iVoLVER : Interactive Visual Language for Visualization Extraction and Reconstruction

We present the design and implementation of iVoLVER, a tool that allows users to create visualizations without textual programming. iVoLVER is designed to enable flexible acquisition of many types of data (text, colors, shapes, quantities, dates) from multiple source types (bitmap charts, webpages, photographs, SVGs, CSV files) and, within the same canvas, supports transformation of that data through simple widgets to construct interactive animated visuals. Aside from the tool, which is web-based and designed for pen and touch, we contribute the design of the interactive visual language and widgets for extraction, transformation, and representation of data. We demonstrate the flexibility and expressive power of the tool through a set of scenarios, and discuss some of the challenges encountered and how the tool fits within the current infovis tool landscape.Postprin

RealitySketch: Embedding Responsive Graphics and Visualizations in AR through Dynamic Sketching

We present RealitySketch, an augmented reality interface for sketching interactive graphics and visualizations. In recent years, an increasing number of AR sketching tools enable users to draw and embed sketches in the real world. However, with the current tools, sketched contents are inherently static, floating in mid air without responding to the real world. This paper introduces a new way to embed dynamic and responsive graphics in the real world. In RealitySketch, the user draws graphical elements on a mobile AR screen and binds them with physical objects in real-time and improvisational ways, so that the sketched elements dynamically move with the corresponding physical motion. The user can also quickly visualize and analyze real-world phenomena through responsive graph plots or interactive visualizations. This paper contributes to a set of interaction techniques that enable capturing, parameterizing, and visualizing real-world motion without pre-defined programs and configurations. Finally, we demonstrate our tool with several application scenarios, including physics education, sports training, and in-situ tangible interfaces.Comment: UIST 202

Burosumab therapy in children with x-linked hypophosphatemia

BACKGROUND X-linked hypophosphatemia is characterized by increased secretion of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), which leads to hypophosphatemia and consequently rickets, osteomalacia, and skeletal deformities. We investigated burosumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets FGF-23, in patients with X-linked hypophosphatemia. METHODS In an open-label, phase 2 trial, we randomly assigned 52 children with X-linked hypophosphatemia, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive subcutaneous burosumab either every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks; the dose was adjusted to achieve a serum phosphorus level at the low end of the normal range. The primary end point was the change from baseline to weeks 40 and 64 in the Thacher rickets severity total score (ranging from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater disease severity). In addition, the Radiographic Global Impression of Change was used to evaluate rachitic changes from baseline to week 40 and to week 64. Additional end points were changes in pharmacodynamic markers, linear growth, physical ability, and patient-reported outcomes and the incidence of adverse events. RESULTS The mean Thacher rickets severity total score decreased from 1.9 at baseline to 0.8 at week 40 with every-2-week dosing and from 1.7 at baseline to 1.1 at week 40 with every-4-week dosing (P<0.001 for both comparisons); these improvements persisted at week 64. The mean serum phosphorus level increased after the first dose in both groups, and more than half the patients in both groups had levels within the normal range (3.2 to 6.1 mg per deciliter [1.0 to 2.0 mmol per liter]) by week 6. Stable serum phosphorus levels were maintained through week 64 with every-2-week dosing. Renal tubular phosphate reabsorption increased from baseline in both groups, with an overall mean increase of 0.98 mg per deciliter (0.32 mmol per liter). The mean dose of burosumab at week 40 was 0.98 mg per kilogram of body weight with every-2-week dosing and 1.50 mg per kilogram with every-4-week dosing. Across both groups, the mean serum alkaline phosphatase level decreased from 459 U per liter at baseline to 369 U per liter at week 64. The mean standing-height z score increased in both groups, with greater improvement seen at all time points with every-2-week dosing (an increase from baseline of 0.19 at week 64) than with every-4-week dosing (an increase from baseline of 0.12 at week 64). Physical ability improved and pain decreased. Nearly all the adverse events were mild or moderate in severity. CONCLUSIONS In children with X-linked hypophosphatemia, treatment with burosumab improved renal tubular phosphate reabsorption, serum phosphorus levels, linear growth, and physical function and reduced pain and the severity of rickets

CMB polarimetry with BICEP: instrument characterization, calibration, and performance

BICEP is a ground-based millimeter-wave bolometric array designed to target the primordial gravity wave signature on the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at degree angular scales. Currently in its third year of operation at the South Pole, BICEP is measuring the CMB polarization with unprecedented sensitivity at 100 and 150 GHz in the cleanest available 2% of the sky, as well as deriving independent constraints on the diffuse polarized foregrounds with select observations on and off the Galactic plane. Instrument calibrations are discussed in the context of rigorous control of systematic errors, and the performance during the first two years of the experiment is reviewed.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures, updated version of a paper accepted for Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, Proceedings of SPIE, 7020, 200

Absolute polarization angle calibration using polarized diffuse Galactic emission observed by BICEP

We present a method of cross-calibrating the polarization angle of a polarimeter using BICEP Galactic observations. \bicep\ was a ground based experiment using an array of 49 pairs of polarization sensitive bolometers observing from the geographic South Pole at 100 and 150 GHz. The BICEP polarimeter is calibrated to +/-0.01 in cross-polarization and less than +/-0.7 degrees in absolute polarization orientation. BICEP observed the temperature and polarization of the Galactic plane (R.A= 100 degrees ~ 270 degrees and Dec. = -67 degrees ~ -48 degrees). We show that the statistical error in the 100 GHz BICEP Galaxy map can constrain the polarization angle offset of WMAP Wband to 0.6 degrees +\- 1.4 degrees. The expected 1 sigma errors on the polarization angle cross-calibration for Planck or EPIC are 1.3 degrees and 0.3 degrees at 100 and 150 GHz, respectively. We also discuss the expected improvement of the BICEP Galactic field observations with forthcoming BICEP2 and Keck observations.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures and 2 tables. To appear in Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 201

You say Potato, I say Po-Data:Physical Template Tools for Authoring Visualizations

Data visualization authoring tools for the general public remains an ongoing challenge. Inspired by block-printing, we explore how visualization stamps as a physical tool for authoring visualizations could leverage both visual freedom and ease of repetition. We conducted two workshops where participants authored visualizations on paper using hand-carved stamps made from potatoes and sponges. The low-fidelity medium freed participants to test new stamp patterns and accept mistakes. From the created visualizations, we observed several unique traits and uses of block-printing tools for authoring visualizations, including: modularity of patterns; annotation guides; creation of multiple patterns from one stamp; and various techniques to apply data onto paper. We discuss issues around expressivity and effectiveness of block-printing stamps in authoring visualizations, and identify implications for the design and assembly of primitives in potential visualization stamp kits, as well as applications for future use in non-digital environments

Characterization of the BICEP Telescope for High-precision Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry

The Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP) experiment was designed specifically to search for the signature of inflationary gravitational waves in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Using a novel small-aperture refractor and 49 pairs of polarization-sensitive bolometers, BICEP has completed three years of successful observations at the South Pole beginning in 2006 February. To constrain the amplitude of the inflationary B-mode polarization, which is expected to be at least 7 orders of magnitude fainter than the 3 K CMB intensity, precise control of systematic effects is essential. This paper describes the characterization of potential systematic errors for the BICEP experiment, supplementing a companion paper on the initial cosmological results. Using the analysis pipelines for the experiment, we have simulated the impact of systematic errors on the B-mode polarization measurement. Guided by these simulations, we have established benchmarks for the characterization of critical instrumental properties including bolometer relative gains, beam mismatch, polarization orientation, telescope pointing, sidelobes, thermal stability, and timestream noise model. A comparison of the benchmarks with the measured values shows that we have characterized the instrument adequately to ensure that systematic errors do not limit BICEP's two-year results, and identifies which future refinements are likely necessary to probe inflationary B-mode polarization down to levels below a tensor-to-scalar ratio r = 0.1.Astronom

RPRD1A and RPRD1B Are Human RNA Polymerase II C-Terminal Domain Scaffolds for Ser5 Dephosphorylation

The RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) heptapeptide repeats (Y1-S2-P3-T4-S5-P6-S7) undergo dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation during the transcription cycle to recruit factors that regulate transcription, RNA processing and chromatin modification. We show here that RPRD1A and RPRD1B form homodimers and heterodimers through their coiled-coil domains and interact preferentially via CTD interaction domains (CIDs) with CTD repeats phosphorylated at S2 and S7. Our high resolution crystal structures of the RPRD1A, RPRD1B and RPRD2 CIDs, alone and in complex with CTD phosphoisoforms, elucidate the molecular basis of CTD recognition. In an interesting example of cross-talk between different CTD modifications, our data also indicate that RPRD1A and RPRD1B associate directly with RPAP2 phosphatase and, by interacting with CTD repeats where phospho-S2 and/or phospho-S7 bracket a phospho-S5 residue, serve as CTD scaffolds to coordinate the dephosphorylation of phospho-S5 by RPAP2

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use.

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders1. They are heritable2,3 and etiologically related4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts6-11. In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures