Heuristics for Broader Assessment of Effectiveness and Usability in Technology-Mediated Technical Communication

Purpose: To offer additional tools for the assessment of effectiveness and usability in technology-mediated communication based in established heuristics. Method: An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute selected five disparate examples of technology-mediated communication, formally evaluated each using contemporary heuristics, and then engaged in an iterative design process to arrive at an expanded toolkit for in depth analyses. Results: A set of heuristics and operationalized metrics for the deeper analysis of a broader scope of contemporary technology-mediated communication. Conclusions: The continual evolution of communication, including the emergence of new, interactive media, provides a challenging opportunity to identify effective approaches and techniques. There are benefits to a renewed focus on relationships between people and between people and information, and we offer additional criteria and metrics to supplement established means of heuristic analysis

Mitochondrial Protein Lipoylation and the 2-Oxoglutarate Dehydrogenase Complex Controls HIF1α Stability in Aerobic Conditions.

Hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) control adaptation to low oxygen environments by activating genes involved in metabolism, angiogenesis, and redox homeostasis. The finding that HIFs are also regulated by small molecule metabolites highlights the need to understand the complexity of their cellular regulation. Here we use a forward genetic screen in near-haploid human cells to identify genes that stabilize HIFs under aerobic conditions. We identify two mitochondrial genes, oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) and lipoic acid synthase (LIAS), which when mutated stabilize HIF1α in a non-hydroxylated form. Disruption of OGDH complex activity in OGDH or LIAS mutants promotes L-2-hydroxyglutarate formation, which inhibits the activity of the HIFα prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) and TET 2-oxoglutarate dependent dioxygenases. We also find that PHD activity is decreased in patients with homozygous germline mutations in lipoic acid synthesis, leading to HIF1 activation. Thus, mutations affecting OGDHC activity may have broad implications for epigenetic regulation and tumorigenesis.This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Research Fellowship to J.A.N. (102770/Z/13/Z), Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship to P.J.L. (084957/Z/08/Z), and the Medical Research Council (A.S.H.C. and C.F.). The Cambridge Institute for Medical Research is in receipt of a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (100140).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier (Cell Press) via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2016.09.01

Integrated stratigraphic correlation of Upper Devonian platform-to-basin carbonate sequences, Lennard Shelf, Canning Basin, Western Australia: advances in carbonate margin-to-slope sequence stratigraphy and stacking patterns

High-resolution, time-significant correlations are integral to meaningful stratigraphic frameworks in depositional systems, but may be difficult to achieve using traditional sequence stratigraphic or biostratigraphic approaches alone, particularly in geologically complex settings. In steep, reefal carbonate margin-to-slope systems, such correlations are essential to unravel shelf-to-basin transitions, characterize strike variability, and develop predictive sequence stratigraphic models – concepts which are currently poorly understood in these heterogeneous settings. The Canning Basin Chronostratigraphy Project (CBCP) integrates multiple independent datasets (including biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, stable isotope chemostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphy) extracted from Upper Devonian (Frasnian and Famennian) reefal platform exposures along the Lennard Shelf, Canning Basin, Western Australia. These were used to generate a well-constrained stratigraphic framework and shelf-to-basin composite reconstruction of the carbonate system. The resultant integrated framework allows for unprecedented analysis of carbonate margin-to-slope heterogeneity, depositional architecture, and sequence stratigraphy along the Lennard Shelf. Systems tract architecture, facies partitioning, and stacking patterns of margin to lower-slope environments were assessed for six composite-scale sequences that form part of a transgressive-to-regressive supersequence and span the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) biotic crisis. Variations are apparent in margin styles, foreslope facies proportions, dominant resedimentation processes, downslope contributing sediment factories, and vertical rock successions, related to hierarchical accommodation signals and ecological changes associated with F-F boundary. We present these results in the form of carbonate margin-to-basin sequence stratigraphic models and associations that link seismic-scale architecture to fine-scale facies heterogeneity. These models provide a predictive foundation for characterization of steep-sided flanks of reefal carbonate platform systems that is useful for both industry and academia. This study emphasizes the utility of an integrated stratigraphic approach and the insights gained from better-constrained facies and stratal architecture analysis; insights that were not achievable with traditional sequence stratigraphic or biostratigraphic techniques alone

Optimal Relevance in Imperfect Information Games

To help incorporate natural language into economic theory, this paper does two things. First, the paper extends to imperfect information games an equilibrium concept developed for incomplete information games, so natural language can be formalized as a vehicle to convey information about actions as well as types. This equilibrium concept is specific to language games, because information is conveyed by the sender through the message's literal meaning. Second, the paper proposes an equilibrium refinement which selects the sender's most preferred equilibrium. The refinement captures the notion that the speaker seeks to improve its status quo, aiming at optimal relevance. Explicit coordination through verbal communication parallels the idea of implicit coordination through focal points

How do violations of Gricean maxims affect reading?

Four eye-tracking experiments examined how violations of the Gricean maxim of quantity affect reading. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that first-pass reading times for size-modified definite nouns (the small towel) were longer when the modifier was redundant, as the context contained one rather than two possible referents, whereas first-pass times for bare nouns (the towel) were unaffected by whether the context contained multiple referents that resulted in ambiguity. Experiment 3 showed that unlike redundant size modifiers, redundant color modifiers did not increase first-pass times. Experiment 4 confirmed this finding, demonstrating that the effect of redundancy was dependent on the meaning of the modifier. We propose that initial referential processing is led by the lexico-semantic representation of the referring expression rather than Gricean expectations about optimal informativeness: Redundancy of a size-modifier immediately disrupts comprehension because the processor fails to activate the referential contrast implied by the meaning of the modifier, whereas referential ambiguity has no immediate effect, as it allows the activation of at least one semantically-compatible referent

Irony Detection in Twitter: The Role of Affective Content

© ACM 2016. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, Vol. 16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2930663.[EN] Irony has been proven to be pervasive in social media, posing a challenge to sentiment analysis systems. It is a creative linguistic phenomenon where affect-related aspects play a key role. In this work, we address the problem of detecting irony in tweets, casting it as a classification problem. We propose a novel model that explores the use of affective features based on a wide range of lexical resources available for English, reflecting different facets of affect. Classification experiments over different corpora show that affective information helps in distinguishing among ironic and nonironic tweets. Our model outperforms the state of the art in almost all cases.The National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT Mexico) has funded the research work of Delia Irazu Hernandez Farias (Grant No. 218109/313683 CVU-369616). The work of Viviana Patti was partially carried out at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia within the framework of a fellowship of the University of Turin cofunded by Fondazione CRT (World Wide Style Program 2). The work of Paolo Rosso has been partially funded by the SomEMBED TIN2015-71147-C2-1-P MINECO research project and by the Generalitat Valenciana under the grant ALMAMATER (PrometeoII/2014/030).Hernandez-Farias, DI.; Patti, V.; Rosso, P. (2016). Irony Detection in Twitter: The Role of Affective Content. ACM Transactions on Internet Technology. 16(3):19:1-19:24. https://doi.org/10.1145/2930663S19:119:24163Rob Abbott, Marilyn Walker, Pranav Anand, Jean E. Fox Tree, Robeson Bowmani, and Joseph King. 2011. 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Hermeneutics and Nature

This paper contributes to the on-going research into the ways in which the humanities transformed the natural sciences in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries. By investigating the relationship between hermeneutics -- as developed by Herder -- and natural history, it shows how the methods used for the study of literary and artistic works played a crucial role in the emergence of key natural-scientific fields, including geography and ecology

Effects of a robot-assisted training of grasp and pronation/supination in chronic stroke: a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rehabilitation of hand function is challenging, and only few studies have investigated robot-assisted rehabilitation focusing on distal joints of the upper limb. This paper investigates the feasibility of using the <it>HapticKnob</it>, a table-top end-effector device, for robot-assisted rehabilitation of grasping and forearm pronation/supination, two important functions for activities of daily living involving the hand, and which are often impaired in chronic stroke patients. It evaluates the effectiveness of this device for improving hand function and the transfer of improvement to arm function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A single group of fifteen chronic stroke patients with impaired arm and hand functions (Fugl-Meyer motor assessment scale (FM) 10-45/66) participated in a 6-week 3-hours/week rehabilitation program with the <it>HapticKnob</it>. Outcome measures consisted primarily of the FM and Motricity Index (MI) and their respective subsections related to distal and proximal arm function, and were assessed at the beginning, end of treatment and in a 6-weeks follow-up.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirteen subjects successfully completed robot-assisted therapy, with significantly improved hand and arm motor functions, demonstrated by an average 3.00 points increase on the FM and 4.55 on the MI at the completion of the therapy (4.85 FM and 6.84 MI six weeks post-therapy). Improvements were observed both in distal and proximal components of the clinical scales at the completion of the study (2.00 FM wrist/hand, 2.55 FM shoulder/elbow, 2.23 MI hand and 4.23 MI shoulder/elbow). In addition, improvements in hand function were observed, as measured by the Motor Assessment Scale, grip force, and a decrease in arm muscle spasticity. These results were confirmed by motion data collected by the robot.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study show the feasibility of this robot-assisted therapy with patients presenting a large range of impairment levels. A significant homogeneous improvement in both hand and arm function was observed, which was maintained 6 weeks after end of the therapy.</p