Optimizing protection for rear seat occupants: assessing booster performance with realistic belt geometry using the Hybrid III 6YO ATD

A series of sled tests was conducted to examine the performance of booster seats under belt geometries representing the range found in the rear seats of current vehicles. Twelve tests were performed with the standard 6YO Hybrid III ATD and 29 tests were performed with a modified version of the 6YO ATD. The modified dummy has a pelvis with more realistic shape and flesh stiffness, a gel abdomen with biomechanically-based stiffness characteristics, and a custom neoprene jacket. Shoulder belt upper anchorage was set at the FMVSS No. 213 belt anchorage location and 64 mm inboard and outboard from this location. Lap belt anchorage locations were chosen to span the range of lap belt angles permitted under FMVSS 210, using the FMVSS No. 213 belt anchorage locations and forward belt anchorage locations that produce a much steeper lap belt angle. Four booster seats that provide a range of static belt fit were used. The ATDs were positioned using either the standard FMVSS No. 213 seating procedure or an alternate UMTRI procedure that produces postures closer to those of similar-size children. Kinematic results for the standard and modified dummies under the same test conditions were more similar than expected. The current version of the modified 6YO is less sensitive to lap belt geometry than the prototype version of the dummy. The seating procedure had a greater affect on kinematic results. The UMTRI seating procedure produced greater knee-head excursion differences and less forward torso rotation than the FMVSS No. 213 procedure. Shifting the shoulder belt upper anchorage 128 mm laterally produced minimal variations in kinematics for a given booster seat/lap belt condition, likely because the belt-routing features of the booster seats limited the differences in static shoulder belt score to less than 10 mm. Moving the lap belt geometry from rearward (shallow angle) to forward (steep angle) produced less desirable kinematics with all booster seats tested. The forward position of the lap belt anchorage allows greater forward translation of the booster and ATD before the belt engages the pelvis. Steeper belt angles are associated with better lap belt fit for children sitting without boosters, so designing rear seat belts for children who sit with and without boosters may involve a performance tradeoff.National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90973/1/102860.pd

Comparing the CRABI-12 and CRABI-18 for Infant Child Restraint System Evaluation

Technical Report FinalA preliminary study was performed to consider how evaluation of rear-facing-only child restraints might differ if the CRABI 18 month old crash test dummy was used instead of the CRABI 12 month old. In comparison to child anthropometry data, the CRABI-18 does a better job in representing the dimensions of children over 1 year old. Nineteen rear-facing-only child restraint systems (CRS) were measured, and both test dummies were installed in the CRSs for static evaluation. The CRABI-12 fit well in all the CRSs. Nine child restraints were too narrow for the CRABI-18 shoulders (including 7 CRSs for use with children at or over 18 kg [30 lb]), and 12 child restraints did not allow the recommended 25 mm head clearance. In dynamic FMVSS No. 213 testing with 3 CRSs (Graco Snugride30, Chicco KeyFit, and Evenflo Embrace), the measured response of both test dummies was similar; both met all FMVSS No. 213 requirements.National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154007/1/UMTRI-2013-5.pd

Developing Hyperpolarized 13C Spectroscopy and Imaging for Metabolic Studies in the Isolated Perfused Rat Heart

Hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance is a powerful tool for the study of cardiac metabolism. In this work, we have implemented protocols for the real-time hyperpolarized 13C investigation of Langendorff-perfused rat hearts using both non-selective non-localized spectroscopy and fast spectroscopic imaging. Following [1-13C] pyruvate infusion, we observed both catabolic and anaplerotic metabolic processes resulting in a number of metabolites, including bicarbonate, carbon dioxide, lactate, alanine and aspartate. Employing fast spectroscopic imaging, we were able to observe regional variations in pyruvate perfusion as well as in lactate and bicarbonate productio

A randomised feasibility study assessing an intervention to keep adults physically active after falls management exercise programmes end

Background: Physical inactivity contributes to disability and falls in older adults. Falls prevention exercise (FaME) programmes improve physical activity and physical function and reduce falling rates. Improvements in physical function are reduced, and falls rates increase, if physical activity is not maintained. This research investigated the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention that aimed to maintain physical activity in older adults exiting FaME. Methods: The Keeping Adults Physically Active (KAPA) intervention comprised of six group sessions of motivational interviewing, delivered monthly by trained and mentor-supported postural stability instructor's after the FaME programme ceased. The KAPA intervention included participant manuals, illustrated exercise books, physical activity diaries and pedometers. A feasibility study was conducted in 8 FaME classes. The study design was a two-arm, cluster randomised, multi-site feasibility study comparing the KAPA intervention with usual care. A sample of 50 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years old or older were recruited. Recruitment, retention and attendance rates, self-reported physical activity and participant interviews were used to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the KAPA intervention. Results: Fifty of the sixty-seven (74.6%) participants invited into the study agreed to take part, 94.2% of the available KAPA sessions were attended and 92.3% of the recruited participants provided outcome data. The KAPA participants expressed positive views about the venues and postural stability instructors and reported enjoying the group interactions. Intervention participants discussed increasing their physical activity in response to the peer-support, illustrated home exercise booklet, physical activity diaries and pedometers. Most discussed the written tasks to be the least enjoyable element of the KAPA intervention. The proportion of participants reporting at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week rose from 56.3 to 62.5% in the intervention arm and from 41.4 to 52.0% in the usual care arm. Conclusions: The participants found the KAPA intervention acceptable. Participants reported the exercise booklet, peer support and the physical activity monitoring tools encouraged them to keep active. A full-scale trial is needed to assess whether physical activity can be significantly maintained in response to the KAPA intervention. Trial registration: Retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03824015)

Impact of the national home safety equipment scheme ‘Safe At Home’ on hospital admissions for unintentional injury in children under 5: a controlled interrupted time series analysis

Background: Unintentional home injuries are a leading cause of preventable death in young children. Safety education and equipment provision improve home safety practices, but their impact on injuries is less clear. Between 2009 and 2011 a national home safety equipment scheme was implemented in England (Safe At Home), targeting high injury rate areas and socio-economically disadvantaged families with children under 5. This provided a ‘natural experiment’ for evaluating the scheme’s impact on hospital admissions for unintentional injuries.Methods: Controlled interrupted time series analysis of unintentional injury hospital admission rates in small areas (Lower layer Super-Output Areas (LSOAs)) in England where the scheme was implemented (intervention areas, n=9,466)) matched with LSOAs in England and Wales where it was not implemented (control areas, n=9,466), with subgroup analyses by density of equipment provision.Results: 57,656 homes receiving safety equipment were included in the analysis. In the two years after the scheme ended, monthly admission rates declined in intervention areas (-0.33% (-0.47% to -0.18%)) but did not decline in control areas (0.04% (-0.11% to 0.19%), p value for difference in trend=0.001)). Greater reductions in admission rates were seen as equipment provision density increased. Effects were not maintained beyond two years after the scheme ended.Conclusions: A national home safety equipment scheme was associated with a reduction in injury-related hospital admissions in children under 5 in the 2-years after the scheme ended. Providing a higher number of items of safety equipment appears to be more effective in reducing injury rates than providing fewer items

Modulation of renal oxygenation and perfusion in rat kidney monitored by quantitative diffusion and blood oxygen level dependent magnetic resonance imaging on a clinical 1.5T platform

ARRIVE Checklist. (DOCX 42 kb

Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) Data Portal - World-leading infrastructure facilitating innovative multi-modal research

Introduction Modern team science requires effective sharing of data and skills. The DPUK Data Portal is a collection of tools, datasets and networks that allows for epidemiologists and specialist researchers alike to access, analyse and investigate cohort and different modalities of routine data across UK and international sources. Objectives and Approach The Portal is housed on an instance of UKSeRP (UK Secure eResearch Platform), that allows customisable infrastructure to be used for multi-modal research (thus far live in genetics, imaging and clinical data) for researchers across the world using remote access technology whilst allowing governance to remain with the data provider. A central team at Swansea University is responsible for data curation and processing, and runs an access procedure for researchers to apply to use data from multiple sources to be analysed in a central analysis environment. Other modalities are similarly hosted, with input from partner sites in Cardiff and Oxford. Results DPUK facilitates data access and research on 49 cohorts, 40 UK-based and 9 international. The centralised repository model including remote access and ability to store and make available different modalities of data, from phenotypic data, to genetic and imaging data, has allowed DPUK to begin to support research of varying topics, from those studying cognitive decline and Dementia as a disease, to those maturing analytical models. By providing access to data platforms specialising in genetics, imaging and routine clinical data, as well as to specialists in disease and biology to aid with its understanding, DPUK has realised a large-scale research exercise combining major data modalities on a central platform, and allow access to such rich data across the world under an umbrella of robust governance. Conclusion/Implications Globally, cohorts are pooling data, expertise and desire to enrich their own aims in partnership with a federated research community to enable in-depth scrutiny of the biological origins of dementia and the development and evaluation of novel approach to disease prevention and cure

Pinnipeds orient and control their whiskers: a study on Pacific walrus, California sea lion and Harbor seal

Whisker touch is an active sensory system. Previous studies in Pinnipeds have adopted relatively stationary tasks to judge tactile sensitivity, which may not accurately promote natural whisker movements and behaviours. This study developed a novel feeding task, termed fish sweeping to encourage whisker movements. Head and whisker movements were tracked from video footage in Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) and Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). All species oriented their head towards the moving fish target and moved their whiskers during the task. Some species also engaged in whisker control behaviours, including head-turning asymmetry in the Pacific walrus, and contact-induced asymmetry in the Pacific walrus and California sea lion: behaviours that have only previously been observed in terrestrial mammals. This study confirms that Pinnipeds should be thought of as whisker specialists, and that whisker control (movement and positioning) is an important aspect of touch sensing in these animals, especially in sea lions and walruses. That the California sea lion controls whisker movement in relation to an object, and also had large values of whisker amplitude, spread and asymmetry, suggests that California sea lions are a promising model with which to further explore active touch sensing