Modelling of a multi-lane road for the simulation of autonomous vehicles and heterogenous fleet of vehicles

The aim of this project is the simulation of a European highway (asymmetric highway), using Matlab and Simulink software.A typical freeway section consisting of Béziercurves will be designed, forming a set composed by a multi-lane motorway together with an on-ramp and an off-ramp.For the car following, the I-ACC (“Ideal-Adaptive Cruise Control”) model will be used. A simplified model of the MOBIL (“Minimizing Overall Braking Induced by Lane Changes”), which takes into account the general gain and loss of speed of the vehicles involved in it, will be used for the lane-changing policy. Also, to ensure a smooth and realistic lane change, an original lane change functionhas been proposed.As a result, the project will generate animations and several plots to facilitate the impact of the variation of several parameters involved. The graphical animation will be formed by various simultaneous views of the highway and two dynamical plots to show variations in speed and position on the highway in real time. Changes in typical variables like traffic flow or traffic density will also be analysed.The modular program will serve as a platform for future modifications, like the incorporation of other car following models, that require changes on the original structure

cAMP inhibits TGFβ1-induced in vitro angiogenesis

AbstractTransforming growth factor-β (TGFβ1) is a proangiogenic factor both, in vitro and in vivo, that is mainly involved in the later phases of angiogenesis. In an attempt to identify genes that participate in this effect, we found that TGFβ1 down-regulates expression of adenylate cyclase VI. In addition, cAMP analogs (8-Bromo-cAMP) and forskolin (an adenylate cyclase activator) also reduced TGFβ1-induced in vitro angiogenesis in mouse endothelial cell lines and in primary cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells on collagen gels. Induction of Ets-1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) by TGFβ1 was blocked by these cAMP agonists and activators, in the absence of effects on endothelial cell viability. Moreover, the signal transduction pathways stimulated by TGFβ1 were unaffected. Thus, Smad2 was normally phosphorylated and translocated to the nucleus in the presence of forskolin. In contrast, transfection studies using the PAI-1-promoter indicated that these cAMP analogues inhibit transcriptional stimulation by TGFβ1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that Smad2/3 were bound normally to a TGFβ1-response region in the presence of the cAMP analogs. In all, these data suggest that the cAMP pathway inhibits the transcriptional activity of Smads, that could be responsible for the block of the TGFβ1-induced in vitro angiogenesis caused by this second messenger

Strategies to reengage patients lost to follow up in HIV care in high income countries, a scoping review

Background: Despite remarkable achievements in antiretroviral therapy (ART), losses to follow-up (LTFU) might prevent the long-term success of HIV treatment and might delay the achievement of the 90-90-90 objectives. This scoping review is aimed at the description and analysis of the strategies used in high-income countries to reengage LTFU in HIV care, their implementation and impact. Methods: A scoping review was done following Arksey & O'Malley's methodological framework and recommendations from Joanna Briggs Institute. Peer reviewed articles were searched for in Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science; and grey literature was searched for in Google and other sources of information. Documents were charted according to the information presented on LTFU, the reengagement procedures used in HIV units in high-income countries, published during the last 15 years. In addition, bibliographies of chosen articles were reviewed for additional articles. Results: Twenty-eight documents were finally included, over 80% of them published in the United States later than 2015. Database searches, phone calls and/or mail contacts were the most common strategies used to locate and track LTFU, while motivational interviews and strengths-based techniques were used most often during reengagement visits. Outcomes like tracing activities efficacy, rates of reengagement and viral load reduction were reported as outcome measures. Conclusions: This review shows a recent and growing trend in developing and implementing patient reengagement strategies in HIV care. However, most of these strategies have been implemented in the United States and little information is available for other high-income countries. The procedures used to trace and contact LTFU are similar across reviewed studies, but their impact and sustainability are widely different depending on the country studied