The Semantic Reader Project: Augmenting Scholarly Documents through AI-Powered Interactive Reading Interfaces

Scholarly publications are key to the transfer of knowledge from scholars to others. However, research papers are information-dense, and as the volume of the scientific literature grows, the need for new technology to support the reading process grows. In contrast to the process of finding papers, which has been transformed by Internet technology, the experience of reading research papers has changed little in decades. The PDF format for sharing research papers is widely used due to its portability, but it has significant downsides including: static content, poor accessibility for low-vision readers, and difficulty reading on mobile devices. This paper explores the question "Can recent advances in AI and HCI power intelligent, interactive, and accessible reading interfaces -- even for legacy PDFs?" We describe the Semantic Reader Project, a collaborative effort across multiple institutions to explore automatic creation of dynamic reading interfaces for research papers. Through this project, we've developed ten research prototype interfaces and conducted usability studies with more than 300 participants and real-world users showing improved reading experiences for scholars. We've also released a production reading interface for research papers that will incorporate the best features as they mature. We structure this paper around challenges scholars and the public face when reading research papers -- Discovery, Efficiency, Comprehension, Synthesis, and Accessibility -- and present an overview of our progress and remaining open challenges

Content Discovery in Wireless Information-Centric Networks

Information-centric networking (ICN) enables communication in isolated islands, where fixed infrastructure is not available, but also supports seamless communication if the infrastructure is up and running again. In disaster scenarios, when a fixed infrastructure is broken, content discovery algorit hms are required to learn what content is locally available. For example, if preferred content is not available, users may also be satisfied with second best options. In this paper, we describe a new content discovery algorithm and compare it to existing Depth-first and Breadth-first traversal algorithms. Evaluations in mobile scenarios with up to 100 nodes show that it results in better performance, i.e., faster discovery time and smaller traffic overhead, than existing algorithms

Studies of cortical connectivity using optical circuit mapping methods

An important consideration when probing the function of any neuron is to uncover the source of synaptic input onto the cell, its intrinsic physiology and efferent targets. Over the years, electrophysiological approaches have generated considerable insight into these properties in a variety of cortical neuronal subtypes and circuits. However, as researchers explore neuronal function in greater detail, they are increasingly turning to optical techniques to bridge the gap between local network interactions and behaviour. The application of optical methods has increased dramatically over the past decade, spurred on by the optogenetic revolution. In this review, we provide an account of recent innovations, providing researchers with a primer detailing circuit mapping strategies in the cerebral cortex. We will focus on technical aspects of performing neurotransmitter uncaging and channelrhodopsin-assisted circuit mapping, with the aim of identifying common pitfalls that can negatively influence the collection of reliable data

Email forensic tools : A roadmap to email header analysis through a cybercrime use case

Email is one of the primary sources of numerous criminal activities, on the Internet, of which some threaten human lives. Email analysis is challenging due to not only various fields that can be forged by hackers or the wide range email applications in use, but also due to imposed law restrictions in the analysis of email body. Despite this being a relatively new area, a number of both open source and proprietary forensic tools, with varying possibilities and versatility, have been developed aiding use by practitioners. In this paper, we review existing email forensic tools for email header analysis, as part of email investigation, with emphasis on aspects related to online crime while still considering legal constraints. Through our analysis, we investigate a common case of cybercrime and examine the breadth of information one may gain solely through email forensics analysis. Additionally, a roadmap for email forensic analysis is presented, combining features and functionality already available, to assist the process of digital forensic analysis

A comparison of cognitive therapy, applied relaxation and imipramine in the treatment of panic disorder.

Recent studies have shown that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for panic disorder. However, little is known about how cognitive therapy compares with other psychological and pharmacological treatments. To investigate this question 64 panic disorder patients were initially assigned to cognitive therapy, applied relaxation, imipramine (mean 233 mg/day), or a 3-month wait followed by allocation to treatment. During treatment patients had up to 12 sessions in the first 3 months and up to three booster sessions in the next 3 months. Imipramine was gradually withdrawn after 6 months. Each treatment included self-exposure homework assignments. Cognitive therapy and applied relaxation sessions lasted one hour. Imipramine sessions lasted 25 minutes. Assessments were before treatment/wait and at 3, 6, and 15 months. Comparisons with waiting-list showed all three treatments were effective. Comparisons between treatments showed that at 3 months cognitive therapy was superior to both applied relaxation and imipramine on most measures. At 6 months cognitive therapy did not differ from imipramine and both were superior to applied relaxation on several measures. Between 6 and 15 months a number of imipramine patients relapsed. At 15 months cognitive therapy was again superior to both applied relaxation and imipramine but on fewer measures than at 3 months. Cognitive measures taken at the end of treatment were significant predictors of outcome at follow-up

Psychophysiological responses in panic and stress

This paper examines the use of ambulatory monitoring in investigating individual differences in physiological functioning during everyday life and the relationship between psychophysiological responses in the laboratory and in the field. Techniques for dealing with confounding variables and analysing the ambulatory data are described. Findings from a study of young volunteers indicated that average cardiovascular responses to specific laboratory tasks did not relate consistently to measures of heart rate responsiveness in the field. However, measures derived from peak cardiovascular responses to a battery of active coping challenges did reliably predict cardiac responsiveness in real life, particularly when non-psychological factors influencing cardiac reactivity were taken into account. These measures may reflect reliable and generalizable differences in the extent of sympathetic activation in response to stress. These findings were largely replicated in a study of panic patients. The peak heart rate response to a battery of psychological stressors was the strongest predictor of heart rate variability in the field. This study also found that panic patients exhibited greater cardiac variability during everyday life than normal controls, suggesting that panic patients may be experiencing more frequent and intense fluctuations in bodily function. Such a propensity may contribute to the increase in perceived body sensations reported by panic patients

Non-canonical role for Lpar1-EGFP subplate neurons in early postnatal mouse somatosensory cortex

Subplate neurons (SPNs) are thought to play a role in nascent sensory processing in neocortex. To better understand how heterogeneity within this population relates to emergent function, we investigated the synaptic connectivity of <i>Lpar1-EGFP</i> SPNs through the first postnatal week in whisker somatosensory cortex (S1BF). These SPNs comprise of two morphological subtypes: fusiform SPNs with local axons, and pyramidal SPNs with axons that extend through the marginal zone. The former receive translaminar synaptic input up until the emergence of the whisker barrels; a timepoint coincident with significant cell death. In contrast, pyramidal SPNs receive local input from the subplate at early ages but then - during the later time window, acquire input from overlying cortex. Combined electrical and optogenetic activation of thalamic afferents identified that <i>Lpar1-EGFP</i> SPNs receive sparse thalamic innervation. These data reveal components of the postnatal network that interpret sparse thalamic input to direct the emergent columnar structure of S1BF

GABAergic interneurons form transient layer-specific circuits in early postnatal neocortex

GABAergic interneurons play key roles in cortical circuits, yet little is known about their early connectivity. Here we use glutamate uncaging and a novel optogenetic strategy to track changes in the afferent and efferent synaptic connections of developing neocortical interneuron subtypes. We find that Nkx2-1-derived interneurons possess functional synaptic connections prior to emerging pyramidal cell networks. Subsequent interneuron circuit maturation is both subtype and layer dependent. Glutamatergic input onto fast spiking (FS), but not somatostatin-positive, non-FS interneurons increases over development. Interneurons of both subtype located in layers (L)4 and L5b engage in transient circuits that disappear after the somatosensory critical period. These include a pathway mediated by L5b somatostatin-positive interneurons that specifically targets L4 during the first postnatal week. The innervation patterns of immature cortical interneuron circuits are thus neither static nor progressively strengthened but follow a layer-specific choreography of transient connections that differ from those of the adult brain