Case Studies in Thin Client Acceptance

Thin Client technology boasts an impressive range of financial, technical and administrative benefits. Combined with virtualisation technology, higher bandwidth availability and cheaper high performance processors, many believe that Thin Clients have come of age. But despite a growing body of literature documenting successful Thin Client deployments there remains an undercurrent of concern regarding user acceptance of this technology and a belief that greater efforts are required to understand how to integrate Thin Clients into existing, predominantly PC-based, deployments. It would be more accurate to state that the challenge facing the acceptance of Thin Clients is a combination of architectural design and integration strategy rather than a purely technical issue. Careful selection of services to be offered over Thin Clients is essential to their acceptance. Through an evolution of three case studies the user acceptance issues were reviewed and resolved resulting in a 92% acceptance rate of the final Thin Client deployment. No significant bias was evident in our comparison of user attitudes towards desktop services delivered over PCs and Thin Clients

Image database system for glaucoma diagnosis support

Tato práce popisuje přehled standardních a pokročilých metod používaných k diagnose glaukomu v ranném stádiu. Na základě teoretických poznatků je implementován internetově orientovaný informační systém pro oční lékaře, který má tři hlavní cíle. Prvním cílem je možnost sdílení osobních dat konkrétního pacienta bez nutnosti posílat tato data internetem. Druhým cílem je vytvořit účet pacienta založený na kompletním očním vyšetření. Posledním cílem je aplikovat algoritmus pro registraci intenzitního a barevného fundus obrazu a na jeho základě vytvořit internetově orientovanou tři-dimenzionální vizualizaci optického disku. Tato práce je součásti DAAD spolupráce mezi Ústavem Biomedicínského Inženýrství, Vysokého Učení Technického v Brně, Oční klinikou v Erlangenu a Ústavem Informačních Technologií, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nurnberg.This master thesis describes a conception of standard and advanced eye examination methods used for glaucoma diagnosis in its early stage. According to the theoretical knowledge, a web based information system for ophthalmologists with three main aims is implemented. The first aim is the possibility to share medical data of a concrete patient without sending his personal data through the Internet. The second aim is to create a patient account based on a complete eye examination procedure. The last aim is to improve the HRT diagnostic method with an image registration algorithm for the fundus and intensity images and create an optic nerve head web based 3D visualization. This master thesis is a part of project based on DAAD co-operation between Department of Biomedical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Eye Clinic in Erlangen and Department of Computer Science, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nurnberg.

cISP: A Speed-of-Light Internet Service Provider

Low latency is a requirement for a variety of interactive network applications. The Internet, however, is not optimized for latency. We thus explore the design of cost-effective wide-area networks that move data over paths very close to great-circle paths, at speeds very close to the speed of light in vacuum. Our cISP design augments the Internet's fiber with free-space wireless connectivity. cISP addresses the fundamental challenge of simultaneously providing low latency and scalable bandwidth, while accounting for numerous practical factors ranging from transmission tower availability to packet queuing. We show that instantiations of cISP across the contiguous United States and Europe would achieve mean latencies within 5% of that achievable using great-circle paths at the speed of light, over medium and long distances. Further, we estimate that the economic value from such networks would substantially exceed their expense

충수염 의증 청소년 및 젊은 성인에서 2-mSv CT와 기존 선량 CT의 민감도 및 특이도: LOCAT의 사후 하위그룹 분석

학위논문(박사)--서울대학교 대학원 :융합과학기술대학원 융합과학부,2019. 8. 이경호.Introduction: To explore heterogeneity across patient or hospital characteristics in the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 2-mSv CT relative to conventional-dose CT (CDCT) in adolescents and young adults with suspected appendicitis. Methods: We used the per-protocol analysis set of a large randomized controlled noninferiority trial conducted between Dec 2013, and Aug 2016, comparing 2-mSv CT and CDCT (typically 7 mSv). The data included 2,773 patients (median age [interquartile range], 28 [21–35] years) and 160 radiologists from 20 hospitals. We tested for heterogeneity in sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of appendicitis across predefined subgroups by patient sex, body size, clinical risk scores for appendicitis, time of CT examination (i.e., working hours [typically 08:00–17:00 of working days] vs. after hours), CT machines, radiologists experience, previous site experience in 2-mSv CT, and site practice volume. We drew forest plots and tested for additive or multiplicative treatment-by-subgroup interaction on sensitivity and specificity. Results: The 95% CIs for the between-group differences, particularly for sensitivity, were wide due to small sizes (< 200) for the subgroups of extreme body sizes, high clinical risk score for appendicitis, newer CT machines, hospital with prior experience in 2-mSv CT, and hospitals with small appendectomy volume. Otherwise, the 95% CIs in most subgroups contained the previously reported overall between-group differences as well as null hypothesis value (i.e., 0). There was no significant additive or multiplicative interaction for either sensitivity or specificity. Conclusions: We found no notable subgroup heterogeneity, which implies that 2-mSv CT can replace CDCT in diverse populations. Further studies are needed for the populations for which our subgroups were small.서론: 본 연구는 충수염 의증 청소년 및 젊은 성인에서 기존 CT와 비교하여 2-mSv CT의 진단 민감도 및 특이도에서 환자 또는 병원의 특성에 따른 이질성이 있는지를 탐색하는 연구임. 방법: 본 연구는 2013년 12월에서 2016년 8월 사이에 15–44세의 환자에서 2-mSv CT와 기존 선량 CT (일반적으로 7 mSv)를 비교한 대규모 비열등성 무작위배정 임상시험의 프로토콜 별 분석세트를 사용함. 본 연구에는 20개 병원에서 2,773명의 환자 (중앙값 연령 [사분위수 범위], 28 [21–35]세)가 포함되었으며, 160명의 판독의가 참여함. 환자의 성별, 신체 크기, 충수염에 대한 임상 위험 점수, CT 검사시간 (일과시간 [근무일 기준 오전 8시부터 오후5시] 또는 일과시간 이후), CT 장비, 판독의의 경험정도, 2-mSv CT에 대한 이전 경험 여부, 그리고 병원의 임상규모 등의 사전 정의된 하위 그룹에서 충수염 진단을 위한 민감도 및 특이도의 이질성을 테스트함. 두 군의 차이를 숲그림으로 제시하고, 민감도와 특이도에 대한 덧셈 및 곱셈 상호작용을 테스트함. 결과: 많이 날씬하거나 뚱뚱한 경우, 충수염 염증 반응 점수가 높은 경우, 최신 CT 기기를 사용한 경우, 2-mSV CT 의 이전 경험이 있는 병원, 그리고 충수절제술 규모가 작은 병원의 경우 등 특정 하위 그룹은 작은 크기 (< 200)로 인해 민감도에 대한 95 % 신뢰구간이 넓었음. 그 외, 대부분의 하위 그룹에서 그룹 간 차이에 대한 95 % 신뢰구간은 이전 보고된 전체 그룹 간 차이 및 귀무 가설 값 (즉, 0)을 포함하였음. 2-mSv CT 군과 기존 선량 CT 군 간에 민감도 및 특이도에서 덧셈 또는 곱셈 상호작용을 보이는 하위 그룹은 없었음. 결론: 충수염 의증 청소년과 젊은 성인에서 2-mSv CT와 기존 선량 CT 간에 민감도와 특이도에서 이질성을 보이는 하위그룹은 없었음. 이는 2-mSv CT가 다양한 집단에서 기존 선량 CT를 대체할 수 있음을 의미함. 다만, 본 연구에서 작은 크기를 가진 일부 하위 그룹에 대해서는 추가적인 연구가 필요함.INTRODUCTION 1 Motivations of LOCAT 1 Purposes of LOCAT 3 Motivations of Dissertation Research 4 Purposes of Dissertation Research 5 BACKGROUND 7 Epidemiology of Appendicitis and CT utilization 7 Imaging Utilization 7 Popularity of CT 8 CT Radiation 9 Radiation Dose Level 10 Typical Radiation Dose for Multi-purpose Abdomen CT 10 Typical Radiation Dose for Appendiceal CT 11 Low Doses Explored in Research Settings 12 Carcinogenic Risk Associated with CT Radiation 12 Controversy 13 ALARA Principle 14 Efficacy and Effectiveness of LDCT Compared to CDCT 15 Clinical Outcome 19 Diagnostic Performance 20 Inter-observer Agreement 21 Differentiation between Complicated vs. Uncomplicated Appendicitis 22 Image Quality 24 Visualization of the Appendix 24 Alternative Diagnoses 25 Step-wise Multimodal Diagnostic Approach Incorporating LDCT 27 Patient Subgroups Less Benefited from LDCT 27 Selective Utilization of LDCT 29 Additional Imaging Test(s) Following LDCT 30 Imaging Techniques for LDCT for Suspected Appendicitis 31 Intravenous Contrast Enhancement 31 Contrast-enhancement Phase 31 Enteric Contrast 32 Anatomical Coverage 32 Tube Current 33 Tube Potential 34 Iterative Reconstruction 34 Image Reconstruction Thickness 35 Coronal Reformation 35 Sliding-Slab Averaging Technique 36 Image Interpretation and Reporting for LDCT 37 Diagnostic Criteria for Appendicitis 37 Structured Reporting 38 Other Practical Issues in Implementing LDCT 39 Dedicated Protocol for Appendiceal CT 40 Education for Referring Physicians and Surgeons 41 Education for Radiologists 42 Dose Calibration and Monitoring 43 MATERIALS AND METHODS 47 Study Overview 47 Practice Setting 48 Pre-registration Procedures 48 Study Organization and Site Recruitment 49 Site Activation 50 Patients 51 Eligibility Criteria 54 Clinical Suspicion for Appendicitis 55 The Need for CT Examination 55 Generalizability 56 Representativeness of Study Sample 57 Withdrawal Criteria 58 Randomization 58 Index Test 59 CT Image Acquisition and Archiving 66 Radiation Doses 69 Record of Modulated Radiation Dose 71 Target Median DLP Values for the 2-mSv CT and CDCT groups 71 Calibration of Radiation Doses 72 Estimation of Carcinogenic Risk Associated with CT Examination 74 Image Interpretation 75 Radiologists and CT Reports 76 Radiologist Training 78 Considerations Regarding Technical Advantages over Previous Studies 79 Image Submission 80 Co-intervention 81 Additional Imaging 82 General Treatment Guidelines 82 Follow-up 84 Endpoints in LOCAT 85 Primary Endpoint 86 Secondary Endpoints 86 Considerations for NAR and APR 89 Changes in Endpoints 89 Reference Standards 91 Overview of Reference Standards 91 Definition of Acute Appendicitis 92 Mild or Early Acute Appendicitis 92 Appendiceal Diverticulitis 93 Cases of Delayed Appendectomy 93 Periappendicitis 93 Definition of Appendiceal Perforation 94 Reporting AEs 95 Definition of AE 96 Definition of SAE 97 AE Characteristics 97 Grade 98 Expected/Unexpected AEs 98 Attribution 98 Individual Symptoms vs. Single Diagnosis 99 Who Should Report AEs 99 How to Report AEs 99 Follow-up for AEs 100 Ethical Considerations 100 Ethics and Responsibility 100 Informed Consent Form 101 Data Security and Participant Confidentiality 101 Early Stopping Rules in LOCAT 101 Data Management 102 Case Report Forms 103 Monitoring Participant Accrual 103 Monitoring Data Quality 103 Data and Safety Monitoring Board 105 Statistical Analysis 105 Considerations for Primary Endpoint 105 Analysis Plans 107 Sample Size 108 Sample Size Considerations 108 Final Sample Size 110 Rationale for the Noninferiority Margin 111 Reported NARs Following Preoperative CT 111 Reported NARs in Patients Without Preoperative CT 112 Sample Size Considerations on APR 113 Subgroup Analyses for APR and NAR 114 Subgroup Analyses for Diagnostic Performance 116 RESULTS 119 Patient Characteristics 119 Overall Diagnostic Performance 123 Subgroups of Limited Comparison 123 Between-group Differences for Subgroups 123 Heterogeneity 131 DISCUSSION 132 CONCLUSION 139 REFERENCES 140 APPENDIX 164 Abstract in Korean 176Docto

Forensic Methods and Tools for Web Environments

abstract: The Web is one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of development in today’s technology. However, with such activity, innovation, and ubiquity have come a set of new challenges for digital forensic examiners, making their jobs even more difficult. For examiners to become as effective with evidence from the Web as they currently are with more traditional evidence, they need (1) methods that guide them to know how to approach this new type of evidence and (2) tools that accommodate web environments’ unique characteristics. In this dissertation, I present my research to alleviate the difficulties forensic examiners currently face with respect to evidence originating from web environments. First, I introduce a framework for web environment forensics, which elaborates on and addresses the key challenges examiners face and outlines a method for how to approach web-based evidence. Next, I describe my work to identify extensions installed on encrypted web thin clients using only a sound understanding of these systems’ inner workings and the metadata of the encrypted files. Finally, I discuss my approach to reconstructing the timeline of events on encrypted web thin clients by using service provider APIs as a proxy for directly analyzing the device. In each of these research areas, I also introduce structured formats that I customized to accommodate the unique features of the evidence sources while also facilitating tool interoperability and information sharing.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Computer Science 201

Ubiquitous Semantic Applications

As Semantic Web technology evolves many open areas emerge, which attract more research focus. In addition to quickly expanding Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud, various embeddable metadata formats (e.g. RDFa, microdata) are becoming more common. Corporations are already using existing Web of Data to create new technologies that were not possible before. Watson by IBM an artificial intelligence computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language can be a great example. On the other hand, ubiquitous devices that have a large number of sensors and integrated devices are becoming increasingly powerful and fully featured computing platforms in our pockets and homes. For many people smartphones and tablet computers have already replaced traditional computers as their window to the Internet and to the Web. Hence, the management and presentation of information that is useful to a user is a main requirement for today’s smartphones. And it is becoming extremely important to provide access to the emerging Web of Data from the ubiquitous devices. In this thesis we investigate how ubiquitous devices can interact with the Semantic Web. We discovered that there are five different approaches for bringing the Semantic Web to ubiquitous devices. We have outlined and discussed in detail existing challenges in implementing this approaches in section 1.2. We have described a conceptual framework for ubiquitous semantic applications in chapter 4. We distinguish three client approaches for accessing semantic data using ubiquitous devices depending on how much of the semantic data processing is performed on the device itself (thin, hybrid and fat clients). These are discussed in chapter 5 along with the solution to every related challenge. Two provider approaches (fat and hybrid) can be distinguished for exposing data from ubiquitous devices on the Semantic Web. These are discussed in chapter 6 along with the solution to every related challenge. We conclude our work with a discussion on each of the contributions of the thesis and propose future work for each of the discussed approach in chapter 7

Development of MRI as an Enabling Technology for Tissue Science and Engineering

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used for accurate and dynamic monitoring of tissue embedded microthreads; a novel biomaterial utilized to promote cardiac regeneration. An in vitro cardiac modeling system was developed that mimicked the MRI properties of native cardiac tissue by using gelatin of varying concentrations. Microthreads were treated with an iron-based superparamagnetic MRI contrast agent (ferumoxtran), embedded into the cardiac modeling system, and then imaged using MRI. T1- and T2-weighted MR images showed no statistical difference between actual thread location and diameter when compared with the same measurements obtained from optical images of the same cardiac modeling system

Patika Web : a Web service for accessing and visualizing pathway data in patika database

Cataloged from PDF version of article.After completion of Human Genome Project, there has been an exponential increase in the available biological data. Although there has been an enormous effort for creating ontologies, standards and tools, current bioinformatics infrastructure is far from coping with this data. The Patika Project aims to provide the community an integrated environment for modeling, analyzing and integrating cellular processes. Patika project develops software tools providing access, visualization and analysis on the data in Patika database. In this thesis, we present analysis, design and implementation of Patikaweb, a Web-service having a user-friendly interface without requiring any registrations, installations. To achieve an enhanced data analysis , Patikaweb provides a multiple-view schema , compartments and compound graphs for visualizing molecular complexes, pathways and black-box reactions. Querying component supports SQL-like queries and an array of graphtheoretic queries for finding feedback loops, common targets and regulators, or interesting subgraphs based on user’s genes of interest. Constructed models can be saved in XML, exported to standard formats such as BioPAX, SBML or converted to static images. A highly interactive and user friendly querying interface is supported with Patikaweb. Visual representation of complex information in pathway research is very important. The information should be presented with high coverage, while providing a user friendly interface. In this thesis we also present a new approach to visualize complex pathway information coping with the limitations introduced by ontology and graphical representation. Patikaweb ’s unique visualization and querying features fill an important gap in the pool of currently available tools and databases.Erson, Emine ZeynepM.S

Implementing a Three-Tier Data Warehouse

This paper aims at developing a 3-tier inter-universities data warehouse prototype for the Egyptian universities. The implementation scope is restricted to the student enrollment process. The bottom-up approach and the multi-tier (3-tier) client/server architecture were used to implement the proposed prototype. The implementation required a number of steps to be undertaken. First, a star schema data warehouse was built based on an operational database of a public university. Second, another star schema data warehouse was built based on an operational database of a private university. Third, data from the two warehouses were abstracted to formulate the inter-universities data warehouse (tier 3). Hence, a data cube based on the resulting interuniversities data warehouse was developed using an OLAP server (tier 2). The data cube is then accessed by a client tool (tier 1) for the purpose of query and analysis. Although two universities were used to implement the interuniversities data warehouse, this scenario could be applied with any number of universities in a quite similar way. This inter-universities prototype is scalable and flexible to retain more than two universities regardless of the size of the operational databases. The interuniversities prototype fosters the coordination between participating universities and supports the decision making process. The proposed system could be used to generate a variety of strategic reports