A Workable Solution for Reducing the Large Number of Vehicle and Pedestrian Accidents Occurring on a Yellow Light

Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada, during 2019, the National Collision Database shows that 28% of traffic fatalities and 42% of serious injuries occurred at intersections. Likewise, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40% of the estimated 5,811,000 accidents in the U.S. during the year studied were intersection-related crashes. In fact, a major survey by the car insurance industry found that nearly 85% of drivers could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light at an intersection. One major reason for these accidents is the “yellow light dilemma,” the ambiguous situation where a driver should stop or proceed forward when unexpectedly faced with a yellow light. This situation is even further exacerbated by the tendency of aggressive drivers to inappropriately speed up on the yellow just to get through the traffic light. A survey of Canadian drivers conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that 9% of drivers admitted to speeding up to get through a traffic light. Another reason for these accidents is the increased danger of making a left-hand turn on yellow. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), left turns occur in approximately 22.2% of collisions—as opposed to just 1.2% for right turns. Moreover, a study by CNN found left turns are three times as likely to kill pedestrians than right turns. The reason left turns are so much more likely to cause an accident is because they take a driver against traffic and in the path of oncoming cars. Additionally, most of these left turns occur at the driver’s discretion—as opposed to the distressingly brief left-hand arrow at busy intersections. Drive Safe Now proposes a workable solution for reducing the number of accidents occurring during a yellow light at intersections. We believe this fairly simple solution will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce damage to public and private property, and decrease insurance costs.

Behavioral Characteristics of Pharmacologically Selected Lines of Rats: Relevance to Depression

This brief review discusses the behavioral consequences of two pharmacologically selected lines of rats. Flinders Sensitive (FSL) and Flinders Resistant (FRL) Lines of rats were selected on the basis of differential hypothermic and behavioral responses to the anticholinesterase, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP). FSL rats are more sensitive to the hypothermic effects of cholinergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic agonists but less sensitive to the locomotor or stereotypic effects of dopamine agonists. FSL rats exhibit greater immobility in the forced swim test and reduced social interaction compared with FRL rats, but do not differ in saccharin intake, behavior in the elevated plus maze, or responses for rewarding brain self-stimulation. The exaggerated immobility and reduced social interaction are counteracted by chronic treatment with antidepressants. Because FSL rats were more sensitive to 5-HT1A receptor agonists, high (HDS) and low (LDS) 8-OH-DPATsensitive lines were selectively bred for differential hypothermic responses to the 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT). HDS rats were also more sensitive to the hypothermic effects of oxotremorine, a cholinergic agonist, but selection for this response did not diverge with later selection. HDS rats exhibited greater immobility in the forced swim test than LDS rats and this correlated response could be seen early in selection (generation 3). HDS rats also showed reduced social interaction compared to LDS rats, but did not differ in behavior in the elevated plus maze. These findings confirm that selection for hypothermic responses to pharmacological agents do have behavioral consequences, notably the production of depressive-like phenotypes, which can be counteracted by chronic antidepressant treatment. Because increased 5-HT1A receptor sensitivity was common to both selected lines (FSL and HDS), neurobiological processes dependent on this receptor could contribute to the abnormal behaviors that manifest in these rat lines and thus suggesting a mechanism underlying depressive behaviors in humans. However, available human data are inconsistent with this hypothesis and suggest that other mechanisms underlie these behavioral abnormalities in HDS and FSL rats. These mechanisms as well as additional behavioral testing in these rat lines will be discussed.

The design of monitoring communication system Based on Power line carrier

The design of the power line carrier communication system was introduced in this paper,DSP was adopted as the hardware platform to complete the core task.DSP sending terminal delivered the collecting data to the DSP receiving terminal through the power line carrier, and the DSP receiving terminal send the data to PC through a serial port.The design improved the power line carrier communication system and the data transmission became faster and more reliable.The experiment results showed that the PER of the receiving data is less than 0.4%, which satisfied the power line carrier communication requirement Our design is feasible and effective.

Research on Total Electric Field for DC Lines Converted from Double-Circuit AC Lines

With rapid growth of power demand, transmission capacity is also in urgent need of upgrading. In some cases, converting existing AC transmission lines to DC lines can Improve the transmission capacity and reduce the construction investment. In this paper, the upstream finite element method was expanded to calculate the total electric field of same tower multi-circuit DC lines converted from double-circuit AC lines, and the validity of the algorithm was confirmed by experiments. Taking a DC line converted from a typical same tower 500 kV double-circuit AC transmission line as an example, the surface electric field and the ground total electric field in different pole conductor arrangement schemes were calculated and analyzed, and the critical height of pole conductors for DC lines in residential and non-residential area were determined. Then, the corridor width of DC and AC lines at critical height in residential and non-residential areas before and after AC-DC line transformation were compared. The results indicate that for DC lines converted from common 500 kV double-circuit AC lines, the ground total electric field can meet the requirements of corresponding standard with appropriate pole conductor arrangement schemes.

The effect of adenovirus expressing wild-type p53 on 5-fluorouracil chemosensitivity is related to p53 status in pancreatic cancer cell lines

AIM:There are conflicting data about p53 function on cellular sensitivity to the cytotoxic action of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Therefore the objective of this study was to determine the combined effects of adenovirus-mediated wild-type (wt) p53 gene transfer and 5-FU chemotherapy on pancreatic cancer cells with different p53 gene status. METHODS:Human pancreatic cancer cell lines Capan-1^(p53mut), Capan-2^(p53wt),FAMPAC^(p53mut),PANC1^(p53mut),and rat pancreatic cancer cell lines AS^(p53wt) and DSL6A^(p53null) were used for in vitro studies.Following infection with different ratios of Ad- p53-particles (MOI) in combination with 5-FU,proliferation of tumor cells and apoptosis were quantified by cell proliferation assay (WST-1) and FACS (PI-staining).In addition,DSL6A syngeneic pancreatic tumor cells were inoculated subcutaneously in to Lewis rats for in vivo studies. Tumor size,apoptosis (TUNEL) and survival were determined. RESULTS:Ad-p53 gene transfer combined with 5-FU significantly inhibited tumor cell proliferation and substantially enhanced apoptosis in all four cell lines with an alteration in the p53 gene compared to those two cell lines containing wt-p53.In vivo experiments showed the most effective tumor regression in animals treated with Ad-p53 plus 5-FU.Both in vitro and in vivo analyses revealed that a sublethal dose of Ad-p53 augmented the apoptotic response induced by 5-FU. CONCLUSION:Our results suggest that Ad-p53 may synergistically enhance 5-FU-chemosensitivity most strikingly in pancreatic cancer cells lacking p53 function.These findings illustrate that the anticancer efficacy of this combination treatment is dependent on the p53 gene status of the target tumor cells.

Differential expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor splice variants in the mouse brain

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF) plays a critical role in neuronal survival and function. GDNF has two major splice variants in the brain,α-pro-GDNF and β-pro-GDNF, and both isoforms have strong neuroprotective effects on dopamine neurons. However, the expression of the GDNF splice variants in dopaminergic neurons in the brain remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the mRNA and protein expression of α-and β-pro-GDNF in the mouse brain by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, using splice variant-specific primers, and western blot analysis. At the mRNA level,β-pro-GDNF expression was significantly greater than that of α-pro-GDNF in the mouse brain. In contrast, at the protein level,α-pro-GDNF expression was markedly greater than that of β-pro-GDNF. To clarify the mechanism underlying this inverse relationship in mRNA and protein expression levels of the GDNF splice variants, we analyzed the expression of sorting protein-related receptor with A-type repeats(SorLA) by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. At the mRNA level, SorLA was positively associated with β-pro-GDNF expression, but not with α-pro-GDNF expression. This suggests that the differential expression of α-and β-pro-GDNF in the mouse brain is related to SorLA expression. As a sorting protein, SorLA could contribute to the inverse relationship among the mRNA and protein levels of the GDNF isoforms. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Xuzhou Medical University, China on July 14, 2016.

Stability Analysis of a Multi Area System with Renewable Energy and Multi-Terminal DC Tie Lines

Security constrained multi area multi objective dynamic economic dispatch (SCMAMODED) with renewable energy (RE) and all the possible MTDC stability constraints is formulated for the first time. The stability merits of multi terminal DC (MTDC) tie lines as compared to the traditional HVAC forms the main objective of this paper. Probabilistic load flow (PLF) is applied to determine the system parameters while the uncertainties are modelled using Scenario Based Method (SBM). The simulation results reveal that with the use of MTDC tie lines, the frequency and voltage stability in the MAMODED with renewable energy sources (RES) are enhanced while keeping the MTDC power exchange interface nodes at secure levels.

Dynamic Promotional Resource Allocation for Segment Specific and Spectrum Effect of Promotion for a Product Line Incorporating Repeat Purchase Behavior

Promotion is an essential element in the marketing mix. It is used by businesses to inform, influence and persuade customers to adopt the products and services they offer. Without promotion, business would be stagnant and lack substantial growth because the brands would have low visibility in the market. Moreover, today’s vast and assorted markets comprise of customers with different needs and varied behavior. So it is rarely possible for companies to satisfy all customers by treating them alike. Thus there arises a need to divide the market into segments having customers with similar traits/characteristics. After identifying appropriate market segments, firms can design differentiated promotional campaigns for each segment. At the same time there can be a mass market promotional campaign that reaches different segments with a fixed spectrum. Also since promotional effort resources are limited, one must use them judiciously. In this paper, we formulate mathematical programming problem under repeat purchase scenario, which optimally allocates mass promotional effort resources and differentiated promotional effort resources across the segments dynamically in order to maximize the overall sales obtained from multiple products of a product line under budgetary and minimum sales aspiration level constraint on each product under consideration in each segment. The planning horizon is divided into multi periods, the adoption pattern of each product in each segment is observed in every subinterval and accordingly promotional effort allocations are determined for the next period till we reach the end of planning period. The optimization model has been further extended to incorporate minimum aspiration level constraints on total sales for each product under consideration from all the segments taken together. The non linear programming problem so formulated is solved using differential evolution approach. A numerical example has been discussed to illustrate applicability of the model.

Serum concentration of sFas and sFasL in healthy HBsAg carriers,chronic viral hepatitis B and C patients

AIM:To estimate the amount of apoptosis among healthy HBsAg carriers,patients with chronic HBV infection treated wibh lamivudine and patients with chronic HCV infection treated with interferon alpha and ribavirin.Activity of apoptosis was evaluated by serum sFas/sFasL concentration measurement. Moreover dependence between apoptosis and HBV-DNA or HCV-RNA levels was studied. METHODS:Eighty-six persons were included into study:34 healthy HBsAg carders,33 patients with chronic HBV infecl^on and 19 patients with chronic HCV infection.Serum levels of sFas/sFasL were measured by ELISA assay.HBV-DNA and HCV-RNA were measured by RT-PCR assay.Levels of sFas/sFasL were determined before and 2 and 12 wk after therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C infection. HBV-DNA or HCV-RNA was detected before treatment and 6 mo after treatment. RESULTS:Twenty-four (71%) healthy HBsAg carders showed HBV-DNA over 10~5/mL,which was comparable to the patients with chronic hepatitis B.independently from HBV-DNA levels, the concentration of sFas among healthy HBsAg carders was comparable to healthy persons.Among patients with chronic hepatitis B and C,the concentration of sFas was significantly higher in comparison to healthy HBsAg carriers and healthy persons.In chronic hepatitis B patients the concentration of sFas was decreased during lamivudine treatment.Among chronic hepatitis C patients the concentration of sFas was increased during IFN alpha and ribavirin treatment,sFasL was not detected in control group.Furbhermore sFasL occurred more frequently in chronic hepatitis C patients in comparison to chronic hepatitis B patients. CONCLUSION:There are no correlations between apoptosis and HBV-DNA levels.However ther is an association between apoptosis and activity of inflammation in patients with chronic HBV infection.Apoptosis can be increased in patients with chronic hepatitis C by effective treatment which may be a result of apoptosis stimulation by IFN-α.

Implementation of Dynamic Line Rating in a Sub-Transmission System for Wind Power Integration

Based on conventional static line rating method, the actual current carrying capability of overhead conductors cannot be judged. Due to continuous increment in electricity demand and the difficulties associated with new line constructions, the overhead lines are therefore required to be rated based on a method that should establish their real-time capability in terms of electricity transmission. The method used to determine the real-time ampacity of overhead conductors not only can enhance their transmission capacity but can also help in allowing excessive renewable generation in the electricity network. In this research work, the issues related to analyzing an impact of wind power on periodical loading of overhead line as well as finding its static and dynamic ampacities with line current are investigated in detail. Moreover, the investigation related to finding a suitable location for the construction of a 60 MW wind farm is taken on board. Thereafter, the wind park is integrated with a regional grid, owned by Fortum Distribution AB. In addition to that, the electricity generated from the wind park is also calculated in this project. Later on, the work is devoted to finding the static and dynamic line ratings for “VL3” overhead conductor by using IEEE-738-2006 standard. Furthermore, the project also deals with finding the line current and making its comparison with maximum capacity of overhead conductor (VL3) for loading it in such a way that no any violation of safe ground clearance requirements is observed at all. Besides, the line current, knowing the conductor temperature when it transmits the required electricity in the presence of wind power generation is also an important factor to be taken into consideration. Therefore, based on real-time ambient conditions with actual line loading and with the help of IEEE-738-2006 standard, the conductor temperature is also calculated in this project. At the end, an economic analysis is performed to evaluate the financial advantages related to applying the dynamic line ratings approach in place of traditional static line ratings technique across an overhead conductor (VL3) and to know how much beneficial it is to temporarily postpone the rebuilding and/or construction of a new transmission line. Furthermore, an economic analysis related to wind power system is taken into consideration as well to get familiar with the costs related to building and connecting a 60 MW wind farm with the regional grid.

SOUND RADIATION FROM PLATES ON ELASTIC FOUNDATION UNDER ACTION OF MOVING LINE FORCES

An analysis is made of the problem of sound radiation from infinite one-dimensional plateson elastic foundation, when the plates are subjected to the action of harmonic line forces movingat subsonic speeds (M 【 1). The expressions of nondimensional sound power are formulated andthe asymptotic forms of sound power in the low frequency regions are derived. The radiatedsound power is shown as a function of the stiffness of elastic foundation, in terms of stiffness fac-torψ, the moving speed of line force, in terms of Math number M, and the frequency, in termsof wavenumber ratio γ . The effects of the parameter ψ in conjunction with the parameters Mand γ on the radiated sound power level and the phenomenon of coincidence radiation are alsoinvestigated in detail.

9个不同使用类型木薯品系在合浦县的适应性研究

为筛选适宜在合浦县推广的木薯品系,本研究以主栽品种‘南植199’为对照,对9个木薯新品系的生物学特性进行了观察,并测定其农艺性状和经济性状,同时进行相关性分析。结果表明,9个品系分枝角度小、块根长度适中和主茎高度中等以上;‘RC4’的块根产量显著高于对照,其余8个品系与对照差异不显著;‘RC4’等8个品系的淀粉产量高于对照;9个品系的淀粉含量高于对照,其中‘RC3’等5个品系的淀粉含量显著或极显著高于对照;9个木薯品系的直链淀粉含量显著或极显著低于对照‘;RC6’等6个品系的氢氰酸含量低于50 mg/kg。相关性分析结果表明:块根产量与生长中期株高、成熟期株高、块根直径呈极显著正相关,与茎粗呈显著正相关;淀粉含量与生长中期株高、成熟期株高、茎粗呈显著正相关;淀粉产量与生长中期株高、成熟期株高、茎粗、块根直径、块根产量呈极显著正相关,与淀粉含量呈显著正相关。综合来看,这9个木薯新品系的综合表现良好,适合在合浦县进行推广。其中‘,RC3’、‘RC4’和‘RC7’可作为加工型品系;‘RC5’和‘RC10’可作为食用品系;‘RC2’、‘RC6’、‘RC11’和‘RC12’可作为鲜食加工兼用品系;‘RC2’和‘RC5’作为食用品系具有很好的推广前景。

Analyzing Population Density Disparity in China with GIS-automated Regionalization: The Hu Line Revisited

The famous ’Hu Line’, proposed by Hu Huanyong in 1935, divided China into two regions(southeast and northwest) of comparable area size but drastically different in population. However, the classic Hu Line was derived manually in absence of reliable census data and computational technologies of modern days. It has been subject to criticism of lack of scientific rigor and accuracy. This research uses a GIS-automated regionalization method, termed REDCAP(Regionalization with Dynamically Constrained Agglomerative Clustering and Partitioning), to reconstruct the demarcation line based on the 2010 county-level census data in China. The results show that the logarithmic transformation of population density is a better measure of attributive homogeneity in derived regions than density itself, and produces two regions of nearly identical area size and greater contrast in population. Specifically, the revised Hu Line by Hu Huanyong in 1990 had the southeast region with 94.4% of total population and 42.9% of total land, and our delineation line yields a southeast region with 97.4% population and 50.8% land. Therefore, the population density ratio of the two regions is 27.1 by our line, much higher than the ratio of 22.4 by the Hu Line, and thus outperforms the Hu Line in deriving regions of maximum density contrast with comparable area size. Furthermore, more regions are delineated to further advance our understanding of population distribution disparity in China.

Fermented Herbal Decoction Selectively Targeting Human Cancer Cell Line and Human Pathogenic Microorganism

Introduction: Prolonged immuno-suppressed status promised to induce internal growth of malignant cell and infectious agent, yet, only a small part of affected individuals seek medical attention or berried by commercially over-flowed fake information. Several studies have described complementary and alternative medicine as effective strategies for improving anti-infectious agent including malignant cell. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a fermented herbal decoction (FHD) both in vitro and in vivo to malignant cells and microorganism by regulating leukocyte subset proportioning FHD as dietary material. Methods: In this approach of alternative study, selective anti-cancer effect by fermented decoction was tried to show first in vitro system both, cancer cell and virus strain. The fermented herbal decoction consisting of 80 sorts of herbs and fruits. The selective toxicity was set up and then for immunological factors in animal and human. The most important factor is to reduce side effect for a normal cell. Results: First, FHD was proved as safe by animal test. FHD regulated also the proportion of granulocyte and lymphocyte ratio both animal and human. In vitro culture showed selective toxicity by FHD against human melanoma and leukemia cell line but reduced toxicity was showed by normal cell line. As for the anti-virus activity, anti-virus effect was tested on the feeder layer of human fibroblast cell, after 9 days of culture. Second, FHD inhibits colon cancer growth in 3-methylholanthrene induced cancer in rat. Conclusion: The present results suggest that our fermented herbal decoction showed selective anti-cancer activities and anti-virus activities, together with the regulative effect on the immune system.

Human embryonic stem cell lines with ccr5-del32 allele conferring resistance to HIV

A 32bp deletion in the chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) gene (CMKBR5) was shown to be linked to HIV resistance. Bone marrow transplantation from the homozygous CCR5-del32 donor to a CDC Stage 2 HIV-positive recipient was demonstrated to confer a HIV resistance, resulting in discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy. In search for an unlimited source of CCR5-del32 cells for transplantation purposes, we tested 137 human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines from the Reproductive Genetics Institute’s hESC lines collection, and report here the finding of 12 hESC lines with the CCR5-del32 allele, one of which represents a unique partenogenetic ESC line containing two copies of this deletion and may be studied for utility in stem cell transplantation treatment of HIV.

On the Line Graph of the Complement Graph for the Ring of Gaussian Integers Modulo n

The line graph for the complement of the zero divisor graph for the ring of Gaussian integers modulo n is studied. The diameter, the radius and degree of each vertex are determined. Complete characterization of Hamiltonian, Eulerian, planer, regular, locally and locally connected is given. The chromatic number when is a power of a prime is computed. Further properties for and are also discussed.

Struggle zone: alpine shrubs are limited in the Southern Urals by an advancing treeline and insufficient snow depth

In recent decades,the rapid climate warming in polar and alpine regions has been accompanied by an expan-sion of shrub vegetation.However,little is known about how changes in shrub distribution will change as the distribution of tree species and snow cover changes as temperatures rise.In this work,we analyzed the main environmental factors influencing the distribution and structure of Juniperus sibir-ica,the most common shrub species in the Southern Ural Mountains.Using mapping and digital elevation models,we demonstrated that J.sibirica forms a well-defined vegeta-tion belt mainly between 1100 and 1400 m a.s.l.Within this zone,the abundance and cover of J.sibirica are influenced by factors such as rockiness,slope steepness,water regime and tree(Picea obovata)cover.An analysis of data spanning the past 9 years revealed an upward shift in the distribution of J.sibirica with a decrease in its area.The primary limit-ing factors for the distribution of J.sibirica were the removal of snow cover by strong winter winds and competition with trees.As a consequence of climatic changes,the tree line and forest limit have shifted upward,further restricting the distribution of J.sibirica to higher elevations where com-petition for light with trees is reduced and snow cover is sufficiently deep.

Smart Home Networking: Lessons from Combining Wireless and Powerline Networking

Integrating the power grid technology with renewable power generation technologies, Demand Response (DR) programs enabled by the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) were introduced into the power grid in the interest of both utilities and residents. They help to achieve load balance and increase the grid reliability by encouraging residents to reduce their power usage during peak load periods in return for incentives. To automate this process, appliances, in-house sensors, and the AMI controller need to be networked together. In this paper, we compare mainstream network technologies applicable to home appliance control and propose a solution combining Power Line Communication (PLC) with wireless communication in smart homes for the purpose of energy saving. We extended NS-2, a popular network simulator, to model such combined network scenarios. Using a number of different routing strategies, we then model and evaluate the network performance of DR programs in smart homes in such a combined network.

A Study of Bilinear Models in Voice Conversion

This paper presents a voice conversion technique based on bilinear models and introduces the concept of contextual modeling. The bilinear approach reformulates the spectral envelope representation from line spectral frequencies feature to a two-factor parameterization corresponding to speaker identity and phonetic information, the so-called style and content factors. This decomposition offers a flexible representation suitable for voice conversion and facilitates the use of efficient training algorithms based on singular value decomposition. In a contextual approach (bilinear) models are trained on subsets of the training data selected on the fly at conversion time depending on the characteristics of the feature vector to be converted. The performance of bilinear models and context modeling is evaluated in objective and perceptual tests by comparison with the popular GMM-based voice conversion method for several sizes and different types of training data.