A smart driving system (providing both safety and fuel-efficient driving advice in real time in the vehicle) was evaluated in real-world on-road driving trials to see if any measurable beneficial ...changes in driving performance would be observed. Forty participants drove an instrumented vehicle over a 50-min mixed-route driving scenario. Two conditions were adopted: one is a control with no smart driving feedback offered and the other is with advice being presented to the driver via a smartphone in the vehicle. Key findings from the study showed a 4.1% improvement in fuel efficiency when using the smart driving aid, importantly with no increase in journey time or reduction in average speed. Primarily, these efficiency savings were enabled by limiting the use of lower gears (facilitated by planning ahead to avoid unnecessary stops) and an increase in the use of the fifth gear (as advised by the in-vehicle system). Significant and important changes in driving safety behaviors were also observed, with an increase in mean headway to 2.3 s and an almost threefold reduction in time spent traveling closer than 1.5 s to the vehicle in front. This paper has shown that an in-vehicle smart driving system specifically developed and designed with the drivers' information requirements in mind can lead to significant improvements in driving behaviors in the real world on real roads with real users.
Recent evidence suggests that projection neurons and interneurons of the cerebral cortex are generally derived from distinct proliferative zones. Cortical projection neurons originate from the ...cortical ventricular zone (VZ), and then migrate radially into the cortical mantle, whereas most cortical interneurons originate from the basal telencephalon and migrate tangentially into the developing cortex. Previous studies using methods that label both proliferative and postmitotic cells have found that cortical interneurons migrate from two major subdivisions of the developing basal telencephalon: the medial and lateral ganglionic eminences (MGE and LGE). Since these studies labeled cells by methods that do not distinguish between the proliferating cells and those that may have originated elsewhere, we have studied the contribution of the MGE and LGE to cortical interneurons using fate mapping and genetic methods. Transplantation of BrdU-labeled MGE or LGE neuroepithelium into the basal telencephalon of unlabeled telencephalic slices enabled us to follow the fate of neurons derived from each of these primordia. We have determined that early in neurogenesis GABA-expressing cells from the MGE tangentially migrate into the cerebral cortex, primarily via the intermediate zone, whereas cells from the LGE do not. Later in neurogenesis, LGE-derived cells also migrate into the cortex, although this migration occurs primarily through the subventricular zone. Some of these LGE-derived cells invade the cortical plate and express GABA, while others remain within the cortical proliferative zone and appear to become mitotically active late in gestation. In addition, by comparing the phenotypes of mouse mutants with differential effects on MGE and LGE migration, we provide evidence that the MGE and LGE may give rise to different subtypes of cortical interneurons.
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•Driver parking alignment significantly affects power transfer efficiencies.•Only 5% of drivers parked within typical tolerances of inductive charging systems.•Drivers are more ...accurate at parking laterally than in the longitudinal direction.•In-vehicle feedback to provide alignment assistance is one possible solution.
Inductive charging, a form of wireless charging, uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects. This emerging technology offers an alternative solution to users having to physically plug in their electric vehicle (EV) to charge. Whilst manufacturers claim inductive charging technology is market ready, the efficiency of transfer of electrical energy is highly reliant on the accurate alignment of the coils involved. Therefore understanding the issue of parking misalignment and driver behaviour is an important human factors question, and the focus of this paper. Two studies were conducted, one a retrospective analysis of 100 pre-parked vehicles, the second a dynamic study where 10 participants parked an EV aiming to align with a charging pad with no bay markings as guidance. Results from both studies suggest that drivers are more accurate at parking laterally than in the longitudinal direction, with a mean lateral distance from the centre of the bay being 12.12 and 9.57cm (retrospective and dynamic studies respectively) compared to longitudinally 23.73 and 73.48cm. With current inductive charging systems having typical tolerances of approximately ±10cm from their centre point, this study has shown that only 5% of vehicles in both studies would be aligned sufficiently accurately to allow efficient transfer of electrical energy through induction.
The contribution of potatoes to the global food supply is increasing—consumption more than doubled in developing countries between 1960 and 2005. Understanding climate change impacts on global potato ...yields is therefore important for future food security. Analyses of climate change impacts on potato compared to other major crops are rare, especially at the global scale. Of two global gridded potato modeling studies published at the time of this analysis, one simulated the impacts of temperature increases on potential potato yields; the other did not simulate the impacts of farmer adaptation to climate change, which may offset negative climate change impacts on yield. These studies may therefore overestimate negative climate change impacts on yields as they do not simultaneously include CO
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fertilisation and adaptation to climate change. Here we simulate the abiotic impacts of climate change on potato to 2050 using the GLAM crop model and the ISI-MIP ensemble of global climate models. Simulations include adaptations to climate change through varying planting windows and varieties and CO
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fertilisation, unlike previous global potato modeling studies. Results show significant skill in reproducing observed national scale yields in Europe. Elsewhere, correlations are generally positive but low, primarily due to poor relationships between national scale observed yields and climate. Future climate simulations including adaptation to climate change through changing planting windows and crop varieties show that yields are expected to increase in most cases as a result of longer growing seasons and CO
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fertilisation. Average global yield increases range from 9 to 20% when including adaptation. The global average yield benefits of adaptation to climate change range from 10 to 17% across climate models. Potato agriculture is associated with lower green house gas emissions relative to other major crops and therefore can be seen as a climate smart option given projected yield increases with adaptation.
Longer QRS duration on the ECG is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) mortality. To evaluate potential mechanisms, we examined in this study the relationship between QRS duration and left ...ventricular (LV) mass and LV end systolic and end diastolic volume in patients with known CV disease or high-risk diabetes.
In a substudy of the ONTARGET/TRANSCEND (Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial/Telmisartan Randomised Assessment Study in ACE Intolerant Subjects with Cardiovascular Disease) clinical trials, 368 patients had a cardiac magnetic resonance scan to measure LV mass, LV end systolic volume, LV end diastolic volume and LV ejection fraction at baseline and after 2 years of follow-up. Relationships between QRS duration on the 12-lead ECG and LV mass and volumes were evaluated at both assessments.
Each 10-ms increase in QRS duration both within and above the normal reference range was associated with an 8.3% (95% CI 6.7% to 9.9%) increase in LV mass, a 9.2% (95% CI 7.4% to 10%) increase in LV end diastolic volume and a 7.8% (95% CI 6.4% to 9.3%) increase in LV end systolic volume. QRS duration increased with body size, but associations with LV mass and volumes remained strong after indexing measurements to height(2.7) (p<0.001 for all) and were similar for subjects with an otherwise normal and abnormal ECG.
A longer QRS duration both within and above the normal reference range is associated with a greater LV mass and larger LV end systolic and end diastolic volumes. This may explain the known association of longer QRS duration with increased CV mortality.
High-temperature linear fluoropyridyl silicone-based oils and network elastomers were prepared via hydrosilylation with multifunctional perfluoropyridine (PFP)-based monomers possessing terminally ...reactive alkenes. Monomers with varying degrees of functionalization were prepared in a scalable manner and in high purity via the facile, regio-selective, nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) of PFP in good isolated yields. These multi-reactive monomers were polymerized via Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation with hydride-terminated polydimethylsiloxanes (H-PDMSs) possessing varying degrees of polymerization and cross-linked with the highly functionalized octadimethylhydrosilyl cubic siloxane. These resulting polymers of varying architecture possessed exceptional thermal stability with no onset of degradation up to 430 °C and char yields as high as 62%, under inert pyrolysis conditions when modified with cubic siloxane. Furthermore, by nature of the aliphatic or aromatic content, programmable glass transition temperatures were achieved from these elastomeric materials. Finally, the linear 3,5,6-fluoropyridine PDMS systems demonstrated the ability to undergo regio-controlled post-functionalization via SNAr with 4-bromophenol, allowing access to silicone oils with potentially tailorable properties for desired applications.
•Small proportion of connected and autonomous freight vehicles (CAV-F) used to improve congestion and travel delays.•Traffic simulation model developed using real-world tunnel traffic data and ...congestion scenarios.•Focused on improving tunnel procedures for handling transit for dangerous goods vehicles (DGV) and abnormal load vehicles (ALV) using CAV-F.
The study is based on the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing tunnel, Kent, UK. It analyses the impact of the tunnel closures necessary for monitoring the flow of Dangerous Goods Vehicles and Abnormal Load Vehicles as per The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road regulations. A traffic simulation model is developed using PTV Vissim software, based on real-world Dartford Crossing traffic data and validated against independent Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling data. The autonomous driving implementations of Dangerous Goods Vehicles and Abnormal Load Vehicles, defined as per CoEXist project in the PTV Vissim software, are compared against the conventional vehicles traffic simulations. The results show that if the tunnel closures are reduced to two or less per hour then significant improvements in road congestion and travel time are observed. Furthermore, the benefits of autonomous Dangerous Goods Vehicles and Abnormal Load Vehicles are observed in improving traffic queues and travel times, given that the Dartford Crossing tunnel is appropriately equipped with intelligent communication technologies. The study shows that even with a small proportion of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, the movement of road traffic can largely be influenced.
To date, most estimates of the half-life of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in humans have been based on relatively short follow-up periods. To address this issue, we determined the half-lives of ...PCB congeners of occupational origin in the serum of former capacitor workers as part of a study conducted in 2003-2006--approximately 28 years after their last occupational exposure. A total of 241 persons from a source population of 6798 former capacitor workers were interviewed and asked to donate a blood sample for serum PCB congener analysis. A subgroup of 45 participants also had serum archived from 1976 and reanalyzed for the same 27 PCB congeners by the same laboratory. Our estimates of the half-lives of the congeners among these 45 persons were longer than those reported by Wolff et al. (1992), due primarily to the much longer interval between exposure and determination of serum PCB concentrations. Half-lives were significantly greater for the heavy versus light occupational congeners, for women versus men and for those with low versus high initial exposure. Current serum total PCB concentrations, expressed as the geometric mean of wet weight data, averaged 6.7 ng/g for the entire 241-person cohort, which represents a 10-fold decrease from values reported in the late 1970s, but is still nearly twice the average for persons of similar age residing in the same area, but without occupational exposure. In addition, current serum PCB concentrations remained significantly and positively associated with earlier occupational exposure, but were not associated with fresh water fish consumption. In general, the results support a consistent and long-duration trend of increased PCB body burden in this cohort of former capacitor workers compared with non-occupationally exposed individuals. The results may aid in further understanding the toxicological/epidemiological consequences of exposure to PCBs in humans.
Abstract We hypothesize that occupational exposure to PCBs is associated with a reduction in central dopamine (DA) similar to changes previously seen in PCB exposed adult non-human primates. To test ...that hypothesis, we used 123 Iβ-CIT SPECT imaging to estimate basal ganglia DA transporter density in former capacitor workers. Women, but not men, showed an inverse relationship between lipid-adjusted total serum PCB concentrations and DA transporter densities in the absence of differences in serum PCB concentrations. These sex differences may reflect age-related reductions in the levels of gonadal hormones since these hormones have been shown experimentally to alter response to DA neurotoxicants. These findings may aid in better understanding the roles that sex and age play in modifying central DA function following exposure, not only to PCBs, but also to other DA neurotoxicants as well as further elucidating the role of gonadal hormones in influencing the initiation and/or progression of neurodegenerative disorders.
Two new trifunctional alkene monomers based on the highly modular perfluoropyridine scaffold are synthesized with an aliphatic and an aromatic moiety, 4‐penten‐1‐ol and eugenol, respectively. The ...monomers are the basis for thiol‐ene thermoset materials, formulated against a difunctional or trifunctional thiol. Systems based on these novel monomers have a wide range of thermal properties, with glass transition temperatures (Tgs) spanning from −42 to 21 °C. Mixed systems obey the Fox equation, and Tgs of the mixtures can be tuned to specific values in that range. Thermal degradation temperatures follow a similar trend, with decomposition temperatures ranging from 274 to 348 °C in nitrogen with varying compositions having tailorability therein. This new class of semifluorinated thermoset materials with tunable thermal properties has several potential applications within the aerospace industry, such as sealants and coatings, where stability and survivability at high temperatures in harsh environmental conditions are imperative.
Two new trifunctional alkene monomers based on the highly modular perfluoropyridine scaffold are synthesized in high yield at scalable quantities using an alipahtic or aromatic alcohol. Thermoset thiol‐ene systems from these materials show readily tunable thermal properties (Tg, degradation temperature) based on the identity of the alkene moiety, polythiol comonomer, and formulations thereof.
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