During and After Event Analysis of Cell Phone Talking and Texting-A Driving Simulator Study

A number of studies have been done in the field of driver distraction, specifically on the use of cell phone for either conversation or texting while driving. However, till now, researchers have focused on the driving performance of drivers when they were actually engaged in the task, i.e. during the texting or phone conversation event. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the post event effect of cell phone usage in order to verify whether the distracting effect lingers on after the actual event had ceased. The research utilizes a driving simulator study of thirty-six participants to test whether a significant decrease in driver performance occurs during and after cell phone usage (texting and conversation). The standard deviations of lane position and mean velocity was used as dependent measures to represent lateral and longitudinal control of the vehicle respectively. Linear mixed model with subject as a random factor and F-test for the equality of variance were used as statistical measures. The results from the study suggest that there was no significant decrease in driver performance during and after the cell phone conversation both laterally and longitudinally. On the contrary, during the texting event, a significant decrease in driver performance was observed both in the lateral and longitudinal control of the vehicle. The diminishing effect of texting on longitudinal control ceased immediately after the texting event but the diminishing effect of texting on lateral control lingered on for an average of 3.388 seconds. The number of text messages exchanged did not affect the magnitude and duration of the diminished lateral control. This indicates that the distraction and subsequent elevated crash risk of texting while driving linger on even after the texting event has ceased. Such finding has safety and policy implications in the fight to reduce distracted driving

Driving behavior analysis at work zones and rural intersections using SHRP 2 naturalistic driving data

Research studies have shown work zones and rural intersections vulnerable to numerous crashes. In 2015 alone, there were around 96,700 crashes in work zones, an approximate 7.8% increase from 2014. Out of all the crashes, around 0.7% of the crashes involved at least one fatality with statistics showing work zone crashes occurring once every 5.4 minutes during that year (Facts and Statistics – Work Zone Safety, 2017). In addition, rural intersection crashes account for around 30% of crashes in rural areas with more than 80% of rural intersections fatalities occurring at rural unsignalized intersections (Golembiewski and Chandler, 2011). Crashes in rural areas are often severe because of higher approach speeds and longer emergency response times (Gonzales et al 2009). Past studies have given more priority to assess the safety effectiveness of various countermeasures mostly in terms of crash analysis both in work zones and rural intersections. However, little is known on the driving behavior of vehicles at advance warning area of work zones and driving behavior of vehicles at nonstop controlled approaches of rural intersections. This study utilized SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) data and Roadway Information Database (RID). Using both the data set, the study developed statistical models to analyze driving behavior upstream of work zones and rural intersections. The first study developed a mixed effect logistic regression model to analyze the driving behavior in advance warning area of work zones to find the effectiveness of different work zone signs. The result showed first work zone sign was not significantly affecting the driving behavior. Only speed limit, lane ends and CMS were found to be affecting the driving behavior. Active CMS was found to be more effective compared to not active CMS sign. Effect of overlapping signs was not found to have significant effect on the driving behavior. Speed limit with both work zone and feedback type were found to be significantly effective compared to normal speed limit signs with no indication of work zone. Speeding drivers were more likely to show response at different work zone signs with exception for drivers speeding at first sign. Distracted drivers were less likely to show response at work zone signs. The second study built a mixed effect linear regression model to find different factors behind the response point of turning major street vehicles. The result showed that right turning vehicles started to show reaction to the turning maneuver slightly ahead to left turning vehicles. More than 70% of drivers showed reaction within 300 meters upstream of intersection for both types of turning maneuver. In addition, the study found driving speed at reaction point significantly affecting its location from intersection. Drivers speeding than the posted speed limit were associated with reaction point farther from the intersection. In third study, a mixed effect logistic regression model was developed to find different factors affecting driving behavior of through moving vehicles at rural intersections. The result from this study showed that about 32% of drivers showed response to the intersections by decreasing speed by at least 3 miles per hour. Vehicles were more likely to show response to intersection at the time of presence of vehicles at the minor approaches. Non experienced drivers were found to be aware of the intersection ahead compared to experienced drivers. Drivers operating speed above 5 miles per hour were more likely to show response point. Intersections with intersection ahead warning signs was found to affect the response point positively

Applying Association Rules Mining to Investigate Pedestrian Fatal and Injury Crash Patterns Under Different Lighting Conditions

The pattern of pedestrian crashes varies greatly depending on lighting circumstances, emphasizing the need of examining pedestrian crashes in various lighting conditions. Using Louisiana pedestrian fatal and injury crash data (2010-2019), this study applied Association Rules Mining (ARM) to identify the hidden pattern of crash risk factors according to three different lighting conditions (daylight, dark-with-streetlight, and dark-no-streetlight). Based on the generated rules, the results show that daylight pedestrian crashes are associated with children (less than 15 years), senior pedestrians (greater than 64 years), older drivers (>64 years), and other driving behaviors such as failure to yield, inattentive/distracted, illness/fatigue/asleep. Additionally, young drivers (15-24 years) are involved in severe pedestrian crashes in daylight conditions. This study also found pedestrian alcohol/drug involvement as the most frequent item in the dark-with-streetlight condition. This crash type is particularly associated with pedestrian action (crossing intersection/midblock), driver age (55-64 years), speed limit (30-35 mph), and specific area type (business with mixed residential area). Fatal pedestrian crashes are found to be associated with roadways with high-speed limits (>50 mph) during the dark without streetlight condition. Some other risk factors linked with high-speed limit related crashes are pedestrians walking with/against the traffic, presence of pedestrian dark clothing, pedestrian alcohol/drug involvement. The research findings are expected to provide an improved understanding of the underlying relationships between pedestrian crash risk factors and specific lighting conditions. Highway safety experts can utilize these findings to conduct a decision-making process for selecting effective countermeasures to reduce pedestrian crashes strategically

Draft bills and research reports on: reducing judicial corruption and child labor in Nepal

These two draft bills and accompanying research report comprise the work of two teams of Nepali officials from Nepal's Ministry of Law and Justice who prepared them in the context of the Boston University School of Law Program on Legislative Drafting for Democratic Social Change. They attended that Program as part of a larger Ministry of Law and Justice Program, funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to strengthen Nepal's legal framework and the Rule of Law. Using the bills and reports as case studies, the four officials aimed to learn legislative theory, methodology and techniques. The Ministry had assigned them, on their return to Nepal, to play a significant role in institutionalizing an on-going learning process to strengthen Nepali drafters' capacity to prepare the effectively implementable legislation necessary to ensure good governance and development

Status of Scar in Repeat Cesarean Section in a Tertiary Hospital

Introduction: In modern Obstetrics, with rising trends of primary Cesarean section (CS) for fetal and maternal interests, pregnancy over the scarred uterus is a challenge to all treating obstetricians. How better the cesarean scar is sutured, its exact fate in next pregnancy is still not measurable. Objective of this study was to evaluate the status of previous cesarean scar during repeat cesarean section (RCS) and calculate the maternal morbidity in those cases in a tertiary hospital. Methods: It was a descriptive, retrospective study conducted at department of Obstetrics of Lumbini Medical College Teaching Hospital. The study was conducted from 15th July 2014 to 14th July 2015. The data were retrieved from the department of Medical Records. Women undergoing RCS were enrolled. The status of scar was evaluated in terms of intact scar, scar rupture, scar dehiscence, thin lower uterine segment, scar placenta previa, and adhesions as indicator of scar integrity. Results: There were 534 (25.4%) CS among 2,098 deliveries during the study period. Ninety one (17.04%) of them were RCS. Elective RCS were 73.6% (n=67), and emergency RCS were 26.4% (n=24). Eighty two (90.1%) women had RCS once and 9 (9.9%) had RCS for second time. Scar was intact in 22 (91.6%), scar dehiscence in 1 (8.3%), scar with adhesions in 1 (8.3%) among  emergency RCS and intact in 53 (91.3%) and scar with adhesions in 5 (8.7%) among elective RCS. Among nine women of two RCS, three (37.5%) had thin scar, five (62.5%) had well formed scar,  seven (87.5%) had intact scar, and one (12.5%) had scar with adhesion. There was no scar dehiscence and no scar rupture in two RCS women.  Adhesions were documented twice higher in women whose primary CS was undertaken outside our hospital. Placenta previa and placenta accreta each were found in two cases. Conclusion: Most of the scars of repeat Cesarean section were healthy with no scar rupture. We can consider trial of labor for scarred uterus with strict vigilance and in need,  CS is always at option

Develop and Evaluate Performance Measures for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) established Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) programs over 20 years ago. Before DOTD expands or implements new ITS programs, a study needed to be undertaken to evaluate the performance of the current ITS programs to demonstrate their benefits. The primary objective of this research was to develop a set of performance measures for each existing ITS program in Louisiana and evaluate the benefits achieved through their implementation. The scope of this study was to use insights gathered from literature reviews, qualitative surveys, and inputs from stakeholders to develop performance measures for Louisiana's ITS applications. The scope also included using data from ITS applications in Louisiana to evaluate the performance of the deployed system and determine if the ITS applications were beneficial to the taxpayer. The ITS programs were grouped under six broad areas: Arterial Management; Commercial Vehicle Operation; Electronic Payment and Congestion Pricing; Freeway Management and Traffic Management Centers; and Traveler Information. For each program area, specific objectives linked to specific transportation goals that Louisiana needed to achieve were developed, along with performance measures to evaluate the state\u2019s efforts at meeting each goal. Data mainly between 2016 and 2020 were collected and used for the assessment. Overall, the benefits achieved through the implementation of some of the ITS programs were apparent, while in other cases, further studies are required

Evaluating Permitted/Protected Versus Protected Left-Turn Signals in Louisiana

DOTLT1000378The main objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and operation of existing left-turn signal phases at intersections and investigate relevant data to develop proper guidance on when it is appropriate to install each signal type. The study considered protected-only (PO), protected permitted left-turn (PPLT), and flashing yellow arrow (FYA) left-turn phases for the evaluation. The study was conducted in four different folds \u2014 nationwide survey, decision tree modeling, safety analysis, and operation analysis. The nationwide survey revealed that the majority of the respondents indicated FYA as the preferred left-turn signal in terms of operation, followed by PPLT. At the same time, from a safety perspective, PO was desired, followed by FYA. The decision tree revealed several factors such as total left-turn crashes, median types, number of left-turning lanes, speed limit, and annual average daily traffic (AADT) controlling the selection of PO over PPLT. The safety analysis showed almost double left-turn crashes per year at PPLT compared to PO and FYA intersections. Crash modification factor (CMF) of PO over PPLT for total crashes showed that PO was only able to reduce fatal and severe crashes by 25.5% compared to PPLT; however, PO was able to reduce all severe levels of left-turn crashes. It indicates that PO performs better than PPLT from a safety perspective. Before-and-after evaluation at FYA intersections revealed a left-turn crash reduction of 17.73%. In addition, delay analysis showed an average delay of 50.69 seconds per vehicle (sec/veh) at PO, 46.04 at PPLT, and 31.49 at FYA. However, the delay only during the morning peak hour at PO was significantly higher than at PPLT. At other periods, it was not. Delay at FYA was all-time low compared to PO and PPLT, but the outcome from FYA is less robust due to the limited sample size. With left-turn crash reduction by more than 50% and delays not significantly more at all times of the day, the study indicates PO performs better than PPLT. The framework from the decision tree provides key information to help select the suitable left-turn phase between PO and PPLT

Pyrroline-5-Carboxylate Reductase-2 Promotes Colorectal Carcinogenesis by Modulating Microtubule-Associated Serine/Threonine Kinase-like/Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Background: Despite significant progress in clinical management, colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. A positive association between PYCR2 (pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase-2), a terminal enzyme of proline metabolism, and CRC aggressiveness was recently reported. However, how PYCR2 promotes colon carcinogenesis remains ill understood. Methods: A comprehensive analysis was performed using publicly available cancer databases and CRC patient cohorts. Proteomics and biochemical evaluations were performed along with genetic manipulations and in vivo tumor growth assays to gain a mechanistic understanding. Results: PYCR2 expression was significantly upregulated in CRC and associated with poor patient survival, specifically among PYCR isoforms (PYCR1, 2, and 3). The genetic inhibition of PYCR2 inhibited the tumorigenic abilities of CRC cells and in vivo tumor growth. Coinciding with these observations was a significant decrease in cellular proline content. PYCR2 overexpression promoted the tumorigenic abilities of CRC cells. Proteomics (LC-MS/MS) analysis further demonstrated that PYCR2 loss of expression in CRC cells inhibits survival and cell cycle pathways. A subsequent biochemical analysis supported the causal role of PYCR2 in regulating CRC cell survival and the cell cycle, potentially by regulating the expression of MASTL, a cell-cycle-regulating protein upregulated in CRC. Further studies revealed that PYCR2 regulates Wnt/β-catenin-signaling in manners dependent on the expression of MASTL and the cancer stem cell niche. Conclusions: PYCR2 promotes MASTL/Wnt/β-catenin signaling that, in turn, promotes cancer stem cell populations and, thus, colon carcinogenesis. Taken together, our data highlight the significance of PYCR2 as a novel therapeutic target for effectively treating aggressive colon cancer

Prevalence, types and demographic features of child labour among school children in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: To determine the prevalence, types and demographic features of child labour among school children in Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional interview study of 1675 randomly selected public primary and secondary school pupils aged 5 to less than 18 years was conducted in the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria from October 1998 to September 1999. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of child labour was 64.5%: 68.6% among primary and 50.3% among secondary school pupils. Major economic activities included street trading (43.6%), selling in kiosks and shops (25.4%) and farming (23.6%). No child was involved in bonded labour or prostitution. Girls were more often involved in labour activities than boys (66.8% versus 62.1%, p = 0.048): this difference was most obvious with street trading (p = 0.0004). Most of the children (82.2%) involved in labour activities did so on the instruction of one or both parents in order to contribute to family income. Children of parents with low socio-economic status or of poorly educated parents were significantly involved in labour activities (p = 0.01 and p = 0.001 respectively). Child labour was also significantly associated with increasing number of children in the family size (p = 0.002). A higher prevalence rate of child labour was observed among children living with parents and relations than among those living with unrelated guardians. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that smaller family size, parental education and family economic enhancement would reduce the pressure on parents to engage their children in labour activities

The COVID‐19 Pandemic Not Only Poses Challenges, but Also Opens Opportunities for Sustainable Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and “brain gain,” and local governments' exercising authorities