WorldWideScience

Sample records for ubiquitous presenter increasing

  1. Interactive Spaces: Towards Collaborative structuring and Ubiquitous Presentation in Domestic Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Marianne Graves; Grønbæk, Kaj

    2004-01-01

    collaborative structuring and ubiquitous presentation of materials in private homes. With DoHM we propose establishing new relationship between digital and physical hyperspaces, folding hyperspaces into the physical space of the household. Thus we strive to combine the qualities of physical domestic materials...... and spaces with the flexibility and dynamics of digital hyperspaces. We propose a variety of new ubiquitous home appliances called MediaWall, MediaTable, MediaTray and MediaPort, which address these issues....

  2. Interactive Spaces: Towards Collaborative Structuring and Ubiquitous Presentation in Domestic Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Marianne Graves; Grønbæk, Kaj

    2004-01-01

    collaborative structuring and ubiquitous presentation of materials in private homes. With DoHM we propose establishing new relationship between digital and physical hyperspaces, folding hyperspaces into the physical space of the household. Thus we strive to combine the qualities of physical domestic materials...... and spaces with the flexibility and dynamics of digital hyperspaces. We propose a variety of new ubiquitous home appliances called MediaWall, MediaTable, MediaTray and MediaPort, which address these issues....

  3. A SURVEY ON UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vishal Meshram

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a survey of ubiquitous computing research which is the emerging domain that implements communication technologies into day-to-day life activities. This research paper provides a classification of the research areas on the ubiquitous computing paradigm. In this paper, we present common architecture principles of ubiquitous systems and analyze important aspects in context-aware ubiquitous systems. In addition, this research work presents a novel architecture of ubiquitous computing system and a survey of sensors needed for applications in ubiquitous computing. The goals of this research work are three-fold: i serve as a guideline for researchers who are new to ubiquitous computing and want to contribute to this research area, ii provide a novel system architecture for ubiquitous computing system, and iii provides further research directions required into quality-of-service assurance of ubiquitous computing.

  4. Ubiquitous Annotation Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Frank Allan

    2006-01-01

    Ubiquitous annotation systems allow users to annotate physical places, objects, and persons with digital information. Especially in the field of location based information systems much work has been done to implement adaptive and context-aware systems, but few efforts have focused on the general...... requirements for linking information to objects in both physical and digital space. This paper surveys annotation techniques from open hypermedia systems, Web based annotation systems, and mobile and augmented reality systems to illustrate different approaches to four central challenges ubiquitous annotation...... systems have to deal with: anchoring, structuring, presentation, and authoring. Through a number of examples each challenge is discussed and HyCon, a context-aware hypermedia framework developed at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, is used to illustrate an integrated approach to ubiquitous annotations...

  5. Ubiquitous Retailing Innovative Scenario: From the Fixed Point of Sale to the Flexible Ubiquitous Store

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleonora Pantano

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The current advances in information and communications technologies developed new tools for retailers to innovate. In fact, the increasing computing capacity and the advancements in networking systems provided a new ubiquitous scenario that can be adapted for retailing in order to develop innovative shopping environments. The aim of this paper is to deeply understand the emergence of the ubiquitous retailing phenomenon and the possible shift from the physical point of sale to a ubiquitous one, by analysing this radical innovation and the main consequences for frms and market.

  6. Media Presentation Mode, English Listening Comprehension and Cognitive Load in Ubiquitous Learning Environments: Modality Effect or Redundancy Effect?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chi-Cheng; Lei, Hao; Tseng, Ju-Shih

    2011-01-01

    Although ubiquitous learning enhances students' access to learning materials, it is crucial to find out which media presentation modes produce the best results for English listening comprehension. The present study examined the effect of media presentation mode (sound and text versus sound) on English listening comprehension and cognitive load.…

  7. The Future of Ubiquitous Elearning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arndt, Timothy

    2014-01-01

    Post-secondary students are increasingly receiving instruction by eLearning. Many or these are part-time students or are working while taking classes. In such circumstances, students may find themselves short of time to study. One mechanism that can be exploited to make the best use of available time is ubiquitous eLearning. Ubiquitous eLearning…

  8. USE OF UBIQUITOUS TECHNOLOGIES IN MILITARY LOGISTIC SYSTEM IN IRAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Jafari

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This study is about integration and evaluation of RFID and ubiquitous technologies in military logistic system management. Firstly, supply chain management and the necessity of a revolution in logistic systems especially in military area, are explained. Secondly RFID and ubiquitous technologies and the advantages of their use in supply chain management are introduced. Lastly a system based on these technologies for controlling and increasing the speed and accuracy in military logistic system in Iran with its unique properties, is presented. The system is based on full control of military logistics (supplies from the time of deployment to replenishment using sensor network, ubiquitous and RFID technologies.

  9. Use of Ubiquitous Technologies in Military Logistic System in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, P.; Sadeghi-Niaraki, A.

    2013-09-01

    This study is about integration and evaluation of RFID and ubiquitous technologies in military logistic system management. Firstly, supply chain management and the necessity of a revolution in logistic systems especially in military area, are explained. Secondly RFID and ubiquitous technologies and the advantages of their use in supply chain management are introduced. Lastly a system based on these technologies for controlling and increasing the speed and accuracy in military logistic system in Iran with its unique properties, is presented. The system is based on full control of military logistics (supplies) from the time of deployment to replenishment using sensor network, ubiquitous and RFID technologies.

  10. Ubiquitous positioning

    CERN Document Server

    Mannings, Robin

    2008-01-01

    This groundbreaking resource offers a practical, in-depth understanding of Ubiquitous Positioning - positioning systems that identify the location and position of people, vehicles and objects in time and space in the digitized networked economy. The future and growth of ubiquitous positioning will be fueled by the convergence of many other areas of technology, from mobile telematics, Internet technology, and location systems, to sensing systems, geographic information systems, and the semantic web. This first-of-its-kind volume explores ubiquitous positioning from a convergence perspective, of

  11. Multimedia and ubiquitous engineering MUE 2013

    CERN Document Server

    Ng, Joseph; Jeong, Hwa; Waluyo, Borgy

    2013-01-01

    The new multimedia standards (for example, MPEG-21) facilitate the seamless integration of multiple modalities into interoperable multimedia frameworks, transforming the way people work and interact with multimedia data. These key technologies and multimedia solutions interact and collaborate with each other in increasingly effective ways, contributing to the multimedia revolution and having a significant impact across a wide spectrum of consumer, business, healthcare, education, and governmental domains. Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering provides an opportunity for academic and industry professionals to discuss recent progress in the area of multimedia and ubiquitous environment including models and systems, new directions, novel applications associated with the utilization and acceptance of ubiquitous computing devices and systems.

  12. Towards context adaptive privacy decisions in ubiquitous computing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaub, Florian; Könings, Bastian; Weber, M.; Kargl, Frank

    2012-01-01

    In ubiquitous systems control of privacy settings will be increasingly difficult due to the pervasive nature of sensing and communication capabilities. We identify challenges for privacy decisions in ubiquitous systems and propose a system for in situ privacy decision support. When context changes

  13. Mobile and ubiquitous learning technologies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Specht, Marcus

    2012-01-01

    Specht, M. (2012, 22 November). Mobile and ubiquitous learning technologies. Presentation given at the Workshop "Blended Learning an Hochschulen" at the Fakultätentag Informatik at the Universität Jena, Jena, Germany.

  14. Ubi-RKE: A Rhythm Key Based Encryption Scheme for Ubiquitous Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jae Dong Lee

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available As intelligent ubiquitous devices become more popular, security threats targeting them are increasing; security is seen as one of the major challenges of the ubiquitous computing. Now a days, applying ubiquitous computing in number of fields for human safety and convenience was immensely increased in recent years. The popularity of the technology is rising day by day, and hence the security is becoming the main focused point with the advent and rising popularity of the applications. In particular, the number of wireless networks based on ubiquitous devices has increased rapidly; these devices support transmission for many types of data traffic. The convenient portability of ubiquitous devices makes them vulnerable to security threats, such as loss, theft, data modification, and wiretapping. Developers and users should seriously consider employing data encryption to protect data from such vulnerabilities. In this paper, we propose a Rhythm Key based Encryption scheme for ubiquitous devices (Ubi-RKE. The concept of Rhythm Key based Encryption has been applied to numerous real world applications in different domains. It provides key memorability and secure encryption through user touching rhythm on ubiquitous devices. Our proposed scheme is more efficient for users than existing schemes, by providing a strong cipher.

  15. Ubiquitous human computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zittrain, Jonathan

    2008-10-28

    Ubiquitous computing means network connectivity everywhere, linking devices and systems as small as a drawing pin and as large as a worldwide product distribution chain. What could happen when people are so readily networked? This paper explores issues arising from two possible emerging models of ubiquitous human computing: fungible networked brainpower and collective personal vital sign monitoring.

  16. New functionalities in abundant element oxides: ubiquitous element strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosono, Hideo; Hayashi, Katsuro; Kamiya, Toshio; Atou, Toshiyuki; Susaki, Tomofumi

    2011-01-01

    While most ceramics are composed of ubiquitous elements (the ten most abundant elements within the Earth's crust), many advanced materials are based on rare elements. A 'rare-element crisis' is approaching owing to the imbalance between the limited supply of rare elements and the increasing demand. Therefore, we propose a 'ubiquitous element strategy' for materials research, which aims to apply abundant elements in a variety of innovative applications. Creation of innovative oxide materials and devices based on conventional ceramics is one specific challenge. This review describes the concept of ubiquitous element strategy and gives some highlights of our recent research on the synthesis of electronic, thermionic and structural materials using ubiquitous elements. (topical review)

  17. [Facing the challenges of ubiquitous computing in the health care sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgieff, Peter; Friedewald, Michael

    2010-01-01

    The steady progress of microelectronics, communications and information technology will enable the realisation of the vision for "ubiquitous computing" where the Internet extends into the real world embracing everyday objects. The necessary technical basis is already in place. Due to their diminishing size, constantly falling price and declining energy consumption, processors, communications modules and sensors are being increasingly integrated into everyday objects today. This development is opening up huge opportunities for both the economy and individuals. In the present paper we discuss possible applications, but also technical, social and economic barriers to a wide-spread use of ubiquitous computing in the health care sector. .

  18. Ubiquitous Versus One-to-One

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAnear, Anita

    2006-01-01

    When we planned the editorial calendar with the topic ubiquitous computing, we were thinking of ubiquitous computing as the one-to-one ratio of computers to students and teachers and 24/7 access to electronic resources. At the time, we were aware that ubiquitous computing in the computer science field had more to do with wearable computers. Our…

  19. Ubiquitous information for ubiquitous computing: expressing clinical data sets with openEHR archetypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garde, Sebastian; Hovenga, Evelyn; Buck, Jasmin; Knaup, Petra

    2006-01-01

    Ubiquitous computing requires ubiquitous access to information and knowledge. With the release of openEHR Version 1.0 there is a common model available to solve some of the problems related to accessing information and knowledge by improving semantic interoperability between clinical systems. Considerable work has been undertaken by various bodies to standardise Clinical Data Sets. Notwithstanding their value, several problems remain unsolved with Clinical Data Sets without the use of a common model underpinning them. This paper outlines these problems like incompatible basic data types and overlapping and incompatible definitions of clinical content. A solution to this based on openEHR archetypes is motivated and an approach to transform existing Clinical Data Sets into archetypes is presented. To avoid significant overlaps and unnecessary effort during archetype development, archetype development needs to be coordinated nationwide and beyond and also across the various health professions in a formalized process.

  20. Ubiquitous Learning Project Using Life-Logging Technology in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogata, Hiroaki; Hou, Bin; Li, Mengmeng; Uosaki, Noriko; Mouri, Kosuke; Liu, Songran

    2014-01-01

    A Ubiquitous Learning Log (ULL) is defined as a digital record of what a learner has learned in daily life using ubiquitous computing technologies. In this paper, a project which developed a system called SCROLL (System for Capturing and Reusing Of Learning Log) is presented. The aim of developing SCROLL is to help learners record, organize,…

  1. Ubiquitous Accessibility for People with Visual Impairments: Are We There Yet?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billah, Syed Masum; Ashok, Vikas; Porter, Donald E; Ramakrishnan, I V

    2017-05-01

    Ubiquitous access is an increasingly common vision of computing, wherein users can interact with any computing device or service from anywhere, at any time. In the era of personal computing, users with visual impairments required special-purpose, assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to interact with computers. This paper investigates whether technologies like screen readers have kept pace with, or have created a barrier to, the trend toward ubiquitous access, with a specific focus on desktop computing as this is still the primary way computers are used in education and employment. Towards that, the paper presents a user study with 21 visually-impaired participants, specifically involving the switching of screen readers within and across different computing platforms, and the use of screen readers in remote access scenarios. Among the findings, the study shows that, even for remote desktop access-an early forerunner of true ubiquitous access-screen readers are too limited, if not unusable. The study also identifies several accessibility needs, such as uniformity of navigational experience across devices, and recommends potential solutions. In summary, assistive technologies have not made the jump into the era of ubiquitous access, and multiple, inconsistent screen readers create new practical problems for users with visual impairments.

  2. Learning with Ubiquitous Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenheck, Louisa

    2008-01-01

    If ubiquitous computing becomes a reality and is widely adopted, it will inevitably have an impact on education. This article reviews the background of ubiquitous computing and current research projects done involving educational "ubicomp." Finally it explores how ubicomp may and may not change education in both formal and informal settings and…

  3. After Installation: Ubiquitous Computing and High School Science in Three Experienced, High-Technology Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drayton, Brian; Falk, Joni K.; Stroud, Rena; Hobbs, Kathryn; Hammerman, James

    2010-01-01

    There are few studies of the impact of ubiquitous computing on high school science, and the majority of studies of ubiquitous computing report only on the early stages of implementation. The present study presents data on 3 high schools with carefully elaborated ubiquitous computing systems that have gone through at least one "obsolescence cycle"…

  4. A Collaborative Model for Ubiquitous Learning Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Jorge; Barbosa, Debora; Rabello, Solon

    2016-01-01

    Use of mobile devices and widespread adoption of wireless networks have enabled the emergence of Ubiquitous Computing. Application of this technology to improving education strategies gave rise to Ubiquitous e-Learning, also known as Ubiquitous Learning. There are several approaches to organizing ubiquitous learning environments, but most of them…

  5. Socio-technical Issues for Ubiquitous Information Society in 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funabashi, Motohisa; Homma, Koichi; Sasaki, Toshiro; Sato, Yoshinori; Kido, Kunihiko; Fukumoto, Takashi; Yano, Koujin

    Impact of the ubiquitous information technology on our society is so significant that directing technological development and preparing institutional apparatus are quite important and urgent. The present paper elaborates, with the efforts by both humanity and engineering disciplines, to find out the socio-technical issues of ubiquitous information society in 2010 by inspecting social implications of emerging technology as well as social expectations. In order to deliberate the issues, scenarios are developed that describes possible life in ubiquitous information society. The derived issues cover integrating information technology and human body, producing smart sharable environment, protecting individual rights, fostering new service business, and forming community.

  6. Application of ubiquitous computing in personal health monitoring systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunze, C; Grossmann, U; Stork, W; Müller-Glaser, K D

    2002-01-01

    A possibility to significantly reduce the costs of public health systems is to increasingly use information technology. The Laboratory for Information Processing Technology (ITIV) at the University of Karlsruhe is developing a personal health monitoring system, which should improve health care and at the same time reduce costs by combining micro-technological smart sensors with personalized, mobile computing systems. In this paper we present how ubiquitous computing theory can be applied in the health-care domain.

  7. Internet messenger based smart virtual class learning using ubiquitous computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umam, K.; Mardi, S. N. S.; Hariadi, M.

    2017-06-01

    Internet messenger (IM) has become an important educational technology component in college education, IM makes it possible for students to engage in learning and collaborating at smart virtual class learning (SVCL) using ubiquitous computing. However, the model of IM-based smart virtual class learning using ubiquitous computing and empirical evidence that would favor a broad application to improve engagement and behavior are still limited. In addition, the expectation that IM based SVCL using ubiquitous computing could improve engagement and behavior on smart class cannot be confirmed because the majority of the reviewed studies followed instructions paradigms. This article aims to present the model of IM-based SVCL using ubiquitous computing and showing learners’ experiences in improved engagement and behavior for learner-learner and learner-lecturer interactions. The method applied in this paper includes design process and quantitative analysis techniques, with the purpose of identifying scenarios of ubiquitous computing and realize the impressions of learners and lecturers about engagement and behavior aspect and its contribution to learning

  8. HCI in Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing

    OpenAIRE

    椎尾, 一郎; 安村, 通晃; 福本, 雅明; 伊賀, 聡一郎; 増井, 俊之

    2003-01-01

    This paper provides some perspectives to human computer interaction in mobile and ubiquitous computing. The review covers overview of ubiquitous computing, mobile computing and wearable computing. It also summarizes HCI topics on these field, including real-world oriented interface, multi-modal interface, context awareness and in-visible computers. Finally we discuss killer applications for coming ubiquitous computing era.

  9. Flexible thin film circuitry enabling ubiquitous electronics via post-fabrication customization (Presentation Recording)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobb, Brian

    2015-09-01

    For decades, the electronics industry has been accurately described by Moore's Law, where the march towards increasing density and smaller feature sizes has enabled continuous cost reductions and performance improvements. With flexible electronics, this perpetual scaling is not foreseen to occur. Instead, the industry will be dominated by Wright's Law, first proposed in 1936, where increasing demand for high volumes of product will drive costs down. We have demonstrated thin film based circuitry compatible with flexible substrates with high levels of functionality designed for such a high volume industry. This includes a generic 8-bit microprocessor totaling more than 3.5k TFTs operating at 2.1 kHz. We have also developed a post fabrication programming technique via inkjet printing of conductive spots to form a one-time programmable instruction generator, allowing customization of the processor for a specific task. The combination demonstrates the possibility to achieve the high volume production of identical products necessary to reap the benefits promised by Wright's Law, while still retaining the individualization necessary for application differentiation. This is of particular importance in the area of item level identification via RFID, where low cost and individualized identification are necessary. Remotely powered RFID tags have been fabricated using an oxide semiconductor based TFT process. This process is compatible with the post-fabrication printing process to detail individual identification codes, with the goal of producing low cost, high volume flexible tags. The goal is to produce tags compatible with existing NFC communication protocols in order to communicate with readers that are already ubiquitous in the market.

  10. Ubiquitous developments of the digital single market

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maciejewski, M.; Porrino, F.; Veenstra, A.F.E. van; Marcus, J.S.; Cave, J.; Huijboom, N.M.; Elixmann, D.; Hillebrand, A.; Schindler, R.; Horvath, V.

    2013-01-01

    Ubiquitous solutions providing access from anywhere at any time are a next step for government and commercial services, and are expected to result in lower costs, increased flexibility, and an enhanced user experience. These solutions, based on modern cloud technologies, may facilitate re-use across

  11. USE OF UBIQUITOUS TECHNOLOGIES IN MILITARY LOGISTIC SYSTEM IN IRAN

    OpenAIRE

    P. Jafari; A. Sadeghi-Niaraki

    2013-01-01

    This study is about integration and evaluation of RFID and ubiquitous technologies in military logistic system management. Firstly, supply chain management and the necessity of a revolution in logistic systems especially in military area, are explained. Secondly RFID and ubiquitous technologies and the advantages of their use in supply chain management are introduced. Lastly a system based on these technologies for controlling and increasing the speed and accuracy in military logistic system ...

  12. A system for ubiquitous health monitoring in the bedroom via a Bluetooth network and wireless LAN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, J M; Choi, B H; Seo, J W; Sohn, R H; Ryu, M S; Yi, W; Park, K S

    2004-01-01

    Advances in information technology have enabled ubiquitous health monitoring at home, which is particularly useful for patients, who have to live alone. We have focused on the automatic and unobtrusive measurement of biomedical signals and activities of patients. We have constructed wireless communication networks in order to transfer data. The networks consist of Bluetooth and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In this paper, we present the concept of a ubiquitous-Bedroom (u-Bedroom) which is a part of a ubiquitous-House (u-House) and we present our systems for ubiquitous health monitoring.

  13. Ubiquitous computing in shared-care environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, S

    2006-07-01

    In light of future challenges, such as growing numbers of elderly, increase in chronic diseases, insufficient health care budgets and problems with staff recruitment for the health-care sector, information and communication technology (ICT) becomes a possible means to meet these challenges. Organizational changes such as the decentralization of the health-care system lead to a shift from in-hospital to both advanced and basic home health care. Advanced medical technologies provide solutions for distant home care in form of specialist consultations and home monitoring. Furthermore, the shift towards home health care will increase mobile work and the establishment of shared care teams which require ICT-based solutions that support ubiquitous information access and cooperative work. Clinical documentation and decision support systems are the main ICT-based solutions of interest in the context of ubiquitous computing for shared care environments. This paper therefore describes the prerequisites for clinical documentation and decision support at the point of care, the impact of mobility on the documentation process, and how the introduction of ICT-based solutions will influence organizations and people. Furthermore, the role of dentistry in shared-care environments is discussed and illustrated in the form of a future scenario.

  14. Mobile, ubiquitous, and pervasive learning fundaments, applications, and trends

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    This book is concerned with the mobile, ubiquitous, and pervasive learning arena. It present a collection of works corresponding to four categories: reviews, studies, conceptual proposals, and approaches. As a result of the submission and revision processes eight manuscripts were accepted and organized into the aforementioned four parts as follows: ·Review: a couple of chapters offer a survey of related works. One concerns with the diversity of mobile, ubiquitous, and pervasive labor, where interested findings are unveiled based on correlations. Other focuses on adaptive and adaptable architectures that are suitable to implement ubiquitous learning sceneries, whose contribution represents a model of a domain specific architecture. ·Studies: two chapters explore issues related to the effect of question styles made through smartphones and tablets, and the disposition of teachers to exploit mobile devices at classroom. ·Conceptual: a pair of chapters offer a given proposal, the first to develop adaptive mobil...

  15. A Framework for Real-Time Collection, Analysis, and Classification of Ubiquitous Infrasound Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christe, A.; Garces, M. A.; Magana-Zook, S. A.; Schnurr, J. M.

    2015-12-01

    Traditional infrasound arrays are generally expensive to install and maintain. There are ~10^3 infrasound channels on Earth today. The amount of data currently provided by legacy architectures can be processed on a modest server. However, the growing availability of low-cost, ubiquitous, and dense infrasonic sensor networks presents a substantial increase in the volume, velocity, and variety of data flow. Initial data from a prototype ubiquitous global infrasound network is already pushing the boundaries of traditional research server and communication systems, in particular when serving data products over heterogeneous, international network topologies. We present a scalable, cloud-based approach for capturing and analyzing large amounts of dense infrasonic data (>10^6 channels). We utilize Akka actors with WebSockets to maintain data connections with infrasound sensors. Apache Spark provides streaming, batch, machine learning, and graph processing libraries which will permit signature classification, cross-correlation, and other analytics in near real time. This new framework and approach provide significant advantages in scalability and cost.

  16. Dashboard for Analyzing Ubiquitous Learning Log

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lkhagvasuren, Erdenesaikhan; Matsuura, Kenji; Mouri, Kousuke; Ogata, Hiroaki

    2016-01-01

    Mobile and ubiquitous technologies have been applied to a wide range of learning fields such as science, social science, history and language learning. Many researchers have been investigating the development of ubiquitous learning environments; nevertheless, to date, there have not been enough research works related to the reflection, analysis…

  17. An improved anonymous authentication scheme for roaming in ubiquitous networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hakjun; Lee, Donghoon; Moon, Jongho; Jung, Jaewook; Kang, Dongwoo; Kim, Hyoungshick; Won, Dongho

    2018-01-01

    With the evolution of communication technology and the exponential increase of mobile devices, the ubiquitous networking allows people to use our data and computing resources anytime and everywhere. However, numerous security concerns and complicated requirements arise as these ubiquitous networks are deployed throughout people's lives. To meet the challenge, the user authentication schemes in ubiquitous networks should ensure the essential security properties for the preservation of the privacy with low computational cost. In 2017, Chaudhry et al. proposed a password-based authentication scheme for the roaming in ubiquitous networks to enhance the security. Unfortunately, we found that their scheme remains insecure in its protection of the user privacy. In this paper, we prove that Chaudhry et al.'s scheme is vulnerable to the stolen-mobile device and user impersonation attacks, and its drawbacks comprise the absence of the incorrect login-input detection, the incorrectness of the password change phase, and the absence of the revocation provision. Moreover, we suggest a possible way to fix the security flaw in Chaudhry et al's scheme by using the biometric-based authentication for which the bio-hash is applied in the implementation of a three-factor authentication. We prove the security of the proposed scheme with the random oracle model and formally verify its security properties using a tool named ProVerif, and analyze it in terms of the computational and communication cost. The analysis result shows that the proposed scheme is suitable for resource-constrained ubiquitous environments.

  18. An improved anonymous authentication scheme for roaming in ubiquitous networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hakjun Lee

    Full Text Available With the evolution of communication technology and the exponential increase of mobile devices, the ubiquitous networking allows people to use our data and computing resources anytime and everywhere. However, numerous security concerns and complicated requirements arise as these ubiquitous networks are deployed throughout people's lives. To meet the challenge, the user authentication schemes in ubiquitous networks should ensure the essential security properties for the preservation of the privacy with low computational cost. In 2017, Chaudhry et al. proposed a password-based authentication scheme for the roaming in ubiquitous networks to enhance the security. Unfortunately, we found that their scheme remains insecure in its protection of the user privacy. In this paper, we prove that Chaudhry et al.'s scheme is vulnerable to the stolen-mobile device and user impersonation attacks, and its drawbacks comprise the absence of the incorrect login-input detection, the incorrectness of the password change phase, and the absence of the revocation provision. Moreover, we suggest a possible way to fix the security flaw in Chaudhry et al's scheme by using the biometric-based authentication for which the bio-hash is applied in the implementation of a three-factor authentication. We prove the security of the proposed scheme with the random oracle model and formally verify its security properties using a tool named ProVerif, and analyze it in terms of the computational and communication cost. The analysis result shows that the proposed scheme is suitable for resource-constrained ubiquitous environments.

  19. Awareness for Contextualized Digital Contents in Ubiquitous Learning Environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Börner, Dirk

    2010-01-01

    Börner, D. (2009). Awareness for Contextualized Digital Contents in Ubiquitous Learning Environments. Presented at the Doctoral Consortium of the Fourth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL 2009). September, 29-October, 2, 2009, Nice, France.

  20. A Survey of Service Composition Mechanisms in Ubiquitous Computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brønsted, Jeppe; Hansen, Klaus Marius; Ingstrup, Mads

    2007-01-01

    Composition of services, i.e., providing new services by combining existing ones, is a pervasive idea in ubiquitous computing. We surveyed the field by looking at what features are actually present in technologies that support service composition in some form. Condensing this into a list...... of features allowed us to discuss the qualitative merits and drawbacks of various approaches to service composition, focusing in particular on usability, adaptability and efficiency. Moreover, we found that further research is needed into quality-of-service assurance of composites and into contingency...... management for composites—one of the concerns differentiating service composition in ubiquitous computing from its counterpart in less dynamic settings....

  1. Conjoint Analysis for Mobile Devices for Ubiquitous Learning in Higher Education: The Korean Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hyeongjik

    2013-01-01

    Despite the increasing importance of mobile devices in education, the essential features of these devices for ubiquitous learning have not been empirically addressed. This study empirically investigated the necessary conditions for using mobile devices as an educational tool for ubiquitous learning in higher education by a conjoint method. The…

  2. Privacy-related context information for ubiquitous health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seppälä, Antto; Nykänen, Pirkko; Ruotsalainen, Pekka

    2014-03-11

    Ubiquitous health has been defined as a dynamic network of interconnected systems. A system is composed of one or more information systems, their stakeholders, and the environment. These systems offer health services to individuals and thus implement ubiquitous computing. Privacy is the key challenge for ubiquitous health because of autonomous processing, rich contextual metadata, lack of predefined trust among participants, and the business objectives. Additionally, regulations and policies of stakeholders may be unknown to the individual. Context-sensitive privacy policies are needed to regulate information processing. Our goal was to analyze privacy-related context information and to define the corresponding components and their properties that support privacy management in ubiquitous health. These properties should describe the privacy issues of information processing. With components and their properties, individuals can define context-aware privacy policies and set their privacy preferences that can change in different information-processing situations. Scenarios and user stories are used to analyze typical activities in ubiquitous health to identify main actors, goals, tasks, and stakeholders. Context arises from an activity and, therefore, we can determine different situations, services, and systems to identify properties for privacy-related context information in information-processing situations. Privacy-related context information components are situation, environment, individual, information technology system, service, and stakeholder. Combining our analyses and previously identified characteristics of ubiquitous health, more detailed properties for the components are defined. Properties define explicitly what context information for different components is needed to create context-aware privacy policies that can control, limit, and constrain information processing. With properties, we can define, for example, how data can be processed or how components

  3. Trust Models in Ubiquitous Computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mogens; Krukow, Karl; Sassone, Vladimiro

    2008-01-01

    We recapture some of the arguments for trust-based technologies in ubiquitous computing, followed by a brief survey of some of the models of trust that have been introduced in this respect. Based on this, we argue for the need of more formal and foundational trust models.......We recapture some of the arguments for trust-based technologies in ubiquitous computing, followed by a brief survey of some of the models of trust that have been introduced in this respect. Based on this, we argue for the need of more formal and foundational trust models....

  4. Ubiquitous Computing, Complexity and Culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    environments, experience time, and develop identities individually and socially. Interviews with working media artists lend further perspectives on these cultural transformations. Drawing on cultural theory, new media art studies, human-computer interaction theory, and software studies, this cutting-edge book......The ubiquitous nature of mobile and pervasive computing has begun to reshape and complicate our notions of space, time, and identity. In this collection, over thirty internationally recognized contributors reflect on ubiquitous computing’s implications for the ways in which we interact with our...... critically unpacks the complex ubiquity-effects confronting us every day....

  5. An improved anonymous authentication scheme for roaming in ubiquitous networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hakjun; Lee, Donghoon; Moon, Jongho; Jung, Jaewook; Kang, Dongwoo; Kim, Hyoungshick

    2018-01-01

    With the evolution of communication technology and the exponential increase of mobile devices, the ubiquitous networking allows people to use our data and computing resources anytime and everywhere. However, numerous security concerns and complicated requirements arise as these ubiquitous networks are deployed throughout people’s lives. To meet the challenge, the user authentication schemes in ubiquitous networks should ensure the essential security properties for the preservation of the privacy with low computational cost. In 2017, Chaudhry et al. proposed a password-based authentication scheme for the roaming in ubiquitous networks to enhance the security. Unfortunately, we found that their scheme remains insecure in its protection of the user privacy. In this paper, we prove that Chaudhry et al.’s scheme is vulnerable to the stolen-mobile device and user impersonation attacks, and its drawbacks comprise the absence of the incorrect login-input detection, the incorrectness of the password change phase, and the absence of the revocation provision. Moreover, we suggest a possible way to fix the security flaw in Chaudhry et al’s scheme by using the biometric-based authentication for which the bio-hash is applied in the implementation of a three-factor authentication. We prove the security of the proposed scheme with the random oracle model and formally verify its security properties using a tool named ProVerif, and analyze it in terms of the computational and communication cost. The analysis result shows that the proposed scheme is suitable for resource-constrained ubiquitous environments. PMID:29505575

  6. Disclosure of Personal Data in Ubiquitous Social Networking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sapuppo, Antonio

    users' privacy. Firstly, it updates the current privacy guidelines of ubiquitous computing by proposing four drawbacks to be avoided when designing for privacy in ubiquitous social networking environments. Secondly, this dissertation identifies and investigates the determinants that might influence......Ubiquitous social networking focuses on developing possible advantageous relationships such as friendships, partnerships and business relations in the physical world, by uncovering hidden connections that people share with others nearby. The foundation of these services is based on disclosure...... of personal information, which can provoke numerous accidental invasions of privacy. This dissertation contributes by addressing two problems, related to support of privacy-aware social networking in ubiquitous computing environments that focus on maximizing potential networking benefits while preserving...

  7. Integrating Collaborative and Decentralized Models to Support Ubiquitous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Jorge Luis Victória; Barbosa, Débora Nice Ferrari; Rigo, Sandro José; de Oliveira, Jezer Machado; Rabello, Solon Andrade, Jr.

    2014-01-01

    The application of ubiquitous technologies in the improvement of education strategies is called Ubiquitous Learning. This article proposes the integration between two models dedicated to support ubiquitous learning environments, called Global and CoolEdu. CoolEdu is a generic collaboration model for decentralized environments. Global is an…

  8. Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking: Concepts, Technologies and Challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierre, Samuel

    2001-01-01

    Analyzes concepts, technologies and challenges related to mobile computing and networking. Defines basic concepts of cellular systems. Describes the evolution of wireless technologies that constitute the foundations of mobile computing and ubiquitous networking. Presents characterization and issues of mobile computing. Analyzes economical and…

  9. The Construction of an Ontology-Based Ubiquitous Learning Grid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Ching-Jung; Chou, Chien-Chih; Yang, Jin-Tan David

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to incorporate adaptive ontology into ubiquitous learning grid to achieve seamless learning environment. Ubiquitous learning grid uses ubiquitous computing environment to infer and determine the most adaptive learning contents and procedures in anytime, any place and with any device. To achieve the goal, an…

  10. The Synergy of Paper-Based and Digital Material for Ubiquitous Foreign Language Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Leone

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the development of digital information transfer, storage and communication methods has allowed for access to ubiquitous global connections and to a large number of resources available to foreign language students at all age and levels of schooling. Further, the combination of traditional paper-based learning material with digital one in a ubiquitous learning environment may offer great innovation in the delivery of education, to foster a student-centred approach, and to accommodate the needs of ubiquitous learners’ personal lifestyles. In this direction, research has increasingly emphasised the importance of a technology-enhanced rather than technology-driven learning approach. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the integration of paper-based and digital material through Quick Response (QR code for ubiquitous English language learners in three different scenarios. Results show that, despite some difficulties, flexibility and personalisation of learning have been perceived as an asset.

  11. Privacy-Related Context Information for Ubiquitous Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nykänen, Pirkko; Ruotsalainen, Pekka

    2014-01-01

    Background Ubiquitous health has been defined as a dynamic network of interconnected systems. A system is composed of one or more information systems, their stakeholders, and the environment. These systems offer health services to individuals and thus implement ubiquitous computing. Privacy is the key challenge for ubiquitous health because of autonomous processing, rich contextual metadata, lack of predefined trust among participants, and the business objectives. Additionally, regulations and policies of stakeholders may be unknown to the individual. Context-sensitive privacy policies are needed to regulate information processing. Objective Our goal was to analyze privacy-related context information and to define the corresponding components and their properties that support privacy management in ubiquitous health. These properties should describe the privacy issues of information processing. With components and their properties, individuals can define context-aware privacy policies and set their privacy preferences that can change in different information-processing situations. Methods Scenarios and user stories are used to analyze typical activities in ubiquitous health to identify main actors, goals, tasks, and stakeholders. Context arises from an activity and, therefore, we can determine different situations, services, and systems to identify properties for privacy-related context information in information-processing situations. Results Privacy-related context information components are situation, environment, individual, information technology system, service, and stakeholder. Combining our analyses and previously identified characteristics of ubiquitous health, more detailed properties for the components are defined. Properties define explicitly what context information for different components is needed to create context-aware privacy policies that can control, limit, and constrain information processing. With properties, we can define, for example, how

  12. RECON: Capturing Mobile and Ubiquitous Interaction in Real Contexts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Kasper Løvborg

    2009-01-01

    for studying the user experience of such applications in the field tend to be cumbersome and expensive with regard to time and manpower, and they generally do not scale well with number of users and duration of studies. RECON addresses these challenges and provides an addition to the methodological...... to conduct large scale remote studies of mobile and ubiquitous applications in real contexts.......Evaluating the user experience of mobile and ubiquitous applications is a challenging task. They are becoming increasingly complex and tightly interwoven into the fabric of everyday life and thus cannot easily be taken out of context and evaluated in controlled experimental environments. Methods...

  13. Development of Wearable Systems for Ubiquitous Healthcare Service Provisioning

    OpenAIRE

    Ogunduyile, O.O.; Olugbara, O.O.; Lall, M.

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports on the development of a wearable system using wireless biomedical sensors for ubiquitous healthcare service provisioning. The prototype system is developed to address current healthcare challenges such as increasing cost of services, inability to access diverse services, low quality services and increasing population of elderly as experienced globally. The biomedical sensors proactively collect physiological data of remote patients to recommend diagnostic services. The prot...

  14. CILT2000: Ubiquitous Computing--Spanning the Digital Divide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinker, Robert; Vahey, Philip

    2002-01-01

    Discusses the role of ubiquitous and handheld computers in education. Summarizes the contributions of the Center for Innovative Learning Technologies (CILT) and describes the ubiquitous computing sessions at the CILT2000 Conference. (Author/YDS)

  15. Ubiquitous mobile knowledge construction in collaborative learning environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baloian, Nelson; Zurita, Gustavo

    2012-01-01

    Knowledge management is a critical activity for any organization. It has been said to be a differentiating factor and an important source of competitiveness if this knowledge is constructed and shared among its members, thus creating a learning organization. Knowledge construction is critical for any collaborative organizational learning environment. Nowadays workers must perform knowledge creation tasks while in motion, not just in static physical locations; therefore it is also required that knowledge construction activities be performed in ubiquitous scenarios, and supported by mobile and pervasive computational systems. These knowledge creation systems should help people in or outside organizations convert their tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thus supporting the knowledge construction process. Therefore in our understanding, we consider highly relevant that undergraduate university students learn about the knowledge construction process supported by mobile and ubiquitous computing. This has been a little explored issue in this field. This paper presents the design, implementation, and an evaluation of a system called MCKC for Mobile Collaborative Knowledge Construction, supporting collaborative face-to-face tacit knowledge construction and sharing in ubiquitous scenarios. The MCKC system can be used by undergraduate students to learn how to construct knowledge, allowing them anytime and anywhere to create, make explicit and share their knowledge with their co-learners, using visual metaphors, gestures and sketches to implement the human-computer interface of mobile devices (PDAs).

  16. Ubiquitous fuzzy computing in open ambient intelligence environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Acampora, G.; Loia, V.

    2006-01-01

    Ambient intelligence (AmI) is considered as the composition of three emergent technologies: ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication and intelligent user interfaces. The aim of integration of aforesaid technologies is to make wider the interaction between human beings and information

  17. Multimedia Adaptation in Ubiquitous Environments: Benefits of Structured Multimedia Documents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P.S. Cesar Garcia (Pablo Santiago); I. Vaishnavi (Ishan); R. Kernchen; S. Meissner; M. Boussard; A. Spedalieri; B. Gao (Bo); D.C.A. Bulterman (Dick)

    2008-01-01

    htmlabstractThis paper demonstrates the advantages of using structured multimedia documents for session management and media distribution in ubiquitous environments. We show how document manipulations can be used to perform powerful operations such as content to context adaptation and presentation

  18. New Trends on Ubiquitous Mobile Multimedia Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliveira Marco

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobile devices present the opportunity to enhance our fast-growing and globally connected society, improving user-experience through novel approaches for information dissemination through mobile communication. The research community is developing new technologies, services, and applications to enable ubiquitous environments based on mobile technology. This paper tackles several important challenges such as communication cost and device limitations for development of ubiquitous multimedia applications. And we propose a system for news delivery using a set of wireless multimedia applications. For this purpose, we have performed a case study with Apple iPhone's platform, featuring two multimedia application contexts, namely, Web and native applications. The multimedia mobile applications draw on iPhone's assets, enabling context-awareness to distribute news, improving communication efficiency and setting-up viewing optimizations, thus enhancing user-experience. The proposed system is evaluated and validated through a series of real-life experiments on real devices, with online full availability. Moreover, due to the Web application availability, the system is not restrained to Apple's iPhone platform, but can also benefit users with other devices.

  19. Datenschutz- und Medizinprodukterecht bei Ubiquitous Computing-Anwendungen im Gesundheitssektor / Data protection and medical product law with respect to medical ubiquitous computing applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Skistims, Hendrik

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available With respect to ubiquitous computing there is a great potential of application, particularly in medicine and health care. This work deals with the legal problems which ubiquitous computing is facing in these areas. At the beginning, issues with respect to data protection and professional secrecy are treated. Afterwards the problem of applicability of medical product law for medical ubiquitous computing applications as well as the resulting requirements for manufactures, operators and users will be discussed.

  20. Programmable ubiquitous telerobotic devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doherty, Michael; Greene, Matthew; Keaton, David; Och, Christian; Seidl, Matthew L.; Waite, William; Zorn, Benjamin G.

    1997-12-01

    We are investigating a field of research that we call ubiquitous telepresence, which involves the design and implementation of low-cost robotic devices that can be programmed and operated from anywhere on the Internet. These devices, which we call ubots, can be used for academic purposes (e.g., a biologist could remote conduct a population survey), commercial purposes (e.g., a house could be shown remotely by a real-estate agent), and for recreation and education (e.g., someone could tour a museum remotely). We anticipate that such devices will become increasingly common due to recent changes in hardware and software technology. In particular, current hardware technology enables such devices to be constructed very cheaply (less than $500), and current software and network technology allows highly portable code to be written and downloaded across the Internet. In this paper, we present our prototype system architecture, and the ubot implementation we have constructed based on it. The hardware technology we use is the handy board, a 6811-based controller board with digital and analog inputs and outputs. Our software includes a network layer based on TCP/IP and software layers written in Java. Our software enables users across the Internet to program the behavior of the vehicle and to receive image feedback from a camera mounted on it.

  1. Intelligent Multi-Agent Middleware for Ubiquitous Home Networking Environments

    OpenAIRE

    Minwoo Son; Seung-Hun Lee; Dongkyoo Shin; Dongil Shin

    2008-01-01

    The next stage of the home networking environment is supposed to be ubiquitous, where each piece of material is equipped with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag. To fully support the ubiquitous environment, home networking middleware should be able to recommend home services based on a user-s interests and efficiently manage information on service usage profiles for the users. Therefore, USN (Ubiquitous Sensor Network) technology, which recognizes and manages a ...

  2. Ubiquitous Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Scoping Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virtanen, Mari Aulikki; Haavisto, Elina; Liikanen, Eeva; Kääriäinen, Maria

    2018-01-01

    Ubiquitous learning and the use of ubiquitous learning environments heralds a new era in higher education. Ubiquitous learning environments enhance context-aware and seamless learning experiences available from any location at any time. They support smooth interaction between authentic and digital learning resources and provide personalized…

  3. Attacker Modelling in Ubiquitous Computing Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Papini, Davide

    in with our everyday life. This future is visible to everyone nowadays: terms like smartphone, cloud, sensor, network etc. are widely known and used in our everyday life. But what about the security of such systems. Ubiquitous computing devices can be limited in terms of energy, computing power and memory...... attacker remain somehow undened and still under extensive investigation. This Thesis explores the nature of the ubiquitous attacker with a focus on how she interacts with the physical world and it denes a model that captures the abilities of the attacker. Furthermore a quantitative implementation...

  4. Learning potentials of the ubiquitous internet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsgaard, Christian; Pedersen, Nicholai Friis; Aaen, Janus Holst

    The aim of this paper is to identify the key learning potentials of the ubiquitous internet. Rather than focusing on mobile technology or the mobility of the learner, the paper emphasises the ubiquity of internet access as a paramount catalyst for new learning in the digital age. From...... a sociocultural perspective the paper discusses different ways in which the use of mobile devices can extend and augment the context of the learner. The learning potentials of the ubiquitous internet relate to the opportunities to extend the context of the learner on three levels: 1) personalisation...

  5. Unit and ubiquitous Internet of Things

    CERN Document Server

    Ning, Huansheng

    2013-01-01

    Although the Internet of Things (IoT) will play a key role in the development of next generation information, network, and communication technologies, many are still unclear about what makes IoT different from similar concepts. Answering fundamental questions about IoT architectures and models, Unit and Ubiquitous Internet of Things introduces essential IoT concepts from the perspectives of mapping and interaction between the physical world and the cyber world. It addresses key issues such as strategy and education, particularly around unit and ubiquitous IoT technologies. Supplying a new pers

  6. Ubiquitous emotion-aware computing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Broek, Egon

    Emotions are a crucial element for personal and ubiquitous computing. What to sense and how to sense it, however, remain a challenge. This study explores the rare combination of speech, electrocardiogram, and a revised Self-Assessment Mannequin to assess people’s emotions. 40 people watched 30

  7. Ubiquitous and pervasive commerce new frontiers for electronic business

    CERN Document Server

    Roussos, George

    2006-01-01

    The new capabilities of ubiquitous and pervasive computing imply that products, locations, consumers and employees create rich streams of information about themselves, their immediate environment and their use. This book brings together technological and business aspects of conducting commerce using ubiquitous and pervasive computing techniques and also examines its implications for society at large. Individual chapters examine in detail the core technologies that make ubiquitous computing possible, the business standards that must be established to support the envisioned global infrastructure

  8. Trust information-based privacy architecture for ubiquitous health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruotsalainen, Pekka Sakari; Blobel, Bernd; Seppälä, Antto; Nykänen, Pirkko

    2013-10-08

    Ubiquitous health is defined as a dynamic network of interconnected systems that offers health services independent of time and location to a data subject (DS). The network takes place in open and unsecure information space. It is created and managed by the DS who sets rules that regulate the way personal health information is collected and used. Compared to health care, it is impossible in ubiquitous health to assume the existence of a priori trust between the DS and service providers and to produce privacy using static security services. In ubiquitous health features, business goals and regulations systems followed often remain unknown. Furthermore, health care-specific regulations do not rule the ways health data is processed and shared. To be successful, ubiquitous health requires novel privacy architecture. The goal of this study was to develop a privacy management architecture that helps the DS to create and dynamically manage the network and to maintain information privacy. The architecture should enable the DS to dynamically define service and system-specific rules that regulate the way subject data is processed. The architecture should provide to the DS reliable trust information about systems and assist in the formulation of privacy policies. Furthermore, the architecture should give feedback upon how systems follow the policies of DS and offer protection against privacy and trust threats existing in ubiquitous environments. A sequential method that combines methodologies used in system theory, systems engineering, requirement analysis, and system design was used in the study. In the first phase, principles, trust and privacy models, and viewpoints were selected. Thereafter, functional requirements and services were developed on the basis of a careful analysis of existing research published in journals and conference proceedings. Based on principles, models, and requirements, architectural components and their interconnections were developed using system

  9. Mining the preferences of patients for ubiquitous clinic recommendation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tin-Chih Toly; Chiu, Min-Chi

    2018-03-06

    A challenge facing all ubiquitous clinic recommendation systems is that patients often have difficulty articulating their requirements. To overcome this problem, a ubiquitous clinic recommendation mechanism was designed in this study by mining the clinic preferences of patients. Their preferences were defined using the weights in the ubiquitous clinic recommendation mechanism. An integer nonlinear programming problem was solved to tune the values of the weights on a rolling basis. In addition, since it may take a long time to adjust the values of weights to their asymptotic values, the back propagation network (BPN)-response surface method (RSM) method is applied to estimate the asymptotic values of weights. The proposed methodology was tested in a regional study. Experimental results indicated that the ubiquitous clinic recommendation system outperformed several existing methods in improving the successful recommendation rate.

  10. A proposal of ubiquitous fuzzy computing for ambient Intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Acampora, G.; Loia, V.

    2008-01-01

    Ambient Intelligence is considered as the composition of three emergent technologies: Ubiquitous Computing, Ubiquitous Communication and Intelligent User Interfaces. The aim of integration of aforesaid technologies is to make wider the interaction between human beings and information technology

  11. Ubiquitous Information Technologies and Applications CUTE 2012

    CERN Document Server

    Park, Doo-Soon; Jia, Weijia; Yeo, Sang-Soo

    2013-01-01

    This book is for The 7th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Technologies and Applications (CUTE 2012). Ubiquitous computing will require a new approach to fitting technology to our lives. The advent of new computing devices, and the seamless connectivity between these devices, thanks to diverse wired and wireless networks, are enabling new opportunities for a user to perform his/her operation all the time and everywhere. These seamlessly connected devices are ranging from mobile handset to wearable computers. Also, it is expected that these devices will become so pervasive that they will be embedded in the surrounding physical environment, and transparent and invisible to a user. Such devices, whether carried on by people or embedded into other systems, will constitute a global internetworking infrastructure and likely to provide a new level of openness and dynamics. Ubiquitous computing has as its goal the enhancing computer use by pushing computational services out of conventional desktop in...

  12. Ubiquitous Network Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian USCATU

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Technology is evolving faster than ever in the ITC domain. Computing devices become smaller and more powerful by the day (and cheaper than ever. They have started to move away from the classical “computer” towards portable devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs and mobile phones. Even these devices are no longer what they used to be. A phone is no longer a simple voice communication device, but a minicomputer with lots of functions. The addition of wireless communication protocols, like WiFi and Bluetooth, leads to a web of interconnected devices with the final purpose of enabling us to access desired services anywhere, at any time. Adding less complicated devices, as sensors and detectors, located everywhere (clothes, cars, furniture, home appliances etc. but connected to the same global network, we have a technological world aware of itself and aware of us, ready to serve our needs without hindering our lives. “Ubiquitous computing names the third wave in computing, just now beginning. First were mainframes, each shared by lots of people. Now we are in the personal computing era, person and machine staring uneasily at each other across the desktop. Next comes ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology, when technology recedes into the background of our lives.” [Weiser, 1995

  13. Distributed user interfaces for clinical ubiquitous computing applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bång, Magnus; Larsson, Anders; Berglund, Erik; Eriksson, Henrik

    2005-08-01

    Ubiquitous computing with multiple interaction devices requires new interface models that support user-specific modifications to applications and facilitate the fast development of active workspaces. We have developed NOSTOS, a computer-augmented work environment for clinical personnel to explore new user interface paradigms for ubiquitous computing. NOSTOS uses several devices such as digital pens, an active desk, and walk-up displays that allow the system to track documents and activities in the workplace. We present the distributed user interface (DUI) model that allows standalone applications to distribute their user interface components to several devices dynamically at run-time. This mechanism permit clinicians to develop their own user interfaces and forms to clinical information systems to match their specific needs. We discuss the underlying technical concepts of DUIs and show how service discovery, component distribution, events and layout management are dealt with in the NOSTOS system. Our results suggest that DUIs--and similar network-based user interfaces--will be a prerequisite of future mobile user interfaces and essential to develop clinical multi-device environments.

  14. Architecture of personal healthcare information system in ubiquitous healthcare

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhardwaj, S.; Sain, M.; Lee, H.-J.; Chung, W.Y.; Slezak, D.; et al., xx

    2009-01-01

    Due to recent development in Ubiquitous Healthcare now it’s time to build such application which can work independently and with less interference of Physician. In this paper we are try to build the whole architecture of personal Healthcare information system for ubiquitous healthcare which also

  15. Implications of Ubiquitous Computing for the Social Studies Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hover, Stephanie D.; Berson, Michael J.; Bolick, Cheryl Mason; Swan, Kathleen Owings

    2004-01-01

    In March 2002, members of the National Technology Leadership Initiative (NTLI) met in Charlottesville, Virginia to discuss the potential effects of ubiquitous computing on the field of education. Ubiquitous computing, or "on-demand availability of task-necessary computing power," involves providing every student with a handheld computer--a…

  16. Ambient Learning Displays - Distributed Mixed Reality Information Mash-ups to support Ubiquitous Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Börner, Dirk

    2010-01-01

    Börner, D. (2010, 19-21 March). Ambient Learning Displays Distributed Mixed Reality Information Mash-ups to support Ubiquitous Learning. Presented at the IADIS International Conference Mobile Learning 2010, Porto, Portugal.

  17. Study on the Context-Aware Middleware for Ubiquitous Greenhouses Using Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeonghwang Hwang

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Wireless Sensor Network (WSN technology is one of the important technologies to implement the ubiquitous society, and it could increase productivity of agricultural and livestock products, and secure transparency of distribution channels if such a WSN technology were successfully applied to the agricultural sector. Middleware, which can connect WSN hardware, applications, and enterprise systems, is required to construct ubiquitous agriculture environment combining WSN technology with agricultural sector applications, but there have been insufficient studies in the field of WSN middleware in the agricultural environment, compared to other industries. This paper proposes a context-aware middleware to efficiently process data collected from ubiquitous greenhouses by applying WSN technology and used to implement combined services through organic connectivity of data. The proposed middleware abstracts heterogeneous sensor nodes to integrate different forms of data, and provides intelligent context-aware, event service, and filtering functions to maximize operability and scalability of the middleware. To evaluate the performance of the middleware, an integrated management system for ubiquitous greenhouses was implemented by applying the proposed middleware to an existing greenhouse, and it was tested by measuring the level of load through CPU usage and the response time for users’ requests when the system is working.

  18. An Instrumental Paradigm for Ubiquitous Interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klokmose, Clemens Nylandsted

    2008-01-01

    will require comprehensive experimental user centred development. Originality/Value -- This research offers a new way of thinking interaction, suited for the dynamism of modern computing. Take away message -- Through a strong foundation in activity theory and ecological psychology a new paradigm for ubiquitous...... shortcomings of some of the restrictive assumptions contemporary graphical user interfaces are built upon. Research approach -- Based on activity theory and ecological psychology a conceptual model for ubiquitous interaction is proposed and iteratively challenged and developed through actual implementation....... Findings/Design -- The project will ultimately shed light on how an understanding of interaction form activity theory and ecological psychology maps to an implementation of a new conceptual model for interaction with technology. Research limitations/Implications -- Implementation of an actual system...

  19. Ubiquitous Computing Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bardram, Jakob Eyvind; Friday, Adrian

    2009-01-01

    . While such growth is positive, the newest generation of ubicomp practitioners and researchers, isolated to specific tasks, are in danger of losing their sense of history and the broader perspective that has been so essential to the field’s creativity and brilliance. Under the guidance of John Krumm...... applications Privacy protection in systems that connect personal devices and personal information Moving from the graphical to the ubiquitous computing user interface Techniques that are revolutionizing the way we determine a person’s location and understand other sensor measurements While we needn’t become...

  20. Ubiquitous media for collocated interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morrison, Ann; Jacucci, Giulio; Peltonen, Peter

    2010-01-01

    Has ubiquitous computing entered our lives as anticipated in the early 90s or at the turn of the millennium? In this last decade, the processing of media combined with sensing and communication capabilities has been slowly entering our lives through powerful smartphones, multimodal game consoles,...

  1. Trust models in ubiquitous computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krukow, Karl; Nielsen, Mogens; Sassone, Vladimiro

    2008-10-28

    We recapture some of the arguments for trust-based technologies in ubiquitous computing, followed by a brief survey of some of the models of trust that have been introduced in this respect. Based on this, we argue for the need of more formal and foundational trust models.

  2. The Status of Ubiquitous Computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, David G.; Petitto, Karen R.

    2003-01-01

    Explains the prevalence and rationale of ubiquitous computing on college campuses--teaching with the assumption or expectation that all faculty and students have access to the Internet--and offers lessons learned by pioneering institutions. Lessons learned involve planning, technology, implementation and management, adoption of computer-enhanced…

  3. Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access for Ubiquitous Wireless Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anwar, Asim; Seet, Boon-Chong; Ding, Zhiguo

    2018-02-08

    Ubiquitous wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) have become a critical technology for enabling smart cities and other ubiquitous monitoring applications. Their deployment, however, can be seriously hampered by the spectrum available to the sheer number of sensors for communication. To support the communication needs of UWSNs without requiring more spectrum resources, the power-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technique originally proposed for 5th Generation (5G) cellular networks is investigated for UWSNs for the first time in this paper. However, unlike 5G networks that operate in the licensed spectrum, UWSNs mostly operate in unlicensed spectrum where sensors also experience cross-technology interferences from other devices sharing the same spectrum. In this paper, we model the interferences from various sources at the sensors using stochastic geometry framework. To evaluate the performance, we derive a theorem and present new closed form expression for the outage probability of the sensors in a downlink scenario under interference limited environment. In addition, diversity analysis for the ordered NOMA users is performed. Based on the derived outage probability, we evaluate the average link throughput and energy consumption efficiency of NOMA against conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) technique in UWSNs. Further, the required computational complexity for the NOMA users is presented.

  4. Ubiquitous learning model using interactive internet messenger group (IIMG) to improve engagement and behavior for smart campus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umam, K.; Mardi, S. N. S.; Hariadi, M.

    2017-01-01

    The recent popularity of internet messenger based smartphone technologies has motivated some university lecturers to use them for educational activities. These technologies have enormous potential to enhance the teaching and ubiquitous learning experience for smart campus development. However, the design ubiquitous learning model using interactive internet messenger group (IIMG) and empirical evidence that would favor a broad application of mobile and ubiquitous learning in smart campus settings to improve engagement and behavior is still limited. In addition, the expectation that mobile learning could improve engagement and behavior on smart campus cannot be confirmed because the majority of the reviewed studies followed instructions paradigms. This article aims to present ubiquitous learning model design and showing learners’ experiences in improved engagement and behavior using IIMG for learner-learner and learner-lecturer interactions. The method applied in this paper includes design process and quantitative analysis techniques, with the purpose of identifying scenarios of ubiquitous learning and realize the impressions of learners and lecturers about engagement and behavior aspect, and its contribution to learning.

  5. International Symposium on Ubiquitous Networking

    CERN Document Server

    Medromi, Hicham; Sadik, Mohamed

    2016-01-01

    This volume publishes new trends and findings in hot topics related to ubiquitous computing/networking. It is the outcome of UNet - ainternational scientific event that took place on September 08-10, 2015, in the fascinating city of Casablanca, Morocco. UNet’15 is technically sponsored by IEEE Morocco Section and IEEE COMSOC Morocco Chapter.

  6. A Wireless Sensor Network-Based Ubiquitous Paprika Growth Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Jeonghwan; Shin, Changsun; Yoe, Hyun

    2010-01-01

    Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology can facilitate advances in productivity, safety and human quality of life through its applications in various industries. In particular, the application of WSN technology to the agricultural area, which is labor-intensive compared to other industries, and in addition is typically lacking in IT technology applications, adds value and can increase the agricultural productivity. This study attempts to establish a ubiquitous agricultural environment and improve the productivity of farms that grow paprika by suggesting a ‘Ubiquitous Paprika Greenhouse Management System’ using WSN technology. The proposed system can collect and monitor information related to the growth environment of crops outside and inside paprika greenhouses by installing WSN sensors and monitoring images captured by CCTV cameras. In addition, the system provides a paprika greenhouse environment control facility for manual and automatic control from a distance, improves the convenience and productivity of users, and facilitates an optimized environment to grow paprika based on the growth environment data acquired by operating the system. PMID:22163543

  7. Multimodal and ubiquitous computing systems: supporting independent-living older users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Mark; Dowdall, Alan; Lines, Lorna; Hone, Kate

    2004-09-01

    We document the rationale and design of a multimodal interface to a pervasive/ubiquitous computing system that supports independent living by older people in their own homes. The Millennium Home system involves fitting a resident's home with sensors--these sensors can be used to trigger sequences of interaction with the resident to warn them about dangerous events, or to check if they need external help. We draw lessons from the design process and conclude the paper with implications for the design of multimodal interfaces to ubiquitous systems developed for the elderly and in healthcare, as well as for more general ubiquitous computing applications.

  8. A model for ubiquitous care of noncommunicable diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vianna, Henrique Damasceno; Barbosa, Jorge Luis Victória

    2014-09-01

    The ubiquitous computing, or ubicomp, is a promising technology to help chronic diseases patients managing activities, offering support to them anytime, anywhere. Hence, ubicomp can aid community and health organizations to continuously communicate with patients and to offer useful resources for their self-management activities. Communication is prioritized in works of ubiquitous health for noncommunicable diseases care, but the management of resources is not commonly employed. We propose the UDuctor, a model for ubiquitous care of noncommunicable diseases. UDuctor focuses the resources offering, without losing self-management and communication supports. We implemented a system and applied it in two practical experiments. First, ten chronic patients tried the system and filled out a questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model. After this initial evaluation, an alpha test was done. The system was used daily for one month and a half by a chronic patient. The results were encouraging and show potential for implementing UDuctor in real-life situations.

  9. Navigation studies based on the ubiquitous positioning technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Lei; Mi, Weijie; Wang, Defeng

    2007-11-01

    This paper summarized the nowadays positioning technologies, such as absolute positioning methods and relative positioning methods, indoor positioning and outdoor positioning, active positioning and passive positioning. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies were introduced as the omnipresent out-door positioning technologies, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BD-1/2. After analysis of the shortcomings of GNSS, indoor positioning technologies were discussed and compared, including A-GPS, Cellular network, Infrared, Electromagnetism, Computer Vision Cognition, Embedded Pressure Sensor, Ultrasonic, RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification), Bluetooth, WLAN etc.. Then the concept and characteristics of Ubiquitous Positioning was proposed. After the ubiquitous positioning technologies contrast and selection followed by system engineering methodology, a navigation system model based on Incorporate Indoor-Outdoor Positioning Solution was proposed. And this model was simulated in the Galileo Demonstration for World Expo Shanghai project. In the conclusion, the prospects of ubiquitous positioning based navigation were shown, especially to satisfy the public location information acquiring requirement.

  10. Embedding Moodle into Ubiquitous Computing Environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glahn, Christian; Specht, Marcus

    2010-01-01

    Glahn, C., & Specht, M. (2010). Embedding Moodle into Ubiquitous Computing Environments. In M. Montebello, et al. (Eds.), 9th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning (MLearn2010) (pp. 100-107). October, 19-22, 2010, Valletta, Malta.

  11. Ubiquitous Wireless Sensor Networks and future “Internet of Things""

    OpenAIRE

    Vermesan, Ovidiu

    2009-01-01

    Overview of heterogeneous networks of embedded devices that can range from RFID, to smart identifiable systems with sensing and actuating capabilitie. Presentation of wireless sensor networks protocols and Internet of Things future technology. Bridging the real, virtual and digital worlds by using wireless connectivity. Application examples in automotive, aeronautics, healthcare, building, oil and gas industries. Ubiquitous Wireless Sensor Networks and future “Internet ...

  12. Toward ubiquitous healthcare services with a novel efficient cloud platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Chenguang; Fan, Xiaomao; Li, Ye

    2013-01-01

    Ubiquitous healthcare services are becoming more and more popular, especially under the urgent demand of the global aging issue. Cloud computing owns the pervasive and on-demand service-oriented natures, which can fit the characteristics of healthcare services very well. However, the abilities in dealing with multimodal, heterogeneous, and nonstationary physiological signals to provide persistent personalized services, meanwhile keeping high concurrent online analysis for public, are challenges to the general cloud. In this paper, we proposed a private cloud platform architecture which includes six layers according to the specific requirements. This platform utilizes message queue as a cloud engine, and each layer thereby achieves relative independence by this loosely coupled means of communications with publish/subscribe mechanism. Furthermore, a plug-in algorithm framework is also presented, and massive semistructure or unstructured medical data are accessed adaptively by this cloud architecture. As the testing results showing, this proposed cloud platform, with robust, stable, and efficient features, can satisfy high concurrent requests from ubiquitous healthcare services.

  13. Ubiquitous computing in sports: A review and analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baca, Arnold; Dabnichki, Peter; Heller, Mario; Kornfeind, Philipp

    2009-10-01

    Ubiquitous (pervasive) computing is a term for a synergetic use of sensing, communication and computing. Pervasive use of computing has seen a rapid increase in the current decade. This development has propagated in applied sport science and everyday life. The work presents a survey of recent developments in sport and leisure with emphasis on technology and computational techniques. A detailed analysis on new technological developments is performed. Sensors for position and motion detection, and such for equipment and physiological monitoring are discussed. Aspects of novel trends in communication technologies and data processing are outlined. Computational advancements have started a new trend - development of smart and intelligent systems for a wide range of applications - from model-based posture recognition to context awareness algorithms for nutrition monitoring. Examples particular to coaching and training are discussed. Selected tools for monitoring rules' compliance and automatic decision-making are outlined. Finally, applications in leisure and entertainment are presented, from systems supporting physical activity to systems providing motivation. It is concluded that the emphasis in future will shift from technologies to intelligent systems that allow for enhanced social interaction as efforts need to be made to improve user-friendliness and standardisation of measurement and transmission protocols.

  14. Ubiquitous Computing in Physico-Spatial Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsgård, Peter; Eriksson, Eva

    2007-01-01

    Interaction design of pervasive and ubiquitous computing (UC) systems must take into account physico-spatial issues as technology is implemented into our physical surroundings. In this paper we discuss how one conceptual framework for understanding interaction in context, Activity Theory (AT...

  15. Ubiquitous Computing: The Universal Use of Computers on College Campuses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, David G., Ed.

    This book is a collection of vignettes from 13 universities where everyone on campus has his or her own computer. These 13 institutions have instituted "ubiquitous computing" in very different ways at very different costs. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: The Ubiquitous Computing Movement" (David G. Brown); (2) "Dartmouth College" (Malcolm…

  16. Cluster-based localization and tracking in ubiquitous computing systems

    CERN Document Server

    Martínez-de Dios, José Ramiro; Torres-González, Arturo; Ollero, Anibal

    2017-01-01

    Localization and tracking are key functionalities in ubiquitous computing systems and techniques. In recent years a very high variety of approaches, sensors and techniques for indoor and GPS-denied environments have been developed. This book briefly summarizes the current state of the art in localization and tracking in ubiquitous computing systems focusing on cluster-based schemes. Additionally, existing techniques for measurement integration, node inclusion/exclusion and cluster head selection are also described in this book.

  17. Expressing clinical data sets with openEHR archetypes: a solid basis for ubiquitous computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garde, Sebastian; Hovenga, Evelyn; Buck, Jasmin; Knaup, Petra

    2007-12-01

    The purpose of this paper is to analyse the feasibility and usefulness of expressing clinical data sets (CDSs) as openEHR archetypes. For this, we present an approach to transform CDS into archetypes, and outline typical problems with CDS and analyse whether some of these problems can be overcome by the use of archetypes. Literature review and analysis of a selection of existing Australian, German, other European and international CDSs; transfer of a CDS for Paediatric Oncology into openEHR archetypes; implementation of CDSs in application systems. To explore the feasibility of expressing CDS as archetypes an approach to transform existing CDSs into archetypes is presented in this paper. In case of the Paediatric Oncology CDS (which consists of 260 data items) this lead to the definition of 48 openEHR archetypes. To analyse the usefulness of expressing CDS as archetypes, we identified nine problems with CDS that currently remain unsolved without a common model underpinning the CDS. Typical problems include incompatible basic data types and overlapping and incompatible definitions of clinical content. A solution to most of these problems based on openEHR archetypes is motivated. With regard to integrity constraints, further research is required. While openEHR cannot overcome all barriers to Ubiquitous Computing, it can provide the common basis for ubiquitous presence of meaningful and computer-processable knowledge and information, which we believe is a basic requirement for Ubiquitous Computing. Expressing CDSs as openEHR archetypes is feasible and advantageous as it fosters semantic interoperability, supports ubiquitous computing, and helps to develop archetypes that are arguably of better quality than the original CDS.

  18. Creating ubiquitous intelligent sensing environments (CRUISE)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prasad, Neeli R.; Prasad, Ramjee

    2006-01-01

    The recent developments in the research and the technology have brought attention to the wireless sensor networks as one of the key enabling technologies in the next 10 years. Ubiquitous Intelligent Sensing Environments have promising future in supporting the everyday life of the European citizens...

  19. Ubiquitous health in practice: the interreality paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaggioli, Andrea; Raspelli, Simona; Grassi, Alessandra; Pallavicini, Federica; Cipresso, Pietro; Wiederhold, Brenda K; Riva, Giuseppe

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we introduce a new ubiquitous computing paradigm for behavioral health care: "Interreality". Interreality integrates assessment and treatment within a hybrid environment, that creates a bridge between the physical and virtual worlds. Our claim is that bridging virtual experiences (fully controlled by the therapist, used to learn coping skills and emotional regulation) with real experiences (allowing both the identification of any critical stressors and the assessment of what has been learned) using advanced technologies (virtual worlds, advanced sensors and PDA/mobile phones) may improve existing psychological treatment. To illustrate the proposed concept, a clinical scenario is also presented and discussed: Daniela, a 40 years old teacher, with a mother affected by Alzheimer's disease.

  20. Evaluation of a ubiquitous learning system in a design engineering environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vroom, R.W.; Horvath, I.; Rusak, Z.; De Smit, A.; Opiyo, E.Z.

    2012-01-01

    Ubiquitous computing is computing power that is integrated in devices and environments in such a way that they offer optimal support to human daily life activities. For industrial design engineering students, applying ubiquitous technologies offer a great opportunity and challenge for innovating

  1. A Wireless Sensor Network-Based Ubiquitous Paprika Growth Management System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeonghwan Hwang

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Wireless Sensor Network (WSN technology can facilitate advances in productivity, safety and human quality of life through its applications in various industries. In particular, the application of WSN technology to the agricultural area, which is labor-intensive compared to other industries, and in addition is typically lacking in IT technology applications, adds value and can increase the agricultural productivity. This study attempts to establish a ubiquitous agricultural environment and improve the productivity of farms that grow paprika by suggesting a ‘Ubiquitous Paprika Greenhouse Management System’ using WSN technology. The proposed system can collect and monitor information related to the growth environment of crops outside and inside paprika greenhouses by installing WSN sensors and monitoring images captured by CCTV cameras. In addition, the system provides a paprika greenhouse environment control facility for manual and automatic control from a distance, improves the convenience and productivity of users, and facilitates an optimized environment to grow paprika based on the growth environment data acquired by operating the system.

  2. Design and Implementation of Ubiquitous Health System U-Health Using Smart-Watches Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razavi Termeh, V.; Sadeghi Niaraki, A.

    2015-12-01

    Today as diseases grow rapidly, the responsibilities of the health clinics in giving services to patients increase and patients have to be more monitored and controlled. Remote systems of monitoring patients result in reducing cost, ease of movement, and also persistent control of patients by their doctors, so that patient can be monitored without need to go to the clinic. Recent advances in the field of ubiquitous sciences as well as using smartphones have resulted in increasingly use of this devices in remote monitoring of patients. The aim of this paper is to design and implement a ubiquitous health system using smartphones and sensors of smart-watches. This is accomplished through the information sent to the smartphone from the sensors of the watch, e.g. heart beat measurement sensor and ultraviolet ray. Then, this information is analyzed in the smartphone and some information based on the position of the patient and the path of him/her using GIS analyses as well as the information about the health level of the patient is sent to the doctor via SMS or phone call. Unnatural heart beats can be resulted in diseases such as Heart Failure and Arterial Fibrillation. With the approach adopted in this study, the patient or the doctor could be aware of these diseases at any time. The proposed approach is a low cost, without need to complex and resilient equipment, system in ubiquitous health that does not limit the movement of the patient.

  3. FTRA 4th International Conference on Mobile, Ubiquitous, and Intelligent Computing

    CERN Document Server

    Adeli, Hojjat; Park, Namje; Woungang, Isaac

    2014-01-01

    MUSIC 2013 will be the most comprehensive text focused on the various aspects of Mobile, Ubiquitous and Intelligent computing. MUSIC 2013 provides an opportunity for academic and industry professionals to discuss the latest issues and progress in the area of intelligent technologies in mobile and ubiquitous computing environment. MUSIC 2013 is the next edition of the 3rd International Conference on Mobile, Ubiquitous, and Intelligent Computing (MUSIC-12, Vancouver, Canada, 2012) which was the next event in a series of highly successful International Workshop on Multimedia, Communication and Convergence technologies MCC-11 (Crete, Greece, June 2011), MCC-10 (Cebu, Philippines, August 2010).

  4. The new transparency: police violence in the context of ubiquitous surveillance

    OpenAIRE

    Brucato, Ben

    2015-01-01

    Media and surveillance scholars often comment on the purported empowering quality of transparency, which they expect participatory media to promote. From its Enlightenment origins, transparency is related to accountability and legitimacy: its increase is believed to promote these. It has earned a position as an unassailed, prime normative value in contemporary liberal and social democracies. Though still valued, transparency is undergoing change in an era of ubiquitous surveillance. Publics s...

  5. Ubiquitous monitoring of electrical household appliances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloret, Jaime; Macías, Elsa; Suárez, Alvaro; Lacuesta, Raquel

    2012-11-07

    The number of appliances at home is increasing continuously, mainly because they make our lives easier. Currently, technology is integrated in all objects of our daily life. TCP/IP let us monitor our home in real time and check ubiquitously if something is happening at home. Bearing in mind this idea, we have developed a low-cost system, which can be used in any type of electrical household appliance that takes information from the appliance and posts the information to the Twitter Social network. Several sensors placed in the household appliances gather the sensed data and send them wired or wirelessly, depending on the case, using small and cheap devices to a gateway located in the home. This gateway takes decisions, based on the received data, and sends notifications to Twitter. We have developed a software application that takes the values and decides when to issue an alarm to the registered users (Twitter friends of our smart home). The performance of our system has been measured taking into account the home network (using IEEE 802.3u and IEEE 802.11g) and the data publishing in Twitter. As a result, we have generated an original product and service for any electrical household appliance, regardless of the model and manufacturer, that helps home users improve their quality of life. The paper also shows that there is no system with the same innovative features like the ones presented in this paper.

  6. Ubiquitous Monitoring of Electrical Household Appliances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloret, Jaime; Macías, Elsa; Suárez, Alvaro; Lacuesta, Raquel

    2012-01-01

    The number of appliances at home is increasing continuously, mainly because they make our lives easier. Currently, technology is integrated in all objects of our daily life. TCP/IP let us monitor our home in real time and check ubiquitously if something is happening at home. Bearing in mind this idea, we have developed a low-cost system, which can be used in any type of electrical household appliance that takes information from the appliance and posts the information to the Twitter Social network. Several sensors placed in the household appliances gather the sensed data and send them wired or wirelessly, depending on the case, using small and cheap devices to a gateway located in the home. This gateway takes decisions, based on the received data, and sends notifications to Twitter. We have developed a software application that takes the values and decides when to issue an alarm to the registered users (Twitter friends of our smart home). The performance of our system has been measured taking into account the home network (using IEEE 802.3u and IEEE 802.11g) and the data publishing in Twitter. As a result, we have generated an original product and service for any electrical household appliance, regardless of the model and manufacturer, that helps home users improve their quality of life. The paper also shows that there is no system with the same innovative features like the ones presented in this paper. PMID:23202205

  7. Ubiquitous Robotic Technology for Smart Manufacturing System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wenshan; Zhu, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Liyu; Qiu, Qiang; Cao, Qixin

    2016-01-01

    As the manufacturing tasks become more individualized and more flexible, the machines in smart factory are required to do variable tasks collaboratively without reprogramming. This paper for the first time discusses the similarity between smart manufacturing systems and the ubiquitous robotic systems and makes an effort on deploying ubiquitous robotic technology to the smart factory. Specifically, a component based framework is proposed in order to enable the communication and cooperation of the heterogeneous robotic devices. Further, compared to the service robotic domain, the smart manufacturing systems are often in larger size. So a hierarchical planning method was implemented to improve the planning efficiency. A test bed of smart factory is developed. It demonstrates that the proposed framework is suitable for industrial domain, and the hierarchical planning method is able to solve large problems intractable with flat methods.

  8. I WHATSAPP AN IGUANA: AN ATTEMPT TO APPLY UBIQUITOUS LEARNING

    OpenAIRE

    Dwi Haryanti

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims at presenting how Whatsapp provides alternative method to enhance writing skills on personal letter for senior high school student. This method Whatsapps inspired by the concept called ubiquitous learning (U-Learning), which means ―learning supported by ICT resources held anytime, anywhere and fits the context of the learner‖ (de Sousa Monteiro et al., 2014). Participants were 40 11-th grade students in one class in Cirebon High School. A short story in the form of personal le...

  9. A proposal of an open ubiquitous fuzzy computing system for Ambient Intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Acampora, G.; Loia, V.; Lee, R.S.T.; Lioa, V.

    2007-01-01

    Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is considered as the composition of three emergent technologies: Ubiquitous Computing, Ubiquitous Communication and Intelligent User Interfaces. The aim of integration of aforesaid technologies is to make wider the interaction between human beings and information

  10. Ubiquitous Green Computing Techniques for High Demand Applications in Smart Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose M. Moya

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous sensor network deployments, such as the ones found in Smart cities and Ambient intelligence applications, require constantly increasing high computational demands in order to process data and offer services to users. The nature of these applications imply the usage of data centers. Research has paid much attention to the energy consumption of the sensor nodes in WSNs infrastructures. However, supercomputing facilities are the ones presenting a higher economic and environmental impact due to their very high power consumption. The latter problem, however, has been disregarded in the field of smart environment services. This paper proposes an energy-minimization workload assignment technique, based on heterogeneity and application-awareness, that redistributes low-demand computational tasks from high-performance facilities to idle nodes with low and medium resources in the WSN infrastructure. These non-optimal allocation policies reduce the energy consumed by the whole infrastructure and the total execution time.

  11. Ubiquitous green computing techniques for high demand applications in Smart environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapater, Marina; Sanchez, Cesar; Ayala, Jose L; Moya, Jose M; Risco-Martín, José L

    2012-01-01

    Ubiquitous sensor network deployments, such as the ones found in Smart cities and Ambient intelligence applications, require constantly increasing high computational demands in order to process data and offer services to users. The nature of these applications imply the usage of data centers. Research has paid much attention to the energy consumption of the sensor nodes in WSNs infrastructures. However, supercomputing facilities are the ones presenting a higher economic and environmental impact due to their very high power consumption. The latter problem, however, has been disregarded in the field of smart environment services. This paper proposes an energy-minimization workload assignment technique, based on heterogeneity and application-awareness, that redistributes low-demand computational tasks from high-performance facilities to idle nodes with low and medium resources in the WSN infrastructure. These non-optimal allocation policies reduce the energy consumed by the whole infrastructure and the total execution time.

  12. Developing Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform Using Internet of Things: Application in Precision Agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Javier Ferrández-Pastor

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The application of Information Technologies into Precision Agriculture methods has clear benefits. Precision Agriculture optimises production efficiency, increases quality, minimises environmental impact and reduces the use of resources (energy, water; however, there are different barriers that have delayed its wide development. Some of these main barriers are expensive equipment, the difficulty to operate and maintain and the standard for sensor networks are still under development. Nowadays, new technological development in embedded devices (hardware and communication protocols, the evolution of Internet technologies (Internet of Things and ubiquitous computing (Ubiquitous Sensor Networks allow developing less expensive systems, easier to control, install and maintain, using standard protocols with low-power consumption. This work develops and test a low-cost sensor/actuator network platform, based in Internet of Things, integrating machine-to-machine and human-machine-interface protocols. Edge computing uses this multi-protocol approach to develop control processes on Precision Agriculture scenarios. A greenhouse with hydroponic crop production was developed and tested using Ubiquitous Sensor Network monitoring and edge control on Internet of Things paradigm. The experimental results showed that the Internet technologies and Smart Object Communication Patterns can be combined to encourage development of Precision Agriculture. They demonstrated added benefits (cost, energy, smart developing, acceptance by agricultural specialists when a project is launched.

  13. Developing Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform Using Internet of Things: Application in Precision Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrández-Pastor, Francisco Javier; García-Chamizo, Juan Manuel; Nieto-Hidalgo, Mario; Mora-Pascual, Jerónimo; Mora-Martínez, José

    2016-07-22

    The application of Information Technologies into Precision Agriculture methods has clear benefits. Precision Agriculture optimises production efficiency, increases quality, minimises environmental impact and reduces the use of resources (energy, water); however, there are different barriers that have delayed its wide development. Some of these main barriers are expensive equipment, the difficulty to operate and maintain and the standard for sensor networks are still under development. Nowadays, new technological development in embedded devices (hardware and communication protocols), the evolution of Internet technologies (Internet of Things) and ubiquitous computing (Ubiquitous Sensor Networks) allow developing less expensive systems, easier to control, install and maintain, using standard protocols with low-power consumption. This work develops and test a low-cost sensor/actuator network platform, based in Internet of Things, integrating machine-to-machine and human-machine-interface protocols. Edge computing uses this multi-protocol approach to develop control processes on Precision Agriculture scenarios. A greenhouse with hydroponic crop production was developed and tested using Ubiquitous Sensor Network monitoring and edge control on Internet of Things paradigm. The experimental results showed that the Internet technologies and Smart Object Communication Patterns can be combined to encourage development of Precision Agriculture. They demonstrated added benefits (cost, energy, smart developing, acceptance by agricultural specialists) when a project is launched.

  14. Designing for Privacy in Ubiquitous Social Networking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sapuppo, Antonio; Figueiras, Joao

    2015-01-01

    Improving human communication during face–to–face meetings is nowadays possible by transferring online social networking benefits to the physical world. This is enabled by the ubiquitous social networking services that became available by means of wirelessly interconnected smart devices...

  15. Some guidelines for the ethical development of ubiquitous computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenfield, Adam

    2008-10-28

    At a time when both the landscape of everyday life and the choices available to us there are increasingly conditioned by ubiquitous information processing systems, it seems wise to articulate some general principles guiding their ethical design and deployment. I here enunciate five broad guidelines for the designers of such systems, including recommendations that they be devised in such a way as to default to harmlessness, be conservative of time, be conservative of face, be self-disclosing and be deniable. I conclude with some observations about the likelihood of any such principles winning usefully widespread voluntary adherence.

  16. Alexithymia in anorexia and bulimia: Ubiquitous and primary trait?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Amianto

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Alexithymia is associated to Eating Disorders (ED and relevant for their prognosis but it is uncertain if it is ubiquitous, primary and necessary for ED outburst. Methods: 124 ED outpatients and 80 healthy controls were compared with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, personality and psychopathology measures. Alexithymia and the other features are compared between anorexia nervosa (AN, bulimia nervosa (BN and control groups. Alexithymia-based clusters were explored and compared with controls. Alexithymia traits are correlated with the other features. Results: Difficulty in identifying feelings was ubiquitous in ED subjects. A Non-Alexithymic Cluster (NAC and an Alexithymic Cluster (ALC were found with no difference in AN/BN distribution. ALC displays disordered personality and high psychopathology. Self-directiveness and interoceptive awareness were independently related to alexithymia and to depressive feelings. These two features along with depressive features completely accounted for alexithymia variance. Conclusion: even though the difficulty in identifying feelings is ubiquitous in ED subjects, Alexithymia may not represent a primary trait but a complex dysfunction consequent to co-occurring character immaturity, altered interoceptive awareness, and depressive traits.

  17. 11th International Conference on Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering & 12th International Conference on Future Information Technology

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Shu-Ching; Choo, Kim-Kwang

    2017-01-01

    This book presents the proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering (MUE2017) and the 12th International Conference on Future Information Technology (FutureTech2017), held in Seoul, South Korea on May 22–24, 2017. These two conferences provided an opportunity for academic and industrial professionals to discuss recent advances in the area of multimedia and ubiquitous environments including models and systems, new directions, and novel applications associated with the utilization and acceptance of ubiquitous computing devices and systems. The resulting papers address the latest technological innovations in the fields of digital convergence, multimedia convergence, intelligent applications, embedded systems, mobile and wireless communications, bio-inspired computing, grid and cloud computing, semantic web, user experience, HCI, and security and trust computing. The book offers a valuable resource for a broad readership, including students, academic researchers, and...

  18. A single gene (Eu4) encodes the tissue-ubiquitous urease of soybean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torisky, R S; Griffin, J D; Yenofsky, R L; Polacco, J C

    1994-02-01

    We sought to determine the genetic basis of expression of the ubiquitous (metabolic) urease of soybean. This isozyme is termed the metabolic urease because its loss, in eu4/eu4 mutants, leads to accumulation of urea, whereas loss of the embryo-specific urease isozyme does not. The eu4 lesion eliminated the expression of the ubiquitous urease in vegetative and embryonic tissues. RFLP analysis placed urease clone LC4 near, or within, the Eu4 locus. Sequence comparison of urease proteins (ubiquitous and embryo-specific) and clones (LC4 and LS1) indicated that LC4 and LS1 encode ubiquitous and embryo-specific ureases, respectively. That LC4 is transcribed into poly(A)+ RNA in all tissues was indicated by the amplification of its transcript by an LC4-specific PCR primer. (The LS1-specific primer, on the other hand, amplified poly(A)+ RNA only from developing embryos expressing the embryo-specific urease.) These observations are consistent with Eu4 being the ubiquitous urease structural gene contained in the LC4 clone. In agreement with this notion, the mutant phenotype of eu4/eu4 callus was partially corrected by the LC4 urease gene introduced by particle bombardment.

  19. Ubiquitous health monitoring and real-time cardiac arrhythmias detection: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jian; Zhou, Haiying; Zuo, Decheng; Hou, Kun-Mean; De Vaulx, Christophe

    2014-01-01

    As the symptoms and signs of heart diseases that cause sudden cardiac death, cardiac arrhythmia has attracted great attention. Due to limitations in time and space, traditional approaches to cardiac arrhythmias detection fail to provide a real-time continuous monitoring and testing service applicable in different environmental conditions. Integrated with the latest technologies in ECG (electrocardiograph) analysis and medical care, the pervasive computing technology makes possible the ubiquitous cardiac care services, and thus brings about new technical challenges, especially in the formation of cardiac care architecture and realization of the real-time automatic ECG detection algorithm dedicated to care devices. In this paper, a ubiquitous cardiac care prototype system is presented with its architecture framework well elaborated. This prototype system has been tested and evaluated in all the clinical-/home-/outdoor-care modes with a satisfactory performance in providing real-time continuous cardiac arrhythmias monitoring service unlimitedly adaptable in time and space.

  20. Commentary: Ubiquitous Computing Revisited--A New Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, Glen; Garofalo, Joe

    2006-01-01

    In 2002, representatives from the teacher educator associations representing the core content areas (science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies) and educational technology met at the National Technology Leadership Retreat (NTLR) to discuss potential implications of ubiquitous computing for K-12 schools. This paper re-examines some of…

  1. Towards ubiquitous access of computer-assisted surgery systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hui; Lufei, Hanping; Shi, Weishong; Chaudhary, Vipin

    2006-01-01

    Traditional stand-alone computer-assisted surgery (CAS) systems impede the ubiquitous and simultaneous access by multiple users. With advances in computing and networking technologies, ubiquitous access to CAS systems becomes possible and promising. Based on our preliminary work, CASMIL, a stand-alone CAS server developed at Wayne State University, we propose a novel mobile CAS system, UbiCAS, which allows surgeons to retrieve, review and interpret multimodal medical images, and to perform some critical neurosurgical procedures on heterogeneous devices from anywhere at anytime. Furthermore, various optimization techniques, including caching, prefetching, pseudo-streaming-model, and compression, are used to guarantee the QoS of the UbiCAS system. UbiCAS enables doctors at remote locations to actively participate remote surgeries, share patient information in real time before, during, and after the surgery.

  2. From Many-to-One to One-to-Many: The Evolution of Ubiquitous Computing in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wenli; Lim, Carolyn; Tan, Ashley

    2011-01-01

    Personal, Internet-connected technologies are becoming ubiquitous in the lives of students, and ubiquitous computing initiatives are already expanding in educational contexts. Historically in the field of education, the terms one-to-one (1:1) computing and ubiquitous computing have been interpreted in a number of ways and have at times been used…

  3. Networked Biomedical System for Ubiquitous Health Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arjan Durresi

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a distributed system that enables global and ubiquitous health monitoring of patients. The biomedical data will be collected by wearable health diagnostic devices, which will include various types of sensors and will be transmitted towards the corresponding Health Monitoring Centers. The permanent medical data of patients will be kept in the corresponding Home Data Bases, while the measured biomedical data will be sent to the Visitor Health Monitor Center and Visitor Data Base that serves the area of present location of the patient. By combining the measured biomedical data and the permanent medical data, Health Medical Centers will be able to coordinate the needed actions and help the local medical teams to make quickly the best decisions that could be crucial for the patient health, and that can reduce the cost of health service.

  4. Clinical decision support systems in hospital care using ubiquitous devices: Current issues and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baig, Mirza Mansoor; GholamHosseini, Hamid; Moqeem, Aasia A; Mirza, Farhaan; Lindén, Maria

    2017-11-01

    Supporting clinicians in decision making using advanced technologies has been an active research area in biomedical engineering during the past years. Among a wide range of ubiquitous systems, smartphone applications have been increasingly developed in healthcare settings to help clinicians as well as patients. Today, many smartphone applications, from basic data analysis to advanced patient monitoring, are available to clinicians and patients. Such applications are now increasingly integrating into healthcare for clinical decision support, and therefore, concerns around accuracy, stability, and dependency of these applications are rising. In addition, lack of attention to the clinicians' acceptability, as well as the low impact on the medical professionals' decision making, are posing more serious issues on the acceptability of smartphone applications. This article reviews smartphone-based decision support applications, focusing on hospital care settings and their overall impact of these applications on the wider clinical workflow. Additionally, key challenges and barriers of the current ubiquitous device-based healthcare applications are identified. Finally, this article addresses current challenges, future directions, and the adoption of mobile healthcare applications.

  5. Ambient Learning Displays - Distributed Mixed Reality Information Mash-ups to support Ubiquitous Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Börner, Dirk

    2012-01-01

    Börner, D. (2012). Ambient Learning Displays - Distributed Mixed Reality Information Mash-ups to support Ubiquitous Learning. 2012 IEEE Seventh International Conference on Wireless, Mobile and Ubiquitous Technology in Education (pp. 337-338). March, 27-30, 2012, Takamatsu, Japan: IEEE Computer

  6. Visibility and accessbility of a component-based approach for ubiquitous computing applications : the e-gadgets case

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mavrommati, I.; Kameas, A.; Markopoulos, P.

    2003-01-01

    The paper firstly presents the concepts and infrastructure developed within the extrovert-Gadgets research project, which enable end-users to realize Ubiquitous Computing applications. Then, it discusses user-acceptance considerations of the proposed concepts based on the outcome of an early

  7. mORCA: ubiquitous access to life science web services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz-Del-Pino, Sergio; Trelles, Oswaldo; Falgueras, Juan

    2018-01-16

    Technical advances in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have produced an extraordinary increase in their use around the world and have become part of our daily lives. The possibility of carrying these devices in a pocket, particularly mobile phones, has enabled ubiquitous access to Internet resources. Furthermore, in the life sciences world there has been a vast proliferation of data types and services that finish as Web Services. This suggests the need for research into mobile clients to deal with life sciences applications for effective usage and exploitation. Analysing the current features in existing bioinformatics applications managing Web Services, we have devised, implemented, and deployed an easy-to-use web-based lightweight mobile client. This client is able to browse, select, compose parameters, invoke, and monitor the execution of Web Services stored in catalogues or central repositories. The client is also able to deal with huge amounts of data between external storage mounts. In addition, we also present a validation use case, which illustrates the usage of the application while executing, monitoring, and exploring the results of a registered workflow. The software its available in the Apple Store and Android Market and the source code is publicly available in Github. Mobile devices are becoming increasingly important in the scientific world due to their strong potential impact on scientific applications. Bioinformatics should not fall behind this trend. We present an original software client that deals with the intrinsic limitations of such devices and propose different guidelines to provide location-independent access to computational resources in bioinformatics and biomedicine. Its modular design makes it easily expandable with the inclusion of new repositories, tools, types of visualization, etc.

  8. Ubiquitous Monitoring of Electrical Household Appliances 

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Lacuesta

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The number of appliances at home is increasing continuously, mainly because they make our lives easier. Currently, technology is integrated in all objects of our daily life. TCP/IP let us monitor our home in real time and check ubiquitously if something is happening at home. Bearing in mind this idea, we have developed a low-cost system, which can be used in any type of electrical household appliance that takes information from the appliance and posts the information to the Twitter Social network. Several sensors placed in the household appliances gather the sensed data and send them wired or wirelessly, depending on the case, using small and cheap devices to a gateway located in the home. This gateway takes decisions, based on the received data, and sends notifications to Twitter. We have developed a software application that takes the values and decides when to issue an alarm to the registered users (Twitter friends of our smart home. The performance of our system has been measured taking into account the home network (using IEEE 802.3u and IEEE 802.11g and the data publishing in Twitter. As a result, we have generated an original product and service for any electrical household appliance, regardless of the model and manufacturer, that helps home users improve their quality of life. The paper also shows that there is no system with the same innovative features like the ones presented in this paper.

  9. Refining the ethics of computer-made decisions : A classification of moral mediation by ubiquitous machines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Voort, M.; Pieters, W.; Consoli, L.

    2015-01-01

    In the past decades, computers have become more and more involved in society by the rise of ubiquitous systems, increasing the number of interactions between humans and IT systems. At the same time, the technology itself is getting more complex, enabling devices to act in a way that previously only

  10. Ubiquitous Computing--Are We Crazy? Point/Counterpoint

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWitt, Scott W.; Horn, Patricia S.

    2005-01-01

    The push for ubiquitous computing (UC) relies on an understandable and well-intentioned belief that teaching and schooling need to be transformed. This view appears credible based on large-scale criteria, such as test scores relative to other countries, drop-out rates, and economic changes. And the use of technology to achieve this goal is…

  11. Semantic Brokering of Multimedia Contents for Smart Delivery of Ubiquitous Services in Pervasive Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alba Amato

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available With the proliferation of modern mobile devices having the capability to interact each other and with the environment in a transparent manner, there is an increase in the development of those applications that are specifically designed for pervasive and ubiquitous environments. Those applications are able to provide a service of interest for the user that depends on context information, such as the user's position, his preferences, the capability of the device and its available resources. Services have to respond in a rational way in manydifferent situations choosing the actions with the best expected result by the user, so making environment not only more connected and efficient, but smarter. Here we present a semantic framework that provides the technology for the development of intelligent, context aware service.

  12. Integrated Environment for Ubiquitous Healthcare and Mobile IPv6 Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cagalaban, Giovanni; Kim, Seoksoo

    The development of Internet technologies based on the IPv6 protocol will allow real-time monitoring of people with health deficiencies and improve the independence of elderly people. This paper proposed a ubiquitous healthcare system for the personalized healthcare services with the support of mobile IPv6 networks. Specifically, this paper discusses the integration of ubiquitous healthcare and wireless networks and its functional requirements. This allow an integrated environment where heterogeneous devices such a mobile devices and body sensors can continuously monitor patient status and communicate remotely with healthcare servers, physicians, and family members to effectively deliver healthcare services.

  13. Network architecture test-beds as platforms for ubiquitous computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roscoe, Timothy

    2008-10-28

    Distributed systems research, and in particular ubiquitous computing, has traditionally assumed the Internet as a basic underlying communications substrate. Recently, however, the networking research community has come to question the fundamental design or 'architecture' of the Internet. This has been led by two observations: first, that the Internet as it stands is now almost impossible to evolve to support new functionality; and second, that modern applications of all kinds now use the Internet rather differently, and frequently implement their own 'overlay' networks above it to work around its perceived deficiencies. In this paper, I discuss recent academic projects to allow disruptive change to the Internet architecture, and also outline a radically different view of networking for ubiquitous computing that such proposals might facilitate.

  14. DMP: Detouring Using Multiple Paths against Jamming Attack for Ubiquitous Networking System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihui Kim

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available To successfully realize the ubiquitous network environment including home automation or industrial control systems, it is important to be able to resist a jamming attack. This has recently been considered as an extremely threatening attack because it can collapse the entire network, despite the existence of basic security protocols such as encryption and authentication. In this paper, we present a method of jamming attack tolerant routing using multiple paths based on zones. The proposed scheme divides the network into zones, and manages the candidate forward nodes of neighbor zones. After detecting an attack, detour nodes decide zones for rerouting, and detour packets destined for victim nodes through forward nodes in the decided zones. Simulation results show that our scheme increases the PDR (Packet Delivery Ratio and decreases the delay significantly in comparison with rerouting by a general routing protocol on sensor networks, AODV (Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector, and a conventional JAM (Jammed Area Mapping service with one reroute.

  15. DMP: detouring using multiple paths against jamming attack for ubiquitous networking system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Mihui; Chae, Kijoon

    2010-01-01

    To successfully realize the ubiquitous network environment including home automation or industrial control systems, it is important to be able to resist a jamming attack. This has recently been considered as an extremely threatening attack because it can collapse the entire network, despite the existence of basic security protocols such as encryption and authentication. In this paper, we present a method of jamming attack tolerant routing using multiple paths based on zones. The proposed scheme divides the network into zones, and manages the candidate forward nodes of neighbor zones. After detecting an attack, detour nodes decide zones for rerouting, and detour packets destined for victim nodes through forward nodes in the decided zones. Simulation results show that our scheme increases the PDR (Packet Delivery Ratio) and decreases the delay significantly in comparison with rerouting by a general routing protocol on sensor networks, AODV (Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector), and a conventional JAM (Jammed Area Mapping) service with one reroute.

  16. Ubiquitous computing technology for just-in-time motivation of behavior change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Intille, Stephen S

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes a vision of health care where "just-in-time" user interfaces are used to transform people from passive to active consumers of health care. Systems that use computational pattern recognition to detect points of decision, behavior, or consequences automatically can present motivational messages to encourage healthy behavior at just the right time. Further, new ubiquitous computing and mobile computing devices permit information to be conveyed to users at just the right place. In combination, computer systems that present messages at the right time and place can be developed to motivate physical activity and healthy eating. Computational sensing technologies can also be used to measure the impact of the motivational technology on behavior.

  17. Ubiquitous and Seamless Localization: Fusing GNSS Pseudoranges and WLAN Signal Strengths

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philipp Richter

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous global positioning is not feasible by GNSS alone, as it lacks accurate position fixes in dense urban centres and indoors. Hybrid positioning methods have been developed to aid GNSS in those environments. Fingerprinting localization in wireless local area networks (WLANs is a promising aiding system because of its availability, accuracy, and error mechanisms opposed to that of GNSS. This article presents a low-cost approach to ubiquitous, seamless positioning based on a particle filter integrating GNSS pseudoranges and WLAN received signal strength indicators (RSSIs. To achieve accurate location estimates indoors/outdoors and in the transition zones, appropriate likelihood functions are essential as they determine the influence of each sensor information on the position estimate. We model the spatial RSSI distributions with Gaussian processes and use these models to predict RSSIs at the particle’s positions to obtain point estimates of the RSSI likelihood function. The particle filter’s performance is assessed with real data of two test trajectories in an environment challenging for GNSS and WLAN fingerprinting localization. Outcomes of an extended Kalman filter using pseudoranges and a WLAN position as observation is included as benchmark. The proposed algorithm achieves accurate and robust seamless localization with a median accuracy of five meters.

  18. Ubiquitous Learning Ecologies for a Critical Cyber-Citizenship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díez-Gutiérrez, Enrique; Díaz-Nafría, José-María

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this research is to identify and analyse the ubiquitous learning acquired through blending education settings devoted to the "lifelong training of trainers" and how these contribute to the development of a conscious, critic and engaged citizenship. Through active exploration of the learning process, the study analyses the…

  19. The Influential Factors for the Variation of Data Sensitivity in Ubiquitous Social Networking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sapuppo, Antonio

    2013-01-01

    Ubiquitous social networking services offer new opportunities for developing advantageous relationships by uncovering hidden connections that people share with others nearby. As sharing of personal information is an intrinsic part of ubiquitous social networking, these services are subject......, mood, location familiarity, number of previous encounters and mutual friends, were also discovered to influence participants' data disclosure, but as factors of secondary importance....

  20. Automatic, Global and Dynamic Student Modeling in a Ubiquitous Learning Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Graf

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous learning allows students to learn at any time and any place. Adaptivity plays an important role in ubiquitous learning, aiming at providing students with adaptive and personalized learning material, activities, and information at the right place and the right time. However, for providing rich adaptivity, the student model needs to be able to gather a variety of information about the students. In this paper, an automatic, global, and dynamic student modeling approach is introduced, which aims at identifying and frequently updating information about students’ progress, learning styles, interests and knowledge level, problem solving abilities, preferences for using the system, social connectivity, and current location. This information is gathered in an automatic way, using students’ behavior and actions in different learning situations provided by different components/services of the ubiquitous learning environment. By providing a comprehensive student model, students can be supported by rich adaptivity in every component/service of the learning environment. Furthermore, the information in the student model can help in giving teachers a better understanding about the students’ learning process.

  1. Ubiquitous geospatial concept in evolution of the macro and micro spatial planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabri, S; Ludin, A N M; Majid, M R

    2014-01-01

    There are many examples of GIS application in planning such as urban land-use planning, cultural heritage conservation, coastal zone management, and the design of structure plans for sustainable economic development. All these applications are dealing with systems in which natural and human factors are interconnected. But an issue that should be addressed is to what extent the current information technology is able to connect all these parts together? Contemporary improvement in information technology made the computer so imbedded in our everyday practices that we use it without having to think about it. Thus, computing is becoming truly ubiquitous and is available anywhere anytime. Advances in the internet facilities and devices, such as high speed wireless networks, mobile middleware, and smart technologies, has pushed the concept of ubiquitous computing to the forefront of GIS research and development. There are developments in this regards, these are such as GeoWeb 2.0, voluntarily geographic Information (VGI), and Mashups, whereby the application of cloud computing was possible in visualizing urban air pollution and emergency responses to ensure the safety and security. These advancements therefore, have changed the conventional facet of macro and micro spatial planning. Every possible information system such as residential, medical, business, environmental, governmental, and the like can be linked through ubiquitous computing technologies and acts as a virtually one system which works for society. However, the journey to achieve a true ubiquitous GIS is not without challenges. Despite the current potentials there are many issues and obstacles need to be addressed before GIS can to be truly ubiquitous in planning context. Perhaps four criteria as explained by Goodchild et al (1997) can be applied to ubiquitous GIS in planning very well: the system must be distributed (data storage, processing and user interaction can occur at locations that are potentially

  2. Ubiquitous geospatial concept in evolution of the macro and micro spatial planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabri, S.; Ludin, A. N. M.; Majid, M. R.

    2014-02-01

    There are many examples of GIS application in planning such as urban land-use planning, cultural heritage conservation, coastal zone management, and the design of structure plans for sustainable economic development. All these applications are dealing with systems in which natural and human factors are interconnected. But an issue that should be addressed is to what extent the current information technology is able to connect all these parts together? Contemporary improvement in information technology made the computer so imbedded in our everyday practices that we use it without having to think about it. Thus, computing is becoming truly ubiquitous and is available anywhere anytime. Advances in the internet facilities and devices, such as high speed wireless networks, mobile middleware, and smart technologies, has pushed the concept of ubiquitous computing to the forefront of GIS research and development. There are developments in this regards, these are such as GeoWeb 2.0, voluntarily geographic Information (VGI), and Mashups, whereby the application of cloud computing was possible in visualizing urban air pollution and emergency responses to ensure the safety and security. These advancements therefore, have changed the conventional facet of macro and micro spatial planning. Every possible information system such as residential, medical, business, environmental, governmental, and the like can be linked through ubiquitous computing technologies and acts as a virtually one system which works for society. However, the journey to achieve a true ubiquitous GIS is not without challenges. Despite the current potentials there are many issues and obstacles need to be addressed before GIS can to be truly ubiquitous in planning context. Perhaps four criteria as explained by Goodchild et al (1997) can be applied to ubiquitous GIS in planning very well: the system must be distributed (data storage, processing and user interaction can occur at locations that are potentially

  3. An Expert System-based Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning Approach for Conducting Science Learning Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Po-Han; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Tsai, Wen-Hung

    2013-01-01

    Context-aware ubiquitous learning has been recognized as being a promising approach that enables students to interact with real-world learning targets with supports from the digital world. Several researchers have indicated the importance of providing learning guidance or hints to individual students during the context-aware ubiquitous learning…

  4. Awareness for Contextualized Digital Contents in Ubiquitous Learning Environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Börner, Dirk; Specht, Marcus

    2010-01-01

    Börner, D., & Specht, M. (2009). Awareness for Contextualized Digital Contents in Ubiquitous Learning Environments. Proceedings of the Doctoral Consortium of the Fourth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL 2009). September, 29-October, 2, 2009, Nice, France. [unpublished

  5. Ubiquitous Computing Services Discovery and Execution Using a Novel Intelligent Web Services Algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Okkyung; Han, SangYong

    2007-01-01

    Ubiquitous Computing makes it possible to determine in real time the location and situations of service requesters in a web service environment as it enables access to computers at any time and in any place. Though research on various aspects of ubiquitous commerce is progressing at enterprises and research centers, both domestically and overseas, analysis of a customer's personal preferences based on semantic web and rule based services using semantics is not currently being conducted. This paper proposes a Ubiquitous Computing Services System that enables a rule based search as well as semantics based search to support the fact that the electronic space and the physical space can be combined into one and the real time search for web services and the construction of efficient web services thus become possible.

  6. Dynamic Service Discovery and Composition for Ubiquitous Networks Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bonino da Silva Santos, L.O.; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Ferreira Pires, Luis

    2006-01-01

    The realization of ubiquitous networks brings new challenges to application development. In this kind of network, services and, more specifically web services, have been used to provide the functionality required by its users and applications. In such environments features like automatic service

  7. Student Assessment in the Ubiquitously Connected World

    OpenAIRE

    Adams, A. A.

    2017-01-01

    Student cheating on university assessments from entrance exams to finals and from contract cheating on coursework to requesting exam answers using a mobile phone during the exam, has received more and more attention of late. As connection to the Internet becomes ubiquitous and computing and communications technology more embedded in our environment, it is argued that a re-focussing on providing educational opportunities is needed in higher education, rather than chasing the ever-retreating p...

  8. A ubiquitous reflective e-portfolio architecture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forte, Marcos; de Souza, Wanderley L; da Silva, Roseli F; do Prado, Antonio F; Rodrigues, Jose F

    2013-11-01

    In nurse and in medicine courses, the use of reflective portfolios as a pedagogical tool is becoming a common practice; in the last years, this practice has gradually migrated from paper-based to electronic-based portfolios. Current approaches for reflective e-portfolios, however, do not widely operate at outdoor sites, where data networks are limited or nonexistent. Considering that many of the activities related to nurse and medicine courses relate to professional practices conducted in such conditions, these network shortcomings restrict the adoption of e-portfolios. The present study describes the requirements specification, design, implementation, and evaluation of the Ubiquitous Reflective E-Portfolio Architecture, a solution proposed to support the development of systems based on mobile and wired access for both online and offline operation. We have implemented a prototype named Professional Practice Module to evaluate the Ubiquitous Reflective E-Portfolio Architecture; the module was based on requirements observed during the professional practice, the paper-based portfolio in use, and related learning meetings in the Medicine Course of a Brazilian University. The evaluation of the system was carried out with a learning group of 2nd year students of the medicine course, who answered to extensive evaluation questionnaires. The prototype proved to be operational in the activities of the professional practice of the Medicine Course object of the study, including homework tasks, patient care, data sharing, and learning meetings. It also demonstrated to be versatile with respect to the availability of the computer network that, many times, was not accessible. Moreover, the students considered the module useful and easy to use, but pointed out difficulties about the keyboard and the display sizes of the netbook devices, and about their operational system. Lastly, most of the students declared preference for the electronic Professional Practice Module in internal

  9. A pervasive health monitoring service system based on ubiquitous network technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chung-Chih; Lee, Ren-Guey; Hsiao, Chun-Chieh

    2008-07-01

    The phenomenon of aging society has derived problems such as shortage of medical resources and reduction of quality in healthcare services. This paper presents a system infrastructure for pervasive and long-term healthcare applications, i.e. a ubiquitous network composed of wireless local area network (WLAN) and cable television (CATV) network serving as a platform for monitoring physiological signals. Users can record vital signs including heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature anytime either at home or at frequently visited public places in order to create a personal health file. The whole system was formally implemented in December 2004. Analysis of 2000 questionnaires indicates that 85% of users were satisfied with the provided community-wide healthcare services. Among the services provided by our system, health consultation services offered by family doctors was rated the most important service by 17.9% of respondents, and was followed by control of one's own health condition (16.4% of respondents). Convenience of data access was rated most important by roughly 14.3% of respondents. We proposed and implemented a long-term healthcare system integrating WLAN and CATV networks in the form of a ubiquitous network providing a service platform for physiological monitoring. This system can classify the health levels of the resident according to the variation tendency of his or her physiological signal for important reference of health management.

  10. Smart Geographic object: Toward a new understanding of GIS Technology in Ubiquitous Computing

    OpenAIRE

    Zakaria, Sakyoud; Rey, Gaëtan; Mohamed, Eladnani; Lavirotte, Stéphane; Abdelaziz, El Fazziki; Tigli, Jean-Yves

    2015-01-01

    International audience; One of the fundamental aspects of ubiquitous computing is the instrumentation of the real world by smart devices. This instrumentation constitutes an opportunity to rethink the interactions between human beings and their environment on the one hand, and between the components of this environment on the other. In this paper we discuss what this understanding of ubiquitous computing can bring to geographic science and particularly to GIS technology. Our main idea is the ...

  11. A concept for ubiquitous robotics in industrial environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sallinen, Mikko; Heilala, Juhani; Kivikunnas, Sauli

    2007-09-01

    In this paper a concept for industrial ubiquitous robotics is presented. The concept combines two different approaches to manage agile, adaptable production: firstly the human operator is strongly in the production loop and secondly, the robot workcell will be more autonomous and smarter to manage production. This kind of autonomous robot cell can be called production island. Communication to the human operator working in this kind of smart industrial environment can be divided into two levels: body area communication and operator-infrastructure communication including devices, machines and infra. Body area communication can be supportive in two directions: data is recorded by means of measuring physical actions, such as hand movements, body gestures or supportive when it will provide information to user such as guides or manuals for operation. Body area communication can be carried out using short range communication technologies such as NFC (Near Field communication) which is RFID type of communication. In the operator-infrastructure communication, WLAN or Bluetooth -communication can be used. Beyond the current Human Machine interaction HMI systems, the presented system concept is designed to fulfill the requirements for hybrid, knowledge intensive manufacturing in the future, where humans and robots operate in close co-operation.

  12. Design requirements for ubiquitous computing environments for healthcare professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bång, Magnus; Larsson, Anders; Eriksson, Henrik

    2004-01-01

    Ubiquitous computing environments can support clinical administrative routines in new ways. The aim of such computing approaches is to enhance routine physical work, thus it is important to identify specific design requirements. We studied healthcare professionals in an emergency room and developed the computer-augmented environment NOSTOS to support teamwork in that setting. NOSTOS uses digital pens and paper-based media as the primary input interface for data capture and as a means of controlling the system. NOSTOS also includes a digital desk, walk-up displays, and sensor technology that allow the system to track documents and activities in the workplace. We propose a set of requirements and discuss the value of tangible user interfaces for healthcare personnel. Our results suggest that the key requirements are flexibility in terms of system usage and seamless integration between digital and physical components. We also discuss how ubiquitous computing approaches like NOSTOS can be beneficial in the medical workplace.

  13. 8th International Conference on Computer Science and its Applications (CSA-16) and the 11st International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Technologies and Applications (CUTE 2016)

    CERN Document Server

    Pan, Yi; Yi, Gangman; Loia, Vincenzo

    2017-01-01

    This book presents the combined proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computer Science and its Applications (CSA-16) and the 11st International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Technologies and Applications (CUTE 2016), both held in Bangkok, Thailand, December 19 - 21, 2016. The aim of these two meetings was to promote discussion and interaction among academics, researchers and professionals in the field of ubiquitous computing technologies. These proceedings reflect the state-of-the-art in the development of computational methods, involving theory, algorithm, numerical simulation, error and uncertainty analysis and novel application of new processing techniques in engineering, science, and other disciplines related to ubiquitous computing.

  14. Reference model of future ubiquitous convergent network and context-aware telecommunication service platform

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    QIAO Xiu-quan; LI Xiao-feng; LIANG Shou-qing

    2006-01-01

    A reference model for future ubiquitous convergent network is analyzed. To provide user-centric, intelligent,personalized service, this article presents a context-aware telecommunication service platform (CaTSP) to adapt to dynamically changing context. This article focuses on the new design method of context-aware telecommunication service platform and its architecture. Through the use of model-driven architecture (MDA) and semantic web technologies, CaTSP can enable context reasoning and service personalization adaption.This article explores a new approach for service intelligence,personalization, and adaptability in the semantic web service computing era.

  15. Unfolding and Refolding Embodiment into the Landscape of Ubiquitous Computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schick, Lea; Malmborg, Lone

    2009-01-01

    This paper advocates the future of the body as a distributed and shared embodiment; an unfolded body that doesn’t end at one's skin, but emerges as intercorporeality between bodies and the technological environment. Looking at new tendencies within interaction design and ubiquitous computing to see...... how these are to an increasing extent focusing on sociality, context-awareness, relations, affects, connectedness, and collectivity we will examine how these new technological movements can change our perception of embodiment towards a distributed and shared one. By examining interactive textiles...... as part of a future rising landscape of multi-sensory networks we will exemplify how the new technologies can shutter dichotomies and challenge traditional notions of embodiment and the subject. Finally, we show how this ‘new embodiment’ manifests Deleuze’s philosophy of the body as something unstable...

  16. Twenty-First Century Learning: Communities, Interaction and Ubiquitous Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leh, Amy S.C.; Kouba, Barbara; Davis, Dirk

    2005-01-01

    Advanced technology makes 21st century learning, communities and interactions unique and leads people to an era of ubiquitous computing. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discussion of learning in the 21st century. The paper will review literature on learning community, community learning, interaction, 21st century learning and…

  17. Ubiquitous testing using tablets: its impact on medical student perceptions of and engagement in learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyong-Jee; Hwang, Jee-Young

    2016-03-01

    Ubiquitous testing has the potential to affect medical education by enhancing the authenticity of the assessment using multimedia items. This study explored medical students' experience with ubiquitous testing and its impact on student learning. A cohort (n=48) of third-year students at a medical school in South Korea participated in this study. The students were divided into two groups and were given different versions of 10 content-matched items: one in text version (the text group) and the other in multimedia version (the multimedia group). Multimedia items were delivered using tablets. Item response analyses were performed to compare item characteristics between the two versions. Additionally, focus group interviews were held to investigate the students' experiences of ubiquitous testing. The mean test score was significantly higher in the text group. Item difficulty and discrimination did not differ between text and multimedia items. The participants generally showed positive responses on ubiquitous testing. Still, they felt that the lectures that they had taken in preclinical years did not prepare them enough for this type of assessment and clinical encounters during clerkships were more helpful. To be better prepared, the participants felt that they needed to engage more actively in learning in clinical clerkships and have more access to multimedia learning resources. Ubiquitous testing can positively affect student learning by reinforcing the importance of being able to understand and apply knowledge in clinical contexts, which drives students to engage more actively in learning in clinical settings.

  18. Study of the Ubiquitous Hog Farm System Using Wireless Sensor Networks for Environmental Monitoring and Facilities Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeonghwan Hwang

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Many hog farmers are now suffering from high pig mortality rates due to various wasting diseases and increased breeding costs, etc. It is therefore necessary for hog farms to implement systematic and scientific pig production technology to increase productivity and produce high quality pork in order to solve these problems. In this study, we describe such a technology by suggesting a ubiquitous hog farm system which applies WSN (Wireless Sensor Network technology to the pig industry. We suggest that a WSN and CCTV (Closed-circuit television should be installed on hog farms to collect environmental and image information which shall then help producers not only in monitoring the hog farm via the Web from outside the farm, but also facilitate the control of hog farm facilities in remote locations. In addition, facilities can be automatically controlled based on breeding environment parameters which are already set up and a SMS notice service to notify of deviations shall provide users with convenience. Hog farmers may increase production and improve pork quality through this ubiquitous hog farm system and prepare a database with information collected from environmental factors and the hog farm control devices, which is expected to provide information needed to design and implement suitable control strategies for hog farm operation.

  19. Ubiquitous Supervisory System Based on Social Contexts Using Ontology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoru Izumi

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available As described in this paper, we propose a supervisory system that considers actual situations and social aspects of users in a ubiquitous computing environment. To realize gentle and safe supervision while providing efficient supervisory services, the system must recognize the situations of a watched person, such as the person's physical condition. To achieve this, we have proposed a ubiquitous supervisory system "uEyes", which introduces Social Context Awareness: a distinguishing feature for supervision. Using this feature, the system can combine environmental information acquired from sensors in the real world and common-sense knowledge related to human activities in daily life. As described in this paper, we specifically examine design of Social Context Awareness using ontology technologies. Based on this advanced feature, a live video streaming system is configured autonomously depending on the users' circumstances in runtime. We implemented a uEyes prototype for supervising elderly people and performed some experiments based on several scenarios. Based on those experimental results, we confirmed that the social contexts are handled effectively to support the supervision.

  20. Pervasion of what? : techno–human ecologies and their ubiquitous spirits.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coeckelbergh, Mark

    2012-01-01

    Are the robots coming? Is the singularity near? Will we be dominated by technology? The usual response to ethical issues raised by pervasive and ubiquitous technologies assumes a philosophical anthropology centered on existential autonomy and agency, a dualistic ontology separating humans from

  1. Privacy context model for dynamic privacy adaptation in ubiquitous computing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaub, Florian; Koenings, Bastian; Dietzel, Stefan; Weber, M.; Kargl, Frank

    Ubiquitous computing is characterized by the merger of physical and virtual worlds as physical artifacts gain digital sensing, processing, and communication capabilities. Maintaining an appropriate level of privacy in the face of such complex and often highly dynamic systems is challenging. We argue

  2. Ubiquitous Performance-Support System as Mindtool: A Case Study of Instructional Decision Making and Learning Assistant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hsinyi; Chuang, Po-Ya; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Chu, Hui-Chun; Wu, Ting-Ting; Huang, Shu-Xian

    2009-01-01

    Researchers have conducted various studies on applying wireless communication and ubiquitous computing technologies to education, so that the technologies can provide learners and educators with more active and adaptive support. This study proposes a Ubiquitous Performance-support System (UPSS) that can facilitate the seamless use of powerful new…

  3. The ubiquitous presence of exopolygalacturonase in maize suggests a fundamental cellular function for this enzyme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubald, M; Barakate, A; Mandaron, P; Mache, R

    1993-11-01

    Exopolygalacturonase (exoPG) is a pectin-degrading enzyme abundant in maize pollen. Using immunochemistry and in situ hybridization it is shown that in addition to its presence in pollen, exoPG is also present in sporophytic tissues, such as the tapetum and mesophyll cells. The enzyme is located in the cytoplasm of pollen and of some mesophyll cells. In other mesophyll cells, the tapetum and the pollen tube, exoPG is located in the cell wall. The measurement of enzyme activity shows that exoPG is ubiquitous in the vegetative organs. These results suggest a general function for exoPG in cell wall edification or degradation. ExoPG is encoded by a closely related multigene family. The regulation of the expression of one of the exoPG genes was analyzed in transgenic tobacco. Reporter GUS activity was detected in anthers, seeds and stems but not in leaves or roots of transgenic plants. This strongly suggests that the ubiquitous presence of exoPG in maize is the result of the expression of different exoPG genes.

  4. Ubiquitous Emergency Medical Service System Based on Wireless Biosensors, Traffic Information, and Wireless Communication Technologies: Development and Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tan-Hsu Tan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a new ubiquitous emergency medical service system (UEMS that consists of a ubiquitous tele-diagnosis interface and a traffic guiding subsystem. The UEMS addresses unresolved issues of emergency medical services by managing the sensor wires for eliminating inconvenience for both patients and paramedics in an ambulance, providing ubiquitous accessibility of patients’ biosignals in remote areas where the ambulance cannot arrive directly, and offering availability of real-time traffic information which can make the ambulance reach the destination within the shortest time. In the proposed system, patient’s biosignals and real-time video, acquired by wireless biosensors and a webcam, can be simultaneously transmitted to an emergency room for pre-hospital treatment via WiMax/3.5 G networks. Performances of WiMax and 3.5 G, in terms of initialization time, data rate, and average end-to-end delay are evaluated and compared. A driver can choose the route of the shortest time among the suggested routes by Google Maps after inspecting the current traffic conditions based on real-time CCTV camera streams and traffic information. The destination address can be inputted vocally for easiness and safety in driving. A series of field test results validates the feasibility of the proposed system for application in real-life scenarios.

  5. A survey on web modeling approaches for ubiquitous web applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwinger, W.; Retschitzegger, W.; Schauerhuber, A.; Kappel, G.; Wimmer, M.; Pröll, B.; Cachero Castro, C.; Casteleyn, S.; De Troyer, O.; Fraternali, P.; Garrigos, I.; Garzotto, F.; Ginige, A.; Houben, G.J.P.M.; Koch, N.; Moreno, N.; Pastor, O.; Paolini, P.; Pelechano Ferragud, V.; Rossi, G.; Schwabe, D.; Tisi, M.; Vallecillo, A.; Sluijs, van der K.A.M.; Zhang, G.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose – Ubiquitous web applications (UWA) are a new type of web applications which are accessed in various contexts, i.e. through different devices, by users with various interests, at anytime from anyplace around the globe. For such full-fledged, complex software systems, a methodologically sound

  6. PERKAM: Personalized Knowledge Awareness Map for Computer Supported Ubiquitous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Bishouty, Moushir M.; Ogata, Hiroaki; Yano, Yoneo

    2007-01-01

    This paper introduces a ubiquitous computing environment in order to support the learners while doing tasks; this environment is called PERKAM (PERsonalized Knowledge Awareness Map). PERKAM allows the learners to share knowledge, interact, collaborate, and exchange individual experiences. It utilizes the RFID ubiquities technology to detect the…

  7. A Client-Server System for Ubiquitous Video Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronit Nossenson

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this work we introduce a simple client-server system architecture and algorithms for ubiquitous live video and VOD service support. The main features of the system are: efficient usage of network resources, emphasis on user personalization, and ease of implementation. The system supports many continuous service requirements such as QoS provision, user mobility between networks and between different communication devices, and simultaneous usage of a device by a number of users.

  8. PhysioDroid: combining wearable health sensors and mobile devices for a ubiquitous, continuous, and personal monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banos, Oresti; Villalonga, Claudia; Damas, Miguel; Gloesekoetter, Peter; Pomares, Hector; Rojas, Ignacio

    2014-01-01

    Technological advances on the development of mobile devices, medical sensors, and wireless communication systems support a new generation of unobtrusive, portable, and ubiquitous health monitoring systems for continuous patient assessment and more personalized health care. There exist a growing number of mobile apps in the health domain; however, little contribution has been specifically provided, so far, to operate this kind of apps with wearable physiological sensors. The PhysioDroid, presented in this paper, provides a personalized means to remotely monitor and evaluate users' conditions. The PhysioDroid system provides ubiquitous and continuous vital signs analysis, such as electrocardiogram, heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, and body motion, intended to help empower patients and improve clinical understanding. The PhysioDroid is composed of a wearable monitoring device and an Android app providing gathering, storage, and processing features for the physiological sensor data. The versatility of the developed app allows its use for both average users and specialists, and the reduced cost of the PhysioDroid puts it at the reach of most people. Two exemplary use cases for health assessment and sports training are presented to illustrate the capabilities of the PhysioDroid. Next technical steps include generalization to other mobile platforms and health monitoring devices.

  9. CyberPsychological Computation on Social Community of Ubiquitous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xuan; Dai, Genghui; Huang, Shuang; Sun, Xuemin; Hu, Feng; Hu, Hongzhi; Ivanović, Mirjana

    2015-01-01

    Under the modern network environment, ubiquitous learning has been a popular way for people to study knowledge, exchange ideas, and share skills in the cyberspace. Existing research findings indicate that the learners' initiative and community cohesion play vital roles in the social communities of ubiquitous learning, and therefore how to stimulate the learners' interest and participation willingness so as to improve their enjoyable experiences in the learning process should be the primary consideration on this issue. This paper aims to explore an effective method to monitor the learners' psychological reactions based on their behavioral features in cyberspace and therefore provide useful references for adjusting the strategies in the learning process. In doing so, this paper firstly analyzes the psychological assessment of the learners' situations as well as their typical behavioral patterns and then discusses the relationship between the learners' psychological reactions and their observable features in cyberspace. Finally, this paper puts forward a CyberPsychological computation method to estimate the learners' psychological states online. Considering the diversity of learners' habitual behaviors in the reactions to their psychological changes, a BP-GA neural network is proposed for the computation based on their personalized behavioral patterns. PMID:26557846

  10. System architecture for ubiquitous live video streaming in university network environment

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dludla, AG

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available an architecture which supports ubiquitous live streaming for university or campus networks using a modified bluetooth inquiry mechanism with extended ID, integrated end-user device usage and adaptation to heterogeneous networks. Riding on that architecture...

  11. Is hyperactivity ubiquitous in ADHD or dependent on environmental demands? Evidence from meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kofler, Michael J.; Raiker, Joseph S.; Sarver, Dustin E.; Wells, Erica L.; Soto, Elia F.

    2016-01-01

    Hyperactivity, or excess gross motor activity, is considered a core and ubiquitous characteristic of ADHD. Alternate models question this premise, and propose that hyperactive behavior reflects, to a large extent, purposeful behavior to cope with environmental demands that interact with underlying neurobiological vulnerabilities. The present review critically evaluates the ubiquity and environmental modifiability of hyperactivity in ADHD through meta-analysis of 63 studies of mechanically measured activity level in children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD relative to typically developing (TD) groups. Random effects models corrected for publication bias confirmed elevated gross motor activity in ADHD (d = 0.86); surprisingly, neither participant age (child vs. adult) nor the proportion of each ADHD sample diagnosed with the Inattentive subtype/presentation moderated this effect. In contrast, activity level assessed during high cognitive load conditions in general (d = 1.14) and high executive functioning demands in particular (d = 1.39) revealed significantly higher effect sizes than activity level during low cognitive load (d = 0.36) and in-class schoolwork (d = 0.50) settings. Low stimulation environments, more rigorous diagnostic practices, actigraph measurement of movement frequency and intensity, and ADHD samples that included fewer females were also associated with larger effects. Overall, the results are inconsistent with DSM-5 and ADHD models that a) describe hyperactivity as ubiquitous behavior, b) predict a developmental decline in hyperactivity, or c) differentiate subtypes/presentations according to perceived differences in hyperactive behavior. Instead, results suggest that the presence and magnitude of hyperactive behavior in ADHD may be influenced to a considerable extent by environmental factors in general, and cognitive/executive functioning demands in particular. PMID:27131918

  12. A Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform for Integrating Smart Devices into the Semantic Sensor Web

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vera, David Díaz Pardo; Izquierdo, Álvaro Sigüenza; Vercher, Jesús Bernat; Gómez, Luis Alfonso Hernández

    2014-01-01

    Ongoing Sensor Web developments make a growing amount of heterogeneous sensor data available to smart devices. This is generating an increasing demand for homogeneous mechanisms to access, publish and share real-world information. This paper discusses, first, an architectural solution based on Next Generation Networks: a pilot Telco Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) Platform that embeds several OGC® Sensor Web services. This platform has already been deployed in large scale projects. Second, the USN-Platform is extended to explore a first approach to Semantic Sensor Web principles and technologies, so that smart devices can access Sensor Web data, allowing them also to share richer (semantically interpreted) information. An experimental scenario is presented: a smart car that consumes and produces real-world information which is integrated into the Semantic Sensor Web through a Telco USN-Platform. Performance tests revealed that observation publishing times with our experimental system were well within limits compatible with the adequate operation of smart safety assistance systems in vehicles. On the other hand, response times for complex queries on large repositories may be inappropriate for rapid reaction needs. PMID:24945678

  13. Noise and Vibration Risk Prevention Virtual Web for Ubiquitous Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redel-Macías, María Dolores; Cubero-Atienza, Antonio J.; Martínez-Valle, José Miguel; Pedrós-Pérez, Gerardo; del Pilar Martínez-Jiménez, María

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a new Web portal offering experimental labs for ubiquitous training of university engineering students in work-related risk prevention. The Web-accessible computer program simulates the noise and machine vibrations met in the work environment, in a series of virtual laboratories that mimic an actual laboratory and provide the…

  14. NOVEL APPLICATIONS FOR EMERGING MARKETS USING TELEVISION AS A UBIQUITOUS DEVICE

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pal, Arpan

    2013-01-01

    – personal computer (including laptop and tablet), television and mobile (including smart phone). For emerging market countries like India, personal computers are not yet affordable to masses and most of the people are not savvy or skilled enough to operate a personal computer. Mobile phones, though being...... connected to the internet-world in a low-cost manner, it has the potential of becoming the ―Ubiquitous Computing Screen‖ for the home. The emerging markets are characterized by some unique issues like low bandwidth / low Quality-of-Service (QoS) of the available wireless networks, extreme cost...... solutions for seamlessly blending Internet with broadcasting content. To this end, in this thesis a novel application development framework is proposed first on top of a low-cost over-the-top box that uses television as a ubiquitous device with a focus on emerging markets. Then an end-to-end solution...

  15. Ubiquitous Total Station Development using Smartphone, RSSI and Laser Sensor providing service to Ubi-GIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Shoushtari

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The growing trend in technological advances and Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS has targeted for intelligent human lives. Accordingly, Ubiquitous Computing Approach was proposed by Mark Weiser. This paper proposes an ubiquitous surveying solution in Geometrics and surveying field. Ubiquitous Surveying provides cost-effective, smart and available surveying techniques while traditional surveying equipment are so expensive and have small availability specially in indoor and daily surveying jobs. In order to have a smart surveying instrument, different information technology methods and tools like Triangle method, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI method and laser sensor are used. These new ways in combine with surveying equations introduces a modern surveying equipment called Ubi-Total Station that also employed different sensors embedded in smartphone and mobile stand. RSSI-based localization and Triangle method technique are easy and well known methods to predict the position of an unknown node in indoor environments whereas additional measures are required for a sufficient accuracy. In this paper the main goal is to introduce the Ubiquitous Total Station as a development in smart and ubiquitous GIS. In order to public use of the surveying equipment, design and implementation of this instrument has been done. Conceptual model of Smartphone-based system is designed for this study and based on this model, an Android application as a first sample is developed. Finally the evaluations shows that absolute errors in X and Y calculation are 0.028 and 0.057 meter respectively. Also RMSE of 0.26 was calculated in RSSI method for distance measurement. The high price of traditional equipment and their requirement for professional surveyors has given way to intelligent surveying. In the suggested system, smartphones can be used as tools for positioning and coordinating geometric information of objects.

  16. Design and implementation of an integrated safety management system for compressed natural gas stations using ubiquitous sensor network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Jae Mo; Ko, Byung Seok; Park, Chulhwan; Ko, Jae Wook; Yoo, Byungtae; Shin, Dongil

    2014-01-01

    To increase awareness of safety in facilities where hazards may exist, operators, managers, and executive officers on the site should be able to monitor such facilities. However, most compressed natural gas (CNG) service stations in Korea use only local-mode monitoring, with only on-site operators to monitor the facility. To complement this local-mode monitoring, an online safety management system called Ubiquitous-gas safety management system (U-GSMS) was developed. The U-GSMS consists largely of software and hardware. The software consists of systems that can manage safety and operations, while the hardware consists of sensors installed in the gas facility and wireless communication systems using a ubiquitous sensor network (USN) technology that facilitates communication between sensors as well as between sensors and other devices. As these systems are web-based, on-site operators as well as managers and executive officers at the headquarters can more effectively and efficiently perform monitoring and safety management

  17. Design and implementation of an integrated safety management system for compressed natural gas stations using ubiquitous sensor network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Jae Mo; Ko, Byung Seok; Park, Chulhwan; Ko, Jae Wook [Kwangwoon University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Byungtae [National Disaster Management Institute, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Dongil [Myongji University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-03-15

    To increase awareness of safety in facilities where hazards may exist, operators, managers, and executive officers on the site should be able to monitor such facilities. However, most compressed natural gas (CNG) service stations in Korea use only local-mode monitoring, with only on-site operators to monitor the facility. To complement this local-mode monitoring, an online safety management system called Ubiquitous-gas safety management system (U-GSMS) was developed. The U-GSMS consists largely of software and hardware. The software consists of systems that can manage safety and operations, while the hardware consists of sensors installed in the gas facility and wireless communication systems using a ubiquitous sensor network (USN) technology that facilitates communication between sensors as well as between sensors and other devices. As these systems are web-based, on-site operators as well as managers and executive officers at the headquarters can more effectively and efficiently perform monitoring and safety management.

  18. Let Me Relax: Toward Automated Sedentary State Recognition and Ubiquitous Mental Wellness Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijay Rajanna

    2018-12-01

    Full Text Available Advances in ubiquitous computing technology improve workplace productivity, reduce physical exertion, but ultimately result in a sedentary work style. Sedentary behavior is associated with an increased risk of stress, obesity, and other health complications. Let Me Relax is a fully automated sedentary-state recognition framework using a smartwatch and smartphone, which encourages mental wellness through interventions in the form of simple relaxation techniques. The system was evaluated through a comparative user study of 22 participants split into a test and a control group. An analysis of NASA Task Load Index pre- and post- study survey revealed that test subjects who followed relaxation methods, showed a trend of both increased activity as well as reduced mental stress. Reduced mental stress was found even in those test subjects that had increased inactivity. These results suggest that repeated interventions, driven by an intelligent activity recognition system, is an effective strategy for promoting healthy habits, which reduce stress, anxiety, and other health risks associated with sedentary workplaces.

  19. Evaluating Ubiquitous Media Usability Challenges: Content Transfer and Channel Switching Delays

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fleury, Alexandre; Pedersen, Jakob Schou; Larsen, Lars Bo

    2011-01-01

    As ubiquitous media is developing rapidly, new HCI challenges emerge. In this paper, we address usability issues related to the transfer of content between fixed and mobile devices, as well as channel switching delays on mobile devices. We first provide an extensive review of the field. We...

  20. FAN-SHAPED JETS IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONNECTION SIMULATION AS A MODEL OF UBIQUITOUS SOLAR JETS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Ronglin; Fang Cheng; Shibata, Kazunari; Isobe, Hiroaki

    2011-01-01

    Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in space and astrophysical plasmas in which the oppositely directed magnetic field changes its connectivity and eventually converts its energy into kinetic and thermal energy of the plasma. Recently, ubiquitous jets (for example, chromospheric anemone jets, penumbral microjets, umbral light bridge jets) have been observed by the Solar Optical Telescope on board the satellite Hinode. These tiny and frequently occurring jets are considered to be a possible evidence of small-scale ubiquitous reconnection in the solar atmosphere. However, the details of three-dimensional (3D) magnetic configuration are still not very clear. Here, we propose a new model based on 3D simulations of magnetic reconnection using a typical current sheet magnetic configuration with a strong guide field. The most interesting feature is that the jets produced by the reconnection eventually move along the guide field lines. This model provides a fresh understanding of newly discovered ubiquitous jets and moreover a new observational basis for the theory of astrophysical magnetic reconnection.

  1. Evolving Pedagogical Perceptions of Teachers Integrating Ubiquitous Computing in Their Classrooms: A Case Study of the South Dakota Laptop Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pogany, Wade S.

    2009-01-01

    With technology changing the world at a rapid rate, the impact of ubiquitous computing in the classroom has had an influence on education. As the number of one-to-one laptop initiatives grows, the need for further research on the effects of teaching and learning also increases. This case study sought to examine changes in teaching that resulted…

  2. Researching the Ethical Dimensions of Mobile, Ubiquitous and Immersive Technology Enhanced Learning (MUITEL): A Thematic Review and Dialogue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lally, Vic; Sharples, Mike; Tracy, Frances; Bertram, Neil; Masters, Sherriden

    2012-01-01

    In this article, we examine the ethical dimensions of researching the mobile, ubiquitous and immersive technology enhanced learning (MUITEL), with a particular focus on learning in informal settings. We begin with an analysis of the interactions between mobile, ubiquitous and immersive technologies and the wider context of the digital economy. In…

  3. Ubiquitous Knowledge Construction: Mobile Learning Re-Defined and a Conceptual Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hsinyi; Su, Yi-Ju; Chou, Chien; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2009-01-01

    Emerging from recent mobile technologies, mobile learning, or m-learning, is beginning to offer "stunning new technical capabilities" in education (DiGiano et al., 2003). This new genre of learning is viewed as a revolutionary stage in educational technology. However, ubiquitous computing technologies have given rise to several issues. This…

  4. Ubiquitous and Ambient Intelligence Assisted Learning Environment Infrastructures Development--A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanagarajan, Sujith; Ramakrishnan, Sivakumar

    2018-01-01

    Ubiquitous Learning Environment (ULE) has been becoming a mobile and sensor based technology equipped environment that suits the modern world education discipline requirements for the past few years. Ambient Intelligence (AmI) makes much smarter the ULE by the support of optimization and intelligent techniques. Various efforts have been so far…

  5. Ubiquitous Multicriteria Clinic Recommendation System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Toly

    2016-05-01

    Advancements in information, communication, and sensor technologies have led to new opportunities in medical care and education. Patients in general prefer visiting the nearest clinic, attempt to avoid waiting for treatment, and have unequal preferences for different clinics and doctors. Therefore, to enable patients to compare multiple clinics, this study proposes a ubiquitous multicriteria clinic recommendation system. In this system, patients can send requests through their cell phones to the system server to obtain a clinic recommendation. Once the patient sends this information to the system, the system server first estimates the patient's speed according to the detection results of a global positioning system. It then applies a fuzzy integer nonlinear programming-ordered weighted average approach to assess four criteria and finally recommends a clinic with maximal utility to the patient. The proposed methodology was tested in a field experiment, and the experimental results showed that it is advantageous over two existing methods in elevating the utilities of recommendations. In addition, such an advantage was shown to be statistically significant.

  6. Four Stages of Research on the Educational Use of Ubiquitous Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laru, Jari; Naykki, Piia; Järvelä, Sanna

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, the Gartner Group's hype cycle is used as the basis for categorizing and analyzing research on the educational use of ubiquitous computing. There are five phases of the hype cycle: the technology trigger, the peak of inflated expectations, the trough of disillusionment, the slope of enlightenment, and the plateau of productivity.…

  7. Using TinyOS Components for the Design of an Adaptive Ubiquitous System

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaya, O.S.; Durmaz, O.; Dulman, S.O.; Gemesi, R.; Jansen, P.G.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    2005-01-01

    This work is an initiative attempt toward component-based software engineering in ubiquitous computing systems. Software components cooperate in a distributed manner to meet a demand, and adapt their software bindings during run-time depending on the context information. There are two main research

  8. Using TinyOS Components for the Design of an Adaptive Ubiquitous System

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaya, O.S.; Durmaz, O.; Dulman, S.O.; Gemesi, R.; Jansen, P.G.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    This work is an initiative attempt toward component-based software engineering in ubiquitous computing systems. Software components cooperate in a distributed manner to meet a demand, and adapt their software bindings during run-time depending on the context information. There are two main research

  9. A communication model to integrate the Request-Response and the Publish-Subscribe paradigms into ubiquitous systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Domínguez, Carlos; Benghazi, Kawtar; Noguera, Manuel; Garrido, José Luis; Rodríguez, María Luisa; Ruiz-López, Tomás

    2012-01-01

    The Request-Response (RR) paradigm is widely used in ubiquitous systems to exchange information in a secure, reliable and timely manner. Nonetheless, there is also an emerging need for adopting the Publish-Subscribe (PubSub) paradigm in this kind of systems, due to the advantages that this paradigm offers in supporting mobility by means of asynchronous, non-blocking and one-to-many message distribution semantics for event notification. This paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of both the RR and PubSub paradigms to support communications in ubiquitous systems and proposes an abstract communication model in order to enable their seamless integration. Thus, developers will be focused on communication semantics and the required quality properties, rather than be concerned about specific communication mechanisms. The aim is to provide developers with abstractions intended to decrease the complexity of integrating different communication paradigms commonly needed in ubiquitous systems. The proposal has been applied to implement a middleware and a real home automation system to show its applicability and benefits.

  10. Reflection Paper on a Ubiquitous English Vocabulary Learning System: Evidence of Active/Passive Attitude vs. Usefulness/Ease-of-Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Jeff

    2013-01-01

    "A ubiquitous English vocabulary learning system: evidence of active/passive attitudes vs. usefulness/ease-of-use" introduces and develops "Ubiquitous English Vocabulary Learning" (UEFL) system. It introduces to the memorization using the video clips. According to their paper the video clip gives a better chance for students to…

  11. A seamless ubiquitous emergency medical service for crisis situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Bor-Shing

    2016-04-01

    In crisis situations, a seamless ubiquitous communication is necessary to provide emergency medical service to save people's lives. An excellent prehospital emergency medicine provides immediate medical care to increase the survival rate of patients. On their way to the hospital, ambulance personnel must transmit real-time and uninterrupted patient information to the hospital to apprise the physician of the situation and provide options to the ambulance personnel. In emergency and crisis situations, many communication channels can be unserviceable because of damage to equipment or loss of power. Thus, data transmission over wireless communication to achieve uninterrupted network services is a major obstacle. This study proposes a mobile middleware for cognitive radio (CR) for improving the wireless communication link. CRs can sense their operating environment and optimize the spectrum usage so that the mobile middleware can integrate the existing wireless communication systems with a seamless communication service in heterogeneous network environments. Eventually, the proposed seamless mobile communication middleware was ported into an embedded system, which is compatible with the actual network environment without the need for changing the original system architecture. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. A Socio-technical study of an Ubiquitous CPOE-system in Local Use

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wentzer, Helle; Böttger, Ulrich; Boye, Niels

    2006-01-01

    , transformation in competencies, and less time spent at the bedside for nurses and doctors, as a system - constructed for ubiquitous drug-order entries and handling - was implemented for local use. This study throws light on problems of patient continuity, patient-related and IT-system-related error...

  13. HSDPA (3.5G)-based ubiquitous integrated biotelemetry system for emergency care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Jaemin; Shin, Il Hyung; Koo, Yoonseo; Jung, Min Yang; Suh, Gil Joon; Kim, Hee Chan

    2007-01-01

    We have developed the second prototype system of Ubiquitous Integrated Biotelemetry System for Emergency Care(UIBSEC) using a HSDPA(High Speed Downlink Packet Access) modem to be used by emergency rescuers to get directions from medical doctors in providing emergency medical services for patients in ambulance. Five vital bio-signal instrumentation modules have been implemented, which include noninvasive arterial blood pressure (NIBP), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), 6-channel electro-cardiogram(ECG), blood glucose level, and body temperature and real-time motion picture of the patient and GPS information are also taken. Measured patient data, captured motion picture and GPS information are then transferred to a doctor's PC through the HSDPA and TCP/IP networks using stand-alone HSDPA modem. Most prominent feature of the developed system is that it is based on the HSDPA backbone networks available in Korea now, through which we will be able to establish a ubiquitous emergency healthcare service system.

  14. Real-time long term measurement using integrated framework for ubiquitous smart monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, Gwanghee; Lee, Giu; Lee, Woosang; Jeon, Joonryong; Kim, Pil-Joong

    2007-04-01

    Ubiquitous monitoring combining internet technologies and wireless communication is one of the most promising technologies of infrastructure health monitoring against the natural of man-made hazards. In this paper, an integrated framework of the ubiquitous monitoring is developed for real-time long term measurement in internet environment. This framework develops a wireless sensor system based on Bluetooth technology and sends measured acceleration data to the host computer through TCP/IP protocol. And it is also designed to respond to the request of web user on real time basis. In order to verify this system, real time monitoring tests are carried out on a prototype self-anchored suspension bridge. Also, wireless measurement system is analyzed to estimate its sensing capacity and evaluate its performance for monitoring purpose. Based on the evaluation, this paper proposes the effective strategies for integrated framework in order to detect structural deficiencies and to design an early warning system.

  15. Conditions for Ubiquitous Computing: What Can Be Learned from a Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Jing

    2010-01-01

    Based on survey data and interview data collected over four academic years, this longitudinal study examined how a ubiquitous computing project evolved along with the changes in teachers, students, the human infrastructure, and technology infrastructure in the school. This study also investigated what conditions were necessary for successful…

  16. Influence of Ubiquitous Electron Acceptors on In Situ Anaerobic Biotransformation of RDX in Groundwater

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Wani, Altaf

    2003-01-01

    A series of column studies, with aquifer material from the former Nebraska Ordnance Plant, were performed to explore the phenomenon of electron competition from ubiquitous inorganic electron acceptors (nitrate and sulfate...

  17. A Communication Model to Integrate the Request-Response and the Publish-Subscribe Paradigms into Ubiquitous Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomás Ruiz-López

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The Request-Response (RR paradigm is widely used in ubiquitous systems to exchange information in a secure, reliable and timely manner. Nonetheless, there is also an emerging need for adopting the Publish-Subscribe (PubSub paradigm in this kind of systems, due to the advantages that this paradigm offers in supporting mobility by means of asynchronous, non-blocking and one-to-many message distribution semantics for event notification. This paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of both the RR and PubSub paradigms to support communications in ubiquitous systems and proposes an abstract communication model in order to enable their seamless integration. Thus, developers will be focused on communication semantics and the required quality properties, rather than be concerned about specific communication mechanisms. The aim is to provide developers with abstractions intended to decrease the complexity of integrating different communication paradigms commonly needed in ubiquitous systems. The proposal has been applied to implement a middleware and a real home automation system to show its applicability and benefits.

  18. A Communication Model to Integrate the Request-Response and the Publish-Subscribe Paradigms into Ubiquitous Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Domínguez, Carlos; Benghazi, Kawtar; Noguera, Manuel; Garrido, José Luis; Rodríguez, María Luisa; Ruiz-López, Tomás

    2012-01-01

    The Request-Response (RR) paradigm is widely used in ubiquitous systems to exchange information in a secure, reliable and timely manner. Nonetheless, there is also an emerging need for adopting the Publish-Subscribe (PubSub) paradigm in this kind of systems, due to the advantages that this paradigm offers in supporting mobility by means of asynchronous, non-blocking and one-to-many message distribution semantics for event notification. This paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of both the RR and PubSub paradigms to support communications in ubiquitous systems and proposes an abstract communication model in order to enable their seamless integration. Thus, developers will be focused on communication semantics and the required quality properties, rather than be concerned about specific communication mechanisms. The aim is to provide developers with abstractions intended to decrease the complexity of integrating different communication paradigms commonly needed in ubiquitous systems. The proposal has been applied to implement a middleware and a real home automation system to show its applicability and benefits. PMID:22969366

  19. The New Transparency: Police Violence in the Context of Ubiquitous Surveillance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben Brucato

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Media and surveillance scholars often comment on the purported empowering quality of transparency, which they expect participatory media to promote. From its Enlightenment origins, transparency is related to accountability and legitimacy: its increase is believed to promote these. It has earned a position as an unassailed, prime normative value in contemporary liberal and social democracies. Though still valued, transparency is undergoing change in an era of ubiquitous surveillance. Publics still anticipate governmental and corporate self-disclosure and for such entities to operate visibly; but increasingly, deliberate and incidental surveillance by a range of sources, both institutional and informal, documents the activities of such authorities. More often, civilians participate in producing or amplifying transparency. This article explores this new transparency through a study of U.S. police, focusing on the discourse of police accountability activists and cop watchers to describe how their work adapts traditional notions of transparency. Recognizing the resilience of the police institution despite the new visibility of its violence, the article challenges the presumption that increased transparency will promote institutional reform or crisis. It concludes with a critical comment on prominent expectations that promoting the visibility of police can protect publics and ensure police accountability. This conclusion has implications for other forms of the new transparency, including whistleblowing (e.g., Edward Snowden and leaking (e.g., WikiLeaks.

  20. Prevention of sexually transmitted infections using mobile devices and ubiquitous computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besoain, Felipe; Perez-Navarro, Antoni; Caylà, Joan A; Aviñó, Constanza Jacques; de Olalla, Patricia García

    2015-05-03

    Advances in the development of information and communication technologies have facilitated social interrelationships, but also sexual contacts without appropriate preventive measures. In this paper, we will focus on situations in which people use applications to meet sexual partners nearby, which could increase their chance of exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STI). How can we encourage users to adopt preventive measures without violating their privacy or infringing on the character of the application? To achieve the goal of preventing STI, we have used the design and creation methodology and have developed a prototype software package. This prototype follows the RESTful services principles and has two parts: an Android OS application with emphasis on ubiquitous computing and designed according to General Responsibility Assignment Software Patterns (GRASP), and a server with a web page. To choose the preventive messages, we performed a test in 17 men who have sex with men (MSM). Our software sends preventive notifications to users when it detects situations such as the activation of particular applications on their smartphones, or their proximity to areas with a high probability of intercourse (hot zones). The underlying idea is the same as that for warning messages on cigarette packets, since users read the message just when they are going to smoke. The messages used have been selected from a list that has been rated by the users themselves. The most popular message is "Enjoy sex and enjoy life. Do not expose yourself to HIV". The user is unaware of the software, which runs in the background. Ubiquitous computing may be useful for alerting users with preventive and educational messages. The proposed application is non-intrusive because: 1) the users themselves decide to install it and, therefore, users' privacy rights are preserved; 2) it sends a message that helps users think about taking appropriate preventive measures; and 3) it works in the

  1. Ubiquitous Computing and Changing Pedagogical Possibilities: Representations, Conceptualizations and Uses of Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swan, Karen; Van 'T Hooft, Mark; Kratcoski, Annette; Schenker, Jason

    2007-01-01

    This article reports on preliminary findings from an ongoing study of teaching and learning in a ubiquitous computing classroom. The research employed mixed methods and multiple measures to document changes in teaching and learning that result when teachers and students have access to a variety of digital devices wherever and whenever they need…

  2. DS-ARP: a new detection scheme for ARP spoofing attacks based on routing trace for ubiquitous environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Min Su; Lee, Jae Dong; Jeong, Young-Sik; Jeong, Hwa-Young; Park, Jong Hyuk

    2014-01-01

    Despite the convenience, ubiquitous computing suffers from many threats and security risks. Security considerations in the ubiquitous network are required to create enriched and more secure ubiquitous environments. The address resolution protocol (ARP) is a protocol used to identify the IP address and the physical address of the associated network card. ARP is designed to work without problems in general environments. However, since it does not include security measures against malicious attacks, in its design, an attacker can impersonate another host using ARP spoofing or access important information. In this paper, we propose a new detection scheme for ARP spoofing attacks using a routing trace, which can be used to protect the internal network. Tracing routing can find the change of network movement path. The proposed scheme provides high constancy and compatibility because it does not alter the ARP protocol. In addition, it is simple and stable, as it does not use a complex algorithm or impose extra load on the computer system.

  3. Mobile-PKI Service Model for Ubiquitous Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeun, Inkyung; Chun, Kilsoo

    One of the most important things in PKI(Public Key Infrastructure) is the private key management issue. The private key must be deal with safely for secure PKI service. Even though PKI service is usually used for identification and authentication of user in e-commerce, PKI service has many inconvenient factors. Especially, the fact that storage media of private key for PKI service is limited to PC hard disk drive or smart card users must always carry, gives an inconvenience to user and is not suitable in ubiquitous network. This paper suggests the digital signature service using a mobile phone(m-PKI service) which is suitable in future network. A mobile phone is the most widely used for personal communication means and has a characteristic of high movability. We can use the PKI service anytime and anywhere using m-PKI.

  4. An abundance of ubiquitously expressed genes revealed by tissue transcriptome sequence data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Ramsköld

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The parts of the genome transcribed by a cell or tissue reflect the biological processes and functions it carries out. We characterized the features of mammalian tissue transcriptomes at the gene level through analysis of RNA deep sequencing (RNA-Seq data across human and mouse tissues and cell lines. We observed that roughly 8,000 protein-coding genes were ubiquitously expressed, contributing to around 75% of all mRNAs by message copy number in most tissues. These mRNAs encoded proteins that were often intracellular, and tended to be involved in metabolism, transcription, RNA processing or translation. In contrast, genes for secreted or plasma membrane proteins were generally expressed in only a subset of tissues. The distribution of expression levels was broad but fairly continuous: no support was found for the concept of distinct expression classes of genes. Expression estimates that included reads mapping to coding exons only correlated better with qRT-PCR data than estimates which also included 3' untranslated regions (UTRs. Muscle and liver had the least complex transcriptomes, in that they expressed predominantly ubiquitous genes and a large fraction of the transcripts came from a few highly expressed genes, whereas brain, kidney and testis expressed more complex transcriptomes with the vast majority of genes expressed and relatively small contributions from the most expressed genes. mRNAs expressed in brain had unusually long 3'UTRs, and mean 3'UTR length was higher for genes involved in development, morphogenesis and signal transduction, suggesting added complexity of UTR-based regulation for these genes. Our results support a model in which variable exterior components feed into a large, densely connected core composed of ubiquitously expressed intracellular proteins.

  5. From computers to ubiquitous computing by 2010: health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz, Omer; Lo, Benny; Pansiot, Julien; Atallah, Louis; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Darzi, Ara

    2008-10-28

    Over the past decade, miniaturization and cost reduction in semiconductors have led to computers smaller in size than a pinhead with powerful processing abilities that are affordable enough to be disposable. Similar advances in wireless communication, sensor design and energy storage have meant that the concept of a truly pervasive 'wireless sensor network', used to monitor environments and objects within them, has become a reality. The need for a wireless sensor network designed specifically for human body monitoring has led to the development of wireless 'body sensor network' (BSN) platforms composed of tiny integrated microsensors with on-board processing and wireless data transfer capability. The ubiquitous computing abilities of BSNs offer the prospect of continuous monitoring of human health in any environment, be it home, hospital, outdoors or the workplace. This pervasive technology comes at a time when Western world health care costs have sharply risen, reflected by increasing expenditure on health care as a proportion of gross domestic product over the last 20 years. Drivers of this rise include an ageing post 'baby boom' population, higher incidence of chronic disease and the need for earlier diagnosis. This paper outlines the role of pervasive health care technologies in providing more efficient health care.

  6. The challenge of ubiquitous computing in health care: technology, concepts and solutions. Findings from the IMIA Yearbook of Medical Informatics 2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bott, O J; Ammenwerth, E; Brigl, B; Knaup, P; Lang, E; Pilgram, R; Pfeifer, B; Ruderich, F; Wolff, A C; Haux, R; Kulikowski, C

    2005-01-01

    To review recent research efforts in the field of ubiquitous computing in health care. To identify current research trends and further challenges for medical informatics. Analysis of the contents of the Yearbook on Medical Informatics 2005 of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA). The Yearbook of Medical Informatics 2005 includes 34 original papers selected from 22 peer-reviewed scientific journals related to several distinct research areas: health and clinical management, patient records, health information systems, medical signal processing and biomedical imaging, decision support, knowledge representation and management, education and consumer informatics as well as bioinformatics. A special section on ubiquitous health care systems is devoted to recent developments in the application of ubiquitous computing in health care. Besides additional synoptical reviews of each of the sections the Yearbook includes invited reviews concerning E-Health strategies, primary care informatics and wearable healthcare. Several publications demonstrate the potential of ubiquitous computing to enhance effectiveness of health services delivery and organization. But ubiquitous computing is also a societal challenge, caused by the surrounding but unobtrusive character of this technology. Contributions from nearly all of the established sub-disciplines of medical informatics are demanded to turn the visions of this promising new research field into reality.

  7. Ubiquitous Graphene Electronics on Scotch Tape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Yoonyoung; Ho Kim, Hyun; Lee, Sangryun; Lee, Eunho; Won Kim, Seong; Ryu, Seunghwa; Cho, Kilwon

    2015-07-01

    We report a novel concept of graphene transistors on Scotch tape for use in ubiquitous electronic systems. Unlike common plastic substrates such as polyimide and polyethylene terephthalate, the Scotch tape substrate is easily attached onto various objects such as banknotes, curved surfaces, and human skin, which implies potential applications wherein electronics can be placed in any desired position. Furthermore, the soft Scotch tape serves as an attractive substrate for flexible/foldable electronics that can be significantly bent, or even crumpled. We found that the adhesive layer of the tape with a relatively low shear modulus relaxes the strain when subjected to bending. The capacitance of the gate dielectric made of oxidized aluminum oxide was 1.5 μF cm-2, so that a supply voltage of only 2.5 V was sufficient to operate the devices. As-fabricated graphene transistors on Scotch tape exhibited high electron mobility of 1326 (±155) cm2 V-1 s-1 the transistors still showed high mobility of 1254 (±478) cm2 V-1 s-1 even after they were crumpled.

  8. Undergraduate Students' Opinions with Regard to Ubiquitous MOOC for Enhancing Cross-Cultural Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plangsorn, Boonrat; Na-Songkhla, Jaitip; Luetkehans, Lara M.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to study undergraduate students' opinions with regard to the ubiquitous massive open online course (MOOC) for enhancing cross-cultural competence. This descriptive research applied a survey method. The survey data were collected by using survey questionnaires and online questionnaires from 410 undergraduate students…

  9. Handling membership dynamicity in service composition for ubiquitous computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brønsted, Jeppe

    2007-01-01

    In ubiquitous computing, as more and more devices are introduced into the environment, new applications are made possible that exploit device capabilities in new ways. Currently, however, there is a mismatch between the effort involved in implementing these applications and the benefit they provide...... to specify which nodes partake in the composite and how they interact. In this paper we introduce mechanisms for handling membership dynamicity in service composition specifications. We demonstrate how an application scenario developed in cooperation with users can be implemented using the mechanisms...

  10. Radar sensor technology developments as CSIR DPSS in support of persistent, ubiquitous surveillance systems

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Anderson, F

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available of an S&T capability based on international technology trends in persistent, ubiquitous surveillance. The ultimate aim of this programme is to develop and produce a series of South African innovations that can be used by departments and agencies...

  11. Bringing Mohamed to the Mountain: Situated Professional Development in a Ubiquitous Computing Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swan, Karen; Kratcoski, Annette; Mazzer, Pat; Schenker, Jason

    2005-01-01

    This article describes an ongoing situated professional development program in which teachers bring their intact classes for an extended stay in a ubiquitous computing environment equipped with a variety of state-of-the-art computing devices. The experience is unique in that it not only situates teacher learning about technology integration in…

  12. Security policies and trust in ubiquitous computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Anupam; Finin, Tim; Kagal, Lalana; Parker, Jim; Patwardhan, Anand

    2008-10-28

    Ubiquitous environments comprise resource-constrained mobile and wearable devices and computational elements embedded in everyday artefacts. These are connected to each other using both infrastructure-based as well as short-range ad hoc networks. Limited Internet connectivity limits the use of conventional security mechanisms such as public key infrastructures and other forms of server-centric authentication. Under these circumstances, peer-to-peer interactions are well suited for not just information interchange, but also managing security and privacy. However, practical solutions for protecting mobile devices, preserving privacy, evaluating trust and determining the reliability and accuracy of peer-provided data in such interactions are still in their infancy. Our research is directed towards providing stronger assurances of the reliability and trustworthiness of information and services, and the use of declarative policy-driven approaches to handle the open and dynamic nature of such systems. This paper provides an overview of some of the challenges and issues, and points out directions for progress.

  13. Sphingomonas paucimobilis presenting as acute phlebitis: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saqib Walayat

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Sphingomonas paucimobilis is a strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming Gram-negative bacillus, ubiquitous bacterium, thought to be an opportunistic pathogen and is rarely reported in clinical settings. Here in, is the first case report of Acute Sphingomonas phlebitis secondary to intravenous (IV drug use. We present the case of a 39-year-old male who initially presented with pain in his right upper extremity, fevers and chills of three week duration. He admitted to regularly injecting heroin in his distal right upper extremity with visible erythema, tenderness and streaking along the path of vein along the injection site. Radiographic studies including X-ray of the right arm, ultrasound and a subsequent MRI of the right arm were not significant for any osteomyelitis, deep venous thrombus, abscess, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, or pyomyositis. Blood culture grew Sphingomonas paucimobilis. Patient was initially started on vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam and subsequently switched to levofloxacin to complete a 14 day course. Patient admitted to using toilet water to mix his heroin which we suspect may have been the source of his bacteremia. Since it was first reported in 1979, a wide variety of community-acquired and hospital-acquired infections have been attributed to this Sphingomonas. It is ubiquitous to natural environment. We believe that due to its widespread habitat and ability to survive in stress conditions it could be a potential future threat in the era of increasing antimicrobial resistance globally. More research needs to be done on early identification, pathogenesis, treatment and eradication of the organism.

  14. A Minimalistic Resource Allocation Model to Explain Ubiquitous Increase in Protein Expression with Growth Rate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uri Barenholz

    Full Text Available Most proteins show changes in level across growth conditions. Many of these changes seem to be coordinated with the specific growth rate rather than the growth environment or the protein function. Although cellular growth rates, gene expression levels and gene regulation have been at the center of biological research for decades, there are only a few models giving a base line prediction of the dependence of the proteome fraction occupied by a gene with the specific growth rate. We present a simple model that predicts a widely coordinated increase in the fraction of many proteins out of the proteome, proportionally with the growth rate. The model reveals how passive redistribution of resources, due to active regulation of only a few proteins, can have proteome wide effects that are quantitatively predictable. Our model provides a potential explanation for why and how such a coordinated response of a large fraction of the proteome to the specific growth rate arises under different environmental conditions. The simplicity of our model can also be useful by serving as a baseline null hypothesis in the search for active regulation. We exemplify the usage of the model by analyzing the relationship between growth rate and proteome composition for the model microorganism E.coli as reflected in recent proteomics data sets spanning various growth conditions. We find that the fraction out of the proteome of a large number of proteins, and from different cellular processes, increases proportionally with the growth rate. Notably, ribosomal proteins, which have been previously reported to increase in fraction with growth rate, are only a small part of this group of proteins. We suggest that, although the fractions of many proteins change with the growth rate, such changes may be partially driven by a global effect, not necessarily requiring specific cellular control mechanisms.

  15. A SURVEY OF SMART ELECTRICAL BOARDS IN UBIQUITOUS SENSOR NETWORKS FOR GEOMATICS APPLICATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. M. R. Moosavi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays more advanced sensor networks in various fields are developed. There are lots of online sensors spreading around the world. Sensor networks have been used in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS since sensor networks have expanded. Health monitoring, environmental monitoring, traffic monitoring, etc, are the examples of its applications in Geomatics. Sensor network is an infrastructure comprised of sensing (measuring, computing, and communication elements that gives an administrator the ability to instrument, observe, and react to events and phenomena in a specified environment. This paper describes about development boards which can be used in sensor networks and their applications in Geomatics and their role in wireless sensor networks and also a comparison between various types of boards. Boards that are discussed in this paper are Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Beagle board, Cubieboard. The Boards because of their great potential are also known as single board computers. This paper is organized in four phases: First, Reviewing on ubiquitous computing and sensor networks. Second, introducing of some electrical boards. Then, defining some criterions for comparison. Finally, comparing the Ubiquitous boards.

  16. Empowering Pre-Service Teachers to Produce Ubiquitous Flipped Classes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soraya García-Sánchez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This work focuses on technological and educational outcomes that resulted from the production of foreign language educational videos by 90 pre-service instructors enrolled in an official Master’s Degree in Secondary Education programme. This teaching practice, conducted during two consecutive years, was set in a ubiquitous learning environment with the intention of effectively linking digital technology with pedagogy by means of producing flipped classroom units. The findings reveal that these pre-service teachers successfully combined instructional dynamics with digital skills to produce flipped classes adapted to the young generation’s needs. The classroom becomes, therefore, a more participatory learner-centred scenario with a variety of interactive and collaborative activities performed by foreign language students.

  17. Transparency of intentions decreases privacy concerns in ubiquitous surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oulasvirta, Antti; Suomalainen, Tiia; Hamari, Juho; Lampinen, Airi; Karvonen, Kristiina

    2014-10-01

    An online experiment (n=1,897) was carried out to understand how data disclosure practices in ubiquitous surveillance affect users' privacy concerns. Information about the identity and intentions of a data collector was manipulated in hypothetical surveillance scenarios. Privacy concerns were found to differ across the scenarios and moderated by knowledge about the collector's identity and intentions. Knowledge about intentions exhibited a stronger effect. When no information about intentions was disclosed, the respondents postulated negative intentions. A positive effect was found for disclosing neutral intentions of an organization or unknown data collector, but not for a private data collector. The findings underline the importance of disclosing intentions of data use to users in an easily understandable manner.

  18. Revisiting Frequency Reuse towards Supporting Ultra-Reliable Ubiquitous-Rate Communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, Jihong; Kim, Dong Min; Popovski, Petar

    2017-01-01

    One of the goals of 5G wireless systems stated by the NGMN alliance is to provide moderate rates (50+ Mbps) everywhere and with very high reliability. We term this service Ultra-Reliable Ubiquitous-Rate Communication (UR2C). This paper investigates the role of frequency reuse in supporting UR2C...... in the downlink. To this end, two frequency reuse schemes are considered: user-specific frequency reuse (FRu) and BS-specific frequency reuse (FRb). For a given unit frequency channel, FRu reduces the number of serving user equipments (UEs), whereas FRb directly decreases the number of interfering base stations...

  19. Observations on sustainable and ubiquitous healthcare informatics from Florence Nightingale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betts, Helen J; Wright, Graham

    2009-01-01

    As nurses around the world prepare to celebrate the centenary of the death of Florence Nightingale in 2010 this paper reviews her work on using information, especially statistics, to analyze and manage patient care and links that to current developments in informatics. It then examines assistive technologies and how they may impact on nursing practice in the future and links these developments to the writings of Florence Nightingale. The paper concludes by suggesting that in progressing towards sustainable and ubiquitous healthcare informatics we need to study history in order to learn from the lessons of Florence Nightingale and other healthcare pioneers.

  20. 2nd FTRA International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing Application and Wireless Sensor Network

    CERN Document Server

    Pan, Yi; Chao, Han-Chieh; Yi, Gangman

    2015-01-01

    IT changes everyday’s life, especially in education and medicine. The goal of ITME 2014 is to further explore the theoretical and practical issues of Ubiquitous Computing Application and Wireless Sensor Network. It also aims to foster new ideas and collaboration between researchers and practitioners. The organizing committee is soliciting unpublished papers for the main conference and its special tracks.

  1. RIDES: Robust Intrusion Detection System for IP-Based Ubiquitous Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amin, Syed Obaid; Siddiqui, Muhammad Shoaib; Hong, Choong Seon; Lee, Sungwon

    2009-01-01

    The IP-based Ubiquitous Sensor Network (IP-USN) is an effort to build the "Internet of things". By utilizing IP for low power networks, we can benefit from existing well established tools and technologies of IP networks. Along with many other unresolved issues, securing IP-USN is of great concern for researchers so that future market satisfaction and demands can be met. Without proper security measures, both reactive and proactive, it is hard to envisage an IP-USN realm. In this paper we present a design of an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) called RIDES (Robust Intrusion DEtection System) for IP-USN. RIDES is a hybrid intrusion detection system, which incorporates both Signature and Anomaly based intrusion detection components. For signature based intrusion detection this paper only discusses the implementation of distributed pattern matching algorithm with the help of signature-code, a dynamically created attack-signature identifier. Other aspects, such as creation of rules are not discussed. On the other hand, for anomaly based detection we propose a scoring classifier based on the SPC (Statistical Process Control) technique called CUSUM charts. We also investigate the settings and their effects on the performance of related parameters for both of the components.

  2. Human Pacman: A Mobile Augmented Reality Entertainment System Based on Physical, Social, and Ubiquitous Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheok, Adrian David

    This chapter details the Human Pacman system to illuminate entertainment computing which ventures to embed the natural physical world seamlessly with a fantasy virtual playground by capitalizing on infrastructure provided by mobile computing, wireless LAN, and ubiquitous computing. With Human Pacman, we have a physical role-playing computer fantasy together with real human-social and mobile-gaming that emphasizes on collaboration and competition between players in a wide outdoor physical area that allows natural wide-area human-physical movements. Pacmen and Ghosts are now real human players in the real world experiencing mixed computer graphics fantasy-reality provided by using the wearable computers on them. Virtual cookies and actual tangible physical objects are incorporated into the game play to provide novel experiences of seamless transitions between the real and virtual worlds. This is an example of a new form of gaming that anchors on physicality, mobility, social interaction, and ubiquitous computing.

  3. Distributing Workflows over a Ubiquitous P2P Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eddie Al-Shakarchi

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses issues in the distribution of bundled workflows across ubiquitous peer-to-peer networks for the application of music information retrieval. The underlying motivation for this work is provided by the DART project, which aims to develop a novel music recommendation system by gathering statistical data using collaborative filtering techniques and the analysis of the audio itsel, in order to create a reliable and comprehensive database of the music that people own and which they listen to. To achieve this, the DART scientists creating the algorithms need the ability to distribute the Triana workflows they create, representing the analysis to be performed, across the network on a regular basis (perhaps even daily in order to update the network as a whole with new workflows to be executed for the analysis. DART uses a similar approach to BOINC but differs in that the workers receive input data in the form of a bundled Triana workflow, which is executed in order to process any MP3 files that they own on their machine. Once analysed, the results are returned to DART's distributed database that collects and aggregates the resulting information. DART employs the use of package repositories to decentralise the distribution of such workflow bundles and this approach is validated in this paper through simulations that show that suitable scalability is maintained through the system as the number of participants increases. The results clearly illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.

  4. Comparative Genomics of the Ubiquitous, Hydrocarbon-degrading Genus Marinobacter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, E.; Webb, E.; Edwards, K. J.

    2012-12-01

    The genus Marinobacter is amongst the most ubiquitous in the global oceans and strains have been isolated from a wide variety of marine environments, including offshore oil-well heads, coastal thermal springs, Antarctic sea water, saline soils and associations with diatoms and dinoflagellates. Many strains have been recognized to be important hydrocarbon degraders in various marine habitats presenting sometimes extreme pH or salinity conditions. Analysis of the genome of M. aquaeolei revealed enormous adaptation versatility with an assortment of strategies for carbon and energy acquisition, sensation, and defense. In an effort to elucidate the ecological and biogeochemical significance of the Marinobacters, seven Marinobacter strains from diverse environments were included in a comparative genomics study. Genomes were screened for metabolic and adaptation potential to elucidate the strategies responsible for the omnipresence of the Marinobacter genus and their remedial action potential in hydrocarbon-polluted waters. The core genome predominantly encodes for key genes involved in hydrocarbon degradation, biofilm-relevant processes, including utilization of external DNA, halotolerance, as well as defense mechanisms against heavy metals, antibiotics, and toxins. All Marinobacter strains were observed to degrade a wide spectrum of hydrocarbon species, including aliphatic, polycyclic aromatic as well as acyclic isoprenoid compounds. Various genes predicted to facilitate hydrocarbon degradation, e.g. alkane 1-monooxygenase, appear to have originated from lateral gene transfer as they are located on gene clusters of 10-20% lower GC-content compared to genome averages and are flanked by transposases. Top ortholog hits are found in other hydrocarbon degrading organisms, e.g. Alcanivorax borkumensis. Strategies for hydrocarbon uptake encoded by various Marinobacter strains include cell surface hydrophobicity adaptation via capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis and attachment

  5. Successful enrichment of the ubiquitous freshwater acI Actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Sarahi L; McMahon, Katherine D; Grossart, Hans-Peter; Warnecke, Falk

    2014-02-01

    Actinobacteria of the acI lineage are often the numerically dominant bacterial phylum in surface freshwaters, where they can account for > 50% of total bacteria. Despite their abundance, there are no described isolates. In an effort to obtain enrichment of these ubiquitous freshwater Actinobacteria, diluted freshwater samples from Lake Grosse Fuchskuhle, Germany, were incubated in 96-well culture plates. With this method, a successful enrichment containing high abundances of a member of the lineage acI was established. Phylogenetic classification showed that the acI Actinobacteria of the enrichment belonged to the acI-B2 tribe, which seems to prefer acidic lakes. This enrichment grows to low cell densities and thus the oligotrophic nature of acI-B2 was confirmed. © 2013 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Komunikasi Data Berbasis Protokol UDP pada Sistem Ubiquitous Mobile Sensing Kualitas Sumber Air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuning Widiarti Darsono

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The need for monitoring, effective and efficient control and evaluation of water quality in regional waters Surabaya become a demand for population growth, climate change and variability in the current era of urbanization. The traditional method is done by collecting water samples, test and analyze water in the laboratory has been relatively expensive and do not have the ability to capture real-time data, analysis and information delivery fast in making decisions. On the other hand, the rapid spread in the use of mobile phones in developing countries has increased mobile data management applications. A variety of mobile applications has also increased in recent years. This is because mobile phones cheap, easy to use and can transmit multiple types of information including images and GPS data remotely. In this paper, the author describes a data communication system of  water quality resources based on UDP protocol. This system is called ubiquitous mobile sensing consisting of microcontroller Arduino, water quality sensors, and Android smartphones. It has the ability to detect temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO, pH and electrical conductivity (EC in real time. By using this monitoring system, the data result is expected more accurate, faster and cheaper.

  7. Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chabalko, Matthew J; Shahmohammadi, Mohsen; Sample, Alanson P

    2017-01-01

    Wireless power delivery has the potential to seamlessly power our electrical devices as easily as data is transmitted through the air. However, existing solutions are limited to near contact distances and do not provide the geometric freedom to enable automatic and un-aided charging. We introduce quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR), which can enable purpose-built structures, such as cabinets, rooms, and warehouses, to generate quasistatic magnetic fields that safely deliver kilowatts of power to mobile receivers contained nearly anywhere within. A theoretical model of a quasistatic cavity resonator is derived, and field distributions along with power transfer efficiency are validated against measured results. An experimental demonstration shows that a 54 m3 QSCR room can deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position with 40% to 95% efficiency. Finally, a detailed safety analysis shows that up to 1900 watts can be transmitted to a coil receiver enabling safe and ubiquitous wireless power.

  8. Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew J Chabalko

    Full Text Available Wireless power delivery has the potential to seamlessly power our electrical devices as easily as data is transmitted through the air. However, existing solutions are limited to near contact distances and do not provide the geometric freedom to enable automatic and un-aided charging. We introduce quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR, which can enable purpose-built structures, such as cabinets, rooms, and warehouses, to generate quasistatic magnetic fields that safely deliver kilowatts of power to mobile receivers contained nearly anywhere within. A theoretical model of a quasistatic cavity resonator is derived, and field distributions along with power transfer efficiency are validated against measured results. An experimental demonstration shows that a 54 m3 QSCR room can deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position with 40% to 95% efficiency. Finally, a detailed safety analysis shows that up to 1900 watts can be transmitted to a coil receiver enabling safe and ubiquitous wireless power.

  9. Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahmohammadi, Mohsen; Sample, Alanson P.

    2017-01-01

    Wireless power delivery has the potential to seamlessly power our electrical devices as easily as data is transmitted through the air. However, existing solutions are limited to near contact distances and do not provide the geometric freedom to enable automatic and un-aided charging. We introduce quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR), which can enable purpose-built structures, such as cabinets, rooms, and warehouses, to generate quasistatic magnetic fields that safely deliver kilowatts of power to mobile receivers contained nearly anywhere within. A theoretical model of a quasistatic cavity resonator is derived, and field distributions along with power transfer efficiency are validated against measured results. An experimental demonstration shows that a 54 m3 QSCR room can deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position with 40% to 95% efficiency. Finally, a detailed safety analysis shows that up to 1900 watts can be transmitted to a coil receiver enabling safe and ubiquitous wireless power. PMID:28199321

  10. Identification of rat Rosa26 locus enables generation of knock-in rat lines ubiquitously expressing tdTomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Toshihiro; Kato-Itoh, Megumi; Yamaguchi, Tomoyuki; Tamura, Chihiro; Sanbo, Makoto; Hirabayashi, Masumi; Nakauchi, Hiromitsu

    2012-11-01

    Recent discovery of a method for derivation and culture of germline-competent rat pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) enables generation of transgenic rats or knock-out rats via genetic modification of such PSCs. This opens the way to use rats, as is routine in mice, for analyses of gene functions or physiological features. In mouse or human, one widely used technique to express a gene of interest stably and ubiquitously is to insert that gene into the Rosa26 locus via gene targeting of PSCs. Rosa26 knock-in mice conditionally expressing a reporter or a toxin gene have contributed to tracing or ablation of specific cell lineages. We successfully identified a rat orthologue of the mouse Rosa26 locus. Insertion of tdTomato, a variant of red fluorescent protein, into the Rosa26 locus of PSCs of various rat strains allows ubiquitous expression of tdTomato. Through germline transmission of one Rosa26-tdTomato knock-in embryonic stem cell line, we also obtained tdTomato knock-in rats. These expressed tdTomato ubiquitously throughout their bodies, which indicates that the rat Rosa26 locus conserves functions of its orthologues in mouse and human. The new tools described here (targeting vectors, knock-in PSCs, and rats) should be useful for a variety of research using rats.

  11. I WHATSAPP AN IGUANA: AN ATTEMPT TO APPLY UBIQUITOUS LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dwi Haryanti

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at presenting how Whatsapp provides alternative method to enhance writing skills on personal letter for senior high school student. This method Whatsapps inspired by the concept called ubiquitous learning (U-Learning, which means ―learning supported by ICT resources held anytime, anywhere and fits the context of the learner‖ (de Sousa Monteiro et al., 2014. Participants were 40 11-th grade students in one class in Cirebon High School. A short story in the form of personal letter entitled I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff was used as main learning source and the mobile version of the story was sent to the class Whatsapp group along with the reading comprehension questions and the personal letter template. The study was conducted for three weeks in the middle of the second semester year 2017. Contrary to the basic face-to-face teaching and learning, the using of Whatsapp group demonstrates how mobile technology can be fully integrated in an educational context to support students‘ learning beyond the classroom. Another advantages of using Whatsapp group is the fact that learning become the responsibility of learners and may take place through observation, trial and error, asking for help, conversing with others, reading to stories, reflecting on a one‘s personal event, or stimulated by general interests

  12. UBIQUITOUS POLLUTION FROM HEALTH AND COSMETIC ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Those chemical pollutants that are regulated under various international, federal, and state programs represent but a small fraction of the universe of chemicals that occur in the environment as a result of both natural processses and human influence. Although this galaxy of targeted chemicals might be miniuscule compared with the universe of both known and yet-to-be identified chemicals, an implicit assumption is that these selective lists of chemicals are responsible for the most significant share of risk with respect to environmental or economic impairment or to human health.Pharmaceuticals and person care products (PPCPs) comprise a particularly large and diverse array of unregulated pollutants that occur in the environment from the combined activities and actions of multitudes of individuals as well as from veterinary and agricultural use. Although the concentration of any individual PPCP are generally less than ppt-ppb), evidence is accumulateing that these trace-level pollutants are ubiquitous, they can have a continuous presence regardless of environment half-lives (especially where sanitary wastewaters enter the environment), and the numbers of distinct and varied chemical entities could be extremely large (given that thousands are in commerical use). The research focused on in the subtasks is the development and application of state-of the-art technologies to meet the needs of the public, Office of Water, and ORD in the area of Water Quality. Locat

  13. Ubiquitous computing in the workplace what ethical issues? : an interdisciplinary perspective

    CERN Document Server

    Nihan, Céline

    2015-01-01

    This book provides an interdisciplinary collection of views on the ethical challenges and opportunities of workplaces in the Internet of things. Current developments within Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) systems designed for the workplace are introduced and philosophical, organizational and socio-ethical considerations of ubicomp in workplaces are provided. Suggestions regarding the rules that should be respected in order to favor an adequate implementation of ubicomp in the workplace are offered, considering both intra-organizational but also wider societal concerns. The interdisciplinary collection of contributions invites the reader to engage in the discussion of ubicomp in everyday working environments.      

  14. Automated Construction of Node Software Using Attributes in a Ubiquitous Sensor Network Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Woojin; Kim, Juil; Kang, JangMook

    2010-01-01

    In sensor networks, nodes must often operate in a demanding environment facing restrictions such as restricted computing resources, unreliable wireless communication and power shortages. Such factors make the development of ubiquitous sensor network (USN) applications challenging. To help developers construct a large amount of node software for sensor network applications easily and rapidly, this paper proposes an approach to the automated construction of node software for USN applications using attributes. In the proposed technique, application construction proceeds by first developing a model for the sensor network and then designing node software by setting the values of the predefined attributes. After that, the sensor network model and the design of node software are verified. The final source codes of the node software are automatically generated from the sensor network model. We illustrate the efficiency of the proposed technique by using a gas/light monitoring application through a case study of a Gas and Light Monitoring System based on the Nano-Qplus operating system. We evaluate the technique using a quantitative metric—the memory size of execution code for node software. Using the proposed approach, developers are able to easily construct sensor network applications and rapidly generate a large number of node softwares at a time in a ubiquitous sensor network environment. PMID:22163678

  15. Automated Construction of Node Software Using Attributes in a Ubiquitous Sensor Network Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JangMook Kang

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available In sensor networks, nodes must often operate in a demanding environment facing restrictions such as restricted computing resources, unreliable wireless communication and power shortages. Such factors make the development of ubiquitous sensor network (USN applications challenging. To help developers construct a large amount of node software for sensor network applications easily and rapidly, this paper proposes an approach to the automated construction of node software for USN applications using attributes. In the proposed technique, application construction proceeds by first developing a model for the sensor network and then designing node software by setting the values of the predefined attributes. After that, the sensor network model and the design of node software are verified. The final source codes of the node software are automatically generated from the sensor network model. We illustrate the efficiency of the proposed technique by using a gas/light monitoring application through a case study of a Gas and Light Monitoring System based on the Nano-Qplus operating system. We evaluate the technique using a quantitative metric—the memory size of execution code for node software. Using the proposed approach, developers are able to easily construct sensor network applications and rapidly generate a large number of node softwares at a time in a ubiquitous sensor network environment.

  16. Automated construction of node software using attributes in a ubiquitous sensor network environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Woojin; Kim, Juil; Kang, JangMook

    2010-01-01

    In sensor networks, nodes must often operate in a demanding environment facing restrictions such as restricted computing resources, unreliable wireless communication and power shortages. Such factors make the development of ubiquitous sensor network (USN) applications challenging. To help developers construct a large amount of node software for sensor network applications easily and rapidly, this paper proposes an approach to the automated construction of node software for USN applications using attributes. In the proposed technique, application construction proceeds by first developing a model for the sensor network and then designing node software by setting the values of the predefined attributes. After that, the sensor network model and the design of node software are verified. The final source codes of the node software are automatically generated from the sensor network model. We illustrate the efficiency of the proposed technique by using a gas/light monitoring application through a case study of a Gas and Light Monitoring System based on the Nano-Qplus operating system. We evaluate the technique using a quantitative metric-the memory size of execution code for node software. Using the proposed approach, developers are able to easily construct sensor network applications and rapidly generate a large number of node softwares at a time in a ubiquitous sensor network environment.

  17. Ubiquitous Working: Do Work Versus Non-work Environments Affect Decision-Making and Concentration?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolin P. Burmeister

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available New communication technologies and mobile devices have enabled knowledge workers to work independently of location and in more than one fixed environment (ubiquitous working. Previous research shows that physical environments can influence cognition and work performance. We manipulated environment (i.e., a virtual office as a typical work environment compared to a virtual garden as a non-work environment and time pressure (i.e., inducing time pressure vs. no time pressure in order to investigate whether the environment influences decision-making and concentration. N = 109 students participated in this laboratory experiment. We posited (a that a work environment would activate a work-related schema which in turn would enhance concentration performance and make decisions more risky compared to non-work environments and (b that the environmental effect is more pronounced if time pressure is present compared to conditions where no time pressure is present. We found modest hypothesis-confirming main effects of environment on decision-making and concentration but no interaction effect with time pressure. As we used an innovative methodology that entails several limitations, future research is needed to give insights into the process and to investigate whether results hold true for all types of work settings, work demands, or work activities.

  18. Ubiquitous Working: Do Work Versus Non-work Environments Affect Decision-Making and Concentration?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burmeister, Carolin P; Moskaliuk, Johannes; Cress, Ulrike

    2018-01-01

    New communication technologies and mobile devices have enabled knowledge workers to work independently of location and in more than one fixed environment (ubiquitous working). Previous research shows that physical environments can influence cognition and work performance. We manipulated environment (i.e., a virtual office as a typical work environment compared to a virtual garden as a non-work environment ) and time pressure (i.e., inducing time pressure vs. no time pressure ) in order to investigate whether the environment influences decision-making and concentration. N = 109 students participated in this laboratory experiment. We posited (a) that a work environment would activate a work-related schema which in turn would enhance concentration performance and make decisions more risky compared to non-work environments and (b) that the environmental effect is more pronounced if time pressure is present compared to conditions where no time pressure is present. We found modest hypothesis-confirming main effects of environment on decision-making and concentration but no interaction effect with time pressure. As we used an innovative methodology that entails several limitations, future research is needed to give insights into the process and to investigate whether results hold true for all types of work settings, work demands, or work activities.

  19. RIDES: Robust Intrusion Detection System for IP-Based Ubiquitous Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sungwon Lee

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available TheIP-based Ubiquitous Sensor Network (IP-USN is an effort to build the “Internet of things”. By utilizing IP for low power networks, we can benefit from existing well established tools and technologies of IP networks. Along with many other unresolved issues, securing IP-USN is of great concern for researchers so that future market satisfaction and demands can be met. Without proper security measures, both reactive and proactive, it is hard to envisage an IP-USN realm. In this paper we present a design of an IDS (Intrusion Detection System called RIDES (Robust Intrusion DEtection System for IP-USN. RIDES is a hybrid intrusion detection system, which incorporates both Signature and Anomaly based intrusion detection components. For signature based intrusion detection this paper only discusses the implementation of distributed pattern matching algorithm with the help of signature-code, a dynamically created attack-signature identifier. Other aspects, such as creation of rules are not discussed. On the other hand, for anomaly based detection we propose a scoring classifier based on the SPC (Statistical Process Control technique called CUSUM charts. We also investigate the settings and their effects on the performance of related parameters for both of the components.

  20. A Framework for the Development of Context-Adaptable User Interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varela, Gervasio; Paz-Lopez, Alejandro; Becerra, Jose A.; Duro, Richard

    2016-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of developing user interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing (UC) and Ambient Intelligence (AmI) systems. These kind of systems are expected to provide a natural user experience, considering interaction modalities adapted to the user abilities and preferences and using whatever interaction devices are present in the environment. These interaction devices are not necessarily known at design time. The task is quite complicated due to the variety of devices and technologies, and the diversity of scenarios, and it usually burdens the developer with the need to create many different UIs in order to consider the foreseeable user-environment combinations. Here, we propose an UI abstraction framework for UC and AmI systems that effectively improves the portability of those systems between different environments and for different users. It allows developers to design and implement a single UI capable of being deployed with different devices and modalities regardless the physical location. PMID:27399711

  1. A Framework for the Development of Context-Adaptable User Interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gervasio Varela

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the problem of developing user interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing (UC and Ambient Intelligence (AmI systems. These kind of systems are expected to provide a natural user experience, considering interaction modalities adapted to the user abilities and preferences and using whatever interaction devices are present in the environment. These interaction devices are not necessarily known at design time. The task is quite complicated due to the variety of devices and technologies, and the diversity of scenarios, and it usually burdens the developer with the need to create many different UIs in order to consider the foreseeable user-environment combinations. Here, we propose an UI abstraction framework for UC and AmI systems that effectively improves the portability of those systems between different environments and for different users. It allows developers to design and implement a single UI capable of being deployed with different devices and modalities regardless the physical location.

  2. A Framework for the Development of Context-Adaptable User Interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varela, Gervasio; Paz-Lopez, Alejandro; Becerra, Jose A; Duro, Richard

    2016-07-07

    This paper addresses the problem of developing user interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing (UC) and Ambient Intelligence (AmI) systems. These kind of systems are expected to provide a natural user experience, considering interaction modalities adapted to the user abilities and preferences and using whatever interaction devices are present in the environment. These interaction devices are not necessarily known at design time. The task is quite complicated due to the variety of devices and technologies, and the diversity of scenarios, and it usually burdens the developer with the need to create many different UIs in order to consider the foreseeable user-environment combinations. Here, we propose an UI abstraction framework for UC and AmI systems that effectively improves the portability of those systems between different environments and for different users. It allows developers to design and implement a single UI capable of being deployed with different devices and modalities regardless the physical location.

  3. Potential external contamination with bisphenol A and other ubiquitous organic environmental chemicals during biomonitoring analysis: an elusive laboratory challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Xiaoyun; Zhou, Xiaoliu; Hennings, Ryan; Kramer, Joshua; Calafat, Antonia M

    2013-03-01

    Biomonitoring studies are conducted to assess internal dose (i.e., body burden) to environmental chemicals. However, because of the ubiquitous presence in the environment of some of these chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA), external contamination during handling and analysis of the biospecimens collected for biomonitoring evaluations could compromise the reported concentrations of such chemicals. We examined the contamination with the target analytes during analysis of biological specimens in biomonitoring laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation. We present several case studies using the quantitative determination of BPA and other organic chemicals (i.e., benzophenone-3, triclosan, parabens) in human urine, milk, and serum to identify potential contamination sources when the biomarkers measured are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Contamination with target analytes during biomonitoring analysis could result from solvents and reagents, the experimental apparatus used, the laboratory environment, and/or even the analyst. For biomonotoring data to be valid-even when obtained from high-quality analytical methods and good laboratory practices-the following practices must be followed to identify and track unintended contamination with the target analytes during analysis of the biological specimens: strict quality control measures including use of laboratory blanks; replicate analyses; engineering controls (e.g., clean rooms, biosafety cabinets) as needed; and homogeneous matrix-based quality control materials within the expected concentration ranges of the study samples.

  4. The risk of contamination of food with toxic substances present in animal feed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kan, C.A.; Meijer, G.A.L.

    2007-01-01

    Toxic substances such as dioxins, mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides, veterinary drugs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are almost ubiquitous in the environment. Thus, they are also present in ingredients for animal feed. Adequate risk management depends on knowledge of absorption, metabolism,

  5. An energy-efficient communication method based on the relationships between biological signals for ubiquitous health monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Hyok Chon; Na, Doosu; Ko, Byung Geun; Lee, Songjun

    2008-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks have been studied in the area of intelligent transportation systems, disaster perception, environment monitoring, ubiquitous healthcare, home network, and so on. For the ubiquitous healthcare, the previous systems collect the sensed health related data at portable devices without regard to correlations of various biological signals to determine the health conditions. It is not the energy-efficient method to gather a lot of information into a specific node to decide the health condition. Since the biological signals are related with each other to estimate certain body condition, it is necessary to be collected selectively by their relationship for energy efficiency of the networked nodes. One of researches about low power consumption is the reduction of the amount of packet transmission. In this paper, a health monitoring system, which allows the transmission of the reduced number of packets by means of setting the routing path considered the relations of biological signals, is proposed.

  6. Processing models for conflicting user requests in ubiquitous corporate smart spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Levonevskiy Dmitriy

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers processing of conflicting user requests in ubiquitous corporate smart spaces. The formulated problem consists in the contradiction between the limitation of available smart space resources to perform the conflicting user requests and necessity to provide the proper quality of service in corporate smart spaces. The principles of constructing the simulation model are described. The experiments were carried out basing on a model of the SPIIRAS digital signage service. Several task management strategies are discussed, an assessment of their effectiveness is given. The research is aimed at improving the quality of service and user experience in human-computer interaction within the corporate smart spaces.

  7. A Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning Approach for Providing Instant Learning Support in Personal Computer Assembly Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Ching-Kun; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

    2014-01-01

    Personal computer assembly courses have been recognized as being essential in helping students understand computer structure as well as the functionality of each computer component. In this study, a context-aware ubiquitous learning approach is proposed for providing instant assistance to individual students in the learning activity of a…

  8. Decentralized Sensor Fusion for Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanfeliu, Alberto; Andrade-Cetto, Juan; Barbosa, Marco; Bowden, Richard; Capitán, Jesús; Corominas, Andreu; Gilbert, Andrew; Illingworth, John; Merino, Luis; Mirats, Josep M.; Moreno, Plínio; Ollero, Aníbal; Sequeira, João; Spaan, Matthijs T.J.

    2010-01-01

    In this article we explain the architecture for the environment and sensors that has been built for the European project URUS (Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Sites), a project whose objective is to develop an adaptable network robot architecture for cooperation between network robots and human beings and/or the environment in urban areas. The project goal is to deploy a team of robots in an urban area to give a set of services to a user community. This paper addresses the sensor architecture devised for URUS and the type of robots and sensors used, including environment sensors and sensors onboard the robots. Furthermore, we also explain how sensor fusion takes place to achieve urban outdoor execution of robotic services. Finally some results of the project related to the sensor network are highlighted. PMID:22294927

  9. A Survey of Software Infrastructures and Frameworks for Ubiquitous Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Endres

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available In this survey, we discuss 29 software infrastructures and frameworks which support the construction of distributed interactive systems. They range from small projects with one implemented prototype to large scale research efforts, and they come from the fields of Augmented Reality (AR, Intelligent Environments, and Distributed Mobile Systems. In their own way, they can all be used to implement various aspects of the ubiquitous computing vision as described by Mark Weiser [60]. This survey is meant as a starting point for new projects, in order to choose an existing infrastructure for reuse, or to get an overview before designing a new one. It tries to provide a systematic, relatively broad (and necessarily not very deep overview, while pointing to relevant literature for in-depth study of the systems discussed.

  10. Reactive ground-state pathways are not ubiquitous in red/green cyanobacteriochromes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Che-Wei; Gottlieb, Sean M; Kim, Peter W; Rockwell, Nathan C; Lagarias, J Clark; Larsen, Delmar S

    2013-09-26

    Recent characterization of the red/green cyanobacteriochrome (CBCR) NpR6012g4 revealed a high quantum yield for its forward photoreaction [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 130-133] that was ascribed to the activity of hidden, productive ground-state intermediates. The dynamics of the pathways involving these ground-state intermediates was resolved with femtosecond dispersed pump-dump-probe spectroscopy, the first such study reported for any CBCR. To address the ubiquity of such second-chance initiation dynamics (SCID) in CBCRs, we examined the closely related red/green CBCR NpF2164g6 from Nostoc punctiforme. Both NpF2164g6 and NpR6012g4 use phycocyanobilin as the chromophore precursor and exhibit similar excited-state dynamics. However, NpF2164g6 exhibits a lower quantum yield of 32% for the generation of the isomerized Lumi-R primary photoproduct, compared to 40% for NpR6012g4. This difference arises from significantly different ground-state dynamics between the two proteins, with the SCID mechanism deactivated in NpF2164g6. We present an integrated inhomogeneous target model that self-consistently fits the pump-probe and pump-dump-probe signals for both forward and reverse photoreactions in both proteins. This work demonstrates that reactive ground-state intermediates are not ubiquitous phenomena in CBCRs.

  11. Introducing Laptops to Children: An Examination of Ubiquitous Computing in Grade 3 Reading, Language, and Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernard, Robert M.; Bethel, Edward Clement; Abrami, Philip C.; Wade, C. Anne

    2007-01-01

    This study examines the achievement outcomes accompanying the implementation of a Grade 3 laptop or so-­called "ubiquitous computing" program in a Quebec school district. CAT­3 reading, language, and mathematics batteries were administered at the end of Grade 2 and again at the end of Grade 3, after the first year of computer…

  12. Promoting Increased Pitch Variation in Oral Presentations with Transient Visual Feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Hincks

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates learner response to a novel kind of intonation feedback generated from speech analysis. Instead of displays of pitch curves, our feedback is flashing lights that show how much pitch variation the speaker has produced. The variable used to generate the feedback is the standard deviation of fundamental frequency as measured in semitones. Flat speech causes the system to show yellow lights, while more expressive speech that has used pitch to give focus to any part of an utterance generates green lights. Participants in the study were 14 Chinese students of English at intermediate and advanced levels. A group that received visual feedback was compared with a group that received audio feedback. Pitch variation was measured at four stages: in a baseline oral presentation; for the first and second halves of three hours of training; and finally in the production of a new oral presentation. Both groups increased their pitch variation with training, and the effect lasted after the training had ended. The test group showed a significantly higher increase than the control group, indicating that the feedback is effective. These positive results imply that the feedback could be beneficially used in a system for practicing oral presentations.

  13. Analysis of energy efficient routing protocols for implementation of a ubiquitous health system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Jongwon; Park, Yongman; Koo, Sangjun; Ayurzana, Odgeral; Kim, Hiesik

    2007-12-01

    The innovative Ubiquitous-Health was born through convergence of medical service, with development of up to date information technologies and ubiquitous IT. The U-Health can be applied to a variety of special situations for managing functions of each medical center efficiently. This paper focuses on estimation of various routing protocols for implementation of U-health monitoring system. In order to facilitate wireless communication over the network, a routing protocol on the network layer is used to establish precise and efficient route between sensor nodes so that information acquired from sensors may be delivered in a timely manner. A route establishment should be considered to minimize overhead, data loss and power consumption because wireless networks for U-health are organized by a large number of sensor nodes which are small in size and have limited processing power, memory and battery life. In this paper a overview of wireless sensor network technologies commonly known is described as well as evaluation of three multi hop routing protocols which are flooding, gossiping and modified low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy(LEACH) for use with these networks using TOSSIM simulator. As a result of evaluation the integrated wireless sensor board was developed in particular. The board is embedded device based on AVR128 porting TinyOS. Also it employs bio sensor measures blood pressure, pulse frequency and ZigBee module for wireless communication. This paper accelerates the digital convergence age through continual research and development of technologies related the U-Health.

  14. Structure of the vault, a ubiquitous celular component.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, L B; Siva, A C; Rome, L H; Stewart, P L

    1999-04-15

    The vault is a ubiquitous and highly conserved ribonucleoprotein particle of approximately 13 MDa. This particle has been shown to be upregulated in certain multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines and to share a protein component with the telomerase complex. Determination of the structure of the vault was undertaken to provide a first step towards understanding the role of this cellular component in normal metabolism and perhaps to shed some light on its role in mediating drug resistance. Over 1300 particle images were combined to calculate an approximately 31 A resolution structure of the vault. Rotational power spectra did not yield a clear symmetry peak, either because of the thin, smooth walls or inherent flexibility of the vault. Although cyclic eightfold (C8) symmetry was imposed, the resulting reconstruction may be partially cylindrically averaged about the eightfold axis. Our results reveal the vault to be a hollow, barrel-like structure with two protruding caps and an invaginated waist. Although the normal cellular function of the vault is as yet undetermined, the structure of the vault is consistent with either a role in subcellular transport, as previously suggested, or in sequestering macromolecular assemblies.

  15. Decentralized Sensor Fusion for Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aníbal Ollero

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available In this article we explain the architecture for the environment and sensors that has been built for the European project URUS (Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Sites, a project whose objective is to develop an adaptable network robot architecture for cooperation between network robots and human beings and/or the environment in urban areas. The project goal is to deploy a team of robots in an urban area to give a set of services to a user community. This paper addresses the sensor architecture devised for URUS and the type of robots and sensors used, including environment sensors and sensors onboard the robots. Furthermore, we also explain how sensor fusion takes place to achieve urban outdoor execution of robotic services. Finally some results of the project related to the sensor network are highlighted.

  16. A Comprehensive Ubiquitous Healthcare Solution on an Android™ Mobile Device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pei-Cheng Hii

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Provision of ubiquitous healthcare solutions which provide healthcare services at anytime anywhere has become more favorable nowadays due to the emphasis on healthcare awareness and also the growth of mobile wireless technologies. Following this approach, an Android™ smart phone device is proposed as a mobile monitoring terminal to observe and analyze ECG (electrocardiography waveforms from wearable ECG devices in real time under the coverage of a wireless sensor network (WSN. The exploitation of WSN in healthcare is able to substitute the complicated wired technology, moving healthcare away from a fixed location setting. As an extension to the monitoring scheme, medicine care is taken into consideration by utilizing the mobile phone as a barcode decoder, to verify and assist out-patients in the medication administration process, providing a better and more comprehensive healthcare service.

  17. SiC: An Agent Based Architecture for Preventing and Detecting Attacks to Ubiquitous Databases

    OpenAIRE

    Pinzón, Cristian; de Paz Santana, Yanira; Bajo Pérez, Javier; Abraham, Ajith P.; Corchado Rodríguez, Juan M.

    2009-01-01

    One of the main attacks to ubiquitous databases is the structure query language (SQL) injection attack, which causes severe damages both in the commercial aspect and in the user’s confidence. This chapter proposes the SiC architecture as a solution to the SQL injection attack problem. This is a hierarchical distributed multiagent architecture, which involves an entirely new approach with respect to existing architectures for the prevention and detection of SQL injections. SiC incorporates a k...

  18. Twelve previously unknown phage genera are ubiquitous in global oceans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmfeldt, Karin; Solonenko, Natalie; Shah, Manesh; Corrier, Kristen; Riemann, Lasse; Verberkmoes, Nathan C; Sullivan, Matthew B

    2013-07-30

    Viruses are fundamental to ecosystems ranging from oceans to humans, yet our ability to study them is bottlenecked by the lack of ecologically relevant isolates, resulting in "unknowns" dominating culture-independent surveys. Here we present genomes from 31 phages infecting multiple strains of the aquatic bacterium Cellulophaga baltica (Bacteroidetes) to provide data for an underrepresented and environmentally abundant bacterial lineage. Comparative genomics delineated 12 phage groups that (i) each represent a new genus, and (ii) represent one novel and four well-known viral families. This diversity contrasts the few well-studied marine phage systems, but parallels the diversity of phages infecting human-associated bacteria. Although all 12 Cellulophaga phages represent new genera, the podoviruses and icosahedral, nontailed ssDNA phages were exceptional, with genomes up to twice as large as those previously observed for each phage type. Structural novelty was also substantial, requiring experimental phage proteomics to identify 83% of the structural proteins. The presence of uncommon nucleotide metabolism genes in four genera likely underscores the importance of scavenging nutrient-rich molecules as previously seen for phages in marine environments. Metagenomic recruitment analyses suggest that these particular Cellulophaga phages are rare and may represent a first glimpse into the phage side of the rare biosphere. However, these analyses also revealed that these phage genera are widespread, occurring in 94% of 137 investigated metagenomes. Together, this diverse and novel collection of phages identifies a small but ubiquitous fraction of unknown marine viral diversity and provides numerous environmentally relevant phage-host systems for experimental hypothesis testing.

  19. Lipid droplets as ubiquitous fat storage organelles in C. elegans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo Fengli

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lipid droplets are a class of eukaryotic cell organelles for storage of neutral fat such as triacylglycerol (TAG and cholesterol ester (CE. We and others have recently reported that lysosome-related organelles (LROs are not fat storage structures in the nematode C. elegans. We also reported the formation of enlarged lipid droplets in a class of peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation mutants. In the present study, we seek to provide further evidence on the organelle nature and biophysical properties of fat storage structures in wild-type and mutant C. elegans. Results In this study, we provide biochemical, histological and ultrastructural evidence of lipid droplets in wild-type and mutant C. elegans that lack lysosome related organelles (LROs. The formation of lipid droplets and the targeting of BODIPY fatty acid analogs to lipid droplets in live animals are not dependent on lysosomal trafficking or peroxisome dysfunction. However, the targeting of Nile Red to lipid droplets in live animals occurs only in mutants with defective peroxisomes. Nile Red labelled-lipid droplets are characterized by a fluorescence emission spectrum distinct from that of Nile Red labelled-LROs. Moreover, we show that the recently developed post-fix Nile Red staining method labels lipid droplets exclusively. Conclusions Our results demonstrate lipid droplets as ubiquitous fat storage organelles and provide a unified explanation for previous studies on fat labelling methods in C. elegans. These results have important applications to the studies of fat storage and lipid droplet regulation in the powerful genetic system, C. elegans.

  20. "I had a dream and i built it": power and self-staging in ubiquitous high-end homes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lynggaard, Aviaja Borup; Petersen, Marianne Graves; Hepworth, Sam

    2012-01-01

    Research on smart homes and ubiquitous homes is often highly focused on the challenges and obstacles for establishing and living in smart homes. Few have studied peoples' motivations for establishing smart homes as well as the real life experiences living in such homes. We have had the chance to ...

  1. A cloud-based X73 ubiquitous mobile healthcare system: design and implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Zhanlin; Ganchev, Ivan; O'Droma, Máirtín; Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Xueji

    2014-01-01

    Based on the user-centric paradigm for next generation networks, this paper describes a ubiquitous mobile healthcare (uHealth) system based on the ISO/IEEE 11073 personal health data (PHD) standards (X73) and cloud computing techniques. A number of design issues associated with the system implementation are outlined. The system includes a middleware on the user side, providing a plug-and-play environment for heterogeneous wireless sensors and mobile terminals utilizing different communication protocols and a distributed "big data" processing subsystem in the cloud. The design and implementation of this system are envisaged as an efficient solution for the next generation of uHealth systems.

  2. Using Palm Technology in Participatory Simulations of Complex Systems: A New Take on Ubiquitous and Accessible Mobile Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klopfer, Eric; Yoon, Susan; Perry, Judy

    2005-09-01

    This paper reports on teachers' perceptions of the educational affordances of a handheld application called Participatory Simulations. It presents evidence from five cases representing each of the populations who work with these computational tools. Evidence across multiple data sources yield similar results to previous research evaluations of handheld activities with respect to enhancing motivation, engagement and self-directed learning. Three additional themes are discussed that provide insight into understanding curricular applicability of Participatory Simulations that suggest a new take on ubiquitous and accessible mobile computing. These themes generally point to the multiple layers of social and cognitive flexibility intrinsic to their design: ease of adaptation to subject-matter content knowledge and curricular integration; facility in attending to teacher-individualized goals; and encouraging the adoption of learner-centered strategies.

  3. Ubiquitous Monitoring Solution for Wireless Sensor Networks with Push Notifications and End-to-End Connectivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis M. L. Oliveira

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs belongs to a new trend in technology in which tiny and resource constrained devices are wirelessly interconnected and are able to interact with the surrounding environment by collecting data such as temperature and humidity. Recently, due to the huge growth in the use of mobile devices with Internet connection, smartphones are becoming the center of future ubiquitous wireless networks. Interconnecting WSNs with smartphones and the Internet is a big challenge and new architectures are required due to the heterogeneity of these devices. Taking into account that people are using smartphones with Internet connection, there is a good opportunity to propose a new architecture for wireless sensors monitoring using push notifications and smartphones. Then, this paper proposes a ubiquitous approach for WSN monitoring based on a REST Web Service, a relational database, and an Android mobile application. Real-time data sensed by WSNs are sent directly to a smartphone or stored in a database and requested by the mobile application using a well-defined RESTful interface. A push notification system was created in order to alert mobile users when a sensor parameter overcomes a given threshold. The proposed architecture and mobile application were evaluated and validated using a laboratory WSN testbed and are ready for use.

  4. 9th International Conference on Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering and the 10th International Conference on Future Information Technology

    CERN Document Server

    Chao, Han-Chieh; Arabnia, Hamid; Yen, Neil; Advanced Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering : Future Information Technology; MUE-15; FutureTech 2015

    This volume brings together contributions representing the state-of-the-art in new multimedia and future technology information research, currently a major topic in computer science and electronic engineering. Researchers aim to interoperate multimedia frameworks, transforming the way people work and  interact with multimedia data. This book covers future information technology topics including digital and multimedia convergence, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, intelligent computing and applications, embedded systems, mobile and wireless communications, bio-inspired computing, grid and cloud computing, semantic web, human-centric computing and social networks, adaptive and context-aware computing, security and trust computing and related areas.  Representing the combined proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering (MUE-15) and the 10th International Conference on Future Information Technology (FutureTech 2015), this book aims to provide a complete coverage of...

  5. A Decision-Tree-Oriented Guidance Mechanism for Conducting Nature Science Observation Activities in a Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Chu, Hui-Chun; Shih, Ju-Ling; Huang, Shu-Hsien; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2010-01-01

    A context-aware ubiquitous learning environment is an authentic learning environment with personalized digital supports. While showing the potential of applying such a learning environment, researchers have also indicated the challenges of providing adaptive and dynamic support to individual students. In this paper, a decision-tree-oriented…

  6. Vertical Handover Algorithm for WBANs in Ubiquitous Healthcare with Quality of Service Guarantees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Doan Van

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently, Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs have become an emerging technology in healthcare, where patients are equipped withwearable and implantable body sensor nodes to gather sensory information for remote monitoring. The increasing development of coordinator devices on patients enables the internetworking of WBANs in heterogeneous wireless networks to deliver physiological information that is collected at remote terminals in a timely fashion. However, in this type of network, providing a seamless handover with a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS, especially emergency services, is a challenging task. In this paper, we proposed an effective Multi-Attribute Decision-Making (MADM handover algorithm that guarantees seamless connectivity. A patient’s mobile devices automatically connect to the best network that fulfills the QoS requirements of different types of applications. Additionally, we integrated a Content-Centric Networking (CCN processing module into different wireless networks to reduce packet loss, enhance QoS and avoid unnecessary handovers by leveraging in-network caching to achieve efficient content dissemination for ubiquitous healthcare. Simulation results proved that our proposed approach forthe model with CCN outperforms the model without CCN and Received Signal Strength Vertical Handoff (RSS-VHD in terms of the number of handovers, enhancing QoS, packet loss, and energy efficiency.

  7. Shifting Contexts: Investigating the Role of Context in the Use of Ubiquitous Computing for Design-Based Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Katharine S.; Corino, Gianni

    2014-01-01

    In design teaching ubiquitous technologies can offer new ways of situating learning within real world experiences. Yet they require new types of knowledge; both an understanding of how to work with the technology and also an understanding of how to use the technologies to respond to changing contexts such as the place and the people. We sought to…

  8. New Challenges for Design Participation in the Era of Ubiquitous Computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brereton, Margot; Buur, Jacob

    2008-01-01

    Since the event of participatory design in the work democracy projects of the 1970’s and 1980’s in Scandinavia, computing technology and people’s engagement with it have undergone fundamental changes. Although participatory design continues to be a precondition for designing computing that aligns...... with human practices, the motivations to engage in participatory design have changed, and the new era requires formats that are different from the original ones. Through the analysis of three case studies this paper seeks to explain why participatory design must be brought to bear on the field of ubiquitous...... computing, and how this challenges the original participatory design thinking. In particular we will argue that more casual, exploratory formats of engagement with people are required, and rather than planning the all-encompassing systems development project, participatory design needs to move towards...

  9. Wireless Technologies, Ubiquitous Computing and Mobile Health: Application to Drug Abuse Treatment and Compliance with HIV Therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyer, Edward W; Smelson, David; Fletcher, Richard; Ziedonis, Douglas; Picard, Rosalind W

    2010-06-01

    Beneficial advances in the treatment of substance abuse and compliance with medical therapies, including HAART, are possible with new mobile technologies related to personal physiological sensing and computational methods. When incorporated into mobile platforms that allow for ubiquitous computing, these technologies have great potential for extending the reach of behavioral interventions from clinical settings where they are learned into natural environments.

  10. Exploring the Effects of Web-Mediated Computational Thinking on Developing Students' Computing Skills in a Ubiquitous Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Chia-Wen; Shen, Pei-Di; Tsai, Meng-Chuan; Chen, Wen-Yu

    2017-01-01

    Much application software education in Taiwan can hardly be regarded as practical. The researchers in this study provided a flexible means of ubiquitous learning (u-learning) with a mobile app for students to access the learning material. In addition, the authors also adopted computational thinking (CT) to help students develop practical computing…

  11. The Characteristics of Ubiquitous and Unique Leptospira Strains from the Collection of Russian Centre for Leptospirosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voronina, Olga L.; Kunda, Marina S.; Aksenova, Ekaterina I.; Ryzhova, Natalia N.; Semenov, Andrey N.; Petrov, Evgeny M.; Didenko, Lubov V.; Lunin, Vladimir G.; Ananyina, Yuliya V.; Gintsburg, Alexandr L.

    2014-01-01

    Background and Aim. Leptospira, the causal agent of leptospirosis, has been isolated from the environment, patients, and wide spectrum of animals in Russia. However, the genetic diversity of Leptospira in natural and anthropurgic foci was not clearly defined. Methods. The recent MLST scheme was used for the analysis of seven pathogenic species. 454 pyrosequencing technology was the base of the whole genome sequencing (WGS). Results. The most wide spread and prevalent Leptospira species in Russia were L. interrogans, L. kirschneri, and L. borgpetersenii. Five STs, common for Russian strains: 37, 17, 199, 110, and 146, were identified as having a longtime and ubiquitous distribution in various geographic areas. Unexpected properties were revealed for the environmental Leptospira strain Bairam-Ali. WGS of this strain genome suggested that it combined the features of the pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains and may be a reservoir of the natural resistance genes. Results of the comparative analysis of rrs and rpoB genes and MLST loci for different Leptospira species strains and phenotypic and serological properties of the strain Bairam-Ali suggested that it represented separate Leptospira species. Conclusions. Thus, the natural and anthropurgic foci supported ubiquitous Leptospira species and the pool of genes important for bacterial adaptivity to various conditions. PMID:25276806

  12. Ubiquitous Health in Korea: Progress, Barriers, and Prospects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yountae

    2012-01-01

    Objectives Korea has one of the most advanced information technology (IT) infrastructures in the world, and the application of IT in health systems is rapidly progressing from computerization to information systems, ubiquitous systems, and smart systems. This study aims to analyze Korean environments in regards to the development of their u-Health industry and propose directions for u-Healthcare services based on this analysis. Methods This paper reviews the background, progress history, and current status of u-Health in Korea, and suggests strategies for the u-Health industry based on an analysis of its barriers and obstacles. Results When u-Health was introduced to Koreans, their policies and approaches focused mainly on environmental factors, yet these efforts have not progressed further to impact the u-Healthcare service industry itself. To develop the u-Healthcare industry, four points need to be considered: the development and support of the practical service model, institutional support, support of core technology and industry, and the institutionalization of health management service. Conclusions Korea is at a strategic point to start building u-Healthcare service delivery models. u-Healthcare is a healthcare service that provides added value through u-Health environments. By identifying critical success factors in u-Healthcare, we can strengthen the u-Health industry and implement policies to coordinate our efforts in the process of value chains to which we belong. PMID:23346474

  13. Printable polymer actuators from ionic liquid, soluble polyimide, and ubiquitous carbon materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imaizumi, Satoru; Ohtsuki, Yuto; Yasuda, Tomohiro; Kokubo, Hisashi; Watanabe, Masayoshi

    2013-07-10

    We present here printable high-performance polymer actuators comprising ionic liquid (IL), soluble polyimide, and ubiquitous carbon materials. Polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and reliable mechanical strength are required for high-performance polymer actuators. The developed polymer electrolytes comprised a soluble sulfonated polyimide (SPI) and IL, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide ([C2mim][NTf2]), and they exhibited acceptable ionic conductivity up to 1 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) and favorable mechanical properties (elastic modulus >1 × 10(7) Pa). Polymer actuators based on SPI/[C2mim][NTf2] electrolytes were prepared using inexpensive activated carbon (AC) together with highly electron-conducting carbon such as acetylene black (AB), vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF), and Ketjen black (KB). The resulting polymer actuators have a trilaminar electric double-layer capacitor structure, consisting of a polymer electrolyte layer sandwiched between carbon electrode layers. Displacement, response speed, and durability of the actuators depended on the combination of carbons. Especially the actuators with mixed AC/KB carbon electrodes exhibited relatively large displacement and high-speed response, and they kept 80% of the initial displacement even after more than 5000 cycles. The generated force of the actuators correlated with the elastic modulus of SPI/[C2mim][NTf2] electrolytes. The displacement of the actuators was proportional to the accumulated electric charge in the electrodes, regardless of carbon materials, and agreed well with the previously proposed displacement model.

  14. Feeding by phototrophic red-tide dinoflagellates on the ubiquitous marine diatom Skeletonema costatum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du Yoo, Yeong; Jeong, Hae Jin; Kim, Mi Seon; Kang, Nam Seon; Song, Jae Yoon; Shin, Woongghi; Kim, Kwang Young; Lee, Kitack

    2009-01-01

    We investigated feeding by phototrophic red-tide dinoflagellates on the ubiquitous diatom Skeletonema costatum to explore whether dinoflagellates are able to feed on S. costatum, inside the protoplasm of target dinoflagellate cells observed under compound microscope, confocal microscope, epifluorescence microscope, and transmission electron microscope (TEM) after adding living and fluorescently labeled S. costatum (FLSc). To explore effects of dinoflagellate predator size on ingestion rates of S. costatum, we measured ingestion rates of seven dinoflagellates at a single prey concentration. In addition, we measured ingestion rates of the common phototrophic dinoflagellates Prorocentrum micans and Gonyaulax polygramma on S. costatum as a function of prey concentration. We calculated grazing coefficients by combining field data on abundances of P. micans and G. polygramma on co-occurring S. costatum with laboratory data on ingestion rates obtained in the present study. All phototrophic dinoflagellate predators tested (i.e. Akashiwo sanguinea, Amphidinium carterae, Alexandrium catenella, Alexandrium tamarense, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, G. polygramma, Gymnodinium catenatum, Gymnodinium impudicum, Heterocapsa rotundata, Heterocapsa triquetra, Lingulodinium polyedrum, Prorocentrum donghaiense, P. micans, Prorocentrum minimum, Prorocentrum triestinum, and Scrippsiella trochoidea) were able to ingest S. costatum. When mean prey concentrations were 170-260 ng C/ml (i.e. 6,500-10,000 cells/ml), the ingestion rates of G. polygramma, H. rotundata, H. triquetra, L. polyedrum, P. donghaiense, P. micans, and P. triestinum on S. costatum (0.007-0.081 ng C/dinoflagellate/d [0.2-3.0 cells/dinoflagellate/d]) were positively correlated with predator size. With increasing mean prey concentration of ca 1-3,440 ng C/ml (40-132,200 cells/ml), the ingestion rates of P. micans and G. polygramma on S. costatum continuously increased. At the given prey concentrations, the maximum ingestion

  15. FCJ-135 Feral Computing: From Ubiquitous Calculation to Wild Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Fuller

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In ‘The Coming Age of Calm Technology’, Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown are clear in their assertions, what really ‘matters’ about technology is not technology in itself, rather, its capacity to continuously recreate our relationship with the world at large (Brown and Weiser 1996. Even though they promote such an idea under the banner of ‘calm technology’, what is central to their thesis is the mutational capacities brought into the world by the spillage of computation out from its customary boxes. What their work tends to occlude is that in setting the sinking of technology almost imperceptibly, but deeply into the ‘everyday’ as a target for ubiquitous computing, other possibilities are masked, for instance, those of greater hackability or interrogability of such technologies. Our contention is that making ubicomp seamless (MacColl et al, 2002 tends to obfuscate the potential of computation in reworking computational subjects, including societies, modes of life, and inter-relations with the dynamics of thought and the composition of experience and understanding.

  16. Design and implementation of an architectural framework for web portals in a ubiquitous pervasive environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raza, Muhammad Taqi; Yoo, Seung-Wha; Kim, Ki-Hyung; Joo, Seong-Soon; Jeong, Wun-Cheol

    2009-01-01

    Web Portals function as a single point of access to information on the World Wide Web (WWW). The web portal always contacts the portal's gateway for the information flow that causes network traffic over the Internet. Moreover, it provides real time/dynamic access to the stored information, but not access to the real time information. This inherent functionality of web portals limits their role for resource constrained digital devices in the Ubiquitous era (U-era). This paper presents a framework for the web portal in the U-era. We have introduced the concept of Local Regions in the proposed framework, so that the local queries could be solved locally rather than having to route them over the Internet. Moreover, our framework enables one-to-one device communication for real time information flow. To provide an in-depth analysis, firstly, we provide an analytical model for query processing at the servers for our framework-oriented web portal. At the end, we have deployed a testbed, as one of the world's largest IP based wireless sensor networks testbed, and real time measurements are observed that prove the efficacy and workability of the proposed framework.

  17. Implementing pharmacogenomics decision support across seven European countries: The Ubiquitous Pharmacogenomics (U-PGx) project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagec, Kathrin; Koopmann, Rudolf; Crommentuijn-van Rhenen, Mandy; Holsappel, Inge; van der Wouden, Cathelijne H; Konta, Lidija; Xu, Hong; Steinberger, Daniela; Just, Enrico; Swen, Jesse J; Guchelaar, Henk-Jan; Samwald, Matthias

    2018-02-09

    Clinical pharmacogenomics (PGx) has the potential to make pharmacotherapy safer and more effective by utilizing genetic patient data for drug dosing and selection. However, widespread adoption of PGx depends on its successful integration into routine clinical care through clinical decision support tools, which is often hampered by insufficient or fragmented infrastructures. This paper describes the setup and implementation of a unique multimodal, multilingual clinical decision support intervention consisting of digital, paper-, and mobile-based tools that are deployed across implementation sites in seven European countries participating in the Ubiquitous PGx (U-PGx) project. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

  18. Hospitals of the Future - Ubiquitous Computing support for Medical Work in Hospitals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bardram, Jakob Eyvind

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes the visions and on-going research within creating ubiquitous computing support for medical work in the hospitals of the future. Today, clinical computer systems seldom play any role in the execution of clinical work as such. Electronic Patient Records (EPR) are more often...... located in offices at a hospital rather than at patients' bedside, or in operating theaters. There are a number of challenges to the hardware and software design of contemporary computer systems that make them unsuitable for clinical work. It is, for example, difficult to operate a keyboard and a mouse...... while operating a patient. Research within UbiComp provides a range of new conceptual and technological possibilities, which enable us to move clinical computer support closer to the clinical work setting. An important barnce of the research at the Danish Center for Pervasive Healthcare is to design...

  19. Mobile Learning as a Method of Ubiquitous Learning: Students' Attitudes, Readiness, and Possible Barriers to Implementation in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhassan, Riyadh

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and level of readiness, and possible barriers to implementing Mobile Learning as a part of ubiquitous learning. In addition, the study attempted to find out to what extent students are interested in mobile learning. It also aimed to answer the question regarding the readiness of college…

  20. The DinB•RecA complex of Escherichia coli mediates an efficient and high-fidelity response to ubiquitous alkylation lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cafarelli, Tiziana M; Rands, Thomas J; Godoy, Veronica G

    2014-03-01

    Alkylation DNA lesions are ubiquitous, and result from normal cellular metabolism as well as from treatment with methylating agents and chemotherapeutics. DNA damage tolerance by translesion synthesis DNA polymerases has an important role in cellular resistance to alkylating agents. However, it is not yet known whether Escherichia coli (E. coli) DNA Pol IV (DinB) alkylation lesion bypass efficiency and fidelity in vitro are similar to those inferred by genetic analyses. We hypothesized that DinB-mediated bypass of 3-deaza-3-methyladenine, a stable analog of 3-methyladenine, the primary replication fork-stalling alkylation lesion, would be of high fidelity. We performed here the first kinetic analyses of E. coli DinB•RecA binary complexes. Whether alone or in a binary complex, DinB inserted the correct deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) opposite either lesion-containing or undamaged template; the incorporation of other dNTPs was largely inefficient. DinB prefers undamaged DNA, but the DinB•RecA binary complex increases its catalytic efficiency on lesion-containing template, perhaps as part of a regulatory mechanism to better respond to alkylation damage. Notably, we find that a DinB derivative with enhanced affinity for RecA, either alone or in a binary complex, is less efficient and has a lower fidelity than DinB or DinB•RecA. This finding contrasts our previous genetic analyses. Therefore, mutagenesis resulting from alkylation lesions is likely limited in cells by the activity of DinB•RecA. These two highly conserved proteins play an important role in maintaining genomic stability when cells are faced with ubiquitous DNA damage. Kinetic analyses are important to gain insights into the mechanism(s) regulating TLS DNA polymerases. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. New Wistar Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rat transgenic models with ubiquitous expression of green fluorescent protein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Isabel Garcia Diaz

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The Wistar Kyoto (WKY rat and the spontaneously hypertensive (SHR rat inbred strains are well-established models for human crescentic glomerulonephritis (CRGN and metabolic syndrome, respectively. Novel transgenic (Tg strains add research opportunities and increase scientific value to well-established rat models. We have created two novel Tg strains using Sleeping Beauty transposon germline transgenesis, ubiquitously expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP under the rat elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1a promoter on the WKY and SHR genetic backgrounds. The Sleeping Beauty system functioned with high transgenesis efficiency; 75% of new rats born after embryo microinjections were transgene positive. By ligation-mediated PCR, we located the genome integration sites, confirming no exonic disruption and defining a single or low copy number of the transgenes in the new WKY-GFP and SHR-GFP Tg lines. We report GFP-bright expression in embryos, tissues and organs in both lines and show preliminary in vitro and in vivo imaging data that demonstrate the utility of the new GFP-expressing lines for adoptive transfer, transplantation and fate mapping studies of CRGN, metabolic syndrome and other traits for which these strains have been extensively studied over the past four decades.

  2. Migration to Broadband and Ubiquitous Environments by Using Fiber-Optic Technologies in Access/Home Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oguchi, Kimio

    2016-03-01

    The recent dramatic advances in information and communication technologies have yielded new environments. However, adoption still differs area by area. To realize the future broadband environment that everyone can enjoy everywhere, several technical issues have to be resolved before network penetration becomes ubiquitous. One such key is the use of fiber optics for the home and mobile services. This article overviews initial observations drawn from numerical survey data gathered over the last decade in several countries/regions, and gives some example scenarios for network/service evolution. One result implies that implementing new/future services must consider the gross domestic product impact.

  3. Presenting Precision Glycomacromolecules on Gold Nanoparticles for Increased Lectin Binding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophia Boden

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Glyco-functionalized gold nanoparticles have great potential as biosensors and as inhibitors due to their increased binding to carbohydrate-recognizing receptors such as the lectins. Here we apply previously developed solid phase polymer synthesis to obtain a series of precision glycomacromolecules that allows for straightforward variation of their chemical structure as well as functionalization of gold nanoparticles by ligand exchange. A novel building block is introduced allowing for the change of spacer building blocks within the macromolecular scaffold going from an ethylene glycol unit to an aliphatic spacer. Furthermore, the valency and overall length of the glycomacromolecule is varied. All glyco-functionalized gold nanoparticles show high degree of functionalization along with high stability in buffer solution. Therefore, a series of measurements applying UV-Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS and surface plasmon resonance (SPR were performed studying the aggregation behavior of the glyco-functionalized gold nanoparticles in presence of model lectin Concanavalin A. While the multivalent presentation of glycomacromolecules on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs showed a strong increase in binding compared to the free ligands, we also observed an influence of the chemical structure of the ligand such as its valency or hydrophobicity on the resulting lectin interactions. The straightforward variation of the chemical structure of the precision glycomacromolecule thus gives access to tailor-made glyco-gold nanoparticles (glyco-AuNPs and fine-tuning of their lectin binding properties.

  4. Effects of the Team Competition-Based Ubiquitous Gaming Approach on Students' Interactive Patterns, Collective Efficacy and Awareness of Collaboration and Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chih-Hung; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

    2017-01-01

    Previous research has illustrated the importance of acquiring knowledge from authentic contexts; however, without full engagement, students' learning performance might not be as good as expected. In this study, a Team Competition-based Ubiquitous Gaming approach was proposed for improving students' learning effectiveness in authentic learning…

  5. SUPAR: Smartphone as a ubiquitous physical activity recognizer for u-healthcare services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahim, Muhammad; Lee, Sungyoung; Yoon, Yongik

    2014-01-01

    Current generation smartphone can be seen as one of the most ubiquitous device for physical activity recognition. In this paper we proposed a physical activity recognizer to provide u-healthcare services in a cost effective manner by utilizing cloud computing infrastructure. Our model is comprised on embedded triaxial accelerometer of the smartphone to sense the body movements and a cloud server to store and process the sensory data for numerous kind of services. We compute the time and frequency domain features over the raw signals and evaluate different machine learning algorithms to identify an accurate activity recognition model for four kinds of physical activities (i.e., walking, running, cycling and hopping). During our experiments we found Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm outperforms for the aforementioned physical activities as compared to its counterparts. Furthermore, we also explain how smartphone application and cloud server communicate with each other.

  6. Secure Ubiquitous Sensor Network based on Elliptic Curve MenezesQu Vanstoneas Status Data Supply of EnvironmentinDisaster Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismed Jauhar

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Along with the many environmental changes, it enables a disaster either natural or man-made objects. One of the efforts made to prevent disasters from happening is to make a system that is able to provide information about the status of the environment that is around. Many developments in the sensor system makes it possible to load a system that will supply real-time on the status of environmental conditions with a good security system. This study created a supply system status data of environmental conditions, especially on bridges by using Ubiquitous Sensor Network. Sensor used to detect vibrations are using an accelerometer. Supply of data between sensors and servers using ZigBee communication protocol wherein the data communication will be done using the Elliptic Curve Integrated security mechanisms Encryption Scheme and on the use of Elliptic Curve key aggrement Menezes-Qu-Vanstone. Test results show the limitation of distance for communication is as far as 55 meters, with the computation time for encryption and decryption with 97 and 42 seconds extra time for key exchange is done at the beginning of communication . Keywords: Ubiquitous Sensor Network, Accelerometer, ZigBee,Elliptic Curve Menezes-Qu-Vanstone

  7. A calcineurin inhibitory protein overexpressed in Down's syndrome interacts with the product of a ubiquitously expressed transcript

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.C.S. Silveira

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available The Down's syndrome candidate region 1 (DSCR1 protein, encoded by a gene located in the human chromosome 21, interacts with calcineurin and is overexpressed in Down's syndrome patients. As an approach to clarifying a putative function for this protein, in the present study we used the yeast two-hybrid system to identify DSCR1 partners. The two-hybrid system is a method that allows the identification of protein-protein interactions through reconstitution of the activity of the yeast GAL 4 transcriptional activator. The gene DSCR1 fused to the GAL 4 binding domain (BD was used to screen a human fetal brain cDNA library cloned in fusion with the GAL 4 activation domain (AD. Three positive clones were found and sequence analysis revealed that all the plasmids coded for the ubiquitously expressed transcript (UXT. UXT, which is encoded in human Xp11, is a 157-amino acid protein present in both cytosol and nucleus of the cells. This positive interaction of DSCR1 and UXT was confirmed in vivo by mating the yeast strain AH109 (MATaexpressing AD-UXT with the strain Y187 (MATalpha expressing BD-DSCR1, and in vitro by co-immunoprecipitation experiments. These results may help elucidate a new function for DSCR1 and its participation in Down's syndrome pathogenesis.

  8. Technology-Related Strategies Used by Educational Leaders to Increase Prosocial Behavior in K-12 Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beers, Jason Ronald

    2017-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify technology-related strategies used by educational leaders to increase prosocial behavior in K-12 schools. Information and communication technology (ICT) is developing at a rapid rate and is becoming more ubiquitous among students. Discovering and understanding common technology-related strategies…

  9. Learning Potentials of the Ubiquitous Internet: Using Mobile Devices to Support the Individual, Social and Physical Context of the Learner

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalsgaard, Christian; Pedersen, Nicholai Friis; Aaen, Janus Holst

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to identify the key learning potentials of the ubiquitous internet. Rather than focusing on mobile technology or the mobility of the learner, the paper emphasises the ubiquity of internet access as a paramount catalyst for new learning in the digital age. From a sociocultural perspective the paper discusses different ways…

  10. FCJ-133 The Scripted Spaces of Urban Ubiquitous Computing: The experience, poetics, and politics of public scripted space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Ulrik Andersen

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This article proposes and introduces the concept of ‘scripted space’ as a new perspective on ubiquitous computing in urban environments. Drawing on urban history, computer games, and a workshop study of the city of Lund the article discusses the experience of digitally scripted spaces, and their relation to the history of public spaces. In conclusion, the article discusses the potential for employing scripted spaces as a reinvigoration of urban public space.

  11. Assessment of soil attributes and crop productivity after diversification of the ubiquitous corn-soybean rotation in the northwestern U.S. Corn Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Highly specialized cash-grain production systems based upon corn-soybean rotations under tilled soil management are common in the northwestern U.S. Corn Belt. This study, initiated in 1997, was conducted to determine if diversification of this ubiquitous corn-soybean rotation would affect soil char...

  12. PAH Spectroscopy: Past, Present and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattioda, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    Since their discovery in the 1970's, astronomers, astrophysicists and astrochemists have been intrigued by the nearly ubiquitous unidentified infrared emission (UIR) bands. In the 1980's, investigators determined the most probably source of these emissions was a family of molecules known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons or simply PAHs. In order to better understand these interstellar IR features and utilize them as chemical probes of the cosmos, laboratory spectroscopists have spent the last three decades investigating the spectroscopy of PAHs under astrophysically relevant conditions. This presentation will discuss the similarities and differences in the spectroscopic properties of PAHs as one goes from the Far to Mid to Near infrared wavelength regions and probe the changes observed in PAH spectra as they go from neutral to ionized molecules suspended in an inert gas matrix, to PAHs in a water ice matrix and as a thin film. In selected instances, the experimental results will be compared to theoretical values. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on the future directions of PAH spectroscopy.

  13. Special Issue on Entropy-Based Applied Cryptography and Enhanced Security for Ubiquitous Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James (Jong Hyuk Park

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Entropy is a basic and important concept in information theory. It is also often used as a measure of the unpredictability of a cryptographic key in cryptography research areas. Ubiquitous computing (Ubi-comp has emerged rapidly as an exciting new paradigm. In this special issue, we mainly selected and discussed papers related with ore theories based on the graph theory to solve computational problems on cryptography and security, practical technologies; applications and services for Ubi-comp including secure encryption techniques, identity and authentication; credential cloning attacks and countermeasures; switching generator with resistance against the algebraic and side channel attacks; entropy-based network anomaly detection; applied cryptography using chaos function, information hiding and watermark, secret sharing, message authentication, detection and modeling of cyber attacks with Petri Nets, and quantum flows for secret key distribution, etc.

  14. The ubiquitous reflex and its critics in post-revolutionary Russia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirotkina, Irina

    2009-03-01

    In the last century, the reflex was more than a scientific concept: it was a cultural idiom that could be used to various aims--political, scholarly, and artistic. In Russia in the 1920s, the reflex became a ubiquitous notion and a current word, part of the revolutionary discourse and, finally, a password to modernity. Two major factors contributed to it: physiological theories of the reflex, widespread in Russia at the early twentieth-century, and the materialist philosophy backed after the Revolution by the Communist party. Everybody who wished to be modern and materialist, in conformity with the official communist views, had to refer to reflexes. Yet, even in this period, the concept was not unproblematic and was criticized by some scientists, philosophers, artists and even Party members. In the paper, I describe both the array of uses of the term and the criticism it received in political, scientific and artistic discourses. It is not uncommon that, taking their origins in culture and common language, scientific concepts later return there in the form of metaphors. Similarly, the reflex was made into a rigorous scientific concept in the nineteenth century but, in the next century, it circulated as a cultural idiom penetrating various areas of political, artistic and academic life.

  15. The Use of Ubiquitous Sensor Technology in Evaluating Student Thought Process during Practical Operations for Improving Student Technical and Creative Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jou, Min; Wang, Jingying

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated a Ubiquitous Sensor System (USS) that we developed to assess student thought process during practical lessons on a real-time basis and to provide students with a reflective learning environment. Behavioral curves and data obtained by the USS would help students understand where they had made mistakes during practical…

  16. Ubiquitous expression of MAKORIN-2 in normal and malignant hematopoietic cells and its growth promoting activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    King Yiu Lee

    Full Text Available Makorin-2 (MKRN2 is a highly conserved protein and yet its functions are largely unknown. We investigated the expression levels of MKRN2 and RAF1 in normal and malignant hematopoietic cells, and leukemia cell lines. We also attempted to delineate the role of MKRN2 in umbilical cord blood CD34+ stem/progenitor cells and K562 cell line by over-expression and inhibition of MKRN2 through lentivirus transduction and shRNA nucleofection, respectively. Our results provided the first evidence on the ubiquitous expression of MKRN2 in normal hematopoietic cells, embryonic stem cell lines, primary leukemia and leukemic cell lines of myeloid, lymphoid, erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages. The expression levels of MKRN2 were generally higher in primary leukemia samples compared with those in age-matched normal BM cells. In all leukemia subtypes, there was no significant correlation between expression levels of MKRN2 and RAF1. sh-MKRN2-silenced CD34+ cells had a significantly lower proliferation capacity and decreased levels of the early stem/progenitor subpopulation (CFU-GEMM compared with control cultures. Over-expression of MKRN2 in K562 cells increased cell proliferation. Our results indicated possible roles of MKRN2 in normal and malignant hematopoiesis.

  17. DOES PRESENTING PATIENT'S BMI INCREASE DOCUMENTATION OF OBESITY?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norm Clothier, MD, M. Kim Marvel, PhD, Courtney S. Cruickshank, MS

    2002-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Despite the associated health consequences, obesity is infrequently documented as a problem in medical charts. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a simple intervention (routine listing of the BMI on the medical chart will increase physician documentation of obesity in the medical record. Methods: Participants were resident physicians in a family medicine residency program. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. For experimental group physicians, the Body Mass Index was listed alongside other vital signs of patients seen in an ambulatory setting. Physician documentation of patient obesity was assessed by chart review after patient visits. Documentation was defined as inclusion of obesity on the problem list or in the progress note. Results: The intervention did not significantly increase the rate of documentation of obesity in the medical chart. Several reasons for the lack of change are explored, including the difficulty of treating obesity successfully.

  18. Trends in Connectivity Technologies and Their Socioeconomic Impacts. Final Report of the Study: Policy Options for the Ubiquitous Internet Society. Technical Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cave, Jonathan; van Oranje-Nassau, Constantijn; Schindler, Helen Rebecca; Shehabi, Ala'a; Brutscher, Philipp-Bastian; Robinson, Neil

    2009-01-01

    This report is intended to inform the European Commission's DG Information Society and Media in developing its policies for the period 2010-2020. It is targeted to policymakers with expert knowledge of the field. The report summarises the work conducted in the study: "Policy Options for the Ubiquitous Internet Society". It builds on…

  19. Aquaculture disturbance impacts the diet but not ecological linkages of a ubiquitous predatory fish

    Science.gov (United States)

    McPeek, Kathleen C.; McDonald, P. Sean; VanBlaricom, Glenn

    2015-01-01

    Aquaculture operations are a frequent and prominent cause of anthropogenic disturbance to marine and estuarine communities and may alter species composition and abundance. However, little is known about how such disturbances affect trophic linkages or ecosystem functions. In Puget Sound, Washington, aquaculture of the Pacific geoduck clam (Panopea generosa) is increasing and involves placing nets and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes in intertidal areas to protect juvenile geoducks from predators. Initial studies of the structured phase of the farming cycle have documented limited impacts on the abundance of some species. To examine the effect of geoduck aquaculture on ecological linkages, the trophic relationships of a local ubiquitous consumer, Pacific staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus), to its invertebrate prey were compared between geoduck aquaculture sites and nearby reference areas with no aquaculture. Mark-recapture data indicated that sculpin exhibit local site fidelity to cultured and reference areas. The stomach contents of sculpin and stable isotope signatures of sculpin and their prey were examined to study the trophic ecology of cultured and reference areas. Results showed that the structured phase of geoduck aquaculture initiated some changes to staghorn sculpin ecology, as reflected in sculpin diet through stomach content analysis. However, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes revealed that the general food web function of sculpin remained unchanged. The source of carbon at the base of the food web and the trophic position of sculpin were not impacted by geoduck aquaculture. The study has important implications for geoduck aquaculture management and will inform regulatory decisions related to shellfish aquaculture policy.

  20. "I had a dream and i built it": power and self-staging in ubiquitous high-end homes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lynggaard, Aviaja Borup; Petersen, Marianne Graves; Hepworth, Sam

    2012-01-01

    Research on smart homes and ubiquitous homes is often highly focused on the challenges and obstacles for establishing and living in smart homes. Few have studied peoples' motivations for establishing smart homes as well as the real life experiences living in such homes. We have had the chance...... to study 27 homes of very wealthy people around the world, living in homes containing the smartness and intelligence money can buy today. We report on the passions and experiences motivating people to live in smart environments. In particular we describe how people use technologies for staging themselves...

  1. Biography of biophenols: past, present and future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan K. Obied

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTBackground: The term “biophenols” was first coined by Romeo and Uccella in 1996 to denote bioactive phenols in olives replacing the more common and less chemically accurate term “polyphenols”. “Biophenols” has started gaining popularity beyond olive chemistry and currently used by researchers to refer to plant phenols in general. Biophenols constitute the largest group of secondary plant metabolites with ubiquitous presence in plants and wide spectrum of biological activities. During the last three decades, biophenols have seized scientific attention, lured industry and attracted consumers’ interest due to their antioxidative potential in preservation of food and maintaining human health. For the first time, a definition for “biophenols” has been proposed to present a more precise and comprehensive umbrella term to encompass all phenolic compounds of botanical origin. In this article, the author is tracing the landmarks of the history of biophenol research; profiling contemporary research directions; highlighting research controversies and uncertainties; and presenting an outlook of the biophenols future research.Keywords: polyphenols, chemistry, pharmacology, biological activities, antioxidant

  2. Ontological knowledge engine and health screening data enabled ubiquitous personalized physical fitness (UFIT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Chuan-Jun; Chiang, Chang-Yu; Chih, Meng-Chun

    2014-03-07

    Good physical fitness generally makes the body less prone to common diseases. A personalized exercise plan that promotes a balanced approach to fitness helps promotes fitness, while inappropriate forms of exercise can have adverse consequences for health. This paper aims to develop an ontology-driven knowledge-based system for generating custom-designed exercise plans based on a user's profile and health status, incorporating international standard Health Level Seven International (HL7) data on physical fitness and health screening. The generated plan exposing Representational State Transfer (REST) style web services which can be accessed from any Internet-enabled device and deployed in cloud computing environments. To ensure the practicality of the generated exercise plans, encapsulated knowledge used as a basis for inference in the system is acquired from domain experts. The proposed Ubiquitous Exercise Plan Generation for Personalized Physical Fitness (UFIT) will not only improve health-related fitness through generating personalized exercise plans, but also aid users in avoiding inappropriate work outs.

  3. The Impact of Ubiquitous Technologies on the Art Museum as Urban [Political] Space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Mogens; Søndergaard, Morten

    art practice. Our hypothesis is that these new domains have a more general existence and ’profile’ in the paradigm of media art – even though the following is based on the process of creating the ‘MAP – Media Art Platform’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MFSK) in Roskilde, Denmark, between 2005...... and 2008, a process in which we both were involved as media artist and media art curator, respectively. Our focus in this article is to investigate further the status of these new competencies and roles, and to ask: what are these new domains that emerge with regard to the artist, the software developer......The Museum is part of a ubiquitous framing of cultural production and a common, urban (political) space. In later years, technology has enhanced the ubiquity, as well as challenged the foundation of, the Museum. From this enhancement and challenge, which is transforming the museum itself, new...

  4. Building neuroscientific evidence and creating best practices for Active and Healthy Aging through ubiquitous exergaming and Living Labs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamidis, Panagiotis D

    2015-01-01

    Ageing is a major global demographic trend, which seems to be intensified. The earlier detection of risks associated with ageing, can enable earlier intervention to ameliorate their negative consequences. Many of these recent efforts are associated with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the stemming from them innovations in the fight against this age related decline and frailty. Ubiquitous unobtrusive monitoring and training (recently much blended by means of exergames) has become reality due to the availability of new mobile sensors and devices and the emergence of new technologies and services. The current piece of work presents the different milestones we have achieved as best practices during the past seven years of piloting training and exergaming ICT components in an effort to support Active and Healthy Aging. Our impact verification and results validation methodologies are revisited here in an effort to outline best practices and build up neuroscientific evidence. Finally, this paper demonstrates how the construction of an Active and Healthy Aging Living Lab was materialised in an attempt to gauge evidence based research in the field of active and health aging.

  5. Efficient Sustainable Operation Mechanism of Distributed Desktop Integration Storage Based on Virtualization with Ubiquitous Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun-Woo Kim

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Following the rapid growth of ubiquitous computing, many jobs that were previously manual have now been automated. This automation has increased the amount of time available for leisure; diverse services are now being developed for this leisure time. In addition, the development of small and portable devices like smartphones, diverse Internet services can be used regardless of time and place. Studies regarding diverse virtualization are currently in progress. These studies aim to determine ways to efficiently store and process the big data generated by the multitude of devices and services in use. One topic of such studies is desktop storage virtualization, which integrates distributed desktop resources and provides these resources to users to integrate into distributed legacy desktops via virtualization. In the case of desktop storage virtualization, high availability of virtualization is necessary and important for providing reliability to users. Studies regarding hierarchical structures and resource integration are currently in progress. These studies aim to create efficient data distribution and storage for distributed desktops based on resource integration environments. However, studies regarding efficient responses to server faults occurring in desktop-based resource integration environments have been insufficient. This paper proposes a mechanism for the sustainable operation of desktop storage (SODS for high operational availability. It allows for the easy addition and removal of desktops in desktop-based integration environments. It also activates alternative servers when a fault occurs within a system.

  6. Secure Authentication and Prescription Safety Protocol for Telecare Health Services Using Ubiquitous IoT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahid Mahmood

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Internet-of-Things (IoT include a large number of devices that can communicate across different networks. Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS also includes a number of devices connected to the internet where wearable devices are also included. Both systems enable researchers to develop healthcare systems with additional intelligence as well as prediction capabilities both for lifestyle and in hospitals. It offers as much persistence as a platform to ubiquitous healthcare by using wearable sensors to transfer the information over servers, smartphones, and other smart devices in the Telecare Medical Information System (TMIS. Security is a challenging issue in TMIS, and resourceful access to health care services requires user verification and confidentiality. Existing schemes lack in ensuring reliable prescription safety along with authentication. This research presents a Secure Authentication and Prescription Safety (SAPS protocol to ensure secure communication between the patient, doctor/nurse, and the trusted server. The proposed procedure relies upon the efficient elliptic curve cryptosystem which can generate a symmetric secure key to ensure secure data exchange between patients and physicians after successful authentication of participants individually. A trusted server is involved for mutual authentication between parties and then generates a common key after completing the validation process. Moreover, the scheme is verified by doing formal modeling using Rubin Logic and validated using simulations in NS-2.35. We have analyzed the SAPS against security attacks, and then performance analysis is elucidated. Results prove the dominance of SAPS over preliminaries regarding mutual authentication, message integrity, freshness, and session key management and attack prevention.

  7. Developing a ubiquitous health management system with healthy diet control for metabolic syndrome healthcare in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kan, Yao-Chiang; Chen, Kai-Hong; Lin, Hsueh-Chun

    2017-06-01

    Self-management in healthcare can allow patients managing their health data anytime and everywhere for prevention of chronic diseases. This study established a prototype of ubiquitous health management system (UHMS) with healthy diet control (HDC) for people who need services of metabolic syndrome healthcare in Taiwan. System infrastructure comprises of three portals and a database tier with mutually supportive components to achieve functionality of diet diaries, nutrition guides, and health risk assessments for self-health management. With the diet, nutrition, and personal health database, the design enables the analytical diagrams on the interactive interface to support a mobile application for diet diary, a Web-based platform for health management, and the modules of research and development for medical care. For database integrity, dietary data can be stored at offline mode prior to transformation between mobile device and server site at online mode. The UHMS-HDC was developed by open source technology for ubiquitous health management with personalized dietary criteria. The system integrates mobile, internet, and electronic healthcare services with the diet diary functions to manage healthy diet behaviors of users. The virtual patients were involved to simulate the self-health management procedure. The assessment functions were approved by capturing the screen snapshots in the procedure. The proposed system development was capable for practical intervention. This approach details the expandable framework with collaborative components regarding the self-developed UHMS-HDC. The multi-disciplinary applications for self-health management can support the healthcare professionals to reduce medical resources and improve healthcare effects for the patient who requires monitoring personal health condition with diet control. The proposed system can be practiced for intervention in the hospital. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Influences of an Inquiry-based Ubiquitous Gaming Design on Students' Learning Achievements, Motivation, Behavioral Patterns, and Tendency towards Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Chen, Chih-Hung

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, an inquiry-based ubiquitous gaming approach was proposed. The objective of the study was to enhance students' performances in in-field learning activities. To show the advantages of the approach, an experiment was carried out to assess the effects of it on students' learning achievement, motivation, critical thinking, and problem…

  9. Aquaporin 4 is a Ubiquitously Expressed Isoform in the Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) Shark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutler, Christopher P; Maciver, Bryce; Cramb, Gordon; Zeidel, Mark

    2011-01-01

    The dogfish ortholog of aquaporin 4 (AQP4) was amplified from cDNA using degenerate PCR followed by cloning and sequencing. The complete coding region was then obtained using 5' and 3' RACE techniques. Alignment of the sequence with AQP4 amino acid sequences from other species showed that dogfish AQP4 has high levels (up to 65.3%) of homology with higher vertebrate sequences but lower levels of homology to Agnathan (38.2%) or teleost (57.5%) fish sequences. Northern blotting indicated that the dogfish mRNA was approximately 3.2 kb and was highly expressed in the rectal gland (a shark fluid secretory organ). Semi-quantitative PCR further indicates that AQP4 is ubiquitous, being expressed in all tissues measured but at low levels in certain tissues, where the level in liver > gill >  intestine. Manipulation of the external environmental salinity of groups of dogfish showed that when fish were acclimated in stages to 120% seawater (SW) or 75% SW, there was no change in AQP4 mRNA expression in either rectal gland, kidney, or esophagus/cardiac stomach. Whereas quantitative PCR experiments using the RNA samples from the same experiment, showed a significant 63.1% lower abundance of gill AQP4 mRNA expression in 120% SW-acclimated dogfish. The function of dogfish AQP4 was also determined by measuring the effect of the AQP4 expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Dogfish AQP4 expressing-oocytes, exhibited significantly increased osmotic water permeability (P(f)) compared to controls, and this was invariant with pH. Permeability was not significantly reduced by treatment of oocytes with mercury chloride, as is also the case with AQP4 in other species. Similarly AQP4 expressing-oocytes did not exhibit enhanced urea or glycerol permeability, which is also consistent with the water-selective property of AQP4 in other species.

  10. Aquaporin 4 is a ubiquitously expressed isoform in the dogfish (Squalus acanthias shark.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher P Cutler

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The dogfish orthologue of aquaporin 4 (AQP4 was amplified from cDNA using degenerate PCR followed by cloning and sequencing. The complete coding region was then obtained using 5’ and 3’ RACE techniques. Alignment of the sequence with AQP4 amino acid sequences from other species showed that dogfish AQP4 has high levels (up to 65.3% of homology with higher vertebrate sequences but lower levels of homology to agnathan (38.2% or teleost (57.5% fish sequences. Northern blotting indicated that the dogfish mRNA was approximately 3.2 kb and was highly expressed in the rectal gland (a shark fluid secretory organ. Semi-quantitative PCR further indicates that AQP4 is ubiquitous, being expressed in all tissues measured but at low levels in certain tissues, where the level in liver>gill> intestine. Manipulation of the external environmental salinity of groups of dogfish showed that when fish were acclimated in stages to 120% seawater (SW or 75% SW, there was no change in AQP4 mRNA expression in either rectal gland, kidney or esophagus/cardiac stomach. Whereas quantitative PCR experiments using the RNA samples from the same experiment, showed a significant 63.1% lower abundance of gill AQP4 mRNA expression in 120% SW-acclimated dogfish. The function of dogfish AQP4 was also determined by measuring the effect of the AQP4 expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Dogfish AQP4 expressingoocytes, exhibited significantly increased osmotic water permeability (Pf compared to controls, and this was invariant with pH. Permeability was not significantly reduced by treatment of oocytes with mercury chloride, as is also the case with AQP4 in other species. Similarly AQP4 expressing oocytes did not exhibit enhanced urea or glycerol permeability, which is also consistent with the water-selective property of AQP4 in other species.

  11. Event heap: a coordination infrastructure for dynamic heterogeneous application interactions in ubiquitous computing environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johanson, Bradley E.; Fox, Armando; Winograd, Terry A.; Hanrahan, Patrick M.

    2010-04-20

    An efficient and adaptive middleware infrastructure called the Event Heap system dynamically coordinates application interactions and communications in a ubiquitous computing environment, e.g., an interactive workspace, having heterogeneous software applications running on various machines and devices across different platforms. Applications exchange events via the Event Heap. Each event is characterized by a set of unordered, named fields. Events are routed by matching certain attributes in the fields. The source and target versions of each field are automatically set when an event is posted or used as a template. The Event Heap system implements a unique combination of features, both intrinsic to tuplespaces and specific to the Event Heap, including content based addressing, support for routing patterns, standard routing fields, limited data persistence, query persistence/registration, transparent communication, self-description, flexible typing, logical/physical centralization, portable client API, at most once per source first-in-first-out ordering, and modular restartability.

  12. When the hazard you're monitoring is the least of your troubles… the early days of a ubiquitous computing citizen science initiative on active volcanoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Manen, S. M.; Richards, M.; Seaton, R.; Cameron, I.; Avard, G.; Martinez, M.

    2014-12-01

    Approximately 500 million people live in close proximity to one or more of the world's 1500 active volcanoes, and this number is set to increase through population growth. The corresponding human, social, environmental and economic costs of volcanic activity are likewise set to rise. Monitoring of active volcanoes is imperative to minimize the impact of volcanic activity. However, people's responses towards risk are not just determined by objective scientific information, but also by socio-cognitive factors such as hazard salience; risk perception; anxiety levels and sense of self efficacy. This project aims to take a citizen science approach to the monitoring of hazardous volcanic gases: a low-cost automated ubiquitous technology station will increase spatial and temporal data resolution while providing citizens access to relevant, accurate, timely and local information. This means a single data stream can be used to develop a better understanding of volcanic degassing and raise levels of hazard salience and increase feelings of self efficacy. A year and two prototypes into the project, this work presents the lessons learnt to date. Careful consideration was given to the station design in light of the harsh conditions it may encounter. Once the first prototypes were built, results from the initial lab tests were encouraging. Yet it wasn't until the stations were taken into the field that unexpected challenges were encountered: humans. During the very first field trial the prototype was vandalised, our second attempt was thwarted by customs and courier services. As a result, we've had to be flexible in our approach and adapt our strategy and station design in response to these events, which will eventually result in a better outcome. However, this case study serves as a reminder of the importance of considering factors beyond the equipment, data, interpretation and involvement of the public, when planning and implementing a citizen science initiative.

  13. Dual Role of Ancient Ubiquitous Protein 1 (AUP1) in Lipid Droplet Accumulation and Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Protein Quality Control

    OpenAIRE

    Klemm, Elizabeth J.; Spooner, Eric; Ploegh, Hidde L.

    2011-01-01

    Quality control of endoplasmic reticulum proteins involves the identification and engagement of misfolded proteins, dislocation of the misfolded protein across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, and ubiquitin-mediated targeting to the proteasome for degradation. Ancient ubiquitous protein 1 (AUP1) physically associates with the mammalian HRD1-SEL1L complex, and AUP1 depletion impairs degradation of misfolded ER proteins. One of the functions of AUP1 in ER quality control is to recruit t...

  14. Aldehyde suppression of copepod recruitment in blooms of a ubiquitous planktonic diatom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ianora, Adrianna; Miralto, Antonio; Poulet, Serge A.; Carotenuto, Ylenia; Buttino, Isabella; Romano, Giovanna; Casotti, Raffaella; Pohnert, Georg; Wichard, Thomas; Colucci-D'Amato, Luca; Terrazzano, Giuseppe; Smetacek, Victor

    2004-05-01

    The growth cycle in nutrient-rich, aquatic environments starts with a diatom bloom that ends in mass sinking of ungrazed cells and phytodetritus. The low grazing pressure on these blooms has been attributed to the inability of overwintering copepod populations to track them temporally. We tested an alternative explanation: that dominant diatom species impair the reproductive success of their grazers. We compared larval development of a common overwintering copepod fed on a ubiquitous, early-blooming diatom species with its development when fed on a typical post-bloom dinoflagellate. Development was arrested in all larvae in which both mothers and their larvae were fed the diatom diet. Mortality remained high even if larvae were switched to the dinoflagellate diet. Aldehydes, cleaved from a fatty acid precursor by enzymes activated within seconds after crushing of the cell, elicit the teratogenic effect. This insidious mechanism, which does not deter the herbivore from feeding but impairs its recruitment, will restrain the cohort size of the next generation of early-rising overwinterers. Such a transgenerational plant-herbivore interaction could explain the recurringly inefficient use of a predictable, potentially valuable food resource-the spring diatom bloom-by marine zooplankton.

  15. Scannographic appearance of increased colloid uptake in the left liver lobe (Case presentation)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tadzher, Isak S.; Josifovska, Tatjana; Popgjorcheva, Daniela

    1996-01-01

    Incidentally increased uptake of Tc-99m sulfur colloid was found in scannographic images in the whole left liver lobe in all positions (PA, AP, DL, LL). The patient, a 60-year-old woman, was three years earlier cholocystecomized and had since occasional pain in the right upper abdominal quadrant due to biliary dyskinesia. Accessory spleen tissue was seen as well in the inferior lineal pole, probably presenting Shurer's phenomenon of 'lienis in liene' thus augmenting the serendipity of the scanographic findings. Imaging of the accessory spleen with heat denaturated spherocytes - Tc-99m confirmed the lienal structure of the tissue with preserved red pulp trabecular trapping mechanism in addition to phagocytic function of lineal Kupffer cells (in white pulp). Mebrofenin-Tc-99m (IDA-agent) showed in our patient normal distribution in both liver lobes contrary to focal nodular hyperplasia and adenoma of the liver where IDA-radio- pharmaceuticals have delayed clearance due to abnormal biliary canaliculi. In our patient uptake, distribution, excretion and liver washout of mebrofenin-Tc-99m was found to be normal. This is in favor of an exclusive, solitary increase of the number of Kupffer cells confined to the whole left lobe of the liver. Increased colloid uptake in the left liver lobe is dependent on a greater number of Kupffer cells pro volume than in the right lobe. (Author)

  16. SiC: An Agent Based Architecture for Preventing and Detecting Attacks to Ubiquitous Databases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinzón, Cristian; de Paz, Yanira; Bajo, Javier; Abraham, Ajith; Corchado, Juan M.

    One of the main attacks to ubiquitous databases is the structure query language (SQL) injection attack, which causes severe damages both in the commercial aspect and in the user’s confidence. This chapter proposes the SiC architecture as a solution to the SQL injection attack problem. This is a hierarchical distributed multiagent architecture, which involves an entirely new approach with respect to existing architectures for the prevention and detection of SQL injections. SiC incorporates a kind of intelligent agent, which integrates a case-based reasoning system. This agent, which is the core of the architecture, allows the application of detection techniques based on anomalies as well as those based on patterns, providing a great degree of autonomy, flexibility, robustness and dynamic scalability. The characteristics of the multiagent system allow an architecture to detect attacks from different types of devices, regardless of the physical location. The architecture has been tested on a medical database, guaranteeing safe access from various devices such as PDAs and notebook computers.

  17. Non-Contact Plant Growth Measurement Method and System Based on Ubiquitous Sensor Network Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Intae Ryoo

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a non-contact plant growth measurement system using infrared sensors based on the ubiquitous sensor network (USN technology. The proposed system measures plant growth parameters such as the stem radius of plants using real-time non-contact methods, and generates diameter, cross-sectional area and thickening form of plant stems using this measured data. Non-contact sensors have been used not to cause any damage to plants during measurement of the growth parameters. Once the growth parameters are measured, they are transmitted to a remote server using the sensor network technology and analyzed in the application program server. The analyzed data are then provided for administrators and a group of interested users. The proposed plant growth measurement system has been designed and implemented using fixed-type and rotary-type infrared sensor based measurement methods and devices. Finally, the system performance is compared and verified with the measurement data that have been obtained by practical field experiments.

  18. NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROSCOPY OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES FROM eBOSS: SIGNATURES OF UBIQUITOUS GALACTIC-SCALE OUTFLOWS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Guangtun Ben; Comparat, Johan; Kneib, Jean-Paul; Delubac, Timothée; Raichoor, Anand; Yèche, Christophe; Dawson, Kyle S.; Newman, Jeffrey; Zhou, Xu; Schneider, Donald P.

    2015-01-01

    We present rest-frame near-ultraviolet (NUV) spectroscopy of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 0.6 < z < 1.2 from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) in SDSS-IV. One of the eBOSS programs is to obtain 2″ (about 15 kpc) fiber spectra of about 200,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) at redshift z ≳ 0.6. We use the data from the pilot observations of this program, including 8620 spectra of SFGs at 0.6 < z < 1.2. The median composite spectra of these SFGs at 2200 Å < λ < 4000 Å feature asymmetric, preferentially blueshifted non-resonant emission, Fe ii*, and blueshifted resonant absorption, e.g., Fe ii and Mg ii, indicating ubiquitous outflows driven by star formation at these redshifts. For the absorption lines, we find a variety of velocity profiles with different degrees of blueshift. Comparing our new observations with the literature, we do not observe the non-resonant emission in the small-aperture (<40 pc) spectra of local star-forming regions with the Hubble Space Telescope, and find the observed line ratios in the SFG spectra to be different from those in the spectra of local star-forming regions, as well as those of quasar absorption-line systems in the same redshift range. We introduce an outflow model that can simultaneously explain the multiple observed properties and suggest that the variety of absorption velocity profiles and the line ratio differences are caused by scattered fluorescent emission filling in on top of the absorption in the large-aperture eBOSS spectra. We develop an observation-driven, model-independent method to correct the emission infill to reveal the true absorption profiles. Finally, we show that the strengths of both the non-resonant emission and the emission-corrected resonant absorption increase with [O ii] λλ3727, 3730 rest equivalent width and luminosity, with a slightly larger dependence on the former. Our results show that the eBOSS and future dark-energy surveys (e.g., Dark Energy Spectroscopic

  19. Exposure to bisphenol A from drinking canned beverages increases blood pressure: randomized crossover trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Sanghyuk; Hong, Yun-Chul

    2015-02-01

    Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in plastic bottles and inner coating of beverage cans, and its exposure is almost ubiquitous. BPA has been associated with hypertension and decreased heart rate variability in the previous studies. The aim of the present study was to determine whether increased BPA exposure from consumption of canned beverage actually affects blood pressure and heart rate variability. We conducted a randomized crossover trial with noninstitutionalized adults, who were aged ≥60 years and recruited from a local community center. A total of 60 participants visited the study site 3 times, and they were provided the same beverage in 2 glass bottles, 2 cans, or 1 can and 1 glass bottle at a time. The sequence of the beverage was randomized. We then measured urinary BPA concentration, blood pressure, and heart rate variability 2 hours after the consumption of each beverage. The paired t test and mixed model were used to compare the differences. The urinary BPA concentration increased after consuming canned beverages by >1600% compared with that after consuming glass bottled beverages. Systolic blood pressure adjusted for daily variance increased by ≈4.5 mm Hg after consuming 2 canned beverages compared with that after consuming 2 glass bottled beverages, and the difference was statistically significant. The parameters of the heart rate variability did not show statistically significant differences.The present study demonstrated that consuming canned beverage and consequent increase of BPA exposure increase blood pressure acutely. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

  20. Radiation Doses to Members of the U.S. Population from Ubiquitous Radionuclides in the Body: Part 2, Methods and Dose Calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, David J.; Strom, Daniel J.

    2011-01-01

    This paper is part two of a three-part series investigating annual effective doses to residents of the United States from intakes of ubiquitous radionuclides, including radionuclides occurring naturally, radionuclides whose concentrations are technologically enhanced, and anthropogenic radionuclides. This series of papers explicitly excludes intakes from inhaling 222Rn, 220Rn, and their short-lived decay products; it also excludes intakes of radionuclides in occupational and medical settings. Part one reviewed, summarized, characterized, and grouped all published and some unpublished data for U.S. residents on ubiquitous radionuclide concentrations in tissues and organs. Assumptions about equilibrium with long-lived parents are made for the 28 other radionuclides in these series lacking data. This paper describes the methods developed to group the collected data into source regions described in the Radiation Dose Assessment Resource (RADAR) dosimetric methodology. Methods for converting the various units of data published over 50 years into a standard form are developed and described. Often, meaningful values of uncertainty of measurements were not published so that variability in data sets is confounded with measurement uncertainty. A description of the methods developed to estimate variability is included in this paper. The data described in part one are grouped by gender and age to match the RADAR dosimetric phantoms. Within these phantoms, concentration values are grouped into source tissue regions by radionuclide, and they are imputed for source regions lacking tissue data. Radionuclide concentrations are then imputed for other phantoms source regions with missing concentration values, and the uncertainties of the imputed values are increased. The content concentrations of hollow organs are calculated, and activities are apportioned to the bone source regions using assumptions about each radionuclide's bone-seeking behavior. The data sets are then ready to be

  1. Cell differentiation by interaction of two HMG-box proteins: Mat1-Mc activates M cell-specific genes in S.pombe by recruiting the ubiquitous transcription factor Ste11 to weak binding sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjaerulff, S; Dooijes, D; Clevers, H

    1997-01-01

    The Schizosaccharomyces pombe mfm1 gene is expressed in an M cell-specific fashion. This regulation requires two HMG-box proteins: the ubiquitous Ste11 transcription factor and the M cell-controlling protein Mat1-Mc. Here we report that the mfm1 promoter contains a single, weak Stell-binding site...... where we could not detect Mat1-Mc in the resulting protein-DNA complex. When we changed a single base in the mfm1 TR-box, such that it resembled those boxes found in ubiquitously expressed genes, Ste11 binding was enhanced, and in vivo the mfm1 gene also became expressed in P cells where Mat1-Mc...

  2. Natural disasters and nontuberculous mycobacteria: a recipe for increased disease?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Jennifer R; Bernhard, Jon N; Chan, Edward D

    2015-02-01

    Infectious diseases acquired by survivors of large-scale natural disasters complicate the recovery process. During events such as tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornados and well into the recovery period, victims often are exposed to water-soil mixtures that have relocated with indigenous microbes. Because nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous in water and soil, there is potential for increased exposure to these organisms during natural disasters. In this hypothesis-driven commentary, we discuss the rise in NTM lung disease and natural disasters and examine the geographic overlap of NTM infections and disaster frequencies in the United States. Moreover, we show an increased number of positive NTM cultures from Louisiana residents in the years following three of the relatively recent epic hurricanes and posit that such natural disasters may help to drive the increased number of NTM infections. Finally, we advocate for increased environmental studies and surveillance of NTM infections before and after natural disasters.

  3. Improved meal presentation increases food intake and decreases readmission rate in hospitalized patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Daniela Abigail; Boaz, Mona; Krause, Ilan; Elis, Avishay; Chernov, Karina; Giabra, Mursi; Levy, Miriam; Giboreau, Agnes; Kosak, Sigrid; Mouhieddine, Mohamed; Singer, Pierre

    2016-10-01

    .5%. Improvement of meal presentation at a hospital setting can increase food intake, reduce waste food substantially and reduce readmission rate to hospital. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

  4. The mid-IR silicon photonics sensor platform (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimerling, Lionel; Hu, Juejun; Agarwal, Anuradha M.

    2017-02-01

    Advances in integrated silicon photonics are enabling highly connected sensor networks that offer sensitivity, selectivity and pattern recognition. Cost, performance and the evolution path of the so-called `Internet of Things' will gate the proliferation of these networks. The wavelength spectral range of 3-8um, commonly known as the mid-IR, is critical to specificity for sensors that identify materials by detection of local vibrational modes, reflectivity and thermal emission. For ubiquitous sensing applications in this regime, the sensors must move from premium to commodity level manufacturing volumes and cost. Scaling performance/cost is critically dependent on establishing a minimum set of platform attributes for point, wearable, and physical sensing. Optical sensors are ideal for non-invasive applications. Optical sensor device physics involves evanescent or intra-cavity structures for applied to concentration, interrogation and photo-catalysis functions. The ultimate utility of a platform is dependent on sample delivery/presentation modalities; system reset, recalibration and maintenance capabilities; and sensitivity and selectivity performance. The attributes and performance of a unified Glass-on-Silicon platform has shown good prospects for heterogeneous integration on materials and devices using a low cost process flow. Integrated, single mode, silicon photonic platforms offer significant performance and cost advantages, but they require discovery and qualification of new materials and process integration schemes for the mid-IR. Waveguide integrated light sources based on rare earth dopants and Ge-pumped frequency combs have promise. Optical resonators and waveguide spirals can enhance sensitivity. PbTe materials are among the best choices for a standard, waveguide integrated photodetector. Chalcogenide glasses are capable of transmitting mid-IR signals with high transparency. Integrated sensor case studies of i) high sensitivity analyte detection in

  5. Ubiquitous healthy diatoms in the deep sea confirm deep carbon injection by the biological pump

    KAUST Repository

    Agusti, Susana

    2015-07-09

    The role of the ocean as a sink for CO2 is partially dependent on the downward transport of phytoplankton cells packaged within fast-sinking particles. However, whether such fast-sinking mechanisms deliver fresh organic carbon down to the deep bathypelagic sea and whether this mechanism is prevalent across the ocean requires confirmation. Here we report the ubiquitous presence of healthy photosynthetic cells, dominated by diatoms, down to 4,000 m in the deep dark ocean. Decay experiments with surface phytoplankton suggested that the large proportion (18%) of healthy photosynthetic cells observed, on average, in the dark ocean, requires transport times from a few days to a few weeks, corresponding to sinking rates (124–732 m d−1) comparable to those of fast-sinking aggregates and faecal pellets. These results confirm the expectation that fast-sinking mechanisms inject fresh organic carbon into the deep sea and that this is a prevalent process operating across the global oligotrophic ocean.

  6. Ubiquitous healthy diatoms in the deep sea confirm deep carbon injection by the biological pump

    KAUST Repository

    Agusti, Susana; Gonzá lez-Gordillo, J. I.; Vaqué , D.; Estrada, M.; Cerezo, M. I.; Salazar, G.; Gasol, J. M.; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2015-01-01

    The role of the ocean as a sink for CO2 is partially dependent on the downward transport of phytoplankton cells packaged within fast-sinking particles. However, whether such fast-sinking mechanisms deliver fresh organic carbon down to the deep bathypelagic sea and whether this mechanism is prevalent across the ocean requires confirmation. Here we report the ubiquitous presence of healthy photosynthetic cells, dominated by diatoms, down to 4,000 m in the deep dark ocean. Decay experiments with surface phytoplankton suggested that the large proportion (18%) of healthy photosynthetic cells observed, on average, in the dark ocean, requires transport times from a few days to a few weeks, corresponding to sinking rates (124–732 m d−1) comparable to those of fast-sinking aggregates and faecal pellets. These results confirm the expectation that fast-sinking mechanisms inject fresh organic carbon into the deep sea and that this is a prevalent process operating across the global oligotrophic ocean.

  7. A ubiquitous but ineffective intervention: Signs do not increase hand hygiene compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birnbach, David J; Rosen, Lisa F; Fitzpatrick, Maureen; Everett-Thomas, Ruth; Arheart, Kristopher L

    Proper hand hygiene is critical for preventing healthcare-associated infection, but provider compliance remains suboptimal. While signs are commonly used to remind physicians and nurses to perform hand hygiene, the content of these signs is rarely based on specific, validated health behavior theories. This observational study assessed the efficacy of a hand hygiene sign disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an intensive care unit compared to an optimized evidence-based sign designed by a team of patient safety experts. The optimized sign was developed by four patient safety experts to include known evidence-based components and was subsequently validated by surveying ten physicians and ten nurses using a 10 point Likert scale. Eighty-two physicians and 98 nurses (102 females; 78 males) were observed for hand hygiene (HH) compliance, and the total HH compliance rate was 16%. HH compliance was not significantly different among the signs (Baseline 10% vs. CDC 18% vs. OIS 20%; p=0.280). The findings of this study suggest that even when the content and design of a hand hygiene reminder sign incorporates evidence-based constructs, healthcare providers comply only a fraction of the time. Copyright © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The ubiquitous throat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hebecker, A.; March-Russell, J.

    2007-01-01

    We attempt to quantify the widely-held belief that large hierarchies induced by strongly-warped geometries are common in the string theory landscape. To this end, we focus on the arguably best-understood subset of vacua-type IIB Calabi-Yau orientifolds with non-perturbative Kaehler stabilization and a SUSY-breaking uplift (the KKLT setup). Within this framework, vacua with a realistically small cosmological constant are expected to come from Calabi-Yaus with a large number of 3-cycles. For appropriate choices of flux numbers, many of these 3-cycles can, in general, shrink to produce near-conifold geometries. Thus, a simple statistical analysis in the spirit of Denef and Douglas allows us to estimate the expected number and length of Klebanov-Strassler throats in the given set of vacua. We find that throats capable of explaining the electroweak hierarchy are expected to be present in a large fraction of the landscape vacua while shorter throats are essentially unavoidable in a statistical sense

  9. Increased Sensitivity to Angiotensin II is Present Postpartum in Women with History of Hypertensive Pregnancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Aditi R.; Karumanchi, S. Ananth; Brown, Nancy J.; Royle, Caroline M.; McElrath, Thomas F.; Seely, Ellen W.

    2010-01-01

    Pregnancies complicated by new onset hypertension are associated with increased sensitivity to angiotensin II, but it is unclear if this sensitivity persists postpartum. We studied pressor response to infused angiotensin II in 25 normotensive postpartum women in both high and low sodium balance. Ten women had history of hypertensive pregnancy (five with preeclampsia; five with transient hypertension of pregnancy) and 15 women had history of uncomplicated, normotensive pregnancy. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, aldosterone and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) levels were measured before and after angiotensin II infusion in both dietary phases. In high sodium balance, women with history of hypertensive pregnancy were normotensive but had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures than controls (115 vs. 104 mmHg and 73 vs. 65 mmHg, respectively, ppregnancy had pressor response to salt loading, demonstrated by increase in systolic blood pressure on high salt diet. They also had greater systolic pressor response (10 vs. 2 mmHg, p=0.03), greater increase in aldosterone (56.8 vs. 30.8 ng/dL, p=0.03) and increase in sFlt-1 levels (11.0 vs. -18.9 pg/mL, p=0.02) after infusion of angiotensin II in low sodium balance, compared with controls. Thus, women with history of hypertensive pregnancy demonstrated salt sensitivity of blood pressure and had increased pressor, adrenal and sFlt-1 responses to infused angiotensin II in low sodium balance. Increased sensitivity to angiotensin II observed during pregnancy in women with hypertensive pregnancy is present postpartum; this feature may contribute to future cardiovascular risk in these women. PMID:20308605

  10. The present and future of microplastic pollution in the marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivar do Sul, Juliana A.; Costa, Monica F.

    2014-01-01

    Recently, research examining the occurrence of microplastics in the marine environment has substantially increased. Field and laboratory work regularly provide new evidence on the fate of microplastic debris. This debris has been observed within every marine habitat. In this study, at least 101 peer-reviewed papers investigating microplastic pollution were critically analysed (Supplementary material). Microplastics are commonly studied in relation to (1) plankton samples, (2) sandy and muddy sediments, (3) vertebrate and invertebrate ingestion, and (4) chemical pollutant interactions. All of the marine organism groups are at an eminent risk of interacting with microplastics according to the available literature. Dozens of works on other relevant issues (i.e., polymer decay at sea, new sampling and laboratory methods, emerging sources, externalities) were also analysed and discussed. This paper provides the first in-depth exploration of the effects of microplastics on the marine environment and biota. The number of scientific publications will increase in response to present and projected plastic uses and discard patterns. Therefore, new themes and important approaches for future work are proposed. Highlights: • >100 works on microplastic marine pollution were reviewed and discussed. • Microplastics (fibres, fragments, pellets) are widespread in oceans and sediments. • Microplastics interact with POPs and contaminate the marine biota when ingested. • The marine food web might be affected by microplastic biomagnification. • Urgently needed integrated approaches are suggested to different stakeholders. -- Microplastics, which are ubiquitous in marine habitats, affect all facets of the environment and continuously cause unexpected consequences for the environment and its biota

  11. Increased serum levels of high mobility group box 1 protein in patients with autistic disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emanuele, Enzo; Boso, Marianna; Brondino, Natascia; Pietra, Stefania; Barale, Francesco; Ucelli di Nemi, Stefania; Politi, Pierluigi

    2010-05-30

    High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a highly conserved, ubiquitous protein that functions as an activator for inducing the immune response and can be released from neurons after glutamate excitotoxicity. The objective of the present study was to measure serum levels of HMGB1 in patients with autistic disorder and to study their relationship with clinical characteristics. We enrolled 22 adult patients with autistic disorder (mean age: 28.1+/-7.7 years) and 28 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (mean age: 28.7+/-8.1 years). Serum levels of HMGB1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared with healthy subjects, serum levels of HMGB1 were significantly higher in patients with autistic disorder (10.8+/-2.6 ng/mL versus 5.6+/-2.5 ng/mL, respectively, Pautistic disorder. Increased HMGB1 may be a biological correlate of the impaired reciprocal social interactions in this neurodevelopmental disorder. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Ubiquitous Creation of Bas-Relief Surfaces with Depth-of-Field Effects Using Smartphones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bong-Soo Sohn

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a new method to automatically generate digital bas-reliefs with depth-of-field effects from general scenes. Most previous methods for bas-relief generation take input in the form of 3D models. However, obtaining 3D models of real scenes or objects is often difficult, inaccurate, and time-consuming. From this motivation, we developed a method that takes as input a set of photographs that can be quickly and ubiquitously captured by ordinary smartphone cameras. A depth map is computed from the input photographs. The value range of the depth map is compressed and used as a base map representing the overall shape of the bas-relief. However, the resulting base map contains little information on details of the scene. Thus, we construct a detail map using pixel values of the input image to express the details. The base and detail maps are blended to generate a new depth map that reflects both overall depth and scene detail information. This map is selectively blurred to simulate the depth-of-field effects. The final depth map is converted to a bas-relief surface mesh. Experimental results show that our method generates a realistic bas-relief surface of general scenes with no expensive manual processing.

  13. Hydroxy-Al and cell-surface negativity are responsible for the enhanced sensitivity of Rhodotorula taiwanensis to aluminum by increased medium pH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xue Qiang; Bao, Xue Min; Wang, Chao; Xiao, Zuo Yi; Hu, Zhen Min; Zheng, Chun Li; Shen, Ren Fang

    2017-10-01

    Aluminum (Al) is ubiquitous and toxic to microbes. High Al 3+ concentration and low pH are two key factors responsible for Al toxicity, but our present results contradict this idea. Here, an Al-tolerant yeast strain Rhodotorula taiwanensis RS1 was incubated in glucose media containing Al with a continuous pH gradient from pH 3.1-4.2. The cells became more sensitive to Al and accumulated more Al when pH increased. Calculations using an electrostatic model Speciation Gouy Chapman Stern indicated that, the increased Al sensitivity of cells was associated with AlOH 2+ and Al(OH) 2 + rather than Al 3+ . The alcian blue (a positively charged dye) adsorption and zeta potential determination of cell surface indicated that, higher pH than 3.1 increased the negative charge and Al adsorption at the cell surface. Taken together, the enhanced sensitivity of R. taiwanensis RS1 to Al from pH 3.1-4.2 was associated with increased hydroxy-Al and cell-surface negativity.

  14. Evaluation of the Impact of Furniture on Communications Performance for Ubiquitous Deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks in Smart Homes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleda, Andrés L.; Jara, Antonio J.; Maestre, Rafael; Santa, Guadalupe; Gómez Skarmeta, Antonio F.

    2012-01-01

    The extensions of the environment with the integration of sensing systems in any space, in conjunction with ubiquitous computing are enabling the so-called Smart Space Sensor Networks. This new generation of networks are offering full connectivity with any object, through the Internet of Things (IoT) and/or the Web, i.e., the Web of Things. These connectivity capabilities are making it feasible to sense the behaviours of people at home and act accordingly. These sensing systems must be integrated within typical elements found at home such as furniture. For that reason, this work considers furniture as an interesting element for the transparent location of sensors. Furniture is a ubiquitous object, i.e., it can be found everywhere at home or the office, and it can integrate and hide the sensors of a network. This work addresses the lack of an exhaustive study of the effect of furniture on signal losses. In addition an easy-to-use tool for estimating the robustness of the communication channel among the sensor nodes and gateways is proposed. Specifically, the losses in a sensor network signal due to the materials found within the communication link are evaluated. Then, this work proposes a software tool that gathers the obtained results and is capable of evaluating the impact of a given set of materials on the communications. This tool also provides a mechanism to optimize the sensor network deployments during the definition of smart spaces. Specifically, it provides information such as: maximum distances between sensor nodes, most suitable type of furniture to integrate sensors, or battery life of sensor nodes. This tool has been validated empirically in the lab, and it is currently being used by several enterprise partners of the Technological Centre of Furniture and Wood in the southeast of Spain. PMID:22778653

  15. Evaluation of the impact of furniture on communications performance for ubiquitous deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks in smart homes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleda, Andrés L; Jara, Antonio J; Maestre, Rafael; Santa, Guadalupe; Gómez Skarmeta, Antonio F

    2012-01-01

    The extensions of the environment with the integration of sensing systems in any space, in conjunction with ubiquitous computing are enabling the so-called Smart Space Sensor Networks. This new generation of networks are offering full connectivity with any object, through the Internet of Things (IoT) and/or the Web, i.e., the Web of Things. These connectivity capabilities are making it feasible to sense the behaviours of people at home and act accordingly. These sensing systems must be integrated within typical elements found at home such as furniture. For that reason, this work considers furniture as an interesting element for the transparent location of sensors. Furniture is a ubiquitous object, i.e., it can be found everywhere at home or the office, and it can integrate and hide the sensors of a network. This work addresses the lack of an exhaustive study of the effect of furniture on signal losses. In addition an easy-to-use tool for estimating the robustness of the communication channel among the sensor nodes and gateways is proposed. Specifically, the losses in a sensor network signal due to the materials found within the communication link are evaluated. Then, this work proposes a software tool that gathers the obtained results and is capable of evaluating the impact of a given set of materials on the communications. This tool also provides a mechanism to optimize the sensor network deployments during the definition of smart spaces. Specifically, it provides information such as: maximum distances between sensor nodes, most suitable type of furniture to integrate sensors, or battery life of sensor nodes. This tool has been validated empirically in the lab, and it is currently being used by several enterprise partners of the Technological Centre of Furniture and Wood in the southeast of Spain.

  16. Evaluation of the Impact of Furniture on Communications Performance for Ubiquitous Deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks in Smart Homes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio F. Gómez Skarmeta

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The extensions of the environment with the integration of sensing systems in any space, in conjunction with ubiquitous computing are enabling the so-called Smart Space Sensor Networks. This new generation of networks are offering full connectivity with any object, through the Internet of Things (IoT and/or the Web, i.e., the Web of Things. These connectivity capabilities are making it feasible to sense the behaviours of people at home and act accordingly. These sensing systems must be integrated within typical elements found at home such as furniture. For that reason, this work considers furniture as an interesting element for the transparent location of sensors. Furniture is a ubiquitous object, i.e., it can be found everywhere at home or the office, and it can integrate and hide the sensors of a network. This work addresses the lack of an exhaustive study of the effect of furniture on signal losses. In addition an easy-to-use tool for estimating the robustness of the communication channel among the sensor nodes and gateways is proposed. Specifically, the losses in a sensor network signal due to the materials found within the communication link are evaluated. Then, this work proposes a software tool that gathers the obtained results and is capable of evaluating the impact of a given set of materials on the communications. This tool also provides a mechanism to optimize the sensor network deployments during the definition of smart spaces. Specifically, it provides information such as: maximum distances between sensor nodes, most suitable type of furniture to integrate sensors, or battery life of sensor nodes. This tool has been validated empirically in the lab, and it is currently being used by several enterprise partners of the Technological Centre of Furniture and Wood in the southeast of Spain.

  17. A new model on the use of ubiquitous technology (U-Tech as a learning tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muliati Sedek

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Laptops, smartphones and tablets which also known as ubiquitous technology or u-tech have been widely used by students in the university. However, study on the factors influencing it usage as not many comprehensive studies have been done related to it. A review of related literature reveals that factors, namely the Technology Competency (TC, Performance Expectancy (PE, Effort Expectancy (EE, Behavioural Intention (BI, Facilitating Conditions (FC and Social Status (SS influence its usage. Thus, the focus of this study was to confirm whether the determined factors contribute towards u-tech usage among students in the institutions of higher learning, particularly in Malaysia. This study was based on a quantitative research in which the Structural Equation Modelling using AMOS was employed. The results attained from the analysis produced a reliable model towards u-tech usage. Therefore, it can be concluded that, u-tech usage described by the five factors. This study has suggested that the university administration should play an active role in disseminating any news that is related to the usefulness of u-tech.

  18. Introducing laptops to children: An examination of ubiquitous computing in Grade 3 reading, language, and mathematics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert M. Bernard

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the achievement outcomes accompanying the implementation of a Grade 3 laptop or so-called ubiquitous computing program in a Quebec school district. CAT-3 reading, language, and mathematics batteries were administered at the end of Grade 2 and again at the end of Grade 3, after the first year of computer implementation. Overall gain was found in all three content areas, but was differential when compared with the norms of the CAT-3. Additionally, some evidence suggested a differential gain for lower and middle-level learners during the school year. Teachers were administered an instrument called the Technology Implementation Questionnaire (TIQ that assessed the purposes and extent of technology integration. Negative correlations were found in reading achievement gain for items associated with the higher use of communicative, evaluative, and creative uses of computers. Open-ended teacher responses indicated the need for more professional support for instructional implementations of computing. Résumé: Cette étude examine les performances accompagnant l’implantation d’un programme d’ordinateurs portables en 3 ième année du primaire, aussi appelé programme d’ubiquité computationnelle, dans une école d’un district scolaire du Québec. Des batteries de tests, CAT-3 en lecture, en langue et en mathématiques ont été administrées à la fin de la deuxième année du primaire et une autre fois à la fin de la troisième année du primaire, après un an d’implantation des ordinateurs. Un gain fut observé dans les trois matières, mais était différencié lorsque comparé aux normes du CAT-3. De plus, un gain différencié fut mis en évidence pour les apprenants de niveau inférieur et moyen durant l’année scolaire. Les enseignants ont rempli le Technology Implementation Questionnaire (TIQ qui mesure le but et l’étendue de l’intégration technologique. Des corrélations négatives ont été trouvées en

  19. Present and future distributions of horseshoe crabs under predicted climate changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Funch, Peter; Obst, Matthias; Quevedo, Francisco

    The habitats of South East Asian horseshoe crabs span across the shallow waters of many countries and biogeographic regions in the Indo-Pacific. Such ubiquitous presence makes it difficult to obtain an up-to-date and overall picture of the current distribution, density and wealth of horseshoe crab...

  20. Multivariable Sensors for Ubiquitous Monitoring of Gases in the Era of Internet of Things and Industrial Internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potyrailo, Radislav A

    2016-10-12

    Modern gas monitoring scenarios for medical diagnostics, environmental surveillance, industrial safety, and other applications demand new sensing capabilities. This Review provides analysis of development of new generation of gas sensors based on the multivariable response principles. Design criteria of these individual sensors involve a sensing material with multiresponse mechanisms to different gases and a multivariable transducer with independent outputs to recognize these different gas responses. These new sensors quantify individual components in mixtures, reject interferences, and offer more stable response over sensor arrays. Such performance is attractive when selectivity advantages of classic gas chromatography, ion mobility, and mass spectrometry instruments are canceled by requirements for no consumables, low power, low cost, and unobtrusive form factors for Internet of Things, Industrial Internet, and other applications. This Review is concluded with a perspective for future needs in fundamental and applied aspects of gas sensing and with the 2025 roadmap for ubiquitous gas monitoring.

  1. Ubiquitous Technology for Lifelong Learners

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tabuenca, Bernardo

    2015-01-01

    Nowadays, most people change their career throughout their lives, many times independently on what they learned during their formal education period. Therefore, the necessity to continually keep our skills sharp and up-to-date becomes increasingly important in a rapidly changing job market. The

  2. Increased sensitivity to angiotensin II is present postpartum in women with a history of hypertensive pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Aditi R; Karumanchi, S Ananth; Brown, Nancy J; Royle, Caroline M; McElrath, Thomas F; Seely, Ellen W

    2010-05-01

    Pregnancies complicated by new-onset hypertension are associated with increased sensitivity to angiotensin II, but it is unclear whether this sensitivity persists postpartum. We studied pressor response to infused angiotensin II in 25 normotensive postpartum women in both high- and low-sodium balance. Ten women had a history of hypertensive pregnancy (5 with preeclampsia; 5 with transient hypertension of pregnancy), and 15 women had a history of uncomplicated, normotensive pregnancy. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, aldosterone, and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 levels were measured before and after angiotensin II infusion in both dietary phases. In high sodium balance, women with a history of hypertensive pregnancy were normotensive but had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures than controls (115 versus 104 mm Hg and 73 versus 65 mm Hg, respectively; Ppregnancy had a pressor response to salt loading, demonstrated by an increase in systolic blood pressure on a high-salt diet. They also had greater systolic pressor response (10 versus 2 mm Hg; P=0.03), greater increase in aldosterone (56.8 versus 30.8 ng/dL; P=0.03), and increase in soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 levels (11.0 versus -18.9 pg/mL; P=0.02) after infusion of angiotensin II in low-sodium balance compared with controls. Thus, women with a history of hypertensive pregnancy demonstrated salt sensitivity of blood pressure and had increased pressor, adrenal, and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 responses to infused angiotensin II in low-sodium balance. Increased sensitivity to angiotensin II observed during pregnancy in women with hypertensive pregnancy is present postpartum; this feature may contribute to future cardiovascular risk in these women.

  3. CIMS: A Context-Based Intelligent Multimedia System for Ubiquitous Cloud Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abhilash Sreeramaneni

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Mobile users spend a tremendous amount of time surfing multimedia contents over the Internet to pursue their interests. A resource-constrained smart device demands more intensive computing tasks and lessens the battery life. To address the resource limitations (i.e., memory, lower maintenance cost, easier access, computing tasks in mobile devices, mobile cloud computing is needed. Several approaches have been proposed to confront the challenges of mobile cloud computing, but difficulties still remain. However, in the coming years, context collecting, processing, and interchanging the results on a heavy network will cause vast computations and reduce the battery life in mobiles. In this paper, we propose a “context-based intelligent multimedia system” (CIMS for ubiquitous cloud computing. The main goal of this research is to lessen the computing percentage, storage complexities, and battery life for mobile users by using pervasive cloud computing. Moreover, to reduce the computing and storage concerns in mobiles, the cloud server collects several groups of user profiles with similarities by executing K-means clustering on users’ data (context and multimedia contents. The distribution process conveys real-time notifications to smartphone users, according to what is stated in his/her profile. We considered a mobile cloud offloading system, which decides the offloading actions to/from cloud servers. Context-aware decision-making (CAD customizes the mobile device performance with different specifications such as short response time and lesser energy consumption. The analysis says that our CIMS takes advantage of cost-effective features to produce high-quality information for mobile (or smart device users in real time. Moreover, our CIMS lessens the computation and storage complexities for mobile users, as well as cloud servers. Simulation analysis suggests that our approach is more efficient than existing domains.

  4. Fuzzy Computing Model of Activity Recognition on WSN Movement Data for Ubiquitous Healthcare Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Yin Chiang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous health care (UHC is beneficial for patients to ensure they complete therapeutic exercises by self-management at home. We designed a fuzzy computing model that enables recognizing assigned movements in UHC with privacy. The movements are measured by the self-developed body motion sensor, which combines both accelerometer and gyroscope chips to make an inertial sensing node compliant with a wireless sensor network (WSN. The fuzzy logic process was studied to calculate the sensor signals that would entail necessary features of static postures and dynamic motions. Combinations of the features were studied and the proper feature sets were chosen with compatible fuzzy rules. Then, a fuzzy inference system (FIS can be generated to recognize the assigned movements based on the rules. We thus implemented both fuzzy and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems in the model to distinguish static and dynamic movements. The proposed model can effectively reach the recognition scope of the assigned activity. Furthermore, two exercises of upper-limb flexion in physical therapy were applied for the model in which the recognition rate can stand for the passing rate of the assigned motions. Finally, a web-based interface was developed to help remotely measure movement in physical therapy for UHC.

  5. Fuzzy Computing Model of Activity Recognition on WSN Movement Data for Ubiquitous Healthcare Measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Shu-Yin; Kan, Yao-Chiang; Chen, Yun-Shan; Tu, Ying-Ching; Lin, Hsueh-Chun

    2016-12-03

    Ubiquitous health care (UHC) is beneficial for patients to ensure they complete therapeutic exercises by self-management at home. We designed a fuzzy computing model that enables recognizing assigned movements in UHC with privacy. The movements are measured by the self-developed body motion sensor, which combines both accelerometer and gyroscope chips to make an inertial sensing node compliant with a wireless sensor network (WSN). The fuzzy logic process was studied to calculate the sensor signals that would entail necessary features of static postures and dynamic motions. Combinations of the features were studied and the proper feature sets were chosen with compatible fuzzy rules. Then, a fuzzy inference system (FIS) can be generated to recognize the assigned movements based on the rules. We thus implemented both fuzzy and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems in the model to distinguish static and dynamic movements. The proposed model can effectively reach the recognition scope of the assigned activity. Furthermore, two exercises of upper-limb flexion in physical therapy were applied for the model in which the recognition rate can stand for the passing rate of the assigned motions. Finally, a web-based interface was developed to help remotely measure movement in physical therapy for UHC.

  6. Admission Control Over Internet of Vehicles Attached With Medical Sensors for Ubiquitous Healthcare Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Di; Labeau, Fabrice; Yao, Yuanzhe; Vasilakos, Athanasios V; Tang, Yu

    2016-07-01

    Wireless technologies and vehicle-mounted or wearable medical sensors are pervasive to support ubiquitous healthcare applications. However, a critical issue of using wireless communications under a healthcare scenario rests at the electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by radio frequency transmission. A high level of EMI may lead to a critical malfunction of medical sensors, and in such a scenario, a few users who are not transmitting emergency data could be required to reduce their transmit power or even temporarily disconnect from the network in order to guarantee the normal operation of medical sensors as well as the transmission of emergency data. In this paper, we propose a joint power and admission control algorithm to schedule the users' transmission of medical data. The objective of this algorithm is to minimize the number of users who are forced to disconnect from the network while keeping the EMI on medical sensors at an acceptable level. We show that a fixed point of proposed algorithm always exists, and at the fixed point, our proposed algorithm can minimize the number of low-priority users who are required to disconnect from the network. Numerical results illustrate that the proposed algorithm can achieve robust performance against the variations of mobile hospital environments.

  7. A NEW UBIQUITOUS-BASED INDOOR POSITIONING SYSTEM WITH MINIMUM EXTRA HARDWARE USING SMART PHONES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Hassany Pazoky

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Knowing the position has been an ambition in many areas such as science, military, business, etc. GPS was the realization of this wish in 1970s. Technological advances such as ubiquitous computing, as a conquering perspective, requires any service to work for any user, any place, anytime, and via any network. As GPS cannot provide services in indoor environments, many scientists began to develop indoor positioning systems (IPS. Smart phones penetrating our everyday lives were a great platform to host IPS applications. Sensors in smart phones were another big motive to develop IPS applications. Many researchers have been working on the topic developing various applications. However, the applications introduced lack simplicity. In other words, they need to install a step counter or smart phone on the ankle, which makes it awkward and inapplicable in many situations. In the current study, a new IPS methodology is introduced using only the usual embedded sensors in the smart phones. The robustness of this methodology cannot compete with those of the aforementioned approaches. The price paid for simplicity was decreasing robustness and complicating the methods and formulations. However, methods or tricks to harness the errors to an acceptable range are introduced as the future works.

  8. A zero power harmonic transponder sensor for ubiquitous wireless μL liquid-volume monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Haiyu; Chen, Pai-Yen; Hung, Cheng-Hsien; Gharpurey, Ranjit; Akinwande, Deji

    2016-01-01

    Autonomous liquid-volume monitoring is crucial in ubiquitous healthcare. However, conventional approach is based on either human visual observation or expensive detectors, which are costly for future pervasive monitoring. Here we introduce a novel approach based on passive harmonic transponder antenna sensor and frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) pattern analysis, to provide a very low cost wireless μL-resolution liquid-volume monitoring without battery or digital circuits. In our conceptual demonstration, the harmonic transponder comprises of a passive nonlinear frequency multiplier connected to a metamaterial-inspired 3-D antenna designed to be highly sensitive to the liquid-volume within a confined region. The transponder first receives some FHSS signal from an interrogator, then converts such signal to its harmonic band and re-radiates through the antenna sensor. The harmonic signal is picked up by a sniffer receiver and decoded through pattern analysis of the high dimensional FHSS signal strength data. A robust, zero power, absolute accuracy wireless liquid-volume monitoring is realized in the presence of strong direct coupling, background scatters, distance variance as well as near-field human-body interference. The concepts of passive harmonic transponder sensor, metamaterial-inspired antenna sensor, and FHSS pattern analysis based sensor decoding may help establishing cost-effective, energy-efficient and intelligent wireless pervasive healthcare monitoring platforms.

  9. The Epidemiology of Pheochromocytoma: Increasing incidence and changing clinical presentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ebbehoj, A; Søndergaard, Esben; Trolle, Christian

    2017-01-01

    –2015. In 1977–2006 paroxysmal symptoms and secondary hypertension were the primary causes leading to the diagnosis (34 and 21%, respectively), while incidentalomas were the leading cause of diagnosis 2007–2015 (57%). Patients diagnosed 2007–2015 were older (P... diagnosed in 1977–2006 in a secondary analysis using the Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test.We identified 183 confirmed cases of pheochromocytoma. A significant increasing trend (P

  10. ProFUSO: Business process and ontology-based framework to develop ubiquitous computing support systems for chronic patients' management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez-Molina, Angel; Gaete-Villegas, Jorge; Fuentes, Javier

    2018-06-01

    New advances in telemedicine, ubiquitous computing, and artificial intelligence have supported the emergence of more advanced applications and support systems for chronic patients. This trend addresses the important problem of chronic illnesses, highlighted by multiple international organizations as a core issue in future healthcare. Despite the myriad of exciting new developments, each application and system is designed and implemented for specific purposes and lacks the flexibility to support different healthcare concerns. Some of the known problems of such developments are the integration issues between applications and existing healthcare systems, the reusability of technical knowledge in the creation of new and more sophisticated systems and the usage of data gathered from multiple sources in the generation of new knowledge. This paper proposes a framework for the development of chronic disease support systems and applications as an answer to these shortcomings. Through this framework our pursuit is to create a common ground methodology upon which new developments can be created and easily integrated to provide better support to chronic patients, medical staff and other relevant participants. General requirements are inferred for any support system from the primary attention process of chronic patients by the Business Process Management Notation. Numerous technical approaches are proposed to design a general architecture that considers the medical organizational requirements in the treatment of a patient. A framework is presented for any application in support of chronic patients and evaluated by a case study to test the applicability and pertinence of the solution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Subliminal presentation of emotionally negative vs positive primes increases the perceived beauty of target stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Era, Vanessa; Candidi, Matteo; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

    2015-11-01

    Emotions have a profound influence on aesthetic experiences. Studies using affective priming procedures demonstrate, for example, that inducing a conscious negative emotional state biases the perception of abstract stimuli towards the sublime (Eskine et al. Emotion 12:1071-1074, 2012. doi: 10.1037/a0027200). Moreover, subliminal happy facial expressions have a positive impact on the aesthetic evaluation of abstract art (Flexas et al. PLoS ONE 8:e80154, 2013). Little is known about how emotion influences aesthetic perception of non-abstract, representational stimuli, especially those that are particularly relevant for social behaviour, like human bodies. Here, we explore whether the subliminal presentation of emotionally charged visual primes modulates the explicit subjective aesthetic judgment of body images. Using a forward/backward masking procedure, we presented subliminally positive and negative, arousal-matched, emotional or neutral primes and measured their effect on the explicit evaluation of perceived beauty (high vs low) and emotion (positive vs negative) evoked by abstract and body images. We found that negative primes increased subjective aesthetic evaluations of target bodies or abstract images in comparison with positive primes. No influence of primes on the emotional dimension of the targets was found, thus ruling out an unspecific arousal effect and strengthening the link between emotional valence and aesthetic appreciation. More specifically, that subliminal negative primes increase beauty ratings compared to subliminal positive primes indicates a clear link between negative emotions and positive aesthetic evaluations and vice versa, suggesting a possible link between negative emotion and the experience of sublime in art. The study expands previous research by showing the effect of subliminal negative emotions on the subjective aesthetic evaluation not only of abstract but also of body images.

  12. Increasing Student-Learning Team Effectiveness with Team Charters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunsaker, Phillip; Pavett, Cynthia; Hunsaker, Johanna

    2011-01-01

    Because teams are a ubiquitous part of most organizations today, it is common for business educators to use team assignments to help students experientially learn about course concepts and team process. Unfortunately, students frequently experience a number of problems during team assignments. The authors describe the results of their research and…

  13. Miscoding and mutagenic properties of 8-oxoguanine and abasic sites: Ubiquitous lesions in damaged DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grollman, A.P.; Takeshita, Masaru

    1995-01-01

    More than twenty oxidatively-damaged bases, including 8-oxoguanine, have been found to occur in genomic DNA. Some of these lesions block DNA replication and are potentially lethal; others generate mutations which can initiate carcinogenesis and promote cellular aging. In this report, the authors focus attention on the mutagenicity and repair of 8-oxoguanine. Kasai and Nishimura's discovery that hydroxyl radicals react with guanine residues in DNA to form 8-oxoguanine and the development of sensitive methods for the detection and quantitation of this modified base led to the observation that approximately 1 in 10 5 guanine residues in mammalian DNA are oxidized at the C-8 position. DNA containing 8-oxoguanine and synthetic analogs of the abasic site have been used to investigate the miscoding and mutagenic potential of these ubiquitous lesions. Studies in the laboratory were facilitated by the development of solid state synthetic methods by which these lesions could be introduced at defined positions in DNA. In this paper, the authors review studies in which 8-oxoguanine and abasic sites have been used in model systems to explore various early events in the replication of selectively damaged DNA

  14. An intelligent knowledge-based and customizable home care system framework with ubiquitous patient monitoring and alerting techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yen-Lin; Chiang, Hsin-Han; Yu, Chao-Wei; Chiang, Chuan-Yen; Liu, Chuan-Ming; Wang, Jenq-Haur

    2012-01-01

    This study develops and integrates an efficient knowledge-based system and a component-based framework to design an intelligent and flexible home health care system. The proposed knowledge-based system integrates an efficient rule-based reasoning model and flexible knowledge rules for determining efficiently and rapidly the necessary physiological and medication treatment procedures based on software modules, video camera sensors, communication devices, and physiological sensor information. This knowledge-based system offers high flexibility for improving and extending the system further to meet the monitoring demands of new patient and caregiver health care by updating the knowledge rules in the inference mechanism. All of the proposed functional components in this study are reusable, configurable, and extensible for system developers. Based on the experimental results, the proposed intelligent homecare system demonstrates that it can accomplish the extensible, customizable, and configurable demands of the ubiquitous healthcare systems to meet the different demands of patients and caregivers under various rehabilitation and nursing conditions.

  15. Interference Effects Redress over Power-Efficient Wireless-Friendly Mesh Networks for Ubiquitous Sensor Communications across Smart Cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santana, Jose; Marrero, Domingo; Macías, Elsa; Mena, Vicente; Suárez, Álvaro

    2017-07-21

    Ubiquitous sensing allows smart cities to take control of many parameters (e.g., road traffic, air or noise pollution levels, etc.). An inexpensive Wireless Mesh Network can be used as an efficient way to transport sensed data. When that mesh is autonomously powered (e.g., solar powered), it constitutes an ideal portable network system which can be deployed when needed. Nevertheless, its power consumption must be restrained to extend its operational cycle and for preserving the environment. To this end, our strategy fosters wireless interface deactivation among nodes which do not participate in any route. As we show, this contributes to a significant power saving for the mesh. Furthermore, our strategy is wireless-friendly, meaning that it gives priority to deactivation of nodes receiving (and also causing) interferences from (to) the rest of the smart city. We also show that a routing protocol can adapt to this strategy in which certain nodes deactivate their own wireless interfaces.

  16. An Intelligent Knowledge-Based and Customizable Home Care System Framework with Ubiquitous Patient Monitoring and Alerting Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yen-Lin Chen

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This study develops and integrates an efficient knowledge-based system and a component-based framework to design an intelligent and flexible home health care system. The proposed knowledge-based system integrates an efficient rule-based reasoning model and flexible knowledge rules for determining efficiently and rapidly the necessary physiological and medication treatment procedures based on software modules, video camera sensors, communication devices, and physiological sensor information. This knowledge-based system offers high flexibility for improving and extending the system further to meet the monitoring demands of new patient and caregiver health care by updating the knowledge rules in the inference mechanism. All of the proposed functional components in this study are reusable, configurable, and extensible for system developers. Based on the experimental results, the proposed intelligent homecare system demonstrates that it can accomplish the extensible, customizable, and configurable demands of the ubiquitous healthcare systems to meet the different demands of patients and caregivers under various rehabilitation and nursing conditions.

  17. Overexpression of ubiquitous 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase in the liver of transgenic mice results in weight gain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duran, Joan; Navarro-Sabate, Aurea; Pujol, Anna; Perales, Jose C.; Manzano, Anna; Obach, Merce; Gomez, Marta; Bartrons, Ramon

    2008-01-01

    Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P 2 ) is an important metabolite that controls glycolytic and gluconeogenic pathways in several cell types. Its synthesis and degradation are catalyzed by the bifunctional enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2). Four genes, designated Pfkfb1-4, codify the different PFK-2 isozymes. The Pfkfb3 gene product, ubiquitous PFK-2 (uPFK-2), has the highest kinase/bisphosphatase activity ratio and is associated with proliferation and tumor metabolism. A transgenic mouse model that overexpresses uPFK-2 under the control of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase promoter was designed to promote sustained and elevated Fru-2,6-P 2 levels in the liver. Our results demonstrate that in diet-induced obesity, high Fru-2,6-P 2 levels in transgenic livers caused changes in hepatic gene expression profiles for key gluconeogenic and lipogenic enzymes, as well as an accumulation of lipids in periportal cells, and weight gain

  18. Multivariate network exploration and presentation : from detail to overview via selections and aggregations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elzen, van den S.J.; Wijk, van J.J.

    2014-01-01

    Network data is ubiquitous; e-mail traffic between persons, telecommunication, transport and financial networks are some examples. Often these networks are large and multivariate, besides the topological structure of the network, multivariate data on the nodes and links is available. Currently,

  19. Symbiotic efficiency of autochthonous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (G. mosseae) and Brevibacillus sp. isolated from cadmium polluted soil under increasing cadmium levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vivas, A.; Voeroes, I.; Biro, B.; Campos, E.; Barea, J.M.; Azcon, R.

    2003-01-01

    Selected ubiquitous microorganisms are important components of Cd tolerance in plants. - The effect of inoculation with indigenous naturally occurring microorganisms [an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus and rhizosphere bacteria] isolated from a Cd polluted soil was assayed on Trifolium repens growing in soil contaminated with a range of Cd. One of the bacterial isolate showed a marked PGPR effect and was identified as a Brevibacillus sp. Mycorrhizal colonization also enhanced Trifolium growth and N, P, Zn and Ni content and the dually inoculated (AM fungus plus Brevibacillus sp.) plants achieved further growth and nutrition and less Cd concentration, particularly at the highest Cd level. Increasing Cd level in the soil decreased Zn and Pb shoot accumulation. Coinoculation of Brevibacillus sp. and AM fungus increased shoot biomass over single mycorrhizal plants by 18% (at 13.6 mg Cd kg -1 ), 26% (at 33.0 mg Cd kg -1 ) and 35% (at 85.1 mg Cd kg -1 ). In contract, Cd transfer from soil to plants was substantially reduced and at the highest Cd level Brevibacillus sp. lowered this value by 37.5% in AM plants. Increasing Cd level highly reduced plant mycorrhization and nodulation. Strong positive effect of the bacterium on nodule formation was observed in all treatments. Results show that selected ubiquitous microorganisms, applied as enriched inocula, are important in plant Cd tolerance and development in Cd polluted soils

  20. The comparison of nuclear ubiquitous casein and cyclin-dependent kinases substrate (NUCKS) with Ki67 proliferation marker expression in common skin tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zduniak, Krzysztof; Agrawal, Siddarth; Symonowicz, Krzysztof; Jurczyszyn, Kamil; Ziółkowski, Piotr

    2014-03-01

    Nuclear ubiquitous casein and cyclin-dependent kinases substrate (NUCKS) is a chromosomal protein of unknown function. Its amino acid composition and structure of its DNA binding domain resemble those of high mobility group A (HMGA) proteins which are associated with various malignancies. Since changes in expression of HMGA are considered as a marker of tumor progression, it is possible that similar changes in expression of NUCKS could be a useful tool in diagnosis of malignant skin tumors. To investigate this assumption we used specific antibodies against NUCKS for immunohistochemistry of squamous (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) as well as keratoacanthoma (KA). We found high expression of NUCKS in nuclei of SCC and BCC cells which exceeded expression of the well-known proliferation marker Ki67. Expression of NUCKS in benign KA was much below that of malignant tumors. With the present study and based on our previous experience we would like to suggest the NUCKS protein as a novel proliferation marker for immunohistochemical evaluation of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded skin tumor specimens. We would like to emphasize that NUCKS abundance in malignant skin tumors is higher than that of the well-known proliferation marker Ki67, thus allowing more precise assessment of tumor proliferation potential.

  1. Biological 12C-13C fractionation increases with increasing community-complexity in soil microcosms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Weijun; Magid, Jakob; Christensen, Søren

    2014-01-01

    -rates and determine the trophic level of organisms in biological systems. While it is widely accepted that 15N-accumulates in natural food-chains, it is disputed to which extent this is the case for C-13. We constructed sand-microcosms inoculated with a dilution series of soil organisms and amended with glucose......Isotope fractionation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in natural ecosystems. When chemical elements move through food chains, natural isotope ratios change because biological processes tend to discriminate against heavier isotopes. This effect can be used to trace flows of matter, estimate process...

  2. Spectral characterization of the fluorescent components present in humic substances, fulvic acid and humic acid mixed with pure benzo(a)pyrene solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Fallah, Rawa; Rouillon, Régis; Vouvé, Florence

    2018-06-01

    The fate of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a ubiquitous contaminant reported to be persistent in the environment, is largely controlled by its interactions with the soil organic matter. In the present study, the spectral characteristics of fluorophores present in the physical fractions of the soil organic matter were investigated in the presence of pure BaP solution. After extraction of humic substances (HSs), and their fractionation into fluvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA), two fluorescent compounds (C1 and C2) were identified and characterized in each physical soil fraction, by means of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (FEEMs) and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC). Then, to each type of fraction having similar DOC content, was added an increasing volume of pure BaP solution in attempt to assess the behavior of BaP with the fluorophores present in each one. The application of FEEMs-PARAFAC method validated a three-component model that consisted of the two resulted fluorophores from HSs, FA and HA (C1 and C2) and a BaP-like fluorophore (C3). Spectral modifications were noted for components C2HSs (C2 in humic substances fraction) (λex/λem: 420/490-520 nm), C2FA (C2 in fulvic acid fraction) (λex/λem: 400/487(517) nm) and C1HA (C1 in humic acid fraction) (λex/λem: 350/452(520) nm). We explored the impact of increasing the volume of the added pure BaP solution on the scores of the fluorophores present in the soil fractions. It was found that the scores of C2HSs, C2FA, and C1HA increased when the volume of the added pure BaP solution increased. Superposition of the excitation spectra of these fluorophores with the emission spectrum of BaP showed significant overlaps that might explain the observed interactions between BaP and the fluorescent compounds present in SOM physical fractions.

  3. Large predatory coral trout species unlikely to meet increasing energetic demands in a warming ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Johansen, J.L.

    2015-09-08

    Increased ocean temperature due to climate change is raising metabolic demands and energy requirements of marine ectotherms. If productivity of marine systems and fisheries are to persist, individual species must compensate for this demand through increasing energy acquisition or decreasing energy expenditure. Here we reveal that the most important coral reef fishery species in the Indo-west Pacific, the large predatory coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae), can behaviourally adjust food intake to maintain body-condition under elevated temperatures, and acclimate over time to consume larger meals. However, these increased energetic demands are unlikely to be met by adequate production at lower trophic levels, as smaller prey species are often the first to decline in response to climate-induced loss of live coral and structural complexity. Consequently, ubiquitous increases in energy consumption due to climate change will increase top-down competition for a dwindling biomass of prey, potentially distorting entire food webs and associated fisheries.

  4. Large predatory coral trout species unlikely to meet increasing energetic demands in a warming ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Johansen, J.L.; Pratchett, M.S.; Messmer, V.; Coker, Darren James; Tobin, A.J.; Hoey, A.S.

    2015-01-01

    Increased ocean temperature due to climate change is raising metabolic demands and energy requirements of marine ectotherms. If productivity of marine systems and fisheries are to persist, individual species must compensate for this demand through increasing energy acquisition or decreasing energy expenditure. Here we reveal that the most important coral reef fishery species in the Indo-west Pacific, the large predatory coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae), can behaviourally adjust food intake to maintain body-condition under elevated temperatures, and acclimate over time to consume larger meals. However, these increased energetic demands are unlikely to be met by adequate production at lower trophic levels, as smaller prey species are often the first to decline in response to climate-induced loss of live coral and structural complexity. Consequently, ubiquitous increases in energy consumption due to climate change will increase top-down competition for a dwindling biomass of prey, potentially distorting entire food webs and associated fisheries.

  5. Bodies, embodiment and ubiquitous computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schick, Lea; Malmborg, Lone

    2010-01-01

    how these are to an increasing extent focusing on sociality, context-awareness, relations, affects, connectedness and collectivity, we will examine how these new technological movements can change our perception of embodiment towards a distributed and shared one. By examining interactive textiles...... as part of a future rising landscape of multi-sensory networks, we will exemplify how the new technologies can shutter dichotomies and challenge traditional notions of embodiment and the subject. Finally, we show how this 'new embodiment' manifests Deleuze's philosophy of the body as something unstable...

  6. Ubiquitous Geo-Sensing for Context-Aware Analysis: Exploring Relationships between Environmental and Human Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Euro Beinat

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous geo-sensing enables context-aware analyses of physical and social phenomena, i.e., analyzing one phenomenon in the context of another. Although such context-aware analysis can potentially enable a more holistic understanding of spatio-temporal processes, it is rarely documented in the scientific literature yet. In this paper we analyzed the collective human behavior in the context of the weather. We therefore explored the complex relationships between these two spatio-temporal phenomena to provide novel insights into the dynamics of urban systems. Aggregated mobile phone data, which served as a proxy for collective human behavior, was linked with the weather data from climate stations in the case study area, the city of Udine, Northern Italy. To identify and characterize potential patterns within the weather-human relationships, we developed a hybrid approach which integrates several spatio-temporal statistical analysis methods. Thereby we show that explanatory factor analysis, when applied to a number of meteorological variables, can be used to differentiate between normal and adverse weather conditions. Further, we measured the strength of the relationship between the ‘global’ adverse weather conditions and the spatially explicit effective variations in user-generated mobile network traffic for three distinct periods using the Maximal Information Coefficient (MIC. The analyses result in three spatially referenced maps of MICs which reveal interesting insights into collective human dynamics in the context of weather, but also initiate several new scientific challenges.

  7. Discovery of Ubiquitous Fast-Propagating Intensity Disturbances by the Chromospheric Lyman Alpha Spectropolarimeter (CLASP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubo, M.; Katsukawa, Y.; Suematsu, Y.; Kano, R.; Bando, T.; Narukage, N.; Ishikawa, R.; Hara, H.; Giono, G.; Tsuneta, S.; Ishikawa, S.; Shimizu, T.; Sakao, T.; Winebarger, A.; Kobayashi, K.; Cirtain, J.; Champey, P.; Auchère, F.; Trujillo Bueno, J.; Asensio Ramos, A.; Štěpán, J.; Belluzzi, L.; Manso Sainz, R.; De Pontieu, B.; Ichimoto, K.; Carlsson, M.; Casini, R.; Goto, M.

    2016-12-01

    High-cadence observations by the slit-jaw (SJ) optics system of the sounding rocket experiment known as the Chromospheric Lyman Alpha Spectropolarimeter (CLASP) reveal ubiquitous intensity disturbances that recurrently propagate in either the chromosphere or the transition region or both at a speed much higher than the speed of sound. The CLASP/SJ instrument provides a time series of two-dimensional images taken with broadband filters centered on the Lyα line at a 0.6 s cadence. The multiple fast-propagating intensity disturbances appear in the quiet Sun and in an active region, and they are clearly detected in at least 20 areas in a field of view of 527″ × 527″ during the 5 minute observing time. The apparent speeds of the intensity disturbances range from 150 to 350 km s-1, and they are comparable to the local Alfvén speed in the transition region. The intensity disturbances tend to propagate along bright elongated structures away from areas with strong photospheric magnetic fields. This suggests that the observed fast-propagating intensity disturbances are related to the magnetic canopy structures. The maximum distance traveled by the intensity disturbances is about 10″, and the widths are a few arcseconds, which are almost determined by a pixel size of 1.″03. The timescale of each intensity pulse is shorter than 30 s. One possible explanation for the fast-propagating intensity disturbances observed by CLASP is magnetohydrodynamic fast-mode waves.

  8. DISCOVERY OF UBIQUITOUS FAST-PROPAGATING INTENSITY DISTURBANCES BY THE CHROMOSPHERIC LYMAN ALPHA SPECTROPOLARIMETER (CLASP)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, M.; Katsukawa, Y.; Suematsu, Y.; Kano, R.; Bando, T.; Narukage, N.; Ishikawa, R.; Hara, H.; Giono, G.; Tsuneta, S.; Ishikawa, S.; Shimizu, T.; Sakao, T.; Winebarger, A.; Kobayashi, K.; Cirtain, J.; Champey, P.; Auchère, F.; Bueno, J. Trujillo; Ramos, A. Asensio

    2016-01-01

    High-cadence observations by the slit-jaw (SJ) optics system of the sounding rocket experiment known as the Chromospheric Lyman Alpha Spectropolarimeter (CLASP) reveal ubiquitous intensity disturbances that recurrently propagate in either the chromosphere or the transition region or both at a speed much higher than the speed of sound. The CLASP/SJ instrument provides a time series of two-dimensional images taken with broadband filters centered on the Ly α line at a 0.6 s cadence. The multiple fast-propagating intensity disturbances appear in the quiet Sun and in an active region, and they are clearly detected in at least 20 areas in a field of view of 527″ × 527″ during the 5 minute observing time. The apparent speeds of the intensity disturbances range from 150 to 350 km s −1 , and they are comparable to the local Alfvén speed in the transition region. The intensity disturbances tend to propagate along bright elongated structures away from areas with strong photospheric magnetic fields. This suggests that the observed fast-propagating intensity disturbances are related to the magnetic canopy structures. The maximum distance traveled by the intensity disturbances is about 10″, and the widths are a few arcseconds, which are almost determined by a pixel size of 1.″03. The timescale of each intensity pulse is shorter than 30 s. One possible explanation for the fast-propagating intensity disturbances observed by CLASP is magnetohydrodynamic fast-mode waves.

  9. Increased interestingness of extraneous details in a multimedia science presentation leads to decreased learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, Richard E; Griffith, Emily; Jurkowitz, Ilana T N; Rothman, Daniel

    2008-12-01

    In Experiment 1, students received an illustrated booklet, PowerPoint presentation, or narrated animation that explained 6 steps in how a cold virus infects the human body. The material included 6 high-interest details mainly about the role of viruses in sex or death (high group) or 6 low-interest details consisting of facts and health tips about viruses (low group). The low group outperformed the high group across all 3 media on a subsequent test of problem-solving transfer (d = .80) but not retention (d = .05). In Experiment 2, students who studied a PowerPoint lesson explaining the steps in how digestion works performed better on a problem-solving transfer test if the lesson contained 7 low-interest details rather than 7 high-interest details (d = .86), but the groups did not differ on retention (d = .26). In both experiments, as the interestingness of details was increased, student understanding decreased (as measured by transfer). Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in which highly interesting details sap processing capacity away from deeper cognitive processing of the core material during learning. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Systems-level Proteomics of Two Ubiquitous Leaf Commensals Reveals Complementary Adaptive Traits for Phyllosphere Colonization*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Daniel B.; Schubert, Olga T.; Röst, Hannes; Aebersold, Ruedi; Vorholt, Julia A.

    2016-01-01

    Plants are colonized by a diverse community of microorganisms, the plant microbiota, exhibiting a defined and conserved taxonomic structure. Niche separation based on spatial segregation and complementary adaptation strategies likely forms the basis for coexistence of the various microorganisms in the plant environment. To gain insights into organism-specific adaptations on a molecular level, we selected two exemplary community members of the core leaf microbiota and profiled their proteomes upon Arabidopsis phyllosphere colonization. The highly quantitative mass spectrometric technique SWATH MS was used and allowed for the analysis of over two thousand proteins spanning more than three orders of magnitude in abundance for each of the model strains. The data suggest that Sphingomonas melonis utilizes amino acids and hydrocarbon compounds during colonization of leaves whereas Methylobacterium extorquens relies on methanol metabolism in addition to oxalate metabolism, aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis and alkanesulfonate utilization. Comparative genomic analyses indicates that utilization of oxalate and alkanesulfonates is widespread among leaf microbiota members whereas, aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis is almost exclusively found in Methylobacteria. Despite the apparent niche separation between these two strains we also found a relatively small subset of proteins to be coregulated, indicating common mechanisms, underlying successful leaf colonization. Overall, our results reveal for two ubiquitous phyllosphere commensals species-specific adaptations to the host environment and provide evidence for niche separation within the plant microbiota. PMID:27457762

  11. HINTW, a W-chromosome HINT gene in chick, is expressed ubiquitously and is a robust female cell marker applicable in intraspecific chimera studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagai, Hiroki; Sezaki, Maiko; Bertocchini, Federica; Fukuda, Kimiko; Sheng, Guojun

    2014-05-01

    Grafting and transplantation experiments in embryology require proper distinction between host and donor tissues. For the avian model this has traditionally been achieved by using two closely related species (e.g., chick and quail) followed by species-specific antibody staining. Here, we show that an in situ hybridization probe against the HINTW gene is a robust and reliable marker for female-derived chicken cells. At all pre-circulation stages tested, all cells in female embryos, independently confirmed by PCR analysis, were strongly positive for HINTW, whereas all male embryos were negative. This probe is broadly applicable in intra-specific chick/chick chimera studies, and as a proof of principle, we utilized this probe to detect female cells in three experimental settings: (1) to mark female donor cells in a node transplantation assay; (2) to distinguish female cells in male/female twins generated by the Cornish pasty culture; and (3) to detect female half of the embryo in artificially generated bilateral gynandromorphs. A rapid, PCR based pre-screening step increases the efficiency of obtaining desired donor/host sex combination from 25% to 100%. For most avian chimera studies, this female-specific in situ probe is a low cost alternative to the commonly used QCPN antibody and to ubiquitous-GFP chicken strains which are not widely available to the research community. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Modelo de contexto y de dominio para la ingeniería de requisitos de sistemas ubicuos Context model and domain model for requirements engineering ubiquitous systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana González Palacio

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo presenta los modelos de contexto y de dominio de un ambiente ubicuo genérico, como instrumento para facilitar la transición del conocimiento de la fase de definición a la fase de análisis y servir de base para la obtención de los requisitos. El aporte es derivado de una investigación en metodologías para construcción de ambientes ubicuos, enmarcada dentro del macroproyecto para la construcción de una plataforma de cocreación de productos y servicios innovadores en el área de telecomunicaciones. Esta iniciativa hace parte del Centro de Excelencia ARTICAIn this paper, the context and domain models, as an instrument to facilitate the knowledge transition between the definition phase and the analysis phase, and to serve as a basis to the requirements obtainment is presented. This contribution was obtained from a research project of building methodologies ubiquitous environments, within the macro project of construction of a platform for the co-creation of products and innovation services in telecommunications area. This initiative is part of the ARTICA excellence center.

  13. The Presentation of Self in Scholarly Life: Identity and Marginalization in Academic Homepages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyland, Ken

    2011-01-01

    The academic homepage is now a ubiquitous genre of scholarly life, but despite considerable interest in issues of identity and the ways individuals self-consciously manage the impression they give of themselves, it has been slow to attract the attention of ESP researchers. This may be because of the institutional control exercised by employing…

  14. The other 87%

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Christian S.; Li, Ki-Joune; Winter, Stephan

    2011-01-01

    With the increasing deployment of location-based services, geographic information systems, and ubiquitous computing, technologies and services that target indoor spaces are receiving increasing attention. This development is quite understandable because, as a paper presented at ISA 2010 points out...

  15. An Intelligent and Fast Chaotic Encryption Using Digital Logic Circuits for Ad-Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ankur Khare

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Delays added by the encryption process represent an overhead for smart computing devices in ad-hoc and ubiquitous computing intelligent systems. Digital Logic Circuits are faster than other computing techniques, so these can be used for fast encryption to minimize processing delays. Chaotic Encryption is more attack-resilient than other encryption techniques. One of the most attractive properties of cryptography is known as an avalanche effect, in which two different keys produce distinct cipher text for the same information. Important properties of chaotic systems are sensitivity to initial conditions and nonlinearity, which makes two similar keys that generate different cipher text a source of confusion. In this paper a novel fast and secure Chaotic Map-based encryption technique using 2’s Compliment (CET-2C has been proposed, which uses a logistic map which implies that a negligible difference in parameters of the map generates different cipher text. Cryptanalysis of the proposed algorithm shows the strength and security of algorithm and keys. Performance of the proposed algorithm has been analyzed in terms of running time, throughput and power consumption. It is to be shown in comparison graphs that the proposed algorithm gave better results compare to different algorithms like AES and some others.

  16. THE NEED FOR A MORE EFFICIENT USER NOTIFICATION SYSTEM IN USING SOCIAL NETWORKS AS UBIQUITOUS LEARNING PLATFORMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Can MIHCI

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available While carrying out formative assessment activities over social network services (SNS, it has been noted that personalized notifications have a high chance of “the important post getting lost” in the notification feed. In order to highlight this problem, this paper compares within a posttest only quasi-experiment, a total of 104 first year undergraduate students, all of which are prospective ICT teachers, in two groups. A formative assessment system in the ubiquitous learning context is delivered over an SNS in both groups. In the first group, the SNS has been used for the entire assessment task. In the second group, the questions have been delivered and responses were received over mobile phone “SMS” messages, while the SNS was used solely for providing feedback. The cases were compared in terms of voluntary participation rates and academic success. Both response rates and academic success have been significantly higher in the SMS group. When asked their reasons for not responding to questions; the SNS-only group frequently reported “not noticing the questions being sent”. This may indicate a flaw in message design for using social networks as LMS's. Sensible use of push-messages is advised.

  17. Theories and models about learning in connected and ubiquitous environments. Bases for a new theoretical model from a critical vision of “connectivism”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel ZAPATA-ROS

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at setting the bases for the construction of a theoretical model of learning and of elaboration of knowledge, within connected learning environments. The starting point is a critical view of connectivism, and a premise: the study and recognition of existing theories, since their scope is still under development as regards their potentialities and affordances when applied in social, ubiquitous environments. The paper also includes reflections and a hypothesis on the causes that underlie in the origin of connectivism in its actual stage of development in the Information and Knowledge Society, in order to use the obtained conclusions as the bases of a new model, at a later phase.

  18. Evolution in students' understanding of thermal physics with increasing complexity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langbeheim, Elon; Safran, Samuel A.; Livne, Shelly; Yerushalmi, Edit

    2013-12-01

    We analyze the development in students’ understanding of fundamental principles in the context of learning a current interdisciplinary research topic—soft matter—that was adapted to the level of high school students. The topic was introduced in a program for interested 11th grade high school students majoring in chemistry and/or physics, in an off-school setting. Soft matter was presented in a gradual increase in the degree of complexity of the phenomena as well as in the level of the quantitative analysis. We describe the evolution in students’ use of fundamental thermodynamics principles to reason about phase separation—a phenomenon that is ubiquitous in soft matter. In particular, we examine the impact of the use of free energy analysis, a common approach in soft matter, on the understanding of the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. The study used diagnostic questions and classroom observations to gauge the student’s learning. In order to gain insight on the aspects that shape the understanding of the basic principles, we focus on the responses and explanations of two case-study students who represent two trends of evolution in conceptual understanding in the group. We analyze changes in the two case studies’ management of conceptual resources used in their analysis of phase separation, and suggest how their prior knowledge and epistemological framing (a combination of their personal tendencies and their prior exposure to different learning styles) affect their conceptual evolution. Finally, we propose strategies to improve the instruction of these concepts.

  19. Ubiquitous polygenicity of human complex traits: genome-wide analysis of 49 traits in Koreans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Yang

    Full Text Available Recent studies in population of European ancestry have shown that 30% ~ 50% of heritability for human complex traits such as height and body mass index, and common diseases such as schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis, can be captured by common SNPs and that genetic variation attributed to chromosomes are in proportion to their length. Using genome-wide estimation and partitioning approaches, we analysed 49 human quantitative traits, many of which are relevant to human diseases, in 7,170 unrelated Korean individuals genotyped on 326,262 SNPs. For 43 of the 49 traits, we estimated a nominally significant (P<0.05 proportion of variance explained by all SNPs on the Affymetrix 5.0 genotyping array ([Formula: see text]. On average across 47 of the 49 traits for which the estimate of h(G(2 is non-zero, common SNPs explain approximately one-third (range of 7.8% to 76.8% of narrow sense heritability. The estimate of h(G(2 is highly correlated with the proportion of SNPs with association P<0.031 (r(2 = 0.92. Longer genomic segments tend to explain more phenotypic variation, with a correlation of 0.78 between the estimate of variance explained by individual chromosomes and their physical length, and 1% of the genome explains approximately 1% of the genetic variance. Despite the fact that there are a few SNPs with large effects for some traits, these results suggest that polygenicity is ubiquitous for most human complex traits and that a substantial proportion of the "missing heritability" is captured by common SNPs.

  20. DISCOVERY OF UBIQUITOUS FAST-PROPAGATING INTENSITY DISTURBANCES BY THE CHROMOSPHERIC LYMAN ALPHA SPECTROPOLARIMETER (CLASP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubo, M.; Katsukawa, Y.; Suematsu, Y.; Kano, R.; Bando, T.; Narukage, N.; Ishikawa, R.; Hara, H.; Giono, G. [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Tsuneta, S.; Ishikawa, S.; Shimizu, T.; Sakao, T. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Winebarger, A.; Kobayashi, K.; Cirtain, J. [NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, ZP 13, Huntsville, AL 35812 (United States); Champey, P. [University of Alabama in Huntsville, 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States); Auchère, F. [Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Univ. Paris-Sud 11, Bâtiment 121, F-91405 Orsay (France); Bueno, J. Trujillo; Ramos, A. Asensio, E-mail: masahito.kubo@nao.ac.jp [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); and others

    2016-12-01

    High-cadence observations by the slit-jaw (SJ) optics system of the sounding rocket experiment known as the Chromospheric Lyman Alpha Spectropolarimeter (CLASP) reveal ubiquitous intensity disturbances that recurrently propagate in either the chromosphere or the transition region or both at a speed much higher than the speed of sound. The CLASP/SJ instrument provides a time series of two-dimensional images taken with broadband filters centered on the Ly α line at a 0.6 s cadence. The multiple fast-propagating intensity disturbances appear in the quiet Sun and in an active region, and they are clearly detected in at least 20 areas in a field of view of 527″ × 527″ during the 5 minute observing time. The apparent speeds of the intensity disturbances range from 150 to 350 km s{sup −1}, and they are comparable to the local Alfvén speed in the transition region. The intensity disturbances tend to propagate along bright elongated structures away from areas with strong photospheric magnetic fields. This suggests that the observed fast-propagating intensity disturbances are related to the magnetic canopy structures. The maximum distance traveled by the intensity disturbances is about 10″, and the widths are a few arcseconds, which are almost determined by a pixel size of 1.″03. The timescale of each intensity pulse is shorter than 30 s. One possible explanation for the fast-propagating intensity disturbances observed by CLASP is magnetohydrodynamic fast-mode waves.

  1. Increased lipid droplet accumulation associated with a peripheral sensory neuropathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Lee L; Stimpson, Scott E; Hyland, Ryan; Coorssen, Jens R; Myers, Simon J

    2014-04-01

    Hereditary sensory neuropathy type 1 (HSN-1) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by missense mutations in the SPTLC1 gene. The SPTLC1 protein is part of the SPT enzyme which is a ubiquitously expressed, critical and thus highly regulated endoplasmic reticulum bound membrane enzyme that maintains sphingolipid concentrations and thus contributes to lipid metabolism, signalling, and membrane structural functions. Lipid droplets are dynamic organelles containing sphingolipids and membrane bound proteins surrounding a core of neutral lipids, and thus mediate the intracellular transport of these specific molecules. Current literature suggests that there are increased numbers of lipid droplets and alterations of lipid metabolism in a variety of other autosomal dominant neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This study establishes for the first time, a significant increase in the presence of lipid droplets in HSN-1 patient-derived lymphoblasts, indicating a potential connection between lipid droplets and the pathomechanism of HSN-1. However, the expression of adipophilin (ADFP), which has been implicated in the regulation of lipid metabolism, was not altered in lipid droplets from the HSN-1 patient-derived lymphoblasts. This appears to be the first report of increased lipid body accumulation in a peripheral neuropathy, suggesting a fundamental molecular linkage between a number of neurodegenerative diseases.

  2. AUP1 (Ancient Ubiquitous Protein 1) Is a Key Determinant of Hepatic Very-Low-Density Lipoprotein Assembly and Secretion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jing; Zamani, Mostafa; Thiele, Christoph; Taher, Jennifer; Amir Alipour, Mohsen; Yao, Zemin; Adeli, Khosrow

    2017-04-01

    AUP1 (ancient ubiquitous protein 1) is an endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein that also localizes to the surface of lipid droplets (LDs), with dual role in protein quality control and LD regulation. Here, we investigated the role of AUP1 in hepatic lipid mobilization and demonstrate critical roles in intracellular biogenesis of apoB100 (apolipoprotein B-100), LD mobilization, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) assembly and secretion. APPROACH AND RESULTS: siRNA (short/small interfering RNA) knockdown of AUP1 significantly increased secretion of VLDL-sized apoB100-containing particles from HepG2 cells, correcting a key metabolic defect in these cells that normally do not secrete much VLDL. Secreted particles contained higher levels of metabolically labeled triglyceride, and AUP1-deficient cells displayed a larger average size of LDs, suggesting a role for AUP1 in lipid mobilization. Importantly, AUP1 was also found to directly interact with apoB100, and this interaction was enhanced with proteasomal inhibition. Knockdown of AUP1 reduced apoB100 ubiquitination, decreased intracellular degradation of newly synthesized apoB100, and enhanced extracellular apoB100 secretion. Interestingly, the stimulatory effect of AUP1 knockdown on VLDL assembly was reminiscent of the effect previously observed after MEK-ERK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase) inhibition; however, further studies indicated that the AUP1 effect was independent of MEK-ERK signaling. In summary, our findings reveal an important role for AUP1 as a regulator of apoB100 stability, hepatic LD metabolism, and intracellular lipidation of VLDL particles. AUP1 may be a crucial factor in apoB100 quality control, determining the rate at which apoB100 is degraded or lipidated to enable VLDL particle assembly and secretion. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  3. Systems-level Proteomics of Two Ubiquitous Leaf Commensals Reveals Complementary Adaptive Traits for Phyllosphere Colonization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Daniel B; Schubert, Olga T; Röst, Hannes; Aebersold, Ruedi; Vorholt, Julia A

    2016-10-01

    Plants are colonized by a diverse community of microorganisms, the plant microbiota, exhibiting a defined and conserved taxonomic structure. Niche separation based on spatial segregation and complementary adaptation strategies likely forms the basis for coexistence of the various microorganisms in the plant environment. To gain insights into organism-specific adaptations on a molecular level, we selected two exemplary community members of the core leaf microbiota and profiled their proteomes upon Arabidopsis phyllosphere colonization. The highly quantitative mass spectrometric technique SWATH MS was used and allowed for the analysis of over two thousand proteins spanning more than three orders of magnitude in abundance for each of the model strains. The data suggest that Sphingomonas melonis utilizes amino acids and hydrocarbon compounds during colonization of leaves whereas Methylobacterium extorquens relies on methanol metabolism in addition to oxalate metabolism, aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis and alkanesulfonate utilization. Comparative genomic analyses indicates that utilization of oxalate and alkanesulfonates is widespread among leaf microbiota members whereas, aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis is almost exclusively found in Methylobacteria. Despite the apparent niche separation between these two strains we also found a relatively small subset of proteins to be coregulated, indicating common mechanisms, underlying successful leaf colonization. Overall, our results reveal for two ubiquitous phyllosphere commensals species-specific adaptations to the host environment and provide evidence for niche separation within the plant microbiota. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  4. Past Results, Present Trends, and Future Challenges in Intrabody Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Naranjo-Hernández

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Intrabody communication (IBC is a wireless communication technology using the human body to develop body area networks (BANs for remote and ubiquitous monitoring. IBC uses living tissues as a transmission medium, achieving power-saving and miniaturized transceivers, making communications more robust against external interference and attacks on the privacy of transmitted data. Due to these advantages, IBC has been included as a third physical layer in the IEEE 802.15.6 standard for wireless body area networks (WBANs designated as Human Body Communication (HBC. Further research is needed to compare both methods depending on the characteristics of IBC application. Challenges remain for an optimal deployment of IBC technology, such as the effect of long-term use in the human body, communication optimization through more realistic models, the influence of both anthropometric characteristics and the subject’s movement on the transmission performance, standardization of communications, and development of small-size and energy-efficient prototypes with increased data rate. The purpose of this work is to provide an in-depth overview of recent advances and future challenges in human body/intrabody communication for wireless communications and mobile computing.

  5. Nocardia yamanashiensis in an immunocompromised patient presenting as an indurated nodule on the dorsal hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzalone, C Lane; Cohen, Philip R; Tarrand, Jeffrey J; Diwan, Abdul H; Prieto, Victor G

    2013-01-01

    Nocardia are ubiquitous, aerobic, gram-positive actinomycetes. Nocardiosis typically occurs in immunocompromised patients, although immunocompetent individuals can also be affected. The purpose of this case study is to review the clinical characteristics and treatments of a unique form of cutaneous nocardiosis. We retrospectively reviewed the medical literature using PubMed, searching the terms cutaneous, host, immunocompromised, Nocardia, primary, yamanashiensis. Patient reports and previous reviews of the subject were critically assessed and the salient features are presented. Cutaneous nocardiosis typically presents as pustular nodules and the lesions may progress to become abscesses, cellulitis, granulomas or keloid-like tumors. N. brasiliensis is the predominant species involved in primary cutaneous nocardiosis; other common Nocardia species involved in human disease are N. farcinica, N. abscessus, N. cyriacigeorgica, and N. nova. Only two individuals (including the patient presented here) with primary cutaneous infection by N. yamanashiensis have been described in the literature; a third clinical isolate was recovered from a lung biopsy. Nocardia yamanashiensis is a rare clinical form of primary cutaneous nocardiosis. 16S ribosomal gene sequencing, as well as Gram stain and modified Fite acid-fast stain, play a vital role in identifying this clinical variant.

  6. Mobile/ubiquitous computing: dreams and nightmares

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Ess

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Both the scholarly and certainly the popular literatures surrounding information and computing ethics make frequent reference to one or more revolutions. To be sure, in an age that has witnessed—and is increasingly driven by—rapid technological innovation and diffusion, it is tempting to believe that new technologies cannot help but to transform our lives and worlds in radical, dramatic, and thus revolutionary ways.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v4i2.1759

  7. Mechanical stimulation of C2C12 cells increases m-calpain expression, focal adhesion plaque protein degradation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grossi, Alberto; Karlsson, Anders H; Lawson, Moira Ann

    2008-01-01

    . Stimulation due to stretch- or load-induced signaling is now beginning to be understood as a factor which affects gene sequences, protein synthesis and an increase in Ca2+ influx in myocytes. Evidence of the involvement of Ca2+ -dependent activity in myoblast fusion, cell membrane and cytoskeleton component...... reorganization due to the activity of the ubiquitous proteolytic enzymes, calpains, has been reported. Whether there is a link between stretch- or load-induced signaling and calpain expression and activation is not known. Using a magnetic bead stimulation assay and C2C12 mouse myoblasts cell population, we have...... demonstrated that mechanical stimulation via laminin receptors leads to an increase in m-calpain expression, but no increase in the expression of other calpain isoforms. Our study revealed that after a short period of stimulation, m-calpain relocates into focal adhesion complexes and is followed by a breakdown...

  8. Immunohistochemical and Proteomic Evaluation of Nuclear Ubiquitous Casein and Cyclin-Dependent Kinases Substrate in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr Ziółkowski

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Nuclear ubiquitous casein and cyclin-dependent kinases substrate (NUCKS is 27 kDa chromosomal protein of unknown function. Its amino acid composition as well as structure of its DNA binding domain resembles that of high-mobility group A, HMGA proteins. HMGA proteins are associated with various malignancies. Since changes in expression of HMGA are considered as marker of tumor progression, it is possible that similar changes in expression of NUCKS could be useful tool in diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. For identification and analysis of NUCKS we used proteomic and histochemical methods. Analysis of patient-matched samples of normal and breast cancer by mass spectrometry revealed elevated levels of NUCKS in protein extracts from ductal breast cancers. We elicited specific antibodies against NUCKS and used them for immunohistochemistry in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. We found high expression of NUCKS in 84.3% of cancer cells. We suggest that such overexpression of NUCKS can play significant role in breast cancer biology.

  9. Some Visual Literacy Initiatives in Academic Institutions: A Literature Review from 1999 to the Present

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blummer, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    The ubiquitousness of images in the digital era highlights the importance of individuals' visual communication skills in the 21st Century. We conducted a literature review of visual literacy initiatives in academic institutions to illustrate best practices for imparting these skills in students. The literature review identified five categories of…

  10. The Effects of Poster Presentations and Class Presentations on Low-Proficiency Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prichard, Caleb; Ferreira, Dan

    2014-01-01

    Presentation assignments for second language speakers can take several forms, such as a traditional class presentation or a poster presentation. Poster presentations, which are given repeatedly to small groups, seem to have several advantages, including increased speaking opportunities, more interaction between the speaker and the audience, and…

  11. A low-power bio-potential acquisition system with flexible PDMS dry electrodes for portable ubiquitous healthcare applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chih-Yuan; Chang, Chia-Lin; Chang, Chih-Wei; Lai, Shin-Chi; Chien, Tsung-Fu; Huang, Hong-Yi; Chiou, Jin-Chern; Luo, Ching-Hsing

    2013-03-04

    This work describes a bio-potential acquisition system for portable ubiquitous healthcare applications using flexible polydimethylsiloxane dry electrodes (FPDEs) and a low-power recording circuit. This novel FPDE used Au as the skin contact layer, which was made using a CO2 laser and replica method technology. The FPDE was revised from a commercial bio-potential electrode with a conductive snap using dry electrodes rather than wet electrodes that proposed reliable and robust attachment for the purpose of measurement, and attaching velcro made it wearable on the forearm for bio-potential applications. Furthermore, this study proposes a recording device to store bio-potential signal data and provides portability and low-power consumption for the proposed acquisition system. To acquire differential bio-potentials, such as electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, the proposed recording device includes a low-power front-end acquisition chip fabricated using a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process, a commercial microcontroller (MSP430F149), and a secure digital (SD) card for portable healthcare applications. The proposed system can obtain ECG signals efficiently and are comfortable to the skin. The power consumption of the system is about 85 mW for continuous working over a 3 day period with two AA batteries. It can also be used as a compact Holter ECG system.

  12. Does bimodal stimulus presentation increase ERP components usable in BCIs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurlings, Marieke E.; Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Van Erp, Jan B. F.; Blankertz, Benjamin; Werkhoven, Peter J.

    2012-08-01

    Event-related potential (ERP)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) employ differences in brain responses to attended and ignored stimuli. Typically, visual stimuli are used. Tactile stimuli have recently been suggested as a gaze-independent alternative. Bimodal stimuli could evoke additional brain activity due to multisensory integration which may be of use in BCIs. We investigated the effect of visual-tactile stimulus presentation on the chain of ERP components, BCI performance (classification accuracies and bitrates) and participants’ task performance (counting of targets). Ten participants were instructed to navigate a visual display by attending (spatially) to targets in sequences of either visual, tactile or visual-tactile stimuli. We observe that attending to visual-tactile (compared to either visual or tactile) stimuli results in an enhanced early ERP component (N1). This bimodal N1 may enhance BCI performance, as suggested by a nonsignificant positive trend in offline classification accuracies. A late ERP component (P300) is reduced when attending to visual-tactile compared to visual stimuli, which is consistent with the nonsignificant negative trend of participants’ task performance. We discuss these findings in the light of affected spatial attention at high-level compared to low-level stimulus processing. Furthermore, we evaluate bimodal BCIs from a practical perspective and for future applications.

  13. UBIQUITOUS, FREE, AND EFFICIENT ONLINE COLLABORATION TOOLS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jace HARGIS

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available This article provides an overview of free, online tools that make collaboration effective, efficient, and engaging. Each tool is available world-wide wherever there is access to the internet. These tools help create a more collaborative environment because they allow for voice, video, text, simultaneous editing, and immediate feedback. The tools presented are easy to use, user friendly, and have online support available if needed. Methods for using the tools are suggested, and examples of how they have been used by the authors are discussed. Professional presentations, instructional activities, meetings, and preparing manuscripts or other collaborative documents can all be developed in collaborative online meetings using Skype, Google tools including Talk, Chat, Calendar, Docs, and Notebooks, and Second Life. These may also be used to enhance education in distance learning or on campus classes. The features, functionality, and intuitive ease of use promote collaborative efforts, increasing the effective and efficient use of time while decreasing costs. Hyperlinks are provided for tools so users can determine technology specifications, download necessary files, learn more about their capabilities, and locate help or support information.

  14. La narrativa hipermedia en el museo. El presente del futuro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borja Barinaga López

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available La narrativa hipermedia aleja el museo del templo de las musas y contribuye a acercarlo a todas las personas. Gracias a esta narrativa, el museo in situ se hace virtual y ubicuo, y, por medio de los dispositivos móviles, nos acompaña siempre. Pero el museo no utiliza adecuadamente la distintas estructuras que cobijan la narrativa hipermedia, ya que privilegia, casi exclusivamente, la informativa. Por otra parte, no potencia la interactividad con interacción orientada a la participación y la cooperación de todas las personas. Esta investigación plantea el presente de la narrativa hipermedia en el museo y apunta algunas claves para su necesaria evolución.  Hypermedia narratives in museums. The present of the future Abstract Hypermedia narratives take museums away from the Temple of the Muses and bring them closer to people. Thanks to these narratives, in situ museums can become virtual and ubiquitous and, by means of mobile devices, they are always available. However, museums tend not to use hypermedia narrative structures appropriately, because they almost exclusively favor information structures. Furthermore, museums do not encourage interactivity with interaction oriented to participation and cooperation. Our research questions the current role of hypermedia narratives in museums and points to the need for change. Keywords: Hypermedia museography, hypermedia narrative, interaction, interactivity, mobile hipermedia, transmedia narrative pp. 101-121

  15. The protein phosphatase-1/inhibitor-2 complex differentially regulates GSK3 dephosphorylation and increases sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2 levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, Taj D.; Gandy, Johanna C.; Bijur, Gautam N.

    2006-01-01

    The ubiquitously expressed protein glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) is constitutively active, however its activity is markedly diminished following phosphorylation of Ser21 of GSK3α and Ser9 of GSK3β. Although several kinases are known to phosphorylate Ser21/9 of GSK3, for example Akt, relatively much less is known about the mechanisms that cause the dephosphorylation of GSK3 at Ser21/9. In the present study KCl-induced plasma membrane depolarization of SH-SY5Y cells, which increases intracellular calcium concentrations caused a transient decrease in the phosphorylation of Akt at Thr308 and Ser473, and GSK3 at Ser21/9. Overexpression of the selective protein phosphatase-1 inhibitor protein, inhibitor-2, increased basal GSK3 phosphorylation at Ser21/9 and significantly blocked the KCl-induced dephosphorylation of GSK3β, but not GSK3α. The phosphorylation of Akt was not affected by the overexpression of inhibitor-2. GSK3 activity is known to affect sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2 (SERCA2) levels. Overexpression of inhibitor-2 or treatment of cells with the GSK3 inhibitors lithium and SB216763 increased the levels of SERCA2. These results indicate that the protein phosphatase-1/inhibitor-2 complex differentially regulates GSK3 dephosphorylation induced by KCl and that GSK3 activity regulates SERCA2 levels

  16. Evolution in students’ understanding of thermal physics with increasing complexity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elon Langbeheim

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available We analyze the development in students’ understanding of fundamental principles in the context of learning a current interdisciplinary research topic—soft matter—that was adapted to the level of high school students. The topic was introduced in a program for interested 11th grade high school students majoring in chemistry and/or physics, in an off-school setting. Soft matter was presented in a gradual increase in the degree of complexity of the phenomena as well as in the level of the quantitative analysis. We describe the evolution in students’ use of fundamental thermodynamics principles to reason about phase separation—a phenomenon that is ubiquitous in soft matter. In particular, we examine the impact of the use of free energy analysis, a common approach in soft matter, on the understanding of the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. The study used diagnostic questions and classroom observations to gauge the student’s learning. In order to gain insight on the aspects that shape the understanding of the basic principles, we focus on the responses and explanations of two case-study students who represent two trends of evolution in conceptual understanding in the group. We analyze changes in the two case studies’ management of conceptual resources used in their analysis of phase separation, and suggest how their prior knowledge and epistemological framing (a combination of their personal tendencies and their prior exposure to different learning styles affect their conceptual evolution. Finally, we propose strategies to improve the instruction of these concepts.

  17. Acrolein activates matrix metalloproteinases by increasing reactive oxygen species in macrophages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Toole, Timothy E.; Zheng Yuting; Hellmann, Jason; Conklin, Daniel J.; Barski, Oleg; Bhatnagar, Aruni

    2009-01-01

    Acrolein is a ubiquitous component of environmental pollutants such as automobile exhaust, cigarette, wood, and coal smoke. It is also a natural constituent of several foods and is generated endogenously during inflammation or oxidation of unsaturated lipids. Because increased inflammation and episodic exposure to acrolein-rich pollutants such as traffic emissions or cigarette smoke have been linked to acute myocardial infarction, we examined the effects of acrolein on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which destabilize atherosclerotic plaques. Our studies show that exposure to acrolein resulted in the secretion of MMP-9 from differentiated THP-1 macrophages. Acrolein-treatment of macrophages also led to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), free intracellular calcium ([Ca 2+ ] i ), and xanthine oxidase (XO) activity. ROS production was prevented by allopurinol, but not by rotenone or apocynin and by buffering changes in [Ca 2+ ] I with BAPTA-AM. The increase in MMP production was abolished by pre-treatment with the antioxidants Tiron and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or with the xanthine oxidase inhibitors allopurinol or oxypurinol. Finally, MMP activity was significantly stimulated in aortic sections from apoE-null mice containing advanced atherosclerotic lesions after exposure to acrolein ex vivo. These observations suggest that acrolein exposure results in MMP secretion from macrophages via a mechanism that involves an increase in [Ca 2+ ] I , leading to xanthine oxidase activation and an increase in ROS production. ROS-dependent activation of MMPs by acrolein could destabilize atherosclerotic lesions during brief episodes of inflammation or pollutant exposure.

  18. Acrolein activates matrix metalloproteinases by increasing reactive oxygen species in macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Toole, Timothy E; Zheng, Yu-Ting; Hellmann, Jason; Conklin, Daniel J; Barski, Oleg; Bhatnagar, Aruni

    2009-04-15

    Acrolein is a ubiquitous component of environmental pollutants such as automobile exhaust, cigarette, wood, and coal smoke. It is also a natural constituent of several foods and is generated endogenously during inflammation or oxidation of unsaturated lipids. Because increased inflammation and episodic exposure to acrolein-rich pollutants such as traffic emissions or cigarette smoke have been linked to acute myocardial infarction, we examined the effects of acrolein on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which destabilize atherosclerotic plaques. Our studies show that exposure to acrolein resulted in the secretion of MMP-9 from differentiated THP-1 macrophages. Acrolein-treatment of macrophages also led to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), free intracellular calcium ([Ca2+](i)), and xanthine oxidase (XO) activity. ROS production was prevented by allopurinol, but not by rotenone or apocynin and by buffering changes in [Ca2+](I) with BAPTA-AM. The increase in MMP production was abolished by pre-treatment with the antioxidants Tiron and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or with the xanthine oxidase inhibitors allopurinol or oxypurinol. Finally, MMP activity was significantly stimulated in aortic sections from apoE-null mice containing advanced atherosclerotic lesions after exposure to acrolein ex vivo. These observations suggest that acrolein exposure results in MMP secretion from macrophages via a mechanism that involves an increase in [Ca2+](I), leading to xanthine oxidase activation and an increase in ROS production. ROS-dependent activation of MMPs by acrolein could destabilize atherosclerotic lesions during brief episodes of inflammation or pollutant exposure.

  19. Ubiquitous atom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spruch, G.M.; Spruch, L.

    1974-01-01

    The fundamentals of modern physics, including the basic physics and chemistry of the atom, elementary particles, cosmology, periodicity, and recent advances, are surveyed. The biology and chemistry of the life process is discussed to provide a background for considering the effects of atomic particles on living things. The uses of atomic power in space travel, merchant shipping, food preservation, desalination, and nuclear clocks are explored. (Pollut. Abstr.)

  20. Kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 is present in promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and its surface expression increases during metacyclogenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise CS Matos

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (KMP-11, a protein present in all kinetoplastid protozoa, is considered a potential candidate for a leishmaniasis vaccine. A suitable leishmaniasis vaccine candidate molecule must be expressed in amastigotes, the infective stage for mammals. However, the expression of KMP-11 in Leishmania amastigotes has been a subject of controversy. We evaluated the expression of this molecule in logarithmic and stationary growth phase promastigotes, as well as in amastigotes, of Leishmania amazonensis by immunoblotting, flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry, using a monoclonal antibody against KMP-11. We found that KMP-11 is present in promastigotes and amastigotes. In both stages, the protein was found in association with membrane structures (at the cell surface, flagellar pocket and intracellular vesicles. More importantly, its surface expression is higher in amastigotes than in promastigotes and increases during metacyclogenesis. The increased expression of KMP-11 in metacyclic promastigotes, and especially in amastigotes, indicates a role for this molecule in the parasite relationship with the mammalian host. The presence of this molecule in amastigotes is consistent with the previously demonstrated immunoprotective capacity of vaccine prototypes based on the KMP-11-coding gene and the presence of humoral and cellular immune responses to KMP-11 in Leishmania-infected humans and animals.

  1. Three members of Medicago truncatula ST family are ubiquitous during development and modulated by nutritional status (MtST1) and dehydration (MtST2 and MtST3).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albornos, Lucía; Martín, Ignacio; Labrador, Emilia; Dopico, Berta

    2017-07-10

    ShooT specific/Specific Tissue (ST) belong to a protein family of unknown function characterized by the DUF2775 domain and produced in specific taxonomic plant families, mainly Fabaceae and Asteraceae, with the Medicago truncatula ST family being the largest. The putative roles proposed for this family are cell elongation, biotic interactions, abiotic stress and N reserve. The aim of this work was to go deeper into the role of three M. truncatula ST proteins, namely ST1, ST2 and ST3. Our starting hypothesis was that each member of the family could perform a specific role, and hence, each ST gene would be subjected to a different type of regulation. The search for cis-acting regulatory elements (CREs) in silico in pST1, pST2 and pST3 promoters showed prevalence of tissue/organ specific motifs, especially root- and seed-specific ones. Light, hormone, biotic and abiotic related motifs were also present. None of these pSTs showed the same combination of CREs, or presented the same activity pattern. In general, pST activity was associated with the vascular cylinder, mainly in roots. Promoter activation was highly specific and dissimilar during reproductive development. The ST1, ST2 and ST3 transcripts accumulated in most of the organs and developmental stages analysed - decreasing with age - and expression was higher in the roots than in the aerial parts and more abundant in light-grown plants. The effect of the different treatments on transcript accumulation indicated that ST1 behaved differently from ST2 and ST3, mainly in response to several hormones and dehydration treatments (NaCl or mannitol), upon which ST1 transcript levels decreased and ST2 and ST3 levels increased. Finally, the ST1 protein was located in the cell wall whereas ST2 and ST3 were present both in the cytoplasm and in the cell wall. The ST proteins studied are ubiquitous proteins that could perform distinct/complementary roles in plant biology as they are encoded by differentially regulated genes

  2. Phaeochromocytoma presenting with polyuria: an uncommon presentation of a rare tumour

    OpenAIRE

    Atapattu, N; Imalke, K A C P; Madarasinghe, M; Lamahewage, A; de Silva, K S H

    2014-01-01

    Summary Children rarely present with phaeochromocytoma. Their presentation differs from that of adults. The classic triad of sweating, headache and palpitation may not always present in children with phaeochromocytoma. In this study, we present a 6-year-old girl who came to us with polyuria and polydipsia for evaluation of suspected diabetes insipidus. She gave a clear history of increased sweating in the recent past. On clinical examination, she was noted to have high blood pressure. Subsequ...

  3. Ubiquitous Quantum Structure From Psychology to Finance

    CERN Document Server

    Khrennikov, Andrei Y

    2010-01-01

    Quantum-like structure is present practically everywhere. Quantum-like (QL) models, i.e. models based on the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and its generalizations can be successfully applied to cognitive science, psychology, genetics, economics, finances, and game theory. This book is not about quantum mechanics as a physical theory. The short review of quantum postulates is therefore mainly of historical value: quantum mechanics is just the first example of the successful application of non-Kolmogorov probabilities, the first step towards a contextual probabilistic description of natural, biological, psychological, social, economical or financial phenomena. A general contextual probabilistic model (Växjö model) is presented. It can be used for describing probabilities in both quantum and classical (statistical) mechanics as well as in the above mentioned phenomena. This model can be represented in a quantum-like way, namely, in complex and more general Hilbert spaces. In this way quantum prob...

  4. Dual Role of Ancient Ubiquitous Protein 1 (AUP1) in Lipid Droplet Accumulation and Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Protein Quality Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klemm, Elizabeth J.; Spooner, Eric; Ploegh, Hidde L.

    2011-01-01

    Quality control of endoplasmic reticulum proteins involves the identification and engagement of misfolded proteins, dislocation of the misfolded protein across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, and ubiquitin-mediated targeting to the proteasome for degradation. Ancient ubiquitous protein 1 (AUP1) physically associates with the mammalian HRD1-SEL1L complex, and AUP1 depletion impairs degradation of misfolded ER proteins. One of the functions of AUP1 in ER quality control is to recruit the soluble E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBE2G2. We further show that the CUE domain of AUP1 regulates polyubiquitylation and facilitates the interaction of AUP1 with the HRD1 complex and with dislocation substrates. AUP1 localizes both to the ER and to lipid droplets. The AUP1 expression level affects the abundance of cellular lipid droplets and as such represents the first protein with lipid droplet regulatory activity to be linked to ER quality control. These findings indicate a possible connection between ER protein quality control and lipid droplets. PMID:21857022

  5. Ubiquitous computing to support co-located clinical teams: using the semiotics of physical objects in system design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bang, Magnus; Timpka, Toomas

    2007-06-01

    Co-located teams often use material objects to communicate messages in collaboration. Modern desktop computing systems with abstract graphical user interface (GUIs) fail to support this material dimension of inter-personal communication. The aim of this study is to investigate how tangible user interfaces can be used in computer systems to better support collaborative routines among co-located clinical teams. The semiotics of physical objects used in team collaboration was analyzed from data collected during 1 month of observations at an emergency room. The resulting set of communication patterns was used as a framework when designing an experimental system. Following the principles of augmented reality, physical objects were mapped into a physical user interface with the goal of maintaining the symbolic value of those objects. NOSTOS is an experimental ubiquitous computing environment that takes advantage of interaction devices integrated into the traditional clinical environment, including digital pens, walk-up displays, and a digital desk. The design uses familiar workplace tools to function as user interfaces to the computer in order to exploit established cognitive and collaborative routines. Paper-based tangible user interfaces and digital desks are promising technologies for co-located clinical teams. A key issue that needs to be solved before employing such solutions in practice is associated with limited feedback from the passive paper interfaces.

  6. Retinoic acid-treated pluripotent stem cells undergoing neurogenesis present increased aneuploidy and micronuclei formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafaela C Sartore

    Full Text Available The existence of loss and gain of chromosomes, known as aneuploidy, has been previously described within the central nervous system. During development, at least one-third of neural progenitor cells (NPCs are aneuploid. Notably, aneuploid NPCs may survive and functionally integrate into the mature neural circuitry. Given the unanswered significance of this phenomenon, we tested the hypothesis that neural differentiation induced by all-trans retinoic acid (RA in pluripotent stem cells is accompanied by increased levels of aneuploidy, as previously described for cortical NPCs in vivo. In this work we used embryonal carcinoma (EC cells, embryonic stem (ES cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS cells undergoing differentiation into NPCs. Ploidy analysis revealed a 2-fold increase in the rate of aneuploidy, with the prevalence of chromosome loss in RA primed stem cells when compared to naïve cells. In an attempt to understand the basis of neurogenic aneuploidy, micronuclei formation and survivin expression was assessed in pluripotent stem cells exposed to RA. RA increased micronuclei occurrence by almost 2-fold while decreased survivin expression by 50%, indicating possible mechanisms by which stem cells lose their chromosomes during neural differentiation. DNA fragmentation analysis demonstrated no increase in apoptosis on embryoid bodies treated with RA, indicating that cell death is not the mandatory fate of aneuploid NPCs derived from pluripotent cells. In order to exclude that the increase in aneuploidy was a spurious consequence of RA treatment, not related to neurogenesis, mouse embryonic fibroblasts were treated with RA under the same conditions and no alterations in chromosome gain or loss were observed. These findings indicate a correlation amongst neural differentiation, aneuploidy, micronuclei formation and survivin downregulation in pluripotent stem cells exposed to RA, providing evidence that somatically generated chromosomal

  7. An Egocentric Approach Towards Ubiquitous Multimodal Interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pederson, Thomas; Jalaliniya, Shahram

    2015-01-01

    In this position paper we present our take on the possibilities that emerge from a mix of recent ideas in interaction design, wearable computers, and context-aware systems which taken together could allow us to get closer to Marc Weiser's vision of calm computing. Multisensory user experience plays...

  8. Functional principles of registry-based service discovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sundramoorthy, V.; Tan, C.; Hartel, P.H.; Hartog, den J.I.; Scholten, J.

    2005-01-01

    As Service Discovery Protocols (SDP) are becoming increasingly important for ubiquitous computing, they must behave according to predefined principles. We present the functional Principles of Service Discovery for robust, registry-based service discovery. A methodology to guarantee adherence to

  9. Inhibition of a ubiquitously expressed pectin methyl esterase in Solanum tuberosum L. affects plant growth, leaf growth polarity, and ion partitioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilling, J; Willmitzer, L; Bücking, H; Fisahn, J

    2004-05-01

    Two pectin methyl esterases (PMEs; EC 3.1.1.11) from Solanum tuberosum were isolated and their expression characterised. One partial clone ( pest1) was expressed in leaves and fruit tissue, while pest2 was a functional full-length clone and was expressed ubiquitously, with a preference for aerial organs. Potato plants were transformed with a chimeric antisense construct that was designed to simultaneously inhibit pest1 and pest2 transcript accumulation; however, reduction of mRNA levels was confined to pest2. The decrease in pest2 transcript was accompanied by up to 50% inhibition of total PME activity, which was probably due to the reduction of only one PME isoform. PME inhibition affected plant development as reflected by smaller stem elongation rates of selected transformants when compared with control plants, leading to a reduction in height throughout the entire course of development. Expansion rates of young developing leaves were measured simultaneously by two displacement transducers in the direction of the leaf tip (proximal-distal axis) and in the perpendicular direction (medial-lateral axis). Significant differences in leaf growth patterns were detected between wild-type and transgenic plants. We suggest that these visual phenotypes could be correlated with modifications of ion accumulation and partitioning within the transgenic plants. The ion-binding capacities of cell walls from PME-inhibited plants were specifically modified as they preferentially bound more sodium, but less potassium and calcium. X-ray microanalysis also indicated an increase in the concentration of several ions within the leaf apoplast of transgenic plants. Moreover, quantification of the total content of major cations revealed differences specific for a given element between the leaves of PME-inhibited and wild-type plants. Reduced growth rates might also be due to effects of PME inhibition on pectin metabolism, predominantly illustrated by an accumulation of galacturonic acid

  10. Negative plant-soil feedbacks increase with plant abundance, and are unchanged by competition

    Science.gov (United States)

    John L. Maron; Alyssa Laney Smith; Yvette K. Ortega; Dean E. Pearson; Ragan M. Callaway

    2016-01-01

    Plant-soil feedbacks and interspecific competition are ubiquitous interactions that strongly influence the performance of plants. Yet few studies have examined whether the strength of these interactions corresponds with the abundance of plant species in the field, or whether feedbacks and competition interact in ways that either ameliorate or exacerbate their...

  11. Ubiquitous quantum structure. From psychology to finance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khrennikov, Andrei

    2010-01-01

    Quantum-like structure is present practically everywhere. Quantum-like (QL) models, i.e. models based on the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and its generalizations can be successfully applied to cognitive science, psychology, genetics, economics, finances, and game theory. This book is not about quantum mechanics as a physical theory. The short review of quantum postulates is therefore mainly of historical value: quantum mechanics is just the first example of the successful application of non-Kolmogorov probabilities, the first step towards a contextual probabilistic description of natural, biological, psychological, social, economical or financial phenomena. A general contextual probabilistic model (Vaexjoemodel) is presented. It can be used for describing probabilities in both quantum and classical (statistical) mechanics as well as in the above mentioned phenomena. This model can be represented in a quantum-like way, namely, in complex and more general Hilbert spaces. In this way quantum probability is totally demystified: Born's representation of quantum probabilities by complex probability amplitudes, wave functions, is simply a special representation of this type. (orig.)

  12. Ubiquitous quantum structure. From psychology to finance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khrennikov, Andrei [University of Vaexjoe (Sweden). International Center for Mathematical Modeling in Physics and Cognitive Science

    2010-07-01

    Quantum-like structure is present practically everywhere. Quantum-like (QL) models, i.e. models based on the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and its generalizations can be successfully applied to cognitive science, psychology, genetics, economics, finances, and game theory. This book is not about quantum mechanics as a physical theory. The short review of quantum postulates is therefore mainly of historical value: quantum mechanics is just the first example of the successful application of non-Kolmogorov probabilities, the first step towards a contextual probabilistic description of natural, biological, psychological, social, economical or financial phenomena. A general contextual probabilistic model (Vaexjoemodel) is presented. It can be used for describing probabilities in both quantum and classical (statistical) mechanics as well as in the above mentioned phenomena. This model can be represented in a quantum-like way, namely, in complex and more general Hilbert spaces. In this way quantum probability is totally demystified: Born's representation of quantum probabilities by complex probability amplitudes, wave functions, is simply a special representation of this type. (orig.)

  13. The Flipped Classroom in Systems Analysis & Design: Leveraging Technology to Increase Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saulnier, Bruce M.

    2015-01-01

    Problems associated with the ubiquitous presence of technology on college campuses are discussed and the concept of the flipped classroom is explained. Benefits of using the flipped classroom to offset issues associated with the presence of technology in the classroom are explored. Fink's Integrated Course Design is used to develop a flipped class…

  14. Group Presentation as One Way of Increasing Students’ Participation in the Classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clara Herlina Karjo

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Teaching English (TOEFL to a class of 50 students or more is a difficult task for a lecturer. Some problems will occur, for example, the improbability for all students to get equal teacher’s attention and equal chance for learning and studying in class. To overcome these problems, the writer conducts a quasi-experimental research involving 100 students in her two classes in Bina Nusantara University. In this research, the writer applies the group presentation method for teaching TOEFL for one semester. The research shows that group scores are slightly higher than individual students’ scores.Keywords:

  15. A Murine Herpesvirus Closely Related to Ubiquitous Human Herpesviruses Causes T-Cell Depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Swapneel J; Zhao, Guoyan; Penna, Vinay R; Park, Eugene; Lauron, Elvin J; Harvey, Ian B; Beatty, Wandy L; Plougastel-Douglas, Beatrice; Poursine-Laurent, Jennifer; Fremont, Daved H; Wang, David; Yokoyama, Wayne M

    2017-05-01

    The human roseoloviruses human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A), HHV-6B, and HHV-7 comprise the Roseolovirus genus of the human Betaherpesvirinae subfamily. Infections with these viruses have been implicated in many diseases; however, it has been challenging to establish infections with roseoloviruses as direct drivers of pathology, because they are nearly ubiquitous and display species-specific tropism. Furthermore, controlled study of infection has been hampered by the lack of experimental models, and until now, a mouse roseolovirus has not been identified. Herein we describe a virus that causes severe thymic necrosis in neonatal mice, characterized by a loss of CD4 + T cells. These phenotypes resemble those caused by the previously described mouse thymic virus (MTV), a putative herpesvirus that has not been molecularly characterized. By next-generation sequencing of infected tissue homogenates, we assembled a contiguous 174-kb genome sequence containing 128 unique predicted open reading frames (ORFs), many of which were most closely related to herpesvirus genes. Moreover, the structure of the virus genome and phylogenetic analysis of multiple genes strongly suggested that this virus is a betaherpesvirus more closely related to the roseoloviruses, HHV-6A, HHV-6B, and HHV-7, than to another murine betaherpesvirus, mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV). As such, we have named this virus murine roseolovirus (MRV) because these data strongly suggest that MRV is a mouse homolog of HHV-6A, HHV-6B, and HHV-7. IMPORTANCE Herein we describe the complete genome sequence of a novel murine herpesvirus. By sequence and phylogenetic analyses, we show that it is a betaherpesvirus most closely related to the roseoloviruses, human herpesviruses 6A, 6B, and 7. These data combined with physiological similarities with human roseoloviruses collectively suggest that this virus is a murine roseolovirus (MRV), the first definitively described rodent roseolovirus, to our knowledge. Many biological and

  16. Ubiquitous wireless ECG recording: a powerful tool physicians should embrace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxon, Leslie A

    2013-04-01

    The use of smart phones has increased dramatically and there are nearly a billion users on 3G and 4G networks worldwide. Nearly 60% of the U.S. population uses smart phones to access the internet, and smart phone sales now surpass those of desktop and laptop computers. The speed of wireless communication technology on 3G and 4G networks and the widespread adoption and use of iOS equipped smart phones (Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA, USA) provide infrastructure for the transmission of wireless biomedical data, including ECG data. These technologies provide an unprecedented opportunity for physicians to continually access data that can be used to detect issues before symptoms occur or to have definitive data when symptoms are present. The technology also greatly empowers and enables the possibility for unprecedented patient participation in their own medical education and health status as well as that of their social network. As patient advocates, physicians and particularly cardiac electrophysiologists should embrace the future and promise of wireless ECG recording, a technology solution that can truly scale across the global population. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. The significance of peroxisomes in secondary metabolite biosynthesis in filamentous fungi

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bartoszewska, Magdalena; Opalinski, Lukasz; Veenhuis, Marten; van der Klei, Ida J.

    2011-01-01

    Peroxisomes are ubiquitous organelles characterized by a protein-rich matrix surrounded by a single membrane. In filamentous fungi, peroxisomes are crucial for the primary metabolism of several unusual carbon sources used for growth (e. g. fatty acids), but increasing evidence is presented that

  18. Saffold virus, a human Theiler's-like cardiovirus, is ubiquitous and causes infection early in life.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Zoll

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The family Picornaviridae contains well-known human pathogens (e.g., poliovirus, coxsackievirus, rhinovirus, and parechovirus. In addition, this family contains a number of viruses that infect animals, including members of the genus Cardiovirus such as Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV and Theiler's murine encephalomyelits virus (TMEV. The latter are important murine pathogens that cause myocarditis, type 1 diabetes and chronic inflammation in the brains, mimicking multiple sclerosis. Recently, a new picornavirus was isolated from humans, named Saffold virus (SAFV. The virus is genetically related to Theiler's virus and classified as a new species in the genus Cardiovirus, which until the discovery of SAFV did not contain human viruses. By analogy with the rodent cardioviruses, SAFV may be a relevant new human pathogen. Thus far, SAFVs have sporadically been detected by molecular techniques in respiratory and fecal specimens, but the epidemiology and clinical significance remained unclear. Here we describe the first cultivated SAFV type 3 (SAFV-3 isolate, its growth characteristics, full-length sequence, and epidemiology. Unlike the previously isolated SAFV-1 and -2 viruses, SAFV-3 showed efficient growth in several cell lines with a clear cytopathic effect. The latter allowed us to conduct a large-scale serological survey by a virus-neutralization assay. This survey showed that infection by SAFV-3 occurs early in life (>75% positive at 24 months and that the seroprevalence reaches >90% in older children and adults. Neutralizing antibodies were found in serum samples collected in several countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. In conclusion, this study describes the first cultivated SAFV-3 isolate, its full-length sequence, and epidemiology. SAFV-3 is a highly common and widespread human virus causing infection in early childhood. This finding has important implications for understanding the impact of these ubiquitous viruses and their possible

  19. Ubiquitous User Localization in LBS - The Need for Implementing Ethical Thinking in Our Research Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Retscher, Guenther; Obex, Franz

    2015-12-01

    Location-based Services (LBS) influence nowadays every individual's life due to the emerging market penetration of smartphones and other mobile devices. For smartphone Apps localization technologies are developed ranging from GNSS beyond to other alternative ubiquitous positioning methods as well as the use of the in-built inertial sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometer, barometer, etc. Moreover, signals-of-opportunity which are not intended for positioning at the first sight but are receivable in many environments such as in buildings and public spaces are more and more utilized for positioning and navigation. The use of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is a typical example. These technologies, however, have become very powerful tools as the enable to track an individual or even a group of users. Most technical researchers imply that it is mainly about further enhancing technologies and algorithms including the development of new advanced Apps to improve personal navigation and to deliver location oriented information just in time to a single LBS user or group of users. The authors claim that there is a need that ethical and political issues have to be addressed within our research community from the very beginning. Although there is a lot of research going on in developing algorithms to keep ones data and LBS search request in private, researchers can no longer keep their credibility without cooperating with ethical experts or an ethical committee. In a study called InKoPoMoVer (Cooperative Positioning for Real-time User Assistance and Guidance at Multi-modal Public Transit Junctions) a cooperation with social scientists was initiated for the first time at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, in this context. The major aims of this study in relation to ethical questions are addressed in this paper.

  20. Voting Present

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Lo

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available During his time as a state senator in Illinois, Barack Obama voted “Present” 129 times, a deliberate act of nonvoting that subsequently became an important campaign issue during the 2008 presidential elections. In this article, I examine the use of Present votes in the Illinois state senate. I find evidence that Present votes can largely be characterized as protest votes used as a legislative tool by the minority party. Incorporating information from Present votes into a Bayesian polytomous item-response model, I find that this information increases the efficiency of ideal point estimates by approximately 35%. There is little evidence of significant moderation by Obama when Present votes are accounted for, though my results suggest that Obama’s voting record may have moderated significantly before his subsequent election to the U.S. Senate. My results also suggest that because legislative nonvoting may occur for a variety of reasons, naive inclusion of nonvoting behavior into vote choice models may lead to biased results.

  1. Ubiquitous Smart Home System Using Android Application

    OpenAIRE

    Kumar, Shiu

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a flexible standalone, low-cost smart home system, which is based on the Android app communicating with the micro-web server providing more than the switching functionalities. The Arduino Ethernet is used to eliminate the use of a personal computer (PC) keeping the cost of the overall system to a minimum while voice activation is incorporated for switching functionalities. Devices such as light switches, power plugs, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, current sensors, ...

  2. Ubiquitous picture-rich content representation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wiley; Dean, Jennifer; Muzzolini, Russ

    2010-02-01

    The amount of digital images taken by the average consumer is consistently increasing. People enjoy the convenience of storing and sharing their pictures through online (digital) and offline (traditional) media. A set of pictures can be uploaded to: online photo services, web blogs and social network websites. Alternatively, these images can be used to generate: prints, cards, photo books or other photo products. Through uploading and sharing, images are easily transferred from one format to another. And often, a different set of associated content (text, tags) is created across formats. For example, on his web blog, a user may journal his experiences of his recent travel; on his social network website, his friends tag and comment on the pictures; in his online photo album, some pictures are titled and keyword-tagged. When the user wants to tell a complete story, perhaps in a photo book, he must collect, across all formats: the pictures, writings and comments, etc. and organize them in a book format. The user has to arrange the content of his trip in each format. The arrangement, the associations between the images, tags, keywords and text, cannot be shared with other formats. In this paper, we propose a system that allows the content to be easily created and shared across various digital media formats. We define a uniformed data association structure to connect: images, documents, comments, tags, keywords and other data. This content structure allows the user to switch representation formats without reediting. The framework under each format can emphasize (display or hide) content elements based on preference. For example, a slide show view will emphasize the display of pictures with limited text; a blog view will display highlighted images and journal text; and the photo book will try to fit in all images and text content. In this paper, we will discuss the strategy to associate pictures with text content, so that it can naturally tell a story. We will also list

  3. Creating meaningful multimedia presentations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hardman, H.L.; Ossenbruggen, van J.R.

    2006-01-01

    Finding relevant information is one step in the chain of understanding information. Presenting material to a user in a suitable way is a further step. Our research focuses on using semantic annotations of multimedia elements to increase the "presentability" of retrieved information. We investigate

  4. Biosynthesis, structural, and functional attributes of tocopherols in planta; past, present, and future perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Nazim; Irshad, Faiza; Jabeen, Zahra; Shamsi, Imran Haider; Li, Zhilan; Jiang, Lixi

    2013-07-03

    Tocopherols are lipophilic molecules, ubiquitously synthesized in all photosynthetic organisms. Being a group of vitamin E compounds, they play an essential role in human nutrition and health. Despite their structural and functional attributes as important antioxidants in plants, it would be misleading to ignore the potential roles of tocopherols beyond their antioxidant properties in planta. Detailed characterization of mutants and transgenic plants, including Arabidopsis (vte1, vte2, vte4, and so on), maize (sxd1) mutants, and transgenic potato and tobacco lines altered in tocopherol biosynthesis and contents, has led to surprising outcomes regarding the additional functions of these molecules. Thus, the aim of this review is to highlight the past and present research findings on tocopherols' structural, biosynthesis, and functional properties in plants. Special emphasis is given to their suggested functions in planta, such as cell signaling, hormonal interactions, and coordinated response of tocopherols to other antioxidants under abiotic stresses. Moreover, some important questions about possible new functions of tocopherols will be discussed as future prospects to stimulate further research.

  5. Radiation Doses to Members of the U.S. Population from Ubiquitous Radionuclides in the Body: Part 3, Results, Variability, and Uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, David J.; Strom, Daniel J.

    2011-01-01

    This paper is part three of a three-part series investigating annual effective doses to residents of the United States from intakes of ubiquitous radionuclides, including radionuclides occurring naturally, radionuclides whose concentrations are technologically enhanced, and anthropogenic radionuclides. The radionuclides of interest are the 238 U series (14 nuclides), the actinium series (headed by 235 U; 11 nuclides), and the 232 Th series (11 nuclides); primordial radionuclides 87 Rb and 40 K; cosmogenic and fallout radionuclides 14 C and 3 H; and purely anthropogenic radionuclides 137 Cs- 137m Ba, 129 I and 90 Sr- 90 Y. This series of papers explicitly excludes intakes from inhaling 222 Rn, 220 Rn, and their short-lived decay products; it also excludes intakes of radionuclides in occupational and medical settings. Part one reviewed, summarized, characterized, and grouped all published and some unpublished data for U.S. residents on ubiquitous radionuclide concentrations in tissues and organs. Part two described the methods used to organize the data collected in part one and segregate it into the ages and genders defined by the study, imputed missing values from the existing data, apportioned activity in bone, and imputed activity in hollow organ contents and the remainder of the body. This paper estimates equivalent doses to target tissues from source regions and maps target tissues to lists of tissues with International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) tissue-weighting factors or to surrogate tissue regions when there is no direct match. Effective doses, using ICRP tissue-weighting factors recommended in 1977, 1990, and 2007, are then calculated, and an upper bound of variability of the effective dose is estimated by calculating the average coefficients of variation (CV), assuming all variance is due to variability. Most of the data were for adult males, whose average annual effective dose is estimated to be 337 (micro)Sv y -1 (CV = 0.65, geometric mean

  6. Increase in a distinct pulmonary macrophage subset possessing an antigen-presenting cell phenotype and in vitro APC activity following silica exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Migliaccio, Christopher T.; Hamilton, Raymond F.; Holian, Andrij

    2005-01-01

    Silica inhalation results in chronic lung inflammation and fibrosis. While the role of the alveolar macrophage (AM) is considered key to the effects of silica on lung pathology, the etiology is not completely understood. Evidence suggests an increase in antigen presenting cell (APC) activity as a contributing factor to this process, as well as potential roles for both AM and interstitial macrophages (IM) in silicosis. In order to study the effects of crystalline silica on the APC activity of pulmonary macrophages, mice were exposed intranasally and changes in pulmonary macrophage populations were assessed using flow cytometry. Following intranasal instillation of silica, a significant increase in the APC activity of AM was observed, as well as a significant increase in a subset of IM expressing classic APC markers (MHC class II, CD11c). In addition, an in vitro system using bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) was generated to assess the effects of silica on the APC activity of macrophages in vitro. Data using BMDM in the in vitro APC assay demonstrated a significant increase in APC activity following silica exposure, but not following exposure to saline or a control particle (TiO 2 ). Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro experiments, the current study describes a significant increase in an interstitial macrophage subset with an APC phenotype, as well as an increase in the APC activity of both AM and BMDM, as a direct result of exposure to crystalline silica. These studies suggest a specific mechanism, macrophage subset activation, by which crystalline silica exposure results in chronic pulmonary inflammation and, eventually, fibrosis

  7. Presentation skills for nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foulkes, Mark

    2015-02-20

    This article emphasises the importance of effective presentation skills. Such skills allow nurses to share knowledge and expertise and to communicate clearly in a range of workplace scenarios. Nurses are increasingly being asked to present in formal and informal situations, such as conferences, poster presentations, job interviews, case reports and ward-based teaching. This article explores the principles underpinning the development of these skills, discusses the situations in which they could be applied and demonstrates how nurses might improve and develop as presenters.

  8. Over-expression of ascorbate oxidase in the apoplast of transgenic tobacco results in altered ascorbate and glutathione redox states and increased sensitivity to ozone

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sanmartin, Maite; Drogoudi, Pavlina D.; Lyons, Tom

    2003-01-01

    overexpressing plants exposed to 100 nmol mol-1 ozone for 7 h day-1 exhibited a substantial increase in foliar injury, and a greater pollutant-induced reduction in both the light-saturated rate of CO2 assimilation and the maximum in vivo rate of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase carboxylation......Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Xanthi) plants expressing cucumber ascorbate oxidase (EC.1.10.3.3) were used to examine the role of extracellular ascorbic acid in mediating tolerance to the ubiquitous air pollutant, ozone (O3). Three homozygous transgenic lines, chosen on the basis...

  9. International Conference on Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Shu-Ching; Gil, Joon-Min; Yen, Neil; Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering

    2014-01-01

    The aims of these proceedings are to provide a complete coverage of the areas outlined, and to bring together researchers from academic and industry to share ideas, challenges, and solutions relating to the multifaceted aspects of this field. New multimedia standards (for example, MPEG-21) facilitate the seamless integration of multiple modalities into interoperable multimedia frameworks, transforming the way people work and interact with multimedia data. These key technologies and multimedia solutions interact and collaborate with each other in increasingly effective ways, contributing to the multimedia revolution and having a significant impact across a wide spectrum of consumer, business, healthcare, education, and governmental domains.

  10. Ubiquitous expression of CUG or CAG trinucleotide repeat RNA causes common morphological defects in a Drosophila model of RNA-mediated pathology.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kynan T Lawlor

    Full Text Available Expanded DNA repeat sequences are known to cause over 20 diseases, including Huntington's disease, several types of spinocerebellar ataxia and myotonic dystrophy type 1 and 2. A shared genetic basis, and overlapping clinical features for some of these diseases, indicate that common pathways may contribute to pathology. Multiple mechanisms, mediated by both expanded homopolymeric proteins and expanded repeat RNA, have been identified by the use of model systems, that may account for shared pathology. The use of such animal models enables identification of distinct pathways and their 'molecular hallmarks' that can be used to determine the contribution of each pathway in human pathology. Here we characterise a tergite disruption phenotype in adult flies, caused by ubiquitous expression of either untranslated CUG or CAG expanded repeat RNA. Using the tergite phenotype as a quantitative trait we define a new genetic system in which to examine 'hairpin' repeat RNA-mediated cellular perturbation. Further experiments use this system to examine whether pathways involving Muscleblind sequestration or Dicer processing, which have been shown to mediate repeat RNA-mediated pathology in other model systems, contribute to cellular perturbation in this model.

  11. Turning Scientific Presentations into Stories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aruffo, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    To increase students' confidence in giving scientific presentations, students were shown how to present scientific findings as a narrative story. Students who were preparing to give a scientific talk attended a workshop in which they were encouraged to experience the similarities between telling a personal anecdote and presenting scientific data.…

  12. Polyhydroxybutyrate Targets Mammalian Mitochondria and Increases Permeability of Plasmalemmal and Mitochondrial Membranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elustondo, Pia A.; Angelova, Plamena R.; Kawalec, Michał; Michalak, Michał; Kurcok, Piotr; Abramov, Andrey Y.; Pavlov, Evgeny V.

    2013-01-01

    Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a polyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid (HB) that is ubiquitously present in all organisms. In higher eukaryotes PHB is found in the length of 10 to 100 HB units and can be present in free form as well as in association with proteins and inorganic polyphosphate. It has been proposed that PHB can mediate ion transport across lipid bilayer membranes. We investigated the ability of PHB to interact with living cells and isolated mitochondria and the effects of these interactions on membrane ion transport. We performed experiments using a fluorescein derivative of PHB (fluo-PHB). We found that fluo-PHB preferentially accumulated inside the mitochondria of HeLa cells. Accumulation of fluo-PHB induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization. This membrane depolarization was significantly delayed by the inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore - Cyclosporin A. Further experiments using intact cells as well as isolated mitochondria confirmed that the effects of PHB directly linked to its ability to facilitate ion transport, including calcium, across the membranes. We conclude that PHB demonstrates ionophoretic properties in biological membranes and this effect is most profound in mitochondria due to the selective accumulation of the polymer in this organelle. PMID:24086638

  13. Comprehensively Characterizing the Thioredoxin Interactome In Vivo Highlights the Central Role Played by This Ubiquitous Oxidoreductase in Redox Control*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arts, Isabelle S.; Vertommen, Didier; Baldin, Francesca; Laloux, Géraldine; Collet, Jean-François

    2016-01-01

    Thioredoxin (Trx) is a ubiquitous oxidoreductase maintaining protein-bound cysteine residues in the reduced thiol state. Here, we combined a well-established method to trap Trx substrates with the power of bacterial genetics to comprehensively characterize the in vivo Trx redox interactome in the model bacterium Escherichia coli. Using strains engineered to optimize trapping, we report the identification of a total 268 Trx substrates, including 201 that had never been reported to depend on Trx for reduction. The newly identified Trx substrates are involved in a variety of cellular processes, ranging from energy metabolism to amino acid synthesis and transcription. The interaction between Trx and two of its newly identified substrates, a protein required for the import of most carbohydrates, PtsI, and the bacterial actin homolog MreB was studied in detail. We provide direct evidence that PtsI and MreB contain cysteine residues that are susceptible to oxidation and that participate in the formation of an intermolecular disulfide with Trx. By considerably expanding the number of Trx targets, our work highlights the role played by this major oxidoreductase in a variety of cellular processes. Moreover, as the dependence on Trx for reduction is often conserved across species, it also provides insightful information on the interactome of Trx in organisms other than E. coli. PMID:27081212

  14. Study of possibility of increasing the catchment's retention capacity by groundwater accumulation increase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baranovicova, L.

    2004-01-01

    In this presentation author deals with the possibility of increasing the catechumen's retention capacity by groundwater accumulation increase. This presentation solves possibilities of increasing of the retention capacity of ground waters on the dependence of surface water outflow on upper parts of Podluzianka River (Hron River Basin) and Predmieranka River (Kysuce River basin)

  15. Face inversion increases attractiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leder, Helmut; Goller, Juergen; Forster, Michael; Schlageter, Lena; Paul, Matthew A

    2017-07-01

    Assessing facial attractiveness is a ubiquitous, inherent, and hard-wired phenomenon in everyday interactions. As such, it has highly adapted to the default way that faces are typically processed: viewing faces in upright orientation. By inverting faces, we can disrupt this default mode, and study how facial attractiveness is assessed. Faces, rotated at 90 (tilting to either side) and 180°, were rated on attractiveness and distinctiveness scales. For both orientations, we found that faces were rated more attractive and less distinctive than upright faces. Importantly, these effects were more pronounced for faces rated low in upright orientation, and smaller for highly attractive faces. In other words, the less attractive a face was, the more it gained in attractiveness by inversion or rotation. Based on these findings, we argue that facial attractiveness assessments might not rely on the presence of attractive facial characteristics, but on the absence of distinctive, unattractive characteristics. These unattractive characteristics are potentially weighed against an individual, attractive prototype in assessing facial attractiveness. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. The value (driven) web

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baken, N.H.G.; Wiegel, V.; Van Oortmerssen, G.

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a vision on the importance of values and ethical aspects in web science. We create(d) the Internet, but now the Internet (technology) is shaping our world increasingly: the way we experience, interact, transact, conduct business et cetera. The Internet is ubiquitous and vital to

  17. RF Energy Harvesting for Ubiquitous, Zero Power Wireless Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Warda Saeed

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a review of wireless power transfer (WPT followed by a comparison between ambient energy sources and an overview of different components of rectennas that are used for RF energy harvesting. Being less costly and environment friendly, rectennas are used to provide potentially inexhaustible energy for powering up low power sensors and portable devices that are installed in inaccessible areas where frequent battery replacement is difficult, if not impossible. The current challenges in rectenna design and a detailed comparison of state-of-the-art rectennas are also presented.

  18. Toward Ubiquitous BCIs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allison, Brendan Z.

    The preceding chapters in this book described modern BCI systems. This concluding chapter instead discusses future directions. While there are some specific predictions, I mainly analyze key factors and trends relating to practical mainstream BCI development. While I note some disruptive technologies that could dramatically change BCIs, this chapter focuses mainly on realistic, incremental progress and how progress could affect user groups and ethical issues.

  19. Atypical Presentations of Tularemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odegaard, Karah; Boersma, Beth; Keegan, James

    2017-05-01

    Francisella tularensis is a gram-negative coccobacillus that causes a condition commonly referred to as tularemia. There has been a dramatic increase in tularemia cases reported in South Dakota, many of which were challenging to diagnose due to atypical clinical manifestations. We describe an interesting case of pneumonic tularemia and summarize six similar cases, several of which presented with lung nodules suggestive of malignancy. According to the literature, this is only the third outbreak of pneumonic tularemia reported in the U.S. We believe it is important for clinicians to be aware of the increased incidence of tularemia in the area and to be vigilant in the diagnosis and management of these atypically presenting cases. Copyright© South Dakota State Medical Association.

  20. New advanced characterization tools for PW-class lasers (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quéré, Fabien

    2017-05-01

    Spatio-temporal couplings (STC) of laser beams are ubiquitous in ultrafast optics. In the femtosecond range, chirped-pulse amplification (CPA), the key technology of amplified ultrashort pulses, relies on the use of massive STCs induced at different locations in laser systems (for instance by gratings or prisms), which should all eventually perfectly cancel out at the laser output. Residual STCs, for example resulting from imperfect compensation, decrease the peak intensity at focus by increasing both the focal spot size and the pulse duration. This is particularly detrimental for ultrahigh-intensity (UHI) lasers, which aim for the highest possible peak intensities. However, it is precisely with these lasers that such uncontrolled defects are most likely to occur, due to the complexity of these systems and the large diameters of the output beams. Accurately measuring STCs is thus essential in ultrafast optics. Significant progress has been made in the last decade, and several techniques are now available for the partial or complete spatiotemporal characterization of near-visible femtosecond laser beams. However, none of these has yet been applied to UHI femtosecond lasers, due to the difficulty of handling these large and powerful beams. As a result, all UHI lasers are currently characterized under the unjustified and unverified assumption of the absence of STCs, using separate measurements in space and time. This situation is now becoming a major bottleneck for the development of UHI lasers and their applications. In particular, the optimal and reliable operation of PW-class lasers now available or under construction all around the world will simply not be possible without a proper spatiotemporal metrology. In this talk, we present the first complete spatiotemporal experimental reconstruction of the field E(t,r) for a 100 TW peak-power laser, obtained using self-referenced spatially-resolved Fourier transform spectroscopy [1,2], and thus reveal the spatiotemporal

  1. Efficacy of the Ubiquitous Spaced Retrieval-based Memory Advancement and Rehabilitation Training (USMART) program among patients with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled crossover trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Ji Won; Son, Kyung Lak; Byun, Hye Jin; Ko, Ji Won; Kim, Kayoung; Hong, Jong Woo; Kim, Tae Hyun; Kim, Ki Woong

    2017-06-06

    Spaced retrieval training (SRT) is a nonpharmacological intervention for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia that trains the learning and retention of target information by recalling it over increasingly long intervals. We recently developed the Ubiquitous Spaced Retrieval-based Memory Advancement and Rehabilitation Training (USMART) program as a convenient, self-administered tablet-based SRT program. We also demonstrated the utility of USMART for improving memory in individuals with MCI through an open-label uncontrolled trial. This study had an open-label, single-blind, randomized, controlled, two-period crossover design. Fifty patients with MCI were randomized into USMART-usual care and usual care-USMART treatment sequences. USMART was completed or usual care was provided biweekly over a 4-week treatment period with a 2-week washout period between treatment periods. Primary outcome measures included the Word List Memory Test, Word List Recall Test (WLRT), and Word List Recognition Test. Outcomes were measured at baseline, week 5, and week 11 by raters who were blinded to intervention type. An intention-to-treat analysis and linear mixed modeling were used. Of 50 randomized participants, 41 completed the study (18% dropout rate). The USMART group had larger improvements in WLRT score (effect size = 0.49, p = 0.031) than the usual care group. There were no significant differences in other primary or secondary measures between the USMART and usual care groups. Moreover, no USMART-related adverse events were reported. The 4-week USMART modestly improved information retrieval in older people with MCI, and was well accepted with minimal technical support. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01688128 . Registered 12 September 2012.

  2. The Campus-Wide Presentation: An Experiential Approach to Increasing Student Learning, Growth and Marketability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redcross, Natalie Ryder

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe and encourage an approach to a public relations course that can be applied to any discipline. Grounded in the experiential learning theory, students prepare for 16 weeks to present an issue-based campaign to a targeted, live audience at an oncampus venue. Using the course textbook and required readings as…

  3. Presentation Skills Workshops for Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinn, S.; Kenyon, M.

    2002-01-01

    Workshops were held to prepare nurses (n=87) to present results of professional activities. One year after the course, 20 had made oral and 30 written presentations. The workshops increased their confidence and were considered practical, informal, and nonthreatening. (Contains 31 references.) (SK)

  4. Here, There and Everywhere: The Ubiquitous Distribution of the Immunosignaling Molecule Lysophosphatidylcholine and its Role on Chagas Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Alberto Cardoso Silva-Neto

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Chagas disease is a severe illness, which can lead to death if the patients are not promptly treated. The disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is mostly transmitted by a triatomine insect vector. There are 8-10 million people infected with T. cruzi in the world, but the vector-borne transmission occurs only in the Americas, especially Latin America. About 30 % of chronically infected people develop cardiac diseases and up to 10 % develop digestive, neurological or mixed disorders. Lysophosphatydilcholine (LPC is the major phospholipid component of oxidized low-density lipoproteins associated with atherosclerosis-related tissue damage. Insect-derived LPC is a powerful chemoattractant for inflammatory cells at the site of the insect bite, enhances parasite invasion, and inhibits the production of nitric oxide (NO by T. cruzi-stimulated macrophages. The recognition of the ubiquitous presence of LPC on the vector saliva, its production by the parasite itself and its presence both on patient plasma as well as its role on diverse host x parasite interaction systems lead us to compare its distribution in nature with the title of the famous Beatles song Here, There and Everywhere recorded exactly 50 years ago in 1966. Here, we review the major findings pointing out the role of such molecule as an immunosignaling modulator of Chagas disease transmission. Also, we believe that future investigation of the connection of this ubiquity and the immune role of such molecule may lead in the future to novel methods to control parasite transmission, infection and pathogenesis.

  5. Investigation of Learning Behaviors and Achievement of Vocational High School Students Using an Ubiquitous Physics Tablet PC App

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purba, Siska Wati Dewi; Hwang, Wu-Yuin

    2017-06-01

    In this study, we designed and developed an app called Ubiquitous-Physics (U-Physics) for mobile devices like tablet PC or smart phones to help students learn the principles behind a simple pendulum in Physics. The unique characteristic of U-Physics is the use of sensors on mobile devices to collect acceleration and velocity data during pendulum swings. The data collected are transformed to facilitate students' understanding of the pendulum time period. U-Physics helped students understand the effects of pendulum mass, length, and angle in relation to its time period. In addition, U-Physics was equipped with an annotation function such as textual annotation to help students interpret and understand the concepts and phenomena of the simple pendulum. U-Physics also generated graphs automatically to demonstrate the time period during which the pendulum was swinging. Results showed a significant positive correlation between interpreting graphs and applying formula. This finding indicated that the ability to interpret graphs has an important role in scientific learning. Therefore, we strongly recommend that physics teachers use graphs to enrich students' information content and understanding and negative correlation between pair coherence and interpreting graphs. It may be that most of the participants (vocational high school students) have limited skill or confidence in physics problem solving; so, they often seek help from teachers or their high-achieving peers. In addition, the findings also indicated that U-Physics can enhance students' achievement during a 3-week time period. We hope that this app can be globally used to learn physics in the future.

  6. Here, There, and Everywhere: The Ubiquitous Distribution of the Immunosignaling Molecule Lysophosphatidylcholine and Its Role on Chagas Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva-Neto, Mário Alberto C; Lopes, Angela H; Atella, Georgia C

    2016-01-01

    Chagas disease is a severe illness, which can lead to death if the patients are not promptly treated. The disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is mostly transmitted by a triatomine insect vector. There are 8-10 million people infected with T. cruzi in the world, but the transmission of such disease by bugs occurs only in the Americas, especially Latin America. Chronically infected patients will develop cardiac diseases (30%) and up digestive, neurological, or mixed disorders (10%). Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is the major phospholipid component of oxidized low-density lipoproteins associated with atherosclerosis-related tissue damage. Insect-derived LPC powerfully attracts inflammatory cells to the site of the insect bite, enhances parasite invasion, and inhibits the production of nitric oxide by T. cruzi-stimulated macrophages. The recognition of the ubiquitous presence of LPC on the vector saliva, its production by the parasite itself and its presence both on patient plasma and its role on diverse host × parasite interaction systems lead us to compare its distribution in nature with the title of the famous Beatles song "Here, There and Everywhere" recorded exactly 50 years ago in 1966. Here, we review the major findings pointing out the role of such molecule as an immunosignaling modulator of Chagas disease transmission. Also, we believe that future investigation of the connection of this ubiquity and the immune role of such molecule may lead in the future to novel methods to control parasite transmission, infection, and pathogenesis.

  7. Museum of Perception and Cognition website: using JavaScript to increase interactivity in Web-based presentations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, M

    1999-02-01

    The present paper introduces the Museum of Perception and Cognition website. This site offers an interactive introduction to cognitive psychology via a JavaScript-based illustration of optical illusions and a Java-based presentation of experimental paradigms. Its content and utilization as lecture support for 1st-year students at Free University of Brussels is described. This paper also endeavors to share experience we gained in Web-based lecture materials development. It introduces the Web lecturer with JavaScript features and utilization and provides him/her with a description of reusable JavaScript routines downloadable from our site that relate to more engaging, interactive, and effective Web-based presentation of course materials.

  8. Impact of ubiquitous inhibitors on the GUS gene reporter system: evidence from the model plants Arabidopsis, tobacco and rice and correction methods for quantitative assays of transgenic and endogenous GUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerola Paolo D

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The β-glucuronidase (GUS gene reporter system is one of the most effective and employed techniques in the study of gene regulation in plant molecular biology. Improving protocols for GUS assays have rendered the original method described by Jefferson amenable to various requirements and conditions, but the serious limitation caused by inhibitors of the enzyme activity in plant tissues has thus far been underestimated. Results We report that inhibitors of GUS activity are ubiquitous in organ tissues of Arabidopsis, tobacco and rice, and significantly bias quantitative assessment of GUS activity in plant transformation experiments. Combined with previous literature reports on non-model species, our findings suggest that inhibitors may be common components of plant cells, with variable affinity towards the E. coli enzyme. The reduced inhibitory capacity towards the plant endogenous GUS discredits the hypothesis of a regulatory role of these compounds in plant cells, and their effect on the bacterial enzyme is better interpreted as a side effect due to their interaction with GUS during the assay. This is likely to have a bearing also on histochemical analyses, leading to inaccurate evaluations of GUS expression. Conclusions In order to achieve reliable results, inhibitor activity should be routinely tested during quantitative GUS assays. Two separate methods to correct the measured activity of the transgenic and endogenous GUS are presented.

  9. Group IV nanotube transistors for next generation ubiquitous computing

    KAUST Repository

    Fahad, Hossain M.; Hussain, Aftab M.; Sevilla, Galo T.; Banerjee, Sanjay K.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

    2014-01-01

    Evolution in transistor technology from increasingly large power consuming single gate planar devices to energy efficient multiple gate non-planar ultra-narrow (< 20 nm) fins has enhanced the scaling trend to facilitate doubling performance. However

  10. Increasing efficiency of job execution with resource co-allocation in distributed computer systems

    OpenAIRE

    Cankar, Matija

    2014-01-01

    The field of distributed computer systems, while not new in computer science, is still the subject of a lot of interest in both industry and academia. More powerful computers, faster and more ubiquitous networks, and complex distributed applications are accelerating the growth of distributed computing. Large numbers of computers interconnected in a single network provide additional computing power to users whenever required. Such systems are, however, expensive and complex to manage, which ca...

  11. Aspergillus Niger Genomics: Past, Present and into the Future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, Scott E.

    2006-09-01

    Aspergillus niger is a filamentous ascomycete fungus that is ubiquitous in the environment and has been implicated in opportunistic infections of humans. In addition to its role as an opportunistic human pathogen, A. niger is economically important as a fermentation organism used for the production of citric acid. Industrial citric acid production by A. niger represents one of the most efficient, highest yield bioprocesses in use currently by industry. The genome size of A. niger is estimated to be between 35.5 and 38.5 megabases (Mb) divided among eight chromosomes/linkage groups that vary in size from 3.5 - 6.6 Mb. Currently, there are three independent A. niger genome projects, an indication of the economic importance of this organism. The rich amount of data resulting from these multiple A. niger genome sequences will be used for basic and applied research programs applicable to fermentation process development, morphology and pathogenicity.

  12. Creating Meaningful Multimedia Presentations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L. Hardman (Lynda); J.R. van Ossenbruggen (Jacco)

    2006-01-01

    textabstractFinding relevant information is one step in the chain of understanding information. Presenting material to a user in a suitable way is a further step. Our research focuses on using semantic annotations of multimedia elements to increase the ”presentability” of

  13. Segregated settlements present an increased risk for the parasite infections spread in Northeastern Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pipiková J.

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The occurrence of parasitic infections among the children, dogs and its association with soil contamination in two villages with different hygiene level standards were analysed. Infections were present in both examined localities, but in the village with higher living standard, a better personal and communal hygiene level and better dogs care a lower occurrence of parasitic germs in soil was detected. High prevalence of protozoa and helminths was observed not only within canine population but also in children throughout the year in the village with lower hygiene and socio-economic standard. We have identified up to 12 taxa of parasites in 127 collected dogs’ excrements and mean prevalence was 71.65 %. The most frequent were eggs of family Ancylostomatidae and Ascaris spp., followed by Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina, Giardia duodenalis cysts, Isospora spp. oocysts, eggs of Capillaria aerophila, Trichuris vulpis, Taenia type eggs, Dipylidium caninum, oocysts of Sarcocystis spp. and larvae of Angiostrongylus vasorum. The soil samples collected near dwellings were highly contaminated. Two thirds of samples contained eggs for the most part of family Ancylostomatidae as well as genera Ascaris and Toxocara. Among the kids population helminth ova were present in 53.17 % of stool samples, where the eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis, Hymenolepis diminuta and cysts of G. duodenalis were the most frequent. In contrast, parasitic diseases were not seen in children population living in the locality with common hygiene standard.

  14. u-Healthcare system: state-of-the-art review and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touati, Farid; Tabish, Rohan

    2013-06-01

    With the increase of an ageing population and chronic diseases, society becomes more health conscious and patients become "health consumers" looking for better health management. People's perception is shifting towards patient-centered, rather than the classical, hospital-centered health services which has been propelling the evolution of telemedicine research from the classic e-Health to m-Health and now is to ubiquitous healthcare (u-Health). It is expected that mobile & ubiquitous Telemedicine, integrated with Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN), have a great potential in fostering the provision of next-generation u-Health. Despite the recent efforts and achievements, current u-Health proposed solutions still suffer from shortcomings hampering their adoption today. This paper presents a comprehensive review of up-to-date requirements in hardware, communication, and computing for next-generation u-Health systems. It compares new technological and technical trends and discusses how they address expected u-Health requirements. A thorough survey on various worldwide recent system implementations is presented in an attempt to identify shortcomings in state-of-the art solutions. In particular, challenges in WBAN and ubiquitous computing were emphasized. The purpose of this survey is not only to help beginners with a holistic approach toward understanding u-Health systems but also present to researchers new technological trends and design challenges they have to cope with, while designing such systems.

  15. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins H, H', and F are members of a ubiquitously expressed subfamily of related but distinct proteins encoded by genes mapping to different chromosomes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Honoré, B; Rasmussen, H H; Vorum, H

    1995-01-01

    Molecular cDNA cloning, two-dimensional gel immunoblotting, and amino acid microsequencing identified three sequence-unique and distinct proteins that constitute a subfamily of ubiquitously expressed heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins corresponding to hnRNPs H, H', and F. These proteins share...... epitopes and sequence identity with two other proteins, isoelectric focusing sample spot numbers 2222 (37.6 kDa; pI 6.5) and 2326 (39.5 kDa; pI 6.6), indicating that the subfamily may contain additional members. The identity between hnRNPs H and H' is 96%, between H and F 78%, and between H' and F 75......%, respectively. The three proteins contain three repeats, which we denote quasi-RRMs (qRRMs) since they have a remote similarity to the RNA recognition motif (RRM). The three qRRMs of hnRNP H, with a few additional NH2-terminal amino acids, were constructed by polymerase chain reaction amplification and used...

  16. Developing a Research Agenda for Ubiquitous Computing in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucker, Andrew

    2004-01-01

    Increasing numbers of states, districts, and schools provide every student with a computing device; for example, the middle schools in Maine maintain wireless Internet access and the students receive laptops. Research can provide policymakers with better evidence of the benefits and costs of 1:1 computing and establish which factors make 1:1…

  17. Temporal trends of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in eggs of coastal and offshore birds: Increasing PFAS levels associated with offshore bird species breeding on the Pacific coast of Canada and wintering near Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Aroha; Elliott, John E; Elliott, Kyle H; Lee, Sandi; Cyr, Francois

    2015-08-01

    Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) such as perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs) have become virtually ubiquitous throughout the environment, and, based on laboratory studies, have known toxicological consequences. Various national and international voluntary phase-outs and restrictions on these compounds have been implemented over the last 10 to 15 years. In the present study, we examine trends (1990/1991-2010/2011) in aquatic birds (ancient murrelet, Synthliboramphus antiquus [2009 only]; Leach's storm-petrels, Oceanodroma leucorhoa; rhinoceros auklets, Cerorhinca monocerata; double-crested cormorants, Phalacrocorax auritus; and great blue herons, Ardea herodias). The PFCA, PFSA, and stable isotope (δ(15) N and δ(13) C) data collected from these species from the Pacific coast of Canada, ranging over 20 to 30 years, were used to investigate temporal changes in PFAS coupled to dietary changes. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), the dominant PFSA compound in all 4 species, increased and subsequently decreased in auklet and cormorant eggs in line with the manufacturing phase-out of PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), but concentrations continuously increased in petrel eggs and remained largely unchanged in heron eggs. Dominant PFCA compounds varied between the offshore and coastal species, with increases seen in the offshore species and little or variable changes seen in the coastal species. Little temporal change was seen in stable isotope values, indicating that diet alone is not driving observed PFAS concentrations. © 2015 SETAC.

  18. Keynote presentation : SAR systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Halsema, D. van; Otten, M.P.G.; Maas, A.P.M.; Bolt, R.J.; Anitori, L.

    2011-01-01

    Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems are becoming increasingly important sensors in as well the military environment as in the civilian market. In this keynote presentation an overview will be given over more than 2 decades of SAR system∼ and SAR application development at TNO in the Netherlands.

  19. Design of an Effective WSN-Based Interactive u-Learning Model

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Hye-jin; Caytiles, Ronnie D.; Kim, Tai-hoon

    2012-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks include a wide range of potential applications to improve the quality of teaching and learning in a ubiquitous environment. WSNs become an evolving technology that acts as the ultimate interface between the learners and the context, enhancing the interactivity and improving the acquisition or collection of learner's contextual information in ubiquitous learning. This paper presents a model of an effective and interactive ubiquitous learning environment system based on...

  20. Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II is a Ubiquitous Molecule in Human Long-term Memory Synaptic Plasticity: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ataei, Negar; Sabzghabaee, Ali Mohammad; Movahedian, Ahmad

    2015-01-01

    Background: Long-term memory is based on synaptic plasticity, a series of biochemical mechanisms include changes in structure and proteins of brain's neurons. In this article, we systematically reviewed the studies that indicate calcium/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) is a ubiquitous molecule among different enzymes involved in human long-term memory and the main downstream signaling pathway of long-term memory. Methods: All of the observational, case–control and review studies were considered and evaluated by the search engines PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ScienceDirect Scopus between 1990 and February 2015. We did not carry out meta-analysis. Results: At the first search, it was fined 1015 articles which included “synaptic plasticity” OR “neuronal plasticity” OR “synaptic density” AND memory AND “molecular mechanism” AND “calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II” OR CaMKII as the keywords. A total of 335 articles were duplicates in the databases and eliminated. A total of 680 title articles were evaluated. Finally, 40 articles were selected as reference. Conclusions: The studies have shown the most important intracellular signal of long-term memory is calcium-dependent signals. Calcium linked calmodulin can activate CaMKII. After receiving information for learning and memory, CaMKII is activated by Glutamate, the most important neurotransmitter for memory-related plasticity. Glutamate activates CaMKII and it plays some important roles in synaptic plasticity modification and long-term memory. PMID:26445635

  1. Mechanical stimulation of C2C12 cells increases m-calpain expression and activity, focal adhesion plaque degradation and cell fusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grossi, Alberto; Karlsson, Anders Hans; Lawson, Moira A.

    2005-01-01

    Abstract Mechanical Stimulation of C2C12 Cells Increases m-calpain Expression and Activity, Focal Adhesion Plaque Degradation and Cell Fusion A. Grossi, A. H. Karlsson, M. A. Lawson; Department of Dairy and Food Science, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg C, Denmark...... Myogenesis is a complex sequence of events, including the irreversible transition from the proliferation-competent myoblast stage into fused, multinucleated myotubes. During embryonic development, myogenic differentiation is regulated by positive and negative signals from surrounding tissues. Stimulation due...... to the activity of ubiquitous proteolytic enzymes known as calpains has been reported. Whether there is a link between stretch- or load induced signaling and calpain expression and activation is not known. Using a magnetic bead stimulation assay and C2C12 mouse myoblasts cell population, we have demonstrated...

  2. Designing Ubiquitous Computing to Enhance Children's Learning in Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, T.; Bannon, L.

    2006-01-01

    In recent years, novel paradigms of computing have emerged, which enable computational power to be embedded in artefacts and in environments in novel ways. These developments may create new possibilities for using computing to enhance learning. This paper presents the results of a design process that set out to explore interactive techniques,…

  3. Microdiversification in genome-streamlined ubiquitous freshwater Actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuenschwander, Stefan M; Ghai, Rohit; Pernthaler, Jakob; Salcher, Michaela M

    2018-01-01

    Actinobacteria of the acI lineage are the most abundant microbes in freshwater systems, but there are so far no pure living cultures of these organisms, possibly because of metabolic dependencies on other microbes. This, in turn, has hampered an in-depth assessment of the genomic basis for their success in the environment. Here we present genomes from 16 axenic cultures of acI Actinobacteria. The isolates were not only of minute cell size, but also among the most streamlined free-living microbes, with extremely small genome sizes (1.2-1.4 Mbp) and low genomic GC content. Genome reduction in these bacteria might have led to auxotrophy for various vitamins, amino acids and reduced sulphur sources, thus creating dependencies to co-occurring organisms (the 'Black Queen' hypothesis). Genome analyses, moreover, revealed a surprising degree of inter- and intraspecific diversity in metabolic pathways, especially of carbohydrate transport and metabolism, and mainly encoded in genomic islands. The striking genotype microdiversification of acI Actinobacteria might explain their global success in highly dynamic freshwater environments with complex seasonal patterns of allochthonous and autochthonous carbon sources. We propose a new order within Actinobacteria ('Candidatus Nanopelagicales') with two new genera ('Candidatus Nanopelagicus' and 'Candidatus Planktophila') and nine new species.

  4. Carboxylesterase-mediated insecticide resistance: Quantitative increase induces broader metabolic resistance than qualitative change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Feng; Li, Mei-Xia; Chang, Hai-Jing; Mao, Yun; Zhang, Han-Ying; Lu, Li-Xia; Yan, Shuai-Guo; Lang, Ming-Lin; Liu, Li; Qiao, Chuan-Ling

    2015-06-01

    Carboxylesterases are mainly involved in the mediation of metabolic resistance of many insects to organophosphate (OP) insecticides. Carboxylesterases underwent two divergent evolutionary events: (1) quantitative mechanism characterized by the overproduction of carboxylesterase protein; and (2) qualitative mechanism caused by changes in enzymatic properties because of mutation from glycine/alanine to aspartate at the 151 site (G/A151D) or from tryptophan to leucine at the 271 site (W271L), following the numbering of Drosophila melanogaster AChE. Qualitative mechanism has been observed in few species. However, whether this carboxylesterase mutation mechanism is prevalent in insects remains unclear. In this study, wild-type, G/A151D and W271L mutant carboxylesterases from Culex pipiens and Aphis gossypii were subjected to germline transformation and then transferred to D. melanogaster. These germlines were ubiquitously expressed as induced by tub-Gal4. In carboxylesterase activity assay, the introduced mutant carboxylesterase did not enhance the overall carboxylesterase activity of flies. This result indicated that G/A151D or W271L mutation disrupted the original activities of the enzyme. Less than 1.5-fold OP resistance was only observed in flies expressing A. gossypii mutant carboxylesterases compared with those expressing A. gossypii wild-type carboxylesterase. However, transgenic flies universally showed low resistance to OP insecticides compared with non-transgenic flies. The flies expressing A. gossypii W271L mutant esterase exhibited 1.5-fold resistance to deltamethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide compared with non-transgenic flies. The present transgenic Drosophila system potentially showed that a quantitative increase in carboxylesterases induced broader resistance of insects to insecticides than a qualitative change. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Ubiquitous Supercritical Wing Design Cuts Billions in Fuel Costs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    A Langley Research Center engineer’s work in the 1960s and ’70s to develop a wing with better performance near the speed of sound resulted in a significant increase in subsonic efficiency. The design was shared with industry. Today, Renton, Washington-based Boeing Commercial Airplanes, as well as most other plane manufacturers, apply it to all their aircraft, saving the airline industry billions of dollars in fuel every year.

  6. Bestseller and Blockbuster Culture. Introduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agger, Gunhild

    2013-01-01

    In cultural communication, the bestseller concept has become a ubiquitous factor – often unnoticed, but ever present. The corresponding concept in feature films is the blockbustster. Introduction to the whole volume.......In cultural communication, the bestseller concept has become a ubiquitous factor – often unnoticed, but ever present. The corresponding concept in feature films is the blockbustster. Introduction to the whole volume....

  7. Computer Presentation Programs and Teaching Research Methodologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Motamedi

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Supplementing traditional chalk and board instruction with computer delivery has been viewed positively by students who have reported increased understanding and more interaction with the instructor when computer presentations are used in the classroom. Some problems contributing to student errors while taking class notes might be transcription of numbers to the board, and handwriting of the instructor can be resolved in careful construction of computer presentations. The use of computer presentation programs promises to increase the effectiveness of learning by making content more readily available, by reducing the cost and effort of producing quality content, and by allowing content to be more easily shared. This paper describes how problems can be overcome by using presentation packages for instruction.

  8. Visual communication in presentation on physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grebenyuk, Konstantin A.

    2005-06-01

    It is essential that our audience be attentive during lecture, report or another presentation on physics. Therefore we have to take care of both speech and visual communication with audience. Three important aspects of successful visual aids use are singled out in this paper. The main idea is that physicists could appreciably increase efficiency of their presentations by use of these simple principles of presentation art. Recommendations offered are results of special literature research, author' s observations and experience of communication with skilled masters of presentations.

  9. Emergency Department Presentations following Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Aitken

    Full Text Available Emergency departments see an increase in cases during cyclones. The aim of this study is to describe patient presentations to the Emergency Department (ED of a tertiary level hospital (Townsville following a tropical cyclone (Yasi. Specific areas of focus include changes in: patient demographics (age and gender, triage categories, and classification of diseases.Data were extracted from the Townsville Hospitals ED information system (EDIS for three periods in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to coincide with formation of Cyclone Yasi (31 January 2011 to six days after Yasi crossed the coast line (8 February 2012. The analysis explored the changes in ICD10-AM 4-character classification and presented at the Chapter level.There was a marked increase in the number of patients attending the ED during Yasi, particularly those aged over 65 years with a maximum daily attendance of 372 patients on 4 Feb 2011. The most marked increases were in: Triage categories--4 and 5; and ICD categories--diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99, and factors influencing health care status (Z00-Z99. The most common diagnostic presentation across all years was injury (S00-T98.There was an increase in presentations to the ED of TTH, which peaked in the first 24-48 hours following the cyclone and returned to normal over a five-day period. The changes in presentations were mostly an amplification of normal attendance patterns with some altered areas of activity. Injury patterns are similar to overseas experience.

  10. Distribution and evolutionary trends of photoprotective isoprenoids (xanthophylls and tocopherols) within the plant kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esteban, Raquel; Olano, José M; Castresana, José; Fernández-Marín, Beatriz; Hernández, Antonio; Becerril, José M; García-Plazaola, José I

    2009-04-01

    The earliest land photosynthesis would have increased the risk of photo-oxidations and the demand of anti-oxidative protection. In this work, we aimed to determine the evolutionary trends in photoprotection across a wide representation of the plant kingdom and to verify whether the non-ubiquitous lutein-epoxide (Lx) cycle is a polyphyletic or an ancient character. Carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol (alpha-toc) were analysed by HPLC in 266 species. Phylogenetic analyses of the presence of photoprotective compounds and zeaxanthin-epoxidase (ZE) sequences were performed. Violaxanthin-cycle pigments (VAZ) and alpha-toc were taxonomically ubiquitous. Ancient groups showed higher contents of VAZ than vascular plants, while alpha-toc showed the opposite pattern. Lutein-epoxide was present in 45% of the species. It showed a remarkable variation across groups but with a clear increasing trend from algae to basal angiosperms. Lutein-epoxide was also related to woody trait and leaf longevity. No correlation between the presence of Lx and recurrent mutations in ZE sequences, including the duplications, was found. Thus, there is an evolutionary trend to increase the content of alpha-toc and to decrease the total amount of VAZ pigments. Absence of Lx in algae discards an ancestral origin. Present results are also inconsistent with a polyphyletic origin of Lx in angiosperms.

  11. Promoting professional development through poster presentations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durkin, Gregory

    2011-01-01

    Poster presentations are commonplace at regional and national nursing conferences, although the development of a poster remains an intimidating task for many staff nurses. The author describes the staff development department's role in implementing in-house poster presentation sessions. Nursing staff are provided support and assistance in presenting posters to their colleagues at yearly sessions. The result has been increased comfort and experience with poster creation, participation in professional development activities, and dissemination of nursing practice innovation.

  12. Factors present on admission associated with increased mortality in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    among low-, middle- and high-income countries, with demand exceed- ... The admission of children to an intensive care unit (ICU) necessitates the selection of children ..... severity of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in critically ill children.

  13. Factors present on admission associated with increased mortality in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    centile has been shown to be an independent risk factor for mortality ... score quantifying organ dysfunction on admission or throughout the .... model. The Wald χ2 test was used to determine significance using a 5% significance level.

  14. Privacy Protection: Regulations and Technologies, Opportunities and Threats

    OpenAIRE

    PEDRESCHI, Dino; BONCHI, Francesco; TURINI, Franco; VERYKIOS, Vassilios; Atzori, Maurizio; Malin, Brad; MOELANS, Bart; SAYGIN, Yucel

    2008-01-01

    nformation and communication technologies (ICTs) touch many aspects of our lives. The integration of ICTs is enhanced by the advent of mobile, wireless, and ubiquitous technologies. ICTs are increasingly embedded in common services, such as mobile and wireless communication, Internet browsing, credit card e-transactions, and electronic health records. As ICT-based services become ubiquitous, our everyday actions leave behind increasingly detailed digital traces in the information systems of I...

  15. Present and Future of Nuclear Robotics; Presente y futuro de la robotica nuclear

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bielza Ciaz-Caneja, M [ENDESA, (Spain); Carmena Servet, P [AMYS, (Spain); Gomez Santamaria, J [IBERDROLA, (Spain); Gonzalez Fernandez, J [NUCLENOR, (Spain); Izquierdo Mendoza, J A [C.N. COFRENTES, (Spain); Linares Pintos, F [ENSA, (Spain); Gonzalez, Martinez [CASA, (Spain); Muntion Ruesgas, A [C.N. STA Maria de Garona, (Spain); Serna Oliveira, M A [CEIT, (Spain)

    1997-10-01

    New technologies have increased the use of robotic systems in fields other than Industry. As a result, research and developers are focusing their interest in concepts like Intelligent Robotics and Robotics in Services. This paper describes the use of Robotics in Nuclear facilities, where robots can be used to protect workers in high radiation areas, to reduce total worker exposure and to minimise downtime. First, the structure of robot systems is introduced and the benefits of nuclear robots is presented. Next, the paper describes some specific nuclear applications and the families of nuclear robots present in the market. After that, a section is devoted to Nuclear Robotics in Spain, with emphasis in some of the developments being carried out at present. Finally, some reflections about the future of robots in Nuclear Industry are offered. (Author) 18 refs.

  16. Challenging Ubiquitous Inverted Files

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, A.P.

    2000-01-01

    Stand-alone ranking systems based on highly optimized inverted file structures are generally considered ‘the’ solution for building search engines. Observing various developments in software and hardware, we argue however that IR research faces a complex engineering problem in the quest for more

  17. Group IV nanotube transistors for next generation ubiquitous computing

    KAUST Repository

    Fahad, Hossain M.

    2014-06-04

    Evolution in transistor technology from increasingly large power consuming single gate planar devices to energy efficient multiple gate non-planar ultra-narrow (< 20 nm) fins has enhanced the scaling trend to facilitate doubling performance. However, this performance gain happens at the expense of arraying multiple devices (fins) per operation bit, due to their ultra-narrow dimensions (width) originated limited number of charges to induce appreciable amount of drive current. Additionally arraying degrades device off-state leakage and increases short channel characteristics, resulting in reduced chip level energy-efficiency. In this paper, a novel nanotube device (NTFET) topology based on conventional group IV (Si, SiGe) channel materials is discussed. This device utilizes a core/shell dual gate strategy to capitalize on the volume-inversion properties of an ultra-thin (< 10 nm) group IV nanotube channel to minimize leakage and short channel effects while maximizing performance in an area-efficient manner. It is also shown that the NTFET is capable of providing a higher output drive performance per unit chip area than an array of gate-all-around nanowires, while maintaining the leakage and short channel characteristics similar to that of a single gate-all-around nanowire, the latter being the most superior in terms of electrostatic gate control. In the age of big data and the multitude of devices contributing to the internet of things, the NTFET offers a new transistor topology alternative with maximum benefits from performance-energy efficiency-functionality perspective. © (2014) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

  18. Cold abscess of the anterior abdominal wall: An unusual primary presentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohinder Kumar Malhotra

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis is considered as ubiquitous disease as it involves any organ, but primary involvement of abdominal muscles is very rare. In most cases, the muscle involvement is secondary and is caused by either hematogenous route or direct inoculation from a tuberculous abdominal lymph node or extension from underlying tubercular synovitis and osteomyelitis. Autopsy studies have shown abdominal wall involvement in less than 1% of patients who died of tuberculosis. Antitubercular therapy is main form of management. Surgical intervention is always secondary in the form of either sonography or computerized tomography-guided aspiration or open drainage which is usually reserved for patients in whom medical treatment has failed. A case is hereby reported about primary tubercular anterior abdominal wall abscess without any evidence of pulmonary, skeletal or gastrointestinal tuberculosis in an apparently healthy individual with any past history of contact or previous antituberculosis therapy.

  19. Personal diabetes management system based on ubiquitous computing technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kyung-Soon; Kim, Nam-Jin; Hong, Joo-Hyun; Park, Mi-Sook; Cha, Eun-Jung; Lee, Tae-Soo

    2006-01-01

    Assisting diabetes patients to self manage blood glucose test and insulin injection is of great importance for their healthcare. This study presented a PDA based system to manage the personal glucose level data interfaced with a small glucometer through a serial port. The data stored in the PDA can be transmitted by cradle or wireless communication to the remote web-server, where further medical analysis and service is provided. This system enables more efficient and systematic management of diabetes patients through self management and remote medical practice.

  20. Improved glycemic control without hypoglycemia in elderly diabetic patients using the ubiquitous healthcare service, a new medical information system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Soo; Kang, Seon Mee; Shin, Hayley; Lee, Hak Jong; Won Yoon, Ji; Yu, Sung Hoon; Kim, So-Youn; Yoo, Soo Young; Jung, Hye Seung; Park, Kyong Soo; Ryu, Jun Oh; Jang, Hak C

    2011-02-01

    To improve quality and efficiency of care for elderly patients with type 2 diabetes, we introduced elderly-friendly strategies to the clinical decision support system (CDSS)-based ubiquitous healthcare (u-healthcare) service, which is an individualized health management system using advanced medical information technology. We conducted a 6-month randomized, controlled clinical trial involving 144 patients aged >60 years. Participants were randomly assigned to receive routine care (control, n = 48), to the self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG, n = 47) group, or to the u-healthcare group (n = 49). The primary end point was the proportion of patients achieving A1C healthcare system refers to an individualized medical service in which medical instructions are given through the patient's mobile phone. Patients receive a glucometer with a public switched telephone network-connected cradle that automatically transfers test results to a hospital-based server. Once the data are transferred to the server, an automated system, the CDSS rule engine, generates and sends patient-specific messages by mobile phone. After 6 months of follow-up, the mean A1C level was significantly decreased from 7.8 ± 1.3% to 7.4 ± 1.0% (P healthcare group and from 7.9 ± 1.0% to 7.7 ± 1.0% (P = 0.020) in the SMBG group, compared with 7.9 ± 0.8% to 7.8 ± 1.0% (P = 0.274) in the control group. The proportion of patients with A1C healthcare group, 23.4% in the SMBG group (23.4%), and 14.0% in the control group (P healthcare service achieved better glycemic control with less hypoglycemia than SMBG and routine care and may provide effective and safe diabetes management in the elderly diabetic patients.

  1. Pairing vegetables with a liked food and visually appealing presentation: promising strategies for increasing vegetable consumption among preschoolers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Correia, Danielle C S; O'Connell, Meghan; Irwin, Melinda L; Henderson, Kathryn E

    2014-02-01

    Vegetable consumption among preschool children is below recommended levels. New evidence-based approaches to increase preschoolers' vegetable intake, particularly in the child care setting, are needed. This study tests the effectiveness of two community-based randomized interventions to increase vegetable consumption and willingness to try vegetables: (1) the pairing of a vegetable with a familiar, well-liked food and (2) enhancing the visual appeal of a vegetable. Fifty-seven preschoolers enrolled in a Child and Adult Care Food Program-participating child care center participated in the study; complete lunch and snack data were collected from 43 and 42 children, respectively. A within-subjects, randomized design was used, with order of condition counterbalanced. For lunch, steamed broccoli was served either on the side of or on top of cheese pizza. For a snack, raw cucumber was served either as semicircles with chive and an olive garnish or arranged in a visually appealing manner (in the shape of a caterpillar). Paired t-tests were used to determine differences in consumption of meal components, and McNemar's test was performed to compare willingness to taste. Neither visual appeal enhancement nor pairing with a liked food increased vegetable consumption. Pairing increased willingness to try the vegetable from 79% to 95% of children (p=0.07). Greater vegetable intake occurred at snack than at lunch. Further research should explore the strategy of pairing vegetables with liked foods. Greater consumption at snack underscores snack time as a critical opportunity for increasing preschool children's vegetable intake.

  2. Endothelial glycocalyx dysfunction in disease: albuminuria and increased microvascular permeability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Andrew H J; Satchell, Simon C

    2012-03-01

    Appreciation of the glomerular microcirculation as a specialized microcirculatory bed, rather than as an entirely separate entity, affords important insights into both glomerular and systemic microvascular pathophysiology. In this review we compare regulation of permeability in systemic and glomerular microcirculations, focusing particularly on the role of the endothelial glycocalyx, and consider the implications for disease processes. The luminal surface of vascular endothelium throughout the body is covered with endothelial glycocalyx, comprising surface-anchored proteoglycans, supplemented with adsorbed soluble proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and plasma constituents. In both continuous and fenestrated microvessels, this endothelial glycocalyx provides resistance to the transcapillary escape of water and macromolecules, acting as an integral component of the multilayered barrier provided by the walls of these microvessels (ie acting in concert with clefts or fenestrae across endothelial cell layers, basement membranes and pericytes). Dysfunction of any of these capillary wall components, including the endothelial glycocalyx, can disrupt normal microvascular permeability. Because of its ubiquitous nature, damage to the endothelial glycocalyx alters the permeability of multiple capillary beds: in the glomerulus this is clinically apparent as albuminuria. Generalized damage to the endothelial glycocalyx can therefore manifest as both albuminuria and increased systemic microvascular permeability. This triad of altered endothelial glycocalyx, albuminuria and increased systemic microvascular permeability occurs in a number of important diseases, such as diabetes, with accumulating evidence for a similar phenomenon in ischaemia-reperfusion injury and infectious disease. The detection of albuminuria therefore has implications for the function of the microcirculation as a whole. The importance of the endothelial glycocalyx for other aspects of vascular function

  3. Handling membership dynamicity in service composition for ubiquitous computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brønsted, Jeppe Rørbæk; Hansen, Klaus Marius

    2008-01-01

    . A proposed solution is to use a service oriented architecture and implement applications as composite services. As long as the set of services that constitute the composite is static, traditional techniques can be used to specify the composite. In this paper we show how the PalCom service composition...... language can be extended to support service composites with dynamic membership and present a decentralized implementation. Preliminary user studies indicate that the extensions are easily understandable and simulations of application scenarios show that the performance of the implementation is appropriate...

  4. EBV Positive Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients Exhibit Increased Anti-dUTPase Antibodies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marshall Williams

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, which is a ubiquitous γ-herpesvirus, establishes a latent infection in more than 90% of the global adult population. EBV-associated malignancies have increased by 14.6% over the last 20 years, and account for approximately 1.5% of all cancers worldwide and 1.8% of all cancer deaths. However, the potential involvement/contribution of lytic proteins to the pathophysiology of EBV-associated cancers is not well understood. We have previously demonstrated that the EBV-deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase (dUTPase modulates innate and adaptive immune responses by engaging the Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2, which leads to the modulation of downstream genes involved in oncogenesis, chronic inflammation, and in effector T-cell function. Furthermore, examination of serum samples from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients revealed the presence of increased levels of anti-dUTPase antibodies in both cohorts compared to controls with the highest levels (3.67-fold increase observed in DLBCL female cases and the lowest (2.12-fold increase in DLBCL males. Using computer-generated algorithms, dUTPase amino acid sequence alignments, and functional studies of BLLF3 mutants, we identified a putative amino acid motif involved with TLR2 interaction. These findings suggest that the EBV-dUTPase: TLR2 interaction is a potential molecular target that could be used for developing novel therapeutics (small molecules/vaccines.

  5. Universal dephasing control during quantum computation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gordon, Goren; Kurizki, Gershon

    2007-01-01

    Dephasing is a ubiquitous phenomenon that leads to the loss of coherence in quantum systems and the corruption of quantum information. We present a universal dynamical control approach to combat dephasing during all stages of quantum computation, namely, storage and single- and two-qubit operators. We show that (a) tailoring multifrequency gate pulses to the dephasing dynamics can increase fidelity; (b) cross-dephasing, introduced by entanglement, can be eliminated by appropriate control fields; (c) counterintuitively and contrary to previous schemes, one can increase the gate duration, while simultaneously increasing the total gate fidelity

  6. Hypothalamic glycogen synthase kinase 3β has a central role in the regulation of food intake and glucose metabolism

    OpenAIRE

    Benzler, Jonas; Ganjam, Goutham K.; Krüger, Manon; Pinkenburg, Olaf; Kutschke, Maria; Stöhr, Sigrid; Steger, Juliane; Koch, Christiane E.; Ölkrug, Rebecca; Schwartz, Michael W.; Shepherd, Peter R.; Grattan, David R.; Tups, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    GSK3β (glycogen synthase kinase 3β) is a ubiquitous kinase that plays a key role in multiple intracellular signalling pathways, and increased GSK3β activity is implicated in disorders ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. In the present study, we provide the first evidence of increased hypothalamic signalling via GSK3β in leptin-deficient Lepob/ob mice and show that intracerebroventricular injection of a GSK3β inhibitor acutely improves glucose tolerance in these mice. The beneficial ef...

  7. Increased bone calcium dissociation in lead-exposed rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eko Suhartono

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Background Lead is still a major environmental and occupational health hazard, since it is extensively used in the production of paints, gasoline and cosmetics. This causes the metal to be ubiquitous in the environment, being found in the air, soil, and water, from which it can enter the human body by inhalation or ingestion. Absorbed lead is capable of altering the calcium levels in bone. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effect of lead on bone calcium levels by measuring the reaction constant, Gibbs free energy, and enthalpy. Methods This study was of pure experimental design using 100 male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus. The experimental animals were assigned by simple randomization to two groups, one group receiving lead acetate orally at a dosage of 100 mg/kgBW, while the other group did not receive lead acetate. The intervention was given for 4 weeks and the rats were observed weekly for measurement of bone calcium levels by the permanganometric method. Results This study found that k1 (hydroxyapatite dissociation rate constant was 0.90 x 10-3 dt-1, and that k2 (hydroxyapatite association rate constant was 6.16 x 10-3 dt-1 for the control group, whereas for the intervention group k1 = 26.20 x 10-3 dt-1 and k2 = 16.75 x 10-3 dt-1. Thermodynamically, the overall reaction was endergonic and endothermic (DG > 0 and DH > 0. ConclusionS Lead exposure results in increased dissociation rate of bone in comparison with its association rate. Overall, the reaction was endergonic and endothermic (DG > 0 and DH > 0.

  8. Increased bone calcium dissociation in lead-exposed rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eko Suhartono

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Lead is still a major environmental and occupational health hazard, since it is extensively used in the production of paints, gasoline and cosmetics. This causes the metal to be ubiquitous in the environment, being found in the air, soil, and water, from which it can enter the human body by inhalation or ingestion. Absorbed lead is capable of altering the calcium levels in bone. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effect of lead on bone calcium levels by measuring the reaction constant, Gibbs free energy, and enthalpy. METHODS This study was of pure experimental design using 100 male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus. The experimental animals were assigned by simple randomization to two groups, one group receiving lead acetate orally at a dosage of 100 mg/ kgBW, while the other group did not receive lead acetate. The intervention was given for 4 weeks and the rats were observed weekly for measurement of bone calcium levels by the permanganometric method. RESULTS This study found that k1 (hydroxyapatite dissociation rate constant was 0.90 x 10-3 dt-1, and that k2 (hydroxyapatite association rate constant was 6.16 x 10-3 dt-1 for the control group, whereas for the intervention group k1 = 26.20 x 10-3 dt-1 and k2 = 16.75 x 10-3 dt-1. Thermodynamically, the overall reaction was endergonic and endothermic (ΔG > 0 and ΔH > 0. CONCLUSIONS Lead exposure results in increased dissociation rate of bone in comparison with its association rate. Overall, the reaction was endergonic and endothermic (ΔG > 0 and ΔH > 0.

  9. Apolipoprotein A-V is present in bile and its secretion increases with lipid absorption in Sprague-Dawley rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Linda S; Sato, Hirokazu; Yang, Qing; Ryan, Robert O; Wang, David Q-H; Howles, Philip N; Tso, Patrick

    2015-12-01

    Apolipoprotein (apo) A-V is a protein synthesized only in the liver that dramatically modulates plasma triglyceride levels. Recent studies suggest a novel role for hepatic apoA-V in regulating the absorption of dietary triglycerides, but its mode of action on the gut remains unknown. The aim of this study was to test for apoA-V in bile and to determine whether its secretion is regulated by dietary lipids. After an overnight recovery, adult male Sprague-Dawley bile fistula rats indeed secreted apoA-V into bile at a constant rate under fasting conditions. An intraduodenal bolus of intralipid (n = 12) increased the biliary secretion of apoA-V but not of other apolipoproteins, such as A-I, A-IV, B, and E. The lipid-induced increase of biliary apoA-V was abolished under conditions of poor lymphatic lipid transport, suggesting that the stimulation is regulated by the magnitude of lipids associated with chylomicrons transported into lymph. We also studied the secretion of apoA-V into bile immediately following bile duct cannulation. Biliary apoA-V increased over time (∼6-fold increase at hour 16, n = 8) but the secretions of other apolipoproteins remained constant. Replenishing luminal phosphatidylcholine and taurocholate (n = 9) only enhanced apoA-V secretion in bile, suggesting that the increase was not due to depletion of phospholipids or bile salts. This is the first study to demonstrate that apoA-V is secreted into bile, introducing a potential route of delivery of hepatic apoA-V to the gut lumen. Our study also reveals the uniqueness of apoA-V secretion into bile that is regulated by mechanisms different from other apolipoproteins. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  10. Gestational Age-Dependent Increase of Survival Motor Neuron Protein in Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

    OpenAIRE

    Iwatani, Sota; Harahap, Nur Imma Fatimah; Nurputra, Dian Kesumapramudya; Tairaku, Shinya; Shono, Akemi; Kurokawa, Daisuke; Yamana, Keiji; Thwin, Khin Kyae Mon; Yoshida, Makiko; Mizobuchi, Masami; Koda, Tsubasa; Fujioka, Kazumichi; Taniguchi-Ikeda, Mariko; Yamada, Hideto; Morioka, Ichiro

    2017-01-01

    Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most common genetic neurological disease leading to infant death. It is caused by loss of survival motor neuron (SMN) 1 gene and subsequent reduction of SMN protein in motor neurons. Because SMN is ubiquitously expressed and functionally linked to general RNA metabolism pathway, fibroblasts (FBs) are most widely used for the assessment of SMN expression in SMA patients but usually isolated from skin biopsy samples after the onset of overt sympt...

  11. Evidence for ubiquitous high-equivalent-width nebular emission in z ∼ 7 galaxies: toward a clean measurement of the specific star-formation rate using a sample of bright, magnified galaxies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smit, R.; Bouwens, R. J.; Labbé, I. [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Zheng, W.; Lemze, D.; Ford, H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Bradley, L.; Coe, D.; Postman, M. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21208 (United States); Donahue, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States); Moustakas, J. [Siena College, 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville, NY 12211 (United States); Umetsu, K. [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, P. O. Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Zitrin, A.; Bartelmann, M. [Institut fur Theoretische Astrophysik, ZAH, Albert-Ueberle-Straß e 2, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Gonzalez, V. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521 (United States); Benítez, N.; Jimenez-Teja, Y. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), C/Camino Bajo de Huetor 24, Granada 18008 (Spain); Broadhurst, T. [Department of Theoretical Physics, University of the Basque Country, P. O. Box 644, 48080 Bilbao (Spain); Grillo, C. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Infante, L. [Departamento de Astronoia y Astrofisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, V. Mackenna 4860, Santiago 22 (Chile); and others

    2014-03-20

    Growing observational evidence indicates that nebular line emission has a significant impact on the rest-frame optical fluxes of z ∼ 5-7 galaxies. This line emission makes z ∼ 5-7 galaxies appear more massive, with lower specific star-formation rates (sSFRs). However, corrections for this line emission have been difficult to perform reliably because of huge uncertainties on the strength of such emission at z ≳ 5.5. In this paper, we present the most direct observational evidence thus far for ubiquitous high-equivalent-width (EW) [O III] + Hβ line emission in Lyman-break galaxies at z ∼ 7, and we present a strategy for an improved measurement of the sSFR at z ∼ 7. We accomplish this through the selection of bright galaxies in the narrow redshift window z ∼ 6.6-7.0 where the Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) 4.5 μm flux provides a clean measurement of the stellar continuum light, in contrast with the 3.6 μm flux, which is contaminated by the prominent [O III] + Hβ lines. To ensure a high signal-to-noise ratio for our IRAC flux measurements, we consider only the brightest (H {sub 160} < 26 mag) magnified galaxies we have identified behind galaxy clusters. It is remarkable that the mean rest-frame optical color for our bright seven-source sample is very blue, [3.6]-[4.5] = –0.9 ± 0.3. Such blue colors cannot be explained by the stellar continuum light and require that the rest-frame EW of [O III] + Hβ is greater than 637 Å for the average source. The four bluest sources from our seven-source sample require an even more extreme EW of 1582 Å. We can also set a robust lower limit of ≳ 4 Gyr{sup –1} on the sSFR of our sample based on the mean spectral energy distribution.

  12. Animal Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC channels appear to be homologous to and derived from the ubiquitous cation diffusion facilitators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamang Dorjee G

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Antigen stimulation of immune cells triggers Ca2+ entry through Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC channels, promoting an immune response to pathogens. Defects in a CRAC (Orai channel in humans gives rise to the hereditary Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID syndrome. We here report results that define the evolutionary relationship of the CRAC channel proteins of animals, and the ubiquitous Cation Diffusion Facilitator (CDF carrier proteins. Findings CDF antiporters derived from a primordial 2 transmembrane spanner (TMS hairpin structure by intragenic triplication to yield 6 TMS proteins. Four programs (IC/GAP, GGSEARCH, HMMER and SAM were evaluated for identifying sequence similarity and establishing homology using statistical means. Overall, the order of sensitivity (similarity detection was IC/GAP = GGSEARCH > HMMER > SAM, but the use of all four programs was superior to the use of any two or three of them. Members of the CDF family appeared to be homologous to members of the 4 TMS Orai channel proteins. Conclusions CRAC channels derived from CDF carriers by loss of the first two TMSs of the latter. Based on statistical analyses with multiple programs, TMSs 3-6 in CDF carriers are homologous to TMSs 1-4 in CRAC channels, and the former was the precursor of the latter. This is an unusual example of how a functionally and structurally more complex protein may have predated a simpler one.

  13. Transcriptional effects of glucocorticoid receptors in the dentate gyrus increase anxiety-related behaviors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadège Sarrazin

    Full Text Available The Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR is a transcription factor ubiquitously expressed in the brain. Activation of brain GRs by high levels of glucocorticoid (GC hormones modifies a large variety of physiological and pathological-related behaviors. Unfortunately the specific cellular targets of GR-mediated behavioral effects of GC are still largely unknown. To address this issue, we generated a mutated form of the GR called DeltaGR. DeltaGR is a constitutively transcriptionally active form of the GR that is localized in the nuclei and activates transcription without binding to glucocorticoids. Using the tetracycline-regulated system (Tet-OFF, we developed an inducible transgenic approach that allows the expression of the DeltaGR in specific brain areas. We focused our study on a mouse line that expressed DeltaGR almost selectively in the glutamatergic neurons of the dentate gyrus (DG of the hippocampus. This restricted expression of the DeltaGR increased anxiety-related behaviors without affecting other behaviors that could indirectly influence performance in anxiety-related tests. This behavioral phenotype was also associated with an up-regulation of the MAPK signaling pathway and Egr-1 protein in the DG. These findings identify glutamatergic neurons in the DG as one of the cellular substrate of stress-related pathologies.

  14. TALE-mediated epigenetic suppression of CDKN2A increases replication in human fibroblasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Diana L; Le Lay, John E; Ruano, Elena G; Kaestner, Klaus H

    2015-05-01

    Current strategies to alter disease-associated epigenetic modifications target ubiquitously expressed epigenetic regulators. This approach does not allow specific genes to be controlled in specific cell types; therefore, tools to selectively target epigenetic modifications in the desired cell type and strategies to more efficiently correct aberrant gene expression in disease are needed. Here, we have developed a method for directing DNA methylation to specific gene loci by conjugating catalytic domains of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) to engineered transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs). We demonstrated that these TALE-DNMTs direct DNA methylation specifically to the targeted gene locus in human cells. Further, we determined that minimizing direct nucleotide sequence repeats within the TALE moiety permits efficient lentivirus transduction, allowing easy targeting of primary cell types. Finally, we demonstrated that directed DNA methylation with a TALE-DNMT targeting the CDKN2A locus, which encodes the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16, decreased CDKN2A expression and increased replication of primary human fibroblasts, as intended. Moreover, overexpression of p16 in these cells reversed the proliferative phenotype, demonstrating the specificity of our epigenetic targeting. Together, our results demonstrate that TALE-DNMTs can selectively target specific genes and suggest that this strategy has potential application for the development of locus-specific epigenetic therapeutics.

  15. Neurite outgrowth is significantly increased by the simultaneous presentation of Schwann cells and moderate exogenous electric fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koppes, Abigail N.; Seggio, Angela M.; Thompson, Deanna M.

    2011-08-01

    Axonal extension is influenced by a variety of external guidance cues; therefore, the development and optimization of a multi-faceted approach is probably necessary to address the intricacy of functional regeneration following nerve injury. In this study, primary dissociated neonatal rat dorsal root ganglia neurons and Schwann cells were examined in response to an 8 h dc electrical stimulation (0-100 mV mm-1). Stimulated samples were then fixed immediately, immunostained, imaged and analyzed to determine Schwann cell orientation and characterize neurite outgrowth relative to electric field strength and direction. Results indicate that Schwann cells are viable following electrical stimulation with 10-100 mV mm-1, and retain a normal morphology relative to unstimulated cells; however, no directional bias is observed. Neurite outgrowth was significantly enhanced by twofold following exposure to either a 50 mV mm-1 electric field (EF) or co-culture with unstimulated Schwann cells by comparison to neurons cultured alone. Neurite outgrowth was further increased in the presence of simultaneously applied cues (Schwann cells + 50 mV mm-1 dc EF), exhibiting a 3.2-fold increase over unstimulated control neurons, and a 1.2-fold increase over either neurons cultured with unstimulated Schwann cells or the electrical stimulus alone. These results indicate that dc electric stimulation in combination with Schwann cells may provide synergistic guidance cues for improved axonal growth relevant to nerve injuries in the peripheral nervous system.

  16. Why do children present to emergency departments? Exploring motivators and measures of presentation appropriateness for children presenting to a paediatric emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheek, John A; Braitberg, George; Craig, Simon; West, Adam

    2017-05-01

    To compare the parental motivators and referring general practitioner's (GP's) reasons for advising emergency department (ED) attendance with the assessment of ED medical staff. To compare ED clinician opinion with other published methods that have attempted to define 'primary care suitable' presentations to the ED. A prospective observational study and series of surveys regarding the attendance of children presenting to a single tertiary paediatric ED. Surveys were distributed to the treating ED clinician, the child's parent/guardian, and the referring GP. Results between the three groups were analysed and compared. There were a total of 1069 presentations during the study period. Six hundred (58.4%, 95% CI 55.3-61.4%) presentations were judged as 'ED appropriate' by the treating ED clinician. When compared with methods used to retrospectively judge whether ED patients are considered 'primary care suitable', ED clinicians disagree between 22.4 and 38.8% of the time. For patients who presented directly to ED, 85.6% did so for a medical reason, whilst 32.1% did so for a GP access reason. Being referred by a GP improved the ED clinicians' opinion of the appropriateness of the presentation (49.2 vs. 73.9%, P motivators that drive this behaviour is needed. We believe the solution to increasing utilisation of EDs by children must be a balanced approach that addresses community expectations and appropriately resources EDs. © 2017 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  17. Effects of increasing age, dosage, and duration of PTH treatment on BMD increase--a meta-analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schwarz, Peter; Jorgensen, Niklas Rye; Mosekilde, Leif

    2012-01-01

    were included. By metaregression analysis, we found that the increase in spine BMD (Z-score) after PTH treatment was blunted by increasing age (R (2) = 0.27; 2p = 0.01, slope -0.023 Z-scores per year, 11 studies). By increasing PTH dosage (μg/d), spine BMD increased significantly (2p = 0.......002) with a slope of +0.011 Z-scores/μg/d of teriparatide. Furthermore, the duration of treatment was positively correlated to spine BMD (P ......We studied the effects of increasing age, dosage, and duration of parathyroid hormone (PTH) treatment on changes in bone mineral density (BMD). Randomized placebo controlled trials on PTH treatment in men or women were retrieved from PubMed (1951 to present), Web of Science (1945 to present...

  18. Virtual Presenters: Towards Interactive Virtual Presentations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijholt, Antinus; Cappellini, V.; Hemsley, J.

    2005-01-01

    We discuss having virtual presenters in virtual environments that present information to visitors of these environments. Some current research is surveyed and we will look in particular to our research in the context of a virtual meeting room where a virtual presenter uses speech, gestures, pointing

  19. The efficient presentation - obstacles, strategies, success

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela-Elena Radu

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The making of presentations has become an omnipresent act of communication in the companies practice, but also in the didactic one. The notoriety and the increase of the importance of an efficient presentation lie in the transformations felt by a society of knowledge, communication being the answer in front of a constant information wave.Business people look in fear at the preparation of a presentation, the interaction with the audience andtheir feedback, all these leading to a low efficiency in transmitting the message.The speaker must overcome a group of obstacles, the most important being the reduced human capacityto capture the information transmitted orally; in this respect, he has available a group of visual instruments and strategies to capture the attention. In order to achieve efficiency one needs mental and emotional preparation, knowing the audience and the presentation’s objective and eliminating the old listing format in PowerPoint, for focusing the communication of the audience’s necessities. The present essay aims to analyze the verbal, non-verbal and para-verbal communication act that constitutes the base of any presentation, the reasons that lead to failure and the ways to increase efficiency, in order to succeed in transmitting a well structured and easy to remember message.Many researchers and practice workers within the communication, economic but also IT fields, have tried to find the solution for organizing and transmitting the message during a presentation, in accordance with the new technologies. In elaborating the present paper, we have used our personal experience and data obtained through 30 in-depth interviews,with managers in companies such Bostina Asociatii Skoda, Petrom etc.; we have used in our research articles of honored professors in social sciences from the Harvard and Stanford Universities , researches of the Minnesota and Ulster Universities, as well as works of specialists in marketing and information

  20. In vitro effects of phthalate esters in human myometrial and leiomyoma cells and increased urinary level of phthalate metabolite in women with uterine leiomyoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin Hee; Kim, Sung Hoon; Oh, Young Sang; Ihm, Hyo Jin; Chae, Hee Dong; Kim, Chung-Hoon; Kang, Byung Moon

    2017-04-01

    To investigate the possible role of phthalate, a ubiquitous chemical used in consumer products, in the pathogenesis of uterine leiomyoma. Experimental and prospective case-control study using human samples. University hospital. Fifty-three women with histologic evidence of uterine leiomyoma and 33 surgical controls without leiomyoma. Human myometrial and leiomyoma cells were treated with di-(2-thylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP). Cell viability assay and Western blot analyses after in vitro DEHP treatment; high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in cases and controls. In vitro treatment with DEHP led to an increased viability and increased expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, B-cell lymphoma 2 protein, and type I collagen in myometrial and leiomyoma cells. The urinary concentration of mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate was higher in women with leiomyoma compared with controls. These findings suggest that exposure to phthalate may play a role in the pathogenesis of uterine leiomyoma by enhancing proliferative activity, exerting an antiapoptotic effect, and increasing collagen contents in myometrial and leiomyoma cells. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.