Development of a Car-like Online Navigation Testbed

We present new realtime path planning and collision avoidance algorithms for an autonomous rover equipped with a laser range finder to be used as a platform for multi-agent navigation and control in unknown environments. For successful navigation, such tasks as localization, map-building, and collision avoidance should be handled at the vehicle level. The proposed architecture covers these aspects of robotic path- planning in a modular and robust manner, allowing quicker development of more sophisticated path-planners. Using a conventional SLAM algorithm, a feature map and the location of the vehicle is obtained. The information for orientation and distance of the obstacles ahead is available from a laser range finder. The proposed collision avoidance algorithm provides multiple paths to guide the vehicle through the environment. The system acts as a self-contained extendable platform for development and testing of high-level pathfinders

International alliances involving New Zealand companies.

This thesis is concerned with international strategic alliances involving New Zealand companies. By Western standards, even the largest New Zealand company is relatively small. New Zealand is also of interest because of its Western culture and close trading relationships with Asia. The research investigates the affect on alliance performance of each of three influences: partner asymmetry; formation of shared objectives; and the role of contracts in alliance management. The methodology involved both a postal survey of 300 major businesses and multi-case study design covering a range of industries. Contrary to other studies, findings here indicate that firms can have positive experiences of partner asymmetries and seek partners on this basis. The process by which alliance objectives are set and the role of management contracts geared to these objectives are also shown to have an influence of alliance performance

Monitoring food marketing to children: A joint Nordic monitoring protocol for marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) towards children and young people

The protocol describes methods for how to monitor marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, salt and sugar towards children and young people at a given time as cross-sectional studies, as well as allowing for monitoring of trends. The data provided could also be used for evaluation purposes, for instance providing relevant data for evaluating regulation practices and schemes in the respective countries; to study advertising and marketing practices, contents and forms over time. In addition to being a tool for monitoring purposes within each country, the protocol will also enable comparisons between the Nordic countries by establishing a joint understanding on how each marketing channel should be monitored. The protocol has been developed as a Nordic project between representatives and experts from Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway together with international experts

Exponential Growth Bias of Infectious Diseases: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background: Humans struggle to grasp the extent of exponential growth, which is essential to comprehend the spread of an infectious disease. Exponential growth bias is the tendency to linearize exponential functions when assessing them intuitively. Effective public health communication about the nonlinear nature of infectious diseases has strong implications for the public’s compliance with strict restrictions. However, there is a lack of synthesized knowledge on the communication of the exponential growth of infectious diseases and on the outcomes of exponential growth bias. Objective: This systematic review identifies, evaluates, and synthesizes the findings of empirical studies on exponential growth bias of infectious diseases. Methods: A systematic review will be conducted using the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols) 2015 statement. Eligibility criteria include empirical studies of exponential growth bias of infectious diseases regardless of methodology. We include studies both with and without interventions/strategies. For information sources, we include the following five bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, PsychINFO, and Web of Science Core Collection. The risk of bias will be assessed using RoB 2 (Risk of Bias 2) and STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology). Data synthesis will be achieved through a narrative synthesis. Results: By February 2022, we included 11 experimental studies and 1 cross-sectional survey study. Preliminary themes identified are the presence of exponential growth bias, the effect of exponential growth bias, and communication strategies to mitigate exponential growth bias. Data extraction, narrative synthesis, and the risk of bias assessment are to be completed by February 2023. Conclusions: We anticipate that this systematic review will draw some lines related to how people comprehend and misperceive exponential growth and its consequences for infectious disease mitigation and communication. Furthermore, the study will conclude with the limitations of the research and suggestions for future research.publishedVersio

Exploring Health Experts' and Creative Communicators' Focus in Pandemic Video Communication: A Qualitative Study

Pandemic video communication aimed at the general public often lacks creativity and fails to reach large audiences. Yet, the scientific content should not be compromised by attempts to improve the creativity or reach. This study explores the processes utilised by various health experts and professional communicators when creating communication, to identify similarities and differences, and how pandemic video communication thus can be improved through an interdisciplinary approach. We interviewed 12 individuals from 6 different professional domains: health, public health, film/science communication, video journalism, advertising, and social media/YouTube. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted using the same interview guide. The interview data were subjected to thematic analysis with both deductive and inductive coding, and the results were visualised in a bubble chart. Our study has highlighted both similarities and differences between health professionals and creative communicators relating to their creative processes and their approaches to pandemic video communication. We found that participants from health domains assigned great importance to and efforts on the content, but were unsure or lacked experience in how content is translated through form and creativity. Creative communicators, on the other hand, emphasise and specialise in form, yet depend on health professionals, experts, and scientists to provide and validate content. The key to improving pandemic-related video communication appears to lie in striking the right balance between high-quality and evidence-based content and creativity. This study found that both health professionals and creative communicators play crucial roles in reaching a solid end result, and we suggest a fusion model approach to interdisciplinary collaboration.publishedVersio

Increased complement activation 3 to 6 h after trauma is a predictor of prolonged mechanical ventilation and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome: a prospective observational study

Background Complement activation is a central mechanism in systemic inflammation and remote organ dysfunction following major trauma. Data on temporal changes of complement activation early after injury is largely missing. We aimed to describe in detail the kinetics of complement activation in individual trauma patients from admission to 10 days after injury, and the association with trauma characteristics and outcome. Methods In a prospective cohort of 136 trauma patients, plasma samples obtained with high time resolution (admission, 2, 4, 6, 8 h, and thereafter daily) were assessed for terminal complement complex (TCC). We studied individual TCC concentration curves and calculated a summary measure to obtain the accumulated TCC response 3 to 6 h after injury (TCC-AUC3–6). Correlation analyses and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to explore associations between individual patients’ admission TCC, TCC-AUC3–6, daily TCC during the intensive care unit stay, trauma characteristics, and predefined outcome measures. Results TCC concentration curves showed great variability in temporal shapes between individuals. However, the highest values were generally seen within the first 6 h after injury, before they subsided and remained elevated throughout the intensive care unit stay. Both admission TCC and TCC-AUC3–6 correlated positively with New Injury Severity Score (Spearman’s rho, p-value 0.31, 0.0003 and 0.21, 0.02) and negatively with admission Base Excess (− 0.21, 0.02 and − 0.30, 0.001). Multivariable analyses confirmed that deranged physiology was an important predictor of complement activation. For patients without major head injury, admission TCC and TCC-AUC3–6 were negatively associated with ventilator-free days. TCC-AUC3–6 outperformed admission TCC as a predictor of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score at day 0 and 4. Conclusions Complement activation 3 to 6 h after injury was a better predictor of prolonged mechanical ventilation and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome than admission TCC. Our data suggest that the greatest surge of complement activation is found within the first 6 h after injury, and we argue that this time period should be in focus in the design of future experimental studies and clinical trials using complement inhibitors.publishedVersio

The Role of Recipient Characteristics in Health Video Communication Outcomes: Scoping Review

Background: The importance of effective communication during public health emergencies has been highlighted by the World Health Organization, and it has published guidelines for effective communication in such situations. With video being a popular medium, video communication has been a growing area of study over the past decades and is increasingly used across different sectors and disciplines, including health. Health-related video communication gained momentum during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and video was among the most frequently used modes of communication worldwide. However, although much research has been done regarding different characteristics of video content (the message) and its delivery (the messenger), there is a lack of knowledge about the role played by the characteristics of the recipients for the creation of effective communication. Objective: The aim of this review is to identify how health video communication outcomes are shaped by recipient characteristics, as such characteristics might affect the effectiveness of communication. The main research question of the study is as follows: do the characteristics of the recipients of health videos affect the outcomes of the communication? Methods: A scoping review describing the existing knowledge within the field was conducted. We searched for literature in 3 databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Embase) and defined eligibility criteria based on the relevance to the research question. Recipient characteristics and health video communication outcomes were identified and classified. Results: Of the 1040 documents initially identified, 128 (12.31%) met the criteria for full-text assessment, and 39 (3.75%) met the inclusion criteria. The included studies reported 56 recipient characteristics and 42 communication outcomes. The reported associations between characteristics and outcomes were identified, and the potential research opportunities were discussed. Contributions were made to theory development by amending the existing framework of the Integrated-Change model, which is an integrated model of motivational and behavioral change. Conclusions: Although several recipient characteristics and health video communication outcomes were identified, there is a lack of robust empirical evidence on the association between them. Further research is needed to understand how the preceding characteristics of the recipients might affect the various outcomes of health video communication.publishedVersio

The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) – Differences between the US and the Norwegian Normative Samples

Summary: The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) is a standardized procedure for assessing childrens’ abilities, developed in the USA. It is widely used in child rehabilitation, also in Norway. A representative sample of Norwegian children in ten age groups is compared to the original American standardizing sample. On a large number of points, Norwegian and American children were shown to be different. In the assessment of Norwegian children, therefore, they should be compared to the Norwegian sample, not to the American norms for the PEDI test

A randomised controlled trial and cost-effectiveness evaluation of "booster" interventions to sustain increases in physical activity in middle-aged adults in deprived urban neighbourhoods

Background: Systematic reviews have identified a range of brief interventions which increase physical activity in previously sedentary people. There is an absence of evidence about whether follow up beyond three months can maintain long term physical activity. This study assesses whether it is worth providing motivational interviews, three months after giving initial advice, to those who have become more active. Methods/Design: Study candidates (n = 1500) will initially be given an interactive DVD and receive two telephone follow ups at monthly intervals checking on receipt and use of the DVD. Only those that have increased their physical activity after three months (n = 600) will be randomised into the study. These participants will receive either a "mini booster" (n = 200), "full booster" (n = 200) or no booster (n = 200). The "mini booster" consists of two telephone calls one month apart to discuss physical activity and maintenance strategies. The "full booster" consists of a face-to-face meeting with the facilitator at the same intervals. The purpose of these booster sessions is to help the individual maintain their increase in physical activity. Differences in physical activity, quality of life and costs associated with the booster interventions, will be measured three and nine months from randomisation. The research will be conducted in 20 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Sheffield, which have large, ethnically diverse populations, high levels of economic deprivation, low levels of physical activity, poorer health and shorter life expectancy. Participants will be recruited through general practices and community groups, as well as by postal invitation, to ensure the participation of minority ethnic groups and those with lower levels of literacy. Sheffield City Council and Primary Care Trust fund a range of facilities and activities to promote physical activity and variations in access to these between neighbourhoods will make it possible to examine whether the effectiveness of the intervention is modified by access to community facilities. A one-year integrated feasibility study will confirm that recruitment targets are achievable based on a 10% sample.Discussion: The choice of study population, study interventions, brief intervention preceding the study, and outcome measure are discussed

Trends in Tissue Engineering for Blood Vessels

Over the years, cardiovascular diseases continue to increase and affect not only human health but also the economic stability worldwide. The advancement in tissue engineering is contributing a lot in dealing with this immediate need of alleviating human health. Blood vessel diseases are considered as major cardiovascular health problems. Although blood vessel transplantation is the most convenient treatment, it has been delimited due to scarcity of donors and the patient's conditions. However, tissue-engineered blood vessels are promising alternatives as mode of treatment for blood vessel defects. The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of the advancement on biofabrication technology for treatment of soft tissue defects particularly for vascular tissues. This will also provide an overview and update on the current status of tissue reconstruction especially from autologous stem cells, scaffolds, and scaffold-free cellular transplantable constructs. The discussion of this paper will be focused on the historical view of cardiovascular tissue engineering and stem cell biology. The representative studies featured in this paper are limited within the last decade in order to trace the trend and evolution of techniques for blood vessel tissue engineering