A home-page overhaul using other Web sites

The best prototype for designing a new user interface is your old user interface. The second best prototype is a competing product. Your competitors have invested significant resources in designing and implementing what they believe to be good user interfaces. You can glean much of what you need to create a new interface by examining products designed to solve similar problems. As with your own old user interface, you can analyze competing interfaces to see what works and what doesn't. You can also watch how users interact with competing products, and thus learn how they approach tasks. This, in essence, is competitive usability analysis. I recommend performing it very early in the usability engineering life-cycle-after you have visited the customer, gathered requirements, and defined the product vision, but before you design and prototype your new user interface     

Synthesis of corneal keratan sulfate proteoglycans by bovine keratocytes in vitro

Keratan sulfate proteoglycans (KSPGs) are the major proteoglycans of the cornea and are secreted by keratocytes in the corneal stroma. Previous studies have been able to show only transient secretion of KSPG in cell culture. In this study, cultures of bovine keratocytes were found to secrete the three previously characterized KSPG proteins into culture medium. Reactivity with monoclonal antibody I22 demonstrated substitution of these proteins with keratan sulfate chains. KSPG constituted 15% of the proteoglycan metabolically labeled with [35S]sulfate in keratocyte culture medium. This labeled KSPG contained keratan sulfate chains of 4700 Da compared to 21,000 Da for bovine corneal keratan sulfate. Labeled keratan sulfate from cultures contained nonsulfated, monosulfated, and disulfated disaccharides that were released by digestion with endo-beta-galactosidase or keratanase II. Nonsulfated disaccharides were relatively more abundant in keratan sulfate from culture than in corneal keratan sulfate. These results show that cultured bovine keratocytes maintain the ability to express all three of the known KSPG proteins, modified with keratan sulfate chains and sulfated on both N-acetylglucosamine and galactose moieties. KSPG made in vitro differs from that found in vivo in the length and sulfation of its keratan sulfate chains. The availability of cell cultures secreting corneal keratan sulfate proteoglycans provides an opportunity to examine biosynthesis and control of this important class of molecules.     

Simulation of nitrogen dynamics and biomass production in winter wheat using the Danish simulation model DAISY

A dynamic simulation model for the soil plant system is described. The model includes a number of main modules, viz., a hydrological model including a submodel for soil water dynamics, a soil temperature model, a soil nitrogen model including a submodel for soil organic matter dynamics, and a crop model including a submodel for nitrogen uptake. The soil part of the model has a one-dimensional vertical structure. The soil profile is divided into layers on the basis of physical and chemical soil characteristics. The simulation model was used to simulate soil nitrogen dynamics and biomass production in winter wheat grown at two locations at various levels of nitrogen fertilization. The simulated results were compared to experimental data including concentration of inorganic nitrogen in soil, crop yield, and nitrogen accumulated in the aboveground part of the crop. Based on this validation it is concluded that the overall performance of the model is satisfactory although some minor adjustments of the model may prove to be necessary.     

Structuration bridging diffusion of innovations and gender relations theories: a case of paradigmatic pluralism in IS research

This paper discusses the adoption of a pluralist theoretical framework – one that is also multiparadigmatic – for conducting and publishing information system (IS) research. The discussion is illustrated by a single case study involving the Australian cotton industry. The theoretical framework is informed by three sociological theories, each with its particular paradigmatic assumptions: structuration theory as a meta‐theory, and diffusion of innovations and gender relations as lower‐level theories from notionally opposing paradigms. Theoretical pluralism helped to produce rich findings, illuminating both the social nature of women farmers' roles, the materiality of the cotton farming context, the characteristics of the decision support systems in use and the recursive way in which human agency and institutional pressures shape each other. Because users of so‐called divergent paradigms often face criticism based on the incommensurability issue, one of the main contributions of this paper is to discuss the value of a pluralist and multiparadigmatic theoretical framework in dealing with complex IS social phenomena.     

A simple chromatographic method for purification of egg lecithin

Egg lecithin was purified from the CdCl₂-lecithin complex by column chromatography on Alumina. The yield from 5 eggs was 2.8 g. The purified lecithin had correct chemical values for pure lecithin and a fatty acid composition similar to lecithin prepared by other methods. The method probably can be adapted for purification of other lipids containing the phosphocholine moiety and for purification of synthetic lecithin.     

Use and non‐use of VDTs—organization of terminal work: Research findings from Swedish cross‐site studies in the field of office automation

A group of users in Copenhagen were asked to evaluate how important a number of user interface characteristics were for them. The results show high importance of efficient daily use and of possibilities for exploratory learning while tutorial materials were of less importance. Users also were asked to evaluate four usability aspects of a number of popular programs. Results show that the quality pleasant to work with has the largest impact on evaluations of overall user‐friendliness while users seem able to view usability independently from the number of features in an application.     

Wetland change mapping for the U.S. mid-Atlantic region using an outlier detection technique

Although the impacts of wetland loss are often felt at regional scales, effective planning and management require a comparative assessment of local needs, costs, and benefits. Satellite remote sensing can provide spatially explicit, synoptic land cover change information to support such an assessment. However, a common challenge in conventional remote sensing change detection is the difficulty of obtaining phenologically and radiometrically comparable data from the start and end of the time period of interest. An alternative approach is to use a prior land cover classification as a surrogate for historic satellite data and to examine the self-consistency of class spectral reflectances in recent imagery. We produced a 30-meter resolution wetland change probability map for the U.S. mid-Atlantic region by applying an outlier detection technique to a base classification provided by the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). Outlier-resistant measures – the median and median absolute deviation – were used to represent spectral reflectance characteristics of wetland class populations, and formed the basis for the calculation of a pixel change likelihood index. The individual scene index values were merged into a consistent region-wide map and converted to pixel change probability using a logistic regression calibrated through interpretation of historic and recent aerial photography. The accuracy of a regional change/no-change map produced from the change probabilities was estimated at 89.6%, with a Kappa of 0.779. The change probabilities identify areas for closer inspection of change cause, impact, and mitigation potential. With additional work to resolve confusion resulting from natural spatial heterogeneity and variations in land use, automated updating of NWI maps and estimates of areal rates of wetland change may be possible. We also discuss extensions of the technique to address specific applications such as monitoring marsh degradation due to sea level rise and mapping of invasive species.     

Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: clinical course and response to therapy

Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a lesion associated with a poor prognosis and results in end-stage renal disease after 5 to 10 years. Based on past experience, many nephrologists have considered primary FSGS a lesion that is steroid resistant and therefore are reluctant to offer steroids as treatment. Recent data, however, have demonstrated that patients with primary FSGS have a response to steroid therapy that is considerably better than had been described. Thus, it may be that nephrologists have been more "steroid reluctant" than the lesion is steroid resistant. To better understand this issue we review the clinical course and response to therapy in patients with primary FSGS.     

The use of social media in impact assessment: experiences among national infrastructure developers in Denmark

Social media plays an increasingly prominent role in the interaction between impact assessments and society. Impact assessment is thus becoming part of social networks that are claimed to be able to improve interaction between actors in impact assessment processes. By investigating the use of social media in impact assessment and planning processes of national linear infrastructure development, we explore how social media impinge on participatory practices and how the potential of social media is realized in the current use related to public participation processes. The study focuses on experiences among national developers working in road, rail, electricity, gas, and metro infrastructures in Denmark. The article shows that the current use of social media in public participatory practices is limited to branding and on-way communication and that the increasing use of social media in linear infrastructure planning gives rise to a variety of concerns among developers that are related to especially organizational cultures, perception of the target groups, and prioritization of resources.