Wayfinding as an Embodied Experience

Isn’t the body assumed already to be used as we wayfind? Research on wayfinding has traditionally been defined as being a means of getting from A to B, with most studies always focusing on the concept that wayfinding is about using the quickest or shortest possible route

Wayfinding Signage Considerations in International Airports

Airports are complex spaces that exist primarily for the purpose of allowing significant numbers of people to fly from and into, a specific location. In these spaces, wayfinding is an important process, given that these people need to be moved in a time effective and safe manner,to various locations within the airport. In addition to the use of space, human help, and electronic technologies, static signage is an important tool in guiding people in airports. In this study I focus on static signage as a wayfinding tool in airports and I report on the findings from three wayfinding audits that this author did in three UK international airports in the last year

The investigation of the characterisation of flotation froths and design of a machine vision system for monitoring the operation of a flotation cell ore concentration

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringThis dissertation investigates the application of digital image processing techniques in the development of a machine vision system that is capable of characterising the froth structures prevalent on the surface of industrial flotation cells. At present, there is no instrument available that has the ability to measure the size and shape of the bubbles that constitute the surface froth. For this reason, research into a vision based system for surface froth characterisation has been undertaken. Being able to measure bubble size and shape would have far reaching consequences, not only in enhancing the understanding of the flotation process but also in the control and optimization of flotation cells

You have to get off your backside, otherwise you'll never get out:Older male carers' experiences of loneliness and social isolation

Loneliness is framed as an enduring problem for carers of all ages, including older carers; however, there is little examination of older men’s experiences of caring, loneliness and social isolation. Based on interviews with 25 men (aged 68–92 years), we discuss findings from a study of older male carers’ experiences of loneliness in England. Within their accounts, loneliness is framed as a future, rather than present, problem as caring provides a time-limited buffer to loneliness while concurrently increasing social isolation. Further, the findings shed light on how male carers seek and benefit from carers’ support groups while also maintaining autonomy

Your Guess is as Good as Mine: Finding Your Way on Board a Cruise Ship

Wayfinding on board a large cruise ship might be mistakenly thought to be easy and straightforward, and this may well account for the absence of literature on this topic. This paper will address this gap by exploring and exposing the influences that shape our everyday practices while cruising, itself a moving experience, carrying us by consent across the seas to distant shores. The need to address on-site experiences is not as Pearce (2011) points out, always fully investigated in post-holiday satisfaction surveys, and so this exploration of how passengers react and respond to their cruise ship surroundings exposes the scale, and sometimes overwhelming enormity, of some of these vessels now selling a mass tourism product

A real-time plant discrimination system utilising discrete reflectance spectroscopy

An advanced, proof-of-concept real-time plant discrimination system is presented that employs two visible (red) laser diodes (635. nm, 685. nm) and one near-infrared (NIR) laser diode (785. nm). The lasers sequentially illuminate the target ground area and a linear sensor array measures the intensities of the reflected laser beams. The spectral reflectance measurements are then processed by an embedded microcontroller running a discrimination algorithm based on dual Normalised Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI). Pre-determined plant spectral signatures are used to define unique regions-of-classification for use by the discrimination algorithm. Measured aggregated NDVI values that fall within a region-of-classification (RoC) representing an unwanted plant generate a spray control signal that activates an external spray module, thus allowing for a targeted spraying operation. Dynamic outdoor evaluation of the advanced, proof-of-concept real-time plant discrimination system, using three different plant species and control data determined under static laboratory conditions, shows that the system can perform green-from-green plant detection and accomplish practical discrimination for a vehicle speed of 3. km/h

Ontogeny and thermogenic role for sternal fat in female sheep

Brown adipose tissue acting through a unique uncoupling protein (UCP1) has a critical role in preventing hypothermia in new-born sheep but is then considered to rapidly disappear during postnatal life. The extent to which the anatomical location of fat influences postnatal development and thermogenic function, particularly following feeding, in adulthood, are not known and were both examined in our study. Changes in gene expression of functionally important pathways (i.e. thermogenesis, development, adipogenesis and metabolism) were compared between sternal and retroperitoneal fat depots together with a representative skeletal muscle over the first month of postnatal life, coincident with the loss of brown fat and accumulation of white fat. In adult sheep, implanted temperature probes were used to characterise the thermogenic response of fat and muscle to feeding and the effects of reduced or increased adiposity. UCP1 was more abundant within sternal than retroperitoneal fat and was only retained in the sternal depot of adults. Distinct differences in the abundance of gene pathway markers were apparent between tissues, with sternal fat exhibiting some similarities with muscle that were not apparent in the retroperitoneal depot. In adults, the post-prandial rise in temperature was greater and more prolonged in sternal than retroperitoneal fat and muscle, a difference that was maintained with altered adiposity. In conclusion, sternal adipose tissue retains UCP1 into adulthood when it shows a greater thermogenic response to feeding than muscle and retroperitoneal fat. Sternal fat may be more amenable to targeted interventions that promote thermogenesis in large mammals

Projecting the impacts of housing on temperature-related mortality in London during typical future years

Climate change means the UK will experience warmer winters and hotter summers in the future. Concurrent energy efficiency improvements to housing may modify indoor exposures to heat or cold, while population aging may increase susceptibility to temperature-related mortality. We estimate heat and cold mortality and energy consumption in London for typical (non-extreme) future climates, given projected changes in population and housing. Building physics models are used to simulate summertime and wintertime indoor temperatures and space heating energy consumption of London dwellings for 'baseline' (2005-2014) and future (2030s, 2050s) periods using data from the English Housing Survey, historical weather data, and projected future weather data with temperatures representative of 'typical' years. Linking to population projections, we calculate future heat and cold attributable mortality and energy consumption with demolition, construction, and alternative scenarios of energy efficiency retrofit. At current retrofit rates, around 168-174 annual cold-related deaths per million population would typically be avoided by the 2050s, or 261-269 deaths per million under ambitious retrofit rates. Annual heat deaths would typically increase by 1 per million per year under the current retrofit rate, and 12-13 per million under ambitious rates without population adaptation to heat. During typical future summers, an estimated 38-73% of heat-related deaths can be avoided using external shutters on windows, with their effectiveness lower during hotter weather. Despite warmer winters, ambitious retrofit rates are necessary to reduce typical annual energy consumption for heating below baseline levels, assuming no improvement in heating system efficiencies. Concerns over future overheating in energy efficient housing are valid but increases in heat attributable mortality during typical and hot (but not extreme) summers are more than offset by significant reductions in cold mortality and easily mitigated using passive measures. More ambitious retrofit rates are critical to reduce energy consumption and offer co-benefits for reducing cold-related mortality

SCOTROC 2A: Carboplatin followed by docetaxel or docetaxel–gemcitabine as first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer

The feasibility of sequential carboplatin followed by docetaxel-based therapy for untreated ovarian cancer was determined. Patients received four q3w cycles of carboplatin AUC 7, then four q3w cycles of either docetaxel 100 mg m−2 (day 1) (arm A); docetaxel 75 mg m−2 (day 8) and gemcitabine 1250 mg m−2 (days 1,8) (arm B) or docetaxel 25 mg m−2 and gemcitabine 800 mg m−2 (both given weekly (days 1,8,15)) (arm C). A total of 44 patients were randomised to each treatment arm. None of the arms demonstrated an eight cycle completion rate (70.5/72.7/45.5% in arms A/B/C, respectively), which was statistically greater than 60% (P=0.102, P=0.056, P=0.982) which was our formal feasibility criteria, although only the completion rate in arm C was clearly worse than this level. The overall response rate (ORR) after carboplatin was 65.7% in 70 evaluable patients. In evaluable patients, ORRs after docetaxel-based cycles were: arm A 84.0% (21 out of 25); arm B 77.3% (17 out of 22); arm C 69.6% (16 out of 23). At follow-up (median 30 months), median progression-free survival times were: arm A 15.5 months (95% CI: 10.5–20.6); arm B 18.1 months (95% CI: 15.9–20.3); arm C, 13.7 months (95% CI: 12.8–14.6). Neutropenia was the predominant grade 3–4 haematological toxicity: 77.8/85.7/54.4% in arms A/B/C, respectively. Dyspnoea was markedly increased in both gemcitabine-containing arms (P=0.001) but was worse in arm C. Although just failing to rule out eight cycle completion rates less than 60%, within the statistical limitations of these small cohorts, the overall results for arms A and B are encouraging. Larger phase III studies are required to test these combinations