Improving an SSVEP-Based Brain Computer Interface Speller

A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a novel technology that creates direct assistive communication between the brain and a computer. While numerous electroencephalogram (EEG) based BCI-speller applications have been used for communication by adults with physical disabilities; few BCI studies have included children, and none using BCI spellers. A pilot study of a developmentally-appropriate EEG-based speller-storybook interface that relied on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) by two pediatric users with quadriplegic cerebral palsy showed limited speller reliability (E. Floreani, personal communication, September 30, 2021). In the pilot study, the alphabet was parsed between three boxes, each flashing at a different rate (6Hz, 7.5Hz, 10Hz). The users attended to the box containing the required letter, and the BCI interpreted the resulting fluctuations in the EEG to make the selection. The present study sought to improve BCI speller-storybook reliability by improving stimulus timing and by adding auditory feedback. Speller performance was directly correlated with stimuli reliability but there was no significant difference in the average selection time or accuracy for the auditory-visual versus visual conditions. Nevertheless , auditory feedback may still yield an important addition for impaired participants. The results also suggest the speller is more reliable since participants could complete all the trials. Future work will involve testing the auditory-visual feedback condition for impaired participants. An updated speller-storybook interface with improved reliability still may provide a new educational tool to acquire literacy skills for pediatric users with complex communication disorders

SAINT OSWALD, CHRIST AND THE DREAM OF THE ROOD: MUTABLE SIGNS AT A CULTURAL CROSSROAD

The first decades following a country’s conversion to Christianity are sometimes marked by experimentation with native expressions of piety. Out of the multicultural environment of early Christian Northumbria such experiments created an insular Germanic version of sanctity. In the mid-seventh century, Oswiu of Northumbria (642-670), the younger brother and successor to King Oswald, constructed an elaborate narrative of God’s plan for England (without consent or guidance from the Roman Church). His narrative would weave his family into the sacred fabric of his nascent, Christian kingdom. Through skillful manipulation of oral tradition, material culture and sacri loci he crafted a unique interpretation of his brother’s death, an interpretation that Bede later canonizes in his Ecclesiastical History. King Oswiu, developed a novel form of the sacred by fusing certain established topoi of Christian sanctity with cultural elements from the Germans, Irish, Britons and Picts. Oswiu created the first Germanic holy warrior. Oswald with his dual nature as martyred warrior-king and humble saint represented a uniquely hybrid model of Germanic Christian sanctity as an imitatio for his people. It is this same cultural and intellectual environment, that gave birth to the Anglo-Saxon poetic masterpiece, The Dream of the Rood, which I suggest was written during the reign of King Aldfrith (685-705). Whereas Oswiu wished to consolidate political power through aligning his family with the newly introduced religion, the poet of the Dream of the Rood focused on exploring a related issue, the dual nature of Christ. The poem draws inspiration from the same font of political, cultural, and spiritual ideas that Oswiu used when he created his martyr-king. The inversions of traditional roles — Christ as warrior in The Dream of the Rood and warrior-king Oswald as martyr and humble servant of God — represent an outgrowth of the spiritual milieu that existed in seventh century Northumbria. The Dream of the Rood and the narrative of St. Oswald’s martyrdom reflect not merely Germanic ideals but a unique worldview stemming from the cultural and ethnic diversity of Northumbria. Both also reflect a desire by the Northumbrians to include themselves in the narrative of the Christian faith

Nimbus power systems /1960 - 1969/

Power supply subsystems for use on Nimbus satellite progra

A study to develop neutron activation for measuring bone calcium content

Neutron activation analysis for measuring calcium in monkey bone

Tujuan Alokasi Official Development Assistance Jepang kepada Vietnam Tahun 2009 -2014

Pada tahun 2009, Jepang terkena dampak krisis ekonomi global yang mengakibatkan kemerosotan Gross National Income (GNI) annual growth rate hingga -5,5 %. Dimana hal ini merupakan yang terburuk jika dibandingkan 30 tahun terakhir. Sebaliknya, pada tahun itu Jepang malah memberikan bantuan ke Vietnam melalui Official Development Assistance (ODA) dua kali lebih besar dibandingkan tahun sebelumnya. Selama kurun waktu 2009 hingga 2014, Vietnam merupakan negara yang paling banyak menerima bantuan dari Jepang yaitu sekitar 7,5 milyar US$. Jumlah ini lebih besar jika dibandingkan bantuan ODA Jepang ke negara lain dan juga bantuan ODA negara lain ke Vietnam. Di sisi lain, Vietnam telah berganti status sebagai negara middle income pada tahun 2011. Akan tetapi ditengah perekonomian Vietnam yang terus tumbuh, Jepang menempatkan Vietnam sebagai resipien utama dengan jumlah dana yang lebih besar jika dibandingkan pemberian bantuan pertama kali sejak 1992 hingga 2008 (sekitar 7,24 milyar US$ ). Sehingga, diperlukan konteks yang lebih luas untuk memahami tujuan pemberian bantuan luar negeri. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis tujuan utama pemberian bantuan ODA Jepang ke Vietnam selama tahun 2009 -2014 dengan mengggunakan konsep foreign aid purposes dari Carol Lancaster. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa tujuan komersil/commercial purposes merupakan tujuan yang paling dominan yaitu untuk memperluas ekspor, mengamankan akses impor bahan mentah, dan mengamankan serta mendorong nilai investasi

Saturn integrated circuit reliability test program Quarterly progress report, Jul. - Sep. 1966

Saturn integrated circuit reliability tests performed to improve failure mode screenin

The status of local smoking regulations in North Carolina following a state preemption bill

Objective. —To determine the number and protectiveness of local smoking regulations adopted before the implementation of a preemptive statewide smoking control bill. Method. —Review of local smoking control regulations from all 100 counties and 85 municipalities with populations greater than 5000 in North Carolina. Main Outcome Measures. —Adoption of local smoking control regulations before and during the 3-month delay in enactment of the preemptive bill. Protectiveness of regulations was based on restrictions on smoking and requirements for separate ventilation systems at private work sites: none (smoking unrestricted); minimal (smoking restricted to designated areas); partial (smoking restricted to designated areas served by separate ventilation systems); and complete (smoking prohibited). Because some regulations would be phased in gradually over the next 5 years, we evaluated the requirements that will be in effect by January 1, 2000. Results. —Between July 15 and October 15,1993, the number of local smoking regulations in North Carolina increased from 16 to 105. By the year 2000, 59% of private employees still will not be guaranteed any protection from work site environmental tobacco smoke; 19% will have minimal protection, 22% will have partial protection, and none will have complete protection. Conclusions. —The 3-month delay in preemption created an unnatural time frame for communities to organize, debate, and adopt smoking restrictions. Despite the adoption of 89 new regulations, no private employees will be guaranteed complete protection from work site environmental tobacco smoke by the year 2000; new regulations can no longer be adopted. HB 957 has been a setback for public health in North Carolina

Costs of Illness in the 1993 Waterborne Cryptosporidium Outbreak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

To assess the total medical costs and productivity losses associated with the 1993 waterborne outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including the average cost per person with mild, moderate, and severe illness, we conducted a retrospective cost-of-illness analysis using data from 11 hospitals in the greater Milwaukee area and epidemiologic data collected during the outbreak. The total cost of outbreak-associated illness was $96.2 million:$31.7 million in medical costs and $64.6 million in productivity losses. The average total costs for persons with mild, moderate, and severe illness were$116, $475, and$7,808, respectively. The potentially high cost of waterborne disease outbreaks should be considered in economic decisions regarding the safety of public drinking water supplies

Process Evaluation to Document Crucial Moments in Development of the National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Background: Neurological conditions or disorders strike roughly 50 million Americans annually but accurate and comprehensive national estimates for many of these conditions are not available. In 2019, Congress provided $5 million to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish the National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System (NNCSS). CDC focused initial activities on multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Purpose: We conducted a process evaluation to document and understand multifaceted work to implement a new surveillance activity for two neurological conditions. Setting: We conducted this evaluation with government personnel internal to the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. Intervention: A new public health surveillance activity for two neurological conditions, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, that uses existing data resources and systems. Research design: The evaluation included interviews with CDC personnel and review of administrative and programmatic information. Data were analyzed and interpreted to identify crucial moments in the first year of funded work on NNCSS. The study revealed that this surveillance activity required diverse contributions and collaboration within the federal government and with non-governmental organizations. The findings can be used to guide work to enhance surveillance for many neurological conditions. Findings: The study revealed that this surveillance activity required diverse contributions and collaboration within the federal government and with non-governmental organizations. While collaboration is a cornerstone of public health practice, it is not always well-documented in planning or implementation of surveillance or other data-related activities. Keywords: program evaluation; surveillance; neurological conditions; neurological disorders; multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s disease