Translating Tourist Requirements into Mobile AR Application Engineering Through QFD

Augmented reality (AR) has moved into the spotlight of technological developments to enhance tourist experiences, presenting a need to develop meaningful AR applications. However, few studies so far have focused on requirements for a user-centric AR application design. The study aims to propose a method on translating psychological and behavioral indicators of users into relevant technical design elements for the development of mobile AR tourism applications in the context of urban heritage tourism. The research was conducted in three phases to generate a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) model based on interviews, focus groups and questionnaires of international tourists and industry professionals. Key categories, content requirements, function requirements and user resistance were defined for the identification of requirements. The outcomes of the study outline tourist requirements based on behavioral and psychological indicators and propose a method for translating them into technical design elements for tourist mobile AR applications

Start-to-end modelling of a mode-locked optical klystron free electron laser amplifier

A free electron laser (FEL) in a mode-locked optical klystron (MLOK) configuration is modelled using start-to-end simulations that simulate realistic electron beam acceleration and transport before input into a full three-dimensional FEL simulation code. These simulations demonstrate that the MLOK scheme is compatible with the present generation of radiofrequency accelerator designs. A train of few-optical cycle pulses is predicted with peak powers similar to those of the equivalent conventional FEL amplifier. The role of electron beam energy modulation in these results is explained and the limitations of some simulation codes discussed. It is shown how seeding the FEL interaction using a High Harmonic seed laser can improve the coherence properties of the output

Modelling of a dynamic multiphase flash: the positive flash. Application to the calculation of ternary diagrams

A general and polyvalent model for the dynamic simulation of a vapor, liquid, liquid-liquid, vapor-liquid or vapor-liquid-liquid stage is proposed. This model is based on the -method introduced as a minimization problem by Han & Rangaiah (1998) for steady-state simulation. They suggested modifying the mole fraction summation such that the same set of governing equations becomes valid for all phase regions. Thanks to judicious additional switch equations, the -formulation is extended to dynamic simulation and the minimization problem is transformed into a set of differential algebraic equations (DAE). Validation of the model consists in testing its capacity to overcome phase number changes and to be able to solve several problems with the same set of equations: calculation of heterogeneous residue curves, azeotropic points and distillation boundaries in ternary diagrams

Hypertension Programmed in Adult Hens by Isolated Effects of Developmental Hypoxia In Ovo.

In mammals, pregnancy complicated by chronic hypoxia can program hypertension in the adult offspring. However, mechanisms remain uncertain because the partial contributions of the challenge on the placenta, mother, and fetus are difficult to disentangle. Here, we used chronic hypoxia in the chicken embryo-an established model system that permits isolation of the direct effects of developmental hypoxia on the cardiovascular system of the offspring, independent of additional effects on the mother or the placenta. Fertilized chicken eggs were exposed to normoxia (N; 21% O2) or hypoxia (H; 13.5%-14% O2) from the start of incubation (day 0) until day 19 (hatching, ≈day 21). Following hatching, all birds were maintained under normoxic conditions until ≈6 months of adulthood. Hypoxic incubation increased hematocrit (+27%) in the chicken embryo and induced asymmetrical growth restriction (body weight, -8.6%; biparietal diameter/body weight ratio, +7.5%) in the hatchlings (all P<0.05). At adulthood (181±4 days), chickens from hypoxic incubations remained smaller (body weight, -7.5%) and showed reduced basal and stimulated in vivo NO bioavailability (pressor response to NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, -43%; phenylephrine pressor response during NO blockade, -61%) with significant hypertension (mean arterial blood pressure, +18%), increased cardiac work (ejection fraction, +12%; fractional shortening, +25%; enhanced baroreflex gain, +456%), and left ventricular wall thickening (left ventricular wall volume, +36%; all P<0.05). Therefore, we show that chronic hypoxia can act directly on a developing embryo to program hypertension, cardiovascular dysfunction, and cardiac wall remodeling in adulthood in the absence of any maternal or placental effects.The British Heart Foundation The Wellcome Trus

Validation of the CogDrisk Instrument as Predictive of Dementia in Four General Community-Dwelling Populations

Background: Lack of external validation of dementia risk tools is a major limitation for generalizability and translatability of prediction scores in clinical practice and research. Objectives: We aimed to validate a new dementia prediction risk tool called CogDrisk and a version, CogDrisk-AD for predicting Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using cohort studies. Design, Setting, Participants and Measurements: Four cohort studies were identified that included majority of the dementia risk factors from the CogDrisk tool. Participants who were free of dementia at baseline were included. The predictors were component variables in the CogDrisk tool that include self-reported demographics, medical risk factors and lifestyle habits. Risk scores for Any Dementia and AD were computed and Area Under the Curve (AUC) was assessed. To examine modifiable risk factors for dementia, the CogDrisk tool was tested by excluding age and sex estimates from the model. Results: The performance of the tool varied between studies. The overall AUC and 95% CI for predicting dementia was 0.77 (0.57, 0.97) for the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, 0.76 (0.70, 0.83) for the Health and Retirement Study - Aging, Demographics and Memory Study, 0.70 (0.67,0.72) for the Cardiovascular Health Study Cognition Study, and 0.66 (0.62,0.70) for the Rush Memory and Aging Project. Conclusions: The CogDrisk and CogDrisk-AD performed well in the four studies. Overall, this tool can be used to assess individualized risk factors of dementia and AD in various population settings

Augmented Reality Smart Glasses (ARSG) visitor adoption in cultural tourism

A number of organizations in cultural tourism have started to explore the use of augmented reality (AR) to enhance visitor experience. While many studies have been conducted to identify adoption criteria of mobile AR applications, research exploring the adoption of augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) is still limited. This paper contributes to the technology adoption literature by investigating attributes of visitor adoption of ARSG in cultural tourism. Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with visitors to a UK art gallery, where they experienced an ARSG application. Findings inform an ARSG adoption framework that integrates societal impact, perceived benefits, perceived attributes of innovation, and visitor resistance as the main themes of ARSG adoption in cultural tourism

The Effect of Empty Space on Choice Deferral

Visual space is a fundamental component in visual communications. In five experiments, we demonstrate that the blank margin of a choice set increases the extent to which consumers defer choices. Our findings show that this effect is driven by the enhanced salience of alternatives instead of processing difficulty and fluency

Google Glass Creative Tourism Experience: A Case Study of Manchester Art Gallery

Due to the novelty factor of Google Glass, specifically in Europe, only few research attempts were made of the potential of Google Glass. The present study aims to explore visitor’s first time usage behavior of Google Glass within the cultural context. In total, 29 Art Gallery visitors tested the Google Glass prototype application “Museum Zoom” and took part in an interview. The data were analyzed using content analysis and revealed that among all age groups, the majority of visitors had a favourable opinion regarding the usage of Google Glass within Art Gallery settings. This exploratory study revealed that users were able to quickly adjust to the novel interaction and generally perceived the device to enhance the Art Gallery visitors experience though the provision of additional content and easy to use as well as social networking functions. Although technological issues remained, participants were curious to interact with the device

Optogenetics and deep brain stimulation neurotechnologies

Brain neural network is composed of densely packed, intricately wired neurons whose activity patterns ultimately give rise to every behavior, thought, or emotion that we experience. Over the past decade, a novel neurotechnique, optogenetics that combines light and genetic methods to control or monitor neural activity patterns, has proven to be revolutionary in understanding the functional role of specific neural circuits. We here briefly describe recent advance in optogenetics and compare optogenetics with deep brain stimulation technology that holds the promise for treating many neurological and psychiatric disorders

CogDrisk, ANU-ADRI, CAIDE, and LIBRA Risk Scores for Estimating Dementia Risk

Importance: While the Australian National University-Alzheimer Disease Risk Index (ANU-ADRI), Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia (CAIDE), and Lifestyle for Brain Health (LIBRA) dementia risk tools have been widely used, a large body of new evidence has emerged since their publication. Recently, Cognitive Health and Dementia Risk Index (CogDrisk) and CogDrisk for Alzheimer disease (CogDrisk-AD) risk tools have been developed for the assessment of dementia and AD risk, respectively, using contemporary evidence; comparison of the relative performance of these risk tools is limited. Objective: To evaluate the performance of CogDrisk, ANU-ADRI, CAIDE, LIBRA, and modified LIBRA (LIBRA with age and sex estimates from ANU-ADRI) in estimating dementia and AD risks (with CogDrisk-AD and ANU-ADRI). Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based cohort study obtained data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), the Cardiovascular Health Study Cognition Study (CHS-CS), and the Health and Retirement Study-Aging, Demographics and Memory Study (HRS-ADAMS). Participants who were free of dementia at baseline were included. The factors were component variables in the risk tools that included self-reported baseline demographics, medical risk factors, and lifestyle habits. The study was conducted between November 2021 and March 2023, and statistical analysis was performed from January to June 2023. Main outcomes and measures: Risk scores were calculated based on available factors in each of these cohorts. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to measure the performance of each risk score. Multiple imputation was used to assess whether missing data may have affected estimates for dementia risk. Results: Among the 6107 participants in 3 validation cohorts included for this study, 2184 participants without dementia at baseline were available from MAP (mean [SD] age, 80.0 [7.6] years; 1606 [73.5%] female), 548 participants without dementia at baseline were available from HRS-ADAMS (mean [SD] age, 79.5 [6.3] years; 288 [52.5%] female), and 3375 participants without dementia at baseline were available from CHS-CS (mean [SD] age, 74.8 [4.9] years; 1994 [59.1%] female). In all 3 cohorts, a similar AUC for dementia was obtained using CogDrisk, ANU-ADRI, and modified LIBRA (MAP cohort: CogDrisk AUC, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.61-0.69]; ANU-ADRI AUC, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.61-0.69]; modified LIBRA AUC, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.61-0.69]; HRS-ADAMS cohort: CogDrisk AUC, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.71-0.79]; ANU-ADRI AUC, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.70-0.78]; modified LIBRA AUC, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.71-0.79]; CHS-CS cohort: CogDrisk AUC, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.67-0.72]; ANU-ADRI AUC, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.66-0.72]; modified LIBRA AUC, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.68-0.73]). The CAIDE and LIBRA also provided similar but lower AUCs than the 3 aforementioned tools (eg, MAP cohort: CAIDE AUC, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.46-0.54]; LIBRA AUC, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.48-0.57]). The performance of CogDrisk-AD and ANU-ADRI in estimating AD risks was also similar. Conclusions and relevance: CogDrisk and CogDrisk-AD performed similarly to ANU-ADRI in estimating dementia and AD risks. These results suggest that CogDrisk and CogDrisk-AD, with a greater range of modifiable risk factors compared with other risk tools in this study, may be more informative for risk reduction