The outcome of ocular prosthetic (artificial eye) reconstruction

Eye loss has been a feature of mankind’s existence down through the ages, and whilst significant amounts of research have been undertaken to discuss monocular vision at an ophthalmic and optometric level, little or no research has been undertaken to discuss the benefits or otherwise of prosthetic reconstruction of the empty palprebal fissure. Most of this has been left at an artistic or anecdotal level. To the author’s knowledge, no research of this kind has been undertaken within Australia, and little or no research has been undertaken, to this extent, around the world. The overall aim of this research is to define the optimum benefit with the minimum risk for the different types of eye loss and ocular replacement. This thesis attempts to research and document the reasons for eye loss and some of the more prevalent issues that arise as a result of wearing an artificial eye, whether they be negative or positive. A questionnaire was developed, to research and quantify various experiences of individual artificial eye wearers; their reasons for eye loss, the role the prosthetic eye played in their life, both prosthetically, socially and psychologically. Every attempt has been made to accurately represent the responses based upon feelings of a number of patients over a number of years. The point of commonality in this study is that all patients have had their artificial eyes made by a single ocular prosthetist. It was found that eye loss was indiscriminate as to gender, age or ethnicity. The results showed that more people lost their right eye than those who lost their left, and over 50 age bracket lost their eye through disease more commonly. It was also hypothesized and confirmed that smokers lost their eye due to disease related issues more often than non-smokers. Prosthetic rehabilitation dramatically increased patients’ sense of wellbeing, emotionally, psychologically and socially. It is concluded that more than just being a cosmetic solution to what is otherwise a medical problem that an ocular prosthesis plays a more important, and vital, psychological role to those suffering eye loss.Thesis (MClinSc) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Dental School, 201

Attitudes towards food safety within selected countries of the European hotel industry

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of LutonThis thesis examines the important and topical issue of food safety among member states of the European Union. After tracing the development of related legislation, a review of the literature focuses on its management within the European hotel industry. In attempting to account for differences in attitudes and practice towards food safety, the study explores the respective application oftwo opposing theoretical positions. The first, known as divergence theory, which tends to equate culture with nationality, maintains that variation is attributable to inter-country differences in norms and values. The second, convergence theory, argues that culture is more appropriately understood in the organisational sense as functioning at the corporate level of the hotel. Hence, under the latter perspective, an explanation of variance is more likely to be derived from differences in type or ethos of hotel (whether chain or independent) and the ways that they are structured according to mode ofoperation, size and hierarchy. After outlining the methodological difficulties of carrying out a comparative study capable of resolving the foregoing dilemma, the empirical section takes place in two major stages: (1 ) a canvassing of expert opinion, with a view to filling gaps in knowledge of the legislation and its implementation; and (2) the conducting of a sample survey among hotel personnel in a number of EU member states (this stage being preceded by a small, two-phase pilot investigation). In order to contrast the rival theories statistically, the data from the survey are analysed by a series of relevant independent variables and tested for significance. Although there are acknowledged limitations on the degree of generalisation that can be claimed, by and large the convergence theory is upheld. A summary of the findings is provided and a number of implications for the future of food safety legislation in the EU are highlighted

Carbon-Fiber Brush Heat Exchangers

Velvetlike and brushlike pads of carbon fibers have been proposed for use as mechanically compliant, highly thermally conductive interfaces for transferring heat. A pad of this type would be formed by attaching short carbon fibers to either or both of two objects that one desires to place in thermal contact with each other. The purpose of using a thermal-contact pad of this or any other type is to reduce the thermal resistance of an interface between a heat source and a heat sink

Composite Matrix Regenerator for Stirling Engines

This project concerns the design, fabrication and testing of carbon regenerators for use in Stirling power convertors. Radial fiber design with nonmetallic components offers a number of potential advantages over conventional steel regenerators: reduced conduction and pressure drop losses, and the capability for higher temperature, higher frequency operation. Diverse composite fabrication methods are explored and lessons learned are summarized. A pulsed single-blow test rig has been developed that has been used for generating thermal effectiveness data for different flow velocities. Carbon regenerators have been fabricated by carbon vapor infiltration of electroflocked preforms. Performance data in a small Stirling engine are obtained. Prototype regenerators designed for the BP-1000 power convertor were fabricated and delivered to NASA-Lewis

Overview of 10 inch Diameter HTPB Hybrid Motor Testing with Liquid Oxygen at Stennis Space Center

To further explore the operation of hybrid rocket motors and to demonstrate the performance characteristics of the motor design Lockheed Martin funded research on a series of 10 inch diameter hybrid motors that produce less than 10 klbf sea level thrust. This test series was given the name "Hybrid Technology Test Program." These motors were fired in the existing test stand at the SSC E-3 complex Cell 1. The fuel and oxidizer for these 10 inch diameter motors are HTPB and LO2, respectively. The original goal of the testing was to verify that the predicted performance matched the actual performance of these 10 inch motors (ref. figure 1) and then confirm that the motors performed acceptably. For this element of testing horizontally fired hybrid motors will be tested using LO2 supplied from the existing facility 100 gallon LO2 tank that is pressurized with facility GN2. The thrust produced by the motor will be measured by a Lockheed Martin supplied load cell

Phase-change composites TES for nickel-hydrogen batteries

Viewgraphs of a discussion on phase-change composites thermal energy storage (TES) for nickel-hydrogen batteries are presented. Topics covered include Ni-H2 thermal control problems; passive thermal control with TES; phase-change composites (PCC); candidate materials; design options; fabrication and freeze-melt cycling; thermal modeling; system benefits; and applications

The development of An administrative handbook for EOP program directors : a systems approach for program management .

Abstract not availabl

Challenges in Annotating Datasets to Quantify Bias in Under-represented Society

Recent advances in artificial intelligence, including the development of highly sophisticated large language models (LLM), have proven beneficial in many real-world applications. However, evidence of inherent bias encoded in these LLMs has raised concerns about equity. In response, there has been an increase in research dealing with bias, including studies focusing on quantifying bias and developing debiasing techniques. Benchmark bias datasets have also been developed for binary gender classification and ethical/racial considerations, focusing predominantly on American demographics. However, there is minimal research in understanding and quantifying bias related to under-represented societies. Motivated by the lack of annotated datasets for quantifying bias in under-represented societies, we endeavoured to create benchmark datasets for the New Zealand (NZ) population. We faced many challenges in this process, despite the availability of three annotators. This research outlines the manual annotation process, provides an overview of the challenges we encountered and lessons learnt, and presents recommendations for future research.Comment: Accepted in Ethics and Trust in Human-AI Collaboration: Socio-Technical Approaches @ The 32nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligenc