A Pilot Study of the VirtuSphere as a Virtual Reality Enhancement

This pilot study assessed the utility and acceptability of the VirtuSphere, a cutting edge navigation platform designed to enhance presence in virtual environments. The VirtuSphere includes a 12-ft hollow sphere within which the user stands, and it rolls within a wheeled platform, in any direction, according to the user's steps. The pilot was a within-subject crossover design comparing the VirtuSphere to standard game controller navigation. The comparison was based on locomotion in Virtual Iraq, a virtual world resembling Iraqi war zones. Participants were 10 active duty soldiers not suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Results indicated that there were negligible differences in sense of presence, simulator sickness, and satisfaction across the two navigation systems. Although the VirtuSphere may provide entertainment value, these results do not provide initial support for the use of the VirtuSphere to improve constructs thought to be important to behavioral health applications of virtual reality. Potential improvements to the design of the VirtuSphere are discussed.     

Impact of breakfast consumption on nutritional adequacy of the diets of young adults in Bogalusa, Louisiana: ethnic and gender contrasts

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of breakfast consumption patterns on the nutritional adequacy of diets of young adults and determine possible ethnic and gender differences. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional survey of young adults in Bogalusa, La. SUBJECTS: Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were collected from October 1988 through October 1991 on 504 young adults (mean age=23 years, 58% women, 70% white). STATISTICS: Analysis of variance and logistic regression techniques were used to investigate the relationship of breakfast consumption, ethnicity, and gender on dietary adequacy. The P values are from an analysis of variance model that adjusted for gender and ethnicity. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of young adults skipped breakfast. Of those who ate breakfast, 75% ate at home, 10% ate a fast-food breakfast, and 15% reported other sources. Mean energy intake from breakfast was 485 kcal; men consumed more energy than women (P<.001), and blacks consumed more energy than whites (P<.01). The breakfast meal provided an average of 13% of energy from protein, 55% from carbohydrate, 14% from sucrose, 34% from fat, and 12% from saturated fat. Whites consumed a breakfast higher in carbohydrate and sucrose than blacks, who consumed a breakfast higher in fat and saturated fat. Variations in breakfast foods consumed explained the racial differences in the nutrient composition of the breakfast meal. Young adults who skipped breakfast had lower total daily intakes of energy (P<.0001), protein per 1,000 kcal (P<.05), and saturated fat per 1,000 kcal (P<.01) than those who consumed breakfast. For all vitamins and minerals studied, a higher percentage of young adults who skipped breakfast did not meet two thirds of the Recommended Dietary Allowance than those who consumed a breakfast. APPLICATIONS: Encouraging consumption of breakfast, along with selection of more healthful breakfast food choices or snacks that are culturally appropriate, may be important strategies for improving the nutritional quality of young adults' diets.     

Comparison of responses of men to immersion in circulating water at 40.0 and 41.5 degrees C

BACKGROUND: The recommended maximum water temperature for public hot tubs has been set at 40.0 degrees C, but no research has been published on human immersion in hot water at higher temperatures. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses at two water temperatures would be proportional to the water:blood temperature gradients. METHODS: Six healthy men were immersed for 21 min in circulating hot water at 40.0 and 41.5 degrees C in separate trials in random order 1-3 wk apart. Measurements included heart rate, systolic BP, esophageal, rectal, and non-immersed skin temperatures, sweat rate, and perceived comfort. RESULTS: The rise in all body temperatures, sweat rate, and heart rate were significantly greater in the 41.5 vs. 40.0 degrees C water. Peak esophageal temperatures were 38.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C vs. 37.8 +/- 0.03 degrees C, peak sweat rates were 0.48 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.32 +/- 0.03 kg x m(-2) x h(-1), and peak heart rates were 123 +/- 7 vs. 108 +/- 5 bpm, respectively. Systolic BPs followed different patterns of response in each trial, whereas diastolic pressures were not different between trials. Comfort at each level of immersion was reduced during the 41.5 degrees C trial compared with the 40.0 degrees C in excess of that predicted by difference in esophageal temperature between the trials. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that risks of hyperthermia or adverse cardiovascular effects in hot tubs may not be greater in water above 40.0 degrees C unless perceptual judgment is impaired. Hypotension when standing to exit the tub occurred in both trials and may represent a potential hazard to hot tub use.     

A taxonomy for classifying runtime verification tools

International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer - Over the last 20 years, runtime verification (RV) has grown into a diverse and active field, which has stimulated the development...     

T2 Virtual PTSD Experience: A Virtual Worlds Environment to Educate Service Members and Veterans About Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Deploying Active Duty Service Members face multiple psychological health risks, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite a significant proportion of Service Members with psychological health needs, a number of barriers prevent access to education and treatment services available to them. These barriers include perceived stigma, physical access barriers, and psychological barriers. Web resources provide important information regarding psychological health issues and available resources but have limitations in the learning experience they can provide. Virtual worlds platforms, such as Second Life, offer unique affordances that may reduce some barriers to accessing psychological health education and care. They may allow for a unique immersive and interactive learning experience augmenting current web resources. One such virtual world environment, the T2 Virtual PTSD Experience, is described. The T2 Virtual PTSD Experience aims to educate military service members, veterans, family, and peers about the causes, symptoms, and help available for combat-related PTSD. Reactions from visitors have been positive, with many reporting improved understanding of PTSD and motivation to seek care. Future directions for leveraging virtual worlds in the service of psychological health care are discussed.     

From parametric trace slicing to rule systems

Parametric runtime verification is the process of verifying properties of execution traces of (data carrying) events produced by a running system. This paper continues our work exploring the relationship between specification techniques for parametric runtime verification. Here we consider the correspondence between trace-slicing automata-based approaches and rule systems. The main contribution is a translation from quantified automata to rule systems, which has been implemented in Scala. This then allows us to highlight the key differences in how the two formalisms handle data, an important step in our wider effort to understand the correspondence between different specification languages for parametric runtime verification. This paper extends a previous conference version of this paper with further examples, a proof of correctness, and an optimisation based on a notion of redundancy observed during the development of the translation.

     

Synthesis of a tritopic,third-generation bis(1-pyrazolyl)methane ligand and its silver(I) complex: Unexpected structure with high coordination numbers

The reaction of the new tritopic ligand C₆H₃[CH₂OCH₂CH(pz)₂]₃ (L_tri, pz = pyrazolyl ring), prepared to determine the types of complex architectures its metal complexes will form, with Ag(O₃SCF₃) yields {[AgL_tri](O₃SCF₃)}_n. The solid-state structure of this complex is a two-dimensional sheet in which each of the three bis(pyrazolyl)methane units coordinate three different symmetry equivalent Ag(I) cations, with each Ag(I) bonding to three different ligands. Because of a significant disorder in one “arm” of the ligand, approximately half of the Ag(I) cations are six-coordinate and the other half are five-coordinate. In the six-coordinate case, the Ag(I) is in a trigonal prismatic geometry and in the five-coordinate case the disordered bis(pyrazolyl)methane unit is in an unusual κ¹-coordination mode. These structural types are very different from those observed with analogous multitopic poly(pyrazolyl)methane ligands, where cages and mononuclear metallacycles are observed.     

The Relationship Between Neuropsychological Functioning and Driving Ability in Dementia: A Meta-Analysis.

A meta-analysis of 27 primary studies was conducted to examine the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and driving ability for adults with dementia. When studies using a control group were included, the relationship between cognitive measures and on-road or non-road driving measures was significant for all reported domains; mean correlations ranged from .35 to .65. Caregiver reports of driving ability and cognitive variables were correlated significantly only on measures of mental status and visuospatial skills. When studies using a control group were excluded, moderate mean correlations were observed for visuospatial skills and on-road or non-road measures, and for mental status with non-road tests. Other effects were small or nonsignificant. Implications for basing driving recommendations on neuropsychological testing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

连铸板坯中心线偏析的预测

从生产经验和文献可知,结晶过程中产生的凝固收缩会导致中心线偏析,很多情况下,在热轧产品的中心也会发现结晶过程中产生的微细缩孔。从这方面讲,板坯凝固过程中形成缩孔簇的尺寸大小,以及形成这种缩孔的条件是首要的,在全面分析统计数据的基础上,对此进行了讨论,得出一个重要结论:当固液比率达到一定的值后,在此部位的铸坯中心只有糊状物,实际上没有更多的液体可以补充。建立了数学模型,用于计算板坯中心部位的流动速度和方向以及预测的疏松。计算表明,在给定的成分和冷却条件下,中心线偏析主要受支承辊的设置、形变和偏心度的影响,同时支承辊之间铸坯的鼓肚也是重要影响因素之一。