Journal articles on the topic 'TAC Road Safety Campaign'

Road safety communication campaigns are considered an efficient strategy for reaching a wide audience. They aim at reducing the number and severity of road crashes by influencing road user behavior. Despite the large number of campaigns that have been designed and implemented in recent years, few have been formally evaluated. This paper presents the evaluation design and the implementation of a national road safety communication campaign on the effects of fatigue on driving behavior. The campaign targeted primarily professional drivers and, secondarily, all other drivers The definition of the objectives of the campaign was addressed through the health belief model. Objectives included increasing awareness of the severity of driving while fatigued and of effective countermeasures. The measurement variables of the evaluation design, also addressed by the health belief model, were knowledge, behavioral beliefs, risk comprehension, behavioral intentions, past behavior, and self-reported behavior. The evaluation was based on a nonexperimental design. The use of control groups was not feasible, since the whole population was exposed to the campaign and data were collected by means of a face-to-face questionnaire survey conducted before, during, and after campaign implementation. Process and outcome evaluations were conducted to assess the impact of the campaign on driving behavior. Results indicated that the audience was reached at a mean rate of 13%, and the distribution of campaign leaflets was the most effective media channel (70%). In addition, a statistically significant increase in the proportion of respondents who were aware of the causes and effects of fatigue while driving was observed. Similar results were indicated in testing behavioral beliefs, risk comprehension, behavioral intentions, and past behavior. The main message of the campaign reached both the primary and the secondary target groups, and its success can be seen by the increase in the percentage of professional drivers and all other drivers who self-reported that they stop and rest for 15 min in the “during” and “after” phases, as compared with the “before” phase.

The effects on road safety of the “Speak out!” road safety campaign are evaluated. The campaign, which began in Sogn og Fjordane County in Norway in 1993, is targeted toward teenagers and calls on car passengers to act as back-seat drivers and “Speak out!” to drivers about unsafe driving. The campaign’s effects were evaluated by means of two before-and-after studies and and a multivariate Poisson regression analysis. The results of these evaluation studies were very similar. The number of teenagers 16 to 19 years old who were killed or injured was reduced by about 10 percent; the number of occupants in this age group who were killed or injured was reduced by about 15 percent; and the number of car passengers who were killed or injured was reduced by about 30 percent. The number of killed or injured car drivers 16 to 19 years old did not change. Only the reduction among car passengers was statistically significant at the 10 percent level. It is nevertheless concluded that the “Speak out!” campaign has probably been effective in reducing the number of teenagers killed or injured in Sogn og Fjordane. This conclusion is based on a careful discussion of the logic of causal inference in nonexperimental evaluation research. Seven criteria are proposed for attributing causality to the relationship between a measure and changes in the dependent variable that the measure is intended to influence. The majority of these criteria were met in evaluations of the “Speak out!” campaign.

Road safety communication campaigns are considered as an efficient strategy to approach the wide audience and influence road users towards a safe behavior, with main aim to lead to the reduction of the number and the severity of road accidents. When designing the implementation of a campaign, it is important to plan at the same time its evaluation, so that to enable the assessment of its effectiveness. For the achievement of high reliability and the development of “clear” conclusions, the campaign evaluation should be carefully organized, following a feasible scientific design. Towards this direction, three road safety campaigns, two local campaigns addressing drink driving and seat belt usage, and one national campaign addressing driving fatigue, were implemented and evaluated. Presenting the design components of the three campaigns and the evaluation results, this paper aims at revealing the similarities and differences of the effectiveness of road safety communication campaigns on driving behavior.

This study sought to investigate differences in local motorcyclists’ perception towards road safety in Bali. The independent variables consisted of socio-demographic characteristics containing gender, age, marital status, education levels, riding license ownerships, exposure measured by estimates of distance travelled, future riding purposes in the next year, self estimation in riding skill and in being safer motorcyclists, experiences of minor motorcycle crashes, and casualties in the last three years. Two models were developed which consisted of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Structural Equation Model (SEM). This study found that sensation seeking significantly influences on attitudes towards risky riding indicating motorcyclists in Bali are more likely to undertake risky riding behaviours on the road as long as they believe there is some degree of control. Interestingly, female motorcyclists involving local residents have low perceptions towards road safety. Further studies on the gender of motorcyclists therefore, are required to provide more information for more target specific and effective road safety campaign.

Every year we lose many young road users in road traffic accidents. Based on traffic accident data issued by the Indonesian National Police in 2017, the number of casualties was highest in the age group 15-19, with 3,496 minor injuries, 400 seriously injured and 535 deaths. This condition is very alarming considering that student as the nation's next generation lose their future due to the accidents. This figure does not include other traffic violations, not having a driver license, not wearing a helmet, driving opposite the direction, those given ticket and verbal reprimand. To reduce traffic accident for young road user, road safety campaigns were organized in many schools in Jakarta. This activity aims to socialize the road safety program to increase road safety awareness among young road users/students including the dissemination of Law No. 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Transportation. Another purpose of this program is to accompany school administrators to set up a School Safe Zone (ZoSS), a location on particular roads in the school environment that are time-based speed zone to set the speed of the vehicle. The purpose of this paper is to promote the road safety campaigns strategies by considering various campaign tools.

This paper presents a preliminary assessment of road tunnel safety issues among respondents—specifically, real and potential users of road tunnels. We recruited a group of respondents to study their knowledge of evacuation procedures and awareness of safety issues in road tunnels. We conducted surveys with 504 participants, 12.7% of whom had previously participated in real-scale evacuation experiments in a road tunnel. Analysis of respondents’ answers reveals that their knowledge of safety procedures is unfortunately not sufficient. On average, the respondents selected the most recommended answer for approximately 5.35 out of 15 questions. Only 16% of respondents correctly answered more than 50% of the survey questions; moreover, no respondent provided the correct answers for 12 or more questions. Interestingly, most respondents were convinced that they had a better knowledge of road tunnel safety issues than was actually the case. The results of the survey demonstrate a significant educational role of evacuation exercises. Individuals who have participated in an evacuation have better knowledge, allowing them to apply the correct rules of road tunnel safety procedures. Various aspects addressed in this paper can be taken into consideration in an information campaign regarding safety in road tunnels during a fire.

This study investigated Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) public education programme as an adult education approach for improving the health and safety conditions of commercial motorcyclists in Obollo-afor, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study comprised of the four hundred and sixty four (464) commercial motorcyclists and FRSC staff, out of which 108 commercial motorcyclists and the 10 Federal Road Safety Corps staff were sampled using purposive sampling technique. The findings of the study include that FRSC public education programme to a high extent can help in the reduction of accidents and injuries involving commercial motorcyclists. The study recommended that FRSC officials should organize regular road safety awareness campaign on the streets, schools, churches and market square.

Road Accident is an all-inclusive disaster with consistently raising pattern. In India according to Indian road safety campaign every minute there is a road accident and almost 17 people die per hour in road accidents. There are different categories of vehicle accidents like rear end, head on and rollover accidents. The state recorded police reports or FIR’s are the documents which contains the information about the accidents. The incident may be self-reported by the people or recorded by the state police. In this paper the frequent patterns of road accidents is been predicted using Apriori and Naïve Bayesian techniques. This pattern will help the government or NGOs to improve the safety and take preventive measures in the roads that have major accident zones.

The use of safety belts became compulsory in Kuwait in January 1994 following a comprehensive media campaign. Seat-belt use increased dramatically from a 2.8 percent pre-January rate to nearly 100 percent during the first week of the law's implementation. The level of compliance, however, has declined with time because of relaxation in enforcement. A recent research project examined reported and observed seat-belt use and evaluated the impact of belt use on road safety in Kuwait. To obtain reported belt use data, a random sample of 2,000 heads of household were interviewed over a 4 month period. More than 21,000 drivers and car occupants were monitored for observed belt use at 38 locations during peak and off-peak periods as well as during the daytime and after dark. Road accident files for 1993 and 1994 were also obtained from traffic safety officials to evaluate the impact of the belt law. The actual belt use rate in Kuwait was approximately 55 percent. The rate was lowest for Kuwaiti men and highest for non-Kuwaiti women. Higher belt use rates were positively correlated with gender, age, and education levels. In spite of the growth in population, vehicle registration, and vehicle kilometers traveled, a marked reduction in severe road accidents occurred during the year that followed enactment of the seat-belt law.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze message features of fear appeals in current British road safety campaigns directed against mobile phone use while driving and to discuss barriers to explicit theory use in campaign message design. Design/methodology/approach This message-centred research takes a qualitative content analytical approach to analyze nine British web-based road safety campaigns directed against mobile phone use while driving based on the extended parallel process model. Message content and message structure are analyzed. Findings There still exists a gap between theory and road safety campaign practice. The study reveals that campaigns with fear appeals primarily use threatening messages but neglect efficacy-based contents. Severity messages emerge as the dominant content type while self-efficacy and response efficacy are hardly represented. Fear appeal content in the threat component was mainly communicated through the mention of legal, financial and physical harm, whereas efficacy messages communicated success stories and encouragement. As regards message structure, the threat component always preceded the efficacy component. Within each component, different patterns emerged. Practical implications To enhance efficacy in campaigns directed against distracted driving and to reduce the gap between theory and practice, social marketers should include messages that empower recipients to abstain from mobile phone use while driving. Campaigns should show recommended behaviours and highlight their usefulness and effectiveness. Originality/value This paper adds to limited research conducted on effect-independent message properties of fear appeals. It enhances understanding of fear appeal message features across the structure and content dimension. By discussing barriers to explicit theory use in social marketing practice and offering practical implications for social marketers, it contributes towards reducing the barriers to explicit theory use in campaign message design.

Road accidents kill 1.3 million people each year, most in the developing world. We test the efficacy of evocative messages, delivered on stickers placed inside Kenyan matatus, or minibuses, in reducing road accidents. We randomize the intervention, which nudges passengers to complain to their drivers directly, across 12,000 vehicles and find that on average it reduces insurance claims rates of matatus by between one-quarter and one-third and is associated with 140 fewer road accidents per year than predicted. Messages promoting collective action are especially effective, and evocative images are an important motivator. Average maximum speeds and average moving speeds are 1–2 km/h lower in vehicles assigned to treatment. We cannot reject the null hypothesis of no placebo effect. We were unable to discern any impact of a complementary radio campaign on insurance claims. Finally, the sticker intervention is inexpensive: we estimate the cost-effectiveness of the most impactful stickers to be between $10 and $45 per disability-adjusted life-year saved.

Each region has the potential to be explored as a source of income without necessarily harming people and the environment. One of them is the utilization of public space as a media campaign or advertisement. The advertisement placement should be planned to have a function, adding the aesthetic aspect of urban space and not disturbing the comfort and safety of the community. Promotional media can take advantage of active and passive outdoor space. The active outer space is a space that is deliberately created as a public outdoor space such as city park, pedestrian and road. While the passive outer space is a outer space that is not accidentally created or already exist by it, such as river banks, railroads and natural green spaces. Promotional media nowadays is not only in physical, but also in electronic form. Placement of advertisement associated with the tax burden. The amount of tax can be determined from road performance. Where the more crowded the urban space, the more people see the advertisement. This can certainly be used as one of the parameters in determining which points are having the biggest impact on tax value.

Early traffic safety campaigns through populist healthy transportation is a government program mandated in Article 203 of Law 22/2009 concerning traffic and road transportation, aimed at reducing the density of traffic flow, minimizing accident rates in adolescents or since early, and reduce air pollution caused by motorized vehicles through populist healthy transportation, including Bikes to School, Walk to School, Bike to Work, and Walk to Work. The campaign was carried out based on police data which stated that school-age students accounted for the largest number of accidents and traffic congestion in Cimahi City. Objectiveity this campaign is to design a traffic safety campaign media early on through effective and efficient public transportation. The design of this data collection was using the Mix Method research method, which was conducting interviews with the Headquarters of the Cimahi Police Satlasa Task Force and Cimahi SMAN 1 students, also distributing questionnaires to Cimahi 1 High School students. The campaign program has not been maximally implemented, both in media and technical implementation, so that it has not been effective in reducing the level of traffic density and traffic accidents by students in Cimahi City.

Background: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) pose a significant burden on the health care system in India with high out of pocket medical expenditure. Awareness about this public health problem is necessary to combat it and this study was carried out to assess knowledge and practice towards road safety among the adult population in the coastal region of Udupi taluk in Karnataka. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 381 adults aged 18 years and above residing in the region for more than one year. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge and practice towards road safety measures. Results: Most of the participants were in the age bracket of 18-44 years (61.4%), were females (65.1 %) and had up to 10 years of schooling. Overall knowledge was found to be low with only 30% reporting good knowledge. As regards practice, drivers fared better with a good majority (87%) reporting desirable practice. Younger age (OR=0.57, 95% CI, 0.36-0.92), male gender (OR=0.14, 95% CI, 0.08-0.23), higher level of schooling (OR=0.32, 95% CI, 0.20 -0.50) and knowing to drive (OR=0.04, 95% CI, 0.02-0.07) were found to be significantly associated with a greater level of knowledge regarding road safety measures. Conclusions: The study showed inadequate knowledge and poor road safety practices among good number of participants. This emphasises the need for a customized community based awareness campaign on road safety measures coupled with stringent legislation measures to bring about the desired change.

Dangerous driving is a social problem that results in serious injuries, fatalities, and significant economic costs. Extensive research has examined the efficacy of road safety campaigns in curbing dangerous driving, however, these investigations have largely focused on negatively valenced messages. Less attention has been paid to positively valenced examples, and the role of drivers’ motivations for dangerous driving in relation to message impact. One hundred sixty licensed drivers (female, n = 120; male, n = 30; other, n = 10) completed a questionnaire that measured their current driving behaviours and their motives for driving dangerously. Drivers then viewed one of two safe driving messages (either positive or negative in valence) and provided a gauge of message impact. Finally, looking to the future, participants completed a measure of planned driving behaviour. Results revealed differences across sex in drivers’ motivations to drive dangerously, as well as their planned behavioural change after viewing the safety messages. On average, participants recorded greater response efficacy and message acceptance, and lower message rejection in the positive message group, compared to the negative message group. Further, in a separate analysis of female-only drivers, a number motivators of dangerous driving were linked to message impact from safe driving campaigns. The findings suggest that, despite the traditional dominance of negatively valenced campaigns, there may be benefit in the use of positive campaigns, and further that motivators of dangerous driving can be linked to message impact from safe driving campaigns, supporting the case for a more targeted approach in campaign design.

BackgroundThis study looked at occupational road crashes and work schedule among truck and bus drivers in comparison to other drivers and motorists on the road of Metro manila which is one of the cities globally with a high traffic density. One of the most precarious work occupations is driving especially buses used for public transportation, and trucks for commercial activities. This is most astute in the metrolopolis.MethodsThe study used meta-analysis of previous studies conducted, grey literature, government statistics, and validation through key database research in concerned national government agencies involved in road traffic from 2010–2015.ResultsThe study found that the in terms of the number of public utility vehicles registered in Metro Manila (2015), 51.27% were buses and 20.21% were trucks. Majority of the drivers worked more than 12 hours a day. In terms of time and peak of accidents, it is alarming to note that about 35% of the road crashes occurred from 22–23 gmt (2010–2015), and 30% from 23–24 (2010–2015) gmt. Human error accounted for the overwhelming cause of road crashes such as drunk driving, beating the red light, sleepiness, accounting for 99.52% in 2012, 99.47% in 2013, 95.33% in 2014, and 97.19% in 2015. Majority of the drivers worked over prolonged hours on the road that may cause fatigue and sleepiness which are the highest risk factor to road accident based on the study.ConclusionThe study has shown how risky driving is as an occupation especially due to the work schedule and work issues. The study suggests developing better information, education and communication campaign as well as policies particularly on work conditions favorable to bus and truck drivers, and likewise, considering work schedule in road safety among drivers which composes one of the risky occupations.

Motorcycle accidents and injuries in Bali have been highly occurred as to a cause of their predominance in urban transportation structures. While riding a motorcycle, a tourist eventually is obligated to his/ her own particular safety. Road safety analysts are concerned with accident risk faced by tourists because of a great possibility to be associated with a road accident while on vacation. This research investigated motorcycle riding behaviors and combined with a scope of psychosocial factors for example, sensation seeking, risky riding intentions and attitudes using international tourists riding motorcycles whilst on vacation in Bali as the respondents. Two models are constructed comprising of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Structural Equation Model (SEM). Predictors employed socio-demographic variables consisting exposure and years licensed, gender, age, education levels, and estimates of distance travelled. International tourists revealed a scope of purposes behind riding motorcycles in Bali, for example, for fun and feelings of freedom. This research discovered that male international tourists with sensation seeking will probably be taking part in traffic and speeding infringement in contrast with females. These study outcomes alongside the suggestions for tourists training and road safety campaign while on holiday in Bali are examined.

Road safety is the main problem in developing countries. Every year, millions of people die in road traffic accidents, resulting in huge losses of humankind and the economy. This study focuses on the road traffic accident analysis and identification of black spots on the Lahore-Islamabad Highway M-2. Official data of road traffic accidents were collected from National Highway and Highway Police (NH & MP) Pakistan. The data was digitized on MS Excel and Origin Pro. The accident Point weightage (APW) method was employed to identify the black spots and rank of the top ten black spots. The analysis shows that the trend of road traffic accidents on M-2 was characterized by a high rate of fatal accidents of 35.3%. Human errors account for 66.8% as the major contributing factors in road traffic accidents, while vehicle errors (25.6%) and environmental factors (7.6%) were secondary and tertiary contributing factors. The main causes of road traffic accidents were the dozing on the wheel (27.9%), the careless driving (24.6%), tyre burst (11.7%), and the brakes failure (7.4%). Kallar Kahar (Salt Range) was identified as a black spot (223 km, 224 km, 225 km, 229 km, and 234 km) due to vehicle brake failure. The human error was a major contributory factor in road traffic accidents, therefore public awareness campaign on road safety is inevitable and use of the dozen alarm to overcome dozing on the wheel. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091629 Full Text: PDF

Single-Vehicle Run Off Road (ROR) crash has been the leading crash type in terms of frequency and severity in Thailand. In this study, multinomial logit analysis was applied to identify the risk factors potentially influencing driver injury severity of single-vehicle ROR crash using accident records between 2011 and 2017 which were extracted from Highway Accident Information Management System (HAIMS) database. The analysis results show that the age of driver older than 55 years old, male driver, driver under influence of alcohol, drowsiness, ROR to left/right on straight roadway increase the probability of fatal crash, while other factors are found to mitigate severity such as the age of driver between 26-35 years old, using seatbelt, ROR and hit fixed object on straight and curve segment of roadway, mounted traffic island, intersection-related and accident in April. This study recommends the need to improve road safety campaign, law enforcement, and roadside safety features that potentially reduce level of severity of driver involving in single-vehicle ROR crash.

The understanding of tire’s adherence with a rough surface is a common goal for several fields in the automotive sector. In fact, grip is synonym of safety and performance, playing a decisive role for braking distance and vehicle stability, fuel consumption, wear rate [1], noise generation and for the vehicle dynamics control system (e.g. ABS, TCS, AYC and other) [2]. This paper deals with tire tread grip experimental investigation and evaluation under different conditions that influence it during the sliding contact [3]. In this regard the test campaign involves the use of different tire compounds (in terms of viscoelastic characteristics), tested in several conditions: different contact pressure, sliding speed, temperature, sliding contact length and road surface. The test bench employed by the UniNa Vehicle Dynamic Research Group is an upgrade of the British Pendulum, an instrument for outdoor tribological tests on road sections. The principal sensors installed on the test bench are an encoder, for the evaluation of the sliding speed of the tire specimen, and a load cell, for the measurement of the force arising at tire/road interface in the longitudinal and vertical directions [4]. In fact, the grip shall be determined as the ratio of the longitudinal force and corresponding load on the tire. The paper's aim is the description of the experimental campaign after an accurate introduction on the test setup and an illustration of the equipment. Finally, the preliminary results and the methodologies used to process the acquired data are described.

Autonomous vehicles raise many ethical and moral issues that are not easy to deal with and that, if not addressed correctly, might be an obstacle to the advent of such a technological revolution. These issues are critical because autonomous vehicles will interact with human road users in new ways and current traffic rules might not be suitable for the resulting environment. We consider the problem of learning optimal behavior for autonomous vehicles using Reinforcement Learning in a simple road graph environment. In particular, we investigate the impact of traffic rules on the learned behaviors and consider a scenario where drivers are punished when they are not compliant with the rules, i.e., a scenario in which violation of traffic rules cannot be fully prevented. We performed an extensive experimental campaign, in a simulated environment, in which drivers were trained with and without rules, and assessed the learned behaviors in terms of efficiency and safety. The results show that drivers trained with rules enforcement are willing to reduce their efficiency in exchange for being compliant to the rules, thus leading to higher overall safety.

Abstract Introduction. One of the most important issues and challenges of public safety policy in highly developed countries is the problem of ensuring road safety, along with dealing with health and material losses resulted from accidents. Unfortunately, Poland, in comparison to other EU countries, has one of the worst statistics regarding accidents and mortality ratios, therefore it is essential to undertake long-term actions aimed at improving road safety, as well as educating drivers and pedestrians. Aim. The purpose of this study is to analyse the problem and to investigate whether traffic safety campaigns are effective, and if they reach young audience. Material and methods. The research was conducted in the first quarter of 2018 among the students of Faculty of Health Sciences of the Medical University of Lublin. The study method applied was a diagnostic survey, and the tool was an original questionnaire. The participation was voluntary and anonymous. The obtained results were the subject of later statistical analysis. As many as 153 young respondents aged between 18 and 25 were tested, out of whom 73.68% were women and 26.32% were men. Results. Over half of the surveyed (56.3%) declared walking as the main form of participation in traffic, and 25.9% of the surveyed used public transport. The most numerous group of the examined (34.21%) thought that the Polish roads were rather unsafe. As the reasons for the low safety on the Polish roads the respondents identified: bad condition of the roads (69.1%), drivers’ recklessness (67.1%), and maladjustment of the driving style to weather conditions (60.5%). All respondents have encountered campaigns concerning road safety, however not too often (56.58% less than once a month). The surveyed encountered these social campaigns on TV (88.2%), on the Internet (54.6%), and on billboards (23.7%). Conclusion. Promotional campaigns concerning road safety have a greater impact on women. In the examined group, around 67% of women changed their behaviour as a result of the campaigns, and only 42.5% of men. Social campaign which was best remembered, and had the biggest influence on the respondents (50.3%) was „Say STOP to reckless driver you love”.

This article questions the meanings and expression of "citizenship" in the context of new Latina and Latino migration into the southeastern United States-a region long marked by legally policed racial systems and now experiencing the varied shocks of globalization. Focused on a legislative campaign that won access to a state-issued driver's licence for undocumented migrants in Tennessee in spring 2001, the article explores some of the tensions that emerged on the road to this unlikely victory and raises questions for the immigrants' rights movement in the US about the costs and gains that may follow from different ways of framing its demands. The dominant frame this particular campaign adopted was a pragmatic and politically acceptable call to improve traffic safety, one that reflected a conscious choice to downplay issues of rights, justice or global perspective. Yet the article also reports that the campaign in fact created and used opportunities for activists to raise issues related to migrant rights. It also made a dramatic, albeit temporary, improvement in the daily lives of migrants in the state. The article then sketches three citizenship norms that current struggles might prefigure. These three norms are: the full right to international mobility of human beings; the right to identity; and duties of citizenship in a globalizing world.

Introduction: Road safety campaigns in Australia typically have simple, hit home messages with captions overlaid on photos. The Australian stop, revive, survive campaign is well-known, with accompanying photos displaying red fatigued eyes with the words; tired eyes, yawning, driver fatigue: wake up to the signs. Otherwise, the stop, revive, survive is shown with a windy road ahead viewed through a dashboard.Objectives: The aim of this project was to create a helmet safety message utilising a photograph along with several text words alongside.Methods: A photograph taken by Stephen Hilton of a motorcyclist with no helmet, holding one handlebar, was utilised with the words;‘Helmet, Handlebars, Headlights’ overlaid above along with arrows. This safety design was shown to forty persons, in order to obtain brief feedback and comments on whether this had the potential to convey the message about the need for a helmet in particular. The comments were gathered, collated and then common themes were identified.Results and Discussion: Five emerging themes were identified that included; The message is simple and straight to the point, cultural awareness is required, the need to enforce it as law, motor cycle riders think they are invincible and finally respondents were unsure whether it would work. A word cloud was created capturing and highlighting the main words stated in larger font, while words used infrequently were displayed in smaller font.Conclusion: More than half of the respondents questioned thought the idea was simple, straight to the point and hence should work.

Street lighting plays a crucial role in a city’s night landscape and in urban traffic management, influencing users’ comfort and safety. To contain costs of public street lighting systems and to avoid energy waste, illuminance levels on road surfaces must be adequate to fit actual traffic volumes, as prescribed by regulations. This is true not only for motorized roads but also for sidewalks, paths, and pedestrian areas. Regulations in force establish a relationship between road traffic volumes and minimum illuminance levels through the lighting classes selection procedure. Lighting classes selection is based on various para meters among which traffic volume is the most difficult to evaluate because traffic volumes are generally estimated or measured by a traffic observation campaign. In this paper, an alternative method for classes association which is based on a space syntax approach, is described. The method was applied to the case study town of Pontedera (Italy) for the analysis of the pedestrian and motorized traffic and it shows a good correlation between measured and estimated traffic volumes, demonstrating how the methodology, with a precise and quick estimation of traffic volumes, can help lead to a suitable design of the lighting infrastructure, aiming to reduce energy waste and to avoid oversized lighting systems.

Road infrastructures represent a key point in the development of smart cities. In any case, the environmental impact of road traffic should be carefully assessed. Acoustic noise is one of the most important issues to be monitored by means of sound level measurements. When a large measurement campaign is not possible, road traffic noise predictive models (RTNMs) can be used. Standard RTNMs present in literature usually require in input several information about the traffic, such as flows of vehicles, percentage of heavy vehicles, average speed, etc. Many times, the lack of information about this large set of inputs is a limitation to the application of predictive models on a large scale. In this paper, a new methodology, easy to be implemented in a sensor concept, based on video processing and object detection tools, is proposed: the Equivalent Acoustic Level Estimator (EAgLE). The input parameters of EAgLE are detected analyzing video images of the area under study. Once the number of vehicles, the typology (light or heavy vehicle), and the speeds are recorded, the sound power level of each vehicle is computed, according to the EU recommended standard model (CNOSSOS-EU), and the Sound Exposure Level (SEL) of each transit is estimated at the receiver. Finally, summing up the contributions of all the vehicles, the continuous equivalent level, Leq, on a given time range can be assessed. A preliminary test of the EAgLE technique is proposed in this paper on two sample measurements performed in proximity of an Italian highway. The results will show excellent performances in terms of agreement with the measured Leq and comparing with other RTNMs. These satisfying results, once confirmed by a larger validation test, will open the way to the development of a dedicated sensor, embedding the EAgLE model, with possible interesting applications in smart cities and road infrastructures monitoring. These sites, in fact, are often equipped (or can be equipped) with a network of monitoring video cameras for safety purposes or for fining/tolling, that, once the model is properly calibrated and validated, can be turned in a large scale network of noise estimators.

The article identifies some trends in the process of transformation of advertising discourse. There is a rejection of traditional advertising practices and a shift in advertising communication towards Internet technologies (banners, pop-up notifications). One of the trends in modern advertising communication is the appeal to new methods and tools that allow achieving the goal of an advertising campaign by varying the impact on the advertising consumer. New forms of advertising communication due to the diversification of information carriers are described. Specific features of the reconfiguration of advertising discourse are established: interactivity, shifting the focus from products as such to brand promotion, various forms of advertising mimicry, «blurring» through meta-discursive practices and referring to the game register, «tightening» as a result of referring to shock advertising strategies. There is a radicalization of institutional advertising, manifested in the re-creation of pathos or dysphoria in the field of anti-smoking advertising campaigns, road safety, etc. It is emphasized that significant changes occur both at the level of creating an advertising product (at the stages of determining the target audience, formulating an advertising message, giving it the appropriate form) and at the level of advertising distribution (in particular, choosing the appropriate media for advertising information).

According to the World Risk Report in 2018, Bangladesh has been identified as the most vulnerable country in the world. Among the 64 districts of this country, 19 districts are known as coastal districts 36.8 million people live in high-risk areas. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the reasons and factors why many residents do not comply with evacuation orders to cyclone shelters in an emergency period. Based on survey data collected from the survivors this paper finds that prior to the landfall of cyclone Komen in 2015 the majority of the respondents in Kutubdia Upazila had received cyclone warning either from Cyclone Preparedness Program volunteers or the radio, but only 61% of respondents in this village responded to the warning by seeking protection in the nearby shelter. The major identified reasons for 39% of respondent’s non-compliance with evacuation orders are the long distance of a cyclone shelter from home, an absence of the head of the family, gender-related concerns, not enough space in the shelter, the poor road network and no space for livestock in the shelter. It is also found that people did not start evacuation until observing the symptom of risk. To improve cyclone preparedness and response to evacuation orders from residents, an educational campaign by Government and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) is needed in coastal zones to improve the use of public cyclone shelters. Finally, to reduce risk Government should take the initiative for infrastructural development in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

The exploration and mining of Nigerian barite are primarily by artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) whose operations are characterized by poor productivity. As a result, the quantity and quality of barites produced do not satisfy the nation’s oil sector demands and other industries that require the mineral. This situation leads to massive importation of the mineral with negative impact on the country’s drive toward increasing the contribution of solid minerals to the gross domestic product (GDP). This study reviews the existing policies and government interventions on ASM of Nigerian barite; evaluates the operations of ASM through a survey of mines in Nasarawa state, Nigeria; identifies factors that affect sustainability of the sector and proffers solutions to foster sustainability of ASM of barite in the region. The study adopted the 4Is optimization technique (Information gathering, Interpretation, Implication, and Implementation) through personal interactions with the stakeholders at the barite mining sites, and government agencies, regarding policies and interventions specific to ASM of barite. Challenges identified include: weak implementation and enforcement of mining laws; inadequate support from government and development partners; poor access to mining equipment and technology; poor infrastructure (access road, water, electricity); poor pricing of products (marketing challenges); poor remuneration of mine workers; poor mining skills; inadequate formal education; limited awareness on environmental health and safety hazards; fragility and conflict; insufficient information and data on mines and miners; security issues; lack of access to finance; lack of formalization of operations and poor legal framework for operations. The strategies suggested for fostering the sustainability of ASM of barites include: enhanced policy and legislation formulation and implementation, strengthening of institutions, formalization of ASM operations, training of miners, awareness campaign, improvement in environmental and safety of operations, empowerment and support by government and development partners for individual miners and processors and organized groups within the sector (such as Miners Association of Nigeria, Association of Miner and Processors of Barite, AMAPOB). Implementation of these strategies will lead to sustainable operations of the sector and hence improved rural livelihoods, stimulation of entrepreneurship in an environmentally responsible manner, and improvement in the contribution of the mineral sector to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), and hence national development.

A procedure is presented for evaluating the performance in terms of driving style of public transport bus drivers, within the context of a programme for energy savings in urban public transportation. The purpose of this evaluation is that of providing suitable tools for training of personnel with the objective of attaining more energy-efficient driving styles and improving driving quality. Quality can be defined as the combination of an energy saving driving style with a behaviour that is respectful of the environment (noise, pollution and safety) and of the vehicle and is comfortable for the passengers as well. Economical driving provides direct savings in fuel of up to 25 per cent as well as indirect savings deriving from general improvements in quality; a more controlled driving style can also be accompanied by reductions in air pollution and noise emission. The procedure utilizes a fuzzy logic approach and can be implemented aboard vehicles in an automatic monitoring system, the sole requirement being that of measuring the instantaneous road speed of the vehicle and its current load. The procedure has been developed and validated on the basis of data coming from a test campaign carried out on vehicles equipped with automatic and manual transmission, operating over both urban and intercity itineraries in three different cities, and adopting different driving styles with different drivers. By analysing the results, in relation to the itinerary and conditions of traffic, stops, load, etc., it can be determined which conditions, for each driver, lead to either good or poor performance. Such specific information, together with assessment of the overall driving style, provides useful indications for training drivers, both through training programmes with specific itineraries and trials, and through self-learning processes with the procedure implemented using an on-board monitoring system.

Feedback through the steering wheel is known as the most important source of information to the driver. The so-called steering feeling, composed of self-aligning actions coming from tyres and suspension geometry all the way through mechanical linkages to the driver’s hands, provides vital communication for intuitive driving, and it is therefore utterly important for safety and for a pleasant driving experience as well. Subtle forces and vibrations, due to the interaction between the tyre contact patch and the road surface texture, also play a role, provided they are not heavily filtered or cancelled by the power steering system. Human perception is guided by experience in order to establish correlations between steering feedback and vehicle motion in terms of straight-line stability, cornering speed, tyre adhesion and available friction, vehicle balance, and so on. A front-wheel drive car is potentially a critical vehicle from this point of view, especially when the powertrain can deliver large torque figures, and even more so if a limited-slip differential (LSD) or a similar active device is present in order to improve traction capabilities. Any difference between the two wheels in terms of tractive force can result into the so-called torque steer issue, that is to say, a “pulling” sensation on the steering wheel or a shifting of the vehicle from the desired trajectory. This paper analyses the torque steer phenomenon on an all-wheel-drive, full electric sportscar where a significant portion of the torque is transferred to the front axle. The effects of suspension kinematics and the load variation at tyre contact patch level are taken into account. For evaluating the impact of steering feedback, the VI-grade® simulation software is adopted and a test campaign on the professional driving simulator available at the University of Brescia has been carried out in order to understand the impact of steering feedback on driver perception and performance.

Today’s modern vehicles are connected to a network and are considered smart objects of IoT, thanks to the capability to send and receive data from the network. One of the greatest challenges in the automotive sector is to make the vehicle secure and reliable. In fact, there are more connected instruments on a vehicle, such as the infotainment system and/or data interchange systems. Indeed, with the advent of new paradigms, such as Smart City and Smart Road, the vision of Internet of Things has evolved substantially. Today, we talk about the V2X systems in which the vehicle is strongly connected with the rest of the world. In this scenario, the main aim of all connected vehicles vendors is to provide a secure system to guarantee the safety of the drive and persons against a possible cyber-attack. So, in this paper, an embedded Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for the automotive sector is introduced. It works by adopting a two-step algorithm that provides detection of a possible cyber-attack. In the first step, the methodology provides a filter of all the messages on the Controller Area Network (CAN-Bus) thanks to the use of a spatial and temporal analysis; if a set of messages are possibly malicious, these are analyzed by a Bayesian network, which gives the probability that a given event can be classified as an attack. To evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of our method, an experimental campaign was conducted to evaluate them, according to the classic evaluation parameters for a test’s accuracy. These results were compared with a common data set on cyber-attacks present in the literature. The first experimental results, obtained in a test scenario, seem to be interesting. The results show that our method has good correspondence in the presence of the most common cyber-attacks (DDoS, Fuzzy, Impersonating), obtaining a good score relative to the classic evaluation parameters for a test’s accuracy. These results have decreased performance when we test the system on a Free State Attack.

Environments containing significant concentration of NaCl such as salt lakes harbor extremophiles microorganisms which have a great biotechnology interest. To explore the diversity of Bacteria in Chott Tinsilt (Algeria), an isolation program was performed. Water samples were collected from the saltern during the pre-salt harvesting phase. This Chott is high in salt (22.47% (w/v). Seven halophiles Bacteria were selected for further characterization. The isolated strains were able to grow optimally in media with 10–25% (w/v) total salts. Molecular identification of the isolates was performed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. It showed that these cultured isolates included members belonging to the Halomonas, Staphylococcus, Salinivibrio, Planococcus and Halobacillus genera with less than 98% of similarity with their closest phylogenetic relative. The halophilic bacterial isolates were also characterized for the production of biosurfactant and industrially important enzymes. Most isolates produced hydrolases and biosurfactants at high salt concentration. In fact, this is the first report on bacterial strains (A4 and B4) which were a good biosurfactant and coagulase producer at 20% and 25% ((w/v)) NaCl. In addition, the biosurfactant produced by the strain B4 at high salinity (25%) was also stable at high temperature (30-100°C) and high alkalinity (pH 11).Key word: Salt Lake, Bacteria, biosurfactant, Chott, halophiles, hydrolases, 16S rRNAINTRODUCTIONSaline lakes cover approximately 10% of the Earth’s surface area. The microbial populations of many hypersaline environments have already been studied in different geographical regions such as Great Salt Lake (USA), Dead Sea (Israel), Wadi Natrun Lake (Egypt), Lake Magadi (Kenya), Soda Lake (Antarctica) and Big Soda Lake and Mono Lake (California). Hypersaline regions differ from each other in terms of geographical location, salt concentration and chemical composition, which determine the nature of inhabitant microorganisms (Gupta et al., 2015). Then low taxonomic diversity is common to all these saline environments (Oren et al., 1993). Halophiles are found in nearly all major microbial clades, including prokaryotic (Bacteria and Archaea) and eukaryotic forms (DasSarma and Arora, 2001). They are classified as slight halophiles when they grow optimally at 0.2–0.85 M (2–5%) NaCl, as moderate halophiles when they grow at 0.85–3.4 M (5–20%) NaCl, and as extreme halophiles when they grow at 3.4–5.1 M (20–30%) NaCl. Hyper saline environments are inhabited by extremely halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms such as Halobacillus sp, Halobacterium sp., Haloarcula sp., Salinibacter ruber , Haloferax sp and Bacillus spp. (Solomon and Viswalingam, 2013). There is a tremendous demand for halophilic bacteria due to their biotechnological importance as sources of halophilic enzymes. Enzymes derived from halophiles are endowed with unique structural features and catalytic power to sustain the metabolic and physiological processes under high salt conditions. Some of these enzymes have been reported to be active and stable under more than one extreme condition (Karan and Khare, 2010). Applications are being considered in a range of industries such as food processing, washing, biosynthetic processes and environmental bioremediation. Halophilic proteases are widely used in the detergent and food industries (DasSarma and Arora, 2001). However, esterases and lipases have also been useful in laundry detergents for the removal of oil stains and are widely used as biocatalysts because of their ability to produce pure compounds. Likewise, amylases are used industrially in the first step of the production of high fructose corn syrup (hydrolysis of corn starch). They are also used in the textile industry in the de-sizing process and added to laundry detergents. Furthermore, for the environmental applications, the use of halophiles for bioremediation and biodegradation of various materials from industrial effluents to soil contaminants and accidental spills are being widely explored. In addition to enzymes, halophilic / halotolerants microorganisms living in saline environments, offer another potential applications in various fields of biotechnology like the production of biosurfactant. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic compounds synthesized from plants and microorganisms. They reduce surface tension and interfacial tension between individual molecules at the surface and interface respectively (Akbari et al., 2018). Comparing to the chemical surfactant, biosurfactant are promising alternative molecules due to their low toxicity, high biodegradability, environmental capability, mild production conditions, lower critical micelle concentration, higher selectivity, availability of resources and ability to function in wide ranges of pH, temperature and salinity (Rocha et al., 1992). They are used in various industries which include pharmaceuticals, petroleum, food, detergents, cosmetics, paints, paper products and water treatment (Akbari et al., 2018). The search for biosurfactants in extremophiles is particularly promising since these biomolecules can adapt and be stable in the harsh environments in which they are to be applied in biotechnology.OBJECTIVESEastern Algeria features numerous ecosystems including hypersaline environments, which are an important source of salt for food. The microbial diversity in Chott Tinsilt, a shallow Salt Lake with more than 200g/L salt concentration and a superficies of 2.154 Ha, has never yet been studied. The purpose of this research was to chemically analyse water samples collected from the Chott, isolate novel extremely or moderate halophilic Bacteria, and examine their phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics with a view to screening for biosurfactants and enzymes of industrial interest.MATERIALS AND METHODSStudy area: The area is at 5 km of the Commune of Souk-Naâmane and 17 km in the South of the town of Aïn-Melila. This area skirts the trunk road 3 serving Constantine and Batna and the railway Constantine-Biskra. It is part the administrative jurisdiction of the Wilaya of Oum El Bouaghi. The Chott belongs to the wetlands of the High Plains of Constantine with a depth varying rather regularly without never exceeding 0.5 meter. Its length extends on 4 km with a width of 2.5 km (figure 1).Water samples and physico-chemical analysis: In February 2013, water samples were collected from various places at the Chott Tinsilt using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of 35°53’14” N lat. and 06°28’44”E long. Samples were collected randomly in sterile polythene bags and transported immediately to the laboratory for isolation of halophilic microorganisms. All samples were treated within 24 h after collection. Temperature, pH and salinity were measured in situ using a multi-parameter probe (Hanna Instruments, Smithfield, RI, USA). The analytical methods used in this study to measure ions concentration (Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Na+, K+, Cl−, HCO3−, SO42−) were based on 4500-S-2 F standard methods described elsewhere (Association et al., 1920).Isolation of halophilic bacteria from water sample: The media (M1) used in the present study contain (g/L): 2.0 g of KCl, 100.0/200.0 g of NaCl, 1.0 g of MgSO4.7HO2, 3.0 g of Sodium Citrate, 0.36 g of MnCl2, 10.0 g of yeast extract and 15.0 g agar. The pH was adjusted to 8.0. Different dilutions of water samples were added to the above medium and incubated at 30°C during 2–7 days or more depending on growth. Appearance and growth of halophilic bacteria were monitored regularly. The growth was diluted 10 times and plated on complete medium agar (g/L): glucose 10.0; peptone 5.0; yeast extract 5.0; KH2PO4 5.0; agar 30.0; and NaCl 100.0/200.0. Resultant colonies were purified by repeated streaking on complete media agar. The pure cultures were preserved in 20% glycerol vials and stored at −80°C for long-term preservation.Biochemical characterisation of halophilic bacterial isolates: Bacterial isolates were studied for Gram’s reaction, cell morphology and pigmentation. Enzymatic assays (catalase, oxidase, nitrate reductase and urease), and assays for fermentation of lactose and mannitol were done as described by Smibert (1994).Optimization of growth conditions: Temperature, pH, and salt concentration were optimized for the growth of halophilic bacterial isolates. These growth parameters were studied quantitatively by growing the bacterial isolates in M1 medium with shaking at 200 rpm and measuring the cell density at 600 nm after 8 days of incubation. To study the effect of NaCl on the growth, bacterial isolates were inoculated on M1 medium supplemented with different concentration of NaCl: 1%-35% (w/v). The effect of pH on the growth of halophilic bacterial strains was studied by inoculating isolates on above described growth media containing NaCl and adjusted to acidic pH of 5 and 6 by using 1N HCl and alkaline pH of 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 using 5N NaOH. The effect of temperature was studied by culturing the bacterial isolates in M1 medium at different temperatures of incubation (4°C–55°C).Screening of halophilic bacteria for hydrolytic enzymes: Hydrolase producing bacteria among the isolates were screened by plate assay on starch, tributyrin, gelatin and DNA agar plates respectively for amylase, lipase, protease and DNAse activities. Amylolytic activity of the cultures was screened on starch nutrient agar plates containing g/L: starch 10.0; peptone 5.0; yeast extract 3.0; agar 30.0; NaCl 100.0/250.0. The pH was 7.0. After incubation at 30 ºC for 7 days, the zone of clearance was determined by flooding the plates with iodine solution. The potential amylase producers were selected based on ratio of zone of clearance diameter to colony diameter. Lipase activity of the cultures was screened on tributyrin nutrient agar plates containing 1% (v/v) of tributyrin. Isolates that showed clear zones of tributyrin hydrolysis were identified as lipase producing bacteria. Proteolytic activity of the isolates was similarly screened on gelatin nutrient agar plates containing 10.0 g/L of gelatin. The isolates showing zones of gelatin clearance upon treatment with acidic mercuric chloride were selected and designated as protease producing bacteria. The presence of DNAse activity on plates was determined on DNAse test agar (BBL) containing 10%-25% (w/v) total salt. After incubation for 7days, the plates were flooded with 1N HCl solution. Clear halos around the colonies indicated DNAse activity (Jeffries et al., 1957).Milk clotting activity (coagulase activity) of the isolates was also determined following the procedure described (Berridge, 1952). Skim milk powder was reconstituted in 10 mM aqueous CaCl2 (pH 6.5) to a final concentration of 0.12 kg/L. Enzyme extracts were added at a rate of 0.1 mL per mL of milk. The coagulation point was determined by manual rotating of the test tube periodically, at short time intervals, and checking for visible clot formation.Screening of halophilic bacteria for biosurfactant production. Oil spread Assay: The Petridis base was filled with 50 mL of distilled water. On the water surface, 20μL of diesel and 10μl of culture were added respectively. The culture was introduced at different spots on the diesel, which is coated on the water surface. The occurrence of a clear zone was an indicator of positive result (Morikawa et al., 2000). The diameter of the oil expelling circles was measured by slide caliber (with a degree of accuracy of 0.02 mm).Surface tension and emulsification index (E24): Isolates were cultivated at 30 °C for 7 days on the enrichment medium containing 10-25% NaCl and diesel oil as the sole carbon source. The medium was centrifuged (7000 rpm for 20 min) and the surface tension of the cell-free culture broth was measured with a TS90000 surface tensiometer (Nima, Coventry, England) as a qualitative indicator of biosurfactant production. The culture broth was collected with a Pasteur pipette to remove the non-emulsified hydrocarbons. The emulsifying capacity was evaluated by an emulsification index (E24). The E24 of culture samples was determined by adding 2 mL of diesel oil to the same amount of culture, mixed for 2 min with a vortex, and allowed to stand for 24 h. E24 index is defined as the percentage of height of emulsified layer (mm) divided by the total height of the liquid column (mm).Biosurfactant stability studies : After growth on diesel oil as sole source of carbone, cultures supernatant obtained after centrifugation at 6,000 rpm for 15 min were considered as the source of crude biosurfactant. Its stability was determined by subjecting the culture supernatant to various temperature ranges (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 100 °C) for 30 min then cooled to room temperature. Similarly, the effect of different pH (2–11) on the activity of the biosurfactant was tested. The activity of the biosurfactant was investigated by measuring the emulsification index (El-Sersy, 2012).Molecular identification of potential strains. DNA extraction and PCR amplification of 16S rDNA: Total cellular DNA was extracted from strains and purified as described by Sambrook et al. (1989). DNA was purified using Geneclean® Turbo (Q-BIO gene, Carlsbad, CA, USA) before use as a template in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. For the 16S rDNA gene sequence, the purified DNA was amplified using a universal primer set, forward primer (27f; 5′-AGA GTT TGA TCM TGG CTC AG) and a reverse primer (1492r; 5′-TAC GGY TAC CTT GTT ACG ACT T) (Lane, 1991). Agarose gel electrophoresis confirmed the amplification product as a 1400-bp DNA fragment.16S rDNA sequencing and Phylogenic analysis: Amplicons generated using primer pair 27f-1492r was sequenced using an automatic sequencer system at Macrogene Company (Seoul, Korea). The sequences were compared with those of the NCBI BLAST GenBank nucleotide sequence databases. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by the neighbor-joining method using MEGA version 5.05 software (Tamura et al., 2011). Bootstrap resembling analysis for 1,000 replicates was performed to estimate the confidence of tree topologies.Nucleotide sequence accession numbers: The nucleotide sequences reported in this work have been deposited in the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database. The accession numbers are represented in table 5.Statistics: All experiments were conducted in triplicates. Results were evaluated for statistical significance using ANOVA.RESULTSPhysico-chemical parameters of the collected water samples: The physicochemical properties of the collected water samples are reported in table 1. At the time of sampling, the temperature was 10.6°C and pH 7.89. The salinity of the sample, as determined in situ, was 224.70 g/L (22,47% (w/v)). Chemical analysis of water sample indicated that Na +and Cl- were the most abundant ions (table 1). SO4-2 and Mg+2 was present in much smaller amounts compared to Na +and Cl- concentration. Low levels of calcium, potassium and bicarbonate were also detected, often at less than 1 g/L.Characterization of isolates. Morphological and biochemical characteristic feature of halophilic bacterial isolates: Among 52 strains isolated from water of Chott Tinsilt, seven distinct bacteria (A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B4 and B5) were chosen for further characterization (table 2). The colour of the isolates varied from beige, pale yellow, yellowish and orange. The bacterial isolates A1, A2, A4, B1 and B5 were rod shaped and gram negative (except B5), whereas A3 and B4 were cocci and gram positive. All strains were oxidase and catalase positive except for B1. Nitrate reductase and urease activities were observed in all the bacterial isolates, except B4. All the bacterial isolates were negative for H2S formation. B5 was the only strain positive for mannitol fermentation (table 2).We isolated halophilic bacteria on growth medium with NaCl supplementation at pH 7 and temperature of 30°C. We studied the effect of NaCl, temperature and pH on the growth of bacterial isolates. All the isolates exhibited growth only in the presence of NaCl indicating that these strains are halophilic. The optimum growth of isolates A3 and B1 was observed in the presence of 10% NaCl, whereas it was 15% NaCl for A1, A2 and B5. A4 and B4 showed optimum growth in the presence of 20% and 25% NaCl respectively. A4, B4 and B5 strains can tolerate up to 35% NaCl.The isolate B1 showed growth in medium supplemented with 10% NaCl and pH range of 7–10. The optimum pH for the growth B1 was 9 and they did not show any detectable growth at or below pH 6 (table 2), which indicates the alkaliphilic nature of B1 isolate. The bacterial isolates A1, A2 and A4 exhibited growth in the range of pH 6–10, while A3 and B4 did not show any growth at pH greater than 8. The optimum pH for growth of all strains (except B1) was pH 7.0 (table 2). These results indicate that A1, A2, A3, A4, B4 and B5 are neutrophilic in nature. All the bacterial isolates exhibited optimal growth at 30°C and no detectable growth at 55°C. Also, detectable growth of isolates A1, A2 and A4 was observed at 4°C. However, none of the bacterial strains could grow below 4°C and above 50°C (table 2).Screening of the halophilic enzymes: To characterize the diversity of halophiles able to produce hydrolytic enzymes among the population of microorganisms inhabiting the hypersaline habitats of East Algeria (Chott Tinsilt), a screening was performed. As described in Materials and Methods, samples were plated on solid media containing 10%-25% (w/v) of total salts and different substrates for the detection of amylase, protease, lipase and DNAse activities. However, coagulase activity was determined in liquid medium using milk as substrate (figure 3). Distributions of hydrolytic activity among the isolates are summarized in table 4.From the seven bacterial isolates, four strains A1, A2, A4 and B5 showed combined hydrolytic activities. They were positive for gelatinase, lipase and coagulase. A3 strain showed gelatinase and lipase activities. DNAse activities were detected with A1, A4, B1 and B5 isolates. B4 presented lipase and coagulase activity. Surprisingly, no amylase activity was detected among all the isolates.Screening for biosurfactant producing isolates: Oil spread assay: The results showed that all the strains could produce notable (>4 cm diameter) oil expelling circles (ranging from 4.11 cm to 4.67 cm). The average diameter for strain B5 was 4.67 cm, significantly (P < 0.05) higher than for the other strains.Surface tension and emulsification index (E24): The assimilation of hydrocarbons as the sole sources of carbon by the isolate strains led to the production of biosurfactants indicated by the emulsification index and the lowering of the surface tension of cell-free supernatant. Based on rapid growth on media containing diesel oil as sole carbon source, the seven isolates were tested for biosurfactant production and emulsification activity. The obtained values of the surface tension measurements as well as the emulsification index (E24) are shown in table 3. The highest reduction of surface tension was achieved with B5 and A3 isolates with values of 25.3 mN m−1 and 28.1 mN m−1 respectively. The emulsifying capacity evaluated by the E24 emulsification index was highest in the culture of isolate B4 (78%), B5 (77%) and A3 (76%) as shown in table 3 and figure 2. These emulsions were stable even after 4 months. The bacteria with emulsification indices higher than 50 % and/or reduction in the surface tension (under 30 mN/m) have been defined as potential biosurfactant producers. Based on surface tension and the E24 index results, isolates B5, B4, A3 and A4 are the best candidates for biosurfactant production. It is important to note that, strains B4 and A4 produce biosurfactant in medium containing respectively 25% and 20% (w/v) NaCl.Stability of biosurfactant activities: The applicability of biosurfactants in several biotechnological fields depends on their stability at different environmental conditions (temperatures, pH and NaCl). For this study, the strain B4 appear very interesting (It can produce biosurfactant at 25 % NaCl) and was choosen for futher analysis for biosurfactant stability. The effects of temperature and pH on the biosurfactant production by the strain B4 are shown in figure 4.biosurfactant in medium containing respectively 25% and 20% (w/v) NaCl.Stability of biosurfactant activities: The applicability of biosurfactants in several biotechnological fields depends on their stability at different environmental conditions (temperatures, pH and NaCl). For this study, the strain B4 appear very interesting (It can produce biosurfactant at 25 % NaCl) and was chosen for further analysis for biosurfactant stability. The effects of temperature and pH on the biosurfactant production by the strain B4 are shown in figure 4. The biosurfactant produced by this strain was shown to be thermostable giving an E-24 Index value greater than 78% (figure 4A). Heating of the biosurfactant to 100 °C caused no significant effect on the biosurfactant performance. Therefore, the surface activity of the crude biosurfactant supernatant remained relatively stable to pH changes between pH 6 and 11. At pH 11, the value of E24 showed almost 76% activity, whereas below pH 6 the activity was decreased up to 40% (figure 4A). The decreases of the emulsification activity by decreasing the pH value from basic to an acidic region; may be due to partial precipitation of the biosurfactant. This result indicated that biosurfactant produced by strain B4 show higher stability at alkaline than in acidic conditions.Molecular identification and phylogenies of potential isolates: To identify halophilic bacterial isolates, the 16S rDNA gene was amplified using gene-specific primers. A PCR product of ≈ 1.3 kb was detected in all the seven isolates. The 16S rDNA amplicons of each bacterial isolate was sequenced on both strands using 27F and 1492R primers. The complete nucleotide sequence of 1336,1374, 1377,1313, 1305,1308 and 1273 bp sequences were obtained from A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B4 and B5 isolates respectively, and subjected to BLAST analysis. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that the isolated strains belong to the genera Halomonas, Staphylococcus, Salinivibrio, Planococcus and Halobacillus as shown in table 5. The halophilic isolates A2 and A4 showed 97% similarity with the Halomonas variabilis strain GSP3 (accession no. AY505527) and the Halomonas sp. M59 (accession no. AM229319), respectively. As for A1, it showed 96% similarity with the Halomonas venusta strain GSP24 (accession no. AY553074). B1 and B4 showed for their part 96% similarity with the Salinivibrio costicola subsp. alcaliphilus strain 18AG DSM4743 (accession no. NR_042255) and the Planococcus citreus (accession no. JX122551), respectively. The bacterial isolate B5 showed 98% sequence similarity with the Halobacillus trueperi (accession no. HG931926), As for A3, it showed only 95% similarity with the Staphylococcus arlettae (accession no. KR047785). The 16S rDNA nucleotide sequences of all the seven halophilic bacterial strains have been submitted to the NCBI GenBank database under the accession number presented in table 5. The phylogenetic association of the isolates is shown in figure 5.DICUSSIONThe physicochemical properties of the collected water samples indicated that this water was relatively neutral (pH 7.89) similar to the Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake (USA) and in contrast to the more basic lakes such as Lake Wadi Natrun (Egypt) (pH 11) and El Golea Salt Lake (Algeria) (pH 9). The salinity of the sample was 224.70 g/L (22,47% (w/v). This range of salinity (20-30%) for Chott Tinsilt is comparable to a number of well characterized hypersaline ecosystems including both natural and man-made habitats, such as the Great Salt Lake (USA) and solar salterns of Puerto Rico. Thus, Chott Tinsilt is a hypersaline environment, i.e. environments with salt concentrations well above that of seawater. Chemical analysis of water sample indicated that Na +and Cl- were the most abundant ions, as in most hypersaline ecosystems (with some exceptions such as the Dead Sea). These chemical water characteristics were consistent with the previously reported data in other hypersaline ecosystems (DasSarma and Arora, 2001; Oren, 2002; Hacěne et al., 2004). Among 52 strains isolated from this Chott, seven distinct bacteria (A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B4 and B5) were chosen for phenotypique, genotypique and phylogenetique characterization.The 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that the isolated strains belong to the genera Halomonas, Staphylococcus, Salinivibrio, Planococcus and Halobacillus. Genera obtained in the present study are commonly occurring in various saline habitats across the globe. Staphylococci have the ability to grow in a wide range of salt concentrations (Graham and Wilkinson, 1992; Morikawa et al., 2009; Roohi et al., 2014). For example, in Pakistan, Staphylococcus strains were isolated from various salt samples during the study conducted by Roohi et al. (2014) and these results agreed with previous reports. Halomonas, halophilic and/or halotolerant Gram-negative bacteria are typically found in saline environments (Kim et al., 2013). The presence of Planococcus and Halobacillus has been reported in studies about hypersaline lakes; like La Sal del Rey (USA) (Phillips et al., 2012) and Great Salt Lake (Spring et al., 1996), respectively. The Salinivibrio costicola was a representative model for studies on osmoregulatory and other physiological mechanisms of moderately halophilic bacteria (Oren, 2006).However, it is interesting to note that all strains shared less than 98.7% identity (the usual species cut-off proposed by Yarza et al. (2014) with their closest phylogenetic relative, suggesting that they could be considered as new species. Phenotypic, genetic and phylogenetic analyses have been suggested for the complete identification of these strains. Theses bacterial strains were tested for the production of industrially important enzymes (Amylase, protease, lipase, DNAse and coagulase). These isolates are good candidates as sources of novel enzymes with biotechnological potential as they can be used in different industrial processes at high salt concentration (up to 25% NaCl for B4). Prominent amylase, lipase, protease and DNAase activities have been reported from different hypersaline environments across the globe; e.g., Spain (Sánchez‐Porro et al., 2003), Iran (Rohban et al., 2009), Tunisia (Baati et al., 2010) and India (Gupta et al., 2016). However, to the best of our knowledge, the coagulase activity has never been detected in extreme halophilic bacteria. Isolation and characterization of crude enzymes (especially coagulase) to investigate their properties and stability are in progress.The finding of novel enzymes with optimal activities at various ranges of salt concentrations is of great importance. Besides being intrinsically stable and active at high salt concentrations, halophilic and halotolerant enzymes offer great opportunities in biotechnological applications, such as environmental bioremediation (marine, oilfiel) and food processing. The bacterial isolates were also characterized for production of biosurfactants by oil-spread assay, measurement of surface tension and emulsification index (E24). There are few reports on biosurfactant producers in hypersaline environments and in recent years, there has been a greater increase in interest and importance in halophilic bacteria for biomolecules (Donio et al., 2013; Sarafin et al., 2014). Halophiles, which have a unique lipid composition, may have an important role to play as surface-active agents. The archae bacterial ether-linked phytanyl membrane lipid of the extremely halophilic bacteria has been shown to have surfactant properties (Post and Collins, 1982). Yakimov et al. (1995) reported the production of biosurfactant by a halotolerant Bacillus licheniformis strain BAS 50 which was able to produce a lipopeptide surfactant when cultured at salinities up to 13% NaCl. From solar salt, Halomonas sp. BS4 and Kocuria marina BS-15 were found to be able to produce biosurfactant when cultured at salinities of 8% and 10% NaCl respectively (Donio et al., 2013; Sarafin et al., 2014). In the present work, strains B4 and A4 produce biosurfactant in medium containing respectively 25% and 20% NaCl. To our knowledge, this is the first report on biosurfactant production by bacteria under such salt concentration. Biosurfactants have a wide variety of industrial and environmental applications (Akbari et al., 2018) but their applicability depends on their stability at different environmental conditions. The strain B4 which can produce biosurfactant at 25% NaCl showed good stability in alkaline pH and at a temperature range of 30°C-100°C. Due to the enormous utilization of biosurfactant in detergent manufacture the choice of alkaline biosurfactant is researched (Elazzazy et al., 2015). On the other hand, the interesting finding was the thermostability of the produced biosurfactant even after heat treatment (100°C for 30 min) which suggests the use of this biosurfactant in industries where heating is of a paramount importance (Khopade et al., 2012). To date, more attention has been focused on biosurfactant producing bacteria under extreme conditions for industrial and commercial usefulness. In fact, the biosurfactant produce by strain B4 have promising usefulness in pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries and for bioremediation in marine environment and Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) where the salinity, temperature and pH are high.CONCLUSIONThis is the first study on the culturable halophilic bacteria community inhabiting Chott Tinsilt in Eastern Algeria. Different genera of halotolerant bacteria with different phylogeneticaly characteristics have been isolated from this Chott. Culturing of bacteria and their molecular analysis provides an opportunity to have a wide range of cultured microorganisms from extreme habitats like hypersaline environments. Enzymes produced by halophilic bacteria show interesting properties like their ability to remain functional in extreme conditions, such as high temperatures, wide range of pH, and high salt concentrations. These enzymes have great economical potential in industrial, agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological applications. Thus, the halophiles isolated from Chott Tinsilt offer an important potential for application in microbial and enzyme biotechnology. In addition, these halo bacterial biosurfactants producers isolated from this Chott will help to develop more valuable eco-friendly products to the pharmacological and food industries and will be usefulness for bioremediation in marine environment and petroleum industry.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSOur thanks to Professor Abdelhamid Zoubir for proofreading the English composition of the present paper.CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.Akbari, S., N. H. Abdurahman, R. M. Yunus, F. Fayaz and O. R. Alara, 2018. Biosurfactants—a new frontier for social and environmental safety: A mini review. Biotechnology research innovation, 2(1): 81-90.Association, A. P. H., A. W. W. Association, W. P. C. 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