Computer simulation of a motorcycle and dummy rider in impact

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis is concerned with the simulation model of an OPAT dummy rider on a Norton motorcycle in different configured impacts with a rigid barrier. The mathematical equations used in describing the mass-spring-damper-based impacts have been given. The software used in designing the mathematical model have also been outlined. The simulation model was then calibrated against full scale crash tests by means of film analysis and the processed digitised measurements. This led to the investigations into numerical processing of differentiation and integration. A parametric study was also conducted to examine injury to the dummy rider based on some varying parameters. The simulation model was further verified by different configurations and also an introduction of an airbag. Finally, the model was extended to a HYBRID3 dummy rider on the same motorcycle in different configured impacts with a motor car. It is hoped that after the validations and verifications have been performed to examine the robustness of the simulation model, it can assist in the analyses of motorcycle impacts with the less frequent need of conducting a full scale crash test, so that safety design of a motorcycle can be established

Voice care knowledge, attitude and behavior

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2009."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2009."Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-26).published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Negative gate-bias instability of ZnO thin-film transistors studied by current–voltage and capacitance–voltage analyses

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Similar physical characteristics but distinguishable sn-2 palmitic acid content and reduced solid fat content of chemically interesterified palm olein compared with native palm olein by dry fractionation: a lab-scale study

The presence of solid fat content (SFC) of vegetable fats at human body temperature (37°C) has been linked to altered fat digestibility and metabolism. In this study, the possibility of reducing the SFC in chemically interesterified palm olein (CIEPO) while maintaining physical properties similar to native palm olein was explored by dry fractionation. Crystallization at 37°C for 155 min produced a CIEPO olein fraction with total fatty acid composition (FAC) broadly resembling that of native palm olein while the high proportion of sn-2 palmitic acid content was maintained at 39.1%. The CIEPO olein fraction has a reduced SFC at 37°C from 8.6 to 4.2%, overall decreased SFC, slip melting point (SMP) at 33°C, a reduced palmitoyl-palmitoyl-palmitoyl (PPP) from 6.0 to 3.7 mol% and lower heating peaks in thermal profile compared with the untreated CIEPO. Both CIEPO olein fraction and palm olein have broadly similar total FAC and SMP below 37°C but very distinguishable sn-2 palmitic acid content. CIEPO olein fraction and native palm olein can be used as effective comparison in human studies because the differences of both fats in PPP content and SFC at 37°C were narrowed

A randomized control trial to evaluate the effect of adjuvant selective laser trabeculoplasty versus medication alone in primary open-angle glaucoma: preliminary results

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of adjuvant selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) versus medication alone on intraocular pressure (IOP) control, medication use, and quality of life in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. METHODS: This prospective, randomized control study recruited 41 consecutive primary open-angle glaucoma subjects with medically-controlled IOP /=0.4) or between the two treatment groups (P>/=0.2). CONCLUSION: A single session of adjuvant SLT provided further reductions in IOP and medication without substantial changes in quality of life or medication tolerability at 6 months.published_or_final_versio

DSM-Net: Disentangled Structured Mesh Net for Controllable Generation of Fine Geometry

3D shape generation is a fundamental operation in computer graphics. While significant progress has been made, especially with recent deep generative models, it remains a challenge to synthesize high-quality geometric shapes with rich detail and complex structure, in a controllable manner. To tackle this, we introduce DSM-Net, a deep neural network that learns a disentangled structured mesh representation for 3D shapes, where two key aspects of shapes, geometry and structure, are encoded in a synergistic manner to ensure plausibility of the generated shapes, while also being disentangled as much as possible. This supports a range of novel shape generation applications with intuitive control, such as interpolation of structure (geometry) while keeping geometry (structure) unchanged. To achieve this, we simultaneously learn structure and geometry through variational autoencoders (VAEs) in a hierarchical manner for both, with bijective mappings at each level. In this manner we effectively encode geometry and structure in separate latent spaces, while ensuring their compatibility: the structure is used to guide the geometry and vice versa. At the leaf level, the part geometry is represented using a conditional part VAE, to encode high-quality geometric details, guided by the structure context as the condition. Our method not only supports controllable generation applications, but also produces high-quality synthesized shapes, outperforming state-of-the-art methods

Hydrothermal synthesis of reduced graphene oxide-LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 composites as 5V cathode materials for Li-ion batteries

Composite materials consisting of reduced graphene oxide and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 were in situ prepared by a simple one-step hydrothermal treating method. The physical property and electrochemical performance of the composite materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, charge/discharge testing, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the graphene oxide is partially reduced and uniformly in situ anchored on the surface of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4. As a result, the specific surface area of the composite material dramatically increases from 0.2488 to 8.71 m2 g−1, and the initial specific discharge capacity improves from 125.8 to 140.2 mAh g−1, respectively. Furthermore, the capacity retention maintains 95.8% after 100 cycles, and the electrode polarization has significantly been lessened. At rates of 1, 2, and 5 C, the composite material with 5% reduced graphene oxide can deliver much higher capacities than the pristine LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4. Moreover, AC impedance test results show that the interfacial charge transfer impedance obviously reduced. It is confirmed that the introduction of reduced graphene oxide through hydrothermal treating is effective to enhance the electrochemical performance of the composite material

Does carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum enhance wound metastases following laparoscopic abdominal tumor surgery? A meta-analysis of 20 randomized control studies

The mechanisms involved in the development of wound metastasis following laparoscopic abdominal tumor surgery remain unclear. The aim of this study was to accurately assess whether the duration of carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum (CDP) during laparoscopic abdominal tumor surgery enhances wound metastases. We conducted a systematic review of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase through December 2013 to identify animal experiments comparing wound recurrence between laparoscopic and gasless laparoscopic procedures or open procedures. The outcome of interest was the number of animals with a wound tumor. Meta-regression was used to assess whether heterogeneity was explained by study level covariates (animal model, study size, CDP pressure, duration, and evaluated time). Twenty randomized control studies involving 1,229 animals were included. Wound recurrence was not significant in the laparoscopic surgery (LP) vs. gasless laparoscopic surgery (GLP) subgroups [odds ratio (OR), 2.23; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.90–5.55; P = 0.08) or the LP vs. laparotomy (LA) subgroups (OR, 0.97; 95 % CI, 0.31–3.00; P = 0.08). Overall postoperative wound recurrence results were not significantly different between the study groups and controls (OR, 1.47; 95 % CI, 0.74–2.92; P = 0.28). A meta-regression analysis showed that the outcome was not correlated with the covariates (animal model: P = 0.82; evaluated time: P = 0.30; pressure of CDP: P = 0.12; duration time: P = 0.80). Current evidence suggests that CDP does not enhance wound metastases following laparoscopic abdominal tumor surgery. Additional large sample, well-designed, randomized, controlled trials are needed to further confirm whether CDP duration in laparoscopic abdominal tumor surgery significantly enhances wound recurrence