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In the present paper we report on the design decisions and the field test results of an inclusive mobile tourist guide app, the Time Machine. The historical information is conveyed by sound and the navigation information by haptics, while the app can be controlled eyes-free by a combination of on-screen and free-form gestures. To emphasize the eyes-free use, 9 of 11 test users recruited had severe
The birth and development of Gothicist ideas and their use in Spanish-Swedish contacts
Many of society’s critical infrastructures, such as power supply, telecommunications, and transportation, have become increasingly interconnected. While this gives rise to increased efficiency, tighter connections also invites increased vulnerability and the risks of cascading failures. Moreover, at the same time as many of these vital systems have become increasingly dependent on one another, the
Skeletal muscle weakness is a prominent clinical feature in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the underlying mechanism(s) is unknown. Here we investigate the mechanisms behind arthritis-induced skeletal muscle weakness with special focus on the role of nitrosative stress on intracellular Ca(2+) handling and specific force production.
We analyze the convergence rate of the Dirichlet-Neumann iteration for the fully discretized unsteady transmission problem. Specifically, we consider the coupling of two linear heat equations on two identical non overlapping domains with jumps in the material coefficients across these. In this context, we derive the iteration matrix of the coupled problem. In the 1D case, the spectral radius of th
Beam-driven plasma-wakefield acceleration is an acceleration scheme promising accelerating fields of at least two to three orders of magnitude higher than in conventional radiofrequency accelerating structures. The scheme relies on using a charged particle bunch (driver) to drive a non-linear plasma wake, into which a second bunch (witness) can be injected at an appropriate distance behind the fir
We conducted two experiments where subjects rated images of a robot head with different eye colors and light intensities on how well they communicate emotions like anger, enjoyment, and surprise, as well as personality traits like friendliness, intelligence, and level of trust. Results indicate e.g. that green and turquoise eye colors were more associated with agreeable personality traits. We foun
False lumen management of chronic aortic dissections has evolved during the past decade. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) continues to be the mainstay of endovascular dissection treatment and relies on the adequate sealing of the proximal entry tear. However, TEVAR alone often fails to achieve aortic remodeling due to persistent distal retrograde perfusion of the false lumen with contin
Background: Combination lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) after myocardial infarction (MI) achieves lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and better cardiovascular outcomes vs statin monotherapy. As a result, global guidelines recommend lower LDL-C but, paradoxically, advise treatment through a stepwise approach. Yet the need for combination therapy is inevitable as <20% of patients
Crowding has a major impact on the dynamics of many material and biological systems, inducing effects as diverse as glassy dynamics and swarming. While this issue has been deeply investigated for a variety of living organisms, more research remains to be done on the effect of crowding on the behaviour of copepods, the most abundant metazoans on Earth. To this aim, we experimentally investigate the
This paper presents a novel polynomial constraint for homographies compatible with the general planar motion model. In this setting, compatible homographies have five degrees of freedom-instead of the general case of eight degrees of freedom-and, as a consequence, a minimal solver requires 2.5 point correspondences. The existing minimal solver, however, is computationally expensive, and we propose
Autonomic nervous function was evaluated by deep breathing [expiration/inspiration (E/I) ratio] and tilt table tests [acceleration (AI) and brake indices (BI)] in 19 patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) and in 56 age matched controls. The E/I-ratio and systolic blood pressure (at rest, 1, and 8 min after tilt) were found to be significantly reduced (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.0
Organizations responsible for maintaining critical societal functions must be able to handle both events that can be foreseen and events that come more or less as surprises. Therefore, proactive risk management strategies that build on capacity to adapt to new and unforeseen circumstances must complement strategies that build on the ability to plan for events that can be anticipated on beforehand.
This paper describes the involvement of end users in a project aimed to create a navigation aid for older persons who have memory decline, which affects navigation skills, and thus their independence. Interviews, focus groups with “stick man scenarios” and shorter usability tests seemed to work well. An extended test where the users themselves were expected to use the system independently was not
We extend a thermodynamically consistent finite strain micro-sphere framework elaborated by Carol et al. towards the modelling of phase-transformations to allow for the simulation of polycrystalline solids such as, e.g., shape memory alloys and shape memory polymers undergoing large deformations. The considered phase-transformation mechanism is based on statistical physics and allows the considera
This chapter presents the long-term clinical outcomes and prognosis of COVID-19. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has triggered a global pandemic infecting over 773 million people and causing over seven million deaths worldwide as of December 2023 (WHO Coronavirus). Despite the United Nations proclaimed the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic officially over on M
Background: Interleukin-6 is dysregulated in multiple pathological conditions, e.g., cancer and inflammatory diseases. Aim: To investigate new mechanisms for the regulation of pathological IL-6 production. Methods: PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) stimulated by cancer serum factors or specific peptides produce interleukin-6 (IL-6). Immunoregulatory albumin neo-structures and peptides wer
