Optimal Lighting Conditions for Office Workers from the Perspective of Non-visual Effects

University is one of the institutions that may have to face disaster events. For two decades, there have been a number of disasters that have negatively impacted the university. Resilience is an important concept that has been developed in the field of disaster management. This concept emphasizes on building adaptive capacitythrough social development, community competences, and strong communication and information systems. Students as a community often stay in campus for their activities such as study, research, and organization activities and are therefore prone to risks and dangers. It is important for students to be prepared in facing possible disasters so as to increase the resilience in the event of a disaster in the university. This research will show the perception of students in facing disaster, and furthermore will develop comprehensive disaster mitigation at the university, not only structural resilience, but also human resource to prepare in facing disasters. The purpose of this study is to describe the preparedness and awareness of the students of the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Nursing, and Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Indonesia in facing disasters in an effort to increase disaster resilience in the university. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study performed on 388 respondents. Results show that generally the respondents are resilient enough in facing disasters. It showed from their answers with a percentage > 50%, there are: awareness of potentials for disaster on campus, respondents need to prepare in facing disasters, they got information from valid sources, they have been trained in disaster, appropriate answers regarding to emergency response during disaster, and knowledge regarding nearest health services. However, improvements are still needed for several variables, including disaster preparedness on campus, knowledge of early warning system in campus, ownership of catastrophe insurance, level of preparedness (which is still low at 30.9%), valid information sources, and participation in disaster response training should be increased. Keywords: disaster, disaster management, awareness, preparedness, resilience, universit

Variation of Driving Skill Among Elderly Drivers Compared to Young Drivers in Japan

This study analyzed driving skill among Japanese elderly drivers compared to young drivers and see which less skilled that might impact road accident risk in highway. Subjects included young and elderly drivers, consisting of 10 college students (20 – 24 years old) and 25 elderly drivers (14 men and 11 women) coming from The Silver Manpower Centre, an organization for elderly > 60 years. Elderly drivers were divided into two age groups, namely elderly 1 aged 60 – 65 years (10 persons) and elderly 2 aged > 65 years (15 persons). Driving performance was evaluated by using driving game simulator in laboratory. Analysis was conducted on consistency in the lane, lane-changing skill, traffic sign compliance, right-turning skill, braking and driving speed. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA test. Generally, performance of elderly 2 was lower than the young almost in all parameters including consistency in the lane (p value 65 years old were likely to be wrong on seeing traffic signs due to visual limitation and long response of compliance

Cognitive characteristics of older Japanese drivers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some causes of accidents among older drivers are: not paying attention to traffic signals; missing stop lines; and having to deal with and misjudging emergency situations. These causes of accidents reveal problems with attention and cognition. Such incidents are also related to driver perception and stress-coping mechanisms. It is important to examine the relation of stress reactions to attention and cognition as a factor influencing the causes of accidents commonly involving older drivers.</p> <p>Finding</p> <p>Subjects were 10 young drivers (23.3 ± 3.33 years) and 25 older drivers divided into two groups (older1 [60 to 65 years] and older2 [> 65 years]). This study revealed the correlation within driver stress inventory and driver coping questionnaires parameters was observed only in older drivers. They also needed a longer response time for Trail Making Test A and B. The factors affected the attention and cognition of older drivers by age but not driving experience itself, and coping parameters such as emotion focus, reappraisal, and avoidance were not included as stress inventory parameters. Being prone to fatigue was less for younger drivers than older drivers. Because they have shorter distances, shorter drive times, and no need for expressways, older drivers also had a significantly lower risk of thrill-seeking behaviour and more patience.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The intervention addressing their attention skills, aggressive feelings, and emotion focus should be considered. The technological improvements in cars will make older drivers feel safer and make driving easier which might lower the attention paid to the road, and regular driving training might be needed to assess and enhance their safety.</p

Relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and seasonal changes of physiological responses to cold

Background: Physiological responses to cold exhibit individual variation that can be affected by various factors, such as morphological characteristics, seasonal changes, and lifestyle; however, the genetic factors associated with this variation remain unclear. Recent studies have identified mtDNA as a potential genetic factor affecting cold adaptation. In addition, non-shivering thermogenesis (NST), a process closely related to mitochondrial dynamics, has also been suggested as an important factor affecting human response to cold. The present study aimed to clarify the relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and NST during periods of mild cold exposure.Methods: Seventeen healthy university students (D: n = 8, non-D: n = 9) participated in the present study during summer and winter. A climate chamber was programmed so that ambient temperature inside dropped from 28°C to 16°C over the course of an 80-minute period. Physiological parameters were recorded throughout the course of the experiments.Results: Increases in VO2 were significantly greater during periods of cold exposure in winter than they were during periods of cold exposure in summer, and individuals from the D group exhibited greater winter values of ΔVO2 than individuals from the non-D group.Tre was significantly lower during periods of rest and cold exposure in winter; however, no significant difference was observed between Tre values of individuals in the D and non-D groups. In addition, although T-dist was significantly lower during periods of rest in winter than it was during those same periods in summer, no significant seasonal differences in values of T-dist were observed during periods of cold exposure.Conclusions: Results of the present study indicated that NST was greater in winter, and that the D group exhibited greater NST than the non-D group during winter. Despite the differences between groups in NST, no significant differences in rectal and skin temperatures were found between groups in either season. Therefore, it was supposed that mitochondrial DNA haplogroups had a greater effect on variation in energy expenditure involving NST than they had on insulative responses. Future studies are necessary in order to investigate more multiple candidate genes related to human cold adaptation and to elucidate the relationship between gene polymorphism and physiological polytypism

Human Variation: from the Laboratory to the Field

The transition in anthropological and biomedical research methods over the past 50years has resulted in continued revision of opinions and ideas relating to the factors and forces that drive human variation. This book reviews the ways in which human variation is understood, paying attention to genetics, growth and development, and physiology. The chapter by Ulijaszek and Komlos entitled ‘From a History of Anthropometry to Anthropometric History’, traces changes in the uses of anthropometric methods and the interpretive lenses used for analysis and understanding of anthropometric data from the eighteenth century to the present da