6664 research outputs found
Sort by
Less is (just as good as) more - an investigation of olfactory intensity and hedonic valence in mulsemedia QoE using heart rate and eye tracking
Get PDFUsing olfactory media to enhance traditional multimedia content opens up novel opportunities for user interactions. Whilst the influence of olfaction on user Quality of Experience (QoE) in mulsemedia (multiple sensorial media) environments has been previously studied, the impact of the fundamental dimensions of scent intensity and valence (pleasantness) have been largely unexplored. This is precisely what we target in this paper, which reports the results of an empirical investigation examining how scent intensity and valence impact mulsemedia QoE. Accordingly, 54 participants were exposed to different odor valences and scent intensity levels when viewing three short multimedia clips. In particular, we examine both subjective (self-reported) as well as objective QoE metrics, as evidenced by user heart rates and eye gaze patterns. Results show that whilst eye gaze patterns are largely unaffected by the experimental conditions, valence does have a statistically significant impact upon user heart rates, as does intensity for two of the three clips employed in our study. In terms of subjective QoE, results indicate that valence impacts on the sense of reality and enjoyment; however varying intensity levels do not seem to differentially impact on QoE, bringing into question the need for strong scent intensities
Studies on the Binding Interactions of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) Myosin with Chlorogenic Acid and Rosmarinic Acid
Get PDFThere are many polyphenols used for the preservation of fish, but the interaction mechanism between polyphenols and fish protein is rarely reported. In the present study, the interactions between two kinds of polyphenols (chlorogenic acid (CGA) and rosmarinic acid (RA)) and the myosin of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were explored using multi-spectroscopic techniques. Both CGA and RA were found to be involved in reducing the intrinsic fluorescence and surface hydrophobicity of myosin and increasing the UV absorption intensity. This indicates that interactions between CGA, RA, and myosin ultimately result in the formation of polyphenol-myosin complexes. The binding process of CGA and RA for the formation of the complex was spontaneous. The main binding forces between RA and myosin are hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces, whereas hydrophobic interactions were observed between CGA and myosin. The results of circular dichroism (CD) showed that the presence of CGA and RA increased the content of myosin alpha-helix. CGA and RA caused myosin aggregation which reduced the corresponding solution dispersibility. CGA and RA protected the myosin sulfhydryl groups and reduced the degree of their oxidation. Furthermore, the complexes formed by the combination of myosin, CGA, and RA exhibited the strongest synergistic antioxidant properties than any one of them. The findings of the present study provide insights into our understanding of the mechanism of interactions between myosin and polyphenols which could provide information on the application of polyphenols in preserving aquatic products
Proposed System for a Socio-Technical Design Framework for Improved User Collaborations with Automation Technologies.
No full textTo improve human performance, interactive technologies are going towards more automated systems that involve computers, robots and cyber-physical systems into the decision-making process. While automation can lead to increased performance and reduced impact of human errors, interactive technologies without optimal design can have a negative impact on the experience of operators and end-users, leading to suboptimal performance of the automated systems. In this research, we aim to evaluate and refine Human Work Interaction Design (HWID) framework to be applicable in various highly-automated settings including Industry 4.0 environments. This will be performed via a thorough literature review as the first step. The list of identified factors playing a potential role in various interactive systems will then be evaluated and optimised in three case studies. We will try to understand how to maximise collaborations between the users and the machine in interactive systems. A practical approach for evaluating both employees’ and end-users’ perspectives in three scenarios with different levels of automation will be assessed. We will evaluate the outputs in multiple levels of organisations, employees and end-users. The ultimate output of the study will be a framework or model that will help in designing future research studies for various automation scenarios, especially semi-autonomous systems that involve high levels of interaction between users and the machine. We will provide guidelines for implementation of the proposed framework in different scenarios. We expect that the framework output of this research will provide a comprehensive guideline applicable to many Industry 4.0 technologies
Physiology's role in labour assessment
No full textA closer examination of the physiological and behavioural signs exhibited by women to facilitate assessment of labour progress
Antibiotic treatment in Anopheles coluzzii affects carbon and nitrogen metabolism
No full textThe mosquito microbiota reduces the vector competence of Anopheles to Plasmodium and affects host fitness; it is therefore considered as a potential target to reduce malaria transmission. While immune induction, secretion of antimicrobials and metabolic competition are three typical mechanisms of microbiota-mediated protection against invasive pathogens in mammals, the involvement of metabolic competition or mutualism in mosquito-microbiota and microbiota-Plasmodium interactions has not been investigated. Here, we describe a metabolome analysis of the midgut of Anopheles coluzzii provided with a sugar-meal or a non-infectious blood-meal, under conventional or antibiotic-treated conditions. We observed that the antibiotic treatment affects the tricarboxylic acid cycle and nitrogen metabolism, notably resulting in decreased abundance of free amino acids. Linking our results with published data, we identified pathways which may participate in microbiota-Plasmodium interactions via metabolic interactions or immune modulation and thus would be interesting candidates for future functional studies
A systematic assessment on COVID‐19 preparedness and transition strategy in Bangladesh
Get PDFRationale, aims and objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has overpowered the most advanced health systems worldwide with thousands of daily deaths. The current study conducted a situation analysis on the pandemic preparedness of Bangladesh and provided recommendations on the transition to the new reality and gradual restoration of normalcy.
Method: A complex adaptive system (CAS) framework was theorized based on four structural dimensions obtained from the crisis and complexity theory to help evaluate the health system of Bangladesh. Data sourced from published reports from the government, nongovernmental organizations and mainstream media up to 15 June 2020 were used to conduct a qualitative analysis and visualize the spatial distribution of countrywide COVID-19 cases.
Results: The findings suggested that Bangladesh severely lacked the preparedness to tackle the spread of COVID-19 with both short- and long-term implications for health, the economy, and good governance. Absence of planning and coordination, disproportionate resource allocations, challenged infrastructure, adherence to bureaucratic delay,
lack of synchronized risk communication, failing leadership of concerned authorities and incoherent decision-making have led to a precarious situation that will have dire ramifications causing many uncertainties in the coming days.
Conclusions: Implementation of response protocols addressing the needs of the community and the stakeholders from the central level is urgently needed. The development of mechanisms for dynamic decision-making based on regular feedback and long-term planning for a smooth transition between the new reality and normalcy should also be urgently
addressed in Bangladesh
Changes in blood biomarkers in Arabian horses with Clostridium difficile-induced enterocolitis
No full textClostridium difficile (CD) is considered a major health care problem both in developing and developed countries; frequently reported to be associated with enterocolitis and diarrhea in horses and other animals. In this study, we examined acute phase response (APR), cytokines response, neopterin (NP) procalcitonin (PCT) production and oxidative stress condition in horses and foals with C. difficile-induced enterocolitis (CDIE) and evaluated the effectiveness of these parameters as biomarkers for the disease. A total of 407 Arabian horses in 35 stables were examined between January 2017 to December 2018. Only 24 out of 407 horses showed two or more signs of CDIE. The blood level of serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (HP), proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL1-β), serum malondialdehyde (MDA), PCT and NPT in horses with CDIE were higher than in healthy horses. Nevertheless, the levels of nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant concentration (TAC) were considerably lower in diseased horses compared to those that were healthy. The ROC curves for eleven selected blood parameters, both in healthy horses and horses with CDIE demonstrated that all examined blood markers had significant levels of differentiation between CDIE cases and healthy controls (AUC > 87.5). The data in this study suggest that the evaluation of acute-phase proteins, cytokines, PCT, NPT, and oxidative stress biomarkers may well be used as a tool for diagnosis and assessment of CDIE and in disease pathogenesis in Arabian horses
Feature selection for UK disabled students’ engagement post higher education: a machine learning approach for a predictive employment model
Get PDFWhile only 4.2 million people out of a population of 7.9 million disabled people are working, a considerable contribution is still required from universities and industries to increase employability among the disabled, in particular, by providing adequate career guidance post higher education. This study aims to identify the potential predictive features, which will improve the chances of engaging disabled school leavers in employment about 6 months after graduation. MALSEND is an analytical platform that consists of information about UK Destinations Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey results from 2012 to 2017. The dataset of 270,934 student records with a known disability provides anonymised information about students’ age range, year of study, disability type, results of the first degree, among others. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, characteristics of disabled candidates during and after school years were investigated to identify their engagement patterns. This article builds on constructing and selecting subsets of features useful to build a good predictor regarding the engagement of disabled students 6 months after graduation using the big data approach with machine learning principles. Features such as age, institution, disability type, among others were found to be essential predictors of the proposed employment model. A pilot was developed, which shows that the Decision Tree Classifier and Logistic Regression models provided the best results for predicting the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) of a disabled school leaver in the UK with an accuracy of 96%
Who owns your memories
No full textFactories empty, machines shut down, drills motionless, a lone car engine, emptiness. What are your covid memories? This short reflection is about where we might look for hope. This short music video accompanies the publication "who owns your memories
Exploring the association between adverse maternal circumstances and low birth weight in neonates: a nationwide population-based study in Bangladesh
Get PDFObjective: This study is concerned with helping to improve the health and care of newborn babies in Bangladesh by exploring adverse maternal circumstances and assessing whether these are contributing towards low birth weight (LBW) in neonates. Study designs and settings: Data were drawn and analysed from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2014. Any association between LBW and adverse maternal circumstances were assessed using a Chisquare test with determinants of LBW identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Participants: The study is based on 4728 children aged below 5 years and born to women from selected households. Results: The rate of LBW was around 19.9% (199 per 1000 live births) with the highest level found in the Sylhet region (26.2%). The rate was even higher in rural areas (20.8%) and among illiterate mothers (26.6%). Several adverse maternal circumstances of the women included in the survey were found to be significant for increasing the likelihood of giving birth to LBW babies. These circumstances included the women being underweight (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.26, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.49); having unwanted births (AOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.44); had previous pregnancies terminated (AOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.57); were victims of intimate partner violence (AOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.45) and taking antenatal care 3 with interval <24 months (AOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.37), then the risk of having LBW babies significantly increased. Conclusion: This study finds that adverse maternal circumstances combined with high-risk fertility behaviours are significantly associated with LBW in neonates. This situation could severely impede progress in Bangladesh towards achieving the sustainable development goal concerned with the healthcare of newborns