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This paper mainly studies the shading problem of shutters in typical rooms of buildings in winter. In order to further study the performance of the built-in louver insulating glass, the built-in louver insulating glass was simulated under the standard operating conditions and throughout the year through software such as THERM and Windows, and the key parameters such as total heat transfer coefficient, solar transmittance, and solar heat gain coefficient were obtained. The heat transfer coefficients of the built-in louver insulating glass when the louvers are placed at 0°, 45°, 90°, -45° and without louvers are 3 W/m2•K, 2.75 W/m2•K, 2.38 W/m2•, respectively. K, 2.55 W/m2•K and 2.66 W/m2•K. The solar transmittance of the built-in louver insulating glass at different angles of the louver is obtained. The maximum value is 0° and no louver, followed by the angles of 45° and -45°. Zero at 90°.

This study compares husbands' and wives' views on the person in a couple who should be responsible for preparing for hurricane hazards; it also examines whether the varying levels of agreement reached by husbands and wives regarding this responsibility are associated with actual preparedness behaviors. An online survey targeting married, heterosexual couples living in Sarasota County, Florida, USA was sent out between March and May, 2015. Both the husbands and the wives were asked to fill out the survey. A total of 170 surveys were used for analysis. Results suggested that husbands and wives felt that they had shared responsibility for most of the 19 preparedness behaviors considered. However, a few stereotypically masculine preparedness behaviors were found to typically fall to husbands. Husbands' and wives' views of perceived responsibility were not statistically different, but husbands tended to favor individual responsibility, while wives tended to favor joint responsibility. Higher levels of agreement were significantly associated with greater engagement in planning-related preparedness behaviors. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective laser melting (SLM) is a widely used additive manufacturing process that can be used for printing of intricate three dimensional (3D) metallic structures. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V alloy based 3D meshes with nodally-connected diamond like unit cells, with lattice spacing varying from 400 to 1000 microns. A Concept Laser M2 system equipped with laser that has a wavelength of 1075 nm, a constant beam spot size of 50μm and maximum power of 400W was used to manufacture the 3D meshes. These meshes act as optical shutters / directional transmitters and display interesting optical properties. A detailed optical characterisation was carried out and it was found that these structures can be optimised to act as scalable rotational shutters with high efficiencies and as angle selective transmission screens for protection against unwanted and dangerous radiations. The efficiency of fabricated lattice structures can be increased by enlarging the meshing size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decisions that individuals make when recovering from and adapting to repeated hazards affect a region’s vulnerability in future hazards. As such, community vulnerability is not a static property but rather a dynamic property dependent on behavioral responses to repeated hazards and damage. This paper is the first of its kind to build a framework that addresses the complex interactions between repeated hazards, regional damage, mitigation decisions, and community vulnerability. The framework enables researchers and regional planners to visualize and quantify how a community could evolve over time in response to repeated hazards under various behavioral scenarios. An illustrative example using parcel-level data from Anne Arundel County, Maryland—a county that experiences fairly frequent hurricanes—is presented to illustrate the methodology and to demonstrate how the interplay between individual choices and regional vulnerability is affected by the region’s hurricane experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binocular vision refers to the integration of images in the two eyes for improved visual performance and depth perception. One aspect of binocular vision is the fixation disparity, which is a suboptimal condition in individuals with respect to binocular eye movement control and subsequent neural processing. The objective fixation disparity refers to the vergence angle between the visual axes, which is measured with eye trackers. Subjective fixation disparity is tested with two monocular nonius lines which indicate the physical nonius separation required for perceived alignment. Subjective and objective fixation disparity represent the different physiological mechanisms of motor and sensory fusion, but the precise relation between these two is still unclear. This study measures both types of fixation disparity at viewing distances of 40, 30, and 24 cm while observers fixated a central stationary fusion target. 20 young adult subjects with normal binocular vision were tested repeatedly to investigate individual differences. For heterophoria and subjective fixation disparity, this study replicated that the binocular system does not properly adjust to near targets: outward (exo) deviations typically increase as the viewing distance is shortened. This exo proximity effect—however—was not found for objective fixation disparity, which–on the average–was zero. But individuals can have reliable outward (exo) or inward (eso) vergence errors. Cases with eso objective fixation disparity tend to have less exo states of subjective fixation disparity and heterophoria. In summary, the two types of fixation disparity seem to respond in a different way when the viewing distance is shortened. Motor and sensory fusion–as reflected by objective and subjective fixation disparity–exhibit complex interactions that may differ between individuals (eso versus exo) and vary with viewing distance (far versus near vision). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-lapse imaging is a powerful tool for studying cellular dynamics and cell behavior over long periods of time to acquire detailed functional information. However, commercially available time-lapse imaging systems are expensive and this has limited a broader implementation of this technique in low-resource environments. Further, the availability of time-lapse imaging systems often present workflow bottlenecks in well-funded institutions. To address these limitations we have designed a modular and affordable time-lapse imaging and incubation system (ATLIS). The ATLIS enables the transformation of simple inverted microscopes into live cell imaging systems using custom-designed 3D-printed parts, a smartphone, and off-the-shelf electronic components. We demonstrate that the ATLIS provides stable environmental conditions to support normal cell behavior during live imaging experiments in both traditional and evaporation-sensitive microfluidic cell culture systems. Thus, the system presented here has the potential to increase the accessibility of time-lapse microscopy of living cells for the wider research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bessel beams have been successfully used in two-photon laser scanning fluorescence microscopy to extend the depth of field (EDF), which makes it possible to observe fast events volumetrically. However, the depth information is lost due to integration of fluorescence signals along the propagation direction. We describe the design and implementation of two-photon lasers scanning stereomicroscopy, which allows viewing dynamic processes in three-dimensional (3D) space stereoscopically in real-time with shutter glasses at the speed of 1.4 volumes per second. The depth information can be appreciated by human visual system or be recovered with correspondence algorithms for some cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thousands of hours of physical practice substantially change the way movements are performed. The mechanisms underlying altered behavior in highly-trained individuals are so far little understood. We studied experts (handballers) and untrained individuals (novices) in visuomotor adaptation of free throws, where subjects had to adapt their throwing direction to a visual displacement induced by prismatic glasses. Before visual displacement, experts expressed lower variability of motor errors than novices. Experts adapted and de-adapted slower, and also forgot the adaptation slower than novices. The variability during baseline was correlated with the learning rate during adaptation. Subjects adapted faster when variability was higher. Our results indicate that experts produced higher consistency of motor outcome. They were still susceptible to the sensory feedback informing about motor error, but made smaller adjustments than novices. The findings of our study relate to previous investigations emphasizing the importance of action exploration, expressed in terms of outcome variability, to facilitate learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retrofit insulated window shutters are examined. An initial investigation reveals that internal shutters are more viable in this context. Condensation is identified as a potential risk. Extensive investigations using modelling software as well as site and laboratory experiments are described which demonstrate that this risk is low. The thermal effectiveness of internal shutters is modelled and laboratory tested.Practical application: This article results from research into the possibility of creating a retrofit thermal shutter system for existing commercial buildings. Building on earlier research, the paper examines whether this type of shutter is best fixed externally or internally to existing brick clad buildings and concludes that the latter is the best strategy. It then examines whether condensation between existing glazing and the outer shutter face is a problem and finds that this is not a significant issue. The way is clear for the development of this type of system as an alternative to costly triple glazing solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the design history of window shutters and blinds manufactured by Spanish company Llambí during the 1960s. Details related to Llambí's collaboration with Spanish architect José Antonio Coderch are presented as well. Special attention is also paid to the industrialized building period of the company and the contribution of aluminum manufacturer Gradhermetic for the salvation of Llambí's manufacturing process at the beginning of the 21st century.

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental investigation of the performance of shutter systems designed to protect windows from windborne debris. Observations from post hurricane damage investigations have found that a wide variety of windborne debris types cause damage to buildings, including roof tiles in residential neighborhoods. This investigation subjected steel and aluminum storm panel shutters to impact from concrete roof tiles commonly used in hurricane prone regions. 4.1 kg (9 lb) tiles were launched at 15.25 m/s (50 fps) using a custom apparatus, duplicating the 2×4 (in.) lumber impact product certification test in both missile weight and impact speed. The tests were then repeated using 2×4 lumber, providing a comparison of performance as a function of debris type. The test matrix included steel panels of three different thicknesses and aluminum panels of two different thicknesses. Three manufacturers of each of the five storm panel types were tested, each using two common installation methods. Tests were conducted with tiles impacting on their edge and impacting flat. Results demonstrate a significant difference in both total and plastic shutter deflection for tile impacts vs. 2×4 lumber. With regard to the vulnerability of the glass being protected, the results suggest that the current standards may not be conservative under circumstances likely to occur in tile roof residential neighborhoods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]