Controlled, parametric, individualized, 2D and 3D imaging measurements of aerosol deposition in the respiratory tract of healthy human volunteers: in vivo data analysis

Background: To provide a validation dataset for aerosol deposition modeling, a clinical trial was performed in which the inhalation parameters and the inhaled aerosol were controlled or characterized.Methods: Eleven, healthy, never-smokers, male participants completed the study. Each participant performed two inhalations of 99mTc-labeled aerosol from a vibrating mesh nebulizer, which differed by a single controlled parameter (aerosol particle size: “small” or “large”; inhalation: “deep” or “shallow”; carrier gas: air or a helium–oxygen mix). The deposition measurements were made by planar imaging, and single photon emission computed tomography–computed tomography (SPECT-CT).Results: The difference between the mean activity measured by two-dimensional imaging and that delivered from the nebulizer was 2.7%, which was not statistically significant. The total activity deposited was significantly lower in the left lung than in the right lung (p&lt;0.0001) with a mean ratio (left/right) of 0.87±0.1 standard deviation (SD). However, when normalized to lung air volume, the left lung deposition was significantly higher (p=0.0085) with a mean ratio of 1.08±0.12 SD. A comparison of the three-dimensional central-to-peripheral (nC/P3D) ratio showed that it was significantly higher for the left lung (p&lt;0.0001) with a mean ratio (left/right) of 1.36±0.20 SD. The effect of particle size was statistically significant on the nC/P3D ratio (p=0.0014), extrathoracic deposition (p=0.0037), and 24-hr clearance (p&lt;0.0001), contrary to the inhalation parameters, which showed no effect.Conclusions: This article presents the results of an analysis of the in vivo deposition data, obtained in a clinical study designed to provide data for model validation. This study has demonstrated the value of SPECT imaging over planar, the influence of particle size on regional distribution within the lung, and differences in deposition between the left and right lungs.<br/

Atmospheric potential oxygen: New observations and their implications for some atmospheric and oceanic models

Measurements of atmospheric O2/N2 ratios and CO2 concentrations can be combined into a tracer known as atmospheric potential oxygen (APO ≈ O2/N2 + CO2) that is conservative with respect to terrestrial biological activity. Consequently, APO reflects primarily ocean biogeochemistry and atmospheric circulation. Building on the work of Stephens et al. (1998), we present a set of APO observations for the years 1996-2003 with unprecedented spatial coverage. Combining data from the Princeton and Scripps air sampling programs, the data set includes new observations collected from ships in the low-latitude Pacific. The data show a smaller interhemispheric APO gradient than was observed in past studies, and different structure within the hemispheres. These differences appear to be due primarily to real changes in the APO field over time. The data also show a significant maximum in APO near the equator. Following the approach of Gruber et al. (2001), we compare these observations with predictions of APO generated from ocean O2 and CO2 flux fields and forward models of atmospheric transport. Our model predictions differ from those of earlier modeling studies, reflecting primarily the choice of atmospheric transport model (TM3 in this study). The model predictions show generally good agreement with the observations, matching the size of the interhemispheric gradient, the approximate amplitude and extent of the equatorial maximum, and the amplitude and phasing of the seasonal APO cycle at most stations. Room for improvement remains. The agreement in the interhemispheric gradient appears to be coincidental; over the last decade, the true APO gradient has evolved to a value that is consistent with our time-independent model. In addition, the equatorial maximum is somewhat more pronounced in the data than the model. This may be due to overly vigorous model transport, or insufficient spatial resolution in the air-sea fluxes used in our modeling effort. Finally, the seasonal cycles predicted by the model of atmospheric transport show evidence of an excessive seasonal rectifier in the Aleutian Islands and smaller problems elsewhere. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union

The development of an ecological teaching perspective: A teacher education program

This project describes a four-year teacher education program conducted at the Living Desert, a botanical and wildlife park located in Palm Desert, California. The program brought 12 classroom teachers and 3 zoological educators together to expand their understanding and practice of environmental education. This project concentrates on how the program affected my educational philosophy, strategy and practice as an educator at The Living Desert, and how it shifted the focus of our department\u27s docent (volunteer guide) education in general

What We Hear in Voices: Identifying Dimensionality in Speech Stimuli Trait Impressions

Is there dimensionality in how people form impressions of speakers? The first portion of the study generated trait terms via text survey responses to recordings from the Emotional Speech Database (ESD). Following the analysis of this initial data, a second survey invited subjects to rate the speaker on a specific trait for each of many ESD recordings. The trait terms were selected from the text responses from the first survey that were most strongly correlated via a mixed-effects model with the speaker of each recording rather than the emotion or sentence. Following an exploratory factor analysis of the trait ratings responses in the second survey, a single dimension (“factor x”) was identified. Factor x can be roughly related to concepts of valence, arousal, and sociality. Findings from this study are compatible with general trait impression research findings in the field and support a generally dimensional framework of trait impressions across modalities

Anterior eye health recording.

AIMS: To survey eye care practitioners from around the world regarding their current practice for anterior eye health recording to inform guidelines on best practice. METHODS: The on-line survey examined the reported use of: word descriptions, sketching, grading scales or photographs; paper or computerised record cards and whether these were guided by proforma headings; grading scale choice, signs graded, level of precision, regional grading; and how much time eye care practitioners spent on average on anterior eye health recording. RESULTS: Eight hundred and nine eye care practitioners from across the world completed the survey. Word description (p<0.001), sketches (p=0.002) and grading scales (p<0.001) were used more for recording the anterior eye health of contact lens patients than other patients, but photography was used similarly (p=0.132). Of the respondents, 84.5% used a grading scale, 13.5% using two, with the original Efron (51.6%) and CCLRU/Brien-Holden-Vision-Institute (48.5%) being the most popular. The median features graded was 11 (range 1-23), frequency from 91.6% (bulbar hyperaemia) to 19.6% (endothelial blebs), with most practitioners grading to the nearest unit (47.4%) and just 14.7% to one decimal place. The average time taken to report anterior eye health was reported to be 6.8±5.7 min, with the maximum time available 14.0±11 min. CONCLUSIONS: Developed practice and research evidence allows best practice guidelines for anterior eye health recording to be recommended. It is recommended to: record which grading scale is used; always grade to one decimal place, record what you see live rather than based on how you intend to manage a condition; grade bulbar and limbal hyperaemia, limbal neovascularisation, conjunctival papillary redness and roughness (in white light to assess colouration with fluorescein instilled to aid visualisation of papillae/follicles), blepharitis, meibomian gland dysfunction and sketch staining (both corneal and conjunctival) at every visit. Record other anterior eye features only if they are remarkable, but indicate that the key tissue which have been examined

Steelcase Green Product Development: An Early Stage Life Cycle Analysis Tool and Methodology

Steelcase, Inc., a U.S. based and globally operating furniture company, has a long history of environmental improvement throughout its processes and products. Because its products are the core source of these impacts, integrating environmental metrics into the product development process has become a critical effort at the company. Evaluating the environmental impacts of products can be challenging. Products are typically evaluated through a life cycle analysis (LCA) after design is complete. While this analysis is critical for public reporting and informing future products, a product cannot be revisited to improve performance once it is ready for production. Instead, evaluation of impacts needs to be an integral part of the product development process when materials, processes, and design options can be selected based in part on their expected environmental performance. This research looked at the feasibility of using a data‐driven environmental analysis tool, with the working title of Wizard for Environmental Life Cycle Evaluation (WELE), to reduce the time required for environmental decision making during product development and to minimize the uncertainty of evaluation results when a product design is incomplete. Based on discussions with Steelcase representatives, a beta version of the tool was created within an existing LCA software package and tested with Steelcase product developers to determine its usability. Additional research explored the integration of Steelcase‐specific evaluation methods and product data needed to increase the tool’s accuracy in reporting environmental impacts. Several iterations of the tool were developed and tested with Steelcase representatives in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Strasbourg, France as well as IDEO, an affiliated product design consulting firm. Separate product tests were also conducted using completed LCAs for existing Steelcase products. These tests included evaluation of the impacts on full product performance when generic versus company‐specific materials and processes were used. They also included modeling of the products in increasing detail to determine potential levels of reporting accuracy at each stage of product development. This research indicated that there is value in using a data‐driven approach to environmental analysis in early stage product development, but there are also several challenges. The product tests demonstrated that representative estimates of environmental impacts can be achieved in the early stages of product development, even when multiple design decisions remain to be made. Across the tests, environmental impacts represented at each stage of product development were compared with the products’ final LCA results. In the concept phase of development, 18 (or 32% with a modified product) – 63% of final impacts were represented. This moved up to 50 – 80% of impacts represented in the design phase, 62 – 92% represented in the engineering phase, and 95 – 99% represented in the final production phase. While these results were promising, several challenges also emerged regarding the tool’s usability as well as long term data collection and management. Therefore, while the data‐driven approach has many benefits, improvements to the non‐expert usability of LCA platforms and development of data collection efforts will be essential to optimize such an approach. Report No. CSS08‐01Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58205/1/Caroline Conway CSS Thesis - Steelcase Green Product Dev.pd

Submentalizing or mentalizing in a Level 1 perspective-taking task: A cloak and goggles test.

It has been proposed that humans possess an automatic system to represent mental states ('implicit mentalizing'). The existence of an implicit mentalizing system has generated considerable debate however, centered on the ability of various experimental paradigms to demonstrate unambiguously such mentalizing. Evidence for implicit mentalizing has previously been provided by the 'dot perspective task,' where participants are slower to verify the number of dots they can see when an avatar can see a different number of dots. However, recent evidence challenged a mentalizing interpretation of this effect by showing it was unaltered when the avatar was replaced with an inanimate arrow stimulus. Here we present an extension of the dot perspective task using an invisibility cloaking device to render the dots invisible on certain trials. This paradigm is capable of providing unambiguous evidence of automatic mentalizing, but no such evidence was found. Two further well-powered experiments used opaque and transparent goggles to manipulate visibility but found no evidence of automatic mentalizing, nor of individual differences in empathy or perspective-taking predicting performance, contradicting previous studies using the same design. The results cast doubt on the existence of an implicit mentalizing system, suggesting that previous effects were due to domain-general processes. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Theoretical limitations on mindreading measures: commentary on Wendt et al. (2024)

In this Commentary article we expand on issues in the Theory of Mind literature raised by Wendt et al. (2024) that limit progress in our understanding of how people read other minds. We critically assess how they categorized tasks in their study, and in so doing raise deeper questions that need addressing: what exactly are mental states; how can we accurately measure mindreading when the ‘correct’ answer lacks ground truth; and what are the contributions to individual differences in mindreading of general cognitive ability and specific experience in the kinds of minds being read? We conclude that developing a psychological theory of how people read other minds would advance ways in which we can better measure and explain what it means to be better or worse at mindreading, and how general cognitive ability relates to this socio-cognitive skill

Novel theory of mind task demonstrates representation of minds in mental state inference

Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to represent the mental states of oneself and others, is argued to be central to human social experience, and impairments in this ability are thought to underlie several psychiatric and developmental conditions. To examine the accuracy of mental state inferences, a novel ToM task was developed, requiring inferences to be made about the mental states of ‘Targets’, prior participants who took part in a videoed mock interview. Participants also made estimates of the Targets’ personality traits. These inferences were compared to ground-truth data, provided by the Targets, of their true traits and mental states. Results from 55 adult participants demonstrated that trait inferences were used to derive mental state inferences, and that the accuracy of trait estimates predicted the accuracy of mental state inferences. Moreover, the size and direction of the association between trait accuracy and mental state accuracy varied according to the trait—mental state combination. The accuracy of trait inferences was predicted by the accuracy of participants’ understanding of trait covariation at the population level. Findings are in accordance with the Mind-space theory, that representation of the Target mind is used in the inference of their mental states