‘Future Bathroom’, What to make? Or How to Make? Challenges in meeting sustainable needs.

This paper is a case study that describes a design research programme, ‘the future bathroom’, undertaken by the authors which illuminates both challenges and solutions for inclusive and sustainable design. A co-design research methodology was adopted and engaged older users and community lay researchers to help overcome the barriers of developing a comprehensive understanding of the issues related to highly personal, private and intimate activities. We adopt the term co-design to describe an approach to design that encourages both user involvement and interdisciplinary design. Our challenge has been to provide an environment where an exchange of ideas between stakeholders could take place and to foster what Manzini (1) has referred to as a ‘creative community’. From the project emerged both insight and understanding of age related disability and bathroom use and potential design solutions to support these needs. Adopting an inclusive approach to design research we have developed flexible, durable and sustainable solutions that meet the diverse and changing needs of bathroom usage The paper discusses how sustainability in the context of inclusive design might need to consider more ‘what we should make’ rather than ‘how we should make’

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

ISDSN Sensor System Phase One Test Report

This Phase 1 Test Report documents the test activities and results completed for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) sensor systems that will be deployed in the meso-scale test bed (MSTB) at Florida International University (FIU), as outlined in the ISDSN-MSTB Test Plan. This report captures the sensor system configuration tested; test parameters, testing procedure, any noted changes from the implementation plan, acquired test data sets, and processed results

Utility Locating in the DOE Environment

Some advances have been made in utility locating in recent years and standards have been recently published to try and categorize the level of information known about the utility in the subsurface. At the same time some characterization about the level of effort or technology in the geophysicist approach to utility locating may be generalized. The DOE environment poses some added difficulties and this presentation covers these issues, costs and the technical approach that has been developed at the INEEL to prevent utility hits and how it fits into the generalized classification of effort

Haemophilus influenzae type b reemergence after combination immunization

An increase in Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in British children has been linked to the widespread use of a diphtheria/tetanus/acellular pertussis combination vaccine (DTaP-Hib). We measured anti-polyribosyl-ribitol phos- phate antibody concentration and avidity before and after a Hib booster in 176 children 2–4 years of age who had received 3 doses of DTP-Hib (either DT whole cell pertus- sis-Hib or DTaP-Hib) combination vaccine in infancy. We also measured pharyngeal carriage of Hib. Antibody con- centrations before and avidity indices after vaccination were low (geometric mean concentration 0.46μg/mL, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36–0.58; geometric mean avidity index 0.16, 95% CI 0.14–0.18) and inversely related to the number of previous doses of DTaP-Hib (p = 0.02 and p<0.001, respectively). Hib was found in 2.1% (95% CI 0.7%–6.0%) of study participants. Our data support an association between DTaP-Hib vaccine combinations and clinical Hib disease through an effect on antibody concen- tration and avidit

Vibration Monitoring of Power Distribution Poles

Some of the most visible and least monitored elements of our national security infrastructure are the poles and towers used for the distribution of our nation’s electrical power. Issues surrounding these elements within the United States include safety such as unauthorized climbing and access, vandalism such as nut/bolt removal or destructive small arms fire, and major vandalism such as the downing of power poles and towers by the cutting of the poles with a chainsaw or torches. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has an ongoing research program working to develop inexpensive and sensitive sensor platforms for the monitoring and characterization of damage to the power distribution infrastructure. This presentation covers the results from the instrumentation of a variety of power poles and wires with geophone assemblies and the recording of vibration data when power poles were subjected to a variety of stimuli. Initial results indicate that, for the majority of attacks against power poles, the resulting signal can be seen not only on the targeted pole but on sensors several poles away in the distribution network and a distributed sensor system can be used to monitor remote and critical structures

Geophysical Investigations of Archaeological Resources in Southern Idaho

At the Idaho National Laboratory and other locations across southern Idaho, geophysical tools are being used to discover, map, and evaluate archaeological sites. A variety of settings are being explored to expand the library of geophysical signatures relevant to archaeology in the region. Current targets of interest include: prehistoric archaeological features in open areas as well as lava tube caves, historical structures and activity areas, and emigrant travel paths. We draw from a comprehensive, state of the art geophysical instrumentation pool to support this work. Equipment and facilities include ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic and magnetic sensors, multiple resistivity instruments, advanced positioning instrumentation, state of the art processing and data analysis software, and laboratory facilities for controlled experiments

A Strategy and Case Study Example for Designing and Implementing Environmental Long-Term Monitoring at Legacy Management Sites

Environmental monitoring objectives of site owners, regulators, consultants, and scientists typically share the common elements of (1) cost management, (2) risk management, and (3) information management (Figure 1). Many site owners focus on minimizing monitoring costs while regulators typically focus on risk and regulatory compliance. Scientists and consultants typically provide information management in the form of spreadsheets with extracted information provided in reports to other users. This common piecemeal approach upon individual focus on elements of the monitoring objectives, rather than the common objective of minimizing cost and risk using site information, results in missed opportunities for cost savings, environmental protection, and improved understanding of site performance

Seismic Characterization of Basalt Topography at Two Candidate Sites for the INL Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Project

This report presents the seismic refraction results from the depth to bed rock surveys for two areas being considered for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste (RH-LLW) disposal facility at the Idaho National Laboratory. The first area (Site 5) surveyed is located southwest of the Advanced Test Reactor Complex and the second (Site 34) is located west of Lincoln Boulevard near the southwest corner of the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). At Site 5, large area and smaller-scale detailed surveys were performed. At Site 34, a large area survey was performed. The purpose of the surveys was to define the topography of the interface between the surficial alluvium and underlying basalt. Seismic data were first collected and processed using seismic refraction tomographic inversion. Three-dimensional images for both sites were rendered from the data to image the depth and velocities of the subsurface layers. Based on the interpreted top of basalt data at Site 5, a more detailed survey was conducted to refine depth to basalt. This report briefly covers relevant issues in the collection, processing and inversion of the seismic refraction data and in the imaging process. Included are the parameters for inversion and result rendering and visualization such as the inclusion of physical features. Results from the processing effort presented in this report include fence diagrams of the earth model, for the large area surveys and iso-velocity surfaces and cross sections from the detailed survey

Is Point-of-Care testing feasible and safe in care homes in England? An exploratory usability and accuracy evaluation of a point-of-care polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-COV-2

Introduction Reliable rapid testing on COVID-19 is needed in care homes to reduce the risk of outbreaks and enable timely care. Point-of-care testing (POCT) in care homes could provide rapid actionable results. This study aimed to examine the usability and test performance of point of care polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for COVID-19 in care homes. Methods Point-of-care PCR for detection of SARS-COV2 was evaluated in a purposeful sample of four UK care homes. Test agreement with laboratory real-time PCR and usability and use errors were assessed. Results Point of care and laboratory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were performed on 278 participants. The point of care and laboratory tests returned uncertain results or errors for 17 and 5 specimens respectively. Agreement analysis was conducted on 256 specimens. 175 were from staff: 162 asymptomatic; 13 symptomatic. 69 were from residents: 59 asymptomatic; 10 symptomatic. Asymptomatic specimens showed 83.3% (95% CI: 35.9%-99.6%) positive agreement and 98.7% negative agreement (95% CI: 96.2%-99.7%), with overall prevalence and bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) of 0.965 (95% CI: 0.932 – 0.999). Symptomatic specimens showed 100% (95% CI: 2.5%-100%) positive agreement and 100% negative agreement (95% CI: 85.8%-100%), with overall PABAK of 1. No usability-related hazards emerged from this exploratory study. Conclusion Applications of point-of-care PCR testing in care homes can be considered with appropriate preparatory steps and safeguards. Agreement between POCT and laboratory PCR was good. Further diagnostic accuracy evaluations and in-service evaluation studies should be conducted, if the test is to be implemented more widely, to build greater certainty on this initial exploratory analysis