Virus-CKB: an integrated bioinformatics platform and analysis resource for COVID-19 research

Given the scale and rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), there is an urgent need for medicines that can help before vaccines are available. In this study, we present a viral-associated disease-specific chemogenomics knowledgebase (Virus-CKB) and apply our computational systems pharmacology-target mapping to rapidly predict the FDA-approved drugs which can quickly progress into clinical trials to meet the urgent demand of the COVID-19 outbreak. Virus-CKB reuses the underlying platform of our DAKB-GPCRs but adds new features like multiple-compound support, multi-cavity protein support and customizable symbol display. Our one-stop computing platform describes the chemical molecules, genes and proteins involved in viral-associated diseases regulation. To date, Virus-CKB archived 65 antiviral drugs in the market, 107 viral-related targets with 189 available 3D crystal or cryo-EM structures and 2698 chemical agents reported for these target proteins. Moreover, Virus-CKB is implemented with web applications for the prediction of the relevant protein targets and analysis and visualization of the outputs, including HTDocking, TargetHunter, BBB predictor, NGL Viewer, Spider Plot, etc. The Virus-CKB server is accessible at https://www.cbligand.org/g/virus-ckb.

Communicative interaction between a non-speaking child with cerebral palsy and her mother using an iPadTM

There is a rapidly increasing range of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems available for children who cannot communicate orally. Finding the best system for any one user is a challenge for the professionals and carers involved. As yet the use of portable, tablet forms of communication aid has been little researched, despite the rapid growth in their popularity. This article seeks to establish how a tablet form of AAC is exploited in day-to-day domestic interactions between a parent and a child where the child has a severe physical disability and complex communication needs. The study utilises conversation analysis (CA) as the methodology and looks in detail at sequential components of the interaction and the salience of certain interactional moves to both adult and child participants. The mother chose when and where the iPad or other forms of AAC were utilised within the day. Extracts were selected from the available data to exemplify the types of typical exchange that occurred and some key features of the iPad enhanced interaction. The analysis describes how turns are designed incorporating the iPad and discusses what is added to the communication toolkit. Asymmetries in this mother–child interaction are observed and discussed. The child typically remains a respondent to initiations by the caregiver, who in this scenario necessarily remains in control of the iPad symbol display. However, the child uses eye-gaze strategies to indicate interests that lie both within and external to those on offer on the iPad. The article reflects on the child’s agency in initiating a possible novel topic in this way.

Production and comprehension of graphic symbol utterances expressing complex propositions by adults who use augmentative and alternative communication systems

We explored production and comprehension of complex sentences constructed using a limited vocabulary on a graphic symbol display with voice output by 25 adults who use augmentative and alternative communication. When asked to construct subject (SS) and object (OS) relative clause sentences, only a minority of participants encoded SS and OS relative clause sentences using different word orders. When asked to interpret graphic symbol utterances, most participants chose an SS interpretation. Thus, the word order used most frequently in production appeared to have a single preferred interpretation. The relationship between the word orders produced in graphic symbol utterances and the way the same word orders are interpreted is not necessarily straightforward.

Promoting Rapid Situation Awareness in Tactical Displays: The Role of 3-D Perspective Views and Realistic Symbols

3-D displays populated with realistic 3-D icons have been touted as making good “at a glance” displays. Do they promote more rapid Situation Awareness (SA) than comparable 2-D displays? If so, is it the display format (2-D vs. 3-D) or the nature of the symbols (realistic icons vs. non-realistic symbols) populating the displays that matters, or both? Three groups of 13 participants observed a 9 minute naval air defense scenario. The first group saw it depicted in 3-D with icons, the second group saw it depicted in 2-D with icons and the third group saw it in 2-D with symbols. In each condition, the scenario was stopped every 30 seconds and we assessed ability to recall the attributes of four random tracks with an online questionnaire. We measured Endlesy's (1995) level 1 SA: the perception of elements of the display. SA for the 3-D display increased fastest over the course of the scenario. However, it started from one third the level of that for the 2-D symbol display and it took 4 minutes to reach 2-D levels. The advantages the 3-D display did confer were for those attributes that were visually explicit in the 3-D icons but available only in pop-up text boxes in the 2-D conditions. Similarly, depicting heading explicitly with the 2-D icons was superior to that with the 2-D symbols. The benefits of 3-D displays may sometimes stem from indirect application of good design principles, such as making certain information visually explicit, rather than from depicting three-dimensional space, per se. It remains an open question whether 2-D displays can be designed with comparable explicit analog coding.

Generalizing Impact of Object Language to other Audiences: Peer Response to Office Design

Research on the impact of office design has relied on samples of students. To evaluate the external generalizability of previous findings, the relationships among three design elements (desk placement, status symbol display, tidiness) and visitors' impressions (visitors' feelings, attributions about the officerholder) were examined among 64 college faculty. Using a slide-simulation methodology, more favorable visitors' reactions and normatively desirable attributions were associated with non-barrier desk placement and an intermediate level of tidiness. Status symbol display had little effect. A comparison of faculty responses with previous student-based research shows that both audiences react in a similar manner, albeit with a differential weighting patterns, to the nonverbal cues suggested by interior office design.