Drowsy Driver Monitor and Warning System

The design and use of a low-cost drowsy driver monitor, the Copilot, and proposed driver interfaces are presented. The Copilot consists of a digital camera integrated with a low-cost digital signal processor (DSP). The Copilot is a functionally enhanced version of a previous monitor that has been successfully used in a variety of research projects in simulators and in over-the-road vehicles. Compared to its predecessor, the new monitor is small and easy to use, providing an effective research tool for the field or in the laboratory. The Copilot measures slow eyelid closures as represented by PERCLOS (Percent Eyelid Closure). PERCLOS is defined as the proportion of time that a subject\u27s eyes are closed over a specified period. PERCLOS has been separate-ly validated in two independent laboratories as an accurate predictor of performance degradation in sleep-deprived subjects. The current driver interface is based on recent experimental results that drowsiness feedback can reduce drowsiness and improve driver performance for sleep deprived truck drivers operating a truck simulator. This controlled experiment was undertaken with n = 16 Commercial Driving License (CDL) holders driving a high-fidelity truck simulator (TruckSim®) to establish the effects of drowsiness feedback on: (1) driver alertness drowsiness; (2) driving performance and (3) driver-initiated behaviors. Subjects served as their own controls, driving one simulated 4-hr night drive without drowsiness feedback (control condition) and one simulated 4-hr night drive with drowsiness feedback (feedback condition). Although there was significant between-subject variability in drowsiness and consequently in the number of drowsiness-based alarms and warning alerts, drowsiness feedback tended to have consistent effects on key classes of outcome variables, including reduced drowsiness levels, improved driver performance and self alerting activities (driver movements). The warning triggers are associated with PERCLOS calculated over three minutes. The current interface consists of an audible tone that is associated with the readings of a visual gauge. Work is continuing over the next year to refine the driver interfac

Ecosystem services and disservices in small-scale tropical agriculture

Small-scale farmlands are dynamic systems crucial to the food-security and livelihoods of more than two billion people and there is political pressure in many developing nations to consolidate and expand small farms into larger units of management. This could have consequences for agro-ecosystem processes and the ecosystem services and disservices that regulate crop production. This thesis aims to highlight and address these issues in smallholder farming landscapes, which are poorly studied and represent significant knowledge gaps. Research on pollination and biological control is biased towards large-scale systems, and biological control research shows a strong geographic bias to temperate developed nations, whilst pollination research is geographically more balanced. To have more impact on global issues of poverty and food-security, agricultural ecosystem service research needs to have a greater focus on small-scale farmed landscapes. In a low-input, small-scale farmed area of Kenya, the response to land-use intensification of insect groups important to ecosystem services and disservices for crop production was examined. Small ecotone pollinators responded negatively to intensification, but larger bees did not. Natural enemies did not show a strong negative response to land-use intensification, which suggested that low pesticide application rates allowed cultural species to persist in croplands. The functional richness of Hymenoptera and Coleoptera was highest in the most intensified land-use context, which provides support for the intermediate landscape complexity hypothesis. Functional evenness and trait-environment associations showed that phytophagous traits increased with land-use intensification and could be linked to increased ecosystem disservice if crops are consumed. Smallholder interviews showed that ecosystem disservices due to crop-raiding animals were a major problem and that attitudes to wildlife, elephants and protected areas became more negative with increasing proximity to large areas of wilderness. However, increasing the proportion of natural habitat in the vicinity of smallholdings moderated the negative effect of proximity to wilderness on attitudes towards protected areas. Thus, perceived ecosystem disservices may vary with land-sparing at different spatial scales (i.e., conserved habitat). Whilst this thesis demonstrates that land-use intensification of early stage small-scale farming landscapes affects human perceptions and attitudes towards nature and the taxonomic and functional composition of cropland insect communities, direct quantification of the crop yield and economic consequences of this is sorely needed. Assessment of actual vs. perceived ecosystem disservices would also aid the conservation measures needed to make land-sparing work

The impact of obstructive sleep apnea variability measured in-lab versus in-home on sample size calculations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>When conducting a treatment intervention, it is assumed that variability associated with measurement of the disease can be controlled sufficiently to reasonably assess the outcome. In this study we investigate the variability of Apnea-Hypopnea Index obtained by polysomnography and by in-home portable recording in untreated mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients at a four- to six-month interval.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-seven adult patients serving as placebo controls underwent a baseline polysomnography and in-home sleep study followed by a second set of studies under the same conditions. The polysomnography studies were acquired and scored at three independent American Academy of Sleep Medicine accredited sleep laboratories. The in-home studies were acquired by the patient and scored using validated auto-scoring algorithms. The initial in-home study was conducted on average two months prior to the first polysomnography, the follow-up polysomnography and in-home studies were conducted approximately five to six months after the initial polysomnography.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When comparing the test-retest Apnea-hypopnea Index (AHI) and apnea index (AI), the in-home results were more highly correlated (r = 0.65 and 0.68) than the comparable PSG results (r = 0.56 and 0.58). The in-home results provided approximately 50% less test-retest variability than the comparable polysomnography AHI and AI values. Both the overall polysomnography AHI and AI showed a substantial bias toward increased severity upon retest (8 and 6 events/hr respectively) while the in-home bias was essentially zero. The in-home percentage of time supine showed a better correlation compared to polysomnography (r = 0.72 vs. 0.43). Patients biased toward more time supine during the initial polysomnography; no trends in time supine for in-home studies were noted.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Night-to-night variability in sleep-disordered breathing can be a confounding factor in assessing treatment outcomes. The sample size of this study was small given the night-to-night variability in OSA and limited understanding of polysomnography reliability. We found that in-home studies provided a repeated measure of sleep disordered breathing less variable then polysomnography. Investigators using polysomnography to assess treatment outcomes should factor in the increased variability and bias toward increased AHI values upon retest to ensure the study is adequately powered.</p

PENGANGKUTAN BARANG MELALUI DARAT PADA PT PIRANTI GUNA SAMUDRA, SURABAYA

Pengiriman barang dari tempat asal ke tempattujuan biasanya diserahkan oleh pem11ik barang kepada PTPiranti Guna Samudra untuk mengarus sampai barans tersebut berada di t~an penerima·· (pemililto:barang) • Pengurusan tersebut di1akukan oleh PT Piranti Guna -..: Samudra mulai dari pe~san dokumen-dokumen untuk pengeluaran barang dari tempat as&! (misal1'l1'a : gudangp elabuhan) maupun. sampai pads penoarian alat angkut yang ooook untuk pengangkutan barang disertai dengan pembuatan surat jalan,dimana PT Piranti Glina Samudra bertindak se1aku pengirim. Dengan pemberian jasa yang diberikan oleh PT Piranti Guna Samudra dalam pengangkutan barang tersebut, jelas bahwa kedudukan PTPiranti Guna Samudra adalah sebagai perusahaan ekspedisi (ekspeditur}

A rare case of sinus of valsalva-right atrial fistula secondary to an abscess perforation from underlying aortic valve endocarditis

Sinus of Valsalva-right atrial fistulas are abnormal connections between the aorta and the right atrium, and present challenging surgical conditions. An extremely rare etiology of aorto-right atrial fistula is infective endocarditis. This case report presents a 21 year old Caucasian female patient who had native aortic valve Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis complicated by sinus of Valsalva abscess perforation associated with an acute heart block, an aorto-right atrial fistula, severe heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. She underwent emergent aortic valve replacement and complex sinus of Valsalva fistula pericardial patch reconstruction and repair. This case report further explores the advantages and disadvantages of different valves for different patient populations, and evaluates the patient\u27s prosthesis mismatch and effective orifice area

Seasonal variation in daily patterns of social contacts in the European badger Meles meles

Social interactions among hosts influence the persistence and spread of infectious pathogens. Daily and seasonal variation in the frequency and type of social interactions will play an important role in disease epidemiology and, alongside other factors, may have an influence on wider disease dynamics by causing seasonal forcing of infection, especially if the seasonal variation experienced by a population is considerable. We explored temporal variation in within- group contacts in a high- density population of European badgers Meles meles naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis (the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis). Summer contacts were more likely and of longer duration during the daytime, while the frequency and duration of winter contacts did not differ between day and night. In spring and autumn, within- group contacts peaked at dawn and dusk, corresponding with when they were of shortest duration with reduced potential for aerosol transmission of pathogens. Summer and winter could be critical for transmission of M. bovis in badgers, due to the high frequency and duration of contacts during resting periods, and we discuss the links between this result and empirical disease data. This study reveals clear seasonality in daily patterns of contact frequency and duration in species living in stable social groups, suggesting that changes in social contacts could drive seasonal forcing of infection in wildlife populations even when the number of individuals interacting remains similar

Essentially English : Sherlock Holmes at the BBC

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, currently enjoying renewed popularity on television via the BBC’s Sherlock (2010- ), have been adapted for the screen countless times around the world. Arguably best remembered are Granada’s long-running strand with Jeremy Brett (1984-94), and the Universal film series of the 1940s, featuring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Less frequently cited, however, are the two series produced by the BBC between 1965 and 1968, in which first Douglas Wilmer and later Peter Cushing took on the mantle of the Baker Street detective. Typically for the time – but against the wishes of the Conan Doyle estate - these programmes adopted a multi-camera studio model; a mode of production which made them less attractive to US networks than the single camera 35mm film output of commercial rivals such as ITC. Drawing upon material from the BBC’s Written Archives Centre, this article investigates the motivations underpinning the Corporation’s refusal to accommodate the estate’s exhortations to seek American co-production and utilise single camera filming, not least of which was the BBC’s stated desire to maintain the ‘essentially English’ quality of Sherlock Holmes. This decision would have significant repercussions for the series’ overseas saleability, and – despite impressive viewing figures and positive audience reaction at home in the UK – helped contribute to its ‘forgotten’ status with regard to the television canon