755 research outputs found
A little respect: four case studies of HCIâs disregard for other disciplines
HCI research often demonstrates lack of respect for other disciplines, evidenced by the way work from those disciplines are cited in CHI papers. We present 4 case studies that demonstrate; 1) that HCI researchers sometimes misunderstand and misrepresent work from other disciplines, and 2) how initial misrepresentations can become âaccepted wisdom âwithin HCI. This disregard for other disciplines leads to errors such as authors citing work to support âfactsâ precisely opposite to those demonstrated by the cited literature. We conclude with recommendations for authors, editors, publishers and readers on how to reduce the risk of such failures
Influence of Previous Exposure to Antibiotic Therapy on the Susceptibility Pattern of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteremic Isolates
Many patients who present with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia have been previously exposed to antibiotics. To assess whether resistance of bacteremic strains to antipseudomonal antibiotics (piperacillin, ceftazidime, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, or aminoglycosides) is associated with previous exposure to these drugs, a case-control study including 267 cases of P. aeruginosa bacteremia was conducted. Twenty-five percent of the episodes had been preceded by the exposure to an antipseudomonal antibiotic. Eighty-one strains were resistant to at least 1 antibiotic; 186 were susceptible to all drugs. Via univariate analysis, the risks of resistance to ceftazidime and imipenem were found to be significantly associated with previous receipt of these agents. Using multivariate analysis, exposure to any antipseudomonal antibiotic as a monotherapy was found to be associated with an increased risk of subsequent resistance to itself (odds ratio, 2.5; P = .006). Therefore, clinicians should avoid readministering previously prescribed antibiotics when initiating empiric therapies for possible P. aeruginosa bacteremia, especially when they have been given as monotherapie
An uncertain future, deep uncertainty, scenarios, robustness and adaptation: How do they fit together?
A highly uncertain future due to changes in climate, technology and socio-economics has led to the realisation that identification of âbest-guessâ future conditions might no longer be appropriate. Instead, multiple plausible futures need to be considered, which requires (i) uncertainties to be described with the aid of scenarios that represent coherent future pathways based on different sets of assumptions, (ii) system performance to be represented by metrics that measure insensitivity (i.e. robustness) to changes in future conditions, and (iii) adaptive strategies to be considered alongside their more commonly used static counterparts. However, while these factors have been considered in isolation previously, there has been a lack of discussion of the way they are connected. In order to address this shortcoming, this paper presents a multidisciplinary perspective on how the above factors fit together to facilitate the devel- opment of strategies that are best suited to dealing with a deeply uncertain future
Amplitude noise and RF response analysis of 1 GHz mode-locked pulses from an InP-based laser chip at 1550 nm
In this work, we investigate a 1 GHz InP-based hybrid mode-locked laser chip and find an amplitude noise of 0.036 percent. An RF response simulation of its custom-designed mounting PCB is performed providing power transmission between 86 and 92 percent
Alertness, movement, and affective behaviour of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) on introduction of a playful interactive product:Can we get your attention?
Background: New technology may stimulate active leisure activities for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). We conducted a study of an interactive ball that responded to gross body movement, focus of attention, and vocalisations of users with PIMD. The aim was to increase alertness and body movement and elicit more expressions of positive, or fewer of negative affect.Method: Nine participants with PIMD played during 8â10 sessions. The movement was analysed automatically. Alertness and affective behaviour were coded manually. We analysed the last 5 sessions for each participant and compared 15â
min of interaction with 15â
min of rest.Results: Clearly positive effects were seen for three participants. Effects were seen in the unexpected direction for four participants. No strong effects were found for the remaining three participants.Conclusions: Interactive technologies may provide suitable activities for people with PIMD but individual differences play an important role
RF Analysis of a Sub-GHz InP-Based 1550 nm Monolithic Mode-Locked Laser Chip
We report a monolithic sub-GHz repetition rate
mode-locked laser with record low pulse-to-pulse RMS timing
jitter of 3.65 ps in the passive mode locking regime. We analyse
the optical pulse generation in passive and hybrid mode-locking
operating regimes, finding narrower RF tone linewidth in the
passive regime, attributed to the improved contact structure of
the gain sections. The noise performance is also characterized
in passive and hybrid regimes, showing RMS integrated timing
jitter of approximately 600 fs. For hybrid modelocking, the
repetition rate can be varied over a large range from 880 to 990
MHz. We observe broad pulse widths of few hundred
picoseconds attributed to the (long folded) waveguide
architecture and on-chip multimode interference mirrors. This
device subjects a stand-alone, ultra-compact, mode-locking
based clock source to realize frequency synthesizers operating
over a frequency range from sub-GHz up to approximately 15
GHz
Information heat engine: converting information to energy by feedback control
In 1929, Leo Szilard invented a feedback protocol in which a hypothetical
intelligence called Maxwell's demon pumps heat from an isothermal environment
and transduces it to work. After an intense controversy that lasted over eighty
years; it was finally clarified that the demon's role does not contradict the
second law of thermodynamics, implying that we can convert information to free
energy in principle. Nevertheless, experimental demonstration of this
information-to-energy conversion has been elusive. Here, we demonstrate that a
nonequilibrium feedback manipulation of a Brownian particle based on
information about its location achieves a Szilard-type information-energy
conversion. Under real-time feedback control, the particle climbs up a
spiral-stairs-like potential exerted by an electric field and obtains free
energy larger than the amount of work performed on it. This enables us to
verify the generalized Jarzynski equality, or a new fundamental principle of
"information-heat engine" which converts information to energy by feedback
control.Comment: manuscript including 7 pages and 4 figures and supplementary material
including 6 pages and 8 figure
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