A web application for follow-up of results from a mobile device test battery for parkinson’s disease patients

Background: A test battery consisting of self-assessments and motor tests (tapping and spiral drawing) was developed for a hand computer with touch screen in a telemedicine setting. Objectives: To develop and evaluate a web-based system that delivers decision support information to the treating clinical staff for assessing PD symptoms in their patients based on the test battery data. Methods: The test battery is currently being used in a clinical trial (DAPHNE, EudraCT No. 2005-002654-21) by sixty five patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) on 9991 test occasions (four tests per day during in all 362 week-long test periods) at nine clinics around Sweden. Test results are sent continuously from the hand unit over a mobile net to a central computer and processed with statistical methods. They are summarized into scores for different dimensions of the symptom state and an ‘overall test score’ reflecting the overall condition of the patient during a test period. The information in the web application is organized and presented graphically in a way that the general overview of the patient performance per test period is emphasized. Focus is on the overall test score, symptom dimensions and daily summaries. In a recent preliminary user evaluation, the web application was demonstrated to the fifteen study nurses who had used the test battery in the clinical trial. At least one patient per clinic was shown. Results: In general, the responses from nurses were positive. They claimed that the test results shown in the system were consistent with their own clinical observations. They could follow complications, changes and trends within their patients. Discussion: In conclusion, the system is able to summarise the various time series of motor test results and self-assessments during test periods and present them in a useful manner. Its main contribution is a novel and reliable way to capture and easily access symptom information from patients’ home environment. The convenient access to current symptom profile as well as symptom history provides a basis for individualized evaluation and adjustment of treatments.

Pedagogical methods in web-based language teaching-mapping

The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the research project progress in “the mapping of pedagogical methods in web-based language teaching" by Högskolan Dalarna (Dalarna University). This project will identify the differences in pedagogical methods that are used for online language classes. The pedagogical method defined in this project is what the teachers do to ensure students attain the learning outcomes, for example, planning, designing courses, leading students, knowing students' abilities, implementing activities, etc. So far the members of this project have analyzed the course plans (in the language department at Dalarna University) and categorized the learning outcomes. A questionnaire was constructed based on the learning outcomes and then either sent out remotely to teachers or completed face to face through interviews. The answers provided to the questionnaires enabled the project to identify many differences in how language teachers interact with their students but also, the way of giving feedback, motivating and helping students, types of class activities and materials used. This presentation introduces the progress of the project and identifies the challenges at the language department at Dalarna University. Finally, the advantages and problems of online language proficiency courses will be discussed and suggestions made for future improvement.

Teacher’s leadership in web-based language courses in Dalarna University, Sweden

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss how teacher’s leadership can be used as a teaching method in web based language education. The environments that offer online courses provide a wide field for discussion on the contact between teacher and student. My intention is to contribute to the debate on teacher leadership in online courses. In my earlier studies on leadership, I have explored how some religious leaders affected different social movements in Brazil during the military dictatorship (1964-1985). Pruth (2004) by examining the three kinds of legitimacy described by Max Weber I aimed at seeing and analyzing how religious leaders used different teaching methods to explain their messages to ordinary citizens. Thus my research showed how educational leadership is a way to get people to reach their goals. I became interested in the subject teacher’s leadership whenI participated in a survey of the teaching methods of language courses in Dalarna University which is funded by the NGL Center of Dalarna University. In  this project, we have made interviews with the teachers, undertaken the course plans (in the language department at Dalarna University) and categorized the learning outcomes. A questionnaire was constructed based on the learning outcomes and then either sent out remotely to teachers or completed face to face through interviews. The answers provided to the questionnaires enabled the  project to identify many differences in how language teachers interact with their students but  also, the way of giving feedback, motivating and helping students, types of class activities and materials used. This made me aware of how teachers use their leadership or not in their teaching. My focus is to look at the relationship between teachers and students as an important part of the development and quality of online courses. The teacher's performance on campus is different from online courses. I want to understand how the contact between teachers and students in online courses develop and look at how students can make use of this contact and what influence the teacher's leadership has on the ability for the students to achieve the goals of their course

Pedagogical Methods in Web-Based Language Teaching

This paper presents a research project that is being conducted at Dalarna University in Sweden. The aim is to study the following: 1) The quality of online language education compared with that of campus education, and 2) Advantages and disadvantages of online language education and how the disadvantages might be overcome. The project consists of two parts: pedagogical methods in online language education from the teachers’ point of view and from the students’ point of view. The first part was conducted in 2012 and various characteristics (benefits and difficulties) of online language education were identified. Flexibility and wider opportunities were general benefits, while lack of physical co-presence, difficulty in having lively debates/discussions, and high dropout rates were among the problems. The second part of the project (being conducted in 2014) aims to investigate how students experience online language learning. The goal is to explore alignments and misalignments between teachers’ perspectives and students’ perspectives, and to develop methods to enhance the quality of online education.

A contract-based system for aerospace aftercare

The logistics of the aerospace aftermarket raises a number of very interesting challenges from the perspective of electronic contracting. This is a highly dynamic domain, where contracts are established between airlines and engine manufacturers, as well as between engine manufacturers all the way down the supply lines, providing a particularly illustrative showcase for the technologies developed in the CONTRACT project. In this paper, we describe such a domain, as well as our modelling of it as a multiagent simulator where the CONTRACT framework has been used to monitor for compliance with norms.

From Smart Meters To Smart Decisions: Web-Based Support For The Water Efficient Household

Smart water metering technologies for residential buildings offer, in principle, great opportunities for sustainable urban water management. However, much of this potential is as yet unrealized. Despite that several ICT solutions have already been deployed aiming at optimum operations on the water utilities side (e.g. real time control for water networks, dynamic pump scheduling etc.), little work has been done to date on the consumer side. This paper presents a web-based platform targeting primarily the household end user. The platform enables consumers to monitor, on a real-time basis, the water demand of their household, providing feedback not only on the total water consumption and relevant costs but also on the efficiency (or otherwise) of specific indoor and outdoor uses. Targeting the reduction of consumption, the provided feedback is combined with notifications about possible leakages\bursts, and customised suggestions to improve the efficiency of existing household uses. It also enables various comparisons, with past consumption or even with that of similar households, aiming to motivate further the householder to become an active player in the water efficiency challenge. The issue of enhancing the platform’s functionality with energy timeseries is also discussed in view of recent advances in smart metering and the concept of “smart cities”. The paper presents a prototype of this web-based application and critically discusses first testing results and insights. It also presents the way in which the platform communicates with central databases, at the water utility level. It is suggested that such developments are closing the gap between technology availability and usefulness to end users and could help both the uptake of smart metering and awareness raising leading, potentially, to significant reductions of urban water consumption. The work has received funding from the European Union FP7 Programme through the iWIDGET Project, under grant agreement no318272.

Case-based system: Indexing and retrieval with fuzzy hypercube

In some applications with case-based system, the attributes available for indexing are better described as linguistic variables instead of receiving numerical treatment. In these applications, the concept of fuzzy hypercube can be applied to give a geometrical interpretation of similarities among cases. This paper presents an approach that uses geometrical properties of fuzzy hypercube space to make indexing and retrieval processes of cases.

A multicommuted flow-based system for hydrogen peroxide determination by chemiluminescence detection using a photodiode

A simple, rapid, and automated assay for hydrogen peroxide in pharmaceutical samples was developed by combining the multicommutation system with a chemiluminescence (CL) detector. The detection was performed using a spiral flow-cell reactor made from polyethylene tubing that was positioned in front of a photodiode. It allows the rapid mixing of CL reagent and analyte and simultaneous detection of the emitted light. The chemiluminescence was based on the reaction of luminol with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by hexacyanoferrate(III). The feasibility of the flow system was ascertained by analyzing a set of pharmaceutical samples. A linear response within the range of 2.2-210 μmol l-1 H2O2 with a LD of 1.8 μmol l-1 H2O2 and coefficient of variations smaller than 0.8% for 1.0×10-5 mol l-1 and 6.8×10-5 mol l-1 hydrogen peroxide solutions (n=10) were obtained. Reagents consumption of 90 μg of luminol and 0.7 mg of hexacyanoferrate(III) per determination and sampling rate of 200 samples per hour were also achieved. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A Novel 785-nm Laser Diode-Based System for Standardization of Cell Culture Irradiation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Reliability of Web-Based Information in Inquiry Projects

This case study aims at identifying how a community of secondary school students selects web-based information and factors associated with the reliability of online reference sources during their collaborative inquiry (co-inquiry) projects. This study, conducted in a public secondary school in Brazil, focused on information literacy skills for collaborative open learning (colearning). The research is based on qualitative content analysis implemented on the online platform weSPOT. Although students are mindful of the importance of comparing different sources of information they seem not to be aware of reliability in online environments. Teacher's guidance is essential to support co-learners in developing competences, particularly related to critical thinking.

Development of a knowledge-based system for cogeneration plant design: Verification, validation and lessons learned

This paper presents the development of a knowledge-based system (KBS) prototype able to design natural gas cogeneration plants, demonstrating new features for this field. The design of such power plants represents a synthesis problem, subject to thermodynamic constraints that include the location and sizing of components. The project was developed in partnership with the major Brazilian gas and oil company, and involved interaction with an external consultant as well as an interdisciplinary team. The paper focuses on validation and lessons learned, concentrating on important aspects such as the generation of alternative configuration schemes, breadth of each scheme description created by the system, and its module to support economic feasibility analysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy rule-based system for evaluation of uncertainty transaction in cassava chain

A fuzzy ruled-based system was developed in this study and resulted in an index indicating the level of uncertainty related to commercial transactions between cassava growers and their dealers. The fuzzy system was developed based on Transaction Cost Economics approach. The fuzzy system was developed from input variables regarding information sharing between grower and dealer on “Demand/purchase Forecasting”, “Production Forecasting” and “Production Innovation”. The output variable is the level of uncertainty regarding the transaction between seller and buyer agent, which may serve as a system for detecting inefficiencies. Evidences from 27 cassava growers registered in the Regional Development Offices of Tupa and Assis, São Paulo, Brazil, and 48 of their dealers supported the development of the system. The mathematical model indicated that 55% of the growers present a Very High level of uncertainty, 33% present Medium or High. The others present Low or Very Low level of uncertainty. From the model, simulations of external interferences can be implemented in order to improve the degree of uncertainty and, thus, lower transaction costs.

ITScan: a web-based analysis tool for Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequences

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Initial Development of a Web-Based Tool to Increase Hunter Harvest of Female Ungulates

Landowners and agencies have expressed difficulty finding hunters willing to harvest the female portion of the ungulate populations, and likewise, hunters have expressed difficulty achieving access to private lands. Since 2003, the Montana “DoeCowHunt” website (www.doecowhunt.montana.edu) has provided an avenue to improve hunter-landowner contact and wild ungulate population management. A product of Montana State University Extension Wildlife Program, this website provides a means for hunters and landowners in Montana to contact each other by listing contact information (email address, physical address, and telephone number) for the purpose of harvesting antlerless ungulates. In the first year over 10,000 users visited the site. Of those who actually registered, 11 were landowners and 1334 were hunters. An evaluation survey resulted in a 40% response rate. The survey indicated the average registered landowner had 20 hunter contacts. Many landowners contacted hunters through use of the website but did not register or list their contact information on the site.