Abstract: Digital inequality can take many forms. Four forms studied here are access to Internet, use of different devices, extent of usage, and engagement in different Internet activities. However, it is not clear whether sociodemographic factors, or devices, are more influential in usage and activities. Results from an unfamiliar context show that there are significant sociodemographic influences on access, device, usage, and activities, and differences in activities by device type and usage. While sociodemographic differences are more influential, device type can increase likelihood of use for some “capital enhancing” activities, but only for a computer. Thus, although mobile Internet is available for those on the wrong side of the digital divide, these users do not engage in many activities, decreasing potential benefits.

Abstract: The presence of mobile devices has increased in our lives offering almost the same functionality as a personal computer. Android devices have appeared lately and, since then, the number of applications available for this operating system has increased exponentially. Google already has its Android Market where applications are offered and, as happens with every popular media, is prone to misuse. In fact, malware writers insert malicious applications into this market, but also among other alternative markets. Therefore, in this paper, we present PUMA, a new method for detecting malicious Android applications through machine-learning techniques by analysing the extracted permissions from the application itself.

Abstract: Details of Quokka, which is a freely available fast 3-D solar cell simulation tool, are presented. Simplifications to the full set of charge carrier transport equations, i.e., quasi-neutrality and conductive boundaries, result in a model that is computationally inexpensive without a loss of generality. Details on the freely available finite volume implementation in MATLAB are given, which shows computation times on the order of seconds to minutes for a full I-V curve sweep on a conventional personal computer. As an application example, the validity of popular analytical models of partial rear contact cells is verified under varying conditions. Consequently, it is observed that significant errors can occur if these analytical models are used to derive local recombination properties from effective lifetime measurements of test structures.

Abstract: miRDeep and its varieties are widely used to quantify known and novel micro RNA (miRNA) from small RNA sequencing (RNAseq). This article describes miRDeep*, our integrated miRNA identification tool, which is modeled off miRDeep, but the precision of detecting novel miRNAs is improved by introducing new strategies to identify precursor miRNAs. miRDeep* has a user-friendly graphic interface and accepts raw data in FastQ and Sequence Alignment Map (SAM) or the binary equivalent (BAM) format. Known and novel miRNA expression levels, as measured by the number of reads, are displayed in an interface, which shows each RNAseq read relative to the pre-miRNA hairpin. The secondary pre-miRNA structure and read locations for each predicted miRNA are shown and kept in a separate figure file. Moreover, the target genes of known and novel miRNAs are predicted using the TargetScan algorithm, and the targets are ranked according to the confidence score. miRDeep* is an integrated standalone application where sequence alignment, pre-miRNA secondary structure calculation and graphical display are purely Java coded. This application tool can be executed using a normal personal computer with 1.5 GB of memory. Further, we show that miRDeep* outperformed existing miRNA prediction tools using our LNCaP and other small RNAseq datasets. miRDeep* is freely available online at http://www.australianprostatecentre.org/research/software/mirdeep-star.

Abstract: The considerable growth in the number of smart mobile devices with a fast Internet connection provides new challenges for survey researchers. In this article, I compare the data quality between two survey modes: self-administered web surveys conducted via personal computer and those conducted via mobile phones. Data quality is compared based on five indicators: (a) completion rates, (b) response order effects, (c) social desirability, (d) non-substantive responses, and (e) length of open answers. I hypothesized that mobile web surveys would result in lower completion rates, stronger response order effects, and less elaborate answers to open-ended questions. No difference was expected in the level of reporting in sensitive items and in the rate of non-substantive responses. To test the assumptions, an experiment with two survey modes was conducted using a volunteer online access panel in Russia. As expected, mobile web was associated with a lower completion rate, shorter length of open answers, and similar level of socially undesirable and non-substantive responses. However, no stronger primacy effects in mobile web survey mode were found.

Abstract: This paper presents an application-specific integrated processor for an angular estimation system that works with 9-D inertial measurement units. The application-specific instruction-set processor (ASIP) was implemented on field-programmable gate array and interfaced with a gyro-plus-accelerometer 6-D sensor and with a magnetic compass. Output data were recorded on a personal computer and also used to perform a live demo. During system modeling and design, it was chosen to represent angular position data with a quaternion and to use an extended Kalman filter as sensor fusion algorithm. For this purpose, a novel two-stage filter was designed: The first stage uses accelerometer data, and the second one uses magnetic compass data for angular position correction. This allows flexibility, less computational requirements, and robustness to magnetic field anomalies. The final goal of this work is to realize an upgraded application-specified integrated circuit that controls the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor and integrates the ASIP. This will allow the MEMS sensor gyro plus accelerometer and the angular estimation system to be contained in a single package; this system might optionally work with an external magnetic compass.

Abstract: While research mainly focuses on the effectiveness of computer use and its contribution to the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL), EFL teachers have received scant attention. Only a limited number of studies have been conducted regarding Turkish EFL teachers' perceptions of computer use for teaching EFL. Therefore, in the context of Turkish EFL teachers' perceptions of computer usage in learning and teaching, the current study aims to examine Turkish EFL teachers' knowledge of software and their reasons for personal computer use, including the attitudes and perceptions of self-confidence among teachers in integrating computers and the school climate and support with respect to the use of computers for teaching EFL. The sample group in the study consisted of 157 EFL teachers. Before descriptives were computed, a background questionnaire and survey that assessed the degree of knowledge about the computer software, the frequency of software use for personal purposes, the teachers' attitudes towa...

Abstract: This study addresses online decomposition of high-density surface electromyograms (EMG) in real time. The proposed method is based on the previously published Convolution Kernel Compensation (CKC) technique and shares the same decomposition paradigm, i.e., compensation of motor unit action potentials and direct identification of motor unit (MU) discharges. In contrast to previously published version of CKC, which operates in batch mode and requires ~ 10 s of EMG signal, the real-time implementation begins with batch processing of ~ 3 s of the EMG signal in the initialization stage and continues on with iterative updating of the estimators of MU discharges as blocks of new EMG samples become available. Its detailed comparison to previously validated batch version of CKC and asymptotically Bayesian optimal linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) estimator demonstrates high agreement in identified MU discharges among all three techniques. In the case of synthetic surface EMG with 20 dB signal-to-noise ratio, MU discharges were identified with average sensitivity of 98%. In the case of experimental EMG, real-time CKC fully converged after initial 5 s of EMG recordings and real-time and batch CKC agreed on 90% of MU discharges, on average. The real-time CKC identified slightly fewer MUs than its batch version (experimental EMG, 4 MUs versus 5 MUs identified by batch CKC, on average), but required only 0.6 s of processing time on regular personal computer for each second of multichannel surface EMG.

Abstract: In this paper we introduce an efficient algorithm for alignment of multiple large-scale biological networks In this scheme, we first compute a probabilistic similarity measure between nodes that belong to different networks using a semi-Markov random walk model The estimated probabilities are further enhanced by incorporating the local and the cross-species network similarity information through the use of two different types of probabilistic consistency transformations The transformed alignment probabilities are used to predict the alignment of multiple networks based on a greedy approach We demonstrate that the proposed algorithm, called SMETANA, outperforms many state-of-the-art network alignment techniques, in terms of computational efficiency, alignment accuracy, and scalability Our experiments show that SMETANA can easily align tens of genome-scale networks with thousands of nodes on a personal computer without any difficulty The source code of SMETANA is available upon request The source code of SMETANA can be downloaded from http://wwwecetamuedu/~bjyoon/SMETANA/

Abstract: Sediment-water exchanges of nutrients and oxygen play an important role in the biogeochemistry of shallow coastal environments. Sediments process, store, and release particulate and dissolved forms of carbon and nutrients and sediment-water solute fluxes are significant components of nutrient, carbon, and oxygen cycles. Consequently, sediment biogeochemical models of varying complexity have been developed to understand the processes regulating porewater profiles and sediment-water exchanges. We have calibrated and validated a two-layer sediment biogeochemical model (aerobic and anaerobic) that is suitable for application as a stand-alone tool or coupled to water-column biogeochemical models. We calibrated and tested a stand-alone version of the model against observations of sediment-water flux, porewater concentrations, and process rates at 12 stations in Chesapeake Bay during a 4–17 year period. The model successfully reproduced sediment-water fluxes of ammonium ( NH 4 + ), nitrate ( NO 3 − ), phosphate ( PO 4 3 − ), and dissolved silica (Si(OH)4 or DSi) for diverse chemical and physical environments. A root mean square error (RMSE)-minimizing optimization routine was used to identify best-fit values for many kinetic parameters. The resulting simulations improved the performance of the model in Chesapeake Bay and revealed (1) the need for an aerobic-layer denitrification formulation to account for NO3- reduction in this zone, (2) regional variability in denitrification that depends on oxygen levels in the overlying water, (3) a regionally-dependent solid-solute PO 4 3 − partitioning that accounts for patterns in Fe availability, and (4) a simplified model formulation for DSi, including limited sorption of DSi onto iron oxyhydroxides. This new calibration balances the need for a universal set of parameters that remain true to biogeochemical processes with site-specificity that represents differences in physical conditions. This stand-alone model can be rapidly executed on a personal computer and is well-suited to complement observational studies in a wide range of environments.

Abstract: The invention discloses an information pushing system of a WiFi (wireless fidelity) terminal and an implementation method thereof. The system comprises a WiFi signal collector, a WiFi signal processing module, a WiFi indoor positioning module, a customer activity analyzing and data mining module, a user personality file database, an advertisement information storage database, an advertisement putting and matching engine and a WiFi logging portal module. The system is suitable for all terminals with the WiFi function, such as mobile phones, PADs (personal access device) and PCs (personal computer), and different software platforms, such as Andriod, wP, iOS, Windows, MAC OS and Linux, the WiFi terminals do not need any software modification and updating, and the applicable range is wide. The possible hobby of a consumer is judged through data analysis and mining, and the real-time and on-site precise marketing is realized for target users, so on one hand, the experience of the user consuming in business places is improved, and on the other hand, the commercial value of sellers and factories is improved.

Abstract: PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to assess changes in tear film stability caused by incomplete blinking. METHODS Eleven subjects (mean age, 21.3 years) participated in this study. All subjects had a visual acuity of 20/20 or better and normal ocular health. The subjects were asked to play a game for 60 min on a personal computer as part of a visual display terminal (VDT) experiment. Each subject's blinking was observed by a Web camera that was attached to the top of the display. Every 15 min, the VDT experiment was interrupted for measurement. An RT-7000 (Tomey Co., Ltd., Nagoya, Japan) was used to measure ring breakup time as a parameter of tear film stability. An OPD-Scan II ARK-10000 (NIDEK Co., Ltd., Aichi, Japan) was used to measure corneal aberrations. RESULTS Although the total blink rate changed very little, the complete and incomplete blink rates fluctuated during the VDT experiment. Both types were plotted along symmetrical cubic approximation curves. Noninvasive (ring) breakup time at 30 min (4.33 ± 2.57 s) was significantly shorter (p < 0.01) than that at baseline before the VDT experiment (8.62 ± 1.54 s). After 30 min, the incomplete blink rate began decreasing (fewer incomplete blinks), whereas the complete blink rate began increasing. Ring breakup time increased (improved) after 45 min; however, the incomplete blink rate began to increase again after approximately 50 min. CONCLUSIONS Even if the total blink rate decreases, the tear film remains stable so long as almost all blinks are complete. The incomplete blinking contributes to tear film instability and is variable with prolonged VDT exposure. Our study indicated that the tear film stability was determined by blinking quality, and the predominance of blinking type relates to tear film stability.

Abstract: The k-mer counting problem, which is to build the histogram of occurrences of every k-symbol long substring in a given text, is important for many bioinformatics applications. They include developing de Bruijn graph genome assemblers, fast multiple sequence alignment and repeat detection. We propose a simple, yet efficient, parallel disk-based algorithm for counting k-mers. Experiments show that it usually offers the fastest solution to the considered problem, while demanding a relatively small amount of memory. In particular, it is capable of counting the statistics for short-read human genome data, in input gzipped FASTQ file, in less than 40 minutes on a PC with 16 GB of RAM and 6 CPU cores, and for long-read human genome data in less than 70 minutes. On a more powerful machine, using 32 GB of RAM and 32 CPU cores, the tasks are accomplished in less than half the time. No other algorithm for most tested settings of this problem and mammalian-size data can accomplish this task in comparable time. Our solution also belongs to memory-frugal ones; most competitive algorithms cannot efficiently work on a PC with 16 GB of memory for such massive data. By making use of cheap disk space and exploiting CPU and I/O parallelism we propose a very competitive k-mer counting procedure, called KMC. Our results suggest that judicious resource management may allow to solve at least some bioinformatics problems with massive data on a commodity personal computer.

Abstract: A method and system for crowdsourcing and managing contact and profile information of a user's contacts, and exchanging business and personal contact information through a mobile device, personal computer, or a web application. The system comprises a crowdsourcing intelligence module that provides the software, analysis, and algorithms for automatically populating and updating an individual's contact information in a user's address book based on contributed information and changes made to the individual's profile by a large community of users. The module also automatically populates and updates business profile, captures business's external social and business profiles, and analyzes demographic information which can then be transmitted to users. Users may also search for job opportunities, review and purchase products and services, review the location of contacts in proximity to the user, and manage sales and account activities including lead generation, lead qualification, and better understanding their customer base.

Abstract: De novo peptide sequencing is the only tool for extracting peptide sequences directly from tandem mass spectrometry (MS) data without any protein database. However, neither the accuracy nor the efficiency of de novo sequencing has been satisfactory, mainly due to incomplete fragmentation information in experimental spectra. Recent advancement in MS technology has enabled acquisition of higher energy collisional dissociation (HCD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) spectra of the same precursor. These spectra contain complementary fragmentation information and can be collected with high resolution and high mass accuracy. Taking these advantages, we have developed a new algorithm called pNovo+, which greatly improves the accuracy and speed of de novo sequencing. On tryptic peptides, 86% of the topmost candidate sequences deduced by pNovo+ from HCD + ETD spectral pairs matched the database search results, and the success rate reached 95% if the top three candidates were included, which was much higher than using only HCD (87%) or only ETD spectra (57%). On Asp-N, Glu-C, or Elastase digested peptides, 69−87% of the HCD + ETD spectral pairs were correctly identified by pNovo+ among the topmost candidates, or 84−95% among the top three. On average, it takes pNovo+ only 0.018 s to extract the sequence from a spectrum or spectral pair on a common personal computer. This is more than three times as fast as other de novo sequencing programs. The increase of speed is mainly due to pDAG, a component algorithm of pNovo+. pDAG finds the k longest paths in a directed acyclic graph without the antisymmetry restriction. We have verified that the antisymmetry restriction is unnecessary for high resolution, high mass accuracy data. The extensive use of HCD and ETD spectral information and the pDAG algorithm make pNovo+ an excellent de novo sequencing tool.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for managing transportation and storage of goods, including a personal computer device; and a package control device associated with a package. The personal computer device is configured to store transport and storage operations information regarding the package in the package control device. The package control device is configured for identifying an operator responsible for at least one of transport and storage of the package based on the transport and storage operations information. The package control device is configured to allow the operator to have access to the package for at least one of transport and storage of the package based on the transport and storage operations information.

Abstract: Graduate medical education (GME) is a balance between providing optimal patient care while ensuring that trainees (residents and fellows) develop independent medical decision making skills as well asand the ability to manage serious medical conditions. We used one form of wearable technology (“Google Glass”) to explore different scenarios in cardiovascular practice where fellows can better their education. We specified different scenarios encountered during routine clinical care in the month of July 2013. These scenarios were chosen based on their clinical significance, the difficulty posed to early stage trainees and the possibly deleterious effects of misdiagnosis or treatment. A mock trainee wearing Google glass enacted each scenario. Live video stream from the glass was transmitted via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth which could have been received by a smartphone, tablet or personal computer. In conclusion, wearable technology has the potential to enhance medical education and patient safety once widely available. Medical institutions should work on policies regarding the use of such technologies to enhance medical care without compromising patient privacy.

Abstract: From the Publisher: For people interested in using computers in construction, this book is the perfect starting point - providing an unsurpassed introduction to computer hardware, software, and communications technology. Giving the reader a basic idea of what the pieces do and how they work together, the book's 16 in-depth chapters offer coverage of topics so important for construction engineers and managers. Through the material, readers are given the ability to analyze systematically a potential area of need - such as a function in a department - to determine whether a computer application might help to assess the costs and benefits of alternative proposals and to proceed from that analysis to a clear specification for what the proposed solution should accomplish. There is also coverage of how computer professionals evaluate hardware and design the software and systems that will implement a given application. Furthermore, readers will learn how to manage the people, resources, time, and money required in the development process for creating a given application program or for adapting a package application to the needs specified in the design. Other topics found in the book include: common tools used to develop application software for today's business computers; systems and applications available in the marketplace to perform specific functions, such as estimating, scheduling, cost control, and simulation; emergent technologies and how an individual, group, or company might plan ahead and take advantage of the trends. In addition, the book provides twenty-two construction engineering and management application examples - most developed using modern computer software - and provides additional problems, guidelines, and data for the reader to use in implementing his or her own applications on a personal computer.

Abstract: With the increasing knowledge about the natural processes, hydrological models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) are becoming larger and more complex with increasing computation time. Additionally, other procedures such as model calibration, which may require thousands of model iterations, can increase running time and thus further reduce rapid modeling and analysis. Using the widely-applied SWAT as an example, this study demonstrates how to parallelize a serial hydrological model in a Windows^(R) environment using a parallel programing technology-Message Passing Interface (MPI). With a case study, we derived the optimal values for the two parameters (the number of processes and the corresponding percentage of work to be distributed to the master process) of the parallel SWAT (P-SWAT) on an ordinary personal computer and a work station. Our study indicates that model execution time can be reduced by 42%-70% (or a speedup of 1.74-3.36) using multiple processes (two to five) with a proper task-distribution scheme (between the master and slave processes). Although the computation time cost becomes lower with an increasing number of processes (from two to five), this enhancement becomes less due to the accompanied increase in demand for message passing procedures between the master and all slave processes. Our case study demonstrates that the P-SWAT with a five-process run may reach the maximum speedup, and the performance can be quite stable (fairly independent of a project size). Overall, the P-SWAT can help reduce the computation time substantially for an individual model run, manual and automatic calibration procedures, and optimization of best management practices. In particular, the parallelization method we used and the scheme for deriving the optimal parameters in this study can be valuable and easily applied to other hydrological or environmental models.

Abstract: Summary Rare copy number variations (CNVs) are frequent causes of genetic diseases. We developed a graphical software package based on a novel approach that can consistently identify CNVs of all types (homozygous deletions, heterozygous deletions, heterozygous duplications) from exome-sequencing data without the need of a paired control. The algorithm compares coverage depth in a test sample against a background distribution of control samples and uses principal component analysis to remove batch effects. It is user friendly and can be run on a personal computer. Availability and implementation The main scripts are implemented in R (2.15), and the GUI is created using Java 1.6. It can be run on all major operating systems. A non-GUI version for pipeline implementation is also available. The program is freely available online: https://sourceforge.net/projects/fishingcnv/ Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Abstract: Background: Information and communication technology (ICT) has been used with increasing frequency for the assessment of diet and physical activity in health surveys. A number of Web-based questionnaires have been developed for children and adolescents. However, their usability characteristics have scarcely been reported, despite their potential importance for improving the feasibility and validity of ICT-based methods. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the usability evaluation of the Consumo Alimentar e Atividade Fisica de Escolares (CAAFE) questionnaire (Food Consumption and Physical Activity Questionnaire for schoolchildren), a new Web-based survey tool for the self-assessment of diet and physical activity by schoolchildren. Methods: A total of 114 schoolchildren aged 6 to 12 years took part in questionnaire usability testing carried out in computer classrooms at five elementary schools in the city of Florianopolis, Brazil. Schoolchildren used a personal computer (PC) equipped with software for recording what is on the computer screen and the children’s speech during usability testing. Quantitative and qualitative analyses took into account objective usability metrics such as error counts and time to complete a task. Data on the main difficulties in accomplishing the task and the level of satisfaction expressed by the children were assessed by the observers using a standardized form and interviews with the children. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to summarize both the quantitative and the qualitative aspects of the data obtained. Results: The mean time for completing the questionnaire was 13.7 minutes (SD 3.68). Compared to the children in 2nd or 3rd grades, those in 4th or 5th grades spent less time completing the questionnaire (median 12.4 vs 13.3 minutes, P=.022), asked for help less frequently (median 0 vs 1.0 count, P=.005), had a lower error count (median 2.0 vs 8.0 count, P<.001), and obtained a higher overall performance score (median 73.0 vs 68.0, P=.005). Children with a PC at home spent less time completing the questionnaire (median 12.3 vs 14.9 minutes, P<.001), had a lower overall error count (median 2.0 vs 9.0 count, P=.03), and had a higher performance score (median 72.0 vs 64.0, P=.005) compared to the children without a PC at home. The most common difficulty in completing the questionnaire was in using the scroll bar. The majority of children reported a positive evaluation (liked a lot or liked) for the four design elements, which were evaluated. Conclusions: The results of the present study provided feedback to improve the final version of the CAAFE questionnaire. Quantitative data showed minor errors and system failures, while qualitative data indicated that, overall, the children enjoyed the CAAFE questionnaire. Grade levels and PC use must be taken into account in Web-based tools designed for children.

Abstract: Understanding regional-scale water resource systems requires understanding coupled hydrologic and climate interactions. The traditional approach in the hydrologic sciences and engineering fields has been to either treat the atmosphere as a forcing condition on the hydrologic model, or to adopt a specific hydrologic model design in order to be interoperable with a climate model. We propose here a different approach that follows a service-oriented architecture and uses standard interfaces and tools: the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) from the weather and climate community and the Open Modeling Interface (OpenMI) from the hydrologic community. A novel technical challenge of this work is that the climate model runs on a high performance computer and the hydrologic model runs on a personal computer. In order to complete a two-way coupling, issues with security and job scheduling had to be overcome. The resulting application demonstrates interoperability across disciplinary boundaries and has the potential to address emerging questions about climate impacts on local water resource systems. The approach also has the potential to be adapted for other climate impacts applications that involve different communities, multiple frameworks, and models running on different computing platforms. We present along with the results of our coupled modeling system a scaling analysis that indicates how the system will behave as geographic extents and model resolutions are changed to address regional-scale water resources management problems. The prototyped hydro-climate testbed is an example of a multi-scale modeling.The work demonstrates interoperability across Earth science modeling frameworks.Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) dominates the total execution time for a regional-scale hydrologic system.Web Services communication overhead is not excess relative to CAM.Service-orientation could be a useful approach for coupling across community models.

Abstract: Methods and systems of interactive online fitting of a hearing aid by a non-expert consumer without requiring a clinical setup are disclosed. In one embodiment, the system includes an audio generator for delivering test audio signals at predetermined levels to a non-acoustic input of a programmable hearing aid in-situ, and a programming interface for delivering programming signals to the hearing aid. The consumer is instructed to listen to the output of the hearing device in-situ and to interactively adjust fitting parameters according to a subjective assessment of audible output representative of the test audio signal. In one embodiment, the online-based fitting system comprises a personal computer, a handheld device connected to the personal computer, and a fitting application hosted by a server. In one embodiment, remote customer support personnel may communicate with a hearing aid worn by the consumer and interactively control fitting parameters.