A pervasive augmented reality serious game

This paper presents a pervasive augmented reality serious game that can be used to enhance entertainment using a multimodal tracking interface. The main objective of the research is to design and implement generic pervasive interfaces that are user-friendly and can be used by a wide range of users including people with disabilities. A pervasive AR racing game has been designed and implemented. The goal of the game is to start the car and move around the track without colliding with either the wall or the objects that exist in the gaming arena. Users can interact using a pinch glove, a Wiimote, through tangible ways as well as through I/O controls of the UMPC. Initial evaluation results showed that multimodal-based interaction games can be beneficial in serious games

Personal solar ultraviolet radiation dosimetry in an\ua0occupational setting across Europe

Background: Work-related solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is an important factor in the pathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The World Health Organization, through the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has classified solar UVR as a group 1 carcinogen since 2012. The main problems encountered so far in the study of occupationally induced skin cancer include the lack of accurate occupational UVR dosimetry as well as insufficient distinction between occupational and leisure UVR exposure and underreporting of NMSC. Objectives: The aim of this study was to collect long-term individual UVR measurements in outdoor workers across European countries. Methods: A prospective study was initiated through the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Healthy Skin@Work Campaign, measuring UVR exposure doses at occupational settings of masons from five European countries. Measurements were performed for several consecutive months using the GENESIS-UV measurement system. Results: The results identified alarming UVR exposure data. Average daily UVR doses ranged 148.40–680.48 J/m2 in Romania, 342.4–640.8 J/m2 in Italy, 165.5–466.2 J/m2 in Croatia, 41.8–473.8 J/m2 in Denmark and 88.15–400.22 J/m2 in Germany. Results showed an expected latitude dependence with increasing UVR yearly dosage from the north to the south of Europe. Conclusions: This study shows that outdoor workers from EU countries included in this study are exposed to high levels of occupational solar UVR, vastly exceeding the occupational exposure limits for solar UVR exposure, considered to be 1–1.33 SED/day in the period from May to September. This finding may serve as an evidence-based recommendation to authorities on implementing occupational skin cancer prevention strategies

Phytoplankton Communities Exhibit a Stronger Response to Environmental Changes than Bacterioplankton in Three Subtropical Reservoirs.

The simultaneous analysis of multiple components of ecosystems is crucial for comprehensive studies of environmental changes in aquatic ecosystems, but such studies are rare. In this study, we analyzed simultaneously the bacterioplankton and phytoplankton communities in three Chinese subtropical reservoirs and compared the response of these two components to seasonal environmental changes. Time-lag analysis indicated that the temporal community dynamics of both bacterioplankton and phytoplankton showed significant directional changes, and variance partitioning suggested that the major reason was the gradual improvement of reservoir water quality from middle eutrophic to oligo-mesotrophic levels during the course of our study. In addition, we found a higher level of temporal stability or stochasticity in the bacterioplankton community than in the phytoplankton community. Potential explanations are that traits associated with bacteria, such as high abundance, widespread dispersal, potential for rapid growth rates, and rapid evolutionary adaptation, may underlie the different stability or stochasticity of bacterioplankton and phytoplankton communities to the environmental changes. In addition, the indirect response of bacterioplankton to nitrogen and phosphorus may result in the fact that environmental deterministic selection was stronger for the phytoplankton than for the bacterioplankton communities

Chronic hand eczema in Europe:Patient experiences and perspectives (CHEPEP) in qualitative interviews

Background: Chronic hand eczema (CHE) is a very common skin disease among the European population. It causes itch and pain and, in more severe cases, seriously impairs hand functioning at work and in private life. Objectives: To explore perspectives of people with lived experience on CHE-related problems, wishes and goals. Methods: Following a qualitative approach, we conducted topic-guided interviews in five European countries and applied template analysis to identify recurrent themes among patients with CHE. Results: We interviewed 60 patients in seven outpatient dermatological and occupational medicine clinics in Croatia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Five main themes were identified: (1) knowledge about the disease and its course, (2) preventive behaviour, (3) hand eczema therapy, (4) impact on everyday life and (5) attitudes towards CHE and healthcare. Participants did not feel well informed about CHE, especially about causes, triggers and treatment options. Preventive measures were experienced as more or less effective but also cumbersome. Experiences with therapy were diverse. Treatment satisfaction depended on the results and on the perceived support from the treatment teams. Participants found it important to be taken seriously, to receive practical advice, to try out additional treatments or examinations, find new hope and have occupational perspectives. They wished that others could better understand the physical and emotional burden of CHE. Patient support groups were not mentioned. Participants found it important to learn to take care of themselves and accept life with CHE. Conclusions: Due to its annoying symptoms, high visibility and impaired functioning at work and in private life, CHE has a high emotional and social impact. Some people may require support to learn coping with CHE and its prevention. Patients wish for information about causes and triggers. They value physicians who listen to them and keep looking for solutions.</p

The distribution of pond snail communities across a landscape: separating out the influence of spatial position from local habitat quality for ponds in south-east Northumberland, UK

Ponds support a rich biodiversity because the heterogeneity of individual ponds creates, at the landscape scale, a diversity of habitats for wildlife. The distribution of pond animals and plants will be influenced by both the local conditions within a pond and the spatial distribution of ponds across the landscape. Separating out the local from the spatial is difficult because the two are often linked. Pond snails are likely to be affected by both local conditions, e.g. water hardness, and spatial patterns, e.g. distance between ponds, but studies of snail communities struggle distinguishing between the two. In this study, communities of snails were recorded from 52 ponds in a biogeographically coherent landscape in north-east England. The distribution of snail communities was compared to local environments characterised by the macrophyte communities within each pond and to the spatial pattern of ponds throughout the landscape. Mantel tests were used to partial out the local versus the landscape respective influences. Snail communities became more similar in ponds that were closer together and in ponds with similar macrophyte communities as both the local and the landscape scale were important for this group of animals. Data were collected from several types of ponds, including those created on nature reserves specifically for wildlife, old field ponds (at least 150 years old) primarily created for watering livestock and subsidence ponds outside protected areas or amongst coastal dunes. No one pond type supported all the species. Larger, deeper ponds on nature reserves had the highest numbers of species within individual ponds but shallow, temporary sites on farm land supported a distinct temporary water fauna. The conservation of pond snails in this region requires a diversity of pond types rather than one idealised type and ponds scattered throughout the area at a variety of sites, not just concentrated on nature reserves

Academic Performance and Behavioral Patterns

Identifying the factors that influence academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Previous studies have documented the importance of personality traits, class attendance, and social network structure. Because most of these analyses were based on a single behavioral aspect and/or small sample sizes, there is currently no quantification of the interplay of these factors. Here, we study the academic performance among a cohort of 538 undergraduate students forming a single, densely connected social network. Our work is based on data collected using smartphones, which the students used as their primary phones for two years. The availability of multi-channel data from a single population allows us to directly compare the explanatory power of individual and social characteristics. We find that the most informative indicators of performance are based on social ties and that network indicators result in better model performance than individual characteristics (including both personality and class attendance). We confirm earlier findings that class attendance is the most important predictor among individual characteristics. Finally, our results suggest the presence of strong homophily and/or peer effects among university students

Određivanje alergena Asp f 1 (Aspergillus fumigatus) u peradarniku enzimimunokemijskom metodom

Poultry farms contain high levels of allergenic fungi, and Aspergillus spp. is the most common genus of moulds. Aspergillus fumigatus antigens are responsible for the development of several respiratory diseases including asthma. The aim of this study was to measure the mass fraction of Asp f 1, a major allergen of Asperillus fumigatus in 37 indoor dust samples collected from four poultry farms in a rural area of the Zagreb County (Croatia) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. More than 62 % of dust samples had detectable Asp f 1 levels (limit of detection 3.6 ng g-1). The overall mean Asp f 1 level was 17.9 ng g-1 [range (3.8 to 72.4) ng g-1]. Satisfactory results were obtained for analytical within-run imprecision (6.7 %), between-run imprecision (10.5 %), and accuracy (91 % to 115 %). Microclimate parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, and velocity) were within the recommended ranges in all poultry farms. This study has shown that Asp f 1 settles on dust at poultry farms and that occupational exposure to this allergen deserves monitoring in livestock buildings.Peradarnici sadržavaju veliku koncentraciju alergenih plijesni, a rod Aspergillus najčešće je zastupljen. Antigeni soja Aspergillus fumigatus odgovorni su za nastanak nekoliko respiratornih bolesti uključujući astmu. Cilj ovoga rada bio je odrediti masenu frakciju Asp f 1, glavnog alergena soja Asperillus fumigatus u 37 uzoraka prašine uzorkovanih u četiri peradarnika sa šireg područja Zagrebačke županije rabeći enzimimunokemijsku metodu. Više od 62 % uzoraka prašine u tri peradarnika imalo je mjerljivu koncentraciju Asp f 1 (granica detekcije = 3.6 ng g-1). Ukupni srednji maseni udio Asp f 1 iznosio je 17.9 ng g-1 (raspon od 3.8 ng g-1 do 72.4 ng g-1). Dobiveni su zadovoljavajući rezultati za analitičku nepreciznost u seriji (6.7 %), nepreciznost iz dana u dan (10.5 %) i točnost (91 % do 115 %). Mikroklimatski parametri (temperatura zraka, relativna vlaga i protok zraka) u svim peradarnicima bili su u okviru preporučenih vrijednosti. Rezultati ovoga rada pokazuju da Asp f 1 sedimentira na prašinu u peradarnicima te da profesionalnu izloženost tom alergenu treba pratiti u jedinicama za uzgoj stoke

Allergotoxicology: Research of Pollutant Influence on the Development of Allergic Reactions

Alergotoksikologija je znanstvenoistraživačko područje koje se bavi ispitivanjem utjecaja polutanata (onečišćivača zraka) na nastanak alergijskih reakcija i bolesti. Ispitivanja su prvobitno bila usmjerena na polutante vanjskih prostora, a u novije vrijeme sve više na polutante unutarnjih prostora u kojima ljudi provode većinu vremena. Polutanti po svojoj prirodi mogu biti krute, tekuće ili plinovite čestice, koje se razlikuju s obzirom na veličinu, sastav i izvor iz kojeg nastaju. S obzirom na izvor mogu biti biološkog i nebiološkog podrijetla. Polutanti koji su predmet suvremenih istraživanja s gledišta nastanka alergijskih bolesti su respirabilne krute čestice, ozon, dušični oksidi i bioaerosoli. Mehanizam djelovanja polutanata ovisi o veličini čestica, njihovoj topljivosti i mjestu ulaska u organizam. Dosadašnja ispitivanja su pokazala da različite čestice uvjetuju različite imunosne i neimunosne odgovore u organizmu. Interakcija polutanata i alergena može se zbivati izvan eksponirane osobe, tj. sa samim alergenom ili u eksponiranoj osobi na sluznicama i koži. Polutanti mogu biti nosioci alergena i mogu interferirati na različitim nivoima u nastanku alergijske reakcije. U ovom prikazu razma raju se dosadašnja saznanja o mehanizmima djelovanja polutanata na alergene, na imunosni sustav izloženih osoba na osnovi epidemioloških populacijskih istraživanja, kliničkih studija ekspozcije u kontroliranim uvjetima i eksperimentalnih testnih sistema in vivo i in vitro.Allergotoxicology studies the infl uence of pollutants on the development of allergic reactions and diseases. At the beginning, the research was focused on outdoor air pollutants, while recently it turns to the indoor environment, mainly because people this is where people spend most of their time. Air pollutants may be solid, soluble, or gaseous particles in nature, and they can differ in size, structure, and sources. Pollutants can be of biological or nonbiological origin. Currently interesting air pollutants include particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides, and bioaerosols. The mechanisms of pollutant activity depend on the particle size, solubility, site of deposition, and specifi c chemical properties. Recent studies have shown that different pollutants provoke different immunological and nonimmunological responses in exposed persons. Interaction between air pollutants and allergens can take place outside the exposed person i.e. with allergen itself, or inside the organism on mucous membranes and skin. Pollutants may be the carriers of allergens and may exacerbate allergic reactions and diseases. This review presents recent views about the mechanisms of pollutant activity on allergens and immune system response in exposed persons, based on epidemiological population studies, clinical studies of exposure under controlled conditions, and experimental tests in vitro and in vivo

Community-based assessment of human rights in a complex humanitarian emergency: the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma and Cyclone Nargis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2, 2008, killing over 138,000 and affecting at least 2.4 million people. The Burmese military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), initially blocked international aid to storm victims, forcing community-based organizations such as the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma (EAT) to fill the void, helping with cyclone relief and long-term reconstruction. Recognizing the need for independent monitoring of the human rights situation in cyclone-affected areas, particularly given censorship over storm relief coverage, EAT initiated such documentation efforts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A human rights investigation was conducted to document selected human rights abuses that had initially been reported to volunteers providing relief services in cyclone affected areas. Using participatory research methods and qualitative, semi-structured interviews, EAT volunteers collected 103 testimonies from August 2008 to June 2009; 42 from relief workers and 61 from storm survivors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One year after the storm, basic necessities such as food, potable water, and shelter remained insufficient for many, a situation exacerbated by lack of support to help rebuild livelihoods and worsening household debt. This precluded many survivors from being able to access healthcare services, which were inadequate even before Cyclone Nargis. Aid efforts continued to be met with government restrictions and harassment, and relief workers continued to face threats and fear of arrest. Abuses, including land confiscation and misappropriation of aid, were reported during reconstruction, and tight government control over communication and information exchange continued.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Basic needs of many cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy Delta remained unmet over a year following Cyclone Nargis. Official impediments to delivery of aid to storm survivors continued, including human rights abrogations experienced by civilians during reconstruction efforts. Such issues remain unaddressed in official assessments conducted in partnership with the SPDC. Private, community-based relief organizations like EAT are well positioned and able to independently assess human rights conditions in response to complex humanitarian emergencies such as Cyclone Nargis; efforts of this nature must be encouraged, particularly in settings where human rights abuses have been documented and censorship is widespread.</p

Theorizing Masculinities in Contemporary Britain

This chapter examines two key issues about masculinities in contemporary Britain. First, we examine what the evidence says about the extent to which British masculinities are changing, and how this is manifest in contemporary society. Second, we explore how theoretical understandings of masculinities both shape one’s findings, and evolve in relation to a changing culture. We thus provide a partial history of masculinity theory and contextualise the chapters of this edited volume, in order to advance theoretical and empirical understanding of British masculinities. We argue that far from being a crisis of masculinities, the gendered changes in the social lives of British men are positive and to be welcomed