450 research outputs found
Augmenting mental models
The complexity of conceptualizing mental models has made Virtual Reality an interesting way to enhance communication and understanding between individuals working together on a project or idea. Here, the authors discuss practical applications of using VR for this purpose
Semiregular Polytopes and Amalgamated C-groups
In the classical setting, a convex polytope is said to be semiregular if its
facets are regular and its symmetry group is transitive on vertices. This paper
studies semiregular abstract polytopes, which have abstract regular facets,
still with combinatorial automorphism group transitive on vertices. We analyze
the structure of the automorphism group, focusing in particular on polytopes
with two kinds of regular facets occurring in an "alternating" fashion. In
particular we use group amalgamations to prove that given two compatible
n-polytopes P and Q, there exists a universal abstract semiregular
(n+1)-polytope which is obtained by "freely" assembling alternate copies of P
and Q. We also employ modular reduction techniques to construct finite
semiregular polytopes from reflection groups over finite fields.Comment: Advances in Mathematics (to appear, 28 pages
Creating shared mental models: The support of visual language
Cooperative design involves multiple stakeholders that often hold different ideas of the problem, the ways to solve it, and to its solutions (i.e., mental models; MM). These differences can result in miscommunication, misunderstanding, slower decision making processes, and less chance on cooperative decisions. In order to facilitate the creation of a shared mental model (sMM), visual languages (VL) are often used. However, little scientific foundation is behind this choice. To determine whether or not this gut feeling is justified, a research was conducted in which various stakeholders had to cooperatively redesign a process chain, with and without VL. To determine whether or not a sMM was created, scores on agreement in individual MM, communication, and cooperation were analyzed. The results confirmed the assumption that VL can indeed play an important role in the creation of sMM and, hence, can aid the processes of cooperative design and engineering
The reader's feeling and text-based emotions : the relationship between subjective self-reports, lexical ratings, and sentiment analysis
In this study, we examined how precisely a sentiment analysis and a word list-based lexical analysis predict the emotional valence (as positive or negative emotional states) of 63 emotional short stories. Both the sentiment analysis and the word list-based analysis predicted subjective valence, which however was predicted even more precisely when both analysis methods were combined. These results can, for example, contribute to the development of new technology-based teaching designs, in that positive or negative emotions in the texts or online-contributions of students can be assessed in automated form and transferred into instructional measures. Such instructional actions can, for example, be hints, learning support or feedback adapted to the students' emotional state
Microbial Glycosidases for Nondigestible Oligosaccharides Production
There is much interest in the study and production of nondigestible oligosaccharides (NDOs), due to their bioactivities and beneficial effects to the human health. The main approach in the production of NDOs relies on the action of glycosidases performing hydrolysis or transglycosylation of polysaccharides and sugars. In this chapter, a description of the main microbial glycosidases used for NDOs production, their sources, their principal properties, and a description of the production processes with the better results obtained are discussed
Recent advances in the production of emulsifying peptides with the aid of proteomics and bioinformatics
Adherence to subcutaneous interferon beta-1a treatment using an electronic injection device:a prospective open-label Scandinavian noninterventional study (the ScanSmart study)
Background: Disease modifying drugs help control the course of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS); however, good adherence is needed for long-term outcomes.
Objective: To evaluate patient adherence to treatment with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a using RebiSmart® and assess injection-site reactions and treatment satisfaction.
Methods: This prospective, single-arm, open-label, noninterventional multicenter Phase IV trial included disease modifying drug-experienced mobile patients with RRMS. Adherence was measured over 12 weeks. Items 13–23, 35, 37, and 38 of the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Concerns Questionnaire (injection-site reactions and treatment satisfaction) were recorded at 12 weeks.
Results: Sixty patients were recruited (mean age 43.7 [±SD 7.9] years; 83% female; mean years since multiple sclerosis diagnosis 6.7 [SD 4.5]). Adherence data were obtained in 54 patients only due to technical problems with six devices. Over 12 weeks, 89% (n=48) of patients had ≥90% adherence to treatment. Most patients experienced mild influenza-like symptoms and injection-site reactions, and global side effects were minimal. Most patients (78%) rated the convenience as the most important aspect of the device, and most experienced no or mild pain.
Conclusion: RRMS patients treated with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a, administered with RebiSmart, demonstrated generally good adherence, and the treatment was generally well tolerated
Lake Kivu expedition : geophysics, hydrography, sedimentology (preliminary report)
In March 1971, seven members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
were engaged in a multidisciplinary study of Lake Kivu. This expedition represents
part of a long-range program concerned with the structural and hydrographical
settings of the East African Rift Lakes and their relationships to
the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden Rifts. The program started in May 1963 with
a geophysical study on Lake Malawi (von Herzen and Vacquier, 1967). Several
expeditions of our Institution into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area in 1964,
1965 and 1966 (Degens and Ross, 1969) provided detailed geological information
on the "northern" extension of the East African Rift. And finally our study of
last year on Lake Tanganyika c1osed a major gap in the program; it allowed
us to out1ine a model on the evolution of a rift which starts with (i) bulging
of the earth's crust, (ii) block-faulting, (iii) volcanism and hydrothermal
activity, and which has its final stage in (iv) sea floor spreading (Degens
et al. 1971). In the case of Lake Tanganyika, only the second stage of this
evolution series has been reached, i.e. block-faulting. In contrast, the Red
Sea and the Gulf of Aden had already evolved to active sea floor spreading, almost
25 million years ago. Somewhere along the line between Lake Tanganyika
and the Gulf of Aden must lie the "missing link" of this evolution series.
Lake Kivu, almost 100 miles to the north of Lake Tanganyika is situated
at the highest point of the Rift Valley and is surrounded by active volcanoes
and geothermal springs. As recently as 1944, lava flows reached the lake
shore. This lake was therefore, a natural choice to test our hypothesis on
the origin and development of rifts. Furthermore, the occurrence of large
quantities of dissolved gases, e.g., CO2 and methane, represented an interesting
geochemical phenomenon worthwhile to investigate.Supported by the National Science Foundation
with Grants GA 19262, GB 20956, and GU 3927;
grants from the Petroleum Research Fund of
the American Chemical Society PRF#1943A2;
and by private research funds of the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution
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