A detailed description of a user-centered interface to model scenarios on driving simulator

International audienceModeling scenarios on driving simulators is a complex and difficult task for end-users because most of them usually don’t have the skills required to program the scenarios. In this paper, we present a User-centered solution in which we split the scenario modeling interface into 3 subinterfaces (Template Builder, Experiment Builder, Experiment Interface) based on user skills.We have developed a prototype of the interface, which is explained in detail

Investigation of anti-inflammatory lignans from the leaves of Symplocos sumuntia Buch-Ham ex D Don (Symplocaceae)

Purpose: To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of Symplocos sumuntia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don and identify the main secondary metabolites responsible for this effect.Methods: The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of the plant extract and isolated compounds was determined in terms of the ability to inhibit the production of nitric oxide (NO), and expressions of iNOS and COX-2 proteins in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Compounds were isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods.Results: The methanol extract of S. sumuntia leaves showed strong inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production and expression of iNOS and COX-2 in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. A phytochemical assay-guided fractionation of the methanol extract of S. sumuntia leaves led to the isolation of four lignans which are arctigenin (1), matairesinol (2), monomethylpinoresinol (3) and pinoresinol (4). These compounds were identified for the first time from S. sumuntia. All four compounds inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO), with arctigenin showing the most potent activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 4.08 μM.Conclusion: S. sumuntia is a promising source of anti-inflammatory agents, which may clarify to the therapeutic use of this plant in Vietamese traditional medicine.Keywords: Symplocos sumuntia, Symplocos caudata, Lignan, Arctigenin, Anti-inflammator

Primary pulmonary T-cell lymphoma mimicking asthma and community-acquired pneumonia: a rare case report

Primary pulmonary T-cell lymphoma (PPTL) is a rare disease. Diagnosing PPTL is challenging due to non-specific clinical symptoms and imaging. A 32-year-old female presented with persistent fever, cough, and dyspnoea. The symptoms were initially treated as asthma and community-acquired pneumonia without improvement. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral consolidations with a CT angiogram sign, and flexible bronchoscopy showed infiltrative lesions causing bronchial stenosis. Histopathological examination of the tissue biopsy identified T-cell lymphoma through immunohistochemical staining positive for CD3. This case highlights the importance of considering differential diagnoses such as PPTL in patients with atypical presentations of asthma or non-resolving pneumonia. This case also demonstrates the diagnostic utility of flexible bronchoscopy in identifying airway obstruction due to malignant cells, which can mimic asthma

Filling the user skill gap using HCI techniques to implement experimental protocol on driving simulators

Programming activities are performed not only by programmers but also by end-users in order to support their primary goals in different domains and applications. End-users do not have formal training in programming, so interaction environment and systems are needed, which could account for user skills. The objective of our work is to fill the gap between the user skills and the goals they want to achieve using driving simulators. This paper presents the results of a research in which we have proposed a solution for the primary users of the driving simulator to design and implement experimental protocol. We have used the user-centered design (UCD) technique, conducted a user survey, and proposed a solution, in which we have categorized the Interface of the driving simulator into three sub-interfaces based on the skills of the users. These interfaces are Experiment Builder (Nontechnical persons), Template builder (for technical persons) and Experiment Interface (for any user to run as experiment). A prototype based on this concept is developed and some feedback were collected from end-users. Our results indicate that, users can implement an experimental protocol without having programming skills using our proposed design

Filling the user skill gap using HCI techniques to implement experimental protocol on driving simulators

Abstract-Programming activities are performed not only by programmers but also by end-users in order to support their primary goals in different domains and applications. End-users do not have formal training in programming, so interaction environment and systems are needed, which could account for user skills. The objective of our work is to fill the gap between the user skills and the goals they want to achieve using driving simulators. This paper presents the results of a research in which, we have proposed a solution for the primary users of the driving simulator to design and implement experimental protocol. We have used user-centered design (UCD) technique, conducted a user survey, and proposed a solution, in which we have categorized the Interface of the driving simulator into three sub-interfaces based on the skills of the users. These interfaces are Experiment Builder (Nontechnical persons), Template builder (for technical persons) and Experiment Interface (for any user to execute experiment). A prototype based on this concept is developed and evaluated. Our results indicate that, users can implement an experimental protocol without having programming skills using our proposed design

Multiple Recurrent Acute Ischemic Strokes Treated by Thrombectomy in a Patient with Acute Pulmonary Embolism

BACKGROUND: Thrombectomy is recommended to treat for an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patient with anterior large vessel occlusion. However, there were neither detailed guidelines nor systematic reviews of acute ischemic stroke patients having multiple times or re-occluded arteries. CASE REPORT: In our case report, we struggled a multiple (4-times) AIS patient underwent by one intravenous r-tpA and 3 remaining of endovascular treatment of thrombectomy. Especially, the finding of both pulmonary embolism and cerebral arteries occlusion in this patient made us difficult to decide the appropriate treatment plan. The patient was considered having multiple cardiac thrombi pumping out to the brain and pulmonary vessels even in treatment with NOAC (New Oral Anticoagulant). Our priority, normally, was to recanalize the brain vessels compared to the pulmonary arteries. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, based on this noticed case study, we want to share our experiences on the diagnosis of ischemic stroke, the strategy in treatment and prevention with anticoagulant therapy

Body movement strategies to initiate the crossing of a street in front of traditional and self-driving cars in young and older adults

International audienceBACKGROUND AND AIM: The safety of elderlies is a key societal issue, especially when considering that 48% of pedestrian fatalities involve people aged 65 or more (Sécurité Routière 2017-France). Aging affects street crossing behavior, with a decrease of walking speed or more risky decisions because elderly people have difficulties to estimate the approaching speed of vehicles, especially in complex situations. In young adults, recent work focused on body movement performed to initiate the crossing, showing a top down sequence of advancement along the antero-posterior axis: the head initiates the crossing movement, followed by the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles. Identifying such motion invariants can be particularly useful in the context of self-driving vehicles which aim at predicting the intent of crossing. In this study, we aim at investigating body movement strategies performed before crossing in older adults in complex mixed traffic. METHODS: 30 young adults (YA, 21-39yo) and 30 older adults (OA, 68-81yo) were asked to cross (or not) a virtual two-way street by walking in a simulator. Participants performed a total of 120 trials where we manipulated: the type of vehicles (Conventional and/or Self driving car, the latest always stopping to let the pedestrian cross the street), their speed (30 or 50km/h), their position on the lane (far/near lane), as well as the temporal gap available to cross the street (1,2,3,4 or 5s). After computing temporal body segment motion and orientations, we analyzed the delays in initiating the crossing movement for the head, shoulders and hips with respect to the feet. We also performed hierarchical clustering to identify specific groups of behavior. RESULTS: Preliminary results show a top-down sequence of forward body motion, starting from the head to the feet, whatever the traffic condition and the group. In OA, the head initiates the motion sooner than YA wrt their feet. Moreover, while the horizontal angle profile of the head, shoulders and hips does not allow to identify invariants due to the large variety of behaviors before crossing, the trunk tilt angle profile appears to be a relevant marker for predicting the intent to cross the street. CONCLUSIONS: While aging was shown to affect street crossing decisions, our results highlight consistent behavior between YA and OA regarding trunk tilt profile when initiating the crossing. In line with previous work on YA, we also show a top down sequence of advancement of body segments. Future work is needed to use our results to predict the intent of crossing on a new database. Beside the choice to cross the street, future work is also needed to understand body segment motion and walking speed profile while crossing

A comparison between Hydrochloric acid and Trifluoroacetic acid in hydrolysis method of exopolysaccharide from Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Monosaccharide composition analysis by GC-FID

The monosaccharide composition is one of the crucial factors affecting the bioactivity of exopolysaccharide (EPS) in Cordyceps species. Therefore, many scientists have studied, analyzed monosaccharide composition and structure of EPS from Cordyceps species, especially Ophiocordyceps sinensis (O. sinensis). This study aimed to compare hydrochloric acid (HCl) with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the EPS hydrolysis process in monosaccharide composition analysis by Gas Chromatography with Flame-Ionization Detection (GC-FID). The hydrolysis is a crucial step in forming the acetyl derivative, which helps the GC-FID technique to have good results in monosaccharide composition analysis. The results showed that hydrolysis with HCl gave a higher hydrolysis efficiency and was more suitable than hydrolysis by TFA in pretreatment to EPS for GC-FID. Hydrolysis results were analyzed through thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), then Acetyl derivatives were produced and finally analyzed by GC-FID to determine the monosaccharide composition of EPS. For EPS hydrolyzed by HCl, the analytical results presented that this sample had 6 kinds of monosaccharides, including rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, and galactose; the most monosaccharide was glucose. The EPS hydrolyzed by TFA only detected three kinds of monosaccharides, including mannose, arabinose, and galactose, mainly mannose. The study has set a foundation for further analysis of monosaccharide composition and structure of EPS from O. sinensis

On the aerodynamical instability of cylindrical bars based on elastic support with viscous restraint

The aero dynamical instability is a special effect of the self-oscillation phenomenon. The occurrence condition of this effect is the change of the aerodynamic parameters, such as the increase and decrease of the Reynolds coefficients. In this paper the authors present an aerodynamic form, look for an exact solution to the non-linear differential equation with viscous restraint and analyze critical cases leading to the aerodynamic instability. The obtained result gives an idea in exactly solving some non-linear differential equation classes