On education

On education (editorial). Gerontechnology 2008; 7(1):1-2. Gerontechnology may be variously described as a hypothesis, a philosophy, a movement, or an application-oriented field of study, but it always combines gerontology and technology, and has increased well-being of aging individuals as its measure of success. From the start it has also been developed as a higher-education teaching endeavour that stresses multidisciplinary aspects and the suitability for generalization of existing theories from the relevant monodisciplines. In a rising number of master classes for PhD students the theoretical and practical bases are made explicit

Personalized treatment strategies for depression

Depression is highly prevalent, and involves many different symptom profiles, courses and prognoses. Over the years, research has consistently shown that different types of evidence-based treatments are equally effective on average. However, individual responses to these treatments vary widely and are highly unpredictable. Since it is unclear what works best for a specific individual, in clinical practice, consecutive treatments are often being offered to find the optimal regimen. This strategy can be best described as a “trial and error approach”. As alternatives for this approach, this thesis focusses on data-driven personalized treatment strategies that aim to find the optimal depression treatment for a specific individual at a specific point in time. Results of this thesis indicate that prediction models are superior to traditional approaches (e.g., clinical judgment), and have the potential to guide personalized treatment strategies in depression

Fine-scale determination of OH in radiation-damaged zircon using Synchrotron Fourier Transform Infra Red spectroscopy (FTIR) and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR)

The crystal structure of zircon is gradually broken down by the decay of small amounts of U and Th present in zirconium lattice sites. It has been observed that, with increasing radiation damage, zircon can lose radiogenic Pb and at the same time gain water from the environment. The disturbance of the U-Pb system is a major problem in zircon U-Pb geochronology. Water penetration appears to be an important factor in Pb loss but to explore this further a technique is needed for making fine-scale in situ measurements of water on the polished surface of radiation damaged zircons. Our research has shown that Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infra Red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy with a synchrotron source and thermal analysis can be successfully used to map the fine-scale distribution of OH/H2O in radiation damaged zircons. The radiation damaged zircons were found to have an OH/H2O content varying from 0.4% to 5% with maxima occurring in the heavily damaged (metamict) zones noted for their disturbed U-Pb systems. Whilst thermal analysis confirmed the presence of OH and possibly H2O the infrared spectra did not distinguish between them

Impact of management attitudes on perceived thermal comfort

Objectives This study examined the influence of some organizational and management characteristics on the perception of indoor environment qualities such as thermal comfort and related stress. Methods One open office in each of three organizations in Eindhoven was studied. An office environment survey, a questionnaire on extended cognitive failure, and a questionnaire on effort-reward imbalance were combined to assess the perceived management attitudes and perceived (dis)comfort of 50 workers in each of two of the offices and of 43 persons in the third. The study included data on perceived and measured thermal comfort and indoor-air quality, self-reported personal factors, and organizational factors (N=46). Results Perceived thermal comfort correlated with perceived symptoms of the sick building syndrome; it also correlated or was associated with the following three management-related parameters: (i) employees' stress, (ii) employees' overcommitment to work, and (iii) employees' perceived privacy. Conclusions The managerial characteristics of an organization influences thermal comfort as perceived by employees

Enhancing the evidential value of textile fibres: Part 1: Development of a spectral database and evaluative comparison strategy

In numerous major crime cases undertaken at our laboratory the recovery of large numbers of fibres ( > 1000), particularly in cases with no known source, presented several challenges. These included the inability to effectively manage the data (i.e. combination of MSP spectra, microscopic characteristics, composition, etc.) and perform comparisons in an efficient manner. To address these challenges, and in response to a growing need for performing fibre comparisons, we developed a database of textile fibre microspectrophotometric (MSP) spectra. The database, designed to compare MSP spectra using a modified Pearson method of correlation, currently contains over 20,000 normalised and first derivative spectra of casework, validation and reference textile fibres. A comparison strategy for cases with a large number of questioned samples was devised, involving identification of critical fibres in the casework data set, development of preliminary fibre groups classified according to their corresponding/similar MSP spectra, and verification of the preliminary groups via brightfield and fluorescence comparison microscopy. The database has successfully been utilised for proficiency trials and casework with small questioned fibre sets. Furthermore, in a case involving a larger dataset ( > 4000 “unknown” fibres) the database assisted in the efficient classification of 156 distinct groups of interest, highlighting its utility in providing investigative leads for the identification of potential sources of the recovered fibres

Failure stress as a motivator for creative construction management

A building assignment is a complex task that demands collaborative working in order to achieve added value for users and society through creative construction management. Modular building systems are used in workshops in the building environment domain to make students aware of various phenomena that occur in the process of creative construction. Existing modular building systems used in training do not include the experience of failure as a motivator for creative construction. This article validates an innovative set of modular building materials (Handstorm®) that has a high innate risk of construction failure, as a tool in using failure as a motivator in creative construction. It reports on the effect of both innate failures – such as instability or collapsing – and emotional failures, such as the success of a competitor or losing a competition. The results indicate that the presence of failure stress is a valid motivator in teaching creative construction management