5,465 research outputs found

    Digital libraries on an iPod: Beyond the client-server model

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    This paper describes an experimental system that enhanced an iPod with digital library capabilities. Using the open source digital library software Greenstone as a base, this paper more specifically maps out the technical steps necessary to achieve this, along with an account of our subsequent experimentation. This included command-line usage of Greenstone's basic runtime system on the device, augmenting the iPodā€™s main interactive menu-driven application to include searching and hierarchical browsing of digital library collections stored locally, and a selection of "launcher" applications for target documents such as text files, images and audio. Media rich applications for digital stories and collaging were also developed. We also configured the iPod to run as a web server to provide digital library content to others over a network, effectively turning the traditional mobile client-server upsidedown

    Computer security: Investigating the impact that security specific education has on usersā€™ behaviour

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    A lack in end-user awareness in computer security issues provides the rationale for this investigation. The research considers whether or not the provision of an educational package addressing computer security issues will improve awareness and transform behaviour of end-users in assessing and enacting appropriate responses in computer security situations. A group of twenty participants was studied in detail using a mixed methods research approach. The participants were drawn from a cross section of computer end-users, from elementary to advanced levels of computer literacy. Outcomes include a positive response to the provision of material, however human factors were found to be equally important in affecting the way the end-users assess and react in computer security environments. Package interactivity, empowerment for end-users to prioritise and make their own assessments was found to be critical factors

    Real-Time Sensing of Soil Nitrate Concentration in the Parts per Million Range While the Soil Is in Motion

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    Reactive nitrogen (Nr) is a term used to describe non-nitrogen gas (non-N2) forms of nitrogen (N) in the biosphere. It causes major pollution problems when it occurs in excess, and it has many sources, including fertilizers used in production agriculture. Currently there is no on-the-go soil nitrate sensor that could guide the application of the optimal amount of fertilizer, which often varies significantly within a field. We report for the first time nitrate-in-soil measurements performed on moving soil samples at concentration levels relevant for fertilizer application. An infrared emission technique called transient infrared spectroscopy (TIRS) was tested on soil samples spiked with different nitrate concentrations in the parts-per-million range and moving at a velocity of 2.6 m/s (5.8 miles per hour) in the laboratory. The TIRS Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra were modeled by partial least squares and produced a standard error of cross-validation (SECV) of 6.3 parts per million (ppm) N and an R 2 of 0.938 for 512-scan spectra. These results are compared to those using fewer TIRS scans and to those from photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) measurements on stationary samples. TIRS 128-, 32-, and 8-scan spectra yielded SECVs of 11.2, 11.4, and 18.4 ppm N and R 2 values of 0.800, 0.831, and 0.583, respectively. The PAS and DRIFTS measurements produced SECVs of 12.4 and 9.0 ppm N and R 2 values of 0.766 and 0.876, respectively

    Auditory lexical decisions in developmental language disorder:A meta-analysis of behavioural studies

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    Purpose: Despite the apparent primacy of syntactic deficits, children with developmental language disorder (DLD) often also evidence lexical impairments. In particular, it has been argued that this population have difficulty forming lexical representations that are detailed enough to support effective spoken word processing. In order to better understand this deficit, a meta-analysis of studies testing children with DLD in the auditory lexical decision task was conducted. The objective was to provide summary effect size estimates for accuracy and response time measures for comparisons to age- and language-matched control groups. Method: Two thousand three hundred seventy-two records were initially identified through electronic searches and expert consultation, with this cohort reduced to 9 through duplicate removal and the application of eligibility and quality criteria. The final study cohort included 499 children aged 3;8ā€“11;4 (years;months). Results: Multivariate analysis suggests that children with DLD were significantly less accurate in the auditory lexical decision task than age-matched controls. For the response time estimate, however, confidence intervals for the same group comparison crossed 0, suggesting no reliable difference between groups. Confidence intervals also crossed 0 for language-matched control estimates for both accuracy and response time, suggesting no reliable difference between groups on either measure. Conclusion: Results broadly support the hypothesis that children with DLD have difficulty in forming detailed lexical representations relative to age- though not language-matched peers. However, further work is required to determine the performance profiles of potential subgroups and the impact of manipulating different lexical characteristics, such as the position and degree of nonword error, phonotactic probability, and semantic network size

    Predictors of Burden in Carers of Patients with Impulse Control Behaviors in Parkinson's Disease

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    Background: Impulse control behaviors (ICBs) are problematic, reward-based behaviors, affecting 15% to 35% of patients with Parkinson's disease. Evidence exists of increased carer burden as a result of these behaviors; however, little is known about the variables mediating this effect and their management. Objective: To identify factors predictive of carer burden in a cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease with ICBs to enable the development of targeted therapeutic interventions for carers. Methods: Data were collected from 45 patients with clinically significant ICBs and their carers, including levodopa equivalent daily dosage, motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognitive function, and ICB severity. Carer burden was quantified by Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Univariate analyses were performed using the Spearman rank correlation. Linear regression was used to create a multivariate model for predicting ZBI. Results: Univariate analysis identified significant correlations between ZBI and patient total Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) (rs = 0.50), 4 NPI subscores (agitation/aggression, rs = 0.41; depression/dysphoria, rs = 0.47; apathy/indifference, rs = 0.49; and irritability/lability, rs = 0.38; all P < 0.02), and the carer 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) (rs = 0.52, P < 0.0005). Multivariate linear regression retained total NPI and GHQ-28 scores and were collectively predictive of 36.6% of the variance in the ZBI. Conclusions: Our study suggests that depressive symptoms and aspects of executive dysfunction (apathy and disinhibition) in the patient are potential drivers of carer burden in patients with ICBs. Such findings suggest the presence of executive difficulties and/or mood disturbance should point the clinician to inquire about burden in the caring role and encourage the carer to seek help for any of their own general health problems, which may compound carer burden

    Passive sentence reversal errors in autism: Replicating Ambridge, Bidgood, and Thomas (2020)

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    Ambridge, Bidgood, and Thomas (2020) conducted an elicitation-production task in which children with and without (high-functioning) autism described animations following priming with passive sentences. The authors report that children with autism were more likely than IQ-matched children without autism to commit reversal errors, for instance describing a scene in which the character Wendy surprised the character Bob by saying&nbsp;Wendy was surprised by Bob. We set out to test whether this effect replicated in a new sample of children with and without (high-functioning) autism (N&nbsp;= 26), and present a cumulative analysis in which data from the original study and the replication were pooled (N&nbsp;= 56). The main effect reported by&nbsp;Ambridge et al. (2020) replicated: While children with and without autism produced a similar number of passive responses in general, the responses of children with autism were significantly more likely to include reversal errors. Despite age-appropriate knowledge of constituent order in passive syntax, thematic role assignment is impaired among some children with high-functioning autism

    Entrepreneurship policy and practice insights phoenix from the flames? Promoting entrepreneurship to support the economic development of Neath Port Talbot

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    Tata Steelā€™s 2024 decision to close the blast furnaces in Port Talbot in Wales (Pfeifer and Pickard, 2024), mean that 2,800 of the current workforce may lose their jobs during the proposed transition to Arc-furnace generated steel production, with huge deleterious impacts on the local and regional economy. In times of such workforce restructuring and potential layoffs, fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship can mitigate adverse impacts on individuals and contribute to the broader economic revitalisation of the region, via start-up activity. Because this process is often difficult in localities experiencing industrial decline (Gherhes, et al., 2020), this brief delves into strategies for equipping the workforce with entrepreneurial skills and identifying potential government initiatives to support those willing to embark on entrepreneurial ventures post-layoff

    Imaging the interaction of roots and phosphate fertiliser granules using 4D X-ray tomography

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    Plant root system architecture adapts to the prevailing soil environment and the distribution of nutrients. Many species respond to localised regions of high nutrient supply, found in the vicinity of fertiliser granules, by elevating branching density in these areas. However, observation of these adaptations are frequently limited to plants cultured in idealised materials (e.g. hydrogels) which have a structure-less, homogenous matrix, or rhizotrons, which are spatially limited and provide only 2D data that are not fully quantitative.MethodsIn this study, in vivo, time resolved, non-destructive, micro-focus X-ray CT imaging (?CT) in 3D was used to visualise, quantify and assess root/fertiliser interactions of wheat plants in an agricultural soil during the entire plant life cycle. Two contrasting fertilisers [Triple superphosphate (TSP) and struvite (Crystal GreenĀ®)] were applied according to 3 different treatments, each providing an equivalent of 80 kg P2O5 ha-1 (struvite only, TSP only and a 50:50 mixture) to each plant. ?CT scans (60 ?m spatial resolution) of the plant roots were obtained over 14 weeks.ResultsThis is the first time that in situ root/soil/fertiliser interactions have been visualised in 3D from plant germination through to maturity. Results show that lateral roots tend to pass within a few millimetres of the phosphorus (P) source. At this length scale, roots are able to access the P diffusing from the granule.ConclusionsQuantitative analysis of root/fertiliser interactions has shown that rooting density correlates with granule volume-loss for a slow release, struvite fertiliser.<br/

    Improved Survival of Patients With Extensive Burns: Trends in Patient Characteristics and Mortality Among Burn Patients in a Tertiary Care Burn Facility, 2004ā€“2013

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    Classic determinants of burn mortality are age, burn size, and the presence of inhalation injury. Our objective was to describe temporal trends in patient and burn characteristics, inpatient mortality, and the relationship between these characteristics and inpatient mortality over time. All patients aged 18 years or older and admitted with burn injury, including inhalation injury only, between 2004 and 2013 were included. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the relationship between admit year and inpatient mortality. A total of 5540 patients were admitted between 2004 and 2013. Significant differences in sex, race/ethnicity, burn mechanisms, TBSA, inhalation injury, and inpatient mortality were observed across calendar years. Patients admitted between 2011 and 2013 were more likely to be women, non-Hispanic Caucasian, with smaller burn size, and less likely to have an inhalation injury, in comparison with patients admitted from 2004 to 2010. After controlling for patient demographics, burn mechanisms, and differential lengths of stay, no calendar year trends in inpatient mortality were detected. However, a significant decrease in inpatient mortality was observed among patients with extensive burns (ā‰„75% TBSA) in more recent calendar years. This large, tertiary care referral burn center has maintained low inpatient mortality rates among burn patients over the past 10 years. While observed decreases in mortality during this time are largely due to changes in patient and burn characteristics, survival among patients with extensive burns has improved
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