Détection de la manualité via les capteurs d'orientation du smartphone lors de la prise en main

National audiencePeople often switch hands while holding their phones, based on task and context. Ideally, we would be able to detect which hand they are using to hold the device, and use this information to optimize the interaction. We introduce a method to use built-in orientation sensors to detect which hand is holding a smartphone prior to first interaction. Based on logs of people picking up and unlocking a smartphone in a controlled study, we show that a dynamic-time warping approach trained with user-specific examples achieves 83.6% accuracy for determining which hand is holding the phone, prior to touching the screen.En fonction de la tâche et du contexte, les utilisateurs de smartphone ont pour habitude de changer de main pour tenir leur appareil. Idéalement, nous souhaiterions connaître la main utilisée afin d'optimiser l'interaction. A cet effet, nous introduisons une méthode utilisant les capteurs d'orientation intégrés afin de déterminer la main tenant le smartphone avant toute interaction. Nous montrons, par l'analyse des données de participants prenant et déverrouillant leurs smartphones durant une expérience contrôlée, qu'une approche utilisant l'algorithme Dynamic-Time Warping permet d'obtenir une précision de 83.6% afin de détecter la main utilisée

The impedance boundary condition for acoustics in swirling ducted flow

The acoustics of a straight annular lined duct containing a swirling mean flow is considered. The classical Ingard–Myers impedance boundary condition is shown not to be correct for swirling flow. By considering behaviour within the thin boundary layers at the duct walls, the correct impedance boundary condition for an infinitely thin boundary layer with swirl is derived, which reduces to the Ingard–Myers condition when the swirl is set to zero. The correct boundary condition contains a spring-like term due to centrifugal acceleration at the walls, and consequently has a different sign at the inner (hub) and outer (tip) walls. Examples are given for mean flows relevant to the interstage region of aeroengines. Surface waves in swirling flows are also considered, and are shown to obey a more complicated dispersion relation than for non-swirling flows. The stability of the surface waves is also investigated, and as in the non-swirling case, one unstable surface wave per wall is found

A randomized pilot study of a comprehensive postoperative exercise program compared with usual care following primary total hip arthroplasty in subjects less than 65 years of age: feasibility, selection of outcome measures and timing of assessment

BACKGROUND: Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) is being used more commonly in younger higher demand patients. The purpose of this randomized pilot study was to explore a) feasibility of comprehensive postoperative rehabilitation compared to usual care following primary THA in subjects <65 years, b) appropriate outcome measures including performance-based measures and c) timing of assessments. METHODS: 21 subjects who underwent primary THA were randomized to receive a three-month out-patient rehabilitation program (Intervention) or usual postoperative care (Control). Subjects were assessed preoperatively, six-weeks postoperatively (Pre-intervention) and four and 12 months postoperatively (Post-intervention). Self-report measures were the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Rand 36-Item Health Survey (RAND-36). Performance-based measures included lower extremity strength, walking speed and endurance, and gait laboratory assessment. RESULTS: Ten Control and 11 Intervention subjects with an average age of 53.4 (SD9.3) years were randomized. All Intervention subjects completed the program without adverse effects. Although no statistically significantly results were reported, four months postoperatively, Intervention subjects had clinically important differences (CID) in strength compared with Control subjects. Walking endurance, WOMAC and RAND scores improved significantly with no CID noted between groups. Ten (48%) subjects reported a ceiling effect on the WOMAC (9 (43%) subjects on Pain; 1 (5%) subject on Function). No group CID were noted in gait measures. CONCLUSIONS: Our recommendations would be that performance-based strength measures should be considered for the primary outcome in this younger cohort. Because of the ceiling effects with WOMAC Pain, a different pain measure is indicated. Other more challenging functional performance-based tests should be considered such as a more prolonged endurance test. There is merit in one-year follow-up as strength improved after four months in both groups

L'effet du contexte social sur les gestes réalisés avec un smartphone

National audienceIn this paper, the effect of social exposure on smartphone motion gestures is investigated. A within-subject repeated measures experiment was conducted where participants performed sets of motion gestures on a smartphone in both private and public locations. Using data from the smartphone's accelerometer, we found that the location had a significant effect on both the duration and intensity of the participants' gestures. As a result, we argue that it may not be sufficient for gesture input systems to be designed and calibrated purely in private lab settings. Instead, motion gesture input systems for smartphones may need to be aware of the changing context of the device and to account for this in algorithms that interpret gestural input.Dans cet article, nous étudions l'effet du contexte social sur la réalisation de gestes avec le smartphone. Une étude pendant laquelle les participants devaient réaliser un ensemble de gestes avec un smartphone en public et en privé est présentée. L'analyse des données de l'accéléromètre du smartphone, montre que le contexte social à un effet significatif sur la durée et l'intensité des gestes. Ces résultats nous permettent d'affirmer que le design et la calibration de gestes dans le contexte privé du laboratoire seul n'est pas suffisant. Les systèmes interactifs utilisant les gestes par smartphone doivent également prendre en compte le contexte dans lequel les gestes sont réalisés pour la détection de ces derniers

Analysis of the Listeria monocytogenes Population Structure among Isolates from 1931 to 2015 in Australia

Listeriosis remains among the most important bacterial illnesses, with a high associated mortality rate. Efforts to control listeriosis require detailed knowledge of the epidemiology of the disease itself, and its etiological bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes. In this study we provide an in-depth analysis of the epidemiology of 224 L. monocytogenes isolates from Australian clinical and non-clinical sources. Non-human sources included meat, dairy, seafood, fruit, and vegetables, along with animal and environmental isolates. Serotyping, Multi-Locus Sequence Typing, and analysis of inlA gene sequence were performed. Serogroups IIA, IIB, and IVB comprised 94% of all isolates, with IVB over-represented among clinical isolates. Serogroup IIA was the most common among dairy and meat isolates. Lineage I isolates were most common among clinical isolates, and 52% of clinical isolates belonged to ST1. Overall 39 STs were identified in this study, with ST1 and ST3 containing the largest numbers of L. monocytogenes isolates. These STs comprised 40% of the total isolates (n = 90), and both harbored isolates from clinical and non-clinical sources. ST204 was the third most common ST. The high prevalence of this group among L. monocytogenes populations has not been reported outside Australia. Twenty-seven percent of the STs in this study contained exclusively clinical isolates. Analysis of the virulence protein InlA among isolates in this study identified a truncated form of the protein among isolates from ST121 and ST325. The ST325 group contained a previously unreported novel mutation leading to production of a 93 amino acid protein. This study provides insights in the population structure of L. monocytogenes isolated in Australia, which will contribute to public health knowledge relating to this important human pathogen

Last millennium northern hemisphere summer temperatures from tree rings: Part I: The long term context

Large-scale millennial length Northern Hemisphere (NH) temperature reconstructions have been progressively improved over the last 20 years as new datasets have been developed. This paper, and its companion (Part II, Anchukaitis et al. in prep), details the latest tree-ring (TR) based NH land air temperature reconstruction from a temporal and spatial perspective. This work is the first product of a consortium called N-TREND (Northern Hemisphere Tree-Ring Network Development) which brings together dendroclimatologists to identify a collective strategy for improving large-scale summer temperature reconstructions. The new reconstruction, N-TREND2015, utilises 54 records, a significant expansion compared with previous TR studies, and yields an improved reconstruction with stronger statistical calibration metrics. N-TREND2015 is relatively insensitive to the compositing method and spatial weighting used and validation metrics indicate that the new record portrays reasonable coherence with large scale summer temperatures and is robust at all time-scales from 918 to 2004 where at least 3 TR records exist from each major continental mass. N-TREND2015 indicates a longer and warmer medieval period (∼900–1170) than portrayed by previous TR NH reconstructions and by the CMIP5 model ensemble, but with better overall agreement between records for the last 600 years. Future dendroclimatic projects should focus on developing new long records from data-sparse regions such as North America and eastern Eurasia as well as ensuring the measurement of parameters related to latewood density to complement ring-width records which can improve local based calibration substantially

Identification of Escherichia coli ygaQ and rpmG as novel mitomycin C resistance factors implicated in DNA repair

Using the ASKA (A Complete Set of E. coli K-12 ORF Archive) library for genome-wide screening of E. coli proteins we identified that expression of ygaQ and rpmG promotemitomycin C resistance (MMCR). YgaQ mediated MMCR was independent of homologous recombination involving RecA or RuvABC, but required UvrD. YgaQ is an uncharacterized protein homologous to a-amylases that we identified to have nuclease activity directed to single stranded DNA of 5’ flaps. Nuclease activity was inactivated by mutation of two amino acid motifs, which also abolished MMCR. RpmG is frequently annotated as a bacterial ribosomal protein, although forms an operon with MutM glycosylase and a putative deubiquitinating enzyme, YicR. RpmG associated MMCR was dependent on MutM. MMCR from RpmG resembles DNA repair phenotypes reported for ‘idiosyncratic ribosomal proteins’ in eukaryotes

Maternal sildenafil for severe fetal growth restriction (STRIDER): a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial

Background Severe early-onset fetal growth restriction can lead to a range of adverse outcomes including fetal or neonatal death, neurodisability, and lifelong risks to the health of the affected child. Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, potentiates the actions of nitric oxide, which leads to vasodilatation of the uterine vessels and might improve fetal growth in utero. Methods We did this superiority, placebo-controlled randomised trial in 19 fetal medicine units in the UK. We used random computer allocation (1:1) to assign women with singleton pregnancies between 22 weeks and 0 days' gestation and 29 weeks and 6 days' gestation and severe early-onset fetal growth restriction to receive either sildenafil 25 mg three times daily or placebo until 32 weeks and 0 days' gestation or delivery. We stratified women by site and by their gestational age at randomisation (before week 26 and 0 days or at week 26 and 0 days or later). We defined fetal growth restriction as a combination of estimated fetal weight or abdominal circumference below tenth percentile and absent or reversed end-diastolic blood flow in the umbilical artery on Doppler velocimetry. The primary outcome was the time from randomisation to delivery, measured in days. This study is registered with BioMed Central, number ISRCTN 39133303. Findings Between Nov 21, 2014, and July 6, 2016, we recruited 135 women and randomly assigned 70 women to sildenafil and 65 women to placebo. We found no difference in the median randomisation to delivery interval between women assigned to sildenafil (17 days [IQR 7–24]) and women assigned to placebo (18 days [8–28]; p=0·23). Livebirths (relative risk [RR] 1·06, 95% CI 0·84 to 1·33; p=0·62), fetal deaths (0·89, 0·54 to 1·45; p=0·64), neonatal deaths (1·33, 0·54 to 3·28; p=0·53), and birthweight (−14 g,–100 to 126; p=0·81) did not differ between groups. No differences were found for any other secondary outcomes. Eight serious adverse events were reported during the course of the study (six in the placebo group and two in the sildenafil group); none of these were attributed to sildenafil. Interpretation Sildenafil did not prolong pregnancy or improve pregnancy outcomes in severe early-onset fetal growth restriction and therefore it should not be prescribed for this indication outside of research studies with explicit participants' consent. Funding National Institute for Health Research and Medical Research Council

Greenland Temperature Response to Climate Forcing during the Last Deglaciation

Greenland ice core water isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O) provides detailed evidence for abrupt climate changes, but is by itself insufficient for quantitative reconstruction of past temperatures and their spatial patterns. We investigate Greenland temperature evolution during the last deglaciation using independent reconstructions from three ice cores and simulations with a coupled ocean-atmosphere climate model. Contrary to the traditional δ¹⁸O interpretation, the Younger Dryas period was 4.5±2°C warmer than the Oldest Dryas, due to increased CO₂ forcing and summer insolation. The magnitude of abrupt temperature changes is larger in central Greenland (9-14°C) than in the northwest (5-9°C), fingerprinting a North-Atlantic origin. Simulated changes in temperature seasonality closely track changes in the Atlantic overturning strength, and support the hypothesis that abrupt climate change is mostly a winter phenomenon

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe