Interaction between Cyclists and Motor Vehicles : the role of infrastructure design and vehicle characteristics

The aim of the project was to examine interactions between motor vehicle drivers and cyclists at intersections and the impact of infrastructure design and motor vehicle characteristics on interactive behaviour. The project activities included literature reviews on cycling infrastructure at intersections, vehicle driver behaviour and cyclist behaviour; questionnaires among motor vehicle drivers and cyclists across different cities in Sweden; field observations to investigate what cues cyclists use to interpret the intention of motor vehicles they interact with at signalised intersections; on-site interviews with cyclists to explore their strategy in an encounter with a motor vehicle; and a cycling simulator study to examine the behaviour of cyclists when approaching an intersection and the factors that may influence their decisions. The findings confirm that the way the cycling infrastructure is designed at intersections contributes to how cyclists and motor vehicles interact. Placing cyclists and motor vehicle drivers close (where they are visible to one another) at intersection areas increases the level of presence-awareness for both road users and consequently it increases safety. Though cyclists may feel more uncomfortable (exposed and unsafe) with this solution, they tend to be more careful and attentive. This finding from the literature was confirmed by the field observations showing that mixed traffic, i.e. “no cycle facility” at the intersection is the safest solution and the cycle lane solution is the least safe one. However, the on-site interviews with cyclists revealed that the large majority of the respondents preferred the infrastructure solution with a separated bicycle path. This is a typical case where objective safety and subjective safety stand in opposite relationship. The findings also revealed that one-directional cycle tracks enhance interaction at intersections, since motor vehicle drivers only expect cyclists from one direction. However, cyclists not following the rule and riding against the prescribed direction create problems and conflictive situations. Cyclists and the way they use the road infrastructure were found to be highly heterogeneous; the availability of cycling infrastructure at an intersection does not guarantee that cyclists use it as expected by designers and perhaps by motor vehicle drivers, as the infrastructure solution in some cases might not provide the shortest path for the cyclist. The uncertainty in cycling behaviour was found to be more at intersections with no cycling infrastructure. Confidence level among cyclists was found to affect their interaction with motor vehicles which tends to be hard for motor vehicle drivers to predict as different cyclists behave differently depending on their confidence in traffic.The majority of the interviewed cyclists said that when arriving at an intersection just after a motor vehicle they usually pass it on its right side. This was seen in observations on sites with cycle lane or cycle path but not on sites with mixed traffic. Also, if the motor vehicle was a heavy vehicle (bus or truck), somewhat fewer cyclists passed it on its right side. Also the cycling simulator study revealed that the most significant difference of longitudinal stop position was between the condition of a narrow lane without cycle lane marking and a truck standing at the stop line and the condition of wide lane with cycle lane marking and a car standing at the stop line, where the average stop position of the cyclist was behind the truck in the first condition and next to the car in the second condition. This finding corresponds to the test cyclists’ verbal expressions of the importance of “being visible and avoiding the blind spot”. The increased caution associated with the presence of a truck is motivated and in line with previous studies. At sites with mixed traffic (no cycle facility), compared to with cycle lane or cycle path, the cyclists’ scanning behaviour was more complete. At sites with cycle path, the cyclists looked for eye contact with the driver of the motor vehicle to a much larger extent than cyclists at the other two types of sites. Cyclists at sites with mixed traffic (no cycle facility) were more active in their visual search behaviour than cyclists at the other two types of sites. Also, those cyclists who passed the motor vehicle on its right side were more active in their visual search behaviour than those who did not pass the motor vehicle. The share of critical situations indicates that sites with mixed traffic (no cycle facility) is the safest solution and cycle lane solution is the least safe one

Adaptation of vulcanized rubber as pessaries for the treatment of uterovaginal prolapse in a resource-poor setting

No Abstract

Child marriage and maternal health risks among young mothers in Gombi, Adamawa State, Nigeria: implications for mortality, entitlements and freedoms.

Background: Efforts toward liberation of the girl-child from the shackles of early marriage have continued to be resisted through tradition, culture and religion in some parts of Nigeria. Objective: This study therefore examines the maternal health implications of early marriage on young mothers in the study area. Methods: Multistage sampling technique was employed to obtained data from 200 young mothers aged 15-24 years who married before aged 16 years. Findings: The study reveals that more than 60% had only primary education while more than 70% had experienced complications before or after childbirth. Age at first marriage, current age, level of education and household decision-making significantly influence (P<0.005) maternal health risks in the study area. The study establishes that respondents in age group 15-19 years are 1.234 times more likely to experience complications when compared with the reference category 20-24 years. Entitlements and freedom that are highly relevant to reduction of maternal mortality, provided by international treaties are inaccessible to young women in the study area. Conclusion: Strategies to end child marriage in the study area should include mass and compulsory education of girls, provision of other options to early marriage and childbearing and involvement of fathers in preventing and ending the practice

Sleep Duration in Children with ADHD: Role of Family Social Routines among Children and Adolescents 3–17-year-olds in the United States.

Studies have shown that family social routines improve behavioral outcomes and sleep quality among children and adolescents. Few studies have delved into how family social routines can reduce the risks of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and improve sleep duration among children diagnosed with ADHD. This study intends to examine the relationship between the frequency of family social routines, ADHD, ADHD severity, parent-reported ADHD medication use, parent-reported ADHD behavioral treatment, parent-reported frequency of physical activities, and the recommended age-appropriate sleep duration. To contrive feasible, practicable, and cost-efficient interventions that affected families can implement to reduce the burden of ADHD to them and society at large. This study used combined data from the 2016 and 2017 National Survey of Children\u27s Health (NSCH). This is a cross-sectional study that collected health information on children from age 0-17 years. Data from 61339 children with a history of ADHD, parent-rated ADHD severity, parent-reported frequency of social routines, parent-reported sleep duration, parent-reported ADHD medication use, parent-reported ADHD behavioral treatment, and parent-reported frequency of physical activities were used for analysis. Statistical analysis was done using regression analysis. There is no association between the frequency of family social routines (read to and singing /lullaby/storytelling) and ADHD or ADHD severity, except for a strong association between the frequency of family mealtime and ADHD (adjusted OR 1.25, 95% CI (1.06 – 1.49). However, there was no significant association between the frequency of family mealtime and ADHD severity (adjusted OR 1.23, 95% CI (0.93 – 1.63). All family social routines were associated with sleep duration, albeit ADHD severity, did not modify these associations. There was an association between the frequency of physical activity and ADHD across all levels of physical activities (adjusted OR (4-6 days) 0.85, 95% CI (0.74–0.98). However, ADHD severity did not modify these associations. Family social routines and physical activities, when adopted at the appropriate doses of at least 4-6 days a week, could be an inexpensive alternative to ADHD medication for alleviating sleep problems among children and adolescents with ADHD

Application of Road Infrastructure Safety Assessment Methods at Intersections

Traffic safety at intersections is a particularly difficult phenomenon to study, given the fact that accidents occur randomly in time and space thereby making short-term measurement, assessment and comparison difficult. The EU directive 2008/96/EC introduced road infrastructure safety management, which offers a five layer structure for developing safer road infrastructure has been used to develop tools for accident prediction and black spot management analysis which has been applied in this work to assess the safety level of intersections in Norrköping city in Sweden. Accident data history from STRADA (Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition) and the network demand model for Norrköping city were used to model black spots and predict the expected number of accidents at intersections using PTV Visum Safety tool, after STRADA accident classification was restructured and the Swedish accident prediction model (APM) was configured and tested to work within the tool using the model from the Swedish road administration (SRA). The performance of the default (Swiss) and the Swedish APM was compared and identified locations with the high accident records, predicted accident counts and traffic volumes were audited using qualitative assessment checklist from Street-Audit tool. The results from these methods were analysed, validated and compared. This work provides recommendations on the used quantitative and qualitative methods to prevent accident occurrence at the identified locations

Public Online Information About Tinnitus: A Cross-Sectional Study of Youtube Videos

Purpose: To examine the information about tinnitus contained in different video sources on YouTube. Materials and Methods: The 100 most widely viewed tinnitus videos were manually coded. Firstly, we identified the sources of upload: consumer, professional, television-based clip, and internet-based clip. Secondly, the videos were analyzed to ascertain what pertinent information they contained from a current National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders fact sheet. Results: Of the videos, 42 were consumer-generated, 33 from media, and 25 from professionals. Collectively, the 100 videos were viewed almost 9 million times. The odds of mentioning “objective tinnitus” in professional videos were 9.58 times those from media sources [odds ratio (OR) = 9.58; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.94, 47.42; P = 0.01], whereas these odds in consumer videos were 51% of media-generated videos (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.20, 1.29; P = 0.16). The odds that the purpose of a video was to sell a product or service were nearly the same for both consumer and professional videos. Consumer videos were found to be 4.33 times as likely to carry a theme about an individual’s own experience with tinnitus (OR = 4.33; 95% CI: 1.62, 11.63; P = 0.004) as media videos. Conclusions: Of the top 100 viewed videos on tinnitus, most were uploaded by consumers, sharing individuals’ experiences. Actions are needed to make scientific medical information more prominently available and accessible on YouTube and other social media

Public online information about tinnitus: A cross-sectional study of YouTube videos

Purpose: To examine the information about tinnitus contained in different video sources on YouTube. Materials and Methods: The 100 most widely viewed tinnitus videos were manually coded. Firstly, we identified the sources of upload: consumer, professional, television-based clip, and internet-based clip. Secondly, the videos were analyzed to ascertain what pertinent information they contained from a current National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders fact sheet. Results: Of the videos, 42 were consumer-generated, 33 from media, and 25 from professionals. Collectively, the 100 videos were viewed almost 9 million times. The odds of mentioning “objective tinnitus” in professional videos were 9.58 times those from media sources [odds ratio (OR) = 9.58; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.94, 47.42; P = 0.01], whereas these odds in consumer videos were 51% of media-generated videos (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.20, 1.29; P = 0.16). The odds that the purpose of a video was to sell a product or service were nearly the same for both consumer and professional videos. Consumer videos were found to be 4.33 times as likely to carry a theme about an individual’s own experience with tinnitus (OR = 4.33; 95% CI: 1.62, 11.63; P = 0.004) as media videos. Conclusions: Of the top 100 viewed videos on tinnitus, most were uploaded by consumers, sharing individuals’ experiences. Actions are needed to make scientific medical information more prominently available and accessible on YouTube and other social media

Information Available on YouTube Related to Tinnitus

This presentation was given during the Georgia Southern University Research Symposium

Preliminary evaluation of some aspects of the ecology (growth pattern, condition factor and reproductive biology) of African pike, Hepsetus odoe (Bloch 1794), in Lake Eleiyele, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract A preliminary investigation of length-weight relationship, condition factor and reproductive ecology of African pike fish, Hepsetus odoe, was conducted between June to August 2010 in Lake Eleiyele. A total of 90 samples of the fish species were caught by fishermen using gill nets. The results obtained showed that fish species had isometric growth pattern (contrary to negative allometry expected) with the growth exponent, b value of 2.64, that is not statistically different from 3 and with high statistical power of 0.866 when tested. The mean condition factor, K, was found to be 2.6, indicating that the fish species were in good condition in the study area. For reproductive biology, mean fecundity and gonadosomatic index were found to be 1349 eggs and 3.53% respectively. This study was necessary to fill the knowledge gap and provide information for management and conservation of the investigated species in the lake system. This study recommended that further research needs to be conducted because the sampling was carried out in the rainy season period and within a quarter of a year