An analysis of architectural programming process at Kansas State University, Manhattan : a case study of Kansas Regents Educational Communication Center

Department: Architecture

A window to your smartphone: exploring interaction and communication in immersive VR with augmented virtuality

A major drawback of most Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) used in immersive Virtual Reality (VR) is the visual and social isolation of users from their real-world surroundings while wearing these headsets. This partial isolation of users from the real-world might hinder social interactions with friends and family. To address this issue, we present a new method to allow people wearing VR HMDs to use their smartphones without removing their HMDs. To do this, we augment the scene inside the VR HMD with a view of the user's device so that the user can interact with the device without removing the headset. The idea involves the use of additional cameras, such as the Leap Motion device or a high-resolution RGB camera to capture the user's real-world surrounding and augment the virtual world with the content displayed on the smartphone screen. This setup allows VR users to have a window to their smartphone from within the virtual world and a�ord much of the functionality provided by their smartphones, with the potential to reduce undesirable visual and social isolation users may experience when using immersive VR HMDs. This work has been successfully submitted for presentation as a poster in the Computer and Robot Vision Conference 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta, and is scheduled to appear in the conference proceedings at the IEEE Xplore digital library later this year

Witchcraft, religious transformation, and Hindu nationalism in rural central India.

This thesis is an anthropological exploration of the connections between witchcraft, religious transformation, and Hindu nationalism in a village in an Adivasi (or 'tribal') area of eastern Maharashtra, India. It argues that the appeal of Hindu nationalism in India today cannot be understood without reference to processes of religious and social transformation that are also taking place at the local level. The thesis demonstrates how changing village composition in terms of caste, together with an increased State presence and particular view of modernity, have led to difficulties in satisfactorily curing attacks of witchcraft and magic. Consequently, many people in the village and wider area have begun to look for lasting solutions to these problems in new ways. A significant number have joined a Hindu religious sect, the Mahanubhav Panth, seen as particularly efficacious in matters of healing. Membership of this sect however alters the values and practices of adherents which not only causes conflict with non-sect neighbours and kin but also resonates powerfully with the messages promoted by Hindu nationalist agents in the area. The thesis engages key areas of anthropological concern: the relationship between individual action and social structure; kinship and sociality; State activity; and religious conversion

Static & Thermal Analysis of Piston for Single Cylinder Diesel Engine by Ansys : A Review

The main objective of this present research work is to investigate and analyze the stresses which are acting on the piston. The parameter which is used for analysis is temperature, operating pressure and properties of materials. Piston in internal combustion engine play most important role because it transfers the force which is produced during the combustion of fuel to crankshaft due to which it converts the pressure energy into mechanical energy. Piston fails due to thermal and mechanical stresses which are produced under the running condition of engine. The boundary conditions are applied for static and thermal analysis which includes pressure on piston head during working period and uneven temperature distributions occurs from head of piston to skirt of piston. The 3D-model will be created using SOLIDWORKS2018.the 3D model will be imported in the Ansys software for geometry and meshing purposes then the FEM Analysis will be done on ANSYS software. Analysis will help to change the existing design for reduce the weight. Finite Element Analysis is the best method for analyzing the stresses in piston

Pharmacodynamics of isavuconazole in experimental invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: implications for clinical breakpoints

OBJECTIVES: Isavuconazole, a novel triazole antifungal agent, has broad-spectrum activity against Aspergillus spp. and other pathogenic fungi. The isavuconazole exposure–response relationship in experimental invasive pulmonary aspergillosis using galactomannan index (GMI) suppression as a marker of disease clearance was explored. METHODS: The impact of exposure on GMI suppression in persistently neutropenic rabbits treated with isavuconazonium sulphate (isavuconazole-equivalent dosages of 20, 40 or 60 mg/kg every 24 h, after a 90 mg/kg loading dose) for 12 days was linked using mathematical modelling. Bridging to humans using population pharmacokinetic (PK) data from a clinical trial in invasive aspergillosis was performed using Monte Carlo simulations. RESULTS: Mean plasma isavuconazole AUC/MIC (EC(50)) of 79.65 (95% CI 32.2, 127.1) produced a half-maximal effect in GMI suppression. The inhibitory sigmoid E(max) curve dropped sharply after an AUC/MIC of ≥30 and was near maximum (EC(80)) at ∼130. Bridging the experimental PK/pharmacodynamic (PD) target to human population PK data was then used to return to the rabbit model to determine a clinically relevant PD endpoint. The clinical dosing regimen used in the trial would result in a mean GMI of 4.3 ± 1.8, which is a 50% reduction from the starting GMI in the experiment. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical trial results showing the non-inferiority of isavuconazole to voriconazole for all-cause mortality further support the PK-PD endpoint, thereby demonstrating the usefulness of the rabbit model and endpoint for isavuconazole and implications on interpretive breakpoints. Importantly, the analysis supports this model as an important tool for development of antifungal agents