Specifications for Multi-Brand Truck Platooning

ICWIM8, 8th International Conference on Weigh-In-Motion, PRAGUE, TCHÈQUE, RÉPUBLIQUE, 20-/05/2019 - 24/05/2019Platooning technology has made significant advances in the last decade, but to achieve the next step towards deployment of truck platooning, an integral multi-brand approach is required. It is the ambition of ENSEMBLE to realize pre-standards for interoperability between trucks, platoons and logistics solution providers, to speed up actual market pick-up of (sub)system development and implementation, and to enable harmonization of legal frameworks in the member states. This paper provides with definition of the specifications of the whole multi-brand truck platooning concept to be implemented within the testing and demonstration trucks of the 6 OEMs. It describes the functional architecture, captures all minimum set of operations layer requirements and tactical layer specifications for Platoon level A. The building blocks of truck platooning consist of in-vehicle requirements (Longitudinal, sensors, HMI interaction), infrastructure (V2I), information among trucks in platoon, and platooning strategy (coordination mode, gap regulation, formation, dissolution, and vehicle mix).La technologie de peloton a fait des progrès significatifs au cours de la dernière décennie, mais pour franchir la prochaine étape du déploiement de pelotons de camions, une approche multimarques intégrée est indispensable. Le projet ENSEMBLE a pour ambition de mettre en place des pré-normes en matière d'interopérabilité entre les camions, les pelotons et les fournisseurs de solutions logistiques, d'accélérer le développement et la mise en oeuvre de (sous-) systèmes sur le marché et de permettre l'harmonisation des cadres juridiques dans les États membres européens. Ce document fournit une définition des spécifications du concept de groupement de camions multimarques à mettre en oeuvre dans les camions de test et de démonstration des 6 constructeurs. Il décrit l'architecture fonctionnelle, capture l'ensemble des exigences minimales de la couche d'exploitation et des spécifications de la couche tactique pour le niveau A. Les éléments constitutifs du groupement de camions sont les exigences embarquées (longitudinal, capteurs, interaction IHM), infrastructure (V2I), informations entre camions du peloton et stratégie de peloton (mode de coordination, régulation des écarts, formation, dissolution et combinaison de véhicules)

The Sense of Quality of Life Among the Elderly in the Open Protection Centres of the Elderly (KAPI) During the Economic Crisis

Surveys in the field of health sociology have repeatedly shown that people belonging to low socio-economic groups face health problems and live less than people belonging to high socio-economic groups. The purpose of the current survey is to investigate the socio-economic indicators that affect the health level of the elderly. A number of questionnaires were distributed to the elderly in a number of Open Protection Centres of the Elderly (KAPI) in the country. A total of 897 questionnaires were filled in. The data was processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics v. 23. Regarding the existence of correlations between economic characteristics and the sense of the quality of life of the elderly, it was established that people with economic autonomy and highest annual income perceive their quality of life as being superior compared to those lacking economic autonomy and lower annual income. There is almost complete coincidence of the research findings with the theoretical approaches of the literature survey. Specifically, there is an apparently stronger proportional relationship of the “Sense of Quality of Life” with the Health Characteristics of the respondents and a less proportional relationship of the “Sense of Quality of Life” with the Economic Characteristics of the respondents

Κοσμοπολιτισμός, Μεταεθνική Ιδιότητα του Πολίτη και Αθνρώπινα Δικαιώματα

Ο «σύντομος 20ος αιώνας» επέφερε ανακατατάξεις στον διεθνή συσχετισμό δυνάμεων, με δεδομένο ότι ο ανταγωνισμός των εθνικών κρατών και δη των πλέον ισχυρών, οι ανθρωπιστικές επεμβάσεις, η κατάρρευση της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης και η εμφάνιση περιφερειακών δυνάμεων, οι συγκρούσεις στη Μέση Ανατολή, η 11η Σεπτεμβρίου και η κυριαρχία των παγκόσμιων οικονομικών αγορών, παρήγαγαν ένα διεθνές περιβάλλον αστάθειας, το οποίο δεν προσεγγίζεται με μία ενιαία ανάλυση από τη σκοπιά της θεωρίας και της φιλοσοφίας του διεθνούς δικαίου. Ανάμεσα στο εύρος και το πλέγμα των διάφορων θεωριών, ο Jürgen Habermas προτείνει μια κοσμοπολιτική οπτική, διατυπώνοντας τη θεωρία του για τη συνταγματοποίηση του διεθνούς δικαίου, αναφερόμενος σε μια υπερεθνική κοινωνία που θέτει ως θεμέλιο τη λαϊκή κυριαρχία και τα κράτη που συναπαρτίζουν έναν μεταεθνικό αστερισμό, με στόχο την επίτευξη μιας «κοινής κυριαρχίας». Η δυνατότητα μιας διαφορετικής προοπτικής βρίσκεται υπό κατασκευή, με φανερή την έμφυτη αισιοδοξία της θεωρίας του φιλοσόφου, αναφορικά με τη «ρεαλιστική ουτοπία» μίας διαφορετικής διεθνούς κοινότητας, βασισμένης στα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα και την αλληλεγγύη

Past tense in children with focal brain lesions

In this study, 22 children with early left hemisphere (LHD) or right hemisphere (RHD) focal brain lesions (FL, n ¼ 14 LHD, n ¼ 8 RHD) were administered an English past tense elicitation test (M ¼ 6:5 years). Proportion correct and frequency of overregularization and zero-marking errors were compared to age-matched samples of children with specific language impairment (SLI, n ¼ 27) and with typical language development (TD, n ¼ 27). Similar rates of correct production and error patterns were observed for the children with TD and FL; whereas, children with SLI produced more zero-marking errors than either their FL or TD peers. Performance was predicted by vocabulary level (PPVT-R) for children in all groups, and errors did not differ as a function of lesion side (LHD vs. RHD). Findings are discussed in terms of the nature of brain–language relations and how those relationships develop over the course of language learning

Δεξιότητες αυτο-ρύθμισης της δράσης σε παιδιά Δημοτικού: Γνωστικές και σχολικές επιδόσεις με βάση την επίδοσή τους σε ένα έργο αλλαγής της αρχικής πρόθεσης και αυτο-ρύθμισης της δράσης

The aim of the present study was to examine: (a) possible differences among second, third, and fourth graders’ self-regularory skills, based on their performance on the Self-Regulation and Concentration Test for Children (SRTC, Kuhl & Kraska, 1992, 1993) and (b) possible differences in cognitive performance and school grades between groups of students that are differentiated according to their performance on the part of SRTC that measures their ability to change an initial intention and self-regulate their action. A total of 136 second, third, and fourth grade girls (N = 68) and boys (N = 88) participated in the study from four state primary schools in the city of Thessaloniki. Participants were asked to complete the SRTC, a behavioral computerized test, which examines children's ability to concentrate on a task and resist temptation (distraction). Cognitive performance was examined with four subscales of the WISC III, a standardized in Greek population intelligence test. Also, teachers were asked to evaluate children's school general performance as well as performance in language and mathematics. No significant differences were found in performance in various self-regulatory skills measured by SRTC between the three age groups. The results are indicative of 8 to 10 years children difficulty to change their initial intention and follow a new rule in order to succeed in the task. Children who succeeded in the intention change task had significantly higher cognitive performance and school grades in mathematics. The results are discussed as regards the diagnostic value of SRTC and their potential applications in educational settings.Στόχος της παρούσας έρευνας ήταν η διερεύνηση: (α) των πιθανών διαφορών στις δεξιότητες αυτο-ρύθμισης της δράσης (ΑΡΔ) σε παιδιά B΄, Γ΄ και Δ΄ Δημοτικού με βάση την επίδοσή τους στο Τεστ Αυτο-ρύθμισης και Συγκέντρωσης της Προσοχής για Παιδιά (SRTC, Kuhl & Kraska, 1992, 1993) και (β) των γνωστικών και σχολικών επιδόσεων των μαθητών/τριών που διαφοροποιούνται ως προς την επίδοσή τους στο τμήμα του SRTC που μετρά την ικανότητά τους για αλλαγή της αρχικής πρόθεσης και αυτο-ρύθμισης της δράσης. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 136 μαθητές/τριες (Ν = 68 μαθητές) της Β΄, Γ΄ και Δ΄ τάξης τεσσάρων δημόσιων δημοτικών σχολείων της Θεσσαλονίκης. Οι δεξιότητες ΑΡΔ αξιολογήθηκαν μέσω της χορήγησης του SRTC, ενός έργου που έχει τη μορφή παιγνιδιού και δίνεται σε υπολογιστικό περιβάλλον. Οι γνωστικές επιδόσεις εξετάστηκαν με τέσσερις υπο-κλίμακες της ελληνικής έκδοσης της κλίμακας νοημοσύνης για παιδιά, WISC III. Τέλος, ζητήθηκε από τους/τις εκπαιδευτικούς να αξιολογήσουν την επίδοση των παιδιών στο μάθημα της γλώσσας και των μαθηματικών. Οι διαφορές των τριών ηλικιακών ομάδων στις επιδόσεις στις επιμέρους δεξιότητες ΑΡΔ δεν βρέθηκαν στατιστικώς σημαντικές. Επιπλέον, τα ευρήματα είναι ενδεικτικά της δυσκολίας που πιθανόν αντιμετωπίζουν τα παιδιά 8 έως 10 ετών στην αλλαγή του τρόπου εργασίας τους και στην υιοθέτηση ενός νέου κανόνα, όταν η συνθήκη το απαιτεί. Η ομάδα των παιδιών με επιτυχημένη επίδοση στο έργο αλλαγής της πρόθεσης είχε σημαντικά υψηλότερες γνωστικές επιδόσεις και υψηλότερη βαθμολογία στα μαθηματικά συγκριτικά με την ομάδα των παιδιών που απέτυχαν στο έργο. Τα αποτελέσματα συζητιούνται ως προς τη διαγνωστική αξία του SRTC και τις πιθανές εφαρμογές αυτών στο χώρο της εκπαίδευσης

The cognitive and behavioral correlates of functional status in patients with frontotemporal dementia: A pilot study

Objective: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) impinges significantly on cognition, behavior, and everyday functioning. Goal of the present study is the detailed description of behavioral disturbances and functional limitations, as well as the investigation of associations between cognition, behavior, and functional impairment among FTD patients. Given the importance of maintaining a satisfying functional status as long as possible, this study also aims to identify the cognitive correlates of compensatory strategy use in this clinical group.Methods: A total of 13 patients diagnosed with FTD (behavioral variant FTD = 9, non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia = 3, semantic dementia = 1) were administrated a broad range of neuropsychological tests for the assessment of different cognitive abilities. Behavioral symptomatology and performance on everyday activities were rated with informant-based measures. Descriptive statistics were used for the delineation of behavioral and functional patterns, whereas stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to identify associations between cognition, behavior, and functional status.Results: Negative symptoms, especially apathy, were found to predominate in the behavior of FTD patients. Instrumental tasks, such as housework and leisure activities, appeared to be the most impaired functional domains. Working memory was the strongest cognitive correlate of performance across various domains of everyday functioning, whereas working memory along with short-term verbal memory accounted for a great proportion of variance in compensatory strategy use. Behavioral disturbances and especially negative symptoms were also found to contribute significantly to functional impairment in FTD.Conclusions: Executive dysfunction, as well as behavioral disturbances contribute significantly to functional disability in FTD. Early interventions tailored at these domains may have the potential to improve functional outcomes and delay the rate of functional decline among FTD patients

Investigating the host-pathogen interaction in Tuberculosis by Bioelectrospray 3D cell culture modelling and label-free imaging

Tuberculosis is a deadly infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). It constitutes a major cause of death worldwide with approximately 1.5 million people dying from TB every year.1-6 Traditional animal models as well as conventional ‘two-dimensional’ cell cultures do not accurately mimic human tuberculosis infection in vivo, such as the formation of caseating granulomas and degradation of extracellular matrix.We study a bioelectrospray-generated 3D cell culture model of tuberculosis, using diverse imaging techniques. In the 3D culture, Mtb-infected PBMCs (strains: H37Rv, 0414B) are mixed with an alginate-collagen gel. We investigated the host-pathogen interaction at high resolution at various stages of infection using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). We used Micro-Computed Tomography (μCT) to show distribution of PBMCs in 3D in comparison to a human tuberculous lung biopsy. This was then correlated to traditional H&E, and matrix staining of the sectioned tuberculous human lung block. Using label-free microscopy [Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS), Second Harmonic Generation (SHG), Two-Photon Excitation Fluorescence (TPEF)], PBMC aggregation and collagen fibres were imaged in the microspheres.More lipid bodies were detected by TEM in the Mtb-infected samples than the uninfected controls. TEM and SHG imaging revealed collagen fibres attached to the surface of PBMCs. CARS microscopy showed that infection with Mtb, as well as the presence of collagen in the 3D matrix, influence the number of PBMC aggregates forming within the 3D culture. Preliminary data from μCT indicate that this technique can provide quantitative data on PBMC aggregates in 3D that can be cross-correlated with human biopsies.A correlative imaging approach between traditional and emerging imaging modalities is necessary in order to gain new insight into the host-pathogen interaction in tuberculosis