Progressive delivery of interactive content

Interactive elements in online content often lead to substantially increased total payload size to be delivered to a client device, e.g., to render a page. Delivering such content may introduce latency, thus degrading user experience. The techniques of this disclosure address this issue by delivering a compressed static image that mimics the visual feel of interactive elements of content. The image can be delivered faster because its size is significantly smaller than that of the interactive content. Subsequently, the image is replaced with the corresponding interactive content. With user consent, the replacement of the image with the corresponding content may be based on user interaction with a page on which the content is placed

Just-in-time Delivery of Text-to-speech Playback

In an interaction between a virtual assistant and a user, it is often the case that the responses of the virtual assistant arrive just after the passage of critical events in the user’s timeline. For example, navigational instructions to exit a freeway sometimes arrive just a bit too late to take the off-ramp. Some of this latency is attributable to the very nature of spoken audio playback: spoken audio playback being a linear medium, the length of time required for the spoken content to play can affect the accuracy of time-sensitive actions. This disclosure describes techniques that take into account the length of a response to be provided to the user such that the response is delivered in a timely manner with sufficient allowance for reaction time

Detection of salient video segments and associated comments via reinforcement learning

The application of computer vision and techniques that rely on machine intelligence has improved automated determination of notable segments within video content. However, further refinement in these techniques can improve the quality and accuracy of the marked segments. Also, it can be difficult for automated techniques to surface the most notable text comments associated with video content. This disclosure describes techniques that combines initial independent automated determination of notable video segments and text comments to refine and improve each aspect based on the other. The techniques leverage audience engagement with live and pre-recorded video content as captured via user comments entered while the video is being viewed. Machine learning models that identify salient video segments can be trained using the output of models that identify notable comments and vice versa, using reinforcement learning

Load balancing of phone traffic generated from web interactions

Click-to-call actions, e.g., provided in online advertisements, enable users to call businesses by clicking on a link. When a number of users simultaneously perform click-to-call actions, such simultaneous requests can outstrip the capacity of a business to respond to queries. The techniques of this disclosure detect click-to-call attempts in excess of the capacity of a business and distribute caller load amongst multiple businesses that offer similar goods or services

Interventions Used by Occupational Therapists and Allied Health Providers in Regards to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Problem: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is the most widely known disability in the American health care system (National Institute of Health [NIH], 2010). Chronic pain affects how individuals are able to engage in meaningful activities of daily life. Unrelieved pain can potentially result in longer hospital visits, emotional distress, and increased re-admission rates to hospitals (The American Academy of Pain Medicine, 2012). A review of research in the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) database revealed that few clinically useful references were available for practitioners regarding interventions used with chronic musculoskeletal pain (AOTA, 2014). As a result, it was determined that effective chronic pain management interventions should be further reviewed and analyzed through a systematic review. Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and investigate commonly used allied health interventions utilized with individuals who are experiencing chronic musculoskeletal pain and assess the utility of those interventions. Methods: An extensive, systematic review of quantitative research was completed using PubMed because of its broad collection of health sciences literature. We selected particular inclusion and exclusion criteria aimed to identify high quality and rigorous evidence regarding preparatory, purposeful, and occupation-based interventions used in occupational therapy and allied health professions in the treatment of individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Specific research processes and analysis were used to develop an organizational framework of the treatment interventions in the reviewed literature regarding chronic musculoskeletal pain management. Results: This systematic review yielded evidence that pointed to a diverse set of literature that varied in topic and rigor. While it does represent the “best” evidence available, the review showed a severe lack of high quality, replicated, and clinically useful occupation-based treatment interventions. Despite the absence of consistency in research topics, the review did reveal that programs that required a specified amount of time to be completed by subjects (and included an educational component regarding pain self-management) and consistent and frequent meetings with a designated health care professional provided better outcomes for clients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Conclusion: Despite the high numbers of individuals in the U.S. who experience chronic musculoskeletal pain, there is a dearth of research regarding clinically useful, occupation-based interventions for these individuals’ health care needs. There is a need for research focusing on the utilization of purposeful and occupation-based interventions addressing chronic musculoskeletal pain. The lack of research, highlighted in this systematic review, limits occupational therapy practitioners’ ability to prescribe effective, occupation, and evidence-based interventions for clients with chronic musculoskeletal pain in clinical practice

High contrast imaging at the LBT: the LEECH exoplanet imaging survey

In Spring 2013, the LEECH (LBTI Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt) survey began its $\sim$130-night campaign from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) atop Mt Graham, Arizona. This survey benefits from the many technological achievements of the LBT, including two 8.4-meter mirrors on a single fixed mount, dual adaptive secondary mirrors for high Strehl performance, and a cold beam combiner to dramatically reduce the telescope's overall background emissivity. LEECH neatly complements other high-contrast planet imaging efforts by observing stars at L' (3.8 $\mu$m), as opposed to the shorter wavelength near-infrared bands (1-2.4 $\mu$m) of other surveys. This portion of the spectrum offers deep mass sensitivity, especially around nearby adolescent ($\sim$0.1-1 Gyr) stars. LEECH's contrast is competitive with other extreme adaptive optics systems, while providing an alternative survey strategy. Additionally, LEECH is characterizing known exoplanetary systems with observations from 3-5$\mu$m in preparation for JWST.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Proceedings of the SPIE, 9148-2

Framework for sustained climate assessment in the United States

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 100(5), (2019): 897-908, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0130.1.As states, cities, tribes, and private interests cope with climate damages and seek to increase preparedness and resilience, they will need to navigate myriad choices and options available to them. Making these choices in ways that identify pathways for climate action that support their development objectives will require constructive public dialogue, community participation, and flexible and ongoing access to science- and experience-based knowledge. In 2016, a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) was convened to recommend how to conduct a sustained National Climate Assessment (NCA) to increase the relevance and usability of assessments for informing action. The FAC was disbanded in 2017, but members and additional experts reconvened to complete the report that is presented here. A key recommendation is establishing a new nonfederal “climate assessment consortium” to increase the role of state/local/tribal government and civil society in assessments. The expanded process would 1) focus on applied problems faced by practitioners, 2) organize sustained partnerships for collaborative learning across similar projects and case studies to identify effective tested practices, and 3) assess and improve knowledge-based methods for project implementation. Specific recommendations include evaluating climate models and data using user-defined metrics; improving benefit–cost assessment and supporting decision-making under uncertainty; and accelerating application of tools and methods such as citizen science, artificial intelligence, indicators, and geospatial analysis. The recommendations are the result of broad consultation and present an ambitious agenda for federal agencies, state/local/tribal jurisdictions, universities and the research sector, professional associations, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, and private-sector firms.This report would not have been possible without the support and participation of numerous organizations and individuals. We thank New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for announcing in his 2018 State of the State agenda that the IAC would be reconvened. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Contract ID 123416), Columbia University’s Earth Institute, and the American Meteorological Society provided essential financial support and much more, including sage advice and moral support from John O’Leary, Shara Mohtadi, Steve Cohen, Alex Halliday, Peter deMenocal, Keith Seitter, Paul Higgins, and Bill Hooke. We thank the attendees of a workshop, generously funded by the Kresge Foundation in November of 2017, that laid a foundation for the idea to establish a civil-society-based assessment consortium. During the course of preparing the report, IAC members consulted with individuals too numerous to list here—state, local, and tribal officials; researchers; experts in nongovernmental and community-based organizations; and professionals in engineering, architecture, public health, adaptation, and other areas. We are so grateful for their time and expertise. We thank the members and staff of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program for providing individual comments on preliminary recommendations during several discussions in open sessions of their meetings. The following individuals provided detailed comments on an earlier version of this report, which greatly sharpened our thinking and recommendations: John Balbus, Tom Dietz, Phil Duffy, Baruch Fischhoff, Brenda Hoppe, Melissa Kenney, Linda Mearns, Claudia Nierenberg, Kathleen Segerson, Soroosh Sorooshian, Chris Weaver, and Brian Zuckerman. Mary Black provided insightful copy editing of several versions of the report. We also thank four anonymous reviewers for their effort and care in critiquing and improving the report. It is the dedication, thoughtful feedback, expertise, care, and commitment of all these people and more that not only made this report possible, but allow us all to continue to support smart and insightful actions in a changing climate. We are grateful as authors and as global citizens. Author contributions: RM, SA, KB, MB, AC, JD, PF, KJ, AJ, KK, JK, ML, JM, RP, TR, LS, JS, JW, and DZ were members of the IAC and shared in researching, discussing, drafting, and approving the report. BA, JF, AG, LJ, SJ, PK, RK, AM, RM, JN, WS, JS, PT, GY, and RZ contributed to specific sections of the report

Evaluating knowledge to support climate action: A framework for sustained assessment. report of an independent advisory committee on applied climate assessment.

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Weather Climate and Society 11(3), (2019):465-487, doi: 10.1175/WCAS-D-18-0134.1.As states, cities, tribes, and private interests cope with climate damages and seek to increase preparedness and resilience, they will need to navigate myriad choices and options available to them. Making these choices in ways that identify pathways for climate action that support their development objectives will require constructive public dialogue, community participation, and flexible and ongoing access to science- and experience-based knowledge. In 2016, a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) was convened to recommend how to conduct a sustained National Climate Assessment (NCA) to increase the relevance and usability of assessments for informing action. The FAC was disbanded in 2017, but members and additional experts reconvened to complete the report that is presented here. A key recommendation is establishing a new nonfederal “climate assessment consortium” to increase the role of state/local/tribal government and civil society in assessments. The expanded process would 1) focus on applied problems faced by practitioners, 2) organize sustained partnerships for collaborative learning across similar projects and case studies to identify effective tested practices, and 3) assess and improve knowledge-based methods for project implementation. Specific recommendations include evaluating climate models and data using user-defined metrics; improving benefit–cost assessment and supporting decision-making under uncertainty; and accelerating application of tools and methods such as citizen science, artificial intelligence, indicators, and geospatial analysis. The recommendations are the result of broad consultation and present an ambitious agenda for federal agencies, state/local/tribal jurisdictions, universities and the research sector, professional associations, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, and private-sector firms.This report would not have been possible without the support and participation of numerous organizations and individuals. We thank New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for announcing in his 2018 State of the State agenda that the IAC would be reconvened. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Contract ID 123416), Columbia University’s Earth Institute, and the American Meteorological Society provided essential financial support and much more, including sage advice and moral support from John O’Leary, Shara Mohtadi, Steve Cohen, Alex Halliday, Peter deMenocal, Keith Seitter, Paul Higgins, and Bill Hooke. We thank the attendees of a workshop, generously funded by the Kresge Foundation in November of 2017, that laid a foundation for the idea to establish a civil-society-based assessment consortium. During the course of preparing the report, IAC members consulted with individuals too numerous to list here—state, local, and tribal officials; researchers; experts in nongovernmental and community-based organizations; and professionals in engineering, architecture, public health, adaptation, and other areas. We are so grateful for their time and expertise. We thank the members and staff of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program for providing individual comments on preliminary recommendations during several discussions in open sessions of their meetings. The following individuals provided detailed comments on an earlier version of this report, which greatly sharpened our thinking and recommendations: John Balbus, Tom Dietz, Phil Duffy, Baruch Fischhoff, Brenda Hoppe, Melissa Kenney, Linda Mearns, Claudia Nierenberg, Kathleen Segerson, Soroosh Sorooshian, Chris Weaver, and Brian Zuckerman. Mary Black provided insightful copy editing of several versions of the report. We also thank four anonymous reviewers for their effort and care in critiquing and improving the report. It is the dedication, thoughtful feedback, expertise, care, and commitment of all these people and more that not only made this report possible, but allow us all to continue to support smart and insightful actions in a changing climate. We are grateful as authors and as global citizens. Author contributions: RM, SA, KB, MB, AC, JD, PF, KJ, AJ, KK, JK, ML, JM, RP, TR, LS, JS, JW, and DZ were members of the IAC and shared in researching, discussing, drafting, and approving the report. BA, JF, AG, LJ, SJ, PK, RK, AM, RM, JN, WS, JS, PT, GY, and RZ contributed to specific sections of the report.2020-05-2

LEECH: A 100 Night Exoplanet Imaging Survey at the LBT

In February 2013, the LEECH (LBTI Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt) survey began its 100-night campaign from the Large Binocular Telescope atop Mount Graham in Arizona. LEECH neatly complements other high-contrast planet imaging efforts by observing stars in L' band (3.8 microns) as opposed to the shorter wavelength near-infrared bands (1-2.3 microns). This part of the spectrum offers deeper mass sensitivity for intermediate age (several hundred Myr-old) systems, since their Jovian-mass planets radiate predominantly in the mid-infrared. In this proceedings, we present the science goals for LEECH and a preliminary contrast curve from some early dat