Cooperative home light: assessment of a security function for the automotive field

Crime and feeling of security are omnipresent and can be influenced by lighting conditions. However, lighting improvements are generally concentrated on street lighting. Meanwhile, a vast variety of new technologies, including innovative lighting systems and connected mobility, are entering into the automotive field. Hence, opportunities are not limited only to provide traffic improvements, entertainment features or driver assistance functions but also measures to tackle (vehicle-related) crime and to increase feeling of security. In this paper, we suggest a security function, namely the cooperative home light (CHL), which makes use of new technologies and has the potential to tackle crime as well as to increase drivers’ feeling of security. We also provide an overview of an implementation. However, because of the underlying challenges, the main focus of this paper is to assess the CHL. Therefore, we introduce our three-steps approach consisting of a transfer of related work, a customer survey and results from our proprietary simulation environment in order to assess the CHL

Investigating well-being, work limitations and preferences for self-management education and peer support among younger people with hip and knee osteoarthritis: protocol for a cross-sectional study

Introduction:&nbsp;Osteoarthritis (OA) has traditionally&nbsp;been considered a condition of older age. However,&nbsp;younger people are also affected by hip and knee OA,&nbsp;often as a result of sporting and work-related injuries.&nbsp;As OA studies have generally focused on older&nbsp;individuals, little is known about the experience of&nbsp;younger adults with hip or knee OA who can face a&nbsp;distinct set of pressures including work responsibilities&nbsp;and parenting roles. This study aims to investigate&nbsp;well-being and work participation among younger&nbsp;people with hip or knee OA, as well as preferences for&nbsp;OA education and support.Methods and analysis: 200 people aged 20&ndash;55 years with a diagnosis of hip and/or knee OA will be&nbsp;recruited for this cross-sectional study. Participants will&nbsp;be recruited from three major public hospitals in the&nbsp;state of Victoria, Australia following screening of&nbsp;orthopaedic outpatient clinic lists and referrals, and&nbsp;through community-based advertisements. A study&nbsp;questionnaire will be mailed to all participants and&nbsp;written informed consent obtained. Validated measures&nbsp;of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), health status,&nbsp;psychological distress and work limitations will be used. Information on health services use will be collected,&nbsp;in addition to information on the perceived utility and&nbsp;accessibility of a range of existing and proposed&nbsp;education and peer support models. HRQoL data will be&nbsp;compared with Australian population norms using&nbsp;independent t tests, and associations between HRQoL,&nbsp;health status, psychological distress, work limitations&nbsp;and demographic factors will be evaluated using&nbsp;univariate and multivariate analyses. Data on the&nbsp;perceived utility and accessibility of education and peer&nbsp;support models will be analysed descriptively.&nbsp;Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval for the&nbsp;study has been obtained. The study findings will be&nbsp;submitted to peer-reviewed journals and arthritis&nbsp;consumer organisations for broader dissemination, and&nbsp;presented at national and international scientific meetings.</div

Cranial shape evolution of extant and fossil crocodile newts and its relation to reproduction and ecology

The diversity of the vertebrate cranial shape of phylogenetically related taxa allows conclusions on ecology and life history. As pleurodeline newts (the genera Echinotriton, Pleurodeles and Tylototriton) have polymorphic reproductive modes, they are highly suitable for following cranial shape evolution in relation to reproduction and environment. We investigated interspecific differences externally and differences in the cranial shape of pleurodeline newts via two-dimensional geometric morphometrics. Our analyses also included the closely related but extinct genus Chelotriton to better follow the evolutionary history of cranial shape. Pleurodeles was morphologically distinct in relation to other phylogenetically basal salamanders. The subgenera within Tylototriton (Tylototriton and Yaotriton) were well separated in morphospace, whereas Echinotriton resembled the subgenus Yaotriton more than Tylototriton. Oviposition site choice correlated with phylogeny and morphology. Only the mating mode, with a random distribution along the phylogenetic tree, separated crocodile newts into two morphologically distinct groups. Extinct Chelotriton likely represented several species and were morphologically and ecologically more similar to Echinotriton and Yaotriton than to Tylototriton subgenera. Our data also provide the first comprehensive morphological support for the molecular phylogeny of pleurodeline newts

N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and functional capacity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with cardiovascular abnormalities including left ventricular hypertrophy, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and endothelial dysfunction. The present study evaluated whether N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2), both integral markers of cardiovascular function, are related to OSAS severity. In addition, we tested whether NT-proBNP levels depend on body composition in OSAS patients, similar to what has been reported in patients without OSAS. Eighty-nine patients with untreated OSAS underwent NT-proBNP measurement, dual X-ray absorptiometry, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. In a representative subgroup (n = 32), transthoracic echocardiography was performed. The severity of OSAS was classified based on apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) values as mild (AHI 5-15h−1), moderate (AHI 15-30h−1), and severe (AHI >30h−1). OSAS was mild in 19 (21%), moderate in 21 (24%), and severe in 49 (55%) patients. NT-proBNP levels did not differ among patients with mild [30 (10-57)], moderate [37 (14-55)], and severe [24 (13-49) pg/ml; p = 0.8] OSAS and were not related to body mass index (r = 0.07; p = 0.5), percent lean body mass (r = −0.17; p = 0.1), and percent fat mass (r = 0.18; p = 0.1). Percent predicted peak VO2 was on average normal and did not differ among patients with mild (115 ± 26), moderate (112 ± 23), and severe OSAS (106 ± 29%; p = 0.4). Body weight-indexed peak VO2 did not differ among patients with mild (31.9 ± 10.3), moderate (32.1 ± 7.9), and severe OSAS (30.0 ± 9.9ml kg−1 min−1; p = 0.6) either. Lower NT-proBNP (β = −0.2; p = 0.02) was independently but weakly associated with higher body weight-indexed peak VO2. In the echocardiography subgroup, NT-proBNP was not significantly related to left ventricular mass index (r = 0.26; p = 0.2). In conclusion, NT-proBNP and peak VO2 are not related to OSAS severity, and NT-proBNP poorly reflects left ventricular hypertrophy in OSAS. The lack of a relationship between NT-proBNP and OSAS severity is not due to a significant influence of body composition on NT-proBNP. There is an association between higher NT-proBNP and lower peak VO2, indicating that NT-proBNP is a marker of cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with OSAS. However, the association is too weak to be clinically usefu

Electrochemical Reduction and Oxidation of Ruddlesden–Popper-Type La2_{2}NiO3_{3}F2_{2} within Fluoride-Ion Batteries

Within this article, it is shown that an electrochemical defluorination and additional fluorination of Ruddlesden–Popper-type La$_2$NiO$_3$F$_2$ is possible within all-solid-state fluoride-ion batteries. Structural changes within the reduced and oxidized phases have been examined by X-ray diffraction studies at different states of charging and discharging. The synthesis of the oxidized phase La$_2$NiO$_3$F$_{2+x}$ proved to be successful by structural analysis using both X-ray powder diffraction and automated electron diffraction tomography techniques. The structural reversibility on re-fluorinating and re-defluorinating is also demonstrated. Moreover, the influence of different sequences of consecutive reduction and oxidation steps on the formed phases has been investigated. The observed structural changes have been compared to changes in phases obtained via other topochemical modification approaches such as hydride-based reduction and oxidative fluorination using F$_2$ gas, highlighting the potential of such electrochemical reactions as alternative synthesis routes. Furthermore, the electrochemical routes represent safe and controllable synthesis approaches for novel phases, which cannot be synthesized via other topochemical methods. Additionally, side reactions, occurring alongside the desired electrochemical reactions, have been addressed and the cycling performance has been studied

Silexan does not affect driving performance after single and multiple dose applications: Results from a double-blind, placebo and reference-controlled study in healthy volunteers

Anxiolytic drugs often have sedative effects that impair the ability to drive. Our double-blind, randomized crossover trial investigated the effect of Silexan, a non-sedating, anxiolytic herbal medicinal product, on driving performance in healthy volunteers. Part 1 aimed at demonstrating equivalence between 80 mg/d Silexan and placebo. Part 2 was performed to demonstrate superiority of 160 and 320 mg Silexan over 1 mg lorazepam and included a placebo arm for assay sensitivity. Driving performance was assessed in a validated, alcohol-calibrated simulator test. The primary outcome was the standard deviation of the lane position (SDLP). Secondary outcomes included driving errors and sleepiness. Fifty and 25 subjects were randomized in Parts 1 and 2, respectively. In Part 1, Silexan 80 mg was confirmed to be equivalent to placebo after single administration (equivalence range: δ = ±2 cm). The 95% confidence interval (CI) for the SDLP marginal mean value difference Silexan-placebo for single administration was -1.43; +1.38 and thus similar to the 95% CI of -1.45; +0.79 cm for 7 days' multiple dosing. In Part 2, 95% CIs for SDLP marginal mean value differences to lorazepam were -8.58; -5.42 cm for Silexan 160 mg and -8.65; -5.45 cm for 320 mg (p < 0.001). Confirmatory results were supported by secondary outcomes, where results for Silexan were comparable to placebo and more favorable than for lorazepam. The study demonstrates that single doses of up to 320 mg Silexan and multiple doses of 80 mg/d have no adverse effect on driving performance

Gender effects for loss aversion: yes, no, maybe?

Gender effects in risk taking have attracted much attention by economists, and remain debated. Loss aversion—the stylized finding that a given loss carries substantially greater weight than a monetarily equivalent gain—is a fundamental driver of risk aversion. We deploy four definitions of loss aversion commonly used in the literature to investigate gender effects. Even though the definitions only differ in subtle ways, we find women to be more loss averse than men according to one definition, while another definition results in no gender differences, and the remaining two definitions point to women being less loss averse than men. Conceptually, these contradictory effects can be organized by systematic measurement error resulting from model mis-specifications relative to the true underlying decision process

Engineering Acetobacterium Woodii for the Production of Isopropanol and Acetone From Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract] The capability of four genetically modified Acetobacterium woodii strains for improved production of acetone from CO2 and hydrogen was tested. The acetone biosynthesis pathway was constructed by combining genes from Clostridium acetobutylicum and Clostridium aceticum. Expression of acetone production genes was demonstrated in all strains. In bioreactors with continuous gas supply, all produced acetic acid, acetone, and, surprisingly, isopropanol. The production of isopropanol was caused by an endogenous secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH) activity at low gas-feeding rate. Although high amounts of the natural end product acetic acid of A. woodii were formed,14.5 mM isopropanol and 7.6 mM acetone were also detected, showing that this is a promising approach for the production of new solvents from C1 gases. The highest acetic acid, acetone, and isopropanol production was detected in the recombinant A. woodii [pJIR750_ac1t1] strain, with final concentrations of 438 mM acetic acid, 7.6 mM acetone, and 14.5 mM isopropanol. The engineered strain A. woodii [pJIR750_ac1t1] was found to be the most promising strain for acetone production from a gas mixture of CO2 and H2 and the formation of isopropanol in A. woodii was shown for the first time.Research in Professor Peter Dürre's lab was funded by the ERA-IB7 project OBAC (FKZ 031B0274B). Research in Professor Christian Kennes' lab was also funded by the collaborative European ERA-IB7 project OBAC as well as PCIN2016-148. The authors in the latter laboratory, belonging to the BIOENGIN group, thank Xunta de Galicia for financial support to Competitive Reference Research Groups (ED431C 2021/55)Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2021/55Alemania. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF); 031B0274