LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF CONFIRMATION LIGHTS AND FACTORS THAT LEAD TO RED LIGHT RUNNING

Red Light Running (RLR) is a safety concern for communities nationwide. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reported a total of 676 fatalities in 2009 were due to RLR. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that more than half of RLR crash fatalities are other than the driver (pedestrians, occupants, etc.). There are many strategies to mitigate RLR violations that fall in the category of engineering, enforcement, or education. This dissertation focused on confirmation lights which are a low-cost countermeasure that enhance enforcement at four-approach intersections. Confirmation lights were deployed at two intersections in Overland Park, Kansas. Traffic was observed at the treatment sites, nearby signalized intersections (spillover), and control sites. Traffic was recorded before deployment, one-month after, and three-months after deployment. A total 14 intersections were recorded during the morning peak hours (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.) and the afternoon peak hours (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) for a total of 583 hours of traffic video. A test of proportions showed that overall the confirmation lights did not significantly reduce RLR violations. A violation analysis showed that there was a global increase in RLR violations after deployment, showing that other factors were involved in the increase of violations observed. Time into the red analysis showed that the majority of RLR violations occurred within one second into the red. The negative binomial regression model re-affirmed that the confirmation lights were not a significant factor in the RLR violations observed. The model showed that lane volume, presence of a right turn lane, and traffic movement (left or through movement) were significant factors

Advancing the understanding of placebo effects in psychological outcomes of exercise: lessons learned and future directions

Despite the apparent strength of scientific evidence suggesting that psychological benefits result from both acute and chronic exercise, concerns remain regarding the extent to which these benefits are explained by placebo effects. Addressing these concerns is methodologically and at times conceptually challenging. However, developments in the conceptualization and study of placebo effects from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and human performance offer guidance for advancing the understanding of placebo effects in psychological responses to exercise. In clinical trials, expectations can be measured and experimentally manipulated to better understand the influence of placebo effects on treatment responses. Further, compelling evidence has shown that the contribution of placebo effects and their underlying neurobiological mechanisms to treatment effects can be measured without administering a traditional placebo (e.g., inert substance) by leveraging psychological factors such as expectations and conditioning. Hence, the purpose of this focused review is to integrate lessons such as these with the current body of literature on placebo effects in psychological responses to exercise and provide recommendations for future research direction

The College Persistence Questionnaire: Developing Scales to Assess Student Retention and Institutional Effectiveness

The current study extends previous research using the College Persistence Questionnaire (CPQ), an instrument designed to predict whether college freshman return for their sophomore years (Davidson, Beck, & Milligan, 2009). Between 6 to 12 weeks into their first semester, participants from three southeastern colleges and universities took the Student Experience Form of the questionnaire online. A principal component analysis was performed to determine if the Student Experience Form of the CPQ could be enhanced by a set of test questions. Two binary logistic regressions established the predictive validity of the CPQ and revealed that the additional items improved the utility of the instrument. The three most salient predictors of return status were Institutional Commitment, Academic Integration, and Scholastic Conscientiousness. A second principal component analysis used a majority of the same items and yielded an Institutional Effectiveness scale that could be used to assess a variety of campus objectives

PIERS proteinuria: relationship with adverse maternal and perinatal outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the ability of three different proteinuria assessment methods (urinary dipstick, spot urine protein:creatinine ratio [Pr/Cr], and 24-hour urine collection) to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: We performed a prospective multicentre cohort study, PIERS (Preeclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk), in seven academic tertiary maternity centres practising expectant management of preeclampsia remote from term in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Eligible women were those admitted with preeclampsia who had at least one antenatal proteinuria assessment by urinary dipstick, spot urine Pr/Cr ratio, and/or 24-hour urine collection. Proteinuria assessment was done either visually at the bedside (by dipstick) or by hospital clinical laboratories for spot urine Pr/Cr and 24-hour urine collection. We calculated receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (95% CI) for each proteinuria method and each of the combined adverse maternal outcomes (within 48 hours) or adverse perinatal outcomes (at any time). Models with AUC ≥ 0.70 were considered of interest. Analyses were run for all women who had each type of proteinuria assessment and for a cohort of women ("ALL measures") who had all three proteinuria assessments. RESULTS: More women were proteinuric by urinary dipstick (≥ 2+, 61.4%) than by spot urine Pr/Cr (≥ 30 g/mol, 50.4%) or 24-hour urine collection (≥ 0.3g/d, 34.7%). Each proteinuria measure evaluated had some discriminative power, and dipstick proteinuria (categorical) performed as well as other methods. No single method was predictive of adverse perinatal outcome. CONCLUSION: The measured amount of proteinuria should not be used in isolation for decision-making in women with preeclampsia. Dipstick proteinuria performs as well as other methods of assessing proteinuria for prediction of adverse events

Gestational hypercalciuria causes pathological urine calcium oxalate supersaturations

Gestational hypercalciuria causes pathological urine calcium oxalate supersaturations. Although normal pregnant women are more hypercal-ciuric than women with calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis (243 ± 23 mg/day vs. 194 ± 5 mg/day), pregnancy is not an established stone-forming state and pregnant women do not exhibit pathological crystalluria. One hypothesis to explain their lack of overt stone formation and pathological crystalluria is that pregnancy does not raise urine supersaturation with respect to stone forming salts such as calcium oxalate or calcium monohydrogen phosphate (brushite) to levels as high as in stone forming women. To test this hypothesis, we studied eleven normal women during each trimester of pregnancy, and between six and eight weeks post-partum. During pregnancy, hypercalciuria occurs with unchanged urine volume, citrate and magnesium excretions do not increase proportionally with calcium excretion, and urine pH increases. Supersaturations with respect to calcium oxalate (CaOx) and brushite (Br) are as high as those of women with calcium nephrolithiasis. The lack of pathological crystalluria and stones during pregnancy is not due to a failure of supersaturations to increase; urinary potential for crystallization is as high as in patients with established stone disease

Exploring the Representation of Depressive Symptoms and the Influence of Stigma in Arabic-Speaking Refugee Outpatients

The number of distressed refugees from the Arab world is relatively high in Germany and other host countries worldwide. For this specific population, substantial challenges and barriers have already been identified that hamper access to Germany's health care system. This study aims to contribute to this line of research by exploring the representation of depressive symptoms, both somatic and psychological, in order to inform clinicians about the most prevalent symptoms reported by Arabic-speaking refugee outpatients. Furthermore, this paper investigates the longstanding claim that mental health stigma fosters the expression of bodily distress. For these purposes, a total of 100 Arabic-speaking refugee outpatients, mostly Syrians, were recruited in Berlin, Germany. Somatic and psychological symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) 15 and 9, while stigma was assessed with the Brief Version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-10). Study results show that both somatic and psychological symptom severity was moderate while sleeping problems and energy loss were the most reported symptoms across both scales. Stigma was low and showed no association with somatic complaints in a multiple regression analysis, but was associated with more psychological symptoms. A principal factor extraction on the PHQ-15 items revealed five independent, somatic symptom clusters that were interpreted considering the rich poetic resources of the Arabic language. In conclusion, both somatic and psychological symptoms were commonly reported by Arabic-speaking refugees with symptoms of depression. Whereas, stigma does not seem to influence the expression of somatic symptoms, the present results provide first empirical indications for the relationship of symptom expression with the use of explanatory models and conceptualizations of mental illness within the Arabic culture and language. Future research efforts should be dedicated to enhancing our understanding of mental health care needs in this population as well as to exploring other mediators that might help explain the varying degree of somatic symptoms in depression across cultures

Development of a culturally sensitive Arabic version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.-AR) and validation of the depression module

Background: Arabic represents one of the most frequently spoken languages worldwide, especially among refugee populations. There is a pressing need for specialized diagnostic tools corresponding to the DSM-5 criteria in Modern Standard Arabic, which can be administered on Arabic speakers in the West and Arab region alike. Objectives: To develop and validate the culturally-adapted version of the most recent M.I.N.I. 7.0.2 into Modern Standard Arabic-a form of Arabic commonly used across all Arab countries. Methods: 102 participants were recruited between April 2019 to March 2020 at the Charite - Universitatsmedizin in Berlin. Symptoms were assessed with Arabic versions of rater-based and self-rated measures, including Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Arabic-speaking psychiatrists saw participants for diagnostic assessment. Results: Cohen's kappa (kappa) values were moderate for major depression, and slight for post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as generalized anxiety disorder. Moreover, kappa values indicated moderate agreement between M.I.N.I.-AR and PHQ-9 for depression, as well as HTQ for post-traumatic stress disorder, respectively. Conclusion: The translated and culturally adapted version of the M.I.N.I. addresses an existing need for a reliable, efficient, and effective comprehensive diagnostic tool using the most recent DSM-5 criteria in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Based on the obtained results, only a validation of the depression module (Module A) of the M.I.N.I-AR was possible. Study outcomes also show evidence for the validation of Module H covering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Potential valuable contributions can be extended to this translation and validation

Phosphonate Chelators for Medicinal Metal Ions

A family of phosphonate-bearing chelators was synthesized to study their potential in metal-based (radio)- pharmaceuticals. Three ligands (H6phospa, H6dipedpa, H6eppy; structures illustrated in manuscript) were fully characterized, including X-ray crystallographic structures of H6phospa and H6dipedpa. NMR spectroscopy techniques were used to confirm the complexation of each ligand with selected trivalent metal ions. These methods were particularly useful in discerning structural information for Sc3+ and La3+ complexes. Solution studies were conducted to evaluate the complex stability of 15 metal complexes. As a general trend, H6phospa was noted to form the most stable complexes, and H6eppy associated with the least stable complexes. Moreover, In3+ complexes were determined to be the most stable, and complexes with La3+ were the least stable, across all metals. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to calculate structures of H6phospa and H6dipedpa complexes with La3+ and Sc3+. A comparison of experimental 1 H NMR spectra with calculated 1 H NMR spectra using DFT-optimized structures was used as a method of structure validation. It was noted that theoretical NMR spectra were very sensitive to a number of variables, such as ligand configuration, protonation state, and the number/orientation of explicit water molecules. In general, the inclusion of an explicit second shell of water molecules qualitatively improved the agreement between theoretical and experimental NMR spectra versus a polarizable continuum solvent model alone. Formation constants were also calculated from DFT results using potential-energy optimized structures. Strong dependence of molecular free energies on explicit water molecule number, water molecule configuration, and protonation state was observed, highlighting the need for dynamic data in accurate first-principles calculations of metal−ligand stability constants

Color‐Selective Printed Organic Photodiodes for Filterless Multichannel Visible Light Communication

Future lightweight, flexible, and wearable electronics will employ visible-lightcommunication schemes to interact within indoor environments. Organic photodiodes are particularly well suited for such technologies as they enable chemically tailored optoelectronic performance and fabrication by printing techniques on thin and flexible substrates. However, previous methods have failed to address versatile functionality regarding wavelength selectivity without increasing fabrication complexity. This work introduces a general solution for printing wavelength-selective bulk-heterojunction photodetectors through engineering of the ink formulation. Nonfullerene acceptors are incorporated in a transparent polymer donor matrix to narrow and tune the response in the visible range without optical filters or light-management techniques. This approach effectively decouples the optical response from the viscoelastic ink properties, simplifying process development. A thorough morphological and spectroscopic investigation finds excellent charge-carrier dynamics enabling state-of-the-art responsivities >10² mA W⁻¹ and cutoff frequencies >1.5 MHz. Finally, the color selectivity and high performance are demonstrated in a filterless visible-light-communication system capable of demultiplexing intermixed optical signals