Using Motion Controllers in Virtual Conferencing

At the end of 2010 Microsoft released a new controller for the Xbox 360 called Kinect. Unlike ordinary video game controllers, the Kinect works by detecting the positions and movements of a user’s entire body using the data from a sophisticated camera that is able to detect the distance between itself and each of the points on the image it is capturing. The Kinect device is essentially a low-cost, widely available motion capture system. Because of this, almost immediately many individuals put the device to use in a wide variety applications beyond video games. This thesis investigates one such use; specifically the area of virtual meetings. Virtual meetings are a means of holding a meeting between multiple individuals in multiple locations using the internet, akin to teleconferencing or video conferencing. The defining factor of virtual meetings is that they take place in a virtual world rendered with 3D graphics; with each participant in a meeting controlling a virtual representation of them self called an avatar. Previous research into virtual reality in general has shown that there is the potential for people to feel highly immersed in virtual reality, experiencing a feeling of really ‘being there’. However, previous work looking at virtual meetings has found that existing interfaces for users to interact with virtual meeting software can interfere with this experience of ‘being there’. The same research has also identified other short comings with existing virtual meeting solutions. This thesis investigates how the Kinect device can be used to overcome the limitations of exiting virtual meeting software and interfaces. It includes a detailed description of the design and development of a piece of software that was created to demonstrate the possible uses of the Kinect in this area. It also includes discussion of the results of real world testing using that software, evaluating the usefulness of the Kinect when applied to virtual meetings

SlipBuddy: A Machine Learning based Mobile Health App to Track and Prevent Overeating

We designed, developed and tested SlipBuddy—an Android application that collects data about overeating episodes, identifies contextual patterns around overeating episodes and provides interventions when users are likely to overeat. SlipBuddy was piloted with a small group of users from the community

Effects of Breed of Ewe and Management System on the Lifetime Production of Lamb and Wool

Sheep production in the United States is highly variable. The sources of this variation are many and may include breed, climatic condition, management system and selection emphasis. The sheep is a highly adaptable animal and the success of an operation may be due in part to the ability of producers to select breeds of sheep best suited to their situation. Over time, two distinct management systems have developed. The first of these may be termed the farm flock system. The farm flock system is typical of the eastern United States in the crop farming areas of the country. This system may include such practices as early fall breeding, drylot confinement during the winter months, early lambing and weaning and rapid feedlot finishing of the lambs. The second management system may be termed the range flock system. As the name implies, the range flock system is typical of the western range areas of the United States. This system may employ such management practices as late fall breeding, reliance on grazing and limited feed supplementation during gestation, spring lambing and summer grazing of ewe and lamb pairs. Although these two systems are quite distinct, considerable overlap between the systems does exist. It was the objective of this study to compare these two systems of management and to examine the effect on lifetime productivity of ewes. It was a further objective to compare three distinct breed combinations within both systems. The Targhee breed is typical of the range type sheep used in many sheep operations. The experimental design of the study allowed the examination of the effect of replacing one-half of the Targhee genetic base with either Suffolk or Finnsheep breeding. The Suffolk represents a typical farm flock type sheep noted for growth and carcass quality. The Finnsheep is a breed known for multiple birth and early maturity. This study was conducted over a 8-year period which allowed all ewes 6 years of production. The end points to evaluate production were kilograms of wool produced and kilograms of lamb weaned

Zika virus preferentially replicates in the female reproductive tract after vaginal inoculation of rhesus macaques.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted virus that can cause severe defects in an infected fetus. ZIKV is also transmitted by sexual contact, although the relative importance of sexual transmission is unclear. To better understand the role of sexual transmission in ZIKV pathogenesis, a nonhuman primate (NHP) model of vaginal transmission was developed. ZIKV was readily transmitted to mature cycling female rhesus macaque (RM) by vaginal inoculation with 104-106 plaque-forming units (PFU). However, there was variability in susceptibility between the individual RM with 1->8 vaginal inoculations required to establish infection. After treatment with Depoprovera, a widely used contraceptive progestin, two RM that initially resisted 8 vaginal ZIKV inoculations became infected after one ZIKV inoculation. Thus, Depoprovera seemed to enhance susceptibility to vaginal ZIKV transmission. Unexpectedly, the kinetics of virus replication and dissemination after intravaginal ZIKV inoculation were markedly different from RM infected with ZIKV by subcutaneous (SQ) virus inoculation. Several groups have reported that after SQ ZIKV inoculation vRNA is rapidly detected in blood plasma with vRNA less common in urine and saliva and only rarely detected in female reproductive tract (FRT) secretions. In contrast, in vaginally inoculated RM, plasma vRNA is delayed for several days and ZIKV replication in, and vRNA shedding from, the FRT was found in all 6 animals. Further, after intravaginal transmission ZIKV RNA shedding from FRT secretions was detected before or simultaneously with plasma vRNA, and persisted for at least as long. Thus, ZIKV replication in the FRT was independent of, and often preceded virus replication in the tissues contributing to plasma vRNA. These results support the conclusion that ZIKV preferentially replicates in the FRT after vaginal transmission, but not after SQ transmission, and raise the possibility that there is enhanced fetal infection and pathology after vaginal ZIKV transmission compared to a mosquito transmitted ZIKV

Identification of putative interactions between swine and human influenza A virus nucleoprotein and human host proteins

Abstract Background Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are important pathogens that affect the health of humans and many additional animal species. IAVs are enveloped, negative single-stranded RNA viruses whose genome encodes at least ten proteins. The IAV nucleoprotein (NP) is a structural protein that associates with the viral RNA and is essential for virus replication. Understanding how IAVs interact with host proteins is essential for elucidating all of the required processes for viral replication, restrictions in species host range, and potential targets for antiviral therapies. Methods In this study, the NP from a swine IAV was cloned into a yeast two-hybrid “bait” vector for expression of a yeast Gal4 binding domain (BD)-NP fusion protein. This “bait” was used to screen a Y2H human HeLa cell “prey” library which consisted of human proteins fused to the Gal4 protein’s activation domain (AD). The interaction of “bait” and “prey” proteins resulted in activation of reporter genes. Results Seventeen positive bait-prey interactions were isolated in yeast. All of the “prey” isolated also interact in yeast with a NP “bait” cloned from a human IAV strain. Isolation and sequence analysis of the cDNAs encoding the human prey proteins revealed ten different human proteins. These host proteins are involved in various host cell processes and structures, including purine biosynthesis (PAICS), metabolism (ACOT13), proteasome (PA28B), DNA-binding (MSANTD3), cytoskeleton (CKAP5), potassium channel formation (KCTD9), zinc transporter function (SLC30A9), Na+/K+ ATPase function (ATP1B1), and RNA splicing (TRA2B). Conclusions Ten human proteins were identified as interacting with IAV NP in a Y2H screen. Some of these human proteins were reported in previous screens aimed at elucidating host proteins relevant to specific viral life cycle processes such as replication. This study extends previous findings by suggesting a mechanism by which these host proteins associate with the IAV, i.e., physical interaction with NP. Furthermore, this study revealed novel host protein-NP interactions in yeast.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110223/1/12985_2014_Article_228.pd

Genetic variation in the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is an endangered Neotropical migrant that breeds in isolated remnants of dense riparian habitat in the southwestern United States. We estimated genetic variation at 20 breeding sites of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (290 individuals) using 38 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Our results suggest that considerable genetic diversity exists within the subspecies and within local breeding sites. Statistical analyses of genetic variation revealed only slight, although significant, differentiation among breeding sites (Mantel's r = 0.0705, P < 0.0005; theta = 0.0816, 95% CI = 0.0608 to 0.1034; Phi sub(ST) = 0.0458, P < 0.001). UPGMA cluster analysis of the AFLP markers indicates that extensive gene flow has occurred among breeding sites. No one site stood out as being genetically unique or isolated. Therefore, the small level of genetic structure that we detected may not be biologically significant. Ongoing field studies are consistent with this conclusion. Of the banded birds that were resighted or recaptured in Arizona during the 1996 to 1998 breeding seasons, one-third moved between breeding sites and two-thirds were philopatric. Low differentiation may be the result of historically high rangewide diversity followed by recent geographic isolation of breeding sites, although observational data indicate that gene flow is a current phenomenon. Our data suggest that breeding groups of E. t. extimus act as a metapopulation

Automated metadata annotation: What is and is not possible with machine learning

Automated metadata annotation is only as good as training dataset, or rules that are available for the domain. It's important to learn what type of data content a pre-trained machine learning algorithm has been trained on to understand its limitations and potential biases. Consider what type of content is readily available to train an algorithm—what's popular and what's available. However, scholarly and historical content is often not available in consumable, homogenized, and interoperable formats at the large volume that is required for machine learning. There are exceptions such as science and medicine, where large, well documented collections are available. This paper presents the current state of automated metadata annotation in cultural heritage and research data, discusses challenges identified from use cases, and proposes solutions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Genetic characterization of Theileria equi infecting horses in North America: evidence for a limited source of U.S. introductions

Background: Theileria equi is a tick-borne apicomplexan hemoparasite that causes equine piroplasmosis. This parasite has a worldwide distribution but the United States was considered to be free of this disease until recently. Methods: We used samples from 37 horses to determine genetic relationships among North American T. equi using the 18S rRNA gene and microsatellites. We developed a DNA fingerprinting panel of 18 microsatellite markers using the first complete genome sequence of T. equi. Results: A maximum parsimony analysis of 18S rRNA sequences grouped the samples into two major clades. The first clade (n= 36) revealed a high degree of nucleotide similarity in U.S. T. equi, with just 0–2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among samples. The remaining sample fell into a second clade that was genetically divergent (48 SNPs) from the other U.S. samples. This sample was collected at the Texas border, but may have originated in Mexico. We genotyped T. equi from the U.S. using microsatellite markers and found a moderate amount of genetic diversity (2–8 alleles per locus). The field samples were mostly from a 2009 Texas outbreak (n= 22) although samples from five other states were also included in this study. Using Weir and Cockerham’s FST estimator (θ) we found strong population differentiation of the Texas and Georgia subpopulations (θ= 0.414), which was supported by a neighbor-joining tree created with predominant single haplotypes. Single-clone infections were found in 27 of the 37 samples (73%), allowing us to identify 15 unique genotypes. Conclusions: The placement of most T. equi into one monophyletic clade by 18S is suggestive of a limited source of introduction into the U.S. When applied to a broader cross section of worldwide samples, these molecular tools should improve source tracking of T. equi outbreaks and may help prevent the spread of this tick-borne parasite

SlipBuddy: A Mobile Health Intervention to Prevent Overeating

Obesity is one of the top health issues around the globe. Rapid adoption of smartphones presents an opportunity for delivering technology-based interventions that are designed to tackle behaviors that contribute to weight gain. Research shows that the vast majority of weight loss apps in the market place do not go beyond deploying tracking based strategies that are burdensome to the users. In this study, we present a new mobile app and an intervention system called SlipBuddy that puts less burden on users and implements stimulus control strategy to help users lose weight. We describe the SlipBuddy system in detail and present the results of the first phase of a pilot study. Our findings indicate that a mobile app that simply helps users identify and track overeating episodes can potentially result in weight loss