Use and activity levels on newly built bicycle playgrounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schipperijn, Jasper; Hansen, Christine Kier; Rask, Simon

2015-01-01

Increasing the use of urban green space (UGS) as well as increasing cycling could potentially help address the growing inactivity problem. Three bicycle playgrounds were designed based on a participatory process and afterwards constructed in the UGS along a cycle-route on the historic outer defence...... close to one of the sites. A future study involving objective before and after measures when a new bicycle playground is build will be needed to reveal if bicycle playgrounds can provide additional activity to its users, or ‘just’ a different type of activity, in a different location....

School playground facilities as a determinant of children's daily activity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Glen; Bugge, Anna; Hermansen, Bianca

2012-01-01

This study investigates the influence of school playground facilities on children's daily physical activity.......This study investigates the influence of school playground facilities on children's daily physical activity....

Low-Cost energy contraption design using playground seesaw

Science.gov (United States)

Banlawe, I. A. P.; Acosta, N. J. E. L.

2017-05-01

The study was conducted at Western Philippines University, San Juan, Aborlan, Palawan. The study used the mechanical motion of playground seesaw as a means to produce electrical energy. The study aimed to design a low-cost prototype energy contraption using playground seesaw using locally available and recycled materials, to measure the voltage, current and power outputs produced at different situations and estimate the cost of the prototype. Using principle of pneumatics, two hand air pumps were employed on the two end sides of the playground seesaw and the mechanical motion of the seesaw up and down produces air that is used to rotate a DC motor to produce electrical energy. This electricity can be utilized for powering basic or low-power appliances. There were two trials of testing, each trial tests the different pressure level of the air tank and tests the opening of on-off valve (Full open and half open) when the compressed air was released. Results showed that all pressure level at full open produced significantly higher voltage, than the half open. However, the mean values of the current and power produced in all pressure level at full and half open have negligible variation. These results signify that the energy contraption using playground seesaw is an alternative viable source of electrical energy in the playgrounds, parks and other places and can be used as an auxiliary or back-up source for electricity.

Exclusionary violence and bullying in the playground: Football and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It focuses on these boys who became popularly known as the 'footballing boys', and the kinds of exclusionary violence and bullying they utilise to dominate the playground space and 'police' gender 'transgression'. It explores how some of the 'footballing boys' construct and 'police' gender in the playground through ...

Preparticipation Evaluation for Climbing Sports.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Aaron D; Davis, Christopher; Paterson, Ryan; Cushing, Tracy A; Ng, Pearlly; Peterson, Charles S; Sedgwick, Peter E; McIntosh, Scott E

2015-09-01

Climbing is a popular wilderness sport among a wide variety of professional athletes and amateur enthusiasts, and many styles are performed across many environments. Potential risks confront climbers, including personal health or exacerbation of a chronic condition, in addition to climbing-specific risks or injuries. Although it is not common to perform a preparticipation evaluation (PPE) for climbing, a climber or a guide agency may request such an evaluation before participation. Formats from traditional sports PPEs can be drawn upon, but often do not directly apply. The purpose of this article was to incorporate findings from expert opinion from professional societies in wilderness medicine and in sports medicine, with findings from the literature of both climbing epidemiology and traditional sports PPEs, into a general PPE that would be sufficient for the broad sport of climbing. The emphasis is on low altitude climbing, and an overview of different climbing styles is included. Knowledge of climbing morbidity and mortality, and a standardized approach to the PPE that involves adequate history taking and counseling have the potential for achieving risk reduction and will facilitate further study on the evaluation of the efficacy of PPEs.

Preparticipation Evaluation for Climbing Sports.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Aaron D; Davis, Christopher; Paterson, Ryan; Cushing, Tracy A; Ng, Pearlly; Peterson, Charles S; Sedgwick, Peter E; McIntosh, Scott E

2015-12-01

Climbing is a popular wilderness sport among a wide variety of professional athletes and amateur enthusiasts, and many styles are performed across many environments. Potential risks confront climbers, including personal health or exacerbation of a chronic condition, in addition to climbing-specific risks or injuries. Although it is not common to perform a preparticipation evaluation (PPE) for climbing, a climber or a guide agency may request such an evaluation before participation. Formats from traditional sports PPEs can be drawn upon, but often do not directly apply. The purpose of this article was to incorporate findings from expert opinion from professional societies in wilderness medicine and in sports medicine, with findings from the literature of both climbing epidemiology and traditional sports PPEs, into a general PPE that would be sufficient for the broad sport of climbing. The emphasis is on low altitude climbing, and an overview of different climbing styles is included. Knowledge of climbing morbidity and mortality, and a standardized approach to the PPE that involves adequate history taking and counseling have the potential for achieving risk reduction and will facilitate further study on the evaluation of the efficacy of PPEs. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Diagnosis of climbing related overuse injuries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klauser, A.; Frauscher, F.; Helweg, G.; Nedden, D. zur; Hochholzer, T.; Kramer, J.

2002-01-01

Sport climbing shows an enormous increase in participation, evolving to more popularity, including even school sport activity on high standards. Therefore the number of climbing related injuries is increasing and becomes a more frequently encountered medical problem. Typical climbing associated injuries involve predominantly the upper limb. Overuse injuries are the most common climbing related injuries.The clinical examination is the first line investigation, which is often limited especially in the acute phase. However, an exact diagnosis is desireable for therapeutic management. Imaging modalities have shown to be capable for detection of climbing related injuries. An overview about the current use of x-ray, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in different climbing related overuse injuries is presented. (orig.) [de

Smokefree signage at children's playgrounds: Field observations and comparison with Google Street View.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, George; Wilson, Nick

2017-01-01

Although there is global growth in outdoor smokefree areas, little is known about the associated smokefree signage. We aimed to study smokefree signage at playgrounds and to compare field observations with images from Google Street View (GSV). We randomly selected playgrounds in 21 contiguous local government areas in the lower North Island of New Zealand, all of which had smokefree playground policies. Field data were collected on smokefree signage along with dog control signage to allow for comparisons. The sensitivity and specificity of using GSV for data collection were calculated. Out of the 63 playgrounds studied, only 44% (95% CI: 33%-57%) had any smokefree signage within 10 m of the playground equipment. The mean number of such signs was 0.8 per playground (range: 0 to 6). Sign size varied greatly from 42 cm 2 up to 2880 cm 2 ; but was typically fairly small (median = 600 cm 2 ; ie, as per a 20 × 30 cm rectangle). Qualitatively the dog signs appeared to use clearer images and were less wordy than the smokefree signs. Most playground equipment (82%), could be seen on GSV, but for these settings the sensitivity for identifying smokefree signs was poor at 16%. Yet specificity was reasonable at 96%. The presence and quality of smokefree signage was poor in this sample of children's playgrounds in this developed country setting. There appears to be value in comparing smokefree signage with other types of signage (eg, dog control signage). Google Street View was not a sensitive tool for studying such signage.

Key issues for the successful design of an intelligent, interactive playground

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sturm, J.A.; Bekker, M.M.; Groenendaal, B.; Wesselink, R.; Eggen, J.H.

2008-01-01

An Intelligent Playground is an environment with interactive objects that, using advanced technology such as sensors and actuators, react to the interaction with the children and actively encourage children to play. Thus, an intelligent playground stimulates children to move and play together. In

Research into the Eutrophication of an Artificial Playground Lake near the Yangtze River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Pang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Water pollution in urban rivers is serious in China. Eutrophication and other issues are prominent. Taking the artificial Playground Lake in Zhenjiang as an example, a numerical model combining particle tracing, hydrodynamics, water quality and eutrophication was constructed to simulate the water quality improvement in Playground Lake with or without water diversion by pump and sluice. Simulation results using particle tracking showed that the water residence time depended on wind direction: east wind, 125 h; southeast wind, 115 h; south wind, 95 h. With no water diversion, the lower the flow velocity of Playground Lake under three wind fields, the more serious the eutrophication. Under pump diversion, the water body in Playground Lake can be entirely replaced by water diversion for 30 h. When the temperature is lower than 15 °C, from 15 °C to 25 °C and higher than 25 °C, the water quality can be maintained for 15 d, 10 d and 7 d, respectively. During high tide periods of spring tides in the Yangtze River from June to August, the water can be diverted into the lake through sluices. The greater the Δh (the water head between the Yangtze River and Playground Lake, the more the water quality will improve. Overall, the good-to-bad order of water quality improvements for Playground Lake is as follows: pumping 30 h > sluice diversion > no water diversion. This article is relevant for the environmental management of the artificial Playground Lake, and similar lakes elsewhere.

A Star-Wheel Stair-Climbing Wheelchair

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Li; WU Bo; JIN Ai-min; JIANG Shi-hong; ZHENG Yu-fei; ZHANG Shuai

2014-01-01

In order to achieve a wheelchair climb stairs function, this paper designs a star-wheel stair-climbing mechanism. Through the effect of the lock coupling, the star-wheel stair-climbing mechanism is formed to be fixed axis gear train or planetary gear train achieving flat-walking and stair-climbing functions. Crossing obstacle analysis obtains the maximum height and minimum width of obstacle which the wheelchair can cross. Stress-strain analysis in Solidworks simulation is performed to verify material strength.

The value of (pre)school playgrounds for children's physical activity level: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Broekhuizen, Karen; Scholten, Anne-Marie; de Vries, Sanne I

2014-05-03

The (pre)school environment is an important setting to improve children's health. Especially, the (pre)school playground provides a major opportunity to intervene. This review presents an overview of the existing evidence on the value of both school and preschool playgrounds on children's health in terms of physical activity, cognitive and social outcomes. In addition, we aimed to identify which playground characteristics are the strongest correlates of beneficial effects and for which subgroups of children effects are most distinct. In total, 13 experimental and 17 observational studies have been summarized of which 10 (77%) and 16 (94%) demonstrated moderate to high methodological quality, respectively. Nearly all experimental studies (n = 11) evaluated intervention effects on time spent in different levels of physical activity during recess. Research on the effects of (pre)school playgrounds on cognitive and social outcomes is scarce (n = 2). The experimental studies generated moderate evidence for an effect of the provision of play equipment, inconclusive evidence for an effect of the use of playground markings, allocating play space and for multi-component interventions, and no evidence for an effect of decreasing playground density, the promotion of physical activity by staff and increasing recess duration on children's health. In line with this, observational studies showed positive associations between play equipment and children's physical activity level. In contrast to experimental studies, significant associations were also found between children's physical activity and a decreased playground density and increased recess duration. To confirm the findings of this review, researchers are advised to conduct more experimental studies with a randomized controlled design and to incorporate the assessment of implementation strategies and process evaluations to reveal which intervention strategies and playground characteristics are most effective.

Tree Climbing Robot Design, Kinematics and Motion Planning

CERN Document Server

Lam, Tin Lun

2012-01-01

Climbing robot is a challenging research topic that has gained much attention from researchers. Most of the robots reported in the literature are designed to climb on manmade structures, but seldom robots are designed for climbing natural environment such as trees. Trees and manmade structures are very different in nature. It brings different aspects of technical challenges to the robot design. In this book, you can find a collection of the cutting edge technologies in the field of tree-climbing robot and the ways that animals climb. It provides a valuable reference for robot designers to select appropriate climbing methods in designing tree-climbing robots for specific purposes. Based on the study, a novel bio-inspired tree-climbing robot with several breakthrough performances has been developed and presents in this book. It is capable of performing various actions that is impossible in the state-of-the-art tree-climbing robots, such as moving between trunk and branches. This book also proposes several appro...

Bouldering: an alternative strategy to long-vertical climbing in root-climbing hortensias.

Science.gov (United States)

Granados Mendoza, Carolina; Isnard, Sandrine; Charles-Dominique, Tristan; Van den Bulcke, Jan; Rowe, Nick P; Van Acker, Joris; Goetghebeur, Paul; Samain, Marie-Stéphanie

2014-10-06

In the Neotropics, the genus Hydrangea of the popular ornamental hortensia family is represented by climbing species that strongly cling to their support surface by means of adhesive roots closely positioned along specialized anchoring stems. These root-climbing hortensia species belong to the nearly exclusive American Hydrangea section Cornidia and generally are long lianescent climbers that mostly flower and fructify high in the host tree canopy. The Mexican species Hydrangea seemannii, however, encompasses not only long lianescent climbers of large vertical rock walls and coniferous trees, but also short 'shrub-like' climbers on small rounded boulders. To investigate growth form plasticity in root-climbing hortensia species, we tested the hypothesis that support variability (e.g. differences in size and shape) promotes plastic responses observable at the mechanical, structural and anatomical level. Stem bending properties, architectural axis categorization, tissue organization and wood density were compared between boulder and long-vertical tree-climbers of H. seemannii. For comparison, the mechanical patterns of a closely related, strictly long-vertical tree-climbing species were investigated. Hydrangea seemannii has fine-tuned morphological, mechanical and anatomical responses to support variability suggesting the presence of two alternative root-climbing strategies that are optimized for their particular environmental conditions. Our results suggest that variation of some stem anatomical traits provides a buffering effect that regulates the mechanical and hydraulic demands of two distinct plant architectures. The adaptive value of observed plastic responses and the importance of considering growth form plasticity in evolutionary and conservation studies are discussed. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Methodological framework for the ergonomic design of children's playground equipment: a Serbian experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Grozdanovic, Miroljub; Jekic, Savko; Stojiljkovic, Evica

2014-01-01

Adequate application of the static and dynamic anthropometric measures of pre-school children in ergonometric design of children's playground equipment should eliminate all dangers and difficulties in their use. Possibilities of injuries, insecure movements, discomfort able positions and some other dangerous actions may be minimized; and safety and health protection of pre-school children will be increased. Children's playground represents a significant space of activity for pre-school children. Therefore, it is necessary to apply ergonomic principles which contribute to the adjustment of the playground elements to children's anatomic features. Based on the results presented in this paper, new constructions were designed and new playgrounds were installed in Serbia. Participants were children from three pre-school age groups: Junior age group (3-4 years of age, 17 children), Medium age group (4-5 years of age, 22 children), and Senior age group (5-6 years of age, 26 children). Thirty-one static anthropometric measures (12 in standing position, 11 in sitting position, 7 related to dimensions of hand, foot an head, with body weight and shoe size) and 15 dynamic anthropometric measures (7 in standing position, 6 in sitting position and 2 dimension of foot and hand) were defined for the study. Measurements were taken using an anthrop-meter, a flexible measuring tape. Equations for ergonomic design of children's playground elements were also defined. Basic statistical data of static and dynamic anthropometric measurements of the pre-school children are presented in this paper, as well as the statistical calculation of the corrective anthropometric measurements. Measurements were performed in "Poletarac" kindergarten, part of the pre-school institution "Radost" in Cacak. Elements of playground equipment in "Bambi" kindergarten in Kragujevac (the Indian tent "wigwam", gate-house, swing and carousel) were designed and built using these parameters. Based on the obtained

Lifting as You Climb

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Debra R.

2009-01-01

This article addresses leadership themes and answers leadership questions presented to "Exchange" by the Panel members who attended the "Exchange" Panel of 300 Reception in Dallas, Texas, last November. There is an old proverb that encourages people to lift as they climb: "While you climb a mountain, you must not forget others along the way." With…

Indoor rock climbing: who gets injured?

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, D M; Royle, T J; Marshall, T

2001-06-01

To determine the frequency of overuse injury in indoor climbers, the common sites of such injury, and the factors that influence the probability that a climber will have sustained an overuse injury while climbing indoors. A semisupervised questionnaire was used to survey overuse injury in 295 spectators and competitors at the Entre-Prises World Climbing Championships held in Birmingham 3-5 December 1999. Statistical analysis included simple cross tabulations, calculation of odds ratios, and multiple logistic regression to explore the effect of several factors simultaneously. Some 44% of respondents had sustained an overuse injury, 19% at more than one site. The most common site of injury was the fingers. Univariate analysis showed that the probability of having sustained a climbing injury is higher in men (p = 0.009), those who have climbed for more than 10 years (p = 0.006), those who climb harder routes (p<0.0005), and those who boulder or lead more than they top rope (p<0.0005). The relation between lead grade and climbing injury is linear. Multivariate analysis removed the effect of sex as an independent predictor. Many climbers sustain overuse injury. The most at risk are those with the most ability and dedication to climbing. Climbers should be aware of the risk factors that influence injury and be able to spot the signs and symptoms of injury once they occur.

Using Playground Maps for Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Colvin, A. Vonnie

2016-01-01

Many schools now decorate their outside hard surface areas with maps. These maps provide color and excitement to a playground and are a terrific teaching tool for geography. But these maps can easily be integrated into physical education as well to promote both physical activity as well as knowledge of geography. The purpose of this article is to…

Model playground for autistic children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castro, Thais; Castro, Alberto; Lima, David

2017-01-01

Children with autism often have difficulties in learning the social skills and norms of peer social interaction, which severely affect and limit their social lives. Aiming at addressing this issue, through design, we developed a digital-analogue model playground to help them understand and cope...... of social skills and norms through peer learning activities amongst children with autism....

Kinematic and Dynamic Analysis of a Cable-Climbing Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Fengyu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available To inspect broken cables or a cracked protective layer on cable-stayed bridges, a cable-climbing robot has been proposed and designed. In this paper, the complex 3D obstacles that may be encountered on cables are theoretically described, in order to investigate the obstacle-climbing capability of the cable-climbing robot. A climbing model is then proposed and used to design the robot. In the climbing model, two driven wheels are independently supported with a spring. Kinematics and dynamics models are further derived for the obstacle-climbing capabilities of the driving and driven wheels of the robot. In addition, the robot's obstacle-climbing tracks and its obstacle-climbing performance are simulated. Payload and obstacle-climbing experiments were conducted on the climbing robot in the laboratory. Based on the results of the simulation and the experiments, we obtained the variation of the driving torque in obstacle climbing. The contribution of this paper is intended to provide a basis for the precise motion control of the robot.

Child safety in parks' playgrounds (a case study in Tehran’s sub-district parks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.H. Mirlouhi Falavarjani

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Background and aimsSafety is a complex concept and multidisciplinary science which is included some difference areas from industrial sectors to urban public arenas. Parks and playgrounds as important public places should be considered in terms of health and safety, especially for kids as prominent social vulnerable citizens. According to CPSC, 147 deaths havebeen reported for under 15 year old child during Jan 1990 to Aug 2000. Every 2.5 minute, kid suffers playground related accident. The main objective in this study is safety assessment ofplaygrounds among the selected parks.MethodsIn this case study, deductive approach and cross-sectional survey was followed, and some parks and playgrounds were selected among five urban counties in Tehran. Our volunteered samples were 160 parents. Playgrounds and related equipment were assessed in terms of safety, as well.ResultsOur findings show that more than 68% of playground equipment might create hazardous condition for kids. Lack of sustain maintenance for both of equipment and playground surface make some risky area for the mentioned group. Statistical analysis by SPSSWin 13 showed that more than 78 % of parents are worry about their child in terms of playground safetyproblems. Safety assessment of swings and slides showed that there are safety based problems in 89% of cases. Due to statistical reports of Tehran Emergency center, 10-12 and 8-10 year old kids suffer play based accident more than others. Reported traumas showed that face and skull and then feet suffered mechanical injury more than other limbs.ConclusionSurely, safety and health considerations are known as Municipality responsibilities, so for safety improvement in parks an integration safety system should be happened. HSE_MS seems a reliable approach for the mention goal. For improvement of exist parks and playground some related standard should be follows such as CPSC standards, EN 1176, and EN 1177. Also anthropometric data development

Participation of a preschooler with visual impairments on the playground: effects of musical adaptations and staff development.

Science.gov (United States)

Kern, P; Wolery PhD, M

2001-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adaptations of a playground, and subsequently staff development, on the participation of a 3-year-old boy with congenital blindness. A single-subject design with three conditions (baseline, adaptations of the playground, and staff development) was used. The playground adaptation involved adding musical stations in strategic locations on the playground and connecting them with a "path" that provided auditory feedback. The staff training involved the music therapist providing individualized instruction to the staff who supervised the child. The child's participation was measured in terms of social interaction with peers or adults, play and engagement with materials, movement on the playground, and stereotypic behaviors. The playground adaptation resulted in no changes in the child's social interactions with peers or adults, increases in engagement, no change in movement on the playground, and a decrease in stereotypic responses. Staff training resulted in increased but variable interactions with adults and peers, in additional increases in engagement, less movement, and similar levels of stereotypic behavior. The findings suggest that musical adaptations of physical environments may he helpful but not sufficient for promoting desired outcomes.

Evolutionary novelty versus exaptation: oral kinematics in feeding versus climbing in the waterfall-climbing Hawaiian Goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua A Cullen

Full Text Available Species exposed to extreme environments often exhibit distinctive traits that help meet the demands of such habitats. Such traits could evolve independently, but under intense selective pressures of extreme environments some existing structures or behaviors might be coopted to meet specialized demands, evolving via the process of exaptation. We evaluated the potential for exaptation to have operated in the evolution of novel behaviors of the waterfall-climbing gobiid fish genus Sicyopterus. These fish use an "inching" behavior to climb waterfalls, in which an oral sucker is cyclically protruded and attached to the climbing surface. They also exhibit a distinctive feeding behavior, in which the premaxilla is cyclically protruded to scrape diatoms from the substrate. Given the similarity of these patterns, we hypothesized that one might have been coopted from the other. To evaluate this, we filmed climbing and feeding in Sicyopterus stimpsoni from Hawai'i, and measured oral kinematics for two comparisons. First, we compared feeding kinematics of S. stimpsoni with those for two suction feeding gobiids (Awaous guamensis and Lentipes concolor, assessing what novel jaw movements were required for algal grazing. Second, we quantified the similarity of oral kinematics between feeding and climbing in S. stimpsoni, evaluating the potential for either to represent an exaptation from the other. Premaxillary movements showed the greatest differences between scraping and suction feeding taxa. Between feeding and climbing, overall profiles of oral kinematics matched closely for most variables in S. stimpsoni, with only a few showing significant differences in maximum values. Although current data cannot resolve whether oral movements for climbing were coopted from feeding, or feeding movements coopted from climbing, similarities between feeding and climbing kinematics in S. stimpsoni are consistent with evidence of exaptation, with modifications, between these

Evolutionary novelty versus exaptation: oral kinematics in feeding versus climbing in the waterfall-climbing Hawaiian Goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Joshua A; Maie, Takashi; Schoenfuss, Heiko L; Blob, Richard W

2013-01-01

Species exposed to extreme environments often exhibit distinctive traits that help meet the demands of such habitats. Such traits could evolve independently, but under intense selective pressures of extreme environments some existing structures or behaviors might be coopted to meet specialized demands, evolving via the process of exaptation. We evaluated the potential for exaptation to have operated in the evolution of novel behaviors of the waterfall-climbing gobiid fish genus Sicyopterus. These fish use an "inching" behavior to climb waterfalls, in which an oral sucker is cyclically protruded and attached to the climbing surface. They also exhibit a distinctive feeding behavior, in which the premaxilla is cyclically protruded to scrape diatoms from the substrate. Given the similarity of these patterns, we hypothesized that one might have been coopted from the other. To evaluate this, we filmed climbing and feeding in Sicyopterus stimpsoni from Hawai'i, and measured oral kinematics for two comparisons. First, we compared feeding kinematics of S. stimpsoni with those for two suction feeding gobiids (Awaous guamensis and Lentipes concolor), assessing what novel jaw movements were required for algal grazing. Second, we quantified the similarity of oral kinematics between feeding and climbing in S. stimpsoni, evaluating the potential for either to represent an exaptation from the other. Premaxillary movements showed the greatest differences between scraping and suction feeding taxa. Between feeding and climbing, overall profiles of oral kinematics matched closely for most variables in S. stimpsoni, with only a few showing significant differences in maximum values. Although current data cannot resolve whether oral movements for climbing were coopted from feeding, or feeding movements coopted from climbing, similarities between feeding and climbing kinematics in S. stimpsoni are consistent with evidence of exaptation, with modifications, between these behaviors. Such

Height, fun and safety in the design of children's playground equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakes, Sarah; Beukes, Amanda

2012-01-01

The study reported in this paper adopted a holistic design approach to investigate issues associated with height related playground injuries from a users' perspective. The main objective was to gain an understanding of the relationship between height and fun so as to establish practical guidelines for addressing the causes of height related injuries whilst maintaining the attributes of playground equipment that children find fun and challenging. Results show that, on the one hand, the risk of injury increases when height is coupled with the use of upper body strength and, on the other hand, that coordination is a greater source of fun and challenge than height for children. Accordingly, it is suggested that the level of risk of injury attached to children's playground equipment can be reduced when the use of lower body strength and coordination are combined with lower free fall heights.

Effects of Sport Climbing on Multiple Sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Steimer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Multiple sclerosis (MS is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS with different types of disease courses (relapsing-remitting, secondary-progressive, primary progressive that leads to physical as well as mental disability. The symptoms comprise paresis or/and paralysis, ataxia, bladder dysfunction, visual problems as well as effects on cognition. There is limited data regarding the possible effects of sport climbing respectively therapeutic climbing on patients with MS. Sport climbing offers many potentially beneficial effects for patients with MS since there are effects on coordination, muscular strength, and cognition to name the most relevant ones. Also, disease models in rodents point toward such positive outcomes of climbing. Therefore, we assessed the currently available research literature on general effects of physical exercise, impact of climbing on body and mind and therapeutic climbing for prevention or therapy for the treatment of MS. The sparse published controlled trials that investigated this sport activity on different groups of patients with neurological or geriatric diseases grossly differ in study design and outcome parameters. Nevertheless, it appears that climbing offers the opportunity to improve some of the symptoms of patients with MS and can contribute to an enhanced quality of life.

Analysis of Playground Injuries and Litigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Joe L.

A study analyzed 82 cases of playground injuries and litigation (including 7 fatalities) in 28 states. In order of frequency, injuries happened in public schools, public parks, child care centers, apartment complexes, fast food restaurants, backyards, recreation camps, state parks, and state schools. Sixty-five percent of all injuries resulted…

Addressing the issue of falls off playground equipment: an empirically-based intervention to reduce fall-risk behaviors on playgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrongiello, Barbara A; Matheis, Shawn

2007-08-01

The present study evaluated the impact of an intervention to reduce fall-risk behaviors on playgrounds among children 6-11 years of age. Children completed posters indicating risky playground behaviors they would and would not do. In the intervention group, video and audio presentations were used to expose children to injury occurrences so that injury vulnerability was communicated in a fear-evoking way. In the control group, children only completed the pre- and post-intervention measures. Significant decreases in intentions to risk-take were obtained in the intervention, but not the control group. Effectiveness did not vary with children's age or sex, but was greater for those scoring high in sensation-seeking. A fear-appeals approach proved successful to reduce intended fall-risk behaviors, particularly for children high in sensation-seeking whose risk-taking is motivated by affect arousal.

Assessment of the current status of playground safety in the midwestern region of Turkey: an effort to provide a safe environment for children.

Science.gov (United States)

Uskun, Ersin; Kişioğlu, Ahmet Nesimi; Altay, Tülin; Cikinlar, Rengül; Kocakaya, Asuman

2008-01-01

This study aimed to identify and evaluate the degree of conformity to the playground standards and the level of compliance with current safety specifications of the playgrounds in the midwestern region of Turkey. An observational technique was used at a total of 57 public playgrounds. A playground safety control form was prepared based on the United States National Program for Playground Safety and the Consumer Product Safety Commission security standards, since there is no national law covering playground equipment and safety in Turkey. The study evaluated the surroundings of the playground, arrangement of equipment in the playground, and characteristics of the equipment. The percentage of playgrounds surveyed with inadequate or hard surfacing was 80.7%. Fifty-two percent of the equipment was found to be inappropriate. Equipment was higher than the recommended heights. The results of our study unfortunately point out that playgrounds for children do not meet many of the safety criteria.

No “Obstacles” In Playgrounds That Are Not Only Accessible But Also Inclusive

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatice Ayataç

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In the current century, the importance of play for children is a major issue addressed in the literature. Play enables the physical, mental and social development of children. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, engaging in play is a fundamental right for children. This article of the convention covers all children below the age of 18 and does not exclude the children with disabilities. Like their peers, children with disabilities should also enjoy the right to engage in play, and societies should use every means available in order to help children play whether indoors or outdoors.According to the 2011 Population and Housing Research, 6.6% of the population in Turkey has one or more disabilities. The target group of this study is ‘children with disabilities’ who live in İstanbul. In this group, speech disorders (21.9%, and mental disabilities (17.1% prove to be the most dominant disabilities. However, the number of playgrounds where disabled children can play are scarce in number.This study provides an analysis of children’s playgrounds, which are essential for the development of children, and evaluates the design features of these playgrounds based on inclusive design principles. The study also addresses the requirements of inclusive playgrounds by referring to the examples of inclusive playgrounds around the world as well as those few examples in Turkey.  The design principles of inclusive playgrounds were also evaluated for three parks in İstanbul which were designed and are currently in use - namely Kadıköy Göztepe 60. Yıl Park, Beşiktaş Dilek Sabancı Park and Kadıköy Selamiçeşme Özgürlük Park.

The value of (pre)school playgrounds for children's physical activity level: A systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broekhuizen, K.; Scholten, A.M.; Vries, S.I. de

2014-01-01

The (pre)school environment is an important setting to improve children's health. Especially, the (pre)school playground provides a major opportunity to intervene. This review presents an overview of the existing evidence on the value of both school and preschool playgrounds on children's health in

The Children’s Playground in the Context of Cultural-Historical Psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smirnova E.O.,

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The article describes the possible application of the principles of cultural-historical approach and activity theory to the inspection of toys and play environments. A children’s playground is treated as cultural means or artifact created by adults for starting a child’s activity. In terms of cultural and historical psychology, psycho-pedagogical analysis of a playground is based on the identification of the play value level and the compliance with the objectives peculiar to the age. Analysis and design are based on the understanding of the playground as a single space, where each element has the potential for any children’s development activity — games, communication, experimentation, etc. The following criteria of psychological and pedagogical inspection are identified and well-grounded: the principle of orientation to age-related peculiarities, the principle of high play value, the principle of transparency of objects, the principle of supporting acceptable risk, the principle of taking account of visitors’ activity levels, invitation to dialogue — the principle of dialogueness. The use of these principles in the course of designing playgrounds is illustrated by examples. These show that the conceptual apparatus of cultural and historical psychology may be used not only to explain the mechanisms and forms of mental development, but also for the analysis of particular conditions of a child’s mental development and design of play environments.

Herbicide and pesticide occurrence in the soils of children's playgrounds in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Science.gov (United States)

Sapcanin, Aida; Cakal, Mirsada; Imamovic, Belma; Salihovic, Mirsada; Pehlic, Ekrem; Jacimovic, Zeljko; Jancan, Gordan

2016-08-01

Pesticide pollution in Sarajevo public playgrounds is an important health and environmental issue, and the lack of information about it is causing concerns amongst the general population as well as researchers. Since children are in direct contact with surface soils on children's playgrounds, such soils should be much more carefully examined. Furthermore, herbicides and pesticides get transmitted from soil surfaces brought from outside the urban areas, or they get dispersed following their direct applications in urban areas. Infants' and children's health can be directly affected by polluted soils because of the inherent toxicity and widespread use of the different pesticides in urban environments such as playgrounds. In addition to that, the presence of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) wood preservative pesticide found as soil pollutant in playing equipment was also documented. Soil samples from playgrounds were collected and analyzed for triazines, carbamates, dithiocarbamates, phenolic herbicides and organochlorine pesticides. Samples for the determination of heavy metals Cu, Cr and As were prepared by microwave-assisted acid digestion, and the findings were determined by using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. Triazines, carbamates, dithiocarbamates, chlorphenoxy compounds, phenolic herbicides, organochlorine pesticides and organotin compounds were detected in playground soils and their determined concentrations (mg/kg) were respectively found as follows: herbicides and pesticides on human health, which strengthens the case for a more preventative and protective approach to the uncontrolled presence of herbicides and pesticides in Sarajevo's playground soils.

A Handbook for Public Playground Safety. Volume II: Technical Guidelines for Equipment and Surfacing.

Science.gov (United States)

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.

This handbook suggests safety guidelines for public playground equipment and describes various surfaces used under the equipment and possible injuries resulting from falls. The handbook is intended for use mainly by manufacturers, installers, school and park officials, and others interested in technical criteria for public playground equipment.…

School playground surfacing and arm fractures in children: a cluster randomized trial comparing sand to wood chip surfaces.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew W Howard

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The risk of playground injuries, especially fractures, is prevalent in children, and can result in emergency room treatment and hospital admissions. Fall height and surface area are major determinants of playground fall injury risk. The primary objective was to determine if there was a difference in playground upper extremity fracture rates in school playgrounds with wood fibre surfacing versus granite sand surfacing. Secondary objectives were to determine if there were differences in overall playground injury rates or in head injury rates in school playgrounds with wood fibre surfacing compared to school playgrounds with granite sand surfacing.The cluster randomized trial comprised 37 elementary schools in the Toronto District School Board in Toronto, Canada with a total of 15,074 students. Each school received qualified funding for installation of new playground equipment and surfacing. The risk of arm fracture from playground falls onto granitic sand versus onto engineered wood fibre surfaces was compared, with an outcome measure of estimated arm fracture rate per 100,000 student-months. Schools were randomly assigned by computer generated list to receive either a granitic sand or an engineered wood fibre playground surface (Fibar, and were not blinded. Schools were visited to ascertain details of the playground and surface actually installed and to observe the exposure to play and to periodically monitor the depth of the surfacing material. Injury data, including details of circumstance and diagnosis, were collected at each school by a prospective surveillance system with confirmation of injury details through a validated telephone interview with parents and also through collection (with consent of medical reports regarding treated injuries. All schools were recruited together at the beginning of the trial, which is now closed after 2.5 years of injury data collection. Compliant schools included 12 schools randomized to Fibar that installed

Tracked robot controllers for climbing obstacles autonomously

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Isabelle

2009-05-01

Research in mobile robot navigation has demonstrated some success in navigating flat indoor environments while avoiding obstacles. However, the challenge of analyzing complex environments to climb obstacles autonomously has had very little success due to the complexity of the task. Unmanned ground vehicles currently exhibit simple autonomous behaviours compared to the human ability to move in the world. This paper presents the control algorithms designed for a tracked mobile robot to autonomously climb obstacles by varying its tracks configuration. Two control algorithms are proposed to solve the autonomous locomotion problem for climbing obstacles. First, a reactive controller evaluates the appropriate geometric configuration based on terrain and vehicle geometric considerations. Then, a reinforcement learning algorithm finds alternative solutions when the reactive controller gets stuck while climbing an obstacle. The methodology combines reactivity to learning. The controllers have been demonstrated in box and stair climbing simulations. The experiments illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for crossing obstacles.

Bio-inspired step-climbing in a hexapod robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Ya-Cheng; Yu, Wei-Shun; Huang, Ke-Jung; Lin, Pei-Chun

2012-01-01

Inspired by the observation that the cockroach changes from a tripod gait to a different gait for climbing high steps, we report on the design and implementation of a novel, fully autonomous step-climbing maneuver, which enables a RHex-style hexapod robot to reliably climb a step up to 230% higher than the length of its leg. Similar to the climbing strategy most used by cockroaches, the proposed maneuver is composed of two stages. The first stage is the ‘rearing stage,’ inclining the body so the front side of the body is raised and it is easier for the front legs to catch the top of the step, followed by the ‘rising stage,’ maneuvering the body's center of mass to the top of the step. Two infrared range sensors are installed on the front of the robot to detect the presence of the step and its orientation relative to the robot's heading, so that the robot can perform automatic gait transition, from walking to step-climbing, as well as correct its initial tilt approaching posture. An inclinometer is utilized to measure body inclination and to compute step height, thus enabling the robot to adjust its gait automatically, in real time, and to climb steps of different heights and depths successfully. The algorithm is applicable for the robot to climb various rectangular obstacles, including a narrow bar, a bar and a step (i.e. a bar of infinite width). The performance of the algorithm is evaluated experimentally, and the comparison of climbing strategies and climbing behaviors in biological and robotic systems is discussed. (paper)

The value of (pre)school playgrounds for children’s physical activity level : a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.I. (Sanne) de Vries; Karen Broekhuizen; Anne-Marie Scholten

2014-01-01

The (pre)school environment is an important setting to improve children’s health. Especially, the (pre)school playground provides a major opportunity to intervene. This review presents an overview of the existing evidence on the value of both school and preschool playgrounds on children’s health in

Informal Nature Experience on the School Playground

Science.gov (United States)

Raith, Andreas

2015-01-01

In Germany, all-day care and all-day schooling are currently increasing on a large-scale. The extended time children spend in educational institutions could potentially result in limited access to nature experience for children. On the other hand, it could equally create opportunities for informal nature experience if school playgrounds have a…

Aldo van Eyck’s Playgrounds: Aesthetics, Affordances, and Creativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rob Withagen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available After World War II, the Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck developed hundreds of playgrounds in the city of Amsterdam. These public playgrounds were located in parks, squares, and derelict sites, and consisted of minimalistic aesthetic play equipment that was supposed to stimulate the creativity of children. Over the last decades, these playgrounds have been studied by sociologists, theorists of art and architecture, and psychologists. Adopting an ecological approach to the human environment, it is argued that the abstract forms of van Eyck’s play sculptures indeed stimulate the creativity of the child. Whereas a slide or a swing almost dictates what a child is supposed to do, van Eyck’s play equipment invites the child to actively explore the numerous affordances (action possibilities it provided. However, it is argued that the standardization (e.g., equal distances between blocks or bars that tends to characterize van Eyck’ play equipment has negative effects on the playability. This standardization, which was arguably the result of the aesthetic motives of the designer, might be appealing to children when simply looking at the equipment, but it is not of overriding importance to them when playing in it. Indeed, a recent study indicates that the affordances provided by messy structures appear to have a greater appeal to playing children.

Activity of southeastern bats along sandstone cliffs used for rock climbing

Science.gov (United States)

Loeb, Susan C.; Jodice, Patrick G. R.

2018-01-01

Bats in the eastern U.S. are facing numerous threats and many species are in decline. Although several species of bats commonly roost in cliffs, little is known about use of cliffs for foraging and roosting. Because rock climbing is a rapidly growing sport and may cause disturbance to bats, our objectives were to examine use of cliff habitats by bats and to assess the effects of climbing on their activity. We used radio-telemetry to track small-footed bats (Myotis leibii) to day roosts, and Anabat SD2 detectors to compare bat activity between climbed and unclimbed areas of regularly climbed cliff faces, and between climbed and unclimbed cliffs. Four adult male small-footed bats were tracked to nine day roosts, all of which were in various types of crevices including five cliff face roosts (three on climbed and two on unclimbed faces). Bat activity was high along climbed cliffs and did not differ between climbed and unclimbed areas of climbed cliffs. In contrast, overall bat activity was significantly higher along climbed cliffs than unclimbed cliffs; species richness did not differ between climbed and unclimbed cliffs or areas. Lower activity along unclimbed cliffs may have been related to lower cliff heights and more clutter along these cliff faces. Due to limited access to unclimbed cliffs of comparable size to climbed cliffs, we could not thoroughly test the effects of climbing on bat foraging and roosting activity. However, the high overall use of climbed and unclimbed cliff faces for foraging and commuting that we observed suggests that cliffs may be important habitat for a number of bat species. Additional research on bats' use of cliff faces will improve our understanding of the factors that affect their use of this habitat including the impacts of climbing.

Effectiveness and cost of two stair-climbing interventions-less is more.

Science.gov (United States)

Olander, Ellinor K; Eves, Frank F

2011-01-01

The current study compared two interventions for promotion of stair climbing in the workplace, an information-based intervention at a health information day and an environmental intervention (point-of-choice prompts), for their effectiveness in changing stair climbing and cost per employee. Interrupted time-series design. Four buildings on a university campus. Employees at a university in the United Kingdom. Two stair-climbing interventions were compared: (1) a stand providing information on stair climbing at a health information day and (2) point-of-choice prompts (posters). Observers recorded employees' gender and method of ascent (n = 4279). The cost of the two interventions was calculated. Logistic regression. There was no significant difference between baseline (47.9% stair climbing) and the Workplace Wellbeing Day (48.8% stair climbing), whereas the prompts increased stair climbing (52.6% stair climbing). The health information day and point-of-choice prompts cost $773.96 and $31.38, respectively. The stand at the health information day was more expensive than the point-of-choice prompts and was inferior in promoting stair climbing. It is likely that the stand was unable to encourage stair climbing because only 3.2% of targeted employees visited the stand. In contrast, the point-of-choice prompts were potentially visible to all employees using the buildings and hence better for disseminating the stair climbing message to the target audience.

An Evaluation of Photographic Activity Schedules to Increase Independent Playground Skills in Young Children with Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Akers, Jessica S.; Higbee, Thomas S.; Pollard, Joy S.; Pellegrino, Azure J.; Gerencser, Kristina R.

2016-01-01

We used photographic activity schedules to increase the number of play activities completed by children with autism during unstructured time on the playground. All 3 participants engaged in more playground activities during and after training, and they continued to complete activities when novel photographs were introduced.

CLIMB grammars: three projects using metagrammar engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fokkens, A.S.; Avgustinova, T.; Zhang, Yi

2012-01-01

This paper introduces the CLIMB (Comparative Libraries of Implementations with Matrix Basis) methodology and grammars. The basic idea behind CLIMB is to use code generation as a general methodology for grammar development in order to create a more systematic approach to grammar development. The

Biomechanical Analyses of Stair-climbing while Dual-tasking

Science.gov (United States)

Vallabhajosula, Srikant; Tan, Chi Wei; Mukherjee, Mukul; Davidson, Austin J.; Stergiou, Nicholas

2015-01-01

Stair-climbing while doing a concurrent task like talking or holding an object is a common activity of daily living which poses high risk for falls. While biomechanical analyses of overground walking during dual-tasking have been studied extensively, little is known on the biomechanics of stair-climbing while dual-tasking. We sought to determine the impact of performing a concurrent cognitive or motor task during stair-climbing. We hypothesized that a concurrent cognitive task will have a greater impact on stair climbing performance compared to a concurrent motor task and that this impact will be greater on a higher-level step. Ten healthy young adults performed 10 trials of stair-climbing each under four conditions: stair ascending only, stair ascending and performing subtraction of serial sevens from a three-digit number, stair ascending and carrying an empty opaque box and stair ascending, performing subtraction of serial sevens from a random three-digit number and carrying an empty opaque box. Kinematics (lower extremity joint angles and minimum toe clearance) and kinetics (ground reaction forces and joint moments and powers) data were collected. We found that a concurrent cognitive task impacted kinetics but not kinematics of stair-climbing. The effect of dual-tasking during stair ascent also seemed to vary based on the different phases of stair ascent stance and seem to have greater impact as one climbs higher. Overall, the results of the current study suggest that the association between the executive functioning and motor task (like gait) becomes stronger as the level of complexity of the motor task increases. PMID:25773590

The effectiveness of chocolate milk as a post-climbing recovery aid.

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, J; Fuller, B

2015-12-01

Recovery is essential to effective performance in climbing competitions which often involve repeated bouts, and sport climbing where climbers may work a route over a number of days prior to a complete ascent. This study employed a cross-over design to compare water with chocolate milk as recovery aids following an exhaustive bout of high intensity endurance climbing. Ten male climbers (age: 22±1 years; height: 178.5±7.9 cm; mass: 74.7±11.3 kg) climbed a Tredwall (Brewer Ledge M6) until volitional exhaustion. The participants consumed either water or chocolate milk 20 minutes after the climb and then again with their evening meal. The exercise protocol was repeated 24 hours after the original climb. The second condition was completed 7 days later. Workload indicators of heart rate, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), blood lactate and muscle soreness scores were recorded alongside climbing performance measures of duration and distance of the climb. A improved performance was found after the consumption of chocolate milk, with both a greater distance climbed (F(1,9)=11.704, P=0.008) and duration (F(1,9) =10.922, P=0.009), there were no differences in end of climb heart rate or RPE. Muscle soreness scores were lower three days after exercise following chocolate milk (t(8)=3.773, P=0.005). Chocolate milk as a recovery drink resulted in further sustained climbing, a decrease in muscle soreness, compared to water. It may be pertinent for climbers to consider its use as a recovery aid during repeated climbing bouts. Chocolate milk is a relatively unexplored recovery aid and warrants further attention.

School Playground Facilities as a Determinant of Children's Daily Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study of Danish Primary School Children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Glen; Bugge, Anna; El-Naaman, Bianca

2012-01-01

This study investigates the influence of school playground facilities on children's daily physical activity.......This study investigates the influence of school playground facilities on children's daily physical activity....

Playground Equipment Guide: For Teachers, Park and Recreation Directors, Parents, Youth Leaders, and Other Concerned Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.

This guide was designed to assist parents, teachers, youth leaders, and park and recreation directors in the safe selection, use, installation, maintenance and repair of playground equipment. The nature and necessity of children's play are discussed briefly and information is presented on four main types of playground equipment: (1) swings, (2)…

Developing a playground as catchment area in effort to maintaining groundwater in Jaten village of Karanganyar district of Central Java, Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legowo, Budi; Darsono; Wahyuningsih, Daru

2016-01-01

Changes in land use for housing indirectly disturb the hydrology balance of the area. Groundwater conservation efforts can be done by keeping the function the catchment area. One of the housing developer's obligations is providing open spaces (the playground) to play or activity of the residents. Playground in Bumi Graha Indah Housing, Jaten village, Karanganyar district, Central Java, Indonesia has a fundamental issue, that is, in the rainy season the water is difficult to seep due landfill process are not well planned. It causes the playground become in muddy conditions with tall grass, so that reduces the function as a playground and or activity the residents. In the dry season, the soil dry of landfill caused dust scattering and disrupt the activities of people around the playground. Lack of water resources lead watering process for solving the problem of dust during the dry season was considered ineffective. Structuring drainage combined with modified recharge wells can be used to catch water runoff housing. This modification of water catchment areas can make playground dry quickly after rain so the activities of people are not bothered when utilizing the open space provided. Surface runoff water absorbed in open aquifer so that the hydrological balance always be maintained. Adequacy groundwater in the area playground can be used to sprinkler dust and backup needs clean water residents by creating wells and reservoir stocks. (paper)

School playgrounds, laboratories for the social construction of hegemonic masculinity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatriz Garay IBÁÑEZ DE ELEJALDE

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The study of the use of playgrounds by the football is not something new today. But the normality with which this practice is assumed is the key driver in the construction of hegemonic masculinity and gender biases for non-intervention by the school. A case study was conducted in the city of Vitoria, to know what is the meaning that members of the school community give this situation, through questionnaires and focus groups with families, teachers and students. We check the persistence of imbalances in the dynamics of school breaks and biologists justifications for non-intervention by a sector of teachers. We propose a seductive intervention in these spaces, and a greater formative reflection of the teachers in the elaboration of specific programs for the dynamics of the playgrounds.

Climbing plants: attachment adaptations and bioinspired innovations.

Science.gov (United States)

Burris, Jason N; Lenaghan, Scott C; Stewart, C Neal

2018-04-01

Climbing plants have unique adaptations to enable them to compete for sunlight, for which they invest minimal resources for vertical growth. Indeed, their stems bear relatively little weight, as they traverse their host substrates skyward. Climbers possess high tensile strength and flexibility, which allows them to utilize natural and manmade structures for support and growth. The climbing strategies of plants have intrigued scientists for centuries, yet our understanding about biochemical adaptations and their molecular undergirding is still in the early stages of research. Nonetheless, recent discoveries are promising, not only from a basic knowledge perspective, but also for bioinspired product development. Several adaptations, including nanoparticle and adhesive production will be reviewed, as well as practical translation of these adaptations to commercial applications. We will review the botanical literature on the modes of adaptation to climb, as well as specialized organs-and cellular innovations. Finally, recent molecular and biochemical data will be reviewed to assess the future needs and new directions for potential practical products that may be bioinspired by climbing plants.

Children's Playgrounds and Everyday City Life of Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

Filipova, Alexandra Gennadyevna; Syroed, Nadezhda Savvovna; Goncharova, Svetlana Vladimirovna

2016-01-01

Play areas of entertainment and development are new recourses for modern city children, but at the same time, they produce risks of road traffic accidents, deviation, social inequality and social exclusion. Playgrounds in city/town yards are free zones of children's pastime, where children communicate and play together. The aim of this article is…

Using interviews and peer pairs to better understand how school environments affect young children's playground physical activity levels: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Parrish, Anne-Maree; Yeatman, Heather; Iverson, Don; Russell, Ken

2012-04-01

School break times provide a daily opportunity for children to be active; however, research indicates this time is underutilized. Reasons for low children's playground activity levels have primarily focused on physical barriers. This research aimed to contribute to physical environmental findings affecting children's playground physical activity levels by identifying additional variables through the interview process. Thirteen public schools were included in the sample (total 2946 children). Physical activity and environmental data were collected over 3 days. Environmental variables were manually assessed at each of the 13 schools. Observational data were used to determine which three schools were the most and least active. The principal, three teachers and 20 students in Grades 4-6 from these six schools (four lower and two average socioeconomic status) were invited to participate in the interview process. Student interviews involved the paired interview technique. The main themes generated from the school interviews included the effect of non-fixed equipment (including balls), playground markings, playground aesthetics, activity preference, clothing, the amount of break time available for play, teacher playground involvement, gender, bullying, school policies, student confidence in break-time activity and fundamental movement skills. The effect of bullying on playground physical activity levels was concerning.

Changes in handgrip force and blood lactate as response to simulated climbing competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Gajewski

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to estimate post-competition changes in handgrip strength and blood lactate in climbers and relationships of the studied variables with declared climbing ability of the tested athletes. Twenty one male climbers volunteered to take part in the experiment. Each subject took part in simulated lead climbing competition on the artificial wall – (difficulty 7a in French scale. The blood lactate concentration was measured pre-climbing and then 3 min and 30 min post-climbing. Grip force of both hands (dominant and non-dominant was measured twice – pre-climbing and 1 min post-climbing (semi-final. Maximum heart rate during climbing reached 181.4±7.7 beats per minute. Lactate concentration amounted to 6.35±1.50 mmol/l and 2.28±0.66 mmol/l 3 min and 30 min post-climbing, respectively. Handgrip force related to body mass (averaged for both hands decreased significantly from 7.39±1.30 N/kg pre-climbing to 6.57±1.05 N/kg 1 min post-climbing. Self reported climbing ability was correlated with lactate concentration and handgrip force, as well. It was demonstrated that athletes reporting higher climbing ability showed better lactate recovery.

Promoting workplace stair climbing: sometimes, not interfering is the best.

Science.gov (United States)

Åvitsland, Andreas; Solbraa, Ane Kristiansen; Riiser, Amund

2017-01-01

Stair climbing is a vigorous activity and can lead to several health benefits. Studies seeking to increase stair climbing in various public locations have shown positive effects, while results from similar studies conducted in the workplace are inconclusive. This study examined stair climbing in the workplace, and monitored effects from a single- and a combined intervention. Interventions were inspired by nudging, the libertarian method of influencing behavior. By quasi-experimental design, stair- and elevator traffic in two office buildings was monitored preceding-, during- and following interventions with stair leading footprints alone, and combined with stair-riser banners. Chi square tests were applied to determine differences between baseline and the subsequent periods. Web-based questionnaires were distributed after follow-up period. Elevators and stairs were used 45 237 times, of which 89.6% was stair use. Intervention site stair climbing at baseline (79.0%) was significantly reduced with footprints (-5.1%, p   0.027). Stair climbing was significantly reduced during the intervention periods. Use of stair leading footprints alone, or combined with stair-riser banners in an attempt to influence stair climbing may be ineffective, or cause a negative reaction, when applied in a workplace with a pre-existing high amount of stair climbing.

Social Competence at the Playground: Preschoolers during Recess

Science.gov (United States)

Veiga, Guida; de Leng, Wendy; Cachucho, Ricardo; Ketelaar, Lizet; Kok, Joost N.; Knobbe, Arno; Neto, Carlos; Rieffe, Carolien

2017-01-01

Social interactions at the playground have been represented as a rich learning opportunity to hone and master social skills at preschool years. Specifically, all forms of social play (fantasy, role, exercise or rough-and-tumble) have been related to children's social competence. The main goal of this study was to examine whether it is a certain…

Il Playground come laboratorio di creatività e inclusione

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Lauria

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In general, play areas are highly standardised place that include a set of standardised equipments alien to the reference context, poor in stimuli and incapable of triggering fruitful social relationships. Playing activities are often repetitive, boring and mechanical, contributing in a somewhat limited extent (and ever counterproductive to the development of the child and nurturing a passive and poor approach to play. Adequate play facilities for disabled children are not common. This article highlights the strategic role of the play for the well-being of children and analyses playground in ethical, social and architectural terms. It claims that playgrounds should be genuine ‘work of architecture’ well-grounded within the reference socio-cultural, environmental and architectural context and in ‘dialogue’ with nature. They should be able to encourage encounters and mutual enrichment between children that come from different walks of life through solutions able to fun, ease tensions and stimulate creativity, expression and self-knowledge.

Science Understanding through Playground Physics: Organized Recess Teaching (SUPPORT)

Science.gov (United States)

Kincaid, Russell

2010-03-01

From 1995-2007, U.S. science students in grade four scored higher than the scaled TIMSS average, but their scores did not improve over this time. Moreover, in the area of physical science, the U.S. scored significantly lower than several Asian countries, as well as Russia, England, and Latvia (TIMSS). Methods to enhance student achievement in science are still being sought. An approach to utilizing playground equipment as a teaching tool for a variety of physics concepts was developed as a physical science teaching method. This program established an appropriate set of experiments, coordinated the effort with local school districts, and implemented a brief pilot study to test the teaching methodology. The program assigned undergraduate middle school science education majors to teach small groups of fourth grade students. The experimental group used the newly developed ``Playground Physics'' methodology while the control group used traditional approaches. Follow up activities will include an expansion of the duration and the scope of the program.

Physiological responses to indoor rock-climbing and their relationship to maximal cycle ergometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheel, A William; Seddon, Nicholas; Knight, Andrew; McKenzie, Donald C; R Warburton, Darren E

2003-07-01

To quantify the cardiorespiratory responses to indoor climbing during two increasingly difficult climbs and relate them to whole-body dynamic exercise. It was hypothesized that as climbing difficulty increased, oxygen consumption ([V02] and heart rate would increase, and that climbing would require utilization of a significant fraction of maximal cycling values. Elite competitive sport rock climbers (6 male, 3 female) completed two data collection sessions. The first session was completed at an indoor climbing facility, and the second session was an incremental cycle test to exhaustion. During indoor climbing subjects were randomly assigned to climb two routes designated as "harder" or "easier" based on their previous best climb. Subjects wore a portable metabolic system, which allowed measurement of oxygen consumption [V02], minute ventilation ([V02]E), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and heart rate. During the second session, maximal values for [V02], [V02]E, RER, and heart rate were determined during an incremental cycle test to exhaustion. Heart rate and [VO2], expressed as percent of cycling maximum, were significantly higher during harder climbing compared with easier climbing. During harder climbing, %HR(max) was significantly higher than %[V02] (2max) (89.6% vs 51.2%), and during easier climbing, %HR(max) was significantly higher than %[V02] (2max) (66.9% vs 45.3%). With increasing levels of climbing difficulty, there is a rise in both heart rate and [V02]. However, there is a disproportional rise in heart rate compared with [V02], which we attribute to the fact that climbing requires the use of intermittent isometric contractions of the arm musculature and the reliance of both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism.

Reliable Stair Climbing in the Simple Hexapod 'RHex'

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Moore, E. Z; Campbell, D; Grimminger, F; Buehler, M

2002-01-01

.... In this paper, we describe an open loop controller that enables our small robot (Length: 51 cm, Width: 20 cm, Height: 12.7 cm. Leg length: 16 cm), to reliably climb a wide range of regular, full-size stairs with no operator input during stair climbing...

Environmental lead exposure risks associated with children's outdoor playgrounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Mark Patrick; Camenzuli, Danielle; Kristensen, Louise Jane; Forbes, Miriam; Zahran, Sammy

2013-01-01

This study examines exposure risks associated with lead smelter emissions at children's public playgrounds in Port Pirie, South Australia. Lead and other metal values were measured in air, soil, surface dust and on pre- and post-play hand wipes. Playgrounds closest to the smelter were significantly more lead contaminated compared to those further away (t(27.545) = 3.76; p = .001). Port Pirie post-play hand wipes contained significantly higher lead loadings (maximum hand lead value of 49,432 μg/m 2 ) than pre-play hand wipes (t(27) = 3.57, p = .001). A 1% increase in air lead (μg/m 3 ) was related to a 0.713% increase in lead dust on play surfaces (95% CI, 0.253–1.174), and a 0.612% increase in post-play wipe lead (95% CI, 0.257–0.970). Contaminated dust from smelter emissions is determined as the source and cause of childhood lead poisoning at a rate of approximately one child every third day. -- Highlights: •Spatial and temporal variations in lead exposure due to smelter emissions is examined. •Exposure to lead and other metals is evaluated using pre and post-play hand wipe measures. •The relationship of smelter emissions to surface and hand lead exposures is modelled. •A 1% increase in air lead (μg/m 3 ) was related to a 0.713% increase in lead dust on play surfaces. -- Playgrounds in Port Pirie are seriously contaminated by smelter emissions, with levels of surface dust and hand dust that pose a significant risk of harm to human health

The evolution of vertical climbing in primates: evidence from reaction forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanna, Jandy B; Granatosky, Michael C; Rana, Pooja; Schmitt, Daniel

2017-09-01

Vertical climbing is an essential behavior for arboreal animals, yet limb mechanics during climbing are poorly understood and rarely compared with those observed during horizontal walking. Primates commonly engage in both arboreal walking and vertical climbing, and this makes them an ideal taxa in which to compare these locomotor forms. Additionally, primates exhibit unusual limb mechanics compared with most other quadrupeds, with weight distribution biased towards the hindlimbs, a pattern that is argued to have evolved in response to the challenges of arboreal walking. Here we test an alternative hypothesis that functional differentiation between the limbs evolved initially as a response to climbing. Eight primate species were recorded locomoting on instrumented vertical and horizontal simulated arboreal runways. Forces along the axis of, and normal to, the support were recorded. During walking, all primates displayed forelimbs that were net braking, and hindlimbs that were net propulsive. In contrast, both limbs served a propulsive role during climbing. In all species, except the lorisids, the hindlimbs produced greater propulsive forces than the forelimbs during climbing. During climbing, the hindlimbs tends to support compressive loads, while the forelimb forces tend to be primarily tensile. This functional disparity appears to be body-size dependent. The tensile loading of the forelimbs versus the compressive loading of the hindlimbs observed during climbing may have important evolutionary implications for primates, and it may be the case that hindlimb-biased weight support exhibited during quadrupedal walking in primates may be derived from their basal condition of climbing thin branches. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Penyelesaian Masalah 8-Puzzle dengan Algoritma Steepest-Ascent Hill Climbing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Abraham

2016-03-01

Full Text Available 8 puzzle merupakan salah satu implementasi dari Artificial Intelegence. Dalam proses penyelesaiannya banyak terdapat algoritma-algoritma pencarian yang dapat diterapkan. Solusi 8 puzzle akan lebih cepat diperoleh jika digunakan prinsip array dengan variasi algoritma Steepest-Ascent Hill Climbing (Hill Climbing dengan memilih kemiringan yang paling tajam / curam dengan parameter heuristik posisi yang benar dan heuristik jarak serta dikombinasikan dengan LogList sebagai penyimpanan state state yang pernah dilalui untuk menanggulangi permasalah pada algoritma hill climbing itu sendiri dan terhindar dari looping state yang pernah dilalui. Metode-metode yang termasuk ke dalam teknik pencarian yang berdasarkan pada fungsi heuristik salah satu diantaranya adalah Hill Climbing, Best First Search, A* (A Bintang. Loglist merupakan tempat penyimpanan setiap kunjungan dari state-state puzzle yang telah dilakukan untuk menghindari looping atau pengulangan terhadap state yang pernah dilalui. Untuk menanggulangi permasalahan pada SteepestAscent Hill Climbing.

A Wheel-based Stair-climbing Robot with a Hopping Mechanism

OpenAIRE

Kikuchi, Koki; Bushida, Naoki; Sakaguchi, Keisuke; Chiba, Yasuhiro; Otsuka, Hiroshi; Saito, Yusuke; Hirano, Masamitsu; Kobayashi, Shunya

2010-01-01

We introduced a wheel-based stair-climbing robot with a hopping mechanism for stairclimbing. The robot, consisting of two body parts connected by springs, climbed stairs quickly, softly, and economically by using the vibration of a two-degrees-of-freedom system. In the future, we intend to shorten the required tread length by controlling the wire tension and minimizing the body length to realize a practical stair-climbing robot.

Once bitten, twice shy? Medically-attended injuries can sensitise parents to children's risk of injuries on playgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrongiello, B A; Howard, A W; Rothman, L; Sandomierski, M

2009-02-01

To compare risk perceptions of parents whose child sustained a medically attended playground injury (cases) with those of parents whose child had not (controls) to address two questions. Does having a child experience a medically attended injury: (1) sensitise parents to children's injury vulnerability and severity; (2) influence parents' appraisal of the injury mechanism (child's behaviour), attributions for injuries or beliefs about strategies for prevention? Each case-control parent dyad was assigned to one of two conditions: (1) being presented with 10 common injury-risk playground behaviours specific to the equipment on which their child had been hurt, and asked to appraise injury vulnerability and severity; or (2) being presented with scenarios about playground injuries that varied in severity but were all based on the same child behaviour, and asked questions about this behaviour, attributions for injury and strategies for prevention. The results support the occurrence of a sensitisation process. Compared with control parents, case parents showed higher ratings of injury severity and children's vulnerability to injury, made fewer attributions for injuries to bad luck, and endorsed a greater diversity of prevention strategies, including parent (closer supervision), child (teaching rules about safe play on playgrounds) and environmental (modifications to playgrounds). A child's medically attended injury can create a "teachable moment" for the parent. Linking injury-prevention programming to this teachable moment may increase the likelihood of evoking changes in parental supervisory behaviour and their setting of rules limiting their child's risk behaviours to reduce the occurrence of childhood injury.

Biologically-inspired synthetic dry adhesives for wall-climbing robots

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Michael P.

Animals such as insects, spiders, and lizards are capable of clinging to and climbing on a variety of surfaces, from rough stone to smooth silicon. Hairy microscale arrays of structures on their feet conform to surface roughness to create millions of points of contact, creating a large overall contact area. Weak intermolecular forces (van der Waals forces) between each fiber tip and the surface sum to large overall forces due to the high number of contacts. In this work we present the fabrication, characterization, and demonstration of synthetic polyurethane fibrillar adhesives inspired by these animals. Angled polymer micro-fiber arrays are fabricated and characterized. A tip modification technique is presented which enables fabrication of fibers with flat mushroom shaped tips which greatly increase the adhesion of the fibers, up to 5N/cm 2 (normal direction), and with a magnitude within the range of geckos (10 N/cm2) in the shear direction on smooth surfaces. We present a fabrication technique to create fibers with angled flat mushroom-shaped tips which replicate the directional characteristics of geckos, gripping in one direction (within the range of gecko adhesion) and releasing easily in the other. Multilevel hierarchical structures with specialized tips for roughness adaptation are also presented. Fiber hierarchies from the millimeter scale to the sub-micron scale are demonstrated, including three-level fiber fabrication with specialized tips. Hierarchical structures demonstrate up to 5 times the adhesion of an unstructured sample, and requiring up to 10 times the detachment energy. Finally, an agile, wireless, palm-sized wall climbing robot which uses the synthetic fibrillar dry adhesives to climb is presented. Waalbot , named after the van der Waals forces it uses to climb, exploits the attachment and detachment characteristics of the developed dry adhesives, capabilities include climbing smooth surfaces such as glass in any orientation on any surface slope

Research on Dynamics and Stability in the Stairs-Climbing of a Tracked Mobile Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weijun Tao

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Aiming at the functional requirement of climbing up the stairs, the dynamics and stability during a tracked mobile robot's climbing of stairs is studied. First, from the analysis of its cross-country performance, the mechanical structure of the tracked mobile robot is designed and the hardware composition of its control system is given. Second, based on the analysis to its stairs-climbing process, the dynamical model of stairs-climbing is established by using the classical mechanics method. Next, the stability conditions for its stairs-climbing are determined and an evaluation method of its stairs-climbing stability is proposed, based on a mechanics analysis on the robot's backwards tumbling during the stairs-climbing process. Through simulation and experiments, the effectiveness of the dynamical model and the stability evaluation method of the tracked mobile robot in stairs-climbing is verified, which can provide design and analysis foundations for the tracked mobile robots' stairs-climbing.

A Kinect-sensor-based Tracked Robot for Exploring and Climbing Stairs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I-Hsum Li

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the stair-climbing problem for a tracked robot. The tracked robot designed in this paper has the ability to explore stairs in an unknown indoor environment, climbing up and down the stairs, keeping balance while climbing, and successfully landing on the stair platform. Intelligent algorithms are proposed to explore and align stairs, and a fuzzy controller is introduced to stabilize the tracked robot's movement during the exploration. An inexpensive Kinect depth sensor is the only equipment needed for all the control modes. Finally, experiments illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for climbing stairs.

Non-synaptic signaling from cerebellar climbing fibers modulates Golgi cell activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nietz, Angela K; Vaden, Jada H; Coddington, Luke T; Overstreet-Wadiche, Linda; Wadiche, Jacques I

2017-10-13

Golgi cells are the principal inhibitory neurons at the input stage of the cerebellum, providing feedforward and feedback inhibition through mossy fiber and parallel fiber synapses. In vivo studies have shown that Golgi cell activity is regulated by climbing fiber stimulation, yet there is little functional or anatomical evidence for synapses between climbing fibers and Golgi cells. Here, we show that glutamate released from climbing fibers activates ionotropic and metabotropic receptors on Golgi cells through spillover-mediated transmission. The interplay of excitatory and inhibitory conductances provides flexible control over Golgi cell spiking, allowing either excitation or a biphasic sequence of excitation and inhibition following single climbing fiber stimulation. Together with prior studies of spillover transmission to molecular layer interneurons, these results reveal that climbing fibers exert control over inhibition at both the input and output layers of the cerebellar cortex.

Therapeutic use of sport climbing for patients with multiple sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Ožura

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Sport climbing is a form of exercise that requires complex and variable movement. Because of the use of the so-called "top-rope system", this is a safe activity appropriate for individuals with physical disabilities. Therefore, climbing might prove to be an effective form of therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease that may include motor and cognitive deficits as well as affective disturbances. The illness is characterized by multifocal areas of brain damage (plaques, as consequence of autoimmune inflammation. Sport climbing might be a potentially useful activity for treating spasticity, improving a person's self image and certain aspects of cognition, such as attention and executive functions, as well as for managing emotional disturbances. All of the above are areas where patients with multiple sclerosis might be in need of assistance. The article also describes the experience of a patient with multiple sclerosis who was enrolled in our climbing program. Future research is needed to evaluate the effect of climbing therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis.

Finding paradise: cues directing the migration of the waterfall climbing Hawaiian gobioid Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, G; Maie, T; Moody, K N; Schrank, G D; Blob, R W; Schoenfuss, H L

2012-07-01

A series of waterfall-climbing trials were conducted to identify cues that direct the climbing of juvenile Sicyopterus stimpsoni. In the first experiment, whether climbing juveniles preferentially ascend water sources with conspecifics or whether the presence of just stream water is sufficient to attract fish to ascend a climbing path were assessed. In the second experiment, whether climbing juveniles create a trail of mucus that facilitates the ability of conspecifics to follow their lead was determined. The results indicate that juvenile S. stimpsoni are less likely to climb in waters devoid of organic cues but are strongly attracted to stream water with or without the odour of conspecifics. Once climbing, performance did not differ for juveniles climbing in differing water choices, suggesting an all-or-nothing commitment once climbing commences. Climbing S. stimpsoni did produce a mucous trail while climbing that was associated with a mucous gland that dramatically increases in size just prior to juveniles gaining the ability to climb. The trail was not followed closely by subsequent juveniles traversing the same channel, however, suggesting only weak trail-following in waterfall climbing S. stimpsoni. Previous genetic studies suggest that juvenile S. stimpsoni do not home to natal streams in the face of strong near-shore oceanic currents. Instead, these fish appear primarily to rely on cues that suggest the presence of organic growth in streams, a factor that may indicate suitable habitat in an ever-changing stream environment but which may also be vulnerable to interference through human activity. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology © 2012 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

How Can We Provide Safe Playgrounds? = Como podemos proveer lugares con juegos infantiles que no sean peligrosos para los ninos?

Science.gov (United States)

ACCESS ERIC, Rockville, MD.

Outdoor playgrounds can be exciting places where children explore their environment and develop motor and social skills; however, they can also pose serious safety hazards. With the exception of California, no mandatory state or federal standards currently exist regarding manufacture or installation of playground equipment or surfaces. The…

Pregnant Women in Sport Climbing - Is there a Higher Risk for Preterm Birth?

Science.gov (United States)

Drastig, Jan; Hillebrandt, David; Rath, Werner; Küpper, Thomas

2017-02-01

Sport climbing is a popular recreational sport with an increasing proportion of female athletes. International recommendations emphasize the physical and mental benefits of regular sport activity during any uncomplicated pregnancy. In this context, sport climbing is associated with a high risk potential.The aim of this study was to examine if there is a higher risk for preterm birth in active climbing athletes.Original manuscript.A retrospective self-report online survey in the German language collected data between September 2012 and November 2013. In addition to anthropometric and demographic data, data on climbing experience, preferred climbing discipline, skill level and changes of climbing habits during pregnancy, known risk factors for preterm birth and information on delivery and the newborn were requested. The rate of preterm birth of the survey was tested with Fisher's exact test with information from the German Federal Statistical Office.Sample size was 32. 72% had a university degree, 81% were primiparous, all were singleton pregnancies. A 33 rd questionnaire was excluded because of described preeclampsia. Age ranged between 21 and 39 years, climbing experience before pregnancy between 2 and 24 years, and skill level before pregnancy between 4 and 7 on the UIAA scale (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation). Half of the women climbed until the 36 th week and 90% adjusted their climbing habits mostly by reducing climbing difficulty and doing more top roping. 2 preterm births in the 36 th week of gestation were found (2 from 15, p=0.36). According to the data from the German Federal Statistical Office, 8.9% births in the year 2013 in Germany were preterm.This is the first study investigating the risk of preterm birth in recreational sport climbing athletes. No significantly higher proportion of preterm birth could be found. Limitations are small sample size and high social status of participants. What is known about the subject: Sport

The Mechanical Properties of a Wall-Climbing Caterpillar Robot: Analysis and Experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper builds the kinematic model of a wall-climbing caterpillar robot to reveal the validity and the benefits of the closed-chain kinematics of the four-linkage mechanism to a crawling gait. The caterpillar robot can climb on a vertical wall by coordinating the rotations of one active joint and three passive joints. The mechanical property of the closed-chain kinematics of the four-linkage model is analysed. Furthermore, the relation between the driving joint torque and joint angle in the wall-climbing process is deduced based on the coplanar arbitrary force system. Afterwards, the joint control method is discussed in order to coordinate the rotation of the four joints so as to realize a reasonable wall climbing gait. To testify to the availability of the closed-chain four-linkage model, a wall-climbing caterpillar robot is developed with three different adhesion modules based on the vibrating suction method. A successful wall-climbing test confirms both the practicality of the four-linkage model and the validity of the adhesion modules based on the vibrating suction method. The results also show the reasonableness of the driving joint selection rule for ensuring a safe and reliable wall-climbing procedure.

The Playground Game: Inquiry‐Based Learning About Research Methods and Statistics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westera, Wim; Slootmaker, Aad; Kurvers, Hub

2014-01-01

The Playground Game is a web-based game that was developed for teaching research methods and statistics to nursing and social sciences students in higher education and vocational training. The complexity and abstract nature of research methods and statistics poses many challenges for students. The

Effects of ground surface decontamination on the air radiation dose rate. Results of a decontamination trial at a playground lot in a Fukushima residential area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tagawa, Akihiro

2012-01-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency decontaminated schools, playgrounds, swimming pools, and houses in nonevacuated, less-contaminated areas in Fukushima for environmental restoration. A small, 150 m 2 playground lot in the residential area was chosen for decontamination demonstration, which used routinely available tools and commodities to carry out the work. The surfaces of playground lot equipment, such as swings, slides, and horizontal iron bars, were completely decontaminated by brushing with water and/or detergent. Side gutters around the playground lot were cleaned by removing the mud and then brushed and washed with a high-pressure water jet (7 MPa). The air dose rate at the playground lot was dominated by radiation from the ground surface and adjacent surroundings, such as apartments and rice fields. Two or three centimeters of the surface soil contaminated with cesium was removed manually with shovels, hoes, and other gardening tools. This significantly reduced the average air dose rate of the entire playground lot from 1.5 μSv/h before decontamination to 0.6 μSv/h. These results showed that ground surface decontamination can contribute measurably to the reduction in air dose rate in relatively small areas in residential areas. (author)

Forest climbing plants of West Africa: diversity, ecology and management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bongers, F.J.J.M.; Parren, M.P.E.; Traoré, D.

2005-01-01

Climbing plants, including lianas, represent a fascinating component of the ecology of tropical forests. This book focuses on the climbing plants of West African forests. Based on original research, it presents information on the flora (including a checklist), diversity (with overviews at several

Research on a Micro Flip Robot That Can Climb Stairs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianzhong Wang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Micro mobile robots (MMRs can operate in rugged, narrow or dangerous regions; thus, they are widely used in numerous areas including surveillance, rescue and exploration. In urban environments, stairs are common obstacles, ones that such robots find difficult to manoeuvre over. The authors analysed the research status of MMRs, particularly in terms of difficulties when performing stair climbing and present a novel type of MMR called the micro flip robot (MFRobot. A support arm subassembly was added to the centre of a wheeled chassis; using this structure, the MFRobot can climb stairs when a flipping mode is utilized. Based on this structure, the authors established a kinematic model of the stair-climbing process and analysed the force conditions for the key status, contributing to the existing knowledge of robot design. An MFRobot prototype was produced and the stair-climbing experiments, as well as experiments on manoeuvring through rubble regions and slope surfaces, were conducted. The results show that the MFRobot can rapidly climb common stairs and can easily manoeuvre through a rubble region. The maximum slope angle the robot can climb was shown to be about 35° for concrete and wooden slope surfaces. In the case where the robot needed to be equipped with sensors, particularly a camera, the camera was equipped on the support arm of robot. The MFRobot prototype weighs 2.5 kg and is easily transportable. This structure can resolve contradictions between portability and performance in terms of overcoming obstacles; in addition, operational effectiveness can be improved using this structure.

A Kinect-sensor-based Tracked Robot for Exploring and Climbing Stairs

OpenAIRE

I-Hsum Li; Wei-Yen Wang; Chien-Kai Tseng

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on the stair-climbing problem for a tracked robot. The tracked robot designed in this paper has the ability to explore stairs in an unknown indoor environment, climbing up and down the stairs, keeping balance while climbing, and successfully landing on the stair platform. Intelligent algorithms are proposed to explore and align stairs, and a fuzzy controller is introduced to stabilize the tracked robot's movement during the exploration. An inexpensive Kinect depth sensor is...

Active Play: Exploring the Influences on Children's School Playground Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Hyndman, Brendon; Benson, Amanda; Telford, Amanda

2016-01-01

Because children spend so much of their time in schools, their playgrounds offer a good setting for promoting active play in young lives. Teachers, instead of considering active play a taxing demand on their busy day, have begun to develop an informal curriculum for it. The authors review the research on children's active play and explores its…

The acute toxicity of the metaldehyde on the climbing perch

Science.gov (United States)

Wahida Mohamad Ismail, Syamimi; Aini Dahalan, Farrah; Zakaria, Ammar; Mad Shakaff, Ali Yeon; Aqlima Ahmad, Siti; Shukor, Mohd Yunus Abd; Khalizan Sabullah, Mohd; Khalil, Khalilah Abdul; Jalil, Mohd Faizal Ab

2018-03-01

In Asia, Climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) is commonly found in paddy fields and irrigation systems. Due to its habitat, Climbing perch is exposed to toxic pesticides used in paddy fields such as metaldehyde which is one of the most widely used molluscicide. This study aims to determine the acute toxicity Lethal Concentration50 (LC50) of metaldehyde and its effect on the behaviour and physical changes of the Climbing perch. The fish mortality responses to six different metaldehyde concentrations ranging from 180 to 330 mg/L were investigated. The 96-h LC50 values were determined and analysed using three different analysis methods which is arithmetic, logarithmic and probit graphic. The LC50 values obtained in this study were 239, 234 and 232 mg/L, respectively. After 96-h of exposure to metaldehyde, the fish showed a series of abnormal behavioural response in all cases: imbalance position, and restlessness of movement. The LC50 values show that metaldehyde is moderately toxic to the Climbing perch indicating that metaldehyde is not destructive to Climbing perch. However, long term exposure of aquatic organisms to the metaldehyde means a continuous health risk for the fish population as they are more vulnerable and it is on high risk for human to consume this toxicated fishes.

Enhancing the Trajectory Generation of a Stair-Climbing Mobility System

Science.gov (United States)

Chocoteco, Jose Abel

2017-01-01

Recent advances in mobile robotic technologies have enabled significant progress to be made in the development of Stair-Climbing Mobility Systems (SCMSs) for people with mobility impairments and limitations. These devices are mainly characterized by their ability to negotiate those architectural barriers associated with climbing stairs (curbs, ramps, etc.). The development of advanced trajectory generators with which to surpass such architectural barriers is one of the most important aspects of SCMSs that has not yet been appropriately exploited. These advanced trajectory generators have a considerable influence on the time invested in the stair climbing process and on passenger comfort and, consequently, provide people with physical disabilities with greater independence and a higher quality of life. In this paper, we propose a new nonlinear trajectory generator for an SCMS. This generator balances the stair-climbing time and the user’s comfort and includes the most important constraints inherent to the system behavior: the geometry of the architectural barrier, the reconfigurable nature of the SCMS (discontinuous states), SCMS state-transition diagrams, comfort restrictions and physical limitations as regards the actuators, speed and acceleration. The SCMS was tested on a real two-step staircase using different time-comfort combinations and different climbing strategies to verify the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed approach.

Performance and scaling of a novel locomotor structure: adhesive capacity of climbing gobiid fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Maie, Takashi; Schoenfuss, Heiko L; Blob, Richard W

2012-11-15

Many species of gobiid fishes adhere to surfaces using a sucker formed from fusion of the pelvic fins. Juveniles of many amphidromous species use this pelvic sucker to scale waterfalls during migrations to upstream habitats after an oceanic larval phase. However, adults may still use suckers to re-scale waterfalls if displaced. If attachment force is proportional to sucker area and if growth of the sucker is isometric, then increases in the forces that climbing fish must resist might outpace adhesive capacity, causing climbing performance to decline through ontogeny. To test for such trends, we measured pressure differentials and adhesive suction forces generated by the pelvic sucker across wide size ranges in six goby species, including climbing and non-climbing taxa. Suction was achieved via two distinct growth strategies: (1) small suckers with isometric (or negatively allometric) scaling among climbing gobies and (2) large suckers with positively allometric growth in non-climbing gobies. Species using the first strategy show a high baseline of adhesive capacity that may aid climbing performance throughout ontogeny, with pressure differentials and suction forces much greater than expected if adhesion were a passive function of sucker area. In contrast, large suckers possessed by non-climbing species may help compensate for reduced pressure differentials, thereby producing suction sufficient to support body weight. Climbing Sicyopterus species also use oral suckers during climbing waterfalls, and these exhibited scaling patterns similar to those for pelvic suckers. However, oral suction force was considerably lower than that for pelvic suckers, reducing the ability for these fish to attach to substrates by the oral sucker alone.

Creative and Playful Learning on Technology-Enriched Playgrounds: An International Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Randolph, Justus J.; Kangas, Marjaana; Ruokamo, Heli; Hyvönen, Pirkko

2016-01-01

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the degree that creative and playful learning (CPL) in a technology-enriched playground influences academic achievement of students and what factors are responsible for successes. The participants were 276 students from 12 elementary classrooms in the Netherlands and Finland. The…

Valgus-varus motion of the knee in normal level walking and stair climbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, B; Stuart, M J; Kienbacher, T; Growney, E S; An, K-N

1997-07-01

OBJECTIVE: The knee valgus-varus moment and the knee angles were compared between normal level walking and stair climbing. DESIGN: Ten healthy subjects were tested for ascent, descent, and level walking. BACKGROUND: An understanding of the normal valgus-varus motion of the knee during stair climbing is needed to apply biomechanical analysis of stair climbing as a evaluation tool for knee osteoarthritis patients. METHODS: A motion analysis system, three force plates, and a flight of stairs were used to collect kinematic and kinetic data. The knee angles and moments were calculated from the collected kinematic and kinetic data. RESULTS: The knee varus angle for the maximum knee valgus moments in stair climbing was significantly greater than that in level walking. The knee valgus moment was significantly correlated to ground reaction forces and knee valgus-varus angle during stair climbing and level walking. CONCLUSIONS: There is a coupling between the knee valgus-varus motion and flexion-extension motion. Ground reaction forces are the major contributors to the within-subject variation in the knee valgus-varus moment during stair climbing and level walking. The knee valgus-varus angle is a major contributor to the between-subject variation in the knee valgus moment during stair climbing and level walking.

The climb of dissociated dislocations in a quenched Cu-13.43 at.% Al alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decamps, B.; Cherns, D.; Condat, M.

1983-01-01

The weak-beam electron microscopy technique has been used to study the climb of dissociated dislocations in a Cu-13.43 at.% Al alloy under conditions of supersaturation of vacancies introduced by quenching. The results are similar to those obtained under electron irradiation (interstitial climb) in the same alloy (Cherns, Hirsch and Saka 1980) in that climb may proceed by the nucleation of prismatic loops on the individual partials. The nature of the loops is such as to minimize the total energy of the configuration (partial plus loop) and to maximize their edge component. Interaction with the other partial has been observed, causing the entire dislocation to climb. Additional features observed suggest that climb under quenching is initiated by the nucleation of Frank loops. The detailed configurations also enable climb by absorption of vacancies and interstitials to be distinguished. (author)

Amount of balance necessary for the independence of transfer and stair-climbing in stroke inpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujita, Takaaki; Sato, Atsushi; Ohashi, Yuji; Nishiyama, Kazutaka; Ohashi, Takuro; Yamane, Kazuhiro; Yamamoto, Yuichi; Tsuchiya, Kenji; Otsuki, Koji; Tozato, Fusae

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to clarify the amount of balance necessary for the independence of transfer and stair-climbing in stroke patients. This study included 111 stroke inpatients. Simple and multiple regression analyses were conducted to establish the association between the FIM ® instrument scores for transfer or stair-climbing and Berg Balance Scale. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic curves were used to elucidate the amount of balance necessary for the independence of transfer and stair-climbing. Simple and multiple regression analyses showed that the FIM ® instrument scores for transfer and stair-climbing were strongly associated with Berg Balance Scale. On comparison of the independent and supervision-dependent groups, Berg Balance Scale cut-off values for transfer and stair-climbing were 41/40 and 54/53 points, respectively. On comparison of the independent-supervision and dependent groups, the cut-off values for transfer and stair-climbing were 30/29 and 41/40 points, respectively. The calculated cut-off values indicated the amount of balance necessary for the independence of transfer and stair-climbing, with and without supervision, in stroke patients. Berg Balance Scale has a good discriminatory ability and cut-off values are clinically useful to determine the appropriate independence levels of transfer and stair-climbing in hospital wards. Implications for rehabilitation The Berg Balance Scale's (BBS) strong association with transfer and stair-climbing independence and performance indicates that establishing cut-off values is vitally important for the established use of the BBS clinically. The cut-off values calculated herein accurately demonstrate the level of balance necessary for transfer and stair-climbing independence, with and without supervision, in stroke patients. These criteria should be employed clinically for determining the level of independence for transfer and stair-climbing as well as for setting balance training

Beneficial aerodynamic effect of wing scales on the climbing flight of butterflies.

Science.gov (United States)

Slegers, Nathan; Heilman, Michael; Cranford, Jacob; Lang, Amy; Yoder, John; Habegger, Maria Laura

2017-01-30

It is hypothesized that butterfly wing scale geometry and surface patterning may function to improve aerodynamic efficiency. In order to investigate this hypothesis, a method to measure butterfly flapping kinematics optically over long uninhibited flapping sequences was developed. Statistical results for the climbing flight flapping kinematics of 11 butterflies, based on a total of 236 individual flights, both with and without their wing scales, are presented. Results show, that for each of the 11 butterflies, the mean climbing efficiency decreased after scales were removed. Data was reduced to a single set of differences of climbing efficiency using are paired t-test. Results show a mean decrease in climbing efficiency of 32.2% occurred with a 95% confidence interval of 45.6%-18.8%. Similar analysis showed that the flapping amplitude decreased by 7% while the flapping frequency did not show a significant difference. Results provide strong evidence that butterfly wing scale geometry and surface patterning improve butterfly climbing efficiency. The authors hypothesize that the wing scale's effect in measured climbing efficiency may be due to an improved aerodynamic efficiency of the butterfly and could similarly be used on flapping wing micro air vehicles to potentially achieve similar gains in efficiency.

Research on Dynamics and Stability in the Stairs-climbing of a Tracked Mobile Robot

OpenAIRE

Tao, Weijun; Ou, Yi; Feng, Hutian

2012-01-01

Aiming at the functional requirement of climbing up the stairs, the dynamics and stability during a tracked mobile robot's climbing of stairs is studied. First, from the analysis of its cross-country performance, the mechanical structure of the tracked mobile robot is designed and the hardware composition of its control system is given. Second, based on the analysis to its stairs-climbing process, the dynamical model of stairs-climbing is established by using the classical mechanics method. N...

Feasibility and safety of a novel in vivo model to assess playground falls in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrlich, Peter F; Young, Justin G; Ulin, Sheryl; Wooley, Charles; Armstrong, Thomas J; Buschmann, Bethany; Galecki, Andrzej; Ashton-Miller, James A

2013-07-01

Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal unintentional injuries among hospitalized children with playground equipment accounting for more than 50%. National standards for playground rung and rail design exist, but there a lack of in vivo models available to test these standards. We developed a novel in vivo model to test rung and rail design. We report the feasibility and safety of the model. A device was built to simulate children hanging onto a playground bar until their hand slips off. This was defined as breakaway strength. The handle unit was mounted on a vertical cable that was mechanically raised and lowered using a linear actuator controlled by the experimenter. The unit was padded and contained a video camera that recorded the posture of the hand during each trial. Breakaway force and torque were recorded as they held onto the handle by LabView software. In addition, standard anthropometrics and grip strength were recorded. Biomedical engineering approved the device. There were 425 eligible students aged 5 years to 11 years. Of these, 93% (397) participated (212 males and 185 females). Ninety-nine percent (396 of 397) completed all three experimental stations, one declined because of fear. There were no injuries and no falls. Average time to complete the study was 22 ± 0.5 minutes. Ninety-one percent of participants were right handed; the ethnicity was representative of the local area with 79% being white. Mean ± SD height, weight, and body mass index for the 397 participants were 1.28 ± 0.11 m, 28.0 ± 8.12 kg, and 16.31 ± 2.59 kg/m², respectively. Hand size, grip strength, and maximum breakaway force increased with age. This model is safe and feasible and maybe a viable method to assess rung and rail design for playgrounds.

Global diversification of a tropical plant growth form: environmental correlates and historical contingencies in climbing palms.

Science.gov (United States)

Couvreur, Thomas L P; Kissling, W Daniel; Condamine, Fabien L; Svenning, Jens-Christian; Rowe, Nick P; Baker, William J

2014-01-01

Tropical rain forests (TRF) are the most diverse terrestrial biome on Earth, but the diversification dynamics of their constituent growth forms remain largely unexplored. Climbing plants contribute significantly to species diversity and ecosystem processes in TRF. We investigate the broad-scale patterns and drivers of species richness as well as the diversification history of climbing and non-climbing palms (Arecaceae). We quantify to what extent macroecological diversity patterns are related to contemporary climate, forest canopy height, and paleoclimatic changes. We test whether diversification rates are higher for climbing than non-climbing palms and estimate the origin of the climbing habit. Climbers account for 22% of global palm species diversity, mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia. Global variation in climbing palm species richness can be partly explained by past and present-day climate and rain forest canopy height, but regional differences in residual species richness after accounting for current and past differences in environment suggest a strong role of historical contingencies in climbing palm diversification. Climbing palms show a higher net diversification rate than non-climbers. Diversification analyses of palms detected a diversification rate increase along the branches leading to the most species-rich clade of climbers. Ancestral character reconstructions revealed that the climbing habit originated between early Eocene and Miocene. These results imply that changes from non-climbing to climbing habits may have played an important role in palm diversification, resulting in the origin of one fifth of all palm species. We suggest that, in addition to current climate and paleoclimatic changes after the late Neogene, present-day diversity of climbing palms can be explained by morpho-anatomical innovations, the biogeographic history of Southeast Asia, and/or ecological opportunities due to the diversification of high-stature dipterocarps in Asian TRFs.

Mechanical Design and Dynamcis of an Autonomous Climbing Robot for Elliptic Half-shell Cleaning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Houxiang Zhang

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an auto-climbing robot for cleaning the elliptic half-shell of National Grand Theatre in China. The robot consists of a climbing mechanism, a moving mechanism, two cleaning brushes and supporting mechanisms. The mechanism and unique aspects are presented in detail. A distributed control system based on CAN bus is designed to meet the requirements of controlling the robot. After that the emphasis for discussion is on the motion realization which includes climbing and cleaning movements. The robot independently climbs and descends in the vertical direction and cleans in the horizontal direction. It takes the circling tracks as supports for climbing up and down between strips and moving horizontally along one strip around the ellipsoid. For system design and control purposes, the dynamic models of the climbing and cleaning processes are given applying of the Lagrange equation. Furthermore the force distribution of the front and rear supporting mechanisms is computed in a way that ensures the safety of the climbing process. In the end, the successful on-site tests confirm the principles described above and the robot's ability.

Mechanical Design and Dynamcis of an Autonomous Climbing Robot for Elliptic Half-shell Cleaning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Houxiang Zhang

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an auto-climbing robot for cleaning the elliptic half-shell of National Grand Theatre in China. The robot consists of a climbing mechanism, a moving mechanism, two cleaning brushes and supporting mechanisms. The mechanism and unique aspects are presented in detail. A distributed control system based on CAN bus is designed to meet the requirements of controlling the robot. After that the emphasis for discussion is on the motion realization which includes climbing and cleaning movements. The robot independently climbs and descends in the vertical direction and cleans in the horizontal direction. It takes the circling tracks as supports for climbing up and down between strips and moving horizontally along one strip around the ellipsoid. For system design and control purposes, the dynamic models of the climbing and cleaning processes are given applying of the Lagrange equation. Furthermore the force distribution of the front and rear supporting mechanisms is computed in a way that ensures the safety of the climbing process. In the end, the successful on-site tests confirm the principles described above and the robot's ability.

Developing games with Magic Playground: a gesture-based game engine

OpenAIRE

Dehanov, Juana; Dias, José Miguel Salles; Bastos, Rafael; Cabral, Carolina

2005-01-01

ACE 134 This paper presents Magic Playground, a game engine that enables the development of entertainment applications with realtime gesture-based Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). We describe the main architectural elements of our system and provide a guideline on how to program the engine in order to create games. Finally, we present usability evaluation results of a game, which emulates the known Tetris game1.

A Fuzzy Control Based Stair-Climbing Service Robot

OpenAIRE

Wang, Ming-Shyan

2010-01-01

In the chapter, we have developed a stair-climbing robot to provide service for the elders and completed two walking experiments of moving up and down stairs with the rise/depth of 120/400 mm and 175/280 mm. The third experiment of object tracking, capturing, and loading by the arm have been shown in the taped pictures from videos to verify the proposed design. In fact, we will show the arm may capture the specific object during climbing up and down in the future. In addition, the robot will ...

FEEDING ECOLOGY OF TREE-CLIMBING MANGROVE SESARMID CRABS FROM LUZON, PHILIPPINES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JIMMY TEVAR MASAGCA

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the large ecological study of tree-climbing mangrove sesarmid crabs in other countries, the Philippine representatives appear to have not been investigated extensively. This paper presents the feeding ecology as to dependence on mangrove trees of sesarmids in different mangrove areas of southern Luzon. This is biased on the nature of the crab habitats, arboreal climbing skills and burrowing behavior of the sesarmids: Selatium elongatum and Episesarma versicolor − exclusive mangrove tree climbers (EMTC; Sarmatium germaini − occasional mangrove tree climber (OMTC; and the non-mangrove tree-climbing (NMTC sesarmids- Neosarmatium smithii, Perisesarma bidens and Perisesarma eumolpe

Criterion-related validity of self-reported stair climbing in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Higueras-Fresnillo, Sara; Esteban-Cornejo, Irene; Gasque, Pablo; Veiga, Oscar L; Martinez-Gomez, David

2018-02-01

Stair climbing is an activity of daily living that might contribute to increase levels of physical activity (PA). To date, there is no study examining the validity of climbing stairs assessed by self-report. The aim of this study was, therefore, to examine the validity of estimated stair climbing from one question included in a common questionnaire compared to a pattern-recognition activity monitor in older adults. A total of 138 older adults (94 women), aged 65-86 years (70.9 ± 4.7 years), from the IMPACT65 + study participated in this validity study. Estimates of stair climbing were obtained from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) PA questionnaire. An objective assessment of stair climbing was obtained with the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA) monitor. The correlation between both methods to assess stair climbing was fair (ρ = 0.22, p = 0.008 for PA energy expenditure and ρ = 0.26, p = 0.002 for duration). Mean differences between self-report and the IDEEA were 7.96 ± 10.52 vs. 9.88 ± 3.32 METs-min/day for PA energy expenditure, and 0.99 ± 1.32 vs. 1.79 ± 2.02 min/day for duration (both Wilcoxon test p < 0.001). Results from the Bland-Altman analysis indicate that bias between both instruments were -1.91 ± 10.30 METs-min/day and -0.80 ± 1.99 min/day, and corresponding limits of agreement for the two instruments were from 18.27 to -22.10 METs-min/day and from 3.09 to -4.70 min/day, respectively. Our results indicate that self-reported stair climbing has modest validity to accurately rank old age participants, and underestimates both PAEE and its duration, as compared with an objectively measured method.

Automatic behavior analysis in tag games: From traditional spaces to interactive playgrounds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moreno, Alejandro; Poppe, R.W.

2016-01-01

Tag is a popular children’s playground game. It revolves around taggers that chase and then tag runners, upon which their roles switch. There are many variations of the game that aim to keep children engaged by presenting them with challenges and different types of gameplay. We argue that the

Stair-climbing capabilities of USU's T3 ODV mobile robot

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, D. Reed; Wood, Carl G.

2001-09-01

A six-wheeled autonomous omni-directional vehicle (ODV) called T3 has been developed at Utah State University's (USU) Center for Self-Organizing and Intelligent Systems (CSOIS). This paper focuses on T3's ability to climb stairs using its unique configuration of 6 independently driven and steered wheels and active suspension height control. The ability of T3, or any similar vehicle, to climb stairs is greatly dependent on the chassis orientation relative to the stairs. Stability criteria is developed for any vehicle dimensions and orientation, on any staircase. All possible yaw and pitch angles on various staircases are evaluated to find vehicle orientations that will allow T3 to climb with the largest margin of stability. Different controller types are investigated for controlling vertical wheel movement with the objective of keeping all wheels in contact with the stairs, providing smooth load transfer between loaded and unloaded wheels, and maintaining optimum chassis pitch and roll angles. A controller is presented that uses feedback from wheel loading, vertical wheel position, and chassis orientation sensors. The implementation of the controller is described, and T3's stair climbing performance is presented and evaluated.

A Parent's Guide to Playground Safety, [and] The Multiage Classroom: A Guide for Parents, [and] Multiple Intelligences: Different Ways of Learning. ACEI Speaks Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Joe L.; And Others

Three brochures for parents are presented. The first lists potential playground hazards and suggestions for improving playgrounds. The second describes benefits of the multiage classroom, comparing such a classroom with a traditional, single-grade class. The third brochure describes verbal, logical, visual, musical, and physical learning styles…

We're Playing "Jeremy Kyle"! Television Talk Shows in the Playground

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Jackie; Bishop, Julia

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on an episode of play in a primary school playground in England, which featured a group of children re-enacting elements of the television talk show "The Jeremy Kyle Show". The episode is analysed in the light of work that has identified the key elements of the talk show genre and the children's play is examined in…

Permanent Magnetic System Design for the Wall-Climbing Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Shen

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design and analysis of the permanent magnetic system for a wall-climbing robot with permanent magnetic tracks. Based on the behaviour of gecko lizards, the architecture of the robot was designed and built, including the structure of the adhesion mechanism, the mechanical architecture and the anti-toppling mechanism. The permanent magnetic adhesion mechanism and the tracked locomotion mechanism were employed in this kind of wall-climbing robot. Through static and dynamic force analysis of the robot under different situations, design requirements for the adhesion mechanism were derived. Two different types of structures were put forward for the permanent magnetic units and are further discussed in this paper. These two types of structures are also analysed in detail. In addition, a finite-element method was used to verify the results of magnetic units. Finally, two wall-climbing robots, equipped with different magnetic systems described previously, are explained and their applications are discussed in this paper.

Amooty, a stair climbing intelligent maintenance robot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1985-04-01

Toshiba Corporation and a team from Tokyo University have jointly developed a prototype of a mobile, stair climbing intelligent robot, named Amooty, for inspection and maintenance tasks in nuclear power plants.

Music Therapy Engages Children with Autism in Outdoor Play. FPG Snapshot. Number 39, February 2007

Science.gov (United States)

FPG Child Development Institute, 2007

2007-01-01

The unstructured space, running, climbing, sliding, and loud nature of playground time can be overwhelming for children with autism who thrive on predictable and structured routines. As a result, these preschoolers often do not experience the learning and social development benefits from outdoor play seen in their typically developing classmates.…

The Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

About the reconstruction of Palle Nielsen's (f. 1942) work The Model from 1968: a gigantic playground for children in the museum, where they can freely romp about, climb in ropes, crawl on wooden structures, work with tools, jump in foam rubber, paint with finger paints and dress up in costumes....

Amooty, a stair climbing intelligent maintenance robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1985-01-01

Toshiba Corporation and a team from Tokyo University have jointly developed a prototype of a mobile, stair climbing intelligent robot, named Amooty, for inspection and maintenance tasks in nuclear power plants. (author)

Effect of pretreatments and processing conditions on anti-nutritional factors in climbing bean flours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Mugabo

2017-04-01

Full Text Available It is difficult for many Rwandans to utilize climbing bean seeds (Phaseolus vulgaris. L mainly because of longer cooking time (2 hours and the high consumption of basic fuel. Climbing beans also contain anti-nutritional factors such tannins, phytates, trypsin inhibitors and phytohemagglutinins that limit nutrient absorption. One way to solve this problem is to utilize the flour of climbing beans made from different treatments and processing methods. In this study, climbing beans were pre-treated by soaking them in water for 24 hours, soaking in 2% sodium bicarbonate solution and steam blanching for 10 minutes. After that, pre-treated climbing beans were processed into flours by processing methods such as roasting, cooking and germination where anti-nutritional factors were reduced. The pretreatments did not significantly (p>0.05 affect phytates in climbing bean flours but processing conditions significantly (p<0.05 reduced it. Pretreatments and processing conditions significantly (p<0.05 reduced tannin content. The pretreatments followed by different processing conditions significantly (p<0.05 decreased trypsin inhibitors content. The great significant decrease in phytohemagglutinins content was observed in pretreatment followed by different processing methods. All pretreatments and processing conditions effectively decreased anti-nutritional factors at low level. However, pretreatments or untreated followed by germination and roasting were found to be the most and the least effective respectively.  Making flour from germinated climbing bean seeds is a good option for sustainable food processing as it reduces anti-nutritional factors. It is an inexpensive method in terms of time, energy and fuel for Rwandan households, restaurants and industries where climbing bean seeds are integral part of daily meal.

WITHIN-POPULATION GENETIC DIVERSITY OF CLIMBING PLANTS AND TREES IN A TEMPERATE FOREST IN CENTRAL CHILE

OpenAIRE

Torres-Díaz, Cristian; Ruiz, Eduardo; Salgado-Luarte, Cristian; Molina-Montenegro, Marco A; Gianoli, Ernesto

2013-01-01

The climbing habit is a key innovation in angiosperm evolution: climbing plant taxa have greater species richness than their non-climbing sister groups. It is considered that highly diversified clades should show increased among-population genetic differentiation. Less clear is the expected pattern regarding within-population genetic diversity in speciose lineages. We tested the hypothesis of greater within-population genetic diversity in climbing plants compared to trees in a temperate fores...

Blow Bits : Creative playgrounds, gamification and virtuosity with hybrid design tools and environments (HDTE)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wendrich, Robert E.

2017-01-01

Playgrounds (real or virtual) are universal areas where most people learn to play, interact, engage, immerse to unlearn and relearn repeatedly in order to get more fundamental understanding and insights on their creativity, communication and collaboration patterns with others. Consequently, finding

Does a video displaying a stair climbing model increase stair use in a worksite setting?

Science.gov (United States)

Van Calster, L; Van Hoecke, A-S; Octaef, A; Boen, F

2017-08-01

This study evaluated the effects of improving the visibility of the stairwell and of displaying a video with a stair climbing model on climbing and descending stair use in a worksite setting. Intervention study. Three consecutive one-week intervention phases were implemented: (1) the visibility of the stairs was improved by the attachment of pictograms that indicated the stairwell; (2) a video showing a stair climbing model was sent to the employees by email; and (3) the same video was displayed on a television screen at the point-of-choice (POC) between the stairs and the elevator. The interventions took place in two buildings. The implementation of the interventions varied between these buildings and the sequence was reversed. Improving the visibility of the stairs increased both stair climbing (+6%) and descending stair use (+7%) compared with baseline. Sending the video by email yielded no additional effect on stair use. By contrast, displaying the video at the POC increased stair climbing in both buildings by 12.5% on average. One week after the intervention, the positive effects on stair climbing remained in one of the buildings, but not in the other. These findings suggest that improving the visibility of the stairwell and displaying a stair climbing model on a screen at the POC can result in a short-term increase in both climbing and descending stair use. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Muscle fiber type distribution in climbing Hawaiian gobioid fishes: ontogeny and correlations with locomotor performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cediel, Roberto A; Blob, Richard W; Schrank, Gordon D; Plourde, Robert C; Schoenfuss, Heiko L

2008-01-01

Three species of Hawaiian amphidromous gobioid fishes are remarkable in their ability to climb waterfalls up to several hundred meters tall. Juvenile Lentipes concolor and Awaous guamensis climb using rapid bursts of axial undulation, whereas juvenile Sicyopterus stimpsoni climb using much slower movements, alternately attaching oral and pelvic sucking disks to the substrate during prolonged bouts of several cycles. Based on these differing climbing styles, we hypothesized that propulsive musculature in juvenile L. concolor and A. guamensis would be dominated by white muscle fibers, whereas S. stimpsoni would exhibit a greater proportion of red muscle fibers than other climbing species. We further predicted that, because adults of these species shift from climbing to burst swimming as their main locomotor behavior, muscle from adult fish of all three species would be dominated by white fibers. To test these hypotheses, we used ATPase assays to evaluate muscle fiber type distribution in Hawaiian climbing gobies for three anatomical regions (midbody, anal, and tail). Axial musculature was dominated by white muscle fibers in juveniles of all three species, but juvenile S. stimpsoni had a significantly greater proportion of red fibers than the other two species. Fiber type proportions of adult fishes did not differ significantly from those of juveniles. Thus, muscle fiber type proportions in juveniles appear to help accommodate differences in locomotor demands among these species, indicating that they overcome the common challenge of waterfall climbing through both diverse behaviors and physiological specializations.

How do Continuous Climb Operations affect the capacity of a Terminal Manoeuvre Area?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez Casan, J.A.

2016-07-01

Continuous climb operations are the following step to optimise departure trajectories with the goals of minimizing fuel consumption and pollutants and noise emissions in the airports neighbourhood, although due to intrinsic nature of these procedures, the integration of these procedures need to develop a new framework for airline operators and air traffic control. Based on the BADA model developed by EUROCONTROL, three activities have been carried out: simulation of several continuous climbs for three aircraft types (Light, Medium and Heavy), analysation of different applied separations throughout the climb from the runway up to cruise level and, as third activity, definition of new separation minima to ensure that the minimum separations are not violated with this new procedures along the climb. In this work are presented the results of modelling three continuous climb type (constant true airspeed, constant climb angle and constant vertical speed) and new time-based separations for most used models in Palma TMA, which will be the case-study scenario. Finally, this theoretical analysis has been applied to a real scenario in Palma de Mallorca TMA in order to compare how the capacity deals with the introduction of this new procedure to standard departures, standard departures are understood as a departure with a level-off at a determined altitude and with the possibility to be affected by any ATC action. First outcomes are promising because capacity, theoretically, would not be grossly diminished, which could initially be expected based on previous studies on continuous descent approaches, although these results should be considered cautiously due to the fact that the model lacks several factors of associated uncertainty for a real climb. (Author)

The role of multiple dopamine receptors in apomorphine and N-n-propylnorapomorphine-induced climbing and hypothermia.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, N A; Axton, M S

1990-03-20

Apomorphine and N-n-propylnorapomorphine (NPA) were compared for their ability to induce stereotyped cage climbing and hypothermia in mice. Climbing behavior was produced by similar doses of apomorphine and NPA (0.625-2.5 mg/kg s.c.), whereas NPA was 43 times more potent than apomorphine in inducing a hypothermic response. SKF38393 caused a shift to the left in the dose-response curve for NPA-induced climbing, the ED50 changing from 0.98 to 0.014 mg/kg. SKF38393 had no effect on apomorphine-induced climbing behaviour. The climbing response produced by apomorphine was antagonised by both D-1 and D-2 antagonists. Climbing behaviour induced by NPA (2.5 mg/kg) could be antagonised by SCH23390 but not by clebopride, however climbing behaviour induced by a low dose of NPA (0.06 mg/kg) plus SKF38393 could be blocked by both D-1 and D-2 receptor antagonists. The hypothermic responses produced by either apomorphine or NPA could only be reversed by the selective D-2 antagonist, clebopride. These results demonstrate that dopamine agonist-induced stereotyped cage climbing requires both D-1 and D-2 receptor stimulation, whereas the hypothermic response is D-2-mediated. The results also show that it is possible to assess the relative activity of a dopamine agonist at D-1 or D-2 receptors in vivo by comparing the ability of the compound to induce hypothermia and climbing behaviour.

Does perceived steepness deter stair climbing when an alternative is available?

Science.gov (United States)

Eves, Frank F; Thorpe, Susannah K S; Lewis, Amanda; Taylor-Covill, Guy A H

2014-06-01

Perception of hill slant is exaggerated in explicit awareness. Proffitt (Perspectives on Psychological Science 1:110-122, 2006) argued that explicit perception of the slant of a climb allows individuals to plan locomotion in keeping with their available locomotor resources, yet no behavioral evidence supports this contention. Pedestrians in a built environment can often avoid climbing stairs, the man-made equivalent of steep hills, by choosing an adjacent escalator. Stair climbing is avoided more by women, the old, and the overweight than by their comparators. Two studies tested perceived steepness of the stairs as a cue that promotes this avoidance. In the first study, participants estimated the steepness of a staircase in a train station (n = 269). Sex, age, height, and weight were recorded. Women, older individuals, and those who were heavier and shorter reported the staircase as steeper than did their comparison groups. In a follow-up study in a shopping mall, pedestrians were recruited from those who chose the stairs and those who avoided them, with the samples stratified for sex, age, and weight status. Participants (n = 229) estimated the steepness of a life-sized image of the stairs they had just encountered, presented on the wall of a vacant shop in the mall. Pedestrians who avoided stair climbing by choosing the escalator reported the stairs as steeper even when demographic differences were controlled. Perceived steepness may to be a contextual cue that pedestrians use to avoid stair climbing when an alternative is available.

Design and Development of a Step Climbing Wheeled Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Srijan BHATTACHARYA

2009-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a design of Step Climbing Robot that can move in uneven environment and traverse a slope or staircase. The condition imposed on this new system of robot is that it will move only in linear fashion, which will reduce the demands on the physical complexity of the robot unit. A summary of the current state of research in the field of mobile robots as it relates to robot stair climbing and moving in uneven surfaces. The architecture of the robot is developed and compared with the previous design.

Irradiation creep by climb-enables glide of dislocations resulting from preferred absorption of point defects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mansur, L K [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)

1979-04-01

A mechanism of irradiation creep arising from the climb-enabled glide of dislocations due to stress-induced preferred absorption of radiation-produced point defects is proposed. This creep component is here termed preferred absorption glide, PAG. PAG-creep operates in addition to the previously studied components of creep from climb by stress-induced preferred absorption, (SI) PA-creep, and the climb-enabled glide due to excess absorption of interstitials on dislocations during swelling, I-creep. A formulation of the various climb and climb-enabled glide processes which includes earlier results is presented. PAG-creep is comparable in magnitude to PA-creep in the parameter range of applications. While the PSA-creep rate and the I-creep rate are linear in stress, the PAG-creep rate is quadratic in stress and thus dominates at high stresses.

The effects of therapeutic climbing in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Engbert, Kai; Weber, Michaela

2011-05-15

A randomized controlled study investigated the effects of therapeutic climbing in patients with chronic low back pain. Before and after 4 weeks of training, physical and mental well-being were measured by two questionnaires (36-Item Short Form Health Survey [SF-36]; Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire for measuring back pain-related disability [FFbH-R]). Therapeutic climbing has been suggested to increase muscular strength and perceived physical and mental well-being. This study focused on the psychological effects of therapeutic climbing and compared it with standard exercise therapy. Therapeutic climbing has become increasingly popular in rehabilitation and its effects on muscular strengthening have been shown. Therapeutic climbing has also been suggested to yield psychological effects such as changes in attentional focus from pain to physical capabilities. To date, no controlled clinical trial has investigated these psychological effects and it is unclear whether therapeutic climbing is comparable or superior to other forms of exercise. Twenty-eight patients with chronic low back pain conducted either a therapeutic climbing or a standard exercise regime. Each program took 4 weeks, including four guided training sessions per week. Before and after the program, patients answered two questionnaires assessing their physical and mental well-being. For the Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire for measuring back pain-related disability, there was no difference before versus after or between the treatments. For the SF-36, both treatments showed significant improvements in 3/8 subscales of the SF-36. In 2/8 subscales, only the participants of the therapeutic climbing improved and in 1/8 subscales the converse was true. Comparing both groups, significantly larger improvements were found after therapeutic climbing in two subscales of the SF-36: physical functioning and general health perception. The benefits of therapeutic climbing were comparable with those of

Fibrillar Adhesive for Climbing Robots

Science.gov (United States)

Pamess, Aaron; White, Victor E.

2013-01-01

A climbing robot needs to use its adhesive patches over and over again as it scales a slope. Replacing the adhesive at each step is generally impractical. If the adhesive or attachment mechanism cannot be used repeatedly, then the robot must carry an extra load of this adhesive to apply a fresh layer with each move. Common failure modes include tearing, contamination by dirt, plastic deformation of fibers, and damage from loading/ unloading. A gecko-like fibrillar adhesive has been developed that has been shown useful for climbing robots, and may later prove useful for grasping, anchoring, and medical applications. The material consists of a hierarchical fibrillar structure that currently contains two levels, but may be extended to three or four levels in continuing work. The contacting level has tens of thousands of microscopic fibers made from a rubberlike material that bend over and create intimate contact with a surface to achieve maximum van der Waals forces. By maximizing the real area of contact that these fibers make and minimizing the bending energy necessary to achieve that contact, the net amount of adhesion has been improved dramatically.

Reliability and Validity of Finger Strength and Endurance Measurements in Rock Climbing

Science.gov (United States)

Michailov, Michail Lubomirov; Baláš, Jirí; Tanev, Stoyan Kolev; Andonov, Hristo Stoyanov; Kodejška, Jan; Brown, Lee

2018-01-01

Purpose: An advanced system for the assessment of climbing-specific performance was developed and used to: (a) investigate the effect of arm fixation (AF) on construct validity evidence and reliability of climbing-specific finger-strength measurement; (b) assess reliability of finger-strength and endurance measurements; and (c) evaluate the…

The RiSE climbing robot: body and leg design

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, A.; Goldman, D. I.; Full, R. J.; Buehler, M.

2006-05-01

The RiSE robot is a biologically inspired, six legged climbing robot, designed for general mobility in scansorial (vertical walls, horizontal ledges, ground level) environments. It exhibits ground reaction forces that are similar to animal climbers and does not rely on suction, magnets or other surface-dependent specializations to achieve adhesion and shear force. We describe RiSE's body and leg design as well as its electromechanical, communications and computational infrastructure. We review design iterations that enable RiSE to climb 90° carpeted, cork covered and (a growing range of) stucco surfaces in the quasi-static regime.

Effectiveness and feasibility of lowering playground density during recess to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary time at primary school.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Haese, Sara; Van Dyck, Delfien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Cardon, Greet

2013-12-10

This pilot study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of lowering playground density on increasing children's physical activity and decreasing sedentary time. Also the feasibility of this intervention was tested. Data were collected in September and October 2012 in three Belgian schools in 187, 9-12 year old children. During the intervention, playground density was decreased by splitting up recesses and decreasing the number of children sharing the playground. A within-subject design was used. Children wore accelerometers during the study week. Three-level (class - participant - measurement (baseline or intervention)) linear regression models were used to determine intervention effects. After the intervention week the school principals filled out a questionnaire concerning the feasibility of the intervention. The available play space was 12.18 ± 4.19 m²/child at baseline and increased to 24.24 ± 8.51 m²/child during intervention. During the intervention sedentary time decreased (-0.58 min/recess; -3.21%/recess) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (+1.04 min/recess; +5.9%/recess) increased during recess and during the entire school day (sedentary time: -3.29%/school day; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity +1.16%/school day). All principals agreed that children enjoyed the intervention; but some difficulties were reported. Lowering playground density can be an effective intervention for decreasing children's sedentary time and increasing their physical activity levels during recess; especially in least active children.

Stair climbing is more detrimental to the cement in hip replacement than walking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stolk, J.; Verdonschot, N.J.J.; Huiskes, H.W.J.

2002-01-01

Stair climbing may be detrimental to cemented total hip arthroplasties, because it subjects the reconstruction to high torsional loads. The current study investigated how stair climbing contributes to damage accumulation in the cement around a femoral stem compared with walking, taking into account

A Survey of Wall Climbing Robots: Recent Advances and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shunsuke Nansai

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, skyscrapers, as represented by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Shanghai Tower in Shanghai, have been built due to the improvements of construction technologies. Even in such newfangled skyscrapers, the façades are generally cleaned by humans. Wall climbing robots, which are capable of climbing up vertical surfaces, ceilings and roofs, are expected to replace the manual workforce in façade cleaning works, which is both hazardous and laborious work. Such tasks require these robotic platforms to possess high levels of adaptability and flexibility. This paper presents a detailed review of wall climbing robots categorizing them into six distinct classes based on the adhesive mechanism that they use. This paper concludes by expanding beyond adhesive mechanisms by discussing a set of desirable design attributes of an ideal glass façade cleaning robot towards facilitating targeted future research with clear technical goals and well-defined design trade-off boundaries.

Wall Climbing Robot Using Electrostatic Adhesion Force Generated by Flexible Interdigital Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rong Liu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Electrostatic adhesion technology has broad application prospects on wall climbing robots because of its unique characteristics compared with other types of adhesion technologies. A double tracked wall climbing robot based on electrostatic adhesion technology is presented including electrode panel design, mechanical structure design, power supply system design and control system design. A theoretical adhesion model was established and the electrostatic potential and field were expressed by series expansions in terms of solutions of the Laplace function. Based on this model, the electrostatic adhesion force was calculated using the Maxwell stress tensor formulation. Several important factors which may influence the electrostatic adhesion force were analysed and discussed by both FEM simulation and theoretical calculation. In addition, experiments on the adhesion performance of the electrode panel and the climbing performance of the robot on various wall materials were carried out. Both the simulation and experiment results verify the feasibility of electrostatic adhesion technology being applied on wall climbing robots. The theoretical model and calculation method for the electrostatic adhesion force proposed in this paper are also justified.

Footwear in rock climbing: Current practice.

Science.gov (United States)

McHenry, R D; Arnold, G P; Wang, W; Abboud, R J

2015-09-01

Many rock climbers wear ill-fitting and excessively tight footwear during activity. However, there is insufficient evidence of the extent or harms of this practice. To investigate footwear use in rock climbers with a focus on issues surrounding fit. A cross-sectional study with active rock climbers of over one year of experience completing a survey on their activity and footwear. Additionally, the authors quantified foot and shoe lengths and sizes alongside demographic data. Ill-fitting and excessively tight footwear was found in 55 out of 56 rock climbers. Foot pain during activity was also commonplace in 91% of the climbers. A mean size reduction of almost 4 UK shoe sizes was found between the climbers' street shoe size and that of their climbing footwear using a calibrated foot/shoe ruler. There is an unfortunate association of climbers of higher abilities seeking a tighter shoe fit (pfootwear use amongst rock climbers, further investigation may aim to quantify its impact and seek a solution balancing climbing performance while mitigating foot injury. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affordance Realization in Climbing: Learning and Transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Seifert, Ludovic; Orth, Dominic; Mantel, Bruno; Boulanger, Jérémie; Hérault, Romain; Dicks, Matt

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate how the affordances of an indoor climbing wall changed for intermediate climbers following a period of practice during which hold orientation was manipulated within a learning and transfer protocol. The learning protocol consisted of four sessions, in which eight climbers randomly ascended three different routes of fixed absolute difficulty (5c on the French scale), as fluently as possible. All three routes were 10.3 m in height and composed of 20 hand-holds at the same locations on an artificial climbing wall; only hold orientations were altered: (i) a horizontal-edge route (H) was designed to afford horizontal hold grasping, (ii) a vertical-edge route (V) afforded vertical hold grasping, and (iii), a double-edge route (D) was designed to afford both horizontal and vertical hold grasping. Five inertial measurement units (IMU) (3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer) were attached to the hip, feet and forearms to analyze the vertical acceleration and direction (3D unitary vector) of each limb and hip in ambient space during the entire ascent. Segmentation and classification processes supported detection of movement and stationary phases for each IMU. Depending on whether limbs and/or hip were moving, a decision tree distinguished four states of behavior: stationary (absence of limb and hip motion), hold exploration (absence of hip motion but at least one limb in motion), hip movement (hip in motion but absence of limb motion) and global motion (hip in motion and at least one limb in motion). Results showed that with practice, the learners decreased the relative duration of hold exploration, suggesting that they improved affordance perception of hold grasp-ability. The number of performatory movements also decreased as performance increased during learning sessions, confirming that participants' climbing efficacy improved as a function of practice. Last, the results were more marked for the H route, while the D route

Affordance Realization in Climbing: Learning and Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludovic Seifert

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate how the affordances of an indoor climbing wall changed for intermediate climbers following a period of practice during which hold orientation was manipulated within a learning and transfer protocol. The learning protocol consisted of four sessions, in which eight climbers randomly ascended three different routes of fixed absolute difficulty (5c on the French scale, as fluently as possible. All three routes were 10.3 m in height and composed of 20 hand-holds at the same locations on an artificial climbing wall; only hold orientations were altered: (i a horizontal-edge route (H was designed to afford horizontal hold grasping, (ii a vertical-edge route (V afforded vertical hold grasping, and (iii, a double-edge route (D was designed to afford both horizontal and vertical hold grasping. Five inertial measurement units (IMU (3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer were attached to the hip, feet and forearms to analyze the vertical acceleration and direction (3D unitary vector of each limb and hip in ambient space during the entire ascent. Segmentation and classification processes supported detection of movement and stationary phases for each IMU. Depending on whether limbs and/or hip were moving, a decision tree distinguished four states of behavior: stationary (absence of limb and hip motion, hold exploration (absence of hip motion but at least one limb in motion, hip movement (hip in motion but absence of limb motion and global motion (hip in motion and at least one limb in motion. Results showed that with practice, the learners decreased the relative duration of hold exploration, suggesting that they improved affordance perception of hold grasp-ability. The number of performatory movements also decreased as performance increased during learning sessions, confirming that participants' climbing efficacy improved as a function of practice. Last, the results were more marked for the H route, while the D

Stable Stair Climbing in a Simple Hexapod Robot

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Moore, E. Z; Buehler, M

2001-01-01

.... Its ability to traverse highly fractured and unstable terrain has already been documented. In this paper, we describe open loop controllers for our small robot to climb and descend regular stairs...

135 tf climbing crane for the construction of large scale plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

Development of a larger capacity, wider working radius and higher lift climbing crane was in demand since the large block construction method become common in plant construction. At first, scaling up of the conventional climbing crane was planned. But, it turned out that the deflection at the top of the jib would cause the load to drift at takeoff in crane operation. Therefore, the crane was newly designed to solve the problem. Some of its advantage are as follows. (1) This crane can be used as either a climbing or a nonclimbing type depending on installation locations and objective plants. (2) Accurate and easy operation is achieved because of little deflection at the top of the jib. (3) Efficient crane operation is possible through high speed hoisting and slewing motions in frequent auxiliary hoisting operations. (4) The construction time can be shortened by adopting pin joints between the blocks and by reducing the number of assembling parts at the site. A nonclimbing type crane is now in operation at the nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki and a climbing type will be in operation at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima this year. The report presents an outline of the specifications, structures and advantages. (author)

Analysis of Relations between Spatiotemporal Movement Regulation and Performance of Discrete Actions Reveals Functionality in Skilled Climbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Dominic; Kerr, Graham; Davids, Keith; Seifert, Ludovic

2017-01-01

In this review of research on climbing expertise, we focus on different measures of climbing performance, including spatiotemporal measures related to fluency and activity states (i.e., discrete actions), adopted by climbers for achieving overall performance goals of getting to the end of a route efficiently and safely. Currently, a broad range of variables have been reported, however, many of these fail to capture how climbers adapt to a route whilst climbing. We argue that spatiotemporal measures should be considered concurrently with evaluation of activity states (such as reaching or exploring) in order gain a more comprehensive picture of how climbers successfully adapt to a route. Spatial and temporal movement measures taken at the hip are a traditional means of assessing efficiency of climbing behaviors. More recently, performatory and exploratory actions of the limbs have been used in combination with spatiotemporal indicators, highlighting the influence of limb states on climbing efficiency and skill transfer. However, only a few studies have attempted to combine spatiotemporal and activity state measures taken during route climbing. This review brings together existing approaches for observing climbing skill at performance outcome (i.e., spatiotemporal assessments) and process (i.e., limb activity states) levels of analysis. Skill level is associated with a spatially efficient route progression and lower levels of immobility. However, more difficult hold architecture designs require significantly greater mobility and more complex movement patterning to maintain performance. Different forms of functional, or goal-supportive, movement variability, including active recovery and hold exploration, have been implicated as important adaptations to physiological and environmental dynamics that emerge during the act of climbing. Indeed, recently it has also been shown that, when climbing on new routes, efficient exploration can improve the transfer of skill. This

Effect of major school playground reconstruction on physical activity and sedentary behaviour: Camden active spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Hamer

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The physical school environment is a promising setting to increase children’s physical activity although robust evidence is sparse. We examined the effects of major playground reconstruction on physical activity and sedentary time in primary schools using a quasi-experimental design (comparison group pre-test/post-test design. Methods Five experimental and two control schools from deprived areas of inner city London were recruited at baseline. Main outcome was physical activity and sedentary time measured from objective monitoring (Actigraph accelerometer at one year follow up. Pupils’ impressions of the new playground were qualitatively assessed post construction. Results A total of 347 pupils (mean age = 8 years, 55% boys; 36% Caucasian were recruited into the study at baseline; 303 provided valid baseline Actigraph data. Of those, 231 (76% completed follow-up (n = 169 intervention; n = 62 control and 77.4% of the sample recorded at least 4 days of Actigraph wear. In mixed models adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, ratio activity or sedentary/wear time at baseline, wear time at follow up, and school, no differences were observed in total moderate – vigorous activity (B = −1.4, 95% CI, −7.1, 4.2 min/d, light activity (B = 4.1, 95% CI, −17.9, 26.1, or sedentary time (B = −3.8, 95% CI, −29.2, 21.6 min/d between groups. There were significant age interactions for sedentary (p = 0.002 and light intensity physical activity (p = 0.008. We observed significant reductions in total sedentary (−28.0, 95% CI, −1.9, −54.1 min/d, p = 0.037 and increases in total light intensity activity (24.6, 95% CI, 0.3, 48.9 min/d, p = 0.047 for children aged under 9 yrs. old in the intervention. Conclusion Major playground reconstruction had limited effects on physical activity, but reduced sedentary time was observed in younger children. Qualitative data suggested that the children enjoyed the new

A multistage controlled intervention to increase stair climbing at work: effectiveness and process evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellicha, Alice; Kieusseian, Aurélie; Fontvieille, Anne-Marie; Tataranni, Antonio; Copin, Nane; Charreire, Hélène; Oppert, Jean-Michel

2016-04-11

Stair climbing helps to accumulate short bouts of physical activity throughout the day as a strategy for attaining recommended physical activity levels. There exists a need for effective long-term stair-climbing interventions that can be transferred to various worksite settings. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate short- and long-term effectiveness of a worksite stair-climbing intervention using an objective measurement of stair climbing and a controlled design; and 2) to perform a process evaluation of the intervention. We performed a controlled before-and-after study. The study was conducted in two corporate buildings of the same company located in Paris (France), between September, 2013 and September, 2014. The status of either "intervention site" or "control site" was assigned by the investigators. Participants were on-site employees (intervention site: n = 783; control site: n = 545 at baseline). Two one-month intervention phases using signs (intervention phase 1) and enhancement of stairwell aesthetics (intervention phase 2) were performed. The main outcome was the change in stair climbing, measured with automatic counters and expressed in absolute counts/day/100 employees and percent change compared to baseline. Qualitative outcomes were used to describe the intervention process. Stair climbing significantly increased at the intervention site (+18.7%) but decreased at the control site (-13.3%) during the second intervention phase (difference between sites: +4.6 counts/day/100 employees, p levels at the intervention site, but a significant difference between sites was found (intervention site vs. control site: +2.9 counts/day/100 employees, p level after the end of the study. This study shows a successful stair-climbing intervention at the worksite. The main barriers to adoption and implementation were related to location and visibility of posters. Process evaluation was useful in identifying these barriers throughout the study, and in

Family Smoking Prevention And Tobacco Control Act: banning outdoor tobacco advertising near schools and playgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Luke, Douglas A; Ribisl, Kurt M; Smith, Carson; Sorg, Amy A

2011-03-01

The tobacco industry has challenged new FDA rules restricting outdoor tobacco advertising near schools and playgrounds on First Amendment grounds, arguing that they would lead to a near complete ban on tobacco advertising in dense urban areas. To examine how the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA) rules banning outdoor tobacco advertising near schools and playgrounds would affect tobacco retailers. GIS spatial analyses of two different states (Missouri, New York), along with more detailed analyses of two urban areas within those states (St. Louis, New York City), were conducted in 2010. The percentage of tobacco retailers falling within 350-, 500-, and 1000-foot buffer zones was then calculated. 22% of retailers in Missouri and 51% in New York fall within 1000-foot buffers around schools. In urban settings, more retailers are affected, 29% in St. Louis and 79% in New York City. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate that smaller buffers decrease the proportion of affected retailers. That is, 350-foot buffers affect only 6.7% of retailers in St. Louis and 29% in New York City. The effects of new outdoor tobacco advertising restrictions vary by location and population density. In Missouri and New York, outdoor tobacco advertising would still be permitted in many locations if such advertising was prohibited in a 1000-foot buffer zone around schools and playgrounds. Much smaller buffer zones of 350 feet may result in almost no reduction of outdoor advertising in many parts of the country. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Smokefree signage at children’s playgrounds: Field observations and comparison with Google Street View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Thomson

2017-08-01

The presence and quality of smokefree signage was poor in this sample of children’s playgrounds in this developed country setting. There appears to be value in comparing smokefree signage with other types of signage (eg, dog control signage. Google Street View was not a sensitive tool for studying such signage.

Effect of sunflower climbing bean intercroping system on insect pest incidence and crop productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuey, R.K.; Koros, I.; Wanyonyi, W.

2001-01-01

Intercropping of sunflower and climping beans were evaluated for pest incidence and yield advantages during the main season of 2000/2001 at KARI-NPBRC, Njoro. Three sunflower varieties, Fedha, Record, PAN-7553 and three climbing beans varieties, Puebla, Omukingi and Flora were laid out in a complete randomised block design with four replications. Sunflower was spaced at 75 x 30 cm while the climbing beans were spaced at 50 x 37.5 cm. Assessment of pest damage on various treatments commenced 17 days after planting. Results showed that low plant germination was mainly a result of dry weather and taht cutworm damage was insignificant. There was a sunflower x climbing bean variety interaction, which regulated the aphid infestation of the climbing beans. Sunflower variety PAN-7553 recorded significantly (P<0.01) more pecked heads than the other two varieties. (author)

Design and Implementation of Autonomous Stair Climbing with Nao Humanoid Robot

OpenAIRE

Lu, Wei

2015-01-01

With the development of humanoid robots, autonomous stair climbing is an important capability. Humanoid robots will play an important role in helping people tackle some basic problems in the future. The main contribution of this thesis is that the NAO humanoid robot can climb the spiral staircase autonomously. In the vision module, the algorithm of image filtering and detecting the contours of the stair contributes to calculating the location of the stairs accurately. Additionally, the st...

Childhood obesity and parks and playgrounds: A review of issues of equality, gender and social support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hammad Ali Qazi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The childhood obesity has been a growing concern over the last decade all over the world. Built environmental characteristics such as parks and playgrounds serves as a reference point for physical activity in children. The equality issues related to ethnicity, Social Economic Status (SES, gender and social support have been related with both physical activity and presence and quality of parks and playgrounds. However, only limited studies have addressed these issues in children. The current paper is a general enumerative review that would discusses the above issues with respect to obesity in all age groups, giving particular emphasis to childhood obesity. The importance of this review is to further explore the importance and highlight the findings related to these issues, so that future original studies could be planned keeping these associations in mind.

Young Boys Playing Digital Games. From Console to the Playground.

OpenAIRE

Pål Aarsand

2010-01-01

This article studies how digital games are part of the everyday lives of Swedish 6 to 7-year-old boys. The data consist of video recordings from two schools, two after-school centres and four homes. The focus is on how children engage in, organize and use digital games in face-to-face interaction. It is argued that digital game competence matters not only in front of the screen, but also in the playground. In addition, it is argued that what counts as game competence is negotiated in the peer...

Entertainment Capture through Heart Rate Activity in Physical Interactive Playgrounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yannakakis, Georgios; Hallam, John; Lund, Henrik Hautop

2008-01-01

children’s physiological signals, an estimator of the degree to which games provided by the playground engage the players. For this purpose children’s heart rate (HR) signals, and their expressed preferences of how much “fun” particular game variants are, are obtained from experiments using games...... that predict reported entertainment preferences given HR features. These models are expressed as artificial neural networks and are demonstrated and evaluated on two Playware games and two control tasks requiring physical activity. The best network is able to correctly match expressed preferences in 64...

On the static structural design of climbing robots: part 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Ausama Hadi; Menon, Carlo

This manuscript is the first of two parts of a work investigating optimal configurations of legged climbing robots while loitering on vertical surfaces. In this part 1, a mathematical model of a climbing robot based on the finite element method (FEM), specifically the stiffness method, is generated. A number of parameters, namely the height of the robot, the length of its body and the position of its legs, are investigated to assess their effect on the adhesion requirements needed for the robot to stay attached to a wall. Predictions of the developed mathematical model are validated using FEM commercial software. The body and the legs are assumed to be perpendicular to each other in this part 1. The effect of their inclination is investigated in the subsequent part 2 of our work. In part 2, the model is also used to predict postures that ants have while standing on vertical surfaces. The model is validated by comparing the predicted results to images of loitering ants. The parameters investigated provide guidelines to design legged climbing robots.

Analysis of Relations between Spatiotemporal Movement Regulation and Performance of Discrete Actions Reveals Functionality in Skilled Climbing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominic Orth

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this review of research on climbing expertise, we focus on different measures of climbing performance, including spatiotemporal measures related to fluency and activity states (i.e., discrete actions, adopted by climbers for achieving overall performance goals of getting to the end of a route efficiently and safely. Currently, a broad range of variables have been reported, however, many of these fail to capture how climbers adapt to a route whilst climbing. We argue that spatiotemporal measures should be considered concurrently with evaluation of activity states (such as reaching or exploring in order gain a more comprehensive picture of how climbers successfully adapt to a route. Spatial and temporal movement measures taken at the hip are a traditional means of assessing efficiency of climbing behaviors. More recently, performatory and exploratory actions of the limbs have been used in combination with spatiotemporal indicators, highlighting the influence of limb states on climbing efficiency and skill transfer. However, only a few studies have attempted to combine spatiotemporal and activity state measures taken during route climbing. This review brings together existing approaches for observing climbing skill at performance outcome (i.e., spatiotemporal assessments and process (i.e., limb activity states levels of analysis. Skill level is associated with a spatially efficient route progression and lower levels of immobility. However, more difficult hold architecture designs require significantly greater mobility and more complex movement patterning to maintain performance. Different forms of functional, or goal-supportive, movement variability, including active recovery and hold exploration, have been implicated as important adaptations to physiological and environmental dynamics that emerge during the act of climbing. Indeed, recently it has also been shown that, when climbing on new routes, efficient exploration can improve the transfer

Development of Vmax III. Magnetic wall climbing robot with holonomic and omni-directional mobility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuru, Kiyoshi; Hirose, Shigeo

2012-01-01

Wall-climbing robots having holonomic and omni-directional mobility would enhance the manipulation performance of the mounted arm and enable it to execute various tasks on the surface of large structures. This study focuses on the wall-climbing robots having permanent magnet attractive units to stick to the surface of iron structure such as atomic reactors and discuss the development of a specific holonomic and omni-directional wall-climbing mechanisms. Basic driving mechanism of the wall-climbing robot is based on our former invention named Omni Disk which consists of multiple rollers attached to one side of a rotating disk and having a mechanism to direct the rollers to the same direction. We firstly discuss about the mechanical improvements of the Omni Disk to make it lightweight and low cost. We next discusses about four types of methods to attach permanent magnets to the wall-climbing robot and generates attractive force on the iron wall and select the best type based on the motion experiments about the constructed models. As the result of these considerations, we developed a holonomic and omni-directional wall-climbing robot named Vmax III which consists of three Omni Disks having permanent magnet at their center having the function to change the magnetic attractive force. By using the Vmax III, we studied about the relation among the magnetic attractive force of three Omni Disks, posture of the Vmax III and inclination angle of the iron wall and clarified the optimized distribution of the magnetic attractive force of the Omni Disks in different inclination of the iron wall. (author)

Specific effects of a calorie-based intervention on stair climbing in overweight commuters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Amanda L; Eves, Frank F

2011-10-01

Point-of-choice prompts consistently increase stair climbing; a greater increase in overweight than normal weight individuals was reported in a multi-component worksite campaign. The purpose of this study is to investigate effects of a multi-component campaign, on stair climbing, in a public access setting. In an interrupted-time-series-design, baseline observations (2 weeks) preceded a 2-week point-of-choice prompt. An additional message, positioned at the top of the climb for a further 6-week period, summarised the calorific consequences of a single ascent. Inconspicuous observers recorded traveller's methods of ascent, coded by sex and weight status, twice a week between 08:00 and 09:59. At baseline, the overweight chose stairs less than normal weight individuals. The multi-component campaign targeting weight control reversed this bias, increasing stair climbing only in overweight individuals. The specificity of the effect confirms the appeal of this lifestyle activity for the overweight. The discussion focuses on how intentions to control weight may be converted into behaviour.

Quantifying Peer Interactions for Research and Clinical Use: The Manchester Inventory for Playground Observation

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Jenny; Hussain, Jamilla; Holsgrove, Samina; Adams, Catherine; Green, Jonathan

2011-01-01

Direct observation of peer relating is potentially a sensitive and ecologically valid measure of child social functioning, but there has been a lack of standardised methods. The Manchester Inventory for Playground Observation (MIPO) was developed as a practical yet rigorous assessment of this kind for 5-11 year olds. We report on the initial…

The Particle Physics Playground website: tutorials and activities using real experimental data

Science.gov (United States)

Bellis, Matthew; CMS Collaboration

2016-03-01

The CERN Open Data Portal provides access to data from the LHC experiments to anyone with the time and inclination to learn the analysis procedures. The CMS experiment has made a significant amount of data availible in basically the same format the collaboration itself uses, along with software tools and a virtual enviroment in which to run those tools. These same data have also been mined for educational exercises that range from very simple .csv files that can be analyzed in a spreadsheet to more sophisticated formats that use ROOT, a dominant software package in experimental particle physics but not used as much in the general computing community. This talk will present the Particle Physics Playground website (http://particle-physics-playground.github.io/), a project that uses data from the CMS experiment, as well as the older CLEO experiment, in tutorials and exercises aimed at high school and undergraduate students and other science enthusiasts. The data are stored as text files and the users are provided with starter Python/Jupyter notebook programs and accessor functions which can be modified to perform fairly high-level analyses. The status of the project, success stories, and future plans for the website will be presented. This work was supported in part by NSF Grant PHY-1307562.

Climbing ripple structure and associated storm-lamination from a ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Pranhita–Godavari Valley, south India, displays well developed climbing ripple lamination and ... sedimentary environments, such as river flood .... Sediment, sequence and facies ..... tic Archaean Witwatersrand Supergroup, South Africa;.

Climbing Mont Blanc and Scalability

OpenAIRE

Chavez, Christian

2016-01-01

This thesis details a proposed system implementation upgrade for the CMB system, accessible at \\url{climb.idi.ntnu.no}, which profiles C/C++ code for its energy efficiency on an Odroid-XU3 board, which utilises a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa CPU, and has an ARM Mali-T628 GPU. Our proposed system implementation improves the robustness of the code base and its execution, in addition to permitting an increased throughput of submissions profiled by the system with the implementation's dispatcher whic...

Effects of sports climbing on muscle performance and balance for patients with multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jolk, Christoph; Dalgas, Ulrik; Osada, Nani

2015-01-01

Background/Aims: The potential benefits of sports climbing for many diseases have not been investigated. The aim of this case series was to examine whether sports climbing is feasible and whether it can influence isometric muscle performance and balance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Met...

Climbing the health learning curve together | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-01-25

Jan 25, 2011 ... Climbing the health learning curve together ... Many of the projects are creating master's programs at their host universities ... Formerly based in the high Arctic, Atlantis is described by Dr Martin Forde of St George's University ...

Agronomic description of new improved climbing bean varieties

African Journals Online (AJOL)

. 21. David, S and Hoogendijk,M. 1997. Bean production systems in MbaJe district, Uganda with emphasis on varietal diversity and the adoption of new climbing beans. Network on bean research in Africa. CIA T. CIA T, occasional publication ...

Science Outreach for the Thousands: Coe College's Playground of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, D. E.; Franke, M.; Affatigato, M.; Feller, S.

2011-12-01

Coe College is a private liberal arts college nestled in the northeast quadrant of Cedar Rapids, IA. Coe takes pride in the outreach it does in the local community. The sciences at Coe find enjoyment in educating the children and families of this community through a diverse set of venues; from performing science demonstrations for children at Cedar Rapids' Fourth of July Freedom Festival to hosting summer forums and talks to invigorate the minds of its more mature audiences. Among these events, the signature event of the year is the Coe Playground of Science. On the last Thursday of October, before Halloween, the science departments at Coe invite nearly two thousand children from pre elementary to high school ages, along with their parents to participate in a night filled with science demos, haunted halls, and trick-or-treating for more than just candy. The demonstrations are performed by professors and students alike from a raft of cooperative departments including physics, chemistry, biology, math, computer science, nursing, ROTC, and psychology. This event greatly strengthens the relationships between institution members and community members. The sciences at Coe understand the importance of imparting the thrill and hunger for exploration and discovery into the future generations. More importantly they recognize that this cannot start and end at the collegiate level, but the American public must be reached at younger ages and continue to be encouraged beyond the college experience. The Playground of Science unites these two groups under the common goal of elevating scientific interest in the American people.

Motor Skill Development in Italian Pre-School Children Induced by Structured Activities in a Specific Playground.

Science.gov (United States)

Tortella, Patrizia; Haga, Monika; Loras, Håvard; Sigmundsson, Hermundur; Fumagalli, Guido

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects and specificity of structured and unstructured activities played at the playground Primo Sport 0246 in Northern Italy on motor skill competence in five years old children. The playground was specifically designed to promote gross motor skills in preschool children; in this study 71 children from local kindergartens came to the park once a week for ten consecutive weeks and were exposed to 30 minutes of free play and 30 minutes of structured activities. Before and after the ten visits, each child completed nine tests to assess levels of motor skills, three for fine-motor skills and six for gross-motor skills. As control, motor skills were also assessed on 39 children from different kindergartens who did not come to the park. The results show that the experimental group who practiced gross-motor activities in the playground for 1 hour a week for 10 weeks improved significantly in 4 out of the 6 gross motor tasks and in none of the fine motor tasks. The data indicate that limited transfer occurred between tasks referring to different domains of motor competences while suggesting cross feeding for improvement of gross-motor skills between different exercises when domains related to physical fitness and strength of specific muscle groups are involved. These results are relevant to the issue of condition(s) appropriate for maintaining and developing motor skills in this age group as well as for the planning, organization and implementation of play and physical activities in kindergartens.

Motor Skill Development in Italian Pre-School Children Induced by Structured Activities in a Specific Playground.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrizia Tortella

Full Text Available This study examined the effects and specificity of structured and unstructured activities played at the playground Primo Sport 0246 in Northern Italy on motor skill competence in five years old children. The playground was specifically designed to promote gross motor skills in preschool children; in this study 71 children from local kindergartens came to the park once a week for ten consecutive weeks and were exposed to 30 minutes of free play and 30 minutes of structured activities. Before and after the ten visits, each child completed nine tests to assess levels of motor skills, three for fine-motor skills and six for gross-motor skills. As control, motor skills were also assessed on 39 children from different kindergartens who did not come to the park. The results show that the experimental group who practiced gross-motor activities in the playground for 1 hour a week for 10 weeks improved significantly in 4 out of the 6 gross motor tasks and in none of the fine motor tasks. The data indicate that limited transfer occurred between tasks referring to different domains of motor competences while suggesting cross feeding for improvement of gross-motor skills between different exercises when domains related to physical fitness and strength of specific muscle groups are involved. These results are relevant to the issue of condition(s appropriate for maintaining and developing motor skills in this age group as well as for the planning, organization and implementation of play and physical activities in kindergartens.

Motor Skill Development in Italian Pre-School Children Induced by Structured Activities in a Specific Playground

Science.gov (United States)

Tortella, Patrizia; Haga, Monika; Loras, Håvard

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects and specificity of structured and unstructured activities played at the playground Primo Sport 0246 in Northern Italy on motor skill competence in five years old children. The playground was specifically designed to promote gross motor skills in preschool children; in this study 71 children from local kindergartens came to the park once a week for ten consecutive weeks and were exposed to 30 minutes of free play and 30 minutes of structured activities. Before and after the ten visits, each child completed nine tests to assess levels of motor skills, three for fine-motor skills and six for gross-motor skills. As control, motor skills were also assessed on 39 children from different kindergartens who did not come to the park. The results show that the experimental group who practiced gross-motor activities in the playground for 1 hour a week for 10 weeks improved significantly in 4 out of the 6 gross motor tasks and in none of the fine motor tasks. The data indicate that limited transfer occurred between tasks referring to different domains of motor competences while suggesting cross feeding for improvement of gross-motor skills between different exercises when domains related to physical fitness and strength of specific muscle groups are involved. These results are relevant to the issue of condition(s) appropriate for maintaining and developing motor skills in this age group as well as for the planning, organization and implementation of play and physical activities in kindergartens. PMID:27462985

Analysis of sociodemographic, sport and psychological profile in a rock-climbing experience on university students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Morilla Portela

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The relationships among several psychological factors in rock climbing was proved a long time ago, nevertheless, most researches are limited to very artificial situations, far away from nature. There are few studies which have carried out this kind of investigation in the natural environment and have combined data collection with real rock climbing practice. The instruments used for this data collection were two questionnaires: CSAI-2 and another one specifically designed to gather the necessary information about sociodemographic characteristic and sport habits. In our work we have studied various individuals’ features (sociodemographic, general sport and outdoor profiles and we have confirmed how they are interrelated and their influence on several psychological factors (cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence. Through this article we show that there are higher percentages of women than men participants who climb IV-V grade, whereas in higher grades the percentages equalize. Regarding psychological factors, we can notice how on the one hand those participants who climb higher grades and are more interested in rock climbing, feel lower cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety, while on the other hand they feel higher self-confidence levels

Climbing for preventing and treating health problems: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fechtelpeter, Dennis

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To summarize the best available evidence on effectiveness of therapeutic or sport climbing in preventing or treating health problems. Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, PEDro, OTseeker and SportDiscus for randomized controlled trials published up to December 26, 2010. We included all trials assessing patient-relevant outcomes. Two reviewers independently selected relevant studies, assessed their methodological quality and extracted data. Quality of evidence was rated using the GRADE system. Data were entered into RevMan 5 to calculate effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals where appropriate.Results: Eligible for inclusion were four RCTs studying the effectiveness of climbing in (a geriatric patients, (b adults with multiple sclerosis, (c adults with chronic low-back pain and (d children with disabilities and poor motor function. The sample sizes ranged between 20 and 95. All trials had major methodological limitations. We found very low quality evidence that therapeutic climbing may improve activities of daily living in geriatric patients compared to physiotherapy as measured by the Barthel index (difference in mean change score: 2.32 [95%-CI: 0.45 to 4.19]. We found very low quality evidence that therapeutic climbing compared to standard exercise therapy may improve physical functioning (difference in mean change score: 16.15 [95%-CI: 4.45 to 27.85] and general physical health (13.14 [95%-CI: 3.61 to 22.67] as measured by the SF-36 in adults with chronic low back-pain. Conclusions: Evidence for the effectiveness of therapeutic climbing is limited to small trials at high risk of bias. The effects of therapeutic climbing are therefore unclear.

Step-Climbing Power Wheelchairs: A Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Sundaram, S. Andrea; Wang, Hongwu; Ding, Dan

2017-01-01

Background: Power wheelchairs capable of overcoming environmental barriers, such as uneven terrain, curbs, or stairs, have been under development for more than a decade. Method: We conducted a systematic review of the scientific and engineering literature to identify these devices, and we provide brief descriptions of the mechanism and method of operation for each. We also present data comparing their capabilities in terms of step climbing and standard wheelchair functions. Results: We found that all the devices presented allow for traversal of obstacles that cannot be accomplished with traditional power wheelchairs, but the slow speeds and small wheel diameters of some designs make them only moderately effective in the basic area of efficient transport over level ground and the size and configuration of some others limit maneuverability in tight spaces. Conclusion: We propose that safety and performance test methods more comprehensive than the International Organization for Standards (ISO) testing protocols be developed for measuring the capabilities of advanced wheelchairs with step-climbing and other environment-negotiating features to allow comparison of their clinical effectiveness. PMID:29339886

Aggressive Forms and Functions on School Playgrounds: Profile Variations in Interaction Styles, Bystander Actions, and Victimization

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Karin S.; Newman, Jodi Burrus; Onyewuenyi, Adaurennaya C.

2014-01-01

Coders used real-time focal-child sampling methods to observe the playground behavior and victimization experiences of 600 third to sixth grade youth. Person-centered analyses yielded three profiles that specified aggressive function (reactive, proactive) and form (direct, indirect), and conformed to social-information-processing functional…

Using a body sensor network to measure the effect of fatigue on stair climbing performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergmann, Jeroen H M; Smith, Ian C H; Mayagoitia, Ruth E

2012-01-01

In terms of self-rated health, the most important activities of daily living are those involving mobility. Of these activities stair climbing is regarded as the most strenuous. A loss of stair climbing ability with age is normally associated with a loss of muscle strength and power, while other factors that influence muscle function, such as fatigue, are often not taken into account. So far no research has been published on how long-lasting fatigue affects activities of daily living, despite the fact that it has been repeatedly proven, in laboratory settings, to influence muscle force production over long periods of time. Technological advances in body sensor networks (BSNs) now provide a method to measure performance during complex real-life situations. In this study the use of a BSN was explored to investigate the effects of long-lasting fatigue on stair climbing performance in 20 healthy adults. Stair climbing performance was measured before and after a fatiguing protocol using a BSN. Performance was defined by temporal and spatial parameters. Long-lasting fatigue was successfully induced in all participants using an exercise protocol. The BSN showed that post-exercise fatigue did not influence stair climbing times (p > 0.2) and no meaningful changes in joint angles were found. No effect on overall stair climbing performance was found, despite a clear presence of long-lasting fatigue. This study shows that physiological paradigms can be further explored using BSNs. Ecological validity of lab-based measurements can be increased by combining them with BSNs. (paper)

Climbing performance of Harris' hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) with added load: Implications for muscle mechanics and for radiotracking

Science.gov (United States)

Pennycuick, C.J.; Fuller, M.R.; McAllister, L.

1989-01-01

Two Harris' hawks were trained to fly along horizontal and climbing flight paths, while carrying loads of various masses, to provide data for estimating available muscle power during short flights. The body mass of both hawks was about 920 g, and they were able to carry loads up to 630 g in horizontal flight. The rate of climb decreased with increasing all-up mass, as also did the climbing power (product of weight and rate of climb). Various assumptions about the aerodynamic power in low-speed climbs led to estimates of the maximum power output of the flight muscles ranging from 41 to 46 W. This, in turn, would imply a stress during shortening of around 210 kPa. The effects of a radio package on a bird that is raising young should be considered in relation to the food load that the forager can normally carry, rather than in relation to its body mass.

Research on Centroid Position for Stairs Climbing Stability of Search and Rescue Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Guo

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper represents the relationship between the stability of stairs climbing and the centroid position of the search and rescue robot. The robot system is considered as a mass point-plane model and the kinematics features are analyzed to find the relationship between centroid position and the maximal pitch angle of stairs the robot could climb up. A computable function about this relationship is given in this paper. During the stairs climbing, there is a maximal stability-keeping angle depends on the centroid position and the pitch angle of stairs, and the numerical formula is developed about the relationship between the maximal stability-keeping angle and the centroid position and pitch angle of stairs. The experiment demonstrates the trustworthy and correction of the method in the paper.

Fuel management optimization in pressure water reactors with hexagonal geometry using hill climbing method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andres Diaz, J.; Quintero, Ruben; Melian, Manuel; Rosete, Alejandro

2000-01-01

In this work the general-purpose optimization method, Hill Climbing, was applied to the Fuel Management Optimization problem in PWR reactors, WWER type. They were carried out a series of experiments in order to study the performance of Hill Climbing. It was proven two starting point for initialize the search: a reload configuration by project and a reload configuration generated with the application of a minimal knowledge of the problem. It was also studied the effect of imposing constraints based on the physics of the reactor in order to reduce the number of possible solutions to be generated. The operator used in Hill Climbing was defined as a binary exchange of fuel assemblies. For the simulation of each generated configuration, the tridimensional simulator program SPPS-1 was used. It was formulated an objective function with power peaking constraint to guide the search. As results, a methodology ws proposed for the In-core Fuel Management Optimization in hexagonal geometry, and the feasibility of the application of the Hill Climbing to this type of problem was demonstrated. (author)

Hill climbing algorithms and trivium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borghoff, Julia; Knudsen, Lars Ramkilde; Matusiewicz, Krystian

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a new method to solve certain classes of systems of multivariate equations over the binary field and its cryptanalytical applications. We show how heuristic optimization methods such as hill climbing algorithms can be relevant to solving systems of multivariate equations....... A characteristic of equation systems that may be efficiently solvable by the means of such algorithms is provided. As an example, we investigate equation systems induced by the problem of recovering the internal state of the stream cipher Trivium. We propose an improved variant of the simulated annealing method...

Piper (Piperaceae) in New Guinea: the climbing species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gardner, R.O.

2012-01-01

Sixteen climbing Piper species are accepted for New Guinea. The three endemics, P. arfakianum, P. subcanirameum and P. versteegii, are fully described. Eight taxa of unclear circumscription are noted. A new variety of P. macropiper, endemic to Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea, is described. The

Construct Validity and Test-Retest Reliability of the Climbing Stairs Questionnaire in Lower-Limb Amputees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Laat, Fred A.; Rommers, Gerardus M.; Geertzen, Jan H.; Roorda, Leo D.

de Laat FA, Rommers GM, Geertzen JH, Roorda LD. Construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Climbing Stairs Questionnaire in lower-limb amputees. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2010;91:1396-401. Objective: To investigate the construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Climbing Stairs

Dynamic analysis of a bio-inspired climbing robot using ADAMS-Simulink co-simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Chattopadhyay, P.; Dikshit, H.; Majumder, A.; Ghoshal, S.; Maity, A.

2018-04-01

Climbing robot has been an area of interest since the demand of inspection of pipeline, nuclear power plant, and various big structure is growing up rapidly. This paper represents the development of a bio-inspired modular robot which mimics inchworm locomotion during climbing. In the present paper, the climbing motion is achieved only on a flat vertical plane by magnetic adhesion principle. The robot is modelled as a 4-link planar mechanism with three revolute joints actuated by DC servo motors. Sinusoidal gait pattern is used to approximate the motion of an inchworm. The dynamics of the robot is presented by using ADAMS/MATLAB co-simulation methodology. The simulation result gives the maximum value of joint torque during one complete cycle of motion. This torque value is used for the selection of servo motor specifications required to build the prototype.

Characteristics of the scientific researches in sport climbing (review of the articles, theses, programs, methodical works.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sedliar Yu.V.

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The general estimation of the condition of the scientific developments will presented in sport climbing and on this base is specified the most perspective ways of scientific searching for in this area. Analysis publication reflecting different questions of preparation sport climbing athletes was organized. On base of the analysis of the special literature and coming from generally accepted in home science structure of the knowledge, was ascertained degree of the development different theoretical and practical aspect in this sphere. Discovered increase amount of the experimental studies in sport climbing.

Stair Climbing in a Quadruped Robot

OpenAIRE

Shen-Chiang Chen; Chih-Chung Ko; Cheng-Hsin Li; Pei-Chun Lin

2012-01-01

This paper reports the algorithm of trajectory planning and the strategy of four-leg coordination for quasi-static stair climbing in a quadruped robot. This development is based on the geometrical interactions between robot legs and the stair, starting from single-leg analysis, followed by two-leg collaboration, and then four-leg coordination. In addition, a brief study on the robot’s locomotion stability is also included. Finally, simulation and experimental testing were executed to evaluate...

Frames and semi-frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antoine, Jean-Pierre; Balazs, Peter

2011-01-01

Loosely speaking, a semi-frame is a generalized frame for which one of the frame bounds is absent. More precisely, given a total sequence in a Hilbert space, we speak of an upper (resp. lower) semi-frame if only the upper (resp. lower) frame bound is valid. Equivalently, for an upper semi-frame, the frame operator is bounded, but has an unbounded inverse, whereas a lower semi-frame has an unbounded frame operator, with a bounded inverse. We study mostly upper semi-frames, both in the continuous and discrete case, and give some remarks for the dual situation. In particular, we show that reconstruction is still possible in certain cases.

Robot-assisted practice of gait and stair climbing in nonambulatory stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Stefan; Tomelleri, Christopher; Bardeleben, Anita; Werner, Cordula; Waldner, Andreas

2012-01-01

A novel gait robot enabled nonambulatory patients the repetitive practice of gait and stair climbing. Thirty nonambulatory patients with subacute stroke were allocated to two groups. During 60 min sessions every workday for 4 weeks, the experimental group received 30 min of robot training and 30 min of physiotherapy and the control group received 60 min of physiotherapy. The primary variable was gait and stair climbing ability (Functional Ambulation Categories [FAC] score 0-5); secondary variables were gait velocity, Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI), and leg strength and tone blindly assessed at onset, intervention end, and follow-up. Both groups were comparable at onset and functionally improved over time. The improvements were significantly larger in the experimental group with respect to the FAC, RMI, velocity, and leg strength during the intervention. The FAC gains (mean +/- standard deviation) were 2.4 +/- 1.2 (experimental group) and 1.2 +/- 1.5 (control group), p = 0.01. At the end of the intervention, seven experimental group patients and one control group patient had reached an FAC score of 5, indicating an ability to climb up and down one flight of stairs. At follow-up, this superior gait ability persisted. In conclusion, the therapy on the novel gait robot resulted in a superior gait and stair climbing ability in nonambulatory patients with subacute stroke; a higher training intensity was the most likely explanation. A large randomized controlled trial should follow.

Comparison of Genetic Algorithm and Hill Climbing for Shortest Path Optimization Mapping

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Fronita Mona

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP is an optimization to find the shortest path to reach several destinations in one trip without passing through the same city and back again to the early departure city, the process is applied to the delivery systems. This comparison is done using two methods, namely optimization genetic algorithm and hill climbing. Hill Climbing works by directly selecting a new path that is exchanged with the neighbour’s to get the track distance smaller than the previous track, without testing. Genetic algorithms depend on the input parameters, they are the number of population, the probability of crossover, mutation probability and the number of generations. To simplify the process of determining the shortest path supported by the development of software that uses the google map API. Tests carried out as much as 20 times with the number of city 8, 16, 24 and 32 to see which method is optimal in terms of distance and time computation. Based on experiments conducted with a number of cities 3, 4, 5 and 6 producing the same value and optimal distance for the genetic algorithm and hill climbing, the value of this distance begins to differ with the number of city 7. The overall results shows that these tests, hill climbing are more optimal to number of small cities and the number of cities over 30 optimized using genetic algorithms.

Development and Initial Validation of a Rock Climbing Craving Questionnaire (RCCQ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gareth Roderique-Davies

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Conceptual similarities have been identified between experiences of extreme sports athletes and those with drug and behavioral addictions. Evidence suggests rock climbers experience craving and other withdrawal-like states when abstinent from their sport. However, no studies have attempted to quantitatively measure the craving experienced by participants of any extreme sports. Such a measure could allow a greater understanding of the craving experienced by extreme sports athletes and a comparison of these across sports (e.g., surfing and activities (e.g., drug-use. Therefore, using validated craving measures as a template, the aim of the two studies outlined here was to design and preliminarily validate a subjective multidimensional inventory that could be used to measure craving in the sports of rock-climbing and mountaineering (“RCCQ”. The aim of the first study was to investigate the factor structure of a preliminary measure of craving. Climbers (n = 407 completed the RCCQ. A 3-factor model explained 53.65% of the total variance in item scores. All three factors comprised five items each, which were conceptually labeled as “urge to climb” “negative reinforcement” and “positive reinforcement.” The aim of the second study was to validate the 15-item 3-factor RCCQ resulting from Study 1 using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA. Climbers (n = 254 completed the questionnaire under a climbing-related cue condition or a cue-neutral condition. CFA revealed a good model fit and that all individual parameter estimates were significant and standard errors were within reasonable limits once item 13 was removed from Factor 1. Study 1 supports the multi-dimensional nature of rock climbing craving and shows parallels with substance-related craving in reflecting intention and positive (desire and negative (withdrawal reinforcement. Study 2 confirms this factor structure and gives initial validation to the measure with evidence that these

Transition Analysis and Its Application to Global Path Determination for a Biped Climbing Robot

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Haifei Zhu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Biped climbing robots are considered good assistants and (or substitutes for human workers carrying out high-rise truss-associated routine tasks. Flexible locomotion on three-dimensional complex trusses is a fundamental skill for these robots. In particular, the capability to transit from one structural member to another is paramount for switching objects to be climbed upon. In this paper, we study member-to-member transition and its utility in global path searching for biped climbing robots. To compute operational regions for transition, hierarchical inspection of safety, reachability, and accessibility of grips is taken into account. A novel global path rapid determination approach is subsequently proposed based on the transition analysis. This scheme is efficient for finding feasible routes with respect to the overall structural environment, which also benefits the subsequent grip and motion planning. Simulations are conducted with Climbot, our self-developed biped climbing robot, to verify the efficiency of the presented method. Results show that our proposed method is able to accurately determine the operational region for transition within tens of milliseconds and can obtain global paths within seconds in general.

EXAMINATION OF THE SIMULATED THERMAL CONDITIONS IN A POPULAR PLAYGROUND RELATED TO THE HUMAN REACTIONS AND THE JUDGMENT OF THE AREA DESIGN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.A. ÉGERHÁZI

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In the field of urban bioclimatology an important and timely research direction today is to examine the thermal conditions of public places. In our study, human thermal comfort analysis was performed in a modern and well-attended children playground located in Szeged (Hungary. The aim of the paper is to reveal the changes in the thermal comfort conditions between two seasons and also the resulting subjective thermal reactions of visitors in this relatively small area. Thermal comfort conditions were quantified by the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET. For typical summer and autumn days of 2011 numerical simulations of thermal comfort conditions in the playground were carried out by means of the urban microclimate model ENVI-met. Spatial distribution of the simulated PET, i.e. thermal stress maps were created in two different times of the selected days in order to characterize the distinct microclimatological conditions appearing in the area. The relationship between the momentary spatial patterns of visitors and the thermal conditions was also under investigation. Additionally, onsite questionnaire survey was implemented which highlights the people’s subjective evaluation related to the design of the playground.

Review of the Book “Digital Labor: The Internet as Playground and Factory”, Edited by Trebor Scholz

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Sebastian Sevignani

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article is a review of the collected volume Digital Labor: The Internet as Playground and Factory, edited by Trebor Scholz (2013 and published by Routledge, New York. The author introduces the articles, discusses them briefly, and gives an overall evaluation of the book.

Climbing the Needs Pyramids

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J. C. Lomas

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Abraham Maslow’s theory of human adult motivation is often represented by a pyramid image showing two proposals: First, the five needs stages in emergent order of hierarchical ascension and second, a percentage of the adult population suggested to occupy each needs tier. Specifically, Maslow proposed that adults would be motivated to satisfy their unfilled needs until they reached the hierarchy’s apex and achieved self-transcendence. Yet how adults can purposefully ascend Maslow’s pyramid through satisfying unfilled needs remains elusive. This brief article challenges this on the theory’s 70th anniversary by presenting a new image of the needs hierarchy, based on ecological design principles to support adults’ purposeful endeavors to climb the needs pyramid.

Dislocation climb and interstitial loop growth under cascade damage irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, C.H.; Semenov, A.A.

1993-01-01

The effects of intracascade clustering and recombination in radiation damage have been considered previously in semiquantitative calculations involving vacancy accumulation at voids, within the concept of production bias. To model void swelling and microstructural evolution quantitatively, similar effects on dislocation climb and interstitial loop growth have to be considered. In this regard, at elevated temperatures (such as in the peak-swelling temperature regime), the concentration of freely migrating vacancies is much higher than that of the interstitials, owing to the evaporation from the primary vacancy clusters (i.e. those produced by intracascade clustering). It is not immediately obvious how the dislocations can be net interstitials sinks, and hence that the observed nucleation and growth of the interstitial loops at elevated temperatures can be correctly predicted as in the conventional theory. To address these basic questions, a rate theory model is formulated in this paper, which describes the dislocation climb and loop growth in the presence of intracascade primary clusters. Within this model, conservation equations for the concentrations and average radii of the two kinds of primary cluster are derived, and the corresponding steady-state concentrations and average radii are calculated. From this, the dislocation climb velocity and interstitial loop growth rate are calculated. On the basis of the results of this calculation, some of the basic questions of production bias are discussed. (Author)

Penerapan Metode Hill Climbing Pada Sistem Informasi Geografis Untuk Mencari Lintasan Terpendek

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Eka Vickraien Dangkua

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Heuristic search methods is one of the methods commonly in use in finding the shortest path, one of which, namely the methods Hill Climbing process where testing is done using heuristic functions. Problems generally encountered is the shortest path search to solve the problem of distance can be changed into a graph structure, where the point of declaring the city and the State line that connects the two cities. From the logic so that it can locate destinations and save on travel costs. The hallmarks of this algorithm are all possible solutions will have then checked one by one from the left side, so it will be obtained solutions with optimal results. On a Hill Climbing method according to case using geographic information systems as a tool in making a decision, by way of collect, examine, and analyze information related to digital map. with a combination of Hill Climbing method and geographic information systems can result in an application that is certainly feasible for use in the search path problems.   Keywords: Hill Climbin method; digital map; Geographic Information Systems

Evolutionary Novelty versus Exaptation: Oral Kinematics in Feeding versus Climbing in the Waterfall-Climbing Hawaiian Goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni

OpenAIRE

Cullen, Joshua A.; Maie, Takashi; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.; Blob, Richard W.

2013-01-01

Species exposed to extreme environments often exhibit distinctive traits that help meet the demands of such habitats. Such traits could evolve independently, but under intense selective pressures of extreme environments some existing structures or behaviors might be coopted to meet specialized demands, evolving via the process of exaptation. We evaluated the potential for exaptation to have operated in the evolution of novel behaviors of the waterfall-climbing gobiid fish genus Sicyopterus. T...

Leading Organizational Change Is Like Climbing a Mountain

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Judith

2004-01-01

Leading organizational change is like climbing a mountain. Transformational leaders must prepare to lead change, understand the process and nature of change, and provide the essential gear so that those involved can be successful. The author draws on the literature and personal experiences as a hiker and change leader to provide a guide for…

Piper (Piperaceae) in the Solomon Islands: the climbing species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gardner, R.O.

2010-01-01

Eleven climbing species of Piper in the Solomon Islands are recognized: P. abbreviatum, P. betle, P. bosnicanum, P. caninum, P. celtidiforme, P. fragile, P. insectifugum (syn. P. austrocaledonicum), P. interruptum, P. macropiper, P. majusculum, and, as the only endemic, P. sclerophloeum, for which a

Piper (Piperaceae) in the Philippine Islands: the climbing species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gardner, R.O.

2006-01-01

Piper in the Philippine Islands is reviewed. Fifteen climbing species are recognized (many fewer than in previous treatments) and distinguished in a key. Most are widely distributed through Malesia, with ranges that end eastwards in the Solomon Islands or Australia. Piper myrmecophilum, the only

The Effects of Playground Markings on the Physical Self-Perceptions of 10-11-Year-Old School Children

Science.gov (United States)

Crust, Lee; McKenna, Jim; Spence, Jon; Thomas, Catherine; Evans, Donna; Bishop, Daniel

2014-01-01

Background: Significant proportions of school children in the UK do not meet the minimum recommended daily requirements of 60-min moderate-intensity physical activity. Beyond taught classes, playtimes offer the opportunity for children to play and be physically active. Painted markings are one recent addition to school playgrounds that are…

Nutrient composition of climbing and prostrate vegetable cowpea ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study evaluated the nutrient content of different accessions of two vegetable cowpea genotypes. The mineral content of the vegetable cowpea accessions were high. Potassium content of the accessions of the climbing genotype “Akidi enu” ranged from 1.25 to 1.52% with a mean value of 1.43 ± 0.13% while in the ...

Climbing Up the Technology Ladder? High-Technology Exports in China and Latin America

OpenAIRE

Gallagher, Kevin P.; Porzecanski, Roberto

2008-01-01

In this paper we determine the “dynamic revealed competitiveness position” (DRCP) of nations for high technology exports between 1980 and 2005. We find that the developed world has lost significant market share in high technology and that China has climbed the high technology ladder during this period. In 1980 China was ranked 99th of all nations in terms of the percentage of global exports in high technology. By 2005 China climbed to second place in the world, first place if high technology ...

Grain-size distribution of surface sediments of climbing and falling ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

45

The climbing and falling dunes distributing in the wide valleys of China's Yarlung. 64. Zangbo River ...... Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2006. The state of ... Global land use change, economic globalization, and. 450 the looming ...

Hold design supports learning and transfer of climbing fluency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Orth, Dominic; Davids, Keith; Seifert, Ludovic

2014-01-01

Being a discipline with a broad range of genres, rock climbing is an activity where participants seek to generalize the skills they learn in different performance contexts. A training strategy for achieving skill transfer was explored in a group of experienced climbers. Specifically, we tested the

Climbing ability of teneral and sclerotized adult bed bugs and assessment of adhesive properties of the exoskeletal fluid using atomic force microscopy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin R Hinson

Full Text Available We observed that teneral adults (72 h, and sclerotized group 2 (S2 bed bugs (n = 30, height climbed = 2.64 cm at >72 h post molt. When heights from all climbing events were summed, teneral bed bugs (650.8 cm climbed differed significantly (P< 0.01 from recently sclerotized (82 cm climbed and sclerotized (group 1 = 104.6 cm climbed, group 2 = 107.8 cm climbed bed bugs. These findings suggested that the external surface of teneral bed bug exoskeletons possess an adhesive property. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM, we found that adhesion force of an exoskeletal (presumably molting fluid decreased almost five-fold from 88 to 17 nN within an hour of molting. Our findings may have implications for laboratory safety and the effectiveness of bed bug traps, barriers, and biomimetic-based adhesives.

Complete Spinal Accessory Nerve Palsy From Carrying Climbing Gear.

Science.gov (United States)

Coulter, Jess M; Warme, Winston J

2015-09-01

We report an unusual case of spinal accessory nerve palsy sustained while transporting climbing gear. Spinal accessory nerve injury is commonly a result of iatrogenic surgical trauma during lymph node excision. This particular nerve is less frequently injured by blunt trauma. The case reported here results from compression of the spinal accessory nerve for a sustained period-that is, carrying a load over the shoulder using a single nylon rope for 2.5 hours. This highlights the importance of using proper load-carrying equipment to distribute weight over a greater surface area to avoid nerve compression in the posterior triangle of the neck. The signs and symptoms of spinal accessory nerve palsy and its etiology are discussed. This report is particularly relevant to individuals involved in mountaineering and rock climbing but can be extended to anyone carrying a load with a strap over one shoulder and across the body. Copyright © 2015 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Where do the children play? The influence of playground equipment on physical activity of children in free play.

Science.gov (United States)

Farley, Thomas A; Meriwether, Rebecca A; Baker, Erin T; Rice, Janet C; Webber, Larry S

2008-03-01

Promotion of physical activity in children depends on an understanding of how children use play equipment. We conducted observations over 2 years of children in 2nd through 8th grades in a schoolyard with 5 distinct play areas with different amounts of play equipment. Children were more likely to play in areas with more installed play equipment, with densities of children in equipped areas 3.3 to 12.6 times higher than in an open grassy field. There were no significant differences by play area in the percent of children who were physically active at all, but children were more likely to be very active in areas with basketball goals and an installed play structure than in an open field. Playground equipment appeared to have a strong influence on where children played and a moderate influence on levels of activity. To maximize physical activity in children, playgrounds should be designed with ample and diverse play equipment.

Comparative Effect of Forward and Backward Stair Climbing on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

olagbegi

The groups were not significantly different (p> 0.05) in their cardiovascular parameters at weeks 0, 4, and 8. The FSC group had ... KEY WORDS: Stair climbing, blood pressure, cardiovascular endurance ... significantly greater metabolic responses compared to ... This was taken with the subject in sitting position, with the.

Green and lean: Is neighborhood park and playground availability associated with youth obesity? Variations by gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan Hughey, S; Kaczynski, Andrew T; Child, Stephanie; Moore, Justin B; Porter, Dwayne; Hibbert, James

2017-02-01

Parks and park features are important for promoting physical activity and healthy weight, especially for low-income and racial/ethnic minority youth who have disproportionately high obesity rates. This study 1) examined associations between neighborhood park and playground availability and youth obesity, and 2) assessed whether these associations were moderated by youth race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). In 2013, objectively measured height and weight were collected for all 3rd-5th grade youth (n=13.469) in a southeastern US county to determine body mass index (BMI) percentiles. Enumeration and audits of the county's parks (n=103) were concurrently conducted. Neighborhood park and playground availability were calculated as the number of each facility within or intersecting each youth's Census block group. Multilevel linear regression models were utilized to examine study objectives. For boys, no main effects were detected; however, SES moderated associations such that higher park availability was associated with lower BMI percentile for low-SES youth but higher BMI percentile for high-SES youth. For girls, the number of parks and playgrounds were significantly associated with lower BMI (b=-2.2, b=-1.1, pyouth obesity by SES and race/ethnicity, highlighting the importance of studying the intersection of these characteristics when exploring associations between built environment features and obesity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Omni-Directional Wall-Climbing Microrobot with Magnetic Wheels Directly Integrated with Electromagnetic Micromotors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoning Tang

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an omni-directional wall-climbing microrobot with magnetic wheels. The integral design with an actuator and adhesive is realized by integrating stators and rotors of an MEMS-based electromagnetic micromotor with a magnetic wheel. The omni-directional wall-climbing mechanism is designed by a set of steering gears and three standard magnetic wheels. The required torque and magnetic force for microrobot movement are derived by its static analysis. The size of the magnetic wheel is optimized, with consideration of its own design constraints, by ANSOFT and Pro/Engineer simulation so as to reduce unnecessary torque consumption under the same designed load. Related experiments demonstrate that the microrobot (diameter: 26mm; height: 16.4; mass: 7.2g; load capacity: 3g we have developed has a good wall-climbing ability and flexible mobility, and it can perform visual detection in a ferromagnetic environment.

CLIMBING.CREACIÓN DE UNA MRCA DEPORTIVA

OpenAIRE

MESEGUER SANCHEZ, RAQUEL

2017-01-01

El presente TFG plantea el desarrollo de la imagen de marca de una empresa de ropa deportiva y la adaptación a sus productos, esta imagen plantea las connotaciones de fuerza y juventud y adaptable a cualquier tipo de deporte. Se estudian todos los valores implícitos en el branding y el proceso de elaboración. Meseguer Sanchez, R. (2017). CLIMBING.CREACIÓN DE UNA MRCA DEPORTIVA. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/92805 TFGM

Biomechanics and functional morphology of a climbing monocot

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Linnea; Wagner, Sarah T.; Neinhuis, Christoph

2016-01-01

Plants with a climbing growth habit possess unique biomechanical properties arising from adaptations to changing loading conditions connected with close attachment to mechanical supports. In monocot climbers, mechanical adaptation is restricted by the absence of a bifacial vascular cambium. Flagellaria indica was used to investigate the mechanical properties and adaptations of a monocot climber that, uniquely, attaches to the surrounding vegetation via leaf tendrils. Biomechanical methods such as three-point bending and torsion tests were used together with anatomical studies on tissue development, modification and distribution. In general, the torsional modulus was lower than the bending modulus; hence, torsional stiffness was less than flexural stiffness. Basal parts of mature stems showed the greatest stiffness while that of more apical stem segments levelled off. Mechanical properties were modulated via tissue maturation processes mainly affecting the peripheral region of the stem. Peripheral vascular bundles showed a reduction in the amount of conducting tissue while the proportion and density of the bundle sheath increased. Furthermore, adjacent bundle sheaths merged resulting in a dense ring of fibrous tissue. Although F. indica lacks secondary cambial growth, the climbing habit is facilitated by a complex interaction of tissue maturation and attachment. PMID:26819259

Modeling and analysis of a meso-hydraulic climbing robot with artificial muscle actuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Edward M; Jenkins, Tyler E; Bryant, Matthew

2017-07-10

This paper presents a fully coupled electro-hydraulic model of a bio-inspired climbing robot actuated by fluidic artificial muscles (FAMs). This analysis expands upon previous FAM literature by considering not only the force and contraction characteristics of the actuator, but the complete hydraulic and electromechanical circuits as well as the dynamics of the climbing robot. This analysis allows modeling of the time-varying applied pressure, electrical current, and actuator contraction for accurate prediction of the robot motion, energy consumption, and mechanical work output. The developed model is first validated against mechanical and electrical data collected from a proof-of-concept prototype robot. The model is then employed to study the system-level sensitivities of the robot locomotion efficiency and average climbing speed to several design and operating parameters. The results of this analysis demonstrate that considering only the transduction efficiency of the FAM actuators is insufficient to maximize the efficiency of the complete robot, and that a holistic approach can lead to significant improvements in performance. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Watch Out for Your Neighbor: Climbing onto Shrubs Is Related to Risk of Cannibalism in the Scorpion Buthus cf. occitanus.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Piñero, Francisco; Urbano-Tenorio, Fernando

The distribution and behavior of foraging animals usually imply a balance between resource availability and predation risk. In some predators such as scorpions, cannibalism constitutes an important mortality factor determining their ecology and behavior. Climbing on vegetation by scorpions has been related both to prey availability and to predation (cannibalism) risk. We tested different hypotheses proposed to explain climbing on vegetation by scorpions. We analyzed shrub climbing in Buthus cf. occitanus with regard to the following: a) better suitability of prey size for scorpions foraging on shrubs than on the ground, b) selection of shrub species with higher prey load, c) seasonal variations in prey availability on shrubs, and d) whether or not cannibalism risk on the ground increases the frequency of shrub climbing. Prey availability on shrubs was compared by estimating prey abundance in sticky traps placed in shrubs. A prey sample from shrubs was measured to compare prey size. Scorpions were sampled in six plots (50 m x 10 m) to estimate the proportion of individuals climbing on shrubs. Size difference and distance between individuals and their closest scorpion neighbor were measured to assess cannibalism risk. The results showed that mean prey size was two-fold larger on the ground. Selection of particular shrub species was not related to prey availability. Seasonal variations in the number of scorpions on shrubs were related to the number of active scorpions, but not with fluctuations in prey availability. Size differences between a scorpion and its nearest neighbor were positively related with a higher probability for a scorpion to climb onto a shrub when at a disadvantage, but distance was not significantly related. These results do not support hypotheses explaining shrub climbing based on resource availability. By contrast, our results provide evidence that shrub climbing is related to cannibalism risk.

Innovative gait robot for the repetitive practice of floor walking and stair climbing up and down in stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Stefan; Waldner, Andreas; Tomelleri, Christopher

2010-06-28

Stair climbing up and down is an essential part of everyday's mobility. To enable wheelchair-dependent patients the repetitive practice of this task, a novel gait robot, G-EO-Systems (EO, Lat: I walk), based on the end-effector principle, has been designed. The trajectories of the foot plates are freely programmable enabling not only the practice of simulated floor walking but also stair climbing up and down. The article intended to compare lower limb muscle activation patterns of hemiparetic subjects during real floor walking and stairs climbing up, and during the corresponding simulated conditions on the machine, and secondly to demonstrate gait improvement on single case after training on the machine. The muscle activation pattern of seven lower limb muscles of six hemiparetic patients during free and simulated walking on the floor and stair climbing was measured via dynamic electromyography. A non-ambulatory, sub-acute stroke patient additionally trained on the G-EO-Systems every workday for five weeks. The muscle activation patterns were comparable during the real and simulated conditions, both on the floor and during stair climbing up. Minor differences, concerning the real and simulated floor walking conditions, were a delayed (prolonged) onset (duration) of the thigh muscle activation on the machine across all subjects. Concerning stair climbing conditions, the shank muscle activation was more phasic and timely correct in selected patients on the device. The severely affected subject regained walking and stair climbing ability. The G-EO-Systems is an interesting new option in gait rehabilitation after stroke. The lower limb muscle activation patterns were comparable, a training thus feasible, and the positive case report warrants further clinical studies.

The effects of climbing cages on behaviour of female mink during the lactation period

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lidfors, L.; Axelsson, H.; Loberg, J.

2012-01-01

=46) or standard cages (2.550 cm², n=44). Behavioural observations were made four weeks before birth until kits were nine weeks old with one-zero sampling during two hours before feeding. During week 1-4 after females had given birth they were mostly recorded in the nest box and there were......The aim was to investigate if there were differences in behaviour of female mink when kept in a climbing cage compared with a standard cage during the lactation period. The study was carried out on 90 mink of the colour type "black cross". Females were housed in either climbing cages (4.350 cm², n...... no differences between cage types. Week 5-8 after giving birth females in climbing cages were less in the nest box, less active out in the cage and had fewer abnormal behaviours, but were on the platforms and more inactive out in the cage. In the bottom cage females were more often walking, grooming and inactive...

The CLIMB Geoportal - A web-based dissemination and documentation platform for hydrological modelling data

Science.gov (United States)

Blaschek, Michael; Gerken, Daniel; Ludwig, Ralf; Duttmann, Rainer

2015-04-01

Geoportals are important elements of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) that are strongly based on GIS-related web services. These services are basically meant for distributing, documenting and visualizing (spatial) data in a standardized manner; an important but challenging task especially in large scientific projects with a high number of data suppliers and producers from various countries. This presentation focuses on introducing the free and open-source based geoportal solution developed within the research project CLIMB (Climate Induced Changes on the Hydrology of Mediterranean Basins, www.climb-fp7.eu) that serves as the central platform for interchanging project-related spatial data and information. In this collaboration, financed by the EU-FP7-framework and coordinated at the LMU Munich, 21 partner institutions from nine European and non-European countries were involved. The CLIMB Geoportal (lgi-climbsrv.geographie.uni-kiel.de) stores and provides spatially distributed data about the current state and future changes of the hydrological conditions within the seven CLIMB test sites around the Mediterranean. Hydrological modelling outcome - validated by the CLIMB partners - is offered to the public in forms of Web Map Services (WMS), whereas downloading the underlying data itself through Web Coverage Services (WCS) is possible for registered users only. A selection of common indicators such as discharge, drought index as well as uncertainty measures including their changes over time were used in different spatial resolution. Besides map information, the portal enables the graphical display of time series of selected variables calculated by the individual models applied within the CLIMB-project. The implementation of the CLIMB Geoportal is finally based on version 2.0c5 of the open source geospatial content management system GeoNode. It includes a GeoServer instance for providing the OGC-compliant web services and comes with a metadata catalog (pycsw) as well

Climbing fibers predict movement kinematics and performance errors.

Science.gov (United States)

Streng, Martha L; Popa, Laurentiu S; Ebner, Timothy J

2017-09-01

Requisite for understanding cerebellar function is a complete characterization of the signals provided by complex spike (CS) discharge of Purkinje cells, the output neurons of the cerebellar cortex. Numerous studies have provided insights into CS function, with the most predominant view being that they are evoked by error events. However, several reports suggest that CSs encode other aspects of movements and do not always respond to errors or unexpected perturbations. Here, we evaluated CS firing during a pseudo-random manual tracking task in the monkey ( Macaca mulatta ). This task provides extensive coverage of the work space and relative independence of movement parameters, delivering a robust data set to assess the signals that activate climbing fibers. Using reverse correlation, we determined feedforward and feedback CSs firing probability maps with position, velocity, and acceleration, as well as position error, a measure of tracking performance. The direction and magnitude of the CS modulation were quantified using linear regression analysis. The major findings are that CSs significantly encode all three kinematic parameters and position error, with acceleration modulation particularly common. The modulation is not related to "events," either for position error or kinematics. Instead, CSs are spatially tuned and provide a linear representation of each parameter evaluated. The CS modulation is largely predictive. Similar analyses show that the simple spike firing is modulated by the same parameters as the CSs. Therefore, CSs carry a broader array of signals than previously described and argue for climbing fiber input having a prominent role in online motor control. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article demonstrates that complex spike (CS) discharge of cerebellar Purkinje cells encodes multiple parameters of movement, including motor errors and kinematics. The CS firing is not driven by error or kinematic events; instead it provides a linear representation of each

Psychological profile of Turkish rock climbers: an examination of climbing experience and route difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Aşçi, F Hülya; Demirhan, Giyasettin; Dinç, S Cem

2007-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine sensation seeking, physical self-perception, and intrinsic and extrinsic motives of rock climbers and to compare these psychological constructs with respect to their years of climbing experience and the difficulty of their climbing routes. 64 climbers (M age=29.1 yr., SD=6.4) voluntarily participated in this study. The Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS), Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ), and Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) were administered to the rock climbers. Analysis indicated that the mean score of rock climbers on the Novelty subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scale was 33.9 (SD= 3.6) and mean value on the Intensity subscale was 29.2 (SD=5.2). The mean scores of rock climbers on the PSDQ ranged between 3.9 (SD= 1.0, Physical Activity) and 5.1 (SD= 1.1, Body Fat). Descriptive analysis indicated that the highest mean score of rock climbers on the SMS was obtained in Intrinsic motivation to Experience Stimulation (5.7, SD= 0.9). The independent sample t test showed no significant differences in sensation seeking, physical self-perception, and sport motivation with regard to years of climbing experience and route difficulty (p>.05). It may be concluded that sensation seeking in climbers is high, and they have internal motivational orientation and positive physical self-perception; their competence in climbing has no obvious relationship to these variables.

Innovative gait robot for the repetitive practice of floor walking and stair climbing up and down in stroke patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldner Andreas

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stair climbing up and down is an essential part of everyday's mobility. To enable wheelchair-dependent patients the repetitive practice of this task, a novel gait robot, G-EO-Systems (EO, Lat: I walk, based on the end-effector principle, has been designed. The trajectories of the foot plates are freely programmable enabling not only the practice of simulated floor walking but also stair climbing up and down. The article intended to compare lower limb muscle activation patterns of hemiparetic subjects during real floor walking and stairs climbing up, and during the corresponding simulated conditions on the machine, and secondly to demonstrate gait improvement on single case after training on the machine. Methods The muscle activation pattern of seven lower limb muscles of six hemiparetic patients during free and simulated walking on the floor and stair climbing was measured via dynamic electromyography. A non-ambulatory, sub-acute stroke patient additionally trained on the G-EO-Systems every workday for five weeks. Results The muscle activation patterns were comparable during the real and simulated conditions, both on the floor and during stair climbing up. Minor differences, concerning the real and simulated floor walking conditions, were a delayed (prolonged onset (duration of the thigh muscle activation on the machine across all subjects. Concerning stair climbing conditions, the shank muscle activation was more phasic and timely correct in selected patients on the device. The severely affected subject regained walking and stair climbing ability. Conclusions The G-EO-Systems is an interesting new option in gait rehabilitation after stroke. The lower limb muscle activation patterns were comparable, a training thus feasible, and the positive case report warrants further clinical studies.

Review of dissertation «A Comparison of Cognitive Play Skills Within a Natural and Manufactured Preschool Playground» by Kelly Groeber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florova N.B.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article examines the structure of the game space as a factor, providing formation of creativity which in its turn is regarded as personal competence in preschool children. The data obtained by the author contribute to the general knowledge about age dynamics and typology of skills that are gained by children in the process of shaping of their playing competences. They also demonstrate the deficit of child development in conditions of artificial gaming environment, lacking natural components. The article also contains a big number of pictures, showing the functional capacities of different playgrounds, tabular figures, and volumetric methodical applicationы. The present comparative qualitative analysis is aimed at mapping cognitive skills, formed in preschool children in case they spend more time on the playgrounds, equipped with the elements of natural origin (natural or artificial ( metal elements.

Playground diseños e infraestructuras seguras para nuestros niños y niñas…una urgencia en Costa Rica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Morera-Castro

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Se propone en este artículo una serie de aspectos que se deben tomar en cuenta para el diseño e infraestructura de los campos de juego o playgrounds.  Además del equipamiento y componentes necesarios que faciliten la conformación de normativas de seguridad, que van a establecer un espacio seguro capaz de cumplir el objetivo de su creación, deben ser un medio que facilite  la formación integral de la población, sin poner en riesgo su salud, previniendo cualquier tipo de accidente  y garantizando sus derechos inalienables como costarricenses.   Es urgente, por tanto, que en Costa Rica se establezcan legislaciones claras que garanticen el cumplimiento en cuanto a la construcción, diseño y utilización de los playgrounds.

The inner-city Skater Facility - playground or control mechanism?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gravesen, David Thore

2016-01-01

special Social services, School and Police unit), that observe, mingle and socialize at the facility. The social workers affiliated with the SSP understand and define their role in contradiction to the official agenda. The social workers seek to pull the young people off the street and get them to enroll......The inner-city Skater Facility - playground or control mechanism? In 2013, the municipality in Horsens, a medium-sized provincial town in Denmark, bestowed the city's children and young people a skater facility at the city's central squares. Officially, the municipality donated the facility to give...... local children and young people an opportunity to use their leisure time stimulating their bodies, having a great time with friends and other urban dwellers. The gift is accompanied by a number of (more or less camouflaged) crime prevention- and social education agendas, carried out by the SSP (a...

To be active through indoor-climbing: an exploratory feasibility study in a group of children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Mark Schram; Jensen, Thor; Voigt, Camilla B.

2017-01-01

beneficial effects of climbing activities in populations with functional and/or cognitive challenges. The aim of this study was therefore to test the feasibility of an intensive 3 weeks indoor-climbing training program in children with CP and typically developing (TD) peers. In addition we evaluated possible...... indoor-climbing training sessions, and climbing abilities were measured. The participants were tested in a series of physiological, psychological and cognitive tests: two times prior to and one time following the training in order to explore possible effects of the intervention.Results: The children...... in cognitive abilities or psychological well-being in any of the groups.Conclusions: These findings show that it is possible to use climbing as means to make children with CP physically active. The improved motor abilities obtained through the training is likely reflected by increased synchronization between...

Climbing walls as multitasking sites of geo(morpho)logical interests: Italian examples from the Western Alps and Sardinia

Science.gov (United States)

Bollati, Irene; Fossati, Maria; Panizza, Valeria; Pelfini, Manuela; Zanoletti, Enrico; Zucali, Michele

2015-04-01

Geosites and in particular geomorphosites have been recently more and more used as base for educational activities in Earth Sciences and to enhance the geodiversity of a territory. Their attributes acquire a greater value and become especially appreciable when associated with field and outdoor activities. Frequently rock walls represent key sites for geological and gemorphological researches due to the wide outcrops of rocks where mineralogical composition and structures are very evident as well as landforms deriving from the modeling of outcrops surfaces. Where the rock walls are equipped for climbing activities they may be considered open-air laboratories useful to get in touch with the different features of rocks that condition progression on climbing routes. Due to these two aspects, geohistorical importance and educational exemplarity contribute to the increase of the scientific value and, as a consequence, of the global value of these sites as geosites. Geomorphosites from climbing sites allow to realize educational projects with different goals: 1) Recent researches in the Western Italian Alps have been conducted to make a census of climbing rock cliffs along the Ossola Valley (Verbanio-Cusio-Ossola Province, Italy) and to operate a choice of the ones characterized by high educational value (considering easy accessibility, grades for experts and beginners and the good exposition of rock features), representativeness, geohistorical importance, high cultural and socio-economic values, in order to propose an educational project addressed to students of an Italian secondary school aimed at introducing the three great families of rocks (magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary); 2) The Eclogitic Micaschist Complex of the Austroalpine Domain (Montestrutto climbing wall, Turin Province, Italy) has been investigated in order to i) reconstruct the deformation stages at local scales along the sport climbing wall and the relationships between geological elements and

The Federal Research Action Plan on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds - Background and Exposure Research Goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Concerns have been raised by the public about the safety of recycled tire crumb rubber used in synthetic turf fields and playgrounds in the United States (U.S.). Several studies have been identified that examine potential exposure to tire crumb rubber infill in these settings. Th...

The effect of climbing Mount Everest on spleen contraction and increase in hemoglobin concentration during breath holding and exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Engan, Harald K; Lodin-Sundström, Angelica; Schagatay, Fanny; Schagatay, Erika

2014-04-01

Release of stored red blood cells resulting from spleen contraction improves human performance in various hypoxic situations. This study determined spleen volume resulting from two contraction-evoking stimuli: breath holding and exercise before and after altitude acclimatization during a Mount Everest ascent (8848 m). Eight climbers performed the following protocol before and after the climb: 5 min ambient air respiration at 1370 m during rest, 20 min oxygen respiration, 20 min ambient air respiration at 1370 m, three maximal-effort breath holds spaced by 2 min, 10 min ambient air respiration, 5 min of cycling at 100 W, and finally 10 min ambient air respiration. We measured spleen volume by ultrasound and capillary hemoglobin (HB) concentration after each exposure, and heart rate (HR) and arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2) continuously. Mean (SD) baseline spleen volume was unchanged at 213 (101) mL before and 206 (52) mL after the climb. Before the climb, spleen volume was reduced to 184 (83) mL after three breath holds, and after the climb three breath holds resulted in a spleen volume of 132 (26) mL (p=0.032). After exercise, the preclimb spleen volume was 186 (89) mL vs. 112 (389) mL) after the climb (p=0.003). Breath hold duration and cardiovascular responses were unchanged after the climb. We concluded that spleen contraction may be enhanced by altitude acclimatization, probably reflecting both the acclimatization to chronic hypoxic exposure and acute hypoxia during physical work.

Unspoken Playground Rules Discourage Adolescent Physical Activity in School: A Focus Group Study of Constructs in the Prototype Willingness Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheatley, Catherine M; Davies, Emma L; Dawes, Helen

2018-03-01

The health benefits of exercise in school are recognized, yet physical activity continues to decline during early adolescence despite numerous interventions. In this study, we investigated whether the prototype willingness model, an account of adolescent decision making that includes both reasoned behavioral choices and unplanned responses to social environments, might improve understanding of physical activity in school. We conducted focus groups with British pupils aged 12 to 13 years and used deductive thematic analysis to search for themes relating to the model. Participants described reasoned decisions about physical activity outside school and unplanned choices to be inactive during break, in response to social contexts described as more "judgmental" than in primary school. Social contexts appeared characterized by anxiety about competence, negative peer evaluation, and inactive playground norms. The prototype willingness model might more fully explain physical activity in school than reasoned behavioral models alone, indicating potential for interventions targeting anxieties about playground social environments.

Ask Dr. Sue: Tree Climbing and Care of Sand Play Areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Aronson, Susan S.

1993-01-01

Discusses safety aspects of tree climbing and the use of sand in outdoor play areas at day care centers. Specifies ways to prune trees so that they are unclimbable and methods for maintaining sand areas. Includes a recipe for sand disinfectant. (MDM)

Umbrella Wheel - a stair-climbing and obstacle-handling wheel design concept

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Simon; Jouffroy, Jerome

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a new design for stair-climbing using a wheel that can split into segments and walk up stairs or surmount other obstacles often found where humans traverse, while still being able to retain a perfectly round shape for traveling on smooth ground. Using this change of configurat......This paper proposes a new design for stair-climbing using a wheel that can split into segments and walk up stairs or surmount other obstacles often found where humans traverse, while still being able to retain a perfectly round shape for traveling on smooth ground. Using this change...... of configuration, staircases with a wide range of dimensions can be covered efficiently and safely. The design, named Umbrella Wheel, can consist of as many wheel segments as desired, and as few as two. A smaller or higher number of wheel segments has advantages and disadvantages depending on the specific...

Soil pollution fingerprints of children playgrounds in Sarajevo city, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Science.gov (United States)

Sapcanin, Aida; Cakal, Mirsada; Jacimovic, Zeljko; Pehlic, Ekrem; Jancan, Gordan

2017-04-01

This is the first study, 10 years after the war activities, to report about the content of heavy metals and metalloids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in samples of soils from selected playgrounds in Sarajevo. Due to the fact that children are in direct contact with surface soils, it has been recommended that children's playgrounds should be given special consideration in this respect. Basic properties (pH in H 2 O, pH in 1 mol dm -3 KCl, humus, and CaCO 3 ) of the examined soils were determined. Samples for the determination of heavy metals and metalloids were prepared by microwave-assisted acid digestion and determined by using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. Fluorine was determined potentiometrically. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was used for determination of PAHs and PCBs. Determined contents (mg kg -1 ) for Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Co, Mo, Fe, Se, As, B, and F were in the ranges from: 0.031 ± 0.03 to 0.52 ± 0.05; 26.1 ± 2.5 to 47.7 ± 4.5; 0.07 ± 0.01 to 0.50 ± 0.08; 26.2 to 50; 19.5 ± 1.6 to 33.3 ± 2.7; 12.8 ± 1.8 to 31.9 ± 4.5; 56.0 ± 4.0 to 89.0 ± 6.5; 6.7 ± 0.6 to10.6 ± 1.0; soils, and may be included in projects planning children's health risk assessments and adopting environmental legislation which has not been sufficiently regulated in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far.

Framing the frame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todd McElroy

2007-08-01

Full Text Available We examined how the goal of a decision task influences the perceived positive, negative valence of the alternatives and thereby the likelihood and direction of framing effects. In Study 1 we manipulated the goal to increase, decrease or maintain the commodity in question and found that when the goal of the task was to increase the commodity, a framing effect consistent with those typically observed in the literature was found. When the goal was to decrease, a framing effect opposite to the typical findings was observed whereas when the goal was to maintain, no framing effect was found. When we examined the decisions of the entire population, we did not observe a framing effect. In Study 2, we provided participants with a similar decision task except in this situation the goal was ambiguous, allowing us to observe participants' self-imposed goals and how they influenced choice preferences. The findings from Study 2 demonstrated individual variability in imposed goal and provided a conceptual replication of Study 1. %need keywords

Framing the frame

OpenAIRE

Todd McElroy; John J. Seta

2007-01-01

We examined how the goal of a decision task influences the perceived positive, negative valence of the alternatives and thereby the likelihood and direction of framing effects. In Study 1 we manipulated the goal to increase, decrease or maintain the commodity in question and found that when the goal of the task was to increase the commodity, a framing effect consistent with those typically observed in the literature was found. When the goal was to decrease, a framing effect opposite to the ty...

relative performance of staking techniques on yield of climbing bean

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important staple grain legume in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. In addition, it is a major source of proteins, energy and micro-nutrients (e.g. Fe and Zn), especially for smallholder farmers. The climbing bean is particularly more productive, an efficient land user and tolerant to ...

Distributed mechatronics controller for modular wall climbing robot

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Tlale, NS

2006-07-01

Full Text Available - climbing robot for inspection in nuclear power plants.”, Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pp. 409-1414. (Chen 2001) Chen, D-. J., 2001, “Architecture for Systematic Development of Mechatronics Software Systems”, Licentiate Thesis... provide a more cost effective solution to the problem (Luk et al 1991). Such robots are termed service robots by the International Service Robot Association (ISRA) (Pransky 1996). They are defined as machines that sense, think, and act to benefit (or...

PLAYGROUND: preparing students for the cyber battleground

Science.gov (United States)

Nielson, Seth James

2016-12-01

Attempting to educate practitioners of computer security can be difficult if for no other reason than the breadth of knowledge required today. The security profession includes widely diverse subfields including cryptography, network architectures, programming, programming languages, design, coding practices, software testing, pattern recognition, economic analysis, and even human psychology. While an individual may choose to specialize in one of these more narrow elements, there is a pressing need for practitioners that have a solid understanding of the unifying principles of the whole. We created the Playground network simulation tool and used it in the instruction of a network security course to graduate students. This tool was created for three specific purposes. First, it provides simulation sufficiently powerful to permit rigorous study of desired principles while simultaneously reducing or eliminating unnecessary and distracting complexities. Second, it permitted the students to rapidly prototype a suite of security protocols and mechanisms. Finally, with equal rapidity, the students were able to develop attacks against the protocols that they themselves had created. Based on our own observations and student reviews, we believe that these three features combine to create a powerful pedagogical tool that provides students with a significant amount of breadth and intense emotional connection to computer security in a single semester.

Balancing on the Edge: An Approach to Leadership and Resiliency that Combines Rock Climbing with Four Key Touch Points

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, Harold E.

2005-01-01

In this article, the author compares leadership and resiliency with rock climbing. It describes the author's personal experience on a rock climbing adventure with his family and how it required application of similar elements as that of leadership and resiliency. The article contains the following sections: (1) Being Resilient; (2) Points of…

Children’s Caregivers and Public Playgrounds: Potential Reservoirs of Infection of Hand-foot-and-mouth Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pengyuan; Li, Tao; Gu, Qiuyun; Chen, Xiaomin; Li, Jiahui; Chen, Xiashi; Chen, Yan; Zhang, Danwei; Gao, Rong; He, Zhenjian; Zhu, Xun; Zhang, Wangjian; Hao, Yuantao; Zhang, Dingmei

2016-11-01

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease, which has led to millions of clinical cases and hundreds of deaths every year in China. This study aimed to exploring the effects on HFMD transmission of children’s caregivers and public area, as well as trying to locate the potential reservoirs of infections in primary cases. Total children’s 257 samples (98 children’s caregivers and 159 environmental samples) were tested for the presence of universal enterovirus, enterovirus 71, coxsackie virus A6 and A16 by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). 5.84% (15/257, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.98%, 8.70%) of total samples had positive results of enterovirus. The enterovirus positive rates of children’s caregiver samples and environmental samples were respectively 7.14% (7/98, 95% CI: 2.04%, 12.24%), and 5.03% (8/159, 95% CI: 1.63%, 8.43%); 7.61% (7/92, 95% CI: 2.21%, 13.01%) of wiping samples from playgrounds and 1.49% (1/67, 95% CI: 0, 7.00%) of air samples in indoor market places had positive result of enterovirus. High positive rates of enterovirus in children’s caregivers and from playgrounds indicated that they would be potential reservoirs of HFMD infection, as children might be infected via contacting with asymptomatic-infected individuals or exposure of contaminated surface of public facilities.

Federal Research Action Plan (FRAP) on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds (5th Annual Recycled Rubber Products Technology Conference)

Science.gov (United States)

This presentation provides an overview and status update of the Federal Research Action Plan (FRAP) on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds. The presentation includes information on Federal research activities, stakeholder engagement, other studies, and the ...

Role of route previewing strategies on climbing fluency and exploratory movements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seifert, Ludovic; Cordier, Romain; Orth, Dominic; Courtine, Yoan; Croft, James L.

2017-01-01

This study examined the role of route previewing strategies on climbing fluency and on exploratory movements of the limbs, in order to understand whether previewing helps people to perceive and to realize affordances. Eight inexperienced and ten experienced climbers previewed a 10 m high route of 5b

Cerebellar motor learning versus cerebellar motor timing: the climbing fibre story

Science.gov (United States)

Llinás, Rodolfo R

2011-01-01

Abstract Theories concerning the role of the climbing fibre system in motor learning, as opposed to those addressing the olivocerebellar system in the organization of motor timing, are briefly contrasted. The electrophysiological basis for the motor timing hypothesis in relation to the olivocerebellar system is treated in detail. PMID:21486816

Dislocation climb models from atomistic scheme to dislocation dynamics

OpenAIRE

Niu, Xiaohua; Luo, Tao; Lu, Jianfeng; Xiang, Yang

2016-01-01

We develop a mesoscopic dislocation dynamics model for vacancy-assisted dislocation climb by upscalings from a stochastic model on the atomistic scale. Our models incorporate microscopic mechanisms of (i) bulk diffusion of vacancies, (ii) vacancy exchange dynamics between bulk and dislocation core, (iii) vacancy pipe diffusion along the dislocation core, and (iv) vacancy attachment-detachment kinetics at jogs leading to the motion of jogs. Our mesoscopic model consists of the vacancy bulk dif...

On Climbing Scalars in String Theory

CERN Document Server

Dudas, E; Sagnotti, A

2010-01-01

In string models with "brane supersymmetry breaking" exponential potentials emerge at (closed-string) tree level but are not accompanied by tachyons. Potentials of this type have long been a source of embarrassment in flat space, but can have interesting implications for Cosmology. For instance, in ten dimensions the logarithmic slope |V'/V| lies precisely at a "critical" value where the Lucchin--Matarrese attractor disappears while the scalar field is \\emph{forced} to climb up the potential when it emerges from the Big Bang. This type of behavior is in principle perturbative in the string coupling, persists after compactification, could have trapped scalar fields inside potential wells as a result of the cosmological evolution and could have also injected the inflationary phase of our Universe.

A multi-component stair climbing promotional campaign targeting calorific expenditure for worksites; a quasi-experimental study testing effects on behaviour, attitude and intention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eves Frank F

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Accumulation of lifestyle physical activity is a current aim of health promotion, with increased stair climbing one public health target. While the workplace provides an opportunity for regular stair climbing, evidence for effectiveness of point-of-choice interventions is equivocal. This paper reports a new approach to worksite interventions, aimed at changing attitudes and, hence, behaviour. Methods Pre-testing of calorific expenditure messages used structured interviews with members of the public (n = 300. Effects of multi-component campaigns on stair climbing were tested with quasi-experimental, interrupted time-series designs. In one worksite, a main campaign poster outlining the amount of calorific expenditure obtainable from stair climbing and a conventional point-of-choice prompt were used (Poster alone site. In a second worksite, additional messages in the stairwell about calorific expenditure reinforced the main campaign (Poster + Stairwell messages site. The outcome variables were automated observations of stair and lift ascent (28,854 and descent (29,352 at baseline and for three weeks after the intervention was installed. Post-intervention questionnaires for employees at the worksites assessed responses to the campaign (n = 253. Analyses employed Analysis of Variance with follow-up Bonferroni t-tests (message pre-testing, logistic regression of stair ascent and descent (campaign testing, and Bonferroni t-tests and multiple regression (follow-up questionnaire. Results Pre-testing of messages based on calorific expenditure suggested they could motivate stair climbing if believed. The new campaign increased stair climbing, with greater effects at the Poster + Stairwell messages site (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.40-1.66 than Posters alone (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.15-1.34. Follow-up revealed higher agreement with two statements about calorific outcomes of stair climbing in the site where they

On Heels and Toes: How Ants Climb with Adhesive Pads and Tarsal Friction Hair Arrays.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Endlein

Full Text Available Ants are able to climb effortlessly on vertical and inverted smooth surfaces. When climbing, their feet touch the substrate not only with their pretarsal adhesive pads but also with dense arrays of fine hairs on the ventral side of the 3rd and 4th tarsal segments. To understand what role these different attachment structures play during locomotion, we analysed leg kinematics and recorded single-leg ground reaction forces in Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina climbing vertically on a smooth glass substrate. We found that the ants engaged different attachment structures depending on whether their feet were above or below their Centre of Mass (CoM. Legs above the CoM pulled and engaged the arolia ('toes', whereas legs below the CoM pushed with the 3rd and 4th tarsomeres ('heels' in surface contact. Legs above the CoM carried a significantly larger proportion of the body weight than legs below the CoM. Force measurements on individual ant tarsi showed that friction increased with normal load as a result of the bending and increasing side contact of the tarsal hairs. On a rough sandpaper substrate, the tarsal hairs generated higher friction forces in the pushing than in the pulling direction, whereas the reverse effect was found on the smooth substrate. When the tarsal hairs were pushed, buckling was observed for forces exceeding the shear forces found in climbing ants. Adhesion forces were small but not negligible, and higher on the smooth substrate. Our results indicate that the dense tarsal hair arrays produce friction forces when pressed against the substrate, and help the ants to push outwards during horizontal and vertical walking.

On Heels and Toes: How Ants Climb with Adhesive Pads and Tarsal Friction Hair Arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Endlein, Thomas; Federle, Walter

2015-01-01

Ants are able to climb effortlessly on vertical and inverted smooth surfaces. When climbing, their feet touch the substrate not only with their pretarsal adhesive pads but also with dense arrays of fine hairs on the ventral side of the 3rd and 4th tarsal segments. To understand what role these different attachment structures play during locomotion, we analysed leg kinematics and recorded single-leg ground reaction forces in Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) climbing vertically on a smooth glass substrate. We found that the ants engaged different attachment structures depending on whether their feet were above or below their Centre of Mass (CoM). Legs above the CoM pulled and engaged the arolia ('toes'), whereas legs below the CoM pushed with the 3rd and 4th tarsomeres ('heels') in surface contact. Legs above the CoM carried a significantly larger proportion of the body weight than legs below the CoM. Force measurements on individual ant tarsi showed that friction increased with normal load as a result of the bending and increasing side contact of the tarsal hairs. On a rough sandpaper substrate, the tarsal hairs generated higher friction forces in the pushing than in the pulling direction, whereas the reverse effect was found on the smooth substrate. When the tarsal hairs were pushed, buckling was observed for forces exceeding the shear forces found in climbing ants. Adhesion forces were small but not negligible, and higher on the smooth substrate. Our results indicate that the dense tarsal hair arrays produce friction forces when pressed against the substrate, and help the ants to push outwards during horizontal and vertical walking.

To be active through indoor-climbing: an exploratory feasibility study in a group of children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Mark Schram; Jensen, Thor; Voigt, Camilla B.

2017-01-01

functional and cognitive benefits of 3 weeks of intensive climbing training in 11 children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 11-13 years and six of their TD peers.Method: The study was designed as a feasibility and interventional study. We evaluated the amount of time spent being physically active during the 9...... in cognitive abilities or psychological well-being in any of the groups.Conclusions: These findings show that it is possible to use climbing as means to make children with CP physically active. The improved motor abilities obtained through the training is likely reflected by increased synchronization between...... be challenged functionally and cognitively, making climbing of great potential interest in (re) habilitation settings. However, until now only few research projects have investigated the feasibility of climbing as a potential activity for heightening physical activity in children with CP and the possible...

IMPLEMENTASI ALGORITMA HILL CLIMBING DAN ALGORITMA A* DALAM PENYELESAIAN PENYUSUNAN SUKU KATA DASAR DENGAN POLA PERMAINAN BINTANG KEJORA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurdin Nurdin

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Permainan Bintang Kejora merupakan permainan yang sama seperti permainan pergeseran angka dalam kotak berbentuk persegi (Puzzle. Jenis permainan seperti ini cenderung mudah untuk diselesaikan. Bentuk wadah bintang menyebabkan arah pergeseran akan menjadi terbatas. Permainan bintang kejora ini cukup rumit dan sukar untuk diselesaikan secara manual. Permainan ini dapat diselesaikan dengan metode heuristik, yaitu dengan menggunakan algoritma hill climbing dan algoritma A*. Sifat algoritma hill climbing adalah mencari kemungkinan-kemungkinan dari calon solusi untuk mendapatkan yang optimal bagi penyelesaian masalah dengan mencari nilai heuristik yang terkecil. Sedangkan algoritma A* membantu menemukan solusi pencarian dalam ruang keadaan dengan mempertimbangkan nilai heuristik terbesar yang dilacak sesuai node yang akan dilewati. Pembuatan perangkat lunak ini dirancang terlebih dahulu dengan menggunakan diagram State Transition Diagram, Use Case Diagram, Activity Diagram, dan Class Diagram. Perangkat lunak ini dapat memberikan penyelesaian yang optimum atas permainan bintang kejora yang nantinya menghasilkan huruf yang sebelumnya diacak menjadi tersusun membentuk sebuah kata dasar. Hasil yang didapatkan berupa langkah-langkah ditemukan solusi serta ditampilkan waktu pencarian yang dibutuhkan dalam menemukan solusi. Pencarian A* lebih cepat menemukan solusi dibandingkan Hill Climbing, karena A* mencari nilai heuristik pada jarak yang terjauh sehingga langsung tepat menuju sasaran. Kata kunci: Hill Climbing, Algoritma A*, Bintang Kejora

Some relationship between G-frames and frames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Rashidi-Kouchi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper we proved that every g-Riesz basis for Hilbert space $H$ with respect to $K$ by adding a condition is a Riesz basis for Hilbert $B(K$-module $B(H,K$. This is an extension of [A. Askarizadeh,M. A. Dehghan, {em G-frames as special frames}, Turk. J. Math., 35, (2011 1-11]. Also, we derived similar results for g-orthonormal and orthogonal bases. Some relationships between dual frame, dual g-frame and exact frame and exact g-frame are presented too.

A Demonstration of Helping Adolescents with Mild Intellectual Disability Climb Ladders

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Kok Hoe Anthony; Varahan, Jayashree Lakshmi; Loh, Peng Loong Daniel; Tan, Sey Ing

2011-01-01

A research team at a vocational school in Singapore, catering mainly to students between the ages of 17-21 with mild intellectual disability, studied how to best address the challenge of enabling students to learn how to climb ladders (a skill necessary at many job placements). They documented the approach used and suggested extrapolations and…

Relationship between the climbing up and climbing down stairs domain scores on the FES-DMD, the score on the Vignos Scale, age and timed performance of functional activities in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilian A. Y. Fernandes

2014-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Knowing the potential for and limitations of information generated using different evaluation instruments favors the development of more accurate functional diagnoses and therapeutic decision-making. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the number of compensatory movements when climbing up and going down stairs, age, functional classification and time taken to perform a tested activity (TA of going up and down stairs in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD. METHOD: A bank of movies featuring 30 boys with DMD performing functional activities was evaluated. Compensatory movements were assessed using the climbing up and going down stairs domain of the Functional Evaluation Scale for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (FES-DMD; age in years; functional classification using the Vignos Scale (VS, and TA using a timer. Statistical analyses were performed using the Spearman correlation test. RESULTS: There is a moderate relationship between the climbing up stairs domain of the FES-DMD and age (r=0.53, p=0.004 and strong relationships with VS (r=0.72, p=0.001 and TA for this task (r=0.83, p<0.001. There were weak relationships between the going down stairs domain of the FES-DMD-going down stairs with age (r=0.40, p=0.032, VS (r=0.65, p=0.002 and TA for this task (r=0.40, p=0.034. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the evaluation of compensatory movements used when climbing up stairs can provide more relevant information about the evolution of the disease, although the activity of going down stairs should be investigated, with the aim of enriching guidance and strengthening accident prevention. Data from the FES-DMD, age, VS and TA can be used in a complementary way to formulate functional diagnoses. Longitudinal studies and with broader age groups may supplement this information.

Trunk and lower limb biomechanics during stair climbing in people with and without symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, Connor A; Hatfield, Gillian L; Gilbart, Michael K; Garland, S Jayne; Hunt, Michael A

2017-02-01

Femoroacetabular impingement is a pathomechanical hip condition leading to pain and impaired physical function. It has been shown that those with femoroacetabular impingement exhibit altered gait characteristics during level walking and stair climbing, and decreased muscle force production during isometric muscle contractions. However, no studies to-date have looked at trunk kinematics or muscle activation during dynamic movements such as stair climbing in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to compare biomechanical outcomes (trunk and lower limb kinematics as well as lower limb kinetics and muscle activation) during stair climbing in those with and without symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement. Trunk, hip, knee and ankle kinematics, as well as hip, knee and ankle kinetics and muscle activity of nine lower limb muscles were collected during stair climbing for 20 people with clinical and radiographic femoroacetabular impingement and compared to 20 age- and sex-matched pain-free individuals. Those with femoroacetabular impingement ascended the stairs slower (effect size=0.82), had significantly increased peak trunk forward flexion angles (effect size=0.99) and external hip flexion moments (effect size=0.94) and had decreased peak external knee flexion moments (effect size=0.90) compared to the control group. Findings from this study indicate that while those with and without femoroacetabular impingement exhibit many biomechanical similarities when ascending stairs, differences in trunk forward flexion and joint kinetics indicate some important differences. Further longitudinal research is required to elucidate the cause of these differences as well as the clinical relevance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hill-Climbing search and diversification within an evolutionary approach to protein structure prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Chira, Camelia; Horvath, Dragos; Dumitrescu, D

2011-07-30

Proteins are complex structures made of amino acids having a fundamental role in the correct functioning of living cells. The structure of a protein is the result of the protein folding process. However, the general principles that govern the folding of natural proteins into a native structure are unknown. The problem of predicting a protein structure with minimum-energy starting from the unfolded amino acid sequence is a highly complex and important task in molecular and computational biology. Protein structure prediction has important applications in fields such as drug design and disease prediction. The protein structure prediction problem is NP-hard even in simplified lattice protein models. An evolutionary model based on hill-climbing genetic operators is proposed for protein structure prediction in the hydrophobic - polar (HP) model. Problem-specific search operators are implemented and applied using a steepest-ascent hill-climbing approach. Furthermore, the proposed model enforces an explicit diversification stage during the evolution in order to avoid local optimum. The main features of the resulting evolutionary algorithm - hill-climbing mechanism and diversification strategy - are evaluated in a set of numerical experiments for the protein structure prediction problem to assess their impact to the efficiency of the search process. Furthermore, the emerging consolidated model is compared to relevant algorithms from the literature for a set of difficult bidimensional instances from lattice protein models. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm are promising and competitive with those of related methods.

Hill-Climbing search and diversification within an evolutionary approach to protein structure prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chira Camelia

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Proteins are complex structures made of amino acids having a fundamental role in the correct functioning of living cells. The structure of a protein is the result of the protein folding process. However, the general principles that govern the folding of natural proteins into a native structure are unknown. The problem of predicting a protein structure with minimum-energy starting from the unfolded amino acid sequence is a highly complex and important task in molecular and computational biology. Protein structure prediction has important applications in fields such as drug design and disease prediction. The protein structure prediction problem is NP-hard even in simplified lattice protein models. An evolutionary model based on hill-climbing genetic operators is proposed for protein structure prediction in the hydrophobic - polar (HP model. Problem-specific search operators are implemented and applied using a steepest-ascent hill-climbing approach. Furthermore, the proposed model enforces an explicit diversification stage during the evolution in order to avoid local optimum. The main features of the resulting evolutionary algorithm - hill-climbing mechanism and diversification strategy - are evaluated in a set of numerical experiments for the protein structure prediction problem to assess their impact to the efficiency of the search process. Furthermore, the emerging consolidated model is compared to relevant algorithms from the literature for a set of difficult bidimensional instances from lattice protein models. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm are promising and competitive with those of related methods.

On transforms between Gabor frames and wavelet frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Goh, Say Song

2013-01-01

We describe a procedure that enables us to construct dual pairs of wavelet frames from certain dual pairs of Gabor frames. Applying the construction to Gabor frames generated by appropriate exponential Bsplines gives wavelet frames generated by functions whose Fourier transforms are compactly...... supported splines with geometrically distributed knot sequences. There is also a reverse transform, which yields pairs of dual Gabor frames when applied to certain wavelet frames....

77 FR 33777 - General Aviation Safety Forum: Climbing to the Next Level

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-07

... NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD General Aviation Safety Forum: Climbing to the Next Level The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will convene a 2- day forum focused on safety issues related to... the Next Level,'' will be chaired by NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman and all five Board Members...

Decorative values of selected cultivars of climbing roses (Rosa L. with regard to thermal conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zofia Włodarczyk

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In the years 2004-2006 in Kraków, phenological observations of climbing roses were conducted in order to determine the length and dates of their flowering period. The diameters of their flowers were also compared. Eight flowering repeating cultivars were selected for the experiment: 'Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison', 'Dortmund', 'Golden Showers', 'Goldstern', 'New Dawn', 'Parade', 'Sympathie' and 'White New Dawn'. During the studies, the shrub roses were not artificially watered in order to create conditions similar to those prevailing in public green areas. It was observed that irrespective of the air temperature pattern in a given year, the studied cultivars did not bloom before 15 June. In 2006 high temperatures (above 20oC, which continued throughout the whole flowering period, caused its shortening, and the interval between the first and the next flowering in the season lasted longer than in the previous years. In the years 2004-2006, the cultivar 'New Dawn' bloomed the longest. In 2005 the studied cultivars produced larger flowers than the next year. The cultivars 'Dortmund' and 'White New Dawn' were characterised by the smallest diameter of flowers, whereas 'Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison', 'Golden Showers' and 'Parade' were marked by the largest diameter.

When Affordances Climb into Your Mind: Advantages of Motor Simulation in a Memory Task Performed by Novice and Expert Rock Climbers

Science.gov (United States)

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Barca, Laura; Bocconi, Alessandro Lamberti; Borghi, Anna M.

2010-01-01

Does the sight of multiple climbing holds laid along a path activate a motor simulation of climbing that path? One way of testing whether multiple affordances and their displacement influence the formation of a motor simulation is to study acquired motor skills. We used a behavioral task in which expert and novice rock climbers were shown three…

The Sydney playground project: popping the bubblewrap--unleashing the power of play: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a primary school playground-based intervention aiming to increase children's physical activity and social skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Bundy, Anita C; Naughton, Geraldine; Tranter, Paul; Wyver, Shirley; Baur, Louise; Schiller, Wendy; Bauman, Adrian; Engelen, Lina; Ragen, Jo; Luckett, Tim; Niehues, Anita; Stewart, Gabrielle; Jessup, Glenda; Brentnall, Jennie

2011-09-01

In the Westernised world, numerous children are overweight and have problems with bullying and mental health. One of the underlying causes for all three is postulated to be a decrease in outdoor free play. The aim of the Sydney Playground Project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of two simple interventions aimed to increase children's physical activity and social skills. This study protocol describes the design of a 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial (CRCT), in which schools are the clusters. The study consists of a 13-week intervention and 1 week each of pre-and post-testing. We are recruiting 12 schools (6 control; 6 intervention), with 18 randomly chosen participants aged 5 to 7 years in each school. The two intervention strategies are: (1) Child-based intervention: Unstructured materials with no obvious play value introduced to the playground; and (2) Adult-based intervention: Risk reframing sessions held with parents and teachers with the aim of exploring the benefits of allowing children to engage in activities with uncertain outcomes. The primary outcome of the study, physical activity as measured by accelerometer counts, is assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Additional assessments include social skills and interactions, self-concept, after school time use and anthropometric data. Qualitative data (i.e., transcriptions of audio recordings from the risk reframing sessions and of interviews with selected teacher and parent volunteers) are analysed to understand their perceptions of risk in play. The control schools have recess as usual. In addition to outcome evaluation, regular process evaluation sessions are held to monitor fidelity to the treatment. These simple interventions, which could be adopted in every primary school, have the potential of initiating a self-sustaining cycle of prevention for childhood obesity, bullying and mental ill health. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registration Number ACTRN12611000089932.

The sydney playground project: popping the bubblewrap - unleashing the power of play: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a primary school playground-based intervention aiming to increase children's physical activity and social skills

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background In the Westernised world, numerous children are overweight and have problems with bullying and mental health. One of the underlying causes for all three is postulated to be a decrease in outdoor free play. The aim of the Sydney Playground Project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of two simple interventions aimed to increase children's physical activity and social skills. Methods/Design This study protocol describes the design of a 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial (CRCT), in which schools are the clusters. The study consists of a 13-week intervention and 1 week each of pre-and post-testing. We are recruiting 12 schools (6 control; 6 intervention), with 18 randomly chosen participants aged 5 to 7 years in each school. The two intervention strategies are: (1) Child-based intervention: Unstructured materials with no obvious play value introduced to the playground; and (2) Adult-based intervention: Risk reframing sessions held with parents and teachers with the aim of exploring the benefits of allowing children to engage in activities with uncertain outcomes. The primary outcome of the study, physical activity as measured by accelerometer counts, is assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Additional assessments include social skills and interactions, self-concept, after school time use and anthropometric data. Qualitative data (i.e., transcriptions of audio recordings from the risk reframing sessions and of interviews with selected teacher and parent volunteers) are analysed to understand their perceptions of risk in play. The control schools have recess as usual. In addition to outcome evaluation, regular process evaluation sessions are held to monitor fidelity to the treatment. Discussion These simple interventions, which could be adopted in every primary school, have the potential of initiating a self-sustaining cycle of prevention for childhood obesity, bullying and mental ill health. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical

The sydney playground project: popping the bubblewrap - unleashing the power of play: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a primary school playground-based intervention aiming to increase children's physical activity and social skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luckett Tim

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the Westernised world, numerous children are overweight and have problems with bullying and mental health. One of the underlying causes for all three is postulated to be a decrease in outdoor free play. The aim of the Sydney Playground Project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of two simple interventions aimed to increase children's physical activity and social skills. Methods/Design This study protocol describes the design of a 3-year cluster randomised controlled trial (CRCT, in which schools are the clusters. The study consists of a 13-week intervention and 1 week each of pre-and post-testing. We are recruiting 12 schools (6 control; 6 intervention, with 18 randomly chosen participants aged 5 to 7 years in each school. The two intervention strategies are: (1 Child-based intervention: Unstructured materials with no obvious play value introduced to the playground; and (2 Adult-based intervention: Risk reframing sessions held with parents and teachers with the aim of exploring the benefits of allowing children to engage in activities with uncertain outcomes. The primary outcome of the study, physical activity as measured by accelerometer counts, is assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Additional assessments include social skills and interactions, self-concept, after school time use and anthropometric data. Qualitative data (i.e., transcriptions of audio recordings from the risk reframing sessions and of interviews with selected teacher and parent volunteers are analysed to understand their perceptions of risk in play. The control schools have recess as usual. In addition to outcome evaluation, regular process evaluation sessions are held to monitor fidelity to the treatment. Discussion These simple interventions, which could be adopted in every primary school, have the potential of initiating a self-sustaining cycle of prevention for childhood obesity, bullying and mental ill health. Trial registration Australian

Attribute Framing and Goal Framing Effects in Health Decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnamurthy, Parthasarathy; Carter, Patrick; Blair, Edward

2001-07-01

Levin, Schneider, and Gaeth (LSG, 1998) have distinguished among three types of framing-risky choice, attribute, and goal framing-to reconcile conflicting findings in the literature. In the research reported here, we focus on attribute and goal framing. LSG propose that positive frames should be more effective than negative frames in the context of attribute framing, and negative frames should be more effective than positive frames in the context of goal framing. We test this framework by manipulating frame valence (positive vs negative) and frame type (attribute vs goal) in a unified context with common procedures. We also argue that the nature of effects in a goal-framing context may depend on the extent to which the research topic has "intrinsic self-relevance" to the population. In the context of medical decision making, we operationalize low intrinsic self-relevance by using student subjects and high intrinsic self-relevance by using patients. As expected, we find complete support for the LSG framework under low intrinsic self-relevance and modified support for the LSG framework under high intrinsic self-relevance. Overall, our research appears to confirm and extend the LSG framework. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Energy Expenditure in Playground Games in Primary School Children Measured by Accelerometer and Heart Rate Monitors.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Prieto, Jorge Cañete; Martinez-Vizcaino, Vicente; García-Hermoso, Antonio; Sánchez-López, Mairena; Arias-Palencia, Natalia; Fonseca, Juan Fernando Ortega; Mora-Rodriguez, Ricardo

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine the energy expenditure (EE) measured using indirect calorimetry (IC) during playground games and to assess the validity of heart rate (HR) and accelerometry counts as indirect indicators of EE in children´s physical activity games. 32 primary school children (9.9 ± 0.6 years old, 19.8 ± 4.9 kg · m -2 BMI and 37.6 ± 7.2 ml · kg -1 · min -1 VO 2max ). Indirect calorimetry (IC), accelerometry and HR data were simultaneously collected for each child during a 90 min session of 30 playground games. Thirty-eight sessions were recorded in 32 different children. Each game was recorded at least in three occasions in other three children. The intersubject coefficient of variation within a game was 27% for IC, 37% for accelerometry and 13% for HR. The overall mean EE in the games was 4.2 ± 1.4 kcals · min -1 per game, totaling to 375 ± 122 kcals/per 90 min/session. The correlation coefficient between indirect calorimetry and accelerometer counts was 0.48 (p = .026) for endurance games and 0.21 (p = .574) for strength games. The correlation coefficient between indirect calorimetry and HR was 0.71 (p = .032) for endurance games and 0.48 (p = .026) for strength games. Our data indicate that both accelerometer and HR monitors are useful devices for estimating EE during endurance games, but only HR monitors estimates are accurate for endurance games.

Conservation of a medieval climbing stem by freeze-drying and resin impregnation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaudy, R.; Slais, E.; Eibner, C.

1985-12-01

The conservation of a climbing stem originating from a medieval mining adit is described. The fragile wet object was preserved by a combined process consisting of freeze-drying after a polyethylene glycol bath and consecutive resin impregnation with curing by gamma irradiation. The whole conservation process took 1 year. The result is discussed. (Author)

Engineers find climbing techniques work well for dam inspections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O`Shea, M.; Graves, A. [Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO (United States)

1996-10-01

Climbing techniques adopted by the Bureau of Reclamation to inspect previously inaccessible or difficult to reach features at dams are described. Following the failure of the steel radial-arm gate at Folsom Dam, engineers mounted an effort to reach and inspect the dam`s seven other spillway gates. This close-up examination was performed to: (1) determine the condition of these gates; and (2) gather clues about the failure of the one gate. The access techniques described involved mountaineering techniques, as opposed to high scaling techniques, performed with dynamic and static nylon kermantle ropes.

Solid-state framing camera with multiple time frames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, K. L.; Stewart, R. E.; Steele, P. T.; Vernon, S. P.; Hsing, W. W.; Remington, B. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2013-10-07

A high speed solid-state framing camera has been developed which can operate over a wide range of photon energies. This camera measures the two-dimensional spatial profile of the flux incident on a cadmium selenide semiconductor at multiple times. This multi-frame camera has been tested at 3.1 eV and 4.5 keV. The framing camera currently records two frames with a temporal separation between the frames of 5 ps but this separation can be varied between hundreds of femtoseconds up to nanoseconds and the number of frames can be increased by angularly multiplexing the probe beam onto the cadmium selenide semiconductor.

Multi-Objective Climb Path Optimization for Aircraft/Engine Integration Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aristeidis Antonakis

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In this article, a new multi-objective approach to the aircraft climb path optimization problem, based on the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm, is introduced to be used for aircraft–engine integration studies. This considers a combination of a simulation with a traditional Energy approach, which incorporates, among others, the use of a proposed path-tracking scheme for guidance in the Altitude–Mach plane. The adoption of population-based solver serves to simplify case setup, allowing for direct interfaces between the optimizer and aircraft/engine performance codes. A two-level optimization scheme is employed and is shown to improve search performance compared to the basic PSO algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated in a hypothetic engine upgrade scenario for the F-4 aircraft considering the replacement of the aircraft’s J79 engine with the EJ200; a clear advantage of the EJ200-equipped configuration is unveiled, resulting, on average, in 15% faster climbs with 20% less fuel.

Flexible Structural Design for Side-Sliding Force Reduction for a Caterpillar Climbing Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weina Cui

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Due to sliding force arising from the closed chain mechanism among the adhering points of a climbing caterpillar robot (CCR, a sliding phenomenon will happen at the adhering points, e.g., the vacuum pads or claws holding the surface. This sliding force makes the attachment of the climbing robot unsteady and reducesthe motion efficiency. According to the new bionic research on the soft-body structure of caterpillars, some flexible structures made of natural rubber bars are applied in CCRs correspondingly as an improvement to the old rigid mechanical design of the robotic structure. This paper firstly establishes the static model of the sliding forces, the distortion of flexible bars and the driving torques of joints. Then, a method to reduce the sliding force by exerting a compensating angle to an active joint of the CCR is presented. The analyses and experimental results indicate that the flexible structure and the compensating angle method can reduce the sliding forces remarkably.

Nonmonotonic belief state frames and reasoning frames

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Engelfriet, J.; Herre, H.; Treur, J.

1995-01-01

In this paper five levels of specification of nonmonotonic reasoning are distinguished. The notions of semantical frame, belief state frame and reasoning frame are introduced and used as a semantical basis for the first three levels. Moreover, the semantical connections between the levels are

The Effect of Climbing as a Recreational Event on Adoles ent ’ s Locus of Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Güçlü ÖZEN

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effect of experience of the secondary education ( class 10th and 11th students‟ participation on artificial wall climbing refe r r ed to experiential learning education and defined as high activity on th eir locus of control . Artifical wall climbing is a learning point beyond the sport act ivity that give an opportunity to participants recognize their own limits and others and do they active not passive . This study was done as pretest - posttest control group with quasi - experimental model and the data were collected using „ Nowicki - Strickland Locus of Control Scale‟ adapted to Turkish by Yeşilyaprak (1988 . In this research, 90 students (40 female, 50 male aged 17 ,75 ±1.06 participated voluntery and divided in two groups as a trail and control group randomly. Trial group participated artifcial wall climbing twice a week, totel six weeks. During this time period the control group not join any activity has continued to normal life. As a result of the statistical analysis, no significant difference s were found between control and trial groups pre - test scores (p>0.05. No significant difference s were found between pre and post - test scores of control group (p>0.05, significant differences were found between pre and post - test scores of trial group (p0.05 and no significant differences between the difference of the differences (p>0.05. C onsequently, it could be said that the articifal wall climbing activities has a positive efect on the particip ants‟ locus of control, it caused a movement from out side to inside. And it has a significant effect on gender differences, that women have more gain than men.

Innovative gait robot for the repetitive practice of floor walking and stair climbing up and down in stroke patients

OpenAIRE

Hesse, Stefan; Waldner, Andreas; Tomelleri, Christopher

2010-01-01

Abstract Background Stair climbing up and down is an essential part of everyday's mobility. To enable wheelchair-dependent patients the repetitive practice of this task, a novel gait robot, G-EO-Systems (EO, Lat: I walk), based on the end-effector principle, has been designed. The trajectories of the foot plates are freely programmable enabling not only the practice of simulated floor walking but also stair climbing up and down. The article intended to compare lower limb muscle activation pat...

Effects of stair-climbing on balance, gait, strength, resting heart rate, and submaximal endurance in healthy seniors.

Science.gov (United States)

Donath, L; Faude, O; Roth, R; Zahner, L

2014-04-01

Stair-climbing serves as a feasible opportunity to remain physically active within everyday-life. Data on neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory performance after regular stair-climbing in seniors are scarce. Forty-eight seniors were stratified to a one- (taking every step, INT1) or two-step strategy (every second step, INT2) or a control group (CON). Thirty-nine seniors [females: n = 22, males: n = 17; age: 70.5 (SD 5.1) years; BMI: 25.8 (3.1) kg/m(2)] completed the 8-week intervention (three weekly sessions). Before and after the intervention, balance, gait, strength, and submaximal endurance (at different intensities) were assessed. Maximal strength and explosive power did not improve significantly (0.10 walking significantly decreased (-11/min; P beam balancing (4.5 cm width) increased in INT2 (P = 0.007) compared with CON. With more pronounced effects in INT2, stair-climbing significantly improved resting and exercise heart rates, perceived exertion, and dynamic balance performance in healthy seniors and may contribute to better overall fitness, reduced fall risk, and less perceived strain during daily life activities. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Thermally switchable adhesions of polystyrene-block-poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) copolymer pillar array mimicking climb attitude of geckos

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jem-Kun; Wang, Jing-Hong; Chang, Jia-Yaw; Fan, Shih-Kang

2012-09-01

Inspired by the gecko foot pad, we fabricated polystyrene-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PS-b-PNIPAAm) copolymer pillar array to mimic climbing attitude of a gecko, alternately attach to and detach from a surface. The pillar array structure of the PS segment significantly enhances both of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic property of PNIPAAm segment tips at 25 and 50 °C, respectively, which could generate alternating adhesive forces of approximately 120 and 11 nN. The dramatic change in adhesive and friction force difference at 25 and 50 °C may guide the design of bio-inspired artificial analogues, which could approach gecko's climbing behavior.

Physiological responses to simulated stair climbing in professional firefighters wearing rubber and leather boots.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chun-Jung; Garten, Ryan S; Wade, Chip; Webb, Heather E; Acevedo, Edmund O

2009-09-01

No studies have considered whether a firefighter's boots are a factor influencing physiological responses. The purpose of this study was to examine physiological responses to a fire simulation activity (stair climb) in professional firefighters wearing rubber boots (RB) and leather boots (LB). Twelve professional firefighters participated in two counterbalanced simulated firefighter stair climb (SFSC) sessions, one wearing RB and the other wearing LB. Heart rate, oxygen uptake (VO(2)), expiratory ventilation (V(E)), blood lactate (BLa), salivary cortisol (SCORT), and leg strength were assessed prior to and following a SFSC. LB elicited significantly greater SCORT values and knee flexion time to peak torque. Furthermore, RB revealed significantly greater ankle dorsiflexion peak torque after SFSC. BLa was positively related to knee flexion peak torque after SFSC in the RB. Firefighters when wearing the RB may be more effective at resisting fatigue and increase more force production.

Molecular characterization of Toxocara spp. eggs isolated from public parks and playgrounds in Shiraz, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Choobineh, M; Mikaeili, F; Sadjjadi, S M; Ebrahimi, S; Iranmanesh, S

2018-05-07

Human toxocariasis, a worldwide parasitic disease, is caused by the larval stage of intestinal nematodes of dogs and cats, namely Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati. Human infection occurs by the accidental ingestion of embryonated eggs present in the soil, vegetables or on other contaminated surfaces, as well as via consumption of uncooked paratenic hosts, such as bird meat and giblets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contamination of soil in public parks and playgrounds in Shiraz using microscopy and molecular methods. A total of 150 soil samples were collected from public parks and playgrounds in various areas of Shiraz, southern Iran. The samples were treated with saturated zinc sulphate solution, and Toxocara spp. eggs were detected by microscopic observation followed by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To differentiate T. canis and T. cati eggs from each other, PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-rDNA region by SalI endonuclease enzyme was used. PCR-sequencing was performed to confirm the results of the PCR-RFLP method. Based on the flotation results of the 150 soil samples, six (4%) were found to be positive for Toxocara spp. eggs, whereas nested-PCR showed 24 samples to be positive (16%). Based on the PCR-RFLP method and the sequence of the ITS-rDNA region, a total of 23 out of 24 isolates were confirmed as T. cati and one out of 24 as T. canis. The results showed a higher number of soil samples to be positive for Toxocara by the molecular method than microscopy, and higher T. cati infection in soil samples, which could have an important role in human infection with toxocariasis in this region.

Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman approach for the climbing problem for heavy launchers

OpenAIRE

Bokanowski , Olivier; Cristiani , Emiliano; Laurent-Varin , Julien; Zidani , Hasnaa

2012-01-01

International audience; In this paper we investigate the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) approach for solving a complex real-world optimal control problem in high dimension. We consider the climbing problem for the European launcher Ariane V: The launcher has to reach the Geostationary Transfer Orbit with minimal propellant consumption under state/control constraints. In order to circumvent the well-known curse of dimensionality, we reduce the number of variables in the model exploiting the spe...

Media Framing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Rasmus T.

2017-01-01

The concept of media framing refers to the way in which the news media organize and provide meaning to a news story by emphasizing some parts of reality and disregarding other parts. These patterns of emphasis and exclusion in news coverage create frames that can have considerable effects on news...... consumers’ perceptions and attitudes regarding the given issue or event. This entry briefly elaborates on the concept of media framing, presents key types of media frames, and introduces the research on media framing effects....

Framing effects over time: comparing affective and cognitive news frames

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lecheler, S.; Matthes, J.

2012-01-01

A growing number of scholars examine the duration of framing effects. However, duration is likely to differ from frame to frame, depending on how strong a frame is. This strength is likely to be enhanced by adding emotional components to a frame. By means of an experimental survey design (n = 111),

A survey of safety issues in tree-climbing applications for forestry management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Longo

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Topping, trimming, consolidation, securing and felling are very common operations in arboriculture, in city park as well as in forests. In case of very large trees, these operations are often not possible from ground level using ladders or Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs because of excessive height or uneven/inaccessible terrain. In past years, different people start applying techniques, materials and procedures normally used in mountaineering and caving, to climb trees and these techniques start to be applied to forestry management operations; these techniques are now worldwide used. Work activities at height, as tree-climbing for forestry management purpose, are regulated in Italy by Legislative Decree 81/08 about safety in the workplace, as this activity expose operators to fall from height and many other risks. Moreover, as this activity involves the use of specific tools, operators must be trained (with periodic refreshment and tools must been periodically checked by authorised operators. The objective of this work is to present and synthesise regulations and some technical aspects in order to allow operators to better understand different issues and general principles related to this activity.

A study on a wheel-based stair-climbing robot with a hopping mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuchi, Koki; Sakaguchi, Keisuke; Sudo, Takayuki; Bushida, Naoki; Chiba, Yasuhiro; Asai, Yuji

2008-08-01

In this study, we propose a simple hopping mechanism using the vibration of a two-degree-of-freedom system for a wheel-based stair-climbing robot. The robot, consisting of two bodies connected by springs and a wire, hops by releasing energy stored in the springs and quickly travels using wheels mounted in its lower body. The trajectories of the bodies during hopping change in accordance with the design parameters, such as the reduced mass of the two bodies, the mass ratio between the upper and lower bodies, the spring constant, the control parameters such as the initial contraction of the spring and the wire tension. This property allows the robot to quickly and economically climb up and down stairs, leap over obstacles, and landing softly without complex control. In this paper, the characteristics of hopping motion for the design and control parameters are clarified by both numerical simulations and experiments. Furthermore, using the robot design based on the results the abilities to hop up and down a step, leap over a cable, and land softly are demonstrated.

Riesz frames and approximation of the frame coefficients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Casazza, P.; Christensen, Ole

1998-01-01

A frame is a fmaily {f i } i=1 ∞ of elements in a Hilbert space with the property that every element in can be written as a (infinite) linear combination of the frame elements. Frame theory describes how one can choose the corresponding coefficients, which are called frame coefficients. From...... the mathematical point of view this is gratifying, but for applications it is a problem that the calculation requires inversion of an operator on . The projection method is introduced in order to avoid this problem. The basic idea is to consider finite subfamilies {f i } i=1 n of the frame and the orthogonal...... projection Pn onto its span. For has a representation as a linear combination of fi, i=1,2,..., n and the corresponding coefficients can be calculated using finite dimensional methods. We find conditions implying that those coefficients converge to the correct frame coefficients as n→∞, in which case we have...

Frames of exponentials:lower frame bounds for finite subfamilies, and approximation of the inverse frame operator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Lindner, Alexander M

2001-01-01

We give lower frame bounds for finite subfamilies of a frame of exponentials {e(i lambdak(.))}k is an element ofZ in L-2(-pi,pi). We also present a method for approximation of the inverse frame operator corresponding to {e(i lambdak(.))}k is an element ofZ, where knowledge of the frame bounds for...

THE IMPACT OF SPORT CLIMBING ON SOME MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MOTOR ABILITIES IN CLIMBERS OF 14 YEARS OF AGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blaž Jereb

2009-11-01

Full Text Available The objective of our research was to identify the impact of sport climbing on some morphologic characteristics and motor abilities in climbers. The sample group consisted of 19 climbers, who trained climbing for one year beside their regular physical education after the initially survey was made, and 72 nonclimbers, who’s only sport activity was their regular physical education. At the time of the test, climbers as well as nonclimbers were 14 years of age. The measurement included all the variables from the Physical education chart. Data were processed with statistical programme package SPSS for Windows. The result of analysis of covariance show that after a year long period of sport climbing statistically significant differences were shown in the results of t he test Polygon backwards in favour of the experimental group. It is also possible to observe a trend towards better results of the experimental group in the tests Skin fold thickness of the upper arm and Bend and touch on bench. The nonclimbers achieved larger differences than climbers in torso lifting and 600 m run.

Local adaptation despite high gene flow in the waterfall-climbing Hawaiian goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Science.gov (United States)

Moody, K N; Hunter, S N; Childress, M J; Blob, R W; Schoenfuss, H L; Blum, M J; Ptacek, M B

2015-02-01

Environmental heterogeneity can promote the emergence of locally adapted phenotypes among subpopulations of a species, whereas gene flow can result in phenotypic and genotypic homogenization. For organisms like amphidromous fishes that change habitats during their life history, the balance between selection and migration can shift through ontogeny, making the likelihood of local adaptation difficult to predict. In Hawaiian waterfall-climbing gobies, it has been hypothesized that larval mixing during oceanic dispersal counters local adaptation to contrasting topographic features of streams, like slope gradient, that can select for predator avoidance or climbing ability in juvenile recruits. To test this hypothesis, we used morphological traits and neutral genetic markers to compare phenotypic and genotypic distributions in recruiting juveniles and adult subpopulations of the waterfall-climbing amphidromous goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni, from the islands of Hawai'i and Kaua'i. We found that body shape is significantly different between adult subpopulations from streams with contrasting slopes and that trait divergence in recruiting juveniles tracked stream topography more so than morphological measures of adult subpopulation differentiation. Although no evidence of population genetic differentiation was observed among adult subpopulations, we observed low but significant levels of spatially and temporally variable genetic differentiation among juvenile cohorts, which correlated with morphological divergence. Such a pattern of genetic differentiation is consistent with chaotic genetic patchiness arising from variable sources of recruits to different streams. Thus, at least in S. stimpsoni, the combination of variation in settlement cohorts in space and time coupled with strong postsettlement selection on juveniles as they migrate upstream to adult habitats provides the opportunity for morphological adaptation to local stream environments despite high gene flow. © 2014

Prime tight frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemvig, Jakob; Miller, Christopher; Okoudjou, Kasso A.

2014-01-01

to suggest effective analysis and synthesis computation strategies for such frames. Finally, we describe all prime frames constructed from the spectral tetris method, and, as a byproduct, we obtain a characterization of when the spectral tetris construction works for redundancies below two.......We introduce a class of finite tight frames called prime tight frames and prove some of their elementary properties. In particular, we show that any finite tight frame can be written as a union of prime tight frames. We then characterize all prime harmonic tight frames and use thischaracterization...

Quantum frames

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Matthew J.

2014-02-01

The framework of quantum frames can help unravel some of the interpretive difficulties i the foundation of quantum mechanics. In this paper, I begin by tracing the origins of this concept in Bohr's discussion of quantum theory and his theory of complementarity. Engaging with various interpreters and followers of Bohr, I argue that the correct account of quantum frames must be extended beyond literal space-time reference frames to frames defined by relations between a quantum system and the exosystem or external physical frame, of which measurement contexts are a particularly important example. This approach provides superior solutions to key EPR-type measurement and locality paradoxes.

Frame scaling function sets and frame wavelet sets in Rd

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Zhanwei; Hu Guoen; Wu Guochang

2009-01-01

In this paper, we classify frame wavelet sets and frame scaling function sets in higher dimensions. Firstly, we obtain a necessary condition for a set to be the frame wavelet sets. Then, we present a necessary and sufficient condition for a set to be a frame scaling function set. We give a property of frame scaling function sets, too. Some corresponding examples are given to prove our theory in each section.

Riesz Frames and Approximation of the Frame Coefficients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole

1996-01-01

A frame is a familyof elements in a Hilbert space with the propertythat every element in the Hilbert space can be written as a (infinite)linear combination of the frame elements. Frame theory describes howone can choose the corresponding coefficients, which are calledframe coefficients. From...... the mathematical point of view this isgratifying, but for applications it is a problem that the calculationrequires inversion of an operator on the Hilbert space.The projection method is introduced in order to avoid this problem.The basic idea is to consider finite subfamiliesof the frame and the orthogonal...... projection onto its span. Forfin QTR H,P_nf has a representation as a linear combinationof f_i,i=1,2,..,n, and the corresponding coefficients can be calculatedusing finite dimensional methods. We find conditions implying that thosecoefficients converge to the correct frame coefficients as n goes...

Micromycetes on climbing roses leaves (Rosa L. in the Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Kowalik

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Micromycetes inhabiting the leaves of 20 cultivars of climbing roses (Rosa L., grown in Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow was investigated in the three successive years of research. Sixty-five taxa of of micromycetes was recorded with a few species dominating: Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum nigrum, Pestalotia rosae, Penicillium brevicompactum and Sordaria fimicola, accompanied by various other microfungi. A high abundance of rose black spot caused by Diplocarpon rosae was also observed. The affected leaves revealed advancing necrosis, substantially enhancing at the end of the growing season. Defoliation took place from June to October. Micromycetes inhabiting the leaves of climbing roses in Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow considerably deteriorated the decorative aspect of the plants.

Frames and counter-frames giving meaning to dementia: a framing analysis of media content.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Gorp, Baldwin; Vercruysse, Tom

2012-04-01

Media tend to reinforce the stigmatization of dementia as one of the most dreaded diseases in western society, which may have repercussions on the quality of life of those with the illness. The persons with dementia, but also those around them become imbued with the idea that life comes to an end as soon as the diagnosis is pronounced. The aim of this paper is to understand the dominant images related to dementia by means of an inductive framing analysis. The sample is composed of newspaper articles from six Belgian newspapers (2008-2010) and a convenience sample of popular images of the condition in movies, documentaries, literature and health care communications. The results demonstrate that the most dominant frame postulates that a human being is composed of two distinct parts: a material body and an immaterial mind. If this frame is used, the person with dementia ends up with no identity, which is in opposition to the Western ideals of personal self-fulfilment and individualism. For each dominant frame an alternative counter-frame is defined. It is concluded that the relative absence of counter-frames confirms the negative image of dementia. The inventory might be a help for caregivers and other professionals who want to evaluate their communication strategy. It is discussed that a more resolute use of counter-frames in communication about dementia might mitigate the stigma that surrounds dementia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dislocation Climb Sources Activated by 1 MeV Electron Irradiation of Copper-Nickel Alloys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barlow, P.; Leffers, Torben

1977-01-01

Climb sources emitting dislocation loops are observed in Cu-Ni alloys during irradiation with 1 MeV electrons in a high voltage electron microscope. High source densities are found in alloys containing 5, 10 and 20% Ni, but sources are also observed in alloys containing 1 and 2% Ni. The range of ...

The Sydney playground project--levelling the playing field: a cluster trial of a primary school-based intervention aiming to promote manageable risk-taking in children with disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Bundy, Anita C; Wyver, Shirley; Beetham, Kassia S; Ragen, Jo; Naughton, Geraldine; Tranter, Paul; Norman, Richard; Villeneuve, Michelle; Spencer, Grace; Honey, Anne; Simpson, Judith; Baur, Louise; Sterman, Julia

2015-11-14

Providing children and adults with opportunities to engage in manageable risk taking may be a stepping stone toward closing the gap in life conditions currently experienced by young people with disabilities. We aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of a simple, innovative program for 1) changing the way parents and teachers view manageable risk-taking for children with disabilities and 2) increasing the level of responsibility that children take for their own actions, as seen on the school playground. We will employ a cluster repeated measures trial with six Sydney-area primary-school-based programs for children with disabilities. The intervention comprises two arms. 1) Risk-reframing--teachers and parents will participate together in small group intervention sessions focusing on the benefits of manageable risk-taking; 2) Introduction of play materials--materials without a defined purpose and facilitative of social cooperation will be introduced to the school playground for children to use at all break times. A control period will be undertaken first for two school terms, followed by two terms of the intervention period. Outcome measures will include playground observations, The Coping Inventory, qualitative field notes, and The Tolerance of Risk in Play Scale. New national programs, such as Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme, will place increasing demands on young people with disabilities to assume responsibility for difficult decisions regarding procuring services. Innovative approaches, commencing early in life, are required to prepare young people and their carers for this level of responsibility. This research offers innovative intervention strategies for promoting autonomy in children with disabilities and their carers. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registration Number ACTRN12614000549628 (registered 22/5/2014).

Body frames and frame singularities for three-atom systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Littlejohn, R.G.; Mitchell, K.A.; Aquilanti, V.; Cavalli, S.

1998-01-01

The subject of body frames and their singularities for three-particle systems is important not only for large-amplitude rovibrational coupling in molecular spectroscopy, but also for reactive scattering calculations. This paper presents a geometrical analysis of the meaning of body frame conventions and their singularities in three-particle systems. Special attention is devoted to the principal axis frame, a certain version of the Eckart frame, and the topological inevitability of frame singularities. The emphasis is on a geometrical picture, which is intended as a preliminary study for the more difficult case of four-particle systems, where one must work in higher-dimensional spaces. The analysis makes extensive use of kinematic rotations. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Frame on frames: an annotated bibliography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, T.; Tsao, H.J.

1983-01-01

The success or failure of any sample survey of a finite population is largely dependent upon the condition and adequacy of the list or frame from which the probability sample is selected. Much of the published survey sampling related work has focused on the measurement of sampling errors and, more recently, on nonsampling errors to a lesser extent. Recent studies on data quality for various types of data collection systems have revealed that the extent of the nonsampling errors far exceeds that of the sampling errors in many cases. While much of this nonsampling error, which is difficult to measure, can be attributed to poor frames, relatively little effort or theoretical work has focused on this contribution to total error. The objective of this paper is to present an annotated bibliography on frames with the hope that it will bring together, for experimenters, a number of suggestions for action when sampling from imperfect frames and that more attention will be given to this area of survey methods research

Impact of Carbohydrate-Electrolyte Beverage Ingestion on Heart Rate Response While Climbing Mountain Fuji at ~3000 m

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masahiro Horiuchi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We sought to investigate whether carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage ingestion reduced heart rate (HR in twenty-three healthy young adults while climbing Mount Fuji at a given exercise intensity. Twenty-three healthy adults were randomly divided into two groups: the tap water (11 males [M] and 1 female [F] and the carbohydrate-electrolyte group (10 M and 1 F. HR and activity energy expenditure (AEE were recorded every min. The HRs for the first 30 minutes of climbing were not significantly different between the groups [121 ± 2 beats per min (bpm in the tap water and 116 ± 3 bpm in the carbohydrate-electrolyte]; however, HR significantly increased with climbing in the tap water group (129 ± 2 bpm but showed no significant increase in the carbohydrate-electrolyte group (121 ± 3 bpm. In addition, body weight changes throughout two days ascending and descending on Mount Fuji were inversely related to changes in resting HR. Further, individual variation of body weight changes was suppressed by carbohydrate-electrolyte drink. Collectively, carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage intake may attenuate an increase in HR at a given AEE while mountaineering at ~3000 m compared with tap water intake.

On factoring RSA modulus using random-restart hill-climbing algorithm and Pollard’s rho algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Budiman, M. A.; Rachmawati, D.

2017-12-01

The security of the widely-used RSA public key cryptography algorithm depends on the difficulty of factoring a big integer into two large prime numbers. For many years, the integer factorization problem has been intensively and extensively studied in the field of number theory. As a result, a lot of deterministic algorithms such as Euler’s algorithm, Kraitchik’s, and variants of Pollard’s algorithms have been researched comprehensively. Our study takes a rather uncommon approach: rather than making use of intensive number theories, we attempt to factorize RSA modulus n by using random-restart hill-climbing algorithm, which belongs the class of metaheuristic algorithms. The factorization time of RSA moduli with different lengths is recorded and compared with the factorization time of Pollard’s rho algorithm, which is a deterministic algorithm. Our experimental results indicates that while random-restart hill-climbing algorithm is an acceptable candidate to factorize smaller RSA moduli, the factorization speed is much slower than that of Pollard’s rho algorithm.

A life to risk: cultural differences in motivations to climb among elite male mountaineers

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick T. Maher; Tom G. Potter

2001-01-01

This study explored the cultural differences and motivations to climb of elite, male mountaineers. The purpose of the study was to first determine the motivations of elite male mountaineers and then link these motivations to the culture in which the mountaineer lives or grew up in. Five co-researchers participated in the study: two Canadians, two Americans, and one...

Behaviour of Strengthened RC Frames with Eccentric Steel Braced Frames

Science.gov (United States)

Kamanli, Mehmet; Unal, Alptug

2017-10-01

After devastating earthquakes in recent years, strengthening of reinforced concrete buildings became an important research topic. Reinforced concrete buildings can be strengthened by steel braced frames. These steel braced frames may be made of concentrically or eccentrically indicated in Turkish Earthquake Code 2007. In this study pushover analysis of the 1/3 scaled 1 reinforced concrete frame and 1/3 scaled 4 strengthened reinforced concrete frames with internal eccentric steel braced frames were conducted by SAP2000 program. According to the results of the analyses conducted, load-displacement curves of the specimens were compared and evaluated. Adding eccentric steel braces to the bare frame decreased the story drift, and significantly increased strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. In this strengthening method lateral load carrying capacity, stiffness and dissipated energy of the structure can be increased.

Approximately dual frames in Hilbert spaces and applications to Gabor frames

OpenAIRE

Christensen, Ole; Laugesen, Richard S.

2011-01-01

Approximately dual frames are studied in the Hilbert space setting. Approximate duals are easier to construct than classical dual frames, and can be tailored to yield almost perfect reconstruction. Bounds on the deviation from perfect reconstruction are obtained for approximately dual frames constructed via perturbation theory. An alternative bound is derived for the rich class of Gabor frames, by using the Walnut representation of the frame operator to estimate the deviation from equality in...

Framing the frame: How task goals determine the likelihood and direction of framing effects

OpenAIRE

Todd McElroy; John J. Seta

2007-01-01

We examined how the goal of a decision task influences the perceived positive, negative valence of the alternatives and thereby the likelihood and direction of framing effects. In Study 1 we manipulated the goal to increase, decrease or maintain the commodity in question and found that when the goal of the task was to increase the commodity, a framing effect consistent with those typically observed in the literature was found. When the goal was to decrease, a framing effect opposite to the ty...

Mars Science Laboratory Frame Manager for Centralized Frame Tree Database and Target Pointing

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Won S.; Leger, Chris; Peters, Stephen; Carsten, Joseph; Diaz-Calderon, Antonio

2013-01-01

The FM (Frame Manager) flight software module is responsible for maintaining the frame tree database containing coordinate transforms between frames. The frame tree is a proper tree structure of directed links, consisting of surface and rover subtrees. Actual frame transforms are updated by their owner. FM updates site and saved frames for the surface tree. As the rover drives to a new area, a new site frame with an incremented site index can be created. Several clients including ARM and RSM (Remote Sensing Mast) update their related rover frames that they own. Through the onboard centralized FM frame tree database, client modules can query transforms between any two frames. Important applications include target image pointing for RSM-mounted cameras and frame-referenced arm moves. The use of frame tree eliminates cumbersome, error-prone calculations of coordinate entries for commands and thus simplifies flight operations significantly.

Load Absorption Characteristics of Tyre Production Waste Rubber for Playground Floor Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Ghani A.N.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The floor surfaces where slides and swings are placed in parks and playrooms should be soft and thick to ensure that whenever a child falls, the surface can withstand the impact and minimize injuries to the child. Shredded tyres from waste tyres or waste rubber from tyre manufacturing could become beneficial as shock absorber material which can be used as a playground floor. In this study, rubber cubes and rubber pads with 5%, 8% and 10% SBR mixes were prepared for mechanical testing. Two types of floor design surfaces with and without plywood on the surface were assembled for the shock test. Gmax and HIC of this waste rubber flooring system were investigated using the compression test for the rubber cube and the drop test for the rubber pad. The criteria of general protection standards are 200g for optimum acceleration and 1000 for HIC. The Gmax and HIC results indicated that the material and system could ensure a safe fall from up to 1.0m height.

Heart rate response to a climber’s fall in sport climbing

OpenAIRE

Chaloupsky, David

2015-01-01

The research deals with response of heart rate to a climber’s simulated fall in a leading position when indoor climbing. Heart rate of climbers was recorded during ascents of an overhanging route in the leading position, to the given point high above the ground, followed by falling into the last protection. The length of the free fall was defined by the place of the last belay anchor, which was at the height of climber’s ankles. The length of the fall was about two meters of free fall plus th...

Behaviour of Strengthened RC Frames with Eccentric Steel Braced Frames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamanli Mehmet

2017-01-01

Full Text Available After devastating earthquakes in recent years, strengthening of reinforced concrete buildings became an important research topic. Reinforced concrete buildings can be strengthened by steel braced frames. These steel braced frames may be made of concentrically or eccentrically indicated in Turkish Earthquake Code 2007. In this study pushover analysis of the 1/3 scaled 1 reinforced concrete frame and 1/3 scaled 4 strengthened reinforced concrete frames with internal eccentric steel braced frames were conducted by SAP2000 program. According to the results of the analyses conducted, load-displacement curves of the specimens were compared and evaluated. Adding eccentric steel braces to the bare frame decreased the story drift, and significantly increased strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. In this strengthening method lateral load carrying capacity, stiffness and dissipated energy of the structure can be increased.

Soil intervention as a strategy for lead exposure prevention: The New Orleans lead-safe childcare playground project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mielke, Howard W., E-mail: howard.mielke@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 (United States); Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, 1430 Tulane Avenue SL-3, New Orleans, LA 70112 (United States); Covington, Tina P. [Charity School of Nursing, Delgado Community College, New Orleans, LA 70112-1397 (United States); College of Nursing, University of South Alabama, Doctor of Nursing Practice Program (student), Mobile AL 36688-0002 (United States); Mielke, Paul W. [Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1877 (United States); Wolman, Fredericka J. [Director of Pediatrics, Department of Children and Families, State of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 06473 (United States); Powell, Eric T.; Gonzales, Chris R. [Lead Lab, Inc., New Orleans, LA 70179-1125 (United States)

2011-08-15

The feasibility of reducing children's exposure to lead (Pb) polluted soil in New Orleans is tested. Childcare centers (median = 48 children) are often located in former residences. The extent of soil Pb was determined by selecting centers in both the core and outlying areas. The initial 558 mg/kg median soil Pb (range 14-3692 mg/kg) decreased to median 4.1 mg/kg (range 2.2-26.1 mg/kg) after intervention with geotextile covered by 15 cm of river alluvium. Pb loading decreased from a median of 4887 {mu}g/m{sup 2} (454 {mu}g/ft{sup 2}) range 603-56650 {mu}g/m{sup 2} (56-5263 {mu}g/ft{sup 2}) to a median of 398 {mu}g/m{sup 2} (37 {mu}g/ft{sup 2}) range 86-980 {mu}g/m{sup 2} (8-91 {mu}g/ft{sup 2}). Multi-Response Permutation Procedures indicate similar (P-values = 0.160-0.231) soil Pb at childcare centers compared to soil Pb of nearby residential communities. At {approx}$100 per child, soil Pb and surface loading were reduced within hours, advancing an upstream intervention conceptualization about Pb exposure prevention. - Highlights: > Upstream thinking refers to attending to causative agents that affect outcomes. > New Orleans has a high density soil Pb map of all residential communities. > Many childcare centers are located in Pb polluted residential communities. > Evaluation of childcare center playground soils substantiated severe Pb pollution. > Pursuing upstream thinking, low Pb soil was put on playgrounds to protect children. - Within hours, at a cost of about U.S. $100 (2010) per child, it is feasible to transform exterior play areas at childcare centers from Pb contaminated to Pb-safe with a large margin of safety.

EXAMINATION OF THE SIMULATED THERMAL CONDITIONS IN A POPULAR PLAYGROUND RELATED TO THE HUMAN REACTIONS AND THE JUDGMENT OF THE AREA DESIGN

OpenAIRE

L.A. ÉGERHÁZI; A. KOVÁCS; N. KÁNTOR; J. UNGER

2013-01-01

In the field of urban bioclimatology an important and timely research direction today is to examine the thermal conditions of public places. In our study, human thermal comfort analysis was performed in a modern and well-attended children playground located in Szeged (Hungary). The aim of the paper is to reveal the changes in the thermal comfort conditions between two seasons and also the resulting subjective thermal reactions of visitors in this relatively small area. Thermal comfort conditi...

"Pre-schoolers in the playground" an outdoor physical activity intervention for children aged 18 months to 4 years old: study protocol for a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Sally E; Jackson, Cath; Akhtar, Shaheen; Bingham, Daniel D; Ainsworth, Hannah; Hewitt, Catherine; Richardson, Gerry; Summerbell, Carolyn D; Pickett, Kate E; Moore, Helen J; Routen, Ash C; O'Malley, Claire L; Brierley, Shirley; Wright, John

2013-10-09

The pre-school years are considered critical for establishing healthy lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity. Levels of physical activity track through childhood into adulthood, thus establishing habitual physical activity early in life is vital. Time spent outdoors is associated with greater physical activity and playground interventions have been shown to increase physical activity in school aged children. There are few pre-school, playground-based interventions, and evaluations of these have found mixed results. A recent report published by the UK Chief Medical Officer (CMO) highlighted that new interventions to promote movement in the early years (0-5 years old) are needed. The aim of this study is to undertake a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of an outdoor playground-based physical activity intervention for parents and their children aged 18 months to 4 years old ("Pre-schoolers in the Playground"; PiP) and to assess the feasibility of conducting a full scale cluster RCT. The PiP intervention is grounded in behavioural theory (Social Cognitive Theory), and is in accordance with the CMO guidance for physical activity in the early years. It is informed by existing literature and data collected from focus groups with parents. One hundred and fifty pre-school children affiliated to 10 primary schools will be recruited. Schools will be randomised to either the PiP intervention arm or the control arm (usual practice). Children in the intervention arm will be invited to attend three 30 minute outdoor play sessions per week for 30 weeks (3 school terms) at the school. Feasibility will be assessed by examining recruitment rates, attendance, attrition, acceptability of the trial and of the PiP intervention to parents, fidelity of intervention implementation, capability and capacity for schools to deliver the intervention. Health outcomes and the feasibility of outcome measurement tools will be assessed. These include physical activity via

Multivariate wavelet frames

CERN Document Server

Skopina, Maria; Protasov, Vladimir

2016-01-01

This book presents a systematic study of multivariate wavelet frames with matrix dilation, in particular, orthogonal and bi-orthogonal bases, which are a special case of frames. Further, it provides algorithmic methods for the construction of dual and tight wavelet frames with a desirable approximation order, namely compactly supported wavelet frames, which are commonly required by engineers. It particularly focuses on methods of constructing them. Wavelet bases and frames are actively used in numerous applications such as audio and graphic signal processing, compression and transmission of information. They are especially useful in image recovery from incomplete observed data due to the redundancy of frame systems. The construction of multivariate wavelet frames, especially bases, with desirable properties remains a challenging problem as although a general scheme of construction is well known, its practical implementation in the multidimensional setting is difficult. Another important feature of wavelet is ...

Morphological selection in an extreme flow environment: body shape and waterfall-climbing success in the Hawaiian stream fish Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Science.gov (United States)

Blob, Richard W; Bridges, William C; Ptacek, Margaret B; Maie, Takashi; Cediel, Roberto A; Bertolas, Morgan M; Julius, Matthew L; Schoenfuss, Heiko L

2008-12-01

Flow characteristics are a prominent factor determining body shapes in aquatic organisms, and correlations between body shape and ambient flow regimes have been established for many fish species. In this study, we investigated the potential for a brief period of extreme flow to exert selection on the body shape of juvenile climbing Hawaiian gobiid fishes. Because of an amphidromous life history, juvenile gobies that complete an oceanic larval phase return to freshwater habitats, where they become adults. Returning juveniles often must scale waterfalls (typically with the use of a ventral sucker) in order to reach the habitats they will use as adults, thereby exposing these animals to brief periods of extreme velocities of flow. Hydrodynamic theory predicts that bodies with larger suckers and with lower heights that reduce drag would have improved climbing success and, thus, be well suited to meet the demands of the flows in waterfalls. To test the potential for the flow environment of waterfalls to impose selection that could contribute to differences in body shape between islands, we subjected juvenile Sicyopterus stimpsoni to climbing trials up artificial waterfalls (∼100 body lengths) and measured differences in body shape between successful and unsuccessful climbers. Waterfalls appear to represent a significant selective barrier to these fishes, as nearly 30% failed our climbing test. However, the effects of selection on morphology were not straightforward, as significant differences in shape between successful and unsuccessful climbers did not always match hydrodynamic predictions. In both selection experiments and in adult fish collected from habitats with different prevailing conditions of flow (the islands of Hawai'i versus Kaua'i), lower head heights were associated with exposure to high-flow regimes, as predicted by hydrodynamic theory. Thus, a premium appears to be placed on the reduction of drag via head morphology throughout the ontogeny of this

Rock climbing and acute emotion regulation in patients with major depressive disorder in the context of a psychological inpatient treatment: a controlled pilot trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kleinstäuber M

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Maria Kleinstäuber,1,2 Merle Reuter,3 Norbert Doll,4 Andreas J Fallgatter4 1Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany; 2Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; 3Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany, 4Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany Background: Major depressive disorder is characterized by deficits in emotion regulation. This study examined associations between rock climbing and acute emotion regulating effects in patients with major depression. Patients and methods: In a nonrandomized, controlled study, 40 major depressive disorder inpatients were assigned to either a climbing session (n=20 or a relaxation session (n=20. Positive and negative affect, depressiveness, and coping emotions were assessed immediately before and after the session. Results: Mixed analyses of variance and covariance revealed significant time × group interaction effects for all assessed outcomes (p≤0.012: positive affect and coping emotions significantly increased and negative affect and depressiveness significantly decreased after the climbing session (1.04≤ Cohen’s d ≤1.30, in contrast to a relaxation session (0.16≤ Cohen’s d ≤0.36. Conclusion: The results show that rock climbing is associated with acute emotion regulatory effects. These findings have to be replicated with a randomized design, and future research should pay attention to possible mechanisms of rock climbing in regard to emotion regulation. Keywords: physical activity, controlled trial, relaxation, inpatient treatment

Frames and outer frames for Hilbert C^*-modules

OpenAIRE

Arambašić, Ljiljana; Bakić, Damir

2015-01-01

The goal of the present paper is to extend the theory of frames for countably generated Hilbert $C^*$-modules over arbitrary $C^*$-algebras. In investigating the non-unital case we introduce the concept of outer frame as a sequence in the multiplier module $M(X)$ that has the standard frame property when applied to elements of the ambient module $X$. Given a Hilbert $\\A$-module $X$, we prove that there is a bijective correspondence of the set of all adjointable surjections from the generalize...

In vivo two-photon imaging of climbing fibers plasticity after laser axotomy

Science.gov (United States)

Allegra Mascaro, A. L.; Cesare, P.; Sacconi, L.; Grasselli, G.; Mandolesi, G.; Maco, B.; Knott, G. W.; De Paola, V.; Strata, P.; Pavone, F. S.

2013-06-01

In the adult nervous system, different neuronal classes show different regenerative behavior. Although previous studies demonstrated that olivocerebellar fibers are capable of axonal regeneration in a suitable environment as a response to injury, we have hitherto no details about the real dynamics of fiber regeneration. We set up a model of singularly axotomized climbing fibers (CF) to investigate their reparative properties in the adult central nervous system (CNS) in vivo. Here we describe the approach followed to characterize the reactive plasticity after injury.

Body shape helps legged robots climb and turn in complex 3-D terrains

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yuanfeng; Wang, Zheliang; Li, Chen

Analogous to streamlined shapes that reduce drag in fluids, insects' ellipsoid-like rounded body shapes were recently discovered to be ``terradynamically streamlined'' and enhance locomotion in cluttered terrain by facilitating body rolling. Here, we hypothesize that there exist more terradynamic shapes that facilitate other modes of locomotion like climbing and turning in complex 3-D terrains by facilitating body pitching and yawing. To test our hypothesis, we modified the body shape of a legged robot by adding an elliptical and a rectangular shell and tested how it negotiated with circular and square vertical pillars. With a rectangular shell the robot always pitched against square pillars in an attempt to climb, whereas with an elliptical shell it always yawed and turned away from circular pillars given a small initial lateral displacement. Square / circular pillars facilitated pitching / yawing, respectively. To begin to reveal the contact physics, we developed a locomotion energy landscape model. Our model revealed that potential energy barriers to transition from pitching to yawing are high for angular locomotor and obstacle shapes (rectangular / square) but vanish for rounded shapes (elliptical / circular). Our study supports the plausibility of locomotion energy landscapes for understanding the rich locomotor transitions in complex 3-D terrains.

On frame multiresolution analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole

2003-01-01

We use the freedom in frame multiresolution analysis to construct tight wavelet frames (even in the case where the refinable function does not generate a tight frame). In cases where a frame multiresolution does not lead to a construction of a wavelet frame we show how one can nevertheless...

Available friction of ladder shoes and slip potential for climbing on a straight ladder.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Wen-Ruey; Chang, Chien-Chi; Matz, Simon

2005-07-15

Straight ladder accidents are a major safety problem. As a leading cause of injuries involving straight ladders, slips at the ladder base occur when the required friction exceeds the available friction at the ladder shoe and floor interface. The objectives of this experiment were to measure the available friction at the base of a portable straight ladder in contact with a floor and to estimate the slip potential of the ladder. The results of friction measurements indicated that the measured friction coefficient on the oily surfaces differed among the six commercially available ladder shoes evaluated. A statistical model was used to compare the available friction results from the current study with the friction requirements under different climbing conditions from a previous study based on their stochastic distributions to estimate the slip potential at the base of the ladder. The results showed that different climbing conditions used in the previous study could be supported by available friction on dry surfaces. However, when the ladder was put onto oily surfaces, resulting in a significant reduction in the available friction due to contamination, slip potential was significantly increased.

Framed School--Frame Factors, Frames and the Dynamics of Social Interaction in School

Science.gov (United States)

Persson, Anders

2015-01-01

This paper aims to show how the Goffman frame perspective can be used in an analysis of school and education and how it can be combined, in such analysis, with the frame factor perspective. The latter emphasizes factors that are determined outside the teaching process, while the former stresses how actors organize their experiences and define…

Goffman Goes Rock Climbing: Using Creative Fiction to Explore the Presentation of Self in Outdoor Education

Science.gov (United States)

Beames, Simon K.; Pike, Elizabeth C. J.

2008-01-01

Outdoor education literature has a recent history of examining its practice through a variety of sociological, philosophical, psychological, and anthropological lenses. Following this trend, this paper explores the face-to-face social interaction of a fictional introductory rock-climbing course. The analysis of this creative fiction draws on…

Network-based H.264/AVC whole frame loss visibility model and frame dropping methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yueh-Lun; Lin, Ting-Lan; Cosman, Pamela C

2012-08-01

We examine the visual effect of whole frame loss by different decoders. Whole frame losses are introduced in H.264/AVC compressed videos which are then decoded by two different decoders with different common concealment effects: frame copy and frame interpolation. The videos are seen by human observers who respond to each glitch they spot. We found that about 39% of whole frame losses of B frames are not observed by any of the subjects, and over 58% of the B frame losses are observed by 20% or fewer of the subjects. Using simple predictive features which can be calculated inside a network node with no access to the original video and no pixel level reconstruction of the frame, we developed models which can predict the visibility of whole B frame losses. The models are then used in a router to predict the visual impact of a frame loss and perform intelligent frame dropping to relieve network congestion. Dropping frames based on their visual scores proves superior to random dropping of B frames.

Framing Failures in Wood-Frame Hip Roofs under Extreme Wind Loads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah A. Stevenson

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Wood-frame residential roof failures are among the most common and expensive types of wind damage. Hip roofs are commonly understood to be more resilient during extreme wind in relation to gable roofs. However, inspection of damage survey data from recent tornadoes has revealed a previously unstudied failure mode in which hip roofs suffer partial failure of the framing structure. In the current study, evidence of partial framing failures and statistics of their occurrence are explored and discussed, while the common roof design and construction practice are reviewed. Two-dimensional finite element models are developed to estimate the element-level load effects on hip roof trusses and stick-frame components. The likelihood of failure in each member is defined based on relative demand-to-capacity ratios. Trussed and stick-frame structures are compared to assess the relative performance of the two types of construction. The present analyses verify the common understanding that toenailed roof-to-wall connections are likely to be the most vulnerable elements in the structure of a wood-frame hip roof. However, the results also indicate that certain framing members and connections display significant vulnerability under the same wind uplift, and the possibility of framing failure is not to be discounted. Furthermore, in the case where the roof-to-wall connection uses hurricane straps, certain framing members and joints become the likely points of failure initiation. The analysis results and damage survey observations are used to expand the understanding of wood-frame residential roof failures, as they relate to the Enhanced Fujita Scale and provide assessment of potential gaps in residential design codes.

When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive

OpenAIRE

Uskul, Ayse K.; Oyserman, Daphna

2010-01-01

The present study examines the persuasive effects of tailored health messages comparing those tailored to match (versus not match) both chronic cultural frame and momentarily salient cultural frame. Evidence from two studies (Study 1: n = 72 European Americans; Study 2: n = 48 Asian Americans) supports the hypothesis that message persuasiveness increases when chronic cultural frame, health message tailoring and momentarily salient cultural frame all match. The hypothesis was tested using a me...

Improving patient safety: lessons from rock climbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Nic

2012-02-01

How to improve patient safety remains an intractable problem, despite large investment and some successes. Academics have argued that the root of the problem is a lack of a comprehensive 'safety culture' in hospitals. Other safety-critical industries such as commercial aviation invest heavily in staff training to develop such a culture, but comparable programmes are almost entirely absent from the health care sector. In rock climbing and many other dangerous activities, the 'buddy system' is used to ensure that safety systems are adhered to despite adverse circumstances. This system involves two or more people using simple checks and clear communication to prevent problems causing harm. Using this system as an example could provide a simple, original and entertaining way of introducing medical students to the idea that human factors are central to ensuring patient safety. Teaching the buddy system may improve understanding and acceptance of other patient safety initiatives, and could also be used by junior doctors as a tool to improve the safety of their practice. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Autonomous stair-climbing with miniature jumping robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoeter, Sascha A; Papanikolopoulos, Nikolaos

2005-04-01

The problem of vision-guided control of miniature mobile robots is investigated. Untethered mobile robots with small physical dimensions of around 10 cm or less do not permit powerful onboard computers because of size and power constraints. These challenges have, in the past, reduced the functionality of such devices to that of a complex remote control vehicle with fancy sensors. With the help of a computationally more powerful entity such as a larger companion robot, the control loop can be closed. Using the miniature robot's video transmission or that of an observer to localize it in the world, control commands can be computed and relayed to the inept robot. The result is a system that exhibits autonomous capabilities. The framework presented here solves the problem of climbing stairs with the miniature Scout robot. The robot's unique locomotion mode, the jump, is employed to hop one step at a time. Methods for externally tracking the Scout are developed. A large number of real-world experiments are conducted and the results discussed.

Turning behaviors of T cells climbing up ramp-like structures are regulated by myosin light chain kinase activity and lamellipodia formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Kwang Hoon; Lee, Jaehyun; Jung, Hong-Ryul; Park, HyoungJun; Doh, Junsang

2017-09-14

T cells navigate diverse microenvironments to perform immune responses. Micro-scale topographical structures within the tissues, which may inherently exist in normal tissues or may be formed by inflammation or injury, can influence T cell migration, but how T cell migration is affected by such topographical structures have not been investigated. In this study, we fabricated ramp-like structures with a 5 μm height and various slopes, and observed T cells climbing up the ramp-like structures. T cells encountering the ramp-like structures exhibited MLC accumulation near head-tail junctions contacting the ramp-like structures, and made turns to the direction perpendicular to the ramp-like structures. Pharmacological study revealed that lamellipodia formation mediated by arp2/3 and contractility regulated by myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) were responsible for the intriguing turning behavior of T cells climbing the ramp-like structures. Arp2/3 or MLCK inhibition substantially reduced probability of T cells climbing sharp-edged ramp-like structures, indicating intriguing turning behavior of T cells mediated by lamellipodia formation and MLCK activity may be important for T cells to access inflamed or injured tissues with abrupt topographical changes.

On the static structural design of climbing robots: part 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Ausama Hadi; Menon, Carlo

This manuscript is the second of two parts of a work investigating optimal configurations of legged climbing robots while loitering on vertical surfaces. In this Part 2, a structural analysis based on the finite element method, specifically the stiffness method, is performed to address the problem. Parameters that are investigated in this Part 2 include the inclination of both the body and the legs of the robot. Outcomes of the performed study are validated by analyzing the posture of 150 ants when loitering on vertical surfaces. The obtained validation ensures the predictions of the developed structural model are correct and can be used to identify optimal configurations of legged robots when loitering on vertical surfaces.

Improving Students’ Mastery on Simple Present Tense Through Climbing Grammar Mountain Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fadilla Taslim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study aims to determine whether the use of Climbing Grammar Mountain Game gave significant improvement on students in learning simple present tense. Classroom action research was used in this study where the data were analyzed by using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The population of the study was the students of grade eleventh at SMPN 1 Luak 50 Kota. There were 21 students in this class. Six kinds of instruments were used to collect data, namely teaching ,scenario, observation sheet, questionnaire, test, interview, and teacher’s journal. This study ran for two cycles. In the second cycle, it was shown that there was gradual improvement from the previous cycle which changed from 64 (insufficient to 79 (sufficient of the mean score. it was more than criteria of the students’ mean score which were determined in this study and it was significant because it proved that the students enthusiasm to study simple present tense, it mean that the students liked and were not bored again so this was a motivation for them to more concentrate to study simple present tense and they could use it in daily life for communication. They understand that simple present tense is important in learning English because it is used in daily life, either in writing and spoken language. It could be concluded that Climbing Grammar Mountain Game could improve the ability of the students in class VII B of SMPN 1 Luak 50 Kota in using Simple Present Tense.

Value Framing: A Prelude to Software Problem Framing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wieringa, Roelf J.; Gordijn, Jaap; van Eck, Pascal; Cox, K.; Hall, J.G.; Rapanotti, L.

2004-01-01

Software problem framing is a way to find specifications for software. Software problem frames can be used to structure the environment of a software system (the machine) and specify desired software properties in such a way that we can show that software with these properties will help achieve the

Molecular frame and recoil frame angular distributions in dissociative photoionization of small molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucchese, R R; Carey, R; Elkharrat, C; Houver, J C; Dowek, D

2008-01-01

Photoelectron angular distributions in the dipole approximation can be written with respect to several different reference frames. A brief review of the molecular frame and recoil frame are given. Experimentally, one approach for obtaining such angular distributions is through angle-resolved coincidence measurements of dissociative ionization. If the system dissociates into two heavy fragments, then the recoil frame angular distribution can be measured. Computed molecular frame and recoil frame photoelectron angular distributions are compared to experimental data for the Cl 2p ionization of CH 3 Cl.

Filtering SVM frame-by-frame binary classification in a detection framework

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Betancourt Arango, A.; Morerio, P.; Marcenaro, L.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.; Regazzoni, C.S.

2015-01-01

Classifying frames, or parts of them, is a common way of carrying out detection tasks in computer vision. However, frame by frame classification suffers from sudden significant variations in image texture, colour and luminosity, resulting in noise in the extracted features and consequently in the

New characterizations of fusion frames (frames of subspaces)

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Theory (College Park, MD, 2003) Contemp. Math. 345, Amer. Math. Soc. (RI: Provi- dence) (2004) 87–113. [4] Casazza P G and Kutyniok G, Robustness of Fusion Frames under Erasures of sub- spaces and of Local Frame Vectors, Radon transforms, geometry, and wavelets (LA: New Orleans) (2006) Contemp. Math., Amer.

Changing climate, changing frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vink, Martinus J.; Boezeman, Daan; Dewulf, Art; Termeer, Catrien J.A.M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We show development of flood policy frames in context of climate change attention. ► Rising attention on climate change influences traditional flood policy framing. ► The new framing employs global-scale scientific climate change knowledge. ► With declining attention, framing disregards climate change, using local knowledge. ► We conclude that frames function as sensemaking devices selectively using knowledge. -- Abstract: Water management and particularly flood defence have a long history of collective action in low-lying countries like the Netherlands. The uncertain but potentially severe impacts of the recent climate change issue (e.g. sea level rise, extreme river discharges, salinisation) amplify the wicked and controversial character of flood safety policy issues. Policy proposals in this area generally involve drastic infrastructural works and long-term investments. They face the difficult challenge of framing problems and solutions in a publicly acceptable manner in ever changing circumstances. In this paper, we analyse and compare (1) how three key policy proposals publicly frame the flood safety issue, (2) the knowledge referred to in the framing and (3) how these frames are rhetorically connected or disconnected as statements in a long-term conversation. We find that (1) framings of policy proposals differ in the way they depict the importance of climate change, the relevant timeframe and the appropriate governance mode; (2) knowledge is selectively mobilised to underpin the different frames and (3) the frames about these proposals position themselves against the background of the previous proposals through rhetorical connections and disconnections. Finally, we discuss how this analysis hints at the importance of processes of powering and puzzling that lead to particular framings towards the public at different historical junctures

Framing Gangnam Style

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyunsun Catherine Yoon

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the way in which news about Gangnam Style was framed in the Korean press. First released on 15th July 2012, it became the first video to pass two billion views on YouTube. 400 news articles between July 2012 and March 2013 from two South Korean newspapers - Chosun Ilbo and Hankyoreh were analyzed using the frame analysis method in five categories: industry/economy, globalization, cultural interest, criticism, and competition. The right-left opinion cleavage is important because news frames interact with official discourses, audience frames and prior knowledge which consequently mediate effects on public opinion, policy debates, social movement and individual interpretations. Whilst the existing literature on Gangnam Style took rather holistic approach, this study aimed to fill the lacuna, considering this phenomenon as a dynamic process, by segmenting different stages - recognition, spread, peak and continuation. Both newspapers acknowledged Gangnam Style was an epochal event but their perspectives and news frames were different; globalization frame was most frequently used in Chosun Ilbo whereas cultural interest frame was most often used in Hankyoreh. Although more critical approaches were found in Hankyoreh, reflecting the right-left opinion cleavage, both papers lacked in critical appraisal and analysis of Gangnam Style’s reception in a broader context of the new Korean Wave.

Sensor placement on Canton Tower for health monitoring using asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Ting-Hua; Li, Hong-Nan; Zhang, Xu-Dong

2012-12-01

Heuristic optimization algorithms have become a popular choice for solving complex and intricate sensor placement problems which are difficult to solve by traditional methods. This paper proposes a novel and interesting methodology called the asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm (AMA) for the optimum design of sensor arrays for a structural health monitoring system. Different from the existing algorithms, the dual-structure coding method is designed and adopted for the representation of the design variables. The asynchronous-climb process is incorporated in the proposed AMA that can adjust the trajectory of each individual dynamically in the search space according to its own experience and other monkeys. The concept of ‘monkey king’ is introduced in the AMA, which reflects the Darwinian principle of natural selection and can create an interaction network to correctly guide the movement of other monkeys. Numerical experiments are carried out using two different objective functions by considering the Canton Tower in China with or without the antenna mast to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Investigations have indicated that the proposed AMA exhibits faster convergence characteristics and can generate sensor configurations superior in all instances when compared to the conventional monkey algorithm. For structures with stiffness mutation such as the Canton Tower, the sensor placement needs to be considered for each part separately.

Sensor placement on Canton Tower for health monitoring using asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Ting-Hua; Li, Hong-Nan; Zhang, Xu-Dong

2012-01-01

Heuristic optimization algorithms have become a popular choice for solving complex and intricate sensor placement problems which are difficult to solve by traditional methods. This paper proposes a novel and interesting methodology called the asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm (AMA) for the optimum design of sensor arrays for a structural health monitoring system. Different from the existing algorithms, the dual-structure coding method is designed and adopted for the representation of the design variables. The asynchronous-climb process is incorporated in the proposed AMA that can adjust the trajectory of each individual dynamically in the search space according to its own experience and other monkeys. The concept of ‘monkey king’ is introduced in the AMA, which reflects the Darwinian principle of natural selection and can create an interaction network to correctly guide the movement of other monkeys. Numerical experiments are carried out using two different objective functions by considering the Canton Tower in China with or without the antenna mast to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Investigations have indicated that the proposed AMA exhibits faster convergence characteristics and can generate sensor configurations superior in all instances when compared to the conventional monkey algorithm. For structures with stiffness mutation such as the Canton Tower, the sensor placement needs to be considered for each part separately. (paper)

Effects of environmental changes in a stair climbing intervention: generalization to stair descent.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Oliver J; Eves, Frank F

2007-01-01

Visual improvements have been shown to encourage stair use in worksites independently of written prompts. This study examined whether visual modifications alone can influence behavior in a shopping mall. Climbing one flight of stairs, however, will not confer health benefits. Therefore, this study also assessed whether exposure to the intervention encouraged subsequent stair use. Interrupted time-series design. Escalators flanked by a staircase on either side. Ascending and descending pedestrians (N = 81,948). Following baseline monitoring, a colorful design was introduced on the stair risers of one staircase (the target staircase). A health promotion message was superimposed later on top. The intervention was visible only to ascending pedestrians. Thus, any rise in descending stair use would indicate increased intention to use stairs, which endured after initial exposure to the intervention. Observers inconspicuously coded pedestrians' means of ascent/descent and demographic characteristics. The design alone had no meaningful impact. Addition of the message, however, increased stair climbing at the target and nontarget staircases by 190% and 52%, respectively. The message also produced a modest increase in stair descent at the target (25%) and nontarget (9%) staircases. In public venues, a message component is critical to the success of interventions. In addition, it appears that exposure to an intervention can encourage pedestrians to use stairs on a subsequent occasion.

Frames for undergraduates

CERN Document Server

Han, Deguang; Larson, David; Weber, Eric

2007-01-01

Frames for Undergraduates is an undergraduate-level introduction to the theory of frames in a Hilbert space. This book can serve as a text for a special-topics course in frame theory, but it could also be used to teach a second semester of linear algebra, using frames as an application of the theoretical concepts. It can also provide a complete and helpful resource for students doing undergraduate research projects using frames. The early chapters contain the topics from linear algebra that students need to know in order to read the rest of the book. The later chapters are devoted to advanced topics, which allow students with more experience to study more intricate types of frames. Toward that end, a Student Presentation section gives detailed proofs of fairly technical results with the intention that a student could work out these proofs independently and prepare a presentation to a class or research group. The authors have also presented some stories in the Anecdotes section about how this material has moti...

Changing quantum reference frames

OpenAIRE

Palmer, Matthew C.; Girelli, Florian; Bartlett, Stephen D.

2013-01-01

We consider the process of changing reference frames in the case where the reference frames are quantum systems. We find that, as part of this process, decoherence is necessarily induced on any quantum system described relative to these frames. We explore this process with examples involving reference frames for phase and orientation. Quantifying the effect of changing quantum reference frames serves as a first step in developing a relativity principle for theories in which all objects includ...

Creating Live Interactions to Mitigate Barriers (CLIMB): A Mobile Intervention to Improve Social Functioning in People With Chronic Psychotic Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Schlosser, Danielle; Nahum, Mor

2016-01-01

Background Numerous psychosocial interventions for individuals with chronic psychotic disorders (CPD) have shown positive effects on social cognitive and functional outcome measures. However, access to and engagement with these interventions remains limited. This is partly because these interventions require specially trained therapists, are not available in all clinical settings, and have a high scheduling burden for participants, usually requiring a commitment of several weeks. Delivering interventions remotely via mobile devices may facilitate access, improve scheduling flexibility, and decrease participant burden, thus improving adherence to intervention requirements. To address these needs, we designed the Creating Live Interactions to Mitigate Barriers (CLIMB) digital intervention, which aims to enhance social functioning in people with CPD. CLIMB consists of two treatment components: a computerized social cognition training (SCT) program and optimized remote group therapy (ORGT). ORGT is an innovative treatment that combines remote group therapy with group texting (short message service, SMS). Objectives The objectives of this single-arm study were to investigate the feasibility of delivering 6 weeks of CLIMB to people with CPD and explore the initial effects on outcomes. Methods Participants were recruited, screened and enrolled via the Internet, and delivered assessments and interventions remotely using provided tablets (iPads). Participants were asked to complete 18 hours of SCT and to attend 6 remote group therapy sessions. To assess feasibility, adherence to study procedures, attrition rates, engagement metrics, and acceptability of the intervention were evaluated. Changes on measures of social cognition, quality of life, and symptoms were also explored. Results In total, 27 participants were enrolled over 12 months. Remote assessments were completed successfully on 96% (26/27) of the enrolled participants. Retention in the 6-week trial was 78% (21

Climbing plants in a temperate rainforest understorey: searching for high light or coping with deep shade?

Science.gov (United States)

Valladares, Fernando; Gianoli, Ernesto; Saldaña, Alfredo

2011-08-01

While the climbing habit allows vines to reach well-lit canopy areas with a minimum investment in support biomass, many of them have to survive under the dim understorey light during certain stages of their life cycle. But, if the growth/survival trade-off widely reported for trees hold for climbing plants, they cannot maximize both light-interception efficiency and shade avoidance (i.e. escaping from the understorey). The seven most important woody climbers occurring in a Chilean temperate evergreen rainforest were studied with the hypothesis that light-capture efficiency of climbers would be positively associated with their abundance in the understorey. Species abundance in the understorey was quantified from their relative frequency and density in field plots, the light environment was quantified by hemispherical photography, the photosynthetic response to light was measured with portable gas-exchange analyser, and the whole shoot light-interception efficiency and carbon gain was estimated with the 3-D computer model Y-plant. Species differed in specific leaf area, leaf mass fraction, above ground leaf area ratio, light-interception efficiency and potential carbon gain. Abundance of species in the understorey was related to whole shoot features but not to leaf level features such as specific leaf area. Potential carbon gain was inversely related to light-interception efficiency. Mutual shading among leaves within a shoot was very low (<20 %). The abundance of climbing plants in this southern rainforest understorey was directly related to their capacity to intercept light efficiently but not to their potential carbon gain. The most abundant climbers in this ecosystem match well with a shade-tolerance syndrome in contrast to the pioneer-like nature of climbers observed in tropical studies. The climbers studied seem to sacrifice high-light searching for coping with the dim understorey light.

On Framing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peder Pedersen, Claus

2018-01-01

On framing as artistic and conceptual tool in the works of Claudia Carbone. Contribution to exhibition at the Aarhus School of Architecture.......On framing as artistic and conceptual tool in the works of Claudia Carbone. Contribution to exhibition at the Aarhus School of Architecture....

Morphological selection and the evaluation of potential tradeoffs between escape from predators and the climbing of waterfalls in the Hawaiian stream goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

Science.gov (United States)

Blob, Richard W; Kawano, Sandy M; Moody, Kristine N; Bridges, William C; Maie, Takashi; Ptacek, Margaret B; Julius, Matthew L; Schoenfuss, Heiko L

2010-12-01

Environmental pressures may vary over the geographic range of a species, exposing subpopulations to divergent functional demands. How does exposure to competing demands shape the morphology of species and influence the divergence of populations? We explored these questions by performing selection experiments on juveniles of the Hawaiian goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni, an amphidromous fish that exhibits morphological differences across portions of its geographic range where different environmental pressures predominate. Juvenile S. stimpsoni face two primary and potentially opposing selective pressures on body shape as they return from the ocean to freshwater streams on islands: (1) avoiding predators in the lower reaches of a stream; and (2) climbing waterfalls to reach the habitats occupied by adults. These pressures differ in importance across the Hawaiian Islands. On the youngest island, Hawai'i, waterfalls are close to shore, thereby minimizing exposure to predators and placing a premium on climbing performance. In contrast, on the oldest major island, Kaua'i, waterfalls have eroded further inland, lengthening the exposure of juveniles to predators before migrating juveniles begin climbing. Both juvenile and adult fish show differences in body shape between these islands that would be predicted to improve evasion of predators by fish from Kaua'i (e.g., taller bodies that improve thrust) and climbing performance for fish from Hawai'i (e.g., narrower bodies that reduce drag), matching the prevailing environmental demand on each island. To evaluate how competing selection pressures and functional tradeoffs contribute to the divergence in body shape observed in S. stimpsoni, we compared selection imposed on juvenile body shape by (1) predation by the native fish Eleotris sandwicensis versus (2) climbing an artificial waterfall (∼100 body lengths). Some variables showed opposing patterns of selection that matched predictions: for example, survivors of predation had

Behavioral Repertoire Influences the Rate and Nature of Learning in Climbing: Implications for Individualized Learning Design in Preparation for Extreme Sports Participation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominic Orth

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Extreme climbing where participants perform while knowing that a simple mistake could result in death requires a skill set normally acquired in non-extreme environments. In the ecological dynamics approach to perception and action, skill acquisition involves a process where the existing repertoire of behavioral capabilities (or coordination repertoire of a learner are destabilized and re-organized through practice—this process can expand the individuals affordance boundaries allowing the individual to explore new environments. Change in coordination repertoire has been observed in bi-manual coordination and postural regulation tasks, where individuals begin practice using one mode of coordination before transitioning to another, more effective, coordination mode during practice. However, individuals may also improve through practice without qualitatively reorganizing movement system components—they do not find a new mode of coordination. To explain these individual differences during learning (i.e., whether or not a new action is discovered, a key candidate is the existing coordination repertoire present prior to practice. In this study, the learning dynamics of body configuration patterns organized with respect to an indoor climbing surface were observed and the existing repertoire of coordination evaluated prior to and after practice. Specifically, performance outcomes and movement patterns of eight beginners were observed across 42 trials of practice over a 7-week period. A pre- and post-test scanning procedure was used to determine existing patterns of movement coordination and the emergence of new movement patterns after the practice period. Data suggested the presence of different learning dynamics by examining trial-to-trial performance in terms of jerk (an indicator of climbing fluency, at the individual level of analysis. The different learning dynamics (identified qualitatively included: continuous improvement, sudden improvement

High-Order Sliding Mode-Based Synchronous Control of a Novel Stair-Climbing Wheelchair Robot

OpenAIRE

Liu, Juanxiu; Wu, Yifei; Guo, Jian; Chen, Qingwei

2015-01-01

For the attitude control of a novel stair-climbing wheelchair with inertial uncertainties and external disturbance torques, a new synchronous control method is proposed via combing high-order sliding mode control techniques with cross-coupling techniques. For this purpose, a proper controller is designed, which can improve the performance of the system under conditions of uncertainties and torque perturbations and also can guarantee the synchronization of the system. Firstly, a robust high-or...

Fluid Model of Sliding Suction Cup of Wall-climbing Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fu Zhuang

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The adhering capability, one of the most important performance indexes of wall-climbing robots(WCRs, should be taken into account when a WCR is designed. This paper proposes a novel approach for investigating the adhering characteristics of the sliding suction cup (SSCs using fluid network theory to enhance the adhering capability of WCRs. The fluid models of the SSCs of two WCRs are developed and equivalent circuits in three cases are presented. The dynamic responses of negative pressure in SSCs are obtained and validated by a set of experiments. It indicated that the theoretical analysis is reasonable and can give some valuable design criteria on the structure parameters of SSCs and control strategies of suction force of SSCs.

Frame by Frame II: A Filmography of the African American Image, 1978-1994.

Science.gov (United States)

Klotman, Phyllis R.; Gibson, Gloria J.

A reference guide on African American film professionals, this book is a companion volume to the earlier "Frame by Frame I." It focuses on giving credit to African Americans who have contributed their talents to a film industry that has scarcely recognized their contributions, building on the aforementioned "Frame by Frame I,"…

Framing theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vreese, C.H.; Lecheler, S.; Mazzoleni, G.; Barnhurst, K.G.; Ikeda, K.; Maia, R.C.M.; Wessler, H.

2016-01-01

Political issues can be viewed from different perspectives and they can be defined differently in the news media by emphasizing some aspects and leaving others aside. This is at the core of news framing theory. Framing originates within sociology and psychology and has become one of the most used

Framing politics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lecheler, S.K.

2010-01-01

This dissertation supplies a number of research findings that add to a theory of news framing effects, and also to the understanding of the role media effects play in political communication. We show that researchers must think more about what actually constitutes a framing effect, and that a

Serialising languages: Satellite-framed, verb-framed or neither ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The diversity in the coding of the core schema of motion, i.e., Path, has led to a traditional typology of languages into verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. In the former Path is encoded in verbs and in the latter it is encoded in non-verb elements that function as sisters to co-event expressing verbs such as manner ...

Sparse Matrices in Frame Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemvig, Jakob; Krahmer, Felix; Kutyniok, Gitta

2014-01-01

Frame theory is closely intertwined with signal processing through a canon of methodologies for the analysis of signals using (redundant) linear measurements. The canonical dual frame associated with a frame provides a means for reconstruction by a least squares approach, but other dual frames...... yield alternative reconstruction procedures. The novel paradigm of sparsity has recently entered the area of frame theory in various ways. Of those different sparsity perspectives, we will focus on the situations where frames and (not necessarily canonical) dual frames can be written as sparse matrices...

When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive.

Science.gov (United States)

Uskul, Ayse K; Oyserman, Daphna

2010-03-01

The present study examines the persuasive effects of tailored health messages comparing those tailored to match (versus not match) both chronic cultural frame and momentarily salient cultural frame. Evidence from two studies (Study 1: n = 72 European Americans; Study 2: n = 48 Asian Americans) supports the hypothesis that message persuasiveness increases when chronic cultural frame, health message tailoring and momentarily salient cultural frame all match. The hypothesis was tested using a message about health risks of caffeine consumption among individuals prescreened to be regular caffeine consumers. After being primed for individualism, European Americans who read a health message that focused on the personal self were more likely to accept the message-they found it more persuasive, believed they were more at risk and engaged in more message-congruent behaviour. These effects were also found among Asian Americans who were primed for collectivism and who read a health message that focused on relational obligations. The findings point to the importance of investigating the role of situational cues in persuasive effects of health messages and suggest that matching content to primed frame consistent with the chronic frame may be a way to know what to match messages to.

NORD STREAM 2 and its Soft Power – an Unfolding Playground for the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roxana Ioana Banciu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in a double reflection (Russia - the candle, Germany - the mirror handling one particular aspect that influences Russia-EU relations since the Ukrainian factor emerged as a playground for both East and West tectonic plates - namely the energy sector. It is vital for any global power to understand this approach in order to reach people’s minds, in order to emerge as leaders on the world map and to build a strong perception over a political scene. A recently debated subject is Nord Stream 2. The reason why I have chosen to explore this subject is because I am very interested in how Kremlin seeks to have an exclusive control over Eastern Europe, given the full debate in the last three years. In this thesis I will also discuss some important elements of the Russian Soft Power over Europe introducing the plot of South Stream project.

Einstein and Jordan frames reconciled: A frame-invariant approach to scalar-tensor cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Catena, Riccardo; Pietroni, Massimo; Scarabello, Luca

2007-01-01

Scalar-tensor theories of gravity can be formulated in different frames, most notably, the Einstein and the Jordan one. While some debate still persists in the literature on the physical status of the different frames, a frame transformation in scalar-tensor theories amounts to a local redefinition of the metric, and then should not affect physical results. We analyze the issue in a cosmological context. In particular, we define all the relevant observables (redshift, distances, cross sections, ...) in terms of frame-independent quantities. Then, we give a frame-independent formulation of the Boltzmann equation, and outline its use in relevant examples such as particle freeze-out and the evolution of the cosmic microwave background photon distribution function. Finally, we derive the gravitational equations for the frame-independent quantities at first order in perturbation theory. From a practical point of view, the present approach allows the simultaneous implementation of the good aspects of the two frames in a clear and straightforward way

column frame for design of reinforced concrete sway frames

African Journals Online (AJOL)

adminstrator

design of slender reinforced concrete columns in sway frames according .... concrete,. Ac = gross cross-sectional area of the columns. Step 3: Effective Buckling Length Factors. The effective buckling length factors of columns in a sway frame shall be computed by .... shall have adequate resistance to failure in a sway mode ...

Design of a Robust Stair Climbing Compliant Modular Robot to Tackle Overhang on Stairs

OpenAIRE

Bhole, Ajinkya; Turlapati, Sri Harsha; S, Rajashekhar V.; Dixit, Jay; Shah, Suril V.; Krishna, K Madhava

2016-01-01

This paper discusses the concept and parameter design of a Robust Stair Climbing Compliant Modular Robot, capable of tackling stairs with overhangs. Modifying the geometry of the periphery of the wheels of our robot helps in tackling overhangs. Along with establishing a concept design, robust design parameters are set to minimize performance variation. The Grey-based Taguchi Method is adopted for providing an optimal setting for the design parameters of the robot. The robot prototype is shown...

Role of route previewing strategies on climbing fluency and exploratory movements

Science.gov (United States)

Cordier, Romain; Orth, Dominic; Courtine, Yoan; Croft, James L.

2017-01-01

This study examined the role of route previewing strategies on climbing fluency and on exploratory movements of the limbs, in order to understand whether previewing helps people to perceive and to realize affordances. Eight inexperienced and ten experienced climbers previewed a 10 m high route of 5b difficulty on French scale, then climbed it with a top-rope as fluently as possible. Gaze behavior was collected from an eye tracking system during the preview and allowed us to determine the number of times they scanned the route, and which of four route previewing strategies (fragmentary, ascending, zigzagging, and sequence-of-blocks) they used. Five inertial measurement units (IMU) (3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer) were attached to the hip, both feet, and forearms to analyze the vertical acceleration and direction of each limb and hip during the ascent. We were able to detect movement and immobility phases of each IMU using segmentation and classification processes. Depending on whether the limbs and/or hip were moving, five states of behavior were detected: immobility, postural regulation, hold exploration, hold change, and hold traction. Using cluster analysis we identified four clusters of gaze behavior during route previewing depending on route preview duration, number of scan paths, fixations duration, ascending, zigzagging, and sequence-of-blocks strategies. The number of scan paths was positively correlated with relative duration of exploration and negatively correlated with relative duration of hold changes during the ascent. Additionally, a high relative duration of sequence-of-blocks strategy and zigzagging strategy were associated with a high relative duration of immobility during the ascent. Route previewing might help to pick up functional information about reachable, graspable, and usable holds, in order to chain movements together and to find the route. In other words, route previewing might contribute to perceiving and realizing nested

Role of route previewing strategies on climbing fluency and exploratory movements.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludovic Seifert

Full Text Available This study examined the role of route previewing strategies on climbing fluency and on exploratory movements of the limbs, in order to understand whether previewing helps people to perceive and to realize affordances. Eight inexperienced and ten experienced climbers previewed a 10 m high route of 5b difficulty on French scale, then climbed it with a top-rope as fluently as possible. Gaze behavior was collected from an eye tracking system during the preview and allowed us to determine the number of times they scanned the route, and which of four route previewing strategies (fragmentary, ascending, zigzagging, and sequence-of-blocks they used. Five inertial measurement units (IMU (3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer were attached to the hip, both feet, and forearms to analyze the vertical acceleration and direction of each limb and hip during the ascent. We were able to detect movement and immobility phases of each IMU using segmentation and classification processes. Depending on whether the limbs and/or hip were moving, five states of behavior were detected: immobility, postural regulation, hold exploration, hold change, and hold traction. Using cluster analysis we identified four clusters of gaze behavior during route previewing depending on route preview duration, number of scan paths, fixations duration, ascending, zigzagging, and sequence-of-blocks strategies. The number of scan paths was positively correlated with relative duration of exploration and negatively correlated with relative duration of hold changes during the ascent. Additionally, a high relative duration of sequence-of-blocks strategy and zigzagging strategy were associated with a high relative duration of immobility during the ascent. Route previewing might help to pick up functional information about reachable, graspable, and usable holds, in order to chain movements together and to find the route. In other words, route previewing might contribute to perceiving and

Weaving Hilbert space fusion frames

OpenAIRE

Neyshaburi, Fahimeh Arabyani; Arefijamaal, Ali Akbar

2018-01-01

A new notion in frame theory, so called weaving frames has been recently introduced to deal with some problems in signal processing and wireless sensor networks. Also, fusion frames are an important extension of frames, used in many areas especially for wireless sensor networks. In this paper, we survey the notion of weaving Hilbert space fusion frames. This concept can be had potential applications in wireless sensor networks which require distributed processing using different fusion frames...

Wavelet frames and their duals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemvig, Jakob

2008-01-01

frames with good time localization and other attractive properties. Furthermore, the dual wavelet frames are constructed in such a way that we are guaranteed that both frames will have the same desirable features. The construction procedure works for any real, expansive dilation. A quasi-affine system....... The signals are then represented by linear combinations of the building blocks with coefficients found by an associated frame, called a dual frame. A wavelet frame is a frame where the building blocks are stretched (dilated) and translated versions of a single function; such a frame is said to have wavelet...... structure. The dilation of the wavelet building blocks in higher dimension is done via a square matrix which is usually taken to be integer valued. In this thesis we step away from the "usual" integer, expansive dilation and consider more general, expansive dilations. In most applications of wavelet frames...

Explore the Playground of Books: Tips for Parents of Beginning Readers = Explore el mundo de los libros: Ideas para los padres de ninos que apenas comienzan a leer.

Science.gov (United States)

Travaline, Kathleen A.

To a young child just learning to read, the world of books and stories is like a big playground waiting to be explored. Children between the ages of four and six usually start to recognize some words on a page. There are many things parents can do to help their children grow as readers. Parents can support their child's reading by being patient,…

Environmental contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks and playground sandpits of Greater Lisbon, Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, David; Alho, Ana M; Nijsse, Rolf; Roelfsema, Jeroen; Overgaauw, Paul; Madeira de Carvalho, Luís

Toxocarosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease transmitted from companion animals to humans. Environmental contamination with Toxocara eggs is considered to be the main source of human infections. In Portugal, knowledge regarding the current situation, including density, distribution and environmental contamination by Toxocara spp., is largely unknown. The present study investigated environmental contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs, in soil and faecal samples collected from public parks and playground sandpits in Greater Lisbon, Portugal. A total of 151 soil samples and 135 canine faecal samples were collected from 7 public sandpits and 12 public parks, over a 4 month-period. Soil samples were tested by a modified centrifugation and sedimentation/flotation technique and faecal samples were tested by an adaptation of the Cornell-Wisconsin method. Molecular analysis and sequencing were performed to discriminate Toxocara species in the soil. Overall, 85.7% of the sandpits (6/7) and 50.0% of the parks (6/12) were contaminated with Toxocara spp. eggs. The molecular analysis of soil samples showed that, 85.5% of the sandpits and 34.4% of the parks were contaminated with Toxocara cati eggs. Faecal analysis showed that 12.5% of the sandpits and 3.9% of the parks contained Toxocara canis eggs. In total, 53.0% of soil and 5.9% of faecal samples were positive for Toxocara spp. Additionally, 56.0% of the eggs recovered from the samples were embryonated after 60 days of incubation, therefore considered viable and infective. The average density was 4.2 eggs per hundred grams of soil. Public parks and playground sandpits in the Lisbon area were found to be heavily contaminated with T. cati eggs, representing a serious menace to public health as the studied areas represent common places where people of all ages, particularly children, recreate. This study sounds an alarm bell regarding the necessity to undertake effective measures such as reduction of stray animals, active faecal

Ultra-fast framing camera tube

Science.gov (United States)

Kalibjian, Ralph

1981-01-01

An electronic framing camera tube features focal plane image dissection and synchronized restoration of the dissected electron line images to form two-dimensional framed images. Ultra-fast framing is performed by first streaking a two-dimensional electron image across a narrow slit, thereby dissecting the two-dimensional electron image into sequential electron line images. The dissected electron line images are then restored into a framed image by a restorer deflector operated synchronously with the dissector deflector. The number of framed images on the tube's viewing screen is equal to the number of dissecting slits in the tube. The distinguishing features of this ultra-fast framing camera tube are the focal plane dissecting slits, and the synchronously-operated restorer deflector which restores the dissected electron line images into a two-dimensional framed image. The framing camera tube can produce image frames having high spatial resolution of optical events in the sub-100 picosecond range.

Time delay control of power converters: Mixed frame and stationary-frame variants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Loh, P.C.; Tang, Y.

2008-01-01

In this paper, a mixed-frame and a stationary-frame time delay current controller are proposed for high precision reference tracking and disturbance rejection of power converters. In particular, the controllers use a proportional-resonant regulator in the stationary frame for regulating...... the positive and negative-sequence fundamental currents, which are known to directly influence the flow of active and reactive power in most energy conversion systems. Moreover, for the tracking or compensation of harmonics, the controllers include a time delay control path in either the synchronous...... or stationary frame, whose inherent feedback and feedforward structure can be proven to resemble a bank of resonant filters in either reference frames. Unlike other existing controllers, the proposed time delay controllers function by introducing multiple resonant peaks at only those harmonic frequencies...

Framing effects in medical situations: distinctions of attribute, goal and risky choice frames.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jiaxi; Jiang, Yuan; Miao, Danmin; Li, Rui; Xiao, Wei

2013-06-01

To verify whether three different framing effects (risky choice, attribute and goal) exist in simulated medical situations and to analyse any differences. Medical decision-making problems were established, relating to medical skill evaluation, patient compliance and a selection of treatment options. All problems were described in positive and negative frame conditions. Significantly more positive evaluations were made if the doctor's medical records were described as 'of 100 patients, 70 patients became better' compared with those described as 'of 100 patients, 30 patients didn't become better'. Doctor's advice described in a negative frame resulted in significantly more decisions to comply, compared with advice described in a positive frame. Treatment options described in terms of survival rates resulted in significantly more adventurous choices compared with options described in terms of mortality rates. Decision-making reversal appeared in the risky choice and attribute frames, but not the goal frame. Framing effects were shown to exist in simulated medical situations, but there were significant differences among the three kinds of such effects.

Message framing and perinatal decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Haward, Marlyse F; Murphy, Ryan O; Lorenz, John M

2008-07-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of information framing on parental decisions about resuscitation of extremely premature infants. Secondary outcomes focused on elucidating the impact of other variables on treatment choices and determining whether those effects would take precedence over any framing effects. This confidential survey study was administered to adult volunteers via the Internet. The surveys depicted a hypothetical vignette of a threatened delivery at gestational age of 23 weeks, with prognostic outcome information framed as either survival with lack of disability (positive frame) or chance of dying and likelihood of disability among survivors (negative frame). Participants were randomly assigned to receive either the positively or negatively framed vignette. They were then asked to choose whether they would prefer resuscitation or comfort care. After completing the survey vignette, participants were directed to a questionnaire designed to test the secondary hypothesis and to explore possible factors associated with treatment decisions. A total of 146 subjects received prognostic information framed as survival data and 146 subjects received prognostic information framed as mortality data. Overall, 24% of the sample population chose comfort care and 76% chose resuscitation. A strong trend was detected toward a framing effect on treatment preference; respondents for whom prognosis was framed as survival data were more likely to elect resuscitation. This framing effect was significant in a multivariate analysis controlling for religiousness, parental status, and beliefs regarding the sanctity of life. Of these covariates, only religiousness modified susceptibility to framing; participants who were not highly religious were significantly more likely to be influenced to opt for resuscitation by the positive frame than were participants who were highly religious. Framing bias may compromise efforts to approach prenatal counseling in a

100-ps framing-camera tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalibjian, R.

1978-01-01

The optoelectronic framing-camera tube described is capable of recording two-dimensional image frames with high spatial resolution in the <100-ps range. Framing is performed by streaking a two-dimensional electron image across narrow slits. The resulting dissected electron line images from the slits are restored into framed images by a restorer deflector operating synchronously with the dissector deflector. The number of framed images on the tube's viewing screen equals the number of dissecting slits in the tube. Performance has been demonstrated in a prototype tube by recording 135-ps-duration framed images of 2.5-mm patterns at the cathode. The limitation in the framing speed is in the external drivers for the deflectors and not in the tube design characteristics. Faster frame speeds in the <100-ps range can be obtained by use of faster deflection drivers

Is It a Pattern?

Science.gov (United States)

McGarvey, Lynn M.

2013-01-01

This article describes how in early mathematics learning, young children are often asked to recognize and describe visual patterns in their environment--perhaps on their clothing, a toy, or the carpet; around a picture frame; or in the playground equipment. Exploring patterns in the early years is seen as an important introduction to algebraic…

A MODULAR DESIGN OF A WALL-CLIMBING ROBOT AND ITS MECHATRONICS CONTROLLER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.S. Tlale

2012-01-01

Full Text Available

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The modular design of a wall-climbing robot, implementing two articulated legs per module (biped robotic modules, is presented in this paper. Modular design improves a wall-climbing robot’s manoeuvrability and flexibility during surface changes or while walking on uneven surfaces. The design of the articulated legs uses four motors to control the posture of the vacuum cups, achieving the best possible contact with the surface. Each leg can contain more than five sensors for effective feedback control, and additional sensors such as gyros, CCD sensors, etc, can be fitted on a module, depending on the robot’s application. As the number of modules used in the design of the robot is increased, the number of actuators and sensors increases exponentially. A distributed mechatronics controller of such systems is presented.

AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Modulêre ontwerp van 'n muurklim-robot met twee geskarnierde bene per module (twee-benige robotmodules word in hierdie artikel weergegee. Modulêre ontwerp verbeter die muurklim-robot se beweeglikheid en aanpasbaarheid tydens veranderings in die loopvlak of terwyl dit loop op ongelyke oppervlaktes. Ontwerp van geskarnierde bene implementeer vier motors wat die oriëntasie van vakuumsuigdoppe beheer om die bes moontlike kontak met die loopvlak te handhaaf. Elke been kan meer as vyf sensors hê vir doeltreffende terugvoerbeheer, en bykomende sensors soos giroskope, CCD sensors, ens. kan by 'n module gevoeg word soos die toepassing van die robot dit mag vereis. Soos die aantal modules wat in die ontwerp van die robot gebruik word, toeneem, neem die aantal aktiveerders en sensors eksponensiëel toe. 'n Verdeelde megatroniese beheerder van sulke stelsels word aangebied.

Tree Climbing Techniques and Volume Equations for Eschweilera (Matá-Matá, a Hyperdominant Genus in the Amazon Forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno O. Gimenez

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The Eschweilera genus has great ecological and economic importance due to its wide abundance in the Amazon basin. One potential use for the Eschweilera genus is in forest management, where just a few trees are removed per hectare. In order to improve the forest management in the Amazon, this study assessed two critical issues: volume equations fitted for a single genus and the development of a non-destructive method using climbing techniques. The equipment used to measure the sample trees included: climbing rope, ascenders, descenders, and carabiners. To carry out the objectives of this study, 64 trees with diameter at breast height (DBH ≥ 10 cm were selected and measured in ZF-2 Tropical Forestry Station near the city of Manaus, Brazil. Four single input models with DBH and four dual input models with DBH and merchantable height (H were tested. The Husch model (V = a × DBHb presented the best performance (R2 = 0.97. This model does not require the merchantable height, which is an important advantage, because of the difficulty in measuring this variable in tropical forests. When the merchantable height data are collected using accurate methods, the Schumacher and Hall model (V = a × DBHb × Hc is the most appropriated. Tree climbing techniques with the use of ropes, as a non-destructive method, is a good alternative to measure the merchantable height, the diameter along the stem, and also estimate the tree volume (m3 of the Eschweilera genus in the Amazon basin.

Conformal frame dependence of inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domènech, Guillem; Sasaki, Misao

2015-01-01

Physical equivalence between different conformal frames in scalar-tensor theory of gravity is a known fact. However, assuming that matter minimally couples to the metric of a particular frame, which we call the matter Jordan frame, the matter point of view of the universe may vary from frame to frame. Thus, there is a clear distinction between gravitational sector (curvature and scalar field) and matter sector. In this paper, focusing on a simple power-law inflation model in the Einstein frame, two examples are considered; a super-inflationary and a bouncing universe Jordan frames. Then we consider a spectator curvaton minimally coupled to a Jordan frame, and compute its contribution to the curvature perturbation power spectrum. In these specific examples, we find a blue tilt at short scales for the super-inflationary case, and a blue tilt at large scales for the bouncing case

Conformal frame dependence of inflation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Domènech, Guillem; Sasaki, Misao, E-mail: guillem.domenech@yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp, E-mail: misao@yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)

2015-04-01

Physical equivalence between different conformal frames in scalar-tensor theory of gravity is a known fact. However, assuming that matter minimally couples to the metric of a particular frame, which we call the matter Jordan frame, the matter point of view of the universe may vary from frame to frame. Thus, there is a clear distinction between gravitational sector (curvature and scalar field) and matter sector. In this paper, focusing on a simple power-law inflation model in the Einstein frame, two examples are considered; a super-inflationary and a bouncing universe Jordan frames. Then we consider a spectator curvaton minimally coupled to a Jordan frame, and compute its contribution to the curvature perturbation power spectrum. In these specific examples, we find a blue tilt at short scales for the super-inflationary case, and a blue tilt at large scales for the bouncing case.

Making students' frames explicit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Louise Møller; Hansen, Poul Henrik Kyvsgaard

2016-01-01

Framing is a vital part of the design and innovation process. Frames are cognitive shortcuts (i.e. metaphors) that enable designers to connect insights about i.e. market opportunities and users needs with a set of solution principles and to test if this connection makes sense. Until now, framing...

Analysis of automobile’s automatic control systems for the hill climbing start

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeriy I. Klimenko

2014-12-01

Full Text Available To improve road safety while driving on the rise, facilitating the driver’s activity the automobile industry leaders are introducing automatic hill-hold control systems into the car design. This study purpose relates to the existing automatic start control systems’ design analysis. Analyzed are the existing design developments of automatic hill start assist control systems applied for driving at the start of the climbing. The effected research allows to select the scheme for further development of start driving automatic control systems. Further improvement of driving control systems and primarily the driver assistance hill-hold control systems is necessary to increase both the driving comfort and the traffic safety.

Stair Climbing Control for 4-DOF Tracked Vehicle Based on Internal Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daisuke Endo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In search-and-rescue missions, multi-degrees-of-freedom (DOF tracked robots that are equipped with subtracks are commonly used. These types of robots have superior locomotion performance on rough terrain. However, in teleoperated missions, the performance of tracked robots depends largely on the operators’ ability to control every subtrack appropriately. Therefore, an autonomous traversal function can significantly help in the teleoperation of such robots. In this paper, we propose a planning and control method for 4-DOF tracked robots climbing up/down known stairs automatically based on internal sensors. Experimental results obtained using mockup stairs verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Frames and generalized shift-invariant systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole

2004-01-01

With motivation from the theory of Hilbert-Schmidt operators we review recent topics concerning frames in L 2 (R) and their duals. Frames are generalizations of orthonormal bases in Hilbert spaces. As for an orthonormal basis, a frame allows each element in the underlying Hilbert space...... to be written as an unconditionally convergent infinite linear combination of the frame elements; however, in contrast to the situation for a basis, the coefficients might not be unique. We present the basic facts from frame theory and the motivation for the fact that most recent research concentrates on tight...... frames or dual frame pairs rather than general frames and their canonical dual. The corresponding results for Gabor frames and wavelet frames are discussed in detail....

Power to the frame: bringing sociology back to frame analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vliegenthart, R.; van Zoonen, L.

2011-01-01

This article critically reviews current frame and framing research in media and communication studies. It is first argued that most authors fail to distinguish between ‘frame’ and ‘framing’ and therewith produce a conceptual confusion and imprecision that is not conducive to the field. Second, it is

49 CFR 393.201 - Frames.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Frames. 393.201 Section 393.201 Transportation... SAFE OPERATION Frames, Cab and Body Components, Wheels, Steering, and Suspension Systems § 393.201 Frames. (a) The frame or chassis of each commercial motor vehicle shall not be cracked, loose, sagging or...

Dragging of inertial frames.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciufolini, Ignazio

2007-09-06

The origin of inertia has intrigued scientists and philosophers for centuries. Inertial frames of reference permeate our daily life. The inertial and centrifugal forces, such as the pull and push that we feel when our vehicle accelerates, brakes and turns, arise because of changes in velocity relative to uniformly moving inertial frames. A classical interpretation ascribed these forces to acceleration relative to some absolute frame independent of the cosmological matter, whereas an opposite view related them to acceleration relative to all the masses and 'fixed stars' in the Universe. An echo and partial realization of the latter idea can be found in Einstein's general theory of relativity, which predicts that a spinning mass will 'drag' inertial frames along with it. Here I review the recent measurements of frame dragging using satellites orbiting Earth.

Climbing Mont Blanc - A Training Site for Energy Efficient Programming on Heterogeneous Multicore Processors

OpenAIRE

Natvig, Lasse; Follan, Torbjørn; Støa, Simen; Magnussen, Sindre; Guirado, Antonio Garcia

2015-01-01

Climbing Mont Blanc (CMB) is an open online judge used for training in energy efficient programming of state-of-the-art heterogeneous multicores. It uses an Odroid-XU3 board from Hardkernel with an Exynos Octa processor and integrated power sensors. This processor is three-way heterogeneous containing 14 different cores of three different types. The board currently accepts C and C++ programs, with support for OpenCL v1.1, OpenMP 4.0 and Pthreads. Programs submitted using the graphical user in...

Frames and extension problems I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole

2014-01-01

In this article we present a short survey of frame theory in Hilbert spaces. We discuss Gabor frames and wavelet frames and set the stage for a discussion of various extension principles; this will be presented in the article Frames and extension problems II (joint with H.O. Kim and R.Y. Kim)....

A note on the standard dual frame of a wavelet frame with three-scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Qingjiang; Wei Zongtian; Feng Jinshun

2009-01-01

In this paper, it is shown that there exist wavelet frames generated by two functions which have good dual wavelet frames, but for which the standard dual wavelet frame does not consist of wavelets. That is to say, the standard dual wavelet frame cannot be generated by the translations and dilations of a single function. Relation to some physical theories such as entropy and E-infinity theory is also discussed.

Measuring the quality of a quantum reference frame: The relative entropy of frameness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gour, Gilad; Marvian, Iman; Spekkens, Robert W.

2009-01-01

In the absence of a reference frame for transformations associated with group G, any quantum state that is noninvariant under the action of G may serve as a token of the missing reference frame. We here present a measure of the quality of such a token: the relative entropy of frameness. This is defined as the relative entropy distance between the state of interest and the nearest G-invariant state. Unlike the relative entropy of entanglement, this quantity is straightforward to calculate, and we find it to be precisely equal to the G-asymmetry, a measure of frameness introduced by Vaccaro et al. It is shown to provide an upper bound on the mutual information between the group element encoded into the token and the group element that may be extracted from it by measurement. In this sense, it quantifies the extent to which the token successfully simulates a full reference frame. We also show that despite a suggestive analogy from entanglement theory, the regularized relative entropy of frameness is zero and therefore does not quantify the rate of interconversion between the token and some standard form of quantum reference frame. Finally, we show how these investigations yield an approach to bounding the relative entropy of entanglement.

Competitive Framing

OpenAIRE

Ran Spiegler

2014-01-01

I present a simple framework for modeling two-firm market competition when consumer choice is "frame-dependent", and firms use costless "marketing messages" to influence the consumer's frame. This framework embeds several recent models in the "behavioral industrial organization" literature. I identify a property that consumer choice may satisfy, which extends the concept of Weighted Regularity due to Piccione and Spiegler (2012), and provide a characterization of Nash equilibria under this pr...

Message framing in social networking sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Danny Tengti; Chuang, Shih-Chieh; Wang, Sui-Min; Zhang, Lei

2013-10-01

Online social networking sites represent significant new opportunities for Internet advertisers. However, results based on the real world cannot be generalized to all virtual worlds. In this research, the moderating effects of need for cognition (NFC) and knowledge were applied to examine the impact of message framing on attitudes toward social networking sites. A total of 216 undergraduates participated in the study. Results reveal that for social networking sites, while high-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages, low-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages. In addition, low-knowledge individuals demonstrate more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages; however, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-knowledge individuals. Furthermore, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-NFC individuals with high knowledge. In contrast, low-NFC individuals with low knowledge hold more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages.

Traditional timber frames

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jorissen, A.J.M.; Hamer, den J.; Leijten, A.J.M.; Salenikovich, A.

2014-01-01

Due to new possibilities traditional timber framing has become increasingly popular since the beginning of the 21e century. Although traditional timber framing has been used for centuries, the expected mechanical behaviour is not dealt with in great detail in building codes, guidelines or text

Design and Optimal Research of a Non-Contact Adjustable Magnetic Adhesion Mechanism for a Wall-Climbing Welding Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minghui Wu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Wall-climbing welding robots (WCWRs can replace workers in manufacturing and maintaining large unstructured equipment, such as ships. The adhesion mechanism is the key component of WCWRs. As it is directly related to the robot's ability in relation to adsorbing, moving flexibly and obstacle-passing. In this paper, a novel non-contact adjustably magnetic adhesion mechanism is proposed. The magnet suckers are mounted under the robot's axils and the sucker and wall are in non-contact. In order to pass obstacles, the sucker and the wheel unit can be pulled up and pushed down by a lifting mechanism. The magnetic adhesion force can be adjusted by changing the height of the gap between the sucker and the wall by the lifting mechanism. In order to increase the adhesion force, the value of the sucker's magnetic energy density (MED is maximized by optimizing the magnet sucker's structure parameters with a finite element method. Experiments prove that the magnetic adhesion mechanism has enough adhesion force and that the WCWR can complete wall-climbing work within a large unstructured environment.

Effective Pneumatic Scheme and Control Strategy of a Climbing Robot for Class Wall Cleaning on High-rise Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guanghua Zong

2008-11-01

Full Text Available A new kind of pneumatic climbing robot is presented to meet the requirements of glass-wall cleaning for high-rise buildings, which is totally actuated by pneumatic cylinders and attached to the glass wall with vacuum suckers. Using the pneumatic actuators the climbing robot can be made lightweight and dexterous. At the same time the movement driven by pneumatic actuators has the characteristic of passive compliance. In order to solve the problems of high speed movement for the Y cylinder and precise position control of the X cylinder, the applied pneumatic schemes of X and Y cylinders are employed to drive the high-speed on-off solenoid valves and an ordinary valve to adjust the air-flow and pressure to the cylinders. Furthermore a method of segment and variable bang-bang controller is proposed to implement the accurate control of the position servo system for the X cylinder during the sideways movement. Testing results show that the novel approach can effectively improve the control quality. This cleaning robot can meet the requirements of realization.

Effective Pneumatic Scheme and Control Strategy of a Climbing Robot for Class Wall Cleaning on High-rise Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Houxiang Zhang

2006-06-01

Full Text Available A new kind of pneumatic climbing robot is presented to meet the requirements of glass-wall cleaning for high-rise buildings, which is totally actuated by pneumatic cylinders and attached to the glass wall with vacuum suckers. Using the pneumatic actuators the climbing robot can be made lightweight and dexterous. At the same time the movement driven by pneumatic actuators has the characteristic of passive compliance. In order to solve the problems of high speed movement for the Y cylinder and precise position control of the X cylinder, the applied pneumatic schemes of X and Y cylinders are employed to drive the high-speed on-off solenoid valves and an ordinary valve to adjust the air-flow and pressure to the cylinders. Furthermore a method of segment and variable bang-bang controller is proposed to implement the accurate control of the position servo system for the X cylinder during the sideways movement. Testing results show that the novel approach can effectively improve the control quality. This cleaning robot can meet the requirements of realization.

Impacts of environmental factors on the climbing behaviors of herbaceous stem-twiners.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Liang; Chen, Youfang; Liu, Meicun

2017-11-01

The curvature of the helical trajectory formed by herbaceous stem-twiners has been hypothesized to be constant on uniformly sized cylindrical supports and remains constant on different supports varying in diameter. However, experimental studies on the constant curvature hypothesis have been very limited. Here, we tested the hypothesis in a series of experiments on five herbaceous stem-twiners ( Ipomoea triloba , Ipomoea nil , Phaseolus vulgaris , Vigna unguiculata, and Mikania micrantha ). We investigated how internode characteristics (curvature [β], diameter [ d ], and length [ L ]) and success rate (SR) of twining shoots would be affected by support thickness ( D ), temperature ( T ), illumination, and support inclination. The results showed that: (1) the SR of tested species decreased, but d increased with increasing support thickness. The β of the twining shoots on erect cylindrical poles was not constant, but it decreased with increasing d or support thickness. (2) The SR of tested species was not obviously reduced under low-temperature conditions, but their β was significantly higher and d significantly lower when temperature was more than 5°C lower. (3) The SR , d, and L of two tested Ipomoea species significantly declined, but β increased under 50% shading stress. (4) The curvatures of upper semicycles of I. triloba shoots on 45° inclined supports were not significantly different from curvatures of those shoots climb on erect supports, whereas the curvatures of lower semicycles were 40%-72% higher than curvatures of upper semicycles. Synthesis : Our study illustrates that stem curvatures of a certain herbaceous stem-twiners are not constant, but rather vary in response to external support, temperature, and illumination conditions. We speculate that herbaceous stem-twiners positively adapt to wide-diameter supports by thickening their stems and by reducing their twining curvatures. This insight helps us better understand climbing processes and

The role of message framing in promoting MMR vaccination: evidence of a loss-frame advantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Abhyankar, Purva; O'Connor, Daryl B; Lawton, Rebecca

2008-01-01

This study examined the effects of message framing on intentions to obtain the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for one's child and investigated whether Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and perceived outcome efficacy variables mediate and/or moderate message framing effects. One hundred and forty women read either a loss-framed or gain-framed message and then completed measures assessing their intentions to obtain the MMR vaccine for their child, and TPB and outcome efficacy variables. Exposure to the loss frame increased intentions to obtain the MMR vaccine and influenced perceptions of outcome efficacy. This suggests that outcome efficacy, but not other TPB variables may mediate framing effects within the context of MMR vaccination. Message frame, in addition to TPB variables, significantly predicted unique variance in behavioural intentions. These findings are discussed within the context of Prospect Theory, perceived risk and prevention/detection behaviours.

Learning from the experts: exploring playground experience and activities using a write and draw technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Knowles, Zoe Rebecca; Parnell, Daniel; Stratton, Gareth; Ridgers, Nicola Diane

2013-03-01

Qualitative research into the effect of school recess on children's physical activity is currently limited. This study used a write and draw technique to explore children's perceptions of physical activity opportunities during recess. 299 children age 7-11 years from 3 primary schools were enlisted. Children were grouped into Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6 and completed a write and draw task focusing on likes and dislikes. Pen profiles were used to analyze the data. Results indicated 'likes' focused on play, positive social interaction, and games across both age groups but showed an increasing dominance of games with an appreciation for being outdoors with age. 'Dislikes' focused on dysfunctional interactions linked with bullying, membership, equipment, and conflict for playground space. Football was a dominant feature across both age groups and 'likes/dislikes' that caused conflict and dominated the physically active games undertaken. Recess was important for the development of conflict management and social skills and contributed to physical activity engagement. The findings contradict suggestions that time spent in recess should be reduced because of behavioral issues.

[The framing effect: medical implications].

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzocco, Ketti; Cherubini, Paolo; Rumiati, Rino

2005-01-01

Over the last 20 years, many studies explored how the way information is presented modifies choices. This sort of effect, referred to as "framing effects", typically consists of the inversion of choices when presenting structurally identical decision problems in different ways. It is a common assumption that physicians are unaffected (or less affected) by the surface description of a decision problem, because they are formally trained in medical decision making. However, several studies showed that framing effects occur even in the medical field. The complexity and variability of these effects are remarkable, making it necessary to distinguish among different framing effects, depending on whether the effect is obtained by modifying adjectives (attribute framing), goals of a behavior (goal framing), or the probability of an outcome (risky choice framing). A further reason for the high variability of the framing effects seems to be the domain of the decision problem, with different effects occurring in prevention decisions, disease-detection decisions, and treatment decisions. The present work reviews the studies on framing effects, in order to summarize them and clarify their possible role in medical decision making.

Who's been framed? Framing effects are reduced in financial gambles made for others.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziegler, Fenja V; Tunney, Richard J

2015-01-01

Decisions made on behalf of other people are sometimes more rational than those made for oneself. In this study we used a monetary gambling task to ask if the framing effect in decision-making is reduced in surrogate decision-making. Participants made a series of choices between a predetermined sure option and a risky gambling option of winning a proportion of an initial stake. Trials were presented as either a gain or a loss relative to that initial stake. In half of the trials participants made choices to earn money for themselves and in the other half they earned money for another participant. Framing effects were measured as risk seeking in loss frames and risk aversion in gain frames. Significant framing effects were observed both in trials in which participants earned money for themselves and those in which they earned money for another person; however, these framing effects were significantly reduced when making decisions for another person. It appears that the reduced emotional involvement when the decision-maker is not affected by the outcome of the decision thus lessens the framing effect without eradicating it altogether. This suggests that the deviation from rational choices in decision-making can be significantly reduced when the emotional impact on the decision maker is lessened. These results are discussed in relation to Somatic Distortion Theory.

Framing scales and scaling frames

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Lieshout, M.; Dewulf, A.; Aarts, N.; Termeer, K.

2009-01-01

Policy problems are not just out there. Actors highlight different aspects of a situation as problematic and situate the problem on different scales. In this study we will analyse the way actors apply scales in their talk (or texts) to frame the complex decision-making process of the establishment

Approximately dual frames in Hilbert spaces and applications to Gabor frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Laugesen, Richard S.

2011-01-01

constructed via perturbation theory. An alternative bound is derived for the rich class of Gabor frames, by using the Walnut representation of the frame operator to estimate the deviation from equality in the duality conditions. To illustrate these results, we construct explicit approximate duals of Gabor...

Optimal Design of a New Wheeled Mobile Robot by Kinetic Analysis for the Stair-Climbing States

OpenAIRE

Woo, Chun-Kyu; Choi, Hyun Do; Kim, Mun Sang; Kim, Soo Hyun; Kwak, Yoon Keun

2007-01-01

In order to be utilized in building inspection, building security, and military reconnaissance, a new type of WMR was designed with a passive linkage-type locomotive mechanism for improved adaptability to rough terrain and stair-climbing without the active control techniques. Two designed concepts, `adaptability' and `passivity', were considered for the design of the linkage-type locomotive mechanism of the WMR. The proposed mechanism, composed of a simple 4-bar linkage mechanism and a limite...

Frames in super Hilbert modules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Rashidi-Kouchi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we define super Hilbert module and investigate frames in this space. Super Hilbert modules are  generalization of super Hilbert spaces in Hilbert C*-module setting. Also, we define frames in a super Hilbert module and characterize them by using of the concept of g-frames in a Hilbert C*-module. Finally, disjoint frames in Hilbert C*-modules are introduced and investigated.

The Frame Game

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Michael Todd; Cox, Dana C.

2011-01-01

In this article, the authors explore framing, a non-multiplicative technique commonly employed by students as they construct similar shapes. When students frame, they add (or subtract) a "border" of fixed width about a geometric object. Although the approach does not yield similar shapes in general, the mathematical underpinnings of…

Operator representations of frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Hasannasab, Marzieh

2017-01-01

of the properties of the operator T requires more work. For example it is a delicate issue to obtain a representation with a bounded operator, and the availability of such a representation not only depends on the frame considered as a set, but also on the chosen indexing. Using results from operator theory we show......The purpose of this paper is to consider representations of frames {fk}k∈I in a Hilbert space ℋ of the form {fk}k∈I = {Tkf0}k∈I for a linear operator T; here the index set I is either ℤ or ℒ0. While a representation of this form is available under weak conditions on the frame, the analysis...... that by embedding the Hilbert space ℋ into a larger Hilbert space, we can always represent a frame via iterations of a bounded operator, composed with the orthogonal projection onto ℋ. The paper closes with a discussion of an open problem concerning representations of Gabor frames via iterations of a bounded...

Optimal primitive reference frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jennings, David

2011-01-01

We consider the smallest possible directional reference frames allowed and determine the best one can ever do in preserving quantum information in various scenarios. We find that for the preservation of a single spin state, two orthogonal spins are optimal primitive reference frames; and in a product state, they do approximately 22% as well as an infinite-sized classical frame. By adding a small amount of entanglement to the reference frame, this can be raised to 2(2/3) 5 =26%. Under the different criterion of entanglement preservation, a very similar optimal reference frame is found; however, this time it is for spins aligned at an optimal angle of 87 deg. In this case 24% of the negativity is preserved. The classical limit is considered numerically, and indicates under the criterion of entanglement preservation, that 90 deg. is selected out nonmonotonically, with a peak optimal angle of 96.5 deg. for L=3 spins.

Reynolds Stress Closure for Inertial Frames and Rotating Frames

Science.gov (United States)

Petty, Charles; Benard, Andre

2017-11-01

In a rotating frame-of-reference, the Coriolis acceleration and the mean vorticity field have a profound impact on the redistribution of kinetic energy among the three components of the fluctuating velocity. Consequently, the normalized Reynolds (NR) stress is not objective. Furthermore, because the Reynolds stress is defined as an ensemble average of a product of fluctuating velocity vector fields, its eigenvalues must be non-negative for all turbulent flows. These fundamental properties (realizability and non-objectivity) of the NR-stress cannot be compromised in computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of turbulent flows in either inertial frames or in rotating frames. The recently developed universal realizable anisotropic prestress (URAPS) closure for the NR-stress depends explicitly on the local mean velocity gradient and the Coriolis operator. The URAPS-closure is a significant paradigm shift from turbulent closure models that assume that dyadic-valued operators associated with turbulent fluctuations are objective.

Dynamics of a thermally driven film climbing the outside of a vertical cylinder.

Science.gov (United States)

Smolka, Linda B

2017-10-01

The dynamics of a film climbing the outside of a vertical cylinder under the competing effects of a thermally driven surface tension gradient and gravity is examined through numerical simulations of a thin-film model for the film height. The model, including boundary conditions, depends on three parameters, the scaled cylinder radius R[over ̂], the upstream film height h_{∞}, and the downstream precursor film thickness b, and reduces to the model for Marangoni driven film climbing a vertical plate in the limit R[over ̂]→∞. The axisymmetric advancing front displays dynamics similar to that found along a vertical plate where, depending on h_{∞}, the film forms a single Lax shock, an undercompressive double shock, or a rarefaction-undercompressive shock. A linear stability analysis of the Lax shock reveals the number of fingers that form along the contact line increases linearly with cylinder circumference while no fingers form for sufficiently small cylinders (below R[over ̂]≈1.15 when b=0.1). The substrate curvature controls the height of the Lax shock, bounds on h_{∞} that define the three distinct solutions, and the maximum growth rate of contact line perturbations to the Lax shock when R[over ̂]=O(1), whereas the three solutions and the stability of the Lax shock converge to the behavior one observes on a vertical plate when R[over ̂]≥O(10). An energy analysis reveals that the azimuthal curvatures of the base state and perturbation, which arise from the annular geometry of the film, promote instability of the advancing contact line.

Identifying issue frames in text.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eyal Sagi

Full Text Available Framing, the effect of context on cognitive processes, is a prominent topic of research in psychology and public opinion research. Research on framing has traditionally relied on controlled experiments and manually annotated document collections. In this paper we present a method that allows for quantifying the relative strengths of competing linguistic frames based on corpus analysis. This method requires little human intervention and can therefore be efficiently applied to large bodies of text. We demonstrate its effectiveness by tracking changes in the framing of terror over time and comparing the framing of abortion by Democrats and Republicans in the U.S.

Characterization of Oblique Dual Frame Pairs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Eldar, Yonina

2006-01-01

Given a frame for a subspace W of a Hilbert space H, we consider all possible families of oblique dual frame vectors on an appropriately chosen subspace V. In place of the standard description, which involves computing the pseudoinverse of the frame operator, we develop an alternative characteriz...... for the case of shift-invariant spaces with a single generator. The theory is also adapted to the standard frame setting in which the original and dual frames are defined on the same space. Copyright (C) 2006 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.......Given a frame for a subspace W of a Hilbert space H, we consider all possible families of oblique dual frame vectors on an appropriately chosen subspace V. In place of the standard description, which involves computing the pseudoinverse of the frame operator, we develop an alternative...

Framing Autism: A Content Analysis of Five Major News Frames in U.S.-Based Newspapers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wendorf Muhamad, Jessica; Yang, Fan

2017-03-01

The portrayal of child autism-related news stories has become a serious issue in the United States, yet few studies address this from media framing perspective. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examined the applicability of a media framing scale (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000) for the deductive examination of autism-related news stories in U.S.-based newspapers. Under the theoretical framework of framing theory, a content analysis of news stories (N = 413) was conducted to investigate the presence of the five news frames using an established questionnaire. Differentiating between local and national news outlets, the following five news frames were measured: (a) attribution of responsibility, (b) human interest, (c) conflict, (d) morality, and (e) economic consequences. Findings revealed that news stories about autism most frequently fell within the human interest frame. Furthermore, the study shed light on how local and national newspapers might differ in framing autism-related news pieces and in their placement of the autism-related story within the newspaper (e.g., front page section, community section).

Framing Effects: Dynamics and Task Domains

Science.gov (United States)

Wang

1996-11-01

The author examines the mechanisms and dynamics of framing effects in risky choices across three distinct task domains (i.e., life-death, public property, and personal money). The choice outcomes of the problems presented in each of the three task domains had a binary structure of a sure thing vs a gamble of equal expected value; the outcomes differed in their framing conditions and the expected values, raging from 6000, 600, 60, to 6, numerically. It was hypothesized that subjects would become more risk seeking, if the sure outcome was below their aspiration level (the minimum requirement). As predicted, more subjects preferred the gamble when facing the life-death choice problems than facing the counterpart problems presented in the other two task domains. Subjects' risk preference varied categorically along the group size dimension in the life-death domain but changed more linearly over the expected value dimension in the monetary domain. Framing effects were observed in 7 of 13 pairs of problems, showing a positive frame-risk aversion and negative frame-risk seeking relationship. In addition, two types of framing effects were theoretically defined and empirically identified. A bidirectional framing effect involves a reversal in risk preference, and occurs when a decision maker's risk preference is ambiguous or weak. Four bidirectional effects were observed; in each case a majority of subjects preferred the sure outcome under a positive frame but the gamble under a negative frame. In contrast, a unidirectional framing effect refers to a preference shift due to the framing of choice outcomes: A majority of subjects preferred one choice outcome (either the sure thing or the gamble) under both framing conditions, with positive frame augmented the preference for the sure thing and negative frame augmented the preference for the gamble. These findings revealed some dynamic regularities of framing effects and posed implications for developing predictive and testable

Ambiguities in the deduction of rest frame fluctuation spectrums from spectrums computed in moving frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredericks, R.W.; Coroniti, F.V.

1976-01-01

The problem of interpretation of power spectrums computed by Fourier analysis of data time series taken in frames moving with respect to the medium containing the fluctuations is examined. It is found that no unique connection exists between the rest frame power spectrum as a function of scale length and the derived power spectrum as a function 'frequency' computed from the time series data taken in the moving frame. This caused by a complex Doppler-shifting phenomenon that leads to a basically aliased frequency spectrum in the moving frame. Examples of nonuniqueness are given for various types of rest frame density or wave turbulence that lead to the same frequency dependence of the power spectrum computed in the moving frame. This has implications for the past interpretations of power spectrums of density or magnetic field fluctuations from satellites or interplanetary probes

Predicting the Strength of Online News Frames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hrvoje Jakopović

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Framing theory is one of the most significant approaches to understanding media and their potential impact on publics. Leaving aside that fact, the author finds that publicity effects seem to be dispersed and difficult to catch for public relations. This article employs a specific research design, which could be applied to public relations practice, namely with a view to observing correlations between specific media frames and individual frames. The approach is based on the typology of news frames. The author attributes negative, positive and neutral determinants to the types of frames in his empirical research. Online news regarding three transport organizations and the accompanying user comments (identified as negative, positive and neutral are analysed by means of the method of content and sentiment analysis. The author recognizes user comments and reviews as individual frames that take part in the creation of online image. Furthermore, he identifies the types of media frames as well as individual frames manifested as image, and undertakes correlation research in order to establish their prediction potential. The results expose the most frequently used types of media frames concerning the transport domain. The media are keen to report through the attribution of responsibility frame, and after that, through the economic frame and the conflict frame, but, on the other hand, they tend to neglect the human interest frame and the morality frame. The results show that specific types of news frames enable better prediction of user reactions. The economic frame and the human interest frame therefore represent the most predictable types of frame.

Framing and Claiming: How Information-Framing Affects Expected Social Security Claiming Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Jeffrey R; Kapteyn, Arie; Mitchell, Olivia S

2016-03-01

This paper provides evidence that Social Security benefit claiming decisions are strongly affected by framing and are thus inconsistent with expected utility theory. Using a randomized experiment that controls for both observable and unobservable differences across individuals, we find that the use of a "breakeven analysis" encourages early claiming. Respondents are more likely to delay when later claiming is framed as a gain, and the claiming age is anchored at older ages. Additionally, the financially less literate, individuals with credit card debt, and those with lower earnings are more influenced by framing than others.

Strategic Framing Study Circles: Toward a Gold Standard of Framing Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Feinberg, Jane

2009-01-01

This article explains how communities of practice have been developed as part of FrameWorks' field-building efforts. Strategic Framing Study Circles, as they are known, have been conducted with four statewide coalitions, one group of national organizations, and an emerging regional coalition. The goal of each community of practice is to build…

Aero-Propulsive Model Design from a Commercial Aircraft in Climb and Cruise Regime using Performance Data =

Science.gov (United States)

Tudor, Magdalena

IATA has estimated, in 2012, at about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions, the environmental impact of the air transport, as a consequence caused by the rapidly growing of global movement demand of people and goods, and which was effectively taken into account in the development of the aviation industry. The historic achievements of scientific and technical progress in the field of commercial aviation were contributed to this estimate, and even today the research continues to make progress to help to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Advances in commercial aircraft, and its engine design technology had the aim to improve flight performance. These improvements have enhanced the global flight planning of these types of aircrafts. Almost all of these advances rely on generated performance data as reference sources, the most of which are classified as "confidential" by the aircraft manufacturers. There are very few aero-propulsive models conceived for the climb regime in the literature, but none of them was designed without access to an engine database, and/or to performance data in climb and in cruise regimes with direct applicability for flight optimization. In this thesis, aero-propulsive models methodologies are proposed for climb and cruise regimes, using system identification and validation methods, through which airplane performance can be computed and stored in the most compact and easily accessible format for this kind of performance data. The acquiring of performance data in this format makes it possible to optimize flight profiles, used by on-board Flight Management Systems. The aero-propulsive models developed here were investigated on two aircrafts belonging to commercial class, and both of them had offered very good accuracy. One of their advantages is that they can be adapted to any other aircraft of the same class, even if there is no access to their corresponding engine flight data. In addition, these models could save airlines a considerable

Compliance Framing - Framing Compliance

OpenAIRE

Lutz-Ulrich Haack; Martin C. Reimann

2012-01-01

Corporations have to install various organizational measures to comply with legal as well as internal guidelines systematically. Compliance management systems have the challenging task to make use of an internal compliance-marketing approach in order to ensure not only an adequate but also effective compliance-culture. Compliance-literature and findings of persuasive goal-framing-theory give opposite implications for establishing a rather values- versus rule-based compliance-culture respectiv...

Heavy metal exposure and risk charaterization of topsoils in urban playgrounds and parks (Hungary)

Science.gov (United States)

Puskás, Irén; Farsang, Andrea; Csépe, Zoltán; Bartus, Máté

2014-05-01

Contamination in urban soils can directly pose significant human risks through oral ingestion, particle inhalation and dermal contact, especially in public spaces. Parks and playgrounds are green areas in cities where dwellers (mainly children and seniors) can spend their outside freetime, thus the highest possibility of the human and soil interaction can be presumed here. Therefore, in 2013, composite surface samples (0-5 cm, from 10-15 subsoil samples) were collected from 96 public parks and 89 playgrounds (around playing equipment) of main functional zones (downtown, housing estates, industrial, prestigious, commuting areas) of three Hungarian cities (Budapest, Szeged, Gyula) representing capital, regional city and local town. Pseudo total metal content (Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ba, Co) and physical, chemical soil properties influencing metal mobility (artefact, mechanical soil type, carbonate, humus, pH(H2O), salt) were determined to evaluate impacts of various anthropogenic activities in functional zones on the studied soils; to give the environmental buffering capacity and to model human health risk of exposure pathways (by RISC 4.0 ) in the case of contaminated soils. Insignificant amount of artefact, neutral pH, high humus and carbonate content, mainly loamy and loamy-clay texture, low salt content can provide suitable buffering capacity for the studied soils. The type and spatial location of functional zones have not exerted considerable impact on variability of soil properties. Out of 189 analyzed areas, 36 have exceeded the threshold values regulated by Hungarian government (6/2009. (IV. 14) KvVM-EüM-FVM collective decree). Based on quantitative and qualitative evaluation of results, the identification of spatial patterns and the possible source of metal pollution have been carried out. In accordance with statistical analysis (correlation, cluster, factor analysis), we can explore relationship between metal concentrations and features of sample

Characterization of Oblique Dual Frame Pairs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christensen Ole

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Given a frame for a subspace of a Hilbert space , we consider all possible families of oblique dual frame vectors on an appropriately chosen subspace . In place of the standard description, which involves computing the pseudoinverse of the frame operator, we develop an alternative characterization which in some cases can be computationally more efficient. We first treat the case of a general frame on an arbitrary Hilbert space, and then specialize the results to shift-invariant frames with multiple generators. In particular, we present explicit versions of our general conditions for the case of shift-invariant spaces with a single generator. The theory is also adapted to the standard frame setting in which the original and dual frames are defined on the same space.

Simple Design Tool for Development of Well Insulated Window Frames and Optimization of the Frame Geometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zajas, Jan Jakub; Heiselberg, Per

2012-01-01

in order to approach an optimal solution. The program was also used to conduct an optimization process of the frame geometry. A large number of various window frame designs were created and evaluated, based on their insulation properties. The paper presents the investigation process and some of the best......This paper describes a design tool created with the purpose of designing highly insulated window frames. The design tool is based on a parametric model of the frame geometry, where various parameters describing the frame can be easily changed by the user. Based on this input, geometry of the frame...... is generated by the program and is used by the finite element simulator to calculate the thermal performance of the frame (the U value). After the initial design is evaluated, the user can quickly modify chosen parameters and generate a new design. This process can then be repeated in multiple iterations...

Key Frame Extraction in the Summary Space.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xuelong; Zhao, Bin; Lu, Xiaoqiang; Xuelong Li; Bin Zhao; Xiaoqiang Lu; Lu, Xiaoqiang; Li, Xuelong; Zhao, Bin

2018-06-01

Key frame extraction is an efficient way to create the video summary which helps users obtain a quick comprehension of the video content. Generally, the key frames should be representative of the video content, meanwhile, diverse to reduce the redundancy. Based on the assumption that the video data are near a subspace of a high-dimensional space, a new approach, named as key frame extraction in the summary space, is proposed for key frame extraction in this paper. The proposed approach aims to find the representative frames of the video and filter out similar frames from the representative frame set. First of all, the video data are mapped to a high-dimensional space, named as summary space. Then, a new representation is learned for each frame by analyzing the intrinsic structure of the summary space. Specifically, the learned representation can reflect the representativeness of the frame, and is utilized to select representative frames. Next, the perceptual hash algorithm is employed to measure the similarity of representative frames. As a result, the key frame set is obtained after filtering out similar frames from the representative frame set. Finally, the video summary is constructed by assigning the key frames in temporal order. Additionally, the ground truth, created by filtering out similar frames from human-created summaries, is utilized to evaluate the quality of the video summary. Compared with several traditional approaches, the experimental results on 80 videos from two datasets indicate the superior performance of our approach.

On the interaction between media frames and individual frames of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilhelm Kempf

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The present paper reports on a media effects research experiment in which six groups of participants were asked to read and evaluate differently framed news articles about two scenarios: a Palestinian attack on Israel and an Israeli military operation against Palestinians. The experimental results show that media peace frames of violent events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are generally regarded by the German public as more comprehensible, less biased, more balanced and less partisan than media war frames of the same events. The specific ways in which recipients respond to the frames, however, depend on their prior knowledge of the conflict, on their positioning to the conflict and on their sensitivity to the ambivalence of war and peace for both Israel and the Palestinians. This supports the hypothesis that neither news selection nor framing have uniform effects on public opinion.

On the structures of Grassmannian frames

OpenAIRE

Haas IV, John I.; Casazza, Peter G.

2017-01-01

A common criterion in the design of finite Hilbert space frames is minimal coherence, as this leads to error reduction in various signal processing applications. Frames that achieve minimal coherence relative to all unit-norm frames are called Grassmannian frames, a class which includes the well-known equiangular tight frames. However, the notion of "coherence minimization" varies according to the constraints of the ambient optimization problem, so there are other types of "minimally coherent...

New avenues for framing research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vreese, C.H.

2012-01-01

In this article, the author reviews the studies in this special issue of the American Behavioral Scientist. It is a strong collection of articles reporting findings from an integrated project that looks at frame building, frames, and effects of frames. The project is part of an exciting large-scale

Six problems in frame theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole

2014-01-01

We discuss various problems in frame theory that have been open for some years. A short discussion of frame theory is also provided, but it only contains the information that is necessary in order to understand the open problems and their role.......We discuss various problems in frame theory that have been open for some years. A short discussion of frame theory is also provided, but it only contains the information that is necessary in order to understand the open problems and their role....

Framing (implicitly) matters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anderson, Joel; Antalikova, Radka

2014-01-01

Denmark is currently experiencing the highest immigration rate in its modern history. Population surveys indicate that negative public attitudes toward immigrants actually stem from attitudes toward their (perceived) Islamic affiliation. We used a framing paradigm to investigate the explicit...... and implicit attitudes of Christian and Atheist Danes toward targets framed as Muslims or as immigrants. The results showed that explicit and implicit attitudes were more negative when the target was framed as a Muslim, rather than as an immigrant. Interestingly, implicit attitudes were qualified...... by the participants’ religion. Specifically, analyses revealed that Christians demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes toward immigrants than Muslims. Conversely, Atheists demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes toward Muslims than Atheists. These results suggest a complex relationship between religion...

A Circuit for Gradient Climbing in C. elegans Chemotaxis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Larsch

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Animals have a remarkable ability to track dynamic sensory information. For example, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans can locate a diacetyl odor source across a 100,000-fold concentration range. Here, we relate neuronal properties, circuit implementation, and behavioral strategies underlying this robust navigation. Diacetyl responses in AWA olfactory neurons are concentration and history dependent; AWA integrates over time at low odor concentrations, but as concentrations rise, it desensitizes rapidly through a process requiring cilia transport. After desensitization, AWA retains sensitivity to small odor increases. The downstream AIA interneuron amplifies weak odor inputs and desensitizes further, resulting in a stereotyped response to odor increases over three orders of magnitude. The AWA-AIA circuit drives asymmetric behavioral responses to odor increases that facilitate gradient climbing. The adaptation-based circuit motif embodied by AWA and AIA shares computational properties with bacterial chemotaxis and the vertebrate retina, each providing a solution for maintaining sensitivity across a dynamic range.

MedlinePlus FAQ: Framing

Science.gov (United States)

... URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/faq/framing.html I'd like to link to MedlinePlus, ... M. encyclopedia. Our license agreements do not permit framing of their content from our site. For more ...

Framing and Claiming: How Information-Framing Affects Expected Social Security Claiming Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Jeffrey R.; Kapteyn, Arie; Mitchell, Olivia S.

2017-01-01

This paper provides evidence that Social Security benefit claiming decisions are strongly affected by framing and are thus inconsistent with expected utility theory. Using a randomized experiment that controls for both observable and unobservable differences across individuals, we find that the use of a “breakeven analysis” encourages early claiming. Respondents are more likely to delay when later claiming is framed as a gain, and the claiming age is anchored at older ages. Additionally, the financially less literate, individuals with credit card debt, and those with lower earnings are more influenced by framing than others. PMID:28579641

28 CFR 570.21 - Time-frames.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Time-frames. 570.21 Section 570.21... PROGRAMS Pre-Release Community Confinement § 570.21 Time-frames. (a) Community confinement. Inmates may be... inmate's term of imprisonment or six months. (c) Exceeding time-frames. These time-frames may be exceeded...

Reduction of GABA/sub B/ receptor binding induced by climbing fiber degeneration in the rat cerebellum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, K.; Fukuda, H.

1985-01-01

When the rat cerebellar climbing fibers degenerated, as induced by lesioning the inferior olive with 3-acetylpyridine (3-AP), GABA/sub B/ receptor binding determined with 3 H-(+/-)baclofen was reduced in the cerebellum but not in the cerebral cortex of rats. Computer analysis of saturation data revealed two components of the binding sites, and indicated that decrease of the binding in the cerebellum was due to reduction in receptor density, mainly of the high-affinity sites, the B/sub max/ of which was reduced to one-third that in the control animals. In vitro treatment with 3-AP, of the membranes prepared from either the cerebellum or the cerebral cortex, induced no alteration in the binding sites, thereby indicating that the alteration of GABA/sub B/ sites induced by in vivo treatment with 3-AP is not due to a direct action of 3-AP on the receptor. GABA/sub A/ and benzodiazepine receptor binding labelled with 3 H-muscimol and 3 H-diazepam, respectively, in both of brain regions was not affected by destruction of the inferior olive. These results provide evidence that some of the GABA/sub B/ sites but neither GABA/sub A/ nor benzodiazepine receptors in the cerebellum are located at the climbing fiber terminals. 28 references, 4 figures, 2 tables

Frames, agency and institutional change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Grane Mikael Gregaard; Jensen, Per Langaa; Gottlieb, Stefan Christoffer

2017-01-01

This study examines change and the sources influencing the formulation and diffusion of policies in construction. The change examined is the introduction of a benchmarking policy initiative in the Danish construction industry. Using institutional theory with emphasis on the concepts of frames...... and framings, we show how strategically motivated actors are able to frame policy problems in ways that disclose the mixture of motives, interests and institutional mechanisms at play in change processes. In doing so, we contribute to the literature on the role of agency in institutional change and the framing...

Seismic Performance Comparison of a High-Content SDA Frame and Standard RC Frame

OpenAIRE

van de Lindt, John W.; Rechan, R. Karthik

2011-01-01

This study presents the method and results of an experiment to study the seismic behavior of a concrete portal frame with fifty percent of its cement content replaced with a spray dryer ash (SDA). Based on multiple-shake-table tests, the high content SDA frame was found to perform as well as the standard concrete frame for two earthquakes exceeding design-level intensity earthquakes. Hence, from a purely seismic/structural standpoint, it may be possible to replace approximately fifty percen...

CLIMB (the Cloud Infrastructure for Microbial Bioinformatics): an online resource for the medical microbiology community.

Science.gov (United States)

Connor, Thomas R; Loman, Nicholas J; Thompson, Simon; Smith, Andy; Southgate, Joel; Poplawski, Radoslaw; Bull, Matthew J; Richardson, Emily; Ismail, Matthew; Thompson, Simon Elwood-; Kitchen, Christine; Guest, Martyn; Bakke, Marius; Sheppard, Samuel K; Pallen, Mark J

2016-09-01

The increasing availability and decreasing cost of high-throughput sequencing has transformed academic medical microbiology, delivering an explosion in available genomes while also driving advances in bioinformatics. However, many microbiologists are unable to exploit the resulting large genomics datasets because they do not have access to relevant computational resources and to an appropriate bioinformatics infrastructure. Here, we present the Cloud Infrastructure for Microbial Bioinformatics (CLIMB) facility, a shared computing infrastructure that has been designed from the ground up to provide an environment where microbiologists can share and reuse methods and data.

Gain-Framed Messages Do Not Motivate Sun Protection: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Trials Comparing Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Appeals for Promoting Skin Cancer Prevention

Science.gov (United States)

O’Keefe, Daniel J.; Wu, Daisy

2012-01-01

Persuading people to undertake actions to prevent skin cancer is an important public health challenge. A number of studies have compared the effectiveness of gain-framed and loss-framed appeals in this domain, often expecting gain-framed appeals to be more persuasive. A meta-analytic review (k = 33, N = 4,168), however, finds no significant difference in the persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed appeals for encouraging skin cancer prevention. This conclusion is unaffected by differences in the specific protective action advocated or by differences in the kind of outcomes invoked. But the results offer an intimation that men might be more susceptible to framing variations in this domain—with loss-framed appeals potentially having a persuasive advantage. PMID:22829794

Playground slide-related injuries in preschool children: increased risk of lower extremity injuries when riding on laps.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennissen, Charles A; Koos, Maggie; Denning, Gerene

2018-04-10

The purpose of this study was to better understand the factors associated with playground slide-related injuries in preschool children and to test the hypothesis that riding on laps increases the likelihood of lower extremity injuries. Playground slide-related injuries (product code 1242) in children ≤5 years of age treated in emergency departments from 2002 to 2015 were identified (N = 12,686) using the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Descriptive and comparative analyses, including chi-square testing and binary logistic regression, were performed. Based on NEISS stratified national sampling estimates, over 350,000 children ≤5 years of age were injured on slides from 2002 to 2015. Overall, 59% of the children were male, and 65% were white. Almost 60% of injuries occurred in parks or other public areas. The most frequent diagnosis was a fracture (36%); lacerations were 19% of the injuries. A higher proportion of musculoskeletal injuries were seen in toddlers < 3 years old as compared to those 3-5 years of age (p < 0.001). Injuries to the lower extremities increased in frequency as age decreased, whereas injuries to the upper extremities and head/neck/face were more common in older preschoolers. Children < 3 years of age were 12 times more likely to be identified from narratives as being on another person's lap at the time of injury. Children identified as being on a lap had an increased odds of injury to the lower extremity than to other body parts (OR 43.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 32.0-58.0), and of lower leg/ankle fracture than fractures elsewhere (OR 49.5, 95% CI 31.7-77.4). Decreasing age was associated with a higher likelihood of being identified as sliding down on another person's lap and a higher likelihood of lower extremity injuries. Healthcare providers should be mindful of the potential for these slide-related injuries as they can result in a toddler's fracture of

Frames, operator representations, and open problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Hasannasab, Marzieh

2018-01-01

, a topic that has recently attracted considerably interest within harmonic analysis. The goal of the paper is twofold, namely, that experts in operator theory will explore the potential of frames, and that frame theory will benefit from insight provided by the operator theory community.......A frame in a Hilbert space H is a countable collection of elements in H that allows each f ϵ H to be expanded as an (infinite) linear combination of the frame elements. Frames generalize the wellknown orthonormal bases, but provide much more exibility and can often be constructed with properties...... that are not possible for orthonormal bases. We will present the basic facts in frame theory with focus on their operator theoretical characterizations and discuss open problems concerning representations of frames in terms of iterations of a fixed operator. These problems come up in the context of dynamical sampling...

An introduction to finite tight frames

CERN Document Server

Waldron, Shayne F D

2018-01-01

This textbook is an introduction to the theory and applications of finite tight frames, an area that has developed rapidly in the last decade. Stimulating much of this growth are the applications of finite frames to diverse fields such as signal processing, quantum information theory, multivariate orthogonal polynomials, and remote sensing. Key features and topics: * First book entirely devoted to finite frames * Extensive exercises and MATLAB examples for classroom use * Important examples, such as harmonic and Heisenberg frames, are presented in preliminary chapters, encouraging readers to explore and develop an intuitive feeling for tight frames * Later chapters delve into general theory details and recent research results * Many illustrations showing the special aspects of the geometry of finite frames * Provides an overview of the field of finite tight frames * Discusses future research directions in the field Featuring exercises and MATLAB examples in each chapter, the book is well suited as a textbook ...

Analisis Framing dalam Riset Public Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NARAYANA MAHENDRA PRASTYA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to give description about how to use frame analysis in Public Relations (PR research. The author use two framing models: Entman and Pan & Kosicki. The object is organization official statement about particular issue. Frame analysis method rarely used in Public Relations research. This methods commonly use in journalism study, to analyse the news in media. Meanwhile, the key word of framing is the social construction of reality. Organization can make social construction of realty in their official statement. In acacemic term, frame analysis in PR research is useful to know how organization positioned themselves in particular situation. Other benefit is use to evaluat whether the organization frame is conformable with the public opinion or agenda setting media or not. In practical term, frame analysis give benefit for PR practitioner to create the message that can be undserstood by public, also give positive image for organization.

Framing and misperception in public good experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fosgaard, Toke Reinholt; Hansen, Lars Gårn; Wengström, Erik Roland

2017-01-01

Earlier studies have found that framing has substantial impact on the degree of cooperation observed in public good experiments. We show that the way the public good game is framed affects misperceptions about the incentives of the game. Moreover, we show that such framing-induced differences...... in misperceptions are linked to the framing effect on subjects' cooperation behavior. When we do not control for the different levels of misperceptions between frames, we observe a significant framing effect on subjects’ cooperation preferences. However, this framing effect becomes insignificant once we remove...

All framing effects are not created equal: Low convergent validity between two classic measurements of framing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhen, Shanshan; Yu, Rongjun

2016-07-20

Human risk-taking attitudes can be influenced by two logically equivalent but descriptively different frames, termed the framing effect. The classic hypothetical vignette-based task (Asian disease problem) and a recently developed reward-based gambling task have been widely used to assess individual differences in the framing effect. Previous studies treat framing bias as a stable trait that has genetic basis. However, these two paradigms differ in terms of task domain (loss vs. gain) and task context (vignette-based vs. reward-based) and the convergent validity of these measurements remains unknown. Here, we developed a vignette-based task and a gambling task in both gain and loss domains and tested correlations of the framing effect among these tasks in 159 young adults. Our results revealed no significant correlation between the vignette-based task in the loss domain and the gambling task in the gain domain, indicating low convergent validity. The current findings raise the question of how to measure the framing effect precisely, especially in individual difference studies using large samples and expensive neuroscience methods. Our results suggest that the framing effect is influenced by both task domain and task context and future research should be cautious about the operationalization of the framing effect.

Sex difference in choice of concealed or exposed refuge sites by preschool children viewing a model leopard in a playground simulation of antipredator behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard G. Coss

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The current study of preschool children characterizes a semi-natural extension of experimental questions on how human ancestors evaded predation when encountering dangerous felids. In a pretend game on a playground, we presented full-size leopard and deer models to children (N = 39 in a repeatedmeasures experimental design. Prior to viewing the model presented 15-m away, each child was instructed by the experimenter to go where she or he would feel safe. The rationale for this study was based on the anthropological construct of “sexual dinichism,” positing that, during the Pliocene, smaller-bodied hominin females engaged in more arboreal behavior than larger-bodied males. Consistent with this construct, our previous simulation research using images of an African rock outcrop showed that, after viewing a lion, girls preferred a tree as refuge rather than a crevice or large boulder whereas boys did not differentiate these refuge sites. In this follow-up study, we predicted that, after viewing the model leopard, the preschool girls would differ from the boys by not choosing enclosed refuge sites analogous to the crevice. Analyses of a contingency table for the leopard model supported this hypothesis by yielding a significant interaction of sex and refuge location (p = .031, d = .76, the source of which was a reliably larger percentage of girls not choosing concealed refuge (p = .005, d = 2.3. The interaction of sex and refuge location for the model deer was not significant (p > .5. Our findings suggest that, in contrast to the deer, the girls selected exposed playground refuge sites rather than concealing ones to maintain visual contact with the leopard as a contingency for future action

Framing of health information messages.

Science.gov (United States)

Akl, Elie A; Oxman, Andrew D; Herrin, Jeph; Vist, Gunn E; Terrenato, Irene; Sperati, Francesca; Costiniuk, Cecilia; Blank, Diana; Schünemann, Holger

2011-12-07

The same information about the evidence on health effects can be framed either in positive words or in negative words. Some research suggests that positive versus negative framing can lead to different decisions, a phenomenon described as the framing effect. Attribute framing is the positive versus negative description of a specific attribute of a single item or a state, for example, "the chance of survival with cancer is 2/3" versus "the chance of mortality with cancer is 1/3". Goal framing is the description of the consequences of performing or not performing an act as a gain versus a loss, for example, "if you undergo a screening test for cancer, your survival will be prolonged" versus "if you don't undergo screening test for cancer, your survival will be shortened". To evaluate the effects of attribute (positive versus negative) framing and of goal (gain versus loss) framing of the same health information, on understanding, perception of effectiveness, persuasiveness, and behavior of health professionals, policy makers, and consumers. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, issue 3 2007), MEDLINE (Ovid) (1966 to October 2007), EMBASE (Ovid) (1980 to October 2007), PsycINFO (Ovid) (1887 to October 2007). There were no language restrictions. We reviewed the reference lists of related systematic reviews, included studies and of excluded but closely related studies. We also contacted experts in the field. We included randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled trials, and cross-over studies with health professionals, policy makers, and consumers evaluating one of the two types of framing. Two review authors extracted data in duplicate and independently. We graded the quality of evidence for each outcome using the GRADE approach. We standardized the outcome effects using standardized mean difference (SMD). We stratified the analysis by the type of framing (attribute, goal) and conducted pre

Pairs of dual periodic frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole; Goh, Say Song

2012-01-01

The time–frequency analysis of a signal is often performed via a series expansion arising from well-localized building blocks. Typically, the building blocks are based on frames having either Gabor or wavelet structure. In order to calculate the coefficients in the series expansion, a dual frame...... is needed. The purpose of the present paper is to provide constructions of dual pairs of frames in the setting of the Hilbert space of periodic functions L2(0,2π). The frames constructed are given explicitly as trigonometric polynomials, which allows for an efficient calculation of the coefficients...

Approximation of the inverse G-frame operator

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

... projection method for -frames which works for all conditional -Riesz frames. We also derive a method for approximation of the inverse -frame operator which is efficient for all -frames. We show how the inverse of -frame operator can be approximated as close as we like using finite-dimensional linear algebra.

Technological Frame Incongruence, Diffusion, and Noncompliance

Science.gov (United States)

Sobreperez, Polly

The technological frames of reference strand of social shaping of technology theory is used to overlay the issues arising from a case study looking at noncompliance with information systems. A recent review of the theory suggests that although frame content is often addressed, frame structure, the process of framing, and the characteristics and outcomes of frames are largely overlooked. This paper attempts to address this shortfall by applying the indicators identified by case study research to the frames of different groups and using them to highlight differing perceptions and attitudes. In this way, the author suggests that issues surrounding noncompliance should not be dismissed as resistance but instead should be further studied by managers and developers, leading to accommodation of differing views. Further examination of frame incongruence reveals dependence on inefficient or ineffective organizational situations and thus these indicators can be useful in future studies to identify and address procedural, acceptance and cultural issues leading to acts of noncompliance.

Field observations of climbing behavior and seed predation by adult ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a lowland area of the temperate zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasakawa, Kôji

2010-10-01

Granivory is a specialized food habit in the predominantly carnivorous beetle family Carabidae. Most studies of carabid granivory have been conducted under laboratory conditions; thus, our knowledge of the feeding ecology of granivorous carabids in the field is insufficient. I conducted field observations of climbing behavior and seed predation by adult carabids in a lowland area of eastern Japan, from early October to late November in 2008. This is the first systematic field observation of the feeding ecology of granivorous carabids in the temperate zone. In total, 176 carabid individuals of 11 species were observed, with 108 individuals feeding on plant seeds/flowers. Each carabid species was primarily observed feeding on a particular plant species. Frequently observed combinations were: Amara gigantea Motschulsky on Humulus scandens (Loureiro) Merrill (Moraceae) seed, Amara lucens Baliani on Artemisia indica Willdenow (Asteraceae) flower, and Amara macronota (Solsky) and Harpalus (Pseudoophonus) spp. on Digitaria ciliaris (Retzius) Koeler (Poaceae) seed. In all but one species, the sex ratio of individuals observed feeding was female-biased. In Am. gigantea and Am. macronota, a larger proportion of females than males ate seeds. In the three Amara species, copulations on plants, with the female feeding on its seeds/flowers, were often observed. These observations may indicate that, whereas females climb onto plants to feed on seeds, males climb to seek females for copulation rather than forage. Because granivorous carabids play important roles as weed-control agents in temperate agro-ecosystems, the present results would provide valuable basic information for future studies on this subject.

Leaf allocation patterns and 13C and 15N natural abundances of tropical lianas (Passiflora sp.) as dependent on external climbing support.

Science.gov (United States)

Werth, Martin; Spiegel, Ann-Kathrin; Kazda, Marian

2013-01-01

The transformation from self-supporting lianas to host-supported climbing lianas is related to re-allocation of biomass and nutrients among plant organs. Therefore, first, variations in leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf carbon and nitrogen allocation and (13)C and (15)N natural abundances were analysed among three tropical Passiflora species (P. edulis, P. ligularis, and P. tripartita) in a greenhouse study. Second, the influence of a climbing support was considered for each species and parameter. P. ligularis leaves were most enriched in (13)C in both treatments when compared with the other two species. This enrichment was caused by a high LMA, which is related to a high internal resistance to CO(2) diffusion. For P. edulis and P. tripartita, δ(13)C was additionally increasing with nitrogen content per area. Generally, there were no differences when considering carbon and nitrogen allocation to leaves of host-supported and self-supporting lianas. The only hints towards increased investment into leaves after the transition from self-supporting to host-supported stages could be seen by a trend to increased leaf areas and masses. δ(13)C values of supported P. edulis or P. tripartita plants were significantly increasing faster than those of non-supported plants once the interactions of leaf mass or nitrogen content per area were accounted for. Hence, the offer of a climbing support had only a minor impact on δ(13)C or δ(15)N values in vitro, but this could be different with increasing age of lianas in vivo.

Multimodal news framing effects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Powell, T.E.

2017-01-01

Visuals in news media play a vital role in framing citizens’ political preferences. Yet, compared to the written word, visual images are undervalued in political communication research. Using framing theory, this thesis redresses the balance by studying the combined, or multimodal, effects of visual

Framing in criminal investigation

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Failures in criminal investigation may lead to wrongful convictions. Insight in the criminal investigation process is needed to understand how these investigative failures may rise and how measures can contribute to the prevention of this kind of failures. Some of the main findings of an empirical study of the criminal investigation process in four cases of major investigations are presented here. This criminal investigation process is analyzed as a process of framing, using Goffman's framing (Goffman, 1975) and interaction theories (Goffman, 1990). It shows that in addition to framing, other substantive and social factors affect the criminal investigation. PMID:29046594

Pole inflation in Jordan frame supergravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saikawa, Ken' ichi [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Yamaguchi, Masahide [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama (Japan). Dept. of Physics; Yamashita, Yasuho [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Yukawa Inst. for Theoretical Physics; Yoshida, Daisuke [Montreal Univ., QC (Canada). Dept. of Physics

2017-09-15

We investigate inflation models in Jordan frame supergravity, in which an inflaton non-minimally couples to the scalar curvature. By imposing the condition that an inflaton would have the canonical kinetic term in the Jordan frame, we construct inflation models with asymptotically flat potential through pole inflation technique and discuss their relation to the models based on Einstein frame supergravity. We also show that the model proposed by Ferrara et al. has special position and the relation between the Kaehler potential and the frame function is uniquely determined by requiring that scalars take the canonical kinetic terms in the Jordan frame and that a frame function consists only of a holomorphic term (and its anti-holomorphic counterpart) for symmetry breaking terms. Our case corresponds to relaxing the latter condition.

Pole inflation in Jordan frame supergravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saikawa, Ken'ichi; Yamaguchi, Masahide; Yamashita, Yasuho; Yoshida, Daisuke

2017-09-01

We investigate inflation models in Jordan frame supergravity, in which an inflaton non-minimally couples to the scalar curvature. By imposing the condition that an inflaton would have the canonical kinetic term in the Jordan frame, we construct inflation models with asymptotically flat potential through pole inflation technique and discuss their relation to the models based on Einstein frame supergravity. We also show that the model proposed by Ferrara et al. has special position and the relation between the Kaehler potential and the frame function is uniquely determined by requiring that scalars take the canonical kinetic terms in the Jordan frame and that a frame function consists only of a holomorphic term (and its anti-holomorphic counterpart) for symmetry breaking terms. Our case corresponds to relaxing the latter condition.

Framing effects: The impact of framing on copresence in virtual theatre

OpenAIRE

Unterman, Benjamin Asher

2017-01-01

Virtual theatre (enacted dramatic narrative performed live online) is an emerging form of theatrical mediation. One of the biggest challenges faced by this growing media practice is the management of audience experience. This thesis attempts to address the uncertainty around virtual theatre audiences by focusing on the framing of performances that take place in virtual worlds. Strategic approaches to framing and audience preparation are suggested based on literature-based research, case studi...

Orthogonal Multiwavelet Frames in L2Rd

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Zhanwei

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We characterize the orthogonal frames and orthogonal multiwavelet frames in L2Rd with matrix dilations of the form (Df(x=detAf(Ax, where A is an arbitrary expanding d×d matrix with integer coefficients. Firstly, through two arbitrarily multiwavelet frames, we give a simple construction of a pair of orthogonal multiwavelet frames. Then, by using the unitary extension principle, we present an algorithm for the construction of arbitrarily many orthogonal multiwavelet tight frames. Finally, we give a general construction algorithm for orthogonal multiwavelet tight frames from a scaling function.

Framing, intentions, and trust-choice incompatibility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keren, G.B.

2007-01-01

The present paper examines how framing of messages and the intentions inferred from different—positive vs. negative—framings, interact with the development of trust. Empirical evidence is presented showing that different, logically equivalent, frames are supposedly interpreted as implying different

High Performance Commercial Fenestration Framing Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mike Manteghi; Sneh Kumar; Joshua Early; Bhaskar Adusumalli

2010-01-31

A major objective of the U.S. Department of Energy is to have a zero energy commercial building by the year 2025. Windows have a major influence on the energy performance of the building envelope as they control over 55% of building energy load, and represent one important area where technologies can be developed to save energy. Aluminum framing systems are used in over 80% of commercial fenestration products (i.e. windows, curtain walls, store fronts, etc.). Aluminum framing systems are often required in commercial buildings because of their inherent good structural properties and long service life, which is required from commercial and architectural frames. At the same time, they are lightweight and durable, requiring very little maintenance, and offer design flexibility. An additional benefit of aluminum framing systems is their relatively low cost and easy manufacturability. Aluminum, being an easily recyclable material, also offers sustainable features. However, from energy efficiency point of view, aluminum frames have lower thermal performance due to the very high thermal conductivity of aluminum. Fenestration systems constructed of aluminum alloys therefore have lower performance in terms of being effective barrier to energy transfer (heat loss or gain). Despite the lower energy performance, aluminum is the choice material for commercial framing systems and dominates the commercial/architectural fenestration market because of the reasons mentioned above. In addition, there is no other cost effective and energy efficient replacement material available to take place of aluminum in the commercial/architectural market. Hence it is imperative to improve the performance of aluminum framing system to improve the energy performance of commercial fenestration system and in turn reduce the energy consumption of commercial building and achieve zero energy building by 2025. The objective of this project was to develop high performance, energy efficient commercial

Pseudo-entanglement evaluated in noninertial frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehri-Dehnavi, Hossein; Mirza, Behrouz; Mohammadzadeh, Hosein; Rahimi, Robabeh

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → We study pseudo-entanglement in noninertial frames. → We examine different measures of entanglement and nonclassical correlation for the state. → We find the threshold for entanglement is changed in noninertial frames. → We also describe the behavior of local unitary classes of states in noninertial frames. - Abstract: We study quantum discord, in addition to entanglement, of bipartite pseudo-entanglement in noninertial frames. It is shown that the entanglement degrades from its maximum value in a stationary frame to a minimum value in an infinite accelerating frame. There is a critical region found in which, for particular cases, entanglement of states vanishes for certain accelerations. The quantum discord of pseudo-entanglement decreases by increasing the acceleration. Also, for a physically inaccessible region, entanglement and nonclassical correlation are evaluated and shown to match the corresponding values of the physically accessible region for an infinite acceleration.

Strategic framing in the BP crisis: A semantic network analysis of associative frames

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schultz, F.; Kleinnijenhuis, J.; Oegema, D.; Utz, S.; van Atteveldt, W.H.

2012-01-01

This paper contributes to the analysis of the interplay of public relations and news in crisis situations, and the conceptualization of strategic framing by introducing the idea of associative frames and the method of semantic network analysis to the PR research field. By building on a more advanced

Postural adaptation of the spatial reference frames to microgravity: back to the egocentric reference frame.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sébastien Viel

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In order to test how gravitational information would affect the choice of stable reference frame used to control posture and voluntary movement, we have analysed the forearm stabilisation during sit to stand movement under microgravity condition obtained during parabolic flights. In this study, we hypothesised that in response to the transient loss of graviceptive information, the postural adaptation might involve the use of several strategies of segmental stabilisation, depending on the subject's perceptual typology (dependence--independence with respect to the visual field. More precisely, we expected a continuum of postural strategies across subjects with 1 at one extreme the maintaining of an egocentric reference frame and 2 at the other the re-activation of childhood strategies consisting in adopting an egocentric reference frame. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To check this point, a forearm stabilisation task combined with a sit to stand movement was performed with eyes closed by 11 subjects during parabolic flight campaigns. Kinematic data were collected during 1-g and 0-g periods. The postural adaptation to microgravity's constraint may be described as a continuum of strategies ranging from the use of an exo- to an egocentric reference frame for segmental stabilisation. At one extremity, the subjects used systematically an exocentric frame to control each of their body segments independently, as under normogravity conditions. At the other, the segmental stabilisation strategies consist in systematically adopting an egocentric reference frame to control their forearm's stabilisation. A strong correlation between the mode of segmental stabilisation used and the perceptual typology (dependence--independence with respect to the visual field of the subjects was reported. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show different subjects' typologies from those that use the forearm orientation in a mainly exocentric reference frame to

Does perceived risk influence the effects of message framing? Revisiting the link between prospect theory and message framing.

Science.gov (United States)

Van 't Riet, Jonathan; Cox, Anthony D; Cox, Dena; Zimet, Gregory D; De Bruijn, Gert-Jan; Van den Putte, Bas; De Vries, Hein; Werrij, Marieke Q; Ruiter, Robert A C

2016-12-01

Health-promoting messages can be framed in terms of the beneficial consequences of healthy behaviour (gain-framed messages) or the detrimental consequences of unhealthy behaviour (loss-framed messages). An influential notion holds that the perceived risk associated with the recommended behaviour determines the relative persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed messages. This 'risk-framing hypothesis', which was derived from prospect theory, has been central to health message-framing research for the better part of two decades and has enduring appeal to researchers and practitioners. It has found its way into several health communication handbooks and is communicated to the general public. The present article examines the validity of the risk-framing hypothesis anew by providing a review of the health message-framing literature. In spite of its ongoing appeal, we conclude that the hypothesis has severe theoretical flaws. In addition, we find that the empirical evidence in favour of the hypothesis is weak and inconsistent. It seems that, in applying prospect theory's tenets to a health-promotion context, some of the theory's key aspects have been lost in translation. At the close of the article, we offer a research agenda for the future, arguing that, above all, new methodology is needed to bring the message-framing literature further.

Spacetime transformations from a uniformly accelerated frame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedman, Yaakov; Scarr, Tzvi

2013-01-01

We use the generalized Fermi–Walker transport to construct a one-parameter family of inertial frames which are instantaneously comoving to a uniformly accelerated observer. We explain the connection between our approach and that of Mashhoon. We show that our solutions of uniformly accelerated motion have constant acceleration in the comoving frame. Assuming the weak hypothesis of locality, we obtain local spacetime transformations from a uniformly accelerated frame K′ to an inertial frame K. The spacetime transformations between two uniformly accelerated frames with the same acceleration are Lorentz. We compute the metric at an arbitrary point of a uniformly accelerated frame. (paper)

Pseudo-set framing.

Science.gov (United States)

Barasz, Kate; John, Leslie K; Keenan, Elizabeth A; Norton, Michael I

2017-10-01

Pseudo-set framing-arbitrarily grouping items or tasks together as part of an apparent "set"-motivates people to reach perceived completion points. Pseudo-set framing changes gambling choices (Study 1), effort (Studies 2 and 3), giving behavior (Field Data and Study 4), and purchase decisions (Study 5). These effects persist in the absence of any reward, when a cost must be incurred, and after participants are explicitly informed of the arbitrariness of the set. Drawing on Gestalt psychology, we develop a conceptual account that predicts what will-and will not-act as a pseudo-set, and defines the psychological process through which these pseudo-sets affect behavior: over and above typical reference points, pseudo-set framing alters perceptions of (in)completeness, making intermediate progress seem less complete. In turn, these feelings of incompleteness motivate people to persist until the pseudo-set has been fulfilled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Information Leakage from Logically Equivalent Frames

Science.gov (United States)

Sher, Shlomi; McKenzie, Craig R. M.

2006-01-01

Framing effects are said to occur when equivalent frames lead to different choices. However, the equivalence in question has been incompletely conceptualized. In a new normative analysis of framing effects, we complete the conceptualization by introducing the notion of information equivalence. Information equivalence obtains when no…

Do framing effects reveal irrational choice?

Science.gov (United States)

Mandel, David R

2014-06-01

Framing effects have long been viewed as compelling evidence of irrationality in human decision making, yet that view rests on the questionable assumption that numeric quantifiers used to convey the expected values of choice options are uniformly interpreted as exact values. Two experiments show that when the exactness of such quantifiers is made explicit by the experimenter, framing effects vanish. However, when the same quantifiers are given a lower bound (at least) meaning, the typical framing effect is found. A 3rd experiment confirmed that most people spontaneously interpret the quantifiers in standard framing tests as lower bounded and that their interpretations strongly moderate the framing effect. Notably, in each experiment, a significant majority of participants made rational choices, either choosing the option that maximized expected value (i.e., lives saved) or choosing consistently across frames when the options were of equal expected value. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

49 CFR 230.106 - Steam locomotive frame.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Steam locomotive frame. 230.106 Section 230.106... Tenders Trucks, Frames and Equalizing System § 230.106 Steam locomotive frame. (a) Maintenance and inspection. Frames, decks, plates, tailpieces, pedestals, and braces shall be maintained in a safe and...

Does long term sport rock climbing training affect on echocardiography and heart rate variability in sedentary adults? A randomized, and controlled study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aras Dicle

2016-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Regular physical activity can cause some long term effects on human body. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of sport rock climbing (SRC training at 70 % HRmax level on echocardiography (ECHO and heart rate variability (HRV for one hour a day and three days a week in an eight-week period. A total of 19 adults participated in this study voluntarily. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups as experimental (EG and control (CG. While the EG went and did climbing training by using the top-rope method for 60 minutes a day, three days a week for 8 weeks and didn’t join any other physical activity programs, CG didn’t train and take part in any physical activity during the course of the study. Same measurements were repeated at the end of eight weeks. According to the findings, no significant change was observed in any of the ECHO and HRV parameters. However, an improvement was seen in some HRV parameters [average heart rate (HRave, standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN, standard deviation of the averages of NN intervals in all five-minute segments of the entire recording (SDANN, percent of difference between adjacent NN intervals that are greater than 50 ms (PNN50, square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN interval (RMSSD] in EG. An exercise program based on SRC should be made more than eight weeks in order to have statistically significant changes with the purpose of observing an improvement in heart structure and functions. Keywords: Echocardiography, heart rate variability, sport rock climbing

``Frames of Reference'' revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Steyn-Ross, Alistair; Ivey, Donald G.

1992-12-01

The PSSC teaching film, ``Frames of Reference,'' was made in 1960, and was one of the first audio-visual attempts at showing how your physical ``point of view,'' or frame of reference, necessarily alters both your perceptions and your observations of motion. The gentle humor and original demonstrations made a lasting impact on many audiences, and with its recent re-release as part of the AAPT Cinema Classics videodisc it is timely that we should review both the message and the methods of the film. An annotated script and photographs from the film are presented, followed by extension material on rotating frames which teachers may find appropriate for use in their classrooms: constructions, demonstrations, an example, and theory.

Comparison of 16-frame and 8-frame gated SPET imaging for determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navare, Sachin M.; Liu, Yi-Hwa; Wackers, Frans J.T.

2003-01-01

Electrocardiographic (ECG) gated single-photon emission tomography (SPET) allows for simultaneous assessment of myocardial perfusion and left ventricular (LV) function. Presently 8-frame per cardiac cycle ECG gating of SPET images is standard. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of 8-frame and 16-frame gated SPET on measurements of LV volumes and to evaluate the effects of the presence of myocardial perfusion defects and of radiotracer dose administered on the calculation of LV volumes. A total of 86 patients underwent technetium-99m SPET myocardial perfusion imaging using 16-frame per cardiac cycle acquisition. Eight-frame gated SPET images were generated by summation of contiguous frames. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated from the 16-frame and 8-frame data sets. The patients were divided into groups according to the administered dose of the radiotracer and the size of the perfusion defect. Results. Sixteen frame per cardiac cycle acquisition resulted in significantly larger EDV (122±72 ml vs 115±68 ml, P<0.0001), smaller ESV (64±58.6 ml vs 67.6±59.5 ml, P<0.0001), and higher LVEF (55.3%±18% vs 49%±17.4%, P<0.0001) as compared to 8-frame SPET imaging. This effect was seen regardless of whether a high or a low dose was administered and whether or not significant perfusion defects were present. This study shows that EDV, ESV and LVEF determined by 16-frame gated SPET are significantly different from those determined by 8-frame gated SPET. The radiotracer dose and perfusion defects do not affect estimation of LV parameters by 16-frame gated SPET. (orig.)

serialising languages: satellite-framed, verb-framed or neither

African Journals Online (AJOL)

George Saad

Figure 2: Verb-framed construction type (Slobin 2000: 109). 2 ... 2 An anonymous reviewer asks why we have replaced Talmy's conflation term “Ground” with ..... an S-language may predispose speakers to pay more linguistic attention to.

Mixed-frame and stationary-frame repetitive control schemes for compensating typical load and grid harmonics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loh, P.; Tang, Y.; Blaabjerg, Frede

2011-01-01

In this study, repetitive current controllers operating in either the mixed or stationary frame are proposed for high-precision reference tracking and disturbance rejection of power converters. Both controllers use a proportional-resonant regulator in the stationary frame for regulating...... the positive- and negative-sequence fundamental currents, which are known to directly influence the flow of active and reactive power in most energy conversion systems. Moreover, for the tracking or compensation of harmonics, the controllers include a repetitive control path in either the synchronous...... or stationary frame, whose inherent feedback and feedforward structure is proven to resemble a bank of resonant filters in either reference frames. Unlike other existing controllers, the proposed repetitive controllers function by introducing multiple resonant peaks at only those harmonic frequencies typically...

Sparsity and spectral properties of dual frames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krahmer, Felix; Kutyniok, Gitta; Lemvig, Jakob

2013-01-01

We study sparsity and spectral properties of dual frames of a given finite frame. We show that any finite frame has a dual with no more than $n^2$ non-vanishing entries, where $n$ denotes the ambient dimension, and that for most frames no sparser dual is possible. Moreover, we derive an expressio...

"Think" versus "feel" framing effects in persuasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Nicole D; Tormala, Zakary L

2010-04-01

Three studies explored think ("I think . . . ") versus feel ("I feel . . . ") message framing effects on persuasion.The authors propose a matching hypothesis, suggesting that think framing will be more persuasive when the target attitude or message recipient is cognitively oriented, whereas feel framing will be more persuasive when the target attitude or message recipient is affectively oriented. Study 1 presented cognitively and affectively oriented individuals with a think- or feel-framed message. Study 2 primed cognitive or affective orientation and then presented a think- or feel-framed message. Study 3 presented male and female participants with an advertisement containing think- or feel-framed arguments. Results indicated that think (feel) framing was more persuasive when the target attitude or recipient was cognitively (affectively) oriented. Moreover, Study 2 demonstrated that this matching effect was mediated by processing fluency. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Thinking inside the frame: A framing analysis of the humanities in Danish print news media.

Science.gov (United States)

Knudsen, Sanne

2017-11-01

The humanities, the natural and social sciences all represent advanced and systematic knowledge production-and they all receive public funding for doing so. However, although the field of public understanding of science has been well established for decades, similar research attention has not been directed at the humanities. The purpose of this study is to argue the case for further research of public understanding of the humanities and to take a first step in that direction by presenting a study of the framing of the humanities in Danish print news media. Different framings of the humanities are analyzed. Despite the differences in the issue-specific frames, the generic framing of the humanities shared by most articles is as follows: 75% explicitly frame the humanities as deficit, while the remaining 25% are more neutral. Consequently, if newspapers constitute the only source of information concerning the humanities, newsreaders may not be much wiser in understanding what the humanities might be-but they will know that whatever the humanities is, it is broken and useless.

Evaluation and the Framing of Race

Science.gov (United States)

House, Ernest R.

2017-01-01

Racial framing can have strong effects on programs, policies, and even evaluations. Racial framing developed as a justification for the exploitation of minorities and has been a primary causal factor in the persistence of racism. By being aware of its pattern, structure, origins, and how racial framing generates effects, we can significantly…

10 CFR 710.35 - Time frames.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Time frames. 710.35 Section 710.35 Energy DEPARTMENT OF... Matter or Special Nuclear Material Miscellaneous § 710.35 Time frames. Statements of time established for processing aspects of a case under this subpart are the agency's desired time frames in implementing the...

21 CFR 886.5842 - Spectacle frame.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Spectacle frame. 886.5842 Section 886.5842 Food... DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5842 Spectacle frame. (a) Identification. A spectacle frame is a device made of metal or plastic intended to hold prescription spectacle lenses worn by a...

Framing financial culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Just, Sine Nørholm; Mouton, Nicolaas T.O.

2014-01-01

between competing frames leads to the conclusion that this political “blame game” is related to struggles over how to define the scandal, how to conceptualize its causes, and policy recommendations. Banks may have lost the battle of “Liborgate,” but the war over the meaning of financial culture is far...... from over. Originality/value – The paper is theoretically and methodologically original in its combination of the theories of framing and stasis, and it provides analytical insights into how sense is made of financial culture in the wake of the financial crisis....

The effects of stair climbing on arterial stiffness, blood pressure, and leg strength in postmenopausal women with stage 2 hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Alexei; Figueroa, Arturo; Son, Won-Mok; Chernykh, Oksana; Park, Song-Young

2018-02-12

Menopause is accompanied by a progressive arterial stiffening associated with increases in blood pressure (BP) and decline in muscular function. It is crucial to prevent or reduce the negative effects of menopause on vascular and muscular function by implementing appropriate lifestyle interventions, such as exercise training. We examined the effects of a stair climbing (SC) regimen on arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity [PWV]), BP, and leg strength in postmenopausal women with stage 2 hypertension. Using a parallel experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to either SC (n = 21) or nonexercising control group (n = 20) for 12 weeks. Participants in the SC group trained 4 d/wk, climbing 192 steps 2 to 5 times/d. Participants' brachial-to-ankle PWV (baPWV), BP, and leg strength were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of their assigned intervention. There was a significant group by time interaction (P hypertensive postmenopausal women. The decrease in arterial stiffness partially explained the improvements in SBP and leg strength. SC may be an effective intervention in the prevention and treatment of menopause/aging-related vascular complications and muscle weakness.

Modern frame structure buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

В. М. Першаков

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the design, construction and implementation of reinforced concrete frame structures with span 18, 21 m for agricultural production buildings, hall-premises of public buildings and buildings of agricultural aviation. Structures are prefabricated frame buildings and have such advantages as large space inside the structure and lower cost compared with other facilities with same purpose

Towards a poetics of the cinematographic frame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Des O'Rawe

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In delineating a poetics of the cinematographic frame, this essay presents a typology of framing styles, and demonstrates ways in which filmmakers use the frame as an expressive resource—and ways in which the frame uses them. The examples discussed are modernist in orientation, and each has a particular association with a city—its history, architecture, and cultural character. Although it is common practice to refer to various—especially, modernist—framing situations as instances of deframing, the essay also enquires into the problematic nature of this term, suggesting alternative visual and cinematographic contexts more amenable to the deconstructive implications of this term. As the boundaries between cinema and the other arts continue to converge and relations between frame, image, and screen become more complex, this essay offers a reassessment of some first principles of film language, especially the aesthetic integrity of the cinematographic frame.

Inertial reference frames and gravitational forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santavy, I.

1981-01-01

The connection between different definitions of inertial, i.e. fundamental, reference frames and the corresponding characterisation of gravitational fields by gravitational forces are considered from the point of view of their possible interpretation in university introductory courses. The introduction of a special class of reference frames, denoted 'mixed reference frames' is proposed and discussed. (author)

Symmetries of collective models in intrinsic frame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gozdz, A.; Pedrak, A.; Szulerecka, A.; Dobrowolski, A.; Dudek, J.

2013-01-01

In the paper a very general definition of intrinsic frame, by means of group theoretical methods, is introduced. It allows to analyze nuclear properties which are invariant in respect to the group which defines the intrinsic frame. For example, nuclear shape is a well determined feature in the intrinsic frame defined by the Euclidean group. It is shown that using of intrinsic frame gives an opportunity to consider intrinsic nuclear symmetries which are independent of symmetries observed in the laboratory frame. An importance of the notion of partial symmetries is emphasized. (author)

News framing and public opinion: A mediation analysis of framing effects on political attitudes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lecheler, S.K.; de Vreese, C.H.

2012-01-01

There is no satisfactory account of the psychological processes that mediate a news framing effect. Based on an experimental study (N = 1,537), this article presents a mediation analysis of a news framing effect on opinion, testing for two important mediation processes: belief importance and belief

Some equalities and inequalities for fusion frames

OpenAIRE

Guo, Qianping; Leng, Jinsong; Li, Houbiao

2016-01-01

Fusion frames have some properties similar to those of frames in Hilbert spaces, but not all of their properties are similar. Some authors have established some equalities and inequalities for conventional frames. In this paper, we give some equalities and inequalities for fusion frames. Our results generalize and improve the remarkable results which have been obtained by Balan, Casazza and G?vruta etc.

Assessment of naturally occurring radioactive materials and trace elements in playgrounds of selected basic schools in the Ga-East municipal district, Accra, Ghana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taapopi, E.E.

2015-07-01

The 235 U, 232 Th series and natural 40 K are the main source of natural radioactivity in soil and have long half-lives up to 10 10 years. Therefore their presence in soils and rocks is simply considered as permanent. Also due to rapid urbanization, most of Basic School playgrounds in Accra are built close to major roads or industrial areas for which they are subject to many potential pollution sources, including vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. A study has been carried out on playgrounds of basic schools in the Ga East municipal district in order to determine the exposure of the school children to naturally occurring radioactive materials ( 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K) and trace elements [aluminum (Al), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), potassium (K), lanthanum (La), manganese (Mn), sodium (Na), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), zinc (Zn)]. The activity concentrations were determined using high‐purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The average activity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K determined were 19.8 ± 8.7, 29.1 ± 16.3 and 119.4 ± 97.9 Bq.kg-1 respectively. The average annual effective dose was 0.039 ± 0.021 mSv and it is below the dose limit of 1 mSv/year recommended by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for public exposure control. Radiological hazard assessments arising from the natural radionuclides were carried out. The average concentration of 222 Rn and exhalation rate were estimated to be 32.13 kBq.m -3 and 0.016 Bq.m -2 .s -1 respectively, which compared well with the world average values [78 kBq.m -3 and 0.033 Bq.m -2 .s -1 reported by (UNSCEAR, 2000)]. Soil samples were also analyzed for trace elements by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry in order to assess the potential adverse health effects of the exposure of children to trace elements during their games at school. Doses incurred via ingestion and inhalation and

Does perceived risk influence the effects of message framing? Revisiting the link between prospect theory and message framing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riet, J.P. van 't; Cox, A.D.; Cox, D.; Zimet, G.D.; Bruijn, G.J. de; Putte, B. van den; Vries, H. de; Werrij, M.Q.; Ruiter, R.A.C.

2016-01-01

Health-promoting messages can be framed in terms of the beneficial consequences of healthy behaviour (gain-framed messages) or the detrimental consequences of unhealthy behaviour (loss-framed messages). An influential notion holds that the perceived risk associated with the recommended behaviour

Parametric Study Of Window Frame Geometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zajas, Jan Jakub; Heiselberg, Per

2013-01-01

This paper describes a parametric study on window frame geometry with the goal of designing frames with very good thermal properties. Three different parametric frame models are introduced, deseribed by a number of variables. In the first part of the study, a process of sensitivity analysis...... is conducted to determine which of the parameters describing the frame have the highest impact on its thermal performance. Afterwards, an optimization process is conducted on each frame in order to optimize the design with regard to three objectives: minimizing the thermal transmittance, maxim izing the net...... energy gain factor and minimizing the material use. Since the objectives contradiet each other, it was found that it is not possible to identifY a single solution that satisfies all these goals. lnstead, a compromise between the objectives has to be found....

FishFrame

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Degel, Henrik; Jansen, Teunis

2006-01-01

. Development and test of software modules can be done once and reused by all. The biggest challenge in this is not technical – it is in organisation, coordination and trust. This challenge has been addressed by FishFrame - a web-based datawarehouse application. The “bottom-up” approach with maximum involvement...... of end users from as many labs and user groups as possible has been rather slow but quite successful in building international trust and cooperation around the system. This is mandatory prerequisites when our primary goal is not the programming project itself, but the creation of a tool that adds real...... value to users and in the end improves the way we work with our data. FishFrame version 4.2 is presented and the lessons learned from the process are discussed....

Framing effect debiasing in medical decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Almashat, Sammy; Ayotte, Brian; Edelstein, Barry; Margrett, Jennifer

2008-04-01

Numerous studies have demonstrated the robustness of the framing effect in a variety of contexts. The present study investigated the effects of a debiasing procedure designed to prevent the framing effect for young adults who made decisions based on hypothetical medical decision-making vignettes. The debiasing technique involved participants listing advantages and disadvantages of each treatment prior to making a choice. One hundred and two undergraduate students read a set of three medical treatment vignettes that presented information in terms of different outcome probabilities under either debiasing or control conditions. The framing effect was demonstrated by the control group in two of the three vignettes. The debiasing group successfully avoided the framing effect for both of these vignettes. These results further support previous findings of the framing effect as well as an effective debiasing technique. This study improved upon previous framing debiasing studies by including a control group and personal medical scenarios, as well as demonstrating debiasing in a framing condition in which the framing effect was demonstrated without a debiasing procedure. The findings suggest a relatively simple manipulation may circumvent the use of decision-making heuristics in patients.

Effect of framing on adolescents' decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Y C; Lin, C; Worthley, J

1996-12-01

92 young adolescents were tested using Tversky and Kahneman's (1981) decision problems for framing effects. A notable number of young adolescents tested were not influenced by the context of the decision problems, thus they selected the same response option for positively and negatively framed problems. Parallel information was not available in Tversky and Kahneman's study for adults because they used a between-subjects design. However, for present adolescents who selected different response options for different framing problems, the response pattern exhibited by them resembled the general pattern exhibited by the adults tested in Tversky and Kahneman's study-negative frames led them to accept risk to avoid certain loss; positive frames prevented them from risking what they were certain to gain. Boys and girls were similar in their susceptibility to framing effects as were honors students in mathematics as compared to nonhonors students. Although the positive vs negative framing only influenced some of the young adolescents tested in this study, because the influence was consistent, researchers and educators interested in adolescents' decisions involving risky choices might use framing principles to design and assess cognitive interventions for high-risk behaviors among young adolescents.

On Λ-Type Duality of Frames in Banach Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renu Chugh

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Frames are redundant system which are useful in the reconstruction of certain classes of spaces. The dual of a frame (Hilbert always exists and can be obtained in a natural way. Due to the presence of three Banach spaces in the definition of retro Banach frames (or Banach frames duality of frames in Banach spaces is not similar to frames for Hilbert spaces. In this paper we introduce the notion of Λ-type duality of retro Banach frames. This can be generalized to Banach frames in Banach spaces. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the dual of retro Banach frames are obtained. A special class of retro Banach frames which always admit a dual frame is discussed.

Short-term exposure to predation affects body elemental composition, climbing speed and survival ability in Drosophila melanogaster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indrikis Krams

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Factors such as temperature, habitat, larval density, food availability and food quality substantially affect organismal development. In addition, risk of predation has a complex impact on the behavioural and morphological life history responses of prey. Responses to predation risk seem to be mediated by physiological stress, which is an adaptation for maintaining homeostasis and improving survivorship during life-threatening situations. We tested whether predator exposure during the larval phase of development has any influence on body elemental composition, energy reserves, body size, climbing speed and survival ability of adult Drosophila melanogaster. Fruit fly larvae were exposed to predation by jumping spiders (Phidippus apacheanus, and the percentage of carbon (C and nitrogen (N content, extracted lipids, escape response and survival were measured from predator-exposed and control adult flies. The results revealed predation as an important determinant of adult phenotype formation and survival ability. D. melanogaster reared together with spiders had a higher concentration of body N (but equal body C, a lower body mass and lipid reserves, a higher climbing speed and improved adult survival ability. The results suggest that the potential of predators to affect the development and the adult phenotype of D. melanogaster is high enough to use predators as a more natural stimulus in laboratory experiments when testing, for example, fruit fly memory and learning ability, or when comparing natural populations living under different predation pressures.

Computable Frames in Computable Banach Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.K. Kaushik

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We develop some parts of the frame theory in Banach spaces from the point of view of Computable Analysis. We define computable M-basis and use it to construct a computable Banach space of scalar valued sequences. Computable Xd frames and computable Banach frames are also defined and computable versions of sufficient conditions for their existence are obtained.

Optical loop framing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalibjian, R.; Chong, Y.P.; Prono, D.S.; Cavagnolo, H.R.

1984-06-01

The ATA provides an electron beam pulse of 70-ns duration at a 1-Hz rate. Our present optical diagnostics technique involve the imaging of the visible light generated by the beam incident onto the plant of a thin sheet of material. It has already been demonstrated that the light generated has a sufficiently fast temporal reponse in performing beam diagnostics. Notwithstanding possible beam emittance degradation due to scattering in the thin sheet, the observation of beam spatial profiles with relatively high efficiencies has provided data complementary to that obtained from beam wall current monitors and from various x-ray probes and other electrical probes. The optical image sensor consists of a gated, intensified television system. The gate pulse of the image intensifier can be appropriately delayed to give frames that are time-positioned from the head to the tail of the beam with a minimum gate time of 5-ns. The spatial correlation of the time frames from pulse to pulse is very good for a stable electron beam; however, when instabilities do occur, it is difficult to properly assess the spatial composition of the head and the tail of the beam on a pulse-to-pulse basis. Multiple gating within a pulse duration becomes desirable but cannot be performed because the recycle time (20-ms) of the TV system is much longer than the beam pulse. For this reason we have developed an optical-loop framing technique that will allow the recording of two frames within one pulse duration with our present gated/intensified TV system

Timber frame walls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place; Brandt, Erik

2010-01-01

A ventilated cavity is usually considered good practice for removing moisture behind the cladding of timber framed walls. Timber frame walls with no cavity are a logical alternative as they are slimmer and less expensive to produce and besides the risk of a two-sided fire behind the cladding....... It was found that the specific damages made to the vapour barrier as part of the test did not have any provable effect on the moisture content. In general elements with an intact vapour barrier did not show a critical moisture content at the wind barrier after four years of exposure....

Video frame processor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joshi, V.M.; Agashe, Alok; Bairi, B.R.

1993-01-01

This report provides technical description regarding the Video Frame Processor (VFP) developed at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The instrument provides capture of video images available in CCIR format. Two memory planes each with a capacity of 512 x 512 x 8 bit data enable storage of two video image frames. The stored image can be processed on-line and on-line image subtraction can also be carried out for image comparisons. The VFP is a PC Add-on board and is I/O mapped within the host IBM PC/AT compatible computer. (author). 9 refs., 4 figs., 19 photographs

Putting Safety in the Frame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie Jean O’Keeffe

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Current patient safety policy focuses nursing on patient care goals, often overriding nurses’ safety. Without understanding how nurses construct work health and safety (WHS, patient and nurse safety cannot be reconciled. Using ethnography, we examine social contexts of safety, studying 72 nurses across five Australian hospitals making decisions during patient encounters. In enacting safe practice, nurses used “frames” built from their contextual experiences to guide their behavior. Frames are produced by nurses, and they structure how nurses make sense of their work. Using thematic analysis, we identify four frames that inform nurses’ decisions about WHS: (a communicating builds knowledge, (b experiencing situations guides decisions, (c adapting procedures streamlines work, and (d team working promotes safe working. Nurses’ frames question current policy and practice by challenging how nurses’ safety is positioned relative to patient safety. Recognizing these frames can assist the design and implementation of effective WHS management.

Framing matters: Effects of framing on older adults’ exploratory decision-making

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Jessica A.; Blanco, Nathaniel; Maddox, W. Todd

2016-01-01

We examined framing effects on exploratory decision-making. In Experiment 1 we tested older and younger adults in two decision-making tasks separated by one week, finding that older adults’ decision-making performance was preserved when maximizing gains, but declined when minimizing losses. Computational modeling indicates that younger adults in both conditions, and older adults in gains-maximization, utilized a decreasing threshold strategy (which is optimal), but older adults in losses were better fit by a fixed-probability model of exploration. In Experiment 2 we examined within-subjects behavior in older and younger adults in the same exploratory decision-making task, but without a time separation between tasks. We replicated the older adult disadvantage in loss-minimization from Experiment 1, and found that the older adult deficit was significantly reduced when the loss-minimization task immediately followed the gains-maximization task. We conclude that older adults’ performance in exploratory decision-making is hindered when framed as loss-minimization, but that this deficit is attenuated when older adults can first develop a strategy in a gains-framed task. PMID:27977218

Journalism Curiosity and Story Telling Frame

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunwald, Ebbe; Rupar, Verica

2009-01-01

This comparative study of journalism practices in Australia and Denmark explores the interplay between two concepts relevant for journalism's meaning-making activity: a curiosity seen as an action meant to close an information gap, and a story telling frame seen as a form of structuring information...... the epistemological and organisational dimension of frames relates to the process of  meaning-making. We suggest refining the concept of frame in journalism studies by making a distinction between a frame (an epistemological category) and an angle (a textual organisation category). Our investigation shows...... that this distinction better serves the analysis and understanding of the mechanisms behind journalism in comparative contexts. Udgivelsesdato: December...