DESIGNING SPEECH INTERFACE APPLICATIONS FOR ACQUISITION OF AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION

It will be argued that customary software design strategies, by themselves, fall short when designing speech recognition applications. Concepts of experimental design and analysis are also necessary for developing speech interface software. This study demonstrates that these tools can be advantageous to the software developer, especially if the prototype methodology model of software development is applied. A case study for the problem of developing a speech interface for collecting, or mapping, information on cotton plant growth is presented. The acquisition of cotton plant map data is a \u27hands and eyes\u27 busy task that requires considerable investment to record and convert hand-written data sheets into computer data files. The project goal is to develop software that converts spoken key words and phrases describing a cotton plant into text \u27strings\u27 that are subsequently manipulated into a computer ready data file

Sequestration of Martian CO2 by mineral carbonation

Carbonation is the water-mediated replacement of silicate minerals, such as olivine, by carbonate, and is commonplace in the Earth’s crust. This reaction can remove significant quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and store it over geological timescales. Here we present the first direct evidence for CO2 sequestration and storage on Mars by mineral carbonation. Electron beam imaging and analysis show that olivine and a plagioclase feldspar-rich mesostasis in the Lafayette meteorite have been replaced by carbonate. The susceptibility of olivine to replacement was enhanced by the presence of smectite veins along which CO2-rich fluids gained access to grain interiors. Lafayette was partially carbonated during the Amazonian, when liquid water was available intermittently and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were close to their present-day values. Earlier in Mars’ history, when the planet had a much thicker atmosphere and an active hydrosphere, carbonation is likely to have been an effective mechanism for sequestration of CO2

Sequence variation of Epstein-Barr virus: viral types, geography, codon usage and diseases

138 new Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome sequences have been determined. 125 of these and 116 from previous reports were combined to produce a multiple sequence alignment of 241 EBV genomes, which we have used to analyze variation within the viral genome. The type 1/type2 classification of EBV remains the major form of variation and is defined mostly by EBNA2 and EBNA3, but the type 2 SNPs at the EBNA3 locus extend into the adjacent gp350 and gp42 genes, whose products mediate infection of B cells by EBV. A small insertion within the BART miRNA region of the genome was present in 21 EBV strains. EBV from saliva of USA patients with chronic active EBV infection aligned with the wild type EBV genome, with no evidence of WZhet rearrangements. The V3 polymorphism in the Zp promoter for BZLF1 was found to be frequent in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases both from Hong Kong and Indonesia. Codon usage was found to differ between latent and lytic cycle EBV genes and the main forms of variation of the EBNA1 protein have been identified.IMPORTANCE Epstein-Barr virus causes most cases of infectious mononucleosis and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. It contributes to several types of cancer including Hodgkin's lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, diffuse large B cell lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric carcinoma. EBV genome variation is important because some of the diseases associated with EBV have very different incidences in different populations and geographic regions - differences in the EBV genome might contribute to these diseases. Some specific EBV genome alterations that appear to be significant in EBV associated cancers are already known and current efforts to make an EBV vaccine and antiviral drugs should also take account of sequence differences in the proteins used as targets

Practical use of variational principles for modeling water waves

This paper describes a method for deriving approximate equations for irrotational water waves. The method is based on a 'relaxed' variational principle, i.e., on a Lagrangian involving as many variables as possible. This formulation is particularly suitable for the construction of approximate water wave models, since it allows more freedom while preserving the variational structure. The advantages of this relaxed formulation are illustrated with various examples in shallow and deep waters, as well as arbitrary depths. Using subordinate constraints (e.g., irrotationality or free surface impermeability) in various combinations, several model equations are derived, some being well-known, other being new. The models obtained are studied analytically and exact travelling wave solutions are constructed when possible.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure, 62 references. Other author's papers can be downloaded at http://www.denys-dutykh.com

Effect of resource spatial correlation and Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer mobility on social cooperation in Tierra del Fuego

This article presents an agent-based model designed to explore the development of cooperation in hunter-fisher-gatherer societies that face a dilemma of sharing an unpredictable resource that is randomly distributed in space. The model is a stylised abstraction of the Yamana society, which inhabited the channels and islands of the southernmost part of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina-Chile). According to ethnographic sources, the Yamana developed cooperative behaviour supported by an indirect reciprocity mechanism: whenever someone found an extraordinary confluence of resources, such as a beached whale, they would use smoke signals to announce their find, bringing people together to share food and exchange different types of social capital. The model provides insight on how the spatial concentration of beachings and agents’ movements in the space can influence cooperation. We conclude that the emergence of informal and dynamic communities that operate as a vigilance network preserves cooperation and makes defection very costly.MICINN http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/ CSD2010-00034 (SimulPast CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010) and HAR2009-06996; the government of Castilla y Leónhttp://www.jcyl.es/ GREX251-2009; the Argentine CONICET http://www.conicet.gov.ar/PIP-0706; and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Researchhttp://www.wennergren.org/ "Social Aggregation: A Yamana Society's Short Term Episode to Analyse Social Interaction, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina". The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Practices Exposing Humans to Avian Influenza Viruses, Their Prevalence, and Rationale

Almost all human infections by avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are transmitted from poultry. A systematic review was conducted to identify practices associated with human infections, their prevalence, and rationale. Observational studies were identified through database searches. Meta-analysis produced combined odds ratio estimates. The prevalence of practices and rationales for their adoptions were reported. Of the 48,217 records initially identified, 65 articles were included. Direct and indirect exposures to poultry were associated with infection for all investigated viral subtypes and settings. For the most frequently reported practices, association with infection seemed stronger in markets than households, for sick and dead than healthy poultry, and for H7N9 than H5N1. Practices were often described in general terms and their frequency and intensity of contact were not provided. The prevalence of practices was highly variable across studies, and no studies comprehensively explored reasons behind the adoption of practices. Combining epidemiological and targeted anthropological studies would increase the spectrum and detail of practices that could be investigated and should aim to provide insights into the rationale(s) for their existence. A better understanding of these rationales may help to design more realistic and acceptable preventive public health measures and messages

Identifying and prioritizing strategies for comprehensive liver cancer control in Asia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Liver cancer is both common and burdensome in Asia. Effective liver cancer control, however, is hindered by a complex etiology and a lack of coordination across clinical disciplines. We sought to identify strategies for inclusion in a comprehensive liver cancer control for Asia and to compare qualitative and quantitative methods for prioritization.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Qualitative interviews (N = 20) with international liver cancer experts were used to identify strategies using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and to formulate an initial prioritization through frequency analysis. Conjoint analysis, a quantitative stated-preference method, was then applied among Asian liver cancer experts (N = 20) who completed 12 choice tasks that divided these strategies into two mutually exclusive and exhaustive subsets. Respondents' preferred plan was the primary outcome in a choice model, estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression. Priorities were then compared using Spearman's Rho.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eleven strategies were identified: <it>Access to treatments; Centers of excellence; Clinical education; Measuring social burden; Monitoring of at-risk populations; Multidisciplinary management; National guidelines; Public awareness; Research infrastructure; Risk-assessment and referral</it>; and <it>Transplantation infrastructure</it>. Qualitative frequency analysis indicated that <it>Risk-assessment and referral </it>(85%), <it>National guidelines </it>(80%) and <it>Monitoring of at-risk populations </it>(80%) received the highest priority, while conjoint analysis pointed to <it>Monitoring of at-risk populations </it>(p < 0.001), <it>Centers of excellence </it>(p = 0.002), and <it>Access to treatments </it>(p = 0.004) as priorities, while <it>Risk-assessment and referral </it>was the lowest priority (p = 0.645). We find moderate concordance between the qualitative and quantitative methods (rho = 0.20), albeit insignificant (p = 0.554), and a strong concordance between the OLS and logistic regressions (rho = 0.979; p < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Identified strategies can be conceptualized as the ABCs of comprehensive liver cancer control as they focus on <it>Antecedents</it>, <it>Better care </it>and <it>Connections </it>within a national strategy. Some concordance was found between the qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g. <it>Monitoring of at-risk populations</it>), but substantial differences were also identified (e.g. qualitative methods gave highest priority to risk-assessment and referral, but it was the lowest for the quantitative methods), which may be attributed to differences between the methods and study populations, and potential framing effects in choice tasks. Continued research will provide more generalizable estimates of priorities and account for variation across stakeholders and countries.</p

Prospective memory functioning among ecstasy/polydrug users: evidence from the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT)

Rationale: Prospective memory (PM) deficits in recreational drug users have been documented in recent years. However, the assessment of PM has largely been restricted to self-reported measures that fail to capture the distinction between event-based and time-based PM. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation. Objectives: Extending our previous research, we augmented the range laboratory measures of PM by employing the CAMPROMPT test battery to investigate the impact of illicit drug use on prospective remembering in a sample of cannabis only, ecstasy/polydrug and non-users of illicit drugs, separating event and time-based PM performance. We also administered measures of executive function and retrospective memory in order to establish whether ecstasy/polydrug deficits in PM were mediated by group differences in these processes. Results: Ecstasy/polydrug users performed significantly worse on both event and time-based prospective memory tasks in comparison to both cannabis only and non-user groups. Furthermore, it was found that across the whole sample, better retrospective memory and executive functioning was associated with superior PM performance. Nevertheless, this association did not mediate the drug-related effects that were observed. Consistent with our previous study, recreational use of cocaine was linked to PM deficits. Conclusions: PM deficits have again been found among ecstasy/polydrug users, which appear to be unrelated to group differences in executive function and retrospective memory. However, the possibility that these are attributable to cocaine use cannot be excluded

Can We Really Prevent Suicide?

Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for all ages. Unfortunately, suicide is difficult to prevent, in large part because the prevalence of risk factors is high among the general population. In this review, clinical and psychological risk factors are examined and methods for suicide prevention are discussed. Prevention strategies found to be effective in suicide prevention include means restriction, responsible media coverage, and general public education, as well identification methods such as screening, gatekeeper training, and primary care physician education. Although the treatment for preventing suicide is difficult, follow-up that includes pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or both may be useful. However, prevention methods cannot be restricted to the individual. Community, social, and policy interventions will also be essentia