Up in the Air: A Human Factors Approach to Enhancing eVTOL Passenger Experience

Although electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles are an emerging mode of transportation, current research indicates that the general public may be unwilling to ride in them due to unfamiliarity and uncertainty about their trust in the technology. This research aimed to better understand potential passenger concerns as well as the factors related to eVTOL design and ride journey that contribute to people’s willingness to ride in them. Understanding these human factors considerations are crucial for addressing issues surrounding the end-to-end passenger experience. Passenger safety, comfort, and acceptance were identified as important areas that influence users’ experience. These areas informed the development of our low-fidelity conceptual designs of physical (e.g., electrochromic windows, ultraviolet light self-cleaning cabin, etc.) and digital (e.g., user-facing mobile app, in-vehicle displays, etc.) solutions. To gauge people’s opinions on these solutions, Embry-Riddle students were asked to participate in questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and user testing. Findings from data analysis informed a second iteration of our designs. This research highlights the importance of considering human factors in the design of eVTOLs to enhance passenger safety, comfort, and acceptance, ultimately facilitating the widespread adoption of this new mode of transportation

Phosphorylation of silk fibroins improves the cytocompatibility of silk fibroin derived materials: a platform for the production of tuneable material

Silk fibroin demonstrates great biocompatibility and is suitable for many biomedical applications, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Current research focuses on manipulating the physico-chemical properties of fibroin, and examining the effect of this manipulation on firobin's biocompatibility. Regenerated silk fibroin was modified by in vitro enzymatic phosphorylation and cast into films. Films were produced by blending, at several ratios, the phosphorylated and un-phosphorylated fibroin solutions. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy was used to determine the specific P–OH vibration peak, confirming the phosphorylation of the regenerated silk fibroin solution. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that phosphorylation altered the intra- and inter-molecular interactions. Further experiments demonstrated that phosphorylation can be used to tailor the hydrophylicity/hydrophobicity ratio as well as the crystalinity of silk fibroin films. Release profiling of a model drug was highly dependent on silk modification level. Cytotoxicity assays showed that exposure to lixiviates of phosphorylated films only slightly affected cellular metabolism and proliferation, although direct contact resulted in a strong direct correlation between phosphorylation level and cell proliferation. This new method for tuning silk biomaterials to obtain specific structural and biochemical features can be adapted for a wide range of applications. Phosphorylation of silk fibroins may be applied to improve the cytocompatibility of any silk-based device that is considered to be in contact with live animals or human tissues.The authors would like to acknowledge the support granted to the authors by European NOVO Project, contract no. FP7-HEALTH 2011-two-stage 278402

Bioactivity of a Novel Polycaprolactone-Hydroxyapatite Scaffold Used as a Carrier of Low Dose BMP-2: An In Vitro Study

Scaffolds of polycaprolactone-30% hydroxyapatite (PCL-30% HA) were fabricated using melt stretching and multilayer deposition (MSMD), and the in vitro response of osteoblasts to the scaffolds was assessed. In group A, the scaffolds were immersed in 10 µg/mL bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) solution prior to being seeded with osteoblasts, and they were cultured in the medium without BMP-2. In group B, the cell-scaffold constructs without BMP-2 were cultured in medium containing 10 µg/mL BMP-2. The results showed greater cell proliferation in group A. The upregulation of runt-related transcription factor 2 and osteocalcin genes correlated with the release of BMP-2 from the scaffolds. The PCL-30% HA MSMD scaffolds appear to be suitable for use as osteoconductive frameworks and BMP-2 carriers