CASE tool simplification via task-sensitive metaphor

Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) and in particular IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) tools play a major role in the software development and maintenance process. They promise to assist software engineers in achieving several complex software development tasks while increasing their productivity and performance. However, the complexity of their interfaces has made these tools not always useful and very difficult to learn and master. One of the causes for this complexity is the fact that these tools are functionality-oriented rather than human-centric. The interface of these tools has not been developed according to the real users' characteristics, and there is a gap between the user's conceptual model and CASE tool features. In this thesis, we proposed a framework to simplify the complexity of the interface. Our approach starts from the development of an effective set of developers' personae that model developers' behaviors and characteristics. Using these personae, we developed a method to reduce the complexity of CASE tools. This method combines a task-sensitive user interface metaphor with visual communication design principles. Several empirical studies were conducted while building and validating our framework

Right ventricular thrombus in a 36-year-old man with Factor v Leiden

Factor V Leiden deficiency is the most common hereditary hypercoagulable disease in the United States and involves 5 of the Caucasian population. Up to 30 of patients who present with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary thromboembolism present with this condition. This is a case report of a 36-year-old man who experienced one episode of DVT within the previous year and was admitted to our hospital due to productive coughs and hemoptysis. Paraclinical studies demonstrated a right ventricular thrombus. Additional investigation was done to find the underlying cause. Laboratory tests were positive for Factor V Leiden mutation. Other factors for hypercoagulability states were normal. Given that Factor V Leiden mutation is a life-threatening condition with a relatively high prevalence and considering its thrombogenesis, screening tests are necessary in young patients without obvious reasons for recurrent thrombus formation. It seems that medical noninvasive treatments can be an alternative therapy to surgery when a ventricular thrombus is suspected in these patients. � 2015 Tehran Heart Center. All rights reserved

Successful closure of pulmonary artery aneurysm in a patient with Hughes-Stovin syndrome

Hughes-Stovin syndrome is a syndrome of unknown etiology characterized by thrombophlebitis and pulmonary aneurysms. Less than 40 cases have ever been reported in the English medical literature. We are reporting a 38-year-old man with a history of right ventricular thrombus and also deep vein thrombosis who presented with massive hemoptysis. Initial work-up revealed a round opacity on chest roentgenogram which later was diagnosed as a pulmonary artery aneurysm on subsequent imaging studies. Based on the history of thrombophlebitis with this newly diagnosed pulmonary artery aneurysm a diagnosis of Hughes-Stovin syndrome was made. The patient was treated with endovascular coiling of the aneurysm. A sixteen-month follow up was uneventful. To our knowledge, this is the first case of HSS ever reported from Iran and the fourth to have a cardiac chambers involvement in the course of the disease

On the Design of an Immersive Environment for Visual Mining: Challenges and Results from an Early Study

Observational systems, with the complicity of Internet and information technology, have introduced new ways for collecting and disseminating environmental data. As a consequence, the analysis of increasingly large and complex environmental data sets has become a difficult and time consuming process which can hinder analytical comprehension and insight extraction for decision-making regarding humanity\u27s environmental challenges. This paper introduces new concept of visual mining which presents the data in some visual form, allowing the \u27human\u27 to gain insight into the data, draw conclusions, and directly interact with the data. In addition, it discusses some principles toward VTab, a visualization tangible board to support visual mining as part of the whole environmental data lifecycle

The time course of length adaptation and tension recovery in airway smooth muscle

Airway smooth muscle (ASM) is known to adapt to large changes in length by restructuring its contractile apparatus. The temporary loss of the ability to generate maximal isometric force due to an acute length change usually recovers in 20-30 min when the muscle is stimulated periodically. ASM is capable of adapting to length changes even in the absence of repeated stimulation, although at a much slower rate. It has been previously shown that by setting the relaxed ASM at different lengths at 4 °C in physiological saline solution (PSS) for 24 hrs, the length-tension (L-T) relationship of the muscle could be plastically and reversibly altered [53]. In this study, I examined the time course of length adaptation at 4 °C to determine the minimum time needed for this process to happen. By measuring changes in the length associated with maximal force generation (L[sub max]), I found that under the same conditions used by Wang et al [53], the length adaptation became statistically significant after 6-12 hours of passive length change. I hypothesized that a similar length adaptation can also happen at 37°C when the ASM is maintained unstimulated at different lengths. The reversibility of active and passive length adaptations following prolonged length change was also examined. Rabbit tracheal muscle explants were passively maintained at shortened or in situ length for 3 and 7 days in culture media enriched with 5% fetal bovine serum. Using high K⁺ PSS to elicit contraction, the L-T relationship of control (CTL) and passively shortened (PS) preparations was examined and active tension recovery was measured on PS preparations. Formalin fixation, paraffin embedding, and morphometric analysis were used to measure the cross sectional area (CSA) of preparations, normalize the maximal active force (F[sub max]) and calculate the maximal stress (σ[sub max]. To examine the effect of muscle activation on passive tension recovery, using the same tissue preparation and culturing techniques, the recovery test was performed at Day 7 (or 8) PS preparations in the presence vs. absence of stimulations. Furthermore, the active recovery test was done on freshly isolated A SM preparations (Control Day 0; n = 5) and the active and passive force recovery rates were compared to those of the chronically length-adapted preparations (i.e. PS Day 7 or 8). Following 3 and 7 days of passive shortening (without stimulation), L[sub max] decreased by 10.6%±9.4 and 35.9%±15.9 (mean ±SD) respectively compared to the control preparations. There was also no significant change in σ[sub max] of PS smooth muscles compared to the control. After 7 days of passive shortening, it was either impossible to stretch the ASM preparations to their control lengths and/or they could not generate the same active force they did at their pre-stretched lengths. Following such a stretch, both active and passive force recoveries were incomplete. However, the passive tension recovery rate was not different in the presence vs. absence of muscle stimulations. It was observed that the active tension recovery could be initiated and progressed passively after stretching the PS preparations. Although the passive force recovery was greater than the active force recovery, these two processes were strongly correlated. Furthermore, the active force recovery was significantly slower in length adapted (Day 7 or 8) preparations compared to the CTL Day 0 group. However, the passive force recovery rate was not different between these two groups. I conclude that rabbit ASM is able to adapt to chronic shortening at body temperature even when it is not stimulated and the magnitude of the shift in L-T curve increases with time of length adaptation. By stretching a 7-day length adapted preparation to its original length, neither the active, nor the passive force could recover completely. Although muscle activation accelerates the active force recovery [14], it did not affect the passive force recovery. This result may have implications in asthma and COPD where chronic shortening of ASM could make the patients highly resistant to conventional bronchodilating therapies or to mechanical bronchodilating influences such as tidal breathing or deep inspiration.Medicine, Faculty ofMedicine, Department ofExperimental Medicine, Division ofGraduat

IEEE Int. Conf. on Communications (ICC)

Random wireless networks with finite number ofnodes distributed uniformly in a circular-shaped finite regionare considered. A closed-form expression for the complimentarycumulative distribution function (CCDF) of Euclidean distancebetween a randomly selected node and its ith nearest node isderived. In contrast to most of the existing literature, the nodeobserved is not necessarily required to be located at the centerof the network region nor located at fixed point. Moreover,the joint distribution of the distances between the ith and jthnearest nodes is derived. Finally, a tractable and quite tight lowerbound on outage performance of the uniform network basedon the dominant interferer node is derived. Using our derivedlower bound, we can determine the maximum number of nodesthat should be deployed to satisfy the required QoS. Computersimulation illustrates the validity of the theoretical analysis