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• Drivers can initiate steering to recover from a lane departure while looking off-road. • Primary corrective steering amplitudes can be modeled using a single predictor. • Drivers scale the steering amplitude to get back in lane already at first response. • Splay angles had the strongest influence on steering amplitudes in naturalistic data. • Relative yaw angle influenced the steering amplitude most in driving simulator data. Unintentional lane departures on straight roads cause many road fatalities each year. The objective of this study was to explore and model drivers' recovery steering maneuvers in unintentional drift situations, to enable the prospective safety benefit assessment of lane departure warning and avoidance systems through counterfactual simulations. The timing and amplitude of the steering adjustments drivers make to avoid lane departure were studied over three data sets with different origins, consisting of both naturalistic data and experimental data from a driving simulator study. With respect to timing, the main finding was that visually distracted drivers often initiate the corrective steering response prior to looking back towards the road, demonstrating that lane-keeping information in the visual periphery is sufficient to trigger the response. As for steering amplitude, the observed amplitudes were correlated against different lane departure risk metrics from the literature, resulting in a model capable of accounting for human behavior across all three data sets with good performance. Surprisingly, a very simple model (which describes the steering amplitude as increasing quadratically with the vehicle's orientation to the road) predicted the amplitude of the primary corrective steering adjustment better than models based on more complex lane departure risk metrics. This result indicates that drivers scale the amplitude of their steering adjustment to the steering input needed to get the vehicle back in the lane already at first response. However, it was possible to obtain a similar model fit using a more complex threshold model, with different dynamics depending on the vehicle's current orientation to the road. We discuss how these findings can be applied to models of human steering for safety benefit assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Immigrants initiate antidepressants more often than the Finnish-born population. • Immigrants discontinue antidepressants earlier than the Finnish-born population. • Immigrants from Middle East and Africa discontinue antidepressants most often. : The aim of this study was to examine differences in the initiation and discontinuation of antidepressants between immigrants and the Finnish-born population diagnosed with depression in specialized health care. : The study utilized register-based data, which includes all immigrants living in Finland at the end of 2010 and matched Finnish-born controls. For this study, we selected individuals who had received a diagnosis of depression during 2011–2014 (immigrants n = 2244, Finnish-born n = 2773). Their antidepressant use was studied for a one-year period from initiation. A logistic regression was used to predict initiation and a Cox regression was used to predict discontinuation. : Immigrants were more likely to initiate the use of antidepressants than the Finnish-born controls (adjusted OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.07–1.46), but they also discontinued the medication earlier than the Finnish-born controls (adjusted HR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.31–1.68). Immigrants from Sub Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Northern Africa were most likely to discontinue antidepressants earlier. More severe depression, a longer length of residence in Finland and more intensive psychiatric treatment were associated with decreased risk of discontinuation. : The registers do not provide information on the perceived reasons for the discontinuation. : Immigrants with depression initiate antidepressants more often than the Finnish-born population, but they also discontinue them earlier. Early discontinuation may be a sign of insufficient treatment suggesting that there could be a need for improvement in mental health care for immigrants in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This was the fourth follow-up study examining rotavirus, norovirus, and sapovirus. • Overall, 175 children (98% of those eligible) had complete clinical data available. • Rotavirus returned as the most detected pathogen, as detections increased by 40%. • Rotavirus vaccine-induced protection remains for years after vaccination. • The all-cause incidence of acute gastroenteritis has decreased by 88% from pre-vaccination seasons. This study was performed to assess the prevalence and circulating genotypes of rotavirus, norovirus, and sapovirus in children. The results were compared to those of previous surveillance studies covering the years 2006–2008, 2009–2011, and 2012–2014 with similar methodology and setting, encompassing the start of universal vaccination with RotaTeq in 2009. Stool samples were collected from children aged <16 years with acute gastroenteritis at Tampere University Hospital, Finland, from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. The samples were analysed using reverse transcription PCR and positive amplicons were sequenced. A total of 178 stool samples were collected from 214 children. Rotavirus was detected in 56 (32%) stool samples, norovirus in 48 (27%), and sapovirus in 11 (6.3%). Rotavirus G9P[8] and G12P[8] were the most detected genotypes in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. GII.4 comprised 96% of the norovirus detections. The prevalence of all-cause acute gastroenteritis in a hospital setting decreased by 51% compared to 2012–2014, and by 88% compared to 2006–2008. Rotavirus returned as the most common cause of viral acute gastroenteritis in children, but the prevalence remains at a low level. No considerable changes were seen in the genotyping results of norovirus and sapovirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few instruments that identify and valuate health states are based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health States of the World Health Organization. One of them is the Health State Description (HSD) questionnaire first used in the World Health Survey (WHS) initiative (HSD-WHS), whose psychometric properties have not been evaluated in Chile. Additionally, the use of latent variables for the valuation process of health states has been scarcely investigated in the context of population health metrics. We aim to evaluate the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the HSD-WHS for Chile and describe a latent variable method for valuating health states associated with diseases. We used data from the second Chilean National Health population-based survey from 2009 to 2010 (N = 5293). We explored the factorial structure of the HSD-WHS through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the reliability, and the discriminant validity of the latent variable of disability. Disability weights for diseases were calculated using a linear regression model. We found an adequate goodness of fit for a second-order model with 9 factors corresponding to disability domains (Tucker–Lewis index = 0.99, comparative fit index = 0.99, root mean square error of approximation = 0.060), and good reliability estimates (standardized α = 0.91). The rescaled (between 0 and 100) latent variable of disability showed significant difference according to the explored variables. We estimated disability weights for the following: (1) depressive episode, 13.6 (12.1-15.2), (2) hypertension, 1.6 (0.0-3.3), and (3) diabetes, 5.0 (2.5-7.4). This study supports the use of the HSD-WHS questionnaire in the Chilean population and a latent variable approach for valuating health states associated with diseases. • The psychometric properties of the Health State Description-World Health Survey (HSD-WHS) questionnaire have been scarcely studied in the context of the WHS initiative. • The use of latent variable methods for valuating health states associated with diseases has been poorly studied in the context of population health metrics. • The HSD-WHS shows adequate psychometric properties and factorial structure in the Chilean population. • The latent variable approach seems to be a practical way for valuating health states associated with diseases, especially in the analysis of National Health Surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate the burden of disease through 4 complementary procedures to years lived with disability (YLDs) using the concept of attributable fraction and including analysis of subdomains of disability. We explored the burden on disability for 7 common musculoskeletal disorders (CMD) using the 2009 to 2010 Chilean National Health Survey, which included the Community Oriented Programme for the Control of Rheumatic Disease Core Questionnaire to identify cases with CMD, and an 8-domain questionnaire for health state descriptions. We calculated the proportion of disability attributable to pain in the general population and people with CMD. We also estimated the burden of CMD expressed as YLD and as the proportion of the disability in the general population attributable to people with CMD, with a particular focus in the pain domain of disability. Second order of uncertainty around point estimations was also characterized. Pain domain of disability accounted for 23.4% of the total disability in the general population, and between 20% (fibromyalgia) to 27.1% (osteoarthritis of the hip) in people with some of the selected CMD. People with chronic musculoskeletal pain accounted for 21.2% of total disability from general population, which generated 1.2 million of YLD (6679 YLD/100 000 inhabitants). Chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee were in the top position of specific CMDs, explaining the highest national burden. Pain is an essential component of disability in people with CMD and also in the general population. The approach used can be easily applied to other health conditions and other domains of disability. • In addition to years lived with disability, attributable fraction methods have been proposed to assess the burden of disease on disability. These methods traditionally use dichotomous outcomes of disability (disabled/not disabled), which assume a uniform construct, without considering its multidomain composition. • This study proposes 4 approaches applied to chronic musculoskeletal disorders (CMDs) and the subdisability domain of pain in Chile, to estimate the burden of disease as a complement of years lived with disability: (1) proportion of disability attributable to pain in the general population, (2) in people with a CMD; (3) the proportion of the disability, (4) pain domain disability in general population attributable to people with a CMD. • Results showed the methods can be easily implemented using cross-sectional data and could be applied to other diseases and subdomains of disability. • Pain is an essential component of disability in people with CMD and also in the general population in Chile. Chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis of the knee are the leading specific CMDs in terms of burden of disease regardless of the methodologic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicular emissions deteriorate air quality in urban areas notably. The aim of this study was to conduct an in-depth characterization of gaseous and particle emissions, and their potential to form secondary aerosol emissions, of the cars meeting the most recent emission Euro 6d standards, and to investigate the impact of fuel as well as engine and aftertreatment technologies on pollutants at warm and cold ambient temperatures. Studied vehicles were a diesel car with a diesel particulate filter (DPF), two gasoline cars (with and without a gasoline particulate filter (GPF)), and a car using compressed natural gas (CNG). The impact of fuel aromatic content was examined for the diesel car and the gasoline car without the GPF. The results showed that the utilization of exhaust particulate filter was important both in diesel and gasoline cars. The gasoline car without the GPF emitted relatively high concentrations of particles compared to the other technologies but the implementation of the GPF decreased particle emissions, and the potential to form secondary aerosols in atmospheric processes. The diesel car equipped with the DPF emitted low particle number concentrations except during the DPF regeneration events. Aromatic-free gasoline and diesel fuel efficiently reduced exhaust particles. Since the renewal of vehicle fleet is a relatively slow process, changing the fuel composition can be seen as a faster way to affect traffic emissions. [Display omitted] • This study characterized gas and particle emissions from Euro 6d level cars. • Cars represented various engine and after-treatment techniques and fuels. • Exhaust particle filter diminish particle emissions both in diesel and gasoline car. • Aromatic-free gasoline and diesel fuel efficiently reduced exhaust particles. • Fresh exhaust was significantly contributed by 1.2–10 nm particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• G1 is predominant genotype in shedding of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq®. • Intense shedding and prolonged presence of G1 may lead to induction of protective immune response. • Shedding is usually asymptomatic regardless of the genotype or the duration of shedding. Live oral pentavalent bovine-human reassortant rotavirus (RV) vaccine, RotaTeq®, contains bovine rotaviruses reassorted with human G-types G1, G2, G3 and G4, and P-type P[8]. Shedding of RotaTeq® vaccine, as studied by RT-PCR, has been shown to be more common than initially reported, and may include formation of vaccine-derived double-reassortant G1P[8] RVs. We studied the extent and duration of RotaTeq® vaccine virus shedding, genotypes shed, and clinical symptoms associated with shedding. We enrolled a total of 301 infants who received RotaTeq® vaccine according to Finnish schedule at 2, 3 and 5 months of age. Stool samples were collected 5–10 days after the first and 0–7 days before the third dose of the vaccine. Additional stool samples 6 and 12 weeks later were collected if the second stool sample was positive. All stools were studied with RT-PCR for RV VP7, VP4 and VP6. Parents filled a symptom diary for a week after each vaccine dose. We found that 93% of the vaccinees shed vaccine related viral particles in one sample taken 5–10 days after the first dose, indicating that stool shedding is very common and may be regarded as a marker of successful vaccination. Genotype G1 was the predominant genotype in shedding, often in association with P[8], and the only genotype found in long-term shedding. Also G4 was commonly detected whereas other vaccine G-types and bovine-type P[5] were not. Shedding of RotaTeq® vaccine-derived viruses is a sign for successful vaccination. Intense shedding of G1 with or without P[8]reflects effective multiplication and may be an important factor in the induction of protective immunity. Shedding of G1 containing vaccine viruses may be prolonged up to 8 months of age. These results suggest that the pentavalent vaccine functions largely like a monovalent G1 vaccine. Eudra-CT: 2014-004252-60. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine occurrence of residual rotavirus (RV) disease in different age groups in Finland after five to nine years of high coverage (≥90%) mass-vaccination with RotaTeqⓇ vaccine, and to examine the vaccine effect on circulating genotypes.Methods: Since 2013 all clinical laboratories in the country were obliged to send RV positive stool samples for typing. RVs were genotyped by RT-PCR for VP7 and VP4 proteins, sequenced and compared to reference strains.Results: RV continued to circulate throughout the study period at low level with a small increase in 2017-2018. There were three age-related clusters: young children representing primary or secondary vaccine failures, school-age children who may not have been vaccinated, and the elderly. Genotype distribution differed from the pre-vaccination period with a steady decline of G1P[8], emergence of G9P[8] and especially more recently G12P[8]. In the elderly, G2P[4] was predominant but was also replaced by G12P[8] in 2017-18.Conclusions: RV vaccination with a high coverage keeps RV disease at low level but does not prevent RV circulation. New RV genotypes have emerged replacing largely the previously predominant G1P[8]. Increase of overall RV activity with emergence of G12P[8] in the latest follow-up season 2017-18 might be a potential alarm sign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is (i) to review the recent studies on weather and climate change in Finnish Sápmi and to present the literature review findings alongside our survey on the observations made by local reindeer herders on the same phenomena, and, further, (ii) to review the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem services (ES) in Finnish Sápmi. The focus of the study is on the impacts of climate change on those habitat, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services which are interconnected with the Saami way of life as Indigenous people and thus support the continuity of their culture. In the holistic world view of Arctic Indigenous peoples, material culture and non-material culture are not separated, and there is no boundary between nature and culture. However, cultural and spiritual meanings of ecosystems, species and landscapes are rarely taken into account in scientific research on ecosystems services. Our review indicates that mostly negative impacts of climate warming on ecosystems and traditional livelihoods are to be expected in Sápmi. The most profound negative impacts will be on palsa mire and fell ecosystems, in particular snowbeds, snow patches and mountain birch forests. Consequently, changes in ecosystems may erode cultural meanings, stories, memories and traditional knowledge attached to them and affect the nature-based traditional livelihoods. In a situation where our rapidly changing climate is affecting the foundations of the nature-based cultures, the present review can provide a knowledge base for developing adaptation actions and strategies for local communities and Indigenous peoples to cope with changes caused by climate change and other drivers. Unlabelled Image • Mostly negative impacts of climate change on ES are to be expected in Sápmi. • Of habitat services, fell and palsa mires are the most vulnerable ecosystems. • Saami culture, traditional knowledge and livelihoods are threatened. • Regulating and supporting services provided by the ecosystems are altered. • Combining local and scientific knowledge improves understanding of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We extended driver steering models to multisensory integration and behavioural adaptation. • Empirical findings from slalom tasks in simulators were explained by the model. • Down-scaling of motion cues seems to cause drivers to underestimate vehicle yaw rate. • The model explains why slalom performance is optimal for somewhat down-scaled motion. • Several plausible mechanisms for driver adaptation to down-scaled motion were identified. It is well established that not only vision but also other sensory modalities affect drivers' control of their vehicles, and that drivers adapt over time to persistent changes in sensory cues (for example in driving simulators), but the mechanisms underlying these behavioural phenomena are poorly understood. Here, we consider the existing literature on how driver steering in slalom tasks is affected by down-scaling of vestibular cues, and propose, for the first time, a computational model of driver behaviour that can, based on neurobiologically plausible mechanisms, explain the empirically observed effects, namely: decreased task performance and increased steering effort during initial exposure, followed by a partial reversal of these effects as task exposure is prolonged. Unexpectedly, the model also reproduced another previously unexplained empirical finding: a local optimum for motion down-scaling, where path-tracking is better than when one-to-one motion cues are available. Overall, our findings suggest that: (1) drivers make direct use of vestibular information as part of determining appropriate steering actions, and (2) motion down-scaling causes a yaw rate underestimation phenomenon, where drivers behave as if the simulated vehicle is rotating more slowly than it is. However, (3) in the slalom task, a certain degree of such underestimation brings a path-tracking performance benefit. Furthermore, (4) behavioural adaptation in simulated slalom driving tasks may occur due to (a) down-weighting of vestibular cues, and/or (b) increased sensitivity in timing and magnitude of steering corrections, but (c) seemingly not in the form of a full compensatory rescaling of the received vestibular input. The analyses presented here provide new insights and hypotheses about simulated driving and simulator design, and the developed models can be used to support research on multisensory integration and behavioural adaptation in both driving and other task domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developed a new objective method of assessing driving simulator fidelity. • Showed that the method is sensitive to different simulator configurations. • A large motion base can be effective for reproducing real world low mu conditions. • Proper representation of lateral friction is critical to reproduce low mu conditions. Driving simulators can be used to test vehicle designs earlier, prior to building physical prototypes. One area of particular interest is winter testing since testing is limited to specific times of year and specific regions in the world. To ensure that the simulator is fit for purpose, an objective assessment is required. In this study a simulator and real world comparison was performed with three simulator configurations (standard, no steering torque, no motion) to assess the ability of a utility triplet of analyses to be able to quantify the differences between the real world and the different simulator configurations. The results suggest that the utility triplet is effective in measuring the differences in simulator configurations and that the developed "Virtual Sweden" environment achieved rather good behavioural fidelity in the sense of preserving absolute levels of many measures of behaviour. The main limitation in the simulated environment seemed to be the poor match of the dynamic lateral friction limit on snow and ice when compared to the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Agricultural pollution persists as a significant environmental problem for stream ecosystems. Uncultivated buffer zones or reforestation of riparian zones are advocated as a key management option that could compensate the harmful land use impacts. The effectiveness of riparian forests to protect ecological conditions of agricultural streams is yet inconclusive, particularly regarding the benefit of riparian buffers in streams suffering from uninterrupted agricultural diffuse pollution. We studied the effects of riparian land use on periphyton production and diatom, macrophyte and benthic macroinvertebrate communities in medium-sized agricultural streams by a) comparing 18 open field and forested agricultural stream reach pairs that only differed by the extent of riparian forest cover, and b) comparing the agricultural reaches to 15 near-natural streams. We found that periphyton abundance was higher in open reaches than in the forested reaches, but diatom community structure did not respond to the riparian forest cover. Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate communities were clearly affected by the riparian forest cover. Graminoids dominated in open reaches, whereas bryophytes were more abundant in forested reaches. Shredding invertebrates were more abundant in forested reaches compared to open reaches, but grazers did not differ between the reach types. Macrophyte trait composition and macroinvertebrate community difference between the reaches were positively related to the difference in riparian forest cover. The community structure of all three groups in the agricultural streams differed distinctly from the near-natural streams. However, only macrophyte communities in forested agricultural reaches showed resemblance to near-natural composition. Our results suggest that riparian forests provide ecological benefits that can partly compensate the impacts of agricultural diffuse pollution. However, community structure of forested agricultural reaches did not match the near-natural composition in any organism group indicating that catchment-scale management and mitigation of diffuse pollution need to be still advocated to achieve ecological goals in stream management and restoration. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Streams and riparian forests are highly linked. • Riparian forests can provide many ecological benefits to agricultural streams. • Stream biota responded to riparian forests cover in the agricultural streams. • Catchment-scale land use and pollution were the main drivers of stream communities. • Forested riparian zones can enhance ecological recovery of agricultural streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution, and specifically particulate matter pollution, is one of the greatest dangers to human health. Outdoor air pollution ranks third in causes for premature death. Improving indoor air quality is of immense importance, as the time spent indoors is often much greater than the time spent outdoors. In this experimental study, we evaluate the levels of particle pollution in indoor air in four offices across Europe, compare the indoor particles to outdoor particles and assess where the particles originate from. The measurements were conducted with an Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI+) for particles between 6 nm and 1 μm. The chosen metric, lung-deposited particle surface area (LDSA), targets the health impacts of particle pollution. Based on the measurements, we determined that most of the indoor air particles infiltrated from outdoor air, although two of the offices had very limited indoor activity during the measurement campaigns and may not represent typical use. The highest median indoor LDSA concentration during daytime hours was 27.2 μm2/cm3, whereas the lowest was 2.8 μm2/cm3. Indoor air in general had lower LDSA concentrations than outdoor air, the corresponding outdoor LDSA concentrations being 35.8 μm2/cm3 and 9.8 μm2/cm3. The particle size ranges which contributed to the highest concentrations were 50–100 nm and 300–500 nm. These size ranges correspond to soot mode and accumulation mode particles, which represent local and regional sources, respectively. Based on this study, limiting particle infiltration is the key factor in keeping indoor air in offices free of lung-depositing particles. • Particle concentrations and size distributions measured inside and outside offices. • Lung-deposited particle surface area (LDSA) in offices is mainly of outdoor origin. • Accumulation and soot mode particles contributed most to sub-1 μm LDSA. • Limiting infiltration is efficient at reducing lung depositing particles in offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective Appropriate glucose levels are essential for survival; thus, the detection and correction of low blood glucose is of paramount importance. Hypoglycemia prompts an integrated response involving reduction in insulin release and secretion of key counter-regulatory hormones glucagon and epinephrine that together promote endogenous glucose production to restore normoglycemia. However, specifically how this response is orchestrated remains to be fully clarified. The low affinity hexokinase glucokinase is found in glucose-sensing cells involved in glucose homeostasis including pancreatic β-cells and in certain brain areas. Here, we aimed to examine the role of glucokinase in triggering counter-regulatory hormonal responses to hypoglycemia, hypothesizing that reduced glucokinase activity would lead to increased and/or earlier triggering of responses. Methods Hyperinsulinemic glucose clamps were performed to examine counter-regulatory responses to controlled hypoglycemic challenges created in humans with monogenic diabetes resulting from heterozygous glucokinase mutations (GCK-MODY). To examine the relative importance of glucokinase in different sensing areas, we then examined responses to clamped hypoglycemia in mice with molecularly defined disruption of whole body and/or brain glucokinase. Results GCK-MODY patients displayed increased and earlier glucagon responses during hypoglycemia compared with a group of glycemia-matched patients with type 2 diabetes. Consistent with this, glucagon responses to hypoglycemia were also increased in I366F mice with mutated glucokinase and in streptozotocin-treated β-cell ablated diabetic I366F mice. Glucagon responses were normal in conditional brain glucokinase-knockout mice, suggesting that glucagon release during hypoglycemia is controlled by glucokinase-mediated glucose sensing outside the brain but not in β-cells. For epinephrine, we found increased responses in GCK-MODY patients, in β-cell ablated diabetic I366F mice and in conditional (nestin lineage) brain glucokinase-knockout mice, supporting a role for brain glucokinase in triggering epinephrine release. Conclusions Our data suggest that glucokinase in brain and other non β-cell peripheral hypoglycemia sensors is important in glucose homeostasis, allowing the body to detect and respond to a falling blood glucose. Graphical abstract Image 1 HIGHLIGHTS • Reduced glucokinase (GCK) function increases hormonal responses to hypoglycemia. • β-cell GCK is responsible for insulin suppression as blood glucose levels fall. • Brain GCK-mediated hypoglycemia-sensing is involved in epinephrine release. • GCK-mediated glucagon secretion involves GCK that is not located in brain or β-cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown the effect of a lead vehicle’s speed, deceleration rate and headway distance on drivers’ brake response times. However, how drivers perceive this information and use it to determine when to apply braking is still not quite clear. To better understand the underlying mechanisms, a driving simulator experiment was performed where each participant experienced nine deceleration scenarios. Previously reported effects of the lead vehicle’s speed, deceleration rate and headway distance on brake response time were firstly verified in this paper, using a multilevel model. Then, as an alternative to measures of speed, deceleration rate and distance, two visual looming-based metrics (angular expansion rate θ ˙ of the lead vehicle on the driver’s retina, and inverse tau τ - 1 , the ratio between θ ˙ and the optical size θ ), considered to be more in line with typical human psycho-perceptual responses, were adopted to quantify situation urgency. These metrics were used in two previously proposed mechanistic models predicting brake onset: either when looming surpasses a threshold, or when the accumulated evidence (looming and other cues) reaches a threshold. Results showed that the looming threshold model did not capture the distribution of brake response time. However, regardless of looming metric, the accumulator models fitted the distribution of brake response times better than the pure threshold models. Accumulator models, including brake lights, provided a better model fit than looming-only versions. For all versions of the mechanistic models, models using τ - 1 as the measure of looming fitted better than those using θ ˙ , indicating that the visual cues drivers used during rear-end collision avoidance may be more close to τ - 1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driver distraction is one of the main causes of motor-vehicle accidents. However, the impact on traffic safety of tasks that impose cognitive (non-visual) distraction remains debated. One particularly intriguing finding is that cognitive load seems to improve lane keeping performance, most often quantified as reduced standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP). The main competing hypotheses, supported by current empirical evidence, suggest that cognitive load improves lane keeping via either increased physical arousal, or higher gaze concentration toward the road center, but views are mixed regarding if, and how, these possible mediators influence lane keeping performance. Hence, a simulator study was conducted, with participants driving on a straight city road section whilst completing a cognitive task at different levels of difficulty. In line with previous studies, cognitive load led to increased physical arousal, higher gaze concentration toward the road center, and higher levels of micro-steering activity, accompanied by improved lane keeping performance. More importantly, during the high cognitive task, both physical arousal and gaze concentration changed earlier in time than micro-steering activity, which in turn changed earlier than lane keeping performance. In addition, our results did not show a significant correlation between gaze concentration and physical arousal on the level of individual task recordings. Based on these findings, various multilevel models for micro-steering activity and lane keeping performance were conducted and compared, and the results suggest that all of the mechanisms proposed by existing hypotheses could be simultaneously involved. In other words, it is suggested that cognitive load leads to: (i) an increase in arousal, causing increased micro-steering activity, which in turn improves lane keeping performance, and (ii) an increase in gaze concentration, causing lane keeping improvement through both (a) further increased micro-steering activity and (b) a tendency to steer toward the gaze target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This driving simulator study, conducted as part of the EU AdaptIVe project, investigated drivers’ performance in critical traffic events, during the resumption of control from an automated driving system. Prior to the critical events, using a between-participant design, 75 drivers were exposed to various screen manipulations that varied the amount of available visual information from the road environment and automation state, which aimed to take them progressively further ‘out-of-the-loop’ (OoTL). The current paper presents an analysis of the timing, type, and rate of drivers’ collision avoidance response, also investigating how these were influenced by the criticality of the unfolding situation. Results showed that the amount of visual information available to drivers during automation impacted on how quickly they resumed manual control, with less information associated with slower take-over times, however, this did not influence the timing of when drivers began a collision avoidance manoeuvre. Instead, the observed behaviour is in line with recent accounts emphasising the role of scenario kinematics in the timing of driver avoidance response. When considering collision incidents in particular, avoidance manoeuvres were initiated when the situation criticality exceeded an Inverse Time To Collision value of ≈0.3 s −1 . Our results suggest that take-over time and timing and quality of avoidance response appear to be largely independent, and while long take-over time did not predict collision outcome, kinematically late initiation of avoidance did. Hence, system design should focus on achieving kinematically early avoidance initiation, rather than short take-over times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driver braking behavior was analyzed using time-series recordings from naturalistic rear-end conflicts (116 crashes and 241 near-crashes), including events with and without visual distraction among drivers of cars, heavy trucks, and buses. A simple piecewise linear model could be successfully fitted, per event, to the observed driver decelerations, allowing a detailed elucidation of when drivers initiated braking and how they controlled it. Most notably, it was found that, across vehicle types, driver braking behavior was strongly dependent on the urgency of the given rear-end scenario’s kinematics, quantified in terms of visual looming of the lead vehicle on the driver’s retina. In contrast with previous suggestions of brake reaction times (BRTs) of 1.5 s or more after onset of an unexpected hazard (e.g., brake light onset), it was found here that braking could be described as typically starting less than a second after the kinematic urgency reached certain threshold levels, with even faster reactions at higher urgencies. The rate at which drivers then increased their deceleration (towards a maximum) was also highly dependent on urgency. Probability distributions are provided that quantitatively capture these various patterns of kinematics-dependent behavioral response. Possible underlying mechanisms are suggested, including looming response thresholds and neural evidence accumulation. These accounts argue that a naturalistic braking response should not be thought of as a slow reaction to some single, researcher-defined “hazard onset”, but instead as a relatively fast response to the visual looming cues that build up later on in the evolving traffic scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pedestrians make more unsafe crossing decisions when facing high-speed vehicles. • The proposed model predicts pedestrian crossing behaviour across experiment scenarios. • Visual looming explains the effects of vehicle distance and speed on gap acceptance. Accidents involving pedestrians are particularly common at unsignalised intersections and mid-block crosswalks, where vehicles often do not yield to them. Analysing and understanding pedestrian crossing behaviour at such locations is vital for improving road safety. Previous studies have repeatedly shown that pedestrians tend to accept smaller time gaps in conditions with higher vehicle speeds and thus potentially less safe. This has prompted the hypothesis that pedestrians rely on spatial distance to make crossing decisions. However, few studies have investigated the mechanism underpinning this phenomenon. We propose a novel approach to characterise pedestrian crossing behaviour: a psychophysics-based gap acceptance (PGA) model based on visual looming cues and binary choice logit method. Road crossing data collected in a simulated experiment were used to analyse pedestrian behaviour and test the model. Our analysis indicates that, in line with previous studies, higher vehicle speed increased the tendency of gap acceptance, leading to a higher rate of unsafe crossings. Crucially, the PGA model could accurately account for these crossing decisions across experimental scenarios, more parsimoniously than a conventional model. These results explain the speed-induced unsafe behaviour by suggesting that pedestrians apply visual looming, which depends on vehicle speed and distance, to make crossing decisions. This study reinforces the notion that for two vehicles with the same time gap, the one with higher speed can elicit more risky crossing behaviour from pedestrians, potentially resulting in more severe accidents. The practical implications of the results for traffic safety management, modelling and development of automated vehicles are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The difference between visual-manual and auditory-cognitive distractions is investigated. • The effects of time pressure and distractions on pedestrian crossing behaviour are compared. • The impacts of these secondary tasks on pedestrian crossing behaviour and safety are evaluated. • A novel traffic flow impact on pedestrian is found. Distractions have been recognised as one important factor associated with pedestrian injuries, as the increasing use of cell phones and personal devices. However, the situation is less clear regarding the differences in the effects of visual-manual and auditory-cognitive distractions. Here, we investigated distracted pedestrians in a one-lane road with continuous traffic using an immersive CAVE-based simulator. Sixty participants were recruited to complete a crossing task and perform one of two distractions, a visual-manual task and an auditory-cognitive task. Moreover, normal and time pressure crossing conditions were included as a baseline and comparison. For the first time, this study directly compared the impacts of visual-manual, auditory-cognitive distractions, and time pressure on pedestrian crossing behaviour and safety in a controlled environment. The results indicated that although pedestrian safety was compromised under both types of distraction, the effects of the applied distractions were different. When engaged in the visual-manual distraction, participants crossed the road slowly, but there was no significant difference in gap acceptance or initiation time compared to baseline. In contrast, participants walked slowly, crossed earlier, and accepted smaller gaps when performing the auditory-cognitive distraction. This has interesting parallels to existing findings on how these two types of distractions affect driver performance. Moreover, the effects of the visual-manual distraction were found to be dynamic, as these effects were affected by the gap size. Finally, compared to baseline, time pressure resulted in participants accepting smaller time gaps with shorter initiation times and crossing durations, leading to an increase in unsafe decisions and a decrease in near-collisions. These results provide new evidence that two types of distraction and time pressure impair pedestrian safety, but in different ways. Our findings may provide insights for further studies involving pedestrians with different distraction components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two experiments were carried out in a moving-base simulator, in which truck drivers of varying experience levels encountered a rear-end collision scenario on a low-friction road surface, with and without an electronic stability control (ESC) system. In the first experiment, the drivers experienced one instance of the rear-end scenario unexpectedly, and then several instances of a version of the scenario adapted for repeated collision avoidance. In the second experiment, the unexpected rear-end scenario concluded a stretch of driving otherwise unrelated to the study presented here. Across both experiments, novice drivers were found to collide more often than experienced drivers in the unexpected scenario. This result was found to be attributable mainly to longer steering reaction times of the novice drivers, possibly caused by lower expectancy for steering avoidance. The paradigm for repeated collision avoidance was able to reproduce the type of steering avoidance situation for which critical losses of control were observed in the unexpected scenario and, here, ESC was found to reliably reduce skidding and control loss. However, it remains unclear to what extent the results regarding ESC benefits in repeated avoidance are generalisable to unexpected situations. The approach of collecting data by appending one unexpected scenario to the end of an otherwise unrelated experiment was found useful, albeit with some caveats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work, unidirectional multi-scale, carbon nanostructure (CNS)–glass fiber–epoxy, composites were manufactured using a novel in-line continuous production scalable chemical vapor deposition based CNS manufacturing process. The processing parameters peculiar to the growth system, specifically growth chamber temperature, catalyst concentration and line speed, were varied to observe the effect on the CNS growth and parent filament degradation. Unidirectional tension and compression tests were conducted to measure the strength and modulus in the filament direction and failure mechanisms of the hybrid materials identified. Based on the results of tensile tests, gains in tensile strength and tensile modulus are achieved through a uniform coverage of short CNS. The greatest increases in CNS-enhanced composite compressive strength can be achieved through the combination of low weight percent CNS on the fiber and minimal parent filament environmental degradation. For stiffness governed applications, these CNS-enhanced composites may not provide the ideal solution. However, applications which demand significant deformation prior to failure or damage tolerance can benefit from the properties afforded by these CNS–fiber–epoxy composites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The mechanisms underpinning impaired defensive counterregulatory responses to hypoglycemia that develop in some people with diabetes who suffer recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia are unknown. Previous work examining whether this is a consequence of increased glucose delivery to the hypothalamus, postulated to be the major hypoglycemia-sensing region, has been inconclusive. Here, we hypothesized instead that increased hypothalamic glucose phosphorylation, the first committed intracellular step in glucose metabolism, might develop following exposure to hypoglycemia. We anticipated that this adaptation might tend to preserve glucose flux during hypoglycemia, thus reducing detection of a falling glucose. We first validated a model of recurrent hypoglycemia in chronically catheterized (right jugular vein) rats receiving daily injections of insulin. We confirmed that this model of recurrent insulin-induced hypoglycemia results in impaired counterregulation, with responses of the key counterregulatory hormone, epinephrine, being suppressed significantly and progressively from the first day to the fourth day of insulin-induced hypoglycemia. In another cohort, we investigated the changes in brain glucose phosphorylation activity over 4 days of recurrent insulin-induced hypoglycemia. In keeping with our hypothesis, we found that recurrent hypoglycemia markedly and significantly increased hypothalamic glucose phosphorylation activity in a day-dependent fashion, with day 4 values 2.8 ± 0.6-fold higher than day 1 (P < .05), whereas there was no change in glucose phosphorylation activity in brain stem and frontal cortex. These findings suggest that the hypothalamus may adapt to recurrent hypoglycemia by increasing glucose phosphorylation; and we speculate that this metabolic adaptation may contribute, at least partly, to hypoglycemia-induced counterregulatory failure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A total of 257 raw fish samples at two different sites were examined for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes was 4%. From 11 positive samples, nine different L. monocytogenes pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genotypes were recovered. From nine pulsotypes recovered from raw fish and 32 pulsotypes shown by 101 fish product isolates, two raw fish and fish product pulsotypes were indistinguishable from each other. Although the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in raw fish is low, the range of L. monocytogenes strains entering the processing plant in large amounts of raw material is wide. This indicates that the raw material is an important initial contamination source of L. monocytogenes in fish processing plants. This postulation is supported by the identical pulsotypes recovered from both raw and processed fish. Some L. monocytogenes strains entering a plant may thus contaminate and persist in the processing environment, causing recurrent contamination of the final products via processing machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was set up to establish the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in the tonsils of sows and fattening pigs from five Finnish slaughterhouses and to evaluate the genetic similarity of L. monocytogenes strains isolated from the tonsils. A total of 271 pig tonsils (132 tonsils from fattening pigs and 139 from sows) from five different slaughterhouses in various parts of Finland were studied from June 1999 to March 2000. Overall, 14 and 4% of pig tonsils harbored L. monocytogenes and Listeria innocua, respectively. The prevalence of L. monocytogenes in tonsils of fattening pigs (22%) was significantly higher than in sows (6%). The isolates (n = 38) recovered from tonsils showed a wide genetic diversity by means of 24 different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types presented by the strains. Moreover, in numerical analyses of restriction patterns, no association was found between the clustering of strains and the slaughterhouses, and strains showing a similar PFGE type were recovered from pigs of different slaughterhouses. The high prevalence of L. monocytogenes showing various PFGE types in the tonsils of pigs could indicate a potential source of contamination of pluck sets, carcasses, and the slaughterhouse environment and of subsequent processing steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The survival of Listeria monocytogenes (inoculation 3 log cfu g−1) in dry sausages fermented by bioprotective experimental meat starter cultures Lactobacillus rhamnosus E-97800, L. rhamnosus LC-705 and Lactobacillus plantarum ALC01 as well as Pediococcus pentosaceus RM2000 (commercial control) was studied. In the first trial both experimental and control sausages (pH 5.0–5.2) were L. monocytogenes negative after 21 days of ripening. However, in the second and third trials the experimental sausages were L. monocytogenes negative after 7 days of fermentation while the control sausages were L. monocytogenes negative only after 28 days of ripening. The pH values were typical for North European type dry sausages (pH 4.7–4.9). It can be concluded that while the control sausage fermented by commercial starter culture was listeria-negative at a late stage of ripening process, L. rhamnosus E-97800, L. rhamnosus LC-705 as well as L. plantarum ALC01 expressed additional antilisterial activity resulting listeria-negative North European type sausages at an early stage of the ripening process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Partial looming perception during off-road glances improves fit of braking model. • Crashes may be caused by driver state reducing eyes-on-road responsiveness to looming. • Models fitted to less-critical events can reproduce driver response in critical events. • Driver models fitted to naturalistic data hold promise for use in virtual vehicle testing. When faced with an imminent collision threat, human vehicle drivers respond with braking in a manner which is stereotypical, yet modulated in complex ways by many factors, including the specific traffic situation and past driver eye movements. A computational model capturing these phenomena would have high applied value, for example in virtual vehicle safety testing methods, but existing models are either simplistic or not sufficiently validated. This paper extends an existing quantitative driver model for initiation and modulation of pre-crash brake response, to handle off-road glance behavior. The resulting models are fitted to time-series data from real-world naturalistic rear-end crashes and near-crashes. A stringent parameterization and model selection procedure is presented, based on particle swarm optimization and maximum likelihood estimation. A major contribution of this paper is the resulting first-ever fit of a computational model of human braking to real near-crash and crash behavior data. The model selection results also permit novel conclusions regarding behavior and accident causation: Firstly, the results indicate that drivers have partial visual looming perception during off-road glances; that is, evidence for braking is collected, albeit at a slower pace, while the driver is looking away from the forward roadway. Secondly, the results suggest that an important causation factor in crashes without off-road glances may be a reduced responsiveness to visual looming, possibly associated with cognitive driver state (e.g., drowsiness or erroneous driver expectations). It is also demonstrated that a model parameterized on less-critical data, such as near-crashes, may also accurately reproduce driver behavior in highly critical situations, such as crashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than half of the foodborne outbreaks originate from food service premises (FSPs). Recognizing non-compliances observed during food control inspections and their association with outbreaks is important so that new measures to prevent outbreaks can be developed. We conducted a retrospective case-control study to compare food control inspection grades between outbreak and non-outbreak FSPs. A total of 105 outbreaks meeting the study inclusion criteria were identified from among 337 outbreak investigation reports in Finland in 2015–2021. Four randomized matched non-outbreak control FSPs were selected for each outbreak FSP. Inspection grades were compared using a paired t -test or a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In addition, we studied the association between the time from the preceding inspection to the point of the outbreak and the grade of the preceding inspection. Furthermore, inspectors' verbal descriptions of the inspection findings were analyzed by comparing n-gram incidences between outbreak and control FSPs. When outbreaks with the weakest strength of evidence (on a 4-level scale) were excluded and only the inspection preceding the outbreak was considered, the inspection grades for outbreak FSPs regarding the monitoring of employees' health status were inferior compared to the control FSPs (p = 0.02). When comparing the grades of all available inspections prior to the outbreak, there was a difference not only in monitoring employees' health status (p = 0.04), but also in the verification of hygiene proficiency (p = 0.02). Non-compliance in the verification of hygiene proficiency might imply deficiencies in food safety knowledge, which can result in many types of non-compliance. We also demonstrated that the closer the preceding inspection was to the outbreak, the worse the inspection grades were. This implies that the observed non-compliances may lead to outbreaks in a short time if not corrected, and that a prolonged inspection interval might result in critical non-compliances in FSPs that have previously received satisfactory inspection grades. These results can be used to develop food control focus points and inspection frequency. • Ensuring hygiene proficiency during food control inspections is important. • Knowledge about disease transmission when working while ill should be increased. • Non-compliances may lead to an outbreak in a short period of time if not corrected. • Prolonging inspection interval may lead to critical non-compliances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Link drivers and pedestrians in real-time distributed simulation. • Present driver's bimodal braking strategies. • Identify lateral movements as implicit cues in road user interactions. • Showcase pedestrians' behavioural adaptations to kinematic cues. • Highlight decisions of both actors shaped by time gaps and road infrastructure. As we move towards a future with Automated Vehicles (AVs) incorporated in the current traffic system, it is crucial to understand driver-pedestrian interaction, in order to enhance AV design and optimization. Previous research in this area, which has primarily used naturalistic observations or single-actor virtual reality simulations, has been limited by its inability to draw causal conclusions, also due to a lack of real human–human interactions. Our study addresses these limitations by employing a high-fidelity distributed simulation setup that links drivers in a motion-based simulator with pedestrians in a CAVE-based environment. This method allows for the examination of real-time and reciprocal interactions across a range of road-crossing scenarios. Using thirty-two pairs of drivers and pedestrians, we investigated how different factors, such as the presence of zebra crossings and varying time gaps of the approaching vehicle, influence driver behaviour and pedestrian crossing decisions. The effect of drivers' control of the vehicle during such crossings (e.g., braking behaviour and lateral deviation) on pedestrians' crossing decisions were also analysed. We found that the distribution of drivers' average deceleration values were bimodal, where drivers either markedly yielded to pedestrians, or continued in their path, with very few instances of intermediate behaviour. We also found that pedestrian decisions were seemingly influenced by the different braking strategies adopted by the driver, with pedestrians crossing before the vehicles in response to soft and early, or late and hard braking, while late and soft braking often resulted in the vehicle passing first. We also observed a slight lateral movement of the vehicle away from pedestrians when drivers were not yielding, but more of a lateral deviation towards them when yielding. This may be because drivers subconsciously transfer their walking interaction habits to their driving behaviour, to avoid a collision with pedestrians. Finally, our results showed a stronger influence of these kinematic cues on pedestrian crossing decisions, when compared to zebra crossings. As well as highlighting the value of a novel approach for investigating vehicle–pedestrian interactions, this study illustrates how vehicle cues can assist pedestrian decisions, adding new knowledge in the development of human-like behaviour for future AVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Acceptance of shared automated vehicles was investigated among United Kingdom private car owners through a focus group. • From a long list of factors based on previous research, three main factors (Service Quality, Trust, Price Value) came out as overwhelmingly discussed. • Shared Space Quality, Security and Trusting Co-passengers are introduced as important indicators to accept shared automated vehicles. • Trusting Co-passengers was found to be as important as Trusting Automated Vehicles. • An extended UTAUT2 is proposed for future acceptance research on shared automated vehicles. The development of Shared Automated Vehicles (SAVs) is well underway to provide mobility as a service (MaaS) and bring benefits such as reduced traffic congestion, reduced reliance on privately owned vehicles and increased independence to non-drivers. To realise the benefits of SAVs, adoption by private vehicle users is crucial. Previous research has shown this subset of users as the least likely to adopt SAVs, and it is not well understood what factors are important to achieve such adoption. The purpose of this study is to obtain an in-depth understanding of attitudes, perceptions and preferences that influence the acceptance of future SAVs for drivers. This paper presents the results from an online asynchronous focus group study with 21 British drivers as participants. From the analysis, Service Quality, Trust and Price Value emerged as the three most prominent factors to understand user acceptance of SAVs. These three main factors may be of prime importance for convincing naïve private car owners to accept high-speed SAVs. Productive use of travel time has been frequently mentioned in previous research as a benefit of vehicle automation but was scarcely mentioned by participants in this study. Shared Space Quality in introduced as an indicator for Service Quality, together with Security and Trusting Co-passengers as two indicators of Trust. Based on the findings, this paper concludes with a conceptual SAV technology acceptance model is introduced, with the results added as extended model predictors to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]