Characterizing Screen-printed Resistive Tactile Sensors

This bachelor’s thesis characterizes resistive tactile sensor prototypes made by master’s thesis worker Ahmed Elsayes in Tampere University biomedical engineering laboratory. He has manufactured several sensors but only one is examined in this thesis. The sensor is characterized by drawing a curve illustrating the force–resistance relationship of each element in the sensor. It includes one larger sensing element and two smaller ones that are the same size. The elements are fixed between two layers of flexible plastic film. They are connected to an electrical circuit through thin screen-printed conductors that run inside the sensor. The intention behind the tactile sensors is to create an artificial sense of touch to use in conjunction with a prosthetic hand. They could also be utilized in other flexible electronics and soft robotics applications. The sensor is used to measure the amount of force that is applied on it. The sensing elements are based on a phenomenon called piezoresistivity where a material’s electrical resistance is proportional to this force. The stress caused by the force is either compressive stress or tensile stress. However, only compressive forces are present in tactile sensing applications. The piezoresistive elements are pieces of insulating fabric doped with conducting nanoparticles. As the fabric is compressed, the distance between the particles inside the material decreases, creating a conductive path through the fabric. Thus, the fabric’s resistance diminishes. There are also other types of piezoresistive materials. Semiconductor materials, such as silicon, have been utilized in piezoresistive sensor for decades. Using a Stable Micro Systems texture analyzer, different amounts of force were exerted on the sensor. A straightforward voltage divider circuit was used to transform the change in resistance to a voltage signal. The voltage across the series resistor was input to a PC using a National Instruments DAQ device. The voltage curve was then manipulated using MATLAB and Excel to plot the final force–resistance curves. The characterized sensor indicated promising behavior. The force–resistance relationship of each piezoresistive element is logarithmic, as expected. The measurements were carried out without many errors as there was only one deviation in the data collected. The sensors seem largely suitable for the intended application. However, it was noted that when using extremely low forces, less than 0,5 N, the sensor’s output was sometimes unpredictable. Also, it was not possible to measure forces higher than 5 N with the available laboratory equipment. The results that were gathered show good promise, nonetheless. Further research is of course needed to clarify these uncertainties. The originality of this thesis has been checked using the Turnitin OriginalityCheck service

Yleisimmät ummessaolokauden ruokintastrategiat sekä niiden vaikutus metabolisen stressin ja insuliiniresistenssin syntyyn

Ummessaolokausi on lähes viidesosa lypsylehmän tuotoskautta. Ummessaolokauden ruokinta vaikuttaa lehmän maidontuotantoon poikimisen jälkeen. Poikimisen aikoihin lehmän aineenvaihdunnassa tapahtuu suuria muutoksia. Energian tarve kasvaa voimakkaasti maidontuotannon alkaessa, mikä lisää kudosmobilisaatiota. Tiineyden loppuvaiheessa ja tuotoskauden alussa voimistunut ääreiskudosten insuliiniresistensi lisää energian ja ravintoaineiden saantia utareeseen, mutta voi samalla altistaa lehmän erilaisille metabolisille häiriöille. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, miten ummessaolokauden vapaa ja toisaalta rajoitettu ruokinta vaikuttavat lypsylehmän insuliiniresistenssin kehittymiseen ja voimakkuuteen ummessaolokaudella sekä poikimisen jälkeen. Insuliiniresistenssin voimistuminen voi lisätä lehmien metabolista stressiä ja herkkyyttä erilaisille puerperaalikauden sairauksille. Tutkimuksen hypoteesina oli olettamus, että ennen poikimista vapaasti säilörehulla ruokituilla lehmillä kuntoluokka on korkeampi ennen poikimista ja rasvakudosten mobilisaatio on suurempaa poikimisen jälkeen. Lisäksi ennen poikimista vapaasti säilörehulla syötettyjen lehmien insuliiniresistenssin oletettiin olevan voimakkaampaa kuin rajoitetusti ruokittujen lehmien. Tutkimuksessa oli 16 vähintään toisen kerran poikivaa ay-lehmää. Lehmät jaettiin kahteen kahdeksan lehmän ryhmään, joista toista ryhmää ruokittiin vapaasti säilörehulla koko ummessaolokauden ajan. Toisen ryhmän saamaa kokonaisenergiamäärää rajoitettiin lisäämällä rehuseokseen olkea. Lehmät jaettiin pareihin kuntoluokan ja poikima-ajan perusteella, minkä jälkeen jokaisen parin yksilöt jaettiin eri ruokintaryhmiin arpomalla. Lehmien verestä määritettiin glukoosi- ja insuliinipitoisuuksia kahdeksan viikkoa ennen ja jälkeen poikimisen. Lisäksi lehmille tehtiin kaksi glukoosirasituskoetta. Ensimmäinen rasituskoe tehtiin 11 (±1) ennen odotettua poikimista ja toinen rasituskoe tehtiin 8 (±1) vuorokautta poikimisen jälkeen. Rasituskokeen yhteydessä lehmille annettiin glukoosiinfuusio laskimonsisäisesti ja samaan aikaan mitattiin verestä glukoosi- ja insuliinipitoisuuksia. Näytteiden otto aloitettiin 10 minuuttia ennen infuusion aloittamista ja jatkettiin neljä tuntia infuusion aloittamisesta. Lehmiltä mitattiin elopaino ja ne kuntoluokitettiin kokeen aikana. Ummessaolokauden ruokinnalla ei ollut vaikutusta lehmän kuntoluokan kehittymiseen ennen eikä jälkeen poikimisen. Vapaasti ruokituilla lehmillä veren glukoosipitoisuus oli suurempi koko ummessaolokauden ajan. Ennen poikimista tehdyssä glukoosirasituskokeessa rajoitetusti ruokitulla ryhmällä veren glukoosipitoisuus pysyi kauemmin koholla verrattuna vapaasti ruokittujen pitoisuuteen. Poikimisen jälkeen glukoosiaineenvaihdunnassa ei ollut eroa. Vapaasti ruokitulla ryhmällä veren insuliinipitoisuus oli huomattavasti suurempi ennen poikimista. Ennen poikimista tehdyssä glukoosirasituskokeessa vapaasti ruokituilla lehmillä veren insuliinipitoisuus nousi huomattavasti suuremmaksi ja pysyi suurena pidempään. Ennen poikimista vapaasti ruokitulla ryhmällä ensivaiheen insuliinivaste oli suurempi kuin rajoitetusti ruokituilla, mutta insuliinin herkkyysindeksissä ei ollut eroa ryhmien välillä. Ummessaolokauden ruokinnalla ei ollut vaikutusta kuntoluokan kehittymiseen eikä insuliiniresistenssiin vastoin tutkimuksen hypoteeseja. Saattaa kuitenkin olla, että vapaalla ruokinnalla on vaikutusta insuliiniresistenssin kehittymiseen, mutta sitä ei kyetty todistamaan. Ummessaolokauden ruokinnalla voi olla enemmän merkitystä, mikäli lehmät ovat kauempana niin sanotusta ihannekuntoluokasta kuin tutkimuksessa mukana olleet lehmät

Beyond the Blind Spot: Enhancing Polyphony Through City Planning Activism Using Public Participation GIS

A key advantage of public participation GIS (PPGIS) tools has been seen as increasing the polyphony of urban planning by reaching the wisdom of crowds. However, the challenge is to enable participation for those who do not have the skills or resources. This article describes participatory action research where the authors of the article collaborated with a local city planning activist at the Kontula Mall, Helsinki (Finland) to improve the participation of a group marginalized from the renewal process (i.e., immigrant entrepreneurs) using a PPGIS tool (Maptionnaire). The case study provided insights into the potential for city planning activism to bring out marginalized groups’ perspectives and use PPGIS. Moreover, the research also revealed barriers to polyphony in current planning practices. Nevertheless, planning activism can enable the participation of the marginalized by coming into contact with them, providing them with information, and bringing their perspectives to the collaboration. The PPGIS tool can serve as a platform to collect participatory data through different response modes. Local activism can also facilitate the questionnaire’s co-design, testing, and marketing. Therefore, a bottom-up approach can be a way to improve the impact of PPGIS and enhance polyphony in urban planning

Forest disturbance by an ecosystem engineer : beaver in boreal forest landscapes

Natural disturbances are important for forest ecosystem dynamics and maintenance of biodiversity. In the boreal forest, large-scale disturbances such as wildfires and windstorms have been emphasized, while disturbance agents acting at smaller scales have received less attention. Especially in Europe beavers have long been neglected as forest disturbance agents because they were extirpated from most of their range centuries ago. However, now they are returning to many parts of their former distribution range. As a disturbance agent, beaver plays two roles: of an ecosystem engineer and of a herbivore. The engineering impact is realized through dam construction resulting in a transformation of an originally terrestrial ecosystem into an aquatic one. As herbivores, beavers affect stand structure and tree species composition by preferring deciduous trees over coniferous ones. After abandonment, a beaver pond gradually turns into a terrestrial habitat again. At well-drained sites, forest will return in due course, first dominated by deciduous trees. At poorly drained sites, moistness of beaver patches may result in fen development. We conclude that beaver has an important impact on ecosystem processes and biodiversity in boreal forest ecosystems because it creates and maintains a spatio-temporal mosaic of successional habitats and associated species communities that would otherwise not exist in the landscape.Peer reviewe

Restoring wetland biodiversity using research : Whole-community facilitation by beaver as framework

Wetlands are declining worldwide, and there is a great need for their restoration and creation. One natural agent of wetland engineering is beavers,Castorspp., which have returned or are returning to many parts of their former range. We initially studied the facilitative effect of the beaverCastor canadensison a waterbird community consisting of three waders and four ducks in boreal wetlands in southern Finland. Both waterbird species diversity and abundance increased when beavers impounded a pond. Common tealAnas creccaand green sandpiperTringa ochropuswere the species showing the most positive numerical response, but the other five species also increased upon flooding. This article evaluates how the results of the study have been used in management, both in theory and practice. The whole-community facilitation concept has been taken up in numerous articles considering the restorative effects of beavers. It has also been used as ecological background when planning and executing man-made wetland projects in Finland within both the public and the private sectors. Our study and its publication inAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystemshave set a foundation for further evidence-based management of waterbird communities. As the results show, having beavers as wetland managers is a feasible tool for creating and restoring wetlands for waterbirds and other biota. Moreover, wetland restoration projects are becoming more popular endeavours, owing to an understanding of the diverse benefits of wetlands. Flooding by beavers is used as a model for managers when creating man-made wetlands; for example, in urban areas where it is difficult to maintain beavers. 1.2.3.4.Peer reviewe

Syöpäkuntoutujan elämänhallinta kuntoutukseen tullessa ja sen jälkeen FACT-G-mittarilla arvioituna

Syöpäkuntoutuksen tuloksellisuutta on tutkittu aikaisemmin Suomessa vähän. Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli verrata syöpäkuntoutujan elämänhallintaa ennen ja jälkeen syöpäkuntoutuksen. Tutkimus on osa Lounais-Suomen Syöpäyhdistyksen (LSSY) ja Turun ammattikorkeakoulun Terveysala-tulosalueen yhteistyöhanketta. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmänä oli LSSY:n kuntoutus- ja sopeutumisvalmennuskursseille vuosina 2009–2010 osallistuneet syöpäpotilaat. Yhteensä tutkimukseen osallistui 108 (= n) syöpäkuntoutujaa. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kaksivaiheisesti syöpäkuntoutuksen alkaessa ja puolen vuoden kuluttua kurssin alkamisesta strukturoidulla FACT-G-mittarilla. Aineisto analysoitiin PASW-ohjelmalla. Opinnäytetyön tutkimustuloksia tarkasteltaessa voidaan havaita ensimmäisen ja toisen mittauskerran välillä syöpäkuntoutuksella tai muulla tutkimuksen toteutuksen aikana tapahtuneella kuntoutumisella olleen positiivista vaikutusta kaikkiin hyvinvoinnin osa-alueisiin. Erittäin merkitsevästi kuntoutus vaikutti tunne-elämän hyvinvointiin ja toiminnasta saatavaan hyvinvointiin. Syöpäkuntoutujat kokivat perheeltä saadun henkisen tuen hieman heikommaksi toisella mittauskerralla. Syöpäkuntoutuksella ja kurssitoiminnalla on tulevaisuudessa vielä kehitettävää. Kurssien tulisi jatkossa vastata aikaista paremmin muuttuvan yhteiskunnan haasteisiin. Kuntoutujat tulevat tulevaisuudessa olemaan vielä vaativampia ja laatutietoisempia. Saatujen tutkimustulosten perusteella tulevaisuudessa tulisi syöpäkuntoutujien kursseilla kiinnittää aikaisempaa enemmän huomiota kuntoutujien seksuaalisuuteen ja perhekeskeisyyteen.The effectiveness of the cancer rehabilitation has gained only minor interest in Finland. The purpose of this thesis was to compare the quality of life of cancer rehabilitees before and after their cancer rehabilitation. This study was part of the Cancer Association of South-western Finland (LSSY) and Turku University of Applied Sciences’ faculty of Health Care’s collaboration project. The sample of the study consisted of 108 (= n) cancer patients who had participated in the rehabilitation and adaptation training courses between 2009 and 2010. The data was collected in two phases: in the beginning of the rehabilitation and adaptation training courses and six months after using the FACT-G tool. The data was analyzed using the PASW program. Based on the results cancer rehabilitation and other types of rehabilitation that might have happened between the two phases had a positive impact on every aspect of quality of life. There was a significant positive change in emotional well-being as well as in functional well-being. Cancer rehabilitees perceived emotional support from their family members slightly lower on the second phase. In the future, there is still work to be done when it comes to cancer rehabilitation and adaptation training courses. The courses should better meet the challenges of the changing society. In addition, rehabilitees will be more demanding and quality conscious. Based on the results more attention should be drawn to the family-centred approach and rehabilitees’ sexuality in the rehabilitation courses

Populations in stable and variable habitats : Green and common sandpiper in a beaver-influenced landscape

Stability of breeding habitat use and population variability was studied in two common wader species: green sandpiper Tringa ochropus and common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos in a boreal lake area in southern Finland. The main natural driver of habitat disturbance in the area is an ecosystem engineer, the North American beaver Castor canadensis. We also studied the presence and abundance of green sandpipers before, during and after beaver-induced floods. In the studied landscape, the variable habitat created by beaver flooding appeared to have carrying capacity for a larger green sandpiper population than the more stable habitat for that of the common sandpiper. Common sandpipers made much use of the same lakes from year to year whereas the occupation of wetlands by the green sandpiper was more variable. The population of common sandpipers fluctuated more, although they inhabited the more stable environment. Green sandpiper pair numbers increased during beaver flooding, which suggests that they adapt rapidly to changes in breeding site availability. Some of the facilitating effects of the beaver appeared to remain 1-2 years after the flooding.Peer reviewe

Urban Wetlands: A Review on Ecological and Cultural Values

Wetlands are a critical part of natural environments that offer a wide range of ecosystem services. In urban areas, wetlands contribute to the livability of cities through improving the water quality, carbon sequestration, providing habitats for wildlife species, reducing the effects of urban heat islands, and creating recreation opportunities. However, maintaining wetlands in urban areas faces many challenges, such as the reduction of hydrological functions, changed water regimes due to barriers, contamination by wastewater, habitat loss due to land-use change, and loss of biodiversity due to the entry of alien species. In this article, we review the theoretical background of wetlands in urban areas through the existing studies in the literature. We provide knowledge on urban wetlands and highlight the benefits of these wetlands in urban areas. These benefits include sustainability, biodiversity, urban heat islands, social perception, and recreation values. We also summarize the objectives, methodologies, and findings of the reviewed articles in five tables. In addition, we summarize the critical research gaps addressed in the reviewed articles. Our review study addresses the research gaps by performing a rigorous analysis to identify significant open research challenges, showing the path toward future research in the field. We further discuss and highlight the role of policymakers and stakeholders in preserving wetlands and finally present our conclusions