Collision avoidance interface for safe piloting of unmanned vehicles using a mobile device

Autonomous robots and vehicles can perform tasks that are unsafe or undesirable for humans to do themselves, such as investigate safety in nuclear reactors or assess structural damage to a building or bridge after an earthquake. In addition, improvements in autonomous modes of such vehicles are making it easier for minimally-trained individuals to operate the vehicles. As the autonomous capabilities advance, the user's role shifts from a direct teleoperator to a supervisory control role. Since the human operator is often better suited to make decisions in uncertain situations, it is important for the human operator to have awareness of the environment in which the vehicle is operating in order to prevent collisions and damage to the vehicle as well as the structures and people in the vicinity. In this paper, we present the Collision and Obstacle Detection and Alerting (CODA) display, a novel interface to enable safe piloting of a Micro Aerial Vehicle with a mobile device in real-world settings.Boeing Compan

Assessing Errors Inherent in OCT-Derived Macular Thickness Maps

SD-OCT has become an essential tool for evaluating macular pathology; however several aspects of data collection and analysis affect the accuracy of retinal thickness measurements. Here we evaluated sampling density, scan centering, and axial length compensation as factors affecting the accuracy of macular thickness maps. Forty-three patients with various retinal pathologies and 113 normal subjects were imaged using Cirrus HD-OCT. Reduced B-scan density was associated with increased interpolation error in ETDRS macular thickness plots. Correcting for individual differences in axial length revealed modest errors in retinal thickness maps, while more pronounced errors were observed when the ETDRS plot was not positioned at the center of the fovea (which can occur as a result of errant fixation). Cumulative error can exceed hundreds of microns, even under “ideal observer” conditions. This preventable error is particularly relevant when attempting to compare macular thickness maps to normative databases or measuring the area or volume of retinal features

Anthropology of/in Circulation: The Future of Open Access and Scholarly Societies

In a conversation format, seven anthropologists with extensive expertise in new digital technologies, intellectual property, and journal publishing discuss issues related to open access, the anthropology of information circulation, and the future of scholarly societies. Among the topics discussed are current anthropological research on open source and open access; the effects of open access on traditional anthropological topics; the creation of community archives and new networking tools; potentially transformative uses of field notes and materials in new digital ecologies; the American Anthropological Association’s recent history with these issues, from the development of AnthroSource to its new publishing arrangement with Wiley-Blackwell; and the political economies of knowledge circulation more generally

The Effect of Varied Recumbent Stepping Conditions on Lower Extremity Muscle Activity

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 3: Issue 1, Article 9, 2022. The purpose of this study was to measure lower extremity muscle activity during recumbent stepping under varied conditions. We hypothesized that different stepping conditions would lead to significant changes in muscle activity. Fifteen healthy adults (4 men, 11 women; mean age 24.5 ± 7.7 yrs) provided informed consent to participate. During a single session, electromyography (EMG) was used to measure muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (TA), medial gastroc (MG), rectus femoris (RF), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles as a percent of maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC) during five different stepping conditions: 1) Stepping with no foot strap (SnS), 2) Stepping with a strap (SS), 3) Pulling with toes with a strap (PullTS), 4) Pushing with heel with a strap (PushHS) and, 5) Pushing with toes with a strap (PushTS). There were significant differences (p \u3c 0.05) in muscle activity between stepping conditions for the TA, MG and RF muscles. TA muscle activity was greatest (21.3 ± 13.7%MVC) during the PullTS condition, MG activity was greatest (7.4 ± 3.4%MVC) during the PushTS condition, and RF activity was greatest (12.9 ± 6.1%MVC) during the PullTS condition. There were no significant differences for the BF between conditions. Different recumbent stepping conditions can significantly alter lower extremity muscle activity with the largest changes observed in the ankle muscles. Therefore, when prescribing recumbent stepping exercise, clinicians should be aware of how factors such as stepping direction, the use of a foot strap, and verbal cueing can alter lower extremity muscle recruitment to optimize therapeutic benefit

Insights from the Inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research Network: Our Experience Organizing Inclusive Biology Education Research Events

In contrast to efforts focusing on improving inclusion in STEM classrooms from kindergarten through un-dergraduate (K–16), efforts to improve inclusion in scientific meetings and conferences, important hubs of STEM culture, are more recent. Markers of inclusion that are sometimes overlooked at these events can include the composition of panels, how workshops are run, the affordability of conferences, and various other mechanisms that maintain pre-existing hierarchies and norms that limit the participation of early-career researchers and individuals of minoritized cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds. The Inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research (iEMBER) network coordinates efforts of researchers from many fields interested in diversity and inclusion in biology education. Given the concerns regarding inclusion at professional meetings, iEMBER has developed and implemented several practices in planning and executing our meetings to make them more inclusive. In this report, we share our experiences developing inclusive meetings on biology education research and discuss the outcomes of such efforts. Spe-cifically, we present our approach to planning and executing the iEMBER 2019 conference and the National Association of Biology Teachers iEMBER 2019 workshop. This report adds to the growing body of resources on inclusive meetings, provides readers with an account of how such an attempt at implementation might unfold, and complements existing theories and work relating to the importance and functioning of such meetings in terms of representation in STEM

Associations of maternal urinary arsenic concentrations during pregnancy with childhood cognitive abilities: The HOME study

Arsenic exposure during pregnancy may increase the risk for intellectual deficits in children, but limited data exist from prospective epidemiologic studies, particularly at low arsenic exposure levels. We investigated the association between prenatal maternal urinary arsenic concentrations and childhood cognitive abilities in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study. We used anion exchange chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection to measure arsenic species content in pregnant women’s urine. The summation of inorganic arsenic (iAs), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) refers to ΣAs. We assessed children’s cognitive function (n = 260) longitudinally at 1-, 2-, and 3-years using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, at 5 years using Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, and at 8 years using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. We observed a modest decrease in mental development index and full-scale intelligence quotient at ages 3 and 5 years with each doubling of ΣAs with estimated score (ß) differences and 95% confidence interval (CI) of -1.8 from - 4.1 to 0.5 and - 2.5 from - 5.1 to 0.0, respectively. This trend was stronger and reached statistical significance among children whose mothers had lower iAs methylation capacity and low urinary arsenobetaine concentrations. Our findings suggest that arsenic exposure levels relevant to the general US population may affect children’s cognitive abilities

Assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health services use

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 impacted healthcare services with provider and patient cancellations, delays, and patient avoidance or delay of emergency department or urgent care. Limited data exist on the population proportion affected by delayed healthcare, which is important for future healthcare planning efforts. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare service cancellations or delays and delays/avoidance of emergency/urgent care overall and by population characteristics. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. METHODS: Our sample (n = 2314) was assembled through a phone survey from 8/12/2020-10/27/2020 among non-institutionalized St. Louis County, Missouri, USA residents ≥18 years. We asked about provider and patient-initiated cancellations or delays of appointments and pandemic-associated delays/avoidance of emergency/urgent care overall and by participant characteristics. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates by select resident characteristics. RESULTS: Healthcare services cancellations or delays affected ∼54% (95% CI 50.6%-57.1%) of residents with dental (31.1%, 95% CI 28.1%-34.0%) and primary care (22.1%, 95% CI 19.5%-24.6%) being most common. The highest prevalences were among those who were White, ≥65 years old, female, in fair/poor health, who had health insurance, and who had ≥1 medical condition. Delayed or avoided emergency/urgent care impacted ∼23% (95% CI 19.9%-25.4%) of residents with a higher prevalence in females than males. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare use disruptions impacted a substantial proportion of residents. Future healthcare planning efforts should consider these data to minimize potential morbidity and mortality from delayed care

Review of Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Tools for Verifying Command and Control Software

The Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Standing Review Board (SRB) requested the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) conduct an independent review of the plan developed by Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) for identifying models and emulators to create a tool(s) to verify their command and control software. The NESC was requested to identify any issues or weaknesses in the GSDO plan. This document contains the outcome of the NESC review