Collaboration with other H2020 projects, Deliverable 1.1 of the H2020 project SafetyCube.

SafetyCube was one of five projects to be funded under the H2020 Topic MG‐3.4‐2014 Traffic Safety Analysis and Integrated Approach towards the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users. The five projects were invited by the European Commission to explore the possibilities to cooperate in technical and dissemination aspects. Early collaborations have been established between SafetyCube and other projects supported under the H2020 Topic MG‐3.4‐2014 Traffic Safety Analysis and Integrated Approach towards the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users. A series of joint activities have been conducted including: Project Coordinator collaboration meeting Joint Session at Transport Research Arena Conference, Warsaw April 2016 Informal joint project meeting at TRA Specific Joint Work Package meetings with InDeV in relation to the estimation of accident costs Future joint activities are planned to further explore collaboration opportunities between SafetyCube and other projects Invitation to other project representatives to attend SafetyCube Mid‐term workshop A joint session at the International Cycle Safety Conference in Bologna, November 2016 Further Work Package level discussions to explore potential cooperation in estimating the under‐reporting of crashes

Project report - months 1 - 18, Deliverable 1.2 of the H2020 project SafetyCube.

This report, D1.2 Project Report - months 1 – 18, provides an overview of the work undertaken in the SafetyCube project. At the time of the preparation of the project the reporting requirements were not known and an internal mid-term evaluation of the project was considered to be helpful to the project team. Since then the formal project reporting requirements have become known and the internal mid-term evaluation of the project has been superseded by the Mid-term Project Review which covers M1 – M18. The objectives for the first 18 months of the project were to: 1. Implement the project management framework to support communication between partners and achievement of project objectives. 2. Establish a project dissemination and consultation platform to ensure all stakeholders can remain informed of the project progress and can contribute to the DSS. 3. Develop the methodological framework of the DSS, and process for extracting data on risks and measures. 4. Estimate the numbers of seriously injured traffic casualties in Europe and the resulting health impacts. 5. Define the functionality of the DSS and prepare the underlying structure. Very good progress has been made in the first 18 months of the project and all objectives have been achieved. Notably; 1. The project now has a very effective management framework that is focussed on: • The project coordinator and a dedicated project administrator. • Monthly Work Package (WP) Leaders meetings for routine decision making. • Regular WP partner meetings. • Periodic full partner plenary meetings. • A dedicated web conferencing system to facilitate communication together with a central web-based document repository. 2. A dissemination platform has been established to facilitate communication between the project and future DSS users. • The project website (www.safetycube-project.eu) provides information about the project and news of recent developments. • A newsletter, published typically four times each year, provides more detailed information to recipients. • A series of stakeholder consultation workshops have provided the project team with very useful guidance regarding the functionality and content of the DSS. 3. The methodological framework for the DSS has been established and data on risks has been evaluated and recorded for entry to the DSS. • The procedure to be used to record details of risks and measures from studies has been defined. • A sophisticated data entry template has been developed to provide a consistent means to gather data for entry onto the database and to enable an automatic quality check of template use. • A total of 600 studies have been reviewed and data of 3,500 risks has been entered onto the templates. The studies cover road user, infrastructure and vehicle risks. • A total of 60 topic syntheses have been prepared to provide summaries and critical evaluation of the existing knowledge about road safety risks. The studies cover road user, infrastructure and vehicle risks. 4. Important advances have been made regarding the enumeration of serious injuries and the societal level impact. • With the assistance of EC DG-MOVE a strong collaboration has been established with the EU CARE experts group representing the Member States. • The methods used across the EU to estimate the numbers of seriously injured casualties have been reviewed and the comparability assessed. • Recommendations for approaches to improve accuracy of serious injury counting have been made. 5. The structure and functionality of the DSS has been developed and a provisional “look and feel” prepared. • A comprehensive taxonomy of risks and measures has been prepared to provide the internal structure of the DSS. • The basic functionality of the DSS has been specified and entry points, search methodologies and output descriptions have been prepared. • Wireframe screens have been prepared to illustrate the possible appearance of the DSS

Topological data analysis of C. elegans locomotion and behavior

We apply topological data analysis to the behavior of C. elegans, a widely-studied model organism in biology. In particular, we use topology to produce a quantitative summary of complex behavior which may be applied to high-throughput data. Our methods allow us to distinguish and classify videos from various environmental conditions and we analyze the trade-off between accuracy and interpretability. Furthermore, we present a novel technique for visualizing the outputs of our analysis in terms of the input. Specifically, we use representative cycles of persistent homology to produce synthetic videos of stereotypical behaviors.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures/table

Setting the Context

Panelists were members of the planning committee of this symposium and began meeting in September 2020. These proceedings are available free for download but also available for purchase in print for $6 plus tax and shipping.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/global_voices_4/1007/thumbnail.jp

Role of surface functional groups in the adsorption kinetics of water vapor on microporous activated carbons

Activated carbons have both hydrophilic surface oxygen functional groups, which act as primary adsorption centers for water vapor, and hydrophobic graphene layers on which nonpolar species are primarily adsorbed. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of oxygen surface functional groups, in activated carbons, on the adsorption characteristics of water vapor. Activated carbon G was oxidized using nitric acid and then heat treated in the range 387-894 K to produce a suite of adsorbents with varying oxygen contents in the range 0.4-21.5 wt % daf, but very similar porous structure characteristics, thereby minimizing effects due to changes in porous structure. The type and concentration of surface oxygen groups present in each sample were assessed using TPD, FTIR, Boehm titration, and analytical methods. Water vapor adsorption at low relative pressure was dramatically enhanced by the presence of functional groups, in particular, carboxylic groups. Kinetic profiles for each pressure increment were modeled using a set of nested kinetic models, which allow the adsorption kinetics to be analyzed in relation to the adsorption mechanism. Relationships between water adsorption kinetics at low surface coverage and the type and concentration of oxygen surface functional groups were observed. A two component double exponential kinetic model was used when carboxylic groups were present in significant amounts with a slow kinetic component associated with adsorption on these groups. In the case of carbons where carboxylic groups were only present in, at most, relatively small amounts, a stretched exponential kinetic model was used and the rate constants in the low-pressure region decreased linearly with increasing Henry's Law constant and oxygen content. The results indicate the importance of adsorbate-adsorbent interactions in water adsorption kinetics and are consistent with a site-to-site hopping mechanism between functional groups

Fractalkine-CX3CR1 signaling is critical for progesterone-mediated neuroprotection in the retina

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) encompasses a group of retinal diseases resulting in photoreceptor loss and blindness. We have previously shown in the rd10 mouse model of RP, that rd10 microglia drive degeneration of viable neurons. Norgestrel, a progesterone analogue, primes viable neurons against potential microglial damage. In the current study we wished to investigate this neuroprotective effect further. We were particularly interested in the role of fractalkine-CX3CR1 signaling, previously shown to mediate photoreceptor-microglia crosstalk and promote survival in the rd10 retina. Norgestrel upregulates fractalkine-CX3CR1 signaling in the rd10 retina, coinciding with photoreceptor survival. We show that Norgestrel-treated photoreceptor-like cells, 661Ws, and C57 explants modulate rd10 microglial activity in co-culture, resulting in increased photoreceptor survival. Assessment of Norgestrel’s neuroprotective effects when fractalkine was knocked-down in 661 W cells and release of fractalkine was reduced in rd10 explants confirms a crucial role for fractalkine-CX3CR1 signaling in Norgestrel-mediated neuroprotection. To further understand the role of fractalkine in neuroprotection, we assessed the release of 40 cytokines in fractalkine-treated rd10 microglia and explants. In both cases, treatment with fractalkine reduced a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These findings further our understanding of Norgestrel’s neuroprotective properties, capable of modulating harmful microglial activity indirectly through photoreceptors, leading to increased neuroprotection

Pro-survival redox signalling in progesterone-mediated retinal neuroprotection

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of hereditary retinal diseases, characterised by photoreceptor cell loss. Despite a substantial understanding of the mechanisms leading to cell death, an effective therapeutic strategy is sought. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated the neuroprotective properties of Norgestrel, a progesterone analogue, in the degenerating retina, mediated in part by the neurotrophic factor basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). In other retinal studies, we have also presented a pro-survival role for reactive oxygen species (ROS), downstream of bFGF. Thus, we hypothesized that Norgestrel utilises bFGF-driven ROS production to promote photoreceptor survival. Using the 661W photoreceptor-like cell line, we now show that Norgestrel, working through progesterone receptor membrane complex 1 (PGRMC1); generates an early burst of pro-survival bFGF-induced ROS. Using the rd10 mouse model of RP, we confirm that Norgestrel induces a similar early pro-survival increase in retinal ROS. Norgestrel-driven protection in the rd10 retina was attenuated in the presence of antioxidants. This study therefore presents an essential role for ROS signalling in Norgestrel-mediated neuroprotection in vitro and demonstrates that Norgestrel employs a similar pro-survival mechanism in the degenerating retina

Emergency Department Use Among Vermont Homeless Families

Background: Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) houses homeless individuals and families from the Burlington area. COTS believes that a high proportion of their residents use the Fletcher Allen Health Care Emergency Department (FAHCED) for their health care more frequently compared to the general population. There are many other primary care services offered in the Burlington area, such as Safe Harbor Clinic, Community Health Center, and private offices, which are more appropriate for non-emergent health concerns and are readily accessible to the homeless population. By surveying the population of homeless families in Burlington and conducting a focus group with the COTS staff, we hoped to discover the reasons for ED usage, potential barriers to primary health care, and any possible changes that could ameliorate the health care of this populationhttps://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1053/thumbnail.jp

Biosimilar recombinant follitropin alfa preparations versus the reference product (Gonal-F®) in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology treatment : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Acknowledgments Authors would like to thank Dr. Rui Wang (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Monash) who contributed to the statistical analysis. Medical writing assistance was provided by Evelina Matekonyte, inScience Communications, Springer Healthcare Ltd., London, UK, and funded by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Funding This study was funded by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) designed and approved the study, took part in data collection and data analysis, and contributed to the data interpretation and final draft of the manuscript. The corresponding author had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.Peer reviewedPublisher PD