DEVELOPMENT OF A METHODOLOGY FOR THE EVALUTATION OF UAV-BASED PHOTOGRAMMETRY: IMPLEMENTATION AT AN UNDERGROUND MINE

Autonomous systems in underground mining are increasingly being implemented as tools to collect data in inaccessible areas and improve the safety of mine personnel. There are many areas in the underground mining environment that cannot be accessed by personnel due to the high potential for ground fall and insufficient ground support. By combining unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with technologies such as photogrammetry and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scanners, 3D point clouds can be created for inaccessible sites. A 3D digital point cloud can provide valuable geotechnical information such as the ability to measure discontinuities, inspect rock conditions, generate accurate volume estimates, and obtain a georeferenced geometry of the inaccessible opening. There are many challenges to operating UAVs and collecting high-quality imagery in underground environments including poor lighting and visibility, dust, water, confined spaces, air turbulence, and a lack of GPS coverage for navigation and stability. Due to the difficult flying conditions and GPS-denied environment, several companies are developing UAVs with LiDARbased simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) to enhance the obstacle detection and avoidance capabilities of the platforms and minimize the potential for a collision. The objective of this research was to develop a methodology that can be used to evaluate UAV-based imaging tools designed to fly in underground environments. A series of demonstrations was designed to test the functionalities of available UAVs and to identify the most effective platforms for collecting UAV-based photogrammetric imagery in an underground mine. Each of the four participating teams was challenged to fly their UAV-based systems (Hovermap, Elios, M2, Ranger/Batonomous) in underground drifts and long-hole stopes while capturing high-quality imagery that could be used to create a 3D digital photogrammetric model of the opening. The demonstrations were held at Barrick Gold Corporation’s Golden Sunlight Mine (GSM) in Whitehall, MT. The systems were evaluated based upon the performance of the collision avoidance (or recovery) system in the underground environment and the quality and accuracy of the data provided. By successfully completing the underground flights and demonstrating well-developed SLAM-based collision avoidance, the Hovermap system proved to be the most reliable, robust, and easily controllable system. The Elios system, relying on collision recovery rather than avoidance, is an affordable alternative for flights in difficult environments. The imagery collected by each system was used to generate photogrammetric point clouds using three software packages: Agisoft PhotoScan, Bentley ContextCapture, and Pix4Dmapper. The point clouds were qualitatively compared based on completeness and detail and quantitatively evaluated for accuracy by comparing the geometry of the point cloud to LiDAR scans of the stopes. Based on the results of the qualitative comparison, the point clouds considered in the accuracy evaluation were built using the photogrammetry software Bentley ContextCapture. When the photogrammetric point clouds were compared with the LiDAR point clouds (assumed to be an accurate baseline reference), the mean error values ranged between 0.47 and 2.86 feet. Despite the different conditions and locations in which the imagery was collected for each model, the observed error varies by less than one order of magnitude. Improvements in the coverage and overlap of the imagery as well as in the method used for georeferencing could further increase the accuracy of the photogrammetric point clouds

Interview with Rachel Garcia

Rachel Garcia talks about the Science Play-space Initiativehttps://digital.kenyon.edu/ps_interviews/1009/thumbnail.jp

An Intergenerational Leisure Activity Program to Promote Successful Aging

PROBLEM: By the year 2030, older adults who are 65 years of age or older will account for 20% of the US population (Center for Disease Control, 2008); however, the rate of successful aging has decreased 25% from 1998 to 2004 (McLaughlin, Connell, Heeringa, Li, &Roberts, 2009). PURPOSE: The purpose of this scholarly project is to develop an intergenerational program that will promote successful aging of older adults. METHOD: A literature review was conducted on older adults and successful aging using PubMed, OT search, CINAHL, AJOT, Google scholar, and textbooks. RESULTS: Researchers indicated that intergenerational programs promote successful aging and positive outcomes in children. An intergenerational program was designed based on the model of human occupation (MOHO). The program also uses Erikson’s theory of development and learning theories including pedagogy and gerogogy. The program is made up of three phases: preparing older adults for intergenerational programming, program implementation, and capstone of intergenerational program. CONCLUSION: Occupational therapists can use this program in order to develop an intergenerational after school program in which the older adults volunteer and educate the youth on different leisure activities of interest. Implementation of this program will increase successful aging in older adults and also have a positive impact on the children who participate. It is recommended that an occupational therapist implement this grant- funded intergenerational program in a rural community and conduct research on wellness outcomes for both older adults and children

Avoiding Common Problems in Using Teaching Assistants: Hard Lessons Learned from Peer Teaching Theory and Experience

A majority of American law schools rely on teaching assistants to help administer first-year legal writing, research, and analysis (LWRA) courses. Specifically, surveys jointly conducted by the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) and the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) consistently detail the extensive use many LWRA professors make of teaching assistants. Likewise, Julie Cheslik recognized in her article about her 1994 survey on the use of TAs in the typical LWRA course that [o]ne of the most prevalent uses of peer teachers in the law school setting is the employment of upper-level law students as teaching assistants in the first-year legal research and writing.., course. As one professor observed, [we] couldn\u27t do it without the TAs

Real-World Treatment of Post-herpetic Neuralgia with Gabapentin or Pregabalin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are limited data examining the real-world use of gabapentin and pregabalin for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). This study examines dosing patterns, therapy outcomes, healthcare utilization and costs of patients with PHN who initiate treatment with gabapentin or pregabalin. METHODS: This was a retrospective administrative claims data analysis from July 2005 to February 2010. Patients with PHN initiating gabapentin or pregabalin (index therapy) from January 2006 to February 2009 were identified and were observed for 12 months after index therapy initiation. Outcomes were mean daily dosages of the index therapy, attainment of minimally effective dosages of gabapentin (≥1,800 mg/day) or pregabalin (≥150 and ≥300 mg/day) persistence, discontinuation, index therapy switching, addition of neuropathic pain medications to index therapy, and healthcare resource use and costs. RESULTS: 1,645 patients were identified. The mean daily dosage was 826 mg for gabapentin and 187 mg for pregabalin. Only 52.6 % of patients initiating gabapentin and 56.9 % initiating pregabalin obtained a refill during the post-index period. Approximately 14 % of patients treated with gabapentin reached the target dosage (1,800 mg/day). For pregabalin, 87 % reached ≥150 mg/day and 27 % reached ≥300 mg/day. On average, patients took 10 weeks to reach 1,800 mg/day gabapentin, and 5.0 and 9.2 weeks to reach ≥150 mg/day and ≥300 mg/day pregabalin, respectively. Approximately one-third of patients in both index therapy cohorts added a pain medication; more than half added opioids. The percentage of patients switching from either drug (57 %) or adding a therapy (34 %) were similar between index therapy cohorts; opioids were the most common therapy patients switched to or added. CONCLUSION: It appears that gabapentin and pregabalin are not used effectively to treat PHN. Suboptimal dosing and discontinuation may be associated with supplementary use of other analgesics, especially opioids. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40261-012-0030-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The Protective and Therapeutic Function of Small Heat Shock Proteins in Neurological Diseases

Historically, small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) have been extensively studied in the context of being intracellular molecular chaperones. However, recent studies looking at the role of sHSPs in neurological diseases have demonstrated a near universal upregulation of certain sHSPs in damaged and diseased brains. Initially, it was thought that sHSPs are pathological in these disease states because they are found in the areas of damage. However, transgenic overexpression and exogenous administration of sHSPs in various experimental disease paradigms have shown just the contrary – that sHSPs are protective, not pathological. This review examines sHSPs in neurological diseases and highlights the potential for using these neuroprotective sHSPs as novel therapeutics. It first addresses the endogenous expression of sHSPs in a variety of neurological disorders. Although many studies have examined the expression of sHSPs in neurological diseases, there are no review articles summarizing these data. Furthermore, it focuses on recent studies that have investigated the therapeutic potential of sHSPs for neurological diseases. Finally, it will explain what we think is the function of endogenous sHSPs in neurological diseases

"Trash Music": Valuing Nineteenth-century Italian Opera Fantasias for Woodwinds

Opera fantasias have been denigrated as insufficiently intellectual or serious, as derivative, as merely popular or sentimental. However, many of the perceived flaws were, if not hallmarks, at least accepted realities of Italian opera composing. Like opera itself, the opera fantasia is a popular art form, stylistically predictable yet formally flexible, based heavily on past operatic tradition and prefabricated materials. I approach opera fantasias, instrumental works that use themes from a single opera as the body of their virtuosic and flamboyant material, both historically and theoretically, concentrating on compositions written for and by woodwind-instrument performers in Italy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Important overlapping strands in my theoretical framework include the concept of virtuosity and its gradual demonization, the strong gendered overtones of individual woodwind instruments and of virtuosity, the distinct Italian context of these fantasias, the presentation and alteration of opera narratives in opera fantasias, and the technical and social development of woodwind instruments. I have uncovered a large body of compositions and composers, many of whom have not been written about in English, through archival research in Milan, Naples, Parma, Bologna, and Palermo. This reveals trends in operas used for fantasias, temporally, spatially, and between instruments, as well as further trends in the use of specific melodies. I use contemporary reviews of performances and compositions to attest to the popularity of the opera fantasia throughout the second half of the nineteenth century in Italy, including oboist Antonio Pasculli as a case study. This often overlooked genre is intimately tied to the central canon and deeply connected to its social and musical contexts. Approaching the opera fantasia as a coherent and meaningful group of works clarifies a genre that has been consciously stifled and cultural resonances that still impact music reception and performance today