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This survey introduces 101 new publications on applications of Clifford's geometric algebras (GAs) newly published during 2022 (until mid‐January 2023). The selection of papers is based on a comprehensive search with Dimensions.ai, followed by detailed screening and clustering. Readers will learn about the use of GA for mathematics, computation, surface representations, geometry, image, and signal processing, computing and software, quantum computing, data processing, neural networks, medical science, physics, electric engineering, control and robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revolutionized our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex traits and diseases. GWAS summary statistics have become essential tools for various genetic analyses, including meta-analysis, fine-mapping, and risk prediction. However, the increasing number of GWAS summary statistics and the diversity of software tools available for their analysis can make it challenging for researchers to select the most appropriate tools for their specific needs. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the currently available software tools and databases for GWAS summary statistics analysis. We conducted a comprehensive literature search to identify relevant software tools and databases. We categorized the tools and databases by their functionality, including data management, quality control, single-trait analysis, and multiple-trait analysis. We also compared the tools and databases based on their features, limitations, and user-friendliness. Our review identified a total of 305 functioning software tools and databases dedicated to GWAS summary statistics, each with unique strengths and limitations. We provide descriptions of the key features of each tool and database, including their input/output formats, data types, and computational requirements. We also discuss the overall usability and applicability of each tool for different research scenarios. This comprehensive review will serve as a valuable resource for researchers who are interested in using GWAS summary statistics to investigate the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases. By providing a detailed overview of the available tools and databases, we aim to facilitate informed tool selection and maximize the effectiveness of GWAS summary statistics analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Vection is a stationary individual's illusory experience of self-motion. This illusory self-motion is operationally important for aviation, particularly military aviation, since vection is a dramatic example of spatial disorientation (SD), which is an individual's failure to correctly sense the aircraft's position, motion, and/or attitude with respect to the fixed coordinate system of the Earth's surface and its gravitational vertical. Notably, SD is a major cause of fatal aviation mishaps, and the visual system is particularly prone to provoking vection. This article describes the Virtual Reality Vection System (VRVS), which uses computer-controlled virtual reality technology to induce vection under controlled conditions for training, demonstration, testing, and research. Materials and Methods The VRVS enables the precise specification of the number and appearance of visual stimulus elements intended to generate vection, including photorealistic images. The VRVS can present visual stimuli on any OpenXR-capable virtual reality headset. The VRVS currently records 2 types of behavioral responses, button presses to indicate the presence and duration of vection and the voltage of a handheld linear potentiometer to indicate the presence, duration, and magnitude of vection. Results An approved test plan helped guide, organize, document, and validate the VRVS during its development. Under this plan, a pair of tests guided hardware and software development of the VRVS system. Although the first test verified the ability of the VRVS to generate and measure vection, it also demonstrated that the VRVS can quickly manipulate the visual stimuli from one trial to the next so that the VRVS can support complex experimental designs. The second test used these capabilities to verify that the VRVS can characterize vection in a more analytic fashion using a masking paradigm. Specifically, the test assessed whether random stimulus elements injected into the vection-inducing stimulus disrupted vection in a quantifiable fashion. This work opens the door to studies that characterize the necessary and sufficient visual elements for vection-based SD. Discussion The VRVS is currently used to research, develop, test, and evaluate mitigation strategies targeting vection-related SD in degraded visual environments. Similarly, the VRVS is supporting research to develop methods to predict individual differences in visually induced motion sickness susceptibilities. The VRVS is currently being integrated with a precision motor-controlled rotating Barany chair for multisensory studies. It should be noted that since the VRVS was developed to support United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory projects, it is an Army product representing government intellectual property and may be freely available to other government institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Recovering from neuromuscular injuries or conditions can be a challenging journey that involves complex surgeries and extensive physical rehabilitation. During this process, individuals often rely on orthotic devices to support and enable movement of the affected limb. However, users have criticized current commercially available powered orthotic devices for their bulky and heavy design. To address these limitations, we developed a novel powered myoelectric elbow orthosis. Materials and Methods The orthosis incorporates 3 mechanisms: a solenoid brake, a Bowden cable-powered constant torque elbow mechanism, and an extension limiter. The device controller and battery are in a backpack to reduce the weight on the affected arm. We performed extensive calculations and testing to ensure that the orthosis could withstand at least 15 Nm of elbow torque. We developed a custom software effectively control the orthosis, enhancing its usability and functionality. A certified orthotist fitted a subject who had undergone a gracilis free functioning muscle transfer surgery with the device. We studied the subject under Mayo clinic IRB no. 20-006849 and obtained objective measurements to assess the orthosis's impact on upper extremity functionality during daily activities. Results The results are promising since the orthosis significantly improved elbow flexion range of motion by 40° and reduced compensatory movements at the shoulder (humerothoracic joint) by 50°. Additionally, the subject was able to perform tasks which were not possible before, such as carrying a basket with weights, highlighting the enhanced functionality provided by the orthosis. Conclusion In brief, by addressing the limitations of existing devices, this novel powered myoelectric elbow orthosis offers individuals with neuromuscular injuries/conditions improved quality of life. Further research will expand the patient population and control mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The ongoing conflict in Ukraine from Russian invasion presents a critical challenge to medical planning in the context of multi-domain battle against a peer adversary deploying conventional weapon systems. The potential escalation of preventable morbidity and mortality, reaching a scale unprecedented since World War II, underscores the paramount importance of effective phases of care from Point of Injury (PoI)/Point of Wounding (PoW) or Point of Exposure (PoE) to Role 1 (R1) and Role 2 (R2) echelons of care. The NATO Vigorous Warrior (VW) Live Exercise (LIVEX) serves as a strategic platform for NATO and its partners, providing an opportunity to challenge operational concepts, experiment, innovate life-saving systems, and foster best practices across the Alliance. Materials and Methods This study delineates the strategic application of the VW LIVEX platform for the adaptation of the computational simulation software Simulation for the Assessment and Optimization of Medical Disaster Management (SIMEDIS) within the context of Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO). The SIMEDIS computer simulator plays a pivotal role by furnishing real-time insights into the evolving injury patterns of patients, employing an all-hazards approach. This simulator facilitates the examination of temporal shifts in medical timelines and the ramifications of resource scarcity against both morbidity and mortality outcomes. The VW LIVEX provides a unique opportunity for systematic validation to evaluate the results of the computer simulator in a realistic setting and identify gaps for future concepts of operations. Results We report the process and methodologies to be evaluated at the VW LIVEX in far forward and retrospective medical support operations. Using the SIMEDIS simulator, we can define battlefield scenarios for varied situations including artillery, drone strikes, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and explosive (CBRNe) attacks. Casualty health progressions versus time are dependent on each threat. Mortality is computed based on the concepts found in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) of "self-aid"/"buddy-aid" factoring in the application or absence of definitive traumatic hemorrhage control and on the distribution policy of victims to medical treatment facilities through appropriate Command and Control (C2) ("Scoop and Run" versus "Stay and Play"). The number of medical supplies available along with the number of transport resources and personnel are set and are scalable, with their effect on both morbidity and mortality quantified. Concept of Medical Operations can be optimized and interoperability enhanced when shared data are provided to C2 for prospective medical planning with retrospective data. The SIMEDIS simulator determines best practices of medical management for a myriad of injury types and tactical/operational situations relevant to policy making and battlefield medical planning for LSCO. Conclusions The VW LIVEX provides a Concept Development and Experimentation platform for SIMEDIS refinement and conclusive insights into medical planning to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality. Recommending further iterations of similar methodologies at other NATO LIVEXs for validation is crucial, as is information sharing across the Alliance and partners to ensure best practice standards are met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction With similar prevalence to injuries from fires, stings, and natural disasters, soft tissue injuries may occur from fireworks, industrial accidents, or other explosives. Surgeons are less familiar with treating high-velocity penetration from small debris, which may increase the chance of infection and subsequent fatality. Penetration risk curves have been developed to predict V50, the velocity with 50% probability of penetration, for various sized projectiles. However, there has been limited research using nonmetallic materials to achieve lower density projectiles less than 1 g cm−2, such as sand or rocks. Material and Methods To emulate the size and density of these energized particles, 14 ball bearings of stainless steel, silicon nitride, or Delrin acetal plastic ranging from 1.59 mm (1/16") to 9.53 mm (3/8") with sectional densities between 0.3 g cm−2 and 5  g cm−2 were launched toward porcine legs at a range of velocities to determine the penetration thresholds. High-speed videography was captured laterally at 40 kHz and impact velocity was captured using a physics-based tracking software. A generalized linear model with repeated measures and a logit link function was used to predict probability of penetration for each projectile. A total of 600 impacts were conducted to achieve at least 15 penetrating impacts for each projectile over a range of velocities. Results Higher impact velocities were required to penetrate the skin as sectional density of the projectile decreased, and the relationship between velocity and sectional density exhibited an exponential relationship (V 50, |$ = 184.6*S{D^{ - 0.385}}$|⁠ , R 2 = 0.95) with substantial change for nonlinearity in sectional densities ranging from 0.3 g cm−2 to 1  g cm−2. Compared to previous studies, the empirical relationship was consistent in the linear region (2-5  g cm−2), and novel experimentation filled in the gaps for sectional densities less than 1  g cm−2, which expressed more nonlinearity than previously estimated. For low-density projectiles with diameters of 1.59 (1/16") or 3.18 (1/8"), 32 impacts were lodged into the epidermis but did not penetrate through the dermis; however, penetration was defined as displacement into or through the dermis. Conclusions These experimental results may be used to develop and validate finite element simulations of low-density projectile impacts to address complex, multivariate loading conditions for the development of protective clothing to reduce wounding and subsequent infection rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Modern warfare operations are volatile, highly complex environments, placing immense physiological, psychological, and cognitive demands on the warfighter. To maximize cognitive performance and warfighter resilience and readiness, training must address psychological stress to enhance performance. Resilience in the face of adversity is fundamentally rooted in an individual's psychophysiological stress response and optimized through decreased susceptibility to the negative impact of trauma exposure. The current project aims to optimize warfighter expertise, resilience, adaptability, and performance by utilizing a validated Full Dive Virtual Reality (FDVR) training platform to provide high-fidelity, safe, and scalable, controlled stress exposure in highly realistic simulated training scenarios with the most advanced, immersive technology available. Materials and Methods Following Institutional Review Board approval and consent, 2 operators were fitted with high-fidelity virtual reality headsets with hand and eye tracking, full-body haptic feedback suits, a 360° omnidirectional treadmill, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared biometric monitors. Following acclimation, operators were placed in an industrial fire scenario and instructed to respond as a firefighter and paramedic, to search for and resuscitate any casualties, extinguish the fire, and exfiltrate safely. Following initial acclimation and after each demonstration (n  = 2), 3 semistructured interviews asked operators their perceptions and experiences related to FDVR, focusing on usability, feasibility, and safety. Biometric data were continuously recorded using the Caretaker Medical VitalStream. Results Proof-of-concept (POC) testing proved that the FDVR training platform is usable, safe, and feasible. It creates an immersive environment with physiological responses to mimic realistic Mass Casualty Events (MCEs). Using a case study approach, transcript data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three major themes emerged: Sensory deficits reduced realism, but sensory feedback improved fidelity, vestibular discord affected the virtual reality experience but only when the system did not respond naturally to operator movement after acclimation, and movement accommodations were made by operators to enhance usability, especially for fine motor movements. Biometric data analysis correlated timestamps from the VitalStream unit with operator responses to stress-inducing events (i.e. explosions, fires, and a deceased victim). Both operators exhibited significant physiological responses, including elevated heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure, particularly following explosions, encountering fire, and encountering the deceased victim within the training environment. Conclusions The FDVR training platform overcomes the obstacles of in-person simulation training and provides the closest to real-life experience available. It will allow warfighters to train with their teams in immersive environments that replicate the conditions in which they are expected to perform their duties. The POC demonstrated that physiological responses can be mapped to scenario events to allow tracking of stress responses, cognitive load, as well as performance, and decision-making of the warfighter. The POC only involved 2 operators, but served to prove that the platform was safe and effective. Future testing plans to include 200 warfighters in operational teams of 10 to 12 to further validate the training effectiveness of the FDVR platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Military fighter aircrew report high rates of cervical pain and injury. There is currently no consensus regarding the best training methods for this population. Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) and Luke AFB have multidisciplinary teams specializing in aircrew training, performance, and injury mitigation. All student pilots (SPs) completing Basic Course training at these locations engage in an 8-week Spine Training Program (STP). The STP originated at Luke AFB in 2020 and was expanded to Eglin AFB in 2022. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether the STP led to significant changes in the performance measure studied, Cervical Endurance Hold (CEH). Further, this study aimed to determine if the CEH training effect was independent of location of STP administration. We hypothesized that SPs would exhibit statistically significant CEH training adaptations irrespective of base location. Materials and Methods Air Force F-16 and F-35 SPs from Luke AFB and Eglin AFB were actively enrolled in the Basic Course and participated in the standardized STP from 2020 to 2023. The CEH test was administered prior to (intake) and following (exit) the 8-week STP. SPSS for Windows version 29 software (IBM, Armonk, NY) was used to retrospectively analyze the data from this study. Participants were excluded if they were unable to perform the CEH test at intake or exit. The study was approved by the Air Force Research Laboratory Institutional Review Board and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. Results One hundred and ninety-eight SPs (Luke AFB, males n  = 170, females n  = 12; Eglin AFB, males n  = 16) completed the STP program. There was no significant difference between intake and exit concerning age, height, weight, % body fat, and fat-free mass at Luke AFB or Eglin AFB (P  < 0.05). Statistically significant improvements in CEH were observed within all groups from intake to exit (P  < 0.001). When considering all participants collectively, there was a notable 33.6% increase in CEH from intake to exit (P  < 0.001) with an overall effect size of d  = 1.14. When analyzing specific subgroups, females from Luke AFB experienced a significant 20.4% increase in CEH (P  < 0.001, d  = 1.14), males from Luke AFB exhibited a significant 34.5% increase (P  < 0.001, d  = 1.09), and males from Eglin AFB demonstrated a significant increase of 55.7% in CEH (P  < 0.001, d  = 1.97). Conclusions This retrospective analysis showed significant improvements in the CEH across all groups following the completion of the STP. Furthermore, CEH results from both bases exhibited a large effect size indicating a meaningful change was found between intake and exit regardless of training location. These preliminary study results should be interpreted with caution as a control group was unable to be established. In the future, a randomized control trial should be performed to test the STP used in this study against other STP programs. This may better inform experts on the best spine training methods for fighter aircrew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The HHUS market is very complex due to a multitude of equipment variants and several different device manufacturers. Only a few studies have compared different HHUS devices under clinical conditions. We conducted a comprehensive prospective observer study with a direct comparison of nine different HHUS devices in terms of B-scan quality, device handling, and software features under abdominal imaging conditions. Methods: Nine different HHUS devices (Butterfly iQ+, Clarius C3HD3, D5CL Microvue, Philips Lumify, SonoEye Chison, SonoSite iViz, Mindray TE Air, GE Vscan Air, and Youkey Q7) were used in a prospective setting by a total of 12 experienced examiners on the same subjects in each case and then assessed using a detailed questionnaire regarding B-scan quality, handling, and usability of the software. The evaluation was carried out using a point scale (5 points: very good; 1 point: insufficient). Results: In the overall evaluation, Vscan Air and SonoEye Chison achieved the best ratings. They achieved nominal ratings between "good" (4 points) and "very good" (5 points). Both devices differed significantly (p < 0.01) from the other seven devices tested. Among the HHUS devices, Clarius C3HD3 and Vscan Air achieved the best results for B-mode quality, D5CL Microvue achieved the best results for device handling, and SonoEye Chison and Vscan Air achieved the best results for software. Conclusions: This is the first comprehensive study to directly compare different HHUS devices in a head-to-head manner. While the majority of the tested devices demonstrated satisfactory performance, notable discrepancies were observed between them. In particular, the B-scan quality exhibited considerable variation, which may have implications for the clinical application of HHUS. The findings of this study can assist in the selection of an appropriate HHUS device for specific applications, considering the clinical objectives and acknowledging the inherent limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GelBox is open-source software that was developed with the goal of enhancing rigor, reproducibility, and transparency when analyzing gels and immunoblots. It combines image adjustments (cropping, rotation, brightness, and contrast), background correction, and band-fitting in a single application. Users can also associate each lane in an image with metadata (for example, sample type). GelBox data files integrate the raw data, supplied metadata, image adjustments, and band-level analyses in a single file to improve traceability. GelBox has a user-friendly interface and was developed using MATLAB. The software, installation instructions, and tutorials, are available at https://campbell-muscle-lab.github.io/GelBox/. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: GelBox is open-source software that was developed to enhance rigor, reproducibility, and transparency when analyzing gels and immunoblots. It combines image adjustments (cropping, rotation, brightness, and contrast), background correction, and band-fitting in a single application. Users can also associate each lane in an image with metadata (for example, sample type). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GCDkit.Mineral is a platform-independent (Windows/Mac/Linux) freeware for recalculation, plotting, and statistical treatment of mineral data obtained by microbeam techniques, typically an electron microprobe. It is written in R, a language providing a feature-rich environment for statistics and data visualization. This new program imports compositional data in various commonly used file formats or retrieves them from the clipboard. Routines are available for data management, i.e., grouping, searching, and generation of subsets, using regular expressions and Boolean logic. Raw compositional data (wt%) are recalculated to atoms per formula unit (apfu) based on a required number of O equivalents, atoms, or charges, with or without FeII/FeIII estimation by various methods. Analyses may then be recast to structural formulae, i.e., the atoms are distributed into appropriate crystallographic sites. For minerals forming solid solutions, the molar percentages of end-members are computed. All the data may be treated statistically, either by built-in functions for descriptive and multivariate statistics or using the wealth of tools provided by the wide R community. Raw and recalculated mineral data may be plotted on assorted binary and ternary plots and boxplots. Most are defined as internal templates that provide a means to make later changes to the plot (zooming and scaling, adding comments or legend, identifying data points, altering the size or color of the plotting symbols, etc.). The publication-ready graphics may be saved into several vector- (PostScript, PDF, and WMF) and bitmap-based (e.g., PNG, TIF, and JPG) formats, ready to be imported into a professional graphical, presentation, or desktop publishing software. Importantly, the graphical templates are used as a basis for classification. The general classification routine looks for the name of the polygon within the diagram (= graphical template), into which the analysis falls according to its x–y coordinates. The outcome may be either the name of a mineral or a link to another diagram in the case of more complex classification schemes. Following the rules of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), in some cases, the classification is not done graphically but using prescribed algorithms. The class mechanism in R provides an elegant solution to the computational problems presented by the differing requirements of each mineral group. By assigning each mineral species to a particular class, all algorithms may be implemented as mutually independent but mineral group-specific methods. The default recalculation options for each mineral class are stored externally in a small and simple text file. The program is designed to cater to three potential user groups. For users with no familiarity with R, the program is fully menu-driven and contains embedded default recalculation options for many common rock-forming minerals. More experienced users may easily tweak these parameters, as they are saved in a logically structured plain text file. Seasoned R users may invoke GCDkit.Mineral in command line mode, use batch scripts or Python-driven notebooks (e.g., of project Jupyter), or modify and develop new recalculations or plugins. The lucid, open, and modular design thus makes GCDkit.Mineral a versatile workbench for everyday use, as well as a promising platform for community-driven development. The GCDkit family of R tools, including GCDkit. Mineral, is distributed through the WWW. The current version may be downloaded from http://mineral.gcdkit.org. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Spinal cord injuries often lead to significant motor and sensory deficits, as well as autonomic dysfunction. Compared with normal spinal injuries, combat-related spinal injuries (CRSIs) are usually more complex and challenging to treat because of multiple traumas, firing-line treatments, and arduous initial treatments on a battlefield. Yet numerous issues remain unresolved about clinical treatment and scientific research. The enhancement of CRSI diagnosis and treatment quality by military surgeons and nurses is imperative. The objective of this study is to identify the frontiers, hotspots, and trends among recent research, summarize the development process of clinical trials, and visualize them systematically. Materials and Methods We collected publications from CRSI based on the Core Collection of Web of Science for 30 years from January 1, 1993 to May 1, 2023.Visualizations of the knowledge maps were produced using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software. We examined annual trends of publications and distribution patterns, the number of publications, as well as the research hotspots. Results Among 201 documents, it was found that there was a stable upward trend in publications. There were 2 rapid growth stages during the 30 years. Among all countries, the USA contributed the most publications, along with the highest influence and the most international cooperation. Military Medicine was the journal of the maximum publications, whereas the Spine journal was the most influential one. Keyword co-occurrence analysis and trend topics analysis revealed that these articles focused 5 distinct categories for CRSI. Conclusions As the first bibliometric study focused on CRSI, we demonstrated the evolution of the field and provided future research directions. We summarized the hotspots and 5 clusters published. This would serve as a useful guide for clinicians and scientists regarding CRSI global impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LASTU is a tool for searching for Finnish language stimulus words for psycholinguistic studies. The tool allows the user to query a number of properties, including forms, lemmas, frequencies, and morphological features. It also includes two new measures for quantifying lemma and form ambiguity. The tool is written in Python and is available for Windows and macOS platforms. It is available at https://osf.io/j8v6b/. Included with the tool is a database based on a massive corpus of dependency-parsed Finnish language data crawled from the Internet (over 5 billion tokens). While LASTU has been developed for researchers working on the Finnish language, the openly available implementation can also be applied to other languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding gender-specific differences in patterns of cartilage loss can improve our knowledge of the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) development and progression and may inform clinical trials of treatments for KOA. The goal of our observational study was to examine gender differences in patterns of cartilage loss in the central weight-bearing regions of the femur. We measured cartilage volume change in the indexed knee of 700 subjects with Kellgren-Lawrence 1, 2, or 3 from the Osteoarthritis Initiative for four follow-up periods (baseline [BL] to 24 mo, BL to 48 mo, BL to 72 mo, and BL to 96 mo) using the local area cartilage segmentation (LACS) method. Briefly, the LACS method uses robust coordinate systems fixed to anatomical landmarks to measure patterns of change in cartilage volume in sub-regions using responsiveness heat maps. We observed a statistically significant gender difference in cartilage change in the medial femur (MF), lateral femur (LF), and medial tibia. The heat maps showed loss was primarily in the posterior central weight-bearing portion of the LF and more general in the LT and MF. Similar patterns were observed for each of the four follow-up periods. The LACS method was capable of illustrating gender-specific differences in patterns of cartilage loss that may offer insight into the variation of gender differences in the natural history of KOA and may be useful in evaluating the benefit of interventions for KOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter focuses on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation of a Class A Middleton noise estimator, aiming to enhance its efficiency and performance. The inherent algorithm of the estimator undergoes strategic enhancements, leveraging median approximations. This endeavor leads to the development of a more streamlined and expeditious architecture. The research not only introduces the refined architecture but also conducts a comparative analysis of its attributes. The outcomes of this investigation show the benefits of algorithmic optimization, as the execution times achieved in hardware significantly surpass those attainable through software-based implementation. This underscores the practicality of the algorithmic refinement and also the notable advantages of the FPGA-based execution in terms of computational speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programming for swarm robots is challenging due to platform diversity and the gap between individual and swarm behaviors. To tackle this challenge, we propose a component-based software synthesis method from a high-level specification. To support heterogeneous robots and maximize code reuse, we adopt a component-based approach that classifies software components into three categories: 1) robot; 2) algorithm; and 3) consensus. We generate a task graph model for an individual robot from a high-level specification and use a software synthesizer to generate the target code from the task graph model. Through a proof-of-concept implementation with a group searching application, the viability of the proposed technique is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the positive predictive value (PPV) of artificial intelligence (AI) in detecting pneumothorax on chest radiographs (CXRs) and its affecting factors. Patients determined to have pneumothorax on CXR by a commercial AI software from March to December 2021 were included retrospectively. The PPV was evaluated according to the true-positive (TP) and false-positive (FP) diagnosis determined by radiologists. To know the factors that might influence the results, logistic regression with generalized estimating equation was used. Among a total of 87,658 CXRs, 308 CXRs with 331 pneumothoraces from 283 patients were finally included. The overall PPV of AI about pneumothorax was 41.1% (TF:FP = 136:195). The PA view (odds ratio [OR], 29.837; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15.062–59.107), high abnormality score (OR, 1.081; 95% CI, 1.066–1.097), large amount of pneumothorax (OR, 1.005; 95% CI, 1.003–1.007), presence of ipsilateral atelectasis (OR, 3.508; 95% CI, 1.509–8.156) and a small amount of ipsilateral pleural effusion (OR, 5.277; 95% CI, 2.55–10.919) had significant effects on the increasing PPV. Therefore, PPV for pneumothorax diagnosis using AI can vary based on patients' factors, image-acquisition protocols, and the presence of concurrent lesions on CXR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While standard polysomnography has revealed the importance of the sleeping brain in health and disease, more specific insight into the relevant brain circuits requires high-density electroencephalography (EEG). However, identifying and handling sleep EEG artifacts becomes increasingly challenging with higher channel counts and/or volume of recordings. Whereas manual cleaning is timeconsuming, subjective, and often yields data loss (e.g., complete removal of channels or epochs), automated approaches suitable and practical for overnight sleep EEG remain limited, especially when control over detection and repair behavior is desired. Here, we introduce a flexible approach for automated cleaning of multichannel sleep recordings, as part of the free Matlab-based toolbox SleepTrip. Key functionality includes 1) channel-wise detection of various artifact types encountered in sleep EEG, 2) channel- and time-resolved marking of data segments for repair through interpolation, and 3) visualization options to review and monitor performance. Functionality for Independent Component Analysis is also included. Extensive customization options allow tailoring cleaning behavior to data properties and analysis goals. By enabling computationally efficient and flexible automated data cleaning, this tool helps to facilitate fundamental and clinical sleep EEG research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Orofacial clefts are one of the most common congenital malformations of the fetal face and ultrasound is mainly responsible for its diagnosis. It is difficult to view the fetal palate, so there is currently no unified standard for fetal palate screening, and the diagnosis of cleft palate is not included in the relevant prenatal ultrasound screening guidelines. Many prenatal diagnoses for cleft palate are missed due to the lack of effective screening methods. Therefore, it is imperative to increase the display rate of the fetal palate, which would improve the detection rate and diagnostic accuracy for cleft palate. We aim to introduce a fetal palate screening software based on the "sequential sector scan though the oral fissure", an effective method for fetal palate screening which was verified by our follow up results and three-dimensional ultrasound and to evaluate its feasibility and clinical practicability. Methods: A software was designed and programmed based on "sequential sector scan through the oral fissure" and three-dimensional ultrasound. The three-dimensional ultrasound volume data of the fetal face were imported into the software. Then, the median sagittal plane was taken as the reference interface, the anterior upper margin of the mandibular alveolar bone was selected as the fulcrum, the interval angles, and the number of layers of the sector scan were set, after which the automatic scan was performed. Thus, the sector scan sequential planes of the mandibular alveolar bone, pharynx, soft palate, hard palate, and maxillary alveolar bone were obtained in sequence to display and evaluate the palate. In addition, the feasibility and accuracy of the software in fetal palate displaying and screening was evaluated by actual clinical cases. Results: Full views of the normal fetal palates and the defective parts of the cleft palates were displayed, and relatively clear sequential tomographic images and continuous dynamic videos were formed after the three-dimensional volume data of 10 normal fetal palates and 10 cleft palates were imported into the software. Conclusions: The software can display fetal palates more directly which might allow for a new method of fetal palate screening and cleft palate diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung sound analysis parameters have been reported to be useful biomarkers for evaluating airway condition. We developed an automatic lung sound analysis software program for infants and children based on lung sound spectral curves of frequency and power by leveraging machine learning (ML) technology. Methods: To put this software program into clinical practice, in Study 1, the reliability and reproducibility of the software program using data from younger children were examined. In Study 2, the relationship between lung sound parameters and respiratory flow (L/s) was evaluated using data from older children. In Study 3, we conducted a survey using the ATS-DLD questionnaire to evaluate the clinical usefulness. The survey focused on the history of wheezing and allergies, among healthy 3-year-old infants, and then measured lung sounds. The clinical usefulness was evaluated by comparing the questionnaire results with the results of the new lung sound parameters. Results: In Studies 1 and 2, the parameters of the new software program demonstrated excellent reproducibility and reliability, and were not affected by airflow (L/s). In Study 3, infants with a history of wheezing showed lower FAP0 and RPF75p (p < 0.001 and p = 0.025, respectively) and higher PAP0 (p = 0.001) than healthy infants. Furthermore, infants with asthma/asthma-like bronchitis showed lower FAP0 (p = 0.002) and higher PAP0 (p = 0.001) than healthy infants. Conclusions: Lung sound parameters obtained using the ML algorithm were able to accurately assess the respiratory condition of infants. These parameters are useful for the early detection and intervention of childhood asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the research carried out in the field of processing systems and the production process of oil-hydraulic cylinders of large dimensions and power, the specifics of fluid power transmission, in the functioning of hydropower facilities, were analyzed. The research also includes the optimization of the physical–mathematical model of non-stationary processes, which take place inside the chamber of a large hydrocylinder. In parallel with the definition of the optimization model, the work parameters that affect the process of fluid flow and piston movement were determined. The operating and technological construction parameters of the hydraulic cylinder, which most significantly affect the operation of the hydraulic cylinder, were defined, and the observed parameters were optimized, based on which a prototype with improved characteristics compared to existing solutions was realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Internal Radiotherapy, radiopharmaceutical dosimetry provides an accurate estimation of absorbed radiation doses to organs at risk and tumours. In this paper Velocity Theranostics (Varian Medical Systems), is investigated. Its performances are compared to OLINDA 2.0 in both an anthropomorphic phantom and a group of patients. Velocity Theranostics was evaluated with a cohort of patients (15) treated with 177Lu radiolabelled peptides. The absorbed doses were calculated for the liver, spleen and kidneys, separately with OLINDA 2.0 and Velocity Theranostics using the same set of images. To reduce the contribution of Time-integrated activities (TIAs) on the results and to merely compare the dose calculation algorithms, the OLINDA 2.0 absorbed doses were calculated using the TIA values calculated in Velocity Theranostics. The absorbed doses from Velocity Theranostics were found to be correlated with the doses from OLINDA 2.0 with the TIAs from Theranostics (Lin's coefficient = 0.894 and R2 = 0.9531). Absorbed doses from Velocity Theranostics are reliable at least as reliable as those for OLINDA 2.0, with many advantages regarding accuracy of calculations and robustness. In conclusion, the personalisation of dosimetry may be totally fulfilled by computational systems for absorbed dose in internal radiotherapy, equipped with a complete workflow and borrowed from external radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research is the most unwanted, and orphaned part of every discipline in Pakistan. Pakistan Medical & Dental Commission, Higher Education Commission (HEC) or numerous medical universities in the country have been responsible for promoting research, but their responsibilities are finished after counting the number of published papers by any candidate for promotion. HEC has developed a software - called HJRS, but you visit this site and find a jumbled-up data which is four years old. Out of 58 listed Pakistani medical journals only 4 are in 'W' category. Many of the journals have been derecognized, but listed. Research related software like plagiarism check, reference actuality check, reference accuracy check, language etc. are hard to find by the average researcher. 'Anaesthesia, Pain & Intensive Care' was started in 1997, with the objective to foster the culture of research in the members of the neglected specialty of anesthesia, and the journal engaged renowned research fellows to write on the research related topics and published. This invited editorial sheds some light on the barriers to research and the suggested measures to promote research in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium imaging, especially two-photon imaging, has become essential in neuroscience for studying neuronal and astrocytic activity under in vivo and in vitro conditions. Current advances in the development of calcium sensors as well as imaging hardware enable high-frequency measurements of calcium signals in hundreds of cells simultaneously. The analysis of these large datasets requires special tools and usually a certain level of programming experience. Despite advancements in calcium imaging analysis software development, significant gaps remain, particularly for data acquired at a high sampling rate that would allow for the spectral analysis of calcium signals. The FluoAnalysis MATLAB toolbox addresses these gaps by offering a comprehensive solution for analyzing simultaneously measured calcium imaging and electrophysiological data. It features both GUI-based and command-line approaches, emphasizing frequency domain analysis to reveal network-level oscillatory signals linked to single-cell activity. In addition, the toolbox puts special emphasis on differentiating between astrocytes and neurons, revealing the interactions between the network activity of the two major cell types of the brain. It facilitates a streamlined workflow for data loading, ROI identification, cell classification, fluorescence intensity calculation, spectral analysis, and report generation, supporting both manual and automated high-throughput analysis. This versatile platform enables the comprehensive analysis of large imaging datasets. In conclusion, the FluoAnalysis MATLAB toolbox provides a robust and versatile platform for the integrated analysis of calcium imaging and electrophysiological data, supporting diverse neuroscience research applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its first release in 2016, the Cambridge Structural Database Python application programming interface (CSD Python API) has seen steady uptake within the community that the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre serves. This article reviews the history of scripting interfaces, demonstrating the need, and then briefly outlines the technical structure of the API. It describes the reach of the CSD Python API, provides a selected review of its impact and gives some illustrative examples of what scientists can do with it. The article concludes with speculation as to how such endeavours will evolve over the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The use of cutting‐edge omics technology to edible fruits has transformed the disciplines of fruit biology, pre‐ and post‐harvest investigations, metabolite biosynthesis and the identification of novel therapeutic fruit bioactives for health by leveraging varied omics data. Combining modern analytical chromatography tools (LC, GC) with mass spectrometry has significantly improved our ability to examine complex fruit tissues or extracted components, advancing our understanding of the fruit metabolome. Studies aiming at understanding the full metabolome and future quality characteristics have concentrated on quantifying the number of metabolites in edible fruit species and cultivars from diverse geographical locations. These studies have also helped to develop new databases for precise and comprehensive qualitative analysis of metabolites, allowing for the analysis of metabolite biosynthesis pathways to identify differences in metabolites among developed hybrids, metabolite origins and potential derivatives. Bioactive metabolite information is currently being utilised to manage illnesses, provide nutrition and creation of novel food products. Furthermore, this research has helped us better understand fruit quality and how metabolites interact with biological systems. In conclusion, this review emphasises the importance of metabolomics approaches in studying fruit metabolomes in the context of current research perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft condensed matter is challenging to study due to the vast time and length scales that are necessary to accurately represent complex systems and capture their underlying physics. Multiscale simulations are necessary to study processes that have disparate time and/or length scales, which abound throughout biology and other complex systems. Herein we present ezAlign, an open-source software for converting coarse-grained molecular dynamics structures to atomistic representation, allowing multiscale modeling of biomolecular systems. The ezAlign v1.1 software package is publicly available for download at github.com/LLNL/ezAlign. Its underlying methodology is based on a simple alignment of an atomistic template molecule, followed by position-restraint energy minimization, which forces the atomistic molecule to adopt a conformation consistent with the coarse-grained molecule. The molecules are then combined, solvated, minimized, and equilibrated with position restraints. Validation of the process was conducted on a pure POPC membrane and compared with other popular methods to construct atomistic membranes. Additional examples, including surfactant self-assembly, membrane proteins, and more complex bacterial and human plasma membrane models, are also presented. By providing these examples, parameter files, code, and an easy-to-follow recipe to add new molecules, this work will aid future multiscale modeling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of law as a social process should combine an analysis of structures from a political economy perspective with a sociological focus on the practices of lawyering in mediating social relations and conflicts through the formulation and interpretation of legal texts. This approach is applied here to software, which has become the oxygen of the world economy, powering the digitalisation that has transformed economic activities and social life. The forms this has taken have been moulded by lawyers, battling over intellectual property rights in computer programs, enshrining them in national law and international standards, as well as devising the international tax avoidance strategies that have helped propel the giant digital-tech transnational corporations to global dominance. These contests have taken place through processes of formulation and interpretation of the legal concepts that both reflect and shape social struggles over economic and political power, mediated by law, in contemporary corporate capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, sustainability has become increasingly relevant in different areas of industry. However, from the point of view of the software companies, the concept of software sustainability is still underdeveloped, as software emissions are not as easily observable as in other sectors, such as the power generation. A starting point for software development companies to tackle software sustainability is the inclusion of actions focused on improving software sustainability within their corporate social responsibility (CSR). For this reason, in this work, a set of specific software sustainability actions aligned with ISO 26000 corporate social responsibility standard is proposed. By including these actions in the CSR of software companies, they can improve sustainability aspects associated with software. In addition, the proposal was applied to six leading companies in the software sector in order to check its suitability and applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current digital landscape, artificial intelligence-driven automation has revolutionized efficiency in various areas, enabling significant time and resource savings. However, the reliability and efficiency of software systems remain crucial challenges. To address this issue, a generation of self-adaptive software has emerged with the ability to rectify errors and autonomously optimize performance. This study focuses on the development of self-adaptive software designed for pre-programmed tasks on the Internet. The software stands out for its self-adaptation, automation, fault tolerance, efficiency, and robustness. Various technologies such as Python, MySQL, Firebase, and others were employed to enhance the adaptability of the software. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the software, with a continuously growing self-adaptation rate and improvements in response times. Probability models were applied to analyze the software's effectiveness in fault situations. The implementation of virtual cables and multiprocessing significantly improved performance, achieving higher execution speed and scalability. In summary, this study presents self-adaptive software that rectifies errors, optimizes performance, and maintains functionality in the presence of faults, contributing to efficiency in Internet task automation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A major stream of research on symptom checkers aims at evaluating the technology's predictive accuracy, but apart from general trends, the results are marked by high variability. Several authors suggest that this variability might in part be due to different assessment methods and a lack of standardization. To improve the reliability of symptom checker evaluation studies, several approaches have been suggested, including standardizing input procedures, the generation of test vignettes, and the assignment of gold standard solutions for these vignettes. Recently, we suggested a third approach––test-theoretic metrics for standardized performance reporting–– to allow systematic and comprehensive comparisons of symptom checker performance. However, calculating these metrics is time-consuming and error prone, which could hamper the use and effectiveness of these metrics. Results: We developed the R package symptomcheckR as an open-source software to assist researchers in calculating standard metrics to evaluate symptom checker performance individually and comparatively and produce publication-ready figures. These metrics include accuracy (by triage level), safety of advice (i.e., rate of correctly or overtriaged cases), comprehensiveness (i.e., how many cases could be entered or were assessed), inclination to overtriage (i.e., how risk-averse a symptom checker is) and a capability comparison score (i.e., a score correcting for case difficulty and comprehensiveness that enables a fair and reliable comparison of different symptom checkers). Each metric can be obtained using a single command and visualized with another command. For the analysis of individual or the comparison of multiple symptom checkers, single commands can be used to produce a comprehensive performance profile that complements the standard focus on accuracy with additional metrics that reveal strengths and weaknesses of symptom checkers. Conclusions: Our package supports ongoing efforts to improve the quality of vignette-based symptom checker evaluation studies by means of standardized methods. Specifically, with our package, adhering to reporting standards and metrics becomes easier, simple, and time efficient. Ultimately, this may help users gain a more systematic understanding of the strengths and limitations of symptom checkers for different use cases (e.g., all-purpose symptom checkers for general medicine versus symptom checkers that aim at improving triage in emergency departments), which can improve patient safety and resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, scholarly editions of music have identified a managing editor and individual volume editors. Other contributors might receive an acknowledgement with a vague description of activities, with institutional support often appearing in the printed metadata. This model’s emphasis on single scholars perpetuates a myth, relying heretofore upon predominantly invisible labour. Digital editions require interdisciplinary collaboration combining musicological skills, technical skills, and infrastructural resources, thus challenging this model’s ability to endure. Moreover, digital editions proffer opportunities for reconsidering the roles, workflows, and knowledge structures involved in critical musical scholarship.Situated at the intersection of currently running and recently completed digital projects, continuously emergent tools, sociology, and philosophy, this essay reflects on the role of the editor in the digital age. Beginning with Howard Becker’s art worlds model of creative communities, it suggests a model based on FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) principles and the Music Encoding Initiative (MEI). MEI affords expansive metadata recording for contributors – composers, librettists, performers, editors, researchers, funders, etc. – to a work and its embodiments, which in turn enables broader visibility and empowers greater acknowledgement of the labour involved in such projects. Alongside other digital projects, this essay pays particular attention to how these technological and team-focused concepts are at- and in-play in the Reger-Werkausgabe Online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have significantly enhanced our understanding of the genetic basis of complex diseases. Despite the technological advancements, gaps in our understanding remain, partly due to small effect sizes and inadequate coverage of genetic variation. Multiancestry GWAS meta‐analysis (MAGMA) addresses these challenges by integrating genetic data from diverse populations, thereby increasing power to detect loci and improving fine‐mapping resolution to identify causal variants across different ancestry groups. This review provides an overview of the protocols, statistical methods, and software of MAGMA, as well as highlighting some challenges associated with this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gravimetric forward method is crucial in geophysical applications for a gravimetric interpretation of the Earth's inner structure. In this study, we present the gravimetric forward modelling open‐source software that incorporates a graphical user interface. This software allows data preparation, manipulation and result interpretation both spatially and spectrally. For spatial domain modelling, it uses prism and tesseroid elements, whereas in the spectral domain, it extends Parker's formulas within specified boundaries. The software's utility is demonstrated through synthetic models and real‐world applications, including calculating corrections for topography, sediments and consolidated crust using ETOPO1 and CRUST1.0 models. Performance comparisons show that Parker's method delivers computation speed superior to that of the prism, tesseroid and Terrain gravity forward (TGF) software, with variances ranging within ±12 mGal for Gz${{G}_z}$ and ±0.3 E for Gzz${{G}_{zz}}$ across different geological scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Characterization of microbial growth is of both fundamental and applied interest. Modern platforms can automate collection of high-throughput microbial growth curves, necessitating the development of computational tools to handle and analyze these data to produce insights. Results: To address this need, here I present a newly-developed R package: gcplyr. gcplyr can flexibly import growth curve data in common tabular formats, and reshapes it under a tidy framework that is flexible and extendable, enabling users to design custom analyses or plot data with popular visualization packages. gcplyr can also incorporate metadata and generate or import experimental designs to merge with data. Finally, gcplyr carries out model-free (non-parametric) analyses. These analyses do not require mathematical assumptions about microbial growth dynamics, and gcplyr is able to extract a broad range of important traits, including growth rate, doubling time, lag time, maximum density and carrying capacity, diauxie, area under the curve, extinction time, and more. Conclusions: gcplyr makes scripted analyses of growth curve data in R straightforward, streamlines common data wrangling and analysis steps, and easily integrates with common visualization and statistical analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first established library in the 7th century B.C., libraries have played a main role in civilization development due to their ability to help humans reach the required information easily. However, in the last decades, after the huge propagation of information from various sources, including the addition of books, other data types such as audio, video, and images have emerged. Therefore, finding an integrated system to manage this huge amount of library data became necessary. As a result, the integrated library system (ILS) improved its efficiency and ability to manage various and enormous amounts of data in addition to following the lending processes and inventory management. There are many commercial and open-source integrated systems used in libraries; selecting the best open-source integrated library system to achieve the library requirements is still challenging due to the variety of available libraries. Although these libraries are open source and freely available, the installation process requires a long time and expert effort, making selecting the best library system a sensitive and important mission. This survey demonstrates the most famous opensource integrated library systems and the essential technologies used to build them, along with the system specifications, to help librarians and educational and academic institutions select the best one for their requirements. Through reviewing the previous academic research, it was noticed that many of them had the task of selecting the right ILS, but most of them did not handle the programming principles based on it, which is the milestone in its building, so we recommended using an automated technique to evaluate ILS and select the best one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of simulation software applicable to the various stages of petroleum engineering facilitates decision-making and, at the same time, minimizes possible failures, problems, and incidents during each well intervention. In addition, a computer tool provides the user with instant and accurate results that can be used during personnel training and higher education. The objective of the present work was to develop an open-source computational tool with a graphical, numerical, and schematic interface to facilitate the teaching and learning of operations related to primary cementing. The tool considers four sections: (a) wellbore diagram, (b) identification of the relation between volumetry and the geometric design of the well, (c) integration of the mechanical state with the number of intervals, slurry design, and operating characteristics of the pumps, and (d) the wellbore diagram integrated by drilling, displacement and slurry fluids, according to each of the cementing stages. Among the results, it was combined programming with specialized technical and scientific material, considering academic and field experience characteristics. The program is a versatile tool that integrates the general mechanical state and each of the five stages with a maximum depth of 5,000 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite progress in computer automated solutions, constitutional isomer verification by NMR using one‐ and two‐dimensional data sets is still, in the main, a manual, user‐intensive activity that is challenging for a number of reasons. These include the problem of simultaneously keeping track of the information from a number of separate NMR experiments and the difficulty of another researcher subsequently verifying the assignments made without having to independently repeat the whole analysis. This paper describes a graphical interactive approach that overcomes some of these problems. By using concepts used to visualise graph networks, we have been able to represent the NMR data in a manner that highlights directly the link between the different NMR experiments and the molecule of interest. Furthermore, by making the graph networks interactive, a user can easily validate and correct the assignment and understand the decisions made in arriving at the solution. We have developed a usable proof‐of‐concept computer program, 'simpleNMR', written in Python to illustrate the ideas and approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of animal sounds in biology and ecology relies heavily upon time–frequency (TF) visualisation, most commonly using the short‐time Fourier transform (STFT) spectrogram. This method, however, has inherent bias towards either temporal or spectral details that can lead to misinterpretation of complex animal sounds. An ideal TF visualisation should accurately convey the structure of the sound in terms of both frequency and time, however, the STFT often cannot meet this requirement. We evaluate the accuracy of four TF visualisation methods (superlet transform [SLT], continuous wavelet transform [CWT] and two STFTs) using a synthetic test signal. We then apply these methods to visualise sounds of the Chagos blue whale, Asian elephant, southern cassowary, eastern whipbird, mulloway fish and the American crocodile. We show that the SLT visualises the test signal with 18.48%–28.08% less error than the other methods. A comparison between our visualisations of animal sounds and their literature descriptions indicates that the STFT's bias may have caused misinterpretations in describing pygmy blue whale songs and elephant rumbles. We suggest that use of the SLT to visualise low‐frequency animal sounds may prevent such misinterpretations. Finally, we employ the SLT to develop 'BASSA', an open‐source, GUI software application that offers a no‐code, user‐friendly tool for analysing short‐duration recordings of low‐frequency animal sounds for the Windows platform. The SLT visualises low‐frequency animal sounds with improved accuracy, in a user‐friendly format, minimising the risk of misinterpretation while requiring less technical expertise than the STFT. Using this method could propel advances in acoustics‐driven studies of animal communication, vocal production methods, phonation and species identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revisiting the history of the development of software and communication technologies, this article demonstrates that while the early techno-utopian theories have been balanced by more sombre approaches, the emancipatory potential of productions whose outputs do not take the commodity form deserves further theoretical reflection. Social form and value-form literature provides a way to rethink publicly financed activities and activities of software communities as a variety of social forms of wealth and productions within capitalist social formations. Public wealth, it is argued, is a useful umbrella concept to approach the forms of wealth in the sphere of software, media and communication. With digitally storable matter, due to its replicability at near zero cost, it is of utmost importance that the state provides an institutional framework, primarily for capital, but also for public wealth, to be coded. In this setting, legal form, its content and function play a key role in the contested reproduction between forms of public wealth and capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Department of Community Medicine was tasked with SARS-CoV2-IgG antibody serosurvey by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, sampling 5000 people spread over an area of 181 sq. km. There were no real-time mapping apps available for field surveys. Aims: Our aim was to develop an easy-to-use GIS system with a shallow learning curve and real-time mapping for field surveys which could be easily deployed. Materials and Methods: The program was developed using PHP hosted on a virtual private server and using Google Maps Application Programming Interface (API). The field investigator shares location through telegram to a bot which parses message, decodes geo-coordinates, team information, and time stamp. The program then passes the information for further processing, viewing, or analyzing. The map is generated using Google Maps API at user request. The teams are segregated using color coding. Results: The data can be accessed at http://test.techlabel.in/. Over 638 households from which samples were taken were plotted by the data from ten teams over ten days. Real-time feedbacks were possible as the study progressed. Households plotted on the maps were verified by the respective field investigators after the study had completed and showed good accuracy. Conclusion: The introduction of GIS software such as ours could bring about a positive impact on small- and medium-scale field researches. The quality and internal validity of small-scale field researches could certainly be improved by using GIS programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population‐adjusted indirect comparison (PAIC) is an increasingly used technique for estimating the comparative effectiveness of different treatments for the health technology assessments when head‐to‐head trials are unavailable. Three commonly used PAIC methods include matching‐adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC), simulated treatment comparison (STC), and multilevel network meta‐regression (ML‐NMR). MAIC enables researchers to achieve balanced covariate distribution across two independent trials when individual participant data are only available in one trial. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the MAIC methods, including their theoretical derivation, implicit assumptions, and connection to calibration estimation in survey sampling. We discuss the nuances between anchored and unanchored MAIC, as well as their required assumptions. Furthermore, we implement various MAIC methods in a user‐friendly R Shiny application Shiny‐MAIC. To our knowledge, it is the first Shiny application that implements various MAIC methods. The Shiny‐MAIC application offers choice between anchored or unanchored MAIC, choice among different types of covariates and outcomes, and two variance estimators including bootstrap and robust standard errors. An example with simulated data is provided to demonstrate the utility of the Shiny‐MAIC application, enabling a user‐friendly approach conducting MAIC for healthcare decision‐making. The Shiny‐MAIC is freely available through the link: https://ziren.shinyapps.io/Shiny_MAIC/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation of DNA polymorphism datasets for analysis is an important step in evolutionary genetic and molecular ecology studies. Ever‐growing dataset sizes make this step time consuming, but few convenient software tools are available to facilitate processing of large‐scale datasets including thousands of sequence alignments. Here I report "processor of sequences v4" (proSeq4)—a user‐friendly multiplatform software for preparation and evolutionary genetic analyses of genome‐ or transcriptome‐scale sequence polymorphism datasets. The program has an easy‐to‐use graphic user interface and is designed to process and analyse many thousands of datasets. It supports over two dozen file formats, includes a flexible sequence editor and various tools for data visualization, quality control and most commonly used evolutionary genetic analyses, such as NJ‐phylogeny reconstruction, DNA polymorphism analyses and coalescent simulations. Command line tools (e.g. vcf2fasta) are also provided for easier integration into bioinformatic pipelines. Apart of molecular ecology and evolution research, proSeq4 may be useful for teaching, e.g. for visual illustration of different shapes of phylogenies generated with coalescent simulations in different scenarios. ProSeq4 source code and binaries for Windows, MacOS and Ubuntu are available from https://sourceforge.net/projects/proseq/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycans participate in a vast number of recognition systems in diverse organisms in health and in disease. However, glycans cannot be sequenced because there is no sequencer technology that can fully characterize them. There is no "template" for replicating glycans as there are for amino acids and nucleic acids. Instead, glycans are synthesized by a complicated orchestration of multitudes of glycosyltransferases and glycosidases. Thus glycans can vary greatly in structure, but they are not genetically reproducible and are usually isolated in minute amounts. To characterize (sequence) the glycome (defined as the glycans in a particular organism, tissue, cell, or protein), glycosylation pathway prediction using in silico methods based on glycogene expression data, and glycosylation simulations have been attempted. Since many of the mammalian glycogenes have been identified and cloned, it has become possible to predict the glycan biosynthesis pathway in these systems. By then incorporating systems biology and bioprocessing technologies to these pathway models, given the right enzymatic parameters including enzyme and substrate concentrations and kinetic reaction parameters, it is possible to predict the potentially synthesized glycans in the pathway. This review presents information on the data resources that are currently available to enable in silico simulations of glycosylation and related pathways. Then some of the software tools that have been developed in the past to simulate and analyze glycosylation pathways will be described, followed by a summary and vision for the future developments and research directions in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano‐DESI) is an ambient ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) approach that enables spatial mapping of biological and environmental samples with high spatial resolution and throughput. Because nano‐DESI has not yet been commercialized, researchers develop their own sources and interface them with different commercial mass spectrometers. Previously, several protocols focusing on the fabrication of nano‐DESI probes have been reported. In this tutorial, we discuss different hardware requirements for coupling the nano‐DESI source to commercial mass spectrometers, such as the safety interlock, inlet extension, and contact closure. In addition, we describe the structure of our custom software for controlling the nano‐DESI MSI platform and provide detailed instructions for its usage. With this tutorial, interested researchers should be able to implement nano‐DESI experiments in their labs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported employment is a promising vocational rehabilitation intervention for improving disability employment. Its implementation, however, is not without challenges. Lack of funding and the heavy caseload of job coaches significantly constrain its impacts. A mobile software, avail® by CentralReach, was created based on the individual placement and support model for assisting individuals with disabilities to perform their job tasks. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of avail. A total of 17 participants with disabilities were recruited in a Midwestern state from the United States to try avail for a period of time ranging from 40 to 348 days. Participants' experiences, including perceived usability, acceptance, and satisfaction, were collected to determine the feasibility of avail. In addition, a pre- and post-intervention analysis was conducted to identify its effects on users' job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and self-determination. Participants of this study expressed positive user experience for avail. Specifically, they felt that avail was helpful for their job performance. The results also showed a statistically significant result for improving participants' self-determination. avail is a feasible and potentially promising application for assisting workers with disabilities in their job performance. Directly available on mobile devices, avail has several advantages, such as real-time support and good portability. Suggestions and future directions were discussed for further software development. A job coach is needed in the individual placement and support model (IPS) to provide on-site job support for individuals with disabilities. However, job coaches were typically overwhelmed by the heavy caseloads. A job coach application such as the avail was created, and this study was to test its feasibility and preliminary efficacy. The study showed that avail was appropriate for individuals with disabilities to use at work, and they generally enjoyed using the application. The preliminary efficacy showed that avail improved their job performances and overall self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]