2,988 research outputs found
A grammar of sentiment thinking about sentimental jewellery towards making new art about love and loss.
No full textSubmitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the Degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis practice-led research project explores English and French sentimental jewellery of the Victorian period. ‘Sentimental jewellery’ or ‘message jewellery’ denotes jewellery created to function as a tangible expression of feeling between donor and recipient, mediated through complex narratives relating to its exchange. These artefacts codify emotion through use of complex visual languages, employing the symbolic and coded use of gems, human hair, emblems, words and wordplay. The research has expanded to encompass memorial garments known as ‘widows weeds’. The aims of the research have been threefold: firstly, to add to understanding and interpretation of aspects of Victorian sentimental jewellery and associated craft practices; secondly, to explore the metaphors and narratives inherent within them; thirdly, to test the visual and technical possibilities of knowledge thus gained to address human feeling through art. Outcomes take the form of a body of new artwork and a written thesis, which are designed to be mutually informing. Together, they articulate my response to the project’s central question: can consideration of the ‘grammar of sentiment’ at work in Victorian sentimental jewellery yield new possibilities, through fine art practice, for communicating love and loss in the 21st century? The four artworks that are a main output of the research take the forms of: REGARD:LOVEME, an artist’s book exploring gem codes and wordplay; Plocacosmos, a set of hairworking trials; The Cyanotypes, which reflect upon the materiality and aesthetic of the amatory locket; and Widows Weeds, a large format photographic installation, which considers the materiality and lineage of mourning cloth. Collectively, they explore the typology of the sentimental artefact through development of text/image vocabularies that are conceived as providing a ‘grammar of sentiment’ through which to articulate aspects of human feeling. It is this exploration that constitutes my main contribution to knowledge
Workflow Driven Decision Support Systems: A case of an intra-operative visualization system for surgeons
No full textInadequate visualization during Minimally Invasive Surgeries (MIS) has led several technology research labs to develop decision support systems such as Intra-operative Visualization Systems (IVS). IVS focuses on providing surgeons with real-time imaging support to improve task visualization and navigation. Though exciting, this emerging field also presents challenges in terms of design, development, implementation and integration of various technologies in the surgical workplace. While developing a technically robust IVS which integrates various imaging sources may help visualizing the patient data, it may not serve its true purpose: to adequately support surgeons in making the right decisions. Development of IVS should therefore be not just “technology intensive”; but “Knowledge Intensive Visualization System (KIVS)”. This means that these systems should aim to provide the knowledge to make informed decisions by providing the surgeon with the necessary patient information. This thesis is an example of the role design as a discipline can play in guiding the user-centered technological innovation in the area of medical informatics, especially in the case where the development depends on creating collaborative design between different scientific disciplines: surgical, technological (medical informatics) and design. Visualization of the patient information which supports surgical decision making in KIVS is dependent on knowledge of surgical workflow- which means knowledge of how surgeons solve problems and make decisions while performing the procedure. Surgical workflow depends on a dynamic information flow between the system, the surgeon, the patient, and the surgical team. Surgical workflow is also linked in time over the three surgical phases: pre-operative (before surgery), intra-operative (during surgery), and post-operative (post surgery). This thesis focuses on answering the following research questions: (a) What are the constituents or task boundaries of the surgical workspace that influence the surgical workflow or the surgical problem-solving process? (b) How can the knowledge of the surgical workflow be incorporated into the design of KIVS so as to improve decision-making and thus the performance of the surgeons?(c) In a multidisciplinary development team of surgeons, technology engineers and designers, what steps are required in the KIVS development process to facilitate collaborative design? Based on empirical studies with surgeons, this thesis proposed a design framework called “Workflow-centered design framework”. This framework assists in analyzing the surgical workflow which eventually leads to the development of the knowledge repository of surgical procedure, information and design requirements for the KIVS. This framework has been applied to support workflow driven development of two KIVS prototypes taking a case of upcoming MIS to treat cancer in liver called Radio frequency Ablation (RFA). These prototypes have been developed involving real-time image fusion between imaging modalities such as intra-operative Ultrasound (US) and pre-operative Computerized Tomography (CT) scan. The results from the evaluative study showed significant improvements in the performance of expert intervention radiologists and medical students while performing RFA using KIVS compared to US. In particular, intra-operative planning time and task accuracy of hitting the right tumor in the center showed significant improvement. The findings demonstrated the importance of workflow driven patient data visualization in improving surgical decision making. The framework proposed in this thesis serves as a means to generate the scientific knowledge required to drive user-centered development of KIVS. The contribution of this thesis is at three levels: - The framework proposed in this thesis contributes to design and ergonomics literature as a practical example of application of user centered design to drive innovative technological development of KIVS for complex workspaces such as the surgical theatre. - It contributes to the medical informatics by integrating cognitive theories as a foundation which guides the development of KIVS. - The KIVS prototype serves as a development aid to guide future technological innovation in the area of intra-operative visualization system for RFA and for MIS in general.Product Innovation ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin
Bayesian one-step IPD network meta-analysis of time-to-event data using Royston-Parmar models.
No full textNetwork meta-analysis (NMA) combines direct and indirect evidence from trials to calculate and rank treatment estimates. While modelling approaches for continuous and binary outcomes are relatively well developed, less work has been done with time-to-event outcomes. Such outcomes are usually analysed using Cox proportional hazard (PH) models. However, in oncology with longer follow-up time, and time-dependent effects of targeted treatments, this may no longer be appropriate. Network meta-analysis conducted in the Bayesian setting has been increasing in popularity. However, fitting the Cox model is computationally intensive, making it unsuitable for many datasets. Royston-Parmar models are a flexible alternative that can accommodate time-dependent effects. Motivated by individual participant data (IPD) from 37 cervical cancer trials (5922 women) comparing surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, this paper develops an IPD Royston-Parmar Bayesian NMA model for overall survival. We give WinBUGS code for the model. We show how including a treatment-ln(time) interaction can be used to conduct a global test for PH, illustrate how to test for consistency of direct and indirect evidence, and assess within-design heterogeneity. Our approach provides a computationally practical, flexible Bayesian approach to NMA of IPD survival data, which readily extends to include additional complexities, such as non-PH, increasingly found in oncology trials
Bayesian one-step IPD network meta-analysis of time-to-event data using Royston-Parmar models
No full textNetwork meta‐analysis (NMA) combines direct and indirect evidence from trials to calculate and rank treatment estimates. While modelling approaches for continuous and binary outcomes are relatively well developed, less work has been done with time‐to‐event outcomes. Such outcomes are usually analysed using Cox proportional hazard (PH) models. However, in oncology with longer follow‐up time, and time‐dependent effects of targeted treatments, this may no longer be appropriate. Network meta‐analysis conducted in the Bayesian setting has been increasing in popularity. However, fitting the Cox model is computationally intensive, making it unsuitable for many datasets. Royston‐Parmar models are a flexible alternative that can accommodate time‐dependent effects. Motivated by individual participant data (IPD) from 37 cervical cancer trials (5922 women) comparing surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, this paper develops an IPD Royston‐Parmar Bayesian NMA model for overall survival. We give WinBUGS code for the model. We show how including a treatment‐ln(time) interaction can be used to conduct a global test for PH, illustrate how to test for consistency of direct and indirect evidence, and assess within‐design heterogeneity. Our approach provides a computationally practical, flexible Bayesian approach to NMA of IPD survival data, which readily extends to include additional complexities, such as non‐PH, increasingly found in oncology trials
Highlights of Library Automation related documents in the INSPEC
No full textThe paper has attempted to analyse the Library Automation related records in the INSPEC (1969 to July 2004). The growth of Library Automation related literature, country of input, scattering of literature in different publication types, core journals publishing Library Automation related publications, language-wise proportion of the literature, content analysis through keywords/descriptors, availability of URLs (Universal Resource Locator) for full text articles as alternative locations were the main focus of the study. After the year 1984, the literature grows approximately linearly with a growth rate of about 600 items per year. The USA is the predominant publishing country of Library Automation related literature. Journals are the most preferred publication media, followed by Conference/Proceedings-Papers, Book-Chapters, and Reports publications. Most productive journals are: Library Hi Tech, followed by Computers in Libraries, VINE, Information Technology and Libraries, and Program. English articles constitute 91.83% of the total literature. That means the non-English articles constitute only 8.17%. The keyword analysis indicates that the key areas of Library Automation were cataloguing; academic-libraries; information-retrieval; Internet; and information-services. The most occurred URL was http://www.dlib.org/ as alternative locations in the availability notes of Library Automation related records
Assembly and Annotation of Red Spruce (Picea rubens) Chloroplast Genome, Identification of Simple Sequence Repeats, and Phylogenetic Analysis in Picea
No full textWe have sequenced the chloroplast genome of red spruce (Picea rubens) for the first time using the single-end, short-reads (44 bp) Illumina sequences, assembled and functionally annotated it, and identified simple sequence repeats (SSRs). The contigs were assembled using SOAPdenovo2 following the retrieval of chloroplast genome sequences using the black spruce (Picea mariana) chloroplast genome as the reference. The assembled genome length was 122,115 bp (gaps included). Comparatively, the P. rubens chloroplast genome reported here may be considered a near-complete draft. Global genome alignment and phylogenetic analysis based on the whole chloroplast genome sequences of Picea rubens and 10 other Picea species revealed high sequence synteny and conservation among 11 Picea species and phylogenetic relationships consistent with their known classical interrelationships and published molecular phylogeny. The P. rubens chloroplast genome sequence showed the highest similarity with that of P. mariana and the lowest with that of P. sitchensis. We have annotated 107 genes including 69 protein-coding genes, 28 tRNAs, 4 rRNAs, few pseudogenes, identified 42 SSRs, and successfully designed primers for 26 SSRs. Mononucleotide A/T repeats were the most common followed by dinucleotide AT repeats. A similar pattern of microsatellite repeats occurrence was found in the chloroplast genomes of 11 Picea species
Does Alumina Coating Alter the Solid Permeable Interphase Dynamics in LiMn2O4 Cathodes?
No full textIt is well known that the Al2O3 coating of the LiMn2O4 cathodes leads to improvement of the performance of these electrodes. However, the effect of the coating on the fundamental processes occurring on the interface with the active material which results in the formation of the solid permeable interphase is yet to be investigated. These effects should be more pronounced in the first cycle when a dynamic interaction of the active material at high voltage with the electrolyte and binder leads to the formation of this passivation layer. Here, we present a detailed investigation of the solid permeable interphase formation in alumina-coated and uncoated LiMn2O4 electrodes using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and analysis on the electrodes at the predesigned charging/ discharging states. We demonstrate that the alumina coating leads to modification of the solid permeable layer and its dynamics. We also discuss the possible influences of interface modifications via coating on the battery performance
The role of nanoparticle concentration and CNT coating in high-performance polymer-free micro/nanostructured carbon nanotube-nanoparticle composite electrode for Li intercalation
No full textWe investigate how Li intercalation into composite electrodes resulting
from the combination of graphitic carbon felt (CF) with carbon nanotubes
(CNTs) functionalized with electroactive nanoparticles (NPs) depends on
NP concentration. To this end, we study CF electrodes coated or not with
hydrophilic CNTs containing electrodeposited beta/gamma-MnO(2)NPs (wt%
25, 42, and 69) with hollow-nanotube structure. Galvanic coupling
between the CNTs and the NPs is the reason why the electrochemical
performance of CNT-NP nanocomposites varies with the NP concentration.
The CNT coating on the CF electrode also avoids capacity fading of the
CF/MnO2NP electrodes and prevents carbon fibers from interconnecting
with SEL More specifically, the CNTs stabilize the solid electrolyte
interphase and prevent NP detachment, thereby producing electrodes with
long-term cyclability. The best electrochemical performance occurs for
CNT/MnO2NP mass wt% 25 (1114 mAh g(-1), 1st discharge/charge Faradaic
efficiency similar to 80% at 1 A g(-1), cut-off potential = 4-0.005 V
vs Li+ /Li). (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Manganese vanadium sulfate-oxide cylindrical core-shell heterostructures by electro-spray deposition on graphite foil for Li+ ion intercalation
No full textHeterostructure based on metal sulfides and oxides nanomaterials can be
relevant to the charge storage devices. Here, we show that
Mn(CH3COO)(2)center dot 4H(2)O and VOSO4 center dot xH(2)O can react in
ethanol/water droplets generated by an electric field assisted spray
system, so that MnSx-VSx/MnzV(2)O(5) heterostructures in the shape of
nanometric cylindrical particles can be deposited on a graphite foil
substrate. The composite material phases were detected by several
microscopies and microscopic probes spectroscopies, i.e., micro-Raman
and scanning X-ray photoemission microscopy. The nanometric cylindrical
particles were relatively homogenously distributed throughout the film
covering the graphite foil. Film thickness modulation on surface was
calculated between 100 and 300 nm range. We show that the segregation of
MnV-O and MnV-S relative abundance in the internal and external volume
of the cylindrical nanoparticles respectively, can be exploited during
faradaic and non-faradaic processes in charge/discharge. (C) 2021
Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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