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In the future, automated cars may feature external human–machine interfaces (eHMIs) to communicate relevant information to other road users. However, it is currently unknown where on the car the eHMI should be placed. In this study, 61 participants each viewed 36 animations of cars with eHMIs on either the roof, windscreen, grill, above the wheels, or a projection on the road. The eHMI showed ‘Waiting’ combined with a walking symbol 1.2 s before the car started to slow down, or ‘Driving’ while the car continued driving. Participants had to press and hold the spacebar when they felt it safe to cross. Results showed that, averaged over the period when the car approached and slowed down, the roof, windscreen, and grill eHMIs yielded the best performance (i.e., the highest spacebar press time). The projection and wheels eHMIs scored relatively poorly, yet still better than no eHMI. The wheels eHMI received a relatively high percentage of spacebar presses when the car appeared from a corner, a situation in which the roof, windscreen, and grill eHMIs were out of view. Eye-tracking analyses showed that the projection yielded dispersed eye movements, as participants scanned back and forth between the projection and the car. It is concluded that eHMIs should be presented on multiple sides of the car. A projection on the road is visually effortful for pedestrians, as it causes them to divide their attention between the projection and the car itself.

Spatial and temporal distribution and characteristics of three eukaryotic biofilms were monitored for an 18-month period in an acid mine drainage environment at the Green Valley coalmine in Indiana, USA. Each biofilm is dominated (>90 %) by a single eukaryotic microorganism based on enumeration: Euglena mutabilis , the diatom species Nitzschia tubicola, and a filamentous alga belonging to the genus Klebsormidium sp. The E. mutabilis -dominated biofilm occurs year round, covering up to 100 % of the channel bottom in spring and fall. The N. tubicola -dominated biofilm is less abundant, exists as small patches in spring and fall, expands from these patches to cover up to 50 % of the channel bottom in June, and is absent in winter. The Klebsormidium -dominated biofilm is restricted to small patches covering <5 % of the channel bottom from spring through fall and is absent in winter. Also present are floating microbial scum layers. The eukaryotic biofilms and scum layers contribute to the attenuation of precipitates and to the formation of organosedimentary structures, or stromatolites, by trapping and binding chemical precipitates via aerotaxis and phototaxis and by serving as a medium for passive accumulation of precipitates. Each stromatolite layer represents the morphological characteristics of each eukaryotic biofilm that served as the architect of the layer and the time of year the biofilm populated the channel. Processes involved in stromatolite formation also attenuate chemical sediments by binding them to the channel bottom and prior stromatolite surface rather than allowing them to be carried to the adjacent drainage system where they may become bioavailable to other forms of life.

Smokers and patients with COPD are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to severe COVID-19. This cross-sectional study involved resected lung tissues from 16 patients with GOLD stage I or II COPD; of which 8 were current smokers COPD (COPD-CS), and 8 ex-smokers COPD (COPD-ES), 7 normal lung function smokers (NLFS), 9 patients with small airways disease (SAD), and 10 were never-smoking normal controls (NC). Immunostaining for ACE2, Furin, and TMPRSS2 was performed and analysed for percent expression in small airway epithelium (SAE) and counts for positively and negatively stained type 2 pneumocytes and alveolar macrophages (AMs) were done using Image ProPlus V7.0. Furthermore, primary small airway epithelial cells (pSAEC) were analysed by immunofluorescence after exposure to cigarette smoke extract (CSE). ACE2, Furin, and TMPRSS2 expression significantly increased in SAE and type 2 pneumocytes in all the subjects (except Furin for NLFS) compared to NC (p < 0.001). Similar significance was observed for ACE2 positive AM (p < 0.002), except COPD-ES, which decreased in ACE2 positive AMs (p < 0.003). Total type 2 pneumocytes and AMs significantly increased in the pathological groups compared to NC (p < 0.01), except SAD (p = 0.08). However, AMs are significantly reduced in COPD-ES (p < 0.003). Significant changes were observed for tissue co-expression of Furin and TMPRSS2 with ACE2 in SAE, type 2 pneumocytes and AMs. These markers also negatively correlated with lung function parameters, such as FEV /FVC % predicted, FEF25-75%, DLCO% predicted. A strong co-localisation and expression for ACE2 (p < 0.0001), Furin (p < 0.01), and TMPRSS2 (p < 0.0001) was observed in pSAEC treated with 1% CSE than controls. The increased expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and Furin, in the SAE, type 2 pneumocytes and AMs of smokers and COPD are detrimental to lung function and proves that these patient groups could be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 infection. Increased type 2 pneumocytes suggest that these patients are vulnerable to developing post-COVID-19 interstitial pulmonary fibrosis or fibrosis in general. There could be a silently developing interstitial pathology in smokers and patients with COPD. This is the first comprehensive study to report such changes.

Variations in As, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Th, Tl, U, W, and Zn uptake were evaluated in young, middle-aged, and mature basil, tomato, zucchini, and sunflower plants grown in soils amended with 5, 10, and 20% by weight fly ash. Elements susceptible to uptake with increasing fly ash were As and Tl, with As exceeding potentially toxic levels in basil and zucchini. Temporal variations in element uptake included (1) increasing Ba and Cd concentrations in tomato and As, Ba, Cd, and Tl in zucchini, (2) decreasing Co concentrations in tomato, zucchini, and sunflower, Ni in zucchini, and Tl in basil, and (3) increasing As and Ni concentrations in basil and Pb in zucchini and sunflower during early growth followed by decreasing concentrations at maturity. Although most of the trace elements were below reported toxic levels, the elevated concentrations of As in plant tissue suggests that fly ash treatment programs can lead to potentially toxic accumulations of As, and thus, should be carefully monitored.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of social (social support, material resources, disclosure, and family functioning) and psychological factors (stigma, emotional distress, intrusion, avoidance, and fatalism) as predictors of the quality of life of women infected with HIV. The cross-sectional data were drawn from interviews of a sample of 264 women recruited from 8 HIV/AIDS treatment sites in a south-eastern state. Variance in quality of life variables, included limited daily functioning, general anxiety, and HIV symptoms was analyzed using ANOVA, correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Limited daily functioning was predicted by stigma, fatalism, employment status, and stage of disease (R 2 = 0.179). General anxiety was predicted by emotional distress, intrusion, and marital status (R 2 = 0.503). Reported HIV symptoms were predicted by material resources, disclosure, intrusion, age, employment status, and race (R 2 = 0.294). The results of this study support that social and, particularly, psychological factors are important in their influence on quality of life in women with HIV infection and suggest the need for interventions which address such factors.

Diamond & Carey (1986) have argued that expertise in face recognition depends on the ability to code configural properties in addition to isolated features. We tested this hypothesis in two experiments by comparing the effect of inversion on recognition of ‘own race’ (high expertise) and ‘other race’ (low expertise) faces. Use of configural information should be associated with a larger inversion effect than use of isolated features, and therefore inversion should produce a larger recognition decrement for own race than for other race faces. In Expt 1 there was a larger inversion effect in reaction times for recognition of own race faces than other race faces, for both European and Chinese subjects (ceiling effects made interpretation of accuracy difficult). In Expt 2 a larger own race inversion effect was found for recognition accuracy, when test face pairs were randomly selected, but not when they were matched on isolated features. Our results are largely consistent with the hypothesis that expertise is associated with greater use of configural information in faces.

The Green Valley Mine in Indiana was abandoned in 1963 after 15 years of coal mining. Reclamation began in 1994 and ended in 1999 with the dense planting of twelve different tree species. By 2006, only green ash ( Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) and black locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia L.) had survived in any significant numbers. Given the acid mine drainage found at the site, we sought to determine whether element toxicity originating from mine waste was responsible for the extirpation of the trees. Leaf samples taken from 125 mine trees and 29 control trees were acquired and assayed for 41 element concentrations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Except for sodium, there was no compelling evidence to indicate that toxic elemental levels were responsible for the widespread tree deaths. In addition to sodium toxicity, we suspect that micronutrient deficiency was a primary factor explaining the extirpation of trees at the mine.

To determine and compare the stability of (99m)Tc-ECD and stabilized (99m)Tc-HMPAO when stored in syringes over an 8-h period. (99m)Tc-ECD and stabilized (99m)Tc-HMPAO were prepared according to the manufacturers' protocols, with the following exception: eluate less than 60 min old was used to prepare (99m)Tc-HMPAO rather than the recommended 30 min. Once prepared, 185 MBq (5 mCi) of both products were drawn into 5-mL syringes and allowed to sit at room temperature. At 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after preparation, the radiochemical purity (RCP) of the contents of the syringes was determined and compared to the RCP of the products in vials. Retention of activity of each product in syringes was also evaluated by measuring activity remaining in each syringe (and filter, in the case of (99m)Tc-HMPAO) after expressing its contents. The RCP of stabilized (99m)Tc-HMPAO stored in syringes decreased from a mean of 87.7% at 2 h to 74.0% at 8 h after preparation. In contrast, (99m)Tc-ECD retained an RCP of greater than 94% throughout the time tested. The impurity that appeared to increase over time with (99m)Tc-HMPAO was found to be sodium pertechnetate. Total retention of activity remaining in the syringe and filter ranged from 11.6% at 2 h to 9.5% at 8 h for (99m)Tc-HMPAO; the syringe itself retained less than 5% of the total activity at all time periods. (99m)Tc-ECD exhibited 6.2% to 11.3% retention of activity in the syringe. The sorption of sodium pertechnetate to the syringe for the same time period was less than 1%. (99m)Tc-ECD is a more stable product than stabilized (99m)Tc-HMPAO in a syringe. Both products demonstrate retention of radioactivity in the syringe. Some of this retention may denote sorption of the products to plastic.

Background We are developing a highly sensitive, ultra-rapid, multiplex PCR method with fully-integrated DNA preparation and ambient-stable reagents. The assay was used in conjunction with a novel electrochemical detection method to demonstrate low copy number amplification and detection in <20 min, as a point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). Methods The method employs custom PCR cards, utilising a thin-film laminate construction to achieve rapid heat transfer, in conjunction with an ultra-rapid thermocycler. All reagents necessary to perform the extraction, amplification and detection are deposited into the cards and air dried at the point of manufacture. Novel, ambient-stable reagent formulations with an 18 month shelf life have been developed. A sample is added to the card and DNA extracted from the sample. The resulting eluate reconstitutes dried PCR reagents and a 40-cycle multiplex PCR is performed using rapid thermocycling. Amplified target is detected using electrochemically-labelled target-specific probes and a double-stranded DNA-specific exonuclease to release the electrochemical label. Released label is read by applying a voltage to a screen printed carbon electrode and at a known oxidation potential the label is oxidised producing a measurable current. The unique rapid performance of this device has been demonstrated in terms of analytical sensitivity and reagent stability under ambient storage conditions. Multiplex capability is demonstrated in this test with the presence of internal control (IC) DNA. Results Analytical sensitivity of the device was evaluated by testing dilutions of CT in the presence of IC DNA. The results show CT detection down to 50 copies when co-extracted, amplified in duplex and detected electrochemically with the IC DNA (see graph). Tests on the reagents dried into the device showed stability for 18 months when stored at ambient temperature (20–25°C). Reagent performance after 18 months' storage was shown to be equivalent to performance at time zero see Abstract P4-S1.03 figure 1. Abstract P4-S1.03 Figure 1 Conclusions The results show that this device could be used to perform ultra-rapid multiplex PCR with no user intervention after sample addition, allowing minimally-trained staff to carry out the assay in <20 min, meeting the needs for a “true” POC device. Ambient stability of the reagents negates the requirement for any specialised storage conditions.