A computer-based training system combining virtual reality and multimedia

Training new users of complex machines is often an expensive and time-consuming process. This is particularly true for special purpose systems, such as those frequently encountered in DOE applications. This paper presents a computer-based training system intended as a partial solution to this problem. The system extends the basic virtual reality (VR) training paradigm by adding a multimedia component which may be accessed during interaction with the virtual environment. The 3D model used to create the virtual reality is also used as the primary navigation tool through the associated multimedia. This method exploits the natural mapping between a virtual world and the real world that it represents to provide a more intuitive way for the student to interact with all forms of information about the system

Clinical significance of monocyte heterogeneity

Monocytes are primitive hematopoietic cells that primarily arise from the bone marrow, circulate in the peripheral blood and give rise to differentiated macrophages. Over the past two decades, considerable attention to monocyte diversity and macrophage polarization has provided contextual clues into the role of myelomonocytic derivatives in human disease. Until recently, human monocytes were subdivided based on expression of the surface marker CD16. "Classical" monocytes express surface markers denoted as CD14(++)CD16(-) and account for greater than 70% of total monocyte count, while "non-classical" monocytes express the CD16 antigen with low CD14 expression (CD14(+)CD16(++)). However, recognition of an intermediate population identified as CD14(++)CD16(+) supports the new paradigm that monocytes are a true heterogeneous population and careful identification of specific subpopulations is necessary for understanding monocyte function in human disease. Comparative studies of monocytes in mice have yielded more dichotomous results based on expression of the Ly6C antigen. In this review, we will discuss the use of monocyte subpopulations as biomarkers of human disease and summarize correlative studies in mice that may yield significant insight into the contribution of each subset to disease pathogenesis

The Most Widely Publicized Gender Problem in Human Genetics

In two-child families containing at least one boy, the expected probability that such a family has two boys is 1/3, provided that the boy/girl (B/G) ratio is 1.0 and the population to which they belong has a binomial distribution of BB, (BG + GB), and GG families. It is commonly known that in most human populations the sex ratio at birth (i.e., the ratio of the number of boys to the number of girls) is greater than 1.0. Teachers and textbook writers seldom discuss the more realistic expected distributions in populations where the sex ratio is greater than 1.0. We present data from two federal surveys with sex ratios greater than 1.0 and find that the observed proportions of two boys in families of size 2 with at least one boy range from 0.3335 to 0.3941. It has been reported in the literature that the probability (p) of a male birth is subject to both within-sibship variation (Poisson variation), for which our data are suggestive, and possibly also between-sibship variation (Lexis variation). These deviations (biases) from the assumptions of a simple binomial distribution are involved in the calculation of values of p and standard 95% confidence intervals, thereby foiling attempts to make reliable statistical inferences from the data. Analysis of the data is also complicated by family planning that falsifies the assumption of randomness in the binomial gender distribution model. Families of size 2 (and their sex composition) are often discussed in a wider context. Overpopulation in some parts of the world has caused mass starvation and threatens to do the same worldwide unless the birth rate drops to agriculturally sustainable levels. Even if every woman of fertile age has only two children on average from now on, the world’s population is predicted to continue growing toward 9 billion people by 2050. Other sociological problems are bound to follow. Although the birth rate in China has recently dropped, the average age of the population has risen, so that by 2035 it is projected that for each person over age 65 there will be just three working-age people. Furthermore, China’s one-child policy has already led to a sex imbalance where there is a large excess of men for whom marriage and parentage is denied

Reducing systematic review workload using text mining: opportunities and pitfalls

This EAHIL workshop focussed on three applications of text mining to assist with screening citations for systematic reviews, and encouraged participants to discuss issues affecting their adoption. This paper outlines these applications and summarises the factors raised by participants in relation to their uptake. Key aspects to uptake include having an accepted advantage over existing approaches, coupled with training and user support

A three-dimensional finite element model of maximal grip loading in the human wrist

The aim of this work was to create an anatomically accurate three-dimensional finite element model of the wrist, applying subject-specific loading and quantifying the internal load transfer through the joint during maximal grip. For three subjects, representing the anatomical variation at the wrist, loading on each digit was measured during a maximal grip strength test with simultaneous motion capture. The internal metacarpophalangeal joint load was calculated using a biomechanical model. High-resolution magnetic resonance scans were acquired to quantify bone geometry. Finite element analysis was performed, with ligaments and tendons added, to calculate the internal load distribution. It was found that for the maximal grip the thumb carried the highest load, an average of 72.2 ¡ 20.1 N in the neutral position. Results from the finite element model suggested that the highest regions of stress were located at the radial aspect of the carpus. Most of the load was transmitted through the radius, 87.5 per cent, as opposed to 12.5 per cent through the ulna with the wrist in a neutral position. A fully three-dimensional finite element analysis of the wrist using subject-specific anatomy and loading conditions was performed. The study emphasizes the importance of modelling a large ensemble of subjects in order to capture the spectrum of the load transfer through the wrist due to anatomical variation

The control of an unthrottled homogeneous DISI engine through reduced intake valve lift and duration : a study of the in-cylinder flows and charge formation

This research investigated a novel combustion system for gasoline direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engines. This combustion system burned an unthrottled, stoichiometric, homogenous charge at part load, in comparison to the unthrottled,lean, stratified charge burned by conventional DISI engines. Unthrottled homogeneous operation, enabled by the use of variable valve timing. allowed high fuel efficiencies to be achieved while addressing the particulate emissions, poor combustion stabilities and NOx after-treatment issues associated with stratified charge DISI engines, when compared to the port fuel injection (PFI) engines they are replacing. Experiments were performed to quantifY the bulk in-cylinder air motions, determine their effect on the fuel spray, and examine the resulting air-fuel mixture preparation of various early inlet valve closing (EIVC) and late inlet valve opening (LIVO) strategies that were suitable for controlling engine load under homogeneous engine conditions. A broad matrix of engine conditions has been investigated, with engine speeds ranging from idle (750 rpm) to 5000 rpm, and engine loads ranging from 2.7 bar indicated mean effective pressure (!MEP) to wide open throttle (WOT). Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to record mean in-cylinder flow fields in the tumble and swirl planes for a range of engine conditions and valve profiles. This included measurements at higher engine speeds (3500rpm) than previously published. Air flows in the difficult-to-access cylinder head were measured with Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) and the effect of these air flows on the fuel spray produced by a latest generation multi-stream fuel injector was investigated with Mie imaging. The resulting mixture preparation was then investigated over a crank angle period ranging from the start ofinjection (SOl) to the time of spark with Laser Induced Exciplex Fluorescence (LIE F). Supporting data from a thermodynamic sister engine with identical combustion chamber geometry was recorded at University College London. Unthrottled, homogeneous operation with low lift EIVC valve profiles improved engine fuel consumption by up to 20% compared to throttled operation with conventional, full-lift profiles. This was a consequence of a reduction in the throttling losses and improvements in air-fuel mixing. The intake air momentum was more significant than the fuel spray momentum from the injection system in determining the air-fuel mixing process. This resulted in engine performance being strongly affected by engine speed, intake valve lift and injection timing. The greatest benefits in ISFC occurred when only one of the two inlet valves was operated. This was attributed to an overall increase in the level ofin-cylinder swirl. However, the choice of which inlet valve was opened was critical, with greater gains occurring if the fuel spray from the centrally mounted injector was directed towards the spark plug than when the spray was directed away from the plug. EIVC combustion also exhibited significantly longer burn times than throttled operation. This was due to lower cylinder pressures that reduced the laminar flame speed and lower levels of turbulence around the spark plug at the time of ignition. Flame front measurements on the optical engine showed that during the longer early heat release phase (0-10% mass fraction burned), the flame kernel was transported away from the spark plug and towards the combustion chamber wall beneath the inlet valves. Investigations into the fuel mixture preparation using Laser Induced Exciplex Fluorescence (LIE F) demonstrated that, under high load conditions, a source of particulate emissions from PFI engines was large droplets in the vicinity of the spark plug around the time of ignition. These fuel rich regions were precursors in the generation of soot and were all but eliminated with direct injection fuelling strategies. Late Intake Valve Opening (LIVO) valve strategies generated a sub-atmospheric cylinder pressure of between 0.5 to 0.3bar (absolute). Spray images obtained under these conditions showed greater penetration of the fuel spray and a poorly defined spray cone boundary. Due to the increased momentum and increased shear forces of the inducted air, and the cylinder pressure falling below the saturation vapour pressure of some components of the gasoline fuel at the temperature of the mixture, flash evaporation of those components was seen to occur. The improvement in atomisation and faster burn rate with LIVO compensated to some extent for the increase in irrecoverable pumping work of this operating strategy over conventional EIVC. However, a practical disadvantage of LIVO was poor control of the trapped air mass, arising from the intake air momentum supercharging the engine cylinder at the conditions tested.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Kurdish insurgency in Rojhelat: from Rasan to the Oslo Negotiations

This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordThis article sheds light on recent political developments in Rojhelat (Eastern/Iranian Kurdistan), focusing on the activities of Rojhelat’s leading political parties. This study argues that the existing situation in the area is a product mainly of the shift in Rojhelat’s mainstream political organisation, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, in its political and military approach to the Kurdish movement in Iran, popularly known as Rasan-i Rojhelat (the revival/sudden rise of Eastern Kurdistan). This has triggered a new, high level of conflict between Kurds and the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2015. Since the announcement of the Rasan, tit-for-tat clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga/guerrilla units and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been witnessed across Rojhelat. Analysis of the Kurdish question in Rojhelat reveals this development as multifaceted and complex, involving multiple actors and activities such as insurgency and collective protest from Kurdish civil society. This article focuses on two main developments: the methods and practices deployed by the Kurdish political parties of Rojhelat following the Rasan, and the sudden announcement of negotiations between representatives of the Iranian government and of four of Rojhelat’s political parties from 27-28 July 2019 in Oslo

A systematic evidence map of intervention evaluations to reduce gang-related violence

Objective: To identify and map evaluations of interventions on gang violence using innovative systematic review methods to inform future research needs. Methods: A previous iteration of this map (Hodgkinson et al., (2009). “Reducing gang-related crime: A systematic review of ‘comprehensive’ interventions.”) was updated in 2021/22 with inclusion of evaluations since the original searches in 2006. Innovative automatic searching and screening was used concurrently with a ‘conventional’ strategy that utilised 58 databases and other online resources. Data were presented in an online interactive evidence gap map. Results: Two hundred and forty-eight evaluations were described, including 114 controlled studies, characterised as comprehensive interventions, encompassing more than one distinct type of intervention. Conclusion: This suggests a substantial body of previously unidentified robust evidence on interventions that could be synthesised to inform policy and practice decision-making. Further research is needed to investigate the extent to which using automated methodologies can improve the efficiency and quality of systematic reviews