Simulation architecture for the design of cooperative collision warning systems

Simulation has been widely used to estimate the benefits of Cooperative Systems (CS) based on Inter-Vehicular Communications (IVC). This paper presents a new architecture built with the SiVIC simulator and the RTMaps™ multisensors prototyping platform. We introduce several improvements from a previous similar architecture, regarding IVC modelisation and vehicles’ control. It has been tuned with on-road measurements to improve fidelity. We discuss the results of a freeway emergency braking scenario (EEBL) implemented to validate our architecture’s capabilities.

Simulation architecture for cooperative ITS applications and augmented perception

Cooperative Systems provide, through the multiplication of information sources over the road, a lot of potential to improve the safety of road users, especially drivers. However, developing cooperative ITS applications requires additional resources compared to non-cooperative applications which are both time consuming and expensive. In this paper, we present a simulation architecture aimed at prototyping cooperative ITS applications in an accurate and detailed, close-to-reality environment; the architecture is designed to be modular and generalist. It can be used to simulate any type of CS applications as well as augmented perception. Then, we discuss the results of two applications deployed with our architecture, using a common freeway emergency braking scenario. The first application is Emergency Electronic Brake Light (EEBL); we discuss improvements in safety in terms of the number of crashes and the severity of crashes. The second application compares the performance of a cooperative risk assessment using an augmented map against a non-cooperative approach based on local-perception only. Our results show a systematic improvement of forward warning time for most vehicles in the string when using the augmented-map-based risk assessment.

Comparing cooperative and non-cooperative crash risk assessment

Cooperative Systems provide, through the multiplication of information sources over the road, a lot of potential to improve the assessment of the road risk describing a particular driving situation. In this paper, we compare the performance of a cooperative risk assessment approach against a non-cooperative approach; we used an advanced simulation framework, allowing for accurate and detailed, close-to-reality simulations. Risk is estimated, in both cases, with combinations of indicators based on the TTC. For the non-cooperative approach, vehicles are equipped only with an AAC-like forward-facing ranging sensor. On the other hand, for the cooperative approach, vehicles share information through 802.11p IVC and create an augmented map representing their environment; risk indicators are then extracted from this map. Our system shows that the cooperative risk assessment provides a systematic increase of forward warning to most of the vehicles involved in a freeway emergency braking scenario, compared to a non-cooperative system.

Zeta-potential and morphology of electrospun nano- and microfibers from biopolymers and their blends used as scaffolds in tissue engineering

Electrostatic spinning or electrospinning is a fiber spinning technique driven by a high-voltage electric field that produces fibers with diameters in a submicrometer to nanometer range.1 Nanofibers are typical one-dimensional colloidal objects with an increased tensile strength, whose length can achieve a few kilometers and the specific surface area can be 100 m2 g–1 or higher.2 Nano- and microfibers from biocompatible polymers and biopolymers have received much attention in medical applications3 including biomedical structural elements (scaffolding used in tissue engineering,2,4–6 wound dressing,7 artificial organs and vascular grafts8), drug and vaccine delivery,9–11 protective shields in speciality fabrics, multifunctional membranes, etc. Other applications concern superhydrophobic coatings,12 encapsulation of solid materials,13 filter media for submicron particles in separation industry, composite reinforcement and structures for nano-electronic machines.

An IEEE 802.11p empirical performance model for cooperative systems applications

IEEE 802.11p is the new standard for Inter-Vehicular Communications (IVC) using the 5.9 GHz frequency band, as part of the DSRC framework; it will enable applications based on Cooperative Systems. Simulation is widely used to estimate or verify the potential benefits of such cooperative applications, notably in terms of safety for the drivers. We have developed a performance model for 802.11p that can be used by simulations of cooperative applications (e.g. collision avoidance) without requiring intricate models of the whole IVC stack. Instead, it provide a a straightforward yet realistic modelisation of IVC performance. Our model uses data from extensive field trials to infer the correlation between speed, distance and performance metrics such as maximum range, latency and frame loss. Then, we improve this model to limit the number of profiles that have to be generated when there are more than a few couples of emitter-receptor in a given location. Our model generates realistic performance for rural or suburban environments among small groups of IVC-equipped vehicles and road side units.

Randomized phase II trial of the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab combined with docetaxel in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive metastatic breast cancer administered as first-line treatment : the M77001 study group

Purpose: This randomized, multicenter trial compared first-line trastuzumab plus docetaxel versus docetaxel alone in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients and Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to six cycles of docetaxel 100 mg/m 2 every 3 weeks, with or without trastuzumab 4 mg/kg loading dose followed by 2 mg/kg weekly until disease progression. Results: A total of 186 patients received at least one dose of the study drug. Trastuzumab plus docetaxel was significantly superior to docetaxel alone in terms of overall response rate (61% v 34%; P = .0002), overall survival (median, 31.2 v 22.7 months; P = .0325), time to disease progression (median, 11.7 v 6.1 months; P = .0001), time to treatment failure (median, 9.8 v 5.3 months; P = .0001), and duration of response (median, 11.7 v 5.7 months; P = .009). There was little difference in the number and severity of adverse events between the arms. Grade 3 to 4 neutropenia was seen more commonly with the combination (32%) than with docetaxel alone (22%), and there was a slightly higher incidence of febrile neutropenia in the combination arm (23% v 17%). One patient in the combination arm experienced symptomatic heart failure (1%). Another patient experienced symptomatic heart failure 5 months after discontinuation of trastuzumab because of disease progression, while being treated with an investigational anthracycline for 4 months. Conclusion: Trastuzumab combined with docetaxel is superior to docetaxel alone as first-line treatment of patients with HER2-positive MBC in terms of overall survival, response rate, response duration, time to progression, and time to treatment failure, with little additional toxicity. © 2005 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Learner-focused evaluation cycles : facilitating learning using feedforward, concurrent and feedback evaluation

There is a growing trend to offer students learning opportunities that are flexible, innovative and engaging. As educators embrace student-centred agile teaching and learning methodologies, which require continuous reflection and adaptation, the need to evaluate students’ learning in a timely manner has become more pressing. Conventional evaluation surveys currently dominate the evaluation landscape internationally, despite recognition that they are insufficient to effectively evaluate curriculum and teaching quality. Surveys often: (1) fail to address the issues for which educators need feedback, (2) constrain student voice, (3) have low response rates and (4) occur too late to benefit current students. Consequently, this paper explores principles of effective feedback to propose a framework for learner-focused evaluation. We apply a three-stage control model, involving feedforward, concurrent and feedback evaluation, to investigate the intersection of assessment and evaluation in agile learning environments. We conclude that learner-focused evaluation cycles can be used to guide action so that evaluation is not undertaken simply for the benefit of future offerings, but rather to benefit current students by allowing ‘real-time’ learning activities to be adapted in the moment. As a result, students become co-producers of learning and evaluation becomes a meaningful, responsive dialogue between students and their instructors.

A CLASS act : the teaching team approach to subject coordination

Advancing the development of good practice around the teaching team has been the focus of a recently completed, nationally funded Australian grant entitled Coordinators Leading Advancement of Sessional Staff (CLASS). The project focused on developing leadership capacity of subject coordinators to provide supportive contexts for sessional staff to enhance their knowledge of teaching practice and contribute to subject improvement through a team approach. An action learning approach and notions of distributed leadership underpinned the activities of the teaching teams in the program. This paper provides an overview of a practical approach, led by the subject coordinator, to engaging sessional staff through the facilitation of a supportive network within the teaching team. It addresses some of the gaps identified in the recent literature which includes lack of role clarity for all members of the team and provides some examples of initiatives that teams engaged with to address some of the challenges identified. Resources to support this approach were developed and are shared through the project website. Recommendations for future direction include improved policy and practice at the institutional level, better recognition and reward for subject coordinators and resourcing to support the participation and professional development needs of sessional staff.

Liquid-vapour phase change : nucleate boiling of pure fluid and nanofluid under different gravity levels

This research was a step towards the comprehension of the nano-particles interaction with bubbles created during boiling. It was aimed at solving the controversies of whether the heat transfer is enhanced or deteriorated during the boiling of the nanofluid. Experiments were conducted in normal gravity and reduced gravity environments on-board the European Space Agency Parabolic Flight Program. The local modification of the thermo-physical properties of the fluid and moreover the modification experienced in the liquid microlayer under the growing vapour bubble were the dominant factors in explaining the mechanisms of the boiling behaviour of the nanofluid.

Overview of INEX 2013

INEX investigates focused retrieval from structured documents by providing large test collections of structured documents, uniform evaluation measures, and a forum for organizations to compare their results. This paper reports on the INEX 2013 evaluation campaign, which consisted of four activities addressing three themes: searching professional and user generated data (Social Book Search track); searching structured or semantic data (Linked Data track); and focused retrieval (Snippet Retrieval and Tweet Contextualization tracks). INEX 2013 was an exciting year for INEX in which we consolidated the collaboration with (other activities in) CLEF and for the second time ran our workshop as part of the CLEF labs in order to facilitate knowledge transfer between the evaluation forums. This paper gives an overview of all the INEX 2013 tracks, their aims and task, the built test-collections, and gives an initial analysis of the results

Simulating cooperative systems applications : a new complete architecture

For a decade, embedded driving assistance systems were mainly dedicated to the management of short time events (lane departure, collision avoidance, collision mitigation). Recently a great number of projects have been focused on cooperative embedded devices in order to extend environment perception. Handling an extended perception range is important in order to provide enough information for both path planning and co-pilot algorithms which need to anticipate events. To carry out such applications, simulation has been widely used. Simulation is efficient to estimate the benefits of Cooperative Systems (CS) based on Inter-Vehicular Communications (IVC). This paper presents a new and modular architecture built with the SiVIC simulator and the RTMaps™ multi-sensors prototyping platform. A set of improvements, implemented in SiVIC, are introduced in order to take into account IVC modelling and vehicles’ control. These 2 aspects have been tuned with on-road measurements to improve the realism of the scenarios. The results obtained from a freeway emergency braking scenario are discussed.

IEEE 802.11p empirical performance model from evaluations on test tracks

IEEE 802.11p is the new standard for intervehicular communications (IVC) using the 5.9 GHz frequency band; it is planned to be widely deployed to enable cooperative systems. 802.11p uses and performance have been studied theoretically and in simulations over the past years. Unfortunately, many of these results have not been confirmed by on-tracks experimentation. In this paper, we describe field trials of 802.11p technology with our test vehicles; metrics such as maximum range, latency and frame loss are examined. Then, we propose a detailed modelisation of 802.11p that can be used to accurately simulate its performance within Cooperative Systems (CS) applications.

β-Arrestin2 regulates RANKL and Ephrins gene expression in response to bone remodeling in mice

PTH-stimulated intracellular signaling is regulated by the cytoplasmic adaptor molecule barrestin. We reported that the response of cancellous bone to intermittent PTH is reduced in b-arrestin22/2 mice and suggested that b-arrestins could influence the bone mineral balance by controlling RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene expression. Here, we study the role of b-arrestin2 on the in vitro development and activity of bone marrow (BM) osteoclasts (OCs) and Ephrins ligand (Efn), and receptor (Eph) mRNA levels in bone in response to PTH and the changes of bone microarchitecture in wildtype (WT) and barrestin2 2/2 mice in models of bone remodeling: a low calcium diet (LoCa) and ovariectomy (OVX). The number of PTH-stimulated OCs was higher in BM cultures from b-arrestin22/2 compared with WT, because of a higher RANKL/OPG mRNA and protein ratio, without directly influencing osteoclast activity. In vivo, high PTH levels induced by LoCa led to greater changes in TRACP5b levels in b-arrestin22/2 compared with WT. LoCa caused a loss of BMD and bone microarchitecture, which was most prominent in b-arrestin22/2. PTH downregulated Efn and Eph genes in b-arrestin22/2, but not WT. After OVX, vertebral trabecular bone volume fraction and trabecular number were lower in b-arrestin22/2 compared with WT. Histomorphometry showed that OC number was higher in OVX-b-arrestin22/2 compared with WT. These results indicate that b-arrestin2 inhibits osteoclastogenesis in vitro, which resulted in decreased bone resorption in vivo by regulating RANKL/OPG production and ephrins mRNAs. As such, b-arrestins should be considered an important mechanism for the control of bone remodeling in response to PTH and estrogen deprivation.

Report on INEX 2008

INEX investigates focused retrieval from structured documents by providing large test collections of structured documents, uniform evaluation measures, and a forum for organizations to compare their results. This paper reports on the INEX 2008 evaluation campaign, which consisted of a wide range of tracks: Ad hoc, Book, Efficiency, Entity Ranking, Interactive, QA, Link the Wiki, and XML Mining.