The comparison of auditory, tactile, and multimodal warnings for the effective communication of unexpected events during an automated driving scenario

In an automated car, users can fully engage in a distractor task, making it a primary task. Compared to manual driving, drivers can engage in tasks that are difficult to interrupt and of higher demand, the consequences can be a reduced perception of, and an impaired reaction to, warnings. In this study we compared three in-vehicle warnings (auditory, tactile, and auditory-tactile) which were presented during three highly attention capturing tasks (visual, auditory, and tactile) while the user was engaged in a self-driving car scenario, culminating in an emergency brake event where the warning was presented. The novel addition for this paper was that three set paced, attention capturing tasks, as well the three warnings were all designed in a pilot study to have comparable workload and noticeability. This enabled a direct comparison of human performance to be made between each of the attention capturing tasks, which are designed to occupy only one specific modality (auditory, visual or haptic), but remain similar in overall task demand. Results from the study showed reaction times to the tactile warning (for the emergency braking event) were significantly slower compared to the auditory and auditory-tactile (aka multimodal or multisensory) warning. Despite the similar reaction times between the in-vehicle auditory warning and the multimodal warning, the multimodal warning led to a reduced number of missed warnings and fewer false responses. However, the auditory and auditory-tactile warnings were rated significantly more startling than the tactile alone. Our results extend the literature regarding the performance benefits of multimodal warnings by comparing them with in-vehicle auditory warnings in an autonomous driving context. The set-pace attention capturing tasks in this study would be of interest to other researchers to evaluate the interaction in an automated driving context, particularly with hard to interrupt and attention capturing tasks

Research knows best, but how to communicate distraction measures practically in an industrial context

Selection and comparison of human-factors related measures for evaluations of in-vehicle devices involves weighting of multiple criteria. It may result in a complex decision-making process for the practitioner, specifically in a time pressured industrial context. Visual information seeking has successfully been applied to reduce the complexity of datasets in healthcare and other fields. Information is presented visually and divided in ‘Overview’, representing the data by its characteristic criteria, and ‘Details’, which are presented on demand. This division reduces information load for the user and eases comparison based on characteristics. This project, first, aims to understand what criteria practitioners use to decide about the suitability of a measure for an in-vehicle evaluation. Secondly, criteria practitioners use to select measures are implemented in a new interface approach based on methods of visual information seeking to support users in the selection and comparison of human-factors related measures for in-vehicle evaluations. Overall, the interface exposes practitioners to new measures, enables them to rapidly compare measures, and obtain information to practically apply the

Clinical conundrum. Three management strategies for three-vessel coronary artery disease?

Inspired by King’s word, the goal of optimal pharmacotherapy is optimizing patient outcomes in an appropriate and consistent fashion, integrating itself with other management strategies, when and as appropriate, but this goal cannot be achieved if such therapy is not implemented in a forceful and proactive fashion. Indeed, cardiovascular pharmacotherapy for ischemic heart disease due to coronary artery disease (CAD) represents a unique case study in this sense, given the complex interplay between societal and individual preventive strategies as well as clinical treatments aimed at secondary or tertiary prevention, which may apparently challenge immediate and thorough implementation

Optical design of the SOXS spectrograph for ESO NTT

An overview of the optical design for the SOXS spectrograph is presented. SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is the new wideband, medium resolution (R>4500) spectrograph for the ESO 3.58m NTT telescope expected to start observations in 2021 at La Silla. The spectroscopic capabilities of SOXS are assured by two different arms. The UV-VIS (350-850 nm) arm is based on a novel concept that adopts the use of 4 ion-etched high efficiency transmission gratings. The NIR (800- 2000 nm) arm adopts the '4C' design (Collimator Correction of Camera Chromatism) successfully applied in X-Shooter. Other optical sub-systems are the imaging Acquisition Camera, the Calibration Unit and a pre-slit Common Path. We describe the optical design of the five sub-systems and report their performance in terms of spectral format, throughput and optical quality. This work is part of a series of contributions describing the SOXS design and properties as it is about to face the Final Design Review.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, published in SPIE Proceedings 1070

The Acquisition Camera System for SOXS at NTT

SOXS (Son of X-Shooter) will be the new medium resolution (R$\sim$4500 for a 1 arcsec slit), high-efficiency, wide band spectrograph for the ESO-NTT telescope on La Silla. It will be able to cover simultaneously optical and NIR bands (350-2000nm) using two different arms and a pre-slit Common Path feeding system. SOXS will provide an unique facility to follow up any kind of transient event with the best possible response time in addition to high efficiency and availability. Furthermore, a Calibration Unit and an Acquisition Camera System with all the necessary relay optics will be connected to the Common Path sub-system. The Acquisition Camera, working in optical regime, will be primarily focused on target acquisition and secondary guiding, but will also provide an imaging mode for scientific photometry. In this work we give an overview of the Acquisition Camera System for SOXS with all the different functionalities. The optical and mechanical design of the system are also presented together with the preliminary performances in terms of optical quality, throughput, magnitude limits and photometric properties.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, SPIE conferenc

Silent cerebral infarct after cardiac catheterization as detected by diffusion weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging: a randomized comparison of radial and femoral arterial approaches

Background and objective: Cerebral microembolism detected by transcranial Doppler (TCD) occurs systematically during cardiac catheterization, but its clinical relevance, remains unknown. Studies suggest that asymptomatic embolic cerebral infarction detectable by diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI might exist after percutaneous cardiac interventions with a frequency as high as 15 to 22% of cases. We have set up, for the first time, a prospective multicenter trial to assess the rate of silent cerebral infarction after cardiac catheterization and to compare the impact of the arterial access site, comparing radial and femoral access, on this phenomenon. Study design: This prospective study will be performed in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. To assess the occurrence of cerebral infarction, all patients will undergo cerebral DW-MRI and neurological assessment within 24 hours before, and 48 hours after cardiac catheterization and retrograde catheterization of the aortic valve. Randomization for the access site will be performed before coronary angiography. A subgroup will be monitored by transcranial power M-mode Doppler during cardiac catheterization to observe cerebral blood flow and track emboli. Neuropsychological tests will also be recorded in a subgroup of patients before and after the interventional procedures to assess the impact of silent brain injury on potential cognitive decline. The primary end-point of the study is a direct comparison of ischemic cerebral lesions as detected by serial cerebral DW-MRI between patients explored by radial access and patients explored by femoral access. Secondary end-points include comparison of neuropsychological test performance and number of microembolism signals observed in the two groups. Implications: Using serial DW-MRI, silent cerebral infarction rate will be defined and the potential influence of vascular access site will be evaluated. Silent cerebral infarction might be a major concern during cardiac catheterization and its potential relationship to cognitive decline needs to be assessed. Study registration: The SCIPION study is registered through National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trials registry and has been assigned the Identifier: NCT 00329979

Inter-society consensus document on treatment and prevention of bronchiolitis in newborns and infants

Acute bronchiolitis is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection and hospitalization in children less than 1 year of age worldwide. It is usually a mild disease, but some children may develop severe symptoms, requiring hospital admission and ventilatory support in the ICU. Infants with pre-existing risk factors (prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital heart diseases and immunodeficiency) may be predisposed to a severe form of the disease. Clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis is manly based on medical history and physical examination (rhinorrhea, cough, crackles, wheezing and signs of respiratory distress). Etiological diagnosis, with antigen or genome detection to identify viruses involved, may have a role in reducing hospital transmission of the infection. Criteria for hospitalization include low oxygen saturation (<90-92%), moderate-to-severe respiratory distress, dehydration and presence of apnea. Children with pre-existing risk factors should be carefully assessed. To date, there is no specific treatment for viral bronchiolitis, and the mainstay of therapy is supportive care. This consists of nasal suctioning and nebulized 3% hypertonic saline, assisted feeding and hydration, humidified O2 delivery. The possible role of any pharmacological approach is still debated, and till now there is no evidence to support the use of bronchodilators, corticosteroids, chest physiotherapy, antibiotics or antivirals. Nebulized adrenaline may be sometimes useful in the emergency room. Nebulized adrenaline can be useful in the hospital setting for treatment as needed. Lacking a specific etiological treatment, prophylaxis and prevention, especially in children at high risk of severe infection, have a fundamental role. Environmental preventive measures minimize viral transmission in hospital, in the outpatient setting and at home. Pharmacological prophylaxis with palivizumab for RSV bronchiolitis is indicated in specific categories of children at risk during the epidemic period. Viral bronchiolitis, especially in the case of severe form, may correlate with an increased incidence of recurrent wheezing in pre-schooled children and with asthma at school age. The aim of this document is to provide a multidisciplinary update on the current recommendations for the management and prevention of bronchiolitis, in order to share useful indications, identify gaps in knowledge and drive future research

Permanent draft genome sequences of the symbiotic nitrogen fixing Ensifer meliloti strains BO21CC and AK58

Ensifer (syn. Sinorhizobium) meliloti is an important symbiotic bacterial species that fixes nitrogen. Strains BO21CC and AK58 were previously investigated for their substrate utilization and their plant-growth promoting abilities showing interesting features. Here, we describe the complete genome sequence and annotation of these strains. BO21CC and AK58 genomes are 6,985,065 and 6,974,333 bp long with 6,746 and 6,992 genes predicted, respectively. © retained by original authors