Integrated context-aware and cloud-based adaptive home screens for android phones

This is the post-print version of this Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Springer VerlagThe home screen in Android phones is a highly customizable user interface where the users can add and remove widgets and icons for launching applications. This customization is currently done on the mobile device itself and will only create static content. Our work takes the concept of Android home screen [3] one step further and adds flexibility to the user interface by making it context-aware and integrated with the cloud. Overall results indicated that the users have a strong positive bias towards the application and that the adaptation helped them to tailor the device to their needs by using the different context aware mechanisms

Population Dynamics of \u3cem\u3eEmpoasca fabae\u3c/em\u3e (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Central Iowa Alfalfa Fields

Adults and nymphs of Empoasca fabae Harris (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and adults of predatory species in the families Coccinellidae, Anthocoridae, Nabidae, Chrysopidae, and Hemerobiidae were sampled in Iowa alfalfa fields from June to September in 1999 and 2000. The relationship between each predatory taxa and E. fabae was examined using regression analysis. In 2000, all predators were found to be positively correlated with the presence of E. fabae during all periods sampled and most likely contributed to mortality. Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthoridae) was the most numerous insect predatory species; population numbers ranged from 0 to 1 and 0.1 to 3.7 adults per 0.25 m2 in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Partial life tables were constructed for E. fabae nymphs for two alfalfa-growing periods. Nymphs were grouped into three age intervals: first and second, third and fourth, and fifth instars. For the first alfalfa growing period examined, E. fabae nymphal mortality was 70% in 1999 and 49% in 2000. During the last growing period of each season (August–September), total nymphal mortality was relatively low (E. fabae density ranged from 5.4 to 25.6 and 1.4–9.2 per 0.25 m2 in 1999 and 2000, respectively. E. fabae population peaks were similar for each age interval in all growing periods. This study provides further information on the population dynamics of E. fabae and its relationship with select predatory species in Iowa alfalfa fields

European network for promoting the physical health of residents in psychiatric and social care facilities (HELPS): background, aims and methods

Background People with mental disorders have a higher prevalence of physical illnesses and reduced life expectancy as compared with the general population. However, there is a lack of knowledge across Europe concerning interventions that aim at reducing somatic morbidity and excess mortality by promoting behaviour-based and/or environment-based interventions. Methods and design HELPS is an interdisciplinary European network that aims at (i) gathering relevant knowledge on physical illness in people with mental illness, (ii) identifying health promotion initiatives in European countries that meet country-specific needs, and (iii) at identifying best practice across Europe. Criteria for best practice will include evidence on the efficacy of physical health interventions and of their effectiveness in routine care, cost implications and feasibility for adaptation and implementation of interventions across different settings in Europe. HELPS will develop and implement a "physical health promotion toolkit". The toolkit will provide information to empower residents and staff to identify the most relevant risk factors in their specific context and to select the most appropriate action out of a range of defined health promoting interventions. The key methods are (a) stakeholder analysis, (b) international literature reviews, (c) Delphi rounds with experts from participating centres, and (d) focus groups with staff and residents of mental health care facilities. Meanwhile a multi-disciplinary network consisting of 15 European countries has been established and took up the work. As one main result of the project they expect that a widespread use of the HELPS toolkit could have a significant positive effect on the physical health status of residents of mental health and social care facilities, as well as to hold resonance for community dwelling people with mental health problems. Discussion A general strategy on health promotion for people with mental disorders must take into account behavioural, environmental and iatrogenic health risks. A European health promotion toolkit needs to consider heterogeneity of mental disorders, the multitude of physical health problems, health-relevant behaviour, health-related attitudes, health-relevant living conditions, and resource levels in mental health and social care facilities

Wholly aromatic liquid crystalline polyetherimide (LC-PEI) resins

The benefits of liquid crystal polymers and polyetherimides are combined in an all-aromatic thermoplastic liquid crystalline polyetherimide. Because of the unique molecular structure, all-aromatic thermotropic liquid crystal polymers exhibit outstanding processing properties, excellent barrier properties, low solubilities and low coefficients of thermal expansion in the processing direction. These characteristics are combined with the strength, thermal, and radiation stability of polyetherimides

Fast interior point solution of quadratic programming problems arising from PDE-constrained optimization

Interior point methods provide an attractive class of approaches for solving linear, quadratic and nonlinear programming problems, due to their excellent efficiency and wide applicability. In this paper, we consider PDE-constrained optimization problems with bound constraints on the state and control variables, and their representation on the discrete level as quadratic programming problems. To tackle complex problems and achieve high accuracy in the solution, one is required to solve matrix systems of huge scale resulting from Newton iteration, and hence fast and robust methods for these systems are required. We present preconditioned iterative techniques for solving a number of these problems using Krylov subspace methods, considering in what circumstances one may predict rapid convergence of the solvers in theory, as well as the solutions observed from practical computations

Topological surface states in the Kondo insulator YbB12_{12} revealed via planar tunneling spectroscopy

Planar tunneling spectroscopy of the Kondo insulator SmB$_6$ suggests that an interaction between the surface Dirac fermions and the bulk spin excitons results in incompletely protected topological surface states. To gain further insight into their true nature, it is necessary to study other topological Kondo insulator candidates. Calculations of electronic energy bands predict that the Kondo insulator YbB$_{12}$ hosts topological surface states protected by crystalline mirror symmetry. In this study, we present tunneling conductance spectra obtained from the (001) surface of YbB$_{12}$ single crystals and discuss them in comparison to SmB$_6$. The linear conductance at low bias provides strong evidence for the existence of surface Dirac fermions. The double-hump structure in the negative bias region is associated with hybridized band edges, in agreement with a calculated band structure. While these similarities with SmB6 are suggestive of the existence of topological surface states in YbB$_{12}$, in agreement with other experiments, some discrepancies are also observed, which we attribute to a difference in their exact nature from those in SmB$_6$.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Atomic correlations in itinerant ferromagnets: quasi-particle bands of nickel

We measure the band structure of nickel along various high-symmetry lines of the bulk Brillouin zone with angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The Gutzwiller theory for a nine-band Hubbard model whose tight-binding parameters are obtained from non-magnetic density-functional theory resolves most of the long-standing discrepancies between experiment and theory on nickel. Thereby we support the view of itinerant ferromagnetism as induced by atomic correlations.Comment: 4 page REVTeX 4.0, one figure, one tabl