Non-visual Effects of Road Lighting CCT on Driver's Mood, Alertness, Fatigue and Reaction Time: A Comprehensive Neuroergonomic Evaluation Study

Good nighttime road lighting is critical for driving safety. To improve the quality of nighttime road lighting, this study used the triangulation method by fusing "EEG evaluation + subjective evaluation + behavioral evaluation" to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate the response characteristics of different correlated color temperature (CCT) (3500K, 4500K, 5500K, 6500K) on drivers' non-visual indicators (mood, alertness, fatigue and reaction time) under specific driving conditions (monotonous driving; waiting for red light and traffic jam; car-following task). The results showed that the CCT and Task interaction effect is mainly related to individual alertness and reaction time. Individual subjective emotional experience, subjective visual comfort and psychological security are more responsive to changes in CCT than individual mental fatigue and visual fatigue. The subjective and objective evaluation results demonstrated that the EEG evaluation indices used in this study could objectively reflect the response characteristics of various non-visual indicators. The findings also revealed that moderate CCT (4500K) appears to be the most beneficial to drivers in maintaining an ideal state of mind and body during nighttime driving, which is manifested as: good mood experience; it helps drivers maintain a relatively stable level of alterness and to respond quickly to external stimuli; both mental and visual fatigue were relatively low. This study extends nighttime road lighting design research from the perspective of non-visual effects by using comprehensive neuroergonomic evaluation methods, and it provides a theoretical and empirical basis for the future development of a humanized urban road lighting design evaluation system.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figures, 103 conference

Development and validation of a preoperative MRI-based radiomics nomogram to predict progression-free survival in patients with clival chordomas

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to establish and validate a MRI-based radiomics nomogram to predict progression-free survival (PFS) of clival chordoma.MethodsA total of 174 patients were enrolled in the study (train cohort: 121 cases, test cohort: 53 cases). Radiomic features were extracted from multiparametric MRIs. Intraclass correlation coefficient analysis and a Lasso and Elastic-Net regularized generalized linear model were used for feature selection. Then, a nomogram was established via univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis in the train cohort. The performance of this nomogram was assessed by area under curve (AUC) and calibration curve.ResultsA total of 3318 radiomic features were extracted from each patient, of which 2563 radiomic features were stable features. After feature selection, seven radiomic features were selected. Cox regression analysis revealed that 2 clinical factors (degree of resection, and presence or absence of primary chordoma) and 4 radiomic features were independent prognostic factors. The AUC of the established nomogram was 0.747, 0.807, and 0.904 for PFS prediction at 1, 3, and 5 years in the train cohort, respectively, compared with 0.582, 0.852, and 0.914 in the test cohort. Calibration and risk score stratified survival curves were satisfactory in the train and test cohort.ConclusionsThe presented nomogram demonstrated a favorable predictive accuracy of PFS, which provided a novel tool to predict prognosis and risk stratification. Our results suggest that radiomic analysis can effectively help neurosurgeons perform individualized evaluations of patients with clival chordomas

Activation of NF-κB and p300/CBP potentiates cancer chemoimmunotherapy through induction of MHC-I antigen presentation

Many cancers evade immune rejection by suppressing major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) antigen processing and presentation (AgPP). Such cancers do not respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies (ICIT) such as PD-1/PD-L1 [PD-(L)1] blockade. Certain chemotherapeutic drugs augment tumor control by PD-(L)1 inhibitors through potentiation of T-cell priming but whether and how chemotherapy enhances MHC-I-dependent cancer cell recognition by cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) is not entirely clear. We now show that the lysine acetyl transferases p300/CREB binding protein (CBP) control MHC-I AgPPM expression and neoantigen amounts in human cancers. Moreover, we found that two distinct DNA damaging drugs, the platinoid oxaliplatin and the topoisomerase inhibitor mitoxantrone, strongly up-regulate MHC-I AgPP in a manner dependent on activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), p300/CBP, and other transcription factors, but independently of autocrine IFNγ signaling. Accordingly, NF-κB and p300 ablations prevent chemotherapy-induced MHC-I AgPP and abrogate rejection of low MHC-I-expressing tumors by reinvigorated CD8+ CTLs. Drugs like oxaliplatin and mitoxantrone may be used to overcome resistance to PD-(L)1 inhibitors in tumors that had "epigenetically down-regulated," but had not permanently lost MHC-I AgPP activity

Sustainable Development Goal-Based Assessment on the Use of Natural Resources in Countries along the Maritime Silk Road

The Maritime Silk Road (MSR) plays a significant role in international trade and the global economy, contributing to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, most countries along the MSR are developing nations and emerging economies with high natural resource consumption and fragile environments and face conflicts between economic development and environmental protection. In this context, understanding the status of natural resource utilization in MSR countries is important to advance sustainable development in these countries and promote the construction of the Green Belt and Road, and global environmental governance. Focusing on SDGs 6 (water), 14 (life below water), and 15 (life on land), this study constructed an indicator framework for assessing the sustainable use of natural resources with 24 targets and 42 indicators. Strong and weak sustainability concepts were introduced, and the constant elasticity of substitution function and combined compromise solution method were used to assess the sustainability of natural resource use for 46 countries along the MSR in 2020. The results showed that: (1) the scores in the weak sustainability scenario were higher than those in the strong scenario. The differences in the target scores between the two sustainability scenarios revealed unevenness among the indicator scores. Strong sustainability prefers balanced performance across indicators over weak sustainability. (2) MSR countries performed poorly on targets 6.3 (Improve water quality), 6.4 (Water use), 6.5 (Integrated water resources management), 14.1 (Reduce marine pollution), 14.4 (Conserve fish stocks), 14.5 (Protect marine protected areas), 14. a (Develop marine science and technology), 15.1 (Ecosystem systems and services) and 15.6 (Access and share genetic resources); therefore, these countries should increase their efforts in these areas and improve relevant policies and measures. (3) From the perspective of SDG scores, Portugal, Croatia, and Italy topped each SDG, while Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti lagged. Several countries, such as Singapore, Iran, and Myanmar, show uneven performance. Governments should develop more effective resource development and conservation plans based on their strengths and weaknesses. (4) Regarding final rankings, Portugal, Croatia, and Greece had the best overall performance, whereas Liberia, Somalia, and Djibouti ranked last. Regionally, Europe ranked highest, followed by South America, Asia, and Africa, which are related to their economic development and resource endowment levels. (5) In the future, China and the MSR countries should focus on promoting international cooperation in areas such as water security, blue carbon development, and biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, China should develop targeted investment and cooperation strategies based on the differences in resource use, environmental conditions, and development levels among countries. This study provides a reference for deepening cooperation between China and the MSR countries regarding ecological and environmental protection

Finite-Time Attitude Tracking Control for Hypersonic Flight Vehicles with Actuator Saturation

This paper investigates finite-time attitude tracking control strategies for hypersonic flight vehicles (HFVs) with parameter uncertainties, external disturbances, and actuator saturations by applying sliding model control, adaptive mechanism, and nonlinear disturbance observer techniques. A nonlinear dynamic model of HFV attitude system in reentry flight phase is established. Then, a basic attitude control method of the HFV system is designed based on a terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) scheme to accommodate the system-lumped disturbance torques and guarantee the finite-time stability. To relax the prior knowledge of bounded lumped disturbance of the TSMC-based HFV attitude system, an adaptive TSMC (ATSMC) scheme is proposed. In order to relax the limit of compound uncertainties and attenuate chattering phenomenon of the TSMC-based HFV attitude system, a nonlinear disturbance observer-based TSMC (DO-TSMC) scheme is presented, which enhances the disturbance attenuation and robust tracking performance. Finally, simulation results of a generic X-33 nonlinear model exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed TSMC, ATSMC, and DO-TSMC schemes

Virtual Coriolis-Force-Based Mode-Matching Micromachine-Optimized Tuning Fork Gyroscope without a Quadrature-Nulling Loop

A VCF-based mode-matching micromachine-optimized tuning fork gyroscope is proposed to not only maximize the scale factor of the device, but also avoid use of an additional quadrature-nulling loop to prevent structure complexity, pick-up electrode occupation, and coupling with a mode-matching loop. In detail, a mode-matching, closed-loop system without a quadrature-nulling loop is established, and the corresponding convergence and matching error are quantitatively analyzed. The optimal straight beam of the gyro structure is then modeled to significantly reduce the quadrature coupling. The test results show that the frequency split is narrowed from 20 Hz to 0.014 Hz. The scale factor is improved 20.6 times and the bias instability (BI) is suppressed 3.28 times. The observed matching accuracy demonstrates that a mode matching system without a quadrature suppression loop is feasible and that the proposed device represents a competitive design for a mode-matching gyroscope