Driving Style: How Should an Automated Vehicle Behave?

This article reports on a study to investigate how the driving behaviour of autonomous vehicles influences trust and acceptance. Two different designs were presented to two groups of participants (n = 22/21), using actual autonomously driving vehicles. The first was a vehicle programmed to drive similarly to a human, “peeking” when approaching road junctions as if it was looking before proceeding. The second design had a vehicle programmed to convey the impression that it was communicating with other vehicles and infrastructure and “knew” if the junction was clear so could proceed without ever stopping or slowing down. Results showed non-significant differences in trust between the two vehicle behaviours. However, there were significant increases in trust scores overall for both designs as the trials progressed. Post-interaction interviews indicated that there were pros and cons for both driving styles, and participants suggested which aspects of the driving styles could be improved. This paper presents user information recommendations for the design and programming of driving systems for autonomous vehicles, with the aim of improving their users’ trust and acceptance

Growth and virulence response of Salmonella typhimurium to soluble Maillard reaction products

In order to determine the effects that Maillard Reaction Products (MRP) have on Salmonella Typhimurium, growth rates and virulence expression, in the presence of Maillard reaction products, were observed, using the β−galactosidase Miller Assay and Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The presence of MRP compounds in liquid media caused no negative effect on the growth rate of Salmonella cells. However, the addition of MRP compounds at a 1% level in the media caused a significant increase in hilA expression in Salmonella Typhimurium, and the highest induction levels were observed in media supplemented with arginine and histidine-MRP compounds. There was no effect on the induction of hilA with the 0.5% addition of the MRP compounds in the amended media as shown by the Miller Assay. However, there was an effect seen when using the Real Time RT-PCR assay that resulted in the same levels of significance seen at 1.0% additions of MRPs being seen at the 0.5% level as well. Since rsmC was shown to be a constitutive gene that had continuous levels of expression in Salmonella based on cell number, Real-Time PCR was then used to assess the hilA expression of Salmonella Typhimurium under different oxygen, pH levels, and osmolarity conditions. The results under low oxygen indicate that the combination of low osmolarity and high pH have the highest inducing effect on hilA expression. The hilA response under the same media conditions and a high oxygen environment showed the same pattern of expression as those bacteria grown under a non-aerobic environment. The media with a pH of 8 and low osmolarity conditions had the greatest effect on the induction of hilA with none of the other media showing any significant effect. The relative expression of hilA did decrease for those bacteria grown under aerobic conditions versus those grown under low oxygen conditions

An Evaluation of the Masticatory System Following Orthodontic Treatment Involving Premolar Extractions

The use of premolar extractions as a viable form of orthodontic therapy has been an accepted mode of treatment for many years. Today, the orthodontic community has been questioned about this form of treatment and assertions have been made that as a result of extraction therapy, the temporomandibular joints are being adversely affected. Relative to extraction therapy, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the temporomandibular joints in terms of joint space ratios, often referred to as condylar position or condylar displacement. In addition. the purpose of this study was to evaluate jaw muscle function in terms of electromyography (EMG) of voluntary isometric contractions - a method not previously applied in this context. The experimental subjects (N=29) were patients who had undergone orthodontic treatment in combination with extraction of maxillary and/or mandibular premolars. The control subjects (N=28) were healthy dental students with no orthodontic/extraction experience. Corrected axis sagittal TMJ tomograms were used to determine the narrowest linear distance between the anterior and posterior outlines of the TMJ condyle and TMJ fossa, expressed as the joint space ratio. No significant statistical differences (P\u3e0.05) between control and experimental ratios. Bipolar surface EMG of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles was used to determine the isometric contraction velocities of these muscles until 50% and 100% (maximum) voluntary isometric contraction effort (teeth clenching). There were no significant statistical differences (P\u3e0.05) between control and experimental subjects. In addition, EMG was used to determine the relative contribution of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles to the bite force developed during brief maximum voluntary teeth clenching, expressed by the activity index. There were not significant differences (P\u3e0.05) between control and experimental subjects. The results of this investigation do not support the contention that extraction of premolars combined with orthodontic therapy will lead to irreparable damage of the temporomandibular joints and the jaw elevator muscles

Effects of Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) Populations on Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Eutrophic Lakes

Plan BThe threat of invasive species is rising as temperatures increase and the ability for international travel becomes more convenient. The effect of invasive species, such as zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on lake systems has been understudied as chemical and physical data has been gathered, but full-scale ecosystems effects has not been concluded from a comprehensive analysis. This study focuses on the effects of zebra mussel populations and their effect on dissolved oxygen levels in two eutrophic lakes in Wisconsin, USA. Lake Mendota (WBIC 805400) and Lake Monona (WBIC 804600) have been part of the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research since 1981 with additional data dating back to the 1800s, along with having zebra mussels known to exist since 2011 and 2016, respectively. Volumetric hypolimnetic oxygen depletion (VHOD) levels were calculated in both lakes from 2015-2019 to connect zebra mussel populations to decreased dissolved oxygen levels. Average chlorophyll-a concentrations, average Secchi disk depth, average hypolimnetic temperature, and precipitation levels from the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) were also considered as outside ecological driving factors. The results indicated zebra mussels were not the driving factor of decreased dissolved oxygen levels, suggesting a stronger connection to chlorophyll-a concentrations, Secchi disk depths, and precipitation levels for a given year. An increase in research regarding the effects of zebra mussels is recommended as it would allow for better management practices to be put in place from a better understanding the species has on lake systems

Assessment of the Potential of Wrist-Worn Wearable Sensors for Driver Drowsiness Detection

Drowsy driving imposes a high safety risk. Current systems often use driving behavior parameters for driver drowsiness detection. The continuous driving automation reduces the availability of these parameters, therefore reducing the scope of such methods. Especially, techniques that include physiological measurements seem to be a promising alternative. However, in a dynamic environment such as driving, only non- or minimal intrusive methods are accepted, and vibrations from the roadbed could lead to degraded sensor technology. This work contributes to driver drowsiness detection with a machine learning approach applied solely to physiological data collected from a non-intrusive retrofittable system in the form of a wrist-worn wearable sensor. To check accuracy and feasibility, results are compared with reference data from a medical-grade ECG device. A user study with 30 participants in a high-fidelity driving simulator was conducted. Several machine learning algorithms for binary classification were applied in user-dependent and independent tests. Results provide evidence that the non-intrusive setting achieves a similar accuracy as compared to the medical-grade device, and high accuracies (>92%) could be achieved, especially in a user-dependent scenario. The proposed approach offers new possibilities for human–machine interaction in a car and especially for driver state monitoring in the field of automated driving