The motor-visual effects of apertures on a 20/20 acuity field at a 40 cm viewing distance

The motor-visual effects of apertures on a 20/20 acuity field at a 40 cm viewing distanc

Autoethnography and severe perineal trauma—an unexpected journey from disembodiment to embodiment

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of research reporting on the physical and emotional experiences of women who sustain severe perineal trauma (third and fourth degree tears). When the researcher identifies with the group being researched, autoethnography can allow an insight into the experiences of the marginalised group through the telling of a personal story. The aim of this paper is to share the journey travelled by an autoethnographer who on examining the issue of severe perineal trauma came to understand the challenges and rewards she experienced through this reflective and analytic process. METHODS: A transformative emancipatory approach guided the design, data collection and analysis of findings from this study. For this paper, a multivocal narrative approach was taken in presenting the findings, which incorporated the words of both the autoethnographer and the twelve women who were interviewed as a component of the study, all of whom had sustained severe perineal trauma. RESULTS: As an autoethnographer, being a member of the group being researched, can be confronting as the necessary reflection upon one’s personal journey may lead to feelings of vulnerability, sadness, and emotional pain. The transformation from disembodied to embodied self, resulted in a physical and emotional breakdown that occurred for this autoethnographer. CONCLUSION: Autoethnographers may experience unexpected emotional and physical challenges as they reflect upon their experiences and research the experiences of others. When incorporating a transformative emancipatory framework, the hardships are somewhat balanced by the rewards of witnessing ‘self-transformation’ as a result of the research

Sights and insights: Vocational outdoor students’ learning

Outdoor leader and adventure sport education in the United Kingdom has been characterized by an over-emphasis on technical skills at the expense of equally important, but often marginalized intra- and inter-personal skills necessary for contemporary outdoor employment. This study examined the lived experience of vocational outdoor students in order, firstly, to identify what was learned about the workplace through using reflective practice and, secondly, what was learned about reflective practice through this experience. The study used a purposive sample of students (n=15) who were invited to maintain reflective journals during summer work experience, and this was followed up with semi-structured interviews. Manual Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) revealed that in the workplace setting students used reflective practice to understand and develop technical proficiency, support awareness of the value of theory, and acted as a platform to express emergent concepts of ‘professionalism’. Lessons about reflective practice emphasized its value in social settings, acknowledging different ways of reflection, and understanding and managing professional life beyond graduation

Statistical HOmogeneous Cluster SpectroscopY (SHOCSY): an optimized statistical approach for clustering of ¹H NMR spectral data to reduce interference and enhance robust biomarkers selection.

We propose a novel statistical approach to improve the reliability of (1)H NMR spectral analysis in complex metabolic studies. The Statistical HOmogeneous Cluster SpectroscopY (SHOCSY) algorithm aims to reduce the variation within biological classes by selecting subsets of homogeneous (1)H NMR spectra that contain specific spectroscopic metabolic signatures related to each biological class in a study. In SHOCSY, we used a clustering method to categorize the whole data set into a number of clusters of samples with each cluster showing a similar spectral feature and hence biochemical composition, and we then used an enrichment test to identify the associations between the clusters and the biological classes in the data set. We evaluated the performance of the SHOCSY algorithm using a simulated (1)H NMR data set to emulate renal tubule toxicity and further exemplified this method with a (1)H NMR spectroscopic study of hydrazine-induced liver toxicity study in rats. The SHOCSY algorithm improved the predictive ability of the orthogonal partial least-squares discriminatory analysis (OPLS-DA) model through the use of "truly" representative samples in each biological class (i.e., homogeneous subsets). This method ensures that the analyses are no longer confounded by idiosyncratic responders and thus improves the reliability of biomarker extraction. SHOCSY is a useful tool for removing irrelevant variation that interfere with the interpretation and predictive ability of models and has widespread applicability to other spectroscopic data, as well as other "omics" type of data

ASSESSMENT OF STABILIZATION MECHANISMS OF CONFINED, TURBULENT, LIFTED JET FLAMES: EFFECTS OF AMBIENT COFLOW

ABSTRACT The aim of this investigation is to determine the effects of confinement on the stabilization of turbulent, lifted methane (CH 4 ) jet flames. A confinement cylinder (stainless steel) separates the coflow from the ambient air and restricts excess room air from being entrained into the combustion chamber, and thus produces varying stabilization patterns. The experiments were executed using fully confined, semiconfined, and unconfined conditions, as well as by varying fuel flow rate and coflow velocity (ambient air flowing in the same direction as the fuel jet). Methane flames experience liftoff and blowout at well-known conditions for unconfined jets, however, it was determined that with semi-confined conditions the flame does not experience blowout. Instead of the conventional unconfined stabilization patterns, an intense, intermittent behavior of the flame was observed. This sporadic behavior of the flame, while under semi-confinement, was determined to be a result from the restricted oxidizer access as well as the asymmetrical boundary layer that forms due to the viewing window. While under full confinement the flame behaved in a similar method as while under no confinement (full ambient air access). The stable nature of the flame while fully confined lacked the expected change in leading edge fluctuations that normally occur in turbulent jet flames. These behaviors address the combustion chemistry (lack of oxygen), turbulent mixing, and heat release that combine to produce the observed phenomena

Legacy effects of fire size and severity on forest regeneration, recruitment, and wildlife activity in aspen forests

Human activities and climate change are increasing the size and severity of wildfires globally, creating a need for research that links changes in fire regimes with community-level responses. The objective of this study was to understand how variability in fire regimes influences forest regeneration and recruitment patterns and wildlife activity at large temporal and spatial scales. Across 25 fires in five National Forests (Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, Ashley NF, Fishlake NF, Dixie NF, and Manti-La Sal NF) in the state of Utah, we examined aspen regeneration and recruitment levels, and wildlife and livestock fecal group counts along belt transects that spanned gradients of fire size and severity. Forest cover change was assessed by comparing pre-fire and post-fire satellite images. The fires dated from 1992 to 2002 and were at least 10 years old when this study was conducted. Fire size and severity were positively related to aspen regeneration (density of saplings) and recruitment (saplings \u3e2 m in height). There was a significant fire size and severity interaction effect on aspen regeneration, such that the positive influence of fire size increased with greater fire severity (R2 = 0.40, P \u3c 0.001). Change in the extent of aspen cover was not correlated with fire size. Deer and cattle became more dispersed with increasing fire size and severity, but elk activity showed no difference. Deer preferred low severity burn patches in smaller fires, but appeared to avoid low severity patches as fires became larger. Our results suggest that fire size and severity are important ecological filters that can interact to affect forest development and the distribution and abundance of large herbivores. Effective management of forest systems in response to altered fire regimes will require an understanding of the legacy effects of fire size and severity at the landscape scale