The effects of interior design on wellness - Eye tracking analysis in determining emotional experience of architectural space. A survey on a group of volunteers from the Lublin Region, Eastern Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Using the concepts of Ulrich's theory of supportive design and Malkin's healing environment, an eye tracking experiment was designed in order to measure respondents' reactions while looking at visualisations of various interiors, with the aim of verifying whether certain parameters of an interior are related to emotional reactions in terms of positive stimulation, and the sense of security and comfort. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 12 boards were designed, incorporating standard features of an interior, i.e. (1) proportions, (2) lighting, (3) colour scheme of a room, as well as (4) the colours and spatial arrangement of furnishings. Respondents' reactions were recorded with an eye tracker Tobii TX300 and supplemented by self-descriptions of emotional reactions. RESULTS: The results showed that the varying spatial and colour arrangements presented in the interior visualisations provoked different emotional responses, confirmed by pupil reaction parameters, as measured by the eye tracking device. CONCLUSIONS: Architectural space can have a diverse emotional significance and impact on an individual's emotional state. This is an important conclusion from the point of view of optimising and creating the so-called supportive and healing environment. The results have implications for the interpretation of the pupil diameter as an index of emotional reactions to different architectural space visualisations. Testing the eye tracker as a method helpful in diagnosing the emotional reactions to features of the interior is justified, and can provide an effective tool for early diagnosis of the impact of architectural space on the well-being of individuals. It can also be a good form of testing the emotional significance of architectural designs before they are implemented.

Bi-Axial Buckling of Laminated Composite Plates Including Cutout and Additional Mass.

In the presented paper, a study of bi-axial buckling of the laminated composite plate with mass variation through the cutout and additional mass is carried out using the improved shear deformation theory (ISDT). The ISDT mathematical model employs a cubic variation of thickness co-ordinates in the displacement field. A realistic parabolic distribution of transverse shear strains through the plate thickness is assumed and the use of shear correction factor is avoided. A C° finite element formulation of the mathematical model is developed to analyze the buckling behavior of laminated composite plate with cutout and additional mass. As no results based on ISDT for the considered problem of bi-axial buckling of the laminated composite plate with mass variation are available in the literature, the obtained results are validated with the data available for a laminated composite plate without cutout and additional mass. Novel results are obtained by varying geometry, boundary conditions and ply orientations.

Sensitivity of Vi phages III to gamma-radiation in the presence of cisplatin.

In this study we determined Vi bacteriophage III sensitivity to native cisplatin, gamma radiation ((60)Co) or to irradiated cisplatin, and checked the possibility of enhanced Vi bacteriophage III inactivation under combined exposure to cisplatin and gamma radiation. We used highly purified phage suspensions in 0.9% NaCl solution or phosphate-buffered saline. Phage suspensions were titrated using a double agar layer method. Our study implies that survival of Vi bacteriophage III shows an exponential inverse correlation with cisplatin concentration in the incubation medium and the time of phage incubation in the presence of cisplatin. The use of irradiated cisplatin reduces phage survival in comparison with suspensions containing non-irradiated cisplatin. Irradiation of phage suspension with cisplatin causes a significant increase of phage inactivation in comparison with either treatment alone. Our results suggest that presence of cisplatin in irradiated medium enhances the radiobiological effect on Vi bacteriophages III.

Effect of hydroxyethyl starch (HAES) on degree and kinetics of erythrocyte aggregation studied with dielectric spectroscopy method.

BACKGROUND: Colloidal fluids, e.g. hydroxyethyl starch (HAES), used as blood plasma substitutes during acute controlled normovolemic hemodilution may cause erythrocyte aggregation. The aim of the presented study was to assess the degree and rate of erythrocyte aggregation in the media containing different concentrations of HAES. MATERIAL/METHODS: The experiments were carried out on heparinized venous blood and on erythrocyte suspension in 0.9% NaCl. RESULTS: Under stationary conditions, an increase of blood and erythrocyte suspension relative electric permitivity (e), with an increase of HAES concentration in the sample, was observed after HAES supplementation. Sample flow through a measuring chamber resulted in decrease of the eL value (determined for 100 kHz). Stopping the flow led to non-linear increase of eL values in the function of time, where two components - characterized by rapid and slow variability, respectively, could be distinguished. The increase was characterized by t1 and t2 relaxation times, which can be related respectively to the process of erythrocyte rouleaux formation and to the formation of 3-D network aggregates. CONCLUSIONS: 1) The values of eL are differentiated by the degree of erythrocyte aggregation due to the presence of HAES, both in whole blood and in erythrocyte suspension in 0.9% NaCl solution, 2) The degree of erythrocyte disaggregation due to flow increases with the increase of flow intensity and correlates with decreasing eL value, 3) t1 and t2, which characterize the kinetics of erythrocyte aggregation, indicate a difference between aggregation processes taking place in whole blood and after hemodilution with HAES.