Evaluation Framework for Water Quality Trading Programs in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Water quality trading programs are being proposed and implemented across the US in a variety of forms and with differing objectives. The programs being proposed and implemented in the Chesapeake Bay region are no exception. Against this background the Chesapeake Bay Program's Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee and the Mid-Atlantic Water Program requested a general framework to inform and guide the evaluation of the performance trading programs. This resulting report was developed by a workgroup comprised of ten individuals with extensive experience in the study, design, and evaluation of trading programs. While the impetus for this report was to improve evaluation of trading programs in the Chesapeake Bay region, the evaluation framework is broad enough to apply to trading programs in general

A Wireless Multifunctional SSVEP-Based Brain Computer Interface Assistive System

IEEE Several kinds of brain-computer interface (BCI) systems have been proposed to compensate for the lack of medical technology for assisting patients who lose the ability to use motor functions to communicate with the outside world. However, most of the proposed systems are limited by their non-portability, impracticality and inconvenience because of the adoption of wired or invasive electroencephalography (EEG) acquisition devices. Another common limitation is the shortage of functions provided because of the difficulty of integrating multiple functions into one BCI system. In this study, we propose a wireless, non-invasive and multifunctional assistive system which integrates steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI and a robotic arm to assist patients to feed themselves. Patients are able to control the robotic arm via the BCI to serve themselves food. Three other functions: video entertainment, video calling, and active interaction are also integrated. This is achieved by designing a functional menu and integrating multiple subsystems. A refinement decision-making mechanism is incorporated to ensure the accuracy and applicability of the system. Fifteen participants were recruited to validate the usability and performance of the system. The averaged accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR) achieved is 90.91% and 24.94 bit per min respectively. The feedback from the participants demonstrates that this assistive system is able to significantly improve the quality of daily life

A wireless steady state visually evoked potential-based BCI eating assistive system

© 2017 IEEE. Brain-Computer interface (BCI) which aims at enabling users to perform tasks through their brain waves has been a feasible and worth developing solution for growing demand of healthcare. Current proposed BCI systems are often with lower applicability and do not provide much help for reducing burdens of users because of the time-consuming preparation required by adopted wet sensors and the shortage of provided interactive functions. Here, by integrating a state visually evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI system and a robotic eating assistive system, we propose a non-invasive wireless steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI eating assistive system that enables users with physical disabilities to have meals independently. The analysis compared different methods of classification and indicated the best method. The applicability of the integrated eating assistive system was tested by an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patient, and a questionnaire reply and some suggestion are provided. Fifteen healthy subjects engaged the experiment, and an average accuracy of 91.35%, and information transfer rate (ITR) of 20.69 bit per min are achieved. For online performance evaluation, the ALS patient gave basic affirmation and provided suggestions for further improvement. In summary, we proposed a usable SSVEP-based BCI system enabling users to have meals independently. With additional adjustment of movement design of the robotic arm and classification algorithm, the system may offer users with physical disabilities a new way to take care of themselves

The effects of different fatigue levels on brain–behavior relationships in driving

© 2019 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Background: In the past decade, fatigue has been regarded as one of the main factors impairing task performance and increasing behavioral lapses during driving, even leading to fatal car crashes. Although previous studies have explored the impact of acute fatigue through electroencephalography (EEG) signals, it is still unclear how different fatigue levels affect brain–behavior relationships. Methods: A longitudinal study was performed to investigate the brain dynamics and behavioral changes in individuals under different fatigue levels by a sustained attention task. This study used questionnaires in combination with actigraphy, a noninvasive means of monitoring human physiological activity cycles, to conduct longitudinal assessment and tracking of the objective and subjective fatigue levels of recruited participants. In this study, degrees of effectiveness score (fatigue rating) are divided into three levels (normal, reduced, and high risk) by the SAFTE fatigue model. Results: Results showed that those objective and subjective indicators were negatively correlated to behavioral performance. In addition, increased response times were accompanied by increased alpha and theta power in most brain regions, especially the posterior regions. In particular, the theta and alpha power dramatically increased in the high-fatigue (high-risk) group. Additionally, the alpha power of the occipital regions showed an inverted U-shaped change. Conclusion: Our results help to explain the inconsistent findings among existing studies, which considered the effects of only acute fatigue on driving performance while ignoring different levels of resident fatigue, and potentially lead to practical and precise biomathematical models to better predict the performance of human operators

An assessment of shadow enhanced urban remote sensing imagery of a complex city - Hong Kong

Author name used in this manuscript: Bruce A. KingRefereed conference paper2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Improvement of performance of InAs quantum dot solar cell by inserting thin AlAs layers

A new measure to enhance the performance of InAs quantum dot solar cell is proposed and measured. One monolayer AlAs is deposited on top of InAs quantum dots (QDs) in multistack solar cells. The devices were fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy. In situ annealing was intended to tune the QD density. A set of four samples were compared: InAs QDs without in situ annealing with and without AlAs cap layer and InAs QDs in situ annealed with and without AlAs cap layer. Atomic force microscopy measurements show that when in situ annealing of QDs without AlAs capping layers is investigated, holes and dashes are present on the device surface, while capping with one monolayer AlAs improves the device surface. On unannealed samples, capping the QDs with one monolayer of AlAs improves the spectral response, the open-circuit voltage and the fill factor. On annealed samples, capping has little effect on the spectral response but reduces the short-circuit current, while increasing the open-circuit voltage, the fill factor and power conversion efficiency

Non-random pre-transcriptional evolution in HIV-1. A refutation of the foundational conditions for neutral evolution

The complete base sequence of HIV-1 virus and GP120 ENV gene were analyzed to establish their distance to the expected neutral random sequence. An especial methodology was devised to achieve this aim. Analyses included: a) proportion of dinucleotides (signatures); b) homogeneity in the distribution of dinucleotides and bases (isochores) by dividing both segments in ten and three sub-segments, respectively; c) probability of runs of bases and No-bases according to the Bose-Einstein distribution. The analyses showed a huge deviation from the random distribution expected from neutral evolution and neutral-neighbor influence of nucleotide sites. The most significant result is the tremendous lack of CG dinucleotides (p < 10-50 ), a selective trait of eukaryote and not of single stranded RNA virus genomes. Results not only refute neutral evolution and neutral neighbor influence, but also strongly indicate that any base at any nucleotide site correlates with all the viral genome or sub-segments. These results suggest that evolution of HIV-1 is pan-selective rather than neutral or nearly neutral

Inter-Allelic Prion Propagation Reveals Conformational Relationships among a Multitude of [PSI] Strains

Immense diversity of prion strains is observed, but its underlying mechanism is less clear. Three [PSI] prion strains—named VH, VK, and VL—were previously isolated in the wild-type yeast genetic background. Here we report the generation and characterization of eight new [PSI] isolates, obtained by propagating the wild-type strains with Sup35 proteins containing single amino-acid alterations. The VH strain splits into two distinct strains when propagated in each of the three genetic backgrounds, harboring respectively single mutations of N21L, R28P, and Gi47 (i.e. insertion of a glycine residue at position 47) on the Sup35 N-terminal prion-forming segment. The six new strains exhibit complex inter-conversion patterns, and one of them continuously mutates into another. However, when they are introduced back into the wild-type background, all 6 strains revert to the VH strain. We obtain two more [PSI] isolates by propagating VK and VL with the Gi47 and N21L backgrounds, respectively. The two isolates do not transmit to other mutant backgrounds but revert to their parental strains in the wild-type background. Our data indicate that a large number of [PSI] strains can be built on three basic Sup35 amyloid structures. It is proposed that the three basic structures differ by chain folding topologies, and sub-strains with the same topology differ in distinct ways by local structural adjustments. This “large number of variations on a small number of basic themes” may also be operative in generating strain diversities in other prion elements. It thus suggests a possible general scheme to classify a multitude of prion strains

Diabetes is a Risk Factor for Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Case-Control Study from Mwanza, Tanzania.

Diabetes and TB are associated, and diabetes is increasingly common in low-income countries where tuberculosis (TB) is highly endemic. However, the role of diabetes for TB has not been assessed in populations where HIV is prevalent. A case-control study was conducted in an urban population in Tanzania among culture-confirmed pulmonary TB patients and non-TB neighbourhood controls. Participants were tested for diabetes according to WHO guidelines and serum concentrations of acute phase reactants were measured. The association between diabetes and TB, and the role of HIV as an effect modifier, were examined using logistic regression. Since blood glucose levels increase during the acute phase response, we adjusted for elevated serum acute phase reactants. Among 803 cases and 350 controls the mean (SD) age was 34.8 (11.9) and 33.8 (12.0) years, and the prevalence of diabetes was 16.7% (95% CI: 14.2; 19.4) and 9.4% (6.6; 13.0), respectively. Diabetes was associated with TB (OR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.5; 3.4, p<0.001). However, the association depended on HIV status (interaction, p = 0.01) due to a stronger association among HIV uninfected (OR 4.2, 95% CI: 1.5; 11.6, p = 0.01) compared to HIV infected (OR 0.1, 95% CI: 0.01; 1.8, p = 0.13) after adjusting for age, sex, demographic factors and elevated serum acute phase reactants. Diabetes is a risk factor for TB in HIV uninfected, whereas the association in HIV infected patients needs further study. The increasing diabetes prevalence may be a threat to TB control

The edges of understanding

A culture's icons are a window onto its soul. Few would disagree that, in the culture of molecular biology that dominated much of the life sciences for the last third of the 20th century, the dominant icon was the double helix. In the present, post-modern, 'systems biology' era, however, it is, arguably, the hairball