4,168 research outputs found
Adoption of the personas technique in the open source software development process
The growth in the number of non-developer open source software (OSS) application users and the escalating use of these applications have led to the need and interest in developing usable OSS. OSS communities do not generally know how to apply usability techniques and are unclear about which techniques to use in each activity of the development process. The aim of our research is to adopt the Personas usability technique in the PSeInt OSS project and determine the feasibility of adapting the technique for application. To do this, we participated as volunteers in the project. We used the case study research method during technique application and participation in the community. As a result, we identified adverse conditions that were an obstacle to technique application and modified the technique to make it applicable. We can conclude from our experience that these changes were helpful for applying the technique, although it was not easy to recruit OSS users to participate in usability technique applicationThis research has been partly funded by several organizations, including the Government of Ecuadorâs Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT) through a scholarship and the State Technical University of Quevedo through doctoral training scholarships for university professors. Also this research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports FLEXOR and âRealizando Experimentos en la Industria del Software: ComprensioÌn del Paso de Laboratorio a la Realidadâ projects (TIN2014-52129-R and TIN2014-60490-P, respectively) and the eMadrid-CM âInvesti-gacioÌn y Desarrollo de TecnologiÌas Educativas en la Comunidad de Madridâ project (S2013/ICE-2715
Developments in the âNorthern and Southern Hakeâ Case Study of FishPi
The overarching objective of the FishPi project is to strengthen regional cooperation in the area of fisheries data collection. The role of every case study within the project is to bring together the countries with the most involvement in the fisheries selected to coordinate and cooperate in the search of a probabilistic regional sampling design. To this aim, case study 4 (CS4) is focused in the Northern and Southern Hake stocks.
The work done in the case study include the description of the fishery at a regional level, the compilation of the present national sampling activity, the compilation of the logbooks and/or sales notes from 2013 and 2014 âto have a single regional data set of all trips of interest in the regionâ and different runs of simulations to test the selected sampling scenarios and stratifications. Finally, an objective evaluation of the performance of these regional designs is expected to understand the changes needed compared to the present situation.
This document presents the progress done in this case study, from the data compilation to the simulations, documenting the different steps taken and allowing an understanding of the pending tasks
Diabetes and atypical presentations of patients hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction in Puerto Rico
Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of the fastest growing health issues concerning the world today with an estimated 382 million individuals aïŹected as of 2013 and a projected increase in number to 592 million by 2035. Diabetes mellitus is a condition aïŹecting 12-15% of the population or around 400,000 people in Puerto Rico. The most common presenting complaint of diabetics who are hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is chest pain. However, the pervasiveness of atypical symptoms in diabetic patients is yet unclear. The aim of this study is to determine if there is an association between diabetes and the presentation of atypical symptoms in the emergency room in those suïŹering from an AMI in Puerto Rico. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of data from participants from the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Puerto Rico Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance system (PRCDS), an observational, non-concurrent, cross-sectional study. The main independent variable was presence of diabetes mellitus (Type I and Type II). The outcome was the presence of atypical symptoms at the time of presentation, deïŹned as the absence of chest pain on admission. The prevalence of atypical symptoms in diabetic patients and non-diabetic patients was compared. Binary logistic regression was used to test for independent association. Statistical signiïŹcance was considered for p-values â€0.05 for a two-tailed test. Analysis was conducted using SPSS software. Results: We found no association between atypical presentation of an AMI and diabetes, before or after adjustment for age, gender, congestive heart failure, stroke history and BMI. (unadjusted OR= 1.0, 95%CI=0.7-1.4 and adjusted OR=1.0, 95% CI=0.6-1.5). Other independent associations identiïŹed were that patients older than 75 were 3.5 times more likely to present atypically than people younger than 55 (OR= 3.5, 95% CI=1.6-7.6), and those with CHF and stroke were more likely to present with atypical symptoms (OR=3.2, 95% CI=1.7-6.1 and OR=4.2 95% CI=2.1-8.4, respectively). Lastly, overweight patients were 3.3 times more likely to present atypically than healthy weight patients (OR=2.0, 95% CI=0.6-7.0). Conclusion: We found no evidence of an association between diabetes and the presentation of atypical symptoms in patients hospitalized for AMI in Puerto Rico
Diffuse Light in Hickson Compact Groups: The Dynamically Young System HCG 44
Compact groups are associations of a few galaxies in which the environment
plays an important role in galaxy evolution. The low group velocity dispersion
favors tidal interactions and mergers, which may bring stars from galaxies to
the diffuse intragroup light. Numerical simulations of galaxy clusters in
hierarchical cosmologies show that the amount of the diffuse light increases
with the dynamical evolution of the cluster. We search for diffuse light in the
galaxy group HCG 44 in order to determine its luminosity and luminosity
fraction. Combining with literature data, we aim to constrain the dynamical
status of Hickson compact groups. We use Intra Group planetary nebulae (IGPNe)
as tracers of diffuse light. These are detected by the so-called on band-off
band technique. We found 12 emission line objects in HCG 44, none of them
associated with the galaxies of the group. 6/12 emission line objects are
consistent with being IGPNe in HCG 44, but are also consistent with being
Ly background galaxies. Thus we derive an upper limit to the diffuse
light fraction in HCG 44 of 4.7%. We find a correlation between the fraction of
elliptical galaxies and the amount of diffuse light in Hickson compact groups.
Those with large fraction of diffuse light are those with large fractions in
number and luminosity of E/S0 galaxies. We propose an evolutionary sequence for
Hickson compact groups in which the amount of diffuse light increases with the
dynamical evolution of the group.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication at A&
Peritoneal protein transport during the baseline peritoneal equilibration test is an accurate predictor of the outcome of peritoneal dialysis patients
[Abstract] Background: Peritoneal protein excretion (PPE) is a potential marker of the outcome in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Method: Observational study of a cohort of 269 patients starting PD in a single unit. Study variables: total PPE during a baseline peritoneal equilibration test (PET; PET-PPE) and 24-hour PPE. Control variables: essential baseline demographic, laboratory and adequacy markers. Main outcomes: mortality, cardiovascular events and risk of peritonitis. We applied univariate and multivariate strategies of survival analysis. Main Results: PET-PPE sustained a significant, yet limited correlation with 24-hour PPE (r = 0.46, p < 0.0005). At baseline, the main study variables showed an independent correlation with peritoneal transport characteristics (D/P240â creatinine) and cardiovascular comorbidity. PET-PPE (p < 0.0005, model global Ï2 59.4) was a more accurate predictor of overall mortality than 24-hour PPE (p = 0.04, Ï2 50.5). Moreover, PPE during PET, but not 24-hour PPE, was an independent predictor of the risks of cardiovascular and infectious mortality, and of peritonitis. Conclusions: Baseline PPE represents a strong independent marker of survival of PD patients. Estimation of PPE during PET is more accurate than 24-hour PPE for this purpose, sustains a definite independent association with cardiovascular and infectious mortality, and shows a significant correlation with the risk of peritonitis
Fuzzy-based forest fire prevention and detection by wireless sensor networks
Forest fires may cause considerable damages both in ecosystems and lives.
This proposal describes the application of Internet of Things and wireless
sensor networks jointly with multi-hop routing through a real time and dynamic
monitoring system for forest fire prevention. It is based on gathering and
analyzing information related to meteorological conditions, concentrations of
polluting gases and oxygen level around particular interesting forest areas.
Unusual measurements of these environmental variables may help to prevent
wildfire incidents and make their detection more efficient. A forest fire risk
controller based on fuzzy logic has been implemented in order to activate
environmental risk alerts through a Web service and a mobile application. For
this purpose, security mechanisms have been proposed for ensuring integrity and
confidentiality in the transmission of measured environmental information.
Lamport's signature and a block cipher algorithm are used to achieve this
objective
A catalog of warps in spiral and lenticular galaxies in the Southern hemisphere
A catalog of optical warps of galaxies is presented. This can be considered
complementary to that reported by
Sanchez-Saavedra et al., with 42 galaxies in the northern hemisphere, and to
that by Reshetnikov & Combes, with 60 optical warps.
The limits of the present catalog are: logr25 > 0.60, B_{t} < 14.5,
delta(2000) < 0, -2.5 < t < 7. Therefore, lenticular galaxies have also been
considered. This catalog lists 150 warped galaxies out of a sample of 276
edge-on galaxies and covers the whole southern hemisphere, except the Avoidance
Zone.
It is therefore very suitable for statistical studies of warps. It also
provides a source guide for detailed particular observations. We confirm the
large frequency of warped spirals: nearly all galaxies are warped. The
frequency and warp angle do not present important differences for the different
types of spirals. However, no lenticular warped galaxy has been found within
the specified limits. This finding constitutes an important restriction for
theoretical models.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Hispanic ethnicity and survival in pediatric acute lymphocytic leukemia (all) patients in Florida
Introduction: Pediatric cancer mortality rates have drastically declined according to analyzed population-based surveillance data; however, incidences of most childhood cancers continue to rise. Recent studies have indicated an association between ethnicity/race and cancer survival. Florida's ethnically/racially diverse population and surging pediatric cancer incidence characterize the state as an ideal setting to study the association between ethnicity/race and pediatric cancer survival. Objective: To determine whether or not an association exists between Hispanic ethnicity and cancer survival in a Floridian population of pediatric patients with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). Methods: We will use data from participants 18 years or younger of Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS). Cox-proportional hazard regression was used to assess independent association between Hispanic ethnicity and time to death (time interval from diagnose of ALL to the last patient contact, as recorded in the database). Survival status (death or alive) was assessed at the date of last contact. Those who are alive at last contact were then censored. Results: In the unadjusted model, ethnicity was not associated with risk of death (HR= 0.87, 95% CI=0.73 - 1.04). After adjustment for sex, race, age at diagnosis, insurance status, geographic area, and immunophenotype) the results showed again no association between Hispanic ethnicity and survival (HR = 1.19, 95% CI=0.82 - 1.72). Conclusions: We found no evidence for diïŹerences in survival based on ethnic status. Potential diïŹerence in racial-survival disparities in pediatric ALL within various geographic regions might depend on Hispanic ancestries or cancer type. Further research on the topic is still deemed necessary as to clarify the nature of the association between ethnicity and cancer survival
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