The Perceptual Experience Of Slope By Foot And By Finger

Historically, the bodily senses have often been regarded as impeccable sources of spatial information and as being the teacher of vision. Here, the authors report that the haptic perception of slope by means of the foot is greatly exaggerated. The exaggeration is present in verbal as well as proprioceptive judgments. It is shown that this misperception of pedal slope is not caused by calibration to the well-established visual misperception of slope because it is present in congenitally blind individuals as well. The pedal misperception of slope is contrasted with the perception of slope by dynamic touch with a finger in a force-feedback device. Although slopes feel slightly exaggerated even when explored by finger, they tend to show much less exaggeration than when equivalent slopes are stood on. The results are discussed in terms of a theory of coding efficiency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)(journal abstract

The Relative Importance of Methanogenesis in the Decomposition of Organic Matter in Northern Peatlands

Using an isotope-mass balance approach and assuming the equimolar production of CO2 and CH4 from methanogenesis (e.g., anaerobic decomposition of cellulose), we calculate that the proportion of total CO2 production from methanogenesis varies from 37 to 83% across a variety of northern peatlands. In a relative sense, methanogenesis was a more important pathway for decomposition in bogs (80 ± 13% of CO2 production) than in fens (64 ± 5.7% of CO2 production), but because fens contain more labile substrates they may support higher CH4 production overall. The concentration of CO2 produced from methanogenesis (CO2-meth) can be considered equivalent to CH4 concentration before loss due to ebullition, plant-mediated transport, or diffusion. Bogs produced slightly less CO2-meth than fens (2.9 ±1.3 and 3.7 ±1.4mmol/L, respectively). Comparing the quantity of CH4 present to CO2-meth, fens lost slightly more CH4 than bogs (89 ± 2.8% and 82 ± 5.3%, respectively) likely due to the presence of vascular plant roots. In collapsed permafrost wetlands, bog moats produced half the amount of CO2-meth (0.8 ± 0.2mmol/L) relative to midbogs (1.6 ± 0.6mmol/L) and methanogenesis was less important (42 ± 6.6% of total CO2 production relative to 55 ± 8.1%). We hypothesize that the lower methane production potential in collapsed permafrost wetlands occurs because recently thawed organic substrates are being first exposed to the initial phases of anaerobic decomposition following collapse and flooding. Bog moats lost a comparable amount of CH4 as midbogs (63 ± 7.0% and 64 ± 9.3%)

Altering Design Decisions to Better Suit Facilities Management Processes

Research work reported in this paper tackles the communication between processes of both facilities management (FM) and design, showing the effect of such communication on the capability of newly built facilities in supporting organizations. Facilities management and design are seen as two different routes whereby the former starts on with the commencement of the building realisation process while the latter engages in post construction practices. Such a view suggests the existence of a gap between both processes which could influence the level of performance of the built facility and consequently the facilities management measures that would then be warranted. Therefore, the aim has been to reveal the distant relationship between facilities management and design as well as to unveil the FM potential in enhancing design decisions for achieving better performing facilities. Various factors leading to the aforementioned gap and reasons for bridging it have been presented. It was deduced that FM feedback is necessary for making informed design decisions, as it enhances the final design outcome and consequently results in better achieving FM goals during building occupancy

What do non-ophthalmic health professionals know about retinoblastoma: a survey in Saudi Arabia

Background: The aim of the study is to estimate the level of knowledge about retinoblastoma (Rb) and its determinants among non-ophthalmic health professionals of Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was held in 2016 in primary health centres (PHC) and general hospitals in the study area. In addition to demography like age, gender, education, place of work, participants replied to five questions related to Rb with close-ended questions to respond. They were matched to the expert group's answers to estimate the level of knowledge.Results: One hundred and fifty-two non-ophthalmic doctors participated in the survey. The excellent grade of knowledge of Rb was in 66 [43.3% (95% confidence interval 35.5-51.3)] of participants. Very poor level of knowledge was noted in 13 [8.6% (95% CI 4.1-13.0)] participants. Male gender (P = 0.02) and physician category (P = 0.02) were significantly associated with the excellent grade of Rb related knowledge. The participant’s response by type of questions varied significantly (P<0.001).Conclusions: More than half of the non-ophthalmic health professionals had less than desired knowledge about Rb. Health education about Rb to health professionals could be gender sensitive and based on the type of profession. Increasing the awareness about retinoblastoma among non-ophthalmic health professional is important

Surface Production Fuels Deep Heterotrophic Respiration in Northern Peatlands

Multiple analyses of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from pore waters were conducted to define the processes that govern carbon balance in peatlands: (1) source, reactivity, and transport of DOC with respect to vegetation, peat, and age of carbon substrate, (2) reactivity of DOC with respect to molecular size, and (3) lability to photoxidation of surficial DOC. We found that surface organic production fuels heterotrophic respiration at depth in advection-dominated peatlands, especially in fens. Fen DOC was Δ14Cenriched relative to the surrounding fen peat, and fen respiration products were similar to this enriched DOC indicating that DOC was the main microbial substrate. Bog DOC was more variable showing either enrichment in Δ14C at depth or Δ14C values that follow peat values. This variability in bogs is probably controlled by the relative importance of vertical transport of labile carbon substrates within the peat profile versus DOC production from bog peat. These results extended our set of observations to 10 years at one bog-fen pair and add two additional bog-fen pairs to our series of observations. Anaerobic incubations of peat, rinsed free of residual DOC, produced DOC and respiration products that were strikingly similar to the peat values in a bog and two fens. This result demonstrated conclusively that downward advection is the process responsible for the presence of modern DOC found at depth in the peat column. Fen DOC has lower C/N values and up to twice as much LMW (kDa) DOC as bogs due to differences in organic inputs and greater microbial processing. Fluorescence irradiation experiments showed that fen DOC is more photolabile than bog DOC

The biomechanics of amnion rupture: an X-ray diffraction study

Pre-term birth is the leading cause of perinatal and neonatal mortality, 40% of which are attributed to the pre-term premature rupture of amnion. Rupture of amnion is thought to be associated with a corresponding decrease in the extracellular collagen content and/or increase in collagenase activity. However, there is very little information concerning the detailed organisation of fibrillar collagen in amnion and how this might influence rupture. Here we identify a loss of lattice like arrangement in collagen organisation from areas near to the rupture site, and present a 9% increase in fibril spacing and a 50% decrease in fibrillar organisation using quantitative measurements gained by transmission electron microscopy and the novel application of synchrotron X-ray diffraction. These data provide an accurate insight into the biomechanical process of amnion rupture and highlight X-ray diffraction as a new and powerful tool in our understanding of this process

Attribute and technology value mapping for conceptual product design phase

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science following peer review. The final, definite version of this paper has been published in Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, Aris Georgiou, George Haritos, Moyra Fowler, and Yasmin Imani, ‘Attribute and technology value mapping for conceptual product design phase’, Vol. 230(11): 1745-1756, May 2016, published by SAGE Publishing, available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406215585595. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s).The main focus of this paper is how the concept design phase of the product development process can be improved by using an objective data-driven approach in selecting a final concept design to progress further. A quantitative new test-bed ‘Product Optimisation Value Engineering’ (PROVEN) is presented to critically assess new and evolving powertrain technologies at the concept design phase. The new test-bed has the ability to define a technology value map to assess multiple technical options as a function of its attributes, whose precise values can be determined at a given cost. A mathematical model that incorporates a highly adaptable, data-driven and multi-attribute value approach to product specification and conceptual design is developed, novel to the concept design process. This creates a substantially optimised product offering to the market, reducing overall development costs while achieving customer satisfactionPeer reviewe

Living between languages: The politics of translation in Leila Aboulela’s Minaret and Xiaolu Guo’s A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers

This is the author's final draft post-refereeing as published in The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 2012 47: 207 DOI:10.1177/0021989412440433. The online version of this article can be found at: http://jcl.sagepub.com/content/47/2/20