Effects of non-driving related postures on takeover performance during conditionally automated driving.

In spite of the advancement in driving automation, driver's ability to resume manual control from a conditionally automated vehicle appears as a safety concern. Understanding the impact of various non-driving related tasks (NDRT) on takeover performance is crucial for the development of advanced driver assistance systems. The aim of this study was to investigate how the takeover performance was impacted by non-driving related postures when engaging in different NDRTs. A same takeover scenario with SAE automation level 3 requiring emergency braking was deployed for all test conditions on a static driving simulator under different time budgets. Reaction times, pedal movement and takeover quality were collected from 54 drivers (mean age 34.5 years, 27 females) taking over from two reference postures and 21 non-driving related postures. Results showed that drivers reacted faster given a shorter time budget. Non-driving related postures were found to prolong the takeover time and deteriorate the takeover quality. In particular, the postures with abnormal right foot positions, big trunk deviations and both hands occupation much lowered motoric readiness. Results also revealed that when driver's upper body was engaged in abnormal postures, driver's lower body would react slower, and vice versa. In addition, drivers' takeover performance was affected by their individual reaction capacity, which demonstrated a range of variation. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Interaction between pedestrians and automated vehicles: Perceived safety of yielding behaviors and benefits of an external human-machine interface for elderly people.

This study focuses on Automated Vehicles (AVs) interactions with pedestrians during road crossing situations. A dual-phase experiment was designed: one from the pedestrian's perspective and the other one from the AV passenger's point of view. Eight AV behaviors to yield were investigated. Participants' task was to assess the safety of each one of these yielding behaviors. Moreover, an external HMI (eHMI) was designed to support them in these interactions. 40 participants were involved in this experiment (50% females, 20 young versus 20 elderly). Results obtained show significant differences between old and young participants: elderly people have not the same way to perceive and assess the safety of the yielding behaviors from "the inside" and from "the outside" of the car. Conversely, young participants assessed AV behaviors similarly whether as pedestrians or as AV passengers. When considering benefits introduced by the eHMI, it significantly reduces differences between old and young participants and tends to harmonize their safety assessments: with to the eHMI, elderly people are more able to adequately perceive and assess the safety/dangerousness of the AV braking manoeuvers, and their safety judgments become at last quite similar to those of young participants. Moreover, the eHMI increases participants' Acceptance of AV and reduces their concerns about their future interactions with AV as a pedestrian, especially for elderly people.

Reporting of patient safety incidents in minimally invasive thoracic surgery: a national registered thoracic surgeons experience for improvement of patient safety.

OBJECTIVES: The reporting of patient safety incidents (PSIs) occurring in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) is crucial. However, previous reports focused mainly on catastrophic events whereas minor events are often underreported. METHODS: All voluntary reports of MITS-related PSIs were retrospectively extracted from the French REX database for 'in-depth analysis'. From 2008 to 2019, we retrospectively analysed and graded events according to the WHO classification of PSIs: near miss events, no harm incidents and harmful incidents. Causes and corrective measures were analysed according to the human-technology-organization triad. RESULTS: Of the 5145 cardiothoracic surgery PSIs declared, 407 were related to MITS. Among them, MITS was performed for primary lung cancer in 317 (78%) and consisted in a lobectomy in 249 (61%) patients. PSIs were: near miss events in 42 (10%) patients, no harm incidents in 81 (20%) patients and harmful incidents in 284 (70%) patients (mild: n = 163, 40%; moderate: n = 78, 19%; severe: n = 36, 9%; and deaths: n = 7, 2%). Human factors represented the most important cause of PSIs with 267/407 (65.6%) cases, including mainly vascular injuries (n = 90; 22%) and non-vascular injuries (n = 43; 11%). Pulmonary arteries were the most affected site with 57/91 cases (62%). In all, there were 7 deaths (2%), 53 patients required second surgery (13%) and 30 required additional lung resection (7%). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of reported MITS -related PSIs were non-catastrophic. Human factors were the main cause of PSIs. Systematic reporting and analysis of these PSIs will allow surgeon and his team to avoid a large proportion of them.

DNA-damage response network at the crossroads of cell-cycle checkpoints, cellular senescence and apoptosis / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Tissue homeostasis requires a carefully-orchestrated balance between cell proliferation, cellular senescence and cell death. Cells proliferate through a cell cycle that is tightly regulated by cyclin-dependent kinase activities. Cellular senescence is a safeguard program limiting the proliferative competence of cells in living organisms. Apoptosis eliminates unwanted cells by the coordinated activity of gene products that regulate and effect cell death. The intimate link between the cell cycle, cellular senescence, apoptosis regulation, cancer development and tumor responses to cancer treatment has become eminently apparent. Extensive research on tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, the cell cycle and apoptosis regulatory genes has revealed how the DNA damage-sensing and -signaling pathways, referred to as the DNA-damage response network, are tied to cell proliferation, cell-cycle arrest, cellular senescence and apoptosis. DNA-damage responses are complex, involving "sensor" proteins that sense the damage, and transmit signals to "transducer" proteins, which, in turn, convey the signals to numerous "effector" proteins implicated in specific cellular pathways, including DNA repair mechanisms, cell-cycle checkpoints, cellular senescence and apoptosis. The Bcl-2 family of proteins stands among the most crucial regulators of apoptosis and performs vital functions in deciding whether a cell will live or die after cancer chemotherapy and irradiation. In addition, several studies have now revealed that members of the Bcl-2 family also interface with the cell cycle, DNA repair/recombination and cellular senescence, effects that are generally distinct from their function in apoptosis. In this review, we report progress in understanding the molecular networks that regulate cell-cycle checkpoints, cellular senescence and apoptosis after DNA damage, and discuss the influence of some Bcl-2 family members on cell-cycle checkpoint regulation.