Simulated Natural Environment Research Articles

Impact of Virtual Reality Intervention on Anxiety and Level of Cooperation in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder during the Dental Examination.

Background: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently encounter increased levels of anxiety and display resistant behaviors during dental examinations, which negatively affects their oral care and maintenance. This study employed a cross-sectional design to evaluate the impact of virtual reality (VR) intervention on the anxiety and level of cooperation in children and adolescents with ASD during dental examinations. Methods: A total of 140 participants diagnosed with ASD, aged from 4- to 18-years-old, were selected from two specialized ASD management centers in Riyadh/Saudi Arabia. The participants were randomly allocated into either the control group or the VR group. Control group participants were subjected to a conventional dental examination, while the VR group utilized VR intervention to immerse themselves in a simulated natural and soothing environment. The Venham anxiety and behavior scale (VABS) was utilized to measure anxiety levels, while the Frankl behavior rating scale (FBRS) was employed to assess the level of cooperation. Data were analyzed using a Mann-Whitney U test with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: The baseline anxiety and level of cooperation between the groups were comparable (p > 0.05). During the dental examination, the VR group had significantly reduced anxiety scores (2.48 ± 1.76) compared to the control group (1.50 ± 1.74) (p < 0.001). Regarding the level of cooperation, the VR group exhibited significantly greater levels of cooperation (3.41 ± 0.96) than the control group (2.86 ± 1.03) (p = 0.002). Conclusions: These findings suggest that VR intervention is a successful technique for decreasing anxiety and enhancing cooperation among children with ASD during dental examination. Integrating VR technology in dental environments can potentially improve the dental experience and results for children diagnosed with ASD.

Virtual Reality to Reduce Pain, Fatigue, and Emotional Distress in People With Cancer: A Scoping Review.

Cancer and its treatments cause symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and emotional distress, which affect the quality of life of patients at different stages of cancer. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising alternative for addressing these symptoms by immersing patients in a virtual environment that isolates them from reality. To describe the existing evidence on the use of VR to improve pain, fatigue, and emotional distress in people with cancer at different stages of the cancer trajectory. A scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. Search was conducted in PubMed and CINAHL until October 2023. Twenty-three primary studies related to the study topic were identified, and the following information was collected: type of VR (immersive vs nonimmersive) used in oncology services, purpose (distraction, training, or relaxation), devices used (head-mounted display, headset, or virtual controller), and the environment simulated (natural environment, skill games, or educational environment). The effects of VR on pain, fatigue, and emotional distress are described, highlighting its ability to mitigate these symptoms in the short term. Virtual reality has been shown to be an effective technique for reducing pain, fatigue, and emotional distress in people with cancer in the short term. Nurses can use VR as a complementary tool to promote virtual environments that improve the care for and therefore the quality of life of people with cancer.

Unraveling the separation mechanism of gas mixtures in MOFs by combining the breakthrough curve with machine learning and high-throughput calculation

In the field of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) screening studies, the batch calculation of the mixed gas breakthrough time difference (ΔTi) in MOFs and its intricate correlation with various descriptors remain underexplored. This research undertook batch calculations of the breakthrough curves (BC) for different gases within a simulated natural gas environment, designating ΔTi as the performance metric for MOFs in gas separation. The separation performance of computation-ready experimental MOFs for CH4/C2H6 and CH4/CO2 mixtures was analyzed in depth utilizing machine learning (ML)-assisted high-throughput computational screening (HTCS) techniques. Then, five ML algorithms were used to quantify the relationship between MOF descriptors and performance, and the effect of the metal center site on the separation performance was further explored. Ultimately, the top ten MOFs were selected for each system. Combining HTCS, ML, and BC, this work provides fresh insights for understanding and designing MOFs with customized adsorption and separation properties.

Do Virtual Reality Relaxation Experiences Alleviate Stress in Parents of Children with Autism? A Pilot Study

Psychotherapeutic interventions such as cognitive training and psychoeducation tend to be effective for alleviating stress in caregivers of children with autism. However, these interventions are often time consuming and take place outside the home, posing challenges for accessibility. Technology, especially virtual reality (VR) technology, can be used to support a range of digital interventions at home. VR headsets, when used to simulate relaxing experiences, have already been linked with stress relieving effects for some caregiving groups. This study builds on this, exploring whether VR simulated relaxing environments engender positive psychological changes for caregivers of children with autism. A total of 18 caregivers were exposed to VR simulated natural environments (e.g., beach, forest) for 15 min in a single session. State mood, captured with POMS, was measured at baseline and immediately post intervention. Perceived stress (PSS) was captured at baseline and, to explore intervention effectiveness, at three- and seven-days post intervention. POMS scores for tension, anger, depression, fatigue and confusion were lower, and scores for vigour higher, immediately post intervention. PSS scores at three-and seven-days post intervention, while comparable with one another, were lower compared with baseline. Interacting with simulated natural environments in VR seems effective for improving caregivers’ state mood and reducing their perceived stress for up to seven days. Future research should aim to consolidate and expand on these findings with larger samples and longer follow up periods.

Development and testing of alginate/C3N4porphyrin bead as a self-initiated Fenton photocatalyst for highly efficient atrazine removal

Fenton reaction has been widely used for efficient treatment of organic wastewater. However, its applications are limited by such key factors as pH < 3. In this study, we developed, tested, and optimized an alginate/C3N4porphyrin bead (C3N4por-SA) as a recyclable photocatalyst in a photocatalysis-self-Fenton process to overcome these limitations. Porphyrin-modified C3N4 (C3N4por) was used as the H2O2 donator, while Fe(III) nodes served as the Fenton reagent. The as-prepared floating alginate/C3N4por bead utilized the light source as a driving force for the catalysis. Under visible light irradiation for 6 h, the model pollutant atrazine was degraded by 70.96 % by the optimized photocatalyst (named as C3N4por-SA-Fe1Ca5), demonstrating better photocatalytic performance than alginate/C3N4 beads. This improvement was attributed to the higher H2O2 yield from C3N4por. The alginate/C3N4por bead showed better photocatalytic activity even after several consecutive cycles and could easily be recovered for reuse. Furthermore, Fe(III)/Ca(II) bimetallic alginate bead exhibited better photocatalytic activity and a higher content of •OH radicals than the Ca(II) monometallic alginate beads, due to the ability of Fe(III) nodes to serve as a Fenton reagent. The influences of light sources, and commonly existing matters (namely SO42−, Cl−, CO32−, NO3−, and humic acid) were investigated. Moreover, the alginate/C3N4por bead demonstrated good photocatalytic performance in a simulated natural environment without the addition of extra H2O2, with an atrazine removal percentage of up to 96.3 % after 3-h irradiation. These findings indicated the great potential of alginate/C3N4por bead in practical applications.

Effects of the nature connectedness on restoration in simulated indoor natural environments

This study aimed to explore the relationship between nature connectedness and restoration in simulated indoor environments with varying nature densities. Participants (N = 41) were exposed to five sets of images representing varying of indoor nature densities: 0 %, 1%–12 %, 13%–24 %, 25%–36 %, and 37%–100 %. Multiple measurements were employed, including the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS-11), backward digit span task, and electroencephalography (EEG). Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between nature connectedness and perceived restorativeness; however, no significant associations were observed with other restorative indicators. The moderating effect of nature connectedness on perceived restorativeness was examined, revealing that it amplified the impact of simulated indoor nature density on fascination and being away at 18.0 % and 29.3 %, but not 6.2 % and 55.7 %, simulated indoor nature density, respectively. These findings elucidate the intricate relationships between nature connectedness, simulated indoor nature density, and perceived restorativeness. Furthermore, this study contributes to advancing our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that explain the restorative benefits of exposure to natural environments, specifically in indoor settings with varying nature densities. Individuals with higher nature connectedness may experience greater subjective restoration when exposed to natural environments, although this may not translate to significant enhancements in objective restoration.

DeadWood: Including Disturbance and Decay in the Depiction of Digital Nature

The creation of truly believable simulated natural environments remains an unsolved problem in Computer Graphics. This is, in part, due to a lack of visual variety. In nature, apart from variation due to abiotic and biotic growth factors, a significant role is played by disturbance events, such as fires, windstorms, disease, and death and decay processes, which give rise to both standing dead trees (snags) and downed woody debris (logs). For instance, snags constitute on average 10% of unmanaged forests by basal area, and logs account for 2 \(\frac{1}{2}\) times this quantity. While previous systems have incorporated individual elements of disturbance (e.g., forest fires) and decay (e.g., the formation of humus), there has been no unifying treatment, perhaps because of the challenge of matching simulation results with generated geometric models. In this paper, we present a framework that combines an ecosystem simulation, which explicitly incorporates disturbance events and decay processes, with a model realization process, which balances the uniqueness arising from life history with the need for instancing due to memory constraints. We tested our hypothesis concerning the visual impact of disturbance and decay with a two-alternative forced-choice experiment ( n = 116). Our findings are that the presence of dead wood in various forms, as snags or logs, significantly improves the believability of natural scenes, while, surprisingly, general variation in the number of model instances, with up to 8 models per species, and a focus on disturbance events, does not.

Brief Analysis on the Degradation of Sugar-Based Copolyesters.

Isosorbide can be used as a third monomer in the synthesis of aliphatic polyesters, and its V-shaped bridging ring structure can effectively improve the rigidity of the copolyester molecular chain. In this work, a series of degradable polyester materials were prepared by modifying polybutylene succinate and using isosorbide as the third monomer. The degradation tests in this paper were implemented through the hydrolysis of copolyesters in distilled water, degradation in natural water and degradation tests in simulated natural environments. The results showed that PBS and its copolyesters can degrade under natural conditions, and the introduction of isosorbide can accelerate the degradation of copolyesters, which could effectively reduce pollutants in nature.

Multifunctional Phra Phrom‐like Graphene‐Based Membrane for Environmental Remediation and Resources Regeneration

AbstractWater and energy shortages are interdependent major worldwide issues that cannot be disregarded. In this work, graphene and BaTiO3 are used to synergistically facilitate the self‐assembly of the β‐phase that is known to induce the piezoelectric properties of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). This leads to a PVDF/graphene‐BaTiO3 nanocomposite with a unique capability of integrating Phra Phrom‐like four functions into one single asymmetric membrane: i) solar evaporation, ii) power generation, iii) piezo‐photodegradation, and iv) self‐cleaning/monitoring for environmental remediation and resources regeneration. The high heat accumulation capability and piezoelectric performance of the membrane enable it to simultaneously achieve a water production rate of 0.99 kgm−2h−1, in compliance with WHO standards, and a maximum power output of 5.73 Wm−2 in simulated natural environments. Upon subjecting the membranes to environmental cleaning, they not only show a 93% dye degradation rate due to the synergistic effect of piezoelectricity and photocatalysis but also resolve the membrane fouling issue, exhibiting ≈200% resistance change compared to the static state. The successful integration of these four functions into one membrane shows the great potential of this work toward a more sustainable and viable water and energy production approach.

The effect of simulated natural environments in virtual reality and 2D video to reduce stress.

Stress is a common problem associated with poor physical and psychological health. Exposure to the natural environment is one method for reducing stress. The real and simulated natural environments have a restorative effect on stress reduction. In contrast to the real environment, simulated natural environments, such as virtual reality and 2D video, provide safer and more controllable exposure. Several studies on the restorative effects of the natural environment in virtual reality and 2D video have been conducted. However, the difference between the two in reducing stress must be clarified. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the simulated natural environments in virtual reality and 2D video and their differences in reducing stress. This study hypothesizes that both simulated natural environments in virtual reality and 2D video can reduce stress, but there is a difference between them in reducing stress. Fifty-three subjects were divided into two experimental groups: 2D video (n = 28) and virtual reality (n = 25). The results indicated that simulated natural environments in virtual reality and 2D video reduced stress. However, there was no difference between the two groups regarding stress reduction.

Global analysis of the perturbation effects of metal-based nanoparticles on soil nitrogen cycling.

Although studies have investigated the effects of metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) on soil biogeochemical processes, the results obtained thus far are highly variable. Moreover, we do not yet understand how the impact of MNPs is affected by experimental design and environmental conditions. Herein, we conducted a global analysis to synthesize the effects of MNPs on 17 variables associated with soil nitrogen (N) cycling from 62 studies. Our results showed that MNPs generally exerted inhibitory effects on N-cycling process rates, N-related enzyme activities, and microbial variables. The response of soil N cycling varied with MNP type, and exposure dose was the most decisive factor for the variations in the responses of N-cycling process rates and enzyme activities. Notably, Ag/Ag2 S and CuO had dose-dependent inhibitory effects on ammonia oxidation rates, while CuO and Zn/ZnO showed hormetic effects on nitrification and denitrification rates, respectively. Other experimental design factors (e.g., MNP size and exposure duration) also regulated the effect of MNPs on soil N cycling, and specific MNPs, such as Ag/Ag2 S, exerted stronger effects during long-term (>28 days) exposure. Environmental conditions, including soil pH, organic carbon, texture, and presence/absence of plants, significantly influenced MNP toxicity. For instance, the effects of Ag/Ag2 S on the ammonia oxidation rate and the activity of leucine aminopeptidase were more potent in acid (pH <6), organic matter-limited (organic carbon content ≤10 g kg-1 ), and coarser soils. Overall, these results provide new insights into the general mechanisms by which MNPs alter soil N processes in different environments and underscore the urgent need to perform multivariate and long-term in situ trials in simulated natural environments.

Fabrication of robust superhydrophobic–superoleophilic mesh for oil–water separation

Frequent oil spillage at sea and waste oily water draining cause severe harm to the environment and economy. Although various extremely wettable materials are designed to achieve oil–water separation, there are still limitations, such as expensive materials, fluorine-containing reagents and poor robustness of oil–water-separating materials. Here, the authors resolved the aforementioned problems by proposing a simple and low-cost sandblasting plating method with nickel (Ni), phosphorus (P) and 1-octadecanethiol modification to manufacture a robust superhydrophobic stainless steel mesh for separating oily water under harsh environments. The mesh can separate light and heavy oily water with outstanding separating efficiency and high purity. It can be also used to separate hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution–oil, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution–oil and sodium chloride (NaCl) solution–oil, with separating efficiency higher than 95%. Moreover, the mesh is still superhydrophobic and has outstanding oil–water-separating efficiency after sandpaper abrasion, tape stripping, simulated seawater corrosion and natural environment corrosion tests. Therefore, the robust superhydrophobic stainless steel mesh proposed in this work can very efficiently separate oily water in harsh environments.

Long-term release kinetic characteristics of microplastic from commonly used masks into water under simulated natural environments

Masks-related microplastic pollution poses a new threat to the environment and human health that has gained increasing concern. However, the long-term release kinetics of microplastic from masks in aquatic environments have yet to studied, which hampers its risk assessment. Four types of masks, namely cotton mask, fashion mask, N95 mask, and disposable surgical mask were exposed to systematically simulated natural water environments to determine the time-dependent microplastic release characteristics at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively. In addition, the structure changes of employed masks were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was applied to analyze the chemical composition and groups of released microplastic fibers. Our results showed that the simulated natural water environment could degrade four types of masks and continuously produce microplastic fibers/fragments in a time-dependent manner. The dominant size of released particles/fibers was below 20 μm across four types of face masks. The physical structure of all four masks was damaged to varying degrees concomitant with photo-oxidation reaction. Collectively, we characterized the long-term release kinetics of microplastic from four types of commonly used masks under a well-mimic real word water environment. Our findings suggest that urgent action must be taken to properly manage disposable masks and ultimately limit the health threats associated with discarded masks.

Microplastics influence the fate of antibiotics in freshwater environments: Biofilm formation and its effect on adsorption behavior.

Microplastics (MPs) are substrates available for biofilms colonization in natural water environments. The biofilms formation may enhance the ability of MPs to adsorb harmful contaminants. Herein, we investigated the biofilms formation of three different MPs (PVC, PA and HDPE) in simulated natural environment, and observed the chemical structure, charge property, hydrophobicity and other properties of MPs affect microbial biomass and community composition. More importantly, potential pathogens were found in all three MPs biofilms. Furthermore, the adsorption capacities of original MPs and biological aging MPs for norfloxacin (NOR) was compared. HDPE has the largest adsorption capacity for NOR, while PA has the smallest adsorption capacity for NOR. It was concluded that the formation of biofilms enhanced the adsorption of NOR by 50.60 %, 24.17 % and 46.02 % for PVC, PA and HDPE, respectively. In addition, hydrogen-bond interaction, electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction were found to dominate the adsorption of NOR by MPs. Our study contributed to improve the understanding of the interactions between aging MPs and contaminants in the natural water environments, and provided essential information for ecological risk assessment of MPs.

A Comparison of Deep Neural Networks for Monocular Depth Map Estimation in Natural Environments Flying at Low Altitude

Currently, the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in natural and complex environments has been increasing, because they are appropriate and affordable solutions to support different tasks such as rescue, forestry, and agriculture by collecting and analyzing high-resolution monocular images. Autonomous navigation at low altitudes is an important area of research, as it would allow monitoring parts of the crop that are occluded by their foliage or by other plants. This task is difficult due to the large number of obstacles that might be encountered in the drone's path. The generation of high-quality depth maps is an alternative for providing real-time obstacle detection and collision avoidance for autonomous UAVs. In this paper, we present a comparative analysis of four supervised learning deep neural networks and a combination of two for monocular depth map estimation considering images captured at low altitudes in simulated natural environments. Our results show that the Boosting Monocular network is the best performing in terms of depth map accuracy because of its capability to process the same image at different scales to avoid loss of fine details.

Walking Outdoors Increases Heart Rate but Not Perceived Exertion

We conducted an experiment to compare the effect of exercise in an outdoor natural environment with that of exercise in an indoor simulated natural environment on measures of exertion and emotions. Our objectives were to examine how the exercise environment changed emotion and the relationship between emotion and exertion. We tested the possibility that differences in physiological exertion across environments may explain the beneficial effect of green exercise on emotion. Seventy-four college students were randomly assigned to walk at a comfortable pace for 15 min on an outdoor path with views of natural and built elements or an indoor treadmill while watching a video of the sights seen along the outdoor path. We administered prewalk and postwalk measures of positive and negative emotions. We also measured heart rate and rate of perceived exertion during the walk. Participants who walked outdoors attained a higher average heart rate but did not perceive they were exerting themselves more than participants who walked indoors. Participants who walked outdoors also experienced a greater increase in energy than participants who walked indoors, though participants who walked indoors experienced a decrease in tension. There was no evidence that heart rate explained the difference between the indoor and outdoor groups with respect to energy or tension. Future studies could examine the association between environment, emotion, and exertion using other measures of exercise-induced emotions and physiological exertion.

Investigation into mechanical properties of PBT propellant under accelerated aging at alternating temperature and constant strain

Solid propellants are typical viscoelastic materials that are subject to chemical ageing and mechanical damage under whole life cycle conditions. Through high and low temperature cycling tests on PBT propellant specimens under constant strain conditions, the effects of mechanical damage and temperature ageing on the mechanical properties of PBT propellant are simulated and analysed during the motor delivery, storage and operational duty cycles of PBT propellants subjected to environmental loads. The tests show that: during the ageing process of PBT propellant in the simulated natural environment, the tensile strength will gradually increase due to the influence of temperature load and manoeuvring load, and the initial modulus will increase due to the influence of internal stresses generated by curing and cooling, which will reduce the tensile strength, both of which will jointly affect the mechanical properties of the propellant. The force-thermal coupling accelerated ageing experiment can simulate the ageing process of solid motor pillars under natural conditions and predict their mechanical properties at various time stages.

How the type of methodology used, when working in a natural environment, affects the designer's creativity

The study of the mechanisms linked to creativity has become a topic of great interest in various scientific fields in recent decades. One area in which a particularly large amount of research has been conducted is on the positive effect of natural environments on creativity. Yet, none of these studies have focused on the interaction that may arise with the design method used. That is, they consider the empowering effect of nature on creativity to be something general, without taking into account other factors that may influence it, such as the type of methodology used. This paper therefore aims to go a step further and investigate how the type of design methodology used—intuitive or logical—in a simulated natural environment affects the designer’s creativity. The analysis of both the design process and its outcomes shows that the main differences in the way of working with design methodologies occur mainly in the case of intuitive methodologies, helping designers to improve the quality of their outcomes.

Time dependency and similarity of gas permeability of concrete in simulated environment

It is of great significance to establish the similarity for time-dependent permeability between simulated environment and natural environment for predicting the time-dependent permeability in practical engineering. Based on the exposure test of ordinary concrete in natural tidal environment and simulated environment, the time-dependent intrinsic gas permeability coefficients (Kg) of concrete were analyzed, and the influence of w/c ratio on Kg and age reduction factor of gas permeability coefficient (mg) was studied. According to the relaxation time tracked by the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method, the time-dependent microstructure parameters of concrete in the natural and simulated environments, such as porosity, pore size distribution, capillary pores porosity, critical pore diameter (Dcd) and mean pore diameter (Dmd) were analyzed. Then, the relationship between the time-dependent gas permeability and microstructure parameters was discussed. Results show that Kg decreased with the increasing exposure time and decreasing w/c ratio. The value of mg decreases with the increasing w/c ratio, and for concrete with the same w/c ratio, mg in the simulated environment is larger than that in the natural tidal environment. Porosity, capillary pores porosity and Dcd of concrete all decrease with exposure time, and have good correlations with gas permeability coefficient (KA) of concrete. Meanwhile, ambient environment has little influence on the correlation between gas permeability and Dcd. At last, based on the similarity between Kg and microstructure parameters in the natural and simulated environments, the rationality of calculating the long-term Kg in natural environment from the short-term results in the simulated environment is verified.

Long-Term Kinetic Characteristics of Microplastic Release From Commonly Used Masks Into Water Under Simulated Natural Environments

Long-Term Kinetic Characteristics of Microplastic Release From Commonly Used Masks Into Water Under Simulated Natural Environments