Sensory semantic user interfaces (SenSUI)

Rapid evolution of the World Wide Web with its underlying sources of data, knowledge, services and applications continually attempts to support a variety of users, with different backgrounds, requirements and capabilities. In such an environment, it is highly unlikely that a single user interface will prevail and be able to fulfill the requirements of each user adequately. Adaptive user interfaces are able to adapt information and application functionalities to the user context. In contrast, pervasive computing and sensor networks open new opportunities for context aware platforms, one that is able to improve user interface adaptation reacting to environmental and user sensors. Semantic web technologies and ontologies are able to capture sensor data and provide contextual information about the user, their actions, required applications and environment. This paper investigates the viability of an approach where semantic web technologies are used to maximize the efficacy of interface adaptation through the use of available ontology

High-Spatial Resolution Laser Doppler Blood Flow Imaging

This paper was presented at the 4th Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2014), which was held at University College, London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute, ASME Press, LCN London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL University College London, UCL Engineering, the International NanoScience Community, www.nanopaprika.eu.A full-field laser Doppler blood flow imaging (LDI) system based on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) coupled with a high-speed CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) camera chip has been developed which provides blood flow images with flexible frame rates and spatial resolution. When a high spatial resolution is required, 1280x1024-pixel blood flow images were obtained by processing up to 2048 samples at 0.2 frames per second (fps). Alternatively, a maximum of 15.5fps was achieved by reducing the spatial resolution and sampling points to 256x256 pixels and 128 samples respectively. This system was applied to a high-spatial resolution flow imaging application in which a mixture of water and polystyrene microspheres was pumped through a micropipette (diameter = 250m) with controlled velocities, and the resulting flow was imaged and processed. The performance was demonstrated by the resulting flow images which are of size 1280×1024 pixels and obtained by processing 2048 samples at each pixel

C IV BAL disappearance in a large SDSS QSO sample

Broad absorption lines (BALs) in the spectra of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) originate from outflowing winds along our line of sight; winds are thought to originate from the inner regions of the QSO accretion disk, close to the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). Winds likely play a role in galaxy evolution and aid the accretion mechanism onto the SMBH. BAL equivalent widths can change on typical timescales from months to years; such variability is generally attributed to changes in the covering factor and/or in the ionization level of the gas. We investigate BAL variability, focusing on BAL disappearance. We analyze multi-epoch spectra of more than 1500 QSOs -the largest sample ever used for such a study- observed by different programs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-I/II/III (SDSS), and search for disappearing C IV BALs. The spectra rest-frame time baseline ranges from 0.28 to 4.9 yr; the source redshifts range from 1.68 to 4.27. We detect 73 disappearing BALs in the spectra of 67 sources. This corresponds to 3.9% of disappearing BALs, and 5.1% of our BAL QSOs exhibit at least one disappearing BAL. We estimate the average lifetime of a BAL along our line of sight (~ 80-100 yr), which appears consistent with the accretion disk orbital time at distances where winds are thought to originate. We inspect properties of the disappearing BALs and compare them to the properties of our main sample. We also investigate the existence of a correlation in the variability of multiple troughs in the same spectrum, and find it persistent at large velocity offsets between BAL pairs, suggesting that a mechanism extending on a global scale is necessary to explain the phenomenon. We select a more reliable sample of disappearing BALs following Filiz Ak et al. (2012), where a subset of our sample was analyzed, and compare the findings from the two works, obtaining generally consistent results.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Designing gamified rewards to encourage repeated app selection: Effect of reward placement

Designers commonly use gamification to improve the frequency of engagement with apps, but often fail to consider the impact of placement on reward value. As rewards tend to depreciate if delayed (termed temporal discounting), placing a reward further into the future can significantly affect its ability to motivate behaviour. We examine the most effective placement of gamified rewards so as to reduce discounting and to increase the frequency an application is used. In two online studies, users were asked to choose between fictional budget tracking applications that varied in the placement of either monetary (N=70) or gamified (N=70) rewards. In both experiments we found that people more frequently used the application that provided rewards before, rather than after, the task. As predicted by temporal discounting, our work suggests that placing rewards early in the interaction sequence leads to an improvement in the perceived value of that reward, motivating further selection. We discuss the findings in the context of designing effective reward structures to encourage more frequent app engagement

Effects of medium support and gelling agent in the tissue culture of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)

This study was designed to examine the effects of different media supports, brands of agar and gelling agents in the tissue culture of Nicotiana tabacum. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in terms of fresh weight, dry weight and number of shoots produced between the supports used. Best response was obtained with liquid agitated medium. However, there were no significant differences (P<0.05) between the gelling agents in terms of fresh weight, dry weight and number of shoots produced. Investigation in the response of two different cultivars of Nicotiana tabacum, viz Amarello and Virginia NC 95, to different support media, revealed significant differences (P<0.05), especially in their regeneration capability in liquid agitated medium. The gelling agents were also analyzed for their chemical properties. Large differences were observed between the gelling agents. The non-agar gel, gelrite, one of the best gelling agent, had a high content of ash, copper, iron, magnesium and zinc compared to the others.Keywords : Media supports, gelling agents, agar brands, tissue culture, chemical analysis

Analisis dan Evaluasi Jabatan untuk Menentukan Tingkat Gaji Karyawan

Penelitian ini bertujuan memperbaiki struktur gaji dasar suatu Perusahaan berdasarkan hasil analisis dan evaluasi jabatan. Faktor-faktor maupun sub-sub faktor yang membangun suatu jabatan tertentu didapatkan dari hasil analisis jabatan dengan menggunakan metode Point System, bobot kepentingan dari masing-masing faktor maupun sub faktor dapat ditentukan. Metode Point System digunakan dalam evaluasi jabatan untuk menentukan nilai relatif jabatan dalam struktur gaji dasar. Sistem penggajian PT NOK Precision Component Batam  digunakan sebagai obyek dalam penelitian in

A major T cell antigen of Mycobacterium leprae is a 10-kD heat-shock cognate protein.

Several mycobacterial antigens, identified by monoclonal antibodies and patient sera, have been found to be homologous to stress or heat-shock proteins (hsp) defined in Escherichia coli and yeast. A major antigen recognized by most Mycobacterium leprae-reactive human T cell lines and cell wall-reactive T cell clones is a 10-kD protein that has now been cloned and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequence of this protein is 44% homologous to the hsp 10 (GroES) of E. coli. The purified native and recombinant 10-kD protein was found to be a stronger stimulator of peripheral blood T cell proliferation than other native and recombinant M. leprae proteins tested. The degree of reactivity paralleled the response to intact M. leprae throughout the spectrum of leprosy. Limiting-dilution analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes from a patient contact and a tuberculoid patient indicated that approximately one third of M. leprae-reactive T cell precursors responded to the 10-kD antigen. T cell lines derived from lepromin skin tests were strongly responsive to the 10-kD protein. T cell clones reactive to both the purified native and recombinant 10-kD antigens recognized M. leprae-specific epitopes as well as epitopes crossreactive with the cognate antigen of M. tuberculosis. Further, the purified hsp 10 elicited strong delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions in guinea pigs sensitized to M. leprae. The strong T cell responses against the M. leprae 10-kD protein suggest a role for this heat-shock cognate protein in the protective/resistant responses to infection

ANALISIS PROSES, FUNGSI DAN NILAI DIDONGDOAH BIBI SI REMBAH KU LAU DALAM UPACARA PERKAWINAN ADAT KARO

Abstrak.Suku Karo memiliki tradisi pelaksanaan upacara perkawinan.Salah satu tradisi yang dilakukan ialah syair Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau yang didendangkan pada upacara perkawinan adat Karo.Permasalahan penelitian ini ialah bagaimana proses perkawinan adat Karo, bagaimana fungsi dan nilai Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulaupada upacara perkawinan adat Karo. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dan mendeskripsikan proses perkawinan adat Karo, untuk menganalisis dan mendeskripsikan fungsi dan nilai Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau yang terdapat dalam perkawinan adat Karo. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif deksriptif dan data dikumpulkan menggunakan metode wawancara dengan teknik rekam dan juga observasi. Instrumen penelitian ialah pedoman wawancara yang digunakan untuk mewawancarai informan yang berjumlah 8 (delapan) orang, terdiri atas tokoh adat, warga, pengantin dan warga yang sudah menerima Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau. Data yang sudah dikumpulkan dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis kualitatif dengan metode analisis sastra lisan. Berdasarkan langkah kerja metodologi tersebut diperoleh hasil penelitian Pertama; proses perkawinan adat Karo terdiri atas 1) Ngembah belo selambar (nungkuni kata) yaitu musyawarah untuk menentukan tanggal pesta.2) Pasu-pasu adalah proses pemberkatan perkawinan yang dilakukan oleh tokoh agama sebelum memulai kerja adat. 3) Nganting manuk, ialah musyawarah untuk mempersiapkan semua kebutuhan pesta. 4) Kerja tumbuk erdemu bayu, ini adalah hari H pernikahan pada suku Karo setelah melewati acara-acara sebelumnya. Kedua;  Isi Didongdoah yang disampaikan oleh bibi si rembah kulau ialah pesan, ajaran/perintah, doa dan harapan, peneguhan perkawinan dan harapan akan keturunan. Ketiga; Didongdoah  berfungsi sebagai  alat pengusaha pranata-pranata sosial dan alat pengawas norma-norma masyarakat. Selain itu, Didongdoah mempunyai nilai seperti nilai agama, nilai moral, nilai sosial dan nilai budaya. Syair Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau dalam upacara perkawinan adat Karo semestinya tetap dilakukan karena dapat dijadikan sebagai kekayaan budaya daerah dan dapat berfungsi untuk pemertahanan integrasi sosial masyarakat. Kata Kunci: Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau, Fungsi dan Nilai, Proses Perkawinan Suku Karo.  Abstract.The Karo tribe has a tradition of carrying out wedding ceremonies. One of the traditions carried out was the poem Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau which was sung at the Karo traditional wedding ceremony. The problem of this research is how the marriage process of Karo culture, how the function and value of Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulaupada is the Karo traditional wedding ceremony. This study aims to analyze and describe the Karo traditional marriage process, to analyze and describe the functions and values of Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau contained in Karo traditional marriage. This study used a descriptive qualitative approach and data was collected using interview methods with recording techniques and observations. The research instrument is the interview guide used to interview informants, amounting to 8 (eight) people, consisting of traditional leaders, residents, brides and residents who have received Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau. Data that has been collected was analyzed using qualitative analysis with the method of oral literature analysis. Based on the work steps of the methodology, the results of the first study were obtained; the Karo customary marriage process consists of 1) worshiping belo selambar (nungkuni kata), namely deliberation to determine the date of the party.2) Pasu-pasu is the process of blessing the marriage carried out by religious leaders before starting customary work. 3) Nganting manuk, is deliberation to prepare all party needs. 4) Erdemu bayu mash work, this is the wedding day of the Karo tribe after going through previous events. Second; The contents of Didongdoah delivered by the aunt of the elephant are messages, teachings / commands, prayers and hopes, confirmation of marriage and hope for descent. Third; Didongdoah functions as a tool for entrepreneurs of social institutions and tools for monitoring community norms. In addition, Didongdoah has values such as religious values, moral values, social values and cultural values. The poem Didongdoah Bibi Si Rembah Kulau during the Karo custom marriage ceremony should still be carried out because it can be used as a regional cultural richness and can function to sustain social integration of the community.Keywords: Didong Pray Bibi Si Rembah Kulau, Functions and Values, Karo Process Marriage

Diagnostic accuracy of different imaging modalities following computed tomography (CT) scanning for assessing the resectability with curative intent in pancreatic and periampullary cancer

BACKGROUND: Periampullary cancer includes cancer of the head and neck of the pancreas, cancer of the distal end of the bile duct, cancer of the ampulla of Vater, and cancer of the second part of the duodenum. Surgical resection is the only established potentially curative treatment for pancreatic and periampullary cancer. A considerable proportion of patients undergo unnecessary laparotomy because of underestimation of the extent of the cancer on computed tomography (CT) scanning. Other imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), PET-CT, and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) have been used to detect local invasion or distant metastases not visualised on CT scanning which could prevent unnecessary laparotomy. No systematic review or meta-analysis has examined the role of different imaging modalities in assessing the resectability with curative intent in patients with pancreatic and periampullary cancer. OBJECTIVES: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of MRI, PET scan, and EUS performed as an add-on test or PET-CT as a replacement test to CT scanning in detecting curative resectability in pancreatic and periampullary cancer. SEARCH METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index Expanded, and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) databases up to 5 November 2015. Two review authors independently screened the references and selected the studies for inclusion. We also searched for articles related to the included studies by performing the "related search" function in MEDLINE (OvidSP) and Embase (OvidSP) and a "citing reference" search (by searching the articles that cite the included articles). SELECTION CRITERIA: We included diagnostic accuracy studies of MRI, PET scan, PET-CT, and EUS in patients with potentially resectable pancreatic and periampullary cancer on CT scan. We accepted any criteria of resectability used in the studies. We included studies irrespective of language, publication status, or study design (prospective or retrospective). We excluded case-control studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently performed data extraction and quality assessment using the QUADAS-2 (quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies - 2) tool. Although we planned to use bivariate methods for analysis of sensitivities and specificities, we were able to fit only the univariate fixed-effect models for both sensitivity and specificity because of the paucity of data. We calculated the probability of unresectability in patients who had a positive index test (post-test probability of unresectability in people with a positive test result) and in those with negative index test (post-test probability of unresectability in people with a positive test result) using the mean probability of unresectability (pre-test probability) from the included studies and the positive and negative likelihood ratios derived from the model. The difference between the pre-test and post-test probabilities gave the overall added value of the index test compared to the standard practice of CT scan staging alone. MAIN RESULTS: Only two studies (34 participants) met the inclusion criteria of this systematic review. Both studies evaluated the diagnostic test accuracy of EUS in assessing the resectability with curative intent in pancreatic cancers. There was low concerns about applicability for most domains in both studies. The overall risk of bias was low in one study and unclear or high in the second study. The mean probability of unresectable disease after CT scan across studies was 60.5% (that is 61 out of 100 patients who had resectable cancer after CT scan had unresectable disease on laparotomy). The summary estimate of sensitivity of EUS for unresectability was 0.87 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54 to 0.97) and the summary estimate of specificity for unresectability was 0.80 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.96). The positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 4.3 (95% CI 1.0 to 18.6) and 0.2 (95% CI 0.0 to 0.8) respectively. At the mean pre-test probability of 60.5%, the post-test probability of unresectable disease for people with a positive EUS (EUS indicating unresectability) was 86.9% (95% CI 60.9% to 96.6%) and the post-test probability of unresectable disease for people with a negative EUS (EUS indicating resectability) was 20.0% (5.1% to 53.7%). This means that 13% of people (95% CI 3% to 39%) with positive EUS have potentially resectable cancer and 20% (5% to 53%) of people with negative EUS have unresectable cancer. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Based on two small studies, there is significant uncertainty in the utility of EUS in people with pancreatic cancer found to have resectable disease on CT scan. No studies have assessed the utility of EUS in people with periampullary cancer.There is no evidence to suggest that it should be performed routinely in people with pancreatic cancer or periampullary cancer found to have resectable disease on CT scan