Manchester Metropolitan University

About: Manchester Metropolitan University is a education organization based out in Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5435 authors who have published 16202 publications receiving 442561 citations. The organization is also known as: Manchester Polytechnic & MMU.

Impacts of Home Modifications on Aging-in-Place

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between home modifications and aging-in-place. Using the ENABLE-AGE United Kingdom sample (N = 376), the authors hypothesize that seniors who have modified their housing are likely to have stayed longer in their current housing. There is a positive relationship between home modifications and aging-in-place. The results underscore the importance of supportive environment to prolong living in housing settings.

A field study of sleep disturbance: effects of aircraft noise and other factors on 5,742 nights of actimetrically monitored sleep in a large subject sample.

Abstract: This field study assessed the effects of nighttime aircraft noise on actimetrically measured sleep in 400 people (211 women and 189 men; 20-70 years of age; one per household) habitually living at eight sites adjacent to four U.K. airports, with different levels of night flying. Subjects wore wrist-actimeters for 15 nights and completed morning sleep logs. A sample of 178 nights of sleep electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded synchronously with actigrams. The EEG was used to develop filters for the raw actigrams, in order to: (1) estimate sleep onset and (2) compare actigrams with aircraft noise events (ANEs). Actigrams, filtered to detect the onset of discrete movements, were able to detect 88% of all EEG-determined periods of interim wakefulness of > 15 seconds and periods of movement time of > 10 seconds. The main findings were: (1) actimetry and self-reports showed that only a minority of ANEs affected sleep, and, for most of our subjects, that domestic and idiosyncratic factors had much greater effects; (2) despite large between-site variations in ANEs, the difference between sites in overall sleep disturbance was not significant; (3) there was a diminished actimetric response to ANEs in the first hour of sleep and, apparently, also in the last hour of sleep; and (4) men had significantly more discrete movements than women and were more likely to respond to ANEs.

Imaging-based estimates of moment arm length in intact human muscle-tendons.

Abstract: The muscle-tendon moment arm length, i.e. the perpendicular distance from the muscle-tendon action line to the rotation centre of the joint that the muscle-tendon spans, is responsible for transforming muscle force and linear displacement to joint moment and rotation. In this paper, previous work on in vivo measurements of human muscle-tendon moment arms at rest and during isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) is reviewed. The results obtained by actual measurements on 2-D magnetic resonance images indicate that the moment arm lengths of the Achilles and tibialis anterior tendons increase during MVC compared with rest by between 22% and 44%, due to (1) joint displacement, (2) muscle thickening and (3) stretching of collagenous structures mediating the action of tendon. However, moment arm length calculations based on the virtual work principle fail to show the above effect. Potentially severe mechanical limitations of the latter method as adapted under in vivo conditions raise questions about its validity during muscle contraction.

Fabrication of Graphene Oxide Supercapacitor Devices

Abstract: The fabrication, characterization, and energy storage capacity of a graphene-oxide (GO)-based supercapacitor device is reported. This device is fabricated via a facile screen-printing technique, providing a highly reproducible and flexible symmetrical supercapacitor device. The capacitive properties of these GO devices are investigated in both aqueous electrolytes and room temperature ionic liquids. The GO devices are shown to improve the capacitive performance from 0.82 F g–1 displayed by a graphitic screen, to a competitive 423 F g–1, representing a ca. 500-fold increase. The GO supercapacitor device also exhibits an impressive power handling capability of up to 13.9 kW kg–1 and an energy density of 11.6 Wh kg–1. This work demonstrates that GO, before it has been reduced to graphene, is a high performance supercapacitor material of its own right.