Evaluation of the effect of a paver’s trolley on productivity, task demands, workload and local discomfort

The objective of this study was to determine the differences in the number of paving stones laid (productivity), task demands, energetic workload, body region discomfort and preference when laying paving stones with or without use of a paver’s trolley (n = 8) in a within-subject controlled study of pavers. The number of paving stones laid and the task demands were measured by means of systematic observations at the workplace. The energetic workload was determined using the percentage of heart rate reserve (%HRR). Body region discomfort was measured using visual analog scales, and the workers’ preference was ascertained via interview. The use of a paver’s trolley had no effect on productivity, %HRR or body region discomfort compared to working without a paver’s trolley. The duration of knee-straining activities did not differ between working with (141 min) and without (146 min) the paver’s trolley. However, six of the eight pavers indicated that, given suitable circumstances, they wanted to use the paver’s trolley.

Relevance to industry

To reduce the chance of work-related low back and knee complaints among pavers, the duration, frequency and intensity of lower back and knee-straining activities should be limited by means of technical measures such as mechanical paving. The paver’s trolley does not appear to reduce knee-straining activities and therefore does not appear useful in reducing the risk of knee complaints and disorders.     

Early design stage exploration of fixed-length block structured architectures

An important challenge concerning the design of future microprocessors is that current design methodologies are becoming impractical due to long simulation runs and due to the fact that chip layout considerations are not incorporated in early design stages. In this paper, we show that statistical modeling can be used to speed up the architectural simulations and is thus viable for early design stage explorations of new microarchitectures. In addition, we argue that processor layouts should be considered in early design stages in order to tackle the growing importance of interconnects in future technologies. In order to show the applicability of our methodology which combines statistical modeling and processor layout considerations in an early design stage, we have applied our method on a novel architectural paradigm, namely a fixed-length block structured architecture. A fixed-length block structured architecture is an answer to the scalability problem of current architectures. Two important factors prevent contemporary out-of-order architectures from being scalable to higher levels of parallelism in future deep-submicron technologies: the increased complexity and the growing domination of interconnect delays. In this paper, we show by using statistical modeling and processor layout considerations, that a fixed-length block structured architecture is a viable architectural paradigm for future microprocessors in future technologies thanks to the introduction of decentralization and a reduced register file pressure.     

The Shopping Jacket: Wearable computing for the consumer

As part of the Bristol Wearable Computing Initiative, we are exploring location-sensing systems suitable for use with wearable computing. In this paper we present our findings, and in particular a wearable application — the ‘Shopping Jacket’ — which relies on a minimal infrastructure to be effective. We use two positioning devices, ‘pingers’ and GPS. The pinger is used to signal the presence of a shop, and to indicate the type of shop and its website. The GPS is used to disambiguate which branch of a high street chain is being passed. The wearable uses this information to determine whether the wearer needs to be alerted that they are passing an interesting shop, or to direct the wearer around a shopping mall. The Shopping Jacket integrates a wearable CardPC, GPS and pinger receivers, a near-field radio link, hand-held display, GSM data telephone and a speech interface into a conventional sports blazer.     

Influence of photoperiod on carbon dioxide and methane emissions from two pilot-scale stabilization ponds

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO(2), CH(4)) from pilot-scale algal and duckweed-based ponds (ABP and DBP) were measured using the static chamber methodology. Daylight and nocturnal variations of GHG and wastewater characteristics (e.g. chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH) were determined via sampling campaigns during midday (12:30-15:30) and midnight (00:30-03:30) periods. The results showed that under daylight conditions in ABP median emissions were -232 mg CO(2) m(-2) d(-1) and 9.9 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), and in DBP median emissions were -1,654.5 mg CO(2) m(-2) d(-1) and 71.4 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), respectively. During nocturnal conditions ABP median emissions were 3,949.9 mg CO(2) m(-2) d(-1), 12.7 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), and DBP median emissions were 5,116 mg CO(2) m(-2) d(-1), 195.2 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), respectively. Once data measured during daylight were averaged together with nocturnal data the median emissions for ABP were 1,566.8 mg CO(2) m(-2) d(-1) and 72.1 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), whilst for DBP they were 3,016.9 mg CO(2) m(-2) d(-) and 178.9 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), respectively. These figures suggest that there were significant differences between CO(2) emissions measured during daylight and nocturnal periods (p < 0.05). This shows a sink-like behaviour for both ABP and DBP in the presence of solar light, which indicates the influence of photosynthesis in CO(2) emissions. On the other hand, the fluxes of CH(4) indicated that DBP and ABP behave as net sources of CH(4) during day and night, although higher emissions were observed from DBP. Overall, according to the compound average (daylight and nocturnal emissions) both ABP and DBP systems might be considered as net sources of GHG.     

Understanding the Properties of Oxide Scales on Hot Rolled Steel Strip

Surface quality and downstream processability of hot rolled strip depend on tertiary scale thickness and composition at all process stages, from secondary descaling to the cold coil. TGA oxidation experiments provided the basis for quantitative modelling of scale growth during finishing hot rolling of low carbon steels (with or without Si or P). Finishing temperature (FT), gauge, and (particularly at the edges) coiling temperature (CT) are the main influence factors with respect to scale thickness. Based on HTXRD oxidation trials and microscopic analyses, trendlines are presented that roughly predict the final scale composition as a function of CT, for the coil centre and the edges. It appears that a CT of 400‐600°C, in combination with a coil centre position, is favourable for decomposed wustite, which is the preferred component for a good scale ad‐ and cohesion. Retention of wustite, the most preferred phase in the roll bite but very brittle at room temperature, is promoted by relatively high CTs (particularly with a coil quench) and by very low CTs. Hematite is formed at the edges in case of a high CT. This extremely hard phase is unwanted at any stage.     

Robust flexible LCDs with paintable technology

Abstract— In this article, second‐generation liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs) made by Paintable LCD technology is presented. With this technology, LCDs are manufactured by a sequence of simple coating and UV curing processes. Since the process can be carried out on plastic substrates and the stack of optical layers is only tens of micrometers thick, the resulting LCDs are ultra‐thin and flexible.     

An Oral Mixed Fat Load Is Followed by a Modest Anti-inflammatory Adipocytokine Response in Overweight Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

We investigated the postprandial changes in plasma levels of adipocytokines in overweight patients with metabolic syndrome after an oral fat load. After an oral fat load and during a prolonged fast, blood was drawn at 0, 2, 3, 4 and 8 h for measurement of adiponectin, adipsin, cathepsin S, chemerin, hepatic growth factor, interferon‐γ‐inducible protein‐10, leptin, macrophage chemoattractant protein‐1, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, nerve growth factor, retinol binding protein‐4, resistin, serum amyloid A1, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 and thrombopoietin using a microbead‐based Luminex assay. Area under the curves (AUC) were calculated and compared. Plasma adiponectin levels were higher after an oral fat load compared to fasting at t = 2 h (950 ± 513 vs. ?1,881 ± 713 ng/ml) while the plasma levels for adipsin (?9 ± 5 vs. 16 ± 5 ng/ml), chemerin (?122 ± 35 vs. 13 ± 21 ng/ml), SAA‐1 (?391 ± 213 vs. 522 ± 173 ng/ml) and TPO (?335 ± 144 vs. 622 ± 216 ng/ml) were lower after an oral fat load compared to fasting. The baseline corrected AUC for IP‐10 was higher after fat load compared to fasting (median ?116 pg h/ml; IQR ?270 to 10 vs. ?21 pg h/ml; IQR ?136 to 418 (p = 0.047). In conclusion, in overweight male subjects with the metabolic syndrome, an oral fat load is accompanied with a modest anti‐inflammatory response of adipose tissue‐derived adipocytokines.     

Ester-functionalized poly(3-alkylthiophene) copolymers: Synthesis,physicochemical characterization and performance in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells

The introduction of functional moieties in the donor polymer (side chains) offers a potential pathway toward selective modification of the nanomorphology of conjugated polymer:fullerene active layer blends applied in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics, pursuing morphology control and solar cell stability. For this purpose, two types of poly(3-alkylthiophene) random copolymers, incorporating different amounts (10/30/50%) of ester-functionalized side chains, were efficiently synthesized using the Rieke method. The solar cell performance of the functionalized copolymers was evaluated and compared to the pristine P3HT:PCBM system. It was observed that the physicochemical and opto-electronic characteristics of the polythiophene donor material can be modified to a certain extent via copolymerization without (too much) jeopardizing the OPV efficiency, as far as the functionalized side chains are introduced in a moderate ratio (<30%) and that preference is given to side chains with a small molar volume. A range of complementary techniques – UV–Vis spectroscopy, (modulated temperature) differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis – indicated that variations in polymer crystallinity, while maintaining a high level of regioregularity, are probably the main factor responsible for the observed differences.