Dynamic Speed Harmonization

In the last decade, the accelerated advancements in manufacturing techniques and material science enabled the automotive industry to manufacture commercial vehicles at more affordable rates. This, however, brought about roadways having to accommodate an ever-increasing number of vehicles every day. However, some roadways, during specific hours of the day, had already been on the brink of reaching their capacity to withstand the number of vehicles travelling on them. Hence, overcrowded roadways create slow traffic, and sometimes, bottlenecks. In this paper, a Dynamic Speed Harmonization (DSH) algorithm that regulates the speed of a vehicle to prevent it from being affected by bottlenecks has been presented. First, co-simulations were run between MATLAB Simulink and CarSim to test different deceleration profiles. Then, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations were run with a Road Side Unit (RSU), which emulated a roadside detector that spotted bottlenecks and sent information to the Connected Vehicle about the position of the queue and the average speed of the vehicles at the queue. The DSH algorithm was also tested on a track to compare the performance of the different deceleration profiles in terms of ride comfort.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Enjoyment Levels of Irish Women Performing Continuous Moderate Intensity Exercise Versus High Intensity Interval Exercise

PA and exercise are widely recognised as being important for enhancing positive health and reducing risk of chronic illness. PA has been observed to be linked with chronic illnesses specific to women including breast and ovarian cancers. In Ireland, the incidence of both these types of cancers are increasing with 31% of women achieving only a low level of daily PA. Guidelines have been developed outlining the amount and types of exercise individuals should engage in to in order to attain health benefits, which can be carried out in the form of either HIIT or MCT. The Irish guidelines stand as a public health message which is more easily understood by the general public. Despite this, a number of barriers are often reported such as lack of time as preventing individuals from meeting the recommended guidelines. Type and intensity of exercise has been seen to impact upon exercise adoption and adherence, along with psychological parameters including enjoyment. HIIT has been observed to be perceived as being more enjoyable than MCT by males. Determining whether HIIT or MCT is found to be more enjoyable for females could help improve health promotion strategies which are PA based.Morris, Mik

Hardware-in-the-Loop and Road Testing of RLVW and GLOSA Connected Vehicle Applications

This paper presents an evaluation of two different Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) applications, namely Red Light Violation Warning (RLVW) and Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA). The evaluation method is to first develop and use Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulator testing, followed by extension of the HIL testing to road testing using an experimental connected vehicle. The HIL simulator used in the testing is a state-of-the-art simulator that consists of the same hardware like the road side unit and traffic cabinet as is used in real intersections and allows testing of numerous different traffic and intersection geometry and timing scenarios realistically. First, the RLVW V2I algorithm is tested in the HIL simulator and then implemented in an On-Board-Unit (OBU) in our experimental vehicle and tested at real world intersections. This same approach of HIL testing followed by testing in real intersections using our experimental vehicle is later extended to the GLOSA application. The GLOSA application that is tested in this paper has both an optimal speed advisory for passing at the green light and also includes a red light violation warning system. The paper presents the HIL and experimental vehicle evaluation systems, information about RLVW and GLOSA and HIL simulation and road testing results and their interpretations

Assessing Community Needs and Feedback: Using Photovoice to Gather Community Perspective

Photovoice (PV) is a qualitative methodology grounded in community-based participatory research and Participatory Action Research. Photovoice asks participants to share photographs of their lived experiences to communicate their lives and the meaning of their concerns. Since its inception in the early 1990s, PV has been used in various settings worldwide to draw attention to the needs of participating communities. Though recognized as a robust research methodology because it can be easily adapted for different uses, PV offers a unique alternative for gathering feedback in a community from stakeholders. This paper provides an overview of PV, describes how the method is conducted and suggests how it can elicit information from community members to answer different questions

Testing Tutor: Integrating an Inquiry-Based Learning Approach into Testing Pedagogy

Software testing is an inherently critical aspect of computer science education, however current pedagogical and industry tools lack inductive learning approaches which lead to trial-and-error behavior. Research into software testing pedagogy and the construction of a learning tool (Testing Tutor) is being developed in collaboration with University of Alabama and Georgia Southern University, made possible by an NSF grant. Testing Tutor will identify the testing concepts that are attributable to missing test cases and will provide feedback (via a customizable feedback engine) to correct test case deficiencies along with learning resources (textual and video). WOU’s research team is focused on building the subsystem to support the Python and C# languages, which WOU and many universities utilize in their curriculum. In addition, the team is developing a repository of assignments that will be shared with instructors at other institution

The Effects of Varying Penetration Rates of L4-L5 Autonomous Vehicles on Fuel Efficiency and Mobility of Traffic Networks

Microscopic traffic simulators that simulate realistic traffic flow are crucial in studying, understanding and evaluating the fuel usage and mobility effects of having a higher number of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in traffic under realistic mixed traffic conditions including both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles. In this paper, L4-L5 AVs with varying penetration rates in total traffic flow were simulated using the microscopic traffic simulator Vissim on urban, mixed and freeway roadways. The roadways used in these simulations were replicas of real roadways in and around Columbus, Ohio, including an AV shuttle routes in operation. The road-specific information regarding each roadway, such as the number of traffic lights and positions, number of STOP signs and positions, and speed limits, were gathered using OpenStreetMap with SUMO. In simulating L4-L5 AVs, the All-Knowing CoEXist AV and a vehicle with Wiedemann 74 driver were taken to represent AV and non-AV driving, respectively. Then, the driving behaviors, such as headway time and car following, desired acceleration and deceleration profiles of AV, and non-AV car following and lane change models were modified. The effect of having varying penetration rates of L4-L5 AVs were then evaluated using criteria such as average fuel consumption, existence of queues and their average/maximum length, total number of vehicles in the simulation, average delay experience by all vehicles, total number of stops experienced by all vehicles, and total emission of CO, NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the vehicles in the simulation. The results show that while increasing penetration rates of L4-L5 AVs generally improve overall fuel efficiency and mobility of the traffic network, there were also cases when the opposite trend was observed

Coleta de inimigos naturais de pragas do meloeiro como método para controle biológico de baixo custo.

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de avaliar a possibilidade de se utilizar coletores com dois tamanhos de aberturas, para captura de inimigos naturais (IN) de pragas de meloeiro (Cucumis melo L.) e, desta forma, definir a viabilidade do uso de coletores para a captura massal de IN visando sua aplicação como método de controle biológico

Influência da temperatura na biologia do parasitoide de mosca-minadora, Neochrysocharis formosa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae).

Com este trabalho, objetivou-se estudar a influência da temperatura sobre a biologia de N. formosa desenvolvido sobre L. sativae

Efeito da cobertura de solo em meloeiro sobre a população de Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).

Com este trabalho, objetivou-se analisar o efeito das diferentes coberturas do solo (mulching preto, mulching cinza e sem cobertura) em cultivo de meloeiro na ocorrência de artrópodes

On the link between cold fronts and hail in Switzerland

Hail is the costliest atmospheric hazard in Switzerland, causing substantial damage to agriculture, cars and buildings every year. In this study, a 12-year statistic of objectively identified cold fronts and a radar-based hail statistic are combined to investigate the co-occurrence of cold fronts and hail in Switzerland. In a first step, an automated front identification scheme, which has previously been designed for and applied to global reanalysis data, is modified for a high-resolution regional analysis data set. This front detection method is then adapted, tested and applied to the Consortium for Small Scale Modelling (COSMO) analysis data for the extended hail season (May to September) in the years 2002–2013. The resulting cold front statistic is presented and discussed. In a second step, the frequency of cold fronts is linked to a high-resolution radar-based hail statistic to determine the relative fraction of hail initiation events in pre-frontal environments. Up to 45% of all detected hail events in north-eastern and southern Switzerland form in pre-frontal zones. Similar fractions are identified upstream of the Jura and the Black Forest mountains. The percentage of front-related hail formation is highest in regions where hail is statistically less frequent, with the exception of southern Switzerland. Furthermore, it is shown that fronts create wind-sheared environments, which are favourable for hail cells