Integrating user-centred design in the development of a silent speech interface based on permanent magnetic articulography

Abstract: A new wearable silent speech interface (SSI) based on Permanent Magnetic Articulography (PMA) was developed with the involvement of end users in the design process. Hence, desirable features such as appearance, port-ability, ease of use and light weight were integrated into the prototype. The aim of this paper is to address the challenges faced and the design considerations addressed during the development. Evaluation on both hardware and speech recognition performances are presented here. The new prototype shows a com-parable performance with its predecessor in terms of speech recognition accuracy (i.e. ~95% of word accuracy and ~75% of sequence accuracy), but significantly improved appearance, portability and hardware features in terms of min-iaturization and cost

The social, cosmopolitanism and beyond

First, this article will outline the metaphysics of ‘the social’ that implicitly and explicitly connects the work of lassical and contemporary cosmopolitan sociologists as different as Durkheim, Weber, Beck and Luhmann. In a second step, I will show that the cosmopolitan outlook of classical sociology is driven by exclusive differences. In understanding human affairs, both classical sociology and contemporary cosmopolitan sociology reflect a very modernist outlook of epistemological, conceptual, methodological and disciplinary rigour that separates the cultural sphere from the natural objects of concern. I will suggest that classical sociology – in order to be cosmopolitan – is forced (1) to exclude non-social and non-human objects as part of its conceptual and methodological rigour, and (2) consequently and methodologically to rule out the non-social and the non-human. Cosmopolitan sociology imagines ‘the social’ as a global, universal explanatory device to conceive and describe the non-social and non-human. In a third and final step the article draws upon the work of the French sociologist Gabriel Tarde and offers a possible alternative to the modernist social and cultural other-logics of social sciences. It argues for a inclusive conception of ‘the social’ that gives the non-social and non-human a cosmopolitan voice as well

Stresses in cement mantles of hip replacements: effect of femoral implant sizes, body mass index and bone quality

The effects of femoral prosthetic heads of diameters 22 and 28 mm were investigated on the stability of reconstructed hemi-pelves with cement mantles of thicknesses 1-4 mm and different bone qualities. Materialise medical imaging package and I-Deas finite element (FE) software were used to create accurate geometry of a hemi-pelvis from CT-scan images. Our FE results show an increase in cement mantle stresses associated with the larger femoral head. When a 22 mm femoral head is used on acetabulae of diameters 56 mm and above, the probability of survivorship can be increased by creating a cement mantle of at least 1 mm thick. However, when a 28 mm femoral head is used, a cement mantle thickness of at least 4 mm is needed. Poor bone quality resulted in an average 45% increase in the tensile stresses of the cement mantles, indicating resulting poor survivorship rate

Observational study of lenalidomide in patients with mantle cell lymphoma who relapsed/progressed after or were refractory/intolerant to ibrutinib (MCL-004).

BACKGROUND: The observational MCL-004 study evaluated outcomes in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma who received lenalidomide-based therapy after ibrutinib failure or intolerance. METHODS: The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed overall response rate based on the 2007 International Working Group criteria. RESULTS: Of 58 enrolled patients (median age, 71 years; range, 50-89), 13 received lenalidomide monotherapy, 11 lenalidomide plus rituximab, and 34 lenalidomide plus other treatment. Most patients (88%) had received ≥ 3 prior therapies (median 4; range, 1-13). Median time from last dose of ibrutinib to the start of lenalidomide was 1.3 weeks (range, 0.1-21.7); 45% of patients had partial responses or better to prior ibrutinib. Primary reasons for ibrutinib discontinuation were lack of efficacy (88%) and ibrutinib toxicity (9%). After a median of two cycles (range, 0-11) of lenalidomide-based treatment, 17 patients responded (8 complete responses, 9 partial responses), for a 29% overall response rate (95% confidence interval, 18-43%) and a median duration of response of 20 weeks (95% confidence interval, 2.9 to not available). Overall response rate to lenalidomide-based therapy was similar for patients with relapsed/progressive disease after previous response to ibrutinib (i.e., ≥PR) versus ibrutinib-refractory (i.e., ≤SD) patients (30 versus 32%, respectively). The most common all-grade treatment-emergent adverse events after lenalidomide-containing therapy (n = 58) were fatigue (38%) and cough, dizziness, dyspnea, nausea, and peripheral edema (19% each). At data cutoff, 28 patients have died, primarily due to mantle cell lymphoma. CONCLUSION: Lenalidomide-based treatment showed clinical activity, with no unexpected toxicities, in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma who previously failed ibrutinib therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02341781 . Date of registration: January 14, 2015

In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-Angiogenic Activities of Panduratin A

Targeting angiogenesis has emerged as an attractive and promising strategy in anti-cancer therapeutic development. The present study investigates the anti-angiogenic potential of Panduratin A (PA), a natural chalcone isolated from Boesenbergia rotunda by using both in vitro and in vivo assays.PA exerted selective cytotoxicity on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with IC(50) value of 6.91 ± 0.85 µM when compared to human normal fibroblast and normal liver epithelial cells. Assessment of the growth kinetics by cell impedance-based Real-Time Cell Analyzer showed that PA induced both cytotoxic and cytostatic effects on HUVECs, depending on the concentration used. Results also showed that PA suppressed VEGF-induced survival and proliferation of HUVECs. Furthermore, endothelial cell migration, invasion, and morphogenesis or tube formation demonstrated significant time- and dose-dependent inhibition by PA. PA also suppressed matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) secretion and attenuated its activation to intermediate and active MMP-2. In addition, PA suppressed F-actin stress fiber formation to prevent migration of the endothelial cells. More importantly, anti-angiogenic potential of PA was also evidenced in two in vivo models. PA inhibited neo-vessels formation in murine Matrigel plugs, and angiogenesis in zebrafish embryos.Taken together, our study demonstrated the distinctive anti-angiogenic properties of PA, both in vitro and in vivo. This report thus reveals another biological activity of PA in addition to its reported anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities, suggestive of PA's potential for development as an anti-angiogenic agent for cancer therapy

The Achene Mucilage Hydrated in Desert Dew Assists Seed Cells in Maintaining DNA Integrity: Adaptive Strategy of Desert Plant Artemisia sphaerocephala

Despite proposed ecological importance of mucilage in seed dispersal, germination and seedling establishment, little is known about the role of mucilage in seed pre-germination processes. Here we investigated the role of mucilage in assisting achene cells to repair DNA damage during dew deposition in the desert. Artemisia sphaerocephala achenes were first treated γ-irradiation to induce DNA damage, and then they were repaired in situ in the desert dew. Dew deposition duration can be as long as 421 min in early mornings. Intact achenes absorbed more water than demucilaged achenes during dew deposition and also carried water for longer time following sunrise. After 4-d dew treatment, DNA damage of irradiated intact and demucilaged achenes was reduced to 24.38% and 46.84%, respectively. The irradiated intact achenes exhibited much higher DNA repair ratio than irradiated demucilaged achenes. Irradiated intact achenes showed an improved germination and decreased nonviable achenes after dew treatment, and significant differences in viability between the two types of achenes were detected after 1020 min of dew treatment. Achene mucilage presumably plays an ecologically important role in the life cycle of A. sphaerocephala by aiding DNA repair of achene cells in genomic-stressful habitats

Inhibitors of inflammation and endogenous surfactant pool size as modulators of lung injury with initiation of ventilation in preterm sheep

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased pro-inflammatory cytokines in tracheal aspirates correlate with the development of BPD in preterm infants. Ventilation of preterm lambs increases pro-inflammatory cytokines and causes lung inflammation.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>We tested the hypothesis that selective inhibitors of pro-inflammatory signaling would decrease lung inflammation induced by ventilation in preterm newborn lambs. We also examined if the variability in injury response was explained by variations in the endogenous surfactant pool size.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Date-mated preterm lambs (n = 28) were operatively delivered and mechanically ventilated to cause lung injury (tidal volume escalation to 15 mL/kg by 15 min at age). The lambs then were ventilated with 8 mL/kg tidal volume for 1 h 45 min. Groups of animals randomly received specific inhibitors for IL-8, IL-1, or NF-κB. Unventilated lambs (n = 7) were the controls. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung samples were used to quantify inflammation. Saturated phosphatidylcholine (Sat PC) was measured in BALF fluid and the data were stratified based on a level of 5 μmol/kg (~8 mg/kg surfactant).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The inhibitors did not decrease the cytokine levels or inflammatory response. The inflammation increased as Sat PC pool size in BALF decreased. Ventilated lambs with a Sat PC level > 5 μmol/kg had significantly decreased markers of injury and lung inflammation compared with those lambs with < 5 μmol/kg.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Lung injury caused by high tidal volumes at birth were decreased when endogenous surfactant pool sizes were larger. Attempts to decrease inflammation by blocking IL-8, IL-1 or NF-κB were unsuccessful.</p

Isoprene hotspots at the Western Coast of Antarctic Peninsula during MASEC′16

Isoprene (C5H8) plays an important role in the formation of surface ozone (O3) and the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) which contributed to the climate change. This study aims to determine hourly distribution of tropospheric isoprene over the Western Coast of Antarctic Peninsula (WCAP) during the Malaysian Antarctic Scientific Expedition Cruise 2016 (MASEC′16). In-situ measurements of isoprene were taken using a custom-built gas chromatography with photoionization detector, known as iDirac. Biological parameters such as chlorophyll a (chl-a) and particulate organic carbon (POC) were compared to the in-situ isoprene measurements. Significant positive correlation was observed between isoprene and POC concentrations (r2 = 0.67, p < 0.001), but not between isoprene and chl-a. The hotspots of isoprene over maritime Antarctic were then were investigated using NAME dispersion model reanalysis. Measurements showed that isoprene mixing ratio were the highest over region of King George Island, Deception Island and Booth Island with values of ∼5.0, ∼0.9 and ∼5.2 ppb, respectively. Backward trajectory analysis showed that air masses may have lifted the isoprene emitted by marine algae. We believe our findings provide valuable data set of isoprene estimation over the under sampled WCAP

Care in the time of catastrophe: citizenship, community and the ecological imagination

Published without an abstract

The perceptions of social responsibility for community resilience to flooding: the impact of past experience, age, gender and ethnicity

Community resilience to flooding depends, to a large extent, on the participation of community members to take more responsibility for enhancing their own resilience. The perception of social responsibility (SR) which is argued to be one of the antecedents influencing individual’s willingness to undertake resilient behaviours can significantly contribute to community resilience through individual and collective actions. Understanding of factors influencing the perceptions of SR of individuals within community might help with developing strategies to increase the perceptions of SR. This research explores perceptions of SR in relation to flooding for householders and local businesses and establishes their relationships with experience of flooding and demographic factors of age, gender and ethnicity. The data were obtained via a questionnaire survey of three communities in Birmingham and one community in South East London, UK, three with experience of flooding and one without. A total of 414 responses were received and used in the multiple regression analysis. The analysis identified ‘experience of flooding’, ‘age’ and ‘South Asian’ ethnic group as significant variables, suggesting that older individuals from South Asian ethnic groups with previous experience of flooding are likely to be more socially responsible than others without these attributes