FIMCAR XIV: Potential of Simulation Tools

For the assessment of vehicle safety in frontal collisions compatibility (which consist of self and partner protection) between opponents is crucial. The use of simulation tools is the only way to a realistic and wide coverage (w.r.t. the real accident situations that may happen on the road) of car-to-car compatibility issues with acceptable costs. This report reviews the use of Virtual Testing (VT) in today’s European vehicle and product type approval, and the on-going work for future implementation of VT in vehicle type approval and rating. The modelling requirements and validation process are discussed both regarding barrier models and car models. Combined with the experience from the use of simulation tools in the FIMCAR project, a 4-step roadmap for implementation of VT tools in the compatibility development is proposed

FIMCAR III: Car-to-Car Test Results

The assessment of compatibility in frontal impacts has to address the importance of different vehicle structures. A critical component in the assessment is to identify, quantitatively, what constitutes good performing structures. In particular, the concepts of structural alignment and structural interaction need to be investigated. Structural alignment is incorporated in the FIMCAR candidate compatibility assessments to achieve geometric alignment of identifiable crashworthiness structures. Structural interaction is also a global assessment of how structures interact with a collision partner during the crash. The performance of lower vehicle structures in a crash has been identified as important as they may not be evaluated in a structural alignment assessment, but can contribute to structural interaction and thereby improve collision outcome. There has been, however, no clear definition of the characteristics for lower load paths that improve vehicle safety and how these structures manifest themselves in proposed test procedures. FIMCAR has developed a vehicle crash test program that investigates the performance of vehicle structures using three different test series. The first test series used Super mini vehicles with different front end architectures. These tests with, and without, geometric alignment allowed the effectiveness of a lower load path to be compared to a case without a lower load path. A second set of tests investigated the importance of lower load paths for SUV type vehicles where the main front structures may not align with the main structures in a collision partner, but a lower load path may offset the consequences of this initial misalignment. A final test series investigated how the lower load paths in higher SUV type vehicles influence safety in side impact conditions and thus identify potential side effects of a new assessment procedure. Results of the test program show that the presence of a lower load path contributes to a more robust performance of the vehicle. The rearward offset of a lower load path could be reviewed and used to quantify when a lower structure design can contribute to structural interaction in both frontal and side impact configurations

A Self-Absorption Census of Cold HI Clouds in the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey

We present a 21cm line HI self-absorption (HISA) survey of cold atomic gas within Galactic longitudes 75 to 146 degrees and latitudes -3 to +5 degrees. We identify HISA as spatially and spectrally confined dark HI features and extract it from the surrounding HI emission in the arcminute-resolution Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS). We compile a catalog of the most significant features in our survey and compare our detections against those in the literature. Within the parameters of our search, we find nearly all previously detected features and identify many new ones. The CGPS shows HISA in much greater detail than any prior survey and allows both new and previously-discovered features to be placed into the larger context of Galactic structure. In space and radial velocity, faint HISA is detected virtually everywhere that the HI emission background is sufficiently bright. This ambient HISA population may arise from small turbulent fluctuations of temperature and velocity in the neutral interstellar medium. By contrast, stronger HISA is organized into discrete complexes, many of which follow a longitude-velocity distribution that suggests they have been made visible by the velocity reversal of the Perseus arm's spiral density wave. The cold HI revealed in this way may have recently passed through the spiral shock and be on its way to forming molecules and, eventually, new stars. This paper is the second in a series examining HISA at high angular resolution. A companion paper (Paper III) describes our HISA search and extraction algorithms in detail.Comment: 44 pages, including 13 figure pages; to appear in June 10 ApJ, volume 626; figure quality significantly reduced for astro-ph; for full resolution, please see http://www.ras.ucalgary.ca/~gibson/hisa/cgps1_survey

Disability, fatigue, pain and their associates in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: the European Scleroderma Observational Study

Objectives; Our aim was to describe the burden of early dcSSc in terms of disability, fatigue and pain in the European Scleroderma Observational Study cohort, and to explore associated clinical features. Methods; Patients completed questionnaires at study entry, 12 and 24 months, including the HAQ disability index (HAQ-DI), the Cochin Hand Function Scale (CHFS), the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-fatigue and the Short Form 36 (SF36). Associates examined included the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), current digital ulcers and internal organ involvement. Correlations between 12-month changes were also examined. Results; The 326 patients recruited (median disease duration 11.9 months) displayed high levels of disability [mean (S.D.) HAQ-DI 1.1 (0.83)], with ‘grip’ and ‘activity’ being most affected. Of the 18 activities assessed in the CHFS, those involving fine finger movements were most affected. High HAQ-DI and CHFS scores were both associated with high mRSS (ρ = 0.34, P < 0.0001 and ρ = 0.35, P < 0.0001, respectively). HAQ-DI was higher in patients with digital ulcers (P = 0.004), pulmonary fibrosis (P = 0.005), cardiac (P = 0.005) and muscle involvement (P = 0.002). As anticipated, HAQ-DI, CHFS, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy and SF36 scores were all highly correlated, in particular the HAQ-DI with the CHFS (ρ = 0.84, P < 0.0001). Worsening HAQ-DI over 12 months was strongly associated with increasing mRSS (ρ = 0.40, P < 0.0001), decreasing hand function (ρ = 0.57, P < 0.0001) and increasing fatigue (ρ = −0.53, P < 0.0001). Conclusion; The European Scleroderma Observational Study highlights the burden of disability in early dcSSc, with high levels of disability and fatigue, associating with the degree of skin thickening (mRSS). Impaired hand function is a major contributor to overall disability

Övervakningsverktyg : En jämförelse mellan Zabbix och op5 Monitor

Detta examensarbete jämför två övervakningsverktyg för servrar i ett nätverk, Zabbix och op5 Monitor. Båda är open source och används aktivt av organisationer för att övervaka organisationsservrarnas processorlast, I/O-kö på hårddiskarna, status på tjänster och mycket mer. Dessa två övervakningsverktyg testas och jämförs med varandra ur perspektiven användarvänlighet, funktionalitet och prestanda. Resultaten visar att i de flesta fallen är Zabbix mer användarvänligt medan op5 Monitor i de flesta fallen har bättre funktionalitet. Det visar sig också att op5 Monitor har något högre prestanda än inte bara Zabbix utan även de övervakningssystem som testades av Robin Rudeklint år 2010

Feasibility of a new homebased ballistocardiographic tool for sleep-assessment in a real-life context among workers

BACKGROUND: There is a need for simple and suitable tools for assessing sleep in a natural home environment. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the feasibility in terms of implementation and acceptability of a new homebased ballistocardiographic (BCG) tool for objective sleep-assessment in a real-life context. METHODS: The participants included thirty-nine workers, taking part in two seven nights sleep-assessment periods. Objective data regarding sleep was collected with BCG. Subjective data regarding sleep was collected with a sleep diary. Implementation was analysed by determining the number of nights with usable signal quality and comparing with the total number of potential nights and by exploring associations between objective and subjective sleep data. Acceptability was analysed by categorizing the participants experiences of how the BCG tool impacted the sleep. RESULTS: In terms of implementation, usableBCGdata increased from 40% at assessment phase 1 to 70% during assessment phase 2. Moreover, in assessment phase 2, there was a significant moderate correlation between the `time in bed assessed by the BCG and in sleep diary by participants in the first five nights. In terms of acceptability, almost one third of the participants did not experience any impact of the BCG on the sleep. Two participants experienced a major negative impact on the sleep. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the novel BCG tool could be feasible for objective assessing of sleep in workers natural home-environment in the future, but there is still a need for development of the BCG both regarding technology and implementation process.Funding Agencies|European Social Fund (ESF) [EURA 2014/2469/09 02 01 01/2015/STM]</p

Mutual Recognition Methodology Development

Phase 1 of the Mutual Recognition Methodology Development (MRMD) project developed an approach to statistical modeling and analysis of field data to address the state of evidence relevant to mutual recognition of automotive safety regulations. Specifically, the report describes a methodology that can be used to measure evidence for the hypothesis that vehicles meeting EU safety standards would perform similarly to US-regulated vehicles in the US driving environment, and that vehicles meeting US safety standards would perform similarly to EU-regulated vehicles in the EU driving environment. As part of the project, we assessed the availability and contents of crash datasets from the US and the EU, as well as their collective ability to support the proposed statistical methodology.The report describes a set of three statistical approaches to “triangulate” evidence regarding similarity or differences in crash and injury risk associated with EU- and US-regulated vehicles. Approach 1, Seemingly Unrelated Regression, tests whether the models are identical and will also assess the capability of the data analysis to detect differences in the models, if differences exist.Approach 2, Consequences of Best Models, uses logistic regression to develop two separate models, one for EU risk and one for US risk, as a function of a set of predictors (i.e., crash, vehicle, and occupant conditions). The two models will then be exercised on a standard population for the EU and a standard population for the US. Approach 3, Evidence for Consequences, turns the question aroundto measures the overall evidence for each of a set of possible conclusions. Each conclusion is characterized by a range of relative risk on a single population. Evidence is measured using a weighted average of likelihoods for a large group of models that produce the same outcome. That evidence is then compared using Bayes Factors

Inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase IV improves metabolic control over a 4-week study period in type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has been proposed as a new treatment modality for type 2 diabetes. To circumvent the drawback of the short half-life of GLP-1, inhibitors of the GLP-1-degrading enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) have been examined. Such inhibitors improve glucose tolerance in insulin-resistant rats and mice. In this study, we examined the 4-week effect of 1-[[[2-[(5-cyanopyridin-2-yl)amino]ethyl]amino]acetyl]-2-cyano-(S)-pyrrolidine (NVP DPP728), a selective, orally active inhibitor of DPP IV, in subjects with diet-controlled type 2 diabetes in a placebo-controlled double-blind multicenter study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 93 patients (61 men and 32 women), aged 64 +/- 9 years (means +/- SD) and with BMI 27.3 +/- 2.7 kg/m(2), entered the study. Fasting blood glucose was 8.5 +/- 1.5 mmol/l, and HbA(1c) was 7.4 +/- 0.7%. Before and after treatment with NVP DPP728 at 100 mg x 3 (n = 31) or 150 mg x 5 (n = 32) or placebo (n = 30), subjects underwent a 24-h study with standardized meals (total 2,000 kcal). RESULTS: Compared with placebo, NVP DPP728 at 100 mg t.i.d. reduced fasting glucose by 1.0 mmol/l (mean), prandial glucose excursions by 1.2 mmol/l, and mean 24-h glucose levels by 1.0 mmol/l (all P < 0.001). Similar reductions were seen in the 150-mg b.i.d. treatment group. Mean 24-h insulin was reduced by 26 pmol/l in both groups (P = 0.017 and P = 0.023). Although not an efficacy parameter foreseen in the study protocol, HbA(1c) was reduced to 6.9 +/- 0.7% in the combined active treatment groups (P < 0.001). Laboratory safety and tolerability was good in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that inhibition of DPP IV is a feasible approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes in the early stage of the disease