The energy impact of adaptive cruise control in real-world highway multiple-car-following scenarios

Abstract Background Surging acceptance of adaptive cruise control (ACC) across the globe is further escalating concerns over its energy impact. Two questions have directed much of this project: how to distinguish ACC driving behaviour from that of the human driver and how to identify the ACC energy impact. As opposed to simulations or test-track experiments as described in previous studies, this work is unique because it was performed in real-world car-following scenarios with a variety of vehicle specifications, propulsion systems, drivers, and road and traffic conditions. Methods Tractive energy consumption serves as the energy impact indicator, ruling out the effect of the propulsion system. To further isolate the driving behaviour as the only possible contributor to tractive energy differences, two techniques are offered to normalize heterogeneous vehicle specifications and road and traffic conditions. Finally, ACC driving behaviour is compared with that of the human driver from transient and statistical perspectives. Its impact on tractive energy consumption is then evaluated from individual and platoon perspectives. Results Our data suggest that unlike human drivers, ACC followers lead to string instability. Their inability to absorb the speed overshoots may partly be explained by their high responsiveness from a control theory perspective. Statistical results might imply the followers in the automated or mixed traffic flow generally perform worse in reproducing the driving style of the preceding vehicle. On the individual level, ACC followers have tractive energy consumption 2.7–20.5% higher than those of human counterparts. On the platoon level, the tractive energy values of ACC followers tend to consecutively increase (11.2–17.3%). Conclusions In general, therefore, ACC impacts negatively on tractive energy efficiency. This research provides a feasible path for evaluating the energy impact of ACC in real-world applications. Moreover, the findings have significant implications for ACC safety design when handling the stability-responsiveness trade-off. </jats:sec

Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of passenger cars over the New Worldwide Harmonized Test Protocol

AbstractIn 2014 the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted the global technical regulation No. 15 concerning the Worldwide harmonized Light duty Test Procedure (WLTP). Having significantly contributed to its development, the European Commission is now aiming at introducing the new test procedure in the European type-approval legislation for light duty vehicles in order to replace the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) as the certification test.The current paper aims to assess the effect of WLTP introduction on the reported CO2 emissions from passenger cars presently measured under the New European Driving Cycle and the corresponding test protocol. The most important differences between the two testing procedures, apart from the kinematic characteristics of the respective driving cycles, is the determination of the vehicle inertia and driving resistance, the gear shifting sequence, the soak and test temperature and the post-test charge balance correction applied to WLTP. In order to quantify and analyze the effect of these differences in the end value of CO2 emissions, WLTP and NEDC CO2 emission measurements were performed on 20 vehicles, covering almost the whole European market. WLTP CO2 values range from 125.5 to 217.9g/km, NEDC values range from 105.4 to 213.2g/km and the ΔCO2 between WLTP and NEDC ranges from 4.7 to 29.2g/km for the given vehicle sample. The average cold start effect over WLTP was found 6.1g/km, while for NEDC it was found 12.3g/km. For a small gasoline and a medium sized diesel passenger car, the different inertia mass and driving resistance is responsible 63% and 81% of the observed ΔCO2 between these two driving cycles respectively, whereas the other parameters (driving profile, gear shifting, test temperature) account for the remaining 37% and 19%

e-Infrastructures for e-Science: A Global View

In the last 10 years, a new way of doing science is spreading in the world thank to the development of virtual research communities across many geographic and administrative boundaries. A virtual research community is a widely dispersed group of researchers and associated scientific instruments working together in a common virtual environment. This new kind of scientific environment, usually addressed as a "collaboratory", is based on the availability of high-speed networks and broadband access, advanced virtual tools and Grid-middleware technologies which, altogether, are the elements of the e-Infrastructures. The European Commission has heavily invested in promoting this new way of collaboration among scientists funding several international projects with the aim of creating e-Infrastructures to enable the European Research Area and connect the European researchers with their colleagues based in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In this paper we describe the actual status of these e- Infrastructures and present a complete picture of the virtual research communities currently using them. Information on the scientific domains and on the applications supported are provided together with their geographic distribution

Oleosin Cor a 15 is a novel allergen for Italian hazelnut allergic children

BACKGROUND: Hazelnut allergy, which is characterized by symptoms that range from mild to severe, is one of the most common allergies in children throughout Europe, and an accurate diagnosis of this allergy is therefore essential. However, lipophilic allergens, such as oleosins, are generally underrepresented in diagnostic tests. We therefore sought to characterize the IgE reactivity of raw and roasted hazelnut oleosins, using the sera of hazelnut‐allergic pediatric patients. METHODS: Raw and roasted hazelnut oil body–associated proteins were analyzed by means of 1D and 2D electrophoresis and MS. Oleosin IgE reactivity was assessed by immunoblotting with the sera of 27 children who have confirmed hazelnut allergies and from 10 tolerant subjects. A molecular characterization of the oleosins was performed by interrogating the C. avellana cv. Jefferson and cv. TGL genomes, and through expression and purification of the recombinant new allergen. RESULTS: A proteomic and genomic investigation allowed two new oleosins to be identified, in addition to Cor a 12 and Cor a 13, in hazelnut oil bodies. One of the new oleosins was registered as a new allergen, according to the WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Subcommittee criteria, and termed Cor a 15. Cor a 15 was the most frequently immunorecognized oleosin in our cohort. Oleosins resulted to be the only immunorecognized allergens in a subgroup of allergic patients who showed low ImmunoCAP assay IgE values and positive OFC and PbP. Hazelnut roasting resulted in an increase in oleosin immunoreactivity. CONCLUSION: A novel hazelnut oleosin, named Cor a 15, has been discovered. Cor a 15 could play a role in eliciting an allergic reaction in a subgroup of pediatric patients that exclusively immunorecognize oleosins. The high prevalence of hazelnut oleosin sensitization here reported further confirms the need to include oleosins in routine diagnostic procedures

Road Network Simulation Using FLAME GPU

Demand for high performance road network simulation is increasing due to the need for improved traffic management to cope with the globally increasing number of road vehicles and the poor capacity utilisation of existing infrastructure. This paper demonstrates FLAME GPU as a suitable Agent Based Simulation environment for road network simulations, capable of coping with the increasing demands on road network simulation. Gipps’ car following model is implemented and used to demonstrate the performance of simulation as the problem size is scaled. The performance of message communication techniques has been evaluated to give insight into the impact of runtime generated data structures to improve agent communication performance. A custom visualisation is demonstrated for FLAME GPU simulations and the techniques used are described

Parenting and the Serotonin Transporter Gene (5HTTLPR), Is There an Association? A Systematic Review of the Literature

The current systematic review examines whether there is an association between the genetic 5-HTTPLR polymorphism and parenting, and the mechanisms by which this association operates. The literature was searched in various databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. In line with our inclusion criteria, nine articles were eligible out of 22. Most of the studies analysed in this review found an association between 5HTTLPR and parenting. Four studies found a direct association between 5-HTTLPR and parenting with conflicting findings: two studies found that mothers carrying the short variant were more sensitive to their infants, while two studies found that parents carrying the S allele were less sensitive. In addition, several studies found strong interaction between genetic and environmental factors, such as childhood stress and disruptive child behaviour, quality of early care experiences, poor parenting environment, and quality of the environment. Only one study found an association between children’s 5HTTLPR and parenting. Parenting can be described as a highly complex construct influenced by multiple factors, including the environment, as well as parent and child characteristics. According to the studies, maternal 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is most likely to be associated with sensitive parenting

The Italian language postpartum specific anxiety scale [PSAS-IT]: translation, psychometric evaluation, and validation.

Introduction: While often positive, the lifecourse transition to motherhood is susceptible to the risk for developing mood disorders. Postpartum anxiety has often been overshadowed by other perinatal-specific mental health disorders, such as postpartum depression, and therefore has not been at the forefront or center of as much empirical study. This has meant there is a lack of effective and reliable tools with which to measure it, despite growing evidence suggesting its detrimental impact on mothers, their babies, wider family and social contacts, and on healthcare systems. This current study aimed to translate and validate the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale [PSAS] into the Italian language, and to validate the tool for its use in detecting anxiety specific to motherhood. Methods: The study (N = 457) comprised 4 stages: English-Italian translation and back-translation to obtain the Italian version [PSAS-IT]; a preliminary pilot study to adapt the PSAS to the characteristics of the Italian population; measurement invariance; and internal reliability of subscales. Results: The PSAS-IT demonstrates similar psychometric properties as the original English-language PSAS, with acceptable acceptability, construct and convergent validity, and internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis for multiple groups (Italy and United Kingdom) showed that the factor structure of the PSAS was valid for both groups [χ2 (2436) = 4679.481, p < 0.001, TLI = 0.969, CFI =0.972, RMSEA = 0.045, SRMR =0.064]. Discussion: The resulting findings offer a reliable measure of postpartum anxiety in Italian language up to six months after birth