Using pleasurability to compare wristwatches and IoT smartwatches: Providing novel insights into UX design

The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought more challenges for designers to fully understand networked objects and develop pleasurable user experiences (UXs). Due to the radical change of products when they are connected, traditional experience design theories may not be applicable in this new context. Based on two well-established UX design theories, this paper presents a survey study that investigated the pleasurability of IoT devices by comparing a representative IoT device (i.e., the smartwatch) and its conventional form (i.e., the wristwatch). An online questionnaire was deployed to gather feedback from parallel wristwatch and smartwatch users. Their experiences using both types of watches were quantitatively and qualitatively compared by data analysis. The results highlighted the differences in UXs between smartwatches and wristwatches in three types of pleasure and five psychological needs. The study revealed design opportunities to improve the pleasurability of smartwatches and provides novel design insights informing the development of pleasurable UXs for future IoT devices

Coupled-mode theory for Bose-Einstein condensates

We apply the concepts of nonlinear guided-wave optics to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in an external potential. As an example, we consider a parabolic double-well potential and derive coupled-mode equations for the complex amplitudes of the BEC macroscopic collective modes. Our equations describe different regimes of the condensate dynamics, including the nonlinear Josephson effect for any separation between the wells. We demonstrate macroscopic self-trapping for both repulsive and attractive interactions, and confirm our results by numerical simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; typos removed, figures amended; submitted to PR

Oxygen-deficient water zones in the Baltic Sea promote uncharacterized Hg methylating microorganisms in underlying sediments

Human-induced expansion of oxygen-deficient zones can have dramatic impacts on marine systems and its resident biota. One example is the formation of the potent neurotoxic methylmercury (MeHg) that is mediated by microbial methylation of inorganic divalent Hg (Hg-II) under oxygen-deficient conditions. A negative consequence of the expansion of oxygen-deficient zones could be an increase in MeHg production due to shifts in microbial communities in favor of microorganisms methylating Hg. There is, however, limited knowledge about Hg-methylating microbes, i.e., those carrying hgc genes critical for mediating the process, from marine sediments. Here, we aim to study the presence of hgc genes and transcripts in metagenomes and metatranscriptomes from four surface sediments with contrasting concentrations of oxygen and sulfide in the Baltic Sea. We show that potential Hg methylators differed among sediments depending on redox conditions. Sediments with an oxygenated surface featured hgc-like genes and transcripts predominantly associated with uncultured Desulfobacterota (OalgD group) and Desulfobacterales (including Desulfobacula sp.) while sediments with a hypoxic-anoxic surface included hgc-carrying Verrucomicrobia, unclassified Desulfobacterales, Desulfatiglandales, and uncharacterized microbes. Our data suggest that the expansion of oxygen-deficient zones in marine systems may lead to a compositional change of Hg-methylating microbial groups in the sediments, where Hg methylators whose metabolism and biology have not yet been characterized will be promoted and expand

Inosine can increase DNA's susceptibility to photo-oxidation by a Ru(II) complex due to structural change in the minor groove

Key to the development of DNA-targeting phototherapeutic drugs is determining the interplay between the photoactivity of the drug and its binding preference for a target sequence. For the photo- oxidising lambda-[Ru(TAP)2(dppz)]2+ (Ʌ-1) complex bound to either d{T1C2G3G4C5G6C7C8G9A10}2 (G9) or d{TCGGCGCCIA}2 (I9), the X- ray crystal structures shows the dppz intercalated at the terminal T1C2;G9A10 step or T1C2;I9A10 step. Thus substitution of the G9 nucleobase by inosine does not affect intercalation in the solid state although with I9 the dppz is more deeply inserted. In solution it is found that the extent of guanine photo-oxidation, and the rate of back electron transfer, as determined by ps and ns time-resolved infrared and transient visible absorption spectroscopy, is enhanced in I9, despite it containing the less oxidisable inosine. This is attributed to the nature of the binding in the minor groove due to the absence of an NH2 group. Similar behaviour and the same binding site in the crystal.are found for d{TTGGCGCCAA}2 (A9), In solution we propose that intercalation occurs at the C2G3;C8I9 or T2G3;C8A9 steps, respectively, with G3 the likely target for photo-oxidation. This demonstrates how changes in the minor groove (in this case removal of an NH2 group) can facilitate binding of Ru(II)dppz complexes and hence influence any sensitised reactions occurring at these sites. No similar enhancement of photooxidation on binding to I9 is found for the delta enantiomer

Six propositions on the sonics of pornography

Pornography (and all its contentious pleasures, contested politics and attendant problematics) is enjoying a fresh wave of academic attention. The overwhelming majority of these studies, however, focus on the visual discourses of sexually explicit material. This risks the sonic dimensions of pornography being overlooked entirely. Yet porn is anything but silent. This speculative article maps out some of the ways in which the sounds of pornography (and the pornography of sound) might be approached in the analytical context of gay male culture. Not only do the texts of porn contain assorted sounds (dialogue, soundtracks, non-verbal noises of participation, background and accidental audio), they also seek to prompt sounds (not least the non-verbal noises pornography seeks to elicit during the moments of its consumption) and sometimes depend on sound alone (telephone lines that allow access to recorded narratives or ‘live’ chat). Pornography speaks in particular accents, it mobilizes particular music, it dances to particular tunes and it relies on the pants we hear as much as the pants we see. If queer cultures have their own distinctive worlds of sound, then the sonic armouries of porn play a prominent role within them

Proceedings of Abstracts Engineering and Computer Science Research Conference 2019

© 2019 The Author(s). This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For further details please see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Note: Keynote: Fluorescence visualisation to evaluate effectiveness of personal protective equipment for infection control is © 2019 Crown copyright and so is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Under this licence users are permitted to copy, publish, distribute and transmit the Information; adapt the Information; exploit the Information commercially and non-commercially for example, by combining it with other Information, or by including it in your own product or application. Where you do any of the above you must acknowledge the source of the Information in your product or application by including or linking to any attribution statement specified by the Information Provider(s) and, where possible, provide a link to this licence: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/This book is the record of abstracts submitted and accepted for presentation at the Inaugural Engineering and Computer Science Research Conference held 17th April 2019 at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK. This conference is a local event aiming at bringing together the research students, staff and eminent external guests to celebrate Engineering and Computer Science Research at the University of Hertfordshire. The ECS Research Conference aims to showcase the broad landscape of research taking place in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. The 2019 conference was articulated around three topical cross-disciplinary themes: Make and Preserve the Future; Connect the People and Cities; and Protect and Care

Delivery of drugs, proteins and genes into cells using transferrin as a ligand for receptor-mediated endocytosis

Transferrin, an iron-transporting serum glycoprotein, is efficiently taken up into cells by the process of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Transferrin receptors are found on the surface of most proliferating cells, in elevated numbers on erythroblasts and on many kinds of tumors. The efficient cellular mechanism for uptake of transferrin has been subverted for the delivery of low-molecular-weight drugs, protein toxins, and liposomes by linkage of these agents to transferrin or to anti-transferrin receptor antibodies. Linkage may be via chemical conjugation procedures or by the generation of chimeric fusion proteins. Transferrin conjugated to DNA-binding compounds (e.g. polycations or intercalating agents) has been successfully used for the import of DNA molecules into cells. High-level gene expression is obtained only if endosome-disruptive agents such as influenza hemagglutinin peptides or adenovirus particles are included which release the DNA complex from intracellular vesicles into the cytoplasm

IBPOWER Project, Intermediate band materials and solar cells for photovoltaics with high efficiency and reduced cost

IBPOWER is a Project awarded under the 7th European Framework Programme that aims to advance research on intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs). These are solar cells conceived to absorb below bandgap energy photons by means of an electronic energy band that is located within the semiconductor bandgap, whilst producing photocurrent with output voltage still limited by the total semiconductor bandgap. IBPOWER employs two basic strategies for implementing the IBSC concept. The first is based on the use of quantum dots, the IB arising from the confined energy levels of the electrons in the dots. Quantum dots have led to devices that demonstrate the physical operation principles of the IB concept and have allowed identification of the problems to be solved to achieve actual high efficiencies. The second approach is based on the creation of bulk intermediate band materials by the insertion of an appropriate impurity into a bulk semiconductor. Under this approach it is expected that, when inserted at high densities, these impurities will find it difficult to capture electrons by producing a breathing mode and will cease behaving as non-radiative recombination centres. Towards this end the following systems are being investigated: a) Mn: In1-xGax N; b) transition metals in GaAs and c) thin films

Exploring the development of a cultural care framework for European caring science

The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of a cultural care framework that seeks to inform and embrace the philosophical ideals of caring science. Following a review of the literature that identified a lack of evidence of an explicit relationship between caring science and cultural care, a number of well-established transcultural care frameworks were reviewed. Our purpose was to select one that would resonate with underpinning philosophical values of caring science and that drew on criteria generated by the European Academy of Caring Science members. A modified framework based on the work of Giger and Davidhizar was developed as it embraced many of the values such as humanism that are core to caring science practice. The proposed caring science framework integrates determinants of cultural lifeworld-led care and seeks to provide clear directions for humanizing the care of individuals. The framework is offered to open up debate and act as a platform for further academic enquiry