How to Build Up an Infrastructure for Intercultural Usability Engineering

Siemens is a global enterprise that sells its products in more than 190 countries throughout the world. This internationalization of products means more than just translating the operating instructions and making changes to formats. True adaptation goes much deeper and takes into account different requirements in terms of functionality. This article starts by defining the term culture and then considers the requirements that have to be met in the context of intercultural usability engineering. Taking the establishment of usability laboratories in Beijing, China and Princeton, New Jersey as examples, the article then presents the challenges facing international cooperation and possible solutions, taking a detailed look at differences in the infrastructure, at key qualifications in international cooperation, and at the development of appropriate test methods.     

Efficient driver drowsiness detection at moderate levels of drowsiness

Previous research on driver drowsiness detection has focused primarily on lane deviation metrics and high levels of fatigue. The present research sought to develop a method for detecting driver drowsiness at more moderate levels of fatigue, well before accident risk is imminent. Eighty-seven different driver drowsiness detection metrics proposed in the literature were evaluated in two simulated shift work studies with high-fidelity simulator driving in a controlled laboratory environment. Twenty-nine participants were subjected to a night shift condition, which resulted in moderate levels of fatigue; 12 participants were in a day shift condition, which served as control. Ten simulated work days in the study design each included four 30-min driving sessions, during which participants drove a standardized scenario of rural highways. Ten straight and uneventful road segments in each driving session were designated to extract the 87 different driving metrics being evaluated. The dimensionality of the overall data set across all participants, all driving sessions and all road segments was reduced with principal component analysis, which revealed that there were two dominant dimensions: measures of steering wheel variability and measures of lateral lane position variability. The latter correlated most with an independent measure of fatigue, namely performance on a psychomotor vigilance test administered prior to each drive. We replicated our findings across eight curved road segments used for validation in each driving session. Furthermore, we showed that lateral lane position variability could be derived from measured changes in steering wheel angle through a transfer function, reflecting how steering wheel movements change vehicle heading in accordance with the forces acting on the vehicle and the road. This is important given that traditional video-based lane tracking technology is prone to data loss when lane markers are missing, when weather conditions are bad, or in darkness. Our research findings indicated that steering wheel variability provides a basis for developing a cost-effective and easy-to-install alternative technology for in-vehicle driver drowsiness detection at moderate levels of fatigue.     

Reticulated Porous Foam Ceramics with Different Surface Chemistries

The aim of this study was to discuss the influence of different filter surface chemistries on the properties of foam filters. For reliable results, it is essential to ensure comparable structural properties (cell size and strut thickness) for all different surface chemistries (Al₂O₃, MgAl₂O₄, 3Al₂O₃·2SiO₂, SiO₂, and TiO₂) possess the same structural properties (cell size and strut thickness). Filters made of 100% of the investigated materials and alumina skeletons coated with the investigated materials were prepared. The coated alumina samples were sintered in one and two steps. The processing route with two sintering steps resulted in improved mechanical properties and comparable shrinkage and strut thickness. The 100% bulk foams possessed different pore sizes due to the differences of the material shrinkage. In this study, a comparison of the experimental investigated properties of the ceramic foam filters and the theoretically calculated values for foam materials derived from the bulk material properties is established.     

Activation of transforming growth factor-β2 in bovine milk during indirect heat treatments

Transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) in bovine milk was studied following heat treatments at 65 °C, 72 °C, 90 °C or 135 °C for 15 s in pilot scale indirect heating equipment. The concentrations of TGF-β2 were measured in milk, casein and whey fractions, and these values were compared with those obtained with non-heat-treated milk samples. Heat treatment had a strong effect on the growth factor and its distribution to casein and whey. Heating activated TGF-β2 from latent to immunoreactive form, as measured by immunoassay. Activation was dependent on the heating temperature and the change was total at 90 °C. TGF-β2 found in the casein fraction was in the active form, whereas the latent form of the growth factor was located in the whey fraction. TGF-β2 contents in cheese and whey were compared with that in the original milk, and these results supported the findings of the pilot scale study.     

High Spatial Resolution Imaging of Endogenous Hydrogen Peroxide in Living Cells by Solid‐State Fluorescence

Herein, we describe selective imaging of hydrogen peroxide using a precipitating dye conjugated to a boronic acid‐based immolative linker. We achieved visualization of endogenous hydrogen peroxide in phagosomes by solid‐state two‐photon fluorescence imaging in living cells with exceptionally high spatial resolution.     

Validation of a Cleanroom Compliant Sonication-Based Decellularization Technique: A New Concept in Nerve Allograft Production

Defects of the peripheral nervous system are extremely frequent in trauma and surgeries and have high socioeconomic costs. If the direct suture of a lesion is not possible, i.e., nerve gap > 2 cm, it is necessary to use grafts. While the gold standard is the autograft, it has disadvantages related to its harvesting, with an inevitable functional deficit and further morbidity. An alternative to autografting is represented by the acellular nerve allograft (ANA), which avoids disadvantages of autograft harvesting and fresh allograft rejection. In this research, the authors intend to transfer to human nerves a novel technique, previously implemented in animal models, to decellularize nerves. The new method is based on soaking the nerve tissues in decellularizing solutions while associating ultrasounds and freeze–thaw cycles. It is performed without interrupting the sterility chain, so that the new graft may not require post-production γ-ray irradiation, which is suspected to affect the structural and functional quality of tissues. The new method is rapid, safe, and inexpensive if compared with available commercial ANAs. Histology and immunohistochemistry have been adopted to evaluate the new decellularized nerves. The study shows that the new method can be applied to human nerve samples, obtaining similar, and, sometimes better, results compared with the chosen control method, the Hudson technique.     

Platinum(II) Complexes Bearing Triphenylphosphine and Chelating Oximes: Antiproliferative Effect and Biological Profile in Resistant Cells

Platinum(II) complexes of the type [Pt(Cl)(PPh₃){(κ²-N,O)-(1{C(R)=N(OH)-2(O)C₆H₄})}] with R=Me, H, ( 1 and 2 ) were synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction confirmed the proposed (SP4-3) configuration for 1 . Study of the antiproliferative activity, performed on a panel of human tumor cell lines and on mesothelial cells, highlighted complex 2 as the more effective. In particular, it showed a remarkable cytotoxicity in ovarian carcinoma cells (A2780) and interestingly, a significant antiproliferative effect on cisplatin resistant cells (A2780cis). Investigation into the intracellular mechanism of action demonstrated that 2 had a lower ability to platinate DNA than did cisplatin, which was taken as reference, and a notably higher uptake in resistant cells. A significant accumulation in mitochondria, along with the ability to induce concentration-dependent mitochondrial membrane depolarization and intracellular reactive oxygen species production, allowed us to propose a mitochondrion-mediated pathway as responsible for the interesting cytotoxic profile of complex 2 .     

Immunotherapy for Biliary Tract Cancer in the Era of Precision Medicine: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

Biliary tract cancers (BTC) represent a heterogeneous and aggressive group of tumors with dismal prognosis. For a long time, BTC has been considered an orphan disease with very limited therapeutic options. In recent years a better understanding of the complex molecular landscape of biology is rapidly changing the therapeutic armamentarium. However, while 40–50% of patients there are molecular drivers susceptible to target therapy, for the remaining population new therapeutic options represent an unsatisfied clinical need. The role of immunotherapy in the continuum of treatment of patients with BTC is still debated. Despite initial signs of antitumor-activity, single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) demonstrated limited efficacy in an unselected population. Therefore, identifying the best partner to combine ICIs and predictive biomarkers represents a key challenge to optimize the efficacy of immunotherapy. This review provides a critical analysis of completed trials, with an eye on future perspectives and possible biomarkers of response.