Assessing the Effect of Drivers' Gender on Their Intention to Use Fully Automated Vehicles

Although fully automated vehicles (SAE level 5) are expected to acquire a major relevance for transportation dynamics by the next few years, the number of studies addressing their perceived benefits from the perspective of human factors remains substantially limited. This study aimed, firstly, to assess the relationships among drivers' demographic factors, their assessment of five key features of automated vehicles (i.e., increased connectivity, reduced driving demands, fuel and trip-related efficiency, and safety improvements), and their intention to use them, and secondly, to test the predictive role of the feature' valuations over usage intention, focusing on gender as a key differentiating factor. For this cross-sectional research, the data gathered from a sample of 856 licensed drivers (49.4% females, 50.6% males; M = 40.05 years), responding to an electronic survey, was analyzed. Demographic, driving-related data, and attitudinal factors were comparatively analyzed through robust tests and a bias-corrected Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling (MGSEM) approach. Findings from this work suggest that drivers' assessment of these AV features keep a significant set of multivariate relationships to their usage intention in the future. Additionally, and even though there are some few structural similarities, drivers' intention to use an AV can be differentially explained according to their gender. So far, this research constitutes a first approximation to the intention of using AVs from a MGSEM gender-based approach, being these results of potential interest for researchers and practitioners from different fields, including automotive design, transport planning and road safety

Milk production of lacaune sheep with different degrees of crossing with manchega sheep in a commercial flock in Spain

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the grade of crossbreeding (Lacaune x Manchega) and environmental factors on milk production in a commercial flock in Spain. A total of 5769 milk production records of sheep with different degrees of purity of the Lacaune breed crossed with Manchega were used as follows: 100% Lacaune (n = 2960), 7/8 Lacaune (n = 502), 13/16 Lacaune (n = 306), 3/4 (n = 1288), 5/8 Lacaune (n = 441) and 1/2 Lacaune: Manchega (n = 272). Additional available information included the number of parity (1 to 8), litter size (single or multiple), and the season of the year of lambing (spring, summer, autumn and winter). A mixed model was used to evaluate the level of crossbreeding and environmental factors on milk production. The 100% Lacaune sheep presented the highest milk production with respect to the F1 Lacaune x Manchega sheep (p < 0.01), showing that as the degree of gene absorption increases with the Manchega breed, it presents lower milk yield. The 100%, 13/16, and 3/4 Lacaune genotypes had the highest milk yields with respect to the 1/2 Lacaune/Manchega breed (p < 0.001). The Lacaune registered on average 181.1 L in a period adjusted to 160 days of lactation (1.13 L/ day). Likewise, the parity number, litter size, and season of lambing effects showed significant differences (p < 0.01). It was concluded that 13/16 and 3/4 Lacaune/Manchega ewes presented the highest milk yields with respect to the other crosses

A dark energy multiverse

We present cosmic solutions corresponding to universes filled with dark and phantom energy, all having a negative cosmological constant. All such solutions contain infinite singularities, successively and equally distributed along time, which can be either big bang/crunchs or big rips singularities. Classicaly these solutions can be regarded as associated with multiverse scenarios, being those corresponding to phantom energy that may describe the current accelerating universe

Effect of Diacerein on Insulin Secretion and Metabolic Control in Drug-Naïve Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE - To assess the effect of diacerein on insulin secretion and metabolic control in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was carried out in 40 drug-naïve adult patients with type 2 diabetes. A metabolic profile including interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-a, IL-6, and fasting insulin levelswas carried out before the intervention and 2months afterward. A hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp technique was performed to assess the phases of insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. After randomization, 20 patients received diacerein (50mg once daily) for the first 15 days and twice daily for 45 additional days. The remaining patients received placebo. Intra- and intergroup differences were calculated by Wilcoxon signed rank and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS-Therewere significant increases in first (102 ± 63 vs. 130 ± 75 pmol/L; P<0.01), late (219 ± 111 vs. 280 ± 135 pmol/L; P<0.01), and total insulin (178691 vs. 216699pmol/L; P<0.01) secretionswithout changes in insulin sensitivity after diacerein administration. There were significant decreases in fasting glucose (7.9 ± 1.4 vs. 6.8 ± 1.0mmol/L; P<0.01) and in A1C levels (8.3 ± 1.0 vs. 7.0 ± 0.8%; P < 0.001) after diacerein administration. There were no significant changes after placebo administration in the above-mentioned evaluations. CONCLUSIONS - Insulin secretion increased and metabolic control improved after diacerein administration in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes. © 2011 by the American Diabetes Association

Essential¿but also vulnerable? Work intensification, effort/reward imbalance, fatigue and psychological health of Spanish cargo drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: This study investigates the combined effect of the Effort/Reward Imbalance (ERI) model of stress and work intensification within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health (general and work-related fatigue, and psychological strain) of cargo drivers, one of the most demanded workforces during the first year of this pandemic. Methods: For this cross-sectional research, the data provided by n = 1,013 professional drivers from the different 17 autonomous communities (regions) of Spain were analyzed. Participants answered a questionnaire composed of the short version of the Effort Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire, a Work Intensification Scale (WIS) designed for this study, the fatigue subscale of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), the Need for Recovery after Work Scale (NFR), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Results: Hierarchical regression analyses show that both (ERI and work intensification) models significantly predict driver's fatigue and psychological strain. The effect of work intensification exists above and beyond the effect of effort/reward imbalance, which has been previously related to the safety performance of cargo drivers. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the ERI and work intensification models can be complementarily used, especially in scenarios introducing substantial changes in the work environment, such as the COVID-19 crisis. Also, the results of this study support the need to intervene in the working conditions of professional drivers in order to improve their psychological health and well-being during both pandemic and post-pandemic times, as crisis-related management interventions are necessar

NB2O5 soportado en SBA-15 para la deshidratación de glicerol a acroleína

En este trabajo se evalúa la actividad catalítica del óxido de niobio soportado sobre sílice mesoporosa con estructura SBA-15 en la deshidratación de glicerol para la obtención de acroleínaLa producción industrial de la acroleína se basa en la oxidación selectiva del propeno, de origen fósil, en presencia de catalizadores complejos de BiMoOx . Debido a la disminución de los recursos petroquímicos, los recursos renovables se están haciendo más competitivos. Entre ellos destaca el glicerol, subproducto de la industria de producción de biodiésel. El glicerol tiene más de 1500 aplicaciones directas en las industrias farmacéuticas, alimentarias o cosmética. Entre las posibles reacciones que se están explorando destaca la deshidratación del glicerol a acroleína; debido a que la glicerina cruda se encuentra diluida en agua, es necesaria la búsqueda de catalizadores sólidos ácidos que sean activos y resistentes a la presencia de agua, evitando así el paso de separación y disminuyendo el coste de producción de acroleína. Con este fin, se han ensayado diferentes catalizadores sólidos ácidos, entre los que se encuentra el Nb2O5.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Proyecto ENE2009-12743-C04-03), Fondos FEDER y a la Junta de Andalucía (P09-FQM-5070) RMT al Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación por la financiación dentro del Programa Ramón y Cajal (RYC-2008-03387

Phytotoxic and dissuasive activity of Chihuahua desert plants

With the purpose of finding plant compounds with the potential use as herbicides and insecticides, a research was realized with the objective of evaluate the phytotoxic and dissuasive activity of four Chihuahua desert plants. The phytotoxic activity evaluation was tested on Lactuca sativa and Lolium perenne, while the dissuasive activity was realized on three species of phytophagous insects: Myzus persicae, Rhopalosiphum padi and Spodoptera littoralis. Raw extracts were used, the solvents hexane, methanol and ethanol of different plants’ organs (root, steam, leaf and flower) of four species: Fouquieria splendens (ocotillo), Larrea tridentate (governor), Astragalus mollissimus (wild grass) and Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum (echo), by the establishment of in vitro bioassays at a concentration of 10 mg/ml extract/solvent. In the toxicity bioassay, the percentage of germination, root and leaf length were measured. The results showed that the leaf extract of L. tridentata had phytotoxic activity for L. sativa, while for L. perenne the phytotoxicity was observed within the ocotillo, governor and echo extracts. In the dissuasive bioassay, each treatment had 20 repetitions with 10 adult insects per repetition. The methanolic extracts of F. splendens leaf and root, ethanolic extract of A. mollisimus sheet and the ethanolic extract of P. pecten-aboriginum stems showed moderate dissuasive response of feeding against M. persicae, presenting a settlement inhibition index of 53.53, 54.35, 60.00 and 48.84% respectively. Nevertheless, the results indicated that none of the 10 extracts tested on S. littoralis showed significant dissuasive properties for this Lepidoptera, while for R. padi all the tested extracts presented dissuasive properties. The treatments of the four vegetable species evaluated showed defensive or dissuasive properties of moderate to strong feeding against the insects M. persicae and R. padi, presenting interesting potential for being used as insecticides, while the tested extracts that presented phytotoxicity for both lettuce and ryegrass present possibilities for the realization of herbicides