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Look away now! Defensive processing and unrealistic optimism by level of alcohol consumption
Get PDFHealth risk information is insufficient as a means of reducing alcohol use, particularly when it evokes negative emotional states amongst those for whom it is most personally relevant. Appraisal biases, or ‘defensive processing’, may be employed to mitigate the psychological discomfort posed by such information. Few studies have evaluated the role of defensive processing in people with different levels of alcohol consumption. Online participants (n=597) completed measures of defensive processing of a health risk infographic, perceived susceptibility and severity of alcohol use, efficacy for resisting alcohol use, unrealistic optimism, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test – Consumption (AUDIT-C) and demographics. Results showed that AUDIT-C scores were positively and linearly associated with all defensive processing measures (Pearson’s correlation r from .16 to .36), threat and susceptibility (r = .16) and unrealistic optimism (r = .50). AUDIT-C scores were also negatively associated with efficacy for resisting alcohol use (r = -.48). People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) engaged in much more defensive processing of alcohol-related messages, offering an explanation for why such messages are limited at eliciting behaviour change. High levels of unrealistic optimism in people with alcohol use disorder may reflect low problem recognition in order to maintain a problem-free drinking identity
Digital Twins for Smart Building at the Facility Management Stage: A Systematic Review of Enablers, Applications, and Challenges
Get PDFPurpose: Despite the opportunities of digital twins (DTs) for smart buildings, limited research has been conducted regarding the facility management stage, and this is explained by the high complexity of accurately representing and modelling the physics behind the DTs process. This study thus organises and consolidates the fragmented literature on the DTs implementation for smart buildings at the facility management stage by exploring the enablers, applications, and challenges, and examines the interrelationships among them.
Methodology: A systematic literature review approach is adopted to analyse and synthesise the existing literature relating to the subject topic.
Findings: The study revealed six main categories of enablers of DTs for smart budling at the facility management stage, namely perception technologies, network technologies, storage technologies, application technologies, knowledge building, and design processes. Three substantial categories of DTs application for smart buildings were revealed at the facility management stage: efficient operation and service monitoring, efficient building energy management, and effective smart building maintenance. Subsequently, the top four major challenges were identified as being “lack of a systematic and comprehensive reference model”, “real-time data integration”, “the complexity and uncertainty nature of real-time data”, and “real-time data visualisation”. An integrative framework is finally proposed by examining the interactive relationship among the enablers, the applications, and the challenges.
Practical implication: The findings could guide facility managers/engineers to fairly understand the enablers, applications, and challenges when DTs is being implemented to improve smart building performance and achieve user satisfaction at the facility management stage.
Originality: This study contributes to the knowledge body on DTs by extending the scope of the existing studies to identify the enablers and applications of DTs for smart buildings at the facility management stage and the specific challenge
The role of the archive: How solutions are arrived at in an online workscape
No full textNot only does digitality open up possibilities for the democratization of the archive, with less reliance on size and scale of storage facilities in remote warehouses across the country, but once democratized, new uses can be found for the records of the past. As a result, this chapter centres on two primary purposes: to examine how the history of advertising can be brought to new audiences in the present and in so doing expand the range of responses to the seasonal question of ‘what is advertising for?’ Furthermore, it will explore the role of the archive in shaping contemporary creative ideas. In both cases the archive itself is positioned as a workspace that is worked upon and utilised to craft new visions in the working lives of creative professionals. However, as the case study of the development of Ad Memoire will reveal, the history of advertising can perform an unlikely function only made possible through digitisation. This then allows us to examine another, perhaps less explored question: ‘Why the history of advertising matters and to whom?
Biomechanics in anthropology
Get PDFBiomechanics is the set of tools that explain organismal movement and mechanical behavior and links the organism to the physicality of the world. As such, biomechanics can relate behaviors and culture to the physicality of the organism. Scale is critical to biomechanical analyses, as the constitutive equations that matter differ depending on the scale of the question. Within anthropology, biomechanics has had a wide range of applications, from understanding how we and other primates evolved to understanding the effects of technologies, such as the atlatl, and the relationship between identity, society, culture, and medical interventions, such as prosthetics. Like any other model, there is great utility in biomechanical models, but models should be used primarily for hypothesis testing and not data generation except in the rare case where models can be robustly validated. The application of biomechanics within anthropology has been extensive, and holds great potential for the future
Machine learning-driven web-post buckling resistance prediction for high-strength steel beams with elliptically-based web openings
Get PDFThe use of periodical elliptically-based web (EBW) openings in high strength steel (HSS) beams has been increasingly popular in recent years mainly because of the high strength-to-weight ratio and the reduction in the floor height as a result of allowing different utility services to pass through the web openings. However, these sections are susceptible to web-post buckling (WPB) failure mode and therefore it is imperative that an accurate design tool is made available for prediction of the web-post buckling capacity. Therefore, the present paper aims to implement the power of various machine learning (ML) methods for prediction of the WPB capacity in HSS beams with (EBW) openings and to assess the performance of existing analytical design model. For this purpose, a numerical model is developed and validated with the aim of conducting a total of 10,764 web-post finite element models, considering S460, S690 and S960 steel grades. This data is employed to train and validate different ML algorithms including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machine Regression (SVR) and Gene Expression Programming (GEP). Finally, the paper proposes new design models for WPB resistance prediction. The results are discussed in detail, and they are compared with the numerical models and the existing analytical design method. The proposed design models based on the machine learning predictions are shown to be powerful, reliable and efficient design tools for capacity predictions of the WPB resistance of HSS beams with periodical (EBW) openings
Evidence of different sensitivity of muscle and tendon to mechano-metabolic stimuli
Get PDFThis study aimed to examine the temporal dynamics of muscle-tendon adaptation and whether differences between their sensitivity to mechano-metabolic stimuli would lead to non-uniform changes within the triceps surae (TS) muscle-tendon unit (MTU). Twelve young adults completed a 12-week training intervention of unilateral isometric cyclic plantarflexion contractions at 80% of maximal voluntary contraction until failure to induce a high TS activity and hence metabolic stress. Each participant trained one limb at a short (plantarflexed position, 115°: PF) and the other at a long (dorsiflexed position, 85°: DF) MTU length to vary the mechanical load. MTU mechanical, morphological, and material properties were assessed biweekly via simultaneous ultrasonography-dynamometry and magnetic resonance imaging. Our hypothesis that tendon would be more sensitive to the operating magnitude of tendon strain but less to metabolic stress exercise was confirmed as tendon stiffness, Young's modulus, and tendon size were only increased in the DF condition following the intervention. The PF leg demonstrated a continuous increment in maximal AT strain (i.e., higher mechanical demand) over time along with lack of adaptation in its biomechanical properties. The premise that skeletal muscle adapts at a higher rate than tendon and does not require high mechanical load to hypertrophy or increase its force potential during exercise was verified as the adaptive changes in morphological and mechanical properties of the muscle did not differ between DF and PF. Such differences in muscle-tendon sensitivity to mechano-metabolic stimuli may temporarily increase MTU imbalances that could have implications for the risk of tendon overuse injury
Portfolio decision analysis for pandemic sentiment assessment based on finance and web queries
Get PDFCOVID-19 has spread worldwide, affecting people’s health and the socio-economic environment. Such a pandemic is responsible for people’s deteriorated mood, pessimism, and lack of trust in the future. This paper presents a portfolio decision analysis framework for policymakers aiming at recovering the population from psychological distress. Specifically, we explore the relative relevance of a country to the overall “mood of the world” in light of pursuing predefined targets through optimization criteria. Toward this aim, we design a statistical indicator for measuring the mood by considering the financial markets’ outcomes and the people’s online searches about COVID-19. Then, we adapt existing portfolio selection models to evaluate the role of an extensive collection of countries and stock markets based on different criteria. More precisely, such criteria are established assuming “rational” goals of a policymaker, namely to aspire to a general and stable optimism and avoid waves of opposite moods or excess pessimism. Empirical experiments validate the theoretical proposal. The employed dataset contains 39 countries selected on the basis of data reliability and relevance in the context of COVID-19. Data on daily Google Trends searches of the term “coronavirus” (and its translations) and closing prices of relevant domestic stock indexes are considered for 2020 to develop the statistical mood indicator. Results offer different insights based on the selected optimization criteria. The practical implications of the proposed models have been illustrated through arguments based on a National Recovery and Resilience Plan-type normative framework
Parent and staff experiences of a feasibility trial evaluating neurally adjusted ventilatory assist in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis: A qualitative study.
Get PDFThere is limited literature regarding family and staff experiences of participating in clinical trials. A qualitative study was embedded in the NAVABronch feasibility trial evaluating the effectiveness of a novel mode of ventilation, neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA), in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of parents and health care practitioners (HCPs) involved in the NAVABronch Trial. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two parents and two focus groups were held with six HCPs. Four themes were identified from the focus groups: (1) Creating staff engagement, (2) Education to deliver NAVA, (3) Normalizing NAVA in clinical practice (4) Creating meaningful study outcomes and (5) support of parents during the trial, this theme was generated from the parent interviews. The findings indicated the need for education regarding NAVA for HCPs which would lead to increased confidence, better guidance around the use of NAVA and the need for NAVA to be normalized and embedded into the unit culture. Parents identified the need for further support around preparation for what may happen as a result of the interventions, particularly the weaning of sedation. Our study indicates that staff and parents had no concerns regarding the trial methods and procedures. Conducting clinical trials in Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) is challenging and complex. There is limited literature regarding family and staff experiences of participating in clinical trials. Understanding their experiences is crucial in ensuring trial success. [Abstract copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Nursing in Critical Care published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Association of Critical Care Nurses.
Insights into two-phase flow dynamics in closed-loop pulsating heat pipes utilizing Fe
Get PDFThis article discusses a focused study on visualizing the flow patterns in a two-phase pulsating heat pipe (PHP) using Fe O /water as the working fluid at 3 V/V% concentration. The research also aims to meticulously examine phase change phenomena in the heating section, particularly focusing on bubble formation and expansion processes. A high-speed video camera was utilized to capture dynamic insights into the behavior of the Fe O /water mixture. Based on the findings, a straightforward model was developed to explain bubble generation and growth in the mixture, serving as a useful reference for future PHP designs and optimizations. Visual observations also noted the stable nature of the Fe O /water nanofluid over a 4-day period, confirming its consistency throughout the experiments. Moreover, the impact of heat load variation on the evaporator section was assessed using controlled heat inputs ranging from 10 to 80 W. Observations on the arrangement of slugs and plugs at a 50% filling ratio revealed interesting self-adjusting flow patterns in response to increasing heat inputs, providing valuable insights into PHP operational dynamics. Notably, the oscillatory flow behavior of Fe O /water, the chosen working fluid, exhibited greater activity in comparison to water. This distinctive flow behavior contributed to achieving heightened thermal performance efficiency for the Fe O /water system, attributed to its faster attainment of the annular flow condition. [Abstract copyright: © 2024. The Author(s).
Challenges in prescribing for children and young people
Get PDFThis lecture focuses on various challenging issues concerning prescribing for children and young people. This can include understanding differences in pharmacokinetics, formulations for children, and also common prescribing errors. Legal issues are also discussed, such as consent, parental responsibility and the child's best interests