SimPhony — A Voice Communication Tool for Distributed Workgroups

This paper describes SimPhony — a mobile, voice-controlled, voice communication system built on a PDA and designed specifically for distributed workgroups. SimPhony supports one-to-one or one-to-many communication with voice instant messages or synchronous audio transmitted over an IEEE802.11b wireless network, and it transitions between different communication styles as messages become more frequent. The SimPhony interface looks much like an instant messaging client but is accessible through a voice or visual interface on the PDA or a voice interface accessible by any telephone. SimPhony was designed specifically for, and with critique from, technicians working in a large semiconductor fabrication plant.     

Der Nachweis von Kakaokeimen in Kakaoerzeugnissen

Ohne Zusammenfassungbedeutet mit Abbildungen     

Augmenting a window system with speech input

Some necessary background in speech recognition and window systems is given, with an analysis of how they might be combined. Xspeak, a navigation application, and its operation and a field study of its use are described. With Xspeak, window navigation tasks usually performed with a mouse can be controlled by voice. An improved version, Xspeak II, which incorporates a language for translating spoken commands, is introduced     

Medulloblastomas of the desmoplastic variant carry mutations of the human homologue of Drosophila patched

Inactivating mutations in the PTCH gene, a human homologue of the Drosophila segment polarity gene patched, have been identified recently in patients with nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome. These patients are predisposed to various neoplasias including basal cell carcinomas and medulloblastomas (MBs). To determine the involvement of PTCH in sporadic MBs, which represent the most frequent malignant brain tumors in children, we screened for PTCH alterations in an unselected panel of 64 biopsy samples from 62 patients and four continuous MB cell lines, all derived from patients with sporadic MBs. Using single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis, we screened exons 2-22 and detected nonconservative PTCH mutations in 3 of 11 samples from sporadic cases of the desmoplastic variant of MB but none in 57 MBs with classical (nondesmoplastic) histology. In two of the tumors with mutations and in two additional desmoplastic cases, loss of heterozygosity was found at 9q22. These findings suggest that PTCH represents a tumor suppressor gene involved in the development of the desmoplastic variant of MB.     

Engineered rivers in arid lands: searching for sustainability in theory and practice

Beginning in the early twentieth century and progressing rapidly since the 1950s, large-scale water works have created engineered rivers. In dry-land basins they control flooding and provide water and energy to farms, cities and industry. Yet, they face numerous challenges. In 2013 we formed an interdisciplinary team to study future conditions of nine river basins worldwide. This paper presents the methodology and interim results for two of our basins, the Rio Grande and the Euphrates-Tigris. We conclude with a new definition of the sustainability of engineered rivers in arid lands, using dependable reservoir yield under drought conditions as the central indicator.     

Input and display registration in a stereoscopic workstation

Several techniques are described to obtain spatial registration between three-dimensional input devices and a stereoscopic video display. A video monitor is viewed through a half-silvered mirror, with left and right eye views time-multiplexed through video interlace and viewed with electronic shutter glasses. A magnetic six-degree-of-freedom digitizer and an ordinary magnetostrictive graphics tablet were used as input devices.     

Bringing sustainability science to water basin management

Sustainability science studies the causes, pathways and impacts of complex development problems that result from the interaction of natural and social forces. Water availability in arid basins with rapidly growing populations presents a perfect example of a development problem that needs sustainability science to provide the scientific underpinnings for integrated management of the basin. The author (1) introduces the concept of sustainability science, (2) applies the concept to integrated water basin management, and (3) illustrates the use of sustainability science in the management of the arid Rio Grande basin on the border between Mexico and the United States.