A Comparative Analysis of Different Dilemma Zone Countermeasures at Signalized Intersections based on Cellular Automaton Model

In the United States, intersections are among the most frequent locations for crashes. One of the major problems at signalized intersection is the dilemma zone, which is caused by false driver behavior during the yellow interval. This research evaluated driver behavior during the yellow interval at signalized intersections and compared different dilemma zone countermeasures. The study was conducted through four stages. First, the driver behavior during the yellow interval were collected and analyzed. Eight variables, which are related to risky situations, are considered. The impact factors of drivers\u27 stop/go decisions and the presence of the red-light running (RLR) violations were also analyzed. Second, based on the field data, a logistic model, which is a function of speed, distance to the stop line and the lead/follow position of the vehicle, was developed to predict drivers\u27 stop/go decisions. Meanwhile, Cellular Automata (CA) models for the movement at the signalized intersection were developed. In this study, four different simulation scenarios were established, including the typical intersection signal, signal with flashing green phases, the intersection with pavement marking upstream of the approach, and the intersection with a new countermeasure: adding an auxiliary flashing indication next to the pavement marking. When vehicles are approaching the intersection with a speed lower than the speed limit of the intersection approach, the auxiliary flashing yellow indication will begin flashing before the yellow phase. If the vehicle that has not passed the pavement marking before the onset of the auxiliary flashing yellow indication and can see the flashing indication, the driver should choose to stop during the yellow interval. Otherwise, the driver should choose to go at the yellow duration. The CA model was employed to simulate the traffic flow, and the logistic model was applied as the stop/go decision rule. Dilemma situations that lead to rear-end crash risks and potential RLR risks were used to evaluate the different scenarios. According to the simulation results, the mean and standard deviation of the speed of the traffic flow play a significant role in rear-end crash risk situations, where a lower speed and standard deviation could lead to less rear-end risk situations at the same intersection. High difference in speed are more prone to cause rear-end crashes. With Respect to the RLR violations, the RLR risk analysis showed that the mean speed of the leading vehicle has important influence on the RLR risk in the typical intersection simulation scenarios as well as intersections with the flashing green phases\u27 simulation scenario. Moreover, the findings indicated that the flashing green could not effectively reduce the risk probabilities. The pavement marking countermeasure had positive effects on reducing the risk probabilities if a platoon\u27s mean speed was not under the speed used for designing the pavement marking. Otherwise, the risk probabilities for the intersection would not be reduced because of the increase in the RLR rate. The simulation results showed that the scenario with the pavement marking and an auxiliary indication countermeasure, which adds a flashing indication next to the pavement marking, had less risky situations than the other scenarios with the same speed distribution. These findings suggested the effectiveness of the pavement marking and an auxiliary indication countermeasure to reduce both rear-end collisions and RLR violations than other countermeasures

Improving Safety under Reduced Visibility Based on Multiple Countermeasures and Approaches including Connected Vehicles

The effect of low visibility on both crash occurrence and severity is a major concern in the traffic safety field. Different approaches were utilized in this research to analyze the effects of fog on traffic safety and evaluate the effectiveness of different fog countermeasures. First, a Crash Risk Increase Indicator (CRII) was proposed to explore the differences of crash risk between fog and clear conditions. A binary logistic regression model was applied to link the increase of crash risk with traffic flow characteristics. Second, a new algorithm was proposed to evaluate the rear-end crash risk under fog conditions. Logistic and negative binomial models were estimated in order to explore the relationship between the potential of rear-end crashes and the reduced visibility together with other traffic parameters. Moreover, the effectiveness of real-time fog warning systems was assessed by quantifying and characterizing drivers\u27 speed adjustments through driving simulator experiments. A hierarchical assessment concept was suggested to explore the drivers\u27 speed adjustment maneuvers. Two linear regression models and one hurdle beta regression model were estimated for the indexes. Also, another driving simulator experiment was conducted to explore the effectiveness of Connected-Vehicles (CV) crash warning systems on the drivers\u27 awareness of the imminent situation ahead to take timely crash avoidance action(s). Finally, a micro-simulation experiment was also conducted to evaluate the safety benefits of a proposed Variable Speed limit (VSL) strategy and CV technologies. The proposed VSL strategy and CV technologies were implemented and tested for a freeway section through the micro-simulation software VISSIM. The results of the above mentioned studies showed the impact of reduced visibility on traffic safety, and the effectiveness of different fog countermeasures

Inverse-design of non-Hermitian potentials for light management

In this paper, we propose a general inverse-design strategy based on genetic algorithm optimization to achieve ‘on demand’ manipulation of light in one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) non-Hermitian systems. The optimization process faithfully creates non-Hermitian potentials from any given arbitrary real (or imaginary) permittivity distribution for the desired frequency selective and broadband asymmetric response in 1D multilayer structures. As a demonstration in 2D, we design periodic and aperiodic complex permittivity spatial distributions to create "sink-type" concentrators of light around a desired area. The proposed inverse-design approach to generate non-Hermitian potentials represents an alternative to the Hilbert Transform (HT) generalizing the Kramers Kronig relations in space, additionally being selective in spectrum.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i InfraestructuraPostprint (published version

Restricted Hilbert transform for feasible light management

A feasible restricted Hilbert Transform (HT) is presented to solve the challenging practical realization of non-Hermitian systems, restricting the complex susceptibility within practical limits. Beyond closed-conservative systems, the physics of non-Hermitian systems has become the playground to uncover unusual phenomena. Whilst Kramers Kronig relations break the temporal symmetry leading to causality, we proposed an analogous generalized Hilbert Transform (HT) to engineer complex media holding a nonistrotropic response, thus breaking the spatial symmetry. Applications of such HT range from tailoring the filed flows in arbitrary dimensions with particular application on VCSELS and edge-emitting lasers to cloaking arbitrary objects.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i InfraestructuraPostprint (published version

Design and Application of Exclusive Service App for Rural Elderly

With the further advancement of rural development and the rapid development of mobile Internet, rural service apps have gradually become an important means of promoting rural economic development and improving farmers’ production and living standards. At present, a number of service-type apps with wide applications in the field of rural services have emerged, such as “Planting Master”, “Farming Network”, “Rural Taobao”, etc. However, these apps do not pay special attention to special groups, but only target the majority of young people and office workers. However, these apps do not pay special attention to special groups, but only target the majority of young people and office workers. In order to fill this gap, we have designed a software called Nong’e Tong, which is specially designed for the elderly and other special groups. The software has a simple and beautiful interface, and is easy to use. It not only provides a lot of special functions, but also can link the elderly’s cell phone with their children’s cell phones to check the health and safety of the elderly at any time. Compared to other software, the application has special features for seniors to ensure that they can use the application easily and quickly

Streptococcus Mutans Membrane Vesicles Enhance Candida albicans Pathogenicity and Carbohydrate Metabolism

Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans, as the most common bacterium and fungus in the oral cavity respectively, are considered microbiological risk markers of early childhood caries. S. mutans membrane vesicles (MVs) contain virulence proteins, which play roles in biofilm formation and disease progression. Our previous research found that S. mutans MVs harboring glucosyltransferases augment C. albicans biofilm formation by increasing exopolysaccharide production, but the specific impact of S. mutans MVs on C. albicans virulence and pathogenicity is still unknown. In the present study, we developed C. albicans biofilms on the surface of cover glass, hydroxyapatite discs and bovine dentin specimens. The results showed that C. albicans can better adhere to the tooth surface with the effect of S. mutans MVs. Meanwhile, we employed C. albicans biofilm-bovine dentin model to evaluate the influence of S. mutans MVs on C. albicans biofilm cariogenicity. In the S. mutans MV-treated group, the bovine dentin surface hardness loss was significantly increased and the surface morphology showed more dentin tubule exposure and broken dentin tubules. Subsequently, integrative proteomic and metabolomic approaches were used to identify the differentially expressed proteins and metabolites of C. albicans when cocultured with S. mutans MVs. The combination of proteomics and metabolomics analysis indicated that significantly regulated proteins and metabolites were involved in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. In summary, the results of the present study proved that S. mutans MVs increase bovine dentin demineralization provoked by C. albicans biofilms and enhance the protein and metabolite expression of C. albicans related to carbohydrate metabolism

Tryptophan residue of plasmid-encoded Pgp3 is important for Chlamydia muridarum to induce hydrosalpinx in mice

The crucial role of plasmid-encoded protein Pgp3 in Chlamydia pathogenesis has been demonstrated in various animal models. Previous studies have revealed that the Pgp3-deficient C. muridarum mutant fails to induce hydrosalpinx after vaginal inoculation in mice. Structural analysis of C. trachomatis Pgp3 trimer has indicated that Trp234 may play a critical role in trimeric crystal packing interactions and that Tyr197 is involved at predominant cation-binding sites. In this study, we constructed C. muridarum transformants harboring Pgp3, Trp234, or Tyr197 point mutations (Pgp3W234A and Pgp3Y197A). C3H/HeJ mice infected with Pgp3W234A mutant failed to induce severe hydrosalpinx in the oviduct tissue, which largely phenocopied the full-length Pgp3-deficient C. muridarum. The Pgp3Y197A variant induced an intermediate severity of pathology. The attenuated pathogenicity caused by the Pgp3W234A mutant may be due to its decreased survival in the lower genital tracts of mice, reduced ascension to the oviduct, and milder induction of inflammatory cell infiltration in the oviduct tissue. Thus, our results point to an important amino acid residue involved in Pgp3 virulence, providing a potential therapeutic target for chlamydial infection

NMI inhibits cancer stem cell traits by downregulating hTERT in breast cancer.

N-myc and STAT interactor (NMI) has been proved to bind to different transcription factors to regulate a variety of signaling mechanisms including DNA damage, cell cycle and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. However, the role of NMI in the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the regulation of NMI on CSCs traits in breast cancer and uncovered the underlying molecular mechanisms. We found that NMI was lowly expressed in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs)-enriched populations. Knockdown of NMI promoted CSCs traits while its overexpression inhibited CSCs traits, including the expression of CSC-related markers, the number of CD44+CD24- cell populations and the ability of mammospheres formation. We also found that NMI-mediated regulation of BCSCs traits was at least partially realized through the modulation of hTERT signaling. NMI knockdown upregulated hTERT expression while its overexpression downregulated hTERT in breast cancer cells, and the changes in CSCs traits and cell invasion ability mediated by NMI were rescued by hTERT. The in vivo study also validated that NMI knockdown promoted breast cancer growth by upregulating hTERT signaling in a mouse model. Moreover, further analyses for the clinical samples demonstrated that NMI expression was negatively correlated with hTERT expression and the low NMI/high hTERT expression was associated with the worse status of clinical TNM stages in breast cancer patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the interaction of YY1 protein with NMI and its involvement in NMI-mediated transcriptional regulation of hTERT in breast cancer cells. Collectively, our results provide new insights into understanding the regulatory mechanism of CSCs and suggest that the NMI-YY1-hTERT signaling axis may be a potential therapeutic target for breast cancers

Noggin depletion in adipocytes promotes obesity in mice.

ObjectiveObesity has increased to pandemic levels and enhanced understanding of adipose regulation is required for new treatment strategies. Although bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) influence adipogenesis, the effect of BMP antagonists such as Noggin is largely unknown. The aim of the study was to define the role of Noggin, an extracellular BMP inhibitor, in adipogenesis.MethodsWe generated adipose-derived progenitor cells and a mouse model with adipocyte-specific Noggin deletion using the AdiponectinCre transgenic mouse, and determined the adipose phenotype of Noggin-deficiency.ResultsOur studies showed that Noggin is expressed in progenitor cells but declines in adipocytes, possibly allowing for lipid accumulation. Correspondingly, adipocyte-specific Noggin deletion in vivo promoted age-related obesity in both genders with no change in food intake. Although the loss of Noggin caused white adipose tissue hypertrophy, and whitening and impaired function in brown adipose tissue in both genders, there were clear gender differences with the females being most affected. The females had suppressed expression of brown adipose markers and thermogenic genes including peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1alpha) and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) as well as genes associated with adipogenesis and lipid metabolism. The males, on the other hand, had early changes in a few BAT markers and thermogenic genes, but the main changes were in the genes associated with adipogenesis and lipid metabolism. Further characterization revealed that both genders had reductions in VO2, VCO2, and RER, whereas females also had reduced heat production. Noggin was also reduced in diet-induced obesity in inbred mice consistent with the obesity phenotype of the Noggin-deficient mice.ConclusionsBMP signaling regulates female and male adipogenesis through different metabolic pathways. Modulation of adipose tissue metabolism by select BMP antagonists may be a strategy for long-term regulation of age-related weight gain and obesity