A quantitative comparison of virtual and physical experimental paradigms for the investigation of pedestrian responses in hostile emergencies.

Modern experiments investigating human behaviour in emergencies are often implemented in virtual reality (VR), due to the increased experimental control and improved ethical viability over physical reality (PR). However, there remain questions regarding the validity of the results obtained from these environments, and no full validation of VR experiments has yet appeared. This study compares the results of two sets of experiments (in VR and PR paradigms) investigating behavioural responses to knife-based hostile aggressors.

Quantitative measurements of enlarged perivascular spaces in the brain are associated with retinal microvascular parameters in older community-dwelling subjects.

Background: Perivascular Spaces (PVS) become increasingly visible with advancing age on brain MRI, yet their relationship to morphological changes in the underlying microvessels remains poorly understood. Retinal and cerebral microvessels share morphological and physiological properties. We compared computationally-derived PVS morphologies with retinal vessel morphologies in older people.

EXPOSED: An occupant exposure model for confined spaces to retrofit crowd models during a pandemic.

Crowd models can be used for the simulation of people movement in the built environment. Crowd model outputs have been used for evaluating safety and comfort of pedestrians, inform crowd management and perform forensic investigations. Microscopic crowd models allow the representation of each person and the obtainment of information concerning their location over time and interactions with the physical space/other people.

Computational quantification of brain perivascular space morphologies: Associations with vascular risk factors and white matter hyperintensities. A study in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.

Background And Purpose: Perivascular Spaces (PVS), also known as Virchow-Robin spaces, seen on structural brain MRI, are important fluid drainage conduits and are associated with small vessel disease (SVD). Computational quantification of visible PVS may enable efficient analyses in large datasets and increase sensitivity to detect associations with brain disorders. We assessed the associations of computationally-derived PVS parameters with vascular factors and white matter hyperintensities (WMH), a marker of SVD.

A Modelling Framework for Householder Decision-Making for Wildfire Emergencies.

The occurrence of wildfire threats has increased in the last few decades creating serious challenges for thousands of communities around the world. Understanding the physical and social dynamics imposed by wildfires is fundamental to assessing and reducing the ensuing risk to different communities. Although, several studies investigating household wildfire risk perception and decision-making are available in the literature, modelling solutions to predict household behaviour in wildfire scenarios are still in their early stages.

Perivascular Spaces Segmentation in Brain MRI Using Optimal 3D Filtering.

Perivascular Spaces (PVS) are a feature of Small Vessel Disease (SVD), and are an important part of the brain's circulation and glymphatic drainage system. Quantitative analysis of PVS on Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) is important for understanding their relationship with neurological diseases. In this work, we propose a segmentation technique based on the 3D Frangi filtering for extraction of PVS from MRI.

Dissuasive exit signage for building fire evacuation.

This work presents the result of a questionnaire study which investigates the design of dissuasive emergency signage, i.e. signage conveying a message of not utilizing a specific exit door.

A dynamic approach for the impact of a toxic gas dispersion hazard considering human behaviour and dispersion modelling.

The release of toxic gases due to natural/industrial accidents or terrorist attacks in populated areas can have tragic consequences. To prevent and evaluate the effects of these disasters different approaches and modelling tools have been introduced in the literature. These instruments are valuable tools for risk managers doing risk assessment of threatened areas.