Comparison of engagement and emotional responses of older and younger adults interacting with 3D cultural heritage artefacts on personal devices

The availability of advanced software and less expensive hardware allows museums to preserve and share artefacts digitally. As a result, museums are frequently making their collections accessible online as interactive, 3D models. This could lead to the unique situation of viewing the digital artefact before the physical artefact. Experiencing artefacts digitally outside of the museum on personal devices may affect the user's ability to emotionally connect to the artefacts. This study examines how two target populations of young adults (18–21 years) and the elderly (65 years and older) responded to seeing cultural heritage artefacts in three different modalities: augmented reality on a tablet, 3D models on a laptop, and then physical artefacts. Specifically, the time spent, enjoyment, and emotional responses were analysed. Results revealed that regardless of age, the digital modalities were enjoyable and encouraged emotional responses. Seeing the physical artefacts after the digital ones did not lessen their enjoyment or emotions felt. These findings aim to provide an insight into the effectiveness of 3D artefacts viewed on personal devices and artefacts shown outside of the museum for encouraging emotional responses from older and younger people

Chinese and Korean Characters Engage the Same Visual Word Form Area in Proficient Early Chinese-Korean Bilinguals

A number of recent studies consistently show an area, known as the visual word form area (VWFA), in the left fusiform gyrus that is selectively responsive for visual words in alphabetic scripts as well as in logographic scripts, such as Chinese characters. However, given the large difference between Chinese characters and alphabetic scripts in terms of their orthographic rules, it is not clear at a fine spatial scale, whether Chinese characters engage the same VWFA in the occipito-temporal cortex as alphabetic scripts. We specifically compared Chinese with Korean script, with Korean script serving as a good example of alphabetic writing system, but matched to Chinese in the overall square shape. Sixteen proficient early Chinese-Korean bilinguals took part in the fMRI experiment. Four types of stimuli (Chinese characters, Korean characters, line drawings and unfamiliar Chinese faces) were presented in a block-design paradigm. By contrasting characters (Chinese or Korean) to faces, presumed VWFAs could be identified for both Chinese and Korean characters in the left occipito-temporal sulcus in each subject. The location of peak response point in these two VWFAs were essentially the same. Further analysis revealed a substantial overlap between the VWFA identified for Chinese and that for Korean. At the group level, there was no significant difference in amplitude of response to Chinese and Korean characters. Spatial patterns of response to Chinese and Korean are similar. In addition to confirming that there is an area in the left occipito-temporal cortex that selectively responds to scripts in both Korean and Chinese in early Chinese-Korean bilinguals, our results show that these two scripts engage essentially the same VWFA, even at the level of fine spatial patterns of activation across voxels. These results suggest that similar populations of neurons are engaged in processing the different scripts within the same VWFA in early bilinguals

COVID-19 Related Mobility Reduction: Heterogenous Effects on Sleep and Physical Activity Rhythms

Mobility restrictions imposed to suppress coronavirus transmission can alter physical activity (PA) and sleep patterns. Characterization of response heterogeneity and their underlying reasons may assist in tailoring customized interventions. We obtained wearable data covering baseline, incremental movement restriction and lockdown periods from 1824 city-dwelling, working adults aged 21 to 40 years, incorporating 206,381 nights of sleep and 334,038 days of PA. Four distinct rest activity rhythms (RARs) were identified using k-means clustering of participants' temporally distributed step counts. Hierarchical clustering of the proportion of time spent in each of these RAR revealed 4 groups who expressed different mixtures of RAR profiles before and during the lockdown. Substantial but asymmetric delays in bedtime and waketime resulted in a 24 min increase in weekday sleep duration with no loss in sleep efficiency. Resting heart rate declined 2 bpm. PA dropped an average of 38%. 4 groups with different compositions of RAR profiles were found. Three were better able to maintain PA and weekday/weekend differentiation during lockdown. The least active group comprising 51 percent of the sample, were younger and predominantly singles. Habitually less active already, this group showed the greatest reduction in PA during lockdown with little weekday/weekend differences. Among different mobility restrictions, removal of habitual social cues by lockdown had the largest effect on PA and sleep. Sleep and resting heart rate unexpectedly improved. RAR evaluation uncovered heterogeneity of responses to lockdown and can identify characteristics of persons at risk of decline in health and wellbeing.Comment: 30 pages, 3 main figures, 3 tables, 4 supplementary figure

Modelling and optimal control of blood glucose levels in the human body

Regulating the blood glucose level is a challenging control problem for the human body. Abnormal blood glucose levels can cause serious health problems over time, including diabetes. Although several mathematical models have been proposed to describe the dynamics of glucose-insulin interaction, none of them have been universally adopted by the research community. In this paper, we consider a dynamic model of the blood glucose regulatory system originally proposed by Liu and Tang in 2008. This model consists of eight state variables naturally divided into three subsystems: the glucagon and insulin transition subsystem, the receptor binding subsystem and the glucosesubsystem. The model contains 36 model parameters, many of which are unknown and difficult to determine accurately. We formulate an optimal parameter selection problem in which optimal values for the model parameters must be selected so that the resulting model best its given experimental data.We demonstrate that this optimal parameter selection problem can be solved readily using the optimal control software MISER 3.3. Using this approach, significant improvements can be made in matching the model to the experimental data. We also investigate the sensitivity of the resulting optimizedmodel with respect to the insulin release rate. Finally, we use MISER 3.3 to determine optimal open loop controls for the optimized model

Applications for Near-Real Time Satellite Cloud and Radiation Products

At NASA Langley Research Center, a variety of cloud, clear-sky, and radiation products are being derived at different scales from regional to global using geostationary satellite (GEOSat) and lower Earth-orbiting (LEOSat) imager data. With growing availability, these products are becoming increasingly valuable for weather forecasting and nowcasting. These products include, but are not limited to, cloud-top and base heights, cloud water path and particle size, cloud temperature and phase, surface skin temperature and albedo, and top-of-atmosphere radiation budget. Some of these data products are currently assimilated operationally in a numerical weather prediction model. Others are used unofficially for nowcasting, while testing is underway for other applications. These applications include the use of cloud water path in an NWP model, cloud optical depth for detecting convective initiation in cirrus-filled skies, and aircraft icing condition diagnoses among others. This paper briefly describes a currently operating system that analyzes data from GEOSats around the globe (GOES, Meteosat, MTSAT, FY-2) and LEOSats (AVHRR and MODIS) and makes the products available in near-real time through a variety of media. Current potential future use of these products is discussed

HopScotch - a low-power renewable energy base station network for rural broadband access

The provision of adequate broadband access to communities in sparsely populated rural areas has in the past been severely restricted. In this paper, we present a wireless broadband access test bed running in the Scottish Highlands and Islands which is based on a relay network of low-power base stations. Base stations are powered by a combination of renewable sources creating a low cost and scalable solution suitable for community ownership. The use of the 5~GHz bands allows the network to offer large data rates and the testing of ultra high frequency ``white space'' bands allow expansive coverage whilst reducing the number of base stations or required transmission power. We argue that the reliance on renewable power and the intelligent use of frequency bands makes this approach an economic green radio technology which can address the problem of rural broadband access

Enhancing Machining performance in Stainless Steel Machining using MXene Coolant: A Detailed Examination

Metal cutting, a complex process in manufacturing, involves various factors that significantly affect the quality of the final product. Notably, the turning process is crucial, with outcomes that heavily depend on multiple machining parameters. These parameters encompass speed, depth of cut, feed rate, the type of coolant used (specifically, high heat transfer MXene coolant), and insert types, among others. The material of the workpiece is also a critical factor in the metal-cutting operation. This study focuses on achieving optimal surface quality and minimizing cutting forces in the turning process. It recognizes the substantial impact of numerous process parameters, directly or indirectly affecting the product's surface roughness and cutting forces. Understanding these optimal parameters can lower machining costs and improve product quality. Our research concentrates on turning a stainless-steel alloy workpiece using a carbide insert tool. We employ the Response Surface Method (RSM) to optimize cutting parameters within a set range of cutting speed (100, 125, 150 m/min), feed rate (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mm/rev), and depth of cut (0.4, 0.8, 1.2 mm). Additionally, we use various tool geometries and the RSM design of experiments to enhance and analyze the multi-response parameters of surface roughness and tool life. Optimal machining parameters for MXene-NFC involve a cutting speed of 140 m/min, a feed rate of 0.05 mm/rev, and a depth of cut of 0.5 mm. These settings ensure minimal surface roughness, maximum tool life, and the greatest total length of cut, achieving a composite desirability of 0.695

A need for “good eyes”: Experiences told by patients diagnosed with psychosis

This study highlights experiences of psychiatric care described by patients diagnosed with psychosis. The aim was to investigate how patients, based on earlier experiences, described their wishes and needs regarding the psychiatric care system. Data comprised material from four focus groups; analysis used an inductive thematic approach. Relationships with staff emerged as a recurring theme. During periods of psychosis, patients needed staff to act as “parental figures,” providing care, safety, and help in dealing with overwhelming stimulation from the outside word. In the ensuing struggle to devise a livable life, the need for relationships recurred. In this phase, staff needed to give their time, provide support through information, and mirror the patient's capacity and hope. The patient's trials were described as threatened by a lack of continuity and non-listening professionals. It was important for staff to listen and understand, and to see and respect the patients' viewpoints