1,213 research outputs found
Development of a wearable haptic game interface
This paper outlines the development and evaluation of a wearable haptic game
interface. The device differs from many traditional haptic feedback
implementation in that it combines vibrotactile feedback with gesture based
input, thus becoming a two way conduit between the user and the virtual
environment. The device is intended to challenge what is considered an
"interface" and sets out to purposefully blur the boundary between man and
machine. This allows for a more immersive experience, and a user evaluation
shows that the intuitive interface allows the user to become the aircraft that
is controlled by the movements of the user's hand.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1604.0547
Ethanol consumption impairs vestibulo-ocular reflex function measured by the video head impulse test and dynamic visual acuity
Ethanol affects many parts of the nervous system, from the periphery to higher cognitive functions. Due to the established effects of ethanol on vestibular and oculomotor function, we wished to examine its effect on two new tests of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR): the video head impulse test (vHIT) and dynamic visual acuity (DVA). We tested eight healthy subjects with no history of vestibular disease after consumption of standardized drinks of 40% ethanol. We used a repeated measures design to track vestibular function over multiple rounds of ethanol consumption up to a maximum breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) of 1.38‰. All tests were normal at baseline. VOR gain measured by vHIT decreased 25% by the highest BrAC level tested in each subject. Catch-up saccades were negligible at baseline and increased in number and size with increasing ethanol consumption (from 0.13° to 1.43° cumulative amplitude per trial). DVA scores increased by 86% indicating a deterioration of acuity, while static visual acuity (SVA) remained unchanged. Ethanol consumption systematically impaired the VOR evoked by high-acceleration head impulses and led to a functional loss of visual acuity during head movement.NHMR
Delayed Resolution of Acute Inflammation in Ulcerative Colitis Is Associated with Elevated Cytokine Release Downstream of TLR4
Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is widely viewed as a leukocyte-mediated disorder. Although strong evidence implicates an exuberant response to microbial components in its pathogenesis, no intrinsic immune defect has been identified and the underlying pathogenic mechanisms remain obscure.Methodology/Principal Findings: The acute immune response to bacterial injection was determined in UC patients with quiescent disease and directly compared to healthy control subjects. Monocyte-derived macrophages were used to investigate bacterial recognition mechanisms in vitro. An exuberant and protracted acute inflammatory response to bacteria was evident in patients with UC, which coincides with increased systemic levels of CXCL10. Macrophages stimulated with bacteria and Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands revealed a specific defect in the TLR4 response in UC. The defect resulted in the over-expression of a number of pro-inflammatory molecules under transcriptional control of the adaptor TIR-domain containing adaptor inducing interferon-b (TRIF).Conclusion: These findings highlight a dysregulated innate immune response with over-expression of molecules associated with leukocyte recruitment and activation that may eventuate in the hallmark chronic immune-mediated inflammation of UC
Quantifying the Universality of the Stellar Initial Mass Function in Old Star Clusters
We present a new technique to quantify cluster-to-cluster variations in the
observed present-day stellar mass functions of a large sample of star clusters.
Our method quantifies these differences as a function of both the stellar mass
and the total cluster mass, and offers the advantage that it is insensitive to
the precise functional form of the mass function. We applied our technique to
data taken from the ACS Survey for Globular Clusters, from which we obtained
completeness-corrected stellar mass functions in the mass range 0.25-0.75
M for a sample of 27 clusters. The results of our observational
analysis were then compared to Monte Carlo simulations for globular cluster
evolution spanning a range of initial mass functions, total numbers of stars,
concentrations, and virial radii.
We show that the present-day mass functions of the clusters in our sample can
be reproduced by assuming an universal initial mass function for all clusters,
and that the cluster-to-cluster differences are consistent with what is
expected from two-body relaxation. A more complete exploration of the initial
cluster conditions will be needed in future studies to better constrain the
precise functional form of the initial mass function. This study is a first
step toward using our technique to constrain the dynamical histories of a large
sample of old Galactic star clusters and, by extension, star formation in the
early Universe.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS,
proof corrections made in updated versio
Применение активной молниезащиты, как способ повышения уровня безопасности промышленной площадки
В данной работе автором проводится разработка инженерно-технических мероприятий направленных на повышение уровня безопасности промышленной площадки эксплуатирующей природный газ действующего производства города Томск.In the paper author presents the development of measures aimed at the improving safety level of the Tomsk ongoing production gas operating industrial site
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