Using Sonic Enhancement to Augment Non-Visual Tabular Navigation

More information is now readily available to computer users than at any time in human history; however, much of this information is often inaccessible to people with blindness or low-vision, for whom information must be presented non-visually. Currently, screen readers are able to verbalize on-screen text using text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis; however, much of this vocalization is inadequate for browsing the Internet. An auditory interface that incorporates auditory-spatial orientation was created and tested. For information that can be structured as a two-dimensional table, links can be semantically grouped as cells in a row within an auditory table, which provides a consistent structure for auditory navigation. An auditory display prototype was tested. Sixteen legally blind subjects participated in this research study. Results demonstrated that stereo panning was an effective technique for audio-spatially orienting non-visual navigation in a five-row, six-column HTML table as compared to a centered, stationary synthesized voice. These results were based on measuring the time- to-target (TTT), or the amount of time elapsed from the first prompting to the selection of each tabular link. Preliminary analysis of the TTT values recorded during the experiment showed that the populations did not conform to the ANOVA requirements of normality and equality of variances. Therefore, the data were transformed using the natural logarithm. The repeated-measures two-factor ANOVA results show that the logarithmically-transformed TTTs were significantly affected by the tonal variation method, F(1,15) = 6.194, p= 0.025. Similarly, the results show that the logarithmically transformed TTTs were marginally affected by the stereo spatialization method, F(1,15) = 4.240, p=0.057. The results show that the logarithmically transformed TTTs were not significantly affected by the interaction of both methods, F(1,15) = 1.381, p=0.258. These results suggest that some confusion may be caused in the subject when employing both of these methods simultaneously. The significant effect of tonal variation indicates that the effect is actually increasing the average TTT. In other words, the presence of preceding tones increases task completion time on average. The marginally-significant effect of stereo spatialization decreases the average log(TTT) from 2.405 to 2.264

A practical EMG-based human-computer interface for users with motor disabilities

In line with the mission of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (ATA), this study proposes an integrated assistive real-time system which affirms that technology is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the lives of people with disabilities . An assistive technology device is defined by the ATA as any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities . The purpose of this study is to design and develop an alternate input device that can be used even by individuals with severe motor disabilities . This real-time system design utilizes electromyographic (EMG) biosignals from cranial muscles and electroencephalographic (EEG) biosignals from the cerebrum\u27s occipital lobe, which are transformed into controls for two-dimensional (2-D) cursor movement, the left-click (Enter) command, and an ON/OFF switch for the cursor-control functions . This HCI system classifies biosignals into mouse functions by applying amplitude thresholds and performing power spectral density (PSD) estimations on discrete windows of data. Spectral power summations are aggregated over several frequency bands between 8 and 500 Hz and then compared to produce the correct classification . The result is an affordable DSP-based system that, when combined with an on-screen keyboard, enables the user to fully operate a computer without using any extremities

Integrated electromyogram and eye-gaze tracking cursor control system for computer users with motor disabilities

This research pursued the conceptualization, implementation, and testing of a system that allows for computer cursor control without requiring hand movement. The target user group for this system are individuals who are unable to use their hands because of spinal dysfunction or other afflictions. The system inputs consisted of electromyogram (EMG) signals from muscles in the face and point-of-gaze coordinates produced by an eye-gaze tracking (EGT) system. Each input was processed by an algorithm that produced its own cursor update information. These algorithm outputs were fused to produce an effective and efficient cursor control. Experiments were conducted to compare the performance of EMG/EGT, EGT-only, and mouse cursor controls. The experiments revealed that, although EMG/ EGT control was slower than EGT-only and mouse control, it effectively controlled the cursor without a spatial accuracy limitation and also facilitated a reliable click operation

Adaptive eye-gaze tracking using neural-network-based user profiles to assist people with motor disability

This study developed an adaptive real-time humancomputer interface (HCI) that serves as an assistive technology tool for people with severe motor disability. The proposed HCI design uses eye gaze as the primary computer input device. Controlling the mouse cursor with raw eye coordinates results in sporadic motion of the pointer because of the saccadic nature of the eye. Even though eye movements are subtle and completely imperceptible under normal circumstances, they considerably affect the accuracy of an eye-gaze-based HCI. The proposed HCI system is novel because it adapts to each specific user’s different and potentially changing jitter characteristics through the configuration and training of an artificial neural network (ANN) that is structured to minimize the mouse jitter. This task is based on feeding the ANN a user’s initially recorded eye-gaze behavior through a short training session. The ANN finds the relationship between the gaze coordinates and the mouse cursor position based on the multilayer perceptron model. An embedded graphical interface is used during the training session to generate user profiles that make up these unique ANN configurations. The results with 12 subjects in test 1, which involved following a moving target, showed an average jitter reduction of 35%; the results with 9 subjects in test 2, which involved following the contour of a square object, showed an average jitter reduction of 53%. For both results, the outcomes led to trajectories that were significantly smoother and apt at reaching fixed or moving targets with relative ease and within a 5% error margin or deviation from desired trajectories. The positive effects of such jitter reduction are presented graphically for visual appreciation

Percepción de la mezcla de promoción de Compartamos Financiera Agencia Cusco por los microempresarios del mercado central de San Pedro en el distrito Cusco periodo 2015.

Esta investigación es referente a una herramienta del marketing, que es la mezcla de promoción, cuya combinación de sus cinco elementos permite a las organizaciones cumplir con sus objetivos publicitarios, las palabras clave en dicha investigación son: la promoción de ventas, la publicidad, las relaciones públicas, las ventas personales y el marketing directo; que son los elementos de la mezcla de promoción aplicada por Compartamos Financiera, con el fin de hacer llegar diversos mensajes, con información de sus productos financieros y de las actividades de la empresa, utilizando diferentes medios de comunicación y haciendo uso de diversas técnicas de persuasión, cuyo impacto sobre su público objetivo, es medido y descrito en el desarrollo de la presente investigación. El objetivo de la presente investigación es conocer la percepción por parte de los microempresarios del mercado central de San Pedro, sobre la mezcla de promoción que aplica Compartamos Financiera en la agencia Cusco, en el periodo 2015. La investigación que se realizó fue de tipo básica y de nivel descriptivo, el diseño es no experimental. Es necesario mencionar que la Población de estudio fue de 750 microempresarios, con una muestra de 254, a quienes se aplicó el instrumento de l encuesta (ver anexo 2), para cuyo procesamiento y tabulación de datos se utilizó los programas SPSS y Excel, respectivamente. Es así que se llegó a los siguientes resultados: el 39% indican que la percepción de la mezcla de promoción de Compartamos Financiera por los microempresarios del mercado central de San Pedro en el distrito de Cusco en el periodo 2015, es regular y el 61%, indican que es mala, interpretación que se da, debido a que la mezcla específica de los cinco elementos de la herramienta de la mezcla de promoción, no está cumpliendo con sus principales objetivos, que son: crear conocimiento en los microempresarios con respecto a los productos crediticios y a la empresa financiera y fomentar la demanda de dichos productos crediticios, y que la mayoría de los microempresarios del mercado central de San Pedro nunca perciben las actividades específicas que realiza Compartamos Financiera con el fin de fomentar la adquisición de sus productos y de identificar a sus clientes potenciales.This research is concerning a marketing tool, which is the promotion mix, the combination of the five elements, which are: sales promotion, advertising, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing, which applies Compartamos financial, in order to convey different messages with information on financial products and activities of the company, using different media and using various techniques of persuasion, whose impact on your target audience is measured and described in the development of this research. The aim of this investigation was to determine the perception of microentrepreneurs in the Central market in San Pedro, on the promotion mix applying Financiera Compartamos agency in Cusco, in the 2015 period. The research was conducted basic type and descriptive level, the design is not experimental. Needless to say, the study population was 750 entrepreneurs, with a sample of 254, to whom the survey instrument (see Appendix 2) was applied for which data processing and tabulation of the SPSS and Excel programs were used, respectively. Thus came to the following results: 39% indicate that the perception of Mix Promotion Financiera Compartamos by microentrepreneurs the Central Market in San Pedro in the district of Cusco in the period 2015, and 61% Regular indicate that it is Mala, interpretation given, because the specific mixture of the five elements of the mixing tool of Promotion, is not fulfilling its main objectives, which are: create awareness in entrepreneurs regarding loan products and financial company and encourage demand for these credit products, and most microentrepreneurs Central Market San Pedro never perceive the specific activities carried out by Financiera Compartamos in order to encourage the acquisition of its products and to identify your prospects.Tesi

Rôle du récepteur hépatique LXR dans le transport de glucose des macrophages humains

Les récepteurs nucléaires LXRs sont associés aux métabolismes des lipides, du cholestérol et des hydrates de carbone. Ses agonistes naturels seraient des dérivés oxydés du cholestérol connus sous le nom d’oxystérols. Le cholestérol et les oxystérols sont associés au développement de l’athérosclérose une maladie cardiovasculaire qui a des graves conséquences sur les sociétés modernes. L’un des facteurs de risque majeurs de l’athérosclérose est le diabète de type II. Dans cette étude, qui essaye de faire un lien entre athérosclérose et diabètes, nous avons étudié les effets des LXRs sur le transport du glucose en conditions d’hyperglycémie et d’hyperglycémie/hyperinsulinémie qui sont des caractéristiques du diabète de type II. Nous avons mis en évidence que les transporteurs des hydrates de carbone Glut1, Glut3, Glut5 et Glut9 sont exprimés dans le macrophage humain THP1. Glut5 est connu comme étant un transporteur de fructose et Glut9 comme un transporteur d’urée. Nous avons démontré que Glut1 est impliqué dans le transport glucose des macrophages humain THP-1 et que ce transport est sensible à l’insuline. Tant l’activation spécifique que l’activation non spécifique de LXRs augmentent le transport de glucose dans les conditions étudiées, mais d’une manière différente. Cette étude nous a permis de démontrer qu’il pouvait y avoir un lien entre l’activation des récepteurs nucléaires LXRs sensibles aux oxystérols et une amélioration du transport du glucose dans les macrophages humains.LXRs are nuclear receptors involved in lipids, cholesterol and carbohydrates metabolism. Their natural agonists are believed to be oxidized derivatives of cholesterol known as oxysterols. Cholesterol and oxysterols are associated with the development of atherosclerosis a cardiovascular disease having devastating consequences in modern societies. One of the major risk factors for atherosclerosis is type II diabetes. In this report, trying to make a link between atherosclerosis and diabetes, we attempt to demonstrate that LXRs may have an effect on glucose transport in conditions of hyperglycemia or hyperglycemia/hyperinsulinemia, two specific characteristics of type II diabetes. We found that in the THP1 human macrophage Glut1, Glut3, Glut5 and Glut9 are expressed. Glut5 is known as a fructose transporter and Glut9 as a urea transporter. We unveil that Glut1 was involved in glucose transport in human THP1 macrophages, and it was sensible to induction with insulin. Both specific and less specific activation of LXR increased glucose transport in hyperglycemic and hyperglycemic/hyperinsulinemic conditions but in a different way. This study demonstrated that activation of LXRs nuclear receptors that are sensible to oxysterols have benefic effects on glucose transport in human macrophages

Tratamento endovascular de aneurismas saculares isolados da aorta abdominal e da artéria ilíaca – caso clínico

ResumoOs autores apresentam um caso clínico de um doente do sexo masculino, de 72 anos, que apresentava 2 aneurismas abdominais saculares isolados: um aneurisma da artéria ilíaca comum esquerda de 3cm que envolvia a bifurcação ilíaca, corrigido por via endovascular através de embolização com diversos coils da artéria ilíaca interna ipsilateral com a subsequente colocação de uma extensão ilíaca de endoprótese Endurant II (Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, EUA), e um aneurisma da aorta abdominal de 3,8cm, corrigido com a colocação de uma endoprótese tubular Endurant II.É realizada uma revisão da literatura sobre o nível de evidência do tratamento de aneurismas saculares e das possíveis complicações decorrentes da exclusão de aneurismas da artéria ilíaca, principalmente no diz respeito à embolização da artéria ilíaca interna.AbstractThe authors present a case report of 72 years‐old male patient, who had two isolated saccular abdominal aneurysms, one aneurysm of the left common iliac artery of 3cm of diameter involving the iliac bifurcation, corrected by endovascular embolization with multiple coils of the ipsilateral internal iliac artery with subsequent placement of a iliac extension of an Endurant II stent‐graft (Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) and an abdominal aortic aneurysm of 3.8cm, managed by the placement of an Endurant II tubular stent‐graft.A literature review is performed on the level of evidence of the treatment of saccular aneurysms and made reference of the possible complications resulting from the exclusion of iliac artery aneurysms, especially in relation to the internal iliac artery embolization

Challenges and Opportunities for Engineering Education

Abstract While the introduction of Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs) facilitated the interaction of normally sighted users with computers, these benefits are not equally extended to partially sighted individuals that suffer from limited visual acuity. The Lighthouse Inc. has indicated that approximately 8.7 million Americans who are 45 or older report a severe vision impairment that cannot be corrected by wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses. When a computer user has uncorrected visual impairments, the identification and selection of icons in a GUI may become significantly more difficult than for a normally sighted user. This paper describes the development of a platform-independent implementation of "3D Sound Icons". In addition to their graphical representation, each icon in this interface has a characteristic spatial sound (3D-sound), which is perceived by the user according to the spatial relationship between the screen cursor (listener), and the graphical icon (sound source), in the plane of the interface screen. This way, the user can supplement the visual information with spatial auditory information to identify the target icon and navigate towards it. The platform-independent implementation uses Digital Signal Processing functions that are capable of transforming an audio signal lacking spatial characteristics, into audio signals that provide the illusion of a point sound source located in a specific spatial location with respect to the listener. Platform-independence is critical in this application, because it will extend the benefits of the enhanced interface to users of a variety of operating systems (Windows, MacOS, etc.,) and types of computers (desktops, notebooks, palmtops, etc.

El revenue management en el restaurante.: Premisas para una búsqueda epistemológica.

El presente artículo tiene por objetivo definir y comprender los conceptos, principios y estrategias que rigen la disciplina conocida como Restaurant Revenue Management (RRM) aplicada cada vez más en la gestión de organizaciones gastronómicas, el cual se desprende del proyecto de investigación denominado “”, (extraído el dato a los fines de evaluación). Durante el período 2021-2022, se realizó una investigación bibliográfica-documental. Se clasificaron los estudios según su temática, metodología utilizada, los principales hallazgos y limitaciones identificadas. Se formula una síntesis y comparación de los conceptos, principios y estrategias identificadas en los diferentes trabajos, con el fin de establecer una conceptualización asequible del RRM y su aplicación en la gestión. También se identifican las tendencias actuales y futuras en la investigación y aplicación del RRM para arribar a posibles acciones de mejora y/o actualización de las prácticas mencionadas