Immersive Simulations and Engineering Environment (iSEE)

In January 2017, the Immersive Simulations and Engineering Environment (iSEE), formally known as the Human Factor Tool (HFT), was brought back online. Since August, the lab had been operating at a nominal status, but with dated hardware. An evaluation was done on the present system so that the improvements and capabilities brought about by the upgrades can be quantified. Immediately following the analysis, evaluations with human factor engineers were performed and some upgrades were implemented. Due to a malfunction with a crucial piece of hardware, the lab was reconfigured temporarily. This allowed easy analysis and integration of various other components which improved the laboratories overall performance. Soon after, work began on creating a video to showcase the capabilities of the lab. This video not only served to show the actual functions of the lab, but also show the expanded capabilities the new hardware and software made available. Skills were acquired throughout the renovation process in various fields, all of which were crucial to not only implementing the updates to the lab, but understanding how they will improve it

Uso de video para cuantificar los patrones espacio-temporales de la actividad pesquera de los distintos sectores en los Sistemas de Agregadores de Peces de Puerto Rico

A key challenge in small-scale fisheries that use moored fish aggregating devices (mFADs) is the ability to accurately quantify multi-sector fishing activity through fishery-independent methods. Here, we present a novel fishery-independent assessment of multi-sector fishing activity associated with a newly developed open access mFAD programme off San Juan, Puerto Rico. We identified three fishing sectors (recreational, charter and commercial) and 158 individual fishing vessels that routinely operated in the vicinity of the mFADs. The results indicate that daytime fishing activity varied by time of day, day of week, location and sector. During fishing tournaments, the data revealed that fishing activity increased threefold; across monitoring periods, for-hire charter vessels were the most consistent day-to-day user segment, and recreational activity peaked on weekends. Our study represents a new technique for rapidly identifying and detecting multi-sector fishing activity near mFADs and highlights the potential to gather comparable data wherever mFADs are deployed. The results are used to discuss how this technique can be used to assess the performance of mFADs to identify sector overlap and guide management in determining deployment patterns and facilitate the design of cost-effective surveys to estimate mFAD vessel activity, and potentially catch, of mFAD-associated species.Un reto crucial en las pesquerías artesanales que utilizan los sistemas de agregadores de peces fijos (mFAD, por sus siglas en inglés) es el poder cuantificar con certeza la actividad pesquera multisectorial a través de métodos independientes de la pesca. En este estudio presentamos un innovador análisis independiente de la pesca para la actividad de pesca multisectorial asociada a los nuevos mFAD establecidos en Puerto Rico. Se identificaron 3 sectores pesqueros (recreacional, de alquiler y comercial) y 158 embarcaciones que rutinariamente pescaban alrededor de los mFAD. Los resultados muestran que la actividad pesquera diurna variaba por hora del día, día de la semana, lugar y sector. Durante torneos de pesca la actividad pesquera se triplicó, a lo largo de los periodos evaluados los botes de alquiler mostraron mayor consistencia por día y la actividad recreativa aumentó durante el fin de semana. Nuestro estudio plantea una nueva técnica para identificar rápidamente y detectar actividad multisectorial pesquera cerca de los mFAD y resalta el potencial de tomar datos comparables en otros lugares donde se coloquen los mFAD. Los resultados se utilizan para discutir cómo esta técnica puede ser utilizada para evaluar la ejecutoria de los mFAD, identificar solape de uso por varios sectores y guiar las decisiones en cuanto a los patrones para colocar los mFAD y facilitar el diseño de estudios costo efectivos para estimar la actividad de embarcaciones y el potencial de captura de peces alrededor de los mFAD

Trends in mental illness and suicidality after Hurricane Katrina

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58324/1/kessler_trends in mental illness_2008.pd

Morphological investigation and mechanical behaviour of agrowaste reinforced aluminium alloy 8011 for service life improvement

Aluminium composite materials are beneficial in most engineering applications, most notably, because of their lightweight to strength ratio amongst many others. This study reports the reinforcement of aluminium alloy 8011 with cow horn and corncob in varying weight percentages of 5wt%, 10wt%, 15wt% and 20wt%. This study adopted the Stir casting method based on availability and cost-effectiveness as the cheapest method amongst others. The developed composite materials were in eight different samples alongside one control sample of the aluminium alloy base material. The samples used for this experimental study were tested for tensile strength, hardness and microstructural analysis. The outcome of the study shows that the sample with 20wt% of cow horn reinforcement gave the best-improved properties in terms of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and hardness with percentage improvement of 57%, 52.6% and 54.4% respectively. Hardness was also improved with 52.6% over the control sample with the 15wt% cow horn reinforced sample. Cow horn of 10wt% reinforcement improved the material by 61%. The results shown have justified the relevant effect of agro-waste materials in composite development

How should we evaluate research on counselling and the treatment of depression? A case study on how NICE’s draft 2018 guideline considered what counts as best evidence

Background: Health guidelines are developed to improve patient care by ensuring the most recent and “best available evidence” is used to guide treatment recommendations (NICE Guidance, 2017). NICE’s revised guideline development methodology acknowledges that evidence needed to answer one question (treatment efficacy) may be different from evidence needed to answer another (cost effectiveness, treatment acceptability to patients; NICE, 2014/2017). This review uses counselling in the treatment of depression as a case study, and interrogates the constructs of ‘best’ evidence and ‘best’ guideline methodologies. Method: The review comprises six sections: (1) the implications of diverse definitions of counselling in research; (2) research findings from meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials (RCTs); (3) limitations to trials-based evidence; (4) findings from large routine outcome datasets; (5) the inclusion of qualitative research that emphasises service-user voices; and (6) conclusions and recommendations. Results: Research from meta-analyses and RCTs reviewed in the draft 2018 NICE guideline is limited but positive in relation to the effectiveness of counselling in the treatment for depression. The weight of evidence suggests little, if any, advantage to CBT over counselling once bias and researcher allegiance are taken into account. A growing body of evidence from large NHS datasets also evidences that counselling is both effective and cost-effective when delivered in NHS settings. Conclusion: Recommendations in NICE’s own updated procedures suggest that sole reliance on RCTs and meta-analyses as best methodologies is no longer adequate. There is a need to include large standardised collected datasets from routine practice as well as the voice of patients via high-quality qualitative research

The role of herbivorous insects and pathogens in the regeneration dynamics of Guazuma ulmifolia in Panama

A significant proportion of the mortality of rainforest trees occurs during early life stages (seeds and seedlings), but mortality agents are often elusive. Our study investigated the role of herbivorous insects and pathogens in the early regeneration dynamics of Guazuma ulmifolia (Malvaceae), an important tree species in agroforestry in Central America. We reared pre-dispersal insect seed predators from G. ulmifolia seeds in Panama. We also carried out an experiment, controlling insects and pathogens using insecticide and/or fungicide treatments, as well as seed density, and compared survivorship of G. ulmifolia seeds and seedlings among treatments and relative to untreated control plots. We observed (1) high pre-dispersal attack (92%) of the fruits of G. ulmifolia, mostly by anobiine and bruchine beetles; (2) negligible post-dispersal attack of isolated seeds by insects and pathogens; (3) slow growth and high mortality (> 95%) of seedlings after 14 weeks; (4) low insect damage on seedlings; and (5) a strong positive correlation between seedling mortality and rainfall. We conclude that for G. ulmifolia at our study site the pre-dispersal seed stage is by far the most sensitive stage to insects and that their influence on seedling mortality appears to be slight as compared to that of inclement weather. Thus, the regeneration of this important tree species may depend on effective primary dispersal of seeds by vertebrates (before most of the seed crop is lost to insects), conditioned by suitable conditions in which the seedlings can grow

Patients' experiences of living with and receiving treatment for fibromyalgia syndrome: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) presents a challenge for patients and health care staff across many medical specialities. The aetiology is multi-dimensional, involving somatic, psychological and social factors. Patients' views were obtained to understand their experience of living with this long-term condition, using qualitative interviews.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12 patients were recruited and stratified by age, gender and ethnicity from one rheumatology outpatient clinic, and a departmental held database of patients diagnosed with FMS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients' accounts of their experience of FMS resonated well with two central concepts: social identity and illness intrusiveness. These suggested three themes for the analytical framework: life before and after diagnosis (e.g. lack of information about FMS, invisibility of FMS); change in health identity (e.g. mental distress, impact on social life) and perceived quality of care (e.g. lack of contact with nurses, attitudes of specialists). The information provided from one male participant did not differ from the female patients, but black and ethnic community patients expressed a degree of suspicion towards the medication prescribed, and the attitudes displayed by some doctors, a finding that has not been previously reported amongst this patient group. Patients expected more consultation time and effective treatment than they received. Subjective experiences and objective physical and emotional changes were non-overlapping. Patients' accounts revealed that their physical, mental and social health was compromised, at times overwhelming and affected their identity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>FMS is a condition that intrudes upon many aspects of patients' lives and is little understood. At the same time, it is a syndrome that evokes uneasiness in health care staff (as current diagnostic criteria are not well supported by objective markers of physiological or biochemical nature, and indeed because of doubt about the existence of the condition) and places great demands on resources in clinical practice. Greater attention needs to be paid to the links between the explanatory models of patients and staff, and most important, to the interrelationship between the complex physical, psychological and social needs of patients with FMS. Taking a less medical but more holistic approach when drawing up new diagnostic criteria for FMS might match better individuals' somatic and psycho-social symptom profile and may result in more effective treatment.</p

Overview of the MOSAiC expedition - Atmosphere

With the Arctic rapidly changing, the needs to observe, understand, and model the changes are essential. To support these needs, an annual cycle of observations of atmospheric properties, processes, and interactions were made while drifting with the sea ice across the central Arctic during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition from October 2019 to September 2020. An international team designed and implemented the comprehensive program to document and characterize all aspects of the Arctic atmospheric system in unprecedented detail, using a variety of approaches, and across multiple scales. These measurements were coordinated with other observational teams to explore cross-cutting and coupled interactions with the Arctic Ocean, sea ice, and ecosystem through a variety of physical and biogeochemical processes. This overview outlines the breadth and complexity of the atmospheric research program, which was organized into 4 subgroups: atmospheric state, clouds and precipitation, gases and aerosols, and energy budgets. Atmospheric variability over the annual cycle revealed important influences from a persistent large-scale winter circulation pattern, leading to some storms with pressure and winds that were outside the interquartile range of past conditions suggested by long-term reanalysis. Similarly, the MOSAiC location was warmer and wetter in summer than the reanalysis climatology, in part due to its close proximity to the sea ice edge. The comprehensiveness of the observational program for characterizing and analyzing atmospheric phenomena is demonstrated via a winter case study examining air mass transitions and a summer case study examining vertical atmospheric evolution. Overall, the MOSAiC atmospheric program successfully met its objectives and was the most comprehensive atmospheric measurement program to date conducted over the Arctic sea ice. The obtained data will support a broad range of coupled-system scientific research and provide an important foundation for advancing multiscale modeling capabilities in the Arctic