The impact of perceptual treatments on driver's behavior: From driving simulator studies to field tests—First results

Our study focused on the lateral position of drivers in relation to risk on rural crest vertical curves, using a field site proposed by a local operator of the French road network (Conseil Général de Maine-et-Loire, 49). The final goal was to test one road treatment on this field site. The study consisted of three stages. The first, using driving simulators, selected two perceptual treatments (i.e., rumble strips on both sides of the centerline and sealed shoulders) from five that were tested in order to help drivers maintain lateral control when driving on crest vertical curves. The rumble strips were installed first on the field site.     

Automated fluvial hydromorphology mapping from airborne remote sensing

Mapping fluvial hydromorphology is an important part of defining river habitat. Mapping via field sampling or hydraulic modeling is however time consuming, and mapping hydromorphology directly from remote sensing data may offer an efficient solution. Here, we present a system for automated classification of fluvial hydromorphology based on a deep learning classification scheme applied to aerial orthophotos. Using selected rivers in Norway, we show how surface flow patterns (smooth or rippled surfaces vs. standing waves) can be classified in imagery using a trained convolutional neural network (achieving a training and validation accuracy of >95%). We show how integration of these classified surface flow patterns with information on channel gradient, obtained from airborne topographic LiDAR data, can be used to compartmentalize the rivers into hydromorphological units (HMUs) that represent the dominant flow features. Automated classifications were broadly consistent with manual classifications that had been made in previous ground surveys, with equivalency in automated and manually derived HMU classes ranging from 61.5% to 87.7%, depending on the river stretch considered. They were found to be discharge-dependent, showing the temporally dynamic aspect of hydromorphology. The proposed system is quick, flexible, generalizable, and provides consistent classifications free from interpretation bias. The deep learning approach used here can be customized to provide more detailed information on flow features, such as delineating between standing waves and advective diffusion of air bubbles/foam, to provide a more refined classification of surface flow patterns, and the classification approach can be further advanced by inclusion of additional remote sensing methods that provide further information on hydromorphological features.     

Effect of normal aging on the manipulation of information in working memory

The goal of this study is to examine the central executive of working memory in normal aging, specifically focusing on its capacities to manipulate or modify the format of the to-be-recalled material. The central executive was measured with the alphabetical span procedure, during which subjects were asked to recall a random series of words in their alphabetical order. The storage demand was equalized across subjects by adjusting the list lengths according to individual span. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 showed that elderly subjects were not impaired in manipulating information, relative to young controls, even when the difficulty of the task was increased. In Experiment 4, validity was tested by asking young subjects to perform the task under the conditions of full or divided attention. Alphabetical recall was more impaired than direct recall during the divided attention condition, which suggests a larger involvement of the central executive component in the former. These results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis of a central executive impairment being associated with normal aging.     

The ripening and aging of noni fruits (Morinda citrifolia L.): microbiological flora and antioxidant compounds

The juice of noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia L.) is claimed to be a natural functional beverage with a growing market both in the USA and Europe. It is traditionally produced by keeping harvested fruit in closed containers for several weeks as the fruit senesces or ages. Little is known about the changes that occur in the juice's microbiological, physicochemical, and functional characteristics during this treatment. Traditional processing was simulated in the laboratory, with samples being recovered and analyzed at various time intervals. At first, fermentation occurred and populations of molds, yeasts, and mesophilic bacteria increased significantly. After 2 weeks, microbial growth changed abruptly, stopping for yeasts, molds, and mesophilic bacteria, and decreasing suddenly for lactic bacteria. Analyses of pH, soluble solids, ethanol, and lactic acid in the fruits confirmed the microbial analyses, indicating initial sensitive variations, followed by values remaining comparatively steady during aging. Vitamin C and total phenol contents also remained constant at 300 ± 60 mg and 50 ± 20 mg GAE, respectively, per 100 g of pulp. Antioxidant capacity likewise remained relatively high at 8 ± 1.5 µmol Trolox^® g^?1. All phenolic compounds, including scopoletin and rutin, varied significantly immediately after harvest but remained more or less steady during aging. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of manipulation and irrelevant noise on working memory capacity of patients with Alzheimer's dementia.

The effect of manipulation and distracting noise on immediate serial recall was measured in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), neurologically healthy elderly individuals, and young adults. In Experiment 1, the authors compared serial word recall with word recall in alphabetical order. Alphabetical recall requires the active manipulation of the contents of working memory. Findings indicated that DAT patients were severely impaired in the alphabetical recall task, whereas the performance of neurologically healthy elderly participants was comparable with the performance of young adult participants. In Experiment 2, the authors investigated the effect of different irrelevant auditory backgrounds on immediate digit recall. In this task, both elderly participants and DAT patients performed similarly to the group of young adult participants, indicating comparable efficacy to resist auditory distraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: Contribution of forgetting and predictive value of complex span tasks.

Objective: This study examines working memory (WM) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method: Performances on sentence span and operation span were measured in individuals meeting criteria for MCI (n = 20) and AD (n = 16) as well as in healthy older adults (n = 20). In addition, the effect of retention interval was assessed by manipulating the length of first and last items of trials (long-short vs. short-long), as forgetting might contribute to impaired performance in AD and MCI. Results: Results show a group effect (p     

New risk assessment approach for systemic insecticides: the case of honey bees and imidacloprid (Gaucho)

The procedure to assess the risk posed by systemic insecticides to honey bees follows the European Directives and depends on the determination of the Hazard Quotient (HQ), though this parameter is not adapted to these molecules. This paper describes a new approach to assess more specifically the risk posed by systemic insecticides to honey bees with the example of imidacloprid (Gaucho). This approach is based on the new and existing chemical substances Directive in which levels of exposure (PEC, Predicted Exposure Concentration) and toxicity (PNEC, Predicted No Effect Concentration) are compared. PECs are determined for different categories of honey bees in relation to the amounts of contaminated pollen and nectar they might consume. PNECs are calculated from data on acute, chronic, and sublethal toxicities of imidacloprid to honey bees, to which selected assessment factors are applied. Results highlight a risk for all categories of honey bees, in particular for hive bees. These data are discussed in the light of field observations made on honey bee mortalities and disappearances. New perspectives are given to better determine the risk posed by systemic insecticides to honey bees.     

High Power Electromagnetic Waves Exposure of Healthy and Tumor Bearing Mice: Assessment of Effects on Mice Growth,Behavior, Tumor Growth,and Vessel Permeabilization

High power radiofrequencies may transiently or permanently disrupt the functioning of electronic devices, but their effect on living systems remains unknown. With the aim to evaluate the safety and biological effects of narrow-band and wide-band high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) waves, we studied their effects upon exposure of healthy and tumor-bearing mice. In field experiments, the exposure to 1.5 GHz narrow-band electromagnetic fields with the incident amplitude peak value level in the range of 40 kV/m and 150 MHz wide-band electric fields with the amplitude peak value in the range of 200 kV/m, did not alter healthy and tumor-bearing animals’ growth, nor it had any impact on cutaneous murine tumors’ growth. While we did not observe any noticeable behavioral changes in mice during the exposure to narrow-band signals when wide-band HPEM signals were applied, mice could behave in a similar way as they respond to loud noise signals: namely, if a mouse was exploring the cage prior to signal application, it returned to companion mates when wide-band HPEM signals were applied. Moreover, the effect of wide-band signals was assessed on normal blood vessels permeability in real-time in dorsal-chamber-bearing mice exposed in a pilot study using wide-band signal applicators. Our pilot study conducted within the applicator and performed at the laboratory scale suggests that the exposure to wide-band signals with the amplitude of 47.5 kV/m does not result in increased vessel permeability.     

Surface physicochemical analysis of natural Lactococcus lactis strains reveals the existence of hydrophobic and low charged strains with altered adhesive properties

The cell surface physicochemical properties of 50 Lactococcus lactis strains of different subspecies and isolated from different origins (dairy, vegetal and animal) were examined. Cell surface hydrophobicity and Lewis acid-base properties were evaluated by affinity measurements to solvents in a partitioning test, while the global electrical charge of the cells was assessed by micro-electrophoresis using a laser zeta-meter. A global multivariate analysis of the results revealed a high natural diversity of L. lactis cell surface properties. While 52% of the strains present a hydrophilic and electronegative cell wall surface, a group of strikingly hydrophobic strains (12% of the strains) and a group of strains with unusual low charged surface (18%) were identified. Adhesion on polystyrene microtitre plates was evaluated for twelve strains selected from the multivariate analysis as representatives of the various observed cell wall surface physicochemical patterns. A significant correlation between adhesion, hydrophobicity and low electronegativity was observed when adhesion was performed in a low ionic strength suspending medium. The most adhesive strains were hydrophobic or low charged. The presence of repulsive electrostatic interactions led to a decrease in adhesion of the most negatively charged hydrophilic strains. The present study highlights the diversity of L. lactis cell surface physicochemical properties, diversity that could not be connected to the origin or to the subspecies of the strains.     

Two approaches to on-line graphics systems

This article describes two types of software systems which provide an interface to users who wish to apply the power of interactive graphics to their specific problem. The systems are based on an 8K IMLAC PDS-1 minicomputer CRT display which provides sufficient processor power to handle display generation, management, and dynamic manipulation. The minicomputer software was first designed as an independent operating system which not only provides the user with high-speed timesharing access to the host computer, but also the resources of the local processor and its associated input/output devices. In this configuration, host compiled FORTRAN IV programs are loaded into the minicomputer through the timesharing link and executed independently from the host processor. A higher degree of processing is provided by the master-slave relationship between a local DEC PDP $\text{11}\text{40}$ minicomputer and the IMLAC. The user's FORTRAN IV program, executing in the PDP $\text{11}\text{40}$, directs an IMLAC graphics subsystem through subroutine calls. These systems provide the programmer with a foundation for a broad range of high level applications involving computer graphics.