1,061,626 research outputs found
Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height
No full textMost common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits(1), but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait(2,3). The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P<0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways
We Don���t Learn Enough from Incidents: the Roots of Human Errors
No full textPresentationProcess Safety aims to prevent and control incidents that have the potential to release hazards that could result in serious undesired outcomes. It has been widely agreed for some time now that human error is a causal factor in most accidents. Therefore, adequate human error management is indispensable for comprehensive Process Safety Management. Regulatory requirements to consider human factors in Safety and Environmental Management Systems have motivated companies to address human error; and so, efforts dedicated to the analysis of human factors in investigations have been increasing. However, these efforts are generally not effective at reaching the root causes of the errors, leaving organizations with the false sense of security that human error is being adequately managed. We are not learning enough, particularly from offshore incidents, and as a result, we keep having incidents that would have been preventable and organizations are not able to continuously improve. Human factors needs to be taken more seriously as a discipline that requires not just a basic understanding and some tools with guidance, but competency; i.e., deep knowledge and skills that have been developed through effective practice. This paper provides an overview of the incident investigation process, and overview of the fundamentals of human error, and discusses why, in the experience of the presenter, many organizations, while investing time and effort, don���t learn enough from incidents
Computationally Efficient Human Body Modelling for Real Time Motion Comfort Assessment
No full textDue to the complexity of the human body and its neuromuscular stabilization, it has been challenging to efficiently and accurately predict human motion and capture posture while being driven. Existing simple models of the seated human body are mostly two-dimensional and developed in the mid-sagittal plane exposed to in-plane excitation. Such models capture fore-aft and vertical motion but not the more complex 3D motions due to lateral loading. Advanced 3D full body active human models (AHMs), such as in MADYMO, can be used for comfort analysis and to investigate how vibrations influence the human body while being driven. However, such AHMs are very time-consuming due to their complexity. To effectively analyze motion comfort, a computationally efficient and accurate three dimensional (3D) human model, which runs faster than real time, is presented. The model's postural stabilization parameters are tuned using available 3D vibration data for head, trunk and pelvis translation and rotation. A comparison between AHM and EHM is conducted regarding human body kinematics. According to the results, the EHM model configuration with two neck joints, two torso bending joints, and a spinal compression joint accurately predicts body kinematics.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Intelligent Vehicle
A schematic comparison of regional human rights systems: An update
No full textThere are three regional systems for the protection of human rights, namely: the African, the Inter-American and the European systems. This contribution provides a comparative overview of their salient features and focuses on key procedural and institutional aspects of these systems
Dr. Duane M. Jackson, Morehouse College, July 2011
No full textThis video is a conversation with Dr. Duane M. Jackson. Dr. Jackson talks about his paper, "Recall and the Serial Position Effect: The Role of Primacy and Recency on Accounting Students' Performance." Jackie Daniel, AUC Woodruff Library, is the interviewer
Beyond violations : human factors in maintenance failures
No full textHuman factors are recognised as influencing the performance of workgroups in industrial operations. Surveys and interventions in high-risk industries, notably commercial aviation and power generation, have highlighted the practical implications of a focus on errors and violations in the workplace. The results have led to a marked improvement in the reliability and safety of operations in these industries. Lower risk industries such as the resource sector have been slower to develop a human factors approach to the reliability of their operations. This is partly because errors and violations may carry a lower risk, and partly because of a deep-seated focus on the technical causes of failure. As a result, less research has been done to directly link workplace factors with reliability failures. Existing literature implicates the principal human factors that may be associated with unreliable maintenance work in resource industry operations. This provides the basis for further studies designed to generate data supporting a link between specific human factors and maintenance outcomes
Identification of the human factors contributing to maintenance failures in a petroleum operation
No full textStructured interviews (N=38) were conducted with maintainers in a petroleum company who were asked to discuss a maintenance failure with which they were familiar. The interview structure was based on the Human Factor Investigation Tool - HFIT (Gordon, 2001) which in turn was based on the Model of Human Malfunction (Rasmussen, 1982). HFIT proved to be a useful instrument for identifying the pattern of human factors that recurred most frequently in maintenance-related failures. Of the 27 human factors identified, the three most frequent were found to be Assumptions (79% of cases), Design & Maintenance (71%) and Communication (66%). Of equal interest, were the factors that were infrequently mentioned such as Procedure Violations, Supervision, and Work Quality. Copyright 2010 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Inc. All rights reserved
Managing human reliability: An abnormal situation management historical Perspective
No full textPresentationIn 1993, five companies initiated a project to better understand the problem of managing abnormal situations. A study team was formed to visit several operations facilities to better understand the abnormal situation management challenge and identify the requirements to improve operations team���s ability to prevent and respond to abnormal situations. The 1993 project team���s findings were powerful enough to motivate several industry competitors to form a research and development consortium to work together to develop solutions to plant safety. This paper summarizes the key findings of this foundational 1993 study that lead to the founding of the Abnormal Situation Management (ASM) Joint Research and Development Consortium, which is commemorating its 20th year working together. More importantly, this paper examines the progress made over the past 20+ years against the ASM requirements identified in that foundational study in terms of (i) industry���s understanding of the contribution of human reliability to major process safety incidents and (ii) the implications for operations practices to effectively manage human reliability in reducing risks that may contribute to process safety incidents. The ASM historical perspective is intended to show where progress has been made and where there are still gaps in effective solutions to improve human reliability and process safet
"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States" By M. Carey.
No full text"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States: containing bried sketches of the moral and political character of those states.
By M. Carey, member of the American philosophical, and of the American Antiquarian Society, and author of The Olive Branch, Cindiciae Hibernicae, essays on banking, on political economy, and on internal improvement.
To which are now added the English editor's comments on the subject; together with Important Advice to Emigrants, and Cautions Against Impositions Practiced in the Outports
Markov Modulated Process to Model Human Mobility
No full textWe introduce a Markov Modulated Process (MMP) to describe human mobility. We represent the mobility process as a time-varying graph, where a link specifies a connection between two nodes (humans) at any discrete time step. Each state of the Markov chain encodes a certain modification to the original graph. We show that our MMP model successfully captures the main features of a random mobility simulator, in which nodes moves in a square region. We apply our MMP model to human mobility, measured in a library.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Network Architectures and ServicesTransport and Plannin
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