Thermal and wind devices for multisensory human-computer interaction: an overview

In order to create immersive experiences in virtual worlds, we need to explore different human senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). Many different devices have been developed by both industry and academia towards this aim. In this paper, we focus our attention on the researched area of thermal and wind devices to deliver the sensations of heat and cold against people’s skin and their application to human-computer interaction (HCI). First, we present a review of devices and their features that were identified as relevant. Then, we highlight the users’ experience with thermal and wind devices, highlighting limitations either found or inferred by the authors and studies selected for this survey. Accordingly, from the current literature, we can infer that, in wind and temperature-based haptic systems (i) users experience wind effects produced by fans that move air molecules at room temperature, and (ii) there is no integration of thermal components to devices intended for the production of both cold or hot airflows. Subsequently, an analysis of why thermal wind devices have not been devised yet is undertaken, highlighting the challenges of creating such devices.Espírito Santo Research and Innovation Foundation (FAPES, Brazil) - Finance Code 2021-GL60J), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Brazil) - Finance Code 88881.187844/2018-01 and 88887.570688/2020-00 and by the National Council for Scientific and Technological (CNPq, Brazil) - Finance Code 307718/2020-4. The work was also funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement no. 688503. E. B. Saleme additionally acknowledges aid from the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo

TRATAMENTO RESTAURADOR ATRAUMÁTICO NA REDE PÚBLICA DO MUNICÍPIO DE ANÁPOLIS-GO

O  tratamento  restaurador  atraumático  (TRA)  é  uma  técnica consiste  na  remoção  de  tecido  cariado,  desmineralizado,  com  instrumentos cortantes  manuais  simplificados  dispensando  o  uso  de  micromotores  e anestesia  local.  Capaz  de  reduzir  a  necessidade  de  procedimentos  mais complexos,  onerosos  e  que  demandam  maior  tempo  de  atuação  profissional, tem  grande  relevância  principalmente  quando  aplicado  simultaneamente  às medidas  de  promoção  de  saúde

Wasting food, wasting resources: Potential environmental savings through food waste reductions

Food is needed to maintain our physical integrity and therefore meets a most basic human need. The food sector got in the focus of environmental policy, because of its environmental implications and its inefficiency in terms of the amount of food lost along the value chain. The European Commission (EC) flagged the food waste issue a few years ago and adopted since then a series of policies that partially address the problem. Among these, the Resource Efficiency Roadmap set the aspirational goal of reducing the resource inputs in the food chain by 20% and halving the disposal of edible food waste by 2020. Focusing on consumer food waste, we tested what a reduction following the Roadmap's food waste target would imply for four environmental categories in EU28 (European Union 28 Member States): greenhouse gas emissions, land use, blue water consumption, and material use. Compared to the 2011 levels, reaching the target would lead to 2% to 7% reductions of the total footprint depending on the environmental category. This equals a 10% to 11% decrease in inputs in the food value chain (i.e., around half of the resource use reductions targeted). The vast majority of potential gains are related to households, rather than the food-related services. Most likely, the 2020 target will not be met, since there is insufficient action both at Member State and European levels. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a new milestone for reducing edible food waste, but Europe needs to rise up to the challenge of decreasing its per capita food waste generation by 50% by 2030

Revisiting special relativity: A natural algebraic alternative to Minkowski spacetime

Minkowski famously introduced the concept of a space-time continuum in 1908, merging the three dimensions of space with an imaginary time dimension $i c t$, with the unit imaginary producing the correct spacetime distance $x^2 - c^2 t^2$, and the results of Einstein's then recently developed theory of special relativity, thus providing an explanation for Einstein's theory in terms of the structure of space and time. As an alternative to a planar Minkowski space-time of two space dimensions and one time dimension, we replace the unit imaginary $i = \sqrt{-1}$, with the Clifford bivector $\iota = e_1 e_2$ for the plane that also squares to minus one, but which can be included without the addition of an extra dimension, as it is an integral part of the real Cartesian plane with the orthonormal basis $e_1$ and $e_2$. We find that with this model of planar spacetime, using a two-dimensional Clifford multivector, the spacetime metric and the Lorentz transformations follow immediately as properties of the algebra. This also leads to momentum and energy being represented as components of a multivector and we give a new efficient derivation of Compton's scattering formula, and a simple formulation of Dirac's and Maxwell's equations. Based on the mathematical structure of the multivector, we produce a semi-classical model of massive particles, which can then be viewed as the origin of the Minkowski spacetime structure and thus a deeper explanation for relativistic effects. We also find a new perspective on the nature of time, which is now given a precise mathematical definition as the bivector of the plane.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figure

Growing old, yet staying young: The role of telomeres in bats' exceptional longevity

Understanding aging is a grand challenge in biology. Exceptionally long-lived animals have mechanisms that underpin extreme longevity. Telomeres are protective nucleotide repeats on chromosome tips that shorten with cell division, potentially limiting life span. Bats are the longest-lived mammals for their size, but it is unknown whether their telomeres shorten. Using >60 years of cumulative mark-recapture field data, we show that telomeres shorten with age inRhinolophus ferrumequinumandMiniopterus schreibersii, but not in the bat genus with greatest longevity,Myotis. As in humans, telomerase is not expressed inMyotis myotisblood or fibroblasts. Selection tests on telomere maintenance genes show thatATMandSETX, which repair and prevent DNA damage, potentially mediate telomere dynamics inMyotisbats. Twenty-one telomere maintenance genes are differentially expressed inMyotis, of which 14 are enriched for DNA repair, and 5 for alternative telomere-lengthening mechanisms. We demonstrate how telomeres, telomerase, and DNA repair genes have contributed to the evolution of exceptional longevity inMyotisbats, advancing our understanding of healthy aging

An exploratory policy analysis of electric vehicle sales competition and sensitivity to infrastructure in Europe

This research contributes to discussions about policy interventions to stimulate the transition of vehicle technology. Concentrating on passenger cars, an extensive system dynamics based market agent model of powertrain technology transitions within the EU up to 2050 is employed. With a focus on subsidy scenarios for both infrastructure deployment and vehicle purchase, and set within the context of the EU fleet emission regulations, we find that there are important interactions between different powertrain types and with infrastructure provision. For example, strong plug-in electric vehicle (PiEV) policy could inhibit the maturity of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Infrastructure provision is important for improving the utility of a PiEV, but we find that in the early market it may have a weaker correlation with uptake than other policy options, until the PiEV stock share is over around 5%. Furthermore, an attempt to install a ratio of much more than one charge point per 10 PiEV may lead to little gains and high costs. PiEV sales are relatively insensitive at target levels over 25 PiEV per charge point. The results of our study can help policymakers to find the right balance and timing of measures targeting the transition towards low carbon alternative vehicles

Contribution of Efflux to the Emergence of Isoniazid and Multidrug Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most effective drugs used in tuberculosis therapy. Here, we investigated the mechanism by which resistance towards isoniazid develops and how overexpression of efflux pumps favors accumulation of mutations in isoniazid targets, thus establishing a MDR phenotype. The study was based on the in vitro induction of an isoniazid resistant phenotype by prolonged serial exposure of M. tuberculosis strains to the critical concentration of isoniazid employed for determination of drug susceptibility testing in clinical isolates. Results show that susceptible and rifampicin monoresistant strains exposed to this concentration become resistant to isoniazid after three weeks; and that resistance observed for the majority of these strains could be reduced by means of efflux pumps inhibitors. RT-qPCR assessment of efflux pump genes expression showed overexpression of all tested genes. Enhanced real-time efflux of ethidium bromide, a common efflux pump substrate, was also observed, showing a clear relation between overexpression of the genes and increased efflux pump function. Further exposure to isoniazid resulted in the selection and stabilization of spontaneous mutations and deletions in the katG gene along with sustained increased efflux activity. Together, results demonstrate the relevance of efflux pumps as one of the factors of isoniazid resistance in M. tuberculosis. These results support the hypothesis that activity of efflux pumps allows the maintenance of an isoniazid resistant population in a sub-optimally treated patient from which isoniazid genetically resistant mutants emerge. Therefore, the use of inhibitors of efflux should be considered in the development of new therapeutic strategies for preventing the emergence of MDR-TB during treatment