Ticker: An Adaptive Single-Switch Text Entry Method for Visually Impaired Users.

Ticker is a probabilistic stereophonic single-switch text entry method for visually-impaired users with motor disabilities who rely on single-switch scanning systems to communicate. Such scanning systems are sensitive to a variety of noise sources, which are inevitably introduced in practical use of single-switch systems. Ticker uses a novel interaction model based on stereophonic sound coupled with statistical models for robust inference of the user's intended text in the presence of noise.

A restatement of the natural science evidence base concerning the health effects of low-level ionizing radiation.

Exposure to ionizing radiation is ubiquitous, and it is well established that moderate and high doses cause ill-health and can be lethal. The health effects of low doses or low dose-rates of ionizing radiation are not so clear. This paper describes a project which sets out to summarize, as a restatement, the natural science evidence base concerning the human health effects of exposure to low-level ionizing radiation.

Solar energy in the context of energy use, energy transportation and energy storage.

Taking the UK as a case study, this paper describes current energy use and a range of sustainable energy options for the future, including solar power and other renewables. I focus on the area involved in collecting, converting and delivering sustainable energy, looking in particular detail at the potential role of solar power. Britain consumes energy at a rate of about 5000 watts per person, and its population density is about 250 people per square kilometre.

Could energy-intensive industries be powered by carbon-free electricity?

While the main thrust of the Discussion Meeting Issue on 'Material efficiency: providing material services with less material production' was to explore ways in which society's net demand for materials could be reduced, this review examines the possibility of converting industrial energy demand to electricity, and switching to clean electricity sources. This review quantifies the scale of infrastructure required in the UK, focusing on wind and nuclear power as the clean electricity sources, and sets these requirements in the context of the decarbonization of the whole energy system using wind, biomass, solar power in deserts and nuclear options. The transition of industry to a clean low-carbon electricity supply, although technically possible with several different technologies, would have very significant infrastructure requirements.

Fast and flexible selection with a single switch.

Selection methods that require only a single-switch input, such as a button click or blink, are potentially useful for individuals with motor impairments, mobile technology users, and individuals wishing to transmit information securely. We present a single-switch selection method, "Nomon," that is general and efficient. Existing single-switch selection methods require selectable options to be arranged in ways that limit potential applications.

Predicting and understanding the stability of G-quadruplexes.

Motivation: G-quadruplexes are stable four-stranded guanine-rich structures that can form in DNA and RNA. They are an important component of human telomeres and play a role in the regulation of transcription and translation. The biological significance of a G-quadruplex is crucially linked with its thermodynamic stability.

Gaussian process robust regression for noisy heart rate data.

Heart rate data collected during nonlaboratory conditions present several data-modeling challenges. First, the noise in such data is often poorly described by a simple Gaussian; it has outliers and errors come in bursts. Second, in large-scale studies the ECG waveform is usually not recorded in full, so one has to deal with missing information.

Reproducibility assessment of independent component analysis of expression ratios from DNA microarrays.

DNA microarrays allow the measurement of transcript abundances for thousands of genes in parallel. Most commonly, a particular sample of interest is studied next to a neutral control, examining relative changes (ratios). Independent component analysis (ICA) is a promising modern method for the analysis of such experiments.

DASHER--an efficient writing system for brain-computer interfaces?

DASHER is a human-computer interface for entering text using continuous or discrete gestures. Through its use of an internal language model, DASHER efficiently converts bits received from the user into text, and has been shown to be a competitive alternative to existing text-entry methods in situations where an ordinary keyboard cannot be used. We propose that DASHER would be well-matched to the low bit-rate, noisy output obtained from brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and discuss the issues surrounding the use of DASHER with BCI systems.

Independent component analysis of microarray data in the study of endometrial cancer.

Gene microarray technology is highly effective in screening for differential gene expression and has hence become a popular tool in the molecular investigation of cancer. When applied to tumours, molecular characteristics may be correlated with clinical features such as response to chemotherapy. Exploitation of the huge amount of data generated by microarrays is difficult, however, and constitutes a major challenge in the advancement of this methodology.

A decomposition model to track gene expression signatures: preview on observer-independent classification of ovarian cancer.

Motivation: A number of algorithms and analytical models have been employed to reduce the multidimensional complexity of DNA array data and attempt to extract some meaningful interpretation of the results. These include clustering, principal components analysis, self-organizing maps, and support vector machine analysis. Each method assumes an implicit model for the data, many of which separate genes into distinct clusters defined by similar expression profiles in the samples tested.