Study of passenger subjective response to ideal and real-vehicle vibration environments

The stimulus received by subjects tested on the passenger ride quality apparatus (PRQA) is defined. Additional analyses on the data collected from field tests using buses, were conducted to assess the relation between subjective ratings of ride quality and vibrations measured on the buses, and to better define the vibration stimulus measured in the field. The relation of subjective evaluation of simulations of bus rides produced by the DRQA to subjective evaluations of the actual bus rides is discussed. The relative contribution of the seat and floor vibration to human comfort in a simulated aircraft ride environment is discussed along with the determination of equal comfort curves through magnitude estimation

Quasi-planar steep water waves

A new description for highly nonlinear potential water waves is suggested, where weak 3D effects are included as small corrections to exact 2D equations written in conformal variables. Contrary to the traditional approach, a small parameter in this theory is not the surface slope, but it is the ratio of a typical wave length to a large transversal scale along the second horizontal coordinate. A first-order correction for the Hamiltonian functional is calculated, and the corresponding equations of motion are derived for steep water waves over an arbitrary inhomogeneous quasi-1D bottom profile.Comment: revtex4, 4 pages, no figure

Development of ride comfort criteria for mass transit systems

Two studies were conducted on the effects of simultaneous sinusoidal vibration in the vertical and lateral axes on ratings of discomfort in human subjects in a simulated passenger aircraft. In the first experiment each of 24 subjects experienced each of ten levels of vertical frequency in combination with each of ten levels of lateral frequency vibration and rated the discomfort produced on a nine-point, unipolar scale. In the second experiment 72 subjects experienced one of four levels of vertical frequency at each of four levels of vertical amplitude combined with 16 (or 4 x 4) lateral frequency and amplitude conditions. The results of these two studies strongly suggest that there are effects on discomfort that occur when subjects are vibrated in several axes at once that cannot be assessed with research using vibration in only one axis

Exploring the Referral and Usage of Science Fiction in HCI Literature

Research on science fiction (sci-fi) in scientific publications has indicated the usage of sci-fi stories, movies or shows to inspire novel Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research. Yet no studies have analysed sci-fi in a top-ranked computer science conference at present. For that reason, we examine the CHI main track for the presence and nature of sci-fi referrals in relationship to HCI research. We search for six sci-fi terms in a dataset of 5812 CHI main proceedings and code the context of 175 sci-fi referrals in 83 papers indexed in the CHI main track. In our results, we categorize these papers into five contemporary HCI research themes wherein sci-fi and HCI interconnect: 1) Theoretical Design Research; 2) New Interactions; 3) Human-Body Modification or Extension; 4) Human-Robot Interaction and Artificial Intelligence; and 5) Visions of Computing and HCI. In conclusion, we discuss results and implications located in the promising arena of sci-fi and HCI research.Comment: v1: 20 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, HCI International 2018 accepted submission v2: 20 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, added link/doi for Springer proceedin

Effect of vibration in combined axes on subjective evaluation of ride quality

The effects of simultaneous sinusoidal vibration in the vertical and lateral axes on ratings of discomfort were investigated. The first experiment concentrated on the effects of variation of frequency in the two axes, and the second study concentrated on the effects of amplitude variation in the two axes

Social rank and compassion: How insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion mediate the relationship between masculinity, depression and anxiety

Objective Traditional masculinity norms displayed by men attempt to signal a dominance or ‘toughness’ to others; however, traditional masculine norms are associated with a range of mental health difficulties, including depression and anxiety. Based on social rank theory, we tested the mediating role of insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion on the relationship between masculinity, anxiety and depression. We also examined whether compassionate goals were negatively correlated with masculine norm adherence. Design We used a cross-sectional survey design recruiting 844 men, aged 18–60 years (M = 34.0, SD = 14.4). Results Our results replicated previous findings with masculine norms significantly associated with depression and anxiety. Extending on previous work, we found insecure striving, social safeness and fears of compassion fully mediated these relationships for anxiety and partially for depression. This relationship was strongest for the masculinity subtypes of self-reliance and emotional control. Compassionate goals were negatively associated with masculine norm adherence. Conclusions Social rank theory offers a helpful explanatory framework to understand the links between traditional masculinity and mental health, highlighting the importance of social safeness and insecure striving for men

Molecular line opacity of LiCl in the mid-infrared spectra of brown dwarfs

We present a complete line list for the X 1Sigma+ electronic ground state of LiCl computed using fully quantum-mechanical techniques. This list includes transition energies and oscillator strengths in the spectral region 0.3-39,640.7 cm-1 for all allowed rovibrational transitions in absorption within the electronic ground state. The calculations were performed using an accurate hybrid potential constructed from a spectral inversion fit of experimental data and from recent multi-reference single- and double-excitation configuration interaction calculations. The line list was incorporated into the stellar atmosphere code PHOENIX to compute spectra for a range of young to old T dwarf models. The possibility of observing a signature of LiCl in absorption near 15.8 microns is addressed and the proposal to use this feature to estimate the total lithium elemental abundance for these cool objects is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ 613, Sept. 20 200

A transfer function approach for predicting rare cell capture microdevice performance

Rare cells have the potential to improve our understanding of biological systems and the treatment of a variety of diseases; each of those applications requires a different balance of throughput, capture efficiency, and sample purity. Those challenges, coupled with the limited availability of patient samples and the costs of repeated design iterations, motivate the need for a robust set of engineering tools to optimize application-specific geometries. Here, we present a transfer function approach for predicting rare cell capture in microfluidic obstacle arrays. Existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools are limited to simulating a subset of these arrays, owing to computational costs; a transfer function leverages the deterministic nature of cell transport in these arrays, extending limited CFD simulations into larger, more complicated geometries. We show that the transfer function approximation matches a full CFD simulation within 1.34 %, at a 74-fold reduction in computational cost. Taking advantage of these computational savings, we apply the transfer function simulations to simulate reversing array geometries that generate a “notch filter” effect, reducing the collision frequency of cells outside of a specified diameter range. We adapt the transfer function to study the effect of off-design boundary conditions (such as a clogged inlet in a microdevice) on overall performance. Finally, we have validated the transfer function’s predictions for lateral displacement within the array using particle tracking and polystyrene beads in a microdevice.National Cancer Institute (U.S.). Physical Sciences-Oncology Center (Cornell Center on the Microenvironment and Metastasis. Award U54CA143876