Objective classification of performance in the use of a piercing saw in jewellery making.

Data from 15 jewellery students, in their 1st and 3rd years of training, were analysed to show how data collected from work settings can be used to objectively evaluate performance in the use of tools. Participants were asked to use a piercing saw to cut 5 lines in a piece of metal. Performance was categorised in terms of functional dynamics. Data from strain gauges and a tri-axial accelerometer (built into the handle of the saw) were recorded and thirteen metrics derived from these data. The key question for this paper is which metrics could be used to distinguish levels of ability. Principal Components Analysis identified five components: sawing action; grasp of handle; task completion time; lateral deviation of strokes; and quality of lines cut. Using representative metrics for these components, participants could be ranked in terms of performance (low, medium, high) and statistical analysis showed significant differences between participants on key metrics.

A pilot study for defining characteristics of Turkish women via anthropometric measurements.

BACKGROUND: The anthropometric characteristics of the Turkish female population are needed for the design of safe and ergonomically efficient workplaces. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the anthropometric characteristics of the Turkish female population in one region. For this purpose, 56 anthropometric parameters were measured according to ISO 7250. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and twenty-five Turkish women participants who were aged 18+ years were selected to participate in the study. METHODS: The measurements were obtained with an anthropometry measuring set. Principal component analysis was used to create statistical models to draw on information from two or more databases to estimate values for a large range of anthropometric variables. A reliability analysis was carried out on survey data to ensure the internal consistency of the constructs. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that the following five factors allow for a good general description of human body shapes for the Turkish female population: "corpulence", "length of body parts", "upper body length", "length of arm" and "hip-thigh region". CONCLUSIONS: The data provided by this study can help to solve a wide range of design problems, including product ergonomics and workplace ergonomics in manufacturing.

Evaluation of the interaction between soil and antibiotics.

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotics in 13 different soil samples collected from agricultural fields. As well as the antibiotic analysis 18 different physicochemical properties of the soil samples were determined in order to establish a relationship between the recovery rates of antibiotics from the samples and the characteristics of the samples that provide critical information for the reliability of an applied antibiotic analysis method. While the concentrations of tetracyclines were 0.025-0.105 mg kg(-1) sulfonamide antibiotics were not detected in any investigated soil samples. The mean recovery rates of tetracyclines and sulfonamides were 84.57 +/- 14.92% and 65.88 +/- 8.56%, respectively. Although, the organic carbon contents and cation exchange capacities of the soil samples exhibited a great variation the results of multivariate statistical analysis indicated that the metal content of soils was the major factor significantly influenced the recovery rates of the antibiotics. The sulfonamide recovery rates were positively influenced by the calcium and magnesium amounts in the soil samples, whereas tetracycline recovery rates were markedly diminished by increasing the amount of these polyvalent metals.

An on-the-road experiment into the thermal comfort of car seats.

This paper presents an evaluation of thermal comfort in an extended road trial study. Automobile seats play an important role in improving the thermal comfort. In the assessment of thermal comfort in autos, in general subjective and objective measurements are used. Testing on the road is very difficult but real traffic conditions affect the comfort level directly, as well as the driver's experience to real conditions. Thus, for such cases real traffic situations should not be neglected in the evaluation of comfort. The aim of this study was to carry out, on an extended road trial study, an evaluation of thermal comfort using human subjects. In the experiments used, the 100% polyester seat cover had three different cover materials, which were velvet, jacquard and micro fiber. All experiments were carried out on a sunny day with ten participants over 1h. They were carried out at air temperatures of 25 degrees C in a Fiat Marea 2004, which had an automatic climate function. Skin temperature at eight points and skin wettedness at two points on the human body were measured during the trials. Participants were required to complete a questionnaire of 15 questions, every 5 min. It can be concluded that there was negligible difference in participants' reported thermal sensation between the three seats. According to objective measurement results, all seat cover materials have the same degree of thermal comfort. On the road the participants feel warmer around their waist than any other area of the body. It was suggested that the effects of real traffic conditions must be accounted for in comfort predictions.