Design and Analysis of Haptic-Audio Based System for the Visually Impaired to Shop Online

Many visually impaired customers are keen to shop online, however, they often encounter accessibility barriers such as accessing and interpreting complex designed websites and when trying to make online payment which required them to input card details by filling up payment form. In order to study whether the visually impaired could shop online without assistance, an online store which has features such as product catalogue, shopping cart and payment system was developed. The system utilizes the Falcon haptic device and voice recognition for navigation, interaction, accessing and haptic evaluation of products. Some of our qualitative analysis suggests that a framed three-section design product catalogue with directed dialogue, directional cues, audio information along with a haptic-audio enabled browser is feasible for the visually impaired to browse, select and haptically evaluate products; a XHTML and VoiceXML based shopping cart system can enable the visually impaired to interact and verify its contents; and a voice password based payment system can be used to automate forms data entry process and to help the visually impaired to make online payment independently

DNA methylation and methyl-CpG binding proteins: developmental requirements and function

DNA methylation is a major epigenetic modification in the genomes of higher eukaryotes. In vertebrates, DNA methylation occurs predominantly on the CpG dinucleotide, and approximately 60% to 90% of these dinucleotides are modified. Distinct DNA methylation patterns, which can vary between different tissues and developmental stages, exist on specific loci. Sites of DNA methylation are occupied by various proteins, including methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD) proteins which recruit the enzymatic machinery to establish silent chromatin. Mutations in the MBD family member MeCP2 are the cause of Rett syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder, whereas other MBDs are known to bind sites of hypermethylation in human cancer cell lines. Here, we review the advances in our understanding of the function of DNA methylation, DNA methyltransferases, and methyl-CpG binding proteins in vertebrate embryonic development. MBDs function in transcriptional repression and long-range interactions in chromatin and also appear to play a role in genomic stability, neural signaling, and transcriptional activation. DNA methylation makes an essential and versatile epigenetic contribution to genome integrity and function

An empirical study of haptic-audio based online shopping system for the blind

The objective of this study was to demonstrate a haptic-audio based system which could enable the blind to shop online independently. The goal was to find out whether a web design with haptic and audio modality, speech recognition and speech synthesizer are usable for shopping and product evaluation. The results showed that an active framed three-section layout design with directed dialogue and cues, along with a haptic-audio enabled browser and a low-cost Falcon device is usable for the blind to navigate, interact, access and haptically evaluate online products; a VoiceXML based shopping cart can enable the blind to interact and verify the cart content; and a voice recognition based payment system can enable them to make online payment

HABOS: Towards a platform of haptic-audio based online shopping for the visually impaired

As more and more retailers offer their products for sale online, their web-based content is becoming increasingly visual and complex for visually impaired persons to access, navigate, and interpret when using current accessibility technologies such as screen reader, voice browser and Braille display. This hindered their independence to go online to shop. In this paper, a study on whether visually impaired people can shop online independently is presented. An online store prototype which has shopping features such as shopping cart, product catalogue, online forms and payment system was developed for this purpose. The shopping features were designed to enrich the web-based data with haptic and audio properties. This paper examined and reported results on a website design which could enable the visually impaired to navigate, access, interpret and haptically interact with the web content; and on a product catalogue system which could enable the visually impaired to shop without assistance. Some of our qualitative analysis suggests that a consistent three-section webpage design with static content along with the aid of directional cues and audio information are feasible to design online shopping website for visually impaired. Also, for effective haptic evaluation of online products, the complete model and different parts of the model should be rendered separately in order to provide the user with a better perception about the product

Research data supporting "Flushing and removal of a viscoplastic fluid from pipes"

Excel spreadsheets providing the data plotted in the paper, and a Methods file. The Methods file provides a detailed description of the contents of the dataset.A PhD studentship for RRF from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, is gratefully acknowledged, as is funding from St John’s College, Cambridge

HABOS: an exploratory study of haptic-audio based online shopping for the visually impaired

The rapid expansion of the Internet and electronic commerce has encouraged many consumers to buy a variety of products online. However, due to the poor accessibility of online Web sites, visually impaired do not shop online or if they do, they often request help from sighted people. An online store prototype which has shopping features such as product catalogue, shopping cart and payment system was developed for this study. The system also includes a hapticaudio enabled browser to enable the visually impaired to receive force feedback via a haptic device for product evaluation and utilize voice command to interact with the system. This paper examined and reported results on the feasibility of a design suitable for the visually impaired to navigate, interact and access web content; a multimodal product presentation; and a haptic-audio interface for product evaluation. Some of our qualitative analysis suggests that a three-section product catalogue design with directed dialogue, directional cues, audio information and a haptic-audio enabled browser is feasible for the visually impaired to browse, interact, select and haptically evaluate online products

Serum estrogen receptor bioactivity and breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women

10.1530/ERC-13-0233Endocrine-Related Cancer212263-273ERCA