A Multisensory Approach to Virtual Reality Stress Reduction

Forest bathing is a nature immersion practice that reduces stress, restores mental resources, and has a wide variety of use cases in the treatment of mental illnesses. Since many people who need the benefits of forest bathing have little access to nature, virtual reality (VR) is being explored as a tool for delivering accessible immersive nature experiences via virtual nature environments (VNE's). Research on VNE's mainly utilizes the audiovisual capabilities of VR, but since forest bathing is a fully multisensory experience, further investigations into the integration of other sensory technologies, namely smell and temperature, are essential for the future of VNE research.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Searching for chameleon-like scalar fields with the ammonia method

(Abridged) The ammonia method, which has been proposed to explore the electron-to-proton mass ratio, mu = m_e/m_p, is applied to nearby dark clouds in the Milky Way. This ratio, which is measured in different physical environments of high (terrestrial) and low (interstellar) densities of baryonic matter is supposed to vary in chameleon-like scalar field models, which predict strong dependence of both masses and coupling constant on the local matter density. High resolution spectral observations of molecular cores in lines of NH3 (J,K) = (1,1), HC3N J = 2-1, and N2H+ J = 1-0 were performed at three radio telescopes to measure the radial velocity offsets, DeltaV = V_rot - V_inv, between the inversion transition of NH3 (1,1) and the rotational transitions of other molecules with different sensitivities to the parameter dmm = (mu_obs - mu_lab)/mu_lab. The measured values of DeltaV exhibit a statistically significant velocity offset of 23 +/- 4_stat +/- 3_sys m/s. When interpreted in terms of the electron-to-proton mass ratio variation, this infers that dmm = (2.2 +/- 0.4_stat +/- 0.3_sys)x10^{-8}. If only a conservative upper bound is considered, then the maximum offset between ammonia and the other molecules is |DeltaV| <= 30 m/s. This gives the most accurate reference point at z = 0 for dmm: |dmm| <= 3x10^{-8}.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A. Title and text corrected, references update

Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) system definition study

An executive summary of a study on the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) was presented. It was concluded that the overall costs of space systems could be reduced significantly by the development of a modular shuttle compatible standard spacecraft, and the use of that spacecraft with the Shuttle Transportation System. It was also demonstrated that the development of the standard spacecraft is feasible, desirable, and cost effective if applied to a series of missions. The ability to initially retrieve, refurbish, and reuse the spacecraft and its payload, and ultimately to perform in-orbit servicing, would result in significant cost savings. A number of specific conclusions and recommendations were also suggested

Literature review of some selected types of results and statistical analyses of total-ozone data

The depletion of ozone in the stratosphere is examined, and causes for the depletion are cited. Ground station and satellite measurements of ozone, which are taken on a worldwide basis, are discussed. Instruments used in ozone measurement are discussed, such as the Dobson spectrophotometer, which is credited with providing the longest and most extensive series of observations for ground based observation of stratospheric ozone. Other ground based instruments used to measure ozone are also discussed. The statistical differences of ground based measurements of ozone from these different instruments are compared to each other, and to satellite measurements. Mathematical methods (i.e., trend analysis or linear regression analysis) of analyzing the variability of ozone concentration with respect to time and lattitude are described. Various time series models which can be employed in accounting for ozone concentration variability are examined

Advances in Surface Modification and Treatment of Wood

Biopolymers including natural (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins, gums, natural rubbers, bacterial polymers), synthetic (e.g., aliphatic polyesters and polyphosphoester), and biocomposites are of paramount interest in regenerative medicine, due to their availability, processability, and low toxicity. Moreover, the structuration of biopolymer-based materials at the nano- and microscale along with their chemical properties are crucial in the engineering of advanced carriers for drug products. Finally, combination products including or based on biopolymers for controlled drug release offer a powerful solution to improve the tissue integration and biological response of these materials. Understanding the drug delivery mechanisms, efficiency, and toxicity of such systems may be useful for regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical technology. The main aim of the Special Issue on “Biopolymers in Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine” is to gather recent findings and current advances on biopolymer research for biomedical applications, particularly in regenerative medicine, wound healing, and drug delivery. Contributions to this issue can be as original research or review articles and may cover all aspects of biopolymer research, ranging from the chemical synthesis and characterization of modified biopolymers, their processing in different morphologies and hierarchical structures, as well as their assessment for biomedical uses

Impact of Climate Change: Environmental Assessment of Passive Solutions in a Single-Family Home in Southern Spain

According to the IPCC Climate Change projections by 2050 temperatures in southern Spain will have increased noticeably during the summer. Housing—in its current form—will not be able to provide a suitable response to this new climate scenario, and will in turn prompt an increase in cooling energy consumption and a series of problems relating to health and comfort. The Design Builder simulation tool was used to quantify the impact of this future climate scenario on energy demand, as well as its effect under free-running conditions on indoor temperature. Different passive conditioning strategies were evaluated to establish their influence on the indoor comfort conditions. The case study examined a theoretical single-family residential unit model in order to establish guidelines for the pre-selection of the most suitable passive solutions. The results show that passive conditioning strategies analysed (envelope treatment, solar gain protection and night-time natural ventilation) reduce energy demand and indoor temperatures, thus increasing energy efficiency and improving indoor comfort conditions. Therefore, these passive conditioning strategies reduce the cooling energy consumption.Spanish government BIA2014–53949-R BIA2017-86383-

VeatherReflect: Employing Weather as Qualitative Representation of Stress Data in Virtual Reality

While personal trackers can collect a vast amount of information about their users, the representation of such data has remained unchanged, with bar charts being the most dominant. However, to build systems that facilitate reflection and support well-being, it is crucial to explore alternative ways of representation. Thus, we designed VeatherReflect, a VR application that uses weather metaphors to illustrate tracker stress scores, aiming to encourage users to reflect on their stress data. In a pre-study, we mapped stress scores to weather states. We then compared VeatherReflect with a standard visualisation of stress data presented in VR. VeatherReflect increased participant engagement with personal data and stress awareness. Participants reported reflective insights for stress-reducing behaviour. We contribute findings on how virtual weather as a metaphor for stress can support reflection. We discuss design recommendations for VR applications aiming to facilitate a deeper understanding of complex personal data through engaging qualitative experiences

Oral application of L-menthol in the heat: From pleasure to performance

When menthol is applied to the oral cavity it presents with a familiar refreshing sensation and cooling mint flavour. This may be deemed hedonic in some individuals, but may cause irritation in others. This variation in response is likely dependent upon trigeminal sensitivity toward cold stimuli, suggesting a need for a menthol solution that can be easily personalised. Menthol’s characteristics can also be enhanced by matching colour to qualitative outcomes; a factor which can easily be manipulated by practitioners working in athletic or occupational settings to potentially enhance intervention efficacy. This presentation will outline the efficacy of oral menthol application for improving time trial performance to date, either via swilling or via co-ingestion with other cooling strategies, with an emphasis upon how menthol can be applied in ecologically valid scenarios. Situations in which performance is not expected to be enhanced will also be discussed. An updated model by which menthol may prove hedonic, satiate thirst and affect ventilation will also be presented, with the potential performance implications of these findings discussed and modelled. Qualitative reflections from athletes that have implemented menthol mouth swilling in competition, training and maximal exercise will also be included

Application of digital twin technologies for the optimization of the energy consumption for a wood clattering panels manufacturer

This thesis describes applications of digital twin technology for the optimization of the energy consumption profile. It is based on the electricity consumption data from a Finnish wood clattering panels manufacturer – Puucomp. The data consists of hourly records for the duration of 36 months. Production simulation was used to identify the bottleneck process with the highest energy consumption, which is perforation. The Energy Value Stream Mapping (EVSM) method may be enriched with the digital twin (DT) models and electricity data, enabling energy flow tracking at the current time. It has been determined that the highest energy consumption occurs during the morning hours, with an overall increase in consumption during the cold period. The data has not shown significant dependency on humidity, wind speed, or air pressure. The base load has been considered with the floor heating and the gap required to fulfill is 60kWh. Proposed solutions are the utilization of renewable energy sources, technological improvement of the systems, and production rerouting. The most viable solution is the energy mix, which includes renewable energy sources used with the combination of energy storage systems (ESS) in the form of batteries. The first scenario consists of the utilization of rooftop space for the solar panels, which are expected to support floor heating, while ESS is used to support the grid during peak hours. The second possible scenario includes rooftop leasing, geothermal heat pump utilization for the floor heating, and ESS as a support to the grid. Utilization of DT technologies has been seen as a viable approach to reduce energy consumption profile. However, the application of DT is limited by the availability of the data