Adaptation “in the Wild”: Ontology-Based Personalization of Open-Corpus Learning Material

Abstract. Teacher and students can use WWW as a limitless source of learning material for nearly any subject. Yet, such abundance of content comes with the problem of finding the right piece at the right time. Conventional adaptive educational systems cannot support personalized access to open-corpus learning material as they rely on manually constructed content models. This paper presents an approach to this problem that does not require intervention from a human expert. The approach has been implemented in an adaptive system that recommends students supplementary reading material and adaptively annotates it. The results of the evaluation experiment have demonstrated several significant effects of using the system on students ’ learning

Adaptation “in the Wild”: Ontology-Based Personalization of Open-Corpus Learning Material

Teacher and students can use WWW as a limitless source of learning material for nearly any subject. Yet, such abundance of content comes with the problem of finding the right piece at the right time. Conventional adaptive educational systems cannot support personalized access to open-corpus learning material as they rely on manually constructed content models. This paper presents an approach to this problem that does not require intervention from a human expert. The approach has been implemented in an adaptive system that recommends students supplementary reading material and adaptively annotates it. The results of the evaluation experiment have demonstrated several significant effects of using the system on students’ learning.\u

Testing normality in any dimension by Fourier methods in a multivariate Stein equation

We study a novel class of affine-invariant and consistent tests for multivariate normality. The tests are based on a characterization of the standard d-variate normal distribution by way of the unique solution of an initial value problem connected to a partial differential equation, which is motivated by a multivariate Stein equation. The test criterion is a suitably weighted L2-statistic. We derive the limit distribution of the test statistic under the null hypothesis as well as under contiguous and fixed alternatives to normality. A consistent estimator of the limiting variance under fixed alternatives, as well as an asymptotic confidence interval of the distance of an underlying alternative with respect to the multivariate normal law, is derived. In simulation studies, we show that the tests are strong in comparison with prominent competitors and that the empirical coverage rate of the asymptotic confidence interval converges to the nominal level. We present a real data example and also outline topics for further research

Addictive links: The motivational value of adaptive link annotation

Adaptive link annotation is a popular adaptive navigation support technology. Empirical studies of adaptive annotation in the educational context have demonstrated that it can help students to acquire knowledge faster, improve learning outcomes, reduce navigational overhead, and encourage non-sequential navigation. In this paper, we present our exploration of a lesser known effect of adaptive annotation, its ability to significantly increase students' motivation to work with non-mandatory educational content. We explored this effect and confirmed its significance in the context of two different adaptive hypermedia systems. The paper presents and discusses the results of our work

Global modeling of secondary organic aerosol formation from aromatic hydrocarbons: high- vs low-yield pathways

Formation of SOA from the aromatic species toluene, xylene, and, for the first time, benzene, is added to a global chemical transport model. A simple mechanism is presented that accounts for competition between low and high-yield pathways of SOA formation, wherein secondary gas-phase products react further with either nitrogen oxide (NO) or hydroperoxy radical (HO2) to yield semi- or non-volatile products, respectively. Aromatic species yield more SOA when they react with OH in regions where the [NO]/[HO2] ratios are lower. The SOA yield thus depends upon the distribution of aromatic emissions, with biomass burning emissions being in areas with lower [NO]/[HO2] ratios, and the reactivity of the aromatic with respect to OH, as a lower initial reactivity allows transport away from industrial source regions, where [NO]/[HO2] ratios are higher, to more remote regions, where this ratio is lower and, hence, the ultimate yield of SOA is higher. As a result, benzene is estimated to be the most important aromatic species with regards to formation of SOA, with a total production nearly equal that of toluene and xylene combined. In total, while only 39% percent of the aromatic species react via the low-NOx pathway, 72% of the aromatic SOA is formed via this mechanism. Predicted SOA concentrations from aromatics in the Eastern United States and Eastern Europe are actually largest during the summer, when the [NO]/[HO2] ratio is lower. Global production of SOA from aromatic sources is estimated at 3.5 Tg/yr, resulting in a global burden of 0.08 Tg, twice as large as previous estimates. The contribution of these largely anthropogenic sources to global SOA is still small relative to biogenic sources, which are estimated to comprise 90% of the global SOA burden, about half of which comes from isoprene. Compared to recent observations, it would appear there are additional pathways beyond those accounted for here for production of anthropogenic SOA. However, owing to differences in spatial distributions of sources and seasons of peak production, there are still regions in which aromatic SOA produced via the mechanisms identified here are predicted to contribute substantially to, and even dominate, the local SOA concentrations, such as outflow regions from North America and South East Asia during the wintertime, though total SOA concentrations there are small (~0.1 μg/m^³)

Development and comparison of an esophageal Doppler monitoring-based treatment algorithm with a heart rate and blood pressure-based treatment algorithm for goal-directed fluid therapy in anesthetized dogs: A pilot study

The objective of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of a study comparing the efficacy of an esophageal Doppler monitor (EDM)-based fluid therapy algorithm with a heart rate (HR)- and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP)-based algorithm in reducing hypotension and fluid load in anesthetized dogs. Client-owned dogs undergoing general anesthesia for surgical procedures were randomized to two groups. An EDM probe for monitoring blood flow in the descending aorta was placed in each dog before receiving a crystalloid bolus (5 mL/kg) over 5 min. Fluids were repeated in case of fluid responsiveness defined by increasing Velocity Time Integral (VTI) ≥ 10% in group EDM and by decreasing HR ≥ 5 beats/min and/or increasing MAP ≥ 3 mmHg in group standard. The feasibility outcomes included the proportion of dogs completing the study and the clinical applicability of the algorithms. The clinical outcomes were the total administered fluid volume and the duration of hypotension defined as MAP < 60 mmHg. Data was compared between groups with Mann-Whitney U-test. p < 0.05 were deemed significant. Of 25 dogs screened, 14 completed the study (56%). There were no differences in the proportion of recorded time spent in hypotension in group standard [2 (0–39)% (median (range))] and EDM [0 (0–63) %, p = 1], or the total volume of fluids [standard 8 (5–14) mL/kg/h, EDM 11 (4–20) mL/kg/h, p = 0.3]. This study declined the feasibility of a study comparing the impact of two newly developed fluid therapy algorithms on hypotension and fluid load in their current form. Clinical outcome analyses were underpowered and no differences in treatment efficacy between the groups could be determined. The conclusions drawn from this pilot study provide important information for future study designs

Long-term palliation of right-sided congestive heart failure after stenting a recurrent cor triatriatum dexter in a 10½-year-old pug.

A 10½-year-old, male neutered, pug presented with increasing ascites over two months. Echocardiography revealed cor triatriatum dexter with no concurrent cardiovascular anomalies, subsequently confirmed by computed tomography angiography. Balloon dilation of the perforated intra-atrial membrane under fluoroscopic guidance resulted in the transient resolution of all clinical abnormalities, but six months later stenosis and ascites recurred. After repeated balloon dilation, a stent was placed across the membrane. The dog remains asymptomatic fourteen months after the second procedure. One noteworthy feature of this case is the onset of congestive heart failure due to a congenital defect only at more than 10 years of age

Assistance tactile à la localisation de cibles périphériques pour des personnes à vision tubulaire

International audienceLa vision tubulaire est une déficience visuelle dans laquelle seul le champ central de la vision est préservé. Elle génère de grandes difficultés dans la vie quotidienne, notamment lorsqu’il s’agit de repérer un objet d’intérêt dans l’environnement. Des informations tactiles, considérées comme discrètes, personnelles et peu invasives, peuvent permettre d’améliorer le comportement de recherche visuelle. Dans cette étude, nous avons conçu quatre techniques tactiles permettant de localiser un point spécifique dans l’espace. Les stimulations tactiles étaient soit un seul stimulus soit un train de stimuli transmis dans un système de coordonnées cartésien ou polaire. Les quatre techniques ont été comparées dans une tâche d’orientation de la tête. La plus efficace des techniques a été évaluée avec une tâche de recherche visuelle dans un environnement virtuel complexe. L’évaluation impliquait dix sujets avec un champ visuel artificiellement restreint à 10°, et un sujet avec une vision tubulaire due à un glaucome. Notre dispositif d’assistance a significativement amélioré l’efficacité de la recherche visuelle d’un facteur trois. Le dispositif pourrait être facilement intégré dans des lunettes intelligentes et détecter des cibles d’intérêt, soit sur demande, soit de façon automatique (par ex. les obstacles potentiels), facilitant ainsi, la recherche visuelle et la perception spatiale de l’environnement

Evaluation of the Analgesic Efficacy of Undiluted Intraperitoneal and Incisional Ropivacaine for Postoperative Analgesia in Dogs after Major Abdominal Surgery

Recommendations for intraperitoneal (IP) and incisional (INC) administration of local anaesthetics after visceral surgery exist, but evidence is scarce. This prospective, randomized, blinded, controlled, clinical trial compared postoperative pain in dogs undergoing major abdominal surgery. Sixteen client-owned dogs were anaesthetized with a standardized balanced protocol including opioids and received either 2 mg/kg ropivacaine IP (0.27 mL/kg) and a 1 mg/kg INC splash (0.13 mL/kg) or equal volumes of saline. Influence of the treatment on heart rate (HR) and postoperative pain was assessed using the Short Form of the Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (GCPS-SF), a dynamic interactive visual analogue scale (DIVAS) and mechanical nociceptive threshold testing (MNT). Data was tested with mixed ordinal regression and log linear mixed models for 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 h after extubation. Rescue analgesia was given to 3/8 dogs after ropivacaine and 0/8 dogs after saline. GCPS-SF and MNT were not different between groups. DIVAS was slightly higher after ropivacaine (odds increased by 5.44 (confidence interval (CI) 1.17–9.96, p = 0.012)), and HR after ropivacaine was 0.76 * that after saline (CI 0.61–0.96, p = 0.02) with no effect of time (p = 0.1). Undiluted ropivacaine IP and INC was not beneficial for postoperative analgesia