Points to consider for prioritizing clinical genetic testing services: a European consensus process oriented at accountability for reasonableness.

Given the cost constraints of the European health-care systems, criteria are needed to decide which genetic services to fund from the public budgets, if not all can be covered. To ensure that high-priority services are available equitably within and across the European countries, a shared set of prioritization criteria would be desirable. A decision process following the accountability for reasonableness framework was undertaken, including a multidisciplinary EuroGentest/PPPC-ESHG workshop to develop shared prioritization criteria. Resources are currently too limited to fund all the beneficial genetic testing services available in the next decade. Ethically and economically reflected prioritization criteria are needed. Prioritization should be based on considerations of medical benefit, health need and costs. Medical benefit includes evidence of benefit in terms of clinical benefit, benefit of information for important life decisions, benefit for other people apart from the person tested and the patient-specific likelihood of being affected by the condition tested for. It may be subject to a finite time window. Health need includes the severity of the condition tested for and its progression at the time of testing. Further discussion and better evidence is needed before clearly defined recommendations can be made or a prioritization algorithm proposed. To our knowledge, this is the first time a clinical society has initiated a decision process about health-care prioritization on a European level, following the principles of accountability for reasonableness. We provide points to consider to stimulate this debate across the EU and to serve as a reference for improving patient management.

Towards an alternative testing strategy for nanomaterials used in nanomedicine: Lessons from NanoTEST.

In spite of recent advances in describing the health outcomes of exposure to nanoparticles (NPs), it still remains unclear how exactly NPs interact with their cellular targets. Size, surface, mass, geometry, and composition may all play a beneficial role as well as causing toxicity. Concerns of scientists, politicians and the public about potential health hazards associated with NPs need to be answered. With the variety of exposure routes available, there is potential for NPs to reach every organ in the body but we know little about the impact this might have. The main objective of the FP7 NanoTEST project ( www.nanotest-fp7.eu ) was a better understanding of mechanisms of interactions of NPs employed in nanomedicine with cells, tissues and organs and to address critical issues relating to toxicity testing especially with respect to alternatives to tests on animals. Here we describe an approach towards alternative testing strategies for hazard and risk assessment of nanomaterials, highlighting the adaptation of standard methods demanded by the special physicochemical features of nanomaterials and bioavailability studies. The work has assessed a broad range of toxicity tests, cell models and NP types and concentrations taking into account the inherent impact of NP properties and the effects of changes in experimental conditions using well-characterized NPs. The results of the studies have been used to generate recommendations for a suitable and robust testing strategy which can be applied to new medical NPs as they are developed.

Nou web de la Biblioteca Virtual: test amb usuaris, desembre 2013

Informe de l'anàlisi realitzat sobre el nou web de la Biblioteca Virtual de la UOC, per tal d'avaluar el grau d'usabilitat de la nova eina. És el segon test amb usuaris que es realitza del nou web i s'han analitzat els següents aspectes: l'accés a la col·lecció digital, les cinc funcionalitats més utilitzades del web i les cinc funcionalitats menys visibles del web.

The Impact of a Character Posture Model on the Communication of Affect in an Immersive Virtual Environment

This paper presents the quantitative and qualitative findings from an experiment designed to evaluate a developing model of affective postures for full-body virtual characters in immersive virtual environments (IVEs). Forty-nine participants were each requested to explore a virtual environment by asking two virtual characters for instructions. The participants used a CAVE-like system to explore the environment. Participant responses and their impression of the virtual characters were evaluated through a wide variety of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Combining a controlled experimental approach with various data-collection methods provided a number of advantages such as providing a reason to the quantitative results. The quantitative results indicate that posture plays an important role in the communication of affect by virtual characters. The qualitative findings indicated that participants attribute a variety of psychological states to the behavioral cues displayed by virtual characters. In addition, participants tended to interpret the social context portrayed by the virtual characters in a holistic manner. This suggests that one aspect of the virtual scene colors the perception of the whole social context portrayed by the virtual characters. We conclude by discussing the importance of designing holistically congruent virtual characters especially in immersive settings.

The spreading of the introduced seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh in the Mediterranean Sea: testing the boat transportation hypothesis

The Spreading of the Introduced Seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh in the Mediterranean Sea: Testing the Boat Transportation Hypothesis

Diphenyl urea derivatives as inhibitors of transketolase: a structure-based virtual screening.

Transketolase is an enzyme involved in a critical step of the non-oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway whose inhibition could lead to new anticancer drugs. Here, we report new human transketolase inhibitors, based on the phenyl urea scaffold, found by applying structure-based virtual screening. These inhibitors are designed to cover a hot spot in the dimerization interface of the homodimer of the enzyme, providing for the first time compounds with a suggested novel binding mode not based on mimicking the thiamine pyrophosphate cofactor.

The Development of an Internal Testing Process for a Bluetooth Product

BlueGiga Technologies on uusi Bluetooth -teknologiaa soveltava pk-yritys. Yrityksen tuotekehitysprosessia täydentämään tarvittiin testausprosessi. Testausprosessin luominen oli haastavaa, koska Bluetooth -teknologia on uutta ja yritys on vielä nuori. Lisäksi se integroi kovo- ja ohjelmistokomponentteja tuotteissaan. Testaus aloitettiin evaluoimalla standardinmukaista tapaa dokumentoida testit. Tämän jälkeen tutkittiin BlueGigan ohjelmistokehitysprosessin suhdetta olemassa oleviin ohjelmistokehitysprosesseihin. Samanaikaisesti perehdyttiin Bluetooth -kvalifikaation testaukselle asettamiin vaatimuksiin. Tämän seurauksena TTCN:ää kokeiltiin helppolukuisen testitapauksen määrittelyssä. Käyttötapauksiin perustuvan testauksen sopivuutta Wireless Remote Access Platform:in (WRAP) testaamiseen arvioitiin kokeilemalla sitä Man-to-Machine -käyttötapauksen testaamisessa. Yllämainittujen tehtävien aikana kerätyn tiedon ja hankittujen kokemusten pohjalta laadittiin testausprosessi, joka kattaa yksikkö-, integraatio- ja järjestelmätason testauksen. Painopiste on järjestelmätason testauksessa. Prosessi määrittelee myös vastuuhenkilön tai -henkilöt eri testaustasoille.

Functional testing in TETRA system

Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) on moderni digitaalinen matkapuhelinjärjestelmän standardi, joka on suunniteltu täyttämään erityisesti viranomaisten vaativat tarpeet turvallisuuden ja luotettavuuden suhteen. Ohjelmiston testaus on tärkeä osa sen laadun takaamiseksi. Testaus on jaettu useisiin vaiheisiin ja se kattaa koko ohjelmiston elinkaaren: ohjelmiston kehittelystä alkaen asiakkaalle lähetettyyn valmiiseen tuotteeseen saakka. Toiminnallisuustestauksen suorittaa joko ohjelmiston suunnittelijat tai erillinen testausryhmä käyttäen Nokia TETRA-järjestelmän testauslaboratoriota. Testauksen tarkoituksena on varmistaa, että ohjelmisto, sen aliohjelmat ja ominaisuudet täyttävät niille annetut toiminnalliset ja laadulliset vaatimukset. Tämä diplomityö antaa yleiskuvan toiminnallisuustestausprosessista Nokia TETRA järjestelmän laboratoriossa. Se tarjoaa esimerkkitestitapauksen avulla kokonaiskuvan siitä, kuinka toiminnallisuustestausprosessi suoritetaan alusta loppuun.

Testing a new multigroup inference approach to reconstructing past environmental conditions

A new, quantitative, inference model for environmental reconstruction (transfer function), based for the first time on the simultaneous analysis of multigroup species, has been developed. Quantitative reconstructions based on palaeoecological transfer functions provide a powerful tool for addressing questions of environmental change in a wide range of environments, from oceans to mountain lakes, and over a range of timescales, from decades to millions of years. Much progress has been made in the development of inferences based on multiple proxies but usually these have been considered separately, and the different numeric reconstructions compared and reconciled post-hoc. This paper presents a new method to combine information from multiple biological groups at the reconstruction stage. The aim of the multigroup work was to test the potential of the new approach to making improved inferences of past environmental change by improving upon current reconstruction methodologies. The taxonomic groups analysed include diatoms, chironomids and chrysophyte cysts. We test the new methodology using two cold-environment training-sets, namely mountain lakes from the Pyrenees and the Alps. The use of multiple groups, as opposed to single groupings, was only found to increase the reconstruction skill slightly, as measured by the root mean square error of prediction (leave-one-out cross-validation), in the case of alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon and altitude (a surrogate for air-temperature), but not for pH or dissolved CO2. Reasons why the improvement was less than might have been anticipated are discussed. These can include the different life-forms, environmental responses and reaction times of the groups under study.

Yritysten välisen testaus- ja laboratoriotoiminnan kehittäminen Päijät-Hämeessä

Yritykset tekevät nykyään yhä enemmän yhteistyötä keskenään eli verkostoituvat. Verkostoitumisella haetaan kykyä vastata nopeasti muuttuvan toimintaympäristön haasteisiin. Tässä diplomityössä tutkitaan testaus- ja laboratoriopalveluiden saatavuuden kehittämistä verkostoitumisen keinoin.Alueellisia testaus- ja laboratoriopalveluiden saatavuutta parannetaan valjastamalla käyttöön yritysten yksityisessä käytössä olevat tuotekehityslaboratoriot ja niiden vapaa kapasiteetti. Verkoston ytimen muodostaa teknologiapalvelu, joka hallitsee tietoa yritysten resursseista ja jakaa tätä tietoa. Työssä kartoitettiin alueella olevista yrityksistä heidän tarpeitaan tuotekehityksen aikaiselle testaukselle, tähän sopivia olemassa olevia laitteita ja tiloja ja yritysten mielipiteitä toiminnan organisoimisesta. Lisäksi tutkittiin tuotekehityksen aikana tarvittavaa direktiivitietouden tarvetta yrityksissä. Yritykset suhtautuivat erittäin myönteisesti yhteistyön tekemiseen testaus- ja laboratoriotoiminnassa. Yrityksistä löytyi erilaisia testauslaitteita ja –tiloja, ja näitä on muidenkin yritysten mahdollista käyttää tietyin ehdoin, kunhan se ei häiritse yrityksen omaa tuotekehitystyötä ja vapaata kapasiteettia löytyy.

8Ruedas, botiga virtual

L'aplicació 8Ruedas és una botiga virtual desenvolupada amb llenguatge Java en la tecnologia J2EE. El projecte està estructurat dins el framework Struts2, que segueix un patró MVC (Model-Vista-Controlador) amb metodologia orientada a objectes.

New TTCN interfaces for WCDMA base station testing

WCDMA tukiasema (Node B) on osa UMTS-järjestelmän radioverkkoa. Node B on tärkeä verkkoelementti, jonka tarkoituksena on yhdistää mobiilikäyttäjät verkkoon. Telecom –ohjelmisto (TCOM SW) on vastuussa suuresta osasta Node B:n toiminnallisuutta. TCOM SW:n testaukseen käytetään paljon resursseja, jotta ohjelmiston oikeasta toiminnasta ja laadusta voidaan varmistua. System component testing on testausvaihe, jossa järjestelmän (Node B) osa (system component, tässä diplomityössä TCOM SW) testataan ennen sen integroimista muuhun järjestelmään. Tähän tarvitaan testityökalu ja testitapausten toteutus. Node B TTCN Tester (testeri) on työkalu, jota käytetään Node B:n ohjelmiston testauksessa. Testitapaukset toteutetaan TTCN-testinotaatiota käyttäen ja testataan testerin avulla. TCOM SW:n system component –testausvaihetta varten testeriin lisättiin uudet rajapinnat, joiden avulla voidaan simuloita Node B:n ATM-ohjelmistoa sekä WPA- ja WTR-yksiköitä. Tässä diplomityössä toteuttiin TTCN testitapaukset uusille rajapinnoille. Testitapaukset tekivät TCOM SW system component –testausvaiheen riippumattomaksi Node B:n ATM-ohjelmistosta sekä WPA- ja WTR-yksiköistä. Lisäksi TCOM SW:n toiminnan testaus näissä rajapinnoissa voidaan tästä lähtien tehdä automaattisesti. Testitapauksien toiminta varmistettiin testeriä käyttäen. Tulokset olivat hyviä, uudet testitapaukset ja TTCN rajapinnat toimivat oikein lisäten testauksen tehokkuutta.

Virtual hand illusion induced by visuomotor correlations

Our body schema gives the subjective impression of being highly stable. However, a number of easily-evoked illusions illustrate its remarkable malleability. In the rubber-hand illusion, illusory ownership of a rubber-hand is evoked by synchronous visual and tactile stimulation on a visible rubber arm and on the hidden real arm. Ownership is concurrent with a proprioceptive illusion of displacement of the arm position towards the fake arm. We have previously shown that this illusion of ownership plus the proprioceptive displacement also occurs towards a virtual 3D projection of an arm when the appropriate synchronous visuotactile stimulation is provided. Our objective here was to explore whether these illusions (ownership and proprioceptive displacement) can be induced by only synchronous visuomotor stimulation, in the absence of tactile stimulation.

Drumming in immersive virtual reality: the body shapes the way we play

It has been shown that it is possible to generate perceptual illusions of ownership in immersive virtual reality (IVR) over a virtual body seen from first person perspective, in other words over a body that visually substitutes the person's real body. This can occur even when the virtual body is quite different in appearance from the person's real body. However, investigation of the psychological, behavioral and attitudinal consequences of such body transformations remains an interesting problem with much to be discovered. Thirty six Caucasian people participated in a between-groups experiment where they played a West-African Djembe hand drum while immersed in IVR and with a virtual body that substituted their own. The virtual hand drum was registered with a physical drum. They were alongside a virtual character that played a drum in a supporting, accompanying role. In a baseline condition participants were represented only by plainly shaded white hands, so that they were able merely to play. In the experimental condition they were represented either by a casually dressed dark-skinned virtual body (Casual Dark-Skinned - CD) or by a formal suited light-skinned body (Formal Light-Skinned - FL). Although participants of both groups experienced a strong body ownership illusion towards the virtual body, only those with the CD representation showed significant increases in their movement patterns for drumming compared to the baseline condition and compared with those embodied in the FL body. Moreover, the stronger the illusion of body ownership in the CD condition, the greater this behavioral change. A path analysis showed that the observed behavioral changes were a function of the strength of the illusion of body ownership towards the virtual body and its perceived appropriateness for the drumming task. These results demonstrate that full body ownership illusions can lead to substantial behavioral and possibly cognitive changes depending on the appearance of the virtual body. This could be important for many applications such as learning, education, training, psychotherapy and rehabilitation using IVR.