Effectiveness of Morse Code as an Alternative Control Method for Powered Wheelchair Navigation

We applied Morse code as an alternative input method for powered wheelchair navigation to improve driving efficiency for individuals with physical disabilities. In lab trials performed by four testers, it demonstrated significant improvement in driving efficiency by reducing the driving time, compared to traditional single switch wheelchair navigation

Modeling an Automatic Adjustment of Scanning Rate Using Fuzzy Inference Logic

Single-switch scanning is one of the slowest way for people with severe motor impairments to access a wide range of assistive technologies, such as entering text into computer applications, manipulating alternative and augmentative communication devices, and operating power wheelchairs. Automating scanning rate adjustment has been investigated as a means of improving selection rate by several research groups [1-6], using probabilistic methods such as uncertainty factors and Bayesian networks. In practice, however, when assessing and documenting their client’s needs, clinicians tend to prefer specifying linguistic values, such as slow, medium, and fast, rather than numerical values. In this respect, fuzzy logic can be an alternative to the existing approaches because it can capture the meaning of linguistic variables whose values are words rather than numbers [7, 8]. This paper describes our approach to modeling the automatic adjustment of scan rate using fuzzy logic

Intelligent single switch wheelchair navigation

We have developed an intelligent single switch scanning interface and wheelchair navigation assistance system, called intelligent single switch wheelchair navigation (ISSWN), to improve driving safety, comfort and efficiency for individuals who rely on single switch scanning as a control method. ISSWN combines a standard powered wheelchair with a laser rangefinder, a single switch scanning interface and a computer. It provides the user with context sensitive and task specific scanning options that reduce driving effort based on an interpretation of sensor data together with user input. Trials performed by 9 able-bodied participants showed that the system significantly improved driving safety and efficiency in a navigation task by significantly reducing the number of switch presses to 43.5% of traditional single switch wheelchair navigation (p < 0.001). All participants made a significant improvement (39.1%; p < 0.001) in completion time after only two trials. Implications for Rehabilitation Intelligent navigation algorithm helps investigators develop smart wheelchair technology that may ultimately provide independent mobility to a segment of the population that currently finds it difficult or impossible to operate a conventional wheelchair. intelligent single switch wheelchair navigation improves the driving safety, comfort, and efficiency for individuals who rely on single switch scanning as a wheelchair control method by significantly reducing the number of switch presses and completion time. © 2012 Informa UK, Ltd

On-screen Target Acquisition through Mouse Movement Recognition

In this paper we present a new design idea as an alternative to improve on-screen target acquisition for individuals who have difficulty pointing by inferring the user’s intended target from the user’s mouse movements. The intended target is inferred based on real-time mouse movement information and the properties of all user interface elements currently displayed on the computer screen. During preliminary testing of the prototype application, the software reduced pointing errors and the physical effort needed to operate a pointing device. The software is compatible with a range of existing pointing technologies

PIM kinase inhibition: co-targeted therapeutic approaches in prostate cancer

PIM kinases have been shown to play a role in prostate cancer development and progression, as well as in some of the hallmarks of cancer, especially proliferation and apoptosis. Their upregulation in prostate cancer has been correlated with decreased patient overall survival and therapy resistance. Initial efforts to inhibit PIM with monotherapies have been hampered by compensatory upregulation of other pathways and drug toxicity, and as such, it has been suggested that co-targeting PIM with other treatment approaches may permit lower doses and be a more viable option in the clinic. Here, we present the rationale and basis for co-targeting PIM with inhibitors of PI3K/mTOR/AKT, JAK/STAT, MYC, stemness, and RNA Polymerase I transcription, along with other therapies, including androgen deprivation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Such combined approaches could potentially be used as neoadjuvant therapies, limiting the development of resistance to treatments or sensitizing cells to other therapeutics. To determine which drugs should be combined with PIM inhibitors for each patient, it will be key to develop companion diagnostics that predict response to each co-targeted option, hopefully providing a personalized medicine pathway for subsets of prostate cancer patients in the future

Legacy Metal Contaminants and Excess Nutrients in Low Flow Estuarine Embayments Alter Composition and Function of Benthic Bacterial Communities.

Coastal systems such as estuaries are threatened by multiple anthropogenic stressors worldwide. However, how these stressors and estuarine hydrology shape benthic bacterial communities and their functions remains poorly known. Here, we surveyed sediment bacterial communities in poorly flushed embayments and well flushed channels in Sydney Harbour, Australia, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Sediment samples were collected monthly during the Austral summer-autumn 2014 at increasing distance from a large storm drain in each channel and embayment. Bacterial communities differed significantly between sites that varied in proximity to storm drains, with a gradient of change apparent for sites within embayments. We explored this pattern for embayment sites with analysis of RNA-Seq gene expression patterns and found higher expression of multiple genes involved in bacterial stress response far from storm drains, suggesting that bacterial communities close to storm drains may be more tolerant of localised anthropogenic stressors. Several bacterial groups also differed close to and far from storm drains, suggesting their potential utility as bioindicators to monitor contaminants in estuarine sediments. Overall, our study provides useful insights into changes in the composition and functioning of benthic bacterial communities as a result of multiple anthropogenic stressors in differing hydrological conditions

T-Branes and Monodromy

We introduce T-branes, or "triangular branes," which are novel non-abelian bound states of branes characterized by the condition that on some loci, their matrix of normal deformations, or Higgs field, is upper triangular. These configurations refine the notion of monodromic branes which have recently played a key role in F-theory phenomenology. We show how localized matter living on complex codimension one subspaces emerge, and explain how to compute their Yukawa couplings, which are localized in complex codimension two. Not only do T-branes clarify what is meant by brane monodromy, they also open up a vast array of new possibilities both for phenomenological constructions and for purely theoretical applications. We show that for a general T-brane, the eigenvalues of the Higgs field can fail to capture the spectrum of localized modes. In particular, this provides a method for evading some constraints on F-theory GUTs which have assumed that the spectral equation for the Higgs field completely determines a local model.Comment: 110 pages, 5 figure