Obreshkov, E.; Roe, S.; Sherwood, P.; Stewart, G. A.

2017-10-01

In this paper we explain how the C++ code quality is managed in ATLAS using a range of tools from compile-time through to run time testing and reflect on the substantial progress made in the last two years largely through the use of static analysis tools such as Coverity®, an industry-standard tool which enables quality comparison with general open source C++ code. Other available code analysis tools are also discussed, as is the role of unit testing with an example of how the GoogleTest framework can be applied to our codebase.

compuGUT: An in silico platform for simulating intestinal fermentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moorthy, Arun S.; Eberl, Hermann J.

The microbiota inhabiting the colon and its effect on health is a topic of significant interest. In this paper, we describe the compuGUT - a simulation tool developed to assist in exploring interactions between intestinal microbiota and their environment. The primary numerical machinery is implemented in C, and the accessory scripts for loading and visualization are prepared in bash (LINUX) and R. SUNDIALS libraries are employed for numerical integration, and googleVis API for interactive visualization. Supplementary material includes a concise description of the underlying mathematical model, and detailed characterization of numerical errors and computing times associated with implementation parameters.

Evaluating Google Flu Trends in Latin America: Important Lessons for the Next Phase of Digital Disease Detection.

PubMed

Pollett, Simon; Boscardin, W John; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo; Tinoco, Yeny O; Soto, Giselle; Romero, Candice; Kok, Jen; Biggerstaff, Matthew; Viboud, Cecile; Rutherford, George W

2017-01-01

 Latin America has a substantial burden of influenza and rising Internet access and could benefit from real-time influenza epidemic prediction web tools such as Google Flu Trends (GFT) to assist in risk communication and resource allocation during epidemics. However, there has never been a published assessment of GFT's accuracy in most Latin American countries or in any low- to middle-income country. Our aim was to evaluate GFT in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.  Weekly influenza-test positive proportions for the eight countries were obtained from FluNet for the period January 2011-December 2014. Concurrent weekly Google-predicted influenza activity in the same countries was abstracted from GFT. Pearson correlation coefficients between observed and Google-predicted influenza activity trends were determined for each country. Permutation tests were used to examine background seasonal correlation between FluNet and GFT by country.  There were frequent GFT prediction errors, with correlation ranging from r = -0.53 to 0.91. GFT-predicted influenza activity best correlated with FluNet data in Mexico follow by Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. Correlation was generally highest in the more temperate countries with more regular influenza seasonality and lowest in tropical regions. A substantial amount of autocorrelation was noted, suggestive that GFT is not fully specific for influenza virus activity.  We note substantial inaccuracies with GFT-predicted influenza activity compared with FluNet throughout Latin America, particularly among tropical countries with irregular influenza seasonality. Our findings offer valuable lessons for future Internet-based biosurveillance tools. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Geolokit: An interactive tool for visualising and exploring geoscientific data in Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triantafyllou, Antoine; Watlet, Arnaud; Bastin, Christophe

2017-10-01

Virtual globes have been developed to showcase different types of data combining a digital elevation model and basemaps of high resolution satellite imagery. Hence, they became a standard to share spatial data and information, although they suffer from a lack of toolboxes dedicated to the formatting of large geoscientific dataset. From this perspective, we developed Geolokit: a free and lightweight software that allows geoscientists - and every scientist working with spatial data - to import their data (e.g., sample collections, structural geology, cross-sections, field pictures, georeferenced maps), to handle and to transcribe them to Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files. KML files are then automatically opened in the Google Earth virtual globe and the spatial data accessed and shared. Geolokit comes with a large number of dedicated tools that can process and display: (i) multi-points data, (ii) scattered data interpolations, (iii) structural geology features in 2D and 3D, (iv) rose diagrams, stereonets and dip-plunge polar histograms, (v) cross-sections and oriented rasters, (vi) georeferenced field pictures, (vii) georeferenced maps and projected gridding. Therefore, together with Geolokit, Google Earth becomes not only a powerful georeferenced data viewer but also a stand-alone work platform. The toolbox (available online at http://www.geolokit.org) is written in Python, a high-level, cross-platform programming language and is accessible through a graphical user interface, designed to run in parallel with Google Earth, through a workflow that requires no additional third party software. Geolokit features are demonstrated in this paper using typical datasets gathered from two case studies illustrating its applicability at multiple scales of investigation: a petro-structural investigation of the Ile d'Yeu orthogneissic unit (Western France) and data collection of the Mariana oceanic subduction zone (Western Pacific).

Basic GA Tools to Evaluate Your Web Area

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Learn steps and tips for creating these Google Analytics (GA) reports, so you can learn which pages are popular or unpopular, which PDFs are getting looked at, who is using your pages, what search terms they used, and more.

Evaluating Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia as Tools for Influenza Surveillance Using Bayesian Change Point Analysis: A Comparative Analysis.

PubMed

Sharpe, J Danielle; Hopkins, Richard S; Cook, Robert L; Striley, Catherine W

2016-10-20

Traditional influenza surveillance relies on influenza-like illness (ILI) syndrome that is reported by health care providers. It primarily captures individuals who seek medical care and misses those who do not. Recently, Web-based data sources have been studied for application to public health surveillance, as there is a growing number of people who search, post, and tweet about their illnesses before seeking medical care. Existing research has shown some promise of using data from Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia to complement traditional surveillance for ILI. However, past studies have evaluated these Web-based sources individually or dually without comparing all 3 of them, and it would be beneficial to know which of the Web-based sources performs best in order to be considered to complement traditional methods. The objective of this study is to comparatively analyze Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia by examining which best corresponds with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ILI data. It was hypothesized that Wikipedia will best correspond with CDC ILI data as previous research found it to be least influenced by high media coverage in comparison with Google and Twitter. Publicly available, deidentified data were collected from the CDC, Google Flu Trends, HealthTweets, and Wikipedia for the 2012-2015 influenza seasons. Bayesian change point analysis was used to detect seasonal changes, or change points, in each of the data sources. Change points in Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia that occurred during the exact week, 1 preceding week, or 1 week after the CDC's change points were compared with the CDC data as the gold standard. All analyses were conducted using the R package "bcp" version 4.0.0 in RStudio version 0.99.484 (RStudio Inc). In addition, sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were calculated for Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia. During the 2012-2015 influenza seasons, a high sensitivity of 92% was found for Google, whereas the PPV for Google was 85%. A low sensitivity of 50% was calculated for Twitter; a low PPV of 43% was found for Twitter also. Wikipedia had the lowest sensitivity of 33% and lowest PPV of 40%. Of the 3 Web-based sources, Google had the best combination of sensitivity and PPV in detecting Bayesian change points in influenza-related data streams. Findings demonstrated that change points in Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia data occasionally aligned well with change points captured in CDC ILI data, yet these sources did not detect all changes in CDC data and should be further studied and developed.

Tapir: A web interface for transit/eclipse observability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jensen, Eric

2013-06-01

Tapir is a set of tools, written in Perl, that provides a web interface for showing the observability of periodic astronomical events, such as exoplanet transits or eclipsing binaries. The package provides tools for creating finding charts for each target and airmass plots for each event. The code can access target lists that are stored on-line in a Google spreadsheet or in a local text file.

Canute Rules the Waves?: Hope for E-Library Tools Facing the Challenge of the "Google Generation"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myhill, Martin

2007-01-01

Purpose: To consider the findings of a recent e-resources survey at the University of Exeter Library in the context of the dominance of web search engines in academia, balanced by the development of e-library tools such as the library OPAC, OpenURL resolvers, metasearch engines, LDAP and proxy servers, and electronic resource management modules.…

Measuring interactivity on tobacco control websites.

PubMed

Freeman, Becky; Chapman, Simon

2012-08-01

With the increased reach of Web 2.0, Internet users expect webpages to be interactive. No studies have been conducted to assess whether tobacco control-relevant sites have implemented these features. The authors conducted an analysis of an international sample of tobacco control-relevant websites to determine their level of interactivity. The sample included 68 unique websites selected from Google searches in 5 countries, on each country's Google site, using the term smoking. The 68 sites were analyzed for 10 categories of interactive tools. The most common type of interactive content found on 46 (68%) of sites was for multimedia featuring content that was not primarily text based, such as photo galleries, videos, or podcasts. Only 11 (16%) websites-outside of media sites-allowed people to interact and engage with the site owners and other users by allowing posting comments on content and/or hosting forums/discussions. Linkages to social networking sites were low: 17 pages (25%) linked to Twitter, 15 (22%) to Facebook, and 11 (16%) to YouTube. Interactivity and connectedness to online social media appears to still be in its infancy among tobacco control-relevant sites.

Google Earth in the middle school geography classroom: Its impact on spatial literacy and place geography understanding of students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westgard, Kerri S. W.

Success in today's globalized, multi-dimensional, and connected world requires individuals to have a variety of skill sets -- i.e. oracy, numeracy, literacy, as well as the ability to think spatially. Student's spatial literacy, based on various national and international assessment results, indicates that even though there have been gains in U.S. scores over the past decade, overall performance, including those specific to spatial skills, are still below proficiency. Existing studies focused on the potential of virtual learning environment technology to reach students in a variety of academic areas, but a need still exists to study specifically the phenomenon of using Google Earth as a potentially more useful pedagogical tool to develop spatial literacy than the currently employed methods. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which graphicacy achievement scores of students who were immersed in a Google Earth environment were different from students who were provided with only two-dimensional instruction for developing spatial skills. Situated learning theory and the work of Piaget and Inhelder's Child's Conception of Space provided the theoretical grounding from which this study evolved. The National Research Council's call to develop spatial literacy, as seen in Learning to Think Spatially , provided the impetus to begin research. The target population (N = 84) for this study consisted of eighth grade geography students at an upper Midwest Jr. High School during the 2009-2010 academic year. Students were assigned to the control or experimental group based on when they had geography class. Control group students ( n = 44) used two-dimensional PowerPoint images to complete activities, while experimental group students (n = 40) were immersed in the three-dimensional Google Earth world for activity completion. Research data was then compiled and statistically analyzed to answer five research questions developed for this study. One-way ANOVAs were run on data collected and no statistically significant difference was found between the control and experimental group. However, two of the five research questions yielded practically significant data that indicates students who used Google Earth outperformed their counterparts who used PowerPoint on pattern prediction and spatial relationship understanding.

Collaborative writing: Tools and tips.

PubMed

Eapen, Bell Raj

2007-01-01

Majority of technical writing is done by groups of experts and various web based applications have made this collaboration easy. Email exchange of word processor documents with tracked changes used to be the standard technique for collaborative writing. However web based tools like Google docs and Spreadsheets have made the process fast and efficient. Various versioning tools and synchronous editors are available for those who need additional functionality. Having a group leader who decides the scheduling, communication and conflict resolving protocols is important for successful collaboration.

Popular Mobile Phone Apps for Diet and Weight Loss: A Content Analysis.

PubMed

Zaidan, Sarah; Roehrer, Erin

2016-07-11

A review of the literature has revealed that the rates of overweight and obesity have been increasing in Australia over the last two decades and that wellness mobile phone apps play a significant role in monitoring and managing individuals' weight. Although mobile phone app markets (iTunes and Google Play) list thousands of mobile phone health apps, it is not always clear whether those apps are supported by credible sources. Likewise, despite the prevailing use of mobile phone apps to aid with weight management, the usability features of these apps are not well characterized. The research explored how usability taxonomy could inform the popularity of downloaded, socially focused wellness mobile phone apps, in particular weight loss and diet apps. The aim of the study was to investigate the Australian mobile phone app stores (iTunes and Google Play) in order to examine the usability features of the most popular (ie, most downloaded) wellness apps. The design of this study comprises 3 main stages: stage 1, identifying apps; stage 2, development of weight loss and diet evaluation framework; and stage 3, application of the evaluation framework. Each stage includes specific data collection, analysis tools, and techniques. The study has resulted in the development of a justified evaluation framework for weight loss and diet mobile phone apps. Applying the evaluation framework to the identified apps has shown that the most downloaded iTunes and Google Play apps are not necessarily the most usable or effective. In addition, the research found that search algorithms for iTunes and Google Play are biased toward apps' titles and keywords that do not accurately define the real functionality of the app. Moreover, the study has also analyzed the apps' user reviews, which served as justification for the developed evaluation framework. The analysis has shown that ease of use, reminder, bar code scanning, motivation, usable for all, and synchronization are significant attributes that should be included in weight loss and diet mobile phone apps and ultimately in potential weight loss and diet evaluation frameworks.

Popular Mobile Phone Apps for Diet and Weight Loss: A Content Analysis

PubMed Central

Roehrer, Erin

2016-01-01

Background A review of the literature has revealed that the rates of overweight and obesity have been increasing in Australia over the last two decades and that wellness mobile phone apps play a significant role in monitoring and managing individuals’ weight. Although mobile phone app markets (iTunes and Google Play) list thousands of mobile phone health apps, it is not always clear whether those apps are supported by credible sources. Likewise, despite the prevailing use of mobile phone apps to aid with weight management, the usability features of these apps are not well characterized. Objective The research explored how usability taxonomy could inform the popularity of downloaded, socially focused wellness mobile phone apps, in particular weight loss and diet apps. The aim of the study was to investigate the Australian mobile phone app stores (iTunes and Google Play) in order to examine the usability features of the most popular (ie, most downloaded) wellness apps. Methods The design of this study comprises 3 main stages: stage 1, identifying apps; stage 2, development of weight loss and diet evaluation framework; and stage 3, application of the evaluation framework. Each stage includes specific data collection, analysis tools, and techniques. Results The study has resulted in the development of a justified evaluation framework for weight loss and diet mobile phone apps. Applying the evaluation framework to the identified apps has shown that the most downloaded iTunes and Google Play apps are not necessarily the most usable or effective. In addition, the research found that search algorithms for iTunes and Google Play are biased toward apps’ titles and keywords that do not accurately define the real functionality of the app. Moreover, the study has also analyzed the apps’ user reviews, which served as justification for the developed evaluation framework. Conclusions The analysis has shown that ease of use, reminder, bar code scanning, motivation, usable for all, and synchronization are significant attributes that should be included in weight loss and diet mobile phone apps and ultimately in potential weight loss and diet evaluation frameworks. PMID:27400806

Retrieving Clinical Evidence: A Comparison of PubMed and Google Scholar for Quick Clinical Searches

PubMed Central

Bejaimal, Shayna AD; Sontrop, Jessica M; Iansavichus, Arthur V; Haynes, R Brian; Weir, Matthew A; Garg, Amit X

2013-01-01

Background Physicians frequently search PubMed for information to guide patient care. More recently, Google Scholar has gained popularity as another freely accessible bibliographic database. Objective To compare the performance of searches in PubMed and Google Scholar. Methods We surveyed nephrologists (kidney specialists) and provided each with a unique clinical question derived from 100 renal therapy systematic reviews. Each physician provided the search terms they would type into a bibliographic database to locate evidence to answer the clinical question. We executed each of these searches in PubMed and Google Scholar and compared results for the first 40 records retrieved (equivalent to 2 default search pages in PubMed). We evaluated the recall (proportion of relevant articles found) and precision (ratio of relevant to nonrelevant articles) of the searches performed in PubMed and Google Scholar. Primary studies included in the systematic reviews served as the reference standard for relevant articles. We further documented whether relevant articles were available as free full-texts. Results Compared with PubMed, the average search in Google Scholar retrieved twice as many relevant articles (PubMed: 11%; Google Scholar: 22%; P<.001). Precision was similar in both databases (PubMed: 6%; Google Scholar: 8%; P=.07). Google Scholar provided significantly greater access to free full-text publications (PubMed: 5%; Google Scholar: 14%; P<.001). Conclusions For quick clinical searches, Google Scholar returns twice as many relevant articles as PubMed and provides greater access to free full-text articles. PMID:23948488

ETDEWEB versus the World-Wide-Web: a specific database/web comparison

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

Cutler, Debbie

2010-06-28

A study was performed comparing user search results from the specialized scientific database on energy-related information, ETDEWEB, with search results from the internet search engines Google and Google Scholar. The primary objective of the study was to determine if ETDEWEB (the Energy Technology Data Exchange – World Energy Base) continues to bring the user search results that are not being found by Google and Google Scholar. As a multilateral information exchange initiative, ETDE’s member countries and partners contribute cost- and task-sharing resources to build the largest database of energy-related information in the world. As of early 2010, the ETDEWEB databasemore » has 4.3 million citations to world-wide energy literature. One of ETDEWEB’s strengths is its focused scientific content and direct access to full text for its grey literature (over 300,000 documents in PDF available for viewing from the ETDE site and over a million additional links to where the documents can be found at research organizations and major publishers globally). Google and Google Scholar are well-known for the wide breadth of the information they search, with Google bringing in news, factual and opinion-related information, and Google Scholar also emphasizing scientific content across many disciplines. The analysis compared the results of 15 energy-related queries performed on all three systems using identical words/phrases. A variety of subjects was chosen, although the topics were mostly in renewable energy areas due to broad international interest. Over 40,000 search result records from the three sources were evaluated. The study concluded that ETDEWEB is a significant resource to energy experts for discovering relevant energy information. For the 15 topics in this study, ETDEWEB was shown to bring the user unique results not shown by Google or Google Scholar 86.7% of the time. Much was learned from the study beyond just metric comparisons. Observations about the strengths of each system and factors impacting the search results are also shared along with background information and summary tables of the results. If a user knows a very specific title of a document, all three systems are helpful in finding the user a source for the document. But if the user is looking to discover relevant documents on a specific topic, each of the three systems will bring back a considerable volume of data, but quite different in focus. Google is certainly a highly-used and valuable tool to find significant ‘non-specialist’ information, and Google Scholar does help the user focus on scientific disciplines. But if a user’s interest is scientific and energy-specific, ETDEWEB continues to hold a strong position in the energy research, technology and development (RTD) information field and adds considerable value in knowledge discovery. (auth)« less

An augmented-reality edge enhancement application for Google Glass.

PubMed

Hwang, Alex D; Peli, Eli

2014-08-01

Google Glass provides a platform that can be easily extended to include a vision enhancement tool. We have implemented an augmented vision system on Glass, which overlays enhanced edge information over the wearer's real-world view, to provide contrast-improved central vision to the Glass wearers. The enhanced central vision can be naturally integrated with scanning. Google Glass' camera lens distortions were corrected by using an image warping. Because the camera and virtual display are horizontally separated by 16 mm, and the camera aiming and virtual display projection angle are off by 10°, the warped camera image had to go through a series of three-dimensional transformations to minimize parallax errors before the final projection to the Glass' see-through virtual display. All image processes were implemented to achieve near real-time performance. The impacts of the contrast enhancements were measured for three normal-vision subjects, with and without a diffuser film to simulate vision loss. For all three subjects, significantly improved contrast sensitivity was achieved when the subjects used the edge enhancements with a diffuser film. The performance boost is limited by the Glass camera's performance. The authors assume that this accounts for why performance improvements were observed only with the diffuser filter condition (simulating low vision). Improvements were measured with simulated visual impairments. With the benefit of see-through augmented reality edge enhancement, natural visual scanning process is possible and suggests that the device may provide better visual function in a cosmetically and ergonomically attractive format for patients with macular degeneration.

Characteristics of international websites with information on developmental disabilities.

PubMed

Reichow, Brian; Gelbar, Nicholas W; Mouradjian, Keri; Shefcyk, Allison; Smith, Isaac C

2014-10-01

The Internet often serves as a primary resource for individuals seeking health-related information, and a large and growing number of websites contain information related to developmental disabilities. This paper presents the results of an international evaluation of the characteristics and content of the top 10 ranked results (i.e., not including sponsored results - pay-per-click) returned when one of five terms related to developmental disabilities (i.e., ADHD, autism, down syndrome, learning disability, intellectual disability) was entered into one of six country specific Google online search engines (i.e., Australia (https://www.google.com.au), Canada (https://www.google.ca), Ireland (https://www.google.ie), New Zealand (https://www.google.co.nz), the United Kingdom (https://www.google.co.uk), and the United States (https://www.google.com)) on October 22, 2013. Collectively, we found that international consumers of websites related to developmental disabilities will encounter different websites with differing content and terminology, and should be critical consumers to ensure they locate the information they are seeking. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Waypoint Planning Tool in Response to NASA Field Campaign Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

He, Matt; Hardin, Danny; Mayer, Paul; Blakeslee, Richard; Goodman, Michael

2012-01-01

Airborne real time observations are a major component of NASA 's Earth Science research and satellite ground validation studies. Multiple aircraft are involved in most NASA field campaigns. The coordination of the aircraft with satellite overpasses, other airplanes and the constantly evolving, dynamic weather conditions often determines the success of the campaign. Planning a research aircraft mission within the context of meeting the science objectives is a complex task because it requires real time situational awareness of the weather conditions that affect the aircraft track. A flight planning tools is needed to provide situational awareness information to the mission scientists, and help them plan and modify the flight tracks. Scientists at the University of Alabama ]Huntsville and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center developed the Waypoint Planning Tool, an interactive software tool that enables scientists to develop their own flight plans (also known as waypoints) with point -and-click mouse capabilities on a digital map filled with real time raster and vector data. The development of this Waypoint Planning Tool demonstrates the significance of mission support in responding to the challenges presented during NASA field campaigns. Analysis during and after each campaign helped identify both issues and new requirements, and initiated the next wave of development. Currently the Waypoint Planning Tool has gone through three rounds of development and analysis processes. The development of this waypoint tool is directly affected by the technology advances on GIS/Mapping technologies. From the standalone Google Earth application and simple KML functionalities, to Google Earth Plugin on web platform, and to the rising open source GIS tools with New Java Script frameworks, the Waypoint Planning Tool has entered its third phase of technology advancement. Adapting new technologies for the Waypoint Planning Tool ensures its success in helping scientist reach their mission objectives.

Strengthened IAEA Safeguards-Imagery Analysis: Geospatial Tools for Nonproliferation Analysis

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

Pabian, Frank V

2012-08-14

This slide presentation focuses on the growing role and importance of imagery analysis for IAEA safeguards applications and how commercial satellite imagery, together with the newly available geospatial tools, can be used to promote 'all-source synergy.' As additional sources of openly available information, satellite imagery in conjunction with the geospatial tools can be used to significantly augment and enhance existing information gathering techniques, procedures, and analyses in the remote detection and assessment of nonproliferation relevant activities, facilities, and programs. Foremost of the geospatial tools are the 'Digital Virtual Globes' (i.e., GoogleEarth, Virtual Earth, etc.) that are far better than previouslymore » used simple 2-D plan-view line drawings for visualization of known and suspected facilities of interest which can be critical to: (1) Site familiarization and true geospatial context awareness; (2) Pre-inspection planning; (3) Onsite orientation and navigation; (4) Post-inspection reporting; (5) Site monitoring over time for changes; (6) Verification of states site declarations and for input to State Evaluation reports; and (7) A common basis for discussions among all interested parties (Member States). Additionally, as an 'open-source', such virtual globes can also provide a new, essentially free, means to conduct broad area search for undeclared nuclear sites and activities - either alleged through open source leads; identified on internet BLOGS and WIKI Layers, with input from a 'free' cadre of global browsers and/or by knowledgeable local citizens (a.k.a.: 'crowdsourcing'), that can include ground photos and maps; or by other initiatives based on existing information and in-house country knowledge. They also provide a means to acquire ground photography taken by locals, hobbyists, and tourists of the surrounding locales that can be useful in identifying and discriminating between relevant and non-relevant facilities and their associated infrastructure. The digital globes also provide highly accurate terrain mapping for better geospatial context and allow detailed 3-D perspectives of all sites or areas of interest. 3-D modeling software (i.e., Google's SketchUp6 newly available in 2007) when used in conjunction with these digital globes can significantly enhance individual building characterization and visualization (including interiors), allowing for better assessments including walk-arounds or fly-arounds and perhaps better decision making on multiple levels (e.g., the best placement for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) video monitoring cameras).« less

Three options for citation tracking: Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science.

PubMed

Bakkalbasi, Nisa; Bauer, Kathleen; Glover, Janis; Wang, Lei

2006-06-29

Researchers turn to citation tracking to find the most influential articles for a particular topic and to see how often their own published papers are cited. For years researchers looking for this type of information had only one resource to consult: the Web of Science from Thomson Scientific. In 2004 two competitors emerged--Scopus from Elsevier and Google Scholar from Google. The research reported here uses citation analysis in an observational study examining these three databases; comparing citation counts for articles from two disciplines (oncology and condensed matter physics) and two years (1993 and 2003) to test the hypothesis that the different scholarly publication coverage provided by the three search tools will lead to different citation counts from each. Eleven journal titles with varying impact factors were selected from each discipline (oncology and condensed matter physics) using the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). All articles published in the selected titles were retrieved for the years 1993 and 2003, and a stratified random sample of articles was chosen, resulting in four sets of articles. During the week of November 7-12, 2005, the citation counts for each research article were extracted from the three sources. The actual citing references for a subset of the articles published in 2003 were also gathered from each of the three sources. For oncology 1993 Web of Science returned the highest average number of citations, 45.3. Scopus returned the highest average number of citations (8.9) for oncology 2003. Web of Science returned the highest number of citations for condensed matter physics 1993 and 2003 (22.5 and 3.9 respectively). The data showed a significant difference in the mean citation rates between all pairs of resources except between Google Scholar and Scopus for condensed matter physics 2003. For articles published in 2003 Google Scholar returned the largest amount of unique citing material for oncology and Web of Science returned the most for condensed matter physics. This study did not identify any one of these three resources as the answer to all citation tracking needs. Scopus showed strength in providing citing literature for current (2003) oncology articles, while Web of Science produced more citing material for 2003 and 1993 condensed matter physics, and 1993 oncology articles. All three tools returned some unique material. Our data indicate that the question of which tool provides the most complete set of citing literature may depend on the subject and publication year of a given article.

Three options for citation tracking: Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science

PubMed Central

Bakkalbasi, Nisa; Bauer, Kathleen; Glover, Janis; Wang, Lei

2006-01-01

Background Researchers turn to citation tracking to find the most influential articles for a particular topic and to see how often their own published papers are cited. For years researchers looking for this type of information had only one resource to consult: the Web of Science from Thomson Scientific. In 2004 two competitors emerged – Scopus from Elsevier and Google Scholar from Google. The research reported here uses citation analysis in an observational study examining these three databases; comparing citation counts for articles from two disciplines (oncology and condensed matter physics) and two years (1993 and 2003) to test the hypothesis that the different scholarly publication coverage provided by the three search tools will lead to different citation counts from each. Methods Eleven journal titles with varying impact factors were selected from each discipline (oncology and condensed matter physics) using the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). All articles published in the selected titles were retrieved for the years 1993 and 2003, and a stratified random sample of articles was chosen, resulting in four sets of articles. During the week of November 7–12, 2005, the citation counts for each research article were extracted from the three sources. The actual citing references for a subset of the articles published in 2003 were also gathered from each of the three sources. Results For oncology 1993 Web of Science returned the highest average number of citations, 45.3. Scopus returned the highest average number of citations (8.9) for oncology 2003. Web of Science returned the highest number of citations for condensed matter physics 1993 and 2003 (22.5 and 3.9 respectively). The data showed a significant difference in the mean citation rates between all pairs of resources except between Google Scholar and Scopus for condensed matter physics 2003. For articles published in 2003 Google Scholar returned the largest amount of unique citing material for oncology and Web of Science returned the most for condensed matter physics. Conclusion This study did not identify any one of these three resources as the answer to all citation tracking needs. Scopus showed strength in providing citing literature for current (2003) oncology articles, while Web of Science produced more citing material for 2003 and 1993 condensed matter physics, and 1993 oncology articles. All three tools returned some unique material. Our data indicate that the question of which tool provides the most complete set of citing literature may depend on the subject and publication year of a given article. PMID:16805916

Public hospital quality report awareness: evidence from National and Californian Internet searches and social media mentions, 2012

PubMed Central

Huesch, Marco D; Currid-Halkett, Elizabeth; Doctor, Jason N

2014-01-01

Objectives Publicly available hospital quality reports seek to inform consumers of important healthcare quality and affordability attributes, and may inform consumer decision-making. To understand how much consumers search for such information online on one Internet search engine, whether they mention such information in social media and how positively they view this information. Setting and design A leading Internet search engine (Google) was the main focus of the study. Google Trends and Google Adwords keyword analyses were performed for national and Californian searches between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2013 for keywords related to ‘top hospital’, best hospital’, and ‘hospital quality’, as well as for six specific hospital quality reports. Separately, a proprietary social media monitoring tool was used to investigate blog, forum, social media and traditional media mentions of, and sentiment towards, major public reports of hospital quality in California in 2012. Primary outcome measures (1) Counts of searches for keywords performed on Google; (2) counts of and (3) sentiment of mentions of public reports on social media. Results National Google search volume for 75 hospital quality-related terms averaged 610 700 searches per month with strong variation by keyword and by state. A commercial report (Healthgrades) was more commonly searched for nationally on Google than the federal government's Hospital Compare, which otherwise dominated quality-related search terms. Social media references in California to quality reports were generally few, and commercially produced hospital quality reports were more widely mentioned than state (Office of Statewide Healthcare Planning and Development (OSHPD)), or non-profit (CalHospitalCompare) reports. Conclusions Consumers are somewhat aware of hospital quality based on Internet search activity and social media disclosures. Public stakeholders may be able to broaden their quality dissemination initiatives by advertising on Google or Twitter and using social media interactively with consumers looking for relevant information. PMID:24618223

On transform coding tools under development for VP10

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Sarah; Chen, Yue; Han, Jingning; Liu, Zoe; Mukherjee, Debargha; Su, Hui; Wang, Yongzhe; Bankoski, Jim; Li, Shunyao

2016-09-01

Google started the WebM Project in 2010 to develop open source, royaltyfree video codecs designed specifically for media on the Web. The second generation codec released by the WebM project, VP9, is currently served by YouTube, and enjoys billions of views per day. Realizing the need for even greater compression efficiency to cope with the growing demand for video on the web, the WebM team embarked on an ambitious project to develop a next edition codec, VP10, that achieves at least a generational improvement in coding efficiency over VP9. Starting from VP9, a set of new experimental coding tools have already been added to VP10 to achieve decent coding gains. Subsequently, Google joined a consortium of major tech companies called the Alliance for Open Media to jointly develop a new codec AV1. As a result, the VP10 effort is largely expected to merge with AV1. In this paper, we focus primarily on new tools in VP10 that improve coding of the prediction residue using transform coding techniques. Specifically, we describe tools that increase the flexibility of available transforms, allowing the codec to handle a more diverse range or residue structures. Results are presented on a standard test set.

A Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment for the Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Agnese, F. A.

2008-12-01

Earth Knowledge is developing a web-based 'Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment' that will serve as the information-technology-based foundation of a modular Internet-based Earth-Systems Monitoring, Analysis, and Management Tool. This 'Knowledge Portal' is essentially a 'mash- up' of web-based and client-based tools and services that support on-line collaboration, community discussion, and broad public dissemination of earth and environmental science information in a wide-area distributed network. In contrast to specialized knowledge-management or geographic-information systems developed for long- term and incremental scientific analysis, this system will exploit familiar software tools using industry standard protocols, formats, and APIs to discover, process, fuse, and visualize existing environmental datasets using Google Earth and Google Maps. An early form of these tools and services is being used by Earth Knowledge to facilitate the investigations and conversations of scientists, resource managers, and citizen-stakeholders addressing water resource sustainability issues in the Great Basin region of the desert southwestern United States. These ongoing projects will serve as use cases for the further development of this information-technology infrastructure. This 'Knowledge Portal' will accelerate the deployment of Earth- system data and information into an operational knowledge management system that may be used by decision-makers concerned with stewardship of water resources in the American Desert Southwest.

Can the London 2012 Olympics 'inspire a generation' to do more physical or sporting activities? An overview of systematic reviews.

PubMed

Mahtani, Kamal Ram; Protheroe, Joanne; Slight, Sarah Patricia; Demarzo, Marcelo Marcos Piva; Blakeman, Thomas; Barton, Christopher A; Brijnath, Bianca; Roberts, Nia

2013-01-07

To examine if there is an increased participation in physical or sporting activities following an Olympic or Paralympic games. Overview of systematic reviews. We searched the Medline, Embase, Cochrane, DARE, SportDISCUS and Web of Knowledge databases. In addition, we searched for 'grey literature' in Google, Google scholar and on the International Olympic Committee websites. We restricted our search to those reviews published in English. We used the AMSTAR tool to assess the methodological quality of those systematic reviews included. The primary outcome was evidence for an increased participation in physical or sporting activities. Secondary outcomes included public perceptions of sport during and after an Olympic games, barriers to increased sports participation and any other non-sporting health benefits. Our systematic search revealed 844 citations, of which only two matched our inclusion criteria. The quality of these two reviews was assessed by three independent reviewers as 'good' using the AMSTAR tool for quality appraisal. Both reviews reported little evidence of an increased uptake of sporting activity following an Olympic Games event. Other effects on health, for example, changes in hospital admissions, suicide rates and drug use, were cited although there was insufficient evidence to see an overall effect. There is a paucity of evidence to support the notion that hosting an Olympic games leads to an increased participation in physical or sporting activities for host countries. We also found little evidence to suggest other health benefits. We conclude that the true success of these and future games should be evaluated by high-quality, evidence-based studies that have been commissioned before, during and following the completion of the event. Only then can the true success and legacy of the games be established.

Round Table: Connecting Local and National New Media Programs in The IYA 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, Pamela L.; IYA New Media Task Group

2008-05-01

The International Year of Astronomy is designing programs to provide the public dynamic online astronomy experiences in the places they already go to work, play, and learn online. Recognizing that the Internet is a conversation, the IYA New Media projects focus on bringing together community-based projects in creative, interactive programs. This workshop will introduce participants to planned New Media programs and invite participants to become part of the content providing community. Used correctly, these technologies, including social networks like Facebook, virtual communities like Second Life, and data sharing tools like Google Sky, will allow us to make astronomy part of the digital zeitgeist. In this round-table discussion, we will first provide astronomy communicators and content providers a tour de force of existing new media programs and demonstrate ways they can plug their content into the IYA New Media framework. Next, we will open the floor to the community to seek input on what tools they wish to see, and what ways they want to be able to plug their content, communities, and projects into the IYA internet framework. Special emphasis will be given to: The Space Carnival, Second Life, Social Content Sharing (e.g. YouTube, Flikr, Facebook Widgets, etc), Social Data Processing (e.g. Galaxy Zoo), Google Sky, the World Wide Virtual Telescope, the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, Astro Twitter, and VAMP. All content providers, including PIO officers, E/PO professionals, bloggers, journalists, and podcasters are welcome. While some laptops will be provided, participants are welcome to bring their own computers. All content presented will be available after the workshop on the IYA New Media website: http://astronomy2009.us/newmedia/

Creating a 'Born Digital' Introductory Online Geology Course with a Community of Inquiry that Supports Discussion of Societal Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

d'Alessio, M. A.; Schwartz, J. J.

2014-12-01

With earth science relevant to so many societal challenges, we created an introductory geology course as a forum for students to explore the interplay between geoscience and society. With new media and digital tools enabling such rich collaboration, we designed the course as a fully online lecture and laboratory experience that meets the natural science general education requirements of our university. We hook students by using popular Hollywood blockbusters paired with documentary films that address related science content. Student ask questions using an online question ranking tool (Google Moderator) to guide the direction of further content delivery using the slide sharing/collaboration tool 'VoiceThread.' It allows instructors to post slides, add video narration, and invite students to comment or answer specific questions using video, voice, or text. Students report that VoiceThread makes an asynchronous class feel like a face-to-face experience. Student also collect data using online tools and pool their data in Google Spreadsheets. They discuss their collective findings in VoiceThread. With these tools in place, each content unit culminates with a challenge scenario. Students work in teams to come to a consensus about a real-world decision that requires them to apply their geologic knowledge. Examples include whether or not to evacuate a town in light of volcanic activity, which house to purchase in an earthquake prone area, which industry was polluting local groundwater, and whether or not to sell mineral rights for hydraulic fracturing. While many of these activities are widely utilized, our approach using them in an integrated online lecture/lab environment is unique. A survey of student attitudes towards the course revealed that students felt a stronger personal connection to the course instructor and one another than typical face-to-face GE classes, including those from our own department. Students' self-report of how much they learned was strongly correlated to their perceived sense of community. We attribute the high course grades and low failure rates (30% A's with only 13% D/F/W) to this sense of community and the socially relevant content it enabled students to engage, as the scores were much higher than more traditional face-to-face courses taught by the same instructors.

Closer Look at Cancer Imaging Tools

MedlinePlus

... download on the Apple Store and Google Play. SOURCE: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering: Medical Scans Spring 2018 Issue: Volume 13 Number 1 Page 11 MedlinePlus Subscribe Magazine Information Contact Us Viewers & Players Friends of the National Library of Medicine (FNLM) top

The Snow Data System at NASA JPL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laidlaw, R.; Painter, T. H.; Mattmann, C. A.; Ramirez, P.; Bormann, K.; Brodzik, M. J.; Burgess, A. B.; Rittger, K.; Goodale, C. E.; Joyce, M.; McGibbney, L. J.; Zimdars, P.

2014-12-01

NASA JPL's Snow Data System has a data-processing pipeline powered by Apache OODT, an open source software tool. The pipeline has been running for several years and has successfully generated a significant amount of cryosphere data, including MODIS-based products such as MODSCAG, MODDRFS and MODICE, with historical and near-real time windows and covering regions such as the Artic, Western US, Alaska, Central Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand. The team continues to improve the pipeline, using monitoring tools such as Ganglia to give an overview of operations, and improving fault-tolerance with automated recovery scripts. Several alternative adaptations of the Snow Covered Area and Grain size (SCAG) algorithm are being investigated. These include using VIIRS and Landsat TM/ETM+ satellite data as inputs. Parallel computing techniques are being considered for core SCAG processing, such as using the PyCUDA Python API to utilize multi-core GPU architectures. An experimental version of MODSCAG is also being developed for the Google Earth Engine platform, a cloud-based service.

Innovative Instructional Tools from the AMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abshire, W. E.; Geer, I. W.; Mills, E. W.; Nugnes, K. A.; Stimach, A. E.

2016-12-01

Since 1996, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has been developing online educational materials with dynamic features that engage students and encourage additional exploration of various concepts. Most recently, AMS transitioned its etextbooks to webBooks. Now accessible anywhere with internet access, webBooks can be read with any web browser. Prior versions of AMS etextbooks were difficult to use in a lab setting, however webBooks are much easier to use and no longer a hurdle to learning. Additionally, AMS eInvestigations Manuals, also in webBook format, include labs with innovative features and educational tools. One such example is the AMS Climate at a Glance (CAG) app that draws data from NOAA's Climate at a Glance website. The user selects historical data of a given parameter and the app calculates various statistics revealing whether or not the results are consistent with climate change. These results allow users to distinguish between climate variability and climate change. This can be done for hundreds of locations across the U.S. and on multiple time scales. Another innovative educational tool used in AMS eInvestigations Manuals is the AMS Conceptual Climate Energy Model (CCEM). The CCEM is a computer simulation designed to enable users to track the paths that units of energy might follow as they enter, move through and exit an imaginary system according to simple rules applied to different scenarios. The purpose is to provide insight into the impacts of physical processes that operate in the real world. Finally, AMS educational materials take advantage of Google Earth imagery to reproduce the physical aspects of globes, allowing users to investigate spatial relationships in three dimensions. Google Earth imagery is used to explore tides, ocean bottom bathymetry and El Nino and La Nina. AMS will continue to develop innovative educational materials and tools as technology advances, to attract more students to the Earth sciences.

A web-based screening tool for near-port air quality assessments

PubMed Central

Isakov, Vlad; Barzyk, Timothy M.; Smith, Elizabeth R.; Arunachalam, Saravanan; Naess, Brian; Venkatram, Akula

2018-01-01

The Community model for near-PORT applications (C-PORT) is a screening tool with an intended purpose of calculating differences in annual averaged concentration patterns and relative contributions of various source categories over the spatial domain within about 10 km of the port. C-PORT can inform decision-makers and concerned citizens about local air quality due to mobile source emissions related to commercial port activities. It allows users to visualize and evaluate different planning scenarios, helping them identify the best alternatives for making long-term decisions that protect community health and sustainability. The web-based, easy-to-use interface currently includes data from 21 seaports primarily in the Southeastern U.S., and has a map-based interface based on Google Maps. The tool was developed to visualize and assess changes in air quality due to changes in emissions and/or meteorology in order to analyze development scenarios, and is not intended to support or replace any regulatory models or programs. PMID:29681760

Google matrix of business process management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abel, M. W.; Shepelyansky, D. L.

2011-12-01

Development of efficient business process models and determination of their characteristic properties are subject of intense interdisciplinary research. Here, we consider a business process model as a directed graph. Its nodes correspond to the units identified by the modeler and the link direction indicates the causal dependencies between units. It is of primary interest to obtain the stationary flow on such a directed graph, which corresponds to the steady-state of a firm during the business process. Following the ideas developed recently for the World Wide Web, we construct the Google matrix for our business process model and analyze its spectral properties. The importance of nodes is characterized by PageRank and recently proposed CheiRank and 2DRank, respectively. The results show that this two-dimensional ranking gives a significant information about the influence and communication properties of business model units. We argue that the Google matrix method, described here, provides a new efficient tool helping companies to make their decisions on how to evolve in the exceedingly dynamic global market.

The differential impact of scientific quality, bibliometric factors, and social media activity on the influence of systematic reviews and meta-analyses about psoriasis.

PubMed

Ruano, Juan; Aguilar-Luque, Macarena; Gómez-Garcia, Francisco; Alcalde Mellado, Patricia; Gay-Mimbrera, Jesus; Carmona-Fernandez, Pedro J; Maestre-López, Beatriz; Sanz-Cabanillas, Juan Luís; Hernández Romero, José Luís; González-Padilla, Marcelino; Vélez García-Nieto, Antonio; Isla-Tejera, Beatriz

2018-01-01

Researchers are increasingly using on line social networks to promote their work. Some authors have suggested that measuring social media activity can predict the impact of a primary study (i.e., whether or not an article will be highly cited). However, the influence of variables such as scientific quality, research disclosures, and journal characteristics on systematic reviews and meta-analyses has not yet been assessed. The present study aims to describe the effect of complex interactions between bibliometric factors and social media activity on the impact of systematic reviews and meta-analyses about psoriasis (PROSPERO 2016: CRD42016053181). Methodological quality was assessed using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Altmetrics, which consider Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ mention counts as well as Mendeley and SCOPUS readers, and corresponding article citation counts from Google Scholar were obtained for each article. Metadata and journal-related bibliometric indices were also obtained. One-hundred and sixty-four reviews with available altmetrics information were included in the final multifactorial analysis, which showed that social media and impact factor have less effect than Mendeley and SCOPUS readers on the number of cites that appear in Google Scholar. Although a journal's impact factor predicted the number of tweets (OR, 1.202; 95% CI, 1.087-1.049), the years of publication and the number of Mendeley readers predicted the number of citations in Google Scholar (OR, 1.033; 95% CI, 1.018-1.329). Finally, methodological quality was related neither with bibliometric influence nor social media activity for systematic reviews. In conclusion, there seems to be a lack of connectivity between scientific quality, social media activity, and article usage, thus predicting scientific success based on these variables may be inappropriate in the particular case of systematic reviews.

The differential impact of scientific quality, bibliometric factors, and social media activity on the influence of systematic reviews and meta-analyses about psoriasis

PubMed Central

Gómez-Garcia, Francisco; Alcalde Mellado, Patricia; Gay-Mimbrera, Jesus; Carmona-Fernandez, Pedro J.; Maestre-López, Beatriz; Sanz-Cabanillas, Juan Luís; Hernández Romero, José Luís; González-Padilla, Marcelino; Vélez García-Nieto, Antonio; Isla-Tejera, Beatriz

2018-01-01

Researchers are increasingly using on line social networks to promote their work. Some authors have suggested that measuring social media activity can predict the impact of a primary study (i.e., whether or not an article will be highly cited). However, the influence of variables such as scientific quality, research disclosures, and journal characteristics on systematic reviews and meta-analyses has not yet been assessed. The present study aims to describe the effect of complex interactions between bibliometric factors and social media activity on the impact of systematic reviews and meta-analyses about psoriasis (PROSPERO 2016: CRD42016053181). Methodological quality was assessed using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Altmetrics, which consider Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ mention counts as well as Mendeley and SCOPUS readers, and corresponding article citation counts from Google Scholar were obtained for each article. Metadata and journal-related bibliometric indices were also obtained. One-hundred and sixty-four reviews with available altmetrics information were included in the final multifactorial analysis, which showed that social media and impact factor have less effect than Mendeley and SCOPUS readers on the number of cites that appear in Google Scholar. Although a journal’s impact factor predicted the number of tweets (OR, 1.202; 95% CI, 1.087–1.049), the years of publication and the number of Mendeley readers predicted the number of citations in Google Scholar (OR, 1.033; 95% CI, 1.018–1.329). Finally, methodological quality was related neither with bibliometric influence nor social media activity for systematic reviews. In conclusion, there seems to be a lack of connectivity between scientific quality, social media activity, and article usage, thus predicting scientific success based on these variables may be inappropriate in the particular case of systematic reviews. PMID:29377889

Evaluating Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia as Tools for Influenza Surveillance Using Bayesian Change Point Analysis: A Comparative Analysis

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Richard S; Cook, Robert L; Striley, Catherine W

2016-01-01

Background Traditional influenza surveillance relies on influenza-like illness (ILI) syndrome that is reported by health care providers. It primarily captures individuals who seek medical care and misses those who do not. Recently, Web-based data sources have been studied for application to public health surveillance, as there is a growing number of people who search, post, and tweet about their illnesses before seeking medical care. Existing research has shown some promise of using data from Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia to complement traditional surveillance for ILI. However, past studies have evaluated these Web-based sources individually or dually without comparing all 3 of them, and it would be beneficial to know which of the Web-based sources performs best in order to be considered to complement traditional methods. Objective The objective of this study is to comparatively analyze Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia by examining which best corresponds with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ILI data. It was hypothesized that Wikipedia will best correspond with CDC ILI data as previous research found it to be least influenced by high media coverage in comparison with Google and Twitter. Methods Publicly available, deidentified data were collected from the CDC, Google Flu Trends, HealthTweets, and Wikipedia for the 2012-2015 influenza seasons. Bayesian change point analysis was used to detect seasonal changes, or change points, in each of the data sources. Change points in Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia that occurred during the exact week, 1 preceding week, or 1 week after the CDC’s change points were compared with the CDC data as the gold standard. All analyses were conducted using the R package “bcp” version 4.0.0 in RStudio version 0.99.484 (RStudio Inc). In addition, sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were calculated for Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Results During the 2012-2015 influenza seasons, a high sensitivity of 92% was found for Google, whereas the PPV for Google was 85%. A low sensitivity of 50% was calculated for Twitter; a low PPV of 43% was found for Twitter also. Wikipedia had the lowest sensitivity of 33% and lowest PPV of 40%. Conclusions Of the 3 Web-based sources, Google had the best combination of sensitivity and PPV in detecting Bayesian change points in influenza-related data streams. Findings demonstrated that change points in Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia data occasionally aligned well with change points captured in CDC ILI data, yet these sources did not detect all changes in CDC data and should be further studied and developed. PMID:27765731

OpenNEX, a private-public partnership in support of the national climate assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemani, R. R.; Wang, W.; Michaelis, A.; Votava, P.; Ganguly, S.

2016-12-01

The NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) is a collaborative computing platform that has been developed with the objective of bringing scientists together with the software tools, massive global datasets, and supercomputing resources necessary to accelerate research in Earth systems science and global change. NEX is funded as an enabling tool for sustaining the national climate assessment. Over the past five years, researchers have used the NEX platform and produced a number of data sets highly relevant to the National Climate Assessment. These include high-resolution climate projections using different downscaling techniques and trends in historical climate from satellite data. To enable a broader community in exploiting the above datasets, the NEX team partnered with public cloud providers to create the OpenNEX platform. OpenNEX provides ready access to NEX data holdings on a number of public cloud platforms along with pertinent analysis tools and workflows in the form of Machine Images and Docker Containers, lectures and tutorials by experts. We will showcase some of the applications of OpenNEX data and tools by the community on Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and the NEX Sandbox.

Cloud Collaboration: Cloud-Based Instruction for Business Writing Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Charlie; Yu, Wei-Chieh Wayne; Wang, Jenny

2014-01-01

Cloud computing technologies, such as Google Docs, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, and Microsoft Windows Live, have become increasingly appreciated to the next generation digital learning tools. Cloud computing technologies encourage students' active engagement, collaboration, and participation in their learning, facilitate group work, and support…

Using the Browser for Science: A Collaborative Toolkit for Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connolly, A. J.; Smith, I.; Krughoff, K. S.; Gibson, R.

2011-07-01

Astronomical surveys have yielded hundreds of terabytes of catalogs and images that span many decades of the electromagnetic spectrum. Even when observatories provide user-friendly web interfaces, exploring these data resources remains a complex and daunting task. In contrast, gadgets and widgets have become popular in social networking (e.g. iGoogle, Facebook). They provide a simple way to make complex data easily accessible that can be customized based on the interest of the user. With ASCOT (an AStronomical COllaborative Toolkit) we expand on these concepts to provide a customizable and extensible gadget framework for use in science. Unlike iGoogle, where all of the gadgets are independent, the gadgets we develop communicate and share information, enabling users to visualize and interact with data through multiple, simultaneous views. With this approach, web-based applications for accessing and visualizing data can be generated easily and, by linking these tools together, integrated and powerful data analysis and discovery tools can be constructed.

Quality of patient health information on the Internet: reviewing a complex and evolving landscape.

PubMed

Fahy, Eamonn; Hardikar, Rohan; Fox, Adrian; Mackay, Sean

2014-01-01

The popularity of the Internet has enabled unprecedented access to health information. As a largely unregulated source, there is potential for inconsistency in the quality of information that reaches the patient. To review the literature relating to the quality indicators of health information for patients on the Internet. A search of English language literature was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar and EMBASE databases. Many articles have been published which assess the quality of information relating to specific medical conditions. Indicators of quality have been defined in an attempt to predict higher quality health information on the Internet. Quality evaluation tools are scoring systems based on indicators of quality. Established tools such as the HONcode may help patients navigate to more reliable information. Google and Wikipedia are important emerging sources of patient health information. The Internet is crucial for modern dissemination of health information, but it is clear that quality varies significantly between sources. Quality indicators for web-information have been developed but there is no agreed standard yet. We envisage that reliable rating tools, effective search engine ranking and progress in crowd-edited websites will enhance patient access to health information on the Internet.

"Hello, World!" Harnessing Social Media for the Rosetta Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldwin, E.; Mignone, C.; Scuka, D.; Homfeld, A. M.; Ranero, K.; Rolfe, E.; Bennett, M.; Schepers, A.; O'Flaherty, K. S.; Bauer, M.; McCaughrean, M.

2016-03-01

The European Space Agency's comet-chasing Rosetta mission was launched in 2004, before social media became a popular tool for mainstream communication. As it reached its destination ten years later, new audiences were reached and inspired by this once-in-a-lifetime event by harnessing a range of outlets for communicating the key messages. These included traditional online platforms, such as news websites, blogs, and Livestream, as well as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, Google+ and SoundCloud. In this article, we outline the role social media channels played in making Rosetta one of the European Space Agency's biggest communication and public engagement successes.

Using Google Glass in Nonsurgical Medical Settings: Systematic Review.

PubMed

Dougherty, Bryn; Badawy, Sherif M

2017-10-19

Wearable technologies provide users hands-free access to computer functions and are becoming increasingly popular on both the consumer market and in various industries. The medical industry has pioneered research and implementation of head-mounted wearable devices, such as Google Glass. Most of this research has focused on surgical interventions; however, other medical fields have begun to explore the potential of this technology to support both patients and clinicians. Our aim was to systematically evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using Google Glass in nonsurgical medical settings and to determine the benefits, limitations, and future directions of its application. This review covers literature published between January 2013 and May 2017. Searches included PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, INSPEC (Ebsco), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), IEEE Explore, Web of Science, Scopus, and Compendex. The search strategy sought all articles on Google Glass. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, assessed full-text articles, and extracted data from articles that met all predefined criteria. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion or consultation by the senior author. Included studies were original research articles that evaluated the feasibility, usability, or acceptability of Google Glass in nonsurgical medical settings. The preferred reporting results of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed for reporting of results. Of the 852 records examined, 51 met all predefined criteria, including patient-centered (n=21) and clinician-centered studies (n=30). Patient-centered studies explored the utility of Google Glass in supporting patients with motor impairments (n=8), visual impairments (n=5), developmental and psychiatric disorders (n=2), weight management concerns (n=3), allergies (n=1), or other health concerns (n=2). Clinician-centered studies explored the utility of Google Glass in student training (n=9), disaster relief (n=4), diagnostics (n=2), nursing (n=1), autopsy and postmortem examination (n=1), wound care (n=1), behavioral sciences (n=1), and various medical subspecialties, including, cardiology (n=3), radiology (n=3), neurology (n=1), anesthesiology (n=1), pulmonology (n=1), toxicology (n=1), and dermatology (n=1). Most of the studies were conducted in the United States (40/51, 78%), did not report specific age information for participants (38/51, 75%), had sample size <30 participants (29/51, 57%), and were pilot or feasibility studies (31/51, 61%). Most patient-centered studies (19/21, 90%) demonstrated feasibility with high satisfaction and acceptability among participants, despite a few technical challenges with the device. A number of clinician-centered studies (11/30, 37%) reported low to moderate satisfaction among participants, with the most promising results being in the area of student training. Studies varied in sample size, approach for implementation of Google Glass, and outcomes assessment. The use of Google Glass in nonsurgical medical settings varied. More promising results regarding the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using Google Glass were seen in patient-centered studies and student training settings. Further research evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Google Glass as an intervention to improve important clinical outcomes is warranted. ©Bryn Dougherty, Sherif M Badawy. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 19.10.2017.

Using Google Glass in Nonsurgical Medical Settings: Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Dougherty, Bryn

2017-01-01

Background Wearable technologies provide users hands-free access to computer functions and are becoming increasingly popular on both the consumer market and in various industries. The medical industry has pioneered research and implementation of head-mounted wearable devices, such as Google Glass. Most of this research has focused on surgical interventions; however, other medical fields have begun to explore the potential of this technology to support both patients and clinicians. Objective Our aim was to systematically evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using Google Glass in nonsurgical medical settings and to determine the benefits, limitations, and future directions of its application. Methods This review covers literature published between January 2013 and May 2017. Searches included PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, INSPEC (Ebsco), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), IEEE Explore, Web of Science, Scopus, and Compendex. The search strategy sought all articles on Google Glass. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, assessed full-text articles, and extracted data from articles that met all predefined criteria. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion or consultation by the senior author. Included studies were original research articles that evaluated the feasibility, usability, or acceptability of Google Glass in nonsurgical medical settings. The preferred reporting results of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed for reporting of results. Results Of the 852 records examined, 51 met all predefined criteria, including patient-centered (n=21) and clinician-centered studies (n=30). Patient-centered studies explored the utility of Google Glass in supporting patients with motor impairments (n=8), visual impairments (n=5), developmental and psychiatric disorders (n=2), weight management concerns (n=3), allergies (n=1), or other health concerns (n=2). Clinician-centered studies explored the utility of Google Glass in student training (n=9), disaster relief (n=4), diagnostics (n=2), nursing (n=1), autopsy and postmortem examination (n=1), wound care (n=1), behavioral sciences (n=1), and various medical subspecialties, including, cardiology (n=3), radiology (n=3), neurology (n=1), anesthesiology (n=1), pulmonology (n=1), toxicology (n=1), and dermatology (n=1). Most of the studies were conducted in the United States (40/51, 78%), did not report specific age information for participants (38/51, 75%), had sample size <30 participants (29/51, 57%), and were pilot or feasibility studies (31/51, 61%). Most patient-centered studies (19/21, 90%) demonstrated feasibility with high satisfaction and acceptability among participants, despite a few technical challenges with the device. A number of clinician-centered studies (11/30, 37%) reported low to moderate satisfaction among participants, with the most promising results being in the area of student training. Studies varied in sample size, approach for implementation of Google Glass, and outcomes assessment. Conclusions The use of Google Glass in nonsurgical medical settings varied. More promising results regarding the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using Google Glass were seen in patient-centered studies and student training settings. Further research evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Google Glass as an intervention to improve important clinical outcomes is warranted. PMID:29051136

Using Google Earth for Submarine Operations at Pavilion Lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deans, M. C.; Lees, D. S.; Fong, T.; Lim, D. S.

2009-12-01

During the July 2009 Pavilion Lake field test, we supported submarine "flight" operations using Google Earth. The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames has experience with ground data systems for NASA missions, earth analog field tests, disaster response, and the Gigapan camera system. Leveraging this expertise and existing software, we put together a set of tools to support sub tracking and mapping, called the "Surface Data System." This system supports flight planning, real time flight operations, and post-flight analysis. For planning, we make overlays of the regional bedrock geology, sonar bathymetry, and sonar backscatter maps that show geology, depth, and structure of the bottom. Placemarks show the mooring locations for start and end points. Flight plans are shown as polylines with icons for waypoints. Flight tracks and imagery from previous field seasons are embedded in the map for planning follow-on activities. These data provide context for flight planning. During flights, sub position is updated every 5 seconds from the nav computer on the chase boat. We periodically update tracking KML files and refresh them with network links. A sub icon shows current location of the sub. A compass rose shows bearings to indicate heading to the next waypoint. A "Science Stenographer" listens on the voice loop and transcribes significant observations in real time. Observations called up to the surface immediately appear on the map as icons with date, time, position, and what was said. After each flight, the science back room immediately has the flight track and georeferenced notes from the pilots. We add additional information in post-processing. The submarines record video continuously, with "event" timestamps marked by the pilot. We cross-correlate the event timestamps with position logs to geolocate events and put a preview image and compressed video clip into the map. Animated flight tracks are also generated, showing timestamped position and providing timelapse playback of the flight. Neogeography tools are increasing in popularity and offer an excellent platform for geoinformatics. The scientists on the team are already familiar with Google Earth, eliminating up-front training on new tools. The flight maps and archived data are available immediately and in a usable format. Google Earth provides lots of measurement tools, annotation tools, and other built-in functions that we can use to create and analyze the map. All of this information is saved to a shared filesystem so that everyone on the team has access to all of the same map data. After the field season, the map data will be used by the team to analyse and correlate information from across the lake and across different flights to support their research, and to plan next year's activities.

Lessons Learned From Google Glass: Telemedical Spark or Unfulfilled Promise?

PubMed

Yu, Jonathan; Ferniany, William; Guthrie, Barton; Parekh, Selene G; Ponce, Brent

2016-04-01

Wearable devices such as Google Glass could potentially be used in the health care setting to expand access and improve quality of care. This study aims to assess the demographics of Google Glass users in health care and determine the obstacles to using Google Glass by surveying those who are known to use the device. A 48-question survey was designed to assess demographics of users, technological limitations of Google Glass, and obstacles to implementation of the device. The physicians surveyed worked in various fields of health care, with 50% of the respondents being surgeons. Potential participants were found using an Internet search for physicians using Google Glass in their practice. Outcome measures were divided into demographic information of users, technological limitations of the device, and administrative obstacles. A 43.6% response rate was observed. The majority of users were male, assistant professors, in academic hospitals, and in the United States. Numerous technological limitations were observed by the majority, including device ergonomics, display location, video quality, and audio quality. Patient confidentiality and data security were the major concerns among administrative obstacles. Despite the potential of Google Glass, numerous obstacles exist that limit its use in health care. While Google Glass has been discontinued, the results of this study may be used to guide future designs of wearable devices. © The Author(s) 2015.

Key elements of high-quality practice organisation in primary health care: a systematic review.

PubMed

Crossland, Lisa; Janamian, Tina; Jackson, Claire L

2014-08-04

To identify elements that are integral to high-quality practice and determine considerations relating to high-quality practice organisation in primary care. A narrative systematic review of published and grey literature. Electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Emerald Insight, PsycInfo, the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service website, Google Scholar) were searched in November 2013 and used to identify articles published in English from 2002 to 2013. Reference lists of included articles were searched for relevant unpublished articles and reports. Data were configured at the study level to allow for the inclusion of findings from a broad range of study types. Ten elements were most often included in the existing organisational assessment tools. A further three elements were identified from an inductive thematic analysis of descriptive articles, and were noted as important considerations in effective quality improvement in primary care settings. Although there are some validated tools available to primary care that identify and build quality, most are single-strategy approaches developed outside health care settings. There are currently no validated organisational improvement tools, designed specifically for primary health care, which combine all elements of practice improvement and whose use does not require extensive external facilitation.

Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelick, Noel

2013-04-01

The Google Earth Engine platform is a system designed to enable petabyte-scale, scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets. Earth Engine provides a consolidated environment including a massive data catalog co-located with thousands of computers for analysis. The user-friendly front-end provides a workbench environment to allow interactive data and algorithm development and exploration and provides a convenient mechanism for scientists to share data, visualizations and analytic algorithms via URLs. The Earth Engine data catalog contains a wide variety of popular, curated datasets, including the world's largest online collection of Landsat scenes (> 2.0M), numerous MODIS collections, and many vector-based data sets. The platform provides a uniform access mechanism to a variety of data types, independent of their bands, projection, bit-depth, resolution, etc..., facilitating easy multi-sensor analysis. Additionally, a user is able to add and curate their own data and collections. Using a just-in-time, distributed computation model, Earth Engine can rapidly process enormous quantities of geo-spatial data. All computation is performed lazily; nothing is computed until it's required either for output or as input to another step. This model allows real-time feedback and preview during algorithm development, supporting a rapid algorithm development, test, and improvement cycle that scales seamlessly to large-scale production data processing. Through integration with a variety of other services, Earth Engine is able to bring to bear considerable analytic and technical firepower in a transparent fashion, including: AI-based classification via integration with Google's machine learning infrastructure, publishing and distribution at Google scale through integration with the Google Maps API, Maps Engine and Google Earth, and support for in-the-field activities such as validation, ground-truthing, crowd-sourcing and citizen science though the Android Open Data Kit.

Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelick, N.

2012-12-01

The Google Earth Engine platform is a system designed to enable petabyte-scale, scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets. Earth Engine provides a consolidated environment including a massive data catalog co-located with thousands of computers for analysis. The user-friendly front-end provides a workbench environment to allow interactive data and algorithm development and exploration and provides a convenient mechanism for scientists to share data, visualizations and analytic algorithms via URLs. The Earth Engine data catalog contains a wide variety of popular, curated datasets, including the world's largest online collection of Landsat scenes (> 2.0M), numerous MODIS collections, and many vector-based data sets. The platform provides a uniform access mechanism to a variety of data types, independent of their bands, projection, bit-depth, resolution, etc..., facilitating easy multi-sensor analysis. Additionally, a user is able to add and curate their own data and collections. Using a just-in-time, distributed computation model, Earth Engine can rapidly process enormous quantities of geo-spatial data. All computation is performed lazily; nothing is computed until it's required either for output or as input to another step. This model allows real-time feedback and preview during algorithm development, supporting a rapid algorithm development, test, and improvement cycle that scales seamlessly to large-scale production data processing. Through integration with a variety of other services, Earth Engine is able to bring to bear considerable analytic and technical firepower in a transparent fashion, including: AI-based classification via integration with Google's machine learning infrastructure, publishing and distribution at Google scale through integration with the Google Maps API, Maps Engine and Google Earth, and support for in-the-field activities such as validation, ground-truthing, crowd-sourcing and citizen science though the Android Open Data Kit.

Wallace Creek Virtual Field Trip: Teaching Geoscience Concepts with LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, S. E.; Arrowsmith, R.; Crosby, C. J.

2009-12-01

Recently available data such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) high-resolution topography can assist students to better visualize and understand geosciences concepts. It is important to bring these data into geosciences curricula as teaching aids while ensuring that the visualization tools, virtual environments, etc. do not serve as barriers to student learning. As a Southern California Earthquake Center ACCESS-G intern, I am creating a “virtual field trip” to Wallace Creek along the San Andreas Fault (SAF) using Google Earth as a platform and the B4 project LiDAR data. Wallace Creek is an excellent site for understanding the centennial-to-millennial record of SAF slip because of its dramatic stream offsets. Using the LiDAR data instead of, or alongside, traditional visualizations and teaching methods enhances a student’s ability to understand plate tectonics, the earthquake cycle, strike-slip faults, and geomorphology. Viewing a high-resolution representation of the topography in Google Earth allows students to analyze the landscape and answer questions about the behavior of the San Andreas Fault. The activity guides students along the fault allowing them to measure channel offsets using the Google Earth measuring tool. Knowing the ages of channels, they calculate slip rate. They look for the smallest channel offsets around Wallace Creek in order to determine the slip per event. At both a “LiDAR and Education” workshop and the Cyberinfrastructure Summer Institute for Geoscientists (CSIG), I presented the Wallace Creek activity to high school and college earth science teachers. The teachers were positive in their responses and had numerous important suggestions including the need for a teacher’s manual for instruction and scientific background, and that the student goals and science topics should be specific and well-articulated for the sake of both the teacher and the student. The teachers also noted that the technology in classrooms varies significantly. Some do not have computers available for students or do not have access to the internet or certain software licenses. For this reason, I am also creating a paper-based version of the same exercise. After a usable activity is developed I plan to make it available online through the OpenTopography portal (www.opentopography.com) using a format similar to the online teaching boxes seen at DLESE (www.dlese.org). The final version will facilitate visual student learning through the popular Google Earth platform along with student guides and a teacher’s manual.

What can Google and Wikipedia can tell us about a disease? Big Data trends analysis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

PubMed

Sciascia, Savino; Radin, Massimo

2017-11-01

To investigate trends of Internet search volumes linked to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), on-going clinical trials and research developments associated to the disease, using Big Data monitoring and data mining. We performed a longitudinal analysis based on the large amount of data generated by Google Trends, scientific search tools (SCOPUS, Medline/Pubmed/ClinicalTrails.gov) considering 'SLE', and 'lupus' in a 5-year web-based research. Wikipedia page views were also analysed using WikiTrends and the results were compared with the search volumes generated by Google Trends. We observed an overall higher distribution of search volumes from Google Trends in United States, South America, Canada, South Africa, Australia and Europe (mainly Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany), showing a geographically heterogeneity in insight into health-related behaviour of the different populations towards SLE. By comparing the search volumes analysing the Wikipedia page views of both SLE and belimumab, we found a close peak trend, reflecting the knowledge translation after the approval of belimumab for the treatment of SLE. When focusing on search volumes of Google Trends, we noticed that the highest peaks were related to news headlines that involved celebrities affected by SLE, also when comparing to the peak generated by the approval of belimumab. This new approach, able to investigate health information seeking, might give an estimate of the health-related demand and even of the health-related behaviour of SLE, bringing new light to unanswered questions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can Google Searches Predict the Popularity and Harm of Psychoactive Agents?

PubMed

Jankowski, Wojciech; Hoffmann, Marcin

2016-02-25

Predicting the popularity of and harm caused by psychoactive agents is a serious problem that would be difficult to do by a single simple method. However, because of the growing number of drugs it is very important to provide a simple and fast tool for predicting some characteristics of these substances. We were inspired by the Google Flu Trends study on the activity of the influenza virus, which showed that influenza virus activity worldwide can be monitored based on queries entered into the Google search engine. Our aim was to propose a fast method for ranking the most popular and most harmful drugs based on easily available data gathered from the Internet. We used the Google search engine to acquire data for the ranking lists. Subsequently, using the resulting list and the frequency of hits for the respective psychoactive drugs combined with the word "harm" or "harmful", we estimated quickly how much harm is associated with each drug. We ranked the most popular and harmful psychoactive drugs. As we conducted the research over a period of several months, we noted that the relative popularity indexes tended to change depending on when we obtained them. This suggests that the data may be useful in monitoring changes over time in the use of each of these psychoactive agents. Our data correlate well with the results from a multicriteria decision analysis of drug harms in the United Kingdom. We showed that Google search data can be a valuable source of information to assess the popularity of and harm caused by psychoactive agents and may help in monitoring drug use trends.

Smoking cessation support for pregnant women: role of mobile technology

PubMed Central

Heminger, Christina L; Schindler-Ruwisch, Jennifer M; Abroms, Lorien C

2016-01-01

Background Smoking during pregnancy has deleterious health effects for the fetus and mother. Given the high risks associated with smoking in pregnancy, smoking cessation programs that are designed specifically for pregnant smokers are needed. This paper summarizes the current landscape of mHealth cessation programs aimed at pregnant smokers and where available reviews evidence to support their use. Methods A search strategy was conducted in June–August 2015 to identify mHealth programs with at least one component or activity that was explicitly directed at smoking cessation assistance for pregnant women. The search for text messaging programs and applications included keyword searches within public health and medical databases of peer-reviewed literature, Google Play/iTunes stores, and gray literature via Google. Results Five unique short message service programs and two mobile applications were identified and reviewed. Little evidence was identified to support their use. Common tools and features identified included the ability to set your quit date, ability to track smoking status, ability to get help during cravings, referral to quitline, and tailored content for the individual participant. The theoretical approach utilized was varied, and approximately half of the programs included pregnancy-related content, in addition to cessation content. With one exception, the mHealth programs identified were found to have low enrollment. Conclusion Globally, there are a handful of applications and text-based mHealth programs available for pregnant smokers. Future studies are needed that examine the efficacy of such programs, as well as strategies to best promote enrollment. PMID:27110146

Urban topography for flood modeling by fusion of OpenStreetMap, SRTM and local knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winsemius, Hessel; Donchyts, Gennadii; Eilander, Dirk; Chen, Jorik; Leskens, Anne; Coughlan, Erin; Mawanda, Shaban; Ward, Philip; Diaz Loaiza, Andres; Luo, Tianyi; Iceland, Charles

2016-04-01

Topography data is essential for understanding and modeling of urban flood hazard. Within urban areas, much of the topography is defined by highly localized man-made features such as roads, channels, ditches, culverts and buildings. This results in the requirement that urban flood models require high resolution topography, and water conveying connections within the topography are considered. In recent years, more and more topography information is collected through LIDAR surveys however there are still many cities in the world where high resolution topography data is not available. Furthermore, information on connectivity is required for flood modelling, even when LIDAR data are used. In this contribution, we demonstrate how high resolution terrain data can be synthesized using a fusion between features in OpenStreetMap (OSM) data (including roads, culverts, channels and buildings) and existing low resolution and noisy SRTM elevation data using the Google Earth Engine platform. Our method uses typical existing OSM properties to estimate heights and topology associated with the features, and uses these to correct noise and burn features on top of the existing low resolution SRTM elevation data. The method has been setup in the Google Earth Engine platform so that local stakeholders and mapping teams can on-the-fly propose, include and visualize the effect of additional features and properties of features, which are deemed important for topography and water conveyance. These features can be included in a workshop environment. We pilot our tool over Dar Es Salaam.

Community Near-Port Modeling System (C-PORT): Briefing for ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

What C-PORT is: Screening level tool for assessing port activities and exploring the range of potential impacts that changes to port operations might have on local air quality; Analysis of decision alternatives through mapping of the likely pattern of potential pollutant dispersion and an estimated change in pollutant concentrations for user-designated scenarios; Designed primarily to evaluate the local air quality impacts of proposed port expansion or modernization, as well as to identify options for mitigating any impacts; Currently includes data from 21 US seaports and features a map-based interface similar to the widely used Google Earth; Still under development, C-PORT is designed as an easy-to-use computer modeling tool for users, such as state air quality managers and planners. This is part of our product outreach prior to model public release and to solicit for additional beta testers.

Developing 21st century skills through the use of student personal learning networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Robert D.

This research was conducted to study the development of 21st century communication, collaboration, and digital literacy skills of students at the high school level through the use of online social network tools. The importance of this study was based on evidence high school and college students are not graduating with the requisite skills of communication, collaboration, and digital literacy skills yet employers see these skills important to the success of their employees. The challenge addressed through this study was how high schools can integrate social network tools into traditional learning environments to foster the development of these 21st century skills. A qualitative research study was completed through the use of case study. One high school class in a suburban high performing town in Connecticut was selected as the research site and the sample population of eleven student participants engaged in two sets of interviews and learned through the use social network tools for one semester of the school year. The primary social network tools used were Facebook, Diigo, Google Sites, Google Docs, and Twitter. The data collected and analyzed partially supported the transfer of the theory of connectivism at the high school level. The students actively engaged in collaborative learning and research. Key results indicated a heightened engagement in learning, the development of collaborative learning and research skills, and a greater understanding of how to use social network tools for effective public communication. The use of social network tools with high school students was a positive experience that led to an increased awareness of the students as to the benefits social network tools have as a learning tool. The data supported the continued use of social network tools to develop 21st century communication, collaboration, and digital literacy skills. Future research in this area may explore emerging social network tools as well as the long term impact these tools have on the development of lifelong learning skills and quantitative data linked to student learning.

Google and Women's Health-Related Issues: What Does the Search Engine Data Reveal?

PubMed

Baazeem, Mazin; Abenhaim, Haim

2014-01-01

Identifying the gaps in public knowledge of women's health related issues has always been difficult. With the increasing number of Internet users in the United States, we sought to use the Internet as a tool to help us identify such gaps and to estimate women's most prevalent health concerns by examining commonly searched health-related keywords in Google search engine. We collected a large pool of possible search keywords from two independent practicing obstetrician/gynecologists and classified them into five main categories (obstetrics, gynecology, infertility, urogynecology/menopause and oncology), and measured the monthly average search volume within the United States for each keyword with all its possible combinations using Google AdWords tool. We found that pregnancy related keywords were less frequently searched in general compared to other categories with an average of 145,400 hits per month for the top twenty keywords. Among the most common pregnancy-related keywords was "pregnancy and sex' while pregnancy-related diseases were uncommonly searched. HPV alone was searched 305,400 times per month. Of the cancers affecting women, breast cancer was the most commonly searched with an average of 247,190 times per month, followed by cervical cancer then ovarian cancer. The commonly searched keywords are often issues that are not discussed in our daily practice as well as in public health messages. The search volume is relatively related to disease prevalence with the exception of ovarian cancer which could signify a public fear.

Collaborations between Librarians and Faculty in a Digital Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Melissa

2010-01-01

If Google represents the first flicker of information technology, the development of additional tools has continued to enhance access to information but with the unfortunate downside of decreasing information literacy. Todd Gilman, librarian for literature in English at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library, decries the resulting disconnect…

Net Results: Online Protocols Boost Group Learning Potential

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dichter, Alan; Zydney, Janet Mannheimer

2015-01-01

Educators have begun to use protocols to facilitate professional development in online spaces--partly because people need to connect from different places, but also to take advantage of new environments for learning. For example, asynchronous tools, such as discussion forums, blogs, or Google+, where participants post messages to one another at…

Learning Geomorphology Using Aerial Photography in a Web-Facilitated Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, R. Evan

2013-01-01

General education students taking freshman-level physical geography and geomorphology classes at Arizona State University completed an online laboratory whose main tool was Google Earth. Early in the semester, oblique and planimetric views introduced students to a few volcanic, tectonic, glacial, karst, and coastal landforms. Semi-quantitative…

Success Stories | NCI Technology Transfer Center | TTC

Cancer.gov

NIH’s world-class facilities, resources, and discoveries. Some of our partnerships have resulted in the commercialization of therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices and research tools that benefit patients worldwide. TTC is proud to share a few examples of our successful partnerships. | [google6f4cd5334ac394ab.html

Whole Class Laboratories: More Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kouh, Minjoon

2016-01-01

Typically, introductory physics courses are taught with a combination of lectures and laboratories in which students have opportunities to discover the natural laws through hands-on activities in small groups. This article reports the use of Google Drive, a free online document-sharing tool, in physics laboratories for pooling experimental data…

Assisting Instructional Assessment of Undergraduate Collaborative Wiki and SVN Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jihie; Shaw, Erin; Xu, Hao; Adarsh, G. V.

2012-01-01

In this paper we examine the collaborative performance of undergraduate engineering students who used shared project documents (Wikis, Google documents) and a software version control system (SVN) to support project collaboration. We present an initial implementation of TeamAnalytics, an instructional tool that facilitates the analyses of the…

Development of Visualizations and Loggable Activities for the Geosciences. Results from Recent TUES Sponsored Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Paor, D. G.; Bailey, J. E.; Whitmeyer, S. J.

2012-12-01

Our TUES research centers on the role of digital data, visualizations, animations, and simulations in undergraduate geoscience education. Digital hardware (smartphones, tablets, GPSs, GigaPan robotic camera mounts, etc.) are revolutionizing field data collection. Software products (GIS, 3-D scanning and modeling programs, virtual globes, etc.) have truly transformed the way geoscientists teach, learn, and do research. Whilst Google-Earth-style visualizations are famously user-friend for the person browsing, they can be notoriously unfriendly for the content creator. Therefore, we developed tools to help educators create and share visualizations as easily as if posting on Facebook. Anyone whoIf you wish to display geological cross sections on Google Earth, go to digitalplanet.org, upload image files, position them on a line of section, and share with the world through our KMZ hosting service. Other tools facilitate screen overlay and 3-D map symbol generation. We advocate use of such technology to enable undergraduate students to 'publish' their first mapping efforts even while they are working in the field. A second outcome of our TUES projects merges Second-Life-style interaction with Google Earth. We created games in which students act as first responders for natural hazard mitigation, prospectors for natural resource explorations, and structural geologist for map-making. Students are represented by avatars and collaborate by exchange of text messages - the natural mode of communication for the current generation. Teachers view logs showing student movements as well as transcripts of text messages and can scaffold student learning and geofence students to prevent wandering. Early results of in-class testing show positive learning outcomes. The third aspect of our program emphasizes dissemination. Experience shows that great effort is required to overcome activation energy and ensure adoption of new technology into the curriculum. We organized a GSA Penrose Conference, a GSA Pardee Keynote Symposium, and AGU Townhall Meeting, and numerous workshops at annual and regional meetings, and set up a web site dedicated to dissemination of program products. Future plans include development of augmented reality teaching resources, hosting of community mapping services, and creation of a truly 4-D virtual globe.;

Critical assessment of pediatric neurosurgery patient/parent educational information obtained via the Internet.

PubMed

Garcia, Michael; Daugherty, Christopher; Ben Khallouq, Bertha; Maugans, Todd

2018-05-01

OBJECTIVE The Internet is used frequently by patients and family members to acquire information about pediatric neurosurgical conditions. The sources, nature, accuracy, and usefulness of this information have not been examined recently. The authors analyzed the results from searches of 10 common pediatric neurosurgical terms using a novel scoring test to assess the value of the educational information obtained. METHODS Google and Bing searches were performed for 10 common pediatric neurosurgical topics (concussion, craniosynostosis, hydrocephalus, pediatric brain tumor, pediatric Chiari malformation, pediatric epilepsy surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, plagiocephaly, spina bifida, and tethered spinal cord). The first 10 "hits" obtained with each search engine were analyzed using the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (CRAAP) test, which assigns a numerical score in each of 5 domains. Agreement between results was assessed for 1) concurrent searches with Google and Bing; 2) Google searches over time (6 months apart); 3) Google searches using mobile and PC platforms concurrently; and 4) searches using privacy settings. Readability was assessed with an online analytical tool. RESULTS Google and Bing searches yielded information with similar CRAAP scores (mean 72% and 75%, respectively), but with frequently differing results (58% concordance/matching results). There was a high level of agreement (72% concordance) over time for Google searches and also between searches using general and privacy settings (92% concordance). Government sources scored the best in both CRAAP score and readability. Hospitals and universities were the most prevalent sources, but these sources had the lowest CRAAP scores, due in part to an abundance of self-marketing. The CRAAP scores for mobile and desktop platforms did not differ significantly (p = 0.49). CONCLUSIONS Google and Bing searches yielded useful educational information, using either mobile or PC platforms. Most information was relevant and accurate; however, the depth and breadth of information was variable. Search results over a 6-month period were moderately stable. Pediatric neurosurgery practices and neurosurgical professional organization websites were inferior (less current, less accurate, less authoritative, and less purposeful) to governmental and encyclopedia-type resources such as Wikipedia. This presents an opportunity for pediatric neurosurgeons to participate in the creation of better online patient/parent educational material.

Could we do better? Behavioural tracking on recommended consumer health websites.

PubMed

Burkell, Jacquelyn; Fortier, Alexandre

2015-09-01

This study examines behavioural tracking practices on consumer health websites, contrasting tracking on sites recommended by information professionals with tracking on sites returned by Google. Two lists of consumer health websites were constructed: sites recommended by information professionals and sites returned by Google searches. Sites were divided into three groups according to source (Recommended-Only, Google-Only or both) and type (Government, Not-for-Profit or Commercial). Behavioural tracking practices on each website were documented using a protocol that detected cookies, Web beacons and Flash cookies. The presence and the number of trackers that collect personal information were contrasted across source and type of site; a second set of analyses specifically examined Advertising trackers. Recommended-Only sites show lower levels of tracking - especially tracking by advertisers - than do Google-Only sites or sites found through both sources. Government and Not-for-Profit sites have fewer trackers, particularly from advertisers, than do Commercial sites. Recommended sites, especially those from Government or Not-for-Profit organisations, present a lower privacy threat than sites returned by Google searches. Nonetheless, most recommended websites include some trackers, and half include at least one Advertising tracker. To protect patron privacy, information professionals should examine the tracking practices of the websites they recommend. © 2015 Health Libraries Group.

Accessibility and usability OCW data: The UTPL OCW.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Germania; Perez, Jennifer; Cueva, Samanta; Torres, Rommel

2017-08-01

This data article provides a data description on article entitled "A framework for improving web accessibility and usability of Open Course Ware sites" [3] This Data in Brief presents the data obtained from the accessibility and usability evaluation of the UTPL OCW. The data obtained from the framework evaluation consists of the manual evaluation of the standards criteria and the automatic evaluation of the tools Google PageSpeed and Google Analytics. In addition, this article presents the synthetized tables from standards that are used by the framework to evaluate the accessibility and usability of OCW, and the questionnaires required to extract the data. As a result, the article also provides the data required to reproduce the evaluation of other OCW.

Conceptual Learning Outcomes of Virtual Experiential Learning: Results of Google Earth Exploration in Introductory Geoscience Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bitting, Kelsey S.; McCartney, Marsha J.; Denning, Kathy R.; Roberts, Jennifer A.

2018-06-01

Virtual globe programs such as Google Earth replicate real-world experiential learning of spatial and geographic concepts by allowing students to navigate across our planet without ever leaving campus. However, empirical evidence for the learning value of these technological tools and the experience students gain by exploration assignments framed within them remains to be quantified and compared by student demographics. This study examines the impact of a Google Earth-based exploration assignment on conceptual understanding in introductory geoscience courses at a research university in the US Midwest using predominantly traditional college-age students from a range of majors. Using repeated-measures ANOVA and paired-samples t tests, we test the significance of the activity using pretest and posttest scores on a subset of items from the Geoscience Concept Inventory, and the interactive effects of student gender and ethnicity on student score improvement. Analyses show that learning from the Google Earth exploration activity is highly significant overall and for all but one of the concept inventory items. Furthermore, we find no significant interactive effects of class format, student gender, or student ethnicity on the magnitude of the score increases. These results provide strong support for the use of experiential learning in virtual globe environments for students in introductory geoscience and perhaps other disciplines for which direct observation of our planet's surface is conceptually relevant.

How Would You Move Mount Fuji - And Why Would You Want To?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Paor, D. G.

2008-12-01

According to author William Poundstone, "How Would You Move Mt Fuji?" typifies the kind of question that corporations such as Microsoft are wont to ask job applicants in order to test their lateral thinking skills. One answer (albeit not one that would necessarily secure a job at Microsoft) is: "With Google Earth and a Macintosh or PC." The answer to the more profound follow-up question "Why Would You Want To?" is hinted at by one of the great quotations of earth science, namely Charles Lyell's proposition that "The Present Is Key to the Past." Google Earth is a phenomenally powerful tool for visualizing today's earth, ocean, and atmosphere. With the aid of Google SketchUp, that visualization can be extended to reconstruct the past using relocated samples of present-day landscapes and environments as models of paleo-DEM and paleogeography. Volcanoes are particularly useful models because their self similar growth can be simulated by changing KML altitude tags within a timespan, but numerous other landforms and geologic structures serve as useful keys to the past. Examples range in scale from glaciers and fault scarps to island arcs and mountain ranges. The ability to generate a paleo-terrain model in Google Earth brings us one step closer to a truly four- dimensional, interactive geological map of the world throughout time.

Public health practice course using Google Plus.

PubMed

Wu, Ting-Ting; Sung, Tien-Wen

2014-03-01

In recent years, mobile device-assisted clinical education has become popular among nursing school students. The introduction of mobile devices saves manpower and reduces errors while enhancing nursing students' professional knowledge and skills. To respond to the demands of various learning strategies and to maintain existing systems of education, the concept of Cloud Learning is gradually being introduced to instructional environments. Cloud computing facilitates learning that is personalized, diverse, and virtual. This study involved assessing the advantages of mobile devices and Cloud Learning in a public health practice course, in which Google+ was used as the learning platform, integrating various application tools. Users could save and access data by using any wireless Internet device. The platform was student centered and based on resource sharing and collaborative learning. With the assistance of highly flexible and convenient technology, certain obstacles in traditional practice training can be resolved. Our findings showed that the students who adopted Google+ were learned more effectively compared with those who were limited to traditional learning systems. Most students and the nurse educator expressed a positive attitude toward and were satisfied with the innovative learning method.

Infusion of a Gaming Paradigm into Computer-Aided Engineering Design Tools

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-03

Virtual Test Bed (VTB), and the gaming tool, Unity3D . This hybrid gaming environment coupled a three-dimensional (3D) multibody vehicle system model...from Google Earth to the 3D visual front-end fabricated around Unity3D . The hybrid environment was sufficiently developed to support analyses of the...ndFr Cti3r4 G’OjrdFr ctior-2 The VTB simulation of the vehicle dynamics ran concurrently with and interacted with the gaming engine, Unity3D which

Correlation between National Influenza Surveillance Data and Google Trends in South Korea

PubMed Central

Jo, Min Woo; Shin, Soo-Yong; Lee, Jae Ho; Ryoo, Seoung Mok; Kim, Won Young; Seo, Dong-Woo

2013-01-01

Background In South Korea, there is currently no syndromic surveillance system using internet search data, including Google Flu Trends. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between national influenza surveillance data and Google Trends in South Korea. Methods Our study was based on a publicly available search engine database, Google Trends, using 12 influenza-related queries, from September 9, 2007 to September 8, 2012. National surveillance data were obtained from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) influenza-like illness (ILI) and virologic surveillance system. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated to compare the national surveillance and the Google Trends data for the overall period and for 5 influenza seasons. Results The correlation coefficient between the KCDC ILI and virologic surveillance data was 0.72 (p<0.05). The highest correlation was between the Google Trends query of H1N1 and the ILI data, with a correlation coefficient of 0.53 (p<0.05), for the overall study period. When compared with the KCDC virologic data, the Google Trends query of bird flu had the highest correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.93 (p<0.05) in the 2010-11 season. The following queries showed a statistically significant correlation coefficient compared with ILI data for three consecutive seasons: Tamiflu (r = 0.59, 0.86, 0.90, p<0.05), new flu (r = 0.64, 0.43, 0.70, p<0.05) and flu (r = 0.68, 0.43, 0.77, p<0.05). Conclusions In our study, we found that the Google Trends for certain queries using the survey on influenza correlated with national surveillance data in South Korea. The results of this study showed that Google Trends in the Korean language can be used as complementary data for influenza surveillance but was insufficient for the use of predictive models, such as Google Flu Trends. PMID:24339927

Correlation between national influenza surveillance data and google trends in South Korea.

PubMed

Cho, Sungjin; Sohn, Chang Hwan; Jo, Min Woo; Shin, Soo-Yong; Lee, Jae Ho; Ryoo, Seoung Mok; Kim, Won Young; Seo, Dong-Woo

2013-01-01

In South Korea, there is currently no syndromic surveillance system using internet search data, including Google Flu Trends. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between national influenza surveillance data and Google Trends in South Korea. Our study was based on a publicly available search engine database, Google Trends, using 12 influenza-related queries, from September 9, 2007 to September 8, 2012. National surveillance data were obtained from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) influenza-like illness (ILI) and virologic surveillance system. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated to compare the national surveillance and the Google Trends data for the overall period and for 5 influenza seasons. The correlation coefficient between the KCDC ILI and virologic surveillance data was 0.72 (p<0.05). The highest correlation was between the Google Trends query of H1N1 and the ILI data, with a correlation coefficient of 0.53 (p<0.05), for the overall study period. When compared with the KCDC virologic data, the Google Trends query of bird flu had the highest correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.93 (p<0.05) in the 2010-11 season. The following queries showed a statistically significant correlation coefficient compared with ILI data for three consecutive seasons: Tamiflu (r = 0.59, 0.86, 0.90, p<0.05), new flu (r = 0.64, 0.43, 0.70, p<0.05) and flu (r = 0.68, 0.43, 0.77, p<0.05). In our study, we found that the Google Trends for certain queries using the survey on influenza correlated with national surveillance data in South Korea. The results of this study showed that Google Trends in the Korean language can be used as complementary data for influenza surveillance but was insufficient for the use of predictive models, such as Google Flu Trends.

Google+ as a Tool for Use in Cooperative Laboratory Activities between Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puig-Ortiz, Joan; Pàmies-Vilà, Rosa; Martinez Miralles, Jordi Ramon

2015-01-01

The following is a proposal for collaboration between universities with the aim to improve curricula that require laboratory activities. A methodology is suggested to implement an innovative educational project involving the exchange of laboratory activities. The exchange of laboratory activities can be carried out on different levels of…

Exploring the Relationship between Self-Regulated Vocabulary Learning and Web-Based Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Sarah Hsueh-Jui; Lan, Yu-Ju; Ho, Cloudia Ya-Yu

2014-01-01

Collaborative learning has placed an emphasis on co-constructing knowledge by sharing and negotiating meaning for problem-solving activities, and this cannot be accomplished without governing the self-regulatory processes of students. This study employed a Web-based tool, Google Docs, to determine the effects of Web-based collaboration on…

Make Your Own Mashup Maps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucking, Robert A.; Christmann, Edwin P.; Whiting, Mervyn J.

2008-01-01

"Mashup" is a new technology term used to describe a web application that combines data or technology from several different sources. You can apply this concept in your classroom by having students create their own mashup maps. Google Maps provides you with the simple tools, map databases, and online help you'll need to quickly master this…

Exploring Malaysian Trainee Teachers' Adoption of the Internet as Information Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teck-Chai, Lau; Kim-Hong, Yeoh; Ching-Ching, Choong

2010-01-01

This study reports the usage of three commercial Internet search engines in information seeking among trainee teachers at a teacher training institute in Malaysia. It attempts to investigate the information seeking behavior of the trainees via three Internet search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN) as gateways to information for research in academic…

The Viability of Google Wave as an Online Collaboration Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ovadia, Steven

2010-01-01

Collaboration is an increasingly important skill in academia. Not only are librarians expected to collaborate with one another within a single library, but there are also expectations of both intracampus and intercampus collaboration. While face-to-face and telephone meetings are often possible, there are times when everyone cannot be brought…

Voice-Recognition Augmented Performance Tools in Performance Poetry Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devanny, David; McGowan, Jack

2016-01-01

This provocation shares findings from the use of bespoke voice-recognition performance software in a number of seminars (which took place in the 2014-2016 academic years at Glasgow School of Art, University of Warwick, and Falmouth University). The software, made available through this publication, is a web-app which uses Google Chrome's native…

Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us: Social Bookmarking and Tagging Boost Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rethlefsen, Melissa L.

2007-01-01

Traditional library web products, whether online public access catalogs, library databases, or even library web sites, have long been rigidly controlled and difficult to use. Patrons regularly prefer Google's simple interface. Now social bookmarking and tagging tools help librarians bridge the gap between the library's need to offer authoritative,…

School Librarians Fully Online: Preparing the Twenty-First Century Professional

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos Green, Lucy; Jones, Stephanie A.; Burke, Panne Andrea

2017-01-01

Online learning, already an essential component of the higher-education and professional landscape, has now developed a more ubiquitous presence in K-12 learning due to educational trends such as flipped education and use of tools such as Google Classroom. Despite the increasingly important role of online learning in K-12 education, little…

Teaching Undergraduate Software Engineering Using Open Source Development Tools

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

ware. Some example appliances are: a LAMP stack, Redmine, MySQL database, Moodle, Tom- cat on Apache, and Bugzilla. Some of the important features...Ada, C, C++, PHP , Py- thon, etc., and also supports a wide range of SDKs such as Google’s Android SDK and the Google Web Toolkit SDK. Additionally

Teaching Lab Science Courses Online: Resources for Best Practices, Tools, and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeschofnig, Linda; Jeschofnig, Peter

2011-01-01

"Teaching Lab Science Courses Online" is a practical resource for educators developing and teaching fully online lab science courses. First, it provides guidance for using learning management systems and other web 2.0 technologies such as video presentations, discussion boards, Google apps, Skype, video/web conferencing, and social media…

Search Engines for Tomorrow's Scholars, Part Two

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagan, Jody Condit

2012-01-01

This two-part article considers how well some of today's search tools support scholars' work. The first part of the article reviewed Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Search using a modified version of Carole L. Palmer, Lauren C. Teffeau, and Carrier M. Pirmann's framework (2009). Microsoft Academic Search is a strong contender when…

Discrepancies Between Classic and Digital Epidemiology in Searching for the Mayaro Virus: Preliminary Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Google Trends

PubMed Central

Adawi, Mohammad; Watad, Abdulla; Sharif, Kassem; Amital, Howard; Mahroum, Naim

2017-01-01

Background Mayaro virus (MAYV), first discovered in Trinidad in 1954, is spread by the Haemagogus mosquito. Small outbreaks have been described in the past in the Amazon jungles of Brazil and other parts of South America. Recently, a case was reported in rural Haiti. Objective Given the emerging importance of MAYV, we aimed to explore the feasibility of exploiting a Web-based tool for monitoring and tracking MAYV cases. Methods Google Trends is an online tracking system. A Google-based approach is particularly useful to monitor especially infectious diseases epidemics. We searched Google Trends from its inception (from January 2004 through to May 2017) for MAYV-related Web searches worldwide. Results We noted a burst in search volumes in the period from July 2016 (relative search volume [RSV]=13%) to December 2016 (RSV=18%), with a peak in September 2016 (RSV=100%). Before this burst, the average search activity related to MAYV was very low (median 1%). MAYV-related queries were concentrated in the Caribbean. Scientific interest from the research community and media coverage affected digital seeking behavior. Conclusions MAYV has always circulated in South America. Its recent appearance in the Caribbean has been a source of concern, which resulted in a burst of Internet queries. While Google Trends cannot be used to perform real-time epidemiological surveillance of MAYV, it can be exploited to capture the public’s reaction to outbreaks. Public health workers should be aware of this, in that information and communication technologies could be used to communicate with users, reassure them about their concerns, and to empower them in making decisions affecting their health. PMID:29196278

Discrepancies Between Classic and Digital Epidemiology in Searching for the Mayaro Virus: Preliminary Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Google Trends.

PubMed

Adawi, Mohammad; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Watad, Abdulla; Sharif, Kassem; Amital, Howard; Mahroum, Naim

2017-12-01

Mayaro virus (MAYV), first discovered in Trinidad in 1954, is spread by the Haemagogus mosquito. Small outbreaks have been described in the past in the Amazon jungles of Brazil and other parts of South America. Recently, a case was reported in rural Haiti. Given the emerging importance of MAYV, we aimed to explore the feasibility of exploiting a Web-based tool for monitoring and tracking MAYV cases. Google Trends is an online tracking system. A Google-based approach is particularly useful to monitor especially infectious diseases epidemics. We searched Google Trends from its inception (from January 2004 through to May 2017) for MAYV-related Web searches worldwide. We noted a burst in search volumes in the period from July 2016 (relative search volume [RSV]=13%) to December 2016 (RSV=18%), with a peak in September 2016 (RSV=100%). Before this burst, the average search activity related to MAYV was very low (median 1%). MAYV-related queries were concentrated in the Caribbean. Scientific interest from the research community and media coverage affected digital seeking behavior. MAYV has always circulated in South America. Its recent appearance in the Caribbean has been a source of concern, which resulted in a burst of Internet queries. While Google Trends cannot be used to perform real-time epidemiological surveillance of MAYV, it can be exploited to capture the public's reaction to outbreaks. Public health workers should be aware of this, in that information and communication technologies could be used to communicate with users, reassure them about their concerns, and to empower them in making decisions affecting their health. ©Mohammad Adawi, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Abdulla Watad, Kassem Sharif, Howard Amital, Naim Mahroum. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 01.12.2017.

The jmzQuantML programming interface and validator for the mzQuantML data standard.

PubMed

Qi, Da; Krishna, Ritesh; Jones, Andrew R

2014-03-01

The mzQuantML standard from the HUPO Proteomics Standards Initiative has recently been released, capturing quantitative data about peptides and proteins, following analysis of MS data. We present a Java application programming interface (API) for mzQuantML called jmzQuantML. The API provides robust bridges between Java classes and elements in mzQuantML files and allows random access to any part of the file. The API provides read and write capabilities, and is designed to be embedded in other software packages, enabling mzQuantML support to be added to proteomics software tools (http://code.google.com/p/jmzquantml/). The mzQuantML standard is designed around a multilevel validation system to ensure that files are structurally and semantically correct for different proteomics quantitative techniques. In this article, we also describe a Java software tool (http://code.google.com/p/mzquantml-validator/) for validating mzQuantML files, which is a formal part of the data standard. © 2014 The Authors. Proteomics published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Opportunities and limitations in using google glass to assist drug dispensing.

PubMed

Ehrler, Frederic; Diener, Raphael; Lovis, Christian

2015-01-01

The administration of intravenous drugs is a significant source of medical errors. Protocol based care are have been demonstrated to be an efficient way to favor best practices and to avoid simple errors such as those related to expiration date, hygiene regulation among other. The recent availability of the Google Glass, a hands free wearable device offers new opportunities to access care protocols at patients' bedside. In this article, we present a prototype application for displaying care protocols developed through a user centered design. The software enables the navigation through the different steps of care protocols and their validation using barcodes. Three interactions paradigms, tactile, vocal and by eye blink are proposed in order to provide hands free manipulation when necessary. The realization of a concrete project revealed some limitations that should be taken in account in order to ensure the proper behavior of the tool. If no formal evaluation has been performed, the first feedbacks are very positive and encourage us to go forward and test the tool in real care situations.

GC31G-1182: Opennex, a Private-Public Partnership in Support of the National Climate Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Wang, Weile; Michaelis, Andrew; Votava, Petr; Ganguly, Sangram

2016-01-01

The NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) is a collaborative computing platform that has been developed with the objective of bringing scientists together with the software tools, massive global datasets, and supercomputing resources necessary to accelerate research in Earth systems science and global change. NEX is funded as an enabling tool for sustaining the national climate assessment. Over the past five years, researchers have used the NEX platform and produced a number of data sets highly relevant to the National Climate Assessment. These include high-resolution climate projections using different downscaling techniques and trends in historical climate from satellite data. To enable a broader community in exploiting the above datasets, the NEX team partnered with public cloud providers to create the OpenNEX platform. OpenNEX provides ready access to NEX data holdings on a number of public cloud platforms along with pertinent analysis tools and workflows in the form of Machine Images and Docker Containers, lectures and tutorials by experts. We will showcase some of the applications of OpenNEX data and tools by the community on Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and the NEX Sandbox.

The Internet and the Google Age: Prospects and Perils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Jonathan D., Ed.

2014-01-01

"The Internet and the Google Age" commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Internet in March 2014 and celebrates the achievements and benefits while also pointing out the limitations and perils of the Internet. It identifies the broad characteristics of the Internet age, and includes several studies that outline the educational benefits…

Just ask Siri? A pilot study comparing smartphone digital assistants and laptop Google searches for smoking cessation advice.

PubMed

Boyd, Matt; Wilson, Nick

2018-01-01

To compare voice-activated internet searches by smartphone (two digital assistants) with laptop ones for information and advice related to smoking cessation. Responses to 80 questions on a range of topics related to smoking cessation (including the FAQ from a NHS website), compared for quality. Smartphone and internet searches as performed in New Zealand. Ranked responses to the questions. Google laptop internet searches came first (or first equal) for best quality smoking cessation advice for 83% (66/80) of the responses. Voiced questions to Google Assistant ("OK Google") came first/first equal 76% of the time vs Siri (Apple) at 28%. Google and Google Assistant were statistically significantly better than Siri searches (odds ratio 12.4 and 8.5 respectively, p<0.0001 in each comparison). When asked FAQs from the National Health Service website, or to find information the Centers for Disease Control has made videos on, the best search results used expert sources 59% (31/52) of the time, "some expertise" (eg, Wikipedia) 18% of the time, but also magazines and other low quality sources 19% of the time. Using all three methods failed to find relevant information 8% (6/80) of the time, with Siri having the most failed responses (53% of the time). Google internet searches and Google Assistant were found to be significantly superior to the Siri digital assistant for smoking cessation information. While expert content was returned over half the time, there is still substantial room for improvement in how these software systems deliver smoking cessation advice.

Usability of Operational Performance Support Tools - Findings from Sea Test II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrne, Vicky; Litaker, Harry; McGuire, Kerry

2014-01-01

Sea Test II, aka NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 17(NEEMO 17) took place in the Florida Aquarius undersea habitat. This confined underwater environment provides a excellent analog for space habitation providing similarities to space habitation such as hostile environment, difficult logistics, autonomous operations, and remote communications. This study collected subjective feedback on the usability of two performance support tools during the Sea Test II mission, Sept 10-14, 2013; Google Glass and iPAD. The two main objectives: - Assess the overall functionality and usability of each performance support tool in a mission analog environment. - Assess the advantages and disadvantages of each tool when performing operational procedures and Just-In-Time-Training (JITT).

Digital surveying and mapping of forest road network for development of a GIS tool for the effective protection and management of natural ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drosos, Vasileios C.; Liampas, Sarantis-Aggelos G.; Doukas, Aristotelis-Kosmas G.

2014-08-01

In our time, the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become important tools, not only in the geosciences and environmental sciences, as well as virtually for all researches that require monitoring, planning or land management. The purpose of this paper was to develop a planning tool and decision making tool using AutoCAD Map software, ArcGIS and Google Earth with emphasis on the investigation of the suitability of forest roads' mapping and the range of its implementation in Greece in prefecture level. Integrating spatial information into a database makes data available throughout the organization; improving quality, productivity, and data management. Also working in such an environment, you can: Access and edit information, integrate and analyze data and communicate effectively. To select desirable information such as forest road network in a very early stage in the planning of silviculture operations, for example before the planning of the harvest is carried out. The software programs that were used were AutoCAD Map for the export in shape files for the GPS data, and ArcGIS in shape files (ArcGlobe), while Google Earth with KML files (Keyhole Markup Language) in order to better visualize and evaluate existing conditions, design in a real-world context and exchange information with government agencies, utilities, and contractors in both CAD and GIS data formats. The automation of the updating procedure and transfer of any files between agencies-departments is one of the main tasks of the integrated GIS-tool among the others should be addressed.

A Fast, Minimalist Search Tool for Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynnes, C. S.; Macharrie, P. G.; Elkins, M.; Joshi, T.; Fenichel, L. H.

2005-12-01

We present a tool that emphasizes speed and simplicity in searching remotely sensed Earth Science data. The tool, nicknamed "Mirador" (Spanish for a scenic overlook), provides only four freetext search form fields, for Keywords, Location, Data Start and Data Stop. This contrasts with many current Earth Science search tools that offer highly structured interfaces in order to ensure precise, non-zero results. The disadvantages of the structured approach lie in its complexity and resultant learning curve, as well as the time it takes to formulate and execute the search, thus discouraging iterative discovery. On the other hand, the success of the basic Google search interface shows that many users are willing to forgo high search precision if the search process is fast enough to enable rapid iteration. Therefore, we employ several methods to increase the speed of search formulation and execution. Search formulation is expedited by the minimalist search form, with only one required field. Also, a gazetteer enables the use of geographic terms as shorthand for latitude/longitude coordinates. The search execution is accelerated by initially presenting dataset results (returned from a Google Mini appliance) with an estimated number of "hits" for each dataset based on the user's space-time constraints. The more costly file-level search is executed against a PostGres database only when the user "drills down", and then covering only the fraction of the time period needed to return the next page of results. The simplicity of the search form makes the tool easy to learn and use, and the speed of the searches enables an iterative form of data discovery.

Development and implementation of a mobile device-based pediatric electronic decision support tool as part of a national practice standardization project.

PubMed

McCulloh, Russell J; Fouquet, Sarah D; Herigon, Joshua; Biondi, Eric A; Kennedy, Brandan; Kerns, Ellen; DePorre, Adrienne; Markham, Jessica L; Chan, Y Raymond; Nelson, Krista; Newland, Jason G

2018-06-07

Implementing evidence-based practices requires a multi-faceted approach. Electronic clinical decision support (ECDS) tools may encourage evidence-based practice adoption. However, data regarding the role of mobile ECDS tools in pediatrics is scant. Our objective is to describe the development, distribution, and usage patterns of a smartphone-based ECDS tool within a national practice standardization project. We developed a smartphone-based ECDS tool for use in the American Academy of Pediatrics, Value in Inpatient Pediatrics Network project entitled "Reducing Excessive Variation in the Infant Sepsis Evaluation (REVISE)." The mobile application (app), PedsGuide, was developed using evidence-based recommendations created by an interdisciplinary panel. App workflow and content were aligned with clinical benchmarks; app interface was adjusted after usability heuristic review. Usage patterns were measured using Google Analytics. Overall, 3805 users across the United States downloaded PedsGuide from December 1, 2016, to July 31, 2017, leading to 14 256 use sessions (average 3.75 sessions per user). Users engaged in 60 442 screen views, including 37 424 (61.8%) screen views that displayed content related to the REVISE clinical practice benchmarks, including hospital admission appropriateness (26.8%), length of hospitalization (14.6%), and diagnostic testing recommendations (17.0%). Median user touch depth was 5 [IQR 5]. We observed rapid dissemination and in-depth engagement with PedsGuide, demonstrating feasibility for using smartphone-based ECDS tools within national practice improvement projects. ECDS tools may prove valuable in future national practice standardization initiatives. Work should next focus on developing robust analytics to determine ECDS tools' impact on medical decision making, clinical practice, and health outcomes.

Implementing a Global Tool for Mercy Corps Based on Spatially Continuous Precipitation Analysis for Resiliency Monitoring and Measuring at the Community-Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomlin, J. N.; El-Behaedi, R.; McCartney, S.; Lingo, R.; Thieme, A.

2017-12-01

Global water resources are important for societies, economies, and the environment. In Niger, limited water resources restrict the expansion of agriculture and communities. Mercy Corps currently works in over 40 countries around the world to address a variety of stresses which include water resources and building long-term food resilience. As Mercy Corps seeks to integrate the use of Earth observations, NASA has established a partnership to help facilitate this effort incorporating Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), and Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data to create a standardized precipitation index that highlights low and high rainfall from 1981 - 2016. The team created a Google Earth Engine tool that combines precipitation data with other metrics of stress in Niger. The system is designed to be able to incorporate groundwater storage data as it becomes available. This tool allows for near real-time updates of trends in precipitation and improves Mercy Corps' ability to spatially evaluate changes in resiliency by monitoring shocks and stressors.

Questionnaires Measuring Patients’ Spiritual Needs: A Narrative Literature Review

PubMed Central

Seddigh, Ruohollah; Keshavarz-Akhlaghi, Amir-Abbas; Azarnik, Somayeh

2016-01-01

Context The objective of the present review was to collect published spiritual needs questionnaires and to present a clear image of the research condition of this domain. Evidence Acquisition First, an electronic search was conducted with no limits on time span (until June 2015) or language in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, ProQuest and Google Scholar. All derivations of the keywords religion and spiritual alongside need and its synonyms were included in the search. Researches that introduced new tools was then selected and included in the study. Due to the limited quantity of questionnaires in this domain and with no consideration given to the existence or lack of exact standardization information, all of the questionnaires were included in the final report. Results Eight questionnaires were found: patients spiritual needs assessment scale (PSNAS), spiritual needs inventory (SNI), spiritual interests related to illness tool (SpIRIT), spiritual needs questionnaire (SpNQ), spiritual needs assessment for patients (SNAP), spiritual needs scale (SNS), spiritual care needs inventory (SCNI), and spiritual needs questionnaire for palliative care. Conclusions These questionnaires have been designed from a limited medical perspective and often involve cultural concepts which complicate their cross-cultural applicability. PMID:27284281

The Top 50 Articles on Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery.

PubMed

Virk, Sohrab S; Yu, Elizabeth

2017-04-01

Bibliometric study of current literature. To catalog the most important minimally invasive spine (MIS) surgery articles using the amount of citations as a marker of relevance. MIS surgery is a relatively new tool used by spinal surgeons. There is a dynamic and evolving field of research related to MIS techniques, clinical outcomes, and basic science research. To date, there is no comprehensive review of the most cited articles related to MIS surgery. A systematic search was performed over three widely used literature databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. There were four searches performed using the terms "minimally invasive spine surgery," "endoscopic spine surgery," "percutaneous spinal surgery," and "lateral interbody surgery." The amount of citations included was averaged amongst the three databases to rank each article. The query of the three databases was performed in November 2015. Fifty articles were selected based upon the amount of citations each averaged amongst the three databases. The most cited article was titled "Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF): a novel surgical technique for anterior lumbar interbody fusion" by Ozgur et al and was credited with 447, 239, and 279 citations in Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus, respectively. Citations ranged from 27 to 239 for Web of Science, 60 to 279 for Scopus, and 104 to 462 for Google Scholar. There was a large variety of articles written spanning over 14 different topics with the majority dealing with clinical outcomes related to MIS surgery. The majority of the most cited articles were level III and level IV studies. This is likely due to the relatively recent nature of technological advances in the field. Furthermore level I and level II studies are required in MIS surgery in the years ahead. 5.

GIS Database and Google Map of the Population at Risk of Cholangiocarcinoma in Mueang Yang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand.

PubMed

Kaewpitoon, Soraya J; Rujirakul, Ratana; Joosiri, Apinya; Jantakate, Sirinun; Sangkudloa, Amnat; Kaewthani, Sarochinee; Chimplee, Kanokporn; Khemplila, Kritsakorn; Kaewpitoon, Natthawut

2016-01-01

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious problem in Thailand, particularly in the northeastern and northern regions. Database of population at risk are need required for monitoring, surveillance, home health care, and home visit. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a geographic information system (GIS) database and Google map of the population at risk of CCA in Mueang Yang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeastern Thailand during June to October 2015. Populations at risk were screened using the Korat CCA verbal screening test (KCVST). Software included Microsoft Excel, ArcGIS, and Google Maps. The secondary data included the point of villages, sub-district boundaries, district boundaries, point of hospital in Mueang Yang district, used for created the spatial databese. The populations at risk for CCA and opisthorchiasis were used to create an arttribute database. Data were tranfered to WGS84 UTM ZONE 48. After the conversion, all of the data were imported into Google Earth using online web pages www.earthpoint.us. Some 222 from a 4,800 population at risk for CCA constituted a high risk group. Geo-visual display available at following www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/ edit?mid=zPxtcHv_iDLo.kvPpxl5mAs90 and hl=th. Geo-visual display 5 layers including: layer 1, village location and number of the population at risk for CCA; layer 2, sub-district health promotion hospital in Mueang Yang district and number of opisthorchiasis; layer 3, sub-district district and the number of population at risk for CCA; layer 4, district hospital and the number of population at risk for CCA and number of opisthorchiasis; and layer 5, district and the number of population at risk for CCA and number of opisthorchiasis. This GIS database and Google map production process is suitable for further monitoring, surveillance, and home health care for CCA sufferers.

Towards better digital pathology workflows: programming libraries for high-speed sharpness assessment of Whole Slide Images.

PubMed

Ameisen, David; Deroulers, Christophe; Perrier, Valérie; Bouhidel, Fatiha; Battistella, Maxime; Legrès, Luc; Janin, Anne; Bertheau, Philippe; Yunès, Jean-Baptiste

2014-01-01

Since microscopic slides can now be automatically digitized and integrated in the clinical workflow, quality assessment of Whole Slide Images (WSI) has become a crucial issue. We present a no-reference quality assessment method that has been thoroughly tested since 2010 and is under implementation in multiple sites, both public university-hospitals and private entities. It is part of the FlexMIm R&D project which aims to improve the global workflow of digital pathology. For these uses, we have developed two programming libraries, in Java and Python, which can be integrated in various types of WSI acquisition systems, viewers and image analysis tools. Development and testing have been carried out on a MacBook Pro i7 and on a bi-Xeon 2.7GHz server. Libraries implementing the blur assessment method have been developed in Java, Python, PHP5 and MySQL5. For web applications, JavaScript, Ajax, JSON and Sockets were also used, as well as the Google Maps API. Aperio SVS files were converted into the Google Maps format using VIPS and Openslide libraries. We designed the Java library as a Service Provider Interface (SPI), extendable by third parties. Analysis is computed in real-time (3 billion pixels per minute). Tests were made on 5000 single images, 200 NDPI WSI, 100 Aperio SVS WSI converted to the Google Maps format. Applications based on our method and libraries can be used upstream, as calibration and quality control tool for the WSI acquisition systems, or as tools to reacquire tiles while the WSI is being scanned. They can also be used downstream to reacquire the complete slides that are below the quality threshold for surgical pathology analysis. WSI may also be displayed in a smarter way by sending and displaying the regions of highest quality before other regions. Such quality assessment scores could be integrated as WSI's metadata shared in clinical, research or teaching contexts, for a more efficient medical informatics workflow.

Creating global comparative analyses of tectonic rifts, monogenetic volcanism and inverted relief

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin

2016-04-01

I have been all around the world, and to other planets and have travelled from the present to the Archaean and back to seek out the most significant tectonic rifts, monogenetic volcanoes and examples of inverted relief. I have done this to provide a broad foundation of the comparative analysis for the Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault nomination to UNESCO world Heritage. This would have been an impossible task, if not for the cooperation of the scientific community and for Google Earth, Google Maps and academic search engines. In preparing global comparisons of geological features, these quite recently developed tools provide a powerful way to find and describe geological features. The ability to do scientific crowd sourcing, rapidly discussing with colleagues about features, allows large numbers of areas to be checked and the open GIS tools (such as Google Earth) allow a standardised description. Search engines also allow the literature on areas to be checked and compared. I will present a comparative study of rifts of the world, monogenetic volcanic field and inverted relief, integrated to analyse the full geological system represented by the Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault. The analysis confirms that the site is an exceptional example of the first steps of continental drift in a mountain rift setting, and that this is necessarily seen through the combined landscape of tectonic, volcanic and geomorphic features. The analysis goes further to deepen the understanding of geological systems and stresses the need for more study on geological heritage using such a global and broad systems approach.

Mars @ ASDC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carraro, Francesco

"Mars @ ASDC" is a project born with the goal of using the new web technologies to assist researches involved in the study of Mars. This project employs Mars map and javascript APIs provided by Google to visualize data acquired by space missions on the planet. So far, visualization of tracks acquired by MARSIS and regions observed by VIRTIS-Rosetta has been implemented. The main reason for the creation of this kind of tool is the difficulty in handling hundreds or thousands of acquisitions, like the ones from MARSIS, and the consequent difficulty in finding observations related to a particular region. This led to the development of a tool which allows to search for acquisitions either by defining the region of interest through a set of geometrical parameters or by manually selecting the region on the map through a few mouse clicks The system allows the visualization of tracks (acquired by MARSIS) or regions (acquired by VIRTIS-Rosetta) which intersect the user defined region. MARSIS tracks can be visualized both in Mercator and polar projections while the regions observed by VIRTIS can presently be visualized only in Mercator projection. The Mercator projection is the standard map provided by Google. The polar projections are provided by NASA and have been developed to be used in combination with APIs provided by Google The whole project has been developed following the "open source" philosophy: the client-side code which handles the functioning of the web page is written in javascript; the server-side code which executes the searches for tracks or regions is written in PHP and the DB which undergoes the system is MySQL.

Google and Women’s Health-Related Issues: What Does the Search Engine Data Reveal?

PubMed Central

Baazeem, Mazin

2014-01-01

Objectives Identifying the gaps in public knowledge of women’s health related issues has always been difficult. With the increasing number of Internet users in the United States, we sought to use the Internet as a tool to help us identify such gaps and to estimate women’s most prevalent health concerns by examining commonly searched health-related keywords in Google search engine. Methods We collected a large pool of possible search keywords from two independent practicing obstetrician/gynecologists and classified them into five main categories (obstetrics, gynecology, infertility, urogynecology/menopause and oncology), and measured the monthly average search volume within the United States for each keyword with all its possible combinations using Google AdWords tool. Results We found that pregnancy related keywords were less frequently searched in general compared to other categories with an average of 145,400 hits per month for the top twenty keywords. Among the most common pregnancy-related keywords was “pregnancy and sex’ while pregnancy-related diseases were uncommonly searched. HPV alone was searched 305,400 times per month. Of the cancers affecting women, breast cancer was the most commonly searched with an average of 247,190 times per month, followed by cervical cancer then ovarian cancer. Conclusion The commonly searched keywords are often issues that are not discussed in our daily practice as well as in public health messages. The search volume is relatively related to disease prevalence with the exception of ovarian cancer which could signify a public fear. PMID:25422723

Knowledge Management Implementation and the Tools Utilized in Healthcare for Evidence-Based Decision Making: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Shahmoradi, Leila; Safadari, Reza; Jimma, Worku

2017-09-01

Healthcare is a knowledge driven process and thus knowledge management and the tools to manage knowledge in healthcare sector are gaining attention. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate knowledge management implementation and knowledge management tools used in healthcare for informed decision making. Three databases, two journals websites and Google Scholar were used as sources for the review. The key terms used to search relevant articles include: "Healthcare and Knowledge Management"; "Knowledge Management Tools in Healthcare" and "Community of Practices in healthcare". It was found that utilization of knowledge management in healthcare is encouraging. There exist numbers of opportunities for knowledge management implementation, though there are some barriers as well. Some of the opportunities that can transform healthcare are advances in health information and communication technology, clinical decision support systems, electronic health record systems, communities of practice and advanced care planning. Providing the right knowledge at the right time, i.e., at the point of decision making by implementing knowledge management in healthcare is paramount. To do so, it is very important to use appropriate tools for knowledge management and user-friendly system because it can significantly improve the quality and safety of care provided for patients both at hospital and home settings.

Open Availability of Patient Medical Photographs in Google Images Search Results: Cross-Sectional Study of Transgender Research

PubMed Central

Brunger, Fern; Welch, Vivian; Asghari, Shabnam; Kaposy, Chris

2018-01-01

Background This paper focuses on the collision of three factors: a growing emphasis on sharing research through open access publication, an increasing awareness of big data and its potential uses, and an engaged public interested in the privacy and confidentiality of their personal health information. One conceptual space where this collision is brought into sharp relief is with the open availability of patient medical photographs from peer-reviewed journal articles in the search results of online image databases such as Google Images. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the availability of patient medical photographs from published journal articles in Google Images search results and the factors impacting this availability. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from an evidence map of research with transgender, gender non-binary, and other gender diverse (trans) participants. For the original evidence map, a comprehensive search of 15 academic databases was developed in collaboration with a health sciences librarian. Initial search results produced 25,230 references after duplicates were removed. Eligibility criteria were established to include empirical research of any design that included trans participants or their personal information and that was published in English in peer-reviewed journals. We identified all articles published between 2008 and 2015 with medical photographs of trans participants. For each reference, images were individually numbered in order to track the total number of medical photographs. We used odds ratios (OR) to assess the association between availability of the clinical photograph on Google Images and the following factors: whether the article was openly available online (open access, Researchgate.net, or Academia.edu), whether the article included genital images, if the photographs were published in color, and whether the photographs were located on the journal article landing page. Results We identified 94 articles with medical photographs of trans participants, including a total of 605 photographs. Of the 94 publications, 35 (37%) included at least one medical photograph that was found on Google Images. The ability to locate the article freely online contributes to the availability of at least one image from the article on Google Images (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.20-7.45). Conclusions This is the first study to document the existence of medical photographs from peer-reviewed journals appearing in Google Images search results. Almost all of the images we searched for included sensitive photographs of patient genitals, chests, or breasts. Given that it is unlikely that patients consented to sharing their personal health information in these ways, this constitutes a risk to patient privacy. Based on the impact of current practices, revisions to informed consent policies and guidelines are required. PMID:29483069

Web-based information on the treatment of oral leukoplakia - quality and readability.

PubMed

Wiriyakijja, Paswach; Fedele, Stefano; Porter, Stephen; Ni Riordain, Richeal

2016-09-01

To categorise the content and assess the quality and readability of the online information regarding the treatment for oral leukoplakia. An online search using the term 'leukoplakia treatment' was carried out on 8th June 2015 using the Google search engine. The content, quality and readability of the first 100 sites were explored. The quality of the web information was assessed using the following tools, the DISCERN instrument and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks for website analysis and the HON seal. Readability was assessed via the Flesch Reading Ease Score. The search strategy generated 357 000 sites on the Google search engine. Due to duplicate links, non-operating links and irrelevant links, a total of 47 of the first 100 websites were included in this study. The mean overall rating achieved by included websites using the DISCERN instrument was 2.3. With regard to the JAMA benchmarks, the vast majority of examined websites (95.7%) completely fulfilled the disclosure benchmark and less than 50% of included websites met the three remaining criteria. A mean total readability score of 47.5 was recorded with almost 90% of websites having a readability level ranging from fairly difficult to very difficult. Based on this study, the online health information regarding oral leukoplakia has challenging readability with content of questionable accuracy. As patients often search for health information online, it would be prudent for clinicians to highlight the caution with which online information should be interpreted. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Can the London 2012 Olympics ‘inspire a generation’ to do more physical or sporting activities? An overview of systematic reviews

PubMed Central

Mahtani, Kamal Ram; Protheroe, Joanne; Slight, Sarah Patricia; Demarzo, Marcelo Marcos Piva; Blakeman, Thomas; Barton, Christopher A; Brijnath, Bianca; Roberts, Nia

2013-01-01

Objective To examine if there is an increased participation in physical or sporting activities following an Olympic or Paralympic games. Design Overview of systematic reviews. Methods We searched the Medline, Embase, Cochrane, DARE, SportDISCUS and Web of Knowledge databases. In addition, we searched for ‘grey literature’ in Google, Google scholar and on the International Olympic Committee websites. We restricted our search to those reviews published in English. We used the AMSTAR tool to assess the methodological quality of those systematic reviews included. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome was evidence for an increased participation in physical or sporting activities. Secondary outcomes included public perceptions of sport during and after an Olympic games, barriers to increased sports participation and any other non-sporting health benefits. Results Our systematic search revealed 844 citations, of which only two matched our inclusion criteria. The quality of these two reviews was assessed by three independent reviewers as ‘good’ using the AMSTAR tool for quality appraisal. Both reviews reported little evidence of an increased uptake of sporting activity following an Olympic Games event. Other effects on health, for example, changes in hospital admissions, suicide rates and drug use, were cited although there was insufficient evidence to see an overall effect. Conclusion There is a paucity of evidence to support the notion that hosting an Olympic games leads to an increased participation in physical or sporting activities for host countries. We also found little evidence to suggest other health benefits. We conclude that the true success of these and future games should be evaluated by high-quality, evidence-based studies that have been commissioned before, during and following the completion of the event. Only then can the true success and legacy of the games be established. PMID:23299112

Integrating Smart Health in the US Health Care System: Infodemiology Study of Asthma Monitoring in the Google Era

PubMed Central

Sampri, Alexia; Sypsa, Karla; Tsagarakis, Konstantinos P

2018-01-01

Background With the internet’s penetration and use constantly expanding, this vast amount of information can be employed in order to better assess issues in the US health care system. Google Trends, a popular tool in big data analytics, has been widely used in the past to examine interest in various medical and health-related topics and has shown great potential in forecastings, predictions, and nowcastings. As empirical relationships between online queries and human behavior have been shown to exist, a new opportunity to explore the behavior toward asthma—a common respiratory disease—is present. Objective This study aimed at forecasting the online behavior toward asthma and examined the correlations between queries and reported cases in order to explore the possibility of nowcasting asthma prevalence in the United States using online search traffic data. Methods Applying Holt-Winters exponential smoothing to Google Trends time series from 2004 to 2015 for the term “asthma,” forecasts for online queries at state and national levels are estimated from 2016 to 2020 and validated against available Google query data from January 2016 to June 2017. Correlations among yearly Google queries and between Google queries and reported asthma cases are examined. Results Our analysis shows that search queries exhibit seasonality within each year and the relationships between each 2 years’ queries are statistically significant (P<.05). Estimated forecasting models for a 5-year period (2016 through 2020) for Google queries are robust and validated against available data from January 2016 to June 2017. Significant correlations were found between (1) online queries and National Health Interview Survey lifetime asthma (r=–.82, P=.001) and current asthma (r=–.77, P=.004) rates from 2004 to 2015 and (2) between online queries and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System lifetime (r=–.78, P=.003) and current asthma (r=–.79, P=.002) rates from 2004 to 2014. The correlations are negative, but lag analysis to identify the period of response cannot be employed until short-interval data on asthma prevalence are made available. Conclusions Online behavior toward asthma can be accurately predicted, and significant correlations between online queries and reported cases exist. This method of forecasting Google queries can be used by health care officials to nowcast asthma prevalence by city, state, or nationally, subject to future availability of daily, weekly, or monthly data on reported cases. This method could therefore be used for improved monitoring and assessment of the needs surrounding the current population of patients with asthma. PMID:29530839

Creating a Geo-Referenced Bibliography with Google Earth and Geocommons: The Coos Bay Bibliography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Jenni; Butler, Barb

2012-01-01

We compiled a geo-referenced bibliography of research including theses, peer-reviewed articles, agency literature, and books having sample collection sites in and around Coos Bay, Oregon. Using Google Earth and GeoCommons we created a map that allows users such as visiting researchers, faculty, students, and local agencies to identify previous…

General vs health specialized search engine: a blind comparative evaluation of top search results.

PubMed

Pletneva, Natalia; Ruiz de Castaneda, Rafael; Baroz, Frederic; Boyer, Celia

2014-01-01

This paper presents the results of a blind comparison of top ten search results retrieved by Google.ch (French) and Khresmoi for everyone, a health specialized search engine. Participants--students of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva had to complete three tasks and select their preferred results. The majority of the participants have largely preferred Google results while Khresmoi results showed potential to compete in specific topics. The coverage of the results seems to be one of the reasons. The second being that participants do not know how to select quality and transparent health web pages. More awareness, tools and education about the matter is required for the students of Medicine to be able to efficiently distinguish trustworthy online health information.

Problem solving in magnetic field: Animation in mobile application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najib, A. S. M.; Othman, A. P.; Ibarahim, Z.

2014-09-01

This paper is focused on the development of mobile application for smart phone, Android, tablet, iPhone, and iPad as a problem solving tool in magnetic field. Mobile application designs consist of animations that were created by using Flash8 software which could be imported and compiled to prezi.com software slide. The Prezi slide then had been duplicated in Power Point format and instead question bank with complete answer scheme was also additionally generated as a menu in the application. Results of the published mobile application can be viewed and downloaded at Infinite Monkey website or at Google Play Store from your gadgets. Statistics of the application from Google Play Developer Console shows the high impact of the application usage in all over the world.

Google Wave: Have CTSA-Minded Institutions Caught It?

PubMed

Donahue, Amy

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Google Wave was touted as the next big communication tool-combining e-mail, social networking, and chat within a single "wave"-with the potential to create a new world for collaboration. Information professionals who are knowledgeable of this tool and its capabilities could become uniquely situated to use it, evaluate it, and teach it. This seemed especially true for those working within Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA)-minded institutions, given the promise of interdisciplinary collaboration between investigators and the potential for creating new authorship models. This case study on Google Wave users who are affiliated with CTSA-minded institutions, was designed for and presented at the Evidence-Based Scholarly Communication Conference held by the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Information Center. It provides an early evidence based evaluation of Google Wave's potential. METHODS: Two "waves" were created. The first consisted of five survey questions designed to collect demographic data on the respondents' roles, a general impression of Wave, the specific tools within Wave that might be useful, and potential collaborators with whom the respondents might use Wave. The second wave was a private, guided discussion on Wave's collaboration potential. Individuals from CTSA-minded institutions were invited to participate with messages on Twitter, forums, blogs, and electronic mail lists, although there were difficulties reaching out to these institutions as a group. RESULTS: By the conclusion of the study, only a small number of people (n=11, with a viable n=9) had responded to the survey. Given this small result set, it made sense to group the responses by the respondents' roles (CTSA staff and researchers, support staff, medical librarian, or general public) and to treat them as individual cases. Most of the respondents were librarians and support staff who felt that Wave might have potential for collaboration; there were no CTSA researcher respondents. For the second part of the study, the discussion wave, only one participant explicitly expressed interest in joining. All were invited to join, but there was no participation in the discussion wave at the conclusion of the study. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study implied that Google Wave was not on the forefront of CTSA-minded institutions' communication strategies. However, it was being used, and it did demonstrate new collaboration and authorship capabilities. Being generally aware of these capabilities may be useful to information professionals who seek to be current and informed regarding developing technology and to those interested in scholarly communication practices. In addition, the difficulties encountered during this case study in attempting to reach out to CTSA-minded institutions raised the question of how members currently communicate with each other as institutions and as individuals. There was a lesson learned in the usefulness of doing case-study research to evaluate new technologies; the cost in terms of time was relatively low, and knowledge about the technology itself was gained while establishing a base level of evidence to potentially build on in the future.

Machine Translation-Assisted Language Learning: Writing for Beginners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia, Ignacio; Pena, Maria Isabel

2011-01-01

The few studies that deal with machine translation (MT) as a language learning tool focus on its use by advanced learners, never by beginners. Yet, freely available MT engines (i.e. Google Translate) and MT-related web initiatives (i.e. Gabble-on.com) position themselves to cater precisely to the needs of learners with a limited command of a…

Exploring Writing Individually and Collaboratively Using Google Docs in EFL Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsubaie, Jawaher; Ashuraidah, Ali

2017-01-01

Online teaching and learning became popular with the evolution of the World Wide Web now days. Implementing online learning tools within EFL contexts will help better address the multitude of teaching and learning styles. Difficulty in academic writing can be considered one of the common problems that students face in and outside their classrooms.…

gPhysics--Using Smart Glasses for Head-Centered, Context-Aware Learning in Physics Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhn, Jochen; Lukowicz, Paul; Hirth, Michael; Poxrucker, Andreas; Weppner, Jens; Younas, Junaid

2016-01-01

Smart Glasses such as Google Glass are mobile computers combining classical Head-Mounted Displays (HMD) with several sensors. Therefore, contact-free, sensor-based experiments can be linked with relating, near-eye presented multiple representations. We will present a first approach on how Smart Glasses can be used as an experimental tool for…

What about the "Google Effect"? Improving the Library Research Habits of First-Year Composition Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corbett, Patrick

2010-01-01

This article presents a consideration of how students' existing information-seeking behaviors affect traditional methods of teaching library research in first-year writing courses and offers an alternative method that uses both library and popular Internet search tools. It addresses one aspect of the ongoing pedagogical struggle with new…

Microsoft or Google Web 2.0 Tools for Course Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rienzo, Thomas; Han, Bernard

2009-01-01

While Web 2.0 has no universal definition, it always refers to online interactions in which user groups both provide and receive content with the aim of collective intelligence. Since 2005, online software has provided Web 2.0 collaboration technologies, for little or no charge, that were formerly available only to wealthy organizations. Academic…

Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents.

PubMed

Yang, Nathan; Hosseini, Sarah; Mascarella, Marco A; Young, Meredith; Posel, Nancy; Fung, Kevin; Nguyen, Lily H P

2017-05-25

Learners often utilize online resources to supplement formalized curricula, and to appropriately support learning, these resources should be of high quality. Thus, the objectives of this study are to develop and provide validity evidence supporting an assessment tool designed to assess the quality of educational websites in Otolaryngology- Head & Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS), and identify those that could support effective web-based learning. METHODS: After a literature review, the Modified Education in Otolaryngology Website (MEOW) assessment tool was designed by a panel of experts based on a previously validated website assessment tool. A search strategy using a Google-based search engine was used subsequently to identify websites. Those that were free of charge and in English were included. Websites were coded for whether their content targeted medical students or residents. Using the MEOW assessment tool, two independent raters scored the websites. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were evaluated, and scores were compared to recommendations from a content expert. The MEOW assessment tool included a total of 20 items divided in 8 categories related to authorship, frequency of revision, content accuracy, interactivity, visual presentation, navigability, speed and recommended hyperlinks. A total of 43 out of 334 websites identified by the search met inclusion criteria. The scores generated by our tool appeared to differentiate higher quality websites from lower quality ones: websites that the expert "would recommend" scored 38.4 (out of 56; CI [34.4-42.4]) and "would not recommend" 27.0 (CI [23.2-30.9]). Inter-rater and intra-rater intraclass correlation coefficient were greater than 0.7. Using the MEOW assessment tool, high quality ORL-HNS educational websites were identified.

A rapid review to identify physical activity accrued while playing golf

PubMed Central

Luscombe, Jack; Murray, Andrew D; Jenkins, Evan; Archibald, Daryll

2017-01-01

Objective To identify physical activity (PA) accrued while playing golf and modifiers of PA accrued. Design A rapid review of primary research studies. Quality was assessed using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute quality assessment tool for cohort and cross-sectional studies. Methods and outcomes The following databases were searched from 1900 to March 2017: SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Google Advanced Search, ProQuest, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. All primary research investigating golf or golfers with any of the following outcomes was included: metabolic equivalent of task, oxygen uptake, energy expenditure, heart rate, step count, distance covered, strength, flexibility, balance, sedentary behaviour. Results Phase one searching identified 4944 citations and phase two searching identified 170 citations. In total, 19 articles met inclusion criteria. Golf is primarily a moderate intensity PA, but may be low intensity depending on the playing population and various modifiers. Less PA is accrued by those who ride a golf cart compared with those walking the course. Conclusions Golf can be encouraged in order to attain PA recommendations. Further research is required into the relationship between golf and strength and flexibility PA recommendations and how modifiers affect PA accrued. PROSPERO registration number CRD42017058237. PMID:29187418

HCLS 2.0/3.0: health care and life sciences data mashup using Web 2.0/3.0.

PubMed

Cheung, Kei-Hoi; Yip, Kevin Y; Townsend, Jeffrey P; Scotch, Matthew

2008-10-01

We describe the potential of current Web 2.0 technologies to achieve data mashup in the health care and life sciences (HCLS) domains, and compare that potential to the nascent trend of performing semantic mashup. After providing an overview of Web 2.0, we demonstrate two scenarios of data mashup, facilitated by the following Web 2.0 tools and sites: Yahoo! Pipes, Dapper, Google Maps and GeoCommons. In the first scenario, we exploited Dapper and Yahoo! Pipes to implement a challenging data integration task in the context of DNA microarray research. In the second scenario, we exploited Yahoo! Pipes, Google Maps, and GeoCommons to create a geographic information system (GIS) interface that allows visualization and integration of diverse categories of public health data, including cancer incidence and pollution prevalence data. Based on these two scenarios, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these Web 2.0 mashup technologies. We then describe Semantic Web, the mainstream Web 3.0 technology that enables more powerful data integration over the Web. We discuss the areas of intersection of Web 2.0 and Semantic Web, and describe the potential benefits that can be brought to HCLS research by combining these two sets of technologies.

HCLS 2.0/3.0: Health Care and Life Sciences Data Mashup Using Web 2.0/3.0

PubMed Central

Cheung, Kei-Hoi; Yip, Kevin Y.; Townsend, Jeffrey P.; Scotch, Matthew

2010-01-01

We describe the potential of current Web 2.0 technologies to achieve data mashup in the health care and life sciences (HCLS) domains, and compare that potential to the nascent trend of performing semantic mashup. After providing an overview of Web 2.0, we demonstrate two scenarios of data mashup, facilitated by the following Web 2.0 tools and sites: Yahoo! Pipes, Dapper, Google Maps and GeoCommons. In the first scenario, we exploited Dapper and Yahoo! Pipes to implement a challenging data integration task in the context of DNA microarray research. In the second scenario, we exploited Yahoo! Pipes, Google Maps, and GeoCommons to create a geographic information system (GIS) interface that allows visualization and integration of diverse categories of public health data, including cancer incidence and pollution prevalence data. Based on these two scenarios, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these Web 2.0 mashup technologies. We then describe Semantic Web, the mainstream Web 3.0 technology that enables more powerful data integration over the Web. We discuss the areas of intersection of Web 2.0 and Semantic Web, and describe the potential benefits that can be brought to HCLS research by combining these two sets of technologies. PMID:18487092

Optimizing ATLAS code with different profilers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kama, S.; Seuster, R.; Stewart, G. A.; Vitillo, R. A.

2014-06-01

After the current maintenance period, the LHC will provide higher energy collisions with increased luminosity. In order to keep up with these higher rates, ATLAS software needs to speed up substantially. However, ATLAS code is composed of approximately 6M lines, written by many different programmers with different backgrounds, which makes code optimisation a challenge. To help with this effort different profiling tools and techniques are being used. These include well known tools, such as the Valgrind suite and Intel Amplifier; less common tools like Pin, PAPI, and GOoDA; as well as techniques such as library interposing. In this paper we will mainly focus on Pin tools and GOoDA. Pin is a dynamic binary instrumentation tool which can obtain statistics such as call counts, instruction counts and interrogate functions' arguments. It has been used to obtain CLHEP Matrix profiles, operations and vector sizes for linear algebra calculations which has provided the insight necessary to achieve significant performance improvements. Complimenting this, GOoDA, an in-house performance tool built in collaboration with Google, which is based on hardware performance monitoring unit events, is used to identify hot-spots in the code for different types of hardware limitations, such as CPU resources, caches, or memory bandwidth. GOoDA has been used in improvement of the performance of new magnetic field code and identification of potential vectorization targets in several places, such as Runge-Kutta propagation code.

Selling blood and gametes during tough economic times: insights from Google search.

PubMed

Wu, Jonathan A; Ngo, Tin C; Rothman, Cappy; Breyer, Benjamin N; Eisenberg, Michael L

2015-10-01

To use Google Insights search volume and publicly available economic indicators to test the hypothesis that sperm, egg, and blood donations increase during economic downturns and to demonstrate the feasibility of using Google search volume data to predict national trends in actual sperm, egg, and blood donations rates. Cross-correlation statistical analysis comparing Google search data for terms relating to blood, egg, and sperm donations with various economic indicators including the S&P 500 closing values, gross domestic product (GDP), the U.S. Index of Leading Indicators (U.S. Leading Index), gross savings rate, mortgage interest rates, unemployment rate, and consumer price index (CPI) from 2004-2011. A secondary analysis determined the Pearson correlation coefficient between Google search data with actual sperm, egg, and blood donation volume in the U.S. as measured by California Cryobank, the National Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance System, and the National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey, respectively. Significance of cross-correlation and Pearson correlation analysis as indicated by p value. There were several highly significant cross-correlation relationships between search volume and various economic indicators. Correlation between Google search volume for the term 'sperm donation,' 'egg donation,' and 'blood donation' with actual number of sperm, egg and blood donations in the United States demonstrated Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.2 (p > 0.10), -0.1 (p > 0.10), and 0.07 (p > 0.10), respectively. Temporal analysis showed an improved correlation coefficient of 0.9 (p < 0.05) for blood donation when shifted 12 months later relative to Google search volume. Google search volume data for search terms relating to sperm, egg, and blood donation increase during economic downturns. This finding suggests gamete and bodily fluid donations are influenced by market forces like other commodities. Google search may be useful for predicting blood donation trends but is more limited in predicting actual semen and oocyte donation patterns.

Bad news: The influence of news coverage and Google searches on Gardasil adverse event reporting.

PubMed

Faasse, Kate; Porsius, Jarry T; Faasse, Jonathan; Martin, Leslie R

2017-12-14

Human papilloma virus vaccines are a safe and effective tool for reducing HPV infections that can cause cervical cancer. However, uptake of these vaccines has been suboptimal, with many people holding negative beliefs and misconceptions. Such beliefs have been linked with the experience of unpleasant side effects following medical treatment, and media coverage may heighten such concerns. The present study sought to assess the influence of news coverage (number of news articles per month) on adverse event reporting in response to Gardasil vaccination in New Zealand over a 7.5-year period, and whether the influence of news coverage was mediated by internet search activity (Google search volumes). Multiple linear regression analyses and simple mediation analyses were used, controlling for year and number of vaccinations delivered. News coverage in the previous month, and Google search volumes in the same month, were significant predictors of adverse event reporting, after accounting for vaccination rates and year. Concurrent Google search volumes partially mediated the effect of prior news coverage. The results suggest that some of the adverse events reported were not related to the vaccination itself, but to news coverage and internet search volumes, which may have contributed to public concerns about potentially unpleasant or harmful outcomes. These findings have implications for the importance of psychological and social factors in adverse event reporting, and the role of the news media in disseminating health information. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Search Engine Data as a Tool to Predict Syphilis.

PubMed

Young, Sean D; Torrone, Elizabeth A; Urata, John; Aral, Sevgi O

2018-07-01

Researchers have suggested that social media and online search data might be used to monitor and predict syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases. Because people at risk for syphilis might seek sexual health and risk-related information on the internet, we investigated associations between internet state-level search query data (e.g., Google Trends) and reported weekly syphilis cases. We obtained weekly counts of reported primary and secondary syphilis for 50 states from 2012 to 2014 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We collected weekly internet search query data regarding 25 risk-related keywords from 2012 to 2014 for 50 states using Google Trends. We joined 155 weeks of Google Trends data with 1-week lag to weekly syphilis data for a total of 7750 data points. Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, we trained three linear mixed models on the first 10 weeks of each year. We validated models for 2012 and 2014 for the following 52 weeks and the 2014 model for the following 42 weeks. The models, consisting of different sets of keyword predictors for each year, accurately predicted 144 weeks of primary and secondary syphilis counts for each state, with an overall average R of 0.9 and overall average root mean squared error of 4.9. We used Google Trends search data from the prior week to predict cases of syphilis in the following weeks for each state. Further research could explore how search data could be integrated into public health monitoring systems.

[Who Hits the Mark? A Comparative Study of the Free Geocoding Services of Google and OpenStreetMap].

PubMed

Lemke, D; Mattauch, V; Heidinger, O; Hense, H W

2015-09-01

Geocoding, the process of converting textual information (addresses) into geographic coordinates is increasingly used in public health/epidemiological research and practice. To date, little attention has been paid to geocoding quality and its impact on different types of spatially-related health studies. The primary aim of this study was to compare 2 freely available geocoding services (Google and OpenStreetMap) with regard to matching rate (percentage of address records capable of being geocoded) and positional accuracy (distance between geocodes and the ground truth locations). Residential addresses were geocoded by the NRW state office for information and technology and were considered as reference data (gold standard). The gold standard included the coordinates, the quality of the addresses (4 categories), and a binary urbanity indicator based on the CORINE land cover data. 2 500 addresses were randomly sampled after stratification for address quality and urbanity indicator (approximately 20 000 addresses). These address samples were geocoded using the geocoding services from Google and OSM. In general, both geocoding services showed a decrease in the matching rate with decreasing address quality and urbanity. Google showed consistently a higher completeness than OSM (>93 vs. >82%). Also, the cartographic confounding between urban and rural regions was less distinct with Google's geocoding API. Regarding the positional accuracy of the geo-coordinates, Google also showed the smallest deviations from the reference coordinates, with a median of <9 vs. <175.8 m. The cumulative density function derived from the positional accuracy showed for Google that nearly 95% and for OSM 50% of the addresses were geocoded within <50 m of their reference coordinates. The geocoding API from Google is superior to OSM regarding completeness and positional accuracy of the geocoded addresses. On the other hand, Google has several restrictions, such as the limitation of the requests to 2 500 addresses per 24 h and the presentation of the results exclusively on Google Maps, which may complicate the use for scientific purposes. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Using Google Streetview Panoramic Imagery for Geoscience Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Paor, D. G.; Dordevic, M. M.

2014-12-01

Google Streetview is a feature of Google Maps and Google Earth that allows viewers to switch from map or satellite view to 360° panoramic imagery recorded close to the ground. Most panoramas are recorded by Google engineers using special cameras mounted on the roofs of cars. Bicycles, snowmobiles, and boats have also been used and sometimes the camera has been mounted on a backpack for off-road use by hikers and skiers or attached to scuba-diving gear for "Underwater Streetview (sic)." Streetview panoramas are linked together so that the viewer can change viewpoint by clicking forward and reverse buttons. They therefore create a 4-D touring effect. As part of the GEODE project ("Google Earth for Onsite and Distance Education"), we are experimenting with the use of Streetview imagery for geoscience education. Our web-based test application allows instructors to select locations for students to study. Students are presented with a set of questions or tasks that they must address by studying the panoramic imagery. Questions include identification of rock types, structures such as faults, and general geological setting. The student view is locked into Streetview mode until they submit their answers, whereupon the map and satellite views become available, allowing students to zoom out and verify their location on Earth. Student learning is scaffolded by automatic computerized feedback. There are lots of existing Streetview panoramas with rich geological content. Additionally, instructors and members of the general public can create panoramas, including 360° Photo Spheres, by stitching images taken with their mobiles devices and submitting them to Google for evaluation and hosting. A multi-thousand-dollar, multi-directional camera and mount can be purchased from DIY-streetview.com. This allows power users to generate their own high-resolution panoramas. A cheaper, 360° video camera is soon to be released according to geonaute.com. Thus there are opportunities for geoscience educators both to use existing Streetview imagery and to generate new imagery for specific locations of geological interest. The GEODE team includes the authors and: H. Almquist, C. Bentley, S. Burgin, C. Cervato, G. Cooper, P. Karabinos, T. Pavlis, J. Piatek, B. Richards, J. Ryan, R. Schott, K. St. John, B. Tewksbury, and S. Whitmeyer.

A Global Audience for New Race to the Moon: Outreach for the Google Lunar XPRIZE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heward, A.; Gonzales, C.; Ashley, C.; Hwang, P.; Canvin, S.

2015-06-01

The Google Lunar XPRIZE aims to open up a new era of space exploration and entrepreneurship through a competition to land a commercially funded robot on the Moon. To raise awareness of the competition, and to help inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers, XPRIZE has developed a suite of public engagement and informal learning activities. These include the MoonBots Challenge robotics competition, the digital planetarium show, Back To The Moon For Good, and the MoonBots-in-a-Box interactive kit for science centres. This article presents a review and preliminary evaluation of the Google Lunar XPRIZE's outreach activities to date.

Annotare--a tool for annotating high-throughput biomedical investigations and resulting data.

PubMed

Shankar, Ravi; Parkinson, Helen; Burdett, Tony; Hastings, Emma; Liu, Junmin; Miller, Michael; Srinivasa, Rashmi; White, Joseph; Brazma, Alvis; Sherlock, Gavin; Stoeckert, Christian J; Ball, Catherine A

2010-10-01

Computational methods in molecular biology will increasingly depend on standards-based annotations that describe biological experiments in an unambiguous manner. Annotare is a software tool that enables biologists to easily annotate their high-throughput experiments, biomaterials and data in a standards-compliant way that facilitates meaningful search and analysis. Annotare is available from http://code.google.com/p/annotare/ under the terms of the open-source MIT License (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php). It has been tested on both Mac and Windows.

IPAT: a freely accessible software tool for analyzing multiple patent documents with inbuilt landscape visualizer.

PubMed

Ajay, Dara; Gangwal, Rahul P; Sangamwar, Abhay T

2015-01-01

Intelligent Patent Analysis Tool (IPAT) is an online data retrieval tool, operated based on text mining algorithm to extract specific patent information in a predetermined pattern into an Excel sheet. The software is designed and developed to retrieve and analyze technology information from multiple patent documents and generate various patent landscape graphs and charts. The software is C# coded in visual studio 2010, which extracts the publicly available patent information from the web pages like Google Patent and simultaneously study the various technology trends based on user-defined parameters. In other words, IPAT combined with the manual categorization will act as an excellent technology assessment tool in competitive intelligence and due diligence for predicting the future R&D forecast.

An Information Infrastructure for Coastal Models and Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardin, D.; Keiser, K.; Conover, H.; Graves, S.

2007-12-01

Advances in semantics and visualization have given rise to new capabilities for the location, manipulation, integration, management and display of data and information in and across domains. An example of these capabilities is illustrated by a coastal restoration project that utilizes satellite, in-situ data and hydrodynamic model output to address seagrass habitat restoration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. In this project a standard stressor conceptual model was implemented as an ontology in addition to the typical CMAP diagram. The ontology captures the elements of the seagrass conceptual model as well as the relationships between them. Noesis, developed by the University of Alabama in Huntsville, is an application that provides a simple but powerful way to search and organize data and information represented by ontologies. Noesis uses domain ontologies to help scope search queries to ensure that search results are both accurate and complete. Semantics are captured by refining the query terms to cover synonyms, specializations, generalizations and related concepts. As a resource aggregator Noesis categorizes search results returned from multiple, concurrent search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com. Search results are further directed by accessing domain specific catalogs that include outputs from hydrodynamic and other models. Embedded within the search results are links that invoke applications such as web map displays, animation tools and virtual globe applications such as Google Earth. In the seagrass prioritization project Noesis is used to locate information that is vital to understanding the impact of stressors on the habitat. This presentation will show how the intelligent search capabilities of Noesis are coupled with visualization tools and model output to investigate the restoration of seagrass habitat.

"It's on the Tip of My Google": Intra-Active Performance and the Non-Totalising Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snake-Beings, Emit

2017-01-01

Technologies that expand the learning environment to include interactions outside of the physical space of the classroom, such as the use of Google as an aid to memory, represent one aspect of learning that occurs within several seemingly decentralised spaces. On the other hand, it can be argued that such interactive technologies are enclosed in…

Survey of Non-Rigid Registration Tools in Medicine.

PubMed

Keszei, András P; Berkels, Benjamin; Deserno, Thomas M

2017-02-01

We catalogue available software solutions for non-rigid image registration to support scientists in selecting suitable tools for specific medical registration purposes. Registration tools were identified using non-systematic search in Pubmed, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore® Digital Library, Google Scholar, and through references in identified sources (n = 22). Exclusions are due to unavailability or inappropriateness. The remaining (n = 18) tools were classified by (i) access and technology, (ii) interfaces and application, (iii) living community, (iv) supported file formats, and (v) types of registration methodologies emphasizing the similarity measures implemented. Out of the 18 tools, (i) 12 are open source, 8 are released under a permissive free license, which imposes the least restrictions on the use and further development of the tool, 8 provide graphical processing unit (GPU) support; (ii) 7 are built on software platforms, 5 were developed for brain image registration; (iii) 6 are under active development but only 3 have had their last update in 2015 or 2016; (iv) 16 support the Analyze format, while 7 file formats can be read with only one of the tools; and (v) 6 provide multiple registration methods and 6 provide landmark-based registration methods. Based on open source, licensing, GPU support, active community, several file formats, algorithms, and similarity measures, the tools Elastics and Plastimatch are chosen for the platform ITK and without platform requirements, respectively. Researchers in medical image analysis already have a large choice of registration tools freely available. However, the most recently published algorithms may not be included in the tools, yet.

The Feasibility and Acceptability of Google Glass for Teletoxicology Consults.

PubMed

Chai, Peter R; Babu, Kavita M; Boyer, Edward W

2015-09-01

Teletoxicology offers the potential for toxicologists to assist in providing medical care at remote locations, via remote, interactive augmented audiovisual technology. This study examined the feasibility of using Google Glass, a head-mounted device that incorporates a webcam, viewing prism, and wireless connectivity, to assess the poisoned patient by a medical toxicology consult staff. Emergency medicine residents (resident toxicology consultants) rotating on the toxicology service wore Glass during bedside evaluation of poisoned patients; Glass transmitted real-time video of patients' physical examination findings to toxicology fellows and attendings (supervisory consultants), who reviewed these findings. We evaluated the usability (e.g., quality of connectivity and video feeds) of Glass by supervisory consultants, as well as attitudes towards use of Glass. Resident toxicology consultants and supervisory consultants completed 18 consults through Glass. Toxicologists viewing the video stream found the quality of audio and visual transmission usable in 89 % of cases. Toxicologists reported their management of the patient changed after viewing the patient through Glass in 56 % of cases. Based on findings obtained through Glass, toxicologists recommended specific antidotes in six cases. Head-mounted devices like Google Glass may be effective tools for real-time teletoxicology consultation.

DNAApp: a mobile application for sequencing data analysis

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Verma, Chandra Shekhar; Gan, Samuel Ken-En

2014-01-01

Summary: There have been numerous applications developed for decoding and visualization of ab1 DNA sequencing files for Windows and MAC platforms, yet none exists for the increasingly popular smartphone operating systems. The ability to decode sequencing files cannot easily be carried out using browser accessed Web tools. To overcome this hurdle, we have developed a new native app called DNAApp that can decode and display ab1 sequencing file on Android and iOS. In addition to in-built analysis tools such as reverse complementation, protein translation and searching for specific sequences, we have incorporated convenient functions that would facilitate the harnessing of online Web tools for a full range of analysis. Given the high usage of Android/iOS tablets and smartphones, such bioinformatics apps would raise productivity and facilitate the high demand for analyzing sequencing data in biomedical research. Availability and implementation: The Android version of DNAApp is available in Google Play Store as ‘DNAApp’, and the iOS version is available in the App Store. More details on the app can be found at www.facebook.com/APDLab; www.bii.a-star.edu.sg/research/trd/apd.php The DNAApp user guide is available at http://tinyurl.com/DNAAppuser, and a video tutorial is available on Google Play Store and App Store, as well as on the Facebook page. Contact: samuelg@bii.a-star.edu.sg PMID:25095882

DNAApp: a mobile application for sequencing data analysis.

PubMed

Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Verma, Chandra Shekhar; Gan, Samuel Ken-En

2014-11-15

There have been numerous applications developed for decoding and visualization of ab1 DNA sequencing files for Windows and MAC platforms, yet none exists for the increasingly popular smartphone operating systems. The ability to decode sequencing files cannot easily be carried out using browser accessed Web tools. To overcome this hurdle, we have developed a new native app called DNAApp that can decode and display ab1 sequencing file on Android and iOS. In addition to in-built analysis tools such as reverse complementation, protein translation and searching for specific sequences, we have incorporated convenient functions that would facilitate the harnessing of online Web tools for a full range of analysis. Given the high usage of Android/iOS tablets and smartphones, such bioinformatics apps would raise productivity and facilitate the high demand for analyzing sequencing data in biomedical research. The Android version of DNAApp is available in Google Play Store as 'DNAApp', and the iOS version is available in the App Store. More details on the app can be found at www.facebook.com/APDLab; www.bii.a-star.edu.sg/research/trd/apd.php The DNAApp user guide is available at http://tinyurl.com/DNAAppuser, and a video tutorial is available on Google Play Store and App Store, as well as on the Facebook page. samuelg@bii.a-star.edu.sg. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

Comparing Amazon's Mechanical Turk Platform to Conventional Data Collection Methods in the Health and Medical Research Literature.

PubMed

Mortensen, Karoline; Hughes, Taylor L

2018-04-01

The goal of this article is to conduct an assessment of the peer-reviewed primary literature with study objectives to analyze Amazon.com 's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) as a research tool in a health services research and medical context. Searches of Google Scholar and PubMed databases were conducted in February 2017. We screened article titles and abstracts to identify relevant articles that compare data from MTurk samples in a health and medical context to another sample, expert opinion, or other gold standard. Full-text manuscript reviews were conducted for the 35 articles that met the study criteria. The vast majority of the studies supported the use of MTurk for a variety of academic purposes. The literature overwhelmingly concludes that MTurk is an efficient, reliable, cost-effective tool for generating sample responses that are largely comparable to those collected via more conventional means. Caveats include survey responses may not be generalizable to the US population.

A bibliography of literature pertaining to plague (Yersinia pestis)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ellison, Laura E.; Frank, Megan K. Eberhardt

2011-01-01

Plague is an acute and often fatal zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis mainly cycles between small mammals and their fleas; however, it has the potential to infect humans and frequently causes fatalities if left untreated. It is often considered a disease of the past; however, since the late 1800s, plagueis geographic range has expanded greatly, posing new threats in previously unaffected regions of the world, including the Western United States. A literature search was conducted using Internet resources and databases. The keywords chosen for the searches included plague, Yersinia pestis, management, control, wildlife, prairie dogs, fleas, North America, and mammals. Keywords were used alone or in combination with the other terms. Although this search pertains mostly to North America, citations were included from the international research community, as well. Databases and search engines used included Google (http://www.google.com), Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com), SciVerse Scopus (http://www.scopus.com), ISI Web of Knowledge (http://apps.isiknowledge.com), and the USGS Library's Digital Desktop (http://library.usgs.gov). The literature-cited sections of manuscripts obtained from keyword searches were cross-referenced to identify additional citations or gray literature that was missed by the Internet search engines. This Open-File Report, published as an Internet-accessible bibliography, is intended to be periodically updated with new citations or older references that may have been missed during this compilation. Hence, the authors would be grateful to receive notice of any new or old papers that the audience (users) think need to be included.

A systematic review and synthesis of the strengths and limitations of measuring malaria mortality through verbal autopsy.

PubMed

Herrera, Samantha; Enuameh, Yeetey; Adjei, George; Ae-Ngibise, Kenneth Ayuurebobi; Asante, Kwaku Poku; Sankoh, Osman; Owusu-Agyei, Seth; Yé, Yazoume

2017-10-23

Lack of valid and reliable data on malaria deaths continues to be a problem that plagues the global health community. To address this gap, the verbal autopsy (VA) method was developed to ascertain cause of death at the population level. Despite the adoption and wide use of VA, there are many recognized limitations of VA tools and methods, especially for measuring malaria mortality. This study synthesizes the strengths and limitations of existing VA tools and methods for measuring malaria mortality (MM) in low- and middle-income countries through a systematic literature review. The authors searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Popline, WHOLIS, Google Scholar, and INDEPTH Network Health and Demographic Surveillance System sites' websites from 1 January 1990 to 15 January 2016 for articles and reports on MM measurement through VA. article presented results from a VA study where malaria was a cause of death; article discussed limitations/challenges related to measurement of MM through VA. Two authors independently searched the databases and websites and conducted a synthesis of articles using a standard matrix. The authors identified 828 publications; 88 were included in the final review. Most publications were VA studies; others were systematic reviews discussing VA tools or methods; editorials or commentaries; and studies using VA data to develop MM estimates. The main limitation were low sensitivity and specificity of VA tools for measuring MM. Other limitations included lack of standardized VA tools and methods, lack of a 'true' gold standard to assess accuracy of VA malaria mortality. Existing VA tools and methods for measuring MM have limitations. Given the need for data to measure progress toward the World Health Organization's Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 goals, the malaria community should define strategies for improving MM estimates, including exploring whether VA tools and methods could be further improved. Longer term strategies should focus on improving countries' vital registration systems for more robust and timely cause of death data.

The excitement of Google Scholar, the worry of Google Print

PubMed Central

Banks, Marcus A

2005-01-01

In late 2004 Google announced two major projects, the unveiling of Google Scholar and a major expansion of the Google Print digitization program. Both projects have generated discussion within the library and research communities, and Google Print has received significant media attention. This commentary describes exciting educational possibilities stimulated by Google Scholar, and argues for caution regarding the Google Print project. PMID:15784147

Urban Health Indicator Tools of the Physical Environment: a Systematic Review.

PubMed

Pineo, Helen; Glonti, Ketevan; Rutter, Harry; Zimmermann, Nici; Wilkinson, Paul; Davies, Michael

2018-04-16

Urban health indicator (UHI) tools provide evidence about the health impacts of the physical urban environment which can be used in built environment policy and decision-making. Where UHI tools provide data at the neighborhood (and lower) scale they can provide valuable information about health inequalities and environmental deprivation. This review performs a census of UHI tools and explores their nature and characteristics (including how they represent, simplify or address complex systems) to increase understanding of their potential use by municipal built environment policy and decision-makers. We searched seven bibliographic databases, four key journals and six practitioner websites and conducted Google searches between January 27, 2016 and February 24, 2016 for UHI tools. We extracted data from primary studies and online indicator systems. We included 198 documents which identified 145 UHI tools comprising 8006 indicators, from which we developed a taxonomy. Our taxonomy classifies the significant diversity of UHI tools with respect to topic, spatial scale, format, scope and purpose. The proportions of UHI tools which measure data at the neighborhood and lower scale, and present data via interactive maps, have both increased over time. This is particularly relevant to built environment policy and decision-makers, reflects growing analytical capability and offers the potential for improved understanding of the complexity of influences on urban health (an aspect noted as a particular challenge by some indicator producers). The relation between urban health indicators and health impacts attributable to modifiable environmental characteristics is often indirect. Furthermore, the use of UHI tools in policy and decision-making appears to be limited, thus raising questions about the continued development of such tools by multiple organisations duplicating scarce resources. Further research is needed to understand the requirements of built environment policy and decision-makers, public health professionals and local communities regarding the form and presentation of indicators which support their varied objectives.

Facilitating medical information search using Google Glass connected to a content-based medical image retrieval system.

PubMed

Widmer, Antoine; Schaer, Roger; Markonis, Dimitrios; Muller, Henning

2014-01-01

Wearable computing devices are starting to change the way users interact with computers and the Internet. Among them, Google Glass includes a small screen located in front of the right eye, a camera filming in front of the user and a small computing unit. Google Glass has the advantage to provide online services while allowing the user to perform tasks with his/her hands. These augmented glasses uncover many useful applications, also in the medical domain. For example, Google Glass can easily provide video conference between medical doctors to discuss a live case. Using these glasses can also facilitate medical information search by allowing the access of a large amount of annotated medical cases during a consultation in a non-disruptive fashion for medical staff. In this paper, we developed a Google Glass application able to take a photo and send it to a medical image retrieval system along with keywords in order to retrieve similar cases. As a preliminary assessment of the usability of the application, we tested the application under three conditions (images of the skin; printed CT scans and MRI images; and CT and MRI images acquired directly from an LCD screen) to explore whether using Google Glass affects the accuracy of the results returned by the medical image retrieval system. The preliminary results show that despite minor problems due to the relative stability of the Google Glass, images can be sent to and processed by the medical image retrieval system and similar images are returned to the user, potentially helping in the decision making process.

Open Availability of Patient Medical Photographs in Google Images Search Results: Cross-Sectional Study of Transgender Research.

PubMed

Marshall, Zack; Brunger, Fern; Welch, Vivian; Asghari, Shabnam; Kaposy, Chris

2018-02-26

This paper focuses on the collision of three factors: a growing emphasis on sharing research through open access publication, an increasing awareness of big data and its potential uses, and an engaged public interested in the privacy and confidentiality of their personal health information. One conceptual space where this collision is brought into sharp relief is with the open availability of patient medical photographs from peer-reviewed journal articles in the search results of online image databases such as Google Images. The aim of this study was to assess the availability of patient medical photographs from published journal articles in Google Images search results and the factors impacting this availability. We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from an evidence map of research with transgender, gender non-binary, and other gender diverse (trans) participants. For the original evidence map, a comprehensive search of 15 academic databases was developed in collaboration with a health sciences librarian. Initial search results produced 25,230 references after duplicates were removed. Eligibility criteria were established to include empirical research of any design that included trans participants or their personal information and that was published in English in peer-reviewed journals. We identified all articles published between 2008 and 2015 with medical photographs of trans participants. For each reference, images were individually numbered in order to track the total number of medical photographs. We used odds ratios (OR) to assess the association between availability of the clinical photograph on Google Images and the following factors: whether the article was openly available online (open access, Researchgate.net, or Academia.edu), whether the article included genital images, if the photographs were published in color, and whether the photographs were located on the journal article landing page. We identified 94 articles with medical photographs of trans participants, including a total of 605 photographs. Of the 94 publications, 35 (37%) included at least one medical photograph that was found on Google Images. The ability to locate the article freely online contributes to the availability of at least one image from the article on Google Images (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.20-7.45). This is the first study to document the existence of medical photographs from peer-reviewed journals appearing in Google Images search results. Almost all of the images we searched for included sensitive photographs of patient genitals, chests, or breasts. Given that it is unlikely that patients consented to sharing their personal health information in these ways, this constitutes a risk to patient privacy. Based on the impact of current practices, revisions to informed consent policies and guidelines are required. ©Zack Marshall, Fern Brunger, Vivian Welch, Shabnam Asghari, Chris Kaposy. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 26.02.2018.

Towards good dementia care: Awareness and uptake of an online Dementia Pathways tool for rural and regional primary health practitioners.

PubMed

Ollerenshaw, Alison; Wong Shee, Anna; Yates, Mark

2018-04-01

To explore the awareness and usage of an online dementia pathways tool (including decision tree and region-specific dementia services) for primary health practitioners (GPs and nurses) in regional Victoria. Quantitative pilot study using surveys and Google Analytics. A large regional area (48 000 square kilometres, population 220 000) in Victoria. Two hundred and sixty-three GPs and 160 practice nurses were invited to participate, with 42 respondents (GPs, n = 21; practice nurses, n = 21). Primary care practitioners' awareness and usage of the dementia pathways tool. Survey respondents that had used the tool (n = 14) reported accessing information about diagnosis, management and referral. Practitioners reported improvements in knowledge, skills and confidence about core dementia topics. There were 9683 page views between August 2013 and February 2015 (monthly average: 509 page views). The average time spent on page was 2.03 min, with many visitors (68%) spending more than 4 min at the site. This research demonstrates that the tool has been well received by practitioners and has been consistently used since its launch. Health practitioners' valued the content and the availability of local resources. Primary health practitioners reported that the dementia pathways tool provided access to region-specific referral and management resources for all stages of dementia. Such tools have broad transferability in other health areas with further research needed to determine their contribution to learning in the practice setting and over time. © 2017 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

A cognitive evaluation of four online search engines for answering definitional questions posed by physicians.

PubMed

Yu, Hong; Kaufman, David

2007-01-01

The Internet is having a profound impact on physicians' medical decision making. One recent survey of 277 physicians showed that 72% of physicians regularly used the Internet to research medical information and 51% admitted that information from web sites influenced their clinical decisions. This paper describes the first cognitive evaluation of four state-of-the-art Internet search engines: Google (i.e., Google and Scholar.Google), MedQA, Onelook, and PubMed for answering definitional questions (i.e., questions with the format of "What is X?") posed by physicians. Onelook is a portal for online definitions, and MedQA is a question answering system that automatically generates short texts to answer specific biomedical questions. Our evaluation criteria include quality of answer, ease of use, time spent, and number of actions taken. Our results show that MedQA outperforms Onelook and PubMed in most of the criteria, and that MedQA surpasses Google in time spent and number of actions, two important efficiency criteria. Our results show that Google is the best system for quality of answer and ease of use. We conclude that Google is an effective search engine for medical definitions, and that MedQA exceeds the other search engines in that it provides users direct answers to their questions; while the users of the other search engines have to visit several sites before finding all of the pertinent information.

Telling and measuring urban floods: event reconstruction by means of public-domain media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macchia, S.; Gallo, E.; Claps, P.

2012-04-01

In the last decade, the diffusion of mobile telephones and ond of low-cost digital cameras have changed the public approach to catastrophes. As regards floods, it has become widespread the availability of images and videos taken in urban areas. Searching into Youtube or Youreporter, for example, one can understand how often citizen are considering to report even scary events. Nowadays these amateurs videos are often used in news world reports, which often increase or dampen the public perception of flood risk. More importantly, these amateur videos can play a crucial role in a didactic and technical representation of media flooding problems. The question so arise: why don't use the amateur videos for civil protection purposes? This work shows a new way to use flood images and videos to obtain technical data and spread safety information. Specifically, we show how to determine the height and speed of water flow, which have been achieved in some places during Genoa flood - 4th November 2011 - For this event we have downloaded more than 50 videos from different websites, where the authors have provided information about the time of recording, the geographical coordinates and the height above ground of the point of recording. The support by Google tools, such as Google maps and StreetWiew © has allowed us to geographically locate the recording points, so to put together shots and slides necessary to put together a whole reconstruction of the event. Future research will be in the direction of using these videos to generate a tool for the Google platforms, in order to address an easily achievable, yet accurate, information to the public, so to warn people on how to behave in front of imminent floods.

Robotic Prostatectomy on the Web: A Cross-Sectional Qualitative Assessment.

PubMed

Borgmann, Hendrik; Mager, René; Salem, Johannes; Bründl, Johannes; Kunath, Frank; Thomas, Christian; Haferkamp, Axel; Tsaur, Igor

2016-08-01

Many patients diagnosed with prostate cancer search for information on robotic prostatectomy (RobP) on the Web. We aimed to evaluate the qualitative characteristics of the mostly frequented Web sites on RobP with a particular emphasis on provider-dependent issues. Google was searched for the term "robotic prostatectomy" in Europe and North America. The mostly frequented Web sites were selected and classified as physician-provided and publically-provided. Quality was measured using Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, DISCERN score, and addressing of Trifecta surgical outcomes. Popularity was analyzed using Google PageRank and Alexa tool. Accessibility, usability, and reliability were investigated using the LIDA tool and readability was assessed using readability indices. Twenty-eight Web sites were physician-provided and 15 publically-provided. For all Web sites, 88% of JAMA benchmark criteria were fulfilled, DISCERN quality score was high, and 81% of Trifecta outcome measurements were addressed. Popularity was average according to Google PageRank (mean 2.9 ± 1.5) and Alexa Traffic Rank (median, 49,109; minimum, 7; maximum, 8,582,295). Accessibility (85 ± 7%), usability (92 ± 3%), and reliability scores (88 ± 8%) were moderate to high. Automated Readability Index was 7.2 ± 2.1 and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 9 ± 2, rating the Web sites as difficult to read. Physician-provided Web sites had higher quality scores and lower readability compared with publically-provided Web sites. Websites providing information on RobP obtained medium to high ratings in all domains of quality in the current assessment. In contrast, readability needs to be significantly improved so that this content can become available for the populace. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of Waypoint Planning Tool in Response to NASA Field Campaign Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

He, Matt; Hardin, Danny; Conover, Helen; Graves, Sara; Meyer, Paul; Blakeslee, Richard; Goodman, Michael

2012-01-01

Airborne real time observations are a major component of NASA's Earth Science research and satellite ground validation studies. For mission scientists, planning a research aircraft mission within the context of meeting the science objectives is a complex task because it requires real time situational awareness of the weather conditions that affect the aircraft track. Multiple aircrafts are often involved in NASA field campaigns. The coordination of the aircrafts with satellite overpasses, other airplanes and the constantly evolving, dynamic weather conditions often determines the success of the campaign. A flight planning tool is needed to provide situational awareness information to the mission scientists, and help them plan and modify the flight tracks. Scientists at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center developed the Waypoint Planning Tool, an interactive software tool that enables scientists to develop their own flight plans (also known as waypoints) with point -and-click mouse capabilities on a digital map filled with real time raster and vector data. The development of this Waypoint Planning Tool demonstrates the significance of mission support in responding to the challenges presented during NASA field campaigns. Analysis during and after each campaign helped identify both issues and new requirements, and initiated the next wave of development. Currently the Waypoint Planning Tool has gone through three rounds of development and analysis processes. The development of this waypoint tool is directly affected by the technology advances on GIS/Mapping technologies. From the standalone Google Earth application and simple KML functionalities, to Google Earth Plugin and Java Web Start/Applet on web platform, and to the rising open source GIS tools with new JavaScript frameworks, the Waypoint Planning Tool has entered its third phase of technology advancement. The newly innovated, cross ]platform, modular designed JavaScript ]controlled Way Point Tool is planned to be integrated with NASA Airborne Science Mission Tool Suite. Adapting new technologies for the Waypoint Planning Tool ensures its success in helping scientists reach their mission objectives. This presentation will discuss the development processes of the Waypoint Planning Tool in responding to field campaign challenges, identify new information technologies, and describe the capabilities and features of the Waypoint Planning Tool with the real time aspect, interactive nature, and the resultant benefits to the airborne science community.

The Way Point Planning Tool: Real Time Flight Planning for Airborne Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

He, Yubin; Blakeslee, Richard; Goodman, Michael; Hall, John

2012-01-01

Airborne real time observation are a major component of NASA's Earth Science research and satellite ground validation studies. For mission scientist, planning a research aircraft mission within the context of meeting the science objective is a complex task because it requires real time situational awareness of the weather conditions that affect the aircraft track. Multiple aircraft are often involved in the NASA field campaigns the coordination of the aircraft with satellite overpasses, other airplanes and the constantly evolving dynamic weather conditions often determine the success of the campaign. A flight planning tool is needed to provide situational awareness information to the mission scientist and help them plan and modify the flight tracks successfully. Scientists at the University of Alabama Huntsville and the NASA Marshal Space Flight Center developed the Waypoint Planning Tool (WPT), an interactive software tool that enables scientist to develop their own flight plans (also known as waypoints), with point and click mouse capabilities on a digital map filled with time raster and vector data. The development of this Waypoint Planning Tool demonstrates the significance of mission support in responding to the challenges presented during NASA field campaigns. Analyses during and after each campaign helped identify both issues and new requirements, initiating the next wave of development. Currently the Waypoint Planning Tool has gone through three rounds of development and analysis processes. The development of this waypoint tool is directly affected by the technology advances on GIS/Mapping technologies. From the standalone Google Earth application and simple KML functionalities to the Google Earth Plugin and Java Web Start/Applet on web platform, as well as to the rising open source GIS tools with new JavaScript frameworks, the Waypoint planning Tool has entered its third phase of technology advancement. The newly innovated, cross-platform, modular designed JavaScript-controled Waypoint tool is planned to be integrated with the NASA Airborne Science Mission Tool Suite. Adapting new technologies for the Waypoint Planning Tool ensures its success in helping scientist reach their mission objectives. This presentation will discuss the development process of the Waypoint Planning Tool in responding to field campaign challenges, identifying new information technologies, and describing the capabilities and features of the Waypoint Planning Tool with the real time aspect, interactive nature, and the resultant benefits to the airborne science community.

Development of Way Point Planning Tool in Response to NASA Field Campaign Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, M.; Hardin, D. M.; Conover, H.; Graves, S. J.; Meyer, P.; Blakeslee, R. J.; Goodman, M. L.

2012-12-01

Airborne real time observations are a major component of NASA's Earth Science research and satellite ground validation studies. For mission scientists, planning a research aircraft mission within the context of meeting the science objectives is a complex task because it requires real time situational awareness of the weather conditions that affect the aircraft track. Multiple aircrafts are often involved in NASA field campaigns. The coordination of the aircrafts with satellite overpasses, other airplanes and the constantly evolving, dynamic weather conditions often determines the success of the campaign. A flight planning tool is needed to provide situational awareness information to the mission scientists, and help them plan and modify the flight tracks. Scientists at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center developed the Waypoint Planning Tool, an interactive software tool that enables scientists to develop their own flight plans (also known as waypoints) with point-and-click mouse capabilities on a digital map filled with real time raster and vector data. The development of this Waypoint Planning Tool demonstrates the significance of mission support in responding to the challenges presented during NASA field campaigns. Analysis during and after each campaign helped identify both issues and new requirements, and initiated the next wave of development. Currently the Waypoint Planning Tool has gone through three rounds of development and analysis processes. The development of this waypoint tool is directly affected by the technology advances on GIS/Mapping technologies. From the standalone Google Earth application and simple KML functionalities, to Google Earth Plugin and Java Web Start/Applet on web platform, and to the rising open source GIS tools with new JavaScript frameworks, the Waypoint Planning Tool has entered its third phase of technology advancement. The newly innovated, cross-platform, modular designed JavaScript-controlled Way Point Tool is planned to be integrated with NASA Airborne Science Mission Tool Suite. Adapting new technologies for the Waypoint Planning Tool ensures its success in helping scientists reach their mission objectives. This presentation will discuss the development processes of the Waypoint Planning Tool in responding to field campaign challenges, identify new information technologies, and describe the capabilities and features of the Waypoint Planning Tool with the real time aspect, interactive nature, and the resultant benefits to the airborne science community.

Systematic Social Observation of Children's Neighborhoods Using Google Street View: A Reliable and Cost-Effective Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odgers, Candice L.; Caspi, Avshalom; Bates, Christopher J.; Sampson, Robert J.; Moffitt, Terrie E.

2012-01-01

Background: Children growing up in poor versus affluent neighborhoods are more likely to spend time in prison, develop health problems and die at an early age. The question of how neighborhood conditions influence our behavior and health has attracted the attention of public health officials and scholars for generations. Online tools are now…

Googling NDIS: Evaluating the Quality of Online Information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme for Caregivers of Deaf Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Andrea; Baldwin, Elizabeth Margaret

2017-01-01

This study sought to analyze and evaluate the accessibility, availability and quality of online information regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and hearing loss. The most common search engine keyword terms a caregiver may enter when conducting a web search was determined using a keyword search tool. The top websites linked…

Beyond Description: Converting Web Site Usage Statistics into Concrete Site Improvement Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arendt, Julie; Wagner, Cassie

2010-01-01

Web site usage statistics are a widely used tool for Web site development, but libraries are still learning how to use them successfully. This case study summarizes how Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale implemented Google Analytics on its Web site and used the reports to inform a site redesign. As the main campus library at…

Augmented Reality as a Navigation Tool to Employment Opportunities for Postsecondary Education Students with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMahon, Don; Cihak, David F.; Wright, Rachel

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of location-based augmented reality navigation compared to Google Maps and paper maps as navigation aids for students with disabilities. The participants in this single subject study were three college students with intellectual disability and one college student with autism spectrum disorder.…

Google It!: Urban Community College Students' Use of the Internet to Obtain Self-Care and Personal Health Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rennis, Lesley; McNamara, Gloria; Seidel, Erica; Shneyderman, Yuliya

2015-01-01

Background: As electronic resources increasingly play a major role in consumer health, eHealth literacy has emerged as a valuable tool to improve and enhance health knowledge and behavior. Yet for some populations, access to health information alone does not lead to better health practices or outcomes. Low income populations increasingly rely on…

The Use of Virtual Globes as a Spatial Teaching Tool with Suggestions for Metadata Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schultz, Richard B.; Kerski, Joseph J.; Patterson, Todd C.

2008-01-01

Virtual Globe software has become extremely popular both inside and outside of educational settings. This software allows users to explore the Earth in three dimensions while streaming satellite imagery, elevation, and other data from the Internet. Virtual Globes, such as Google Earth, NASA World Wind, and ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer can be effectively…

From Gravestones to Google: The Impact of Internet Adoption on Genealogists' Information and Communication Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Land, Jennifer Kathleen Mathews

2012-01-01

Genealogists are a community of practice (CoP) that has largely embraced the Internet as a research tool. Genealogists' use of the Internet was investigated using a case study of users of Ancestry.com, a subscription-based online genealogical resource. Data were collected using an online survey, allowing information and communication…

The Impact of Experience and Technology Change on Task-Technology Fit of a Collaborative Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iversen, Jakob H.; Eierman, Michael A.

2018-01-01

This study continues a long running effort to examine collaborative writing and editing tools and the factors that impact Task-Technology Fit and Technology Acceptance. Previous studies found that MS Word/email performed better than technologies such as Twiki, Google Docs, and Office Live. The current study seeks to examine specifically the impact…

E-Learning for Elementary Students: The Web 2.0 Tool Google Drive as Teaching and Learning Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apergi, Angeliki; Anagnostopoulou, Angeliki; Athanasiou, Alexandra

2015-01-01

It is a well-known fact that during recent years, the new economic and technological environment, which has emerged from the dynamic impacts of globalization, has given rise to the increased development of information and communication technologies that have immensely influenced education and training all over Europe. Within this framework, there…

IRIS Earthquake Browser with Integration to the GEON IDV for 3-D Visualization of Hypocenters.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weertman, B. R.

2007-12-01

We present a new generation of web based earthquake query tool - the IRIS Earthquake Browser (IEB). The IEB combines the DMC's large set of earthquake catalogs (provided by USGS/NEIC, ISC and the ANF) with the popular Google Maps web interface. With the IEB you can quickly and easily find earthquakes in any region of the globe. Using Google's detailed satellite images, earthquakes can be easily co-located with natural geographic features such as volcanoes as well as man made features such as commercial mines. A set of controls allow earthquakes to be filtered by time, magnitude, and depth range as well as catalog name, contributor name and magnitude type. Displayed events can be easily exported in NetCDF format into the GEON Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) where hypocenters may be visualized in three dimensions. Looking "under the hood", the IEB is based on AJAX technology and utilizes REST style web services hosted at the IRIS DMC. The IEB is part of a broader effort at the DMC aimed at making our data holdings available via web services. The IEB is useful both educationally and as a research tool.

Use of Web 2.0 tools by hospital pharmacists.

PubMed

Bonaga Serrano, B; Aldaz Francés, R; Garrigues Sebastiá, M R; Hernández San Salvador, M

2014-04-01

Web 2.0 tools are transforming the pathways health professionals use to communicate among themselves and with their patients so this situation forces a change of mind to implement them. The aim of our study is to assess the state of knowledge of the main Web 2.0 applications and how are used in a sample of hospital pharmacists. The study was carried out through an anonymous survey to all members of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH) by means of a questionnaire sent by the Google Drive® application. After the 3-month study period was completed, collected data were compiled and then analyzed using SPPS v15.0. The response rate was 7.3%, being 70.5% female and 76.3% specialists. The majority of respondents (54.2%) were aged 20 to 35. Pubmed was the main way of accessing published articles. 65.2% of pharmacists knew the term "Web 2.0". 45.3% pharmacists were Twitter users and over 58.9% mainly for professional purposes. Most pharmacists believed that Twitter was a good tool to interact with professionals and patients. 78.7% do not use an agregator, but when used, Google Reader was the most common. Although Web 2.0 applications are gaining mainstream popularity some health professionals may resist using them. In fact, more than a half of surveyed pharmacists referred a lack of knowledge about Web 2.0 tools. It would be positive for pharmacists to use them properly during their professional practice to get the best out of them. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Physics the Google Way

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, David W.

2005-09-01

Are we smarter now than Socrates was in his time? Society as a whole certainly enjoys a higher degree of education, but humans as a species probably don't get intrinsically smarter with time. Our knowledge base, however, continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, so how then do we keep up? The printing press was one of the earliest technological advances that expanded our memory and made possible our present intellectual capacity. We are now faced with a new technological advance of the same magnitude, the Internet, but how do we use it effectively? A new tool is available on Google™ (http://www.google.com)that allows a user not only to numerically evaluate equations but also to automatically perform unit analysis and conversion, with most of the fundamental physical constants built in. This paper describes some of its capabilities.

Video-based self-review: comparing Google Glass and GoPro technologies.

PubMed

Paro, John A M; Nazareli, Rahim; Gurjala, Anadev; Berger, Aaron; Lee, Gordon K

2015-05-01

Professionals in a variety of specialties use video-based review as a method of constant self-evaluation. We believe critical self-reflection will allow a surgical trainee to identify methods for improvement throughout residency and beyond. We have used 2 new popular technologies to evaluate their role in accomplishing the previously mentioned objectives. Our group investigated Google Glass and GoPro cameras. Medical students, residents, and faculty were invited to wear each of the devices during a scheduled operation. After the case, each participant was asked to comment on a number of features of the device including comfort, level of distraction/interference with operating, ease of video acquisition, and battery life. Software and hardware specifications were compiled and compared by the authors. A "proof-of-concept" was also performed using the video-conferencing abilities of Google Glass to perform a simulated flap check. The technical specifications of the 2 cameras favor GoPro over Google Glass. Glass records in 720p with 5-MP still shots, and the GoPro records in 1080p with 12-MP still shots. Our tests of battery life showed more than 2 hours of continuous video with GoPro, and less than 1 hour for Glass. Favorable features of Google Glass included comfort and relative ease of use; they could not comfortably wear loupes while operating, and would have preferred longer hands-free video recording. The GoPro was slightly more cumbersome and required a nonsterile team member to activate all pictures or video; however, loupes could be worn. Google Glass was successfully used in the hospital for a simulated flap check, with overall audio and video being transmitted--fine detail was lost, however. There are benefits and limitations to each of the devices tested. Google Glass is in its infancy and may gain a larger intraoperative role in the future. We plan to use Glass as a way for trainees to easily acquire intraoperative footage as a means to "review tape" and will use the GoPro to amass a video library of commonly performed operations.

Visualization of High-Resolution LiDAR Topography in Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2009-12-01

The growing availability of high-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) topographic data has proven to be revolutionary for Earth science research. These data allow scientists to study the processes acting on the Earth’s surfaces at resolutions not previously possible yet essential for their appropriate representation. In addition to their utility for research, the data have also been recognized as powerful tools for communicating earth science concepts for education and outreach purposes. Unfortunately, the massive volume of data produced by LiDAR mapping technology can be a barrier to their use. To facilitate access to these powerful data for research and educational purposes, we have been exploring the use of Keyhole Markup Language (KML) and Google Earth to deliver LiDAR-derived visualizations. The OpenTopography Portal (http://www.opentopography.org/) is a National Science Foundation-funded facility designed to provide access to Earth science-oriented LiDAR data. OpenTopography hosts a growing collection of LiDAR data for a variety of geologic domains, including many of the active faults in the western United States. We have found that the wide spectrum of LiDAR users have variable scientific applications, computing resources, and technical experience and thus require a data distribution system that provides various levels of access to the data. For users seeking a synoptic view of the data, and for education and outreach purposes, delivering full-resolution images derived from LiDAR topography into the Google Earth virtual globe is powerful. The virtual globe environment provides a freely available and easily navigated viewer and enables quick integration of the LiDAR visualizations with imagery, geographic layers, and other relevant data available in KML format. Through region-dependant network linked KML, OpenTopography currently delivers over 20 GB of LiDAR-derived imagery to users via simple, easily downloaded KMZ files hosted at the Portal. This method provides seamlessly access to hillshaded imagery for both bare earth and first return terrain models with various angles of illumination. Seamless access to LiDAR-derived imagery in Google Earth has proven to be the most popular product available in the OpenTopography Portal. The hillshade KMZ files have been downloaded over 3000 times by users ranging from earthquake scientists to K-12 educators who wish to introduce cutting edge real world data into their earth science lessons. OpenTopography also provides dynamically generated KMZ visualizations of LiDAR data products produced when users choose to use the OpenTopography point cloud access and processing system. These Google Earth compatible products allow users to quickly visualize the custom terrain products they have generated without the burden of loading the data into a GIS environment. For users who have installed the Google Earth browser plug-in, these visualizations can be launched directly from the OpenTopography results page and viewed directly in the browser.

Investigating Climate Change Issues With Web-Based Geospatial Inquiry Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempsey, C.; Bodzin, A. M.; Sahagian, D. L.; Anastasio, D. J.; Peffer, T.; Cirucci, L.

2011-12-01

In the Environmental Literacy and Inquiry middle school Climate Change curriculum we focus on essential climate literacy principles with an emphasis on weather and climate, Earth system energy balance, greenhouse gases, paleoclimatology, and how human activities influence climate change (http://www.ei.lehigh.edu/eli/cc/). It incorporates a related set of a framework and design principles to provide guidance for the development of the geospatial technology-integrated Earth and environmental science curriculum materials. Students use virtual globes, Web-based tools including an interactive carbon calculator and geologic timeline, and inquiry-based lab activities to investigate climate change topics. The curriculum includes educative curriculum materials that are designed to promote and support teachers' learning of important climate change content and issues, geospatial pedagogical content knowledge, and geographic spatial thinking. The curriculum includes baseline instructional guidance for teachers and provides implementation and adaptation guidance for teaching with diverse learners including low-level readers, English language learners and students with disabilities. In the curriculum, students use geospatial technology tools including Google Earth with embedded spatial data to investigate global temperature changes, areas affected by climate change, evidence of climate change, and the effects of sea level rise on the existing landscape. We conducted a designed-based research implementation study with urban middle school students. Findings showed that the use of the Climate Change curriculum showed significant improvement in urban middle school students' understanding of climate change concepts.

Internet-based biosurveillance methods for vector-borne diseases: Are they novel public health tools or just novelties?

PubMed

Pollett, Simon; Althouse, Benjamin M; Forshey, Brett; Rutherford, George W; Jarman, Richard G

2017-11-01

Internet-based surveillance methods for vector-borne diseases (VBDs) using "big data" sources such as Google, Twitter, and internet newswire scraping have recently been developed, yet reviews on such "digital disease detection" methods have focused on respiratory pathogens, particularly in high-income regions. Here, we present a narrative review of the literature that has examined the performance of internet-based biosurveillance for diseases caused by vector-borne viruses, parasites, and other pathogens, including Zika, dengue, other arthropod-borne viruses, malaria, leishmaniasis, and Lyme disease across a range of settings, including low- and middle-income countries. The fundamental features, advantages, and drawbacks of each internet big data source are presented for those with varying familiarity of "digital epidemiology." We conclude with some of the challenges and future directions in using internet-based biosurveillance for the surveillance and control of VBD.

Internet-based biosurveillance methods for vector-borne diseases: Are they novel public health tools or just novelties?

PubMed Central

Pollett, Simon; Althouse, Benjamin M.; Forshey, Brett; Rutherford, George W.; Jarman, Richard G.

2017-01-01

Internet-based surveillance methods for vector-borne diseases (VBDs) using “big data” sources such as Google, Twitter, and internet newswire scraping have recently been developed, yet reviews on such “digital disease detection” methods have focused on respiratory pathogens, particularly in high-income regions. Here, we present a narrative review of the literature that has examined the performance of internet-based biosurveillance for diseases caused by vector-borne viruses, parasites, and other pathogens, including Zika, dengue, other arthropod-borne viruses, malaria, leishmaniasis, and Lyme disease across a range of settings, including low- and middle-income countries. The fundamental features, advantages, and drawbacks of each internet big data source are presented for those with varying familiarity of “digital epidemiology.” We conclude with some of the challenges and future directions in using internet-based biosurveillance for the surveillance and control of VBD. PMID:29190281

Suicide Risk Screening Tools and the Youth Population.

PubMed

Patterson, Sharon

2016-08-01

The use of suicide risk screening tools is a critical component of a comprehensive approach to suicide risk assessment. Since nurses frequently spend more time with patients than any other healthcare professional, they are in key positions to detect and prevent suicidal behavior in youth. To inform nurses about suicide risk screening tools for the youth population. Suicide risk screening tools are research-based standardized instruments that are used to identify people who may be at risk for suicide. A literature search was performed using the Athabasca University Library Resource, the databases of the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Nurses are cautioned to utilize suicide risk screening tools as only part of the suicide risk assessment in youth populations and avoid the danger of relying on tools that may result in a blind application of evidence to the detriment of clinical experience and judgement. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Integrating Smart Health in the US Health Care System: Infodemiology Study of Asthma Monitoring in the Google Era.

PubMed

Mavragani, Amaryllis; Sampri, Alexia; Sypsa, Karla; Tsagarakis, Konstantinos P

2018-03-12

With the internet's penetration and use constantly expanding, this vast amount of information can be employed in order to better assess issues in the US health care system. Google Trends, a popular tool in big data analytics, has been widely used in the past to examine interest in various medical and health-related topics and has shown great potential in forecastings, predictions, and nowcastings. As empirical relationships between online queries and human behavior have been shown to exist, a new opportunity to explore the behavior toward asthma-a common respiratory disease-is present. This study aimed at forecasting the online behavior toward asthma and examined the correlations between queries and reported cases in order to explore the possibility of nowcasting asthma prevalence in the United States using online search traffic data. Applying Holt-Winters exponential smoothing to Google Trends time series from 2004 to 2015 for the term "asthma," forecasts for online queries at state and national levels are estimated from 2016 to 2020 and validated against available Google query data from January 2016 to June 2017. Correlations among yearly Google queries and between Google queries and reported asthma cases are examined. Our analysis shows that search queries exhibit seasonality within each year and the relationships between each 2 years' queries are statistically significant (P<.05). Estimated forecasting models for a 5-year period (2016 through 2020) for Google queries are robust and validated against available data from January 2016 to June 2017. Significant correlations were found between (1) online queries and National Health Interview Survey lifetime asthma (r=-.82, P=.001) and current asthma (r=-.77, P=.004) rates from 2004 to 2015 and (2) between online queries and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System lifetime (r=-.78, P=.003) and current asthma (r=-.79, P=.002) rates from 2004 to 2014. The correlations are negative, but lag analysis to identify the period of response cannot be employed until short-interval data on asthma prevalence are made available. Online behavior toward asthma can be accurately predicted, and significant correlations between online queries and reported cases exist. This method of forecasting Google queries can be used by health care officials to nowcast asthma prevalence by city, state, or nationally, subject to future availability of daily, weekly, or monthly data on reported cases. This method could therefore be used for improved monitoring and assessment of the needs surrounding the current population of patients with asthma. ©Amaryllis Mavragani, Alexia Sampri, Karla Sypsa, Konstantinos P Tsagarakis. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 12.03.2018.

Surging Seas Risk Finder: A Simple Search-Based Web Tool for Local Sea Level Rise Projections, Coastal Flood Risk Forecasts, and Inundation Exposure Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauss, B.; Dodson, D.; Kulp, S. A.; Rizza, D. H.

2016-12-01

Surging Seas Risk Finder (riskfinder.org) is an online tool for accessing extensive local projections and analysis of sea level rise; coastal floods; and land, populations, contamination sources, and infrastructure and other assets that may be exposed to inundation. Risk Finder was first published in 2013 for Florida, New York and New Jersey, expanding to all states in the contiguous U.S. by 2016, when a major new version of the tool was released with a completely new interface. The revised tool was informed by hundreds of survey responses from and conversations with planners, local officials and other coastal stakeholders, plus consideration of modern best practices for responsive web design and user interfaces, and social science-based principles for science communication. Overarching design principles include simplicity and ease of navigation, leading to a landing page with Google-like sparsity and focus on search, and to an architecture based on search, so that each coastal zip code, city, county, state or other place type has its own webpage gathering all relevant analysis in modular, scrollable units. Millions of users have visited the Surging Seas suite of tools to date, and downloaded thousands of files, for stated purposes ranging from planning to business to education to personal decisions; and from institutions ranging from local to federal government agencies, to businesses, to NGOs, and to academia.

Disease Monitoring and Health Campaign Evaluation Using Google Search Activities for HIV and AIDS, Stroke, Colorectal Cancer, and Marijuana Use in Canada: A Retrospective Observational Study.

PubMed

Ling, Rebecca; Lee, Joon

2016-10-12

Infodemiology can offer practical and feasible health research applications through the practice of studying information available on the Web. Google Trends provides publicly accessible information regarding search behaviors in a population, which may be studied and used for health campaign evaluation and disease monitoring. Additional studies examining the use and effectiveness of Google Trends for these purposes remain warranted. The objective of our study was to explore the use of infodemiology in the context of health campaign evaluation and chronic disease monitoring. It was hypothesized that following a launch of a campaign, there would be an increase in information seeking behavior on the Web. Second, increasing and decreasing disease patterns in a population would be associated with search activity patterns. This study examined 4 different diseases: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, stroke, colorectal cancer, and marijuana use. Using Google Trends, relative search volume data were collected throughout the period of February 2004 to January 2015. Campaign information and disease statistics were obtained from governmental publications. Search activity trends were graphed and assessed with disease trends and the campaign interval. Pearson product correlation statistics and joinpoint methodology analyses were used to determine significance. Disease patterns and online activity across all 4 diseases were significantly correlated: HIV infection (r=.36, P<.001), stroke (r=.40, P<.001), colorectal cancer (r= -.41, P<.001), and substance use (r=.64, P<.001). Visual inspection and the joinpoint analysis showed significant correlations for the campaigns on colorectal cancer and marijuana use in stimulating search activity. No significant correlations were observed for the campaigns on stroke and HIV regarding search activity. The use of infoveillance shows promise as an alternative and inexpensive solution to disease surveillance and health campaign evaluation. Further research is needed to understand Google Trends as a valid and reliable tool for health research.

Disease Monitoring and Health Campaign Evaluation Using Google Search Activities for HIV and AIDS, Stroke, Colorectal Cancer, and Marijuana Use in Canada: A Retrospective Observational Study

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background Infodemiology can offer practical and feasible health research applications through the practice of studying information available on the Web. Google Trends provides publicly accessible information regarding search behaviors in a population, which may be studied and used for health campaign evaluation and disease monitoring. Additional studies examining the use and effectiveness of Google Trends for these purposes remain warranted. Objective The objective of our study was to explore the use of infodemiology in the context of health campaign evaluation and chronic disease monitoring. It was hypothesized that following a launch of a campaign, there would be an increase in information seeking behavior on the Web. Second, increasing and decreasing disease patterns in a population would be associated with search activity patterns. This study examined 4 different diseases: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, stroke, colorectal cancer, and marijuana use. Methods Using Google Trends, relative search volume data were collected throughout the period of February 2004 to January 2015. Campaign information and disease statistics were obtained from governmental publications. Search activity trends were graphed and assessed with disease trends and the campaign interval. Pearson product correlation statistics and joinpoint methodology analyses were used to determine significance. Results Disease patterns and online activity across all 4 diseases were significantly correlated: HIV infection (r=.36, P<.001), stroke (r=.40, P<.001), colorectal cancer (r= −.41, P<.001), and substance use (r=.64, P<.001). Visual inspection and the joinpoint analysis showed significant correlations for the campaigns on colorectal cancer and marijuana use in stimulating search activity. No significant correlations were observed for the campaigns on stroke and HIV regarding search activity. Conclusions The use of infoveillance shows promise as an alternative and inexpensive solution to disease surveillance and health campaign evaluation. Further research is needed to understand Google Trends as a valid and reliable tool for health research. PMID:27733330

Accessing Biomedical Literature in the Current Information Landscape

PubMed Central

Khare, Ritu; Leaman, Robert; Lu, Zhiyong

2015-01-01

i. Summary Biomedical and life sciences literature is unique because of its exponentially increasing volume and interdisciplinary nature. Biomedical literature access is essential for several types of users including biomedical researchers, clinicians, database curators, and bibliometricians. In the past few decades, several online search tools and literature archives, generic as well as biomedicine-specific, have been developed. We present this chapter in the light of three consecutive steps of literature access: searching for citations, retrieving full-text, and viewing the article. The first section presents the current state of practice of biomedical literature access, including an analysis of the search tools most frequently used by the users, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, and a study on biomedical literature archives such as PubMed Central. The next section describes current research and the state-of-the-art systems motivated by the challenges a user faces during query formulation and interpretation of search results. The research solutions are classified into five key areas related to text and data mining, text similarity search, semantic search, query support, relevance ranking, and clustering results. Finally, the last section describes some predicted future trends for improving biomedical literature access, such as searching and reading articles on portable devices, and adoption of the open access policy. PMID:24788259

Citation searching: a systematic review case study of multiple risk behaviour interventions

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The value of citation searches as part of the systematic review process is currently unknown. While the major guides to conducting systematic reviews state that citation searching should be carried out in addition to searching bibliographic databases there are still few studies in the literature that support this view. Rather than using a predefined search strategy to retrieve studies, citation searching uses known relevant papers to identify further papers. Methods We describe a case study about the effectiveness of using the citation sources Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science and OVIDSP MEDLINE to identify records for inclusion in a systematic review. We used the 40 included studies identified by traditional database searches from one systematic review of interventions for multiple risk behaviours. We searched for each of the included studies in the four citation sources to retrieve the details of all papers that have cited these studies. We carried out two analyses; the first was to examine the overlap between the four citation sources to identify which citation tool was the most useful; the second was to investigate whether the citation searches identified any relevant records in addition to those retrieved by the original database searches. Results The highest number of citations was retrieved from Google Scholar (1680), followed by Scopus (1173), then Web of Science (1095) and lastly OVIDSP (213). To retrieve all the records identified by the citation tracking searching all four resources was required. Google Scholar identified the highest number of unique citations. The citation tracking identified 9 studies that met the review’s inclusion criteria. Eight of these had already been identified by the traditional databases searches and identified in the screening process while the ninth was not available in any of the databases when the original searches were carried out. It would, however, have been identified by two of the database search strategies if searches had been carried out later. Conclusions Based on the results from this investigation, citation searching as a supplementary search method for systematic reviews may not be the best use of valuable time and resources. It would be useful to verify these findings in other reviews. PMID:24893958

"MTA"-an Hydraulic Silicate Cement: review update and setting reaction.

PubMed

Darvell, B W; Wu, R C T

2011-05-01

To review the current status and understanding of Portland cement-like endodontic materials commonly referred to by the trade designation "MTA" (alias "Mineral Trioxide Aggregate"), and to present an outline setting reaction scheme, hitherto unattempted. The literature was searched using on-line tools, overlapping an earlier substantial review to pick up any omissions, including that in respect of ordinary Portland cement (OPC), with which MTA shares much. The search was conducted for the period January 2005 to December 2009 using 'MTA', 'GMTA', 'WMTA', and 'mineral AND trioxide AND aggregate' as keywords, with various on-line search engines including ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com), SAGE Journals Online (http://online.sagepub.com), Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com), SciELO Scientific electronic library online (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php), JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org), and Scopus (http://www.scopus.com). References of articles found were cross-checked where appropriate for missed publications. Manufacturers' and related websites were searched with Google Search (http://www.google.com.hk). A generic name for this class of materials, Hydraulic Silicate Cement (HSC), is proposed, and an outline reaction scheme has been deduced. HSC has distinct advantages apparent, including sealing, sterilizing, mineralizing, dentinogenic and osteogenic capacities, which research continues to demonstrate. However, ad hoc modifications have little supporting justification. While HSC has a definite place in dentistry, with few of the drawbacks associated with other materials, some improvements in handling and other properties are highly desirable, as are studies of the mechanisms of the several beneficial physiological effects. Reference to the extensive, but complex, literature on OPC may provide the necessary insight. Copyright © 2011 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Web based tools for data manipulation, visualisation and validation with interactive georeferenced graphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivankovic, D.; Dadic, V.

2009-04-01

Some of oceanographic parameters have to be manually inserted into database; some (for example data from CTD probe) are inserted from various files. All this parameters requires visualization, validation and manipulation from research vessel or scientific institution, and also public presentation. For these purposes is developed web based system, containing dynamic sql procedures and java applets. Technology background is Oracle 10g relational database, and Oracle application server. Web interfaces are developed using PL/SQL stored database procedures (mod PL/SQL). Additional parts for data visualization include use of Java applets and JavaScript. Mapping tool is Google maps API (javascript) and as alternative java applet. Graph is realized as dynamically generated web page containing java applet. Mapping tool and graph are georeferenced. That means that click on some part of graph, automatically initiate zoom or marker onto location where parameter was measured. This feature is very useful for data validation. Code for data manipulation and visualization are partially realized with dynamic SQL and that allow as to separate data definition and code for data manipulation. Adding new parameter in system requires only data definition and description without programming interface for this kind of data.

Quality of anaesthesia-related information accessed via Internet searches.

PubMed

Caron, S; Berton, J; Beydon, L

2007-08-01

We conducted a study to examine the quality and stability of information available from the Internet on four anaesthesia-related topics. In January 2006, we searched using four key words (porphyria, scleroderma, transfusion risk, and epidural analgesia risk) with five search engines (Google, HotBot, AltaVista, Excite, and Yahoo). We used a published scoring system (NetScoring) to evaluate the first 15 sites identified by each of these 20 searches. We also used a simple four-point scale to assess the first 100 sites in the Google search on one of our four topics ('epidural analgesia risk'). In November 2006, we conducted a second evaluation, using three search engines (Google, AltaVista, and Yahoo) with 14 synonyms for 'epidural analgesia risk'. The five search engines performed similarly. NetScoring scores were lower for transfusion risk (P < 0.001). One or more high-quality sites was identified consistently among the first 15 sites in each search. Quality scored using the simple scale correlated closely with medical content and design by NetScoring and with the number of references (P < 0.05). Synonyms of 'epidural analgesia risk' yielded similar results. The quality of accessed information improved somewhat over the 11 month period with Yahoo and AltaVista, but declined with Google. The Internet is a valuable tool for obtaining medical information, but the quality of websites varies between different topics. A simple rating scale may facilitate the quality scoring on individual websites. Differences in precise search terms used for a given topic did not appear to affect the quality of the information obtained.

Characteristics and use of urban health indicator tools by municipal built environment policy and decision-makers: a systematic review protocol.

PubMed

Pineo, Helen; Glonti, Ketevan; Rutter, Harry; Zimmermann, Nicole; Wilkinson, Paul; Davies, Michael

2017-01-13

There is wide agreement that there is a lack of attention to health in municipal environmental policy-making, such as urban planning and regeneration. Explanations for this include differing professional norms between health and urban environment professionals, system complexity and limited evidence for causality between attributes of the built environment and health outcomes. Data from urban health indicator (UHI) tools are potentially a valuable form of evidence for local government policy and decision-makers. Although many UHI tools have been specifically developed to inform policy, there is poor understanding of how they are used. This study aims to identify the nature and characteristics of UHI tools and their use by municipal built environment policy and decision-makers. Health and social sciences databases (ASSIA, Campbell Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, Social Policy and Practice and Web of Science Core Collection) will be searched for studies using UHI tools alongside hand-searching of key journals and citation searches of included studies. Advanced searches of practitioner websites and Google will also be used to find grey literature. Search results will be screened for UHI tools, and for studies which report on or evaluate the use of such tools. Data about UHI tools will be extracted to compile a census and taxonomy of existing tools based on their specific characteristics and purpose. In addition, qualitative and quantitative studies about the use of these tools will be appraised using quality appraisal tools produced by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and synthesised in order to gain insight into the perceptions, value and use of UHI tools in the municipal built environment policy and decision-making process. This review is not registered with PROSPERO. This systematic review focuses specifically on UHI tools that assess the physical environment's impact on health (such as transport, housing, air quality and greenspace). This study will help indicator producers understand whether this form of evidence is of value to built environment policy and decision-makers and how such tools should be tailored for this audience. N/A.

Appraisal of systematic reviews on the management of peri-implant diseases with two methodological tools.

PubMed

Faggion, Clovis Mariano; Monje, Alberto; Wasiak, Jason

2018-06-01

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the performance of two methodological instruments to appraise systematic reviews and to identify potential disagreements of systematic review authors regarding risk of bias (RoB) evaluation of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included in systematic reviews on peri-implant diseases. We searched Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar for systematic reviews on peri-implant diseases published before July 11, 2017. Two authors independently evaluated the RoB and methodological quality of the systematic reviews by applying the Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews (ROBIS) tool and Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) checklist, respectively. We assessed the RoB scores of the same RCTs published in different systematic reviews. Of the 32 systematic reviews identified, 23 reviews addressed the clinical topic of peri-implantitis. A high RoB was detected for most systematic reviews (n=25) using ROBIS, whilst five systematic reviews displayed low methodological quality by AMSTAR. Almost 30% of the RoB comparisons (for the same RCTs) had different RoB ratings across systematic reviews. The ROBIS tool appears to provide more conservative results than AMSTAR checklist. Considerable disagreement was found among systematic review authors rating the same RCT included in different systematic reviews. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effectiveness of Google GLASS as a vital signs monitor in surgery: A simulation study.

PubMed

Iqbal, Mohammed Husnain; Aydin, Abdullatif; Lowdon, Alexandra; Ahmed, Hamza Ibn; Muir, Gordon H; Khan, M Shamim; Dasgupta, Prokar; Ahmed, Kamran

2016-12-01

To assess the effectiveness of the Google GLASS as a vital signs monitor in a surgical setting and identify potential uses. This prospective, observational and comparative study recruited novice (n = 24), intermediate (n = 8) and expert urologists (n = 5). All candidates performed a procedure on the GreenLight Simulator within a simulated setting using a standard vital signs monitor and then the Google GLASS. The time taken to respond to abnormal vital signs during both sessions was recorded. A quantitative survey was used to assess the usability and acceptability of the Google GLASS surgery. The majority (84%) of participants responded quicker to abnormal signs with the Google GLASS compared to a standard monitor (p = 0.0267). The average simulation score during a standard-monitor and GLASS-session scored to be statistically insignificant (p = 0.253). All parameters of simulation were also similar in both sessions including average sweep speed (p = 0.594), average blood loss (p = 0.761) and average grams vaporised (p = 0.102). Surgical performance between both sessions was similar and not hampered by the use of Google GLASS. Furthermore, 81% of candidates stated the GLASS was comfortable to wear during the procedure. This study has demonstrated that head-mounted displays such as the Google GLASS are potentially useful in surgery to aid patient care without hampering the surgeons view. It is hoped that the innovation and evolution of these devices triggers the potential future application of such devices within the medical field. Copyright © 2016 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of world terror networks from the reduced Google matrix of Wikipedia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Zant, Samer; Frahm, Klaus M.; Jaffrès-Runser, Katia; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

2018-01-01

We apply the reduced Google matrix method to analyze interactions between 95 terrorist groups and determine their relationships and influence on 64 world countries. This is done on the basis of the Google matrix of the English Wikipedia (2017) composed of 5 416 537 articles which accumulate a great part of global human knowledge. The reduced Google matrix takes into account the direct and hidden links between a selection of 159 nodes (articles) appearing due to all paths of a random surfer moving over the whole network. As a result we obtain the network structure of terrorist groups and their relations with selected countries including hidden indirect links. Using the sensitivity of PageRank to a weight variation of specific links we determine the geopolitical sensitivity and influence of specific terrorist groups on world countries. The world maps of the sensitivity of various countries to influence of specific terrorist groups are obtained. We argue that this approach can find useful application for more extensive and detailed data bases analysis.

Annotare—a tool for annotating high-throughput biomedical investigations and resulting data

PubMed Central

Shankar, Ravi; Parkinson, Helen; Burdett, Tony; Hastings, Emma; Liu, Junmin; Miller, Michael; Srinivasa, Rashmi; White, Joseph; Brazma, Alvis; Sherlock, Gavin; Stoeckert, Christian J.; Ball, Catherine A.

2010-01-01

Summary: Computational methods in molecular biology will increasingly depend on standards-based annotations that describe biological experiments in an unambiguous manner. Annotare is a software tool that enables biologists to easily annotate their high-throughput experiments, biomaterials and data in a standards-compliant way that facilitates meaningful search and analysis. Availability and Implementation: Annotare is available from http://code.google.com/p/annotare/ under the terms of the open-source MIT License (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php). It has been tested on both Mac and Windows. Contact: rshankar@stanford.edu PMID:20733062

orthAgogue: an agile tool for the rapid prediction of orthology relations.

PubMed

Ekseth, Ole Kristian; Kuiper, Martin; Mironov, Vladimir

2014-03-01

The comparison of genes and gene products across species depends on high-quality tools to determine the relationships between gene or protein sequences from various species. Although some excellent applications are available and widely used, their performance leaves room for improvement. We developed orthAgogue: a multithreaded C application for high-speed estimation of homology relations in massive datasets, operated via a flexible and easy command-line interface. The orthAgogue software is distributed under the GNU license. The source code and binaries compiled for Linux are available at https://code.google.com/p/orthagogue/.

Institutional Assessment and the Integrative Core Curriculum: Involving Students in the Development of an ePortfolio System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silva, Mary Lourdes; Adams Delaney, Susan; Cochran, Jolene; Jackson, Ruth; Olivares, Cory

2015-01-01

The majority of research on the implementation of ePortfolios focuses on curriculum, faculty development, or student buy-in. When ePortfolio systems have been described in technical terms, the focus has been on the functionality, affordances, and limitations of ePortfolio systems (e.g., TaskStream, LiveText), free web tools (e.g., Google Docs),…

Students' Acceptance of File Sharing Systems as a Tool for Sharing Course Materials: The Case of Google Drive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadik, Alaa

2017-01-01

Students' perceptions about both ease of use and usefulness are fundamental factors in determining their acceptance and successful use of technology in higher education. File sharing systems are one of these technologies and can be used to manage and deliver course materials and coordinate virtual teams. The aim of this study is to explore how…

"Is This on Google?": Toward a Theory and Pedagogy of Digital Archives for Composition Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sura, Thomas Alan

2011-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the challenge of "unliteracy" to teaching composition in the digital age and offer a tool for addressing it. "Unliteracy," as defined in the work, is the occlusion of active memory work resulting in part from the speed, quantity, flexibility and immediacy of information in a digital culture. To…

From Geocaching to Virtual Reality: Technology tools that can transform courses into interactive learning expeditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moysey, S. M.; Lazar, K.; Boyer, D. M.; Mobley, C.; Sellers, V.

2016-12-01

Transforming classrooms into active learning environments is a key challenge in introductory-level courses. The technology explosion over the last decade, from the advent of mobile devices to virtual reality, is creating innumerable opportunities to engage students within and outside of traditional classroom settings. In particular, technology can be an effective tool for providing students with field experiences that would otherwise be logistically difficult in large, introductory earth science courses. For example, we have created an integrated platform for mobile devices using readily accessible "off the shelf" components (e.g., Google Apps, Geocaching.com, and Facebook) that allow individual students to navigate to geologically relevant sites, perform and report on activities at these locations, and share their findings through social media by posting "geoselfies". Students compete with their friends on a leaderboard, while earning incentives for completing extracurricular activities in courses. Thus in addition to exposing students to a wider range of meaningful and accessible geologic field experiences, they also build a greater sense of community and identity within the context of earth science classrooms. Rather than sending students to the field, we can also increasingly bring the field to students in classrooms using virtual reality. Ample mobile platforms are emerging that easily allow for the creation, curation, and viewing of photospheres (i.e., 360o images) with mobile phones and low-cost headsets; Google Street View, Earth, and Expeditions are leading the way in terms of ease of content creation and implementation in the classroom. While these tools are an excellent entry point to show students real-world sites, they currently lack the capacity for students to interact with the environment. We have therefore also developed an immersive virtual reality game that allows students to study the geology of the Grand Canyon using their smartphone and Google Cardboard viewer. Students navigate the terrain, collect rock samples, and investigate outcrops using a variety of tests and comparative analyses built into the game narrative. To enhance the realism of the game, real-world samples and outcrops from the Grand Canyon were scanned and embedded within the VR environment.

Towards better digital pathology workflows: programming libraries for high-speed sharpness assessment of Whole Slide Images

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Since microscopic slides can now be automatically digitized and integrated in the clinical workflow, quality assessment of Whole Slide Images (WSI) has become a crucial issue. We present a no-reference quality assessment method that has been thoroughly tested since 2010 and is under implementation in multiple sites, both public university-hospitals and private entities. It is part of the FlexMIm R&D project which aims to improve the global workflow of digital pathology. For these uses, we have developed two programming libraries, in Java and Python, which can be integrated in various types of WSI acquisition systems, viewers and image analysis tools. Methods Development and testing have been carried out on a MacBook Pro i7 and on a bi-Xeon 2.7GHz server. Libraries implementing the blur assessment method have been developed in Java, Python, PHP5 and MySQL5. For web applications, JavaScript, Ajax, JSON and Sockets were also used, as well as the Google Maps API. Aperio SVS files were converted into the Google Maps format using VIPS and Openslide libraries. Results We designed the Java library as a Service Provider Interface (SPI), extendable by third parties. Analysis is computed in real-time (3 billion pixels per minute). Tests were made on 5000 single images, 200 NDPI WSI, 100 Aperio SVS WSI converted to the Google Maps format. Conclusions Applications based on our method and libraries can be used upstream, as calibration and quality control tool for the WSI acquisition systems, or as tools to reacquire tiles while the WSI is being scanned. They can also be used downstream to reacquire the complete slides that are below the quality threshold for surgical pathology analysis. WSI may also be displayed in a smarter way by sending and displaying the regions of highest quality before other regions. Such quality assessment scores could be integrated as WSI's metadata shared in clinical, research or teaching contexts, for a more efficient medical informatics workflow. PMID:25565494

Evaluating Palliative Care Resources Available to the Public Using the Internet and Social Media.

PubMed

Claudio, Celeste H; Dizon, Zoelle B; October, Tessie W

2018-01-01

Accessible information about palliative care available to the public on the Internet is growing. We do not know whether this information is consistent with the current accepted definition of palliative care. To identify resources on the Internet and social media regarding palliative care and evaluate the information conveyed. A cross-sectional study of "palliative care" search results. Top 10 Google websites, top 10 most viewed YouTube videos, and social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, were searched. The most popular Google websites were mostly from national organizations promoting palliative care, whose definitions of palliative care consistently mention "quality of life" and "relief from symptoms and stress." None of the websites mentioned children, and 77% cited palliative care as treatment for cancer with less focus on other diseases. No personal stories were included in Google websites, while 60% of YouTube videos included personal stories. Five main themes were generated from 266 YouTube video comments analyzed. The most common theme was emotionality, of which 91% were positive statements. Facebook and Twitter were mostly used by health-care professionals and not the public. Palliative care resources are mostly positive and consistent with the current definition of palliative care. Major Internet search engines such as Google and YouTube provide valuable insight into information the public receives about palliative care. Future development of Internet resources on palliative care should consider including children and emphasizing palliative care for all life-limiting illnesses.

New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase around the world: an eReview using Google Maps.

PubMed

Berrazeg, M; Diene, Sm; Medjahed, L; Parola, P; Drissi, M; Raoult, D; Rolain, Jm

2014-05-22

Gram-negative carbapenem-resistant bacteria, in particular those producing New Delhi Metallo-betalactamase-1 (NDM-1), are a major global health problem. To inform the scientific and medical community in real time about worldwide dissemination of isolates of NDM-1-producing bacteria, we used the PubMed database to review all available publications from the first description in 2009 up to 31 December 2012, and created a regularly updated worldwide dissemination map using a web-based mapping application. We retrieved 33 reviews, and 136 case reports describing 950 isolates of NDM-1-producing bacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae (n= 359) and Escherichia coli (n=268) were the most commonly reported bacteria producing NDM-1 enzyme. Several case reports of infections due to imported NDM-1 producing bacteria have been reported in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, and Oman. In most cases (132/153, 86.3%), patients had connections with the Indian subcontinent or Balkan countries. Those infected were originally from these areas, had either spent time and/or been hospitalised there, or were potentially linked to other patients who had been hospitalised in these regions. By using Google Maps, we were able to trace spread of NDM-1-producing bacteria. We strongly encourage epidemiologists to use these types of interactive tools for surveillance purposes and use the information to prevent the spread and outbreaks of such bacteria.

Playing with Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beitler, J.; Truex, S.

2008-12-01

Would you like to see your science on the evening news? On everyone's mobile device? How hard is it to make one of those cool Google Earth files so people can explore your world? Do you need to be a programmer, or could most any person with a little motivation and a few inexpensive tools do it? Find out what it takes to get started with these technologies--it may be easier than you think--and how they can give your data more legs. I will demonstrate some of the ways that the National Snow and Ice Data Center has been successful in reaching the public and educators with visualized and animated data about the Earth's frozen regions, and talk about some of the how-to. In particular, see what we have done with QuickTime, Google Earth, YouTube, and the iPhone. I'll also talk about how we've assessed the reach and success of these efforts.

The Gaze of the Perfect Search Engine: Google as an Infrastructure of Dataveillance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimmer, M.

Web search engines have emerged as a ubiquitous and vital tool for the successful navigation of the growing online informational sphere. The goal of the world's largest search engine, Google, is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" and to create the "perfect search engine" that provides only intuitive, personalized, and relevant results. While intended to enhance intellectual mobility in the online sphere, this chapter reveals that the quest for the perfect search engine requires the widespread monitoring and aggregation of a users' online personal and intellectual activities, threatening the values the perfect search engines were designed to sustain. It argues that these search-based infrastructures of dataveillance contribute to a rapidly emerging "soft cage" of everyday digital surveillance, where they, like other dataveillance technologies before them, contribute to the curtailing of individual freedom, affect users' sense of self, and present issues of deep discrimination and social justice.

Google DeepMind and healthcare in an age of algorithms.

PubMed

Powles, Julia; Hodson, Hal

2017-01-01

Data-driven tools and techniques, particularly machine learning methods that underpin artificial intelligence, offer promise in improving healthcare systems and services. One of the companies aspiring to pioneer these advances is DeepMind Technologies Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Google conglomerate, Alphabet Inc. In 2016, DeepMind announced its first major health project: a collaboration with the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, to assist in the management of acute kidney injury. Initially received with great enthusiasm, the collaboration has suffered from a lack of clarity and openness, with issues of privacy and power emerging as potent challenges as the project has unfolded. Taking the DeepMind-Royal Free case study as its pivot, this article draws a number of lessons on the transfer of population-derived datasets to large private prospectors, identifying critical questions for policy-makers, industry and individuals as healthcare moves into an algorithmic age.

Design and Implementation of Surrounding Transaction Plotting and Management System Based on Google Map API

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Y. B.; Hua, Y. X.; Zhao, J. X.; Guo, S. M.

2013-11-01

With China's rapid economic development and comprehensive national strength growing, Border work has become a long-term and important task in China's diplomatic work. How to implement rapid plotting, real-time sharing and mapping surrounding affairs has taken great significance for government policy makers and diplomatic staff. However, at present the already exists Boundary information system are mainly have problems of Geospatial data update is heavily workload, plotting tools are in a state of serious lack of, Geographic events are difficult to share, this phenomenon has seriously hampered the smooth development of the border task. The development and progress of Geographic information system technology especially the development of Web GIS offers the possibility to solve the above problems, this paper adopts four layers of B/S architecture, with the support of Google maps service, uses the free API which is offered by Google maps and its features of openness, ease of use, sharing characteristics, highresolution images to design and implement the surrounding transaction plotting and management system based on the web development technology of ASP.NET, C#, Ajax. The system can provide decision support for government policy makers as well as diplomatic staff's real-time plotting and sharing of surrounding information. The practice has proved that the system has good usability and strong real-time.

Does query expansion limit our learning? A comparison of social-based expansion to content-based expansion for medical queries on the internet.

PubMed

Pentoney, Christopher; Harwell, Jeff; Leroy, Gondy

2014-01-01

Searching for medical information online is a common activity. While it has been shown that forming good queries is difficult, Google's query suggestion tool, a type of query expansion, aims to facilitate query formation. However, it is unknown how this expansion, which is based on what others searched for, affects the information gathering of the online community. To measure the impact of social-based query expansion, this study compared it with content-based expansion, i.e., what is really in the text. We used 138,906 medical queries from the AOL User Session Collection and expanded them using Google's Autocomplete method (social-based) and the content of the Google Web Corpus (content-based). We evaluated the specificity and ambiguity of the expansion terms for trigram queries. We also looked at the impact on the actual results using domain diversity and expansion edit distance. Results showed that the social-based method provided more precise expansion terms as well as terms that were less ambiguous. Expanded queries do not differ significantly in diversity when expanded using the social-based method (6.72 different domains returned in the first ten results, on average) vs. content-based method (6.73 different domains, on average).

Utility of Web search query data in testing theoretical assumptions about mephedrone.

PubMed

Kapitány-Fövény, Máté; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2017-05-01

With growing access to the Internet, people who use drugs and traffickers started to obtain information about novel psychoactive substances (NPS) via online platforms. This paper aims to analyze whether a decreasing Web interest in formerly banned substances-cocaine, heroin, and MDMA-and the legislative status of mephedrone predict Web interest about this NPS. Google Trends was used to measure changes of Web interest on cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and mephedrone. Google search results for mephedrone within the same time frame were analyzed and categorized. Web interest about classic drugs found to be more persistent. Regarding geographical distribution, location of Web searches for heroin and cocaine was less centralized. Illicit status of mephedrone was a negative predictor of its Web search query rates. The connection between mephedrone-related Web search rates and legislative status of this substance was significantly mediated by ecstasy-related Web search queries, the number of documentaries, and forum/blog entries about mephedrone. The results might provide support for the hypothesis that mephedrone's popularity was highly correlated with its legal status as well as it functioned as a potential substitute for MDMA. Google Trends was found to be a useful tool for testing theoretical assumptions about NPS. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Crop classification and mapping based on Sentinel missions data in cloud environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavreniuk, M. S.; Kussul, N.; Shelestov, A.; Vasiliev, V.

2017-12-01

Availability of high resolution satellite imagery (Sentinel-1/2/3, Landsat) over large territories opens new opportunities in agricultural monitoring. In particular, it becomes feasible to solve crop classification and crop mapping task at country and regional scale using time series of heterogenous satellite imagery. But in this case, we face with the problem of Big Data. Dealing with time series of high resolution (10 m) multispectral imagery we need to download huge volumes of data and then process them. The solution is to move "processing chain" closer to data itself to drastically shorten time for data transfer. One more advantage of such approach is the possibility to parallelize data processing workflow and efficiently implement machine learning algorithms. This could be done with cloud platform where Sentinel imagery are stored. In this study, we investigate usability and efficiency of two different cloud platforms Amazon and Google for crop classification and crop mapping problems. Two pilot areas were investigated - Ukraine and England. Google provides user friendly environment Google Earth Engine for Earth observation applications with a lot of data processing and machine learning tools already deployed. At the same time with Amazon one gets much more flexibility in implementation of his own workflow. Detailed analysis of pros and cons will be done in the presentation.

Google Trends: Ready for real-time suicide prevention or just a Zeta-Jones effect? An exploratory study.

PubMed

Fond, Guillaume; Gaman, Alexandru; Brunel, Lore; Haffen, Emmanuel; Llorca, Pierre-Michel

2015-08-30

Two studies have shown that increasing the consultation of the word "suicide" in the Google search engine was associated with a subsequent increase in the prevalence of suicide attempts. The main goal of this article was to explore the trends generated by a key-word search associated with suicide, depression and bipolarity in an attempt to identify general trends (disorders epidemics in the population/"real events" vs newsworthy advertisement/"media event"). Based on previous studies, the frequency of the search words "how to suicide" and "commit suicide" were analyzed for suicide, as well as "depression" (for depressive disorders) and "bipolar disorder". Together, these analyses suggest that the search for the words "how to suicide" or "commit suicide" on the Google search engine may be a good indicator for suicide prevention policies. However, the tool is not developed enough to date to be used as a real time dynamic indicator of suicide epidemics. The frequency of the search for the word "suicide" was associated with those for "depression" but not for "bipolar disorder", but searches for psychiatric conditions seem to be influenced by media events more than by real events in the general population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community-Based Services that Facilitate Interoperability and Intercomparison of Precipitation Datasets from Multiple Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Zhong; Kempler, Steven; Teng, William; Leptoukh, Gregory; Ostrenga, Dana

2010-01-01

Over the past 12 years, large volumes of precipitation data have been generated from space-based observatories (e.g., TRMM), merging of data products (e.g., gridded 3B42), models (e.g., GMAO), climatologies (e.g., Chang SSM/I derived rain indices), field campaigns, and ground-based measuring stations. The science research, applications, and education communities have greatly benefited from the unrestricted availability of these data from the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) and, in particular, the services tailored toward precipitation data access and usability. In addition, tools and services that are responsive to the expressed evolving needs of the precipitation data user communities have been developed at the Precipitation Data and Information Services Center (PDISC) (http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/precipitation or google NASA PDISC), located at the GES DISC, to provide users with quick data exploration and access capabilities. In recent years, data management and access services have become increasingly sophisticated, such that they now afford researchers, particularly those interested in multi-data set science analysis and/or data validation, the ability to homogenize data sets, in order to apply multi-variant, comparison, and evaluation functions. Included in these services is the ability to capture data quality and data provenance. These interoperability services can be directly applied to future data sets, such as those from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. This presentation describes the data sets and services at the PDISC that are currently used by precipitation science and applications researchers, and which will be enhanced in preparation for GPM and associated multi-sensor data research. Specifically, the GES-DISC Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni) will be illustrated. Giovanni enables scientific exploration of Earth science data without researchers having to perform the complicated data access and match-up processes. In addition, PDISC tool and service capabilities being adapted for GPM data will be described, including the Google-like Mirador data search and access engine; semantic technology to help manage large amounts of multi-sensor data and their relationships; data access through various Web services (e.g., OPeNDAP, GDS, WMS, WCS); conversion to various formats (e.g., netCDF, HDF, KML (for Google Earth)); visualization and analysis of Level 2 data profiles and maps; parameter and spatial subsetting; time and temporal aggregation; regridding; data version control and provenance; continuous archive verification; and expertise in data-related standards and interoperability. The goal of providing these services is to further the progress towards a common framework by which data analysis/validation can be more easily accomplished.

Google Scholar: The 800-Pound Gorilla in the Room

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shapiro, Steven

2012-01-01

There is a "clash of civilizations" going on in the information field--a clash characterized by a brash upstart, Google, and its attendant creations, Google Scholar and Google Books, and the old guard represented by the library world. Librarians who deprecate Google Scholar or simply ignore the Google phenomenon do so at their own risk. Google…

Assessment of the detectability of geo-hazards using Google Earth applied to the Three Parallel Rivers Area, Yunnan province of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voermans, Michiel; Mao, Zhun; Baartman, Jantiene EM; Stokes, Alexia

2017-04-01

Anthropogenic activities such as hydropower, mining and road construction in mountainous areas can induce and intensify mass wasting geo-hazards (e.g. landslides, gullies, rockslides). This represses local safety and socio-economic development, and endangers biodiversity at larger scale. Until today, data and knowledge to construct geo-hazard databases for further assessments are lacking. This applies in particular to countries with a recently emerged rapid economic growth, where there are no previous hazard documentations and where means to gain data from e.g. intensive fieldwork or VHR satellite imagery and DEM processing are lacking. Google Earth (GE, https://www.google.com/earth/) is a freely available and relatively simple virtual globe, map and geographical information program, which is potentially useful in detecting geo-hazards. This research aimed at (i) testing the capability of Google Earth to detect locations of geo-hazards and (ii) identifying factors affecting the diagnosing quality of the detection, including effects of geo-hazard dimensions, environs setting and professional background and effort of GE users. This was tested on nine geo-hazard sites following road segments in the Three Parallel Rivers Area in the Yunnan province of China, where geo-hazards are frequently occurring. Along each road site, the position and size of each geo-hazard was measured in situ. Next, independent diagnosers with varying professional experience (students, researchers, engineers etc.) were invited to detect geo-hazard occurrence along each of the eight sites via GE. Finally, the inventory and diagnostic data were compared to validate the objectives. Rates of detected geo-hazards from 30 diagnosers ranged from 10% to 48%. No strong correlations were found between the type and size of the geo-hazards and their detection rates. Also the years of expertise of the diagnosers proved not to make a difference, opposite to what may be expected. Meanwhile the amount of time spent by the diagnoser proved to be positively influencing the detectability. GE showed to be a useful tool in detecting mainly larger geo-hazards if diligently applied, and is therefore applicable to identify geo-hazard hotspots. The usability for further assessments such as sediment delivery estimations is questionable and further research should be carried out to give insight to its full potential.

Use of Google Scholar public profiles in orthopedics.

PubMed

Tetsworth, Kevin; Fraser, Dave; Glatt, Vaida; Hohmann, Erik

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to survey the growth of Google Scholar public profiles in orthopedics over a 12-month period and to investigate global patterns. Data was prospectively acquired from June 2013 to June 2014. Google Scholar queries specific to orthopedic surgery were performed at 90-day intervals. Demographic aspects of each user were also compiled, including gender, current location, and primary interests. To determine differences between the growth of Google Scholar public profile registrations and citation counts, as well as differences in growth in different regions, repeated measures of analysis of variance (RMANOVA) were used. RMANOVA revealed statistically significant differences ( p = 0.0001) for regional growth. The largest growth was observed in the United Kingdom ( p = 0.009, 289%), followed by the Asia-Pacific region ( p = 0.004, 177%) and "Other" ( p = 0.006, 172%). The mean growth per 90-day interval is 19.9% ( p = 0.003) and the mean 12-month growth is 107% ( p = 0.05). Statistically significant differences between gender (male vs. female) and basic and clinical sciences ( χ 2 = 22.4, p = 0.0001) were observed. This study suggests an exponential growth in the number of authors in the field of orthopedic surgery creating a Google Scholar public profile, and at the current rate participation doubles every 10.6 months.

ARM Climate Research Facility: Outreach Tools and Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roeder, L.; Jundt, R.

2009-12-01

Sponsored by the Department of Energy, the ARM Climate Research Facility is a global scientific user facility for the study of climate change. To publicize progress and achievements and to reach new users, the ACRF uses a variety of Web 2.0 tools and strategies that build off of the program’s comprehensive and well established News Center (www.arm.gov/news). These strategies include: an RSS subscription service for specific news categories; an email “newsletter” distribution to the user community that compiles the latest News Center updates into a short summary with links; and a Facebook page that pulls information from the News Center and links to relevant information in other online venues, including those of our collaborators. The ACRF also interacts with users through field campaign blogs, like Discovery Channel’s EarthLive, to share research experiences from the field. Increasingly, field campaign Wikis are established to help ACRF researchers collaborate during the planning and implementation phases of their field studies and include easy to use logs and image libraries to help record the campaigns. This vital reference information is used in developing outreach material that is shared in highlights, news, and Facebook. Other Web 2.0 tools that ACRF uses include Google Maps to help users visualize facility locations and aircraft flight patterns. Easy-to-use comment boxes are also available on many of the data-related web pages on www.arm.gov to encourage feedback. To provide additional opportunities for increased interaction with the public and user community, future Web 2.0 plans under consideration for ACRF include: evaluating field campaigns for Twitter and microblogging opportunities, adding public discussion forums to research highlight web pages, moving existing photos into albums on FlickR or Facebook, and building online video archives through YouTube.

Lunar Cold Trap Contamination by Landing Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shipley, Scott T.; Metzger, Philip T.; Lane, John E.

2014-01-01

Tools have been developed to model and simulate the effects of lunar landing vehicles on the lunar environment (Metzger, 2011), mostly addressing the effects of regolith erosion by rocket plumes and the fate of the ejected lunar soil particles (Metzger, 2010). These tools are being applied at KSC to predict ejecta from the upcoming Google Lunar X-Prize Landers and how they may damage the historic Apollo landing sites. The emerging interest in lunar mining poses a threat of contamination to pristine craters at the lunar poles, which act as "cold traps" for water and may harbor other valuable minerals Crider and Vondrak (2002). The KSC Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tools have been expanded to address the probability for contamination of these pristine "cold trap" craters.

SBML-PET-MPI: a parallel parameter estimation tool for Systems Biology Markup Language based models.

PubMed

Zi, Zhike

2011-04-01

Parameter estimation is crucial for the modeling and dynamic analysis of biological systems. However, implementing parameter estimation is time consuming and computationally demanding. Here, we introduced a parallel parameter estimation tool for Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML)-based models (SBML-PET-MPI). SBML-PET-MPI allows the user to perform parameter estimation and parameter uncertainty analysis by collectively fitting multiple experimental datasets. The tool is developed and parallelized using the message passing interface (MPI) protocol, which provides good scalability with the number of processors. SBML-PET-MPI is freely available for non-commercial use at http://www.bioss.uni-freiburg.de/cms/sbml-pet-mpi.html or http://sites.google.com/site/sbmlpetmpi/.

White Paper on the Use of Team Calendars with the JIRA Issue Tracking System and Confluence Collaboration Tools for the xLPR Project

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

Klasky, Hilda B.; Williams, Paul T.; Bass, Bennett Richard

ORNL was tasked by xLPR project management to propose a team calendar for use within the xLPR consortium. Among various options that were considered, the approach judged by ORNL to best fit the needs of the xLPR project is presented in this document. The Atlassian Team Calendars plug-in used with the Confluence collaboration tool was recommended for several reasons, including the advantage that it provides for a tight integration between Confluence (found at https://xlpr.ornl.gov/wiki ) and xLPR s JIRA issue tracking system (found at https://xlpr.ornl.gov/jira ). This document is divided into two parts. The first part (Sections 1-6) consists ofmore » the white paper, which highlights some of the ways that Team Calendars can improve com mun ication between xLPR project managers, group leads, and team members when JIRA is applied for both issue tracking and change-management activities. Specific points emphasized herein are as follows: The Team Calendar application greatly enhances the added value that the JIRA and Confluence tools bring to the xLPR Project. The Team Calendar can improve com mun ication between xLPR project managers, group leads, and team members when JIRA is applied for both issue tracking and change-management activities. The Team Calendar works across different email tools such as Outlook 2011, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007, Google Calendars and Mac s iCalendar to name a few. xLPR users can now access the wiki Confluence (with embedded Team Calendars) directly from JIRA without having to re-validate their login. The second part consists of an Annex (Section 7), which describes how users can subscribe to Team Calendars from different calendar applications. Specific instructions are given in the Annex that describe how to Import xLPR Team Calendar to Outlook Version Office 2010 Import xLPR Team Calendar to Outlook Version Office 2007 Subscribe to Team Calendar from Google Calendar The reader is directed to Section 4 for instructions on adding events to the Team Calendar or accessing ORNL staff for assistance with such additions. To seek help with your questions and problems regarding the content of this document, please contact Hilda Klasky at klaskyhb@ornl.gov« less

A New More Accurate Calibration for TIMED/GUVI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefer, R. K.; Aiello, J.; Wolven, B. C.; Paxton, L. J.; Romeo, G.; Zhang, Y.

2017-12-01

The Global UltraViolet Imager (GUVI - http://guvi.jhuapl.edu) on NASA's TIMED spacecraft has the longest continuous set of observations of the Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere, spanning more than one solar cycle (2001-2017). As such, it represents an important dataset for understanding the dynamics of the Ionosphere-Thermosphere system. The entire dataset has been reprocessed and released as a new version (13) of GUVI data products. This is a complete re-examination of the calibration elements, including better calibrated radiances, better geolocation, and better background subtraction. Details can be found on the GUVI website: http://guvitimed.jhuapl.edu/guvi-Calib_Prod The radiances (except for the LBH long band) in version 13 are within 10% of the original archival radiances and so most of the derived products are little changed from their original versions. The LBH long band was redefined in on-board instrument color tables on Nov., 2, 2004 to better limit contamination from Nitric Oxide emission but this was not updated in ground processing until now. Version 13 LBH Long has 19% smaller radiances than the old calibrated products for post 11/2/2004 data. GUVI auroral products are the only ones that use LBHL - (LBH long)/(LBH short) is used to gauge the amount of intervening oxygen absorption. We will show several examples of the difference between new and old auroral products. Overall version 13 represents a big improvement in the calibration, geolocation, and background of the GUVI UV data products, allowing for the cleanest UV data for analysis of the ionosphere-thermosphere-aurora. An updated "Using GUVI Data Tutorial" will be available from the GUVI webpage to help you navigate to the data you need. Data products are displayed as daily summary and Google Earth files that can be browsed through the Cesium tool on the GUVI website or the image files can be downloaded and viewed through the Google Earth app. The image below shows gridded 135.6 nm radiances from March 27, 2003 displayed in Google Earth.

Online Health Information Regarding Male Infertility: An Evaluation of Readability, Suitability, and Quality.

PubMed

Robins, Stephanie; Barr, Helena J; Idelson, Rachel; Lambert, Sylvie; Zelkowitz, Phyllis

2016-10-21

Many men lack knowledge about male infertility, and this may have consequences for their reproductive and general health. Men may prefer to seek health information online, but these sources of information vary in quality. The objective of this study is to determine if online sources of information regarding male infertility are readable, suitable, and of appropriate quality for Internet users in the general population. This study used a cross-sectional design to evaluate online sources resulting from search engine queries. The following categories of websites were considered: (1) Canadian fertility clinics, (2) North American organizations related to fertility, and (3) the first 20 results of Google searches using the terms "male infertility" and "male fertility preservation" set to the search locations worldwide, English Canada, and French Canada. Websites that met inclusion criteria (N=85) were assessed using readability indices, the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM), and the DISCERN tool. The associations between website affiliation (government, university/medical, non-profit organization, commercial/corporate, private practice) and Google placement to readability, suitability, and quality were also examined. None of the sampled websites met recommended levels of readability. Across all websites, the mean SAM score for suitability was 45.37% (SD 11.21), or "adequate", while the DISCERN mean score for quality was 43.19 (SD 10.46) or "fair". Websites that placed higher in Google obtained a higher overall score for quality with an r (58) value of -.328 and a P value of .012, but this position was not related to readability or suitability. In addition, 20% of fertility clinic websites did not include fertility information for men. There is a lack of high quality online sources of information on male fertility. Many websites target their information to women, or fail to meet established readability criteria for the general population. Since men may prefer to seek health information online, it is important that health care professionals develop high quality sources of information on male fertility for the general population.

Google Earth Grand Tour Themes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Paor, D. G.; Whitmeyer, S. J.; Bentley, C.; Dordevic, M. M.

2014-12-01

As part of an NSF TUES Type 3 project entitled "Google Earth for Onsite and Distance Education (GEODE)," we are assembling a "Grand Tour" of locations on Earth and other terrestrial bodies that every geoscience student should know about and visit at least in virtual reality. Based on feedback from colleagues at previous meetings, we have identified nine Grand Tour themes: "Plates and Plumes," "Rocks and Regions," "Geology Through Time," "The Mapping Challenge*," "U.S. National Parks*," "The Magical Mystery Tour*," "Resources and Hazards," "Planets and Moons," and "Top of the Pops." Themes marked with an asterisk are most developed at this stage and will be demonstrated in real time. The Mapping Challenge invites students to trace geological contacts, measure bedding strike and dip and the plunge, trend, and facing of a fold. There is an advanced tool for modeling periclinal folds. The challenge is presented in a game-like format with an emphasis on puzzle-solving that will appeal to students regardless of gender. For the tour of U.S. national parks, we divided the most geologically important parks into four groups—Western Pacific, West Coast, Rockies, and East Coast. We are combining our own team's GigaPan imagery with imagery already available on the Internet. There is a great deal of imagery just waiting to be annotated for geological education purposes. The Magical Mystery Tour takes students to Google Streetview locations selected by instructors. Students are presented with questions or tasks and are given automatic feedback. Other themes are under development. Within each theme, we are crowd-sourcing contributions from colleagues and inviting colleagues to vote for or against proposed locations and student interactions. The GEODE team includes the authors and: Heather Almquist, Stephen Burgin, Cinzia Cervato, Gene Cooper, Paul Karabinos, Terry Pavlis, Jen Piatek, Bill Richards, Jeff Ryan, Ron Schott, Kristen St. John, and Barb Tewksbury.

Dagik: A Quick Look System of the Geospace Data in KML format

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, D.; Saito, A.

2007-12-01

Dagik (Daily Geospace data in KML) is a quick look plot sharing system using Google Earth as a data browser. It provides daily data lists that contain network links to the KML/KMZ files of various geospace data. KML is a markup language to display data on Google Earth, and KMZ is a compressed file of KML. Users can browse the KML/KMZ files with the following procedures: 1) download "dagik.kml" from Dagik homepage (http://www- step.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dagik/), and open it with Google Earth, 2) select date, 3) select data type to browse. Dagik is a collection of network links to KML/KMZ files. The daily Dagik files are available since 1957, though they contain only the geomagnetic index data in the early periods. There are three activities of Dagik. The first one is the generation of the daily data lists, the second is to provide several useful tools, such as observatory lists, and the third is to assist researchers to make KML/KMZ data plots. To make the plot browsing easy, there are three rules for Dagik plot format: 1) one file contains one UT day data, 2) use common plot panel size, 3) share the data list. There are three steps to join Dagik as a plot provider: 1) make KML/KMZ files of the data, 2) put the KML/KMZ files on Web, 3) notice Dagik group the URL address and description of the files. The KML/KMZ files will be included in Dagik data list. As of September 2007, quick looks of several geosphace data, such as GPS total electron content data, ionosonde data, magnetometer data, FUV imaging data by a satellite, ground-based airglow data, and satellite footprint data, are available. The system of Dagik is introduced in the presentation. u.ac.jp/dagik/

Student perspectives on using egocentric video recorded by smart glasses to assess communicative and clinical skills with standardised patients.

PubMed

Zahl, D A; Schrader, S M; Edwards, P C

2018-05-01

This exploratory study evaluated student perceptions of their ability to self- and peer assess (i) interpersonal communication skills and (ii) clinical procedures (a head and neck examination) during standardised patient (SP) interactions recorded by Google Glass compared to a static camera. Students compared the Google Glass and static camera recordings using an instrument consisting of 20 Likert-type items and four open- and closed-text items. The Likert-type items asked students to rate how effectively they could assess specific aspects of interpersonal communication and a head and neck examination in these two different types of recordings. The interpersonal communication items included verbal, paraverbal and non-verbal subscales. The open- and closed-text items asked students to report on more globally the differences between the two types of recordings. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted for all survey items. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted to determine qualitative emergent themes from the open-text questions. Students found the Glass videos more effective for assessing verbal (t 22 = 2.091, P = 0.048) and paraverbal communication skills (t 22 = 3.304, P = 0.003), whilst they reported that the static camera video was more effective for assessing non-verbal communication skills (t 22 = -2.132, P = 0.044). Four principle themes emerged from the students' open-text responses comparing Glass to static camera recordings for self- and peer assessment: (1) first-person perspective, (2) assessment of non-verbal communication, (3) audiovisual experience and (4) student operation of Glass. Our findings suggest that students perceive that Google Glass is a valuable tool for facilitating self- and peer assessment of SP examinations because of students' perceived ability to emphasise and illustrate communicative and clinical activities from a first-person perspective. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

ClimateWizard: A Framework and Easy-to-Use Web-Mapping Tool for Global, Regional, and Local Climate-Change Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girvetz, E. H.; Zganjar, C.; Raber, G. T.; Hoekstra, J.; Lawler, J. J.; Kareiva, P.

2008-12-01

Now that there is overwhelming evidence of global climate change, scientists, managers and planners (i.e. practitioners) need to assess the potential impacts of climate change on particular ecological systems, within specific geographic areas, and at spatial scales they care about, in order to make better land management, planning, and policy decisions. Unfortunately, this application of climate science to real world decisions and planning has proceeded too slowly because we lack tools for translating cutting-edge climate science and climate-model outputs into something managers and planners can work with at local or regional scales (CCSP 2008). To help increase the accessibility of climate information, we have developed a freely-available, easy-to-use, web-based climate-change analysis toolbox, called ClimateWizard, for assessing how climate has and is projected to change at specific geographic locations throughout the world. The ClimateWizard uses geographic information systems (GIS), web-services (SOAP/XML), statistical analysis platforms (e.g. R- project), and web-based mapping services (e.g. Google Earth/Maps, KML/GML) to provide a variety of different analyses (e.g. trends and departures) and outputs (e.g. maps, graphs, tables, GIS layers). Because ClimateWizard analyzes large climate datasets stored remotely on powerful computers, users of the tool do not need to have fast computers or expensive software, but simply need access to the internet. The analysis results are then provided to users in a Google Maps webpage tailored to the specific climate-change question being asked. The ClimateWizard is not a static product, but rather a framework to be built upon and modified to suit the purposes of specific scientific, management, and policy questions. For example, it can be expanded to include bioclimatic variables (e.g. evapotranspiration) and marine data (e.g. sea surface temperature), as well as improved future climate projections, and climate-change impact analyses involving hydrology, vegetation, wildfire, disease, and food security. By harnessing the power of computer and web- based technologies, the ClimateWizard puts local, regional, and global climate-change analyses in the hands of a wider array of managers, planners, and scientists.

Visualize Your Data with Google Fusion Tables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brisbin, K. E.

2011-12-01

Google Fusion Tables is a modern data management platform that makes it easy to host, manage, collaborate on, visualize, and publish tabular data online. Fusion Tables allows users to upload their own data to the Google cloud, which they can then use to create compelling and interactive visualizations with the data. Users can view data on a Google Map, plot data in a line chart, or display data along a timeline. Users can share these visualizations with others to explore and discover interesting trends about various types of data, including scientific data such as invasive species or global trends in disease. Fusion Tables has been used by many organizations to visualize a variety of scientific data. One example is the California Redistricting Map created by the LA Times: http://goo.gl/gwZt5 The Pacific Institute and Circle of Blue have used Fusion Tables to map the quality of water around the world: http://goo.gl/T4SX8 The World Resources Institute mapped the threat level of coral reefs using Fusion Tables: http://goo.gl/cdqe8 What attendees will learn in this session: This session will cover all the steps necessary to use Fusion Tables to create a variety of interactive visualizations. Attendees will begin by learning about the various options for uploading data into Fusion Tables, including Shapefile, KML file, and CSV file import. Attendees will then learn how to use Fusion Tables to manage their data by merging it with other data and controlling the permissions of the data. Finally, the session will cover how to create a customized visualization from the data, and share that visualization with others using both Fusion Tables and the Google Maps API.

A Web-Based Interactive Mapping System of State Wide School Performance: Integrating Google Maps API Technology into Educational Achievement Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Kening; Mulvenon, Sean W.; Stegman, Charles; Anderson, Travis

2008-01-01

Google Maps API (Application Programming Interface), released in late June 2005 by Google, is an amazing technology that allows users to embed Google Maps in their own Web pages with JavaScript. Google Maps API has accelerated the development of new Google Maps based applications. This article reports a Web-based interactive mapping system…

Food Exchange List and Dietary Management of Non-Communicable Diseases in Cultural Perspective.

PubMed

Khan, Mahnaz Nasir; Kalsoom, Samia; Khan, Ayyaz Ali

2017-01-01

This review focuses at highlighting the importance of Food Exchange List in cultural perspective, as an effective dietary tool to help individuals' manage their dietary modifications in relation to non communicable diseases whilst specifying measures that can help improve the quality of Food Exchange Lists for combating various non communicable diseases and addressing adherence related issues to specialized diets. A search was done using PubMed & Google Scholar till June 2016. Search terms used were food exchange list AND disease, diet AND non-communicable diseases. We included only studies that discussed Food Exchange List (FEL) in relation to non-communicable diseases; in addition to factors like cultural relevance and adherence. Out of the 837 papers accessed 57 were identified as relevant to the Food Exchange List, out of which 39 papers were focused to the concept and development of the Food Exchange List. Only 18 discussed FEL in relation to non communicable diseases and were thus included in the review. Food exchange list is a user friendly tool for dietary modification due to disease. This tool may help to customize meals for people as it provides information regarding various food items in different groups. This tool is helpful in reducing blood & plasma glucose levels, maintaining lipid profile & effectively combating other diet related diseases & those ailments in which diet plays a significant role in maintenance & prevention from reoccurrences. However, better management and adherence to modified diets for non communicable diseases can be ensured by keeping cultural relevance under consideration before using Food Exchange Lists for such diseases.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Using Google Documents in Enhancing Writing--A Study on Senior 1 Students in a Chinese Independent High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambrose, Regina Maria; Palpanathan, Shanthini

2017-01-01

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has evolved through various stages in both technology as well as the pedagogical use of technology (Warschauer & Healey, 1998). Studies show that the CALL trend has facilitated students in their English language writing with useful tools such as computer based activities and word processing. Students…

Engaging the YouTube Google-Eyed Generation: Strategies for Using Web 2.0 in Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duffy, Peter

2008-01-01

YouTube, Podcasting, Blogs, Wikis and RSS are buzz words currently associated with the term Web 2.0 and represent a shifting pedagogical paradigm for the use of a new set of tools within education. The implication here is a possible shift from the basic archetypical vehicles used for (e)learning today (lecture notes, printed material, PowerPoint,…

Start Your Search Engines. Part One: Taming Google--and Other Tips to Master Web Searches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adam, Anna; Mowers, Helen

2008-01-01

There are a lot of useful tools on the Web, all those social applications, and the like. Still most people go online for one thing--to perform a basic search. For most fact-finding missions, the Web is there. But--as media specialists well know--the sheer wealth of online information can hamper efforts to focus on a few reliable references.…

Interpretation of earthquake-induced landslides triggered by the 12 May 2008, M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in the Beichuan area, Sichuan Province, China using satellite imagery and Google Earth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sato, H.P.; Harp, E.L.

2009-01-01

The 12 May 2008 M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in the People's Republic of China represented a unique opportunity for the international community to use commonly available GIS (Geographic Information System) tools, like Google Earth (GE), to rapidly evaluate and assess landslide hazards triggered by the destructive earthquake and its aftershocks. In order to map earthquake-triggered landslides, we provide details on the applicability and limitations of publicly available 3-day-post- and pre-earthquake imagery provided by GE from the FORMOSAT-2 (formerly ROCSAT-2; Republic of China Satellite 2). We interpreted landslides on the 8-m-resolution FORMOSAT-2 image by GE; as a result, 257 large landslides were mapped with the highest concentration along the Beichuan fault. An estimated density of 0.3 landslides/km2 represents a minimum bound on density given the resolution of available imagery; higher resolution data would have identified more landslides. This is a preliminary study, and further study is needed to understand the landslide characteristics in detail. Although it is best to obtain landslide locations and measurements from satellite imagery having high resolution, it was found that GE is an effective and rapid reconnaissance tool. ?? 2009 Springer-Verlag.

AtomPy: an open atomic-data curation environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bautista, Manuel; Mendoza, Claudio; Boswell, Josiah S; Ajoku, Chukwuemeka

2014-06-01

We present a cloud-computing environment for atomic data curation, networking among atomic data providers and users, teaching-and-learning, and interfacing with spectral modeling software. The system is based on Google-Drive Sheets, Pandas (Python Data Analysis Library) DataFrames, and IPython Notebooks for open community-driven curation of atomic data for scientific and technological applications. The atomic model for each ionic species is contained in a multi-sheet Google-Drive workbook, where the atomic parameters from all known public sources are progressively stored. Metadata (provenance, community discussion, etc.) accompanying every entry in the database are stored through Notebooks. Education tools on the physics of atomic processes as well as their relevance to plasma and spectral modeling are based on IPython Notebooks that integrate written material, images, videos, and active computer-tool workflows. Data processing workflows and collaborative software developments are encouraged and managed through the GitHub social network. Relevant issues this platform intends to address are: (i) data quality by allowing open access to both data producers and users in order to attain completeness, accuracy, consistency, provenance and currentness; (ii) comparisons of different datasets to facilitate accuracy assessment; (iii) downloading to local data structures (i.e. Pandas DataFrames) for further manipulation and analysis by prospective users; and (iv) data preservation by avoiding the discard of outdated sets.

Evaluation of the Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized clinical trials: overview of published comments and analysis of user practice in Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews.

PubMed

Jørgensen, Lars; Paludan-Müller, Asger S; Laursen, David R T; Savović, Jelena; Boutron, Isabelle; Sterne, Jonathan A C; Higgins, Julian P T; Hróbjartsson, Asbjørn

2016-05-10

The Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized clinical trials was introduced in 2008 and has frequently been commented on and used in systematic reviews. We wanted to evaluate the tool by reviewing published comments on its strengths and challenges and by describing and analysing how the tool is applied to both Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews. A review of published comments (searches in PubMed, The Cochrane Methodology Register and Google Scholar) and an observational study (100 Cochrane and 100 non-Cochrane reviews from 2014). Our review included 68 comments, 15 of which were categorised as major. The main strengths of the tool were considered to be its aim (to assess trial conduct and not reporting), its developmental basis (wide consultation, empirical and theoretical evidence) and its transparent procedures. The challenges of the tool were mainly considered to be its choice of core bias domains (e.g. not involving funding/conflicts of interest) and issues to do with implementation (i.e. modest inter-rater agreement) and terminology. Our observational study found that the tool was used in all Cochrane reviews (100/100) and was the preferred tool in non-Cochrane reviews (31/100). Both types of reviews frequently implemented the tool in non-recommended ways. Most Cochrane reviews planned to use risk of bias assessments as basis for sensitivity analyses (70 %), but only a minority conducted such analyses (19 %) because, in many cases, few trials were assessed as having "low" risk of bias for all standard domains (6 %). The judgement of at least one risk of bias domain as "unclear" was found in 89 % of included randomized clinical trials (1103/1242). The Cochrane tool has become the standard approach to assess risk of bias in randomized clinical trials but is frequently implemented in a non-recommended way. Based on published comments and how it is applied in practice in systematic reviews, the tool may be further improved by a revised structure and more focused guidance.

Infodemiology of systemic lupus erythematous using Google Trends.

PubMed

Radin, M; Sciascia, S

2017-07-01

Objective People affected by chronic rheumatic conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), frequently rely on the Internet and search engines to look for terms related to their disease and its possible causes, symptoms and treatments. 'Infodemiology' and 'infoveillance' are two recent terms created to describe a new developing approach for public health, based on Big Data monitoring and data mining. In this study, we aim to investigate trends of Internet research linked to SLE and symptoms associated with the disease, applying a Big Data monitoring approach. Methods We analysed the large amount of data generated by Google Trends, considering 'lupus', 'relapse' and 'fatigue' in a 10-year web-based research. Google Trends automatically normalized data for the overall number of searches, and presented them as relative search volumes, in order to compare variations of different search terms across regions and periods. The Menn-Kendall test was used to evaluate the overall seasonal trend of each search term and possible correlation between search terms. Results We observed a seasonality for Google search volumes for lupus-related terms. In the Northern hemisphere, relative search volumes for 'lupus' were correlated with 'relapse' (τ = 0.85; p = 0.019) and with fatigue (τ = 0.82; p = 0.003), whereas in the Southern hemisphere we observed a significant correlation between 'fatigue' and 'relapse' (τ = 0.85; p = 0.018). Similarly, a significant correlation between 'fatigue' and 'relapse' (τ = 0.70; p < 0.001) was seen also in the Northern hemisphere. Conclusion Despite the intrinsic limitations of this approach, Internet-acquired data might represent a real-time surveillance tool and an alert for healthcare systems in order to plan the most appropriate resources in specific moments with higher disease burden.

Early detection of perceived risk among users of a UK travel health website compared with internet search activity and media coverage during the 2015–2016 Zika virus outbreak: an observational study

PubMed Central

Petersen, Jakob; Simons, Hilary; Patel, Dipti; Freedman, Joanne

2017-01-01

Objectives The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas in 2015–2016 posed a novel global threat due to the association with congenital malformations and its rapid spread. Timely information about the spread of the disease was paramount to public health bodies issuing travel advisories. This paper looks at the online interaction with a national travel health website during the outbreak and compares this to trends in internet searches and news media output. Methods Time trends were created for weekly views of ZIKV-related pages on a UK travel health website, relative search volumes for ‘Zika’ on Google UK, ZIKV-related items aggregated by Google UK News and rank of ZIKV travel advisories among all other pages between 15 November 2015 and 20 August 2016. Results Time trends in traffic to the travel health website corresponded with Google searches, but less so with media items due to intense coverage of the Rio Olympics. Travel advisories for pregnant women were issued from 7 December 2015 and began to increase in popularity (rank) from early January 2016, weeks before a surge in interest as measured by Google searches/news items at the end of January 2016. Conclusions The study showed an amplification of perceived risk among users of a national travel health website weeks before the initial surge in public interest. This suggests a potential value for tools to detect changes in online information seeking behaviours for predicting periods of high demand where the routine capability of travel health services could be exceeded. PMID:28860226

Early detection of perceived risk among users of a UK travel health website compared with internet search activity and media coverage during the 2015-2016 Zika virus outbreak: an observational study.

PubMed

Petersen, Jakob; Simons, Hilary; Patel, Dipti; Freedman, Joanne

2017-08-31

The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas in 2015-2016 posed a novel global threat due to the association with congenital malformations and its rapid spread. Timely information about the spread of the disease was paramount to public health bodies issuing travel advisories. This paper looks at the online interaction with a national travel health website during the outbreak and compares this to trends in internet searches and news media output. Time trends were created for weekly views of ZIKV-related pages on a UK travel health website, relative search volumes for 'Zika' on Google UK, ZIKV-related items aggregated by Google UK News and rank of ZIKV travel advisories among all other pages between 15 November 2015 and 20 August 2016. Time trends in traffic to the travel health website corresponded with Google searches, but less so with media items due to intense coverage of the Rio Olympics. Travel advisories for pregnant women were issued from 7 December 2015 and began to increase in popularity (rank) from early January 2016, weeks before a surge in interest as measured by Google searches/news items at the end of January 2016. The study showed an amplification of perceived risk among users of a national travel health website weeks before the initial surge in public interest. This suggests a potential value for tools to detect changes in online information seeking behaviours for predicting periods of high demand where the routine capability of travel health services could be exceeded. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Datasets2Tools, repository and search engine for bioinformatics datasets, tools and canned analyses

PubMed Central

Torre, Denis; Krawczuk, Patrycja; Jagodnik, Kathleen M.; Lachmann, Alexander; Wang, Zichen; Wang, Lily; Kuleshov, Maxim V.; Ma’ayan, Avi

2018-01-01

Biomedical data repositories such as the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) enable the search and discovery of relevant biomedical digital data objects. Similarly, resources such as OMICtools, index bioinformatics tools that can extract knowledge from these digital data objects. However, systematic access to pre-generated ‘canned’ analyses applied by bioinformatics tools to biomedical digital data objects is currently not available. Datasets2Tools is a repository indexing 31,473 canned bioinformatics analyses applied to 6,431 datasets. The Datasets2Tools repository also contains the indexing of 4,901 published bioinformatics software tools, and all the analyzed datasets. Datasets2Tools enables users to rapidly find datasets, tools, and canned analyses through an intuitive web interface, a Google Chrome extension, and an API. Furthermore, Datasets2Tools provides a platform for contributing canned analyses, datasets, and tools, as well as evaluating these digital objects according to their compliance with the findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) principles. By incorporating community engagement, Datasets2Tools promotes sharing of digital resources to stimulate the extraction of knowledge from biomedical research data. Datasets2Tools is freely available from: http://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/datasets2tools. PMID:29485625

Datasets2Tools, repository and search engine for bioinformatics datasets, tools and canned analyses.

PubMed

Torre, Denis; Krawczuk, Patrycja; Jagodnik, Kathleen M; Lachmann, Alexander; Wang, Zichen; Wang, Lily; Kuleshov, Maxim V; Ma'ayan, Avi

2018-02-27

Biomedical data repositories such as the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) enable the search and discovery of relevant biomedical digital data objects. Similarly, resources such as OMICtools, index bioinformatics tools that can extract knowledge from these digital data objects. However, systematic access to pre-generated 'canned' analyses applied by bioinformatics tools to biomedical digital data objects is currently not available. Datasets2Tools is a repository indexing 31,473 canned bioinformatics analyses applied to 6,431 datasets. The Datasets2Tools repository also contains the indexing of 4,901 published bioinformatics software tools, and all the analyzed datasets. Datasets2Tools enables users to rapidly find datasets, tools, and canned analyses through an intuitive web interface, a Google Chrome extension, and an API. Furthermore, Datasets2Tools provides a platform for contributing canned analyses, datasets, and tools, as well as evaluating these digital objects according to their compliance with the findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) principles. By incorporating community engagement, Datasets2Tools promotes sharing of digital resources to stimulate the extraction of knowledge from biomedical research data. Datasets2Tools is freely available from: http://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/datasets2tools.

When the Sky Falls: Performing Initial Assessments of Bright Atmospheric Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooke, William J.; Brown, Peter; Blaauw, Rhiannon; Kingery, Aaron; Moser, Danielle

2015-01-01

The 2013 Chelyabinsk super bolide was the first "significant" impact event to occur in the age of social media and 24 hour news. Scientists, used to taking many days or weeks to analyze fireball events, were hard pressed to meet the immediate demands (within hours) for answers from the media, general public, and government officials. Fulfilling these requests forced many researchers to exploit information available from various Internet sources - videos were downloaded from sites like Youtube, geolocated via Google Street View, and quickly analyzed with improvised software; Twitter and Facebook were scoured for eyewitness accounts of the fireball and reports of meteorites. These data, combined with infrasound analyses, enabled a fairly accurate description of the Chelyabinsk event to be formed within a few hours; in particular, any relationship to 2012 DA14 (which passed near Earth later that same day) was eliminated. Results of these analyses were quickly disseminated to members of the NEO community for press conferences and media interviews. Despite a few minor glitches, the rapid initial assessment of Chelyabinsk was a triumph, permitting the timely conveyance of accurate information to the public and the incorporation of social media into fireball analyses. Beginning in 2008, the NASA Meteoroid Environments Office, working in cooperation with Western's Meteor Physics Group, developed processes and software that permit quick characterization - mass, trajectory, and orbital properties - of fireball events. These tools include automated monitoring of Twitter to establish the time of events (the first tweet is usually no more than a few seconds after the fireball), mining of Youtube and all sky camera web archives to locate videos suitable for analyses, use of Google Earth and Street View to geolocate the video locations, and software to determine the fireball trajectory and object orbital parameters, including generation of animations suitable for popular media and presentations. This presentation will give a short description of the characterization procedure and show applications of the tools, which have become vital to answering the question of "What was that bright light in the sky?" in the post-Chelyabinsk, 24/7 news world.

Open data mining for Taiwan's dengue epidemic.

PubMed

Wu, ChienHsing; Kao, Shu-Chen; Shih, Chia-Hung; Kan, Meng-Hsuan

2018-07-01

By using a quantitative approach, this study examines the applicability of data mining technique to discover knowledge from open data related to Taiwan's dengue epidemic. We compare results when Google trend data are included or excluded. Data sources are government open data, climate data, and Google trend data. Research findings from analysis of 70,914 cases are obtained. Location and time (month) in open data show the highest classification power followed by climate variables (temperature and humidity), whereas gender and age show the lowest values. Both prediction accuracy and simplicity decrease when Google trends are considered (respectively 0.94 and 0.37, compared to 0.96 and 0.46). The article demonstrates the value of open data mining in the context of public health care. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Importance of Mixing Virtual and Real Information in Games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaonach, H.

2014-12-01

Educational technology is rapidly evolving, today's classrooms are replete with ipads, iphones, interactive white boards, and other Internet tools and gadgets. However we mustn't be diverted by the technology and lose the basic focus on the communication of scientific ideas to the students. What do we want to teach them? I will present new educational kits including games about active volcanoes as well as climates and climate change. These tools have been created for 8-12 year olds who play on teams. The teams use question-cards and basic geographic knowledge to move on a regular play board by answering scientific questions. In addition to learning the science, through interpreting latitudes and longitudes, children will better understand the link between Google map and the world map after such exercises! With their teacher, they will be able to play with traditional pieces but also use tablets or computers to listen to videos as well as obtain additional subject related questions and activities. In this way, the Web is an infinite extension of the regular game played on a table with physical pieces. Let's see how it works!

Readability Assessment of Online Patient Education Material on Congestive Heart Failure.

PubMed

Kher, Akhil; Johnson, Sandra; Griffith, Robert

2017-01-01

Online health information is being used more ubiquitously by the general population. However, this information typically favors only a small percentage of readers, which can result in suboptimal medical outcomes for patients. The readability of online patient education materials regarding the topic of congestive heart failure was assessed through six readability assessment tools. The search phrase "congestive heart failure" was employed into the search engine Google. Out of the first 100 websites, only 70 were included attending to compliance with selection and exclusion criteria. These were then assessed through six readability assessment tools. Only 5 out of 70 websites were within the limits of the recommended sixth-grade readability level. The mean readability scores were as follows: the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (9.79), Gunning-Fog Score (11.95), Coleman-Liau Index (15.17), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) index (11.39), and the Flesch Reading Ease (48.87). Most of the analyzed websites were found to be above the sixth-grade readability level recommendations. Efforts need to be made to better tailor online patient education materials to the general population.

red - an R package to facilitate species red list assessments according to the IUCN criteria

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Abstract The International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List is the most useful database of species that are at risk of extinction worldwide, as it relies on a number of objective criteria and is now widely adopted. The R package red – IUCN Redlisting Tools - performs a number of spatial analyses based on either observed occurrences or estimated ranges. Functions include calculating Extent of Occurrence (EOO), Area of Occupancy (AOO), mapping species ranges, species distribution modelling using climate and land cover and calculating the Red List Index for groups of species. The package allows the calculation of confidence limits for all measures. Spatial data of species occurrences, environmental or land cover variables can be either given by the user or automatically extracted from several online databases. It outputs geographical range, elevation and country values, maps in several formats and vectorial data for visualization in Google Earth. Several examples are shown demonstrating the usefulness of the different methods. The red package constitutes an open platform for further development of new tools to facilitate red list assessments. PMID:29104439

Assessing capacity to consent for research in cognitively impaired older patients

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Thomas; Bosquet, Antoine; Thomas-Antérion, Catherine; Bonnefoy, Marc; Le Saux, Olivia

2017-01-01

Background The number of clinical trials including older patients, and particularly patients with cognitive impairment, is increasing. While statutory provisions exist to make sure that the capacity to consent is assessed systematically for each patient, many gray areas remain with regard to how this assessment is made or should be made in the routine practice of clinical research. Objectives The aim of this review was to draw up an inventory of assessment tools evaluating older patients’ capacity to consent specifically applicable to clinical research, which could be used in routine practice. Methods Two authors independently searched PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar data-bases between November 2015 and January 2016. The search was actualized in April 2017. We used keywords (MeSH terms and text words) referring to informed consent, capacity to consent, consent for research, research ethics, cognitive impairment, vulnerable older patients, and assessment tools. Existing reviews were also considered. Results Among the numerous existing tools for assessing capacity to consent, 14 seemed potentially suited for clinical research and six were evaluated in older patients. The MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research (MacCAT-CR) was the most frequently cited. Conclusion The MacCAT-CR is currently the most used and the best validated questionnaire. However, it appears difficult to use and time-consuming. A more recent tool, the University of California Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC), seems interesting for routine practice because of its simplicity, relevance, and applicability in older patients. PMID:29026293

Occupational Disease Registries-Characteristics and Experiences.

PubMed

Davoodi, Somayeh; Haghighi, Khosro Sadeghniat; Kalhori, Sharareh Rostam Niakan; Hosseini, Narges Shams; Mohammadzadeh, Zeinab; Safdari, Reza

2017-06-01

Due to growth of occupational diseases and also increase of public awareness about their consequences, attention to various aspects of diseases and improve occupational health and safety has found great importance. Therefore, there is the need for appropriate information management tools such as registries in order to recognitions of diseases patterns and then making decision about prevention, early detection and treatment of them. These registries have different characteristics in various countries according to their occupational health priorities. Aim of this study is evaluate dimensions of occupational diseases registries including objectives, data sources, responsible institutions, minimum data set, classification systems and process of registration in different countries. In this study, the papers were searched using the MEDLINE (PubMed) Google scholar, Scopus, ProQuest and Google. The search was done based on keyword in English for all motor engines including "occupational disease", "work related disease", "surveillance", "reporting", "registration system" and "registry" combined with name of the countries including all subheadings. After categorizing search findings in tables, results were compared with each other. Important aspects of the registries studied in ten countries including Finland, France, United Kingdom, Australia, Czech Republic, Malaysia, United States, Singapore, Russia and Turkey. The results show that surveyed countries have statistical, treatment and prevention objectives. Data sources in almost the rest of registries were physicians and employers. The minimum data sets in most of them consist of information about patient, disease, occupation and employer. Some of countries have special occupational related classification systems for themselves and some of them apply international classification systems such as ICD-10. Finally, the process of registration system was different in countries. Because occupational diseases are often preventable, but not curable, it is necessary to all countries, to consider prevention and early detection of occupational diseases as the objectives of their registry systems. Also it is recommended that all countries reach an agreement about global characteristics of occupational disease registries. This enables country to compare their data at international levels.

Google Moon Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-19

Michael Weiss-Malik, Product Manager for Moon in Google Earth, Google, Inc., speaks during a press conference, Monday, July 20, 2009, announcing the launch of Moon in Google Earth, an immersive 3D atlas of the Moon, accessible within Google Earth 5.0, Monday, July 20, 2009, at the Newseum in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Google Moon Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-19

Tiffany Montague, Technical Program Manager for NASA and Google Lunar X PRIZE, Google, Inc., speaks during a press conference, Monday, July 20, 2009, announcing the launch of Moon in Google Earth, an immersive 3D atlas of the Moon, accessible within Google Earth 5.0, Monday, July 20, 2009, at the Newseum in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Tools for assessing risk of reporting biases in studies and syntheses of studies: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Page, Matthew J; McKenzie, Joanne E; Higgins, Julian P T

2018-01-01

Background Several scales, checklists and domain-based tools for assessing risk of reporting biases exist, but it is unclear how much they vary in content and guidance. We conducted a systematic review of the content and measurement properties of such tools. Methods We searched for potentially relevant articles in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycINFO and Google Scholar from inception to February 2017. One author screened all titles, abstracts and full text articles, and collected data on tool characteristics. Results We identified 18 tools that include an assessment of the risk of reporting bias. Tools varied in regard to the type of reporting bias assessed (eg, bias due to selective publication, bias due to selective non-reporting), and the level of assessment (eg, for the study as a whole, a particular result within a study or a particular synthesis of studies). Various criteria are used across tools to designate a synthesis as being at ‘high’ risk of bias due to selective publication (eg, evidence of funnel plot asymmetry, use of non-comprehensive searches). However, the relative weight assigned to each criterion in the overall judgement is unclear for most of these tools. Tools for assessing risk of bias due to selective non-reporting guide users to assess a study, or an outcome within a study, as ‘high’ risk of bias if no results are reported for an outcome. However, assessing the corresponding risk of bias in a synthesis that is missing the non-reported outcomes is outside the scope of most of these tools. Inter-rater agreement estimates were available for five tools. Conclusion There are several limitations of existing tools for assessing risk of reporting biases, in terms of their scope, guidance for reaching risk of bias judgements and measurement properties. Development and evaluation of a new, comprehensive tool could help overcome present limitations. PMID:29540417

Using "Big Data" Versus Alternative Measures of Aggregate Data to Predict the U.S. 2016 Presidential Election.

PubMed

Ma-Kellams, Christine; Bishop, Brianna; Zhang, Mei Fong; Villagrana, Brian

2017-01-01

To what extent could "Big Data" predict the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election better than more conventional sources of aggregate measures? To test this idea, the present research used Google search trends versus other forms of state-level data (i.e., both behavioral measures like the incidence of hate crimes, hate groups, and police brutality and implicit measures like Implicit Association Test (IAT) data) to predict each state's popular vote for the 2016 presidential election. Results demonstrate that, when taken in isolation, zero-order correlations reveal that prevalence of hate groups, prevalence of hate crimes, Google searches for racially charged terms (i.e., related to White supremacy groups, racial slurs, and the Nazi movement), and political conservatism were all significant predictors of popular support for Trump. However, subsequent hierarchical regression analyses show that when these predictors are considered simultaneously, only Google search data for historical White supremacy terms (e.g., "Adolf Hitler") uniquely predicted election outcomes earlier and beyond political conservatism. Thus, Big Data, in the form of Google search, emerged as a more potent predictor of political behavior than other aggregate measures, including implicit attitudes and behavioral measures of racial bias. Implications for the role of racial bias in the 2016 presidential election in particular and the utility of Google search data more generally are discussed.

Google Lunar XPRIZE: Sharing the global adventure of going 'Back to the Moon: For Good'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heward, A.; Gonzales, C.; Ashley, C.; Hwang, P.

2013-09-01

The Google Lunar XPRIZE is igniting a new era of lunar exploration by offering the largest international incentive prize of all time. A total of $30 million in prizes are available to the first privately funded teams to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon. Currently 23 teams are competing for the Google Lunar X PRIZE, with team headquarters spread across the world, including Germany, Hungary, Spain, Croatia, Denmark, Romania, Russia, India, Israel, Malaysia, Japan, Chile and Brazil as well as the USA. Building awareness and involving the public with the competition presents an outreach challenge on a global scale. A strong presence on social media is one of the core requirements for teams participating in the competition. To engage and inspire young people, Google Lunar XPRIZE has for the past three years run a junior version of the competition, MoonBots, a LEGO®MINDSTORMS® Challenge. A kit based on the competition has now been developed for use in Science Centres. In Autumn 2013, a full-dome planetarium show will be launched entitled 'Back to the Moon -For Good.' This show will be available to planetaria around the world at a no-cost lease. This suite of outreach activities aim to build excitement over the next two years as the teams prepare for launch before the Google Lunar XPRIZE expiry date of December 2015.

KML Tours: A New Platform for Exploring and Sharing Geospatial Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2009-12-01

Google Earth and other virtual globes have allowed millions of people to explore the world from their own home. This technology has also raised the bar for professional visualizations: enabling interactive 3D visualizations to be created from massive data-sets, and shared using the KML language. For academics and professionals alike, an engaging presentation of your geospatial data is generally expected and can be the most effective form of advertisement. To that end, we released 'Touring' in Google Earth 5.0: a new medium for cinematic expression, visualized in Google Earth and written as extensions to the KML language. In a KML tour, the author has fine-grained control over the entire visual experience: precisely moving the virtual camera through the world while dynamically modifying the content, style, position, and visibility of the displayed data. An author can synchronize audio to this experience, bringing further immersion to a visualization. KML tours can help engage a broad user-base and conveying subtle concepts that aren't immediately apparent in traditional geospatial content. Unlike a pre-rendered video, a KML Tour maintains the rich interactivity of Google Earth, allowing users to continue exploring your content, and to mash-up other content with your visualization. This session will include conceptual explanations of the Touring feature in Google Earth, the structure of the touring KML extensions, as well as examples of compelling tours.

Artificial Intelligence approaches in hematopoietic cell transplant: A review of the current status and future directions.

PubMed

Muhsen, Ibrahim N; ElHassan, Tusneem; Hashmi, Shahrukh K

2018-06-08

Currently, the evidence-based literature on healthcare is expanding exponentially. The opportunities provided by the advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) tools i.e. machine learning are appealing in tackling many of the current healthcare challenges. Thus, AI integration is expanding in most fields of healthcare, including the field of hematology. This study aims to review the current applications of AI in the field hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Literature search was done involving the following databases: Ovid-Medline including in-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations and google scholar. The abstracts of the following professional societies: American Society of Haematology (ASH), American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) and European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) were also screened. Literature review showed that the integration of AI in the field of HCT has grown remarkably in the last decade and confers promising avenues in diagnosis and prognosis within HCT populations targeting both pre and post-transplant challenges. Studies on AI integration in HCT have many limitations that include poorly tested algorithms, lack of generalizability and limited use of different AI tools. Machine learning techniques in HCT is an intense area of research that needs a lot of development and needs extensive support from hematology and HCT societies / organizations globally since we believe that this would be the future practice paradigm. Key words: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, hematopoietic cell transplant.

Assessing quality of health services with the SERVQUAL model in Iran. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Teshnizi, Saeed Hosseini; Aghamolaei, Teamur; Kahnouji, Kobra; Teshnizi, Seyyed Mehrdad Hosseini; Ghani, Jalil

2018-03-01

The five-dimension service quality (SERVQUAL) scale is one of the most common tools for evaluating gaps between clients' perceptions and expectations. This study aimed to assess the quality of health services in Iran through a meta-analysis of all Iranian studies which used the SERVQUAL tool. A systematic literature review has been performed in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, Magiran and Scientific Information Database. All relevant English or Persian studies published between January 2009 and April 2016 were have been selected. Papers were considered if they regarded all five dimensions of the SERVQUAL tool for assessing the quality of health care services. Two reviewer independently extracted mean and standard deviation of five dimensions and characteristics of studies. The quality of studies included in meta-analysis using STROBE checklist. Of 315 studies initially identified, 12 were included in our meta-analysis. All analyses were performed in Stata MP v. 14. Patients' perceptions were lower than their expectations (gap = -1.64). Responsibility (-1.22) and reliability (-1.15) had the lowest gaps, and tangibility and empathy (-1.03) had the largest gaps. Except gender, other variables had no significant associations with gaps. Patients in the cities of Arak (-3.47) and Shiraz (-3.02) had the largest gaps. All dimensions of service quality were negative, which implies that the quality of health services in Iran has not been satisfying to patients and needs to be improved.

Prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Asian midlife women: a systematic review.

PubMed

Islam, M Rakibul; Gartoulla, P; Bell, R J; Fradkin, P; Davis, S R

2015-04-01

To systematically review published articles for the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Asian women. A comprehensive and systematic literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, SCOPUS and Google scholar in June 2013 to retrieve all English-language studies that included information on the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in women living in Asian countries. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using a risk-of-bias tool explicitly designed for the systematic review of prevalence studies. Twenty-three independent studies met our inclusion criteria. Physical symptoms were the most prevalent symptoms compared to psychological, vasomotor and sexual symptoms. There was a wide variation in the prevalence of all symptoms across the menopausal stages due to the differences in modes of recruitment, study design, sampling procedures, the time frame over which symptoms were assessed and use of different diagnostic or screening tools. A high level of bias was observed for both external and internal validity for most studies. Although there is a wide variation in the reported prevalence of menopausal symptoms, physical symptoms predominate, followed by psychological symptoms, vasomotor symptoms and sexual symptoms. Further studies of representative samples are necessary to understand whether the variations in prevalence reporting are a function of methodological issues or due to ethnic, cultural or other socioeconomic differences.

Human Disease Insight: An integrated knowledge-based platform for disease-gene-drug information.

PubMed

Tasleem, Munazzah; Ishrat, Romana; Islam, Asimul; Ahmad, Faizan; Hassan, Md Imtaiyaz

2016-01-01

The scope of the Human Disease Insight (HDI) database is not limited to researchers or physicians as it also provides basic information to non-professionals and creates disease awareness, thereby reducing the chances of patient suffering due to ignorance. HDI is a knowledge-based resource providing information on human diseases to both scientists and the general public. Here, our mission is to provide a comprehensive human disease database containing most of the available useful information, with extensive cross-referencing. HDI is a knowledge management system that acts as a central hub to access information about human diseases and associated drugs and genes. In addition, HDI contains well-classified bioinformatics tools with helpful descriptions. These integrated bioinformatics tools enable researchers to annotate disease-specific genes and perform protein analysis, search for biomarkers and identify potential vaccine candidates. Eventually, these tools will facilitate the analysis of disease-associated data. The HDI provides two types of search capabilities and includes provisions for downloading, uploading and searching disease/gene/drug-related information. The logistical design of the HDI allows for regular updating. The database is designed to work best with Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome and is freely accessible at http://humandiseaseinsight.com. Copyright © 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biographer: web-based editing and rendering of SBGN compliant biochemical networks.

PubMed

Krause, Falko; Schulz, Marvin; Ripkens, Ben; Flöttmann, Max; Krantz, Marcus; Klipp, Edda; Handorf, Thomas

2013-06-01

The rapid accumulation of knowledge in the field of Systems Biology during the past years requires advanced, but simple-to-use, methods for the visualization of information in a structured and easily comprehensible manner. We have developed biographer, a web-based renderer and editor for reaction networks, which can be integrated as a library into tools dealing with network-related information. Our software enables visualizations based on the emerging standard Systems Biology Graphical Notation. It is able to import networks encoded in various formats such as SBML, SBGN-ML and jSBGN, a custom lightweight exchange format. The core package is implemented in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript and can be used within any kind of web-based project. It features interactive graph-editing tools and automatic graph layout algorithms. In addition, we provide a standalone graph editor and a web server, which contains enhanced features like web services for the import and export of models and visualizations in different formats. The biographer tool can be used at and downloaded from the web page http://biographer.biologie.hu-berlin.de/. The different software packages, including a server-independent version as well as a web server for Windows and Linux based systems, are available at http://code.google.com/p/biographer/ under the open-source license LGPL

Google Scholar Goes to School: The Presence of Google Scholar on College and University Web Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neuhaus, Chris; Neuhaus, Ellen; Asher, Alan

2008-01-01

This study measured the degree of Google Scholar adoption within academia by analyzing the frequency of Google Scholar appearances on 948 campus and library Web sites, and by ascertaining the establishment of link resolution between Google Scholar and library resources. Results indicate a positive correlation between the implementation of Google…

The Google-ization of Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Natasja; Parsons, Jim; Servage, Laura

2007-01-01

How has GOOGLE shaped knowledge? How has it shaped those who use it? This article considers the impact of online knowledge upon the content of knowledge and upon the people who seek it and create it. The authors suggest that 1. Google-ization is reshaping knowledge. 2. Google-ization is changing how knowledge counts as important. 3. Google-ization…

Students' Google Drive Intended Usage: A Case Study of Mathematics Courses in Bangkok University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prasertsith, Krisawan; Kanthawongs, Penjira; Limpachote, Tan

2016-01-01

Many technologies have changed the way individuals live and learn. Google Inc. has played significant roles in business and academic worlds. Google Apps for Education and Google Classroom have been offered to higher institutions around the globe. Although large cloud service provider such as Google do not encrypt all their stored electronic data…

The 2nd Generation Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blakeslee, Richard; Goodman, Michael; Meyer, Paul; Hardin, Danny; Hall, John; He, Yubin; Regner, Kathryn; Conover, Helen; Smith, Tammy; Lu, Jessica;

Leveraging Earth and Planetary Datasets to Support Student Investigations in an Introductory Geoscience Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, Jeffrey; De Paor, Declan

2016-04-01

Engaging undergraduates in discovery-based research during their first two years of college was a listed priority in the 2012 Report of the USA President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and has been the focus of events and publications sponsored by the National Academies (NAS, 2015). Challenges faced in moving undergraduate courses and curricula in this direction are the paired questions of how to effectively provide such experiences to large numbers of students, and how to do so in ways that are cost- and time-effiicient for institutions and instructional faculty. In the geosciences, free access to of a growing number of global earth and planetary data resources and associated visualization tools permits one to build into introductory-level courses straightforward data interrogation and analysis activities that provide students with valuable experiences with the compilation and critical investigation of earth and planetary data. Google Earth provides global Earth and planetary imagery databases that span large ranges in resolution and in time, permitting easy examination of earth surface features and surface features on Mars or the Moon. As well, "community" data sources (i.e., Gigapan photographic collections and 3D visualizations of geologic features, as are supported by the NSF GEODE project) allow for intensive interrogation of specific geologic phenomena. Google Earth Engine provides access to rich satellite-based earth observation data, supporting studies of weather and related student efforts. GeoMapApp, the freely available visualization tool of the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA), permits examination of the seafloor and the integration of a range of third-party data. The "Earth" meteorological website (earth.nullschool.net) provides near real-time visualization of global weather and oceanic conditions, which in combination with weather option data from Google Earth permits a deeper interrogation of atmospheric conditions. In combination, these freely accessible data resources permit one to transform general- audience geoscience courses into extended investigations, in which students discover key information about the workings of our planet.

Decision support system for the response to infectious disease emergencies based on WebGIS and mobile services in China.

PubMed

Li, Ya-pin; Fang, Li-qun; Gao, Su-qing; Wang, Zhen; Gao, Hong-wei; Liu, Peng; Wang, Ze-Rui; Li, Yan-Li; Zhu, Xu-Guang; Li, Xin-Lou; Xu, Bo; Li, Yin-Jun; Yang, Hong; de Vlas, Sake J; Shi, Tao-Xing; Cao, Wu-Chun

2013-01-01

For years, emerging infectious diseases have appeared worldwide and threatened the health of people. The emergence and spread of an infectious-disease outbreak are usually unforeseen, and have the features of suddenness and uncertainty. Timely understanding of basic information in the field, and the collection and analysis of epidemiological information, is helpful in making rapid decisions and responding to an infectious-disease emergency. Therefore, it is necessary to have an unobstructed channel and convenient tool for the collection and analysis of epidemiologic information in the field. Baseline information for each county in mainland China was collected and a database was established by geo-coding information on a digital map of county boundaries throughout the country. Google Maps was used to display geographic information and to conduct calculations related to maps, and the 3G wireless network was used to transmit information collected in the field to the server. This study established a decision support system for the response to infectious-disease emergencies based on WebGIS and mobile services (DSSRIDE). The DSSRIDE provides functions including data collection, communication and analyses in real time, epidemiological detection, the provision of customized epidemiological questionnaires and guides for handling infectious disease emergencies, and the querying of professional knowledge in the field. These functions of the DSSRIDE could be helpful for epidemiological investigations in the field and the handling of infectious-disease emergencies. The DSSRIDE provides a geographic information platform based on the Google Maps application programming interface to display information of infectious disease emergencies, and transfers information between workers in the field and decision makers through wireless transmission based on personal computers, mobile phones and personal digital assistants. After a 2-year practice and application in infectious disease emergencies, the DSSRIDE is becoming a useful platform and is a useful tool for investigations in the field carried out by response sections and individuals. The system is suitable for use in developing countries and low-income districts.

Electronic Biomedical Literature Search for Budding Researcher

PubMed Central

Thakre, Subhash B.; Thakre S, Sushama S.; Thakre, Amol D.

2013-01-01

Search for specific and well defined literature related to subject of interest is the foremost step in research. When we are familiar with topic or subject then we can frame appropriate research question. Appropriate research question is the basis for study objectives and hypothesis. The Internet provides a quick access to an overabundance of the medical literature, in the form of primary, secondary and tertiary literature. It is accessible through journals, databases, dictionaries, textbooks, indexes, and e-journals, thereby allowing access to more varied, individualised, and systematic educational opportunities. Web search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web, which may be in the form of web pages, images, information, and other types of files. Search engines for internet-based search of medical literature include Google, Google scholar, Scirus, Yahoo search engine, etc., and databases include MEDLINE, PubMed, MEDLARS, etc. Several web-libraries (National library Medicine, Cochrane, Web of Science, Medical matrix, Emory libraries) have been developed as meta-sites, providing useful links to health resources globally. A researcher must keep in mind the strengths and limitations of a particular search engine/database while searching for a particular type of data. Knowledge about types of literature, levels of evidence, and detail about features of search engine as available, user interface, ease of access, reputable content, and period of time covered allow their optimal use and maximal utility in the field of medicine. Literature search is a dynamic and interactive process; there is no one way to conduct a search and there are many variables involved. It is suggested that a systematic search of literature that uses available electronic resource effectively, is more likely to produce quality research. PMID:24179937

Electronic biomedical literature search for budding researcher.

PubMed

Thakre, Subhash B; Thakre S, Sushama S; Thakre, Amol D

2013-09-01

Search for specific and well defined literature related to subject of interest is the foremost step in research. When we are familiar with topic or subject then we can frame appropriate research question. Appropriate research question is the basis for study objectives and hypothesis. The Internet provides a quick access to an overabundance of the medical literature, in the form of primary, secondary and tertiary literature. It is accessible through journals, databases, dictionaries, textbooks, indexes, and e-journals, thereby allowing access to more varied, individualised, and systematic educational opportunities. Web search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web, which may be in the form of web pages, images, information, and other types of files. Search engines for internet-based search of medical literature include Google, Google scholar, Scirus, Yahoo search engine, etc., and databases include MEDLINE, PubMed, MEDLARS, etc. Several web-libraries (National library Medicine, Cochrane, Web of Science, Medical matrix, Emory libraries) have been developed as meta-sites, providing useful links to health resources globally. A researcher must keep in mind the strengths and limitations of a particular search engine/database while searching for a particular type of data. Knowledge about types of literature, levels of evidence, and detail about features of search engine as available, user interface, ease of access, reputable content, and period of time covered allow their optimal use and maximal utility in the field of medicine. Literature search is a dynamic and interactive process; there is no one way to conduct a search and there are many variables involved. It is suggested that a systematic search of literature that uses available electronic resource effectively, is more likely to produce quality research.

Accuracy of remote electrocardiogram interpretation with the use of Google Glass technology.

PubMed

Jeroudi, Omar M; Christakopoulos, George; Christopoulos, George; Kotsia, Anna; Kypreos, Megan A; Rangan, Bavana V; Banerjee, Subhash; Brilakis, Emmanouil S

2015-02-01

We sought to investigate the accuracy of remote electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation using Google Glass (Google, Mountain View, California). Google Glass is an optical head mounted display device with growing applications in medicine. We compared interpretation of 10 ECGs with 21 clinically important findings by faculty and fellow cardiologists by (1) viewing the electrocardiographic image at the Google Glass screen; (2) viewing a photograph of the ECG taken using Google Glass and interpreted on a mobile device; (3) viewing the original paper ECG; and (4) viewing a photograph of the ECG taken with a high-resolution camera and interpreted on a mobile device. One point was given for identification of each correct finding. Subjective rating of the user experience was also recorded. Twelve physicians (4 faculty and 8 fellow cardiologists) participated. The average electrocardiographic interpretation score (maximum 21 points) as viewed through the Google Glass, Google Glass photograph on a mobile device, on paper, and high-resolution photograph on a mobile device was 13.5 ± 1.8, 16.1 ± 2.6, 18.3 ± 1.7, and 18.6 ± 1.5, respectively (p = 0.0005 between Google Glass and mobile device, p = 0.0005 between Google Glass and paper, and p = 0.002 between mobile device and paper). Of the 12 physicians, 9 (75%) were dissatisfied with ECGs viewing on the prism display of Google Glass. In conclusion, further improvements are needed before Google Glass can be reliably used for remote electrocardiographic analysis. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Trends in access of plant biodiversity data revealed by Google Analytics

PubMed Central

Baxter, David G.; Hagedorn, Gregor; Legler, Ben; Gilbert, Edward; Thiele, Kevin; Vargas-Rodriguez, Yalma; Urbatsch, Lowell E.

2014-01-01

Abstract The amount of plant biodiversity data available via the web has exploded in the last decade, but making these data available requires a considerable investment of time and work, both vital considerations for organizations and institutions looking to validate the impact factors of these online works. Here we used Google Analytics (GA), to measure the value of this digital presence. In this paper we examine usage trends using 15 different GA accounts, spread across 451 institutions or botanical projects that comprise over five percent of the world's herbaria. They were studied at both one year and total years. User data from the sample reveal: 1) over 17 million web sessions, 2) on five primary operating systems, 3) search and direct traffic dominates with minimal impact from social media, 4) mobile and new device types have doubled each year for the past three years, 5) and web browsers, the tools we use to interact with the web, are changing. Server-side analytics differ from site to site making the comparison of their data sets difficult. However, use of Google Analytics erases the reporting heterogeneity of unique server-side analytics, as they can now be examined with a standard that provides a clarity for data-driven decisions. The knowledge gained here empowers any collection-based environment regardless of size, with metrics about usability, design, and possible directions for future development. PMID:25425933

Popularity of Different Lampyrid Species in Japanese Culture as Measured by Google Search Volume.

PubMed

Takada, Kenta

2011-07-05

I investigated the popularity of different lampyrid species (34 species) in Japanese culture as part of a study on cultural entomology. Popularity was assessed by the Google search volume for Japanese lampyrid species names in katakana and hiragana scripts, using the Keyword Tool of Google AdWords. The search volume of lampyrid species as "Genji-botaru" (Luciola cruciata Motschulsky), "Heike-botaru" (Luciola lateralis Motschulsky) and "Hime-botaru" (Hotaria parvula Kiesenwetter), in either or both katakana and hiragana syllabic scripts, was enormously high relative to other lampyrid species, indicating the biased attention of Japanese to these lampyrid species. In addition, search volumes for familial or common lampyrid name ("Hotaru") was assessed and compared with that of 34 lampyrid species. This analyzing result showed that: (1) the search volumes for katakana and hiragana were 37.7 and 773.1 times higher for "Hotaru" than "Genji-botaru", respectively; and (2) the search volume for all lampyrid species was clearly higher in katakana than hiragana, whereas the search volumes for "Hotaru" were clearly higher in hiragana than katakana. These results suggest that: (1) the Japanese public tends to perceive lampyrids with not a clear but an ambiguous taxonomic view; and (2) the attitude of the Japanese public toward lampyrids differs between those who perceive lampyrids with a clear taxonomic view (at species level) and with an ambiguous taxonomic view.

Trends in access of plant biodiversity data revealed by Google Analytics.

PubMed

Jones, Timothy Mark; Baxter, David G; Hagedorn, Gregor; Legler, Ben; Gilbert, Edward; Thiele, Kevin; Vargas-Rodriguez, Yalma; Urbatsch, Lowell E

2014-01-01

The amount of plant biodiversity data available via the web has exploded in the last decade, but making these data available requires a considerable investment of time and work, both vital considerations for organizations and institutions looking to validate the impact factors of these online works. Here we used Google Analytics (GA), to measure the value of this digital presence. In this paper we examine usage trends using 15 different GA accounts, spread across 451 institutions or botanical projects that comprise over five percent of the world's herbaria. They were studied at both one year and total years. User data from the sample reveal: 1) over 17 million web sessions, 2) on five primary operating systems, 3) search and direct traffic dominates with minimal impact from social media, 4) mobile and new device types have doubled each year for the past three years, 5) and web browsers, the tools we use to interact with the web, are changing. Server-side analytics differ from site to site making the comparison of their data sets difficult. However, use of Google Analytics erases the reporting heterogeneity of unique server-side analytics, as they can now be examined with a standard that provides a clarity for data-driven decisions. The knowledge gained here empowers any collection-based environment regardless of size, with metrics about usability, design, and possible directions for future development.

Seasons, Searches, and Intentions: What The Internet Can Tell Us About The Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Epidemic.

PubMed

Sentana-Lledo, Daniel; Barbu, Corentin M; Ngo, Michelle N; Wu, Yage; Sethuraman, Karthik; Levy, Michael Z

2016-01-01

The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) is once again prevalent in the United States. We investigated temporal patterns in Google search queries for bed bugs and co-occurring terms, and conducted in-person surveys to explore the intentions behind searches that included those terms. Searches for "bed bugs" rose steadily through 2011 and then plateaued, suggesting that the epidemic has reached an equilibrium in the United States. However, queries including terms that survey respondents associated strongly with having bed bugs (e.g., "exterminator," "remedies") continued to climb, while terms more closely associated with informational searches (e.g., "hotels," "about") fell. Respondents' rankings of terms and nonseasonal trends in Google search volume as assessed by a cosinor model were significantly correlated (Kendall's Tau-b P = 0.015). We find no evidence from Google Trends that the bed bug epidemic in the United States has reached equilibrium. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Google Book Search: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaffhauser, Dian

2008-01-01

Google is opening up whole new worlds for internet surfers and researchers everywhere. Google Book Search (books.google.com), which is still in beta after several years of testing, offers the ubiquitous Google search box on its home page. It also has categories of books as well as book cover images that refresh every time the home page is…

Quality and Usability of Arthritic Pain Self-Management Apps for Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Bhattarai, Priyanka; Newton-John, T R O; Phillips, Jane L

2018-03-01

To appraise the quality and usability of currently available pain applications that could be used by community-dwelling older adults to self-manage their arthritic pain. A systematic review. Searches were conducted in App Store and Google Play to identify pain self-management apps relevant to arthritic pain management. English language pain management apps providing pain assessment and documentation function and pain management education were considered for inclusion. A quality evaluation audit tool based on the Stanford Arthritis Self-Management Program was developed a priori to evaluate app content quality. The usability of included apps was assessed using an established usability evaluation tool. Out of the 373 apps that were identified, four met the inclusion criteria. The included apps all included a pain assessment and documentation function and instructions on medication use, communication with health professionals, cognitive behavioral therapy-based pain management, and physical exercise. Management of mood, depression, anxiety, and sleep were featured in most apps (N = 3). Three-quarters (N = 3) of the apps fell below the acceptable moderate usability score (≥3), while one app obtained a moderate score (3.2). Few of the currently available pain apps offer a comprehensive pain self-management approach incorporating evidence-based strategies in accordance with the Stanford Arthritis Self-Management Program. The moderate-level usability across the included apps indicates a need to consider the usability needs of the older population in future pain self-management app development endeavors.

Technical skills assessment toolbox: a review using the unitary framework of validity.

PubMed

Ghaderi, Iman; Manji, Farouq; Park, Yoon Soo; Juul, Dorthea; Ott, Michael; Harris, Ilene; Farrell, Timothy M

2015-02-01

The purpose of this study was to create a technical skills assessment toolbox for 35 basic and advanced skills/procedures that comprise the American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) surgical skills curriculum and to provide a critical appraisal of the included tools, using contemporary framework of validity. Competency-based training has become the predominant model in surgical education and assessment of performance is an essential component. Assessment methods must produce valid results to accurately determine the level of competency. A search was performed, using PubMed and Google Scholar, to identify tools that have been developed for assessment of the targeted technical skills. A total of 23 assessment tools for the 35 ACS/APDS skills modules were identified. Some tools, such as Operative Performance Rating System (OSATS) and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OPRS), have been tested for more than 1 procedure. Therefore, 30 modules had at least 1 assessment tool, with some common surgical procedures being addressed by several tools. Five modules had none. Only 3 studies used Messick's framework to design their validity studies. The remaining studies used an outdated framework on the basis of "types of validity." When analyzed using the contemporary framework, few of these studies demonstrated validity for content, internal structure, and relationship to other variables. This study provides an assessment toolbox for common surgical skills/procedures. Our review shows that few authors have used the contemporary unitary concept of validity for development of their assessment tools. As we progress toward competency-based training, future studies should provide evidence for various sources of validity using the contemporary framework.