Correlation and prediction of dynamic human isolated joint strength from lean body mass

A relationship between a person's lean body mass and the amount of maximum torque that can be produced with each isolated joint of the upper extremity was investigated. The maximum dynamic isolated joint torque (upper extremity) on 14 subjects was collected using a dynamometer multi-joint testing unit. These data were reduced to a table of coefficients of second degree polynomials, computed using a least squares regression method. All the coefficients were then organized into look-up tables, a compact and convenient storage/retrieval mechanism for the data set. Data from each joint, direction and velocity, were normalized with respect to that joint's average and merged into files (one for each curve for a particular joint). Regression was performed on each one of these files to derive a table of normalized population curve coefficients for each joint axis, direction, and velocity. In addition, a regression table which included all upper extremity joints was built which related average torque to lean body mass for an individual. These two tables are the basis of the regression model which allows the prediction of dynamic isolated joint torques from an individual's lean body mass

Experimental archeology and serious games: challenges of inhabiting virtual heritage

Experimental archaeology has long yielded valuable insights into the tools and techniques that featured in past peoples’ relationship with the material world around them. However, experimental archaeology has, hitherto, confined itself to rigid, empirical and quantitative questions. This paper applies principles of experimental archaeology and serious gaming tools in the reconstructions of a British Iron Age Roundhouse. The paper explains a number of experiments conducted to look for quantitative differences in movement in virtual vs material environments using both “virtual” studio reconstruction as well as material reconstruction. The data from these experiments was then analysed to look for differences in movement which could be attributed to artefacts and/or environments. The paper explains the structure of the experiments, how the data was generated, what theories may make sense of the data, what conclusions have been drawn and how serious gaming tools can support the creation of new experimental heritage environments

Breaking the Mould: the Study Centre Approach

At an FE College in Worcester, the traditional library has been replaced by study centres with a significant increase in staff, in a move to focus on the learner. How did this radical change go down with the students, the staff and the teachers

Opportunities and Barriers Related to Income (NVP 2013, Report 4)

With support and collaboration from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation through the America Healing initiative, researchers at the University of Michigan are leading the National Voices Project (NVP) from 2011-2016. The central goals of the NVP are to examine the sources of racial/ethnic inequity and other disparities for children in the United States today and identify interventions that address disparities effectively.The NVP offers an unprecedented perspective on community-level opportunities for children throughout the country, in the domains of health and nutrition, education and learning, and economic security – through the eyes of adults whoseoccupations and volunteer work affect such opportunities. In other words, the NVP reflects the perceptions of individuals throughout the United States who are in a position to improve children's opportunities in the future. We generally use the word "children" throughout the report to describe young children from age 0-8 years, and "teens" for children ages 13-18 years old.Report #4 for NVP 2013 focuses chiefly on findings on children's and teens' health, education and learning, andeconomic opportunities related to income

Education and Learning Opportunities (NVP 2013, Report 3)

With support and collaboration from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation through the America Healing initiative,  researchers at the University of Michigan are leading the National Voices Project (NVP) from 2011-2016. The central goals of the NVP are to examine the sources of racial/ethnic inequity and other disparities for children in the United States today and identify interventions that address disparities effectively.The NVP offers an unprecedented perspective on community-level opportunities for children throughout the country, in the domains of health and nutrition, education and learning, and economic security – through the eyes of adults whose occupations and volunteer work affect such opportunities. In other words, the NVP reflects the perceptions of individuals throughout the United States who are in a position to improve children's opportunities in the future. We generally use the word ?children? throughout the report to describe children from age 0-18 years, unless otherwise noted.Report #3 for NVP 2013 focuses on findings related to children's education and learning

Does High BMI Influence Hospital Charges in Children Undergoing Adenotonsillectomy?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93757/1/oby.2008.234.pd

Remote automatic selection of cows for milking in a pasture-based automatic milking system

ABSTRACT New Zealand pastoral dairy farming presents unique challenges for combining automatic milking systems (AMS), including long walking distances, large herds, year round pasturing and a predominately fresh pasture diet. This paper describes a system designed to minimise walking, maximise the efficiency of AMS utilisation and enable control of individual cow milking frequency by remotely selecting cows for milking up to 400 m from the dairy. Cows report to a selection unit (SU) located in the centre of a block of pasture and linked via raceways to the AMS. Entry is via one-way gates and exit via a computer controlled drafting gate, which directs the cow either to the dairy or the paddock depending on time since last milking. A communication cable connects the SU to the AMS server in the dairy. Cows wear an electronic identification device. Water and pasture access act as incentives for cows to enter the SU. Cows readily learned to use the SU and were observed visiting the unit at every hour over 24 hours. Twenty-seven cows were assigned to either a 6h or 12h minimum milking interval (MMI). On average, cows visited the SU 4.5 and 5.5 times/d for the 6h MMI and 12h MMI groups, respectively, and achieved a milking frequency of 1.9 and 1.4 milkings/d, respectively. Results showed that milking frequency can be controlled via a system for remotely selecting cows for milking and that access to fresh pasture is a strong factor in motivating cow traffic through the SU

Motion in Place: Sounding Spaces, Movement, Affect and Technologised Mediation

This paper discusses an AHRC-funded interdisciplinary project being undertaken by researchers at the Universities of Sussex, Bedford, Reading, King's College London and FEUP/INESC Porto. The Motion in Place Platform project is developing methodologies and tools to articulate the human experience of moving through place. As such it explores an often bracketed liminality that resides between material environments on the one hand and immaterial cognitive and behavioural processes on the other. A key technology used by the MiPP team is motion capture and we have been developing multi-channel movement recording suitable for use in the field. Two comparative case studies are discussed to illuminate the scope of the project

Nature of orchestral noise

Professional orchestral musicians are at risk of exposure to excessive noise when at work. This is an industry-wide problem that threatens not only the hearing of orchestral musicians but also the way orchestras operate. The research described in this paper recorded noise levels within a professional orchestra over three years in order to provide greater insight to the orchestral noise environment; to guide future research into orchestral noise management and hearing conservation strategies; and to provide a basis for the future education of musicians and their managers. Every rehearsal, performance, and recording from May 2004 to May 2007 was monitored, with the woodwind, brass, and percussion sections monitored in greatest detail. The study recorded dBALEQ and dBC peak data, which are presented in graphical form with accompanying summarized data tables. The findings indicate that the principal trumpet, first and third horns, and principal trombone are at greatest risk of exposure to excessive sustained noise levels and that the percussion and timpani are at greatest risk of exposure to excessive peak noise levels. However, the findings also strongly support the notion that the true nature of orchestral noise is a great deal more complex than this simple statement would imply

Impact of a novel anticoccidial analogue on systemic staphylococcus aureus infection in a bioluminescent mouse model

In this study, we investigated the potential of an analogue of robenidine (NCL179) to expand its chemical diversity for the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. We show that NCL179 exhibits potent bactericidal activity, returning minimum inhibitory concentration/minimum bactericidal concentrations (MICs/MBCs) of 1–2 µg/mL against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MICs/MBCs of 1–2 µg/mL against methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius and MICs/MBCs of 2–4 µg/mL against vancomycin-resistant enterococci. NCL179 showed synergistic activity against clinical isolates and reference strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the presence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of colistin, whereas NCL179 alone had no activity. Mice given oral NCL179 at 10 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg (4 × doses, 4 h apart) showed no adverse clinical effects and no observable histological effects in any of the organs examined. In a bioluminescent S. aureus sepsis challenge model, mice that received four oral doses of NCL179 at 50 mg/kg at 4 h intervals exhibited significantly reduced bacterial loads, longer survival times and higher overall survival rates than the vehicle-only treated mice. These results support NCL179 as a valid candidate for further development to treat MDR bacterial infections as a stand-alone antibiotic or in combination with existing antibiotic classes.Hang Thi Nguyen, Henrietta Venter, Lucy Woolford, Kelly Young, Adam McCluskey, Sanjay Garg ... et al