Commercially available wearable health devices (WHDs) carry the potential to decentralize healthcare systems. These devices can empower individuals with health knowledge by offering a low-cost and accessible way to monitor physical activity, sedentary behavior, cardiac health, and sleep. However, a lack of standardization in design, health, and safety regulations means that consumer-grade WHDs on the market vary in efficacy to affect positive behavior change in users, as user compliance alone does not indicate whether these devices actually influence wellbeing outcomes long term. We use a grounded theory analysis of the experiences of seven long-term informed users of the same wearable, the Oura Ring, to propose a substantive theory describing the tacit challenges that these users face in order to truly benefit from their device even after extended use. We provide recommendations as to how designers of wearable devices can facilitate the user's journey to surpass these obstacles.
The structure of the silica mesoporous crystal MCM-48 and the argon adsorption process were studied by in situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The diffraction intensity data were analyzed using the maximum entropy method (MEM). The Ar adsorption process within the mesopores was directly monitored through changes in the electron density distribution in the sample. The diffraction patterns clearly reflected different stages of adsorption as the gas pressure increased: gradual formation of an adsorbed film on the pore walls at low pressures, followed by stepwise pore filling due to capillary condensation. The real-space imaging of diffraction data presented in this paper is a robust and promising approach for improving our understanding of gas-solid interactions during adsorption and for characterizing the pore structures of mesoporous crystals.
The periodic motion of the lower trunk region during human locomotion is analyzed from a kinematic perspective for different gaits using inertial measurement units (IMUs). Experiments are performed on subjects who walked or ran on a treadmill, each equipped with an IMU attached to their lower trunk. The treadmill speed was externally controlled according to a fixed protocol consisting of speed-up and speed-down phases. Time-series data of acceleration and angular velocity were collected and analyzed. We propose a method to estimate the initial elevation angle and velocity associated with the periodic motion, and we focus on the three dynamical aspects of the subject's movements: the trajectory of the lower trunk in the sagittal plane, the excess kinetic energy ratio, and the position of the least acceleration fluctuation point. The results revealed that the rotation direction of the trajectory in the sagittal plane in the moving frame differed between walking and running for almost all subjects. This difference is interpreted kinematically in terms of the direction and timing of the ground reaction force. The excess kinetic energy ratio as a function of Froude number also well characterizes the gait differences. Furthermore, it is found that the point of least acceleration fluctuation is located consistently behind the body during running.
ABSTRACT Colletotrichum higginsianum ( Ch ) is a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen that infects Brassicaceae plants, including Arabidopsis thaliana . The molecular mechanisms underlying the Ch - A. thaliana interaction are not fully understood. Particularly, the susceptibility factor against Ch infection remains to be determined. Here, we report that A. thaliana ACTIN DEPOLYMERIZING FACTORs (ADFs), ancient proteins that regulate the organization and dynamics of actin filaments (AFs), function as susceptibility factors during Ch infection. Among 11 ADF s encoded in A. thaliana genome, subclass I ADF s that include ADF1 , -2 , -3 , and -4 , express throughout the plant. We found that knockout mutant of ADF4 and transgenic plants in which the expression of all of subclass I members is suppressed ( ADF1-4Ri ) exhibited increased resistance to Ch . Cytological analyses revealed that both Ch penetration and secondary hyphae formation were suppressed in adf4 and ADF1-4Ri . This enhanced resistance was associated with suppression of Ch -induced AF fragmentation. In addition, we found that PENETRATION 2 (PEN2) plays a critical role in the Ch resistance in adf4 and ADF1-4Ri . Our findings suggest that subclass I ADFs promote AF fragmentation during Ch infection, thereby suppressing PEN2-associated mitochondria accumulation at Ch entry sites. Together, these results raise the possibility that Ch exploits host ADF-dependent actin regulation to facilitate successful infection.
Direct liquid cooling (DLC) has emerged as a promising thermal management technique for electrical windings in high-power-density electric traction motors, as it enables direct heat removal from heat-generating regions. However, the fundamental relationship between coolant flow behavior, wetted surface evolution, and heat removal performance has not been sufficiently quantified, particularly under combined natural and forced convection conditions. In this study, the convective heat transfer characteristics of an electrically heated coil subjected to direct liquid cooling were experimentally investigated using a simplified serpentine coil specimen. The effects of coolant flow rate, coolant temperature, and applied Joule heating on wetted surface area and heat removal performance were systematically examined. Heat transfer pathways with and without coolant supply were analyzed through a detailed heat-balance approach, and a simplified method for estimating the heat removed by the coolant using only coil temperature measurements was proposed and validated. The results show that the wetted area is well correlated with the Capillary number and strongly governs the heat removal performance. Under the present conditions, up to approximately 60% of the applied heat was removed when only about 30% of the coil surface was wetted. Lower coolant temperature significantly enhanced cooling effectiveness by increasing wettability, whereas the influence of applied heating power was comparatively modest. Furthermore, a temperature-based efficiency indicator was introduced to evaluate the overall cooling effectiveness. The proposed indicator successfully captures the combined effects of wetted area, coolant temperature, and applied heat, and provides a physically intuitive measure of the available cooling margin. The findings of this study offer transferable physical insights and practical guidance for the thermal design and analysis of electrical windings employing direct liquid cooling.
