Evaluation of Thermal Imaging Technology for Commercial Vehicle Screening

Brake and tire violations are common problems identified through commercial vehicle inspections. Identifying and correcting these types of problems before a crash occurs can produce significant safety benefits. Thermal imaging technology can be used by commercial vehicle enforcement to screen vehicles as they approach a weigh station to determine if they may have flat tires and inoperable brakes. The vehicles do not have to be stopped at a weigh station to be screened. Kentucky currently has three stations outfitted with thermal imaging technology. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the benefits of using the thermal imaging cameras to identify brake and tire problems and to develop recommendations for how enforcement personnel can receive the most benefits from this technology. The data presented in this report include: 1) a summary of previous research, 2) evaluations of the technology, 3) on-site data collection at a Kentucky weigh station, 4) an interview with one of Kentucky’s primary users of the technology, and 5) an analysis of Kentucky inspection data, specifically, brake and tire violations and vehicle out-of-service (OOS) rates. A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) evaluation concluded that the OOS rate for vehicles pinpointed via thermal imaging camera systems was 59 percent, whereas the OOS rate for conventional inspection was only 19 percent. Facilities with a thermal imaging system recorded a higher percentage of tire and brake violations per inspection as well as a higher vehicle out-of-service (VOOS) rate than facilities without a thermal imaging camera. However, the effectiveness of thermal imaging technology was significantly influenced by whether law enforcement embraced it as well as by inspectors’ proficiency operating the systems. This study recommends that enforcement staff who can access thermal imaging technology receive periodic training on its operation, then graduate to a practicum that lets them use the technology under expert supervision. Promotional materials that highlight the value of thermal imaging technologies should be distributed to all Kentucky enforcement personnel. In addition, methods and enforcement mechanisms should be identified so that personnel can be held accountable for using the technology

Nitric oxide releasing nanomaterials for cardiovascular applications

A central paradigm of cardiovascular homeostasis is that impaired nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability results in a wide array of cardiovascular dysfunction including incompetent endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, thrombosis, vascular inflammation, and proliferation of the intima. Over the course of more than a century, NO donating formulations such as organic nitrates and nitrites have remained a cornerstone of treatment for patients with cardiovascular diseases. These donors primarily produce NO in the circulation and are not targeted to specific (sub)cellular sites of action. However, safe, and therapeutic levels of NO require delivery of the right amount to a precise location at the right time. To achieve these aims, several recent strategies aimed at therapeutically generating or releasing NO in living systems have shown that polymeric and inorganic (silica, gold) nanoparticles and nanoscale metal-organic frameworks could either generate NO endogenously by the catalytic decomposition of endogenous NO substrates or can store and release therapeutically relevant amounts of NO gas. NO-releasing nanomaterials have been developed for vascular implants (such as stents and grafts) to target atherosclerosis, hypertension, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, and cardiac tissue engineering. In this review, we discuss the advances in design and development of novel NO-releasing nanomaterials for cardiovascular therapeutics and critically examine the therapeutic potential of these nanoplatforms to modulate cellular metabolism, to regulate vascular tone, inhibit platelet aggregation, and limit proliferation of vascular smooth muscle with minimal toxic effects

Teaching Introductory Programming from A to Z: Twenty-Six Tips from the Trenches

A solid foundation in computer programming is critical for students to succeed in advanced computing courses, but teaching such an introductory course is challenging. Therefore, it is important to develop better approaches in order to improve teaching effectiveness and enhance student learning. In this paper, we present 26 tips for teaching introductory programming drawn from the experiences of four well-qualified college professors. It is our hope that our peers can pick up some tips from this paper, apply them in their own classroom, improve their teaching effectiveness, and ultimately enhance student learning

Assessing Students’ Object-Oriented Programming Skills with Java: The “Department-Employee” Project

Java is arguably today’s most popular and widely used object-oriented programming language. Learning Java is a daunting task for students, and teaching it is a challenging undertaking for instructors. To assess students’ object-oriented programming skills with Java, we developed the “Department-Employee” project. In this article, we review the history of object-oriented programming and provide an overview of object-oriented programming with Java. We also provide the project specification as well as the course background, grading rubric, and score reports. Survey data are presented on students’ backgrounds, as well as students’ perceptions regarding the project. Results from the instructor score reports and student perceptions show that the “Department-Employee” project was effective in assessing students’ object-oriented programming skills with Java

The Dashboard: an online system to help build an online presence and measure analytics for micro-businesses

Digital marketing plays an important role for businesses trying to attract new customers. For micro-businesses (0-9 workers) or self- run businesses it can be difficult to find the time to market yourself online. Non tech-savvy individuals can be unaware of where to start or how to set up a website. It can be time consuming, costly and difficult to understand the digital requirements. In this paper, we describe an online system - the dashboard, to help micro-businesses learn about building an online presence, using a range of available digital services, and providing analytical data on services that they are using. We discuss how analytic tools can help inform business owners of how useful online marketing tools are for their business and which services attract the most customers and revenue

Rural Enterprise as an Agent for Technology Development and Facilitation in the Digital Economy

This paper outlines recent developments in the Scaling the Rural Enterprise (SRE) research project – an interdisciplinary project that combines the expertise of social scientists, computer scientists and software developers, in order to inform the development and design of digital technologies in a rural context. The paper provides a brief overview of the research undertaken. It then highlights the outcomes from three stages of the work. Initially, it undertakes a review of associated literature and discusses issues of definition in relation to rural enterprises in the UK. Following this we present the insights from rural business advisers on the current state of use of digital technologies in these organisations. This then leads to work that analyses community- based enterprises as agents of economic change and gatekeepers to the introduction of digital technology solutions. The paper concludes by highlighting some implications for the design of digital tools and services

Gastric Helicobacter infection induces iron deficiency in the INS-GAS mouse

There is increasing evidence from clinical and population studies for a role of H. pylori infection in the aetiology of iron deficiency. Rodent models of Helicobacter infection are helpful for investigating any causal links and mechanisms of iron deficiency in the host. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of gastric Helicobacter infection on iron deficiency and host iron metabolism/transport gene expression in hypergastrinemic INS-GAS mice. INS-GAS mice were infected with Helicobacter felis for 3, 6 and 9 months. At post mortem, blood was taken for assessment of iron status and gastric mucosa for pathology, immunohistology and analysis of gene expression. Chronic Helicobacter infection of INS- GAS mice resulted in decreased serum iron, transferrin saturation and hypoferritinemia and increased Total iron binding capacity (TIBC). Decreased serum iron concentrations were associated with a concomitant reduction in the number of parietal cells, strengthening the association between hypochlorhydria and gastric Helicobacter-induced iron deficiency. Infection with H. felis for nine months was associated with decreased gastric expression of iron metabolism regulators hepcidin, Bmp4 and Bmp6 but increased expression of Ferroportin 1, the iron efflux protein, iron absorption genes such as Divalent metal transporter 1, Transferrin receptor 1 and also Lcn2 a siderophore-binding protein. The INS-GAS mouse is therefore a useful model for studying Helicobacter-induced iron deficiency. Furthermore, the marked changes in expression of gastric iron transporters following Helicobacter infection may be relevant to the more rapid development of carcinogenesis in the Helicobacter infected INS-GAS model

Endothelial-specific Nox2 overexpression increases vascular superoxide and macrophage recruitment in ApoE−/− mice

AIMS: Vascular disease states are associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased production of reactive oxygen species derived from NADPH oxidases. However, it remains unclear whether a primary increase in superoxide production specifically in the endothelium alters the initiation or progression of atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mice overexpressing Nox2 specifically in the endothelium (Nox2-Tg) were crossed with ApoE(-/-) mice to produce Nox2-Tg ApoE(-/-) mice and ApoE(-/-) littermates. Endothelial overexpression of Nox2 in ApoE(-/-) mice did not alter blood pressure, but significantly increased vascular superoxide production compared with ApoE(-/-) littermates, measured using both lucigenin chemiluminescence and 2-hydroxyethidium production (ApoE(-/-), 19.9 ± 6.3 vs. Nox2-Tg ApoE(-/-), 47.0 ± 7.0 nmol 2-hydroxyethidium/aorta, P< 0.05). Increased endothelial superoxide production increased endothelial levels of vascular cell adhesion protein 1 and enhanced macrophage recruitment in early lesions in the aortic roots of 9-week-old mice, indicating increased atherosclerotic plaque initiation. However, endothelial-specific Nox2 overexpression did not alter native or angiotensin II-driven atherosclerosis in either the aortic root or the descending aorta. CONCLUSION: Endothelial-targeted Nox2 overexpression in ApoE(-/-) mice is sufficient to increase vascular superoxide production and increase macrophage recruitment possible via activation of endothelial cells. However, this initial increase in macrophage recruitment did not alter the progression of atherosclerosis. These results indicate that Nox-mediated reactive oxygen species signalling has important cell-specific and distinct temporal roles in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis

Le risque de vivre

Myocardial constitutive No production depends on the activity of both endothelial and neuronal NOS (eNOS and nNOS, respectively). Stimulation of myocardial β(3)-adrenergic receptor (β(3)-AR) produces a negative inotropic effect that is dependent on eNOS. We evaluated whether nNOS also plays a role in β(3)-AR signaling and found that the β(3)-AR-mediated reduction in cell shortening and [Ca(2+)](i) transient amplitude was abolished both in eNOS(−/−) and nNOS(−/−) left ventricular (LV) myocytes and in wild type LV myocytes after nNOS inhibition with S-methyl-l-thiocitrulline. LV superoxide (O(2)(˙̄)) production was increased in nNOS(−/−) mice and reduced by l-N(ω)-nitroarginine methyl ester (l-NAME), indicating uncoupling of eNOS activity. eNOS S-glutathionylation and Ser-1177 phosphorylation were significantly increased in nNOS(−/−) myocytes, whereas myocardial tetrahydrobiopterin, eNOS Thr-495 phosphorylation, and arginase activity did not differ between genotypes. Although inhibitors of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) or NOX2 NADPH oxidase caused a similar reduction in myocardial O(2)(˙̄), only XOR inhibition reduced eNOS S-glutathionylation and Ser-1177 phosphorylation and restored both eNOS coupled activity and the negative inotropic and [Ca(2+)](i) transient response to β(3)-AR stimulation in nNOS(−/−) mice. In summary, our data show that increased O(2)(˙̄) production by XOR selectively uncouples eNOS activity and abolishes the negative inotropic effect of β(3)-AR stimulation in nNOS(−/−) myocytes. These findings provide unequivocal evidence of a functional interaction between the myocardial constitutive NOS isoforms and indicate that aspects of the myocardial phenotype of nNOS(−/−) mice result from disruption of eNOS signaling

Isolation and culture of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages for nitric oxide and redox biology

Macrophages are mononuclear phagocytes derived from haematopoietic progenitors that are widely distributed throughout the body. These cells participate in both innate and adaptive immune responses and lie central to the processes of inflammation, development, and homeostasis. Macrophage physiology varies depending on the environment in which they reside and they exhibit rapid functional adaption in response to external stimuli. To study macrophages in vitro, cells are typically cultured ex vivo from the peritoneum or alveoli, or differentiated from myeloid bone marrow progenitor cells to form bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). BMDMs represent an efficient and cost-effective means of studying macrophage biology. However, the inherent sensitivity of macrophages to biochemical stimuli (such as cytokines, metabolic intermediates, and RNS/ROS) makes it imperative to control experimental conditions rigorously. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish an optimised and standardised method for the isolation and culture of BMDMs. We used classically activated macrophages isolated from WT and nitric oxide (NO)-deficient mice to develop a standardised culture method, whereby the constituents of the culture media are defined. We then methodically compared our standardised protocol to the most commonly used method of BMDM culture to establish an optimal protocol for the study of nitric oxide (NO)-redox biology and immunometabolism in vitro. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.