Comparing an Annual and a Daily Time-Step Model for Predicting Field-Scale Phosphorus Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolster, Carl H; Forsberg, Adam; Mittelstet, Aaron; Radcliffe, David E; Storm, Daniel; Ramirez-Avila, John; Sharpley, Andrew N; Osmond, Deanna

2017-11-01

A wide range of mathematical models are available for predicting phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural fields, ranging from simple, empirically based annual time-step models to more complex, process-based daily time-step models. In this study, we compare field-scale P-loss predictions between the Annual P Loss Estimator (APLE), an empirically based annual time-step model, and the Texas Best Management Practice Evaluation Tool (TBET), a process-based daily time-step model based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. We first compared predictions of field-scale P loss from both models using field and land management data collected from 11 research sites throughout the southern United States. We then compared predictions of P loss from both models with measured P-loss data from these sites. We observed a strong and statistically significant ( loss between the two models; however, APLE predicted, on average, 44% greater dissolved P loss, whereas TBET predicted, on average, 105% greater particulate P loss for the conditions simulated in our study. When we compared model predictions with measured P-loss data, neither model consistently outperformed the other, indicating that more complex models do not necessarily produce better predictions of field-scale P loss. Our results also highlight limitations with both models and the need for continued efforts to improve their accuracy. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

How to prove the Earth's daily and annual direction of its spinning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drago Špoljarić

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Every day, we can observe the Sun's apparent motion around the sky. It rises in the east, gets to its highest point above the horizon at noon, and sets in the west. The stars appear to be fixed on the sky and move around apparently together with the Sun. We have daytime1 and night. The apparent annual motion of the Sun results in seasons when we can see different stars. These directly visible daily and annual changes result from real Earth’s motions – the Earth’s daily and annual spinning (rotation and revolution and they are not easily explainable without understanding the Earth’s motions. In order to understand the apparent daily and annual motions and motion direction of the Sun and stars (night sky, it is very important to know where we are on the Earth, what is our geographic position, i.e. to know the cardinal points. At the same time, one should take into consideration also the direction of the Earth’s rotation and revolution. What is the Earth’s daily or annual direction of spinning as related to the direction of clock hands, and how do we prove it?

Relationship between road traffic accidents and conflicts recorded by drive recorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Guangquan; Cheng, Bo; Kuzumaki, Seigo; Mei, Bingsong

2011-08-01

Road traffic conflicts can be used to estimate the probability of accident occurrence, assess road safety, or evaluate road safety programs if the relationship between road traffic accidents and conflicts is known. To this end, we propose a model for the relationship between road traffic accidents and conflicts recorded by drive recorders (DRs). DRs were installed in 50 cars in Beijing to collect records of traffic conflicts. Data containing 1366 conflicts were collected in 193 days. The hourly distributions of conflicts and accidents were used to model the relationship between accidents and conflicts. To eliminate time series and base number effects, we defined and used 2 parameters: average annual number of accidents per 10,000 vehicles per hour and average number of conflicts per 10,000 vehicles per hour. A model was developed to describe the relationship between the two parameters. If A(i) = average annual number of accidents per 10,000 vehicles per hour at hour i, and E(i) = average number of conflicts per 10,000 vehicles per hour at hour i, the relationship can be expressed as [Formula in text] (α>0, β>0). The average number of traffic accidents increases as the number of conflicts rises, but the rate of increase decelerates as the number of conflicts increases further. The proposed model can describe the relationship between road traffic accidents and conflicts in a simple manner. According to our analysis, the model fits the present data.

Estimation of average annual streamflows and power potentials for Alaska and Hawaii

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verdin, Kristine L. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States). Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab. (INEEL)

2004-05-01

This paper describes the work done to develop average annual streamflow estimates and power potential for the states of Alaska and Hawaii. The Elevation Derivatives for National Applications (EDNA) database was used, along with climatic datasets, to develop flow and power estimates for every stream reach in the EDNA database. Estimates of average annual streamflows were derived using state-specific regression equations, which were functions of average annual precipitation, precipitation intensity, drainage area, and other elevation-derived parameters. Power potential was calculated through the use of the average annual streamflow and the hydraulic head of each reach, which is calculated from the EDNA digital elevation model. In all, estimates of streamflow and power potential were calculated for over 170,000 stream segments in the Alaskan and Hawaiian datasets.

Artificial Intelligence Can Predict Daily Trauma Volume and Average Acuity.

Science.gov (United States)

Stonko, David P; Dennis, Bradley M; Betzold, Richard D; Peetz, Allan B; Gunter, Oliver L; Guillamondegui, Oscar D

2018-04-19

The goal of this study was to integrate temporal and weather data in order to create an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict trauma volume, the number of emergent operative cases, and average daily acuity at a level 1 trauma center. Trauma admission data from TRACS and weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was collected for all adult trauma patients from July 2013-June 2016. The ANN was constructed using temporal (time, day of week), and weather factors (daily high, active precipitation) to predict four points of daily trauma activity: number of traumas, number of penetrating traumas, average ISS, and number of immediate OR cases per day. We trained a two-layer feed-forward network with 10 sigmoid hidden neurons via the Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation algorithm, and performed k-fold cross validation and accuracy calculations on 100 randomly generated partitions. 10,612 patients over 1,096 days were identified. The ANN accurately predicted the daily trauma distribution in terms of number of traumas, number of penetrating traumas, number of OR cases, and average daily ISS (combined training correlation coefficient r = 0.9018+/-0.002; validation r = 0.8899+/- 0.005; testing r = 0.8940+/-0.006). We were able to successfully predict trauma and emergent operative volume, and acuity using an ANN by integrating local weather and trauma admission data from a level 1 center. As an example, for June 30, 2016, it predicted 9.93 traumas (actual: 10), and a mean ISS score of 15.99 (actual: 13.12); see figure 3. This may prove useful for predicting trauma needs across the system and hospital administration when allocating limited resources. Level III STUDY TYPE: Prognostic/Epidemiological.

Simulation Study of the Effect of Decreasing Truck Traffic Flow on Safety on Almeria-Barcelona Corridor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dadashova, B.

2016-07-01

In this paper the effect of truck traffic on road safety has been analyzed through simulation study. The main objective of the study is to quantify the effect of the decreasing average annual daily traffic of heavy duty vehicles (trucks) on road safety. As the road safety indicators the frequency road accidents is considered. The data used in the study were collected from one of the most crowded routes in Spain which connects Almeria (south-east) with Barcelona (northeast). The observed data covers year 2010 and were classified into 2 road types: dual carriageways and toll roads. The estimation was carried out using negative binomial model and Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. Using the estimation results new traffic scenarios were proposed where the traffic flow is assumed to change its values. A total of 33 scenarios were proposed and new accidents data were generated through MCMC sampling. The comparison of the simulated and observed accident data shows that the effect of decreasing truck traffic flow could meliorate road safety in the route. The simulation tool could be applied to evaluate the effects of freight modal shift from road to rail. (Author)

Estimating total maximum daily loads with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model

Science.gov (United States)

Granato, Gregory; Jones, Susan Cheung

2017-01-01

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Rhode Island DOT are assessing and addressing roadway contributions to total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Example analyses for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, suspended sediment, and total zinc in highway runoff were done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with FHWA to simulate long-term annual loads for TMDL analyses with the stochastic empirical loading and dilution model known as SELDM. Concentration statistics from 19 highway runoff monitoring sites in Massachusetts were used with precipitation statistics from 11 long-term monitoring sites to simulate long-term pavement yields (loads per unit area). Highway sites were stratified by traffic volume or surrounding land use to calculate concentration statistics for rural roads, low-volume highways, high-volume highways, and ultraurban highways. The median of the event mean concentration statistics in each traffic volume category was used to simulate annual yields from pavement for a 29- or 30-year period. Long-term average yields for total nitrogen, phosphorus, and zinc from rural roads are lower than yields from the other categories, but yields of sediment are higher than for the low-volume highways. The average yields of the selected water quality constituents from high-volume highways are 1.35 to 2.52 times the associated yields from low-volume highways. The average yields of the selected constituents from ultraurban highways are 1.52 to 3.46 times the associated yields from high-volume highways. Example simulations indicate that both concentration reduction and flow reduction by structural best management practices are crucial for reducing runoff yields.

Traffic accidents on expressways: new threat to China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jinbao; Deng, Wei

2012-01-01

As China is building one of the largest expressway systems in the world, expressway safety problems have become serious concerns to China. This article analyzed the trends in expressway accidents in China from 1995 to 2010 and examined the characteristics of these accidents. Expressway accident data were obtained from the Annual Report for Road Traffic Accidents published by the Ministry of Public Security of China. Expressway mileage data were obtained from the National Statistics Yearbook published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted based on these data. Expressway deaths increased by 10.2-fold from 616 persons in 1995 to 6300 persons in 2010, and the average annual increase was 17.9 percent over the past 15 years, and the overall other road traffic deaths was -0.33 percent. China's expressway mileage accounted for only 1.85 percent of highway mileage driven in 2010, but expressway deaths made up 13.54 percent of highway traffic deaths. The average annual accident lethality rate [accident deaths/(accident deaths + accident injuries)] for China's expressways was 27.76 percent during the period 1995 to 2010, which was 1.33 times higher than the accident lethality rate of highway traffic accidents. China's government should pay attention to expressway construction and safety interventions during the rapid development period of expressways. Related causes, such as geographic patterns, speeding, weather conditions, and traffic flow composition, need to be studied in the near future. An effective and scientific expressway safety management services system, composed of a speed monitoring system, warning system, and emergency rescue system, should be established in developed and underdeveloped provinces in China to improve safety on expressway.

Evaluation of precipitation estimates over CONUS derived from satellite, radar, and rain gauge data sets at daily to annual scales (2002-2012)

Science.gov (United States)

Prat, O. P.; Nelson, B. R.

2015-04-01

We use a suite of quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) derived from satellite, radar, and surface observations to derive precipitation characteristics over the contiguous United States (CONUS) for the period 2002-2012. This comparison effort includes satellite multi-sensor data sets (bias-adjusted TMPA 3B42, near-real-time 3B42RT), radar estimates (NCEP Stage IV), and rain gauge observations. Remotely sensed precipitation data sets are compared with surface observations from the Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily (GHCN-D) and from the PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model). The comparisons are performed at the annual, seasonal, and daily scales over the River Forecast Centers (RFCs) for CONUS. Annual average rain rates present a satisfying agreement with GHCN-D for all products over CONUS (±6%). However, differences at the RFC are more important in particular for near-real-time 3B42RT precipitation estimates (-33 to +49%). At annual and seasonal scales, the bias-adjusted 3B42 presented important improvement when compared to its near-real-time counterpart 3B42RT. However, large biases remained for 3B42 over the western USA for higher average accumulation (≥ 5 mm day-1) with respect to GHCN-D surface observations. At the daily scale, 3B42RT performed poorly in capturing extreme daily precipitation (> 4 in. day-1) over the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, the conditional analysis and a contingency analysis conducted illustrated the challenge in retrieving extreme precipitation from remote sensing estimates.

No evidence of a threshold in traffic volume affecting road-kill mortality at a large spatio-temporal scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grilo, Clara, E-mail: clarabentesgrilo@gmail.com [Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Calle Américo Vespucio s/n, E-41092 Sevilla (Spain); Centro Brasileiro de Estudos em Ecologia de Estradas, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitário, 37200-000 Lavras, Minas Gerais (Brazil); Ferreira, Flavio Zanchetta; Revilla, Eloy [Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Calle Américo Vespucio s/n, E-41092 Sevilla (Spain)

2015-11-15

Previous studies have found that the relationship between wildlife road mortality and traffic volume follows a threshold effect on low traffic volume roads. We aimed at evaluating the response of several species to increasing traffic intensity on highways over a large geographic area and temporal period. We used data of four terrestrial vertebrate species with different biological and ecological features known by their high road-kill rates: the barn owl (Tyto alba), hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Additionally, we checked whether road-kill likelihood varies when traffic patterns depart from the average. We used annual average daily traffic (AADT) and road-kill records observed along 1000 km of highways in Portugal over seven consecutive years (2003–2009). We fitted candidate models using Generalized Linear Models with a binomial distribution through a sample unit of 1 km segments to describe the effect of traffic on the probability of finding at least one victim in each segment during the study. We also assigned for each road-kill record the traffic of that day and the AADT on that year to test for differences using Paired Student's t-test. Mortality risk declined significantly with traffic volume but varied among species: the probability of finding road-killed red foxes and rabbits occurs up to moderate traffic volumes (< 20,000 AADT) whereas barn owls and hedgehogs occurred up to higher traffic volumes (40,000 AADT). Perception of risk may explain differences in responses towards high traffic highway segments. Road-kill rates did not vary significantly when traffic intensity departed from the average. In summary, we did not find evidence of traffic thresholds for the analysed species and traffic intensities. We suggest mitigation measures to reduce mortality be applied in particular on low traffic roads (< 5000 AADT) while additional measures to reduce barrier effects should take into

No evidence of a threshold in traffic volume affecting road-kill mortality at a large spatio-temporal scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grilo, Clara; Ferreira, Flavio Zanchetta; Revilla, Eloy

2015-01-01

Previous studies have found that the relationship between wildlife road mortality and traffic volume follows a threshold effect on low traffic volume roads. We aimed at evaluating the response of several species to increasing traffic intensity on highways over a large geographic area and temporal period. We used data of four terrestrial vertebrate species with different biological and ecological features known by their high road-kill rates: the barn owl (Tyto alba), hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Additionally, we checked whether road-kill likelihood varies when traffic patterns depart from the average. We used annual average daily traffic (AADT) and road-kill records observed along 1000 km of highways in Portugal over seven consecutive years (2003–2009). We fitted candidate models using Generalized Linear Models with a binomial distribution through a sample unit of 1 km segments to describe the effect of traffic on the probability of finding at least one victim in each segment during the study. We also assigned for each road-kill record the traffic of that day and the AADT on that year to test for differences using Paired Student's t-test. Mortality risk declined significantly with traffic volume but varied among species: the probability of finding road-killed red foxes and rabbits occurs up to moderate traffic volumes (< 20,000 AADT) whereas barn owls and hedgehogs occurred up to higher traffic volumes (40,000 AADT). Perception of risk may explain differences in responses towards high traffic highway segments. Road-kill rates did not vary significantly when traffic intensity departed from the average. In summary, we did not find evidence of traffic thresholds for the analysed species and traffic intensities. We suggest mitigation measures to reduce mortality be applied in particular on low traffic roads (< 5000 AADT) while additional measures to reduce barrier effects should take into

Stormwater Management: Calculation of Traffic Area Runoff Loads and Traffic Related Emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maximilian Huber

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Metals such as antimony, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc can be highly relevant pollutants in stormwater runoff from traffic areas because of their occurrence, toxicity, and non-degradability. Long-term measurements of their concentrations, the corresponding water volumes, the catchment areas, and the traffic volumes can be used to calculate specific emission loads and annual runoff loads that are necessary for mass balances. In the literature, the annual runoff loads are often specified by a distinct catchment area (e.g., g/ha. These loads were summarized and discussed in this paper for all seven metals and three types of traffic areas (highways, parking lots, and roads; 45 sites. For example, the calculated median annual runoff loads of all sites are 355 g/ha for copper, 110 g/ha for lead (only data of the 21st century, and 1960 g/ha for zinc. In addition, historical trends, annual variations, and site-specific factors were evaluated for the runoff loads. For Germany, mass balances of traffic related emissions and annual heavy metal runoff loads from highways and total traffic areas were calculated. The influences on the mass fluxes of the heavy metal emissions and the runoff pollution were discussed. However, a statistical analysis of the annual traffic related metal fluxes, in particular for different traffic area categories and land uses, is currently not possible because of a lack of monitoring data.

Estimating 1970-99 average annual groundwater recharge in Wisconsin using streamflow data

Science.gov (United States)

Gebert, Warren A.; Walker, John F.; Kennedy, James L.

2011-01-01

Average annual recharge in Wisconsin for the period 1970-99 was estimated using streamflow data from U.S. Geological Survey continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations and partial-record sites. Partial-record sites have discharge measurements collected during low-flow conditions. The average annual base flow of a stream divided by the drainage area is a good approximation of the recharge rate; therefore, once average annual base flow is determined recharge can be calculated. Estimates of recharge for nearly 72 percent of the surface area of the State are provided. The results illustrate substantial spatial variability of recharge across the State, ranging from less than 1 inch to more than 12 inches per year. The average basin size for partial-record sites (50 square miles) was less than the average basin size for the gaging stations (305 square miles). Including results for smaller basins reveals a spatial variability that otherwise would be smoothed out using only estimates for larger basins. An error analysis indicates that the techniques used provide base flow estimates with standard errors ranging from 5.4 to 14 percent.

The Effects of the Daily Driven Distance and Age Factor on the Traffic Accidents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Figen Ş. KALYONCUOĞLU

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Based on Turkish traffic survey data (n=5,520, driver accident rates per million kilometre-driver were compared according to the daily driven distances (DDD for each age group as very old (65+, n=39, old (56-65, n=183, above middle-aged (36-55, n=1,875, middle-aged (26-35, n=2,204, and young (25-, n=1,219. When the accidents-per-km comparison was made in groups matched for daily exposure, there was no evidence of higher risk with increasing age. In all age groups, risk per km decreased with increasing daily driving distance. With this study the accident involvement prediction models have been obtained related to the daily driven distance with and without considering age. These models have been applied to some earlier studies. The results are quite satisfactory. The set of data of this study and the analysis controlling the daily (yearly driving distance might make the “age” effect disappear.

Radon and radon daughters indoors, problems in the determination of the annual average

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swedjemark, G.A.

1984-01-01

The annual average of the concentration of radon and radon daughters in indoor air is required both in studies such as determining the collective dose to a population and at comparing with limits. Measurements are often carried out during a time period shorter than a year for practical reasons. Methods for estimating the uncertainties due to temporal variations in an annual average calculated from measurements carried out during various lengths of the sampling periods. These methods have been applied to the results from long-term measurements of radon-222 in a few houses. The possibilities to use correction factors in order to get a more adequate annual average have also been studied and some examples have been given. (orig.)

Average daily and annual courses of 222Rn concentration in some natural medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holy, K.; Bohm, R.; Polaskova, A.; Stelina, J.; Sykora, I.; Hola, O.

1996-01-01

Simultaneous measurements of the 222 Rn concentration in the outdoor atmosphere of Bratislava and in the soil air over one year period have been made. Daily and seasonal variations of the 222 Rn concentration in both media were found. Some attributes of these variations as well as methods of measurements are presented in this work. (author). 17 refs., 6 figs

Evaluating cell phone data for AADT estimation : research project capsule.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

Annual average daily traffic (AADT) is a key input in a transportation agencys roadway : planning, design, operation, and maintenance activities, including air quality and : safety assessments. AADT is required to be reported annually by a state...

A better understanding of long-range temporal dependence of traffic flow time series

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Shuo; Wang, Xingmin; Sun, Haowei; Zhang, Yi; Li, Li

2018-02-01

Long-range temporal dependence is an important research perspective for modelling of traffic flow time series. Various methods have been proposed to depict the long-range temporal dependence, including autocorrelation function analysis, spectral analysis and fractal analysis. However, few researches have studied the daily temporal dependence (i.e. the similarity between different daily traffic flow time series), which can help us better understand the long-range temporal dependence, such as the origin of crossover phenomenon. Moreover, considering both types of dependence contributes to establishing more accurate model and depicting the properties of traffic flow time series. In this paper, we study the properties of daily temporal dependence by simple average method and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based method. Meanwhile, we also study the long-range temporal dependence by Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA). The results show that both the daily and long-range temporal dependence exert considerable influence on the traffic flow series. The DFA results reveal that the daily temporal dependence creates crossover phenomenon when estimating the Hurst exponent which depicts the long-range temporal dependence. Furthermore, through the comparison of the DFA test, PCA-based method turns out to be a better method to extract the daily temporal dependence especially when the difference between days is significant.

Safety Impacts of Push-Button and Countdown Timer on Nonmotorized Traffic at Intersections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bei Zhou

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper applies the random parameters negative binominal model to investigate safety impacts of push-button and countdown timer on pedestrians and cyclists at urban intersections. To account for possible unobserved heterogeneity which could vary from one intersection to another, random parameters model is introduced. A simulation-based maximum likelihood method using Halton draws is applied to estimate the maximum likelihood of random parameters in the model. Dataset containing pedestrians’ and cyclists’ crash data of 1,001 intersections from Chicago is utilized to establish the statistical relationship between crash frequencies and potential impact factors. LIMDEP (Version 9.0 statistical package is utilized for modeling. The parameter estimation results indicate that existence of push-button and countdown timer could significantly reduce crash frequencies of pedestrians and cyclists at intersections. Increasing number of through traffic lanes, left turn lanes, and ratio of major direction AADT to minor direction AADT, tend to increase crash frequencies. Annual average daily left turn traffic has a negative impact on pedestrians’ safety, but its impact on cyclists’ crash frequency is statistically insignificant at 90% confidence level. The results of current study could provide important insights for nonmotorized traffic safety improvement projects in both planning and operational levels.

Instantaneous-to-daily GPP upscaling schemes based on a coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model: correcting the overestimation of GPP by directly using daily average meteorological inputs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fumin; Gonsamo, Alemu; Chen, Jing M; Black, T Andrew; Zhou, Bin

2014-11-01

Daily canopy photosynthesis is usually temporally upscaled from instantaneous (i.e., seconds) photosynthesis rate. The nonlinear response of photosynthesis to meteorological variables makes the temporal scaling a significant challenge. In this study, two temporal upscaling schemes of daily photosynthesis, the integrated daily model (IDM) and the segmented daily model (SDM), are presented by considering the diurnal variations of meteorological variables based on a coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model. The two models, as well as a simple average daily model (SADM) with daily average meteorological inputs, were validated using the tower-derived gross primary production (GPP) to assess their abilities in simulating daily photosynthesis. The results showed IDM closely followed the seasonal trend of the tower-derived GPP with an average RMSE of 1.63 g C m(-2) day(-1), and an average Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (E) of 0.87. SDM performed similarly to IDM in GPP simulation but decreased the computation time by >66%. SADM overestimated daily GPP by about 15% during the growing season compared to IDM. Both IDM and SDM greatly decreased the overestimation by SADM, and improved the simulation of daily GPP by reducing the RMSE by 34 and 30%, respectively. The results indicated that IDM and SDM are useful temporal upscaling approaches, and both are superior to SADM in daily GPP simulation because they take into account the diurnally varying responses of photosynthesis to meteorological variables. SDM is computationally more efficient, and therefore more suitable for long-term and large-scale GPP simulations.

40 CFR 80.205 - How is the annual refinery or importer average and corporate pool average sulfur level determined?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... volume of gasoline produced or imported in batch i. Si=The sulfur content of batch i determined under § 80.330. n=The number of batches of gasoline produced or imported during the averaging period. i=Individual batch of gasoline produced or imported during the averaging period. (b) All annual refinery or...

Environmental Assessment, SR 123 (Roger J. Clary Highway) from North of the Intersection of SR 123 and SR 85S to SR 85N, Okaloosa County, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-01

mph) SRS 123 / SR 85 Traffic Volumes Receptor Max 1-Hr CO Conc (ppm) Max 8-Hr CO Conc (ppm) AADT VPH Alternative 2 (East Shift) and...8.4 5.0 AADT: Annual Average Daily Traffic. VPH : Vehicles per Hour Environmental Consequences Air Quality Impacts

Modulation of galactic cosmic ray anisotropy in heliomagnetosphere: average sidereal daily variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, K.; Morishita, I.; Yasue, S.

1982-01-01

The modulation of galactic anisotropy of cosmic rays caused by their deflection in the heliomagnetosphere is formulated. According to the formulation, the average sidereal i-th (2=1,2...) harmonic daily variation produced [from the anisotropy from an arbitrary direction can be expressed] by a linear combination of three basic vectors for unidirectional anisotropy and five basic vectors for bi-directional anisotropy. The general characteristics and main features of the sidereal daily variations in the modulation of the cosmic ray anistropy are presented. (U.K.)

Variation in the annual average radon concentration measured in homes in Mesa County, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rood, A.S.; George, J.L.; Langner, G.H. Jr.

1990-04-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the variability in the annual average indoor radon concentration. The TMC has been collecting annual average radon data for the past 5 years in 33 residential structures in Mesa County, Colorado. This report is an interim report that presents the data collected up to the present. Currently, the plans are to continue this study in the future. 62 refs., 3 figs., 12 tabs

Spatial variability of maximum annual daily rain under different return periods at the Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roriz Luciano Machado

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of maximum daily rain and its return period in a region is an important tool to soil conservation, hydraulic engineering and preservation of road projects. The objective of this work was to evaluate the spatial variability of maximum annual daily rain considering different return periods, at the Rio de Janeiro State. The data set was composed by historical series of 119 rain gauges, for 36 years of observation. The return periods, estimated by Gumbel distribution, were 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years. The spatial variability of the return periods was evaluated by semivariograms. All the return periods presented spatial dependence, with exponential and spherical model fitted to the experimental semivariograms. The parameters of the fitted semivariogram model were very similar; however, it was observed the presence of higher nugget effects for semivariograms of longer return periods. The values of maximum annual daily average rain in all the return periods increased from north to south and from countryside to the coast. In the region between the Serra do Mar range and the coast, besides increasing in magnitude, an increase in the spatial variability of the studied values with increasing return periods was also noticed. This behavior is probably caused by the orographic effect. The interpolated maps were more erratic for higher return periods and at the North, Northeast and Coastal Plain regions, in which the installation of new pluviometric stations are recommended.

Road traffic noise and children's inattention.

Science.gov (United States)

Weyde, Kjell Vegard; Krog, Norun Hjertager; Oftedal, Bente; Magnus, Per; Øverland, Simon; Stansfeld, Stephen; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Vrijheid, Martine; de Castro Pascual, Montserrat; Aasvang, Gunn Marit

2017-11-21

An increasing number of children are exposed to road traffic noise levels that may lead to adverse effects on health and daily functioning. Childhood is a period of intense growth and brain maturation, and children may therefore be especially vulnerable to road traffic noise. The objective of the present study was to examine whether road traffic noise was associated with reported inattention symptoms in children, and whether this association was mediated by sleep duration. This study was based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Parental reports of children's inattention at age 8 were linked to modelled levels of residential road traffic noise. We investigated the association between inattention and noise exposure during pregnancy (n = 1934), noise exposure averaged over 5 years (age 3 to 8 years; n = 1384) and noise exposure at age 8 years (n = 1384), using fractional logit response models. The participants were children from Oslo, Norway. An association with inattention at age 8 years was found for road traffic noise exposure at age 8 years (coef = .0083, CI = [.0012, .0154]; 1.2% point increase in inattention score per 10 dB increase in noise level), road traffic noise exposure average for the last 5 years (coef = .0090, CI = [.0016, .0164]; 1.3% point increase/10 dB), and for pregnancy road traffic noise exposure for boys (coef = .0091, CI = [.0010, .0171]), but not girls (coef = -.0021, CI = [-.0094, .0053]). Criteria for doing mediation analyses were not fulfilled. Results indicate that road traffic noise has a negative impact on children's inattention. We found no mediation by sleep duration.

Ambulance traffic accidents in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Po-Wei; Lin, Chih-Hao; Wu, Chen-Long; Fang, Pin-Hui; Lu, Chien-Hsin; Hsu, Hsiang-Chin; Chi, Chih-Hsien

2018-04-01

Ambulance traffic accidents (ATAs) are the leading cause of occupation-related fatalities among emergency medical service (EMS) personnel. We aim to use the Taiwan national surveillance system to analyze the characteristics of ATAs and to assist EMS directors in developing policies governing ambulance operations. A retrospective, cross-sectional and largely descriptive study was conducted using Taiwan national traffic accidents surveillance data from January 1, 2011 to October 31, 2016. Among the 1,627,217 traffic accidents during the study period, 715 ATAs caused 8 deaths within 24 h and 1844 injured patients. On average, there was one ATA for every 8598 ambulance runs. Compared to overall traffic accidents, ATAs were 1.7 times more likely to result in death and 1.9 times more likely to have injured patients. Among the 715 ATAs, 8 (1.1%) ATAs were fatal and 707 (98.9%) were nonfatal. All 8 fatalities were associated with motorcycles. The urban areas were significantly higher than the rural areas in the annual number of ATAs (14.2 ± 7.3 [7.0-26.7] versus 3.1 ± 1.9 [0.5-8.4], p = 0.013), the number of ATA-associated fatalities per year (0.2 ± 0.2 [0.0-0.7] versus 0.1 ± 0.1 [0.0-0.2], p = 0.022), and the annual number of injured patients (who needed urgent hospital visits) in ATAs (19.4 ± 7.3 [10.5-30.9] versus 5.2 ± 3.8 [0.9-15.3], p traffic accident reporting system should be built to provide EMS policy guidance for ATA reduction and outcome improvements. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Comparing daily temperature averaging methods: the role of surface and atmosphere variables in determining spatial and seasonal variability

Science.gov (United States)

Bernhardt, Jase; Carleton, Andrew M.

2018-05-01

The two main methods for determining the average daily near-surface air temperature, twice-daily averaging (i.e., [Tmax+Tmin]/2) and hourly averaging (i.e., the average of 24 hourly temperature measurements), typically show differences associated with the asymmetry of the daily temperature curve. To quantify the relative influence of several land surface and atmosphere variables on the two temperature averaging methods, we correlate data for 215 weather stations across the Contiguous United States (CONUS) for the period 1981-2010 with the differences between the two temperature-averaging methods. The variables are land use-land cover (LULC) type, soil moisture, snow cover, cloud cover, atmospheric moisture (i.e., specific humidity, dew point temperature), and precipitation. Multiple linear regression models explain the spatial and monthly variations in the difference between the two temperature-averaging methods. We find statistically significant correlations between both the land surface and atmosphere variables studied with the difference between temperature-averaging methods, especially for the extreme (i.e., summer, winter) seasons (adjusted R2 > 0.50). Models considering stations with certain LULC types, particularly forest and developed land, have adjusted R2 values > 0.70, indicating that both surface and atmosphere variables control the daily temperature curve and its asymmetry. This study improves our understanding of the role of surface and near-surface conditions in modifying thermal climates of the CONUS for a wide range of environments, and their likely importance as anthropogenic forcings—notably LULC changes and greenhouse gas emissions—continues.

Accident Journalism and Traffic Safety Education: A Three-Phase Investigation of Accident Reporting in the Canadian Daily Press.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilde, Gerald J. S.; Ackersviller, Melody J.

A study examined the potential for development of a traffic accident-reporting form in the Canadian daily press that strengthens concern for road safety in the general population and enhances knowledge, attitudes, and behavior leading to greater safety. The investigation was conducted on three levels: a content analysis, a readership analysis, and…

Modeling annual benzene, toluene, NO2, and soot concentrations on the basis of road traffic characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, David; Ehrenstein, Ondine von; Weiland, Stephan; Wagner, Claudia; Wellie, Oliver; Nicolai, Thomas; Mutius, Erika von

2002-01-01

The investigation of potential adverse health effects of urban traffic-related air pollution is hampered by difficulties encountered with exposure assessment. Usually public measuring sites are few and thereby do not adequately describe spatial variation of pollutant levels over an urban area. In turn, individual monitoring of pollution exposure among study subjects is laborious and expensive. We therefore investigated whether traffic characteristics can be used to adequately predict benzene, NO 2 , and soot concentrations at individual addresses of study subjects in the city area of Munich, Germany. For all road segments with expected traffic volumes of at least 4000 vehicles a day (n=1840), all vehicles were counted manually or a single weekday in 1995. The proportion of vehicles in 'stop-go' mode, n estimate of traffic jam, was determined. Furthermore, annual concentrations of benzene, NO 2 , and soot from 18 high-concentration sites means: 8.7, 65.8, and 12.9 μg/m 3 , respectively) and from 16 school sites with moderate concentrations (means: 2.6, 32.2, and 5.7 μg/m 3 , respectively) were measured from 1996 to 1998. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using components of two different statistical models recently used to predict air pollution levels in comparable settings. Two traffic characteristics, traffic volume and traffic jam percentage, adequately described air pollutant concentrations (R 2 : 0.76-0.80, P=0.0001). This study shows that air pollutant concentrations can be accurately predicted by two traffic characteristics and that these models compare favorably with other more complex models in the literature

Global Annual Average PM2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Annual PM2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data set represents a series of annual average grids (2001-2010) of fine particulate matter...

Global Annual Average PM2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Global Annual PM2.5 Grids from MODIS and MISR Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data sets represent a series of annual average grids (2001-2010) of fine particulate matter...

Artificial neural network optimisation for monthly average daily global solar radiation prediction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alsina, Emanuel Federico; Bortolini, Marco; Gamberi, Mauro; Regattieri, Alberto

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Prediction of the monthly average daily global solar radiation over Italy. • Multi-location Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model: 45 locations considered. • Optimal ANN configuration with 7 input climatologic/geographical parameters. • Statistical indicators: MAPE, NRMSE, MPBE. - Abstract: The availability of reliable climatologic data is essential for multiple purposes in a wide set of anthropic activities and operative sectors. Frequently direct measures present spatial and temporal lacks so that predictive approaches become of interest. This paper focuses on the prediction of the Monthly Average Daily Global Solar Radiation (MADGSR) over Italy using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Data from 45 locations compose the multi-location ANN training and testing sets. For each location, 13 input parameters are considered, including the geographical coordinates and the monthly values for the most frequently adopted climatologic parameters. A subset of 17 locations is used for ANN training, while the testing step is against data from the remaining 28 locations. Furthermore, the Automatic Relevance Determination method (ARD) is used to point out the most relevant input for the accurate MADGSR prediction. The ANN best configuration includes 7 parameters, only, i.e. Top of Atmosphere (TOA) radiation, day length, number of rainy days and average rainfall, latitude and altitude. The correlation performances, expressed through statistical indicators as the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), range between 1.67% and 4.25%, depending on the number and type of the chosen input, representing a good solution compared to the current standards.

AHP-based spatial analysis of water quality impact assessment due to change in vehicular traffic caused by highway broadening in Sikkim Himalaya

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Polash; Ghose, Mrinal Kanti; Pradhan, Ratika

2018-05-01

Spatial analysis of water quality impact assessment of highway projects in mountainous areas remains largely unexplored. A methodology is presented here for Spatial Water Quality Impact Assessment (SWQIA) due to highway-broadening-induced vehicular traffic change in the East district of Sikkim. Pollution load of the highway runoff was estimated using an Average Annual Daily Traffic-Based Empirical model in combination with mass balance model to predict pollution in the rivers within the study area. Spatial interpolation and overlay analysis were used for impact mapping. Analytic Hierarchy Process-Based Water Quality Status Index was used to prepare a composite impact map. Model validation criteria, cross-validation criteria, and spatial explicit sensitivity analysis show that the SWQIA model is robust. The study shows that vehicular traffic is a significant contributor to water pollution in the study area. The model is catering specifically to impact analysis of the concerned project. It can be an aid for decision support system for the project stakeholders. The applicability of SWQIA model needs to be explored and validated in the context of a larger set of water quality parameters and project scenarios at a greater spatial scale.

Preliminary study on alterations of altitude road traffic in China from 2006 to 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hui; Yin, Zhiyong; Xiang, Hongyi; Liao, Zhikang; Wang, Zhengguo

2017-01-01

Introduction Road traffic can play an important role in strengthening regional economic activities, especially at high altitude, and it is necessary to know important traffic-related information. Although previous studies reported on road traffic in China, there has been little research on high-altitude road traffic to date. Method The annual official census of road traffic safety from 2006 to 2013 was used to obtain data on the general population, registered drivers, registered vehicles, newly built roads, road traffic accidents (RTAs), mortality rate per 100 000 populations and per 10 000 vehicles in high-altitude provinces, including Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Gansu, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Chongqing. These provincial data were reviewed retrospectively, with the national data as the reference. Statistical analysis (i.e., t test) was used to compare the estimated average annual change rate of population, number of registered drivers, registered vehicles, and newly built roads in high-altitude provinces with the national rates. Results Compared with the national data, there are significantly higher annual rates of population growth in Tibet and Xinjiang, registered drivers in Gansu, registered vehicles in Gansu, Sichuan, and Chongqing, and newly built roads in Tibet and Qinghai. Among the investigated provinces, Tibet, Qinghai, and Yunnan had a higher proportion of the roads with the high class. RTAs and RTA-induced casualties in the high-altitude provinces indicated a decreasing trend. The mortality rate per 10 000 vehicles and per 100 000 populations showed a decreasing trend, while the RTA-related mortality rate in Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Gansu remained high. Conclusions Major changes for road traffic in high-altitude provinces have occurred over the past decade; however, the RTA-related mortality rate in high-altitude provinces has remained high. This study furthers understanding about road traffic safety in China; further studies on road traffic safety at

Preliminary study on alterations of altitude road traffic in China from 2006 to 2013.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Zhao

Full Text Available Road traffic can play an important role in strengthening regional economic activities, especially at high altitude, and it is necessary to know important traffic-related information. Although previous studies reported on road traffic in China, there has been little research on high-altitude road traffic to date.The annual official census of road traffic safety from 2006 to 2013 was used to obtain data on the general population, registered drivers, registered vehicles, newly built roads, road traffic accidents (RTAs, mortality rate per 100 000 populations and per 10 000 vehicles in high-altitude provinces, including Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Gansu, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Chongqing. These provincial data were reviewed retrospectively, with the national data as the reference. Statistical analysis (i.e., t test was used to compare the estimated average annual change rate of population, number of registered drivers, registered vehicles, and newly built roads in high-altitude provinces with the national rates.Compared with the national data, there are significantly higher annual rates of population growth in Tibet and Xinjiang, registered drivers in Gansu, registered vehicles in Gansu, Sichuan, and Chongqing, and newly built roads in Tibet and Qinghai. Among the investigated provinces, Tibet, Qinghai, and Yunnan had a higher proportion of the roads with the high class. RTAs and RTA-induced casualties in the high-altitude provinces indicated a decreasing trend. The mortality rate per 10 000 vehicles and per 100 000 populations showed a decreasing trend, while the RTA-related mortality rate in Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Gansu remained high.Major changes for road traffic in high-altitude provinces have occurred over the past decade; however, the RTA-related mortality rate in high-altitude provinces has remained high. This study furthers understanding about road traffic safety in China; further studies on road traffic safety at high altitude should be

Traffic Noise Assessment at Residential Areas in Skudai, Johor

Science.gov (United States)

Sulaiman, F. S.; Darus, N.; Mashros, N.; Haron, Z.; Yahya, K.

2018-03-01

Vehicles passing by on roadways in residential areas may produce unpleasant traffic noise that affects the residents. This paper presents the traffic noise assessment of three selected residential areas located in Skudai, Johor. The objectives of this study are to evaluate traffic characteristics at selected residential areas, determine related noise indices, and assess impact of traffic noise. Traffic characteristics such as daily traffic volume and vehicle speed were evaluated using automatic traffic counter (ATC). Meanwhile, noise indices like equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq), noise level exceeded 10% (L10) and 90% (L90) of measurement time were determined using sound level meter (SLM). Besides that, traffic noise index (TNI) and noise pollution level (LNP) were calculated based on the measured noise indices. The results showed an increase in noise level of 60 to 70 dBA maximum due to increase in traffic volume. There was also a significant change in noise level of more than 70 dBA even though average vehicle speed did not vary significantly. Nevertheless, LAeq, TNI, and LNP values for all sites during daytime were lower than the maximum recommended levels. Thus, residents in the three studied areas were not affected in terms of quality of life and health.

Full-chain health impact assessment of traffic-related air pollution and childhood asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Khreis, Haneen; de Hoogh, Kees; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J

2018-05-01

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children. Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) may be an important exposure contributing to its development. In the UK, Bradford is a deprived city suffering from childhood asthma rates higher than national and regional averages and TRAP is of particular concern to the local communities. We estimated the burden of childhood asthma attributable to air pollution and specifically TRAP in Bradford. Air pollution exposures were estimated using a newly developed full-chain exposure assessment model and an existing land-use regression model (LUR). We estimated childhood population exposure to NO x and, by conversion, NO 2 at the smallest census area level using a newly developed full-chain model knitting together distinct traffic (SATURN), vehicle emission (COPERT) and atmospheric dispersion (ADMS-Urban) models. We compared these estimates with measurements and estimates from ESCAPE's LUR model. Using the UK incidence rate for childhood asthma, meta-analytical exposure-response functions, and estimates from the two exposure models, we estimated annual number of asthma cases attributable to NO 2 and NO x in Bradford, and annual number of asthma cases specifically attributable to traffic. The annual average census tract levels of NO 2 and NO x estimated using the full-chain model were 15.41 and 25.68 μg/m 3 , respectively. On average, 2.75 μg/m 3 NO 2 and 4.59 μg/m 3 NO x were specifically contributed by traffic, without minor roads and cold starts. The annual average census tract levels of NO 2 and NO x estimated using the LUR model were 21.93 and 35.60 μg/m 3 , respectively. The results indicated that up to 687 (or 38% of all) annual childhood asthma cases in Bradford may be attributable to air pollution. Up to 109 cases (6%) and 219 cases (12%) may be specifically attributable to TRAP, with and without minor roads and cold starts, respectively. This is the first study undertaking full-chain health impact assessment

2016 Traffic Safety Culture Index

Science.gov (United States)

... Newsroom SEARCH Driver Behavior & Performance 2016 Traffic Safety Culture Index This report presents the results of our annual Traffic Safety Culture Index survey, providing data on the attitudes and ...

Estimate of annual daily maximum rainfall and intense rain equation for the Formiga municipality, MG, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovana Mara Rodrigues Borges

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of the probabilistic behavior of rainfall is extremely important to the design of drainage systems, dam spillways, and other hydraulic projects. This study therefore examined statistical models to predict annual daily maximum rainfall as well as models of heavy rain for the city of Formiga - MG. To do this, annual maximum daily rainfall data were ranked in decreasing order that best describes the statistical distribution by exceedance probability. Daily rainfall disaggregation methodology was used for the intense rain model studies and adjusted with Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF and Exponential models. The study found that the Gumbel model better adhered to the data regarding observed frequency as indicated by the Chi-squared test, and that the exponential model best conforms to the observed data to predict intense rains.

Understanding characteristics in multivariate traffic flow time series from complex network structure

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Ying; Zhang, Shen; Tang, Jinjun; Wang, Xiaofei

2017-07-01

Discovering dynamic characteristics in traffic flow is the significant step to design effective traffic managing and controlling strategy for relieving traffic congestion in urban cities. A new method based on complex network theory is proposed to study multivariate traffic flow time series. The data were collected from loop detectors on freeway during a year. In order to construct complex network from original traffic flow, a weighted Froenius norm is adopt to estimate similarity between multivariate time series, and Principal Component Analysis is implemented to determine the weights. We discuss how to select optimal critical threshold for networks at different hour in term of cumulative probability distribution of degree. Furthermore, two statistical properties of networks: normalized network structure entropy and cumulative probability of degree, are utilized to explore hourly variation in traffic flow. The results demonstrate these two statistical quantities express similar pattern to traffic flow parameters with morning and evening peak hours. Accordingly, we detect three traffic states: trough, peak and transitional hours, according to the correlation between two aforementioned properties. The classifying results of states can actually represent hourly fluctuation in traffic flow by analyzing annual average hourly values of traffic volume, occupancy and speed in corresponding hours.

An assessment of hopanes in settled dust and air as indicators of exposure to traffic-related air pollution in Windsor, Ontario

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, Jason

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) has been linked with several adverse health effects. We investigated hopanes, markers of primary particle emissions from gasoline and diesel engines, in house dust as an alternative approach for assessing exposure to TRAP in Windsor, Ontario. Settled house dust was collected from the homes of 28 study participants (10 -- 13 yrs). The dust was then analyzed for a suite of hopanes by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We calculated correlations between dust hopane concentrations and estimates of annual average NO2 concentrations derived from an existing LUR model. Hopanes were consistently present in detectable quantities in house dust. Annual average outdoor NO2 estimated was moderately correlated with hopanes in house dust (r = 0.46; pefficiency or the presence of an attached garage. Hopanes measured in settled house dust show promise as an indicator of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Keywords: hopane; air pollution; traffic; dust; exposure; TRAP.

Lagrangian Multi-Class Traffic State Estimation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yuan, Y.

2013-01-01

Road traffic is important to everybody in the world. People travel and commute everyday. For those who travel by cars (or other types of road vehicles), traffic congestion is a daily experience. One essential goal of traffic researchers is to reduce traffic congestion and to improve the whole

Optimization of heliostat field layout in solar central receiver systems on annual basis using differential evolution algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atif, Maimoon; Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Differential evolution optimization model was developed to optimize the heliostat field. • Five optical parameters were considered for the optimization of the optical efficiency. • Optimization using insolation weighted and un-weighted annual efficiency are developed. • The daily averaged annual optical efficiency was calculated to be 0.5023 while the monthly was 0.5025. • The insolation weighted daily averaged annual efficiency was 0.5634. - Abstract: Optimization of a heliostat field is an essential task to make a solar central receiver system effective because major optical losses are associated with the heliostat fields. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to effectively optimize the heliostat field on annual basis using differential evolution, which is an evolutionary algorithm. The heliostat field layout optimization is based on the calculation of five optical performance parameters: the mirror or the heliostat reflectivity, the cosine factor, the atmospheric attenuation factor, the shadowing and blocking factor, and the intercept factor. This model calculates all the aforementioned performance parameters at every stage of the optimization, until the best heliostat field layout based on annual performance is obtained. Two different approaches were undertaken to optimize the heliostat field layout: one with optimizing insolation weighted annual efficiency and the other with optimizing the un-weighted annual efficiency. Moreover, an alternate approach was also proposed to efficiently optimize the heliostat field in which the number of computational time steps was considerably reduced. It was observed that the daily averaged annual optical efficiency was calculated to be 0.5023 as compared to the monthly averaged annual optical efficiency, 0.5025. Moreover, the insolation weighted daily averaged annual efficiency of the heliostat field was 0.5634 for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The code developed can be used for any other

Accurate computations of monthly average daily extraterrestrial irradiation and the maximum possible sunshine duration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, P.C.

1985-12-01

The monthly average daily values of the extraterrestrial irradiation on a horizontal plane and the maximum possible sunshine duration are two important parameters that are frequently needed in various solar energy applications. These are generally calculated by solar scientists and engineers each time they are needed and often by using the approximate short-cut methods. Using the accurate analytical expressions developed by Spencer for the declination and the eccentricity correction factor, computations for these parameters have been made for all the latitude values from 90 deg. N to 90 deg. S at intervals of 1 deg. and are presented in a convenient tabular form. Monthly average daily values of the maximum possible sunshine duration as recorded on a Campbell Stoke's sunshine recorder are also computed and presented. These tables would avoid the need for repetitive and approximate calculations and serve as a useful ready reference for providing accurate values to the solar energy scientists and engineers

Modeling and forecasting monthly movement of annual average solar insolation based on the least-squares Fourier-model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Zong-Chang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Introduce a finite Fourier-series model for evaluating monthly movement of annual average solar insolation. • Present a forecast method for predicting its movement based on the extended Fourier-series model in the least-squares. • Shown its movement is well described by a low numbers of harmonics with approximately 6-term Fourier series. • Predict its movement most fitting with less than 6-term Fourier series. - Abstract: Solar insolation is one of the most important measurement parameters in many fields. Modeling and forecasting monthly movement of annual average solar insolation is of increasingly importance in areas of engineering, science and economics. In this study, Fourier-analysis employing finite Fourier-series is proposed for evaluating monthly movement of annual average solar insolation and extended in the least-squares for forecasting. The conventional Fourier analysis, which is the most common analysis method in the frequency domain, cannot be directly applied for prediction. Incorporated with the least-square method, the introduced Fourier-series model is extended to predict its movement. The extended Fourier-series forecasting model obtains its optimums Fourier coefficients in the least-square sense based on its previous monthly movements. The proposed method is applied to experiments and yields satisfying results in the different cities (states). It is indicated that monthly movement of annual average solar insolation is well described by a low numbers of harmonics with approximately 6-term Fourier series. The extended Fourier forecasting model predicts the monthly movement of annual average solar insolation most fitting with less than 6-term Fourier series

75 FR 82075 - Notice of Quarterly Report (July 1, 2010-September 30, 2010)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-29

... delay. Network equipment and integrator. Real time gross settlement system (RTGS). Telecommunication...,181 Travel time ratio: Project. integration of the Percentage of internal market beneficiary... operating costs (VOC). International roughness index (IRI). Annual average daily traffic (AADT). Travel Time...

Development of equations to predict the influence of floor space on average daily gain, average daily feed intake and gain : feed ratio of finishing pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Flohr, J R; Dritz, S S; Tokach, M D; Woodworth, J C; DeRouchey, J M; Goodband, R D

2018-05-01

Floor space allowance for pigs has substantial effects on pig growth and welfare. Data from 30 papers examining the influence of floor space allowance on the growth of finishing pigs was used in a meta-analysis to develop alternative prediction equations for average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and gain : feed ratio (G : F). Treatment means were compiled in a database that contained 30 papers for ADG and 28 papers for ADFI and G : F. The predictor variables evaluated were floor space (m2/pig), k (floor space/final BW0.67), Initial BW, Final BW, feed space (pigs per feeder hole), water space (pigs per waterer), group size (pigs per pen), gender, floor type and study length (d). Multivariable general linear mixed model regression equations were used. Floor space treatments within each experiment were the observational and experimental unit. The optimum equations to predict ADG, ADFI and G : F were: ADG, g=337.57+(16 468×k)-(237 350×k 2)-(3.1209×initial BW (kg))+(2.569×final BW (kg))+(71.6918×k×initial BW (kg)); ADFI, g=833.41+(24 785×k)-(388 998×k 2)-(3.0027×initial BW (kg))+(11.246×final BW (kg))+(187.61×k×initial BW (kg)); G : F=predicted ADG/predicted ADFI. Overall, the meta-analysis indicates that BW is an important predictor of ADG and ADFI even after computing the constant coefficient k, which utilizes final BW in its calculation. This suggests including initial and final BW improves the prediction over using k as a predictor alone. In addition, the analysis also indicated that G : F of finishing pigs is influenced by floor space allowance, whereas individual studies have concluded variable results.

Epidemiology o.f· Traffic Accidents

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Accidents. An analysis of some 2 100 fatal traffic accidents gave the following results: males-79%; females-21%; a ratio of 4: 1. The high proportion of males to females killed in traffic accidents may be due to the fact that (a) more males commute daily in private and commercial vehicles;. (b) more females commute daily in ...

Estimating cost of road traffic injuries in Iran using willingness to pay (WTP) method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ainy, Elaheh; Soori, Hamid; Ganjali, Mojtaba; Le, Henry; Baghfalaki, Taban

2014-01-01

We aimed to use the willingness to pay (WTP) method to calculate the cost of traffic injuries in Iran in 2013. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of 846 randomly selected road users. WTP data was collected for four scenarios for vehicle occupants, pedestrians, vehicle drivers, and motorcyclists. Final analysis was carried out using Weibull and maximum likelihood method. Mean WTP was 2,612,050 Iranian rials (IRR). Statistical value of life was estimated according to 20,408 fatalities 402,314,106,073,648 IRR (US$13,410,470,202 based on purchasing power parity at (February 27th, 2014). Injury cost was US$25,637,870,872 (based on 318,802 injured people in 2013, multiple daily traffic volume of 311, and multiple daily payment of 31,030 IRR for 250 working days). The total estimated cost of injury and death cases was 39,048,341,074$. Gross national income of Iran was, US$604,300,000,000 in 2013 and the costs of traffic injuries constituted 6·46% of gross national income. WTP was significantly associated with age, gender, monthly income, daily payment, more payment for time reduction, trip mileage, drivers and occupants from road users. The costs of traffic injuries in Iran in 2013 accounted for 6.64% of gross national income, much higher than the global average. Policymaking and resource allocation to reduce traffic-related death and injury rates have the potential to deliver a huge economic benefit.

Traffic at risk in Mediterranean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilardo, U.; Mureddu, G.

1993-01-01

The Mediterranean Sea represents only about 0.7% of the planet's total water surface area, yet it is host to as much as one-quarter of the world's total maritime oil traffic. Statistics indicate that from 47 to 77,000 tonnes of crude oil are now being released annually into the Sea through accidental spills; and over the last decade, its tourism dependent coastlines have been fouled by the highest levels of tar contamination in the world. Oil carrier traffic, routed within the Sea's already overcrowded shipping lanes, is intense and this traffic is expected to increase, as a result of rises in world energy demand, to levels of from 7 to 8 million barrels a day. It has been estimated that, at the end of 1992, 90% of all large tankers operating in this area, will have reached a service life of 15-16 years which is very close to the average recommended life cycle limit of 15-20 years. Only 20% of the world's 3,000 tankers are currently equipped with double bottomed hulls. This paper uses these and other facts and figures to argue that the risks of future severe oil tanker accidents in the Mediterranean Sea are high, and that these must be countered with the development of a new set of stricter marine traffic safety regulations at the Italian, national, as well as, European level

Transcription through the eye of a needle: daily and annual cyclic gene expression variation in Douglas-fir needles.

Science.gov (United States)

Cronn, Richard; Dolan, Peter C; Jogdeo, Sanjuro; Wegrzyn, Jill L; Neale, David B; St Clair, J Bradley; Denver, Dee R

2017-07-24

Perennial growth in plants is the product of interdependent cycles of daily and annual stimuli that induce cycles of growth and dormancy. In conifers, needles are the key perennial organ that integrates daily and seasonal signals from light, temperature, and water availability. To understand the relationship between seasonal cycles and seasonal gene expression responses in conifers, we examined diurnal and circannual needle mRNA accumulation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) needles at diurnal and circannual scales. Using mRNA sequencing, we sampled 6.1 × 10 9 reads from 19 trees and constructed a de novo pan-transcriptome reference that includes 173,882 tree-derived transcripts. Using this reference, we mapped RNA-Seq reads from 179 samples that capture daily and annual variation. We identified 12,042 diurnally-cyclic transcripts, 9299 of which showed homology to annotated genes from other plant genomes, including angiosperm core clock genes. Annual analysis revealed 21,225 circannual transcripts, 17,335 of which showed homology to annotated genes from other plant genomes. The timing of maximum gene expression is associated with light intensity at diurnal scales and photoperiod at annual scales, with approximately half of transcripts reaching maximum expression +/- 2 h from sunrise and sunset, and +/- 20 days from winter and summer solstices. Comparisons with published studies from other conifers shows congruent behavior in clock genes with Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria), and a significant preservation of gene expression patterns for 2278 putative orthologs from Douglas-fir during the summer growing season, and 760 putative orthologs from spruce (Picea) during the transition from fall to winter. Our study highlight the extensive diurnal and circannual transcriptome variability demonstrated in conifer needles. At these temporal scales, 29% of expressed transcripts show a significant diurnal cycle, and 58.7% show a significant circannual cycle. Remarkably

Two-vehicle injury severity models based on integration of pavement management and traffic engineering factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Ximiao; Huang, Baoshan; Yan, Xuedong; Zaretzki, Russell L; Richards, Stephen

2013-01-01

The severity of traffic-related injuries has been studied by many researchers in recent decades. However, the evaluation of many factors is still in dispute and, until this point, few studies have taken into account pavement management factors as points of interest. The objective of this article is to evaluate the combined influences of pavement management factors and traditional traffic engineering factors on the injury severity of 2-vehicle crashes. This study examines 2-vehicle rear-end, sideswipe, and angle collisions that occurred on Tennessee state routes from 2004 to 2008. Both the traditional ordered probit (OP) model and Bayesian ordered probit (BOP) model with weak informative prior were fitted for each collision type. The performances of these models were evaluated based on the parameter estimates and deviances. The results indicated that pavement management factors played identical roles in all 3 collision types. Pavement serviceability produces significant positive effects on the severity of injuries. The pavement distress index (PDI), rutting depth (RD), and rutting depth difference between right and left wheels (RD_df) were not significant in any of these 3 collision types. The effects of traffic engineering factors varied across collision types, except that a few were consistently significant in all 3 collision types, such as annual average daily traffic (AADT), rural-urban location, speed limit, peaking hour, and light condition. The findings of this study indicated that improved pavement quality does not necessarily lessen the severity of injuries when a 2-vehicle crash occurs. The effects of traffic engineering factors are not universal but vary by the type of crash. The study also found that the BOP model with a weak informative prior can be used as an alternative but was not superior to the traditional OP model in terms of overall performance.

Traffic Management as a Service: The Traffic Flow Pattern Classification Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos T. Calafate

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Intelligent Transportation System (ITS technologies can be implemented to reduce both fuel consumption and the associated emission of greenhouse gases. However, such systems require intelligent and effective route planning solutions to reduce travel time and promote stable traveling speeds. To achieve such goal these systems should account for both estimated and real-time traffic congestion states, but obtaining reliable traffic congestion estimations for all the streets/avenues in a city for the different times of the day, for every day in a year, is a complex task. Modeling such a tremendous amount of data can be time-consuming and, additionally, centralized computation of optimal routes based on such time-dependencies has very high data processing requirements. In this paper we approach this problem through a heuristic to considerably reduce the modeling effort while maintaining the benefits of time-dependent traffic congestion modeling. In particular, we propose grouping streets by taking into account real traces describing the daily traffic pattern. The effectiveness of this heuristic is assessed for the city of Valencia, Spain, and the results obtained show that it is possible to reduce the required number of daily traffic flow patterns by a factor of 4210 while maintaining the essence of time-dependent modeling requirements.

Characteristics of aggregation of daily rainfall in a middle-latitudes region during a climate variability in annual rainfall amount

Science.gov (United States)

Lucero, Omar A.; Rozas, Daniel

Climate variability in annual rainfall occurs because the aggregation of daily rainfall changes. A topic open to debate is whether that change takes place because rainfall becomes more intense, or because it rains more often, or a combination of both. The answer to this question is of interest for water resources planning, hydrometeorological design, and agricultural management. Change in the number of rainy days can cause major disruptions in hydrological and ecological systems, with important economic and social effects. Furthermore, the characteristics of daily rainfall aggregation in ongoing climate variability provide a reference to evaluate the capability of GCM to simulate changes in the hydrologic cycle. In this research, we analyze changes in the aggregation of daily rainfall producing a climate positive trend in annual rainfall in central Argentina, in the southern middle-latitudes. This state-of-the-art agricultural region has a semiarid climate with dry and wet seasons. Weather effects in the region influence world-market prices of several crops. Results indicate that the strong positive trend in seasonal and annual rainfall amount is produced by an increase in number of rainy days. This increase takes place in the 3-month periods January-March (summer) and April-June (autumn). These are also the 3-month periods showing a positive trend in the mean of annual rainfall. The mean of the distribution of annual number of rainy day (ANRD) increased in 50% in a 36-year span (starting at 44 days/year). No statistically significant indications on time changes in the probability distribution of daily rainfall amount were found. Non-periodic fluctuations in the time series of annual rainfall were analyzed using an integral wavelet transform. Fluctuations with a time scale of about 10 and 20 years construct the trend in annual rainfall amount. These types of non-periodic fluctuations have been observed in other regions of the world. This suggests that results of

ASSESSMENT OF THE AVERAGE ANNUAL EFFECTIVE DOSES FOR THE INHABITANTS OF THE SETTLEMENTS LOCATED IN THE TERRITORIES CONTAMINATED DUE TO THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. G. Vlasova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Catalogue of the average annual effective exposure doses of the inhabitants of the territories contaminated due to the Chernobul accident had been developed according to the method of the assessment of the average annual effective exposure doses of the settlements inhabitants. The cost-efficacy of the use of the average annual effective dose assessment method was 250 000 USD for the current 5 years. Average annual effective dose exceeded 1 mSv/year for 191 Belarus settlements from 2613. About 50 000 persons are living in these settlements.

Urban scale air quality modelling using detailed traffic emissions estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Borrego, C.; Amorim, J. H.; Tchepel, O.; Dias, D.; Rafael, S.; Sá, E.; Pimentel, C.; Fontes, T.; Fernandes, P.; Pereira, S. R.; Bandeira, J. M.; Coelho, M. C.

2016-04-01

The atmospheric dispersion of NOx and PM10 was simulated with a second generation Gaussian model over a medium-size south-European city. Microscopic traffic models calibrated with GPS data were used to derive typical driving cycles for each road link, while instantaneous emissions were estimated applying a combined Vehicle Specific Power/Co-operative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (VSP/EMEP) methodology. Site-specific background concentrations were estimated using time series analysis and a low-pass filter applied to local observations. Air quality modelling results are compared against measurements at two locations for a 1 week period. 78% of the results are within a factor of two of the observations for 1-h average concentrations, increasing to 94% for daily averages. Correlation significantly improves when background is added, with an average of 0.89 for the 24 h record. The results highlight the potential of detailed traffic and instantaneous exhaust emissions estimates, together with filtered urban background, to provide accurate input data to Gaussian models applied at the urban scale.

Estimating cost of road traffic injuries in Iran using willingness to pay (WTP method.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaheh Ainy

Full Text Available We aimed to use the willingness to pay (WTP method to calculate the cost of traffic injuries in Iran in 2013. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of 846 randomly selected road users. WTP data was collected for four scenarios for vehicle occupants, pedestrians, vehicle drivers, and motorcyclists. Final analysis was carried out using Weibull and maximum likelihood method. Mean WTP was 2,612,050 Iranian rials (IRR. Statistical value of life was estimated according to 20,408 fatalities 402,314,106,073,648 IRR (US$13,410,470,202 based on purchasing power parity at (February 27th, 2014. Injury cost was US$25,637,870,872 (based on 318,802 injured people in 2013, multiple daily traffic volume of 311, and multiple daily payment of 31,030 IRR for 250 working days. The total estimated cost of injury and death cases was 39,048,341,074$. Gross national income of Iran was, US$604,300,000,000 in 2013 and the costs of traffic injuries constituted 6·46% of gross national income. WTP was significantly associated with age, gender, monthly income, daily payment, more payment for time reduction, trip mileage, drivers and occupants from road users. The costs of traffic injuries in Iran in 2013 accounted for 6.64% of gross national income, much higher than the global average. Policymaking and resource allocation to reduce traffic-related death and injury rates have the potential to deliver a huge economic benefit.

EnviroAtlas - Average Annual Precipitation 1981-2010 by HUC12 for the Conterminous United States

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset provides the average annual precipitation by 12-digit Hydrologic Unit (HUC). The values were estimated from maps produced by the PRISM...

Values of average daily gain of swine posted to commercial hybrids on pork in youth phase depending on the type

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Marin

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Values of average daily gain of weight are calculated according to the ratio of total growth and total number of days of feeding. In the case of the four commercial hybrids intensively exploited was observed, as test applied, that there were no statistically significant differences in terms of average daily gain of these hybrids, but the lowest values ​​of this index were recorded in hybrid B (with Large White as terminal boar.

Average Bandwidth Allocation Model of WFQ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomáš Balogh

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We present a new iterative method for the calculation of average bandwidth assignment to traffic flows using a WFQ scheduler in IP based NGN networks. The bandwidth assignment calculation is based on the link speed, assigned weights, arrival rate, and average packet length or input rate of the traffic flows. We prove the model outcome with examples and simulation results using NS2 simulator.

Association between average daily gain, faecal dry matter content and concentration of Lawsonia intracellularis in faeces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Ken Steen; Skrubel, Rikke; Stege, Helle

2012-01-01

Background The objective of this study was to investigate the association between average daily gain and the number of Lawsonia intracellularis bacteria in faeces of growing pigs with different levels of diarrhoea. Methods A longitudinal field study (n?=?150 pigs) was performed in a Danish herd f...

STATIONARITY OF ANNUAL MAXIMUM DAILY STREAMFLOW TIME SERIES IN SOUTH-EAST BRAZILIAN RIVERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Machado Damázio

2015-08-01

Full Text Available DOI: 10.12957/cadest.2014.18302The paper presents a statistical analysis of annual maxima daily streamflow between 1931 and 2013 in South-East Brazil focused in detecting and modelling non-stationarity aspects. Flood protection for the large valleys in South-East Brazil is provided by multiple purpose reservoir systems built during 20th century, which design and operation plans has been done assuming stationarity of historical flood time series. Land cover changes and rapidly-increasing level of atmosphere greenhouse gases of the last century may be affecting flood regimes in these valleys so that it can be that nonstationary modelling should be applied to re-asses dam safety and flood control operation rules at the existent reservoir system. Six annual maximum daily streamflow time series are analysed. The time series were plotted together with fitted smooth loess functions and non-parametric statistical tests are performed to check the significance of apparent trends shown by the plots. Non-stationarity is modelled by fitting univariate extreme value distribution functions which location varies linearly with time. Stationarity and non-stationarity modelling are compared with the likelihood ratio statistic. In four of the six analyzed time series non-stationarity modelling outperformed stationarity modelling.Keywords: Stationarity; Extreme Value Distributions; Flood Frequency Analysis; Maximum Likelihood Method.

Changes in Average Annual Precipitation in Argentina’s Pampa Region and Their Possible Causes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Pérez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Changes in annual rainfall in five sub-regions of the Argentine Pampa Region (Rolling, Central, Mesopotamian, Flooding and Southern were examined for the period 1941 to 2010 using data from representative locations in each sub-region. Dubious series were adjusted by means of a homogeneity test and changes in mean value were evaluated using a hydrometeorological time series segmentation method. In addition, an association was sought between shifts in mean annual rainfall and changes in large-scale atmospheric pressure systems, as measured by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI. The results indicate that the Western Pampas (Central and Southern are more vulnerable to abrupt changes in average annual rainfall than the Eastern Pampas (Mesopotamian, Rolling and Flooding. Their vulnerability is further increased by their having the lowest average rainfall. The AMO showed significant negative correlations with all sub-regions, while the PDO and SOI showed significant positive and negative correlations respectively with the Central, Flooding and Southern Pampa. The fact that the PDO and AMO are going through the phases of their cycles that tend to reduce rainfall in much of the Pampas helps explain the lower rainfall recorded in the Western Pampas sub-regions in recent years. This has had a significant impact on agriculture and the environment.

Intelligent Traffic Information System a Real-Time Traffic Information System on the Shiraz Bypass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sodagaran Amir

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Real-time traffic information system is an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS that allows commuters to make their traveling plan better. In this regard, an intelligent and real-time traffic information system was developed based on the video detection and an image processing algorithm was applied to measure traffic-flow according to the average speed of vehicles. Then, traffic status of each pass way is broadcasted to the electronic boards installed on all decision making entrance / exit. Different levels of congestion related to the routes ahead are shown on the boards with different colors in order to assist commuters. This system was implemented on the Shiraz Dry River’s bypasses which account as vital routes to moderate traffic of city center. Experimental results are promising due to the proximity of determined traffic status by the system compared to the detection done by traffic experts. Average speed improvement is another result of using this system. This intelligent system developed and implemented in Shiraz city for the first time in Iran.s.

A sampling strategy for estimating plot average annual fluxes of chemical elements from forest soils

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brus, D.J.; Gruijter, de J.J.; Vries, de W.

2010-01-01

A sampling strategy for estimating spatially averaged annual element leaching fluxes from forest soils is presented and tested in three Dutch forest monitoring plots. In this method sampling locations and times (days) are selected by probability sampling. Sampling locations were selected by

Forecasting the daily electricity consumption in the Moscow region using artificial neural networks

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, V. V.; Kryanev, A. V.; Osetrov, E. S.

2017-07-01

In [1] we demonstrated the possibility in principle for short-term forecasting of daily volumes of passenger traffic in the Moscow metro with the help of artificial neural networks. During training and predicting, a set of the factors that affect the daily passenger traffic in the subway is passed to the input of the neural network. One of these factors is the daily power consumption in the Moscow region. Therefore, to predict the volume of the passenger traffic in the subway, we must first to solve the problem of forecasting the daily energy consumption in the Moscow region.

Nonlinearity and chaos in wireless network traffic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherjee, Somenath; Ray, Rajdeep; Samanta, Rajkumar; Khondekar, Mofazzal H.; Sanyal, Goutam

2017-01-01

The natural complexity of wireless mobile network traffic dynamics has been assessed in this article by tracing the presence of nonlinearity and chaos in the profile of daily peak hour call arrival and daily call drop of a sub-urban local mobile switching centre. The tools like Recurrence Plot and Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) has been used to reveal the probable presence of non-stationarity, nonlinearity and chaosity in the network traffic. Information Entropy (IE) and 0–1 test have been employed to provide the quantitative support to the findings. Both the daily peak hour call arrival profile and the daily call drop profile exhibit non-stationarity, determinism and nonlinearity with the former one being more regular while the later one is chaotic.

On the distributions of annual and seasonal daily rainfall extremes in central Arizona and their spatial variability

Science.gov (United States)

Mascaro, Giuseppe

2018-04-01

This study uses daily rainfall records of a dense network of 240 gauges in central Arizona to gain insights on (i) the variability of the seasonal distributions of rainfall extremes; (ii) how the seasonal distributions affect the shape of the annual distribution; and (iii) the presence of spatial patterns and orographic control for these distributions. For this aim, recent methodological advancements in peak-over-threshold analysis and application of the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) were used to assess the suitability of the GPD hypothesis and improve the estimation of its parameters, while limiting the effect of short sample sizes. The distribution of daily rainfall extremes was found to be heavy-tailed (i.e., GPD shape parameter ξ > 0) during the summer season, dominated by convective monsoonal thunderstorms. The exponential distribution (a special case of GPD with ξ = 0) was instead showed to be appropriate for modeling wintertime daily rainfall extremes, mainly caused by cold fronts transported by westerly flow. The annual distribution exhibited a mixed behavior, with lighter upper tails than those found in summer. A hybrid model mixing the two seasonal distributions was demonstrated capable of reproducing the annual distribution. Organized spatial patterns, mainly controlled by elevation, were observed for the GPD scale parameter, while ξ did not show any clear control of location or orography. The quantiles returned by the GPD were found to be very similar to those provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14, which used the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. Results of this work are useful to improve statistical modeling of daily rainfall extremes at high spatial resolution and provide diagnostic tools for assessing the ability of climate models to simulate extreme events.

Assessment of Exposure of Elementary Schools to Traffic Pollution by GIS Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Štych, Přemysl; Šrámková, Denisa; Braniš, Martin

2016-06-01

The susceptibility of children to polluted air has been pointed out several times in the past. Generally, children suffer from higher exposure to air pollutants than adults because of their higher physical activity, higher metabolic rate and the resultant increase in minute ventilation. The aim of this study was to examine the exposure characteristics of public elementary schools in Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic). The exposure was examined by two different methods: by the proximity of selected schools to major urban roads and their location within the modeled urban PM10 concentration fields. We determined average daily traffic counts for all roads within 300 m of 251 elementary schools using the national road network database and geographic information system and calculated by means of GIS tools the proximity of the schools to the roads. In the second method we overlapped the GIS layer of predicted annual urban PM10 concentration field with that of geocoded school addresses. The results showed that 208 Prague schools (almost 80%) are situated in a close proximity (<300 m) of roads exhibiting high traffic loads. Both methods showed good agreement in the proportion of highly exposed schools at risk; however, we found significant differences in the locations of schools at risk determined by the two methods. We argue that results of similar proximity studies should be treated with caution before they are used in risk based decision-making process, since different methods may provide different outcomes. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2015.

Transcription through the eye of a needle: daily and annual cyclic gene expression variation in Douglas-fir needles

OpenAIRE

Cronn, Richard; Dolan, Peter C.; Jogdeo, Sanjuro; Wegrzyn, Jill L.; Neale, David B.; St. Clair, J. Bradley; Denver, Dee R.

2017-01-01

Background Perennial growth in plants is the product of interdependent cycles of daily and annual stimuli that induce cycles of growth and dormancy. In conifers, needles are the key perennial organ that integrates daily and seasonal signals from light, temperature, and water availability. To understand the relationship between seasonal cycles and seasonal gene expression responses in conifers, we examined diurnal and circannual needle mRNA accumulation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) n...

Analysis of vehicular traffic flow in the major areas of Kuala Lumpur utilizing open-traffic

Science.gov (United States)

Manogaran, Saargunawathy; Ali, Muhammad; Yusof, Kamaludin Mohamad; Suhaili, Ramdhan

2017-09-01

Vehicular traffic congestion occurs when a large number of drivers are overcrowded on the road and the traffic flow does not run smoothly. Traffic congestion causes chaos on the road and interruption to daily activities of users. Time consumed on road give lots of negative effects on productivity, social behavior, environmental and cost to economy. Congestion is worsens and leads to havoc during the emergency such as flood, accidents, road maintenance and etc., where behavior of traffic flow is always unpredictable and uncontrollable. Real-time and historical traffic data are critical inputs for most traffic flow analysis applications. Researcher attempt to predict traffic using simulations as there is no exact model of traffic flow exists due to its high complexity. Open Traffic is an open source platform available for traffic data analysis linked to Open Street Map (OSM). This research is aimed to study and understand the Open Traffic platform. The real-time traffic flow pattern in Kuala Lumpur area was successfully been extracted and analyzed using Open Traffic. It was observed that the congestion occurs on every major road in Kuala Lumpur and most of it owes to the offices and the economic and commercial centers during rush hours. At some roads the congestion occurs at night due to the tourism activities.

EnviroAtlas - Annual average potential wind energy resource by 12-digit HUC for the Conterminous United States

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas dataset shows the annual average potential wind energy resource in kilowatt hours per square kilometer per day for each 12-digit Hydrologic Unit...

Transcription Through The Eye Of A Needle: Daily And Annual Cycles Of Gene Expression Variation In Douglas-Fir Needles

OpenAIRE

Dolan, Peter; Cronn, Richard; Denver, Dee; Clair, J.; Neale, David; Wegrzyn, Jill; Jogdeo, Sanjuro

2017-01-01

Background: Perennial growth in plants is the product of interdependent cycles of daily and annual stimuli that induce cycles of growth and dormancy. In conifers, needles are the key perennial organ that integrates daily and seasonal signals from light, temperature, and water availability. To understand the relationship between seasonal rhythms and seasonal gene expression responses in conifers, we examined diurnal and circannual needle mRNA accumulation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)...

Is it traffic type, volume, or distance? Wheezing in infants living near truck and bus traffic.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Patrick H; LeMasters, Grace; Biagini, Jocelyn; Bernstein, David; Grinshpun, Sergey A; Shukla, Rakesh; Wilson, Kimberly; Villareal, Manuel; Burkle, Jeff; Lockey, James

2005-08-01

Previous studies of air pollution have not examined the association between exposure to varying types, distance, and amounts of traffic and wheezing in very young infants. We sought to determine the relationship between types of traffic, traffic volume, and distance and wheezing among infants less than 1 year of age. A geographic information system and a classification scheme were developed to categorize infants enrolled in the study as living near moving truck and bus traffic (highway >50 miles per hour, >1000 trucks daily, bus traffic (bus and truck traffic had a significantly increased prevalence of wheezing (adjusted odds ratio, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.15-5.42) when compared with unexposed infants. The prevalence of wheezing among nonwhite infants was at least twice that of white infants, regardless of exposure. Infants living less than 400 m from a high volume of moving traffic, however, did not have an increased prevalence of wheezing. These results suggest that the distance from and type of traffic exposures are more significant risk factors than traffic volume for wheezing in early infancy.

Transport growth in Bangkok: Energy, environment, and traffic congestion. Workshop proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philpott, J. [Asia Regional Office, Bangkok (Thailand)

1995-07-01

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is a physically and economically complexcity with a complicated transport system. With daily traffic congestion averaging 16 hours, the air quality is such that to breathe street level pollution for 8 eight hours is roughly equivalent to smoking nine cigarettes per day. Estimates suggest idling traffic costs up to $1.6 billion annually. Energy use within the transport sector is on a steady rise with an estimated increase in 11 years of two and one half times. Severe health impacts have begun to effect many residents - young children and the elderly being particularly vulnerable. Bangkok`s air quality and congestion problems are far from hopeless. Great potential exists for Bangkok to remedy its transport-related problems. The city has many necessary characteristics that allow an efficient, economical system of transport. For example, its high density level makes the city a prime candidate for an efficient system of mass transit and the multitude and close proximity of shops, street vendors, restaurants, and residential areas is highly conducive to walking and cycling. Technical knowledge and capacity to devise and implement innovative policies and projects to address air quality and congestion problems is plentiful. There is also consensus among Bangkokians that something needs to be done immediately to clear the air and the roads. However, little has been done. This report proposes a new approach to transport planning for Bangkok that integrates consideration of ecological, social, and financial viability in the process of making decisions regarding managing existing infrastructure and investments in new infrastructure. Selected papers have been indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

Natural radionuclides in the South Indian foods and their annual dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shanthi, G.; Thampi Thanka Kumaran, J.; Gnana Raj, G. Allan; Maniyan, C.G

2010-01-01

The study was carried out to evaluate the radioactivity concentration in the food crops grown in high-level natural radioactive area (HLNRA) in south west India. Food samples collected were analysed by means of a gamma spectroscopy and estimated annual dietary intakes of the radioisotopes 226 Ra, 228 Ra, 228 Th and 40 K. The annual intake of the food stuffs was estimated on the basis of their average annual consumption. Calculations were also made to determine the effective dose to an individual consuming such diets. The intakes of these radionuclides were calculated using the concentrations in south Indian foods and daily consumption rates of these foods. Daily intakes of these radionuclides were as follows: 226 Ra, 0.001-1.87; 228 Ra, 0.0023-1.26, 228 Th, 0.01-14.09 40 K, 0.46-49.39 Bq/day. The daily internal dose resulting from ingestion of radionuclides in food was 4.92 μSv/day and the annual dose was 1.79 mSv/yr. The radionuclides with highest consumption is 40 K.

Vehicle-class Specific Control of Freeway Traffic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreiter, T.

2013-01-01

The increase of mobility of the past decades has led to substantial congestion on the freeways. Traffic jams emerge both on a daily basis at the same location, as well as during accidents when a part of the freeways is temporarily blocked. In those cases, traffic management centers intervene into

Fixed Point Learning Based Intelligent Traffic Control System

Science.gov (United States)

Zongyao, Wang; Cong, Sui; Cheng, Shao

2017-10-01

Fixed point learning has become an important tool to analyse large scale distributed system such as urban traffic network. This paper presents a fixed point learning based intelligence traffic network control system. The system applies convergence property of fixed point theorem to optimize the traffic flow density. The intelligence traffic control system achieves maximum road resources usage by averaging traffic flow density among the traffic network. The intelligence traffic network control system is built based on decentralized structure and intelligence cooperation. No central control is needed to manage the system. The proposed system is simple, effective and feasible for practical use. The performance of the system is tested via theoretical proof and simulations. The results demonstrate that the system can effectively solve the traffic congestion problem and increase the vehicles average speed. It also proves that the system is flexible, reliable and feasible for practical use.

First-passage probability of the deflection of a cable-stayed bridge under long-term site-specific traffic loading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naiwei Lu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Long-span bridges suffer from higher traffic loads and the simultaneous presence of multiple vehicles, which in conjunction with the steady traffic growth may pose a threat to the bridge safety. This study presents a methodology for first-passage probability evaluation of long-span bridges subject to stochastic heavy traffic loading. Initially, the stochastic heavy traffic loading was simulated based on long-term weigh-in-motion measurements of a highway bridge in China. A computational framework was presented integrating Rice’s level-crossing theory and the first-passage criterion. The effectiveness of the computational framework was demonstrated through a case study of a cable-stayed bridge. Numerical results show that the upper tail fitting of the up-crossing rate is an appropriate description of probability characteristics of the extreme traffic load effects of long-span bridges. The average daily truck traffic growth increases the probability of exceedance due to an intensive heavy traffic flow and results in a higher first-passage probability, but this increased trend is weakening as the continuous increase of the traffic volume. Since the sustained growth of gross vehicle weight has a constant impact on the probability of failure, setting a reasonable threshold overload ratio is an effective scheme as a traffic management to ensure the bridge serviceability.

Automatic Generation of Least-Possible-Impact Traffic Management Initiatives, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Weather accounts for 70% of the annual cost of air traffic delays and cancellations, of which about 60% are estimated to be avoidable. Traffic Management Initiatives...

Impact on air quality of measures to reduce CO2 emissions from road traffic in Basel, Rotterdam, Xi'an and Suzhou

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keuken, Menno; Jonkers, Sander; Verhagen, Henk

2014-01-01

% on urban streets and the other modelling the introduction of 50% electric-powered private vehicle kilometres on urban streets, were both compared to a scenario following ?business-as-usual?: 2020-BAU. The annual average concentrations of NO2, PM2.5, PM10 and elemental carbon (EC) were modelled separately....... The urban background follows this regional trend, while near busy road traffic, air pollution will remain elevated due to the considerable growth in traffic volume. A major constraint for modelling air quality in China is access to the input data required and lack of measurements at ground level...

Visualization of Traffic Accidents

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jie; Shen, Yuzhong; Khattak, Asad

2010-01-01

Traffic accidents have tremendous impact on society. Annually approximately 6.4 million vehicle accidents are reported by police in the US and nearly half of them result in catastrophic injuries. Visualizations of traffic accidents using geographic information systems (GIS) greatly facilitate handling and analysis of traffic accidents in many aspects. Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Inc. is the world leader in GIS research and development. ArcGIS, a software package developed by ESRI, has the capabilities to display events associated with a road network, such as accident locations, and pavement quality. But when event locations related to a road network are processed, the existing algorithm used by ArcGIS does not utilize all the information related to the routes of the road network and produces erroneous visualization results of event locations. This software bug causes serious problems for applications in which accurate location information is critical for emergency responses, such as traffic accidents. This paper aims to address this problem and proposes an improved method that utilizes all relevant information of traffic accidents, namely, route number, direction, and mile post, and extracts correct event locations for accurate traffic accident visualization and analysis. The proposed method generates a new shape file for traffic accidents and displays them on top of the existing road network in ArcGIS. Visualization of traffic accidents along Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Comparative Frequency Analysis of Maximum Daily Rainfall for a SE Asian Region under Current and Future Climate Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Velautham Daksiya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The impact of changing climate on the frequency of daily rainfall extremes in Jakarta, Indonesia, is analysed and quantified. The study used three different models to assess the changes in rainfall characteristics. The first method involves the use of the weather generator LARS-WG to quantify changes between historical and future daily rainfall maxima. The second approach consists of statistically downscaling general circulation model (GCM output based on historical empirical relationships between GCM output and station rainfall. Lastly, the study employed recent statistically downscaled global gridded rainfall projections to characterize climate change impact rainfall structure. Both annual and seasonal rainfall extremes are studied. The results show significant changes in annual maximum daily rainfall, with an average increase as high as 20% in the 100-year return period daily rainfall. The uncertainty arising from the use of different GCMs was found to be much larger than the uncertainty from the emission scenarios. Furthermore, the annual and wet seasonal analyses exhibit similar behaviors with increased future rainfall, but the dry season is not consistent across the models. The GCM uncertainty is larger in the dry season compared to annual and wet season.

Socio-demographic predictors and average annual rates of caesarean section in Bangladesh between 2004 and 2014.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Nuruzzaman Khan

Full Text Available Globally the rates of caesarean section (CS have steadily increased in recent decades. This rise is not fully accounted for by increases in clinical factors which indicate the need for CS. We investigated the socio-demographic predictors of CS and the average annual rates of CS in Bangladesh between 2004 and 2014.Data were derived from four waves of nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS conducted between 2004 and 2014. Rate of change analysis was used to calculate the average annual rate of increase in CS from 2004 to 2014, by socio-demographic categories. Multi-level logistic regression was used to identify the socio-demographic predictors of CS in a cross-sectional analysis of the 2014 BDHS data.CS rates increased from 3.5% in 2004 to 23% in 2014. The average annual rate of increase in CS was higher among women of advanced maternal age (≥35 years, urban areas, and relatively high socio-economic status; with higher education, and who regularly accessed antenatal services. The multi-level logistic regression model indicated that lower (≤19 and advanced maternal age (≥35, urban location, relatively high socio-economic status, higher education, birth of few children (≤2, antenatal healthcare visits, overweight or obese were the key factors associated with increased utilization of CS. Underweight was a protective factor for CS.The use of CS has increased considerably in Bangladesh over the survey years. This rising trend and the risk of having CS vary significantly across regions and socio-economic status. Very high use of CS among women of relatively high socio-economic status and substantial urban-rural difference call for public awareness and practice guideline enforcement aimed at optimizing the use of CS.

Socio-demographic predictors and average annual rates of caesarean section in Bangladesh between 2004 and 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Md Nuruzzaman; Islam, M Mofizul; Shariff, Asma Ahmad; Alam, Md Mahmudul; Rahman, Md Mostafizur

2017-01-01

Globally the rates of caesarean section (CS) have steadily increased in recent decades. This rise is not fully accounted for by increases in clinical factors which indicate the need for CS. We investigated the socio-demographic predictors of CS and the average annual rates of CS in Bangladesh between 2004 and 2014. Data were derived from four waves of nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) conducted between 2004 and 2014. Rate of change analysis was used to calculate the average annual rate of increase in CS from 2004 to 2014, by socio-demographic categories. Multi-level logistic regression was used to identify the socio-demographic predictors of CS in a cross-sectional analysis of the 2014 BDHS data. CS rates increased from 3.5% in 2004 to 23% in 2014. The average annual rate of increase in CS was higher among women of advanced maternal age (≥35 years), urban areas, and relatively high socio-economic status; with higher education, and who regularly accessed antenatal services. The multi-level logistic regression model indicated that lower (≤19) and advanced maternal age (≥35), urban location, relatively high socio-economic status, higher education, birth of few children (≤2), antenatal healthcare visits, overweight or obese were the key factors associated with increased utilization of CS. Underweight was a protective factor for CS. The use of CS has increased considerably in Bangladesh over the survey years. This rising trend and the risk of having CS vary significantly across regions and socio-economic status. Very high use of CS among women of relatively high socio-economic status and substantial urban-rural difference call for public awareness and practice guideline enforcement aimed at optimizing the use of CS.

Natural radionuclides in the South Indian foods and their annual dose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shanthi, G., E-mail: shanthidickson@gmail.co [Department of Physics, Women' s Christian College, Nagercoil 629001, Tamil Nadu (India); Thampi Thanka Kumaran, J. [Department of Physics, NM Christian College, Marthandam 629165, Tamil Nadu (India); Gnana Raj, G. Allan [Department of Chemistry and Research Centre, Scott Christian College, Nagercoil 629003, Tamil Nadu (India); Maniyan, C.G [Health Physics Unit, Indian Rare Earths, Manavalakurichi 629252, Tamil Nadu (India)

2010-07-21

The study was carried out to evaluate the radioactivity concentration in the food crops grown in high-level natural radioactive area (HLNRA) in south west India. Food samples collected were analysed by means of a gamma spectroscopy and estimated annual dietary intakes of the radioisotopes {sup 226}Ra, {sup 228}Ra, {sup 228}Th and {sup 40}K. The annual intake of the food stuffs was estimated on the basis of their average annual consumption. Calculations were also made to determine the effective dose to an individual consuming such diets. The intakes of these radionuclides were calculated using the concentrations in south Indian foods and daily consumption rates of these foods. Daily intakes of these radionuclides were as follows: {sup 226}Ra, 0.001-1.87; {sup 228}Ra, 0.0023-1.26, {sup 228}Th, 0.01-14.09 {sup 40}K, 0.46-49.39 Bq/day. The daily internal dose resulting from ingestion of radionuclides in food was 4.92 {mu}Sv/day and the annual dose was 1.79 mSv/yr. The radionuclides with highest consumption is {sup 40}K.

Indirect Validation of Probe Speed Data on Arterial Corridors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eshragh, Sepideh [Center for Advanced Transportation Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, 5000 College Avenue, Suite 2206, College Park, MD 20742; Young, Stanley E. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401; Sharifi, Elham [Center for Advanced Transportation Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, 5000 College Avenue, Suite 2206, College Park, MD 20742; Hamedi, Masoud [Center for Advanced Transportation Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, 5000 College Avenue, Suite 2206, College Park, MD 20742; Sadabadi, Kaveh Farokhi [Center for Advanced Transportation Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, 5000 College Avenue, Suite 2206, College Park, MD 20742

2017-01-01

This study aimed to estimate the accuracy of probe speed data on arterial corridors on the basis of roadway geometric attributes and functional classification. It was assumed that functional class (medium and low) along with other road characteristics (such as weighted average of the annual average daily traffic, average signal density, average access point density, and average speed) were available as correlation factors to estimate the accuracy of probe traffic data. This study tested these factors as predictors of the fidelity of probe traffic data by using the results of an extensive validation exercise. This study showed strong correlations between these geometric attributes and the accuracy of probe data when they were assessed by using average absolute speed error. Linear models were regressed to existing data to estimate appropriate models for medium- and low-type arterial corridors. The proposed models for medium- and low-type arterials were validated further on the basis of the results of a slowdown analysis. These models can be used to predict the accuracy of probe data indirectly in medium and low types of arterial corridors.

[Traffic accidents associated with emotional stress after divorce].

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Li-Juan; Yi, Xu-Fu; Chen, Xiao-Gang

2009-04-01

In recent years, the traffic accidents increased gradually, especially those caused by the drivers daily emotional abnormality and in which the drivers were liable. This article reviewed the traffic accidents caused by divorced driver's emotional abnormality, illustrated the features of those accidents from the gender, age, occupation and mileage of drivers. It was considered that the major cause of those accidents was excessive drinking due to drivers' emotional stress. Suggestions about preventing the traffic accidents caused by emotional abnormality were put forward so as to make the corresponding rules and finally decrease the emotional abnormality traffic accidents.

Road Fatality Model Based on Over-Dispersion Data Along Federal Route F0050

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Musa Wan Zahidah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available According to The World Health Ranking 2011 has ranked Malaysia as 20th in its list of countries with the most deaths caused by road accidents. Road accidents also have been identified as the prime cause of death in Malaysia after the heart disease, stroke, influenza and pneumonia. To date, previous researches from Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (MIROS have reported that averages of 18 people were killed on Malaysian road daily. There are many kinds of models that have been developed in modelling the circumstance of accidents. The most widely applied was Poisson and Negative Binomial regression models while Zeroinflated Poisson and Zero-inflated Negative Binomial are the modification of Poisson and Negative Binomials regression models. This study interested to focus on road F0050 as statistic data from Royal Malaysian Police 2014 list F0050 as one of the high accident road in Malaysia from kilometre 0 until kilometre 58. R programming was chose to analyse the relationship between road fatality and its factor (annual average daily traffic (AADT, speed, shoulder width, lane width. Negative binomial and Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB were shown to be preferred modelling methods for this study. Significant positive relationships were also identified between road fatality and annual average daily traffic (AADT and lane width. This relationship can be a helpful support to the decision making of accident management for road F0050.

Understanding the Gap between Cognitive Abilities and Daily Living Skills in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders with Average Intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Amie W.; Bishop, Somer L.

2015-01-01

Daily living skills standard scores on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2nd edition were examined in 417 adolescents from the Simons Simplex Collection. All participants had at least average intelligence and a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regressions were used to examine the prevalence and…

A cross-sectional study of travel patterns of older adults in the USA during 2015: implications for mobility and traffic safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Sijun; Koech, Wilson; Feng, Jing; Rice, Thomas M; Zhu, Motao

2017-08-11

With an ever increasing population of older adults (65+ years) in the USA, a better understanding of this population's travel patterns is needed to improve travel mobility and transportation safety. In this study, we described the travel patterns of older adults in the USA during 2015. Travel patterns of older adults (65-74 and 75+ years) were compared with younger adults (25-64 years) by frequency and proportion of daily trips. The daily trips of various age groups were estimated using the 2015 American Time Use Survey. The percentage of daily travellers was 88% for adults (25-64 years), 75% for adults (65-74 years) and 68% for adults (75+ years). While the percentage of privately owned vehicle (POV) drivers and average time of driving POVs decreased, the percentage of POV passengers increased as adults aged. Females were less likely to drive POVs and had decreased average daily driving time, but they were more likely to ride in POVs as passengers and had longer average daily riding times than their male counterparts across all age groups. Older adults were more likely to travel in the mornings and early afternoons (from 8:00 to 15:59) while younger adults were more likely to travel in the late afternoons and early evenings (from 16:00 to 19:59). POV use is the predominant mode of transit in the USA. As adults age, the percentages of daily travellers and POV drivers decrease. This pattern is more apparent among females than males. This study delineated travel patterns of older adults using a 2015 national survey, and the findings facilitate traffic systems designers and policy-makers to develop and implement initiatives to accommodate older adults' mobility needs and improve traffic safety. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

ALGORITHMS FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IN THE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Borisovich Nikolaev

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Traffic jams interfere with the drivers and cost billions of dollars per year and lead to a substantial increase in fuel consumption. In order to avoid such problems the paper describes the algorithms for traffic management in intelligent transportation system, which collects traffic information in real time and is able to detect and manage congestion on the basis of this information. The results show that the proposed algorithms reduce the average travel time, emissions and fuel consumption. In particular, travel time has decreased by about 23%, the average fuel consumption of 9%, and the average emission of 10%.

Comparative analysis of characteristics and risk factors of traffic injury in aged people from urban and rural areas in Chongqing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Liang; Zhou, Ji-Hong; Qiu, Jun; Zhang, Xiu-Zhu; Yuan, Dan-Feng; Gao, Zhi-Ming; Dai, Wei

2012-01-01

To study the epidemiologic characteristics of traffic injuries among people over 60 years old in the Nan'an district (urban) and Jiangjin district (rural) of Chongqing, and to discuss the corresponding strategies for its prevention and cure. Records of traffic injuries in people over 60 years old registered by the traffic police between 2000 and 2006 in Nan'an district and Jiangjin district were collected in the Database of Road Traffic Accidents and Traffic Injuries. Epidemiologic characteristics of traffic injuries among the aged people were analyzed and compared. Between the year 2000 and 2006, the average annual incidence of traffic injuries and mortality rate in the aged people in Nan'an district were 124.62/100 000 and 13.85/ 100 000 respectively, higher than that in Jiangjin district (27.49/ 100 000, 7.13/100 000, P less than 0.01). However, the mortality rate for the aged people who were involved in traffic injuries in Jiangjin district was 20.60%, higher than that in Nan'an district (10.00%, P less than 0.01). Head injury was the primary cause of death. Totally 76.58% of casualties were pede-strians. Over 90% of the traffic accidents occurred in the areas with no traffic signal or traffic control system. The traffic environment is unfavorable to the aged people. It is important to enhance traffic safety consciousness of drivers and the elderly and to strengthen traffic safety system and traffic law, so as to provide a safe road traffic environment for the aged people.

Declining average daily census. Part 1: Implications and options.

Science.gov (United States)

Weil, T P

1985-12-01

A national trend toward declining average daily (inpatient) census (ADC) started in late 1982 even before the Medicare prospective payment system began. The decrease in total days will continue despite an increasing number of aged persons in the U.S. population. This decline could have been predicted from trends during 1978 to 1983, such as increasing available beds but decreasing occupancy, 100 percent increases in hospital expenses, and declining lengths of stay. Assuming that health care costs will remain as a relatively fixed part of the gross national product and no major medical advances will occur in the next five years, certain implications and options exist for facilities experiencing a declining ADC. This article discusses several considerations: Attempts to improve market share; Reduction of full-time equivalent employees; Impact of greater acuity of illness among remaining inpatients; Implications of increasing the number of physicians on medical staffs; Option of a closed medical staff by clinical specialty; Unbundling with not-for-profit and profit-making corporations; Review of mergers, consolidations, and multihospital systems to decide when this option is most appropriate; Sale of a not-for-profit hospital to an investor-owned chain, with implications facing Catholic hospitals choosing this option; Impact and difficulty of developing meaningful alternative health care systems with the hospital's medical staff; Special problems of teaching hospitals; The social issue of the hospital shifting from the community's health center to a cost center; Increased turnover of hospital CEOs; With these in mind, institutions can then focus on solutions that can sometimes be used in tandem to resolve this problem's impact. The second part of this article will discuss some of them.

The impacts of road traffic management on urban air quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oduyemi, K.O.K. [School of Construction and Environment, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee (United Kingdom); Davidson, B. [Department of Environmental Health and Consumer Protection, Dundee City Council, Tayside House, Crichton Street, Dundee (United Kingdom)

1998-07-11

The effects of road traffic emissions on urban air quality are investigated, using long-term nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}) data. The effectiveness of the several traffic management measures that have been made in Dundee city centre, UK, within the last 5 years in relation to urban air quality is discussed. The information assessed during this study indicates that the annual mean NO{sub 2} levels at all the study sites are, at present, below the current EC and WHO (long-term) air quality standards for NO{sub 2} concentration in the ambient air. Traffic restrictions appear to be effective in protecting urban air quality. The annual mean NO{sub 2} concentration at two of the study sites is currently close to 40 {mu}g/m{sup 3}, a value published in the Air Quality Regulations 1997 for the air quality objective to be achieved by the year 2005. Proactive traffic management mitigation measures are proposed for these sites and a methodology for the consideration of traffic management alternatives, based upon traffic flow modal split, is described. Some measures proposed are based upon a survey of vehicle occupancy rates, carried out at the busiest of the four study sites. The methodology and assessment procedures presented should be invaluable to assessors of traffic management and local air quality management in a small city, both at the planning and at the auditing stage

Ant colony optimization algorithm for signal coordination of oversaturated traffic networks.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-01

Traffic congestion is a daily and growing problem of the modern era in mostly all major cities in the world. : Increasing traffic demand strains the existing transportation system, leading to oversaturated network : conditions, especially at peak hou...

Estimation of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Generated by Building and Traffic in Taichung City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chou-Tsang Chang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The emissions of carbon dioxide generated by urban traffic is generally reflected by urban size. In order to discuss the traffic volume generated in developed buildings and road crossings in a single urban block, with the metropolitan area in Taichung, Taiwan as an example, this study calculates the mutual relationship between the carbon dioxide generated by the traffic volume and building development scale, in order to research energy consumption and relevance. In this research, the entire-day traffic volume of an important road crossing is subject to statistical analysis to obtain the prediction formula of total passenger car units in the main road crossing within 24 h. Then, the total CO2 emissions generated by the traffic volume in the entire year is calculated according to the investigation data of peak traffic hours within 16 blocks and the influential factors of the development scale of 95 buildings are counted. Finally, this research found that there is a passenger car unit of 4.72 generated in each square meter of land in the urban block every day, 0.99 in each square meter of floor area in the building and the average annual total CO2 emissions of each passenger car unit is 41.4 kgCO2/yr. In addition, the basic information of an integrated road system and traffic volume is used to present a readable urban traffic hot map, which can calculate a distribution map of passenger car units within one day in Taichung. This research unit can be used to forecast the development scale of various buildings in future urban blocks, in order to provide an effective approach to estimate the carbon dioxide generated by the traffic volume.

Metallurgical source-contribution analysis of PM10 annual average concentration: A dispersion modeling approach in moravian-silesian region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Jančík

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The goal of the article is to present analysis of metallurgical industry contribution to annual average PM10 concentrations in Moravian-Silesian based on means of the air pollution modelling in accord with the Czech reference methodology SYMOS´97.

Estimated average annual rate of change of CD4(+) T-cell counts in patients on combination antiretroviral therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mocroft, Amanda; Phillips, Andrew N; Ledergerber, Bruno

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) might continue treatment with a virologically failing regimen. We sought to identify annual change in CD4(+) T-cell count according to levels of viraemia in patients on cART. METHODS: A total of 111,371 CD4(+) T-cell counts...... and viral load measurements in 8,227 patients were analysed. Annual change in CD4(+) T-cell numbers was estimated using mixed models. RESULTS: After adjustment, the estimated average annual change in CD4(+) T-cell count significantly increased when viral load was cells/mm(3), 95......% confidence interval [CI] 26.6-34.3), was stable when viral load was 500-9,999 copies/ml (3.1 cells/mm(3), 95% CI -5.3-11.5) and decreased when viral load was >/=10,000 copies/ml (-14.8 cells/mm(3), 95% CI -4.5--25.1). Patients taking a boosted protease inhibitor (PI) regimen had more positive annual CD4(+) T-cell...

SPACE TOURISM ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENT OF TOURIST TRAFFIC ANALYSIS BY LOCALITY BUŞTENI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adelaida Cristina HONTUS

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In order to achieve the best possible tourist activity it is needed that besides natural resources and human and material resources to be able to satisfy the tourist requirements. These material resourcess are known as “material and technical basis". This is represented by: accommodation and food, transportation, treatment and leisure facilities and is primarily conditioned by the development and modernization of existing material and technical basis. Thus, a highly attractive tourist area can not be on offer before receiving the facilities for receiving and retaining travelers. Buşteni, resort includes Poiana Ţapului,s dominated by steep Bucegi and has a great starting point for ascents, but it is also a true spa, indicated not only for leisure but also for the treatment of diseases of debility, physical and mental fatigue and digestive disorders and glands. Most representative indicators commonly used to express movement and travel and its main characteristics are: number of urge tourists, average daily number of tourists, number of days / tourist, average length of stay, receipts from tourism and tourist traffic density, tourists’ relative preferences. Analysis of tourist traffic in the tourist areas of Buşteni will be achieved by calculating these indicators. Tourist traffic indicators reflect the distribution and evolution in time of tourism internal and external demand,. They also reflect the behavior of the application on the use of vehicles and equipment and can be used for studying the origin and destination of tourism demand, the average stay and fidelity to a particular destination.

Relationships between feeding behavior and average daily gain in cattle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Fagundes Cunha Lage

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Several studies have reported relationship between eating behavior and performance in feedlot cattle. The evaluation of behavior traits demands high degree of work and trained manpower, therefore, in recent years has been used an automated feed intake measurement system (GrowSafe System ®, that identify and record individual feeding patterns. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between feeding behavior traits and average daily gain in Nellore calves undergoing feed efficiency test. Date from 85 Nelore males was recorded during the feed efficiency test performed in 2012, at Centro APTA Bovinos de Corte, Instituto de Zootecnia, São Paulo State. Were analyzed the behavioral traits: time at feeder (TF, head down duration (HD, representing the time when the animal is actually eating, frequency of visits (FV and feed rate (FR calculated as the amount of dry matter (DM consumed by time at feeder (g.min-1. The ADG was calculated by linear regression of individual weights on days in test. ADG classes were obtained considering the average ADG and standard deviation (SD being: high ADG (>mean + 1.0 SD, medium ADG (± 1.0 SD from the mean and low ADG (0.05 among ADG classes for FV, indicating that these traits are not related to each other. These results shows that the ADG is related to the agility in eat food and not to the time spent in the bunk or to the number of visits in a range of 24 hours.

The Stability of Multi-modal Traffic Network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han Linghui; Sun Huijun; Zhu Chengjuan; Jia Bin; Wu Jianjun

2013-01-01

There is an explicit and implicit assumption in multimodal traffic equilibrium models, that is, if the equilibrium exists, then it will also occur. The assumption is very idealized; in fact, it may be shown that the quite contrary could happen, because in multimodal traffic network, especially in mixed traffic conditions the interaction among traffic modes is asymmetric and the asymmetric interaction may result in the instability of traffic system. In this paper, to study the stability of multimodal traffic system, we respectively present the travel cost function in mixed traffic conditions and in traffic network with dedicated bus lanes. Based on a day-to-day dynamical model, we study the evolution of daily route choice of travelers in multimodal traffic network using 10000 random initial values for different cases. From the results of simulation, it can be concluded that the asymmetric interaction between the cars and buses in mixed traffic conditions can lead the traffic system to instability when traffic demand is larger. We also study the effect of travelers' perception error on the stability of multimodal traffic network. Although the larger perception error can alleviate the effect of interaction between cars and buses and improve the stability of traffic system in mixed traffic conditions, the traffic system also become instable when the traffic demand is larger than a number. For all cases simulated in this study, with the same parameters, traffic system with dedicated bus lane has better stability for traffic demand than that in mixed traffic conditions. We also find that the network with dedicated bus lane has higher portion of travelers by bus than it of mixed traffic network. So it can be concluded that building dedicated bus lane can improve the stability of traffic system and attract more travelers to choose bus reducing the traffic congestion. (general)

The relative efficiency of Iranian's rural traffic police: a three-stage DEA model.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Habibollah; Soori, Hamid; Nazari, Seyed Saeed Hashemi; Motevalian, Seyed Abbas; Azar, Adel; Momeni, Eskandar; Javartani, Mehdi

2017-10-13

Road traffic Injuries (RTIs) as a health problem imposes governments to implement different interventions. Target achievement in this issue required effective and efficient measures. Efficiency evaluation of traffic police as one of the responsible administrators is necessary for resource management. Therefore, this study conducted to measure Iran's rural traffic police efficiency. This was an ecological study. To obtain pure efficiency score, three-stage DEA model was conducted with seven inputs and three output variables. At the first stage, crude efficiency score was measured with BCC-O model. Next, to extract the effects of socioeconomic, demographic, traffic count and road infrastructure as the environmental variables and statistical noise, the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model was applied and the output values were modified according to similar environment and statistical noise conditions. Then, the pure efficiency score was measured using modified outputs and BCC-O model. In total, the efficiency score of 198 police stations from 24 provinces of 31 provinces were measured. The annual means (standard deviation) of damage, injury and fatal accidents were 247.7 (258.4), 184.9 (176.9), and 28.7 (19.5), respectively. Input averages were 5.9 (3.0) patrol teams, 0.5% (0.2) manpower proportions, 7.5 (2.9) patrol cars, 0.5 (1.3) motorcycles, 77,279.1 (46,794.7) penalties, 90.9 (2.8) cultural and educational activity score, 0.7 (2.4) speed cameras. The SFA model showed non-significant differences between police station performances and the most differences attributed to the environmental and random error. One-way main road, by road, traffic count and the number of household owning motorcycle had significant positive relations with inefficiency score. The length of freeway/highway and literacy rate variables had negative relations, significantly. Pure efficiency score was with mean of 0.95 and SD of 0.09. Iran's traffic police has potential opportunity to reduce

Annual suspended-sediment loads in the Colorado River near Cisco, Utah, 1930-82

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, K.R.

1985-01-01

The Colorado River upstream of gaging station 09180500 near Cisco, Utah, drains about 24,100 square miles in Utah and Colorado. Altitudes in the basin range from 12,480 feet near the headwaters to 4,090 feet at station 09180500. The average annual precipitation for 1894-1982 near the station was 7.94 inches. The average annual precipitation near the headwaters often exceeds 50 inches. Rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to Holocene are exposed in the drainage basin upstream from station 09180500. Shale, limestone, siltstone, mudstone, and sandstone probably are the most easily eroded rocks in the basin, and they contribute large quantities of sediment to the Colorado River. During 1930-82, the U.S. Geological Survey collected records of fluvial sediment at station 09180500. Based on these records, the mean annual suspended-sediment load was 11,390,000 tone, ranging from 2,038,000 tons in water year 1981 to 35,700,000 tons in water year 1938. The minimum daily load of 14 tons was on August 22, 1960, and the maximum daily load of 2,790,000 tons was on October 14, 1941. (USGS)

Traveler oriented traffic performance metrics using real time traffic data from the Midtown-in-Motion (MIM) project in Manhattan, NY.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

In a congested urban street network the average traffic speed is an inadequate metric for measuring : speed changes that drivers can perceive from changes in traffic control strategies. : A driver oriented metric is needed. Stop frequency distrib...

Evaluation of diversion strategies in the context of advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) for an urban traffic corridor with heterogeneous traffic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korlapati, D.R.

2007-07-01

Due to urbanization and accelerated growth in vehicular traffic, most big cities in India face problems related to traffic management resulting in severe congestion, pollution, and a high rate of accidents during peak hours. Lane blocking incidents on arterials or urban traffic corridors cause major disruption to traffic flow. Peak hour congestion with low average speeds and high accident rates are commonly associated with traffic in major cities in India. The situation is deteriorating further as creation of new facilities are almost impossible, with resource and space constraints. In such scenarios, application of advanced technologies seems to offer hope. One such application area is Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), a component of intelligent transportation system (ITS). Due to the unique traffic characteristics prevailing in India, the application of such systems needs to first be evaluated before implementation. This paper proposed a research methodology for the evaluation of diversion strategies in the context of ATMS for an urban corridor in India. The evaluation framework combined several relevant modules related to various aspects of traffic control, surveillance and advisory. As part of this study, a simulation model and a simulation optimization model were developed. The simulation model was microscopic in nature and captured the driver behaviour and traffic characteristics realistically by modeling the complex interactions among vehicles traversing a corridor. It was concluded that the results and observations were useful indicators to gauge the potential success of diversion plans. 10 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Do alcohol excise taxes affect traffic accidents? Evidence from Estonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Saar, Indrek

2015-01-01

This article examines the association between alcohol excise tax rates and alcohol-related traffic accidents in Estonia. Monthly time series of traffic accidents involving drunken motor vehicle drivers from 1998 through 2013 were regressed on real average alcohol excise tax rates while controlling for changes in economic conditions and the traffic environment. Specifically, regression models with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) errors were estimated in order to deal with serial correlation in residuals. Counterfactual models were also estimated in order to check the robustness of the results, using the level of non-alcohol-related traffic accidents as a dependent variable. A statistically significant (P traffic accidents was disclosed under alternative model specifications. For instance, the regression model with ARIMA (0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1) errors revealed that a 1-unit increase in the tax rate is associated with a 1.6% decrease in the level of accidents per 100,000 population involving drunk motor vehicle drivers. No similar association was found in the cases of counterfactual models for non-alcohol-related traffic accidents. This article indicates that the level of alcohol-related traffic accidents in Estonia has been affected by changes in real average alcohol excise taxes during the period 1998-2013. Therefore, in addition to other measures, the use of alcohol taxation is warranted as a policy instrument in tackling alcohol-related traffic accidents.

A Multi-Agent Traffic Control Model Based on Distributed System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian WU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With the development of urbanization construction, urban travel has become a quite thorny and imminent problem. Some previous researches on the large urban traffic systems easily change into NPC problems. We purpose a multi-agent inductive control model based on the distributed approach. To describe the real traffic scene, this model designs four different types of intelligent agents, i.e. we regard each lane, route, intersection and traffic region as different types of intelligent agents. Each agent can achieve the real-time traffic data from its neighbor agents, and decision-making agents establish real-time traffic signal plans through the communication between local agents and their neighbor agents. To evaluate the traffic system, this paper takes the average delay, the stopped time and the average speed as performance parameters. Finally, the distributed multi-agent is simulated on the VISSIM simulation platform, the simulation results show that the multi-agent system is more effective than the adaptive control system in solving the traffic congestion.

Who are the traffic offenders among ethnic groups and why?

Science.gov (United States)

Elias, Wafa; Blank-Gomel, Aharon; Habib-Matar, Caroline; Shiftan, Yoram

2016-06-01

Marginalized populations, particularly ethnic minorities, are often at a higher risk of being involved in traffic crashes and committing traffic violations. Prominent explanations for this "ethnic traffic risk gap" include cultural and socioeconomic factors, usually measured at an aggregate level. In particular, it has been hypothesized that ethnic minorities commit traffic violations as a form of social resistance to what they perceive to be an oppressing regime. The current study examined the mechanisms underlying traffic violations at the individual level within a single ethnic minority, Israeli-Arabs. The study sample (n=231) included a group of known offenders (n=60) and non-offenders (n=171), all of which completed the Traffic Violation Questionnaire. The results show that offenders and non-offenders tended to have different types of occupations, although these did not translate into significant differences in level of income. Offenders reported significantly lower levels of trust in some hegemonic institutions (the police, government ministries) but not others (parliament, the juridical system). However, offenders displayed remarkably different daily activity patterns, including much higher exposure to traffic (3h/day vs. 0.75) and more complex trip patterns. Our results find little support for the social resistance hypothesis, as it fails to explain the differential treatment of hegemonic institutions. Daily activity patterns stand out as a central mechanism influencing the risk of violations. These results suggest policymakers should adopt a holistic approach for traffic safety interventions but avoid monolithic views of ethnic minorities which may lead to an inefficient use of resources. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Average monthly and annual climate maps for Bolivia

KAUST Repository

Vicente-Serrano, Sergio M.; El Kenawy, Ahmed M.; Azorin-Molina, Cesar; Chura, O.; Trujillo, F.; Aguilar, Enric; Martí n-Herná ndez, Natalia; Ló pez-Moreno, Juan Ignacio; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Morá n-Tejeda, Enrique; Revuelto, Jesú s; Ycaza, P.; Friend, F.

2015-01-01

This study presents monthly and annual climate maps for relevant hydroclimatic variables in Bolivia. We used the most complete network of precipitation and temperature stations available in Bolivia, which passed a careful quality control

Traffic Light Detection at Night

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Morten Bornø; Philipsen, Mark Philip; Bahnsen, Chris

2015-01-01

Traffic light recognition (TLR) is an integral part of any in- telligent vehicle, it must function both at day and at night. However, the majority of TLR research is focused on day-time scenarios. In this paper we will focus on detection of traffic lights at night and evalu- ate the performance...... of three detectors based on heuristic models and one learning-based detector. Evaluation is done on night-time data from the public LISA Traffic Light Dataset. The learning-based detector out- performs the model-based detectors in both precision and recall. The learning-based detector achieves an average...

Economic growth, motorization, and road traffic injuries in the Sultanate of Oman, 1985-2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Reesi, Hamed; Ganguly, Shyam Sunder; Al-Adawi, Samir; Laflamme, Lucie; Hasselberg, Marie; Al-Maniri, Abdullah

2013-01-01

Recent affluence, assisted by exploitation of hydrocarbon, has sparked unprecedented economic growth and influx of all façades of modernity in Oman. Different statistical models have examined the relationship between economic growth, motorization rates, and road traffic fatalities. However, such a relationship in Oman has never been described. To describe and analyze the trend of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in relation to motorization rates and economic growth during the period from 1985 to 2009 using Smeed's (1949) model and Koren and Borsos's (2010) model. The study is based on national data reported between 1985 and 2009. Data on the population and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in U.S. dollars were gathered from the Ministry of National Economy reports. Data on the number of vehicles and road traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries were gathered from the Royal Oman Police (ROP) reports. Crash, fatality, and injury rates per 1000 vehicles and per 100,000 population were computed. Linear regression analysis was carried out to estimate the average annual changes in the rates. Smeed's (1949) and Koren and Borsos's (2010) models were used to predict the relations between motorization and road traffic fatalities in Oman. In addition, a cross-sectional analysis of year 2007 data for a number of Arab countries was carried out. The GDP per capita increased from US$6551 in 1985 to US$25,110 in 2009 with an annual increase of UR$547 per capita. The motorization rates increased by 36 percent from 1745 per 10,000 population in 1985 to 2382 per 10,000 population in 2009. Both Smeed's (1949) and Koren and Borsos's (2010) models had a high goodness of fit, with R(2) greater than 0.70. This indicated that road traffic fatalities in Oman may have a direct relationship with increased motorization. The cross-sectional analysis showed that the relation between crash fatalities and motorization rates in Oman and the United Arab Emirates can be better explained by Koren

Daily Radiation Budget of the Baltic Sea Surface from Satellite Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zapadka Tomasz

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Recently developed system for assessment of radiation budget for the Baltic Sea has been presented and verified. The system utilizes data from various sources: satellite, model and in situ measurements. It has been developed within the SatBałtyk project (Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Environment - www.satbaltyk.eu where the energy radiation budget is one of the key element. The SatBałtyk system generates daily maps of the all components of radiation budget on every day basis. We show the scheme of making daily maps, applied algorithms and empirical data collection within the system. An empirical verification of the system has been carried out based on empirical data collected on the oil rig placed on the Baltic Sea. This verification concerned all the components of the surface radiation budget. The average daily NET products are estimated with statistical error ca. 13 Wm-2. The biggest absolute statistical error is for LWd component and equals 14 Wm-2. The relative error in relation to the average annual values for whole Baltic is the biggest for SWu and reaches 25%. All estimated components have correlation coefficient above 0.91.

Can weekly noise levels of urban road traffic, as predominant noise source, estimate annual ones?

Science.gov (United States)

Prieto Gajardo, Carlos; Barrigón Morillas, Juan Miguel; Rey Gozalo, Guillermo; Vílchez-Gómez, Rosendo

2016-11-01

The effects of noise pollution on human quality of life and health were recognised by the World Health Organisation a long time ago. There is a crucial dilemma for the study of urban noise when one is looking for proven methodologies that can allow, on the one hand, an increase in the quality of predictions, and on the other hand, saving resources in the spatial and temporal sampling. The temporal structure of urban noise is studied in this work from a different point of view. This methodology, based on Fourier analysis, is applied to several measurements of urban noise, mainly from road traffic and one-week long, carried out in two cities located on different continents and with different sociological life styles (Cáceres, Spain and Talca, Chile). Its capacity to predict annual noise levels from weekly measurements is studied. The relation between this methodology and the categorisation method is also analysed.

A Framework for Validating Traffic Simulation Models at the Vehicle Trajectory Level

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

Based on current practices, traffic simulation models are calibrated and validated using macroscopic measures such as 15-minute averages of traffic counts or average point-to-point travel times. For an emerging number of applications, including conne...

Dynamic assessment of bridge deck performance considering realistic bridge-traffic interaction : research brief

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

This study is to develop simulation methodology to conduct the dynamic assessment of bridge deck performance subjected to traffic. Concrete bridge decks are exposed to daily traffic loads and may experience some surface cracking caused by excessive s...

Cost Estimation of Road Traffic Injuries Among Iranian Motorcyclists Using the Willingness to Pay Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ainy, Elaheh; Soori, Hamid; Ganjali, Mojtaba; Basirat, Behzad; Haddadi, Mashyaneh

2016-06-01

Motorcycle riders are amongst some of the most vulnerable road users. The burden of motorcycles injuries from low and middle income countries is under-reported. In this study, the cost of traffic injuries among motorcyclists was calculated using the willingness to pay (WTP) method in Iran in 2013. In a cross-sectional study, 143 motorcyclists were randomly selected. The research questionnaire was prepared based on the standard WTP method [stated preference (SP), contingent value (CV) and revealed preference (RP) models] taking into consideration perceived risks, especially those in Iran. Data were collected by a scenario for motorcyclists. The criteria for inclusion in the study consisted of having at least a high school education and being in the age range of 18 - 65 years. The final analysis of the WTP data was performed using the Weibull model. The mean WTP was 888,110 IRR (Iranian Rial) among motorcyclists. The statistical value of life was estimated according to 4694 death cases as 3,146,225,350,943 IRR, which was equivalent to USD 104,874,178 based on the dollar free market rate of 30,000 IRR (purchasing power parity). The cost of injury was 6,903,839,551,000 IRR, equivalent to USD 230,127,985 (based upon 73,325 injured motorcyclists in 2013, a daily traffic volume of 311, and a daily payment of 12,110 IRR for 250 working days). In total, injury and death cases came to 10,050,094,901,943 IRR, equivalent to USD 335,003,163. Willingness to pay had a significant relationship with having experienced an accident, the length of the daily trip (in km), and helmet use (P < 0.001). Willingness to pay can be affected by experiencing an accident, the distance of the daily trip, and helmet use. The cost of traffic injuries among motorcyclists shows that this rate is much higher than the global average. Thus, expenditure should be made on effective initiatives such as the safety of motorcyclists.

The effects of road traffic noise on the students\\' errors in movement time anticipation; the role of introversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Alimohammadi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available   Background and Aims: Traffic noise is one of the most important urban noise pollution, which causes various physical and mental effects, impairment in daily activities, sleep disturbances, hearing loss and the impact on job performance. Thus it can reduce concentration significantly and increase the rate of traffic accidents. Some individual differences such as personality types in noise effects, affect.   Methods : Traffic noise has been measured and recorded in 10 arterial streets in Tehran, and the average sound pressure level measured was72/9 dB during two hours played for participants in the acousticroom . The sample size consisted of 80 patients (40 cases and 40 controls who were students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Personality type was determined by using Eysenc’s Personality Inventory (EPIquestionnaire. The error time movement anticipation before and after exposure to traffic noisewas measured by ZBA computerize test.   Results: The results revealed that error time movement anticipation before exposure to traffic noise have significant difference for introverts and extraverts Introverts have less errortime movement anticipation than extroversion ,whereas extroverts have less error time movement anticipation that introversion after exposure to traffic noise.   Conclusion: According to the obtained results, noise created different effects on the performance of personality type. Extroverts may be expected to adapt better to noise during mental performance, compared to people with opposite personality traits.  

Daily sleep, weekly working hours, and risk of work-related injury: US National Health Interview Survey (2004-2008).

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardi, David A; Folkard, Simon; Willetts, Joanna L; Smith, Gordon S

2010-07-01

The impact on health and safety of the combination of chronic sleep deficits and extended working hours has received worldwide attention. Using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an in-person household survey using a multistage, stratified, clustered sample design representing the US civilian, non-institutionalized population, the authors estimated the effect of total daily self-reported sleep time and weekly working hours on the risk of a work-related injury. During the survey period 2004-2008, 177,576 persons (ages 18-74) sampled within households reported that they worked at a paid job the previous week and reported their total weekly work hours. A randomly selected adult in each household (n = 75,718) was asked to report his/her usual (average) total daily sleep hours the prior week; complete responses were obtained for 74,415 (98.3%) workers. Weighted annualized work-related injury rates were then estimated across a priori defined categories of both average total daily sleep hours and weekly working hours. To account for the complex sampling design, weighted multiple logistic regression was used to independently estimate the risk of a work-related injury for categories of usual daily sleep duration and weekly working hours, controlling for important covariates and potential confounders of age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, type of pay, industry, occupation (proxy for job risk), body mass index, and the interaction between sleep duration and work hours. Based on the inclusion criteria, there were an estimated 129,950,376 workers annually at risk and 3,634,446 work-related medically treated injury episodes (overall injury rate 2.80/100 workers). Unadjusted annualized injury rates/100 workers across weekly work hours were 2.03 (60 h). With regards to self-reported daily sleep time, the estimated annualized injury rates/100 workers were 7.89 (10 h). After controlling for weekly work hours, and aforementioned covariates, significant increases in risk/1

A Pareto-optimal moving average multigene genetic programming model for daily streamflow prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Danandeh Mehr, Ali; Kahya, Ercan

2017-06-01

Genetic programming (GP) is able to systematically explore alternative model structures of different accuracy and complexity from observed input and output data. The effectiveness of GP in hydrological system identification has been recognized in recent studies. However, selecting a parsimonious (accurate and simple) model from such alternatives still remains a question. This paper proposes a Pareto-optimal moving average multigene genetic programming (MA-MGGP) approach to develop a parsimonious model for single-station streamflow prediction. The three main components of the approach that take us from observed data to a validated model are: (1) data pre-processing, (2) system identification and (3) system simplification. The data pre-processing ingredient uses a simple moving average filter to diminish the lagged prediction effect of stand-alone data-driven models. The multigene ingredient of the model tends to identify the underlying nonlinear system with expressions simpler than classical monolithic GP and, eventually simplification component exploits Pareto front plot to select a parsimonious model through an interactive complexity-efficiency trade-off. The approach was tested using the daily streamflow records from a station on Senoz Stream, Turkey. Comparing to the efficiency results of stand-alone GP, MGGP, and conventional multi linear regression prediction models as benchmarks, the proposed Pareto-optimal MA-MGGP model put forward a parsimonious solution, which has a noteworthy importance of being applied in practice. In addition, the approach allows the user to enter human insight into the problem to examine evolved models and pick the best performing programs out for further analysis.

Average annual doses, lifetime doses and associated risk of cancer death for radiation workers in various fuel fabrication facilities in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iyer, P.S.; Dhond, R.V.

1980-01-01

Lifetime doses based on average annual doses are estimated for radiation workers in various fuel fabrication facilities in India. For such cumulative doses, the risk of radiation-induced cancer death is computed. The methodology for arriving at these estimates and the assumptions made are discussed. Based on personnel monitoring records from 1966 to 1978, the average annual dose equivalent for radiation workers is estimated as 0.9 mSv (90 mrem), and the maximum risk of cancer death associated with this occupational dose as 1.35x10 -5 a -1 , as compared with the risk of death due to natural causes of 7x10 -4 a -1 and the risk of death due to background radiation alone of 1.5x10 -5 a -1 . (author)

Monitoring road traffic congestion using a macroscopic traffic model and a statistical monitoring scheme

KAUST Repository

Zeroual, Abdelhafid; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying; Messai, Nadhir

2017-01-01

Monitoring vehicle traffic flow plays a central role in enhancing traffic management, transportation safety and cost savings. In this paper, we propose an innovative approach for detection of traffic congestion. Specifically, we combine the flexibility and simplicity of a piecewise switched linear (PWSL) macroscopic traffic model and the greater capacity of the exponentially-weighted moving average (EWMA) monitoring chart. Macroscopic models, which have few, easily calibrated parameters, are employed to describe a free traffic flow at the macroscopic level. Then, we apply the EWMA monitoring chart to the uncorrelated residuals obtained from the constructed PWSL model to detect congested situations. In this strategy, wavelet-based multiscale filtering of data has been used before the application of the EWMA scheme to improve further the robustness of this method to measurement noise and reduce the false alarms due to modeling errors. The performance of the PWSL-EWMA approach is successfully tested on traffic data from the three lane highway portion of the Interstate 210 (I-210) highway of the west of California and the four lane highway portion of the State Route 60 (SR60) highway from the east of California, provided by the Caltrans Performance Measurement System (PeMS). Results show the ability of the PWSL-EWMA approach to monitor vehicle traffic, confirming the promising application of this statistical tool to the supervision of traffic flow congestion.

Monitoring road traffic congestion using a macroscopic traffic model and a statistical monitoring scheme

KAUST Repository

Zeroual, Abdelhafid

2017-08-19

Monitoring vehicle traffic flow plays a central role in enhancing traffic management, transportation safety and cost savings. In this paper, we propose an innovative approach for detection of traffic congestion. Specifically, we combine the flexibility and simplicity of a piecewise switched linear (PWSL) macroscopic traffic model and the greater capacity of the exponentially-weighted moving average (EWMA) monitoring chart. Macroscopic models, which have few, easily calibrated parameters, are employed to describe a free traffic flow at the macroscopic level. Then, we apply the EWMA monitoring chart to the uncorrelated residuals obtained from the constructed PWSL model to detect congested situations. In this strategy, wavelet-based multiscale filtering of data has been used before the application of the EWMA scheme to improve further the robustness of this method to measurement noise and reduce the false alarms due to modeling errors. The performance of the PWSL-EWMA approach is successfully tested on traffic data from the three lane highway portion of the Interstate 210 (I-210) highway of the west of California and the four lane highway portion of the State Route 60 (SR60) highway from the east of California, provided by the Caltrans Performance Measurement System (PeMS). Results show the ability of the PWSL-EWMA approach to monitor vehicle traffic, confirming the promising application of this statistical tool to the supervision of traffic flow congestion.

Evaluating Performances of Traffic Noise Models | Oyedepo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Traffic noise in decibel dB(A) were measured at six locations using 407780A Integrating Sound Level Meter, while spot speed and traffic volume were collected with cine-camera. The predicted sound exposure level (SEL) was evaluated using Burgess, British and FWHA model. The average noise level obtained are 77.64 ...

Associations between traffic noise, particulate air pollution, hypertension, and isolated systolic hypertension in adults: the KORA study.

Science.gov (United States)

Babisch, Wolfgang; Wolf, Kathrin; Petz, Markus; Heinrich, Joachim; Cyrys, Josef; Peters, Annette

2014-05-01

Studies on the association between traffic noise and cardiovascular diseases have rarely considered air pollution as a covariate in the analyses. Isolated systolic hypertension has not yet been in the focus of epidemiological noise research. The association between traffic noise (road and rail) and the prevalence of hypertension was assessed in two study populations with a total of 4,166 participants 25-74 years of age. Traffic noise (weighted day-night average noise level; LDN) at the facade of the dwellings was derived from noise maps. Annual average PM2.5 mass concentrations at residential addresses were estimated by land-use regression. Hypertension was assessed by blood pressure readings, self-reported doctor-diagnosed hypertension, and antihypertensive drug intake. In the Greater Augsburg, Germany, study population, traffic noise and air pollution were not associated with hypertension. In the City of Augsburg population (n = 1,893), where the exposure assessment was more detailed, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for a 10-dB(A) increase in noise was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.35), and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.30) after additional adjustment for PM2.5. The adjusted OR for a 1-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was 1.15 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.30), and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.27) after additional adjustment for noise. For isolated systolic hypertension, the fully adjusted OR for noise was 1.43 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.86) and for PM2.5 was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.34). Traffic noise and PM2.5 were both associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension. Mutually adjusted associations with hypertension were positive but no longer statistically significant.

Comparative long-term trend analysis of daily weather conditions with daily pollen concentrations in Brussels, Belgium

Science.gov (United States)

Bruffaerts, Nicolas; De Smedt, Tom; Delcloo, Andy; Simons, Koen; Hoebeke, Lucie; Verstraeten, Caroline; Van Nieuwenhuyse, An; Packeu, Ann; Hendrickx, Marijke

2018-03-01

A clear rise in seasonal and annual temperatures, a gradual increase of total radiation, and a relative trend of change in seasonal precipitation have been observed for the last four decades in Brussels (Belgium). These local modifications may have a direct and indirect public health impact by altering the timing and intensity of allergenic pollen seasons. In this study, we assessed the statistical correlations (Spearman's test) between pollen concentration and meteorological conditions by using long-term daily datasets of 11 pollen types (8 trees and 3 herbaceous plants) and 10 meteorological parameters observed in Brussels between 1982 and 2015. Furthermore, we analyzed the rate of change in the annual cycle of the same selected pollen types by the Mann-Kendall test. We revealed an overall trend of increase in daily airborne tree pollen (except for the European beech tree) and an overall trend of decrease in daily airborne pollen from herbaceous plants (except for Urticaceae). These results revealed an earlier onset of the flowering period for birch, oak, ash, plane, grasses, and Urticaceae. Finally, the rates of change in pollen annual cycles were shown to be associated with the rates of change in the annual cycles of several meteorological parameters such as temperature, radiation, humidity, and rainfall.

Comparative long-term trend analysis of daily weather conditions with daily pollen concentrations in Brussels, Belgium.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruffaerts, Nicolas; De Smedt, Tom; Delcloo, Andy; Simons, Koen; Hoebeke, Lucie; Verstraeten, Caroline; Van Nieuwenhuyse, An; Packeu, Ann; Hendrickx, Marijke

2018-03-01

A clear rise in seasonal and annual temperatures, a gradual increase of total radiation, and a relative trend of change in seasonal precipitation have been observed for the last four decades in Brussels (Belgium). These local modifications may have a direct and indirect public health impact by altering the timing and intensity of allergenic pollen seasons. In this study, we assessed the statistical correlations (Spearman's test) between pollen concentration and meteorological conditions by using long-term daily datasets of 11 pollen types (8 trees and 3 herbaceous plants) and 10 meteorological parameters observed in Brussels between 1982 and 2015. Furthermore, we analyzed the rate of change in the annual cycle of the same selected pollen types by the Mann-Kendall test. We revealed an overall trend of increase in daily airborne tree pollen (except for the European beech tree) and an overall trend of decrease in daily airborne pollen from herbaceous plants (except for Urticaceae). These results revealed an earlier onset of the flowering period for birch, oak, ash, plane, grasses, and Urticaceae. Finally, the rates of change in pollen annual cycles were shown to be associated with the rates of change in the annual cycles of several meteorological parameters such as temperature, radiation, humidity, and rainfall.

ANALYSIS OF THE STATISTICAL BEHAVIOUR OF DAILY MAXIMUM AND MONTHLY AVERAGE RAINFALL ALONG WITH RAINY DAYS VARIATION IN SYLHET, BANGLADESH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. J. HASAN

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Climate, one of the major controlling factors for well-being of the inhabitants in the world, has been changing in accordance with the natural forcing and manmade activities. Bangladesh, the most densely populated countries in the world is under threat due to climate change caused by excessive use or abuse of ecology and natural resources. This study checks the rainfall patterns and their associated changes in the north-eastern part of Bangladesh mainly Sylhet city through statistical analysis of daily rainfall data during the period of 1957 - 2006. It has been observed that a good correlation exists between the monthly mean and daily maximum rainfall. A linear regression analysis of the data is found to be significant for all the months. Some key statistical parameters like the mean values of Coefficient of Variability (CV, Relative Variability (RV and Percentage Inter-annual Variability (PIV have been studied and found to be at variance. Monthly, yearly and seasonal variation of rainy days also analysed to check for any significant changes.

Review the number of accidents in Tehran over a two-year period and prediction of the number of events based on a time-series model

Science.gov (United States)

Teymuri, Ghulam Heidar; Sadeghian, Marzieh; Kangavari, Mehdi; Asghari, Mehdi; Madrese, Elham; Abbasinia, Marzieh; Ahmadnezhad, Iman; Gholizadeh, Yavar

2013-01-01

Background: One of the significant dangers that threaten people’s lives is the increased risk of accidents. Annually, more than 1.3 million people die around the world as a result of accidents, and it has been estimated that approximately 300 deaths occur daily due to traffic accidents in the world with more than 50% of that number being people who were not even passengers in the cars. The aim of this study was to examine traffic accidents in Tehran and forecast the number of future accidents using a time-series model. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2011. The sample population was all traffic accidents that caused death and physical injuries in Tehran in 2010 and 2011, as registered in the Tehran Emergency ward. The present study used Minitab 15 software to provide a description of accidents in Tehran for the specified time period as well as those that occurred during April 2012. Results: The results indicated that the average number of daily traffic accidents in Tehran in 2010 was 187 with a standard deviation of 83.6. In 2011, there was an average of 180 daily traffic accidents with a standard deviation of 39.5. One-way analysis of variance indicated that the average number of accidents in the city was different for different months of the year (P accidents occurred in March, July, August, and September. Thus, more accidents occurred in the summer than in the other seasons. The number of accidents was predicted based on an auto-regressive, moving average (ARMA) for April 2012. The number of accidents displayed a seasonal trend. The prediction of the number of accidents in the city during April of 2012 indicated that a total of 4,459 accidents would occur with mean of 149 accidents per day during these three months. Conclusion: The number of accidents in Tehran displayed a seasonal trend, and the number of accidents was different for different seasons of the year. PMID:26120405

[Algorithm for taking into account the average annual background of air pollution in the assessment of health risks].

Science.gov (United States)

Fokin, M V

2013-01-01

State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University" of the Ministry of Health care and Social Development, Moscow, Russian Federation. The assessment of health risks from air pollution with emissions from industrial facilities, without the average annual background of air pollution does not meet sanitary legislation. However Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring issues official certificates for a limited number of areas covered by the observations of the full program on the stationary points. Questions of accounting average background air pollution in the evaluation of health risks from exposure to emissions from industrial facilities are considered.

Active and passive monitoring of benzene in Milan from 1992 up to today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lerda, D.; Robles, P.; Astori, M.; Barletta, M.; Canzi, R.; Barilli, L.

1999-01-01

The air quality degradation in large urban areas, mainly due to the traffic, is evaluated through the measurement of pollutants coming, directly or indirectly, from the traffic itself. Due to its cancerogenicity, a quality standard for benzene has been settled by D.M.25/11/1994, which obliges this measure in towns having more than 150.000 inhabitants.Starting from 1992, Milan P.M.I.P. has been controlling benzene and other homologues concentrations in air with routine and campaign measurements. Concentrations change depends both on variations of fuel formulation and on the renewal of the cars fleet. As a matter of fact, the lower benzene percentage in fuels and the use of tailpipes with catalytic converter greatly reduced the emission of these compounds in air, giving an estimate annual average lower than the impose limit. In an urban area, an estimate of an average concentration starting from the three sampling points according to the low can give a value far from the real average level; to solve this problem Milan P.M.I.P. programmed an annual campaign with daily sampling in 24 sites homogeneously located in Milan territory [it

A rapid appraisal of traffic policemen about auditory effects of traffic noise pollution from Ambala city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhishek Singh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Traffic policemen are at an increased risk of suffering from hazards of noise pollution because they are engaged in controlling traffic noise, particularly at heavy traffic junctions. The effect is more in this subgroup because they are continuously exposed to it. Aim: The present study was aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding auditory effects of traffic noise pollution in Ambala city. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional workplace survey. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive study was carried out in different traffic zones of Ambala city during April-June 2013. The study population consisted of 100 traffic policemen working in different traffic intersections of Ambala city. Statistical Analysis Used: Structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. SPSS version 17.0 was used for analysis. Interpretation of data was performed using percentages and proportions. Results: Majority (75% of the study subjects were exposed to traffic noise pollution for more than 5 years. Of the total subjects, 5% of respondents reported below-average hearing on self-assessment of hearing ability. Seventeen percent of the study population accepted that while hearing over phone they do miss some conversation. Most (98% of the traffic police did not use any personal protective equipment (PPEs like earplugs/earmuffs, and the non-availability of these PPEs (90% is the common reason for the hearing loss. Conclusions: The study concludes that traffic policemen are not much aware regarding impending auditory effects of traffic noise pollution. Duty rotation, duty scheduling and other forms of preventive modalities for exposure limitation are suggested.

ORCHIDEE-PEAT (revision 4596), a model for northern peatland CO2, water, and energy fluxes on daily to annual scales

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Chunjing; Zhu, Dan; Ciais, Philippe; Guenet, Bertrand; Krinner, Gerhard; Peng, Shushi; Aurela, Mika; Bernhofer, Christian; Brümmer, Christian; Bret-Harte, Syndonia; Chu, Housen; Chen, Jiquan; Desai, Ankur R.; Dušek, Jiří; Euskirchen, Eugénie S.; Fortuniak, Krzysztof; Flanagan, Lawrence B.; Friborg, Thomas; Grygoruk, Mateusz; Gogo, Sébastien; Grünwald, Thomas; Hansen, Birger U.; Holl, David; Humphreys, Elyn; Hurkuck, Miriam; Kiely, Gerard; Klatt, Janina; Kutzbach, Lars; Largeron, Chloé; Laggoun-Défarge, Fatima; Lund, Magnus; Lafleur, Peter M.; Li, Xuefei; Mammarella, Ivan; Merbold, Lutz; Nilsson, Mats B.; Olejnik, Janusz; Ottosson-Löfvenius, Mikaell; Oechel, Walter; Parmentier, Frans-Jan W.; Peichl, Matthias; Pirk, Norbert; Peltola, Olli; Pawlak, Włodzimierz; Rasse, Daniel; Rinne, Janne; Shaver, Gaius; Schmid, Hans Peter; Sottocornola, Matteo; Steinbrecher, Rainer; Sachs, Torsten; Urbaniak, Marek; Zona, Donatella; Ziemblinska, Klaudia

2018-02-01

Peatlands store substantial amounts of carbon and are vulnerable to climate change. We present a modified version of the Organising Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE) land surface model for simulating the hydrology, surface energy, and CO2 fluxes of peatlands on daily to annual timescales. The model includes a separate soil tile in each 0.5° grid cell, defined from a global peatland map and identified with peat-specific soil hydraulic properties. Runoff from non-peat vegetation within a grid cell containing a fraction of peat is routed to this peat soil tile, which maintains shallow water tables. The water table position separates oxic from anoxic decomposition. The model was evaluated against eddy-covariance (EC) observations from 30 northern peatland sites, with the maximum rate of carboxylation (Vcmax) being optimized at each site. Regarding short-term day-to-day variations, the model performance was good for gross primary production (GPP) (r2 = 0.76; Nash-Sutcliffe modeling efficiency, MEF = 0.76) and ecosystem respiration (ER, r2 = 0.78, MEF = 0.75), with lesser accuracy for latent heat fluxes (LE, r2 = 0.42, MEF = 0.14) and and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE, r2 = 0.38, MEF = 0.26). Seasonal variations in GPP, ER, NEE, and energy fluxes on monthly scales showed moderate to high r2 values (0.57-0.86). For spatial across-site gradients of annual mean GPP, ER, NEE, and LE, r2 values of 0.93, 0.89, 0.27, and 0.71 were achieved, respectively. Water table (WT) variation was not well predicted (r2 < 0.1), likely due to the uncertain water input to the peat from surrounding areas. However, the poor performance of WT simulation did not greatly affect predictions of ER and NEE. We found a significant relationship between optimized Vcmax and latitude (temperature), which better reflects the spatial gradients of annual NEE than using an average Vcmax value.

Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Wing, David J.

2014-01-01

The Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept offers onboard automation for the purpose of advising the pilot of traffic compatible trajectory changes that would be beneficial to the flight. A fast-time simulation study was conducted to assess the benefits of TASAR to Alaska Airlines. The simulation compares historical trajectories without TASAR to trajectories developed with TASAR and evaluated by controllers against their objectives. It was estimated that between 8,000 and 12,000 gallons of fuel and 900 to 1,300 minutes could be saved annually per aircraft. These savings were applied fleet-wide to produce an estimated annual cost savings to Alaska Airlines in excess of $5 million due to fuel, maintenance, and depreciation cost savings. Switching to a more wind-optimal trajectory was found to be the use case that generated the highest benefits out of the three TASAR use cases analyzed. Alaska TASAR requests peaked at four to eight requests per hour in high-altitude Seattle center sectors south of Seattle-Tacoma airport..

Traffic-related air pollution and obesity formation in children: a longitudinal, multilevel analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerrett, Michael; McConnell, Rob; Wolch, Jennifer; Chang, Roger; Lam, Claudia; Dunton, Genevieve; Gilliland, Frank; Lurmann, Fred; Islam, Talat; Berhane, Kiros

2014-06-09

Biologically plausible mechanisms link traffic-related air pollution to metabolic disorders and potentially to obesity. Here we sought to determine whether traffic density and traffic-related air pollution were positively associated with growth in body mass index (BMI = kg/m2) in children aged 5-11 years. Participants were drawn from a prospective cohort of children who lived in 13 communities across Southern California (N = 4550). Children were enrolled while attending kindergarten and first grade and followed for 4 years, with height and weight measured annually. Dispersion models were used to estimate exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Multilevel models were used to estimate and test traffic density and traffic pollution related to BMI growth. Data were collected between 2002-2010 and analyzed in 2011-12. Traffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI and was robust to adjustment for many confounders. The effect size in the adjusted model indicated about a 13.6% increase in annual BMI growth when comparing the lowest to the highest tenth percentile of air pollution exposure, which resulted in an increase of nearly 0.4 BMI units on attained BMI at age 10. Traffic density also had a positive association with BMI growth, but this effect was less robust in multivariate models. Traffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI in children aged 5-11 years. Traffic pollution may be controlled via emission restrictions; changes in land use that promote jobs-housing balance and use of public transit and hence reduce vehicle miles traveled; promotion of zero emissions vehicles; transit and car-sharing programs; or by limiting high pollution traffic, such as diesel trucks, from residential areas or places where children play outdoors, such as schools and parks. These measures may have beneficial effects in terms of reduced obesity formation in children.

CONTROLLING TRAFFIC FLOW IN MULTILANE-ISOLATED INTERSECTION USING ANFIS APPROACH TECHNIQUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. R. LAI

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Many controllers have applied the Adaptive Neural-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS concept for optimizing the controller performance. However, there are less traffic signal controllers developed using the ANFIS concept. ANFIS traffic signal controller with its fuzzy rule base and its ability to learn from a set of sample data could improve the performance of Existing traffic signal controlling system to reduce traffic congestions at most of the busy traffic intersections in city such as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The aim of this research is to develop an ANFIS traffic signals controller for multilane-isolated four approaches intersections in order to ease traffic congestions at traffic intersections. The new concept to generate sample data for ANFIS training is introduced in this research. The sample data is generated based on fuzzy rules and can be analysed using tree diagram. This controller is simulated on multilane-isolated traffic intersection model developed using M/M/1 queuing theory and its performance in terms of average waiting time, queue length and delay time are compared with traditional controllers and fuzzy controller. Simulation result shows that the average waiting time, queue length, and delay time of ANFIS traffic signal controller are the lowest as compared to the other three controllers. In conclusion, the efficiency and performance of ANFIS controller are much better than that of fuzzy and traditional controllers in different traffic volumes.

Identification of Risk Factors Influencing Road Traffic Accidents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Touahmia

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Road traffic accidents (RTAs are becoming a major problem around the world, incurring enormous losses of human and economic resources. Recent reports from the World Health Organization (WHO reveal that each year more than 1.25 million people are killed and 50 million are injured in road traffic accidents worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, statistics show that at least one traffic accident occurs every minute, causing up to 7,000 deaths and over 39,000 injuries annually. In this study, the main causes of RATs in the province of Hail are examined. The data was collected through the use of a survey which was developed to evaluate the effect of influencing parameters on RTA rate. The results show that 67% of RTAs result from human factors, 29% from road conditions and 4% from vehicle defects. Excessive speed and violation of traffic rules and regulations were found to be the main causes of RATs. Low rates of compliance with speed limit signs and seat-belt regulations were also observed. These findings highlight the need of strengthening effective traffic law enforcement alongside with improving traffic safety and raising public awareness.

Optimizing Performance of at-grade Intersection with Bus Rapid Transit Corridor and Heterogeneous Traffic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hemant Kumar Sharma

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Bus Rapid Transit (BRT has emerged as a preferred mode of public transport in various countries all over the world for its cost effectiveness in construction as well as in operation and maintenance. The rapid transit feature of BRT is seen as a solution to many traffic problems in these countries. However, in developing countries like India, the right -of-way for most of the roads is restricted and traffic is heterogeneous in nature. Provision of BRT in existing right -of-way reduces the capacity available for other motorized traffic. As the buses travel with a certain frequency on dedicated bus- ways, the dedicated corridor remains unused for most of the period when other traffic on motorized vehicle (MV lanes suffers from congestion. The problem gets severe at intersections. However, if buses are operated in mixed traffic it is no more rapid transit. Hence, a solution is required to address this problem and optimize the performance of traffic as a whole. This paper presents the effect if dedicated bus-ways end at a reasonable distance before the stop line at a busy signalized at-grade intersection, and bus lanes (beyond that are made available to all the motorized vehicular traffic (heterogeneous traffic at intersection. The performance evaluation is done in terms of average queue length, maximum queue length, average delay time per vehicle, vehicle throughput, average speed in network and emission of Carbon monoxide CO, mono-nitrogen oxides NOx and Volatile organic compounds (VOC. It is observed that availability of bus lanes to other motorized traffic for a reasonable distance before intersection considerably reduces the average queue length, maximum queue length, average delay time per vehicle and emission per vehicle, while there is an increase in vehicle throughput and average speed of all the vehicles in the network. Thus it results in reduction of congestion and performance enhancement of at-grade intersections and network. Results of

Estimating emissions from railway traffic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joergensen, M.W.; Sorenson, C.

1997-07-01

The report discusses methods that can be used to estimate the emissions from various kinds of railway traffic. The methods are based on the estimation of the energy consumption of the train, so that comparisons can be made between electric and diesel driven trains. Typical values are given for the necessary traffic parameters, emission factors, and train loading. Detailed models for train energy consumption are presented, as well as empirically based methods using average train speed and distance between stop. (au)

An efficient statistical-based approach for road traffic congestion monitoring

KAUST Repository

Abdelhafid, Zeroual

2017-12-14

In this paper, we propose an effective approach which has to detect traffic congestion. The detection strategy is based on the combinational use of piecewise switched linear traffic (PWSL) model with exponentially-weighted moving average (EWMA) chart. PWSL model describes traffic flow dynamics. Then, PWSL residuals are used as the input of EWMA chart to detect traffic congestions. The evaluation results of the developed approach using data from a portion of the I210-W highway in Califorina showed the efficiency of the PWSL-EWMA approach in in detecting traffic congestions.

An efficient statistical-based approach for road traffic congestion monitoring

KAUST Repository

Abdelhafid, Zeroual; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying

2017-01-01

In this paper, we propose an effective approach which has to detect traffic congestion. The detection strategy is based on the combinational use of piecewise switched linear traffic (PWSL) model with exponentially-weighted moving average (EWMA) chart. PWSL model describes traffic flow dynamics. Then, PWSL residuals are used as the input of EWMA chart to detect traffic congestions. The evaluation results of the developed approach using data from a portion of the I210-W highway in Califorina showed the efficiency of the PWSL-EWMA approach in in detecting traffic congestions.

Crash risk analysis during fog conditions using real-time traffic data.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yina; Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Lee, Jaeyoung

2018-05-01

This research investigates the changes of traffic characteristics and crash risks during fog conditions. Using real-time traffic flow and weather data at two regions in Florida, the traffic patterns at the fog duration were compared to the traffic patterns at the clear duration. It was found that the average 5-min speed and the average 5-min volume were prone to decreasing during fog. Based on previous studies, a "Crash Risk Increase Indicator (CRII)" was proposed to explore the differences of crash risk between fog and clear conditions. A binary logistic regression model was applied to link the increase of crash risks with traffic flow characteristics. The results suggested that the proposed indicator worked well in evaluating the increase of crash risk under fog condition. It was indicated that the crash risk was prone to increase at ramp vicinities in fog conditions. Also, the average 5-min volume during fog and the lane position are important factors for crash risk increase. The differences between the regions were also explored in this study. The results indicated that the locations with heavier traffic or locations at the lanes that were closest to the median in Region 2 were more likely to observe an increase in crash risks in fog conditions. It is expected that the proposed indicator can help identify the dangerous traffic status under fog conditions and then proper ITS technologies can be implemented to enhance traffic safety when the visibility declines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Daily quality control in computed radiography mammography using the manufacturer phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakubiak, Rosangela R.; Messias, Pricila C.; Oliveira, Carlla M.

2011-01-01

The quality control (QC) in mammography system involves a large amount of test tools, which implies a large space for storage and a high number of exposure. This work describes a QC system using a phantom, Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) One Shot Phantom M Plus, that evaluates several parameters with just one exposure. The software offers tests with annual, semi-annual, quarterly, weekly and daily periodicity, and analyzes the conformities of the mammography equipment, image plate and cassettes. Because of the high number of tests, it was evaluated the daily test only for seven months in two mammography equipment. The test, through the software and its image, allows the analysis of ten parameters in QC. The evaluation of these parameters was realized by the average of the values provided by the software. Only one of the evaluated items showed not conformity, but this was observed and the necessary corrections were realized. The monitoring of use of FCR Mammography QC software with the FCR One Shot Phantom M Plus was realized and through this we could investigate that the quality program provided by the system is appropriate for the radiology services that has the Fuji Computed Radiography system. (author)

Effect of temporal averaging of meteorological data on predictions of groundwater recharge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Batalha Marcia S.

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Accurate estimates of infiltration and groundwater recharge are critical for many hydrologic, agricultural and environmental applications. Anticipated climate change in many regions of the world, especially in tropical areas, is expected to increase the frequency of high-intensity, short-duration precipitation events, which in turn will affect the groundwater recharge rate. Estimates of recharge are often obtained using monthly or even annually averaged meteorological time series data. In this study we employed the HYDRUS-1D software package to assess the sensitivity of groundwater recharge calculations to using meteorological time series of different temporal resolutions (i.e., hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly averaged precipitation and potential evaporation rates. Calculations were applied to three sites in Brazil having different climatological conditions: a tropical savanna (the Cerrado, a humid subtropical area (the temperate southern part of Brazil, and a very wet tropical area (Amazonia. To simplify our current analysis, we did not consider any land use effects by ignoring root water uptake. Temporal averaging of meteorological data was found to lead to significant bias in predictions of groundwater recharge, with much greater estimated recharge rates in case of very uneven temporal rainfall distributions during the year involving distinct wet and dry seasons. For example, at the Cerrado site, using daily averaged data produced recharge rates of up to 9 times greater than using yearly averaged data. In all cases, an increase in the time of averaging of meteorological data led to lower estimates of groundwater recharge, especially at sites having coarse-textured soils. Our results show that temporal averaging limits the ability of simulations to predict deep penetration of moisture in response to precipitation, so that water remains in the upper part of the vadose zone subject to upward flow and evaporation.

Relationships between residual feed intake, average daily gain, and feeding behavior in growing dairy heifers.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, T C; Jago, J G; Macdonald, K A; Waghorn, G C

2013-05-01

Residual feed intake (RFI) is a measure of an individual's efficiency in utilizing feed for maintenance and production during growth or lactation, and is defined as the difference between the actual and predicted feed intake of that individual. The objective of this study was to relate RFI to feeding behavior and to identify behavioral differences between animals with divergent RFI. The intakes and body weight (BW) of 1,049 growing dairy heifers (aged 5-9 mo; 195 ± 25.8 kg of BW) in 5 cohorts were measured for 42 to 49 d to ascertain individual RFI. Animals were housed in an outdoor feeding facility comprising 28 pens, each with 8 animals and 1 feeder per pen, and were fed a dried, cubed alfalfa diet. This forage diet was chosen because most dairy cows in New Zealand are grazed on ryegrass-dominant pastures, without grain or concentrates. An electronic feed monitoring system measured the intake and feeding behavior of individuals. Feeding behavior was summarized as daily intake, daily feeding duration, meal frequency, feeding rate, meal size, meal duration, and temporal feeding patterns. The RFI was moderately to strongly correlated with intake in all cohorts (r=0.54-0.74), indicating that efficient animals ate less than inefficient animals, but relationships with feeding behavior traits (meal frequency, feeding duration, and feeding rate) were weak (r=0.14-0.26), indicating that feeding behavior cannot reliably predict RFI in growing dairy heifers. Comparison of the extremes of RFI (10% most and 10% least efficient) demonstrated similar BW and average daily gain for both groups, but efficient animals ate less; had fewer, longer meals; shorter daily feeding duration; and ate more slowly than the least-efficient animals. These groups also differed in their feeding patterns over 24h, with the most efficient animals eating less and having fewer meals during daylight (0600 to 2100 h), especially during the afternoon (1200 to 1800 h), but ate for a longer time during

Time-varying cycle average and daily variation in ambient air pollution and fecundability.

Science.gov (United States)

Nobles, Carrie J; Schisterman, Enrique F; Ha, Sandie; Buck Louis, Germaine M; Sherman, Seth; Mendola, Pauline

2018-01-01

Does ambient air pollution affect fecundability? While cycle-average air pollution exposure was not associated with fecundability, we observed some associations for acute exposure around ovulation and implantation with fecundability. Ambient air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and decrements in semen quality. The LIFE study (2005-2009), a prospective time-to-pregnancy study, enrolled 501 couples who were followed for up to one year of attempting pregnancy. Average air pollutant exposure was assessed for the menstrual cycle before and during the proliferative phase of each observed cycle (n = 500 couples; n = 2360 cycles) and daily acute exposure was assessed for sensitive windows of each observed cycle (n = 440 couples; n = 1897 cycles). Discrete-time survival analysis modeled the association between fecundability and an interquartile range increase in each pollutant, adjusting for co-pollutants, site, age, race/ethnicity, parity, body mass index, smoking, income and education. Cycle-average air pollutant exposure was not associated with fecundability. In acute models, fecundability was diminished with exposure to ozone the day before ovulation and nitrogen oxides 8 days post ovulation (fecundability odds ratio [FOR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72, 0.96 and FOR 0.84, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.99, respectively). However, particulate matter ≤10 microns 6 days post ovulation was associated with greater fecundability (FOR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.54). Although our study was unlikely to be biased due to confounding, misclassification of air pollution exposure and the moderate study size may have limited our ability to detect an association between ambient air pollution and fecundability. While no associations were observed for cycle-average ambient air pollution exposure, consistent with past research in the United States, exposure during critical windows of hormonal variability was associated with prospectively measured couple

Spatial variations in estimated chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution in working populations: A simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cloutier-Fisher Denise

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with a variety of health impacts in adults and recent studies show that exposure varies spatially, with some residents in a community more exposed than others. A spatial exposure simulation model (SESM which incorporates six microenvironments (home indoor, work indoor, other indoor, outdoor, in-vehicle to work and in-vehicle other is described and used to explore spatial variability in estimates of exposure to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide (not including indoor sources for working people. The study models spatial variability in estimated exposure aggregated at the census tracts level for 382 census tracts in the Greater Vancouver Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. Summary statistics relating to the distributions of the estimated exposures are compared visually through mapping. Observed variations are explored through analyses of model inputs. Results Two sources of spatial variability in exposure to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide were identified. Median estimates of total exposure ranged from 8 μg/m3 to 35 μg/m3 of annual average hourly NO2 for workers in different census tracts in the study area. Exposure estimates are highest where ambient pollution levels are highest. This reflects the regional gradient of pollution in the study area and the relatively high percentage of time spent at home locations. However, for workers within the same census tract, variations were observed in the partial exposure estimates associated with time spent outside the residential census tract. Simulation modeling shows that some workers may have exposures 1.3 times higher than other workers residing in the same census tract because of time spent away from the residential census tract, and that time spent in work census tracts contributes most to the differences in exposure. Exposure estimates associated with the activity of commuting by vehicle to work were

A Comparative Analysis of State Traffic Safety Countermeasures and Implications for Progress “Toward Zero Deaths” in the United States : Traffic Safety Facts - Research Note

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

States use a variety of countermeasures to reduce traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities within their jurisdictions. These countermeasures focus primarily on engineering, law enforcement, and public education (NHTSA, 2006). NHTSA's bi-annual publi...

Table for monthly average daily extraterrestrial irradiation on horizontal surface and the maximum possible sunshine duration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, P.C.

1984-01-01

The monthly average daily values of the extraterrestrial irradiation on a horizontal surface (H 0 ) and the maximum possible sunshine duration are two important parameters that are frequently needed in various solar energy applications. These are generally calculated by scientists each time they are needed and by using the approximate short-cut methods. Computations for these values have been made once and for all for latitude values of 60 deg. N to 60 deg. S at intervals of 1 deg. and are presented in a convenient tabular form. Values of the maximum possible sunshine duration as recorded on a Campbell Stoke's sunshine recorder are also computed and presented. These tables should avoid the need for repetition and approximate calculations and serve as a useful ready reference for solar energy scientists and engineers. (author)

Impacts of Snowy Weather Conditions on Expressway Traffic Flow Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiancheng Weng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Snowy weather will significantly degrade expressway operations, reduce service levels, and increase driving difficulty. Furthermore, the impact of snow varies in different types of roads, diverse cities, and snow densities due to different driving behavior. Traffic flow parameters are essential to decide what should be appropriate for weather-related traffic management and control strategies. This paper takes Beijing as a case study and analyzes traffic flow data collected by detectors in expressways. By comparing the performance of traffic flow under normal and snowy weather conditions, this paper quantitatively describes the impact of adverse weather on expressway volume and average speeds. Results indicate that average speeds on the Beijing expressway under heavy snow conditions decrease by 10–20 km/h when compared to those under normal weather conditions, the vehicle headway generally increases by 2–4 seconds, and the road capacity drops by about 33%. This paper also develops a specific expressway traffic parameter reduction model which proposes reduction coefficients of expressway volumes and speeds under various snow density conditions in Beijing. The conclusions paper provide effective foundational parameters for urban expressway controls and traffic management under snow conditions.

Fast Times During Spring Breaks: Are Traffic Fatalities Another Consequence?

OpenAIRE

French, Michael; Gumus, Gulcin

2014-01-01

Every year in the United States, millions of college students travel for spring break, spending billions of dollars. We examine a potential adverse consequence of spring break that has received little attention in the literature - traffic safety. In particular, we estimate the impact of spring break season on fatal passenger vehicle crashes. Using daily county-level longitudinal data on traffic fatalities in popular spring break destinations from 1982-2011, we conduct separate analyses by age...

Traffic-related air pollution associated with prevalence of asthma and COPD/chronic bronchitis. A cross-sectional study in Southern Sweden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nihlén Ulf

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is growing evidence that air pollution from traffic has adverse long-term effects on chronic respiratory disease in children, but there are few studies and more inconclusive results in adults. We examined associations between residential traffic and asthma and COPD in adults in southern Sweden. A postal questionnaire in 2000 (n = 9319, 18–77 years provided disease status, and self-reported exposure to traffic. A Geographical Information System (GIS was used to link geocoded residential addresses to a Swedish road database and an emission database for NOx. Results Living within 100 m of a road with >10 cars/minute (compared with having no heavy road within this distance was associated with prevalence of asthma diagnosis (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.04–1.89, and COPD diagnosis (OR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.11–2.4, as well as asthma and chronic bronchitis symptoms. Self-reported traffic exposure was associated with asthma diagnosis and COPD diagnosis, and with asthma symptoms. Annual average NOx was associated with COPD diagnosis and symptoms of asthma and chronic bronchitis. Conclusion Living close to traffic was associated with prevalence of asthma diagnosis, COPD diagnosis, and symptoms of asthma and bronchitis. This indicates that traffic-related air pollution has both long-term and short-term effects on chronic respiratory disease in adults, even in a region with overall low levels of air pollution.

ROAD TRAFFIC ESTIMATION USING BLUETOOTH SENSORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika N. BUGDOL

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The Bluetooth standard is a low-cost, very popular communication protocol offering a wide range of applications in many fields. In this paper, a novel system for road traffic estimation using Bluetooth sensors has been presented. The system consists of three main modules: filtration, statistical analysis of historical, and traffic estimation and prediction. The filtration module is responsible for the classification of road users and detecting measurements that should be removed. Traffic estimation has been performed on the basis of the data collected by Bluetooth measuring devices and information on external conditions (e.g., temperature, all of which have been gathered in the city of Bielsko-Biala (Poland. The obtained results are very promising. The smallest average relative error between the number of cars estimated by the model and the actual traffic was less than 10%.

Traffic mortality of four ungulate species in southern Finland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milla Niemi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Ungulate–vehicle collisions are intensively studied in many countries. However, limited knowledge exists on how many animals struck actually die due to collisions and whether differences in traffic mortality occur between species living in the same area. In this study, we estimated a kill rate (the proportion of individuals killed/struck and, in relation to their winter population sizes, the collision and traffic mortality rates for four ungulate species (moose Alces alces, white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus, roe deer Capreolus capreolus, and fallow deer Dama dama. We used an unofficial collision register collected between 2001 and 2012 (a total of 12 years by voluntary hunters from the Hyvinkää Game Management Area (323 km2 located in southern Finland. The population estimates used were based on annual snow track censuses. A total of 497 ungulates were involved in collisions during the study period. Of these, 76% were killed directly or put down afterwards. Roe deer had the highest kill rate; 95% of struck individuals died. White-tailed deer had the highest collision and traffic mortality rates (8.0% and 6.5% of the winter population, respectively, followed by moose (6.5 % and 4.5%, roe deer (3.9% and 3.7%, and fallow deer (3.2% and 2.1%. As we found the collision and traffic mortality rates to be unequal between species, we recommend separately reporting all ungulate species when compiling collision statistics. We additionally suggest that local managers should be aware of ungulate collision and traffic mortality rates in their areas and should use this knowledge when planning annual harvest.

Calibration and Evaluation of Different Estimation Models of Daily Solar Radiation in Seasonally and Annual Time Steps in Shiraz Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamid Reza Fooladmand

2017-06-01

, three groups of equations were used (1: based on only sunshine hours. 2: based on only air temperature, and 3: based on sunshine hours and air temperature. Final results of this study for estimating solar radiation in Shiraz region were: 1 For autumn season the best equation was based on the extraterrestrial radiation, the ratio of daily actual sunshine hours to daily maximum sunshine hours, and minimum and maximum air temperatures. 2 For annual time step the best equation was based on the extraterrestrial radiation and the ratio of daily actual sunshine hours to daily maximum sunshine hours.

Development of Road Traffic Assignment and Assessment Sub-Model Applied in the Traffic Study ...

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dražen Topolnik

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The described sub-model is just one small segment of theTraffic Study of the City of Zagreb, in the development of whichnumerous foreign and national experts and institutions tookpart. After comprehensive collection and processing of inputdata, the traffic experts, using the software package "MVATRIPS" for the analysis and search for optimal solutions to theproblem of traffic system, provided the models of public urbantransit for the future.This paper describes the analysis and assessment of sub-models in road traffic assignment for the morning peak, afternoonpeak and average off-peak hours. The principles of assignmentprocedure have been described as well as the convergencetests. The following has been specified: the users categories,the public transit pre-load, and the passenger car unit(PC U. The key guideline in selecting the route is a generalisedformulation of costs presented in the paper. The procedures ofcalibration and the assessment of the finite model have alsobeen defined according to the screenline flows, link flows, andtravelling times. In the end, the summary is given of the basiccharacteristics of the finite travelling matrices.

Design and Development of Biometric Traffic Offence System (BTOS)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF. OLIVER OSUAGWA

2014-12-01

Dec 1, 2014 ... manage traffic cases is manual; information collected daily is written on paper and stored in ... The system is thus user friendly in the way it inserts, retrieves and updates user .... importance of discipline on the highway.

Forecasting Air Traffic and corresponding Jet-Fuel Demand until 2025

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheze, Benoit; Gastineau, Pascal; Chevallier, Julien

2010-01-01

This paper provides i) air traffic and ii) Jet-Fuel demand projections at the worldwide level and for eight geographical zones until 2025. The general methodology may be summarized in two steps. First, air traffic forecasts are estimated using econometric methods. The modeling is performed for eight geographical zones, by using dynamic panel-data econometrics. Once estimated from historical data, the model is then used to generate air traffic forecasts. Second, the conversion of air traffic projections into quantities of Jet-Fuel is accomplished using the 'Traffic Efficiency' method developed previously by UK DTI to support the IPCC (IPCC (1999)). One of our major contribution consists in proposing an alternative methodology to obtain Energy Efficiency coefficients and energy efficiency improvements estimates based on modeling at the macro-level. These estimates are obtained by directly comparing the evolution of both Jet-Fuel consumption and air traffic time series from 1983 to 2006. According to our 'Business As Usual' scenario, air traffic should increase by about 100% between 2008 and 2025 at the world level, corresponding to a yearly average growth rate of about 4.7%. World Jet-Fuel demand is expected to increase by about 38% during the same period, corresponding to a yearly average growth rate of about 1, 9% per year. Air traffic energy efficiency improvements yield effectively to reduce the effect of air traffic rise on the Jet-Fuel demand increase, but do not annihilate it. Thus, Jet- Fuel demand is unlikely to diminish unless there is a radical technological shift, or air travel demand is restricted. (authors)

A measure theoretic approach to traffic flow optimization on networks

OpenAIRE

Cacace, Simone; Camilli, Fabio; De Maio, Raul; Tosin, Andrea

2018-01-01

We consider a class of optimal control problems for measure-valued nonlinear transport equations describing traffic flow problems on networks. The objective isto minimise/maximise macroscopic quantities, such as traffic volume or average speed,controlling few agents, for example smart traffic lights and automated cars. The measuretheoretic approach allows to study in a same setting local and nonlocal drivers interactionsand to consider the control variables as additional measures interacting ...

The impact of diurnal variations of air traffic on contrail radiative forcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Stuber

2007-06-01

Full Text Available We combined high resolution aircraft flight data from the EU Fifth Framework Programme project AERO2k with analysis data from the ECMWF's integrated forecast system to calculate diurnally resolved 3-D contrail cover. We scaled the contrail cover in order to match observational data for the Bakan area (eastern-Atlantic/western-Europe.

We found that less than 40% of the global distance travelled by aircraft is due to flights during local night time. Yet, due to the cancellation of shortwave and longwave effects during daytime, night time flights contribute a disproportional 60% to the global annual mean forcing. Under clear sky conditions the night flights contribute even more disproportionally at 76%. There are pronounced regional variations in night flying and the associated radiative forcing. Over parts of the North Atlantic flight corridor 75% of air traffic and 84% of the forcing occurs during local night, whereas only 35% of flights are during local night in South-East Asia, yet these contribute 68% of the radiative forcing. In general, regions with a significant local contrail radiative forcing are also regions for which night time flights amount to less than half of the daily total of flights. Therefore, neglecting diurnal variations in air traffic/contrail cover by assuming a diurnal mean contrail cover can over-estimate the global mean radiative forcing by up to 30%.

Estimation of the monthly average daily solar radiation using geographic information system and advanced case-based reasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Choongwan; Hong, Taehoon; Lee, Minhyun; Park, Hyo Seon

2013-05-07

The photovoltaic (PV) system is considered an unlimited source of clean energy, whose amount of electricity generation changes according to the monthly average daily solar radiation (MADSR). It is revealed that the MADSR distribution in South Korea has very diverse patterns due to the country's climatic and geographical characteristics. This study aimed to develop a MADSR estimation model for the location without the measured MADSR data, using an advanced case based reasoning (CBR) model, which is a hybrid methodology combining CBR with artificial neural network, multiregression analysis, and genetic algorithm. The average prediction accuracy of the advanced CBR model was very high at 95.69%, and the standard deviation of the prediction accuracy was 3.67%, showing a significant improvement in prediction accuracy and consistency. A case study was conducted to verify the proposed model. The proposed model could be useful for owner or construction manager in charge of determining whether or not to introduce the PV system and where to install it. Also, it would benefit contractors in a competitive bidding process to accurately estimate the electricity generation of the PV system in advance and to conduct an economic and environmental feasibility study from the life cycle perspective.

[Influence of traffic restriction on road and construction fugitive dust].

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Gang; Li, Gang; Qin, Jian-Ping; Fan, Shou-Bin; Huang, Yu-Hu; Nie, Lei

2009-05-15

By monitoring the road and construction dust fall continuously during the "Good Luck Beijing" sport events, the reduction of road and construction dust fall caused by traffic restriction was studied. The contribution rate of road and construction dust to particulate matter of Beijing atmosphere environment, and the emission ratio of it to total local PM10 emission were analyzed. The results show that the traffic restriction reduces road and construction dust fall significantly. The dust fall average value of ring roads was 0.27 g x (m2 x d)(-1) in the "traffic restriction" period, and the values were 0.81 and 0.59 g x (m2 x d)(-1) 1 month and 7 days before. The dust fall average value of major arterial and minor arterial was 0.21 g x (m2 x d)(-1) in the "traffic restriction" period, and the values were 0.54 and 0.58 g x (m2 x d)(-1) 1 month and 7 days before. The roads emission reduced 60%-70% compared with before traffic restriction. The dust fall average values of civil architecture and utility architecture were 0.61 and 1.06 g x (m2 x d)(-1) in the "traffic restriction" period, and the values were 1.15 and 1.55 g x (m2 x d)(-1) 20 days before. The construction dust reduced 30%-47% compared with 20 days before traffic restriction. Road and construction dust emission are the main source of atmosphere particulate matter in Beijing, and its contribution to ambient PM10 concentration is 21%-36%. PM10 emitted from roads and constructions account for 42%-72% and 30%-51% of local emission while the local PM10 account for 50% and 70% of the total emission.

ORCHIDEE-PEAT (revision 4596, a model for northern peatland CO2, water, and energy fluxes on daily to annual scales

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Qiu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Peatlands store substantial amounts of carbon and are vulnerable to climate change. We present a modified version of the Organising Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE land surface model for simulating the hydrology, surface energy, and CO2 fluxes of peatlands on daily to annual timescales. The model includes a separate soil tile in each 0.5° grid cell, defined from a global peatland map and identified with peat-specific soil hydraulic properties. Runoff from non-peat vegetation within a grid cell containing a fraction of peat is routed to this peat soil tile, which maintains shallow water tables. The water table position separates oxic from anoxic decomposition. The model was evaluated against eddy-covariance (EC observations from 30 northern peatland sites, with the maximum rate of carboxylation (Vcmax being optimized at each site. Regarding short-term day-to-day variations, the model performance was good for gross primary production (GPP (r2 =  0.76; Nash–Sutcliffe modeling efficiency, MEF  =  0.76 and ecosystem respiration (ER, r2 =  0.78, MEF  =  0.75, with lesser accuracy for latent heat fluxes (LE, r2 =  0.42, MEF  =  0.14 and and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE, r2 =  0.38, MEF  =  0.26. Seasonal variations in GPP, ER, NEE, and energy fluxes on monthly scales showed moderate to high r2 values (0.57–0.86. For spatial across-site gradients of annual mean GPP, ER, NEE, and LE, r2 values of 0.93, 0.89, 0.27, and 0.71 were achieved, respectively. Water table (WT variation was not well predicted (r2 < 0.1, likely due to the uncertain water input to the peat from surrounding areas. However, the poor performance of WT simulation did not greatly affect predictions of ER and NEE. We found a significant relationship between optimized Vcmax and latitude (temperature, which better reflects the spatial gradients of annual NEE than using an average Vcmax value.

Traffic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lichtblau, G.

2001-01-01

This chapter deals with passenger and freight traffic, public and private transportation, traffic related environmental impacts, future developments, traffic indicators, regional traffic planning, health costs due to road traffic related air pollution, noise pollution, measures and regulations for traffic control and fuels for traffic. In particular energy consumption, energy efficiency, pollutant emissions ( CO 2 , SO 2 , NO x , HC, CO, N 2 O, NH 3 and particulates) and environmental effects of the different types of traffic and different types of fuels are compared and studied. Legal regulations and measures for an effective traffic control are discussed. (a.n.)

Metro manila transport and traffic management plan (1993-1998)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cal, P.C.

1995-12-31

In 1988, former President Corazon Aquino created the Presidential Task Force on Traffic Management to formulate plans and programs to improve the traffic situation in Metro Manila and to address the emerging problem of air pollution and concern on renewable energy sources for transportation. The Task Force formulated the Metro Manila Traffic Improvement Plan (TRIP) which was approved by President Aquino for implementation. TRIP called for the development of a mass urban transport system, which included the expansion of the light rail transit system and the construction and improvement of the Metro Manila road network. Culled mainly from the TRIP proposals, the Updated Transport and Traffic Management Plan for Metro Manila (1993-1998) was developed through interagency discussions, public consultations, data collation and research work. This plan is directed towards the development of a more responsive public transport system, expansion of road network capacity, and improvement of traffic management and enforcement. Constraints may be present along the way but opportunities and potentials exist for the deliverance of daily commuters struggling to make a living.

Annual report 1996; Aarsrapport 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-01

The annual report from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research presents the activities at the institute. The activities cover fields like motor traffic and air quality of urban areas, acid precipitation, the ozone layer, advanced environmental monitoring systems, environmental contamination, and environmental problems in Arctic. 17 figs., 1 tab.

A search for annual and daily modulations of dark matter with NaI scintillators at Canfranc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarsa, M.L.; Morales, A.; Morales, J.; Garcia, E.; Ortiz de Solorzano, A.; Puimedon, J.; Saenz, C.; Salinas, A.; Villar, J.A.

1996-01-01

A search for cold dark matter has been carried out at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory with a set of three sodium iodide scintillators of 10.7 kg each, during two years of data taking. The results, corresponding to an exposure of 4613.6 kg day are presented in the form of exclusion plots σ(m) for spin-independent and spin-dependent WIMP-matter interactions, by conventionally comparing the observed rate with the expected signal. Distinctive features of the CDM signal, like annual and daily modulations have been looked for in, respectively, 1342.85 kg day and 2769.6 kg day of data. The non observance of such modulations have been used to draw stringer exclusion plots than those derived from the previous, conventional method. (orig.)

Seasonal variations and air quality in Meknes city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ait Bouh, F.; Bounakhla, M.; Noack, Y.

2008-01-01

The automobile traffic and the terrigenous contributions are the two important sources of the air pollution in Meknes. This work is a study about gaseous pollution , particulate and metal in two sites with road traffics importants. Samples were carried out with devices like Gent, to separate a coarse fraction and thin fraction and an automatic analyzer of sulfur dioxide. The companions of samples took place from March to October 2007 at the FAR Avenue and from November 2007 to April 2008 at the Avenue Allal Ben Abdellah; six days for particulate matter and several days each month for sulfur dioxide. The collection period was 24 hours. The results of sulfur dioxide show very high concentrations during weekdays especially in peak hours. The maximum hourly, daily and monthly rates are important in July and August. And the average annual knows exceeded the annual quality objective set at 50ug / m 3 . In the case of particulate matter, the daily limit value (50 ug / m 3 ) and annual (40 ug / m 3 ) are exceeded on several occasions, compared with fine particles / total particulate generally quite low (below 0.5 ), showing the importance of terrigenous inputs and resuspension especially in July and August where the coarse fraction reached the highest levels. The heavy metals concentrations will be determined by X-ray fluorescence total reflection (TXRF) [fr

Mortality Rates of Traumatic Traffic Accident Patients at the University Hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atilla Senih MAYDA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to estimate hospitalization and mortality rates in patients admitted to the University Hospital due to traffic accidents, and to determine the mean cost of the applicants in the hospital due to traffic accident. In this retrospective study data were obtained from the records of a university research and practice hospital. There were 802 patients admitted to emergency and other outpatient clinics of the University Hospital because of traffic accidents throughout the year 2012. Out of these patients, 166 (20.7% were hospitalized, and the annual mortality rate was 0.87%. The total cost was 322,545.2 euro and 402.2 euro per patient. Road traffic accident detection reports covered only the numbers of fatal injuries and injuries that happened at the scene of accidents. Determination of the number of the dead and wounded with overall mortality rate would be supposed to reveal the magnitude of public health problem caused by traffic accidents.

Ergodicity of Traffic Flow with Constant Penetration Rate for Traffic Monitoring via Floating Vehicle Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Gunawan, Fergyanto E.; Abbas, Bahtiar S.; Atmadja, Wiedjaja; Yoseph Chandra, Fajar; Agung, Alexander AS; Kusnandar, Erwin

2014-03-01

Traffic congestion in Asian megacities has become extremely worse, and any means to lessen the congestion level is urgently needed. Building an efficient mass transportation system is clearly necessary. However, implementing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have also been demonstrated effective in various advanced countries. Recently, the floating vehicle technique (FVT), an ITS implementation, has become cost effective to provide real-time traffic information with proliferation of the smartphones. Although many publications have discussed various issues related to the technique, none of them elaborates the discrepancy of a single floating car data (FCD) and the associated fleet data. This work addresses the issue based on an analysis of Sugiyama et al's experimental data. The results indicate that there is an optimum averaging time interval such that the estimated velocity by the FVT reasonably representing the traffic velocity.

Global collaboration on road traffic injury prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Peden, Margie

2005-06-01

Worldwide, nearly 1.2 million people are killed in road traffic crashes every year and 20 million to 50 million more are injured or disabled. These injuries account for 2.1% of global mortality and 2.6% of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. Low- and middle-income countries account for about 85% of the deaths and 90% of the DALYs lost annually. Without appropriate action, by 2020, road traffic injuries are predicted to be the third leading contributor to the global burden of disease. The economic cost of road traffic crashes is enormous. Globally it is estimated that US$518 billion is spent on road traffic crashes with low- and middle-income countries accounting for US$65 billion--more than these countries receive in development assistance. But these costs are just the tip of the iceberg. For everyone killed, injured or disabled by a road traffic crash there are countless others deeply affected. Many families are driven into poverty by the expenses of prolonged medical care, loss of a family breadwinner or the added burden of caring for the disabled. There is an urgent need for global collaboration on road traffic injury prevention. Since 2000, WHO has stepped up its response to the road safety crisis by firstly developing a 5-year strategy for road traffic injury prevention and following this by dedicating World Health Day 2004 to road safety and launching the WHO/World Bank World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention at the global World Health Day event in Paris, France. This short article highlights the main messages from the World Report and the six recommendations for action on road safety at a national and international level. It goes on to briefly discuss other international achievements since World Health Day and calls for countries to take up the challenge of implementing the recommendations of the World Report.

Characterizing spatial variability of air pollution from vehicle traffic around the Houston Ship Channel area

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xueying; Craft, Elena; Zhang, Kai

2017-07-01

Mobile emissions are a major source of urban air pollution and have been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. The Houston Ship Channel area is the home of a large number of diesel-powered vehicles emitting fine particulate matter (PM2.5; ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). However, the spatial variability of traffic-related air pollutants in the Houston Ship Channel area has rarely been investigated. The objective of this study is to characterize spatial variability of PM2.5 and NOx concentrations attributable to on-road traffic in the Houston Ship Channel area in the year of 2011. We extracted the road network from the Texas Department of Transportation Road Inventory, and calculated emission rates using the Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator version 2014a (MOVES2014a). These parameters and preprocessed meteorological parameters were entered into a Research LINE-source Dispersion Model (RLINE) to conduct a simulation. Receptors were placed at 50 m resolution within 300 m to major roads and at 150 m resolution in the rest of the area. Our findings include that traffic-related PM2.5 were mainly emitted from trucks, while traffic-related NOx were emitted from both trucks and cars. The traffic contributed 0.90 μg/m3 PM2.5 and 29.23 μg/m3 NOx to the annual average mass concentrations of on-road air pollution, and the concentrations of the two pollutants decreased by nearly 40% within 500 m distance to major roads. The pollution level of traffic-related PM2.5 and NOx was higher in winter than those in the other three seasons. The Houston Ship Channel has earlier morning peak hours and relative late afternoon hours, which indicates the influence of goods movement from port activity. The varied near-road gradients illustrate that proximities to major roads are not an accurate surrogate of traffic-related air pollution.

Characterizing Traffic Conditions from the Perspective of Spatial-Temporal Heterogeneity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peichao Gao

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Traffic conditions are usually characterized from the perspective of travel time or the average vehicle speed in the field of transportation, reflecting the congestion degree of a road network. This article provides a method from a new perspective to characterize traffic conditions; the perspective is based on the heterogeneity of vehicle speeds. A novel measurement, the ratio of areas (RA in a rank-size plot, is included in the proposed method to capture the heterogeneity. The proposed method can be performed from the perspective of both spatial heterogeneity and temporal heterogeneity, being able to characterize traffic conditions of not only a road network but also a single road. Compared with methods from the perspective of travel time, the proposed method can characterize traffic conditions at a higher frequency. Compared to methods from the perspective of the average vehicle speed, the proposed method takes account of the heterogeneity of vehicle speeds. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been demonstrated with real-life traffic data of Shenzhen (a coastal urban city in China, and the advantage of the proposed RA has been verified by comparisons to similar measurements such as the ht-index and the CRG index.

Marine Traffic Density Over Port Klang, Malaysia Using Statistical Analysis of AIS Data: A Preliminary Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masnawi MUSTAFFA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Port Klang Malaysia is the 13th busiest port in the world, the capacity at the port expected to be able to meet the demand until 2018. It is one of the busiest ports in the world and also the busiest port in Malaysia. Even though there are statistics published by Port Klang Authority showing that a lot of ships using this port, this number is only based on ships that entering Port Klang. Therefore, no study has been done to investigate on how dense the traffic is in Port Klang, Malaysia the surrounding sea including Strait of Malacca . This paper has investigated on traffic density over Port Klang Malaysia and its surrounding sea using statistical analysis from AIS data. As a preliminary study, this study only collected AIS data for 7 days to represent daily traffic weekly. As a result, an hourly number of vessels, daily number of vessels, vessels classification and sizes and also traffic paths will be plotted.

Bayes classifiers for imbalanced traffic accidents datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Mujalli, Randa Oqab; López, Griselda; Garach, Laura

2016-03-01

Traffic accidents data sets are usually imbalanced, where the number of instances classified under the killed or severe injuries class (minority) is much lower than those classified under the slight injuries class (majority). This, however, supposes a challenging problem for classification algorithms and may cause obtaining a model that well cover the slight injuries instances whereas the killed or severe injuries instances are misclassified frequently. Based on traffic accidents data collected on urban and suburban roads in Jordan for three years (2009-2011); three different data balancing techniques were used: under-sampling which removes some instances of the majority class, oversampling which creates new instances of the minority class and a mix technique that combines both. In addition, different Bayes classifiers were compared for the different imbalanced and balanced data sets: Averaged One-Dependence Estimators, Weightily Average One-Dependence Estimators, and Bayesian networks in order to identify factors that affect the severity of an accident. The results indicated that using the balanced data sets, especially those created using oversampling techniques, with Bayesian networks improved classifying a traffic accident according to its severity and reduced the misclassification of killed and severe injuries instances. On the other hand, the following variables were found to contribute to the occurrence of a killed causality or a severe injury in a traffic accident: number of vehicles involved, accident pattern, number of directions, accident type, lighting, surface condition, and speed limit. This work, to the knowledge of the authors, is the first that aims at analyzing historical data records for traffic accidents occurring in Jordan and the first to apply balancing techniques to analyze injury severity of traffic accidents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome in professional drivers and the relationship with traffic accidents].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y; Tu, C L; Yao, W F; Yu, Y F; Wang, Z; Hu, J R

2016-12-27

Objective: To study the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and its relationship with traffic accidents in the professional drivers. Methods: Questionnaires of OSAHS were sent to 950 professional drivers who had annual physical examination at the Central Hospital of Jiading District in Shanghai from October 2014 to September 2015. Those with moderate to severe snoring and/or Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)≥9 performed the home sleep testing. All drivers were divided into OSAHS and non-OSAHS according to the survey and monitoring. The following parameters were compared such as driving ages, neck circumference, body mass index (BMI), average night sleep time, ESS, hypertension, diabetes, hypertrophy of tonsil and the incidence of traffic accidents. The risk factors of traffic accidents were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression. Results: Totally 826 responses were eligible, including 578 (70.0%) with self-reported snoring. There was measurement failure involving 3 of 233 the home sleep testing due to sensor off, 823 subjects were included in the study. The prevalence of OSAHS was 13.5% (111/823). The mild, moderate and severe OSAHS were 47, 38 and 26 cases respectively. There were 712 drives without OSAHS. The neck circumference[(39.8±3.8) vs (39.0±3.0) cm]and BMI[(26.7±4.2) vs (24.4±3.8) kg/m 2 ]were significantly higher in the drivers suffering from OSAHS (all P 0.05). The overall incidence of traffic accidents was 5.8% (48/823) in a year. The percentage was respectively 17.1% (19/111) in OSAHS and 4.1% (29/712) in non-OSAHS ( P traffic accidents.

High average daily intake of PCDD/Fs and serum levels in residents living near a deserted factory producing pentachlorophenol (PCP) in Taiwan: Influence of contaminated fish consumption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, C.C. [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Research Center of Environmental Trace Toxic Substances, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Lin, W.T. [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Liao, P.C. [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Research Center of Environmental Trace Toxic Substances, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Su, H.J. [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Research Center of Environmental Trace Toxic Substances, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Chen, H.L. [Department of Industrial Safety and Health, Hung Kuang University, Taichung, 34 Chung Chie Rd. Sha Lu, Taichung 433, Taiwan (China)]. E-mail: hsiulin@sunrise.hk.edu.tw

2006-05-15

An abandoned pentachlorophenol plant and nearby area in southern Taiwan was heavily contaminated by dioxins, impurities formed in the PCP production process. The investigation showed that the average serum PCDD/Fs of residents living nearby area (62.5 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid) was higher than those living in the non-polluted area (22.5 and 18.2 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid) (P < 0.05). In biota samples, average PCDD/F of milkfish in sea reservoir (28.3 pg WHO-TEQ/g) was higher than those in the nearby fish farm (0.15 pg WHO-TEQ/g), and Tilapia and shrimp showed the similar trend. The average daily PCDD/Fs intake of 38% participants was higher than 4 pg WHO-TEQ/kg/day suggested by the world health organization. Serum PCDD/F was positively associated with average daily intake (ADI) after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and smoking status. In addition, a prospective cohort study is suggested to determine the long-term health effects on the people living near factory. - Inhabitants living near a deserted PCP factory are exposed to high PCDD/F levels.

Analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky : 2004-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-01

The report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 2004 through 2008. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of crashe...

Analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky : 2003-2007.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-08-01

This report includes an analysis of traffic accident data in Kentucky for the years of 2003 through 2007. A primary objective of this study was to determine average accident statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of ...

Application of Internet in Road Traffic Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Dadić

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the implementation of Internet in trafficengineering with the purpose of improving the professionaland scientific research development of the traffic system in theRepublic of Croatia.Fast growth of the world computer network, Internet, andits applications in almost all the fields of human activities,change the picture of the modern world. The current exchangeof data in all their forms and the daily growth of the network,supplemented by almost incredible amounts of data that can bealmost instantly accessible, indicates that Internet is not just theinfomwtion technology revolution, but that it is a revolutionper se. More than 100 million computers are estimated to benetworked beginning of the 21" century.Internet seems almost as if it were created for the purposesof knowledge and expe1ience exchange in traffic, a relativelyyoung scientific branch. 11 can be concluded that the presenceof traffic engineers in Internet is today's reality and tomon·ow'snecessity.

Task Analysis Assessment on Intrastate Bus Traffic Controllers

Science.gov (United States)

Yen Bin, Teo; Azlis-Sani, Jalil; Nur Annuar Mohd Yunos, Muhammad; Ismail, S. M. Sabri S. M.; Tajedi, Noor Aqilah Ahmad

2016-11-01

Public transportation acts as social mobility and caters the daily needs of the society for passengers to travel from one place to another. This is true for a country like Malaysia where international trade has been growing significantly over the past few decades. Task analysis assessment was conducted with the consideration of cognitive ergonomic view towards problem related to human factors. Conducting research regarding the task analysis on bus traffic controllers had allowed a better understanding regarding the nature of work and the overall monitoring activities of the bus services. This paper served to study the task analysis assessment on intrastate bus traffic controllers and the objectives of this study include to conduct task analysis assessment on the bus traffic controllers. Task analysis assessment for the bus traffic controllers was developed via Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA). There are a total of five subsidiary tasks on level one and only two were able to be further broken down in level two. Development of HTA allowed a better understanding regarding the work and this could further ease the evaluation of the tasks conducted by the bus traffic controllers. Thus, human error could be reduced for the safety of all passengers and increase the overall efficiency of the system. Besides, it could assist in improving the operation of the bus traffic controllers by modelling or synthesizing the existing tasks if necessary.

Fine-granularity inference and estimations to network traffic for SDN.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dingde Jiang

Full Text Available An end-to-end network traffic matrix is significantly helpful for network management and for Software Defined Networks (SDN. However, the end-to-end network traffic matrix's inferences and estimations are a challenging problem. Moreover, attaining the traffic matrix in high-speed networks for SDN is a prohibitive challenge. This paper investigates how to estimate and recover the end-to-end network traffic matrix in fine time granularity from the sampled traffic traces, which is a hard inverse problem. Different from previous methods, the fractal interpolation is used to reconstruct the finer-granularity network traffic. Then, the cubic spline interpolation method is used to obtain the smooth reconstruction values. To attain an accurate the end-to-end network traffic in fine time granularity, we perform a weighted-geometric-average process for two interpolation results that are obtained. The simulation results show that our approaches are feasible and effective.

Fine-granularity inference and estimations to network traffic for SDN.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Dingde; Huo, Liuwei; Li, Ya

2018-01-01

An end-to-end network traffic matrix is significantly helpful for network management and for Software Defined Networks (SDN). However, the end-to-end network traffic matrix's inferences and estimations are a challenging problem. Moreover, attaining the traffic matrix in high-speed networks for SDN is a prohibitive challenge. This paper investigates how to estimate and recover the end-to-end network traffic matrix in fine time granularity from the sampled traffic traces, which is a hard inverse problem. Different from previous methods, the fractal interpolation is used to reconstruct the finer-granularity network traffic. Then, the cubic spline interpolation method is used to obtain the smooth reconstruction values. To attain an accurate the end-to-end network traffic in fine time granularity, we perform a weighted-geometric-average process for two interpolation results that are obtained. The simulation results show that our approaches are feasible and effective.

Residential exposure to traffic-related air pollution and survival after heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Medina-Ramón, Mercedes; Goldberg, Robert; Melly, Steven; Mittleman, Murray A; Schwartz, Joel

2008-04-01

Although patients with heart failure (HF) have been identified as particularly susceptible to the acute effects of air pollution, the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution on patients with this increasingly prevalent disease are largely unknown. This study was designed to examine the mortality risk associated with residential exposure to traffic-related air pollution among HF patients. A total of 1,389 patients hospitalized with acute HF in greater Worcester, Massachusetts, during 2000 were followed for survival through December 2005. We used daily traffic within 100 and 300 m of residence as well as the distance from residence to major roadways and to bus routes as proxies for residential exposure to traffic-related air pollution. We assessed mortality risks for each exposure variable using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for prognostic factors. After the 5-year follow-up, only 334 (24%) subjects were still alive. An interquartile range increase in daily traffic within 100 m of home was associated with a mortality hazard ratio (HR) of 1.15 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05-1.25], whereas for traffic within 300 m this association was 1.09 (95% CI, 1.01-1.19). The mortality risk decreased with increasing distance to bus routes (HR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.81-0.96) and was larger for those living within 100 m of a major roadway or 50 m of a bus route (HR = 1.30; 95% CI, 1.13-1.49). Adjustment for area-based income and educational level slightly attenuated these associations. Residential exposure to traffic-related air pollution increases the mortality risk after hospitalization with acute HF. Reducing exposure to traffic-related emissions may improve the long-term prognosis of HF patients.

Dynamic assessment of bridge deck performance considering realistic bridge-traffic interaction

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

Concrete bridge decks are directly exposed to daily traffic loads and may experience some surface cracking caused by excessive stress or fatigue accumulation, which requires repair or replacement. Among typical bridges in North America, bridge decks ...

Traffic Flow Condition Classification for Short Sections Using Single Microwave Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Memiş Kemal

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Daily observed traffic flow can show different characteristics varying with the times of the day. They are caused by traffic incidents such as accidents, disabled cars, construction activities and other unusual events. Three different major traffic conditions can be occurred: "Flow," "Dense" and "Congested". Objective of this research is to identify the current traffic condition by examining the traffic measurement parameters. The earlier researches have dealt only with speed and volume by ignoring occupancy. In our study, the occupancy is another important parameter of classification. The previous works have used multiple sensors to classify traffic condition whereas our work uses only single microwave sensor. We have extended Multiple Linear Regression classification with our new approach of Estimating with Error Prediction. We present novel algorithms of Multiclassification with One-Against-All Method and Multiclassification with Binary Comparison for multiple SVM architecture. Finaly, a non-linear model of backpropagation neural network is introduced for classification. This combination has not been reported on previous studies. Training data are obtained from the Corsim based microscopic traffic simulator TSIS 5.1. All performances are compared using this data set. Our methods are currently installed and running at traffic management center of 2.Ring Road in Istanbul.

Development of active traffic management strategies for Minnesota freeway corridors : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

In this study, the effectiveness of the I-35W variable advisory speed limit system on the improvement of the traffic : flow was evaluated with the real traffic data. The analysis results indicate there was significant reduction in the : average maxim...

Road traffic impact on urban water quality: a step towards integrated traffic, air and stormwater modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Fallah Shorshani, Masoud; Bonhomme, Céline; Petrucci, Guido; André, Michel; Seigneur, Christian

2014-04-01

Methods for simulating air pollution due to road traffic and the associated effects on stormwater runoff quality in an urban environment are examined with particular emphasis on the integration of the various simulation models into a consistent modelling chain. To that end, the models for traffic, pollutant emissions, atmospheric dispersion and deposition, and stormwater contamination are reviewed. The present study focuses on the implementation of a modelling chain for an actual urban case study, which is the contamination of water runoff by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in the Grigny urban catchment near Paris, France. First, traffic emissions are calculated with traffic inputs using the COPERT4 methodology. Next, the atmospheric dispersion of pollutants is simulated with the Polyphemus line source model and pollutant deposition fluxes in different subcatchment areas are calculated. Finally, the SWMM water quantity and quality model is used to estimate the concentrations of pollutants in stormwater runoff. The simulation results are compared to mass flow rates and concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn measured at the catchment outlet. The contribution of local traffic to stormwater contamination is estimated to be significant for Pb and, to a lesser extent, for Zn and Cd; however, Pb is most likely overestimated due to outdated emissions factors. The results demonstrate the importance of treating distributed traffic emissions from major roadways explicitly since the impact of these sources on concentrations in the catchment outlet is underestimated when those traffic emissions are spatially averaged over the catchment area.

Influence of mobile phone traffic on base station exposure of the general public.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Wout; Verloock, Leen

2010-11-01

The influence of mobile phone traffic on temporal radiofrequency exposure due to base stations during 7 d is compared for five different sites with Erlang data (representing average mobile phone traffic intensity during a period of time). The time periods of high exposure and high traffic during a day are compared and good agreement is obtained. The minimal required measurement periods to obtain accurate estimates for maximal and average long-period exposure (7 d) are determined. It is shown that these periods may be very long, indicating the necessity of new methodologies to estimate maximal and average exposure from short-period measurement data. Therefore, a new method to calculate the fields at a time instant from fields at another time instant using normalized Erlang values is proposed. This enables the estimation of maximal and average exposure during a week from short-period measurements using only Erlang data and avoids the necessity of long measurement times.

Long-term traffic air and noise pollution in relation to mortality and hospital readmission among myocardial infarction survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonne, Cathryn; Halonen, Jaana I; Beevers, Sean D; Dajnak, David; Gulliver, John; Kelly, Frank J; Wilkinson, Paul; Anderson, H Ross

2016-01-01

There is relatively little evidence of health effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related pollution in susceptible populations. We investigated whether long-term exposure to traffic air and noise pollution was associated with all-cause mortality or hospital readmission for myocardial infarction (MI) among survivors of hospital admission for MI. Patients from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project database resident in Greater London (n = 1 8,138) were followed for death or readmission for MI. High spatially-resolved annual average air pollution (11 metrics of primary traffic, regional or urban background) derived from a dispersion model (resolution 20 m × 20 m) and road traffic noise for the years 2003-2010 were used to assign exposure at residence. Hazard ratios (HR, 95% confidence interval (CI)) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Most air pollutants were positively associated with all-cause mortality alone and in combination with hospital readmission. The largest associations with mortality per interquartile range (IQR) increase of pollutant were observed for non-exhaust particulate matter (PM(10)) (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), IQR = 1.1 μg/m(3)); oxidant gases (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.09), IQR = 3.2 μg/m(3)); and the coarse fraction of PM (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), IQR = 0.9 μg/m(3)). Adjustment for traffic noise only slightly attenuated these associations. The association for a 5 dB increase in road-traffic noise with mortality was HR = 1.02 (95% CI 0.99, 1.06) independent of air pollution. These data support a relationship of primary traffic and regional/urban background air pollution with poor prognosis among MI survivors. Although imprecise, traffic noise appeared to have a modest association with prognosis independent of air pollution. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Admissions and costs to acute hospitals resulting from road traffic crashes, 2005-2009.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Sheridan, A

2012-03-01

Road traffic crashes (RTCs) remain a leading cause of death and injury. The aim of this study was to explore the use of hospital data as a source of RTC-related injury data in Ireland, as current systems are believed to under-estimate the burden. Information on inpatient discharges for years 2005-2009, admitted with RTC-related injuries were extracted from HIPE. There were 14,861 discharges; 9,661 (65.0%) were male, with an average age of 33 years. The median length of stay was two days. The most common diagnosis was head injury (n = 4,644; 31.2%). The average inpatient hospital cost was Euro 6,395 per discharge. 1,498 (10.1%) were admitted to intensive care units. This study has identified 3.5 times more serious injuries (14,861) than identified in the Road Safety Authority (RSA) statistics (4,263) indicating that the extent of road injuries is greater than previously estimated. Hospital data could be used annually in conjunction with RSA and other data; ideally the data should be linked.

An optimal general type-2 fuzzy controller for Urban Traffic Network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khooban, Mohammad Hassan; Vafamand, Navid; Liaghat, Alireza

2017-01-01

Urban traffic network model is illustrated by state-charts and object-diagram. However, they have limitations to show the behavioral perspective of the Traffic Information flow. Consequently, a state space model is used to calculate the half-value waiting time of vehicles. In this study......, a combination of the general type-2 fuzzy logic sets and the Modified Backtracking Search Algorithm (MBSA) techniques are used in order to control the traffic signal scheduling and phase succession so as to guarantee a smooth flow of traffic with the least wait times and average queue length. The parameters...

Expertise differences in air traffic control: An eye-tracking study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Meeuwen, Ludo; Jarodzka, Halszka; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Kirschner, Paul A.; De Bock, Jeano; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen

2012-01-01

Van Meeuwen, L. W., Jarodzka, H., Brand-Gruwel, S., Kirschner, P. A., De Bock, J. J. P. R., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2012, April). Expertise differences in air traffic control: An eye-tracking study. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting 2012, Vancouver,

Relationship between Black Carbon and heavy traffic in São Paulo, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, R. M.; Perez-Martinez, P.; Ribeiro, F. N. D.; Andrade, M. D. F.

2015-12-01

Carbonaceous aerosols play an important role in air quality, human health and global climate change. Black Carbon (BC) can be considered the most efficient light absorber in the visible spectrum and is mainly found in the fine fraction of aerosol. Typically is emitted by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels related to traffic, industrial processes and biomass burning. São Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA) with more than 19 million inhabitants, 7 million vehicles, as well as the major industrial and technological park of the country, has high concentrations of air pollutants, especially in the winter and vehicles are considered the principal source of particles emitted to the atmosphere. Since November 2014, Black Carbon and PM2.5 are being monitored using a MAAP (Multi Angle Absorption Photometer) Thermo 5012 and a Dust Trak DRX-8533 TSI in the East Campus of University of São Paulo, close to important highways and also to the largest airport of Brazil (Guarulhos Airport). Average BC concentration was 1.7 μg/m3 with some peaks above 17.0 μg/m3 and for PM2.5 average was 10.2 μg/m3. Particle concentrations reached values greater than the air quality standard (60 μg/m3) in the winter months. Winds coming from the East direction predominate. Traffic restrictions to heavy duty vehicles in the road-rings next to the sampling site during some hours of the day are the responsible for the daily BC and PM2.5 behavior (figure below), where high concentrations occur early in the morning and late at night, when heavy diesel vehicles are released for transit. Seasonal variations are different for BC and PM2.5 due to local sources of BC and meteorological conditions that have more influence on the particles. The weekly variation indicates that concentrations are lower on Sundays and higher from Tuesday to Thursday. Emission factors for BC were calculated based on traffic information.

Gender, Emotion Work, and Relationship Quality: A Daily Diary Study

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, Melissa A.; McDaniel, Brandon T.; Pollitt, Amanda M.; Totenhagen, Casey J.

2015-01-01

We use the gender relations perspective from feminist theorizing to investigate how gender and daily emotion work predict daily relationship quality in 74 couples (148 individuals in dating, cohabiting, or married relationships) primarily from the southwest U.S. Emotion work is characterized by activities that enhance others’ emotional well-being. We examined emotion work two ways: trait (individuals’ average levels) and state (individuals’ daily fluctuations). We examined actor and partner effects of emotion work and tested for gender differences. As outcome variables, we included six types of daily relationship quality: love, commitment, satisfaction, closeness, ambivalence, and conflict. This approach allowed us to predict three aspects of relationship quality: average levels, daily fluctuations, and volatility (overall daily variability across a week). Three patterns emerged. First, emotion work predicted relationship quality in this diverse set of couples. Second, gender differences were minimal for fixed effects: Trait and state emotion work predicted higher average scores on, and positive daily increases in, individuals’ own positive relationship quality and lower average ambivalence. Third, gender differences were more robust for volatility: For partner effects, having a partner who reported higher average emotion work predicted lower volatility in love, satisfaction, and closeness for women versus greater volatility in love and commitment for men. Neither gender nor emotion work predicted average levels, daily fluctuations, or volatility in conflict. We discuss implications and future directions pertaining to the unique role of gender in understanding the associations between daily emotion work and volatility in daily relationship quality for relational partners. PMID:26508808

CpG traffic lights are markers of regulatory regions in humans

KAUST Repository

Khamis, Abdullah M.; Lioznova, Anna V.; Artemov, Artem V.; Ramensky, Vasily; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Medvedeva, Yulia A.

2016-01-01

DNA methylation is involved in regulation of gene expression. Although modern methods profile DNA methylation at single CpG sites, methylation levels are usually averaged over genomic regions in the downstream analyses. In this study we demonstrate that single CpG methylation can serve as a more accurate predictor of gene expression compared to average promoter / gene body methylation. CpG positions with significant correlation between methylation and expression of a gene nearby (named CpG traffic lights) are evolutionary conserved and enriched for exact TSS positions and active enhancers. Among all promoter types, CpG traffic lights are especially enriched in poised promoters. Genes that harbor CpG traffic lights are associated with development and signal transduction. Methylation levels of individual CpG traffic lights vary between cell types dramatically with the increased frequency of intermediate methylation levels, indicating cell population heterogeneity in CpG methylation levels. Being in line with the concept of the inherited stochastic epigenetic variation, methylation of such CpG positions might contribute to transcriptional regulation. Alternatively, one can hypothesize that traffic lights are markers of absent gene expression resulting from inactivation of their regulatory elements. The CpG traffic lights provide a promising insight into mechanisms of enhancer activity and gene regulation linking methylation of single CpG to expression.

CpG traffic lights are markers of regulatory regions in humans

KAUST Repository

Khamis, Abdullah M.

2016-12-29

DNA methylation is involved in regulation of gene expression. Although modern methods profile DNA methylation at single CpG sites, methylation levels are usually averaged over genomic regions in the downstream analyses. In this study we demonstrate that single CpG methylation can serve as a more accurate predictor of gene expression compared to average promoter / gene body methylation. CpG positions with significant correlation between methylation and expression of a gene nearby (named CpG traffic lights) are evolutionary conserved and enriched for exact TSS positions and active enhancers. Among all promoter types, CpG traffic lights are especially enriched in poised promoters. Genes that harbor CpG traffic lights are associated with development and signal transduction. Methylation levels of individual CpG traffic lights vary between cell types dramatically with the increased frequency of intermediate methylation levels, indicating cell population heterogeneity in CpG methylation levels. Being in line with the concept of the inherited stochastic epigenetic variation, methylation of such CpG positions might contribute to transcriptional regulation. Alternatively, one can hypothesize that traffic lights are markers of absent gene expression resulting from inactivation of their regulatory elements. The CpG traffic lights provide a promising insight into mechanisms of enhancer activity and gene regulation linking methylation of single CpG to expression.

Systematic investigation of gridding-related scaling effects on annual statistics of daily temperature and precipitation maxima: A case study for south-east Australia

OpenAIRE

Francia B. Avila; Siyan Dong; Kaah P. Menang; Jan Rajczak; Madeleine Renom; Markus G. Donat; Lisa V. Alexander

2015-01-01

Using daily station observations over the period 1951–2013 in a region of south-east Australia, we systematically compare how the horizontal resolution, interpolation method and order of operation in generating gridded data sets affect estimates of annual extreme indices of temperature and precipitation maxima (hottest and wettest days). Three interpolation methods (natural neighbors, cubic spline and angular distance weighting) are used to calculate grids at five different horizontal gridded...

Daily dynamics of personal identity and self-concept clarity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schwartz, S.J.; Klimstra, T.A.; Luyckx, K.; Hale, W.W.; Frijns, T.; Oosterwegel, A.; van Lier, P.A.C.; Koot, H.M.; Meeus, W.H.J.

2011-01-01

We examined the daily dynamics among self-concept clarity and identity processes, and their effects on distress, among a sample of 580 Dutch adolescents. Participants completed measures of identity, self-concept clarity, anxiety and depression at annual intervals; and daily single-item measures of

A Comparison of Traffic Operations among Beijing and Several International Megacities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuanzhou Yang

2011-12-01

Full Text Available High-Efficient traffic system is very important for economy and society of cities. Previous studies on the traffic comparison mostly took a city as a whole, but ignored the differences among areas inside the city. But in fact, the traffic congestion in different areas with a city is mostly different. Taking typical mega cities like Beijing, London, New York, and Tokyo as objects, this paper makes cross-comparison in the traffic operation and performance based on intelligent algorithm. Transportation infrastructure and travel demand data are discussed and unbalanced transport system is found in Beijing because of the conflict between too much traffic demand and defect road networks. From the aspects of traffic load, operational efficiency and safety, indexes including traffic v/c ratio, average vehicle speed and accident rate are selected to assess the performance of road traffic. It is concluded that road networks of Beijing have the worst performance compared with other three mega-cities and the primary reasons are the inappropriate distribution of utilization rate among the freeways, arterials, and local streets, and the high traffic concentration in urban area. So, several measures are recommended to improve the operation efficiency of traffic in Beijing especially for the green intelligent traffic system. Keywords: Traffic operation; Operational efficiency; Intelligent traffic system (ITS; Traffic load; traffic safety; Intelligent algorithm.

High blood pressure and long-term exposure to indoor noise and air pollution from road traffic.

Science.gov (United States)

Foraster, Maria; Künzli, Nino; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Rivera, Marcela; Agis, David; Vila, Joan; Bouso, Laura; Deltell, Alexandre; Marrugat, Jaume; Ramos, Rafel; Sunyer, Jordi; Elosua, Roberto; Basagaña, Xavier

2014-11-01

Traffic noise has been associated with prevalence of hypertension, but reports are inconsistent for blood pressure (BP). To ascertain noise effects and to disentangle them from those suspected to be from traffic-related air pollution, it may be essential to estimate people's noise exposure indoors in bedrooms. We analyzed associations between long-term exposure to indoor traffic noise in bedrooms and prevalent hypertension and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP, considering long-term exposure to outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2). We evaluated 1,926 cohort participants at baseline (years 2003-2006; Girona, Spain). Outdoor annual average levels of nighttime traffic noise (Lnight) and NO2 were estimated at postal addresses with a detailed traffic noise model and a land-use regression model, respectively. Individual indoor traffic Lnight levels were derived from outdoor Lnight with application of insulations provided by reported noise-reducing factors. We assessed associations for hypertension and BP with multi-exposure logistic and linear regression models, respectively. Median levels were 27.1 dB(A) (indoor Lnight), 56.7 dB(A) (outdoor Lnight), and 26.8 μg/m3 (NO2). Spearman correlations between outdoor and indoor Lnight with NO2 were 0.75 and 0.23, respectively. Indoor Lnight was associated both with hypertension (OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.13) and SBP (β = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.29, 1.15) per 5 dB(A); and NO2 was associated with hypertension (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.36), SBP (β = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.21, 2.25), and DBP (β⊇= 0.56; 95% CI: -0.03, 1.14) per 10 μg/m3. In the outdoor noise model, Lnight was associated only with hypertension and NO2 with BP only. The indoor noise-SBP association was stronger and statistically significant with a threshold at 30 dB(A). Long-term exposure to indoor traffic noise was associated with prevalent hypertension and SBP, independently of NO2. Associations were less consistent for outdoor traffic Lnight and likely affected by

An epidemiological study of road traffic accident cases admitted in a tertiary care hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, S M; Jindal, A K; Verma, A K; Mahen, A

2014-01-01

Road traffic accidents are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally. In India, more than a million are injured annually and about a lakh are killed in road traffic accidents.(1) It causes the country to lose around 55,000 crores annually which is 2-3% of Gross Domestic Production (GDP).(2) This cross sectional study was conducted to elucidate the role of various factors involved in road traffic accidents. Road traffic accident cases admitted to a tertiary care hospital between 01 Oct 2009 and 28 Feb 2011 were included in the study. A total of 182 patients were studied. Information was collected through questionnaire, hospital records and on-site visit. OPD cases, comatose patients and deaths were excluded. Two-wheelers were the commonest vehicle involved in vehicular accidents. Most accidents happened at a speed of 40-60 km/h (37.9%). Most of the patients were aged between 20 and 30 years. Majority had a driving experience of less than 5 years. Monsoons witnessed 46.7% cases. Most cases occurred between 6 and 10 pm. Among severe injuries, the commonest was lower limb fractures (19.8%). There are multiple factors associated with road traffic accidents which due to the lack of road safety measures in the country are playing their role. It is the need of the hour to address this issue and formulate comprehensive, scientific and practical rules and regulations as well as evaluate its enforcement.

Evaluating the Impact of Criminalizing Drunk Driving on Road-Traffic Injuries in Guangzhou, China: A Time-Series Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ang; Chen, Renjie; Qi, Yongqing; Chen, Ailan; Chen, Xinyu; Liang, Zijing; Ye, Jianjun; Liang, Qing; Guo, Duanqiang; Li, Wanglin; Li, Shuangming; Kan, Haidong

2016-08-05

Road-traffic injury (RTI) is a major public-health concern worldwide. However, the effectiveness of laws criminalizing drunk driving on the improvement of road safety in China is not known. We collected daily aggregate data on RTIs from the Guangzhou First-Aid Service Command Center from 2009 to 2012. We performed an interrupted time-series analysis to evaluate the change in daily RTIs before (January 1, 2009, to April 30, 2011) and after (May 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012) the criminalization of drunk driving. We evaluated the impact of the intervention on RTIs using the overdispersed generalized additive model after adjusting for temporal trends, seasonality, day of the week, and holidays. Daytime/Nighttime RTIs, alcoholism, and non-traffic injuries were analyzed as comparison groups using the same model. From January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012, we identified a total of 54 887 RTIs. The standardized daily number of RTIs was almost stable in the pre-intervention period but decreased gradually in the post-intervention period. After the intervention, the standardized daily RTIs decreased 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.5%-12.8%). There were similar decreases for the daily daytime and nighttime RTIs. In contrast, the standardized daily cases of alcoholism increased 38.8% (95% CI, 35.1%-42.4%), and daily non-traffic injuries increased 3.6% (95% CI, 1.4%-5.8%). This time-series study provides scientific evidence suggesting that the criminalization of drunk driving from May 1, 2011, may have led to moderate reductions in RTIs in Guangzhou, China.

Mortality from road traffic accidents in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city: A 20-year analysis in Shenzhen, 1994-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Shao-Hua; Wu, Yong-Sheng; Liu, Xiao-Jian; Fu, Ying-Bin; Li, Shan-Shan; Ma, Han-Wu; Zou, Fei; Cheng, Jin-Quan

2016-01-01

This study aimed to describe the trends of motorization and mortality rates from road traffic accidents and examine their associations in a rapidly urbanizing city in China, Shenzhen. Using data from the Shenzhen Deaths Registry between 1994 and 2013, we calculated the annual mortality rates of road traffic accidents, in addition to the age- and sex-specific mortality rates and their annual percentage changes (APCs) for the period of 2000-2013. We also examined the associations between mortality rate of road traffic accidents and traffic growth with Spearman's rank correlation analysis and a log-linear model derived from Smeed's law. A total of 20,196 deaths due to road traffic accidents, including 14,391 (71.3%) male deaths and 5,805 (28.7%) female deaths, were recorded in Shenzhen from 1994 to 2013. The annual mortality rates in terms of deaths per population and deaths per vehicle changed in similar patterns, demonstrating an increase since 1994 and peaking in 1997, followed by a steady decrease thereafter. The decrease in mortality was faster in individuals aged 20 year or older compared to those younger than 20 years. The mortality rates in term of deaths per population were positively correlated with the total number of vehicles per kilometer of road but negatively correlated with the motorization rate in term of vehicles per population. The estimated model for deaths due to road traffic accidents in relation to the total population and the number of registered vehicles was ln (deaths/10,000 vehicles) = -1.902 × ln (vehicles/population) - 1.961. The coefficient was statistically significant (P traffic accidents in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city based observations in the 20-year period from 1994 to 2013. The decreased mortality rate may be explained by the expansion of road network construction, improved road safety regulations and management, as well as more accessible ambulance services in recent years. Nevertheless, road traffic accidents remain a

Reducing OR Traffic Using Education, Policy Development, and Communication Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Esser, Jennifer; Shrinski, Keonemana; Cady, Rhonda; Belew, John

2016-01-01

A bundled approach to surgical site infection (SSI) prevention strategies includes reducing OR traffic. A nurse-led quality improvement (QI) team sought to reduce OR traffic through education and a process change that included wireless communication technology and policy development. The team measured OR traffic by counting the frequency of door openings per hour in seven surgical suites during 305 surgical procedures conducted during similar 22-week periods before and after the QI project intervention. Door openings decreased significantly (P < 0.05) from an average of 37.8 per hour to 32.8 per hour after the QI project intervention. This suggests that our multifaceted approach reduces OR traffic. The next steps of this project include analyzing automatically captured video to understand OR traffic patterns and expanding education to departments and external personnel frequently present in our surgical suites. Future research evaluating the effectiveness of this OR traffic initiative on SSI incidence is recommended. Copyright © 2016 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MN Temperature Average (1961-1990) - Line

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This data set depicts 30-year averages (1961-1990) of monthly and annual temperatures for Minnesota. Isolines and regions were created using kriging and...

MN Temperature Average (1961-1990) - Polygon

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This data set depicts 30-year averages (1961-1990) of monthly and annual temperatures for Minnesota. Isolines and regions were created using kriging and...

Research on Congestion Pricing in Multimode Traffic considering Delay and Emission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongna Dai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Rapid development of urbanization and automation has resulted in serious urban traffic congestion and air pollution problems in many Chinese cities recently. As a traffic demand management strategy, congestion pricing is acknowledged to be effective in alleviating the traffic congestion and improving the efficiency of traffic system. This paper proposes an urban traffic congestion pricing model based on the consideration of transportation network efficiency and environment effects. First, the congestion pricing problem under multimode (i.e., car mode and bus mode urban traffic network condition is investigated. Second, a traffic congestion pricing model based on bilevel programming is formulated for a dual-mode urban transportation network, in which the delay and emission of vehicles are considered. Third, an improved mathematical algorithm combining successive average method with the genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the bilevel programming problem. Finally, a numerical experiment based on a hypothetical network is performed to validate the proposed congestion pricing model and algorithm.

[Risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers].

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, M J; Chen, Y; Li, Y; Hu, J; Zhang, X J

2017-08-20

Objective: To examine the risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers. Methods: A total of 103 drivers (who had suffered agricultural vehicle road traffic injury within the past year based on the road traffic injury registrar from the Traffic Management Bureau) who were involved in the annual agricultural vehicle inspection from December 2014 to January 2015 were randomly sampled from the Yixing Agricultural Vehicle Station as the case group for this study. Based on a 1∶2 assignment ratio and matched for sex, age, and education, a total of 206 drivers who had not suffered any agricultural vehicle road traffic injury within the past year were selected as the control group. The general information, vehicle information, driving information, driving behavior, and accident details of the agricultural vehicle drivers were analyzed. Results: The incidence rate of road traffic injury was 7.24% given the 103 agricultural vehicle drivers who had suffered agricultural vehicle road traffic injury in the past year. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that drinking, debt, pressure, history of car accident, history of drunk driving, smoking and phone use during driving, fatigue driving, and driving with illness were the risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers ( OR =2.332, 2.429, 19.778, 5.589, 8.517, 2.125, 3.203, 10.249 and 5.639, respectively) . Multivariate logistic regression analysis also demonstrated that pressure, history of car accident, history of drunk driving, fatigue driving, and driving with illness were the risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers ( OR =12.139, 11.184, 6.729, 5.939, and 6.544, respectively) . Conclusion: Pressure, history of car accident, history of drunk driving, fatigue driving, and driving with illness are the major risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers.

Integrated Control of Mixed Traffic Networks using Model Predictive Control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van den Berg, M.

2010-01-01

Motivation The growth of our road infrastructure cannot keep up with the growing mobility of people, and the corresponding increase in traffic demand. This results in daily congestion on the freeways. It is an illusion that the problem of congestion can be solved completely within a few years, but

Public Health Profile of Road Traffic Accidents in Kosovo 2010-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadani, Naser; Zhjeqi, Valbona; Berisha, Merita; Hoxha, Rina; Begolli, Ilir; Salihu, Drita; Krasniqi, Pranvera

2017-12-15

To determine the characteristics of the Socio-medical profile of road traffic accidents in Kosovo, between 2010 and 2015 year. Retrospective study. A descriptive method based on the database of road traffic accidents from the National Police of Kosovo. In Kosovo for the period 2010-2015, on average, the yearly number of road traffic accidents is 18437 with mortality rate 7.4 per 100000 and lethality of 1.5%. The highest number of fatal cases are drivers and above 19 years old with more than 80%. Among injured significantly highest percentage is among passengers for all years and above 19 years old. Road traffic accident with a vehicle occurs most frequently, with approximately over 70%, mostly on dry road 72.9% and clear weather 71.1%. The driver is the contributing factors of road traffic accidents on average 99.3% whereas climatic conditions only 0.5%, with over 50% of crashes occurring in urban road 56.2%, mostly during Monday 16.0% and in the afternoon rush hours between 14.00-18.00 with 31.0%. There is a slight decrease in the mortality rate of 0.1‰ and lethality rate of 0.1% each year, whereas there is an increase of 21.5‰ for traumatism rate for each year.

Depression Among Non-Daily Smokers Compared to Daily Smokers and Never-Smokers in the United States: An Emerging Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberger, Andrea H; Gbedemah, Misato; Wall, Melanie M; Hasin, Deborah S; Zvolensky, Michael J; Chaiton, Michael; Goodwin, Renee D

2017-09-01

Depression is strongly associated with daily smoking. Yet, little is known about the association between depression and non-daily smoking. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of past-year depression and changes in past-year depression over time among non-daily smokers, compared to daily smokers and never-smokers, overall and stratified by age, gender, income, nicotine dependence, and cigarettes per day. Data were drawn from the National Household Survey on Drug Use (NSDUH), an annual cross-sectional study of persons aged 12 and over (total study population N = 496 805). The prevalence of past-year depression was examined annually among non-daily smokers, daily smokers, and never-smokers from 2005 to 2013 using linear trend analyses. Past-year depression was common among 10.10% of non-daily smokers, common among 10.78% of daily smokers, and 5.51% of never-smokers in 2013. The prevalence of depression increased from 2005 to 2013 among non-daily smokers (9.06% vs. 10.10%; p = .034) while there was no significant change in depression over time among daily smokers. Increases in depression among non-daily smokers occurred for both men and women and appear most pronounced youth, those smoking fewer cigarettes, and those without nicotine dependence. The prevalence of depression among non-daily smokers was equivalent to daily smokers and nearly twice that among nonsmokers. Depression appears to be increasing over time in non-daily smokers especially among youth, those who smoke less, and those without nicotine dependence. More work on the mental health of non-daily smokers is needed as this is an increasing and understudied group. This is the first study to investigate changes in the prevalence of depression among non-daily smokers compared to daily smokers and never-smokers over the past decade in a nationally representative sample of the United States. The results suggest an increase in depression among non-daily smokers over time that did not

Study of nominal daily output of urine from workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Marina F.; Carneiro, Janete C.G. Gaburo; Todo, Alberto S.

2007-01-01

A retrospective study of the 24-hour urine volumes from workers selected for the internal individual monitoring compares the average volume collected by sample and the average volume per individual with the nominal daily output of urine from 'Reference Man'. This work considers 134 registers of urine samples from 18 male workers, with semester routine sampling, between the years of 2000 and 2005. For this group, the average volume per collection was (971±371)mL and (962±376)mL per individual. In a cohort group of 9 male workers, which supplied at least 10 samples in this period, it was observed that the average volume per collection decreased to (955±308)mL and the average volume per individual increased to (1027±400)mL. For the female group, composed by 11 individuals, the 29 urine samples supplied between 1999 and 2005 were considered. The average volume per sampling and for worker was, respectively, (1122±337)mL and (1105±337)mL. Another cohort group of only 4 female workers with at least one annual collection during five years, of the seven years considered, the values decreased to (1112±336)mL per collection and the average volume per individual was maintained. The major variability of the volume among all the individuals was 927%, and for the same individual was 562%. This difference can be indicative of the individual differences of retention and excretion, alimentary diet interferences and for lack of awareness by the individual to collect urine during a period of 24-hour. The radionuclides clearance does not occur in constant rates and for the purpose of assessing intakes, in our routine analysis, the total volume of urine from worker is corrected for 1,4 L. Based in the results obtained over the years, and to minimize the errors of the nominal daily excretion rate in urine, actions about the aware of the individual in carrying out an accurately sampling and/or the implementation of the measurements of creatinine levels in urine are suggested

The willingness to pay of parties to traffic accidents for loss of productivity and consolation compensation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jou, Rong-Chang; Chen, Tzu-Ying

2015-12-01

In this study, willingness to pay (WTP) for loss of productivity and consolation compensation by parties to traffic accidents is investigated using the Tobit model. In addition, WTP is compared to compensation determined by Taiwanese courts. The modelling results showed that variables such as education, average individual monthly income, traffic accident history, past experience of severe traffic accident injuries, the number of working days lost due to a traffic accident, past experience of accepting compensation for traffic accident-caused productivity loss and past experience of accepting consolation compensation caused by traffic accidents have a positive impact on WTP. In addition, average WTP for these two accident costs were obtained. We found that parties to traffic accidents were willing to pay more than 90% of the compensation determined by the court in the scenario of minor and moderate injuries. Parties were willing to pay approximately 80% of the compensation determined by the court for severe injuries, disability and fatality. Therefore, related agencies can use our study findings as the basis for determining the compensation that parties should pay for productivity losses caused by traffic accidents of different types. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A population-based, incidence cohort study of mid-back pain after traffic collisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, M S; Boyle, E; Hartvigsen, Jan

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Traffic collisions often result in a wide range of symptoms included in the umbrella term whiplash-associated disorders. Mid-back pain (MBP) is one of these symptoms. The incidence and prognosis of different traffic injuries and their related conditions (e.g. neck pain, low back pain...... data from a population-based inception cohort of all traffic injuries occurring in Saskatchewan, Canada, during a 2-year period were used. Annual overall and age-sex-specific incidence rates were calculated, the course of recovery was described using the Kaplan-Meier technique, and associations between...... recovery was 101 days (95% CI: 99-104) and about 23% were still not recovered after 1 year. Participant's expectation for recovery, general health, extent of severely affecting comorbidities and having experienced a previous traffic injury were some of the prognostic factors identified. CONCLUSIONS...

Analysis and prediction of daily physical activity level data using autoregressive integrated moving average models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Long, Xi; Pauws, S.C.; Pijl, M.; Lacroix, J.; Goris, A.H.C.; Aarts, R.M.

2009-01-01

Results are provided on predicting daily physical activity level (PAL) data from past data of participants of a physical activity lifestyle program aimed at promoting a healthier lifestyle consisting of more physical exercise. The PAL data quantifies the level of a person’s daily physical activity

A Sarsa(λ)-based control model for real-time traffic light coordination.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xiaoke; Zhu, Fei; Liu, Quan; Fu, Yuchen; Huang, Wei

2014-01-01

Traffic problems often occur due to the traffic demands by the outnumbered vehicles on road. Maximizing traffic flow and minimizing the average waiting time are the goals of intelligent traffic control. Each junction wants to get larger traffic flow. During the course, junctions form a policy of coordination as well as constraints for adjacent junctions to maximize their own interests. A good traffic signal timing policy is helpful to solve the problem. However, as there are so many factors that can affect the traffic control model, it is difficult to find the optimal solution. The disability of traffic light controllers to learn from past experiences caused them to be unable to adaptively fit dynamic changes of traffic flow. Considering dynamic characteristics of the actual traffic environment, reinforcement learning algorithm based traffic control approach can be applied to get optimal scheduling policy. The proposed Sarsa(λ)-based real-time traffic control optimization model can maintain the traffic signal timing policy more effectively. The Sarsa(λ)-based model gains traffic cost of the vehicle, which considers delay time, the number of waiting vehicles, and the integrated saturation from its experiences to learn and determine the optimal actions. The experiment results show an inspiring improvement in traffic control, indicating the proposed model is capable of facilitating real-time dynamic traffic control.

A Sarsa(λ-Based Control Model for Real-Time Traffic Light Coordination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoke Zhou

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Traffic problems often occur due to the traffic demands by the outnumbered vehicles on road. Maximizing traffic flow and minimizing the average waiting time are the goals of intelligent traffic control. Each junction wants to get larger traffic flow. During the course, junctions form a policy of coordination as well as constraints for adjacent junctions to maximize their own interests. A good traffic signal timing policy is helpful to solve the problem. However, as there are so many factors that can affect the traffic control model, it is difficult to find the optimal solution. The disability of traffic light controllers to learn from past experiences caused them to be unable to adaptively fit dynamic changes of traffic flow. Considering dynamic characteristics of the actual traffic environment, reinforcement learning algorithm based traffic control approach can be applied to get optimal scheduling policy. The proposed Sarsa(λ-based real-time traffic control optimization model can maintain the traffic signal timing policy more effectively. The Sarsa(λ-based model gains traffic cost of the vehicle, which considers delay time, the number of waiting vehicles, and the integrated saturation from its experiences to learn and determine the optimal actions. The experiment results show an inspiring improvement in traffic control, indicating the proposed model is capable of facilitating real-time dynamic traffic control.

RESEARCH ON WEIGHT EVOLUTION AND DAILY AVERAGE INCREASE TO FOUR DIFFERENT GROUPS OF LITTLE CROSSBREED BULLS EXPOSED TO INTENSIVE FATTENING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.R. MOLDOVAN

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Research aimed to highlight the weight differences and daily growth average of four groups of little crossbreed bulls raised in the same environmental conditions and having the same feeding diet. Farm in which they do research is TCE 3 abis SRL Piatra Neamt, located in Zanesti village at 14 km from the city of Piatra Neamt. Location of the farm is on the old IAS Zanesti and is endowed eight shelters from which two are still functional. Shelters are divided into collective lumber rooms, on which are housed an optimal number of calves depending on their age, number varied from 25 calves at 0 - 3 months up to 6 heads during growing and finishing period when they reach weights of 600-700 kg. Farm population is obtained with calves from reformed cows from milk farm belonging to the same company. Forage base is provided from the company's vegetable farm, farm exploits about 14,000 ha of arable land in Neamt County. Feeding (in three phases is made with the technological trailer once-daily in morning and drinking is made at discretion at constant.

Air pollution emission inventory along a major traffic route within ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Increasing road congestion and high traffic volume is often times an indicator of atmospheric air pollution. Ibadan, being the largest metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria, experiences steady influx of vehicular movement on daily bases. The situation is made worse as a greater number of these vehicles are old and ...

Combined effects of road traffic noise and ambient air pollution in relation to risk for stroke?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Mette; Lühdorf, Pernille; Ketzel, Matthias

2014-01-01

Exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution have both been associated with risk for stroke. The few studies including both exposures show inconsistent results. We aimed to investigate potential mutual confounding and combined effects between road traffic noise and air pollution in association...... to 2009 were identified in national registers and road traffic noise and air pollution were modeled for all addresses. Analyses were done using Cox regression. A higher mean annual exposure at time of diagnosis of 10µg/m(3) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and 10dB road traffic noise at the residential address...... was found for combination of high noise and high NO2 (IRR=1.28; 95% CI=1.09-1.52). Fatal stroke was positively associated with air pollution and not with traffic noise. In conclusion, in mutually adjusted models road traffic noise and not air pollution was associated ischemic stroke, while only air...

Road Traffic Noise Pollution Analysis for Cernavoda City

Science.gov (United States)

Manea, L.; Manea, A.; Florea, D.; Tarulescu, S.

2017-10-01

In the present paper was studied the noise pollution in Cernavodă city. The noise measurements were made for nine intersections from different city areas. Noise measurements were taken for three chosen routes with high population density, heavy traffic, commercial and residential buildings. Average, maximum and minimum values were collected and compared with standards. The impact of road traffic noise on the community depends on various factors such as road location and design, land use planning measures, building design, traffic composition, driver behaviour and the relief. In the study area 9 locations are identified to measure noise level. By using sound level meter noise levels are measured at different peak sessions i.e. morning, afternoon and evening. The presented values were collected for evening rush hour.

Discrete events simulation of a route with traffic lights through automated control in real time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo César Teixeira Baptista

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the integration and communication in real-time of a discrete event simulation model with an automatic control system. The simulation model of an intersection with roads having traffic lights was built in the Arena environment. The integration and communication have been made via network, and the control system was operated by a programmable logic controller. Scenarios were simulated for the free, regular and congested traffic situations. The results showed the average number of vehicles that entered in the system and that were retained and also the total average time of the crossing of the vehicles on the road. In general, the model allowed evaluating the behavior of the traffic in each of the ways and the commands from the controller to activation and deactivation of the traffic lights.

FLOW PATTERNS OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ALONG HIGHWAY TOLL PLAZA IN OGUN STATE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bashiru A. Raji

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Congestion on our highways, freeways and arterials are increasing at an alarming rate. This occurs because there is an increase in vehicular growth without a corresponding increase in road size, and this has made free flow of traffic a preponderant problem in our highways. Toll plaza causes delay on our highways and results are formation of queue. This paper examined how simple queuing model can be used to determine traffic intensity and the flow pattern of car traffic at a toll plaza. The study was carried out with twelve field assistants at Ogere toll plaza in Ogun State. Findings show a significant variation in the degree of hourly traffic intensities at the four pay points for cars at the toll plaza. However, variation in the daily traffic intensities at the four pay points for cars showed no significant variation. The study also revealed that bumps constructed to check vehicles speed, hawker’s trading activities are among other factors that constitute hindrance to free flow of traffic other than service time and inter-arrival time of cars at the toll plaza. It is therefore recommended that appropriate authority should look into these factors and take necessary steps towards ensuring free flow of traffic at the plaza.

Highway traffic simulation on multi-processor computers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanebutte, U.R.; Doss, E.; Tentner, A.M.

1997-04-01

A computer model has been developed to simulate highway traffic for various degrees of automation with a high level of fidelity in regard to driver control and vehicle characteristics. The model simulates vehicle maneuvering in a multi-lane highway traffic system and allows for the use of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies such as an Automated Intelligent Cruise Control (AICC). The structure of the computer model facilitates the use of parallel computers for the highway traffic simulation, since domain decomposition techniques can be applied in a straight forward fashion. In this model, the highway system (i.e. a network of road links) is divided into multiple regions; each region is controlled by a separate link manager residing on an individual processor. A graphical user interface augments the computer model kv allowing for real-time interactive simulation control and interaction with each individual vehicle and road side infrastructure element on each link. Average speed and traffic volume data is collected at user-specified loop detector locations. Further, as a measure of safety the so- called Time To Collision (TTC) parameter is being recorded.

Evaluating the Impact of Criminalizing Drunk Driving on Road-Traffic Injuries in Guangzhou, China: A Time-Series Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ang Zhao

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Road-traffic injury (RTI is a major public-health concern worldwide. However, the effectiveness of laws criminalizing drunk driving on the improvement of road safety in China is not known. Methods: We collected daily aggregate data on RTIs from the Guangzhou First-Aid Service Command Center from 2009 to 2012. We performed an interrupted time-series analysis to evaluate the change in daily RTIs before (January 1, 2009, to April 30, 2011 and after (May 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012 the criminalization of drunk driving. We evaluated the impact of the intervention on RTIs using the overdispersed generalized additive model after adjusting for temporal trends, seasonality, day of the week, and holidays. Daytime/Nighttime RTIs, alcoholism, and non-traffic injuries were analyzed as comparison groups using the same model. Results: From January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012, we identified a total of 54 887 RTIs. The standardized daily number of RTIs was almost stable in the pre-intervention period but decreased gradually in the post-intervention period. After the intervention, the standardized daily RTIs decreased 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.5%–12.8%. There were similar decreases for the daily daytime and nighttime RTIs. In contrast, the standardized daily cases of alcoholism increased 38.8% (95% CI, 35.1%–42.4%, and daily non-traffic injuries increased 3.6% (95% CI, 1.4%–5.8%. Conclusions: This time-series study provides scientific evidence suggesting that the criminalization of drunk driving from May 1, 2011, may have led to moderate reductions in RTIs in Guangzhou, China.

Traffic theory

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gazis, Denos C

2002-01-01

... of traffic signal settings The vehicle-actuated traffic signal 87 89 77 CHAPTER 3. TRAFFIC CONTROL 101 Objectives of Traffic Control 103 Single, Isolated Intersection 105 Synchronization Scheme...

An evaluation of speed management measures in Bangladesh based upon alternative accident recording, speed measurements, and DOCTOR traffic conflict observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horst, A.R.A. van der; Thierry, M.C.; Vet, J.M.; Rahman, A.F

2016-01-01

With 21,000 people annually killed in road traffic (estimated figure by World Health Organization), Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates in the world. Vulnerable road users (VRUs) account for over 50% of road traffic casualties, and 70% of casualties occur in rural areas. As in many Low

An evaluation of speed management measures in Bangladesh based upon alternative accident recording, speed measurements, and DOCTOR traffic conflict observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horst, A.R.A. van der; Thierry, M.C.; Vet, J.M.; Fazlur Rahman, A.K.M.

2017-01-01

With 21,000 people annually killed in road traffic (estimated figure by World Health Organization), Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates in the world. Vulnerable road users (VRUs) account for over 50% of road traffic casualties, and 70% of casualties occur in rural areas. As in many Low

The traffic crisis and a tale of two cities: Traffic and air quality in Bangkok and Mexico City

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pendakur, V.S.; Badami, M.G.

1995-12-31

This paper focuses on congestion management techniques, traffic congestion levels and air quality. By using data from Bangkok and Mexico City, it illustrates the need for drastic changes in transportation policy tools and techniques for congestion management and for improving environmental quality. New approaches to investment and regulatory policy analysis and implementation are suggested. This requires the inclusion of all costs and benefits (economic and ecological) in the policy matrix so that investment and regulatory policies act in unison. Megacities are dominant in social, political and economic terms. 30 to 60% of national GDP is typically produced in these cities. Their human and motor vehicle populations have been doubling every 15-20 and 6-10 years respectively. They also have the most severe traffic congestion and air quality problems. They have the nation`s highest incidence of poverty and absolute poverty. Large portions of their populations endure severely unhealthy housing and sanitation conditions. Following are important characteristics of urban transportation systems in the megacities: the city centres are heavily congested with motorized traffic; traffic crawl rates vary from 2 to 10 km/hr; car and motorcycle ownership are increasing at annual rates of 10-12% and 15-20% respectively; significant air pollution with no relief in sight; TDM strategies are primarily creating new supply of road capacity; fairly high transit trips with substantial transit investments; weak air pollution monitoring and enforcement; and fairly cheap fuel and high costs of vehicles.

The detection of the Earth rotation and revolution effect using the daily and annual variation of sporadic meteor echo by HRO

OpenAIRE

OHNISHI, Kouji; HATTORI, Shinobu; NISHIMURA, Osamu; ISHIKAWA, Toshiyuki; AOKI, Yoshie; IIJIMA, Yukiko; KOBAYASHI, Aya; MAEGAWA, Kimio; ABE, Shinsuke

2001-01-01

Ham-band Radio Observation (HRO) is one of the observational techniques for the forward scatter observation of meteors. We started the observation of the daily and annual variation of sporadic meteor echoes with paired two-element loop antennas (F/B ratio is 10 dB) at the Nagano National College of Technology (Nagano, JAPAN) using the beacon signals at 53.750MHz, 50W from Fukui National College of Technology (Sabae, Fukui, JAPAN) from Aug.2000. The direction of one of this paired antenna was ...

Road traffic noise prediction model for heterogeneous traffic based on ASJ-RTN Model 2008 with consideration of horn

Science.gov (United States)

Hustim, M.; Arifin, Z.; Aly, S. H.; Ramli, M. I.; Zakaria, R.; Liputo, A.

2018-04-01

This research aimed to predict the noise produced by the traffic in the road network in Makassar City using ASJ-RTN Model 2008 by calculating the horn sound. Observations were taken at 37 survey points on road side. The observations were conducted at 06.00 - 18.00 and 06.00 - 21.00 which research objects were motorcycle (MC), light vehicle (LV) and heavy vehicle (HV). The observed data were traffic volume, vehicle speed, number of horn and traffic noise using Sound Level Meter Tenmars TM-103. The research result indicates that prediction noise model by calculating the horn sound produces the average noise level value of 78.5 dB having the Pearson’s correlation and RMSE of 0.95 and 0.87. Therefore, ASJ-RTN Model 2008 prediction model by calculating the horn sound is said to be sufficiently good for predicting noise level.

Energy savings in dynamic and resilient optical networks based on traffic-aware strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turus, Ioan; Fagertun, Anna Manolova; Dittmann, Lars

2014-01-01

andconnections. Results show that symbol-rateadaptation provides high savings for unprotected scenarios (37% energy savings w.r.t. unprotected Baseline), while for theprotected scenarios better results are obtained for modulationformat adaptation which includes sleep-mode (57.1% energysavings w.r.t. protected...... Baseline). Moreover, compared to theBaseline scenarios the Mixed adaptation, combining bothsymbol-rate and modulation format, is the most power-efficientstrategy providing 39% energy savings for unprotected scenarioand 70% energy savings for dedicated protection scenario.......An analysis of the energy savingsis presentedwhen taking into account a complete traffic model for a one-yeartime period. Daily and weekly traffic fluctuations as well asyearly traffic growth are considered whenanalyzing the powerconsumption.Low power mode in optoelectronic devices (sleep...

Urban Traffic Signal System Control Structural Optimization Based on Network Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Advanced urban traffic signal control systems such as SCOOT and SCATS normally coordinate traffic network using multilevel hierarchical control mechanism. In this mechanism, several key intersections will be selected from traffic signal network and the network will be divided into different control subareas. Traditionally, key intersection selection and control subareas division are executed according to dynamic traffic counts and link length between intersections, which largely rely on traffic engineers’ experience. However, it omits important inherent characteristics of traffic network topology. In this paper, we will apply network analysis approach into these two aspects for traffic system control structure optimization. Firstly, the modified C-means clustering algorithm will be proposed to assess the importance of intersections in traffic network and furthermore determine the key intersections based on three indexes instead of merely on traffic counts in traditional methods. Secondly, the improved network community discovery method will be used to give more reasonable evidence in traffic control subarea division. Finally, to test the effectiveness of network analysis approach, a hardware-in-loop simulation environment composed of regional traffic control system, microsimulation software and signal controller hardware, will be built. Both traditional method and proposed approach will be implemented on simulation test bed to evaluate traffic operation performance indexes, for example, travel time, stop times, delay and average vehicle speed. Simulation results show that the proposed network analysis approach can improve the traffic control system operation performance effectively.

The effect of concentrate allocation on traffic and milk production of pasture-based cows milked by an automatic milking system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lessire, F; Froidmont, E; Shortall, J; Hornick, J L; Dufrasne, I

2017-11-01

Increased economic, societal and environmental challenges facing agriculture are leading to a greater focus on effective way to combine grazing and automatic milking systems (AMS). One of the fundamental aspects of robotic milking is cows' traffic to the AMS. Numerous studies have identified feed provided, either as fresh grass or concentrate supplement, as the main incentive for cows to return to the robot. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of concentrate allocation on voluntary cow traffic from pasture to the robot during the grazing period, to highlight the interactions between grazed pasture and concentrate allocation in terms of substitution rate and the subsequent effect on average milk yield and composition. Thus, 29 grazing cows, milked by a mobile robot, were monitored for the grazing period (4 months). They were assigned to two groups: a low concentrate (LC) group (15 cows) and a high concentrate (HC) group (14 cows) receiving 2 and 4 kg concentrate/cow per day, respectively; two allocations per day of fresh pasture were provided at 0700 and 1600 h. The cows had to go through the AMS to receive the fresh pasture allocation. The effect of concentrate level on robot visitation was calculated by summing milkings, refusals and failed milkings/cow per day. The impact on average daily milk yield and composition was also determined. The interaction between lactation number and month was used as an indicator of pasture availability. Concentrate allocation increased significantly robot visitations in HC (3.60±0.07 visitations/cow per day in HC and 3.10±0.07 visitations/cow per day in LC; Pcow per day were similar in both groups (LC: 2.37±0.02/day and HC: 2.39±0.02/day; Ns). The average daily milk yield over the grazing period was enhanced in HC (22.39±0.22 kg/cow per day in HC and 21.33±0.22 kg/cow per day in LC; Pcows.

Environmental pollution of lead in traffic air and blood of traffic policemen in Khartoum State, Sudan.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahama, Salah M; Khider, Hiba E; Mohamed, Sitt Nour H; Abuelmaali, Sara A; Elaagip, Arwa H

2011-06-01

A cross sectional study was conducted in Khartoum State. A total of 45 males' traffic policemen were divided into two groups according to exposure to car exhaust; n=30 taken as exposed group, n=15 taken as controls, who were not exposed to car exhaust. The study was conducted to determine lead concentrations in traffic ambient air, to determine lead levels in blood of traffic policemen, and to evaluate the effect of exposure to car exhaust on traffic policemen during January 2009. The level of lead in ambient air was determined in 14 locations which were taken randomly at the intersections and entrances to the bridges using personal sampler "Cassella, U.K". The blood samples of all policemen were analyzed by atomic absorption Spectrophotometer to determine lead levels. A questionnaire was designed to assess the adverse health effects on the traffic policemen. The degree of environmental lead pollution in traffic ambient air was found to be 0.1937 +/- 0.1768 mg/m3 with range between 0.000-0.5166 mg/m3. In seven locations out of fourteen locations lead concentrations were 0.1940 and 0.5166 above the permissible level of 0.15 mg/m3 permitted internationally. Blood lead levels on traffic policemen (exposed and control groups) were found to be 2.4691 +/- 1.4065 microg/100 ml and 0.3944 +/- 1.2471 microg/100 ml respectively and there is no significant differences between the two groups where using SPSS program. A questionnaire findings were: average age mean of 35.9 +/- 7.7 years, 47.48% worked for periods of more than 20 years, 74.19% did not work before joining the traffic police, 51.6% of them recognized traffic air pollution as a problem of high level, 45.2% of them estimated it as medium, and 3.2% as low. As habits 38.71% were smokers, and for health complaints, 61.29% have various complaints of headache, fatigue, abdominal, hypertension and anemia. All these symptoms have a close relationship with lead poisoning. When we compared the results of age groups and work

Contributory factors to traffic crashes at signalized intersections in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, S C; Sze, N N; Li, Y C

2007-11-01

Efficient geometric design and signal timing not only improve operational performance at signalized intersections by expanding capacity and reducing traffic delays, but also result in an appreciable reduction in traffic conflicts, and thus better road safety. Information on the incidence of crashes, traffic flow, geometric design, road environment, and traffic control at 262 signalized intersections in Hong Kong during 2002 and 2003 are incorporated into a crash prediction model. Poisson regression and negative binomial regression are used to quantify the influence of possible contributory factors on the incidence of killed and severe injury (KSI) crashes and slight injury crashes, respectively, while possible interventions by traffic flow are controlled. The results for the incidence of slight injury crashes reveal that the road environment, degree of curvature, and presence of tram stops are significant factors, and that traffic volume has a diminishing effect on the crash risk. The presence of tram stops, number of pedestrian streams, road environment, proportion of commercial vehicles, average lane width, and degree of curvature increase the risk of KSI crashes, but the effect of traffic volume is negligible.

Feature Detection of Curve Traffic Sign Image on The Bandung - Jakarta Highway

Science.gov (United States)

Naseer, M.; Supriadi, I.; Supangkat, S. H.

2018-03-01

Unsealed roadside and problems with the road surface are common causes of road crashes, particularly when those are combined with curves. Curve traffic sign is an important component for giving early warning to driver on traffic, especially on high-speed traffic like on the highway. Traffic sign detection has became a very interesting research now, and in this paper will be discussed about the detection of curve traffic sign. There are two types of curve signs are discussed, namely the curve turn to the left and the curve turn to the right and the all data sample used are the curves taken / recorded from some signs on the Bandung - Jakarta Highway. Feature detection of the curve signs use Speed Up Robust Feature (SURF) method, where the detected scene image is 800x450. From 45 curve turn to the right images, the system can detect the feature well to 35 images, where the success rate is 77,78%, while from the 45 curve turn to the left images, the system can detect the feature well to 34 images and the success rate is 75,56%, so the average accuracy in the detection process is 76,67%. While the average time for the detection process is 0.411 seconds.

Ambient carbon monoxide and daily mortality in three Chinese cities: the China Air Pollution and Health Effects Study (CAPES).

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Renjie; Pan, Guowei; Zhang, Yanping; Xu, Qun; Zeng, Guang; Xu, Xiaohui; Chen, Bingheng; Kan, Haidong

2011-11-01

Ambient carbon monoxide (CO) is an air pollutant primarily generated by traffic. CO has been associated with increased mortality and morbidity in developed countries, but few studies have been conducted in Asian developing countries. In the China Air Pollution and Health Effects Study (CAPES), the short-term associations between ambient CO and daily mortality were examined in three Chinese cities: Shanghai, Anshan and Taiyuan. Poisson regression models incorporating natural spline smoothing functions were used to adjust for long-term and seasonal trend of mortality, as well as other time-varying covariates. Effect estimates were obtained for each city and then for the cities combined. In both individual-city and combined analysis, significant associations of CO with both total non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality were observed. In the combined analysis, a 1 mg/m(3) increase of 2-day moving average concentrations of CO corresponded to 2.89% (95%CI: 1.68, 4.11) and 4.17% (95%CI: 2.66, 5.68) increase of total and cardiovascular mortality, respectively. CO was not significantly associated with respiratory mortality. Sensitivity analyses showed that our findings were generally insensitive to alternative model specifications. In conclusion, ambient CO was associated with increased risk of daily mortality in these three cities. Our findings suggest that the role of exposure to CO and other traffic-related air pollutants should be further investigated in China. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SAE for the prediction of road traffic status from taxicab operating data and bus smart card data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhengfeng, Huang; Pengjun, Zheng; Wenjun, Xu; Gang, Ren

Road traffic status is significant for trip decision and traffic management, and thus should be predicted accurately. A contribution is that we consider multi-modal data for traffic status prediction than only using single source data. With the substantial data from Ningbo Passenger Transport Management Sector (NPTMS), we wished to determine whether it was possible to develop Stacked Autoencoders (SAEs) for accurately predicting road traffic status from taxicab operating data and bus smart card data. We show that SAE performed better than linear regression model and Back Propagation (BP) neural network for determining the relationship between road traffic status and those factors. In a 26-month data experiment using SAE, we show that it is possible to develop highly accurate predictions (91% test accuracy) of road traffic status from daily taxicab operating data and bus smart card data.

Using quantitative wastewater analysis to measure daily usage of conventional and emerging illicit drugs at an annual music festival.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Foon Yin; Thai, Phong K; O'Brien, Jake; Gartner, Coral; Bruno, Raimondo; Kele, Benjamin; Ort, Christoph; Prichard, Jeremy; Kirkbride, Paul; Hall, Wayne; Carter, Steve; Mueller, Jochen F

2013-11-01

Wastewater analysis provides a non-intrusive way of measuring drug use within a population. We used this approach to determine daily use of conventional illicit drugs [cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)] and emerging illicit psychostimulants (benzylpiperazine, mephedrone and methylone) in two consecutive years (2010 and 2011) at an annual music festival. Daily composite wastewater samples, representative of the festival, were collected from the on-site wastewater treatment plant and analysed for drug metabolites. Data over 2 years were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pair test. Data from 2010 festival were compared with data collected at the same time from a nearby urban community using equivalent methods. Conventional illicit drugs were detected in all samples whereas emerging illicit psychostimulants were found only on specific days. The estimated per capita consumption of MDMA, cocaine and cannabis was similar between the two festival years. Statistically significant (P popularity in music settings. Our study demonstrated that wastewater analysis can objectively capture changes in substance use at a music setting without raising major ethical issues. It would potentially allow effective assessments of drug prevention strategies in such settings in the future. © 2013 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentration levels, pattern, source identification and soil toxicity assessment in urban traffic soil of Dhanbad, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Suman, Swapnil; Sinha, Alok; Tarafdar, Abhrajyoti

2016-03-01

Present study was carried out to assess and understand potential health risk and to examine the impact of vehicular traffic on the contamination status of urban traffic soils in Dhanbad City with respect to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Eight urban traffic sites and two control/rural site surface soils were analyzed and the contents of 13 priority PAHs was determined. Total PAH concentration at traffic sites ranged from 1.019 μg g(-1) to 10.856 μg g(-1) with an average value of 3.488 μg g(-1). At control/rural site, average concentration of total PAHs was found to be 0.640 μg g(-1). PAH pattern was dominated by four- and five-ring PAHs (contributing >50% to the total PAHs) at all the eight traffic sites. On the other hand, rural soil showed a predominance of low molecular weight three-ring PAHs (contributing >30% to the total PAHs). Indeno[123-cd]pyrene/benz[ghi]perylene (IP/BgP) ratio indicated that PAH load at the traffic sites is predominated by the gasoline-driven vehicles. The ratio of Ant/(Ant+Phe) varied from 0.03 to 0.44, averaging 0.10; Fla/(Fla+Pyr) from 0.39 to 0.954, averaging 0.52; BaA/(BaA+Chry) from 0.156 to 0.60, averaging 0.44; and IP/(IP+BgP) from 0.176 to 0.811, averaging 0.286. The results indicated that vehicular emission was the major source for PAHs contamination with moderate effect of coal combustion and biomass combustion. Carcinogenic potency of PAH load in traffic soil was nearly 6.15 times higher as compared to the control/rural soil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the Angstrom-type correlations and the estimation of monthly average daily global irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, S.; Jain, P.C.

1985-12-01

Linear regression analysis of the monthly average daily global irradiation and the sunshine duration data of 8 Zambian locations has been performed using the least square technique. Good correlation (r>0.95) is obtained in all the cases showing that the Angstrom equation is valid for Zambian locations. The values of the correlation parameters thus obtained show substantial unsystematic scatter. The analysis was repeated after incorporating the effects of (i) multiple reflections of radiation between the ground and the atmosphere, and (ii) not burning of the sunshine recorder chart, into the Angstrom equation. The surface albedo measurements at Lusaka were used. The scatter in the correlation parameters was investigated by graphical representation, by regression analysis of the data of the individual stations as well as the combined data of the 8 stations. The results show that the incorporation of none of the two effects reduces the scatter significantly. A single linear equation obtained from the regression analysis of the combined data of the 8 stations is found to be appropriate for estimating the global irradiation over Zambian locations with reasonable accuracy from the sunshine duration data. (author)

Average Revisited in Context

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Jane; Chick, Helen

2012-01-01

This paper analyses the responses of 247 middle school students to items requiring the concept of average in three different contexts: a city's weather reported in maximum daily temperature, the number of children in a family, and the price of houses. The mixed but overall disappointing performance on the six items in the three contexts indicates…

Precipitation isoscapes for New Zealand: enhanced temporal detail using precipitation-weighted daily climatology.

Science.gov (United States)

Baisden, W Troy; Keller, Elizabeth D; Van Hale, Robert; Frew, Russell D; Wassenaar, Leonard I

2016-01-01

Predictive understanding of precipitation δ(2)H and δ(18)O in New Zealand faces unique challenges, including high spatial variability in precipitation amounts, alternation between subtropical and sub-Antarctic precipitation sources, and a compressed latitudinal range of 34 to 47 °S. To map the precipitation isotope ratios across New Zealand, three years of integrated monthly precipitation samples were acquired from >50 stations. Conventional mean-annual precipitation δ(2)H and δ(18)O maps were produced by regressions using geographic and annual climate variables. Incomplete data and short-term variation in climate and precipitation sources limited the utility of this approach. We overcome these difficulties by calculating precipitation-weighted monthly climate parameters using national 5-km-gridded daily climate data. This data plus geographic variables were regressed to predict δ(2)H, δ(18)O, and d-excess at all sites. The procedure yields statistically-valid predictions of the isotope composition of precipitation (long-term average root mean square error (RMSE) for δ(18)O = 0.6 ‰; δ(2)H = 5.5 ‰); and monthly RMSE δ(18)O = 1.9 ‰, δ(2)H = 16 ‰. This approach has substantial benefits for studies that require the isotope composition of precipitation during specific time intervals, and may be further improved by comparison to daily and event-based precipitation samples as well as the use of back-trajectory calculations.

Annualized TASAR Benefits for Virgin America Operations

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

The Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept offers onboard automation for the purpose of advising the pilot of traffic compatible trajectory changes that would be beneficial to the flight. A fast-time simulation study was conducted to assess the benefits of TASAR to Virgin America. The simulation compares historical trajectories without TASAR to trajectories developed with TASAR and evaluated by controllers against their objectives. It was estimated that about 25,000 gallons of fuel and about 2,500 minutes could be saved annually per aircraft. These savings were applied fleet-wide to produce an estimated annual cost savings to Virgin America in excess of $5 million due to fuel, maintenance, and depreciation cost savings. Switching to a more wind-optimal trajectory was found to be the use case that generated the highest benefits out of the three TASAR use cases analyzed. Virgin America TASAR requests peaked at two to four requests per hour per sector in high-altitude Oakland and Salt Lake City center sectors east of San Francisco.

Analysis of traffic and meteorology on airborne particulate matter in Münster, northwest Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Gietl, Johanna K; Klemm, Otto

2009-07-01

The importance of street traffic and meteorological conditions on the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 microm (PM10) was studied in the city of Münster in northwest Germany. The database consisted of meteorological data, data of PM10 mass concentrations and fine particle number (6-225 nm diameter) concentrations, and traffic intensity data as counted with tally hand counters at a four- to six-lane road. On working days, a significant correlation could be found between the diurnal mean PM10 mass concentration and vehicle number. The lower number of heavy-duty vehicles compared with passenger cars contributed more to the particle number concentration on working days than on weekend days. On weekends, when the vehicle number was very low, the correlation between PM10 mass concentration and vehicle number changed completely. Other sources of PM and the meteorology dominated the PM concentration. Independent of the weekday, by decreasing the traffic by approximately 99% during late-night hours, the PM10 concentration was reduced by 12% of the daily mean value. A correlation between PM10 and the particle number concentration was found for each weekday. In this study, meteorological parameters, including the atmospheric stability of the boundary layer, were also accounted for. The authors deployed artificial neural networks to achieve more information on the influence of various meteorological parameters, traffic, and the day of the week. A multilayer perceptron network showed the best results for predicting the PM10 concentration, with the correlation coefficient being 0.72. The influence of relative humidity, temperature, and wind was strong, whereas the influence of atmospheric stability and the traffic parameters was weak. Although traffic contributes a constant amount of particles in a daily and weekly cycle, it is the meteorology that drives most of the variability.

47 CFR Appendix C to Part 400 - Annual Certification for E-911 Grant Recipients

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Annual Certification for E-911 Grant Recipients... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, AND NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION E-911 GRANT PROGRAM Pt. 400, App. C Appendix C to Part 400—Annual Certification for E-911 Grant...

[Traffic accidents from the motorcycle couriers' perspective: feedback for health promotion].

Science.gov (United States)

Veronese, Andréa Márian; de Oliveira, Dora Lúcia Leidens Corrêa

2006-12-01

This research note is the result of a qualitative study in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, aimed at exploring traffic accident risk from the motorcycle couriers' point of view. The research results highlight the importance of accident prevention and health promotion for these workers. The study was based on sociological theories of risk, especially those emphasizing the social and cultural nature of its meanings. Information was gathered through focus groups and analyzed according to the Data-Based Theory. According to the research subjects, all motorcycle couriers, the traffic accident risk is inherent to their daily work duties and is produced by personal and social interests like money, speed, and urgency. Motorcycle couriers attempt to control such risks by using self-defense strategies. Considering the high incidence of traffic accidents with motorcycle couriers in Porto Alegre, these strategies have apparently not been effective. This note emphasizes that traffic accidents involving motorcycle couriers are work-related accidents, and that health promotion measures to prevent them should target not only the couriers themselves but also their employers and customers.

Refining Lane-Based Traffic Signal Settings to Satisfy Spatial Lane Length Requirements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanping Liu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In conventional lane-based signal optimization models, lane markings guiding road users in making turns are optimized with traffic signal settings in a unified framework to maximize the overall intersection capacity or minimize the total delay. The spatial queue requirements of road lanes should be considered to avoid overdesigns of green durations. Point queue system adopted in the conventional lane-based framework causes overflow in practice. Based on the optimization results from the original lane-based designs, a refinement is proposed to enhance the lane-based settings to ensure that spatial holding limits of the approaching traffic lanes are not exceeded. A solution heuristic is developed to modify the green start times, green durations, and cycle length by considering the vehicle queuing patterns and physical holding capacities along the approaching traffic lanes. To show the effectiveness of this traffic signal refinement, a case study of one of the busiest and most complicated intersections in Hong Kong is given for demonstration. A site survey was conducted to collect existing traffic demand patterns and existing traffic signal settings in peak periods. Results show that the proposed refinement method is effective to ensure that all vehicle queue lengths satisfy spatial lane capacity limits, including short lanes, for daily operation.

Characterisation and quantification of trace metal elements in atmospheric deposition and particularities in the Aspe valley (Pyrenees): implementation of road traffic air quality indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veschambre, S.

2006-04-01

This study of inputs of trace metal elements (TME) in the Aspe valley (Pyrenees Atlantiques) has two objectives: (1) to define a reference state of metallic contaminants for the monitoring of road traffic emissions since the opening of the Somport tunnel and, (2) to evaluate sources and climatic conditions which contribute to TME inputs in the Aspe valley. To establish air quality indicators, TME (Al, Na, Mg, K, V, Mn, Cr, Zn, Cu, Rb, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Ce, Pb and U) and lead isotopic ratios ( 208 Pb/ 206 Pb, 206 Pb/ 207 Pb and 208 Pb/ 207 Pb) were determined in the atmospheric receptors (fresh snow, wet deposition, atmospheric particulates and lichen). Sampling and analyses with ultra clean procedures were employed for TME quantification. Variability of atmospheric receptors studied, allows integration on a daily and pluri-annual temporal scale and a spatial scale in the North-South axis of the valley and as a function of the altitude from the road. The Aspe valley presents a level of contamination characteristic of remote European areas and the metallic contaminants identified are Cd, Sb, Zn, Cu, Pb and Sn. In the low valley, air quality indicators indicate contaminant contributions (i) from local emissions of domestic heat sources, from agricultural burning practices and road traffic, and (ii) from regional anthropogenic sources of waste incinerators, metallurgic industries and urban centres. In altitude, the valley is significantly influenced by wind erosion and long range transport of TME in the Northern Hemisphere. Characterisation of TME and the isotopic ratios of Pb in the Somport tunnel indicate (i) a significant emission of Cu, Sb, Zn and Ba and (ii) an isotopic composition from a slightly radiogenic source even though Pb concentrations indicate low emissions from road traffic emissions. Nevertheless, the low traffic volume in the Aspe valley prevents conclusive evidence of significant contamination from road traffic. (author)

radioactivity analysis in food-stuffs and evaluation of annual effective doses from intakes of radionuclides through daily diets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alam, M.N.; Chowdhury, M. I.; Kamal, M.; Ghose, S.; Islam, M. N.; Mustafa, M. N.; Islam, Al Amin S.

1996-01-01

The concentrations of natural and anthropogenic gamma emitting radionuclides in different vegetables, grains,fishes, sugar and common salt samples were measured by using high purity germanium ( HPGe ) detector coupled with Personal Computer Analyzer ( PCA ) and thereby the effective doses from the consumption of these diet were evaluated. The activities of 232 Th in vegetable, grains, salt, sugar and fish samples ranged from 0.13±0.02 to 1.49±0.32 Bq. kg -1 . The concentration of 238 U in these food-stuffs ranged from 0.07±0.01 to 0.95±0.26 Bq Kg -1 . The observed activity of 40 K ranged between 5.04±1.05 and 196.60±41.0 Bq Kg -1 . Caesium was not detected in any of the samples, Assessment of annual intake of these radionuclides has been made on the basis of the average annual intake of these food-stuffs by the population of Bangladesh.The annual effective dose equivalent due to ingestion of different naturally occurring radionuclides ( 232 Th, 238 U, and 40 K) by intake food-stuffs ranged from 0.2 to 113.62 μ Sv. y'-1. The annual effective doses observed in the present study for various types of food-stuffs were less than the ICRP-60 (1990) recommendation, which is 1 m Sv. y -1 for the members of the public. The result and knowledge of this study, would be helpful in making a yardstick comparing with which an appropriate radiation control limit may be imposed on food materials for public consumption in Bangladesh. 1 fig., 2 tables, 13 refs. (Author)

Genome-Enabled Prediction of Breeding Values for Feedlot Average Daily Weight Gain in Nelore Cattle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana L. Somavilla

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Nelore is the most economically important cattle breed in Brazil, and the use of genetically improved animals has contributed to increased beef production efficiency. The Brazilian beef feedlot industry has grown considerably in the last decade, so the selection of animals with higher growth rates on feedlot has become quite important. Genomic selection (GS could be used to reduce generation intervals and improve the rate of genetic gains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prediction of genomic-estimated breeding values (GEBV for average daily weight gain (ADG in 718 feedlot-finished Nelore steers. Analyses of three Bayesian model specifications [Bayesian GBLUP (BGBLUP, BayesA, and BayesCπ] were performed with four genotype panels [Illumina BovineHD BeadChip, TagSNPs, and GeneSeek High- and Low-density indicus (HDi and LDi, respectively]. Estimates of Pearson correlations, regression coefficients, and mean squared errors were used to assess accuracy and bias of predictions. Overall, the BayesCπ model resulted in less biased predictions. Accuracies ranged from 0.18 to 0.27, which are reasonable values given the heritability estimates (from 0.40 to 0.44 and sample size (568 animals in the training population. Furthermore, results from Bos taurus indicus panels were as informative as those from Illumina BovineHD, indicating that they could be used to implement GS at lower costs.

Determination of 210Po concentration in commercially available infant formulae and assessment of daily ingestion dose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravi K. Prabhath

2015-07-01

Full Text Available A study has been conducted to estimate the concentration of natural radioactive polonium in commercially available packaged infant food formulae available in Mumbai, India and the corresponding daily dose normalized based on its shelf life. Eleven most popular international brands of infant formulae were sourced from market and three aliquots from each sample were analysed for concordant results. Autodeposition method onto a silver planchet from hot dilute acid solution followed by alpha spectrometry was performed for estimation of polonium. Radiochemical recovery was ascertained by the addition of 209Po tracer. Radiochemical recovery of 209Po tracer was ranged from 14.7 to 98.1 %. The 210Po concentration in the samples was in the range of 0.08–0.23 Bq kg−1 on measured date and the corresponding daily dose, calculated on normalized date which is at mid-point of the shelf life of the sample, was ranged from 0.04 to 0.89 μSv d−1 as per the recommended daily consumption. The annual committed effective dose estimated based on the average of daily dose was found to be 150 μSv.

Assessing the effects of land-use changes on annual average gross erosion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armando Brath

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of land-use changes on potential annual gross erosion in the uplands of the Emilia-Romagna administrative region, a broad geographical area of some 22 000 km2 in northern-central Italy, have been analysed by application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE. The presence of an extended mountain chain, particularly subject to soil erosion, makes the estimation of annual gross erosion relevant in defining regional soil-conservation strategies. The USLE, derived empirically for plots, is usually applied at the basin scale. In the present study, the method is implemented in a distributed framework for the hilly and mountainous portion of Emilia-Romagna through a discretisation of the region into elementary square cells. The annual gross erosion is evaluated by combining morphological, pedological and climatic information. The stream network and the tributary area drained by each elementary cell, which are needed for the local application of the USLE, are derived automatically from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM of grid size 250 x 250 m. The rainfall erosivity factor is evaluated from local estimates of rainfall of six-hour storm duration and two-year return period. The soil erodibility and slope length-steepness factors are derived from digital maps of land use, pedology and geomorphology. Furthermore, historical land-use maps of the district of Bologna (a large portion — 3720 km2 — of the area under study, allow the effect of actual land use changes on the soil erosion process to be assessed. The analysis shows the influence of land-use changes on annual gross erosion as well as the increasing vulnerability of upland areas to soil erosion processes during recent decades. Keywords: USLE, gross erosion, distributed modelling, land use changes, northern-central Italy

A comparison of climatological observing windows and their impact on detecting daily temperature extrema

Science.gov (United States)

Žaknić-Ćatović, Ana; Gough, William A.

2018-04-01

Climatological observing window (COW) is defined as a time frame over which continuous or extreme air temperature measurements are collected. A 24-h time interval, ending at 00UTC or shifted to end at 06UTC, has been associated with difficulties in characterizing daily temperature extrema. A fixed 24-h COW used to obtain the temperature minima leads to potential misidentification due to fragmentation of "nighttime" into two subsequent nighttime periods due to the time discretization interval. The correct identification of air temperature extrema is achievable using a COW that identifies daily minimum over a single nighttime period and maximum over a single daytime period, as determined by sunrise and sunset. Due to a common absence of hourly air temperature observations, the accuracy of the mean temperature estimation is dependent on the accuracy of determination of diurnal air temperature extrema. Qualitative and quantitative criteria were used to examine the impact of the COW on detecting daily air temperature extrema. The timing of the 24-h observing window occasionally affects the determination of daily extrema through a mischaracterization of the diurnal minima and by extension can lead to errors in determining daily mean temperature. Hourly air temperature data for the time period from year 1987 to 2014, obtained from Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport weather station, were used in analysis of COW impacts on detection of daily temperature extrema and calculation of annual temperature averages based on such extrema.

Analysis of CBRP for UDP and TCP Traffic-Classes to measure throughput in MANETs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hardeep Singh Rayait

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we analyse the throughput of both TCP and UDP traffic classes for cluster based routing protocol for mobile ad hoc network. It uses clustering structure to improve throughput , decrease average end-to-end delay and improve the average packet delivery ratio. We simulate our routing protocol for nodes running the IEEE802.11 MAC for analysis of throughput for both UDP and TCP traffic classes. The application layer protocol used for UDP is CBR and for TCP is FTP.

The effect of wind shielding and pen position on the average daily weight gain and feed conversion rate of grower/finisher pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Dan B.; Toft, Nils; Cornou, Cécile

2014-01-01

of the effects of wind shielding, linear mixed models were fitted to describe the average daily weight gain and feed conversion rate of 1271 groups (14 individuals per group) of purebred Duroc, Yorkshire and Danish Landrace boars, as a function of shielding (yes/no), insert season (winter, spring, summer, autumn...... groups placed in the 1st and 4th pen (p=0.0001). A similar effect was not seen on smaller pigs. Pen placement appears to have no effect on feed conversion rate.No interaction effects between shielding and distance to the corridor could be demonstrated. Furthermore, in models including both factors......). The effect could not be tested for Yorkshire and Danish Landrace due to lack of data on these breeds. For groups of pigs above the average start weight, a clear tendency of higher growth rates at greater distances from the central corridor was observed, with the most significant differences being between...

Active transportation: do current traffic safety policies protect non-motorists?

Science.gov (United States)

Mader, Emily M; Zick, Cathleen D

2014-06-01

This study investigated the impact that state traffic safety regulations have on non-motorist fatality rates. Data obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) were analyzed through a pooled time series cross-sectional model using fixed effects regression for all 50 states from 1999 to 2009. Two dependent variables were used in separate models measuring annual state non-motorist fatalities per million population, and the natural log of state non-motorist fatalities. Independent variables measuring traffic policies included state expenditures for highway law enforcement and safety per capita; driver cell phone use regulations; graduated driver license regulations; driver blood alcohol concentration regulations; bike helmet regulations; and seat belt regulations. Other control variables included percent of all vehicle miles driven that are urban and mean per capita alcohol consumption per year. Non-motorist traffic safety was positively impacted by state highway law enforcement and safety expenditures per capita, with a decrease in non-motorist fatalities occurring with increased spending. Per capita consumption of alcohol also influenced non-motorist fatalities, with higher non-motorist fatalities occurring with higher per capita consumption of alcohol. Other traffic safety covariates did not appear to have a significant impact on non-motorist fatality rates in the models. Our research suggests that increased expenditures on state highway and traffic safety and the initiation/expansion of programs targeted at curbing both driver and non-motorist intoxication are a starting point for the implementation of traffic safety policies that reduce risks for non-motorists. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Daily Self-Disclosure and Sleep in Couples

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Heidi S.; Slatcher, Richard B.; Reynolds, Bridget M.; Repetti, Rena L.; Robles, Theodore F.

2014-01-01

Objective An emerging literature provides evidence for the association between romantic relationship quality and sleep, an important factor in health and well-being. However, we still know very little about the specific relationship processes that affect sleep behavior. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine how self-disclosure, an important relational process linked to intimacy, relationship satisfaction and health, is associated with sleep behavior. Method As part of a larger study of family processes, wives (n=46) and husbands (n=38) from 46 cohabiting families completed 56 days of daily diaries. Spouses completed evening diaries assessing daily self-disclosure, relationship satisfaction, and mood and morning diaries assessing the prior night's sleep. Multilevel modeling was used to explore the effects of both daily variation in and average levels across the 56 days of self-disclosure on sleep. Results Daily variation in self-disclosure predicted sleep outcomes for wives, but not for husbands. On days when wives self-disclosed more to their spouses than their average level, their subjective sleep quality and sleep efficiency that night improved. Furthermore, daily self-disclosure buffered the negative effect of daily negative mood on sleep latency for wives, but not husbands. In contrast, higher average levels of self-disclosure predicted less waking during the night for husbands, but not for wives. Conclusion The association between self-disclosure and sleep is one mechanism by which daily relationship functioning may influence health and well-being. Gender may play a role in how self-disclosure is associated with sleep. PMID:25068453

4K Video Traffic Prediction using Seasonal Autoregressive Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. R. Marković

2017-06-01

Full Text Available From the perspective of average viewer, high definition video streams such as HD (High Definition and UHD (Ultra HD are increasing their internet presence year over year. This is not surprising, having in mind expansion of HD streaming services, such as YouTube, Netflix etc. Therefore, high definition video streams are starting to challenge network resource allocation with their bandwidth requirements and statistical characteristics. Need for analysis and modeling of this demanding video traffic has essential importance for better quality of service and experience support. In this paper we use an easy-to-apply statistical model for prediction of 4K video traffic. Namely, seasonal autoregressive modeling is applied in prediction of 4K video traffic, encoded with HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding. Analysis and modeling were performed within R programming environment using over 17.000 high definition video frames. It is shown that the proposed methodology provides good accuracy in high definition video traffic modeling.

Annual cycle of solar radiation in a deciduous forest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutchison, B.A.; Matt, D.R.

1977-01-01

Periodic solar radiation measurements within and above an east Tennessee Liriodendron forest and continuous records of insolation from a nearby NOAA weather station were used to derive an approximation of the animal radiation regime within and above the deciduous forest. The interaction of changing solar elevations, insolation, and forest phenology are shown to control the radiation climate within the forest. Maximum radiation penetrates the forest in early spring as solar paths rise higher in the sky each day just prior to leaf expansion. After leaf expansion begins, average radiation received within the forest decreases rapidly despite continued increases in solar elevations and daily insolation. This forest attains full leaf in early June and from then until the advent of leaf abscission near the autumnal equinox, forest structure remains relatively static. Solar elevations and daily insolation decline following the summer solstice, however, and as a result, average radiation penetrating the forest slowly declines throughout the summer reaching an annual minimum in early autumn. With leaf fall, slightly increased amounts of radiation penetrate the forest but as within-forest solar paths continue to lengthen, radiation within the forest again declines. Minimum amounts of solar radiation penetrate the leafless forest around the winter solstice

Safety in traffic for vulnerable military road users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar J. Bulajić

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The Army of Serbia, as a relatively closed system, regulates the field of traffic safety; however, during peacetime, general rules apply to all participants in traffic circulation. The Republic of Serbia is in the group of countries with a high number of road fatalities. The level of traffic safety in the Serbian Army has been on constant increase since 2000, although the relevant transport authorities in the military are not yet satisfied with the achieved level (even one lost life is too much. The increase can be deceptive, since if we take into account the substantial reduction in vehicle use due to various factors in the last few years (poor financial situation in the country as well as in the military, under-investment in the purchase of new vehicles, purchase of transportation services, fewer drivers drafted and more vehicles driven by trained officers, etc., it is not surprising that there are fewer accidents and fewer road deaths and injuries among military personnel. This paper aims at approaching the problem of pedestrian safety as a segment of road safety and at making an educational impact on all members of the military, because they all participate in traffic daily, if not as drivers or passengers, then certainly in large numbers as pedestrians. The basis of this paper is aimed at shedding light on the causes of pedestrian road fatalities due to their mistakes, i. e. 'negligence' of the participants in car accidents with the participation of pedestrians, as well as at proposing measures to reduce and prevent traffic accidents with pedestrians.

Automated mixed traffic vehicle control and scheduling study

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, T. K. C.; Chon, K.

1976-01-01

The operation and the expected performance of a proposed automatic guideway transit system which uses low speed automated mixed traffic vehicles (AMTVs) were analyzed. Vehicle scheduling and headway control policies were evaluated with a transit system simulation model. The effect of mixed traffic interference on the average vehicle speed was examined with a vehicle pedestrian interface model. Control parameters regulating vehicle speed were evaluated for safe stopping and passenger comfort. Some preliminary data on the cost and operation of an experimental AMTV system are included. These data were the result of a separate task conducted at JPL, and were included as background information.

Real-Time Corrected Traffic Correlation Model for Traffic Flow Forecasting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua-pu Lu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the problems of short-term traffic flow forecasting. The main goal is to put forward traffic correlation model and real-time correction algorithm for traffic flow forecasting. Traffic correlation model is established based on the temporal-spatial-historical correlation characteristic of traffic big data. In order to simplify the traffic correlation model, this paper presents correction coefficients optimization algorithm. Considering multistate characteristic of traffic big data, a dynamic part is added to traffic correlation model. Real-time correction algorithm based on Fuzzy Neural Network is presented to overcome the nonlinear mapping problems. A case study based on a real-world road network in Beijing, China, is implemented to test the efficiency and applicability of the proposed modeling methods.

Estimated Daily Average Per Capita Water Ingestion by Child and Adult Age Categories Based on USDA's 1994-96 and 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (Journal Article)

Science.gov (United States)

Current water ingestion estimates are important for the assessment of risk to human populations of exposure to water-borne pollutants. This paper reports mean and percentile estimates of the distributions of daily average per capita water ingestion for 12 age range groups. The a...

Contribution of road traffic to ambient fine particle concentrations (PM{sub 10}) in Switzerland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hueglin, Ch.; Devos, W.; Gehrig, R.; Hofer, P.; Kobler, J. [Swiss Federal Laboratoires for Materials Testing and Research, EMPA, Dubendorf (Switzerland); Stahel, W.A. [Seminar for Statistics, ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Baltensperger, U. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Monn, Ch. [Institute for Hygiene and Applied Physiology, ETH Zurich (Switzerland)

2000-07-01

A multivariate receptor model was applied to estimate the contribution of road traffic to ambient levels of fine particles (PM{sub 10}) at different locations in Switzerland. At two roadside sites with heavy local traffic, the road traffic was found to account for 46% and 64% of PM{sub 10}. At an urban background site, the estimated average road traffic contribution was 34%, whereas a slightly higher value was obtained at a suburban site (36%). This results are in good agreement with the findings of a recent study, where a conceptually different approach (dispersion modelling) was applied. (authors)

Road traffic noise, air pollution and myocardial infarction: a prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bodin, Theo; Björk, Jonas; Mattisson, Kristoffer; Bottai, Matteo; Rittner, Ralf; Gustavsson, Per; Jakobsson, Kristina; Östergren, Per-Olof; Albin, Maria

2016-07-01

Both road traffic noise and air pollution have been linked to cardiovascular disease. However, there are few prospective epidemiological studies available where both road traffic noise and air pollution have been analyzed simultaneously. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between road traffic noise, air pollution and incident myocardial infarction in both current (1-year average) and medium-term (3-year average) perspective. This study was based on a stratified random sample of persons aged 18-80 years who answered a public health survey in Skåne, Sweden, in 2000 (n = 13,512). The same individuals received a repeated survey in 2005 and 2010. Diagnoses of myocardial infarction (MI) were obtained from medical records for both inpatient and outpatient specialized care. The endpoint was first MI during 2000-2010. Participants with prior myocardial infarction were excluded at baseline. Yearly average levels of noise (L DEN) and air pollution (NO x ) were estimated using geographic information system for residential address every year until censoring. The mean exposure levels for road traffic noise and air pollution in 2005 were L DEN 51 dB(A) and NO x 11 µg/m(3), respectively. After adjustment for individual confounders (age, sex, body mass index, smoking, education, alcohol consumption, civil status, year, country of birth and physical activity), a 10-dB(A) increase in current noise exposure did not increase the incidence rate ratio (IRR) for MI, 0.99 (95 % CI 0.86-1.14). Neither did a 10-μg/m(3) increase in current NO x increase the risk of MI, 1.02 (95 % CI 0.86-1.21). The IRR for MI associated with combined exposure to road traffic noise >55 dB(A) and NO x >20 µg/m(3) was 1.21 (95 % CI 0.90-1.64) compared to noise or air pollution at moderate average exposure levels.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe. Annual report 2012; Deutsche Umwelthilfe. Jahresbericht 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Finus, Oliver; Fischer, Thomas; Fokken, Ulrike [and others

2012-12-01

Within the annual report 2012 under consideration, the German Environmental Relief (Radolfzell, Federal Republic of Germany) describes its currents activities in the following areas: Energy and climate protection; traffic and air purification; nature protection; municipal environmental protection; ecologic consumer protection; cycle waste management; environment and development.

Daily self-disclosure and sleep in couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Heidi S; Slatcher, Richard B; Reynolds, Bridget M; Repetti, Rena L; Robles, Theodore F

2014-08-01

An emerging literature provides evidence for the association between romantic relationship quality and sleep, an important factor in health and well-being. However, we still know very little about the specific relationship processes that affect sleep behavior. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine how self-disclosure, an important relational process linked to intimacy, relationship satisfaction, and health, is associated with sleep behavior. As part of a larger study of family processes, wives (n = 46) and husbands (n = 38) from 46 cohabiting families completed 56 days of daily diaries. Spouses completed evening diaries assessing daily self-disclosure, relationship satisfaction, and mood and morning diaries assessing the prior night's sleep. Multilevel modeling was used to explore the effects of both daily variation in and average levels across the 56 days of self-disclosure on sleep. Daily variation in self-disclosure predicted sleep outcomes for wives, but not for husbands. On days when wives self-disclosed more to their spouses than their average level, their subjective sleep quality and sleep efficiency that night improved. Furthermore, daily self-disclosure buffered the effect of high negative mood on sleep latency for wives, but not husbands. In contrast, higher average levels of self-disclosure predicted less waking during the night for husbands, but not for wives. The association between self-disclosure and sleep is one mechanism by which daily relationship functioning may influence health and well-being. Gender may play a role in how self-disclosure is associated with sleep.

Impact of traffic noise on railway traffic safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zdravko TOŠ

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Traffic noise is one of the dominant factors of ergo-assessment. The harmful impact of traffic noise on the engine driver as target group can be studied in isolation from other ergo-assessment factors only in the initial phase of research. The simultaneous action of several related factors in the system of ergo-assessment factors has cumulative effect on the perception and psychomotoric status of the railway traffic participants in the appropriate traffic situation. The initial partial research of traffic noise by a combination of several scientific methods needs to be eventually upgraded by studying the relations among several concurrent important or dominant ergo-assessment factors.

Commuters’ air pollution exposure and acute health effects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zuurbier, M.M.M.

2011-01-01

People spend a substantial proportion of their time in traffic. In Europe, the average daily time in traffic is one to one and a half hour. Because of high in-traffic exposures and because most of the journeys are made during rush hours, the one to one and a half hour in traffic contributes

Spatial and temporal variations in traffic-related particulate matter at New York City high schools

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Molini M.; Chillrud, Steven N.; Correa, Juan C.; Feinberg, Marian; Hazi, Yair; Deepti, K. C.; Prakash, Swati; Ross, James M.; Levy, Diane; Kinney, Patrick L.

Relatively little is known about exposures to traffic-related particulate matter at schools located in dense urban areas. The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of diesel traffic proximity and intensity on ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and black carbon (BC), an indicator of diesel exhaust particles, at New York City (NYC) high schools. Outdoor PM 2.5 and BC were monitored continuously for 4-6 weeks at each of 3 NYC schools and 1 suburban school located 40 km upwind of the city. Traffic count data were obtained using an automated traffic counter or video camera. BC concentrations were 2-3 fold higher at urban schools compared with the suburban school, and among the 3 urban schools, BC concentrations were higher at schools located adjacent to highways. PM 2.5 concentrations were significantly higher at urban schools than at the suburban school, but concentrations did not vary significantly among urban schools. Both hourly average counts of trucks and buses and meteorological factors such as wind direction, wind speed, and humidity were significantly associated with hourly average ambient BC and PM 2.5 concentrations in multivariate regression models. An increase of 443 trucks/buses per hour was associated with a 0.62 μg/m 3 increase in hourly average BC at an NYC school located adjacent to a major interstate highway. Car traffic counts were not associated with BC. The results suggest that local diesel vehicle traffic may be important sources of airborne fine particles in dense urban areas and consequently may contribute to local variations in PM 2.5 concentrations. In urban areas with higher levels of diesel traffic, local, neighborhood-scale monitoring of pollutants such as BC, which compared to PM 2.5, is a more specific indicator of diesel exhaust particles, may more accurately represent population exposures.

Daily and seasonal variation of short-lived radon decay product concentrations in ground-level air at Munich-Neuherberg - a long-term study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkler, R.

2001-09-01

Daily and seasonal variation of the equilibrium equivalent radon concentration (EEC Rn-222 ) and of the concentration of the short-lived radon decay product 214 Pb in ground-level air was investigated at Munich-Neuherberg from 1982 to 2000, and from 1989 to 2000, respectively. For this, the EEC was measured continuously with an alpha/beta aerosol monitor at 2.5 m above ground, and 214 Pb was determined by online gamma spectrometry at about 12 m above ground. The resulting time series were analysed statistically. For the respective periods, the measurements yielded a long-term average concentration of 7.8 Bq m -3 (geometric mean: 6.1 Bq m -3 ) for the EEC, and 6.0 Bq m -3 (geom. mean: 5.0 Bq m -3 ) for 214 Pb. In these periods, daily averages ranged from 0.6 to 49 Bq m -3 (EEC), and from 0.6 to 43 Bq m -3 ( 214 Pb). Monthly mean concentrations varied between 3.0 Bq m -3 in March 1988 and 20 Bq m -3 in October 1985 (EEC), and from 3.4 Bq m -3 in April 1992 to 11 Bq m -3 in October 1995 ( 214 Pb), respectively. The annual average concentrations were from 5.9 Bq m -3 in 1999 to 10.6 Bq m -3 in 1985 (EEC), and from 5.3 Bq m -3 in 1999 to 6.8 Bq m -3 in 1991 ( 214 Pb). From the long-term average equilibrium equivalent radon concentration (EEC), an average annual effective dose of 0.13 mSv due to the short-lived radon progeny outdoors was estimated. The time series showed distinct daily and seasonal variations. The variations from day to day are mainly caused by the actual weather conditions (wind, rain, etc.), i.e. the short-term turbulent conditions. The seasonal pattern is characterised by an autumn to winter maximum and an early summer minimum, and reflects the prevailing turbulent conditions at the respective seasons. As known, at Munich-Neuherberg during autumn and winter months (October/November to February) inversion weather conditions frequently occur, while the other months are characterised by more turbulent conditions. (orig.)

AVL and Monitoring for Massive Traffic Control System over DDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basem Almadani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a real-time Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL and monitoring system for traffic control of pilgrims coming towards the city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia based on Data Distribution Service (DDS specified by the Object Management Group (OMG. DDS based middleware employs Real-Time Publish/Subscribe (RTPS protocol that implements many-to-many communication paradigm suitable in massive traffic control applications. Using this middleware approach, we are able to locate and track huge number of mobile vehicles and identify all passengers in real-time who are coming to perform annual Hajj. For validation of our proposed framework, various performance matrices are examined over WLAN using DDS. Results show that DDS based middleware can meet real-time requirements in large-scale AVL environment.

Traffic Congestion Evaluation and Signal Control Optimization Based on Wireless Sensor Networks: Model and Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the model and algorithms for traffic flow data monitoring and optimal traffic light control based on wireless sensor networks. Given the scenario that sensor nodes are sparsely deployed along the segments between signalized intersections, an analytical model is built using continuum traffic equation and develops the method to estimate traffic parameter with the scattered sensor data. Based on the traffic data and principle of traffic congestion formation, we introduce the congestion factor which can be used to evaluate the real-time traffic congestion status along the segment and to predict the subcritical state of traffic jams. The result is expected to support the timing phase optimization of traffic light control for the purpose of avoiding traffic congestion before its formation. We simulate the traffic monitoring based on the Mobile Century dataset and analyze the performance of traffic light control on VISSIM platform when congestion factor is introduced into the signal timing optimization model. The simulation result shows that this method can improve the spatial-temporal resolution of traffic data monitoring and evaluate traffic congestion status with high precision. It is helpful to remarkably alleviate urban traffic congestion and decrease the average traffic delays and maximum queue length.

Cellular automata model for traffic flow at intersections in internet of vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Han-Tao; Liu, Xin-Ru; Chen, Xiao-Xu; Lu, Jian-Cheng

2018-03-01

Considering the effect of the front vehicle's speed, the influence of the brake light and the conflict of the traffic flow, we established a cellular automata model called CE-NS for traffic flow at the intersection in the non-vehicle networking environment. According to the information interaction of Internet of Vehicles (IoV), introducing parameters describing the congestion and the accurate speed of the front vehicle into the CE-NS model, we improved the rules of acceleration, deceleration and conflict, and finally established a cellular automata model for traffic flow at intersections of IoV. The relationship between traffic parameters such as vehicle speed, flow and average travel time is obtained by numerical simulation of two models. Based on this, we compared the traffic situation of the non-vehicle networking environment with conditions of IoV environment, and analyzed the influence of the different degree of IoV on the traffic flow. The results show that the traffic speed is increased, the travel time is reduced, the flux of intersections is increased and the traffic flow is more smoothly under IoV environment. After the vehicle which achieves IoV reaches a certain proportion, the operation effect of the traffic flow begins to improve obviously.

A theory of traffic congestion at heavy bottlenecks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kerner, Boris S [Daimler AG, GR/ETI, HPC: G021, 71059 Sindelfingen (Germany)

2008-05-30

Spatiotemporal features and physics of vehicular traffic congestion occurring due to heavy highway bottlenecks caused for example by bad weather conditions or accidents are found based on simulations in the framework of three-phase traffic theory. A model of a heavy bottleneck is presented. Under a continuous non-limited increase in bottleneck strength, i.e., when the average flow rate within a congested pattern allowed by the heavy bottleneck decreases continuously up to zero, the evolution of the traffic phases in congested traffic, synchronized flow and wide moving jams, is studied. It is found that at a small enough flow rate within the congested pattern, the pattern exhibits a non-regular structure: a pinch region of synchronized flow within the pattern disappears and appears randomly over time; wide moving jams upstream of the pinch region exhibit a complex non-regular dynamics in which the jams appear and disappear randomly. At greater bottleneck strengths, wide moving jams merge onto a mega-wide moving jam (mega-jam) within which low-speed patterns with a complex non-regular spatiotemporal dynamics occur. We show that when the bottleneck strength is great enough, only the mega-jam survives and synchronized flow remains only within its downstream front separating free flow and congested traffic. Theoretical results presented can explain why no sequence of wide moving jams can often be distinguished in non-homogeneous traffic congestion measured at very heavy bottlenecks caused by bad weather conditions or accidents.

A theory of traffic congestion at heavy bottlenecks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kerner, Boris S

2008-01-01

Spatiotemporal features and physics of vehicular traffic congestion occurring due to heavy highway bottlenecks caused for example by bad weather conditions or accidents are found based on simulations in the framework of three-phase traffic theory. A model of a heavy bottleneck is presented. Under a continuous non-limited increase in bottleneck strength, i.e., when the average flow rate within a congested pattern allowed by the heavy bottleneck decreases continuously up to zero, the evolution of the traffic phases in congested traffic, synchronized flow and wide moving jams, is studied. It is found that at a small enough flow rate within the congested pattern, the pattern exhibits a non-regular structure: a pinch region of synchronized flow within the pattern disappears and appears randomly over time; wide moving jams upstream of the pinch region exhibit a complex non-regular dynamics in which the jams appear and disappear randomly. At greater bottleneck strengths, wide moving jams merge onto a mega-wide moving jam (mega-jam) within which low-speed patterns with a complex non-regular spatiotemporal dynamics occur. We show that when the bottleneck strength is great enough, only the mega-jam survives and synchronized flow remains only within its downstream front separating free flow and congested traffic. Theoretical results presented can explain why no sequence of wide moving jams can often be distinguished in non-homogeneous traffic congestion measured at very heavy bottlenecks caused by bad weather conditions or accidents

New Zealand traffic and local air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Irving, Paul; Moncrieff, Ian

2004-12-01

Since 1996 the New Zealand Ministry of Transport (MOT) has been investigating the effects of road transport on local air quality. The outcome has been the government's Vehicle Fleet Emissions Control Strategy (VFECS). This is a programme of measures designed to assist with the improvement in local air quality, and especially in the appropriate management of transport sector emissions. Key to the VFECS has been the development of tools to assess and predict the contribution of vehicle emissions to local air pollution, in a given urban situation. Determining how vehicles behave as an emissions source, and more importantly, how the combined traffic flows contribute to the total emissions within a given airshed location was an important element of the programme. The actual emissions output of a vehicle is more than that determined by a certified emission standard, at the point of manufacture. It is the engine technology's general performance capability, in conjunction with the local driving conditions, that determines its actual emissions output. As vehicles are a mobile emissions source, to understand the effect of vehicle technology, it is necessary to work with the average fleet performance, or "fleet-weighted average emissions rate". This is the unit measure of performance of the general traffic flow that could be passing through a given road corridor or network, as an average, over time. The flow composition can be representative of the national fleet population, but also may feature particular vehicle types in a given locality, thereby have a different emissions 'signature'. A summary of the range of work that has been completed as part of the VFECS programme is provided. The NZ Vehicle Fleet Emissions Model and the derived data set available in the NZ Traffic Emission Rates provide a significant step forward in the consistent analysis of practical, sustainable vehicle emissions policy and air-quality management in New Zealand.

Analysis of Traffic Crash Data in Kentucky (2012-2016).

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 2012 through 2016. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Rates were calculated for various types of high...

Analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky (2009-2013).

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 2009 through 2013. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Rates were calculated for various types of high...

Daily torpor and hibernation in birds and mammals

Science.gov (United States)

RUF, THOMAS; GEISER, FRITZ

2014-01-01

Many birds and mammals drastically reduce their energy expenditure during times of cold exposure, food shortage, or drought, by temporarily abandoning euthermia, i.e., the maintenance of high body temperatures. Traditionally, two different types of heterothermy, i.e., hypometabolic states associated with low body temperatures (torpor), have been distinguished: Daily torpor, which lasts less than 24 h and is accompanied by continued foraging, versus hibernation, with torpor bouts lasting consecutive days to several weeks in animals that usually do not forage but rely on energy stores, either food caches or body energy reserves. This classification of torpor types has been challenged however, suggesting that these phenotypes may merely represent the extremes in a continuum of traits. Here, we investigate whether variables of torpor in 214 species, 43 birds and 171 mammals form a continuum or a bimodal distribution. We use Gaussian-mixture cluster analysis as well as phylogenetically informed regressions to quantitatively assess the distinction between hibernation and daily torpor and to evaluate the impact of body mass and geographical distribution of species on torpor traits. Cluster analysis clearly confirmed the classical distinction between daily torpor and hibernation. Overall, heterothermic endotherms are small on average, but hibernators are significantly heavier than daily heterotherms and also are distributed at higher average latitudes (~35°) than daily heterotherms (~25°). Variables of torpor for an average 30-g heterotherm differed significantly between daily heterotherms and hibernators. Average maximum torpor bout duration was >30-fold longer, and mean torpor bout duration >25-fold longer in hibernators. Mean minimum body temperature differed by ~13°C, and the mean minimum torpor metabolic rate was ~35% of the BMR in daily heterotherms but only 6% of basal metabolic rate in hibernators. Consequently, our analysis strongly supports the view that

A randomised clinical trial on the efficacy of oxytetracycline dose through water medication of nursery pigs on diarrhoea, faecal shedding of Lawsonia intracellularis and average daily weight gain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Inge-Lise; Hjulsager, Charlotte Kristiane; Holm, Anders

2016-01-01

the efficacy of three oral dosage regimens (5, 10 and 20mg/kg body weight) of oxytetracycline (OTC) in drinking water over a five-day period on diarrhoea, faecal shedding of LI and average daily weight gain (ADG). A randomised clinical trial was carried out in four Danish pig herds. In total, 539 animals from...

Daily disposable contact lens prescribing around the world.

Science.gov (United States)

Efron, Nathan; Morgan, Philip B; Helland, Magne; Itoi, Motozumi; Jones, Deborah; Nichols, Jason J; van der Worp, Eef; Woods, Craig A

2010-10-01

Daily disposable contact lenses were introduced into the market 16 years ago. Data that we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the USA between 2000 and 2008 indicates an overall increase in daily disposable lens fitting during this period. Daily disposable lenses are especially popular in Japan, Norway and the UK. There is a trend for these lenses to be fitted on a part-time basis. Males are over-represented in daily disposable lens fitting-a trend that is especially evident in Canada. Daily disposable lens wearers are about two years younger than wearers of reusable lenses in Japan and The Netherlands. The convenience and health benefits of daily disposable lenses are expected to fuel continued growth in this sector. Copyright (c) 2010 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Annualized TASAR Benefit Estimate for Alaska Airlines Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

The Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept offers onboard automation for the purpose of advising the pilot of traffic compatible trajectory changes that would be beneficial to the flight. A fast-time simulation study was conducted to assess the benefits of TASAR to Alaska Airlines. The simulation compares historical trajectories without TASAR to trajectories developed with TASAR and evaluated by controllers against their objectives. It was estimated that between 8,000 and 12,000 gallons of fuel and 900 to 1,300 minutes could be saved annually per aircraft. These savings were applied fleet-wide to produce an estimated annual cost savings to Alaska Airlines in excess of $5 million due to fuel, maintenance, and depreciation cost savings. Switching to a more wind-optimal trajectory was found to be the use case that generated the highest benefits out of the three TASAR use cases analyzed. Alaska TASAR requests peaked at four to eight requests per hour in high-altitude Seattle center sectors south of Seattle-Tacoma airport.

Annualized TASAR Benefit Estimate for Virgin America Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

The Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept offers onboard automation for the purpose of advising the pilot of traffic compatible trajectory changes that would be beneficial to the flight. A fast-time simulation study was conducted to assess the benefits of TASAR to Virgin America. The simulation compares historical trajectories without TASAR to trajectories developed with TASAR and evaluated by controllers against their objectives. It was estimated that about 25,000 gallons of fuel and about 2,500 minutes could be saved annually per aircraft. These savings were applied fleet-wide to produce an estimated annual cost savings to Virgin America in excess of $5 million due to fuel, maintenance, and depreciation cost savings. Switching to a more wind-optimal trajectory was found to be the use case that generated the highest benefits out of the three TASAR use cases analyzed. Virgin America TASAR requests peaked at two to four requests per hour per sector in high-altitude Oakland and Salt Lake City center sectors east of San Francisco.

TRAFFIC SIMULATION FOR MIXED TRAFFIC SYSTEMS

African Journals Online (AJOL)

EGETE

2012-05-04

May 4, 2012 ... Traffic problem is classified into single and mixed, especially in most developing countries, where motorbikes are ..... The traffic light control system presented by its location on ... multi-destination dynamic routing and real-time.

76 FR 37650 - Safety Zone; Northern California Annual Fireworks Events, Fourth of July Fireworks, South Lake...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-28

... Zone; Northern California Annual Fireworks Events, Fourth of July Fireworks, South Lake Tahoe Gaming... will enforce the safety zone for the annual Fourth of July Fireworks, South Lake Tahoe Gaming Alliance (Lights on the Lake Fireworks Display). This action is necessary to control vessel traffic and to ensure...

Association between Traffic Air Pollution and Reduced Forced Vital Capacity: A Study Using Personal Monitors for Outdoor Workers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ubiratan Paula Santos

Full Text Available The effects of outdoor air pollution on lung function in adults are still controversial.Evaluate the effects of exposure to different levels of traffic-generated PM2.5 on workers' lung functions in São Paulo, Brazil.To cover a wide range of exposures, 101 non-smoking workers from three occupations (taxi drivers, traffic controllers, and forest rangers were selected for the study. After clinical evaluation, the participants were scheduled to attend four consecutive weekly visits in which they received a 24-hour personal PM2.5 sampler and had lung function tests measured on the following day. The association between the spirometric variables and the averaged PM2.5 levels was assessed using robust regression models adjusted for age, waist circumference, time at the job, daily work hours, diabetes or hypertension and former smoking habits.Relative to workers in the lowest exposed group (all measures 39.6 μg/m3 showed a reduction of predicted FVC (-12.2%; CI 95%: [-20.0% to -4.4%], a marginal reduction of predicted FEV1 (-9.1%; CI 95%: [-19.1% to 0.9%] and an increase of predicted FEF25-75%/FVC (14.9%; CI 95%: [2.9% to 26.8%] without changes of FEV1/FVC.Exposure to vehicular traffic air pollution is associated with a small but significant reduction of FVC without a reduction of FEV1/FVC.

Spatial and temporal associations of road traffic noise and air pollution in London: Implications for epidemiological studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Fecht, Daniela; Hansell, Anna L; Morley, David; Dajnak, David; Vienneau, Danielle; Beevers, Sean; Toledano, Mireille B; Kelly, Frank J; Anderson, H Ross; Gulliver, John

2016-03-01

Road traffic gives rise to noise and air pollution exposures, both of which are associated with adverse health effects especially for cardiovascular disease, but mechanisms may differ. Understanding the variability in correlations between these pollutants is essential to understand better their separate and joint effects on human health. We explored associations between modelled noise and air pollutants using different spatial units and area characteristics in London in 2003-2010. We modelled annual average exposures to road traffic noise (LAeq,24h, Lden, LAeq,16h, Lnight) for ~190,000 postcode centroids in London using the UK Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN) method. We used a dispersion model (KCLurban) to model nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, total and the traffic-only component of particulate matter ≤2.5μm and ≤10μm. We analysed noise and air pollution correlations at the postcode level (~50 people), postcodes stratified by London Boroughs (~240,000 people), neighbourhoods (Lower layer Super Output Areas) (~1600 people), 1km grid squares, air pollution tertiles, 50m, 100m and 200m in distance from major roads and by deprivation tertiles. Across all London postcodes, we observed overall moderate correlations between modelled noise and air pollution that were stable over time (Spearman's rho range: |0.34-0.55|). Correlations, however, varied considerably depending on the spatial unit: largest ranges were seen in neighbourhoods and 1km grid squares (both Spearman's rho range: |0.01-0.87|) and was less for Boroughs (Spearman's rho range: |0.21-0.78|). There was little difference in correlations between exposure tertiles, distance from road or deprivation tertiles. Associations between noise and air pollution at the relevant geographical unit of analysis need to be carefully considered in any epidemiological analysis, in particular in complex urban areas. Low correlations near roads, however, suggest that independent effects of road noise and

Cooperative Learning for Distributed In-Network Traffic Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, S. B.; Loo, H. R.; Ismail, I.; Andromeda, T.; Marsono, M. N.

2017-04-01

Inspired by the concept of autonomic distributed/decentralized network management schemes, we consider the issue of information exchange among distributed network nodes to network performance and promote scalability for in-network monitoring. In this paper, we propose a cooperative learning algorithm for propagation and synchronization of network information among autonomic distributed network nodes for online traffic classification. The results show that network nodes with sharing capability perform better with a higher average accuracy of 89.21% (sharing data) and 88.37% (sharing clusters) compared to 88.06% for nodes without cooperative learning capability. The overall performance indicates that cooperative learning is promising for distributed in-network traffic classification.

Traffic signal synchronization.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ding-wei; Huang, Wei-neng

2003-05-01

The benefits of traffic signal synchronization are examined within the cellular automata approach. The microsimulations of traffic flow are obtained with different settings of signal period T and time delay delta. Both numerical results and analytical approximations are presented. For undersaturated traffic, the green-light wave solutions can be realized. For saturated traffic, the correlation among the traffic signals has no effect on the throughput. For oversaturated traffic, the benefits of synchronization are manifest only when stochastic noise is suppressed.

CDC WONDER: Daily Air Temperatures and Heat Index

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Daily Air Temperature and Heat Index data available on CDC WONDER are county-level daily average air temperatures and heat index measures spanning the years...

The epidemiology and cost analysis of patients presented to Emergency Department following traffic accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Akgül Karadana, Gökçe; Metin Aksu, Nalan; Akkaş, Meltem; Akman, Canan; Üzümcügil, Akın; Özmen, M Mahir

2013-12-09

Traffic accidents are ranked first as the cause of personal injury throughout the world. The high number of traffic accidents yielding injuries and fatalities makes them of great importance to Emergency Departments. Patients admitted to Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine Adult Emergency Department due to traffic accidents were investigated epidemiologically. Differences between groups were evaluated by Kruskall-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon tests. A value of paccidents were the most common. In 2004 the rate of traffic accidents (15.3%) was higher than the other years, the most common month was May (10.8%), and the most common time period was 6 pm to 12 am (midnight). About half of the patients (51.5%) were admitted in the first 30 minutes. Life-threatening condition was present in 9.6% of the patients. Head trauma was the most common type of trauma, with the rate of 18.3%. Mortality rate was 81.8%. The average length of hospital stay was 403 minutes (6.7 hours) and the average cost per patient was 983 ± 4364 TL. Further studies are needed to compare the cost found in this study with the mean cost for Turkey. However, the most important step to reduce the direct and indirect costs due to traffic accidents is the prevention of these accidents.

Solutions to Improve Road Circulation in the Pitesti City Based on Analysis-Diagnostics of Road Traffic

Science.gov (United States)

Vîlcan, A.; Neagu, E.; Badarau Suster, H.; Boroiu, A. A.

2017-10-01

Road traffic congestion has become a daily phenomenon in the central area of Pitesti in the peak traffic periods. In order to achieve the mobility plan of Pitesti, an important stage is the diagnostic analysis of the road traffic. For this purpose, the urban road network was formalized through a graph containing the most important 40 intersections and traffic measurements were made at all these intersections and on the main roads connecting the peri-urban area. The data obtained by traffic macrosimulation confirmed the overloading of the street network during peak traffic hours and the analyzes made for various road traffic organization scenarios have shown that there are sustainable solutions for urban mobility only if the road network is fundamentally reconfigured (a belt outside the city and a median ring). Thus, the necessity of realizing the road passage in the Prundu neighbourhood and the finishing of the city belt by realizing the “detour West” of the city is argued. The importance of the work is that it brings scientific arguments for the realization of these road infrastructure projects, integrated in the urban mobility plan, which will base the development strategy of the Pitesti municipality.

Verification of average daily maximum permissible concentration of styrene in the atmospheric air of settlements under the results of epidemiological studies of the children’s population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

М.А. Zemlyanova

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We presented the materials on the verification of the average daily maximum permissible concentration of styrene in the atmospheric air of settlements performed under the results of own in-depth epidemiological studies of children’s population according to the principles of the international risk assessment practice. It was established that children in the age of 4–7 years when exposed to styrene at the level above 1.2 of threshold level value for continuous exposure develop the negative exposure effects in the form of disorders of hormonal regulation, pigmentary exchange, antioxidative activity, cytolysis, immune reactivity and cytogenetic disbalance which contribute to the increased morbidity of diseases of the central nervous system, endocrine system, respiratory organs, digestion and skin. Based on the proved cause-and-effect relationships between the biomarkers of negative effects and styrene concentration in blood it was demonstrated that the benchmark styrene concentration in blood is 0.002 mg/dm3. The justified value complies with and confirms the average daily styrene concentration in the air of settlements at the level of 0.002 mg/m3 accepted in Russia which provides the safety for the health of population (1 threshold level value for continuous exposure.

Long-term patterns of air temperatures, daily temperature range, precipitation, grass-reference evapotranspiration and aridity index in the USA Great Plains: Part I. Spatial trends

Science.gov (United States)

Kukal, M.; Irmak, S.

2016-11-01

Due to their substantial spatio-temporal behavior, long-term quantification and analyses of important hydrological variables are essential for practical applications in water resources planning, evaluating the water use of agricultural crop production and quantifying crop evapotranspiration patterns and irrigation management vs. hydrologic balance relationships. Observed data at over 800 sites across the Great Plains of USA, comprising of 9 states and 2,307,410 km2 of surface area, which is about 30% of the terrestrial area of the USA, were used to quantify and map large-scale and long-term (1968-2013) spatial trends of air temperatures, daily temperature range (DTR), precipitation, grass-reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and aridity index (AI) at monthly, growing season and annual time steps. Air temperatures had a strong north to south increasing trend, with annual average varying from -1 to 24 °C, and growing season average temperature varying from 8 to 30 °C. DTR gradually decreased from western to eastern parts of the region, with a regional annual and growing season averages of 14.25 °C and 14.79 °C, respectively. Precipitation had a gradual shift towards higher magnitudes from west to east, with the average annual and growing season (May-September) precipitation ranging from 163 to 1486 mm and from 98 to 746 mm, respectively. ETo had a southwest-northeast decreasing trend, with regional annual and growing season averages of 1297 mm and 823 mm, respectively. AI increased from west to east, indicating higher humidity (less arid) towards the east, with regional annual and growing season averages of 0.49 and 0.44, respectively. The spatial datasets and maps for these important climate variables can serve as valuable background for climate change and hydrologic studies in the Great Plains region. Through identification of priority areas from the developed maps, efforts of the concerned personnel and agencies and resources can be diverted towards development

Is average daily travel time expenditure constant? In search of explanations for an increase in average travel time.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Wee, B.; Rietveld, P.; Meurs, H.

2006-01-01

Recent research suggests that the average time spent travelling by the Dutch population has increased over the past decades. However, different data sources show different levels of increase. This paper explores possible causes for this increase. They include a rise in incomes, which has probably

Observability of market daily volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Petroni, Filippo; Serva, Maurizio

2016-02-01

We study the price dynamics of 65 stocks from the Dow Jones Composite Average from 1973 to 2014. We show that it is possible to define a Daily Market Volatility σ(t) which is directly observable from data. This quantity is usually indirectly defined by r(t) = σ(t) ω(t) where the r(t) are the daily returns of the market index and the ω(t) are i.i.d. random variables with vanishing average and unitary variance. The relation r(t) = σ(t) ω(t) alone is unable to give an operative definition of the index volatility, which remains unobservable. On the contrary, we show that using the whole information available in the market, the index volatility can be operatively defined and detected.

Uber and Metropolitan Traffic Fatalities in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Brazil, Noli; Kirk, David S

2016-08-01

Uber and similar rideshare services are rapidly dispersing in cities across the United States and beyond. Given the convenience and low cost, Uber has been characterized as a potential countermeasure for reducing the estimated 121 million episodes of drunk driving and the 10,000 resulting traffic fatalities that occur annually in the United States. We exploited differences in the timing of the deployment of Uber in US metropolitan counties from 2005 to 2014 to test the association between the availability of Uber's rideshare services and total, drunk driving-related, and weekend- and holiday-specific traffic fatalities in the 100 most populated metropolitan areas in the United States using negative binomial and Poisson regression models. We found that the deployment of Uber services in a given metropolitan county had no association with the number of subsequent traffic fatalities, whether measured in aggregate or specific to drunk-driving fatalities or fatalities during weekends and holidays. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Multiobjective Reinforcement Learning for Traffic Signal Control Using Vehicular Ad Hoc Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Houli Duan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a new multiobjective control algorithm based on reinforcement learning for urban traffic signal control, named multi-RL. A multiagent structure is used to describe the traffic system. A vehicular ad hoc network is used for the data exchange among agents. A reinforcement learning algorithm is applied to predict the overall value of the optimization objective given vehicles' states. The policy which minimizes the cumulative value of the optimization objective is regarded as the optimal one. In order to make the method adaptive to various traffic conditions, we also introduce a multiobjective control scheme in which the optimization objective is selected adaptively to real-time traffic states. The optimization objectives include the vehicle stops, the average waiting time, and the maximum queue length of the next intersection. In addition, we also accommodate a priority control to the buses and the emergency vehicles through our model. The simulation results indicated that our algorithm could perform more efficiently than traditional traffic light control methods.

Suppressing traffic-driven epidemic spreading by use of the efficient routing protocol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Han-Xin; Wu, Zhi-Xi

2014-01-01

Despite extensive work on the interplay between traffic dynamics and epidemic spreading, the control of epidemic spreading by routing strategies has not received adequate attention. In this paper, we study the impact of an efficient routing protocol on epidemic spreading. In the case of infinite node-delivery capacity, where the traffic is free of congestion, we find that that there exist optimal values of routing parameter, leading to the maximal epidemic threshold. This means that epidemic spreading can be effectively controlled by fine tuning the routing scheme. Moreover, we find that an increase in the average network connectivity and the emergence of traffic congestion can suppress the epidemic outbreak. (paper)

Traffic Accidents Involving Cyclists Identifying Causal Factors Using Questionnaire Survey, Traffic Accident Data, and Real-World Observation.

Science.gov (United States)

Oikawa, Shoko; Hirose, Toshiya; Aomura, Shigeru; Matsui, Yasuhiro

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study is to clarify the mechanism of traffic accidents involving cyclists. The focus is on the characteristics of cyclist accidents and scenarios, because the number of traffic accidents involving cyclists in Tokyo is the highest in Japan. First, dangerous situations in traffic incidents were investigated by collecting data from 304 cyclists in one city in Tokyo using a questionnaire survey. The survey indicated that cyclists used their bicycles generally while commuting to work or school in the morning. Second, the study investigated the characteristics of 250 accident situations involving cyclists that happened in the city using real-world bicycle accident data. The results revealed that the traffic accidents occurred at intersections of local streets, where cyclists collided most often with vehicles during commute time in the morning. Third, cyclists' behavior was observed at a local street intersection in the morning in the city using video pictures. In one hour during the morning commute period, 250 bicycles passed through the intersection. The results indicated that one of the reasons for traffic accidents involving cyclists might be the combined effect of low visibility, caused by the presence of box-like building structures close to the intersections, and the cyclists' behavior in terms of their velocity and no confirming safety. It was observed that, on average, bicycle velocity was 3.1 m/s at the initial line of an intersection. The findings from this study could be useful in developing new technologies to improve cyclist safety, such as alert devices for cyclists and vehicle drivers, wireless communication systems between cyclists and vehicle drivers, or advanced vehicles with bicycle detection and collision mitigation systems.

Performance of an Automated-Mixed-Traffic-Vehicle /AMTV/ System. [urban people mover

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, T. K. C.; Chon, K.

1978-01-01

This study analyzes the operation and evaluates the expected performance of a proposed automatic guideway transit system which uses low-speed Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicles (AMTV's). Vehicle scheduling and headway control policies are evaluated with a transit system simulation model. The effect of mixed-traffic interference on the average vehicle speed is examined with a vehicle-pedestrian interface model. Control parameters regulating vehicle speed are evaluated for safe stopping and passenger comfort.

Estimating Loess Plateau Average Annual Precipitation with Multiple Linear Regression Kriging and Geographically Weighted Regression Kriging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiutong Jin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Estimating the spatial distribution of precipitation is an important and challenging task in hydrology, climatology, ecology, and environmental science. In order to generate a highly accurate distribution map of average annual precipitation for the Loess Plateau in China, multiple linear regression Kriging (MLRK and geographically weighted regression Kriging (GWRK methods were employed using precipitation data from the period 1980–2010 from 435 meteorological stations. The predictors in regression Kriging were selected by stepwise regression analysis from many auxiliary environmental factors, such as elevation (DEM, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, solar radiation, slope, and aspect. All predictor distribution maps had a 500 m spatial resolution. Validation precipitation data from 130 hydrometeorological stations were used to assess the prediction accuracies of the MLRK and GWRK approaches. Results showed that both prediction maps with a 500 m spatial resolution interpolated by MLRK and GWRK had a high accuracy and captured detailed spatial distribution data; however, MLRK produced a lower prediction error and a higher variance explanation than GWRK, although the differences were small, in contrast to conclusions from similar studies.

Marketing and alcohol-related traffic fatalities: impact of alcohol advertising targeting minors.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Ryan C; Geller, E Scott

2009-10-01

Alcohol-related youth traffic fatalities continue as a major public-health concern. While state and federal laws can be useful in tackling this problem, the efficacy of many laws has not been empirically demonstrated. We examined the impact of state laws prohibiting alcohol advertising to target minors. Using statistics obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), youth alcohol-related, single-vehicle, driver traffic fatalities were compared by state as a function of whether the state has a law prohibiting alcohol advertising that targets minors. Overall, states possessing this law experienced 32.9% fewer of the above specified traffic fatalities. DISCUSSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results suggest that not only are youth drinking rates affected by alcohol advertisements targeting youth, but also drink-driving behaviors. Indeed, we estimate that if this type of legislation were adopted in the 26 states that do not prohibit targeting of minors with alcohol advertising, then 400 youth lives could be saved annually.

Hazards to nuclear plants from surface traffic accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hornyik, K.

1975-01-01

Analytic models have been developed for evaluating hazards to nuclear plants from hazardous-materials accidents in the vicinity of the plant. In particular, these models permit the evaluation of hazards from such accidents occurring on surface traffic routes near the plant. The analysis uses statistical information on accident rates, traffic frequency, and cargo-size distribution along with parameters describing properties of the hazardous cargo, plant design, and atmospheric conditions, to arrive at a conservative estimate of the annual probability of a catastrophic event. Two of the major effects associated with hazardous-materials accidents, explosion and release of toxic vapors, are treated by a common formalism which can be readily applied to any given case by means of a graphic procedure. As an example, for a typical case it is found that railroad shipments of chlorine in 55-ton tank cars constitute a greater hazard to a nearby nuclear plant than equally frequent rail shipments of explosives in amounts of 10 tons. 11 references. (U.S.)

Traffic Generator (TrafficGen) Version 1.4.2: Users Guide

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

the network with Transmission Control Protocol and User Datagram Protocol Internet Protocol traffic. Each node generating network traffic in an...TrafficGen Graphical User Interface (GUI) 3 3.1 Anatomy of the User Interface 3 3.2 Scenario Configuration and MGEN Files 4 4. Working with...for public release; distribution is unlimited. vi List of Figures Fig. 1 TrafficGen user interface

Impact of Continuous Cropping on the Diurnal Range of Dew Point Temperature during the Foliar Expansion Period of Annual Crops on the Canadian Prairies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bharat M. Shrestha

2016-01-01

Full Text Available It is important to increase our knowledge of the role of land use in changing the regional climate. This study asked, “Has the increase in continuous cropping over the past 50 years on the Canadian Prairies influenced the daily mean and range of morning dew point temperatures (Td during the foliar expansion period (from mid-June to mid-July of annual field crops?” We found that there has been a general increase in the decadal average of mean daily Td and in the range of morning Td from the 1960s to the 2000s. The increase in the observed range of Td between the daily minimum value, which typically occurs near sunrise, and the late morning peak was found to be related to the increase in annual crop acreage and consequent decrease in summerfallow area. The relationship was more significant in the subhumid climatic zone than in the semiarid climatic zone, and it was influenced by whether the region was experiencing either wet, normal, or dry conditions.

Ecological study of road traffic injuries in the eastern Mediterranean region: country economic level, road user category and gender perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Sengoelge, Mathilde; Laflamme, Lucie; El-Khatib, Ziad

2018-02-13

The Eastern Mediterranean region has the second highest number of road traffic injury mortality rates after the African region based on 2013 data, with road traffic injuries accounting for 27% of the total injury mortality in the region. Globally the number of road traffic deaths has plateaued despite an increase in motorization, but it is uncertain whether this applies to the Region. This study investigated the regional trends in both road traffic injury mortality and morbidity and examined country-based differences considering on income level, categories of road users, and gender distribution. Register-based ecological study linking data from Global Burden of Disease Study with the United Nations Statistics Division for population and World Bank definition for country income level. Road traffic injury mortality rates and disability-adjusted life years were compiled for all ages at country level in 1995, 2005, 2015 and combined for a regional average (n = 22) and a global average (n = 122). The data were stratified by country economic level, road user category and gender. Road traffic injury mortality rates in the Region were higher than the global average for all three reference years but suggest a downward trend. In 2015 mortality rates were more than twice as high in low and high income countries compared to global income averages and motor vehicle occupants had a 3-fold greater mortality than the global average. Severe injuries decreased by more than half for high/middle income countries but remained high for low income countries; three times higher for males than females. Despite a potential downward trend, inequalities in road traffic injury mortality and morbidity burden remain high in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Action needs to be intensified and targeted to implement and enforce safety measures that prevent and mitigate severe motor vehicle crashes in high income countries especially and invest in efforts to promote public, active transport

Queueing and traffic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baër, Niek

2015-01-01

Traffic jams are everywhere, some are caused by constructions or accidents but a large portion occurs naturally. These "natural" traffic jams are a result of variable driving speeds combined with a high number of vehicles. To prevent these traffic jams, we must understand traffic in general, and to

Traffic Games: Modeling Freeway Traffic with Game Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortés-Berrueco, Luis E; Gershenson, Carlos; Stephens, Christopher R

2016-01-01

We apply game theory to a vehicular traffic model to study the effect of driver strategies on traffic flow. The resulting model inherits the realistic dynamics achieved by a two-lane traffic model and aims to incorporate phenomena caused by driver-driver interactions. To achieve this goal, a game-theoretic description of driver interaction was developed. This game-theoretic formalization allows one to model different lane-changing behaviors and to keep track of mobility performance. We simulate the evolution of cooperation, traffic flow, and mobility performance for different modeled behaviors. The analysis of these results indicates a mobility optimization process achieved by drivers' interactions.

Traffic planning for non-homogeneous traffic

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Vehicles based on similar traffic operating characteristics are grouped into ... of distances to the video monitor involved using a measuring wheel to mark ... Secondly, the observers reviewed the videotape to sample traffic entity ...... makes a strong case for including service lanes for slow moving vehicles for improving the.

Joint analysis of air pollution in street canyons in St. Petersburg and Copenhagen

Science.gov (United States)

Genikhovich, E. L.; Ziv, A. D.; Iakovleva, E. A.; Palmgren, F.; Berkowicz, R.

The bi-annual data set of concentrations of several traffic-related air pollutants, measured continuously in street canyons in St. Petersburg and Copenhagen, is analysed jointly using different statistical techniques. Annual mean concentrations of NO 2, NO x and, especially, benzene are found systematically higher in St. Petersburg than in Copenhagen but for ozone the situation is opposite. In both cities probability distribution functions (PDFs) of concentrations and their daily or weekly extrema are fitted with the Weibull and double exponential distributions, respectively. Sample estimates of bi-variate distributions of concentrations, concentration roses, and probabilities of concentration of one pollutant being extreme given that another one reaches its extremum are presented in this paper as well as auto- and co-spectra. It is demonstrated that there is a reasonably high correlation between seasonally averaged concentrations of pollutants in St. Petersburg and Copenhagen.

Annual and seasonal spatial models for nitrogen oxides in Tehran, Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Amini, Heresh; Taghavi-Shahri, Seyed-Mahmood; Henderson, Sarah B.; Hosseini, Vahid; Hassankhany, Hossein; Naderi, Maryam; Ahadi, Solmaz; Schindler, Christian; Künzli, Nino; Yunesian, Masud

2016-09-01

Very few land use regression (LUR) models have been developed for megacities in low- and middle-income countries, but such models are needed to facilitate epidemiologic research on air pollution. We developed annual and seasonal LUR models for ambient oxides of nitrogen (NO, NO2, and NOX) in the Middle Eastern city of Tehran, Iran, using 2010 data from 23 fixed monitoring stations. A novel systematic algorithm was developed for spatial modeling. The R2 values for the LUR models ranged from 0.69 to 0.78 for NO, 0.64 to 0.75 for NO2, and 0.61 to 0.79 for NOx. The most predictive variables were: distance to the traffic access control zone; distance to primary schools; green space; official areas; bridges; and slope. The annual average concentrations of all pollutants were high, approaching those reported for megacities in Asia. At 1000 randomly-selected locations the correlations between cooler and warmer season estimates were 0.64 for NO, 0.58 for NOX, and 0.30 for NO2. Seasonal differences in spatial patterns of pollution are likely driven by differences in source contributions and meteorology. These models provide a basis for understanding long-term exposures and chronic health effects of air pollution in Tehran, where such research has been limited.

A Survey on Urban Traffic Management System Using Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Nellore, Kapileswar; Hancke, Gerhard P.

2016-01-01

Nowadays, the number of vehicles has increased exponentially, but the bedrock capacities of roads and transportation systems have not developed in an equivalent way to efficiently cope with the number of vehicles traveling on them. Due to this, road jamming and traffic correlated pollution have increased with the associated adverse societal and financial effect on different markets worldwide. A static control system may block emergency vehicles due to traffic jams. Wireless Sensor networks (WSNs) have gained increasing attention in traffic detection and avoiding road congestion. WSNs are very trendy due to their faster transfer of information, easy installation, less maintenance, compactness and for being less expensive compared to other network options. There has been significant research on Traffic Management Systems using WSNs to avoid congestion, ensure priority for emergency vehicles and cut the Average Waiting Time (AWT) of vehicles at intersections. In recent decades, researchers have started to monitor real-time traffic using WSNs, RFIDs, ZigBee, VANETs, Bluetooth devices, cameras and infrared signals. This paper presents a survey of current urban traffic management schemes for priority-based signalling, and reducing congestion and the AWT of vehicles. The main objective of this survey is to provide a taxonomy of different traffic management schemes used for avoiding congestion. Existing urban traffic management schemes for the avoidance of congestion and providing priority to emergency vehicles are considered and set the foundation for further research. PMID:26828489

Analysis of traffic accidents in Romania, 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Călinoiu, Geovana; Minca, Dana Galieta; Furtunescu, Florentina Ligia

2012-01-01

This paper aimed to underline the main consequences of traffic accidents in Romania 2009 and their associated causes or circumstances. We identified some problematic geographic areas, some critical months or moments of the day and also the most frequent causes; all these should become targets for the future planning. The current analysis provides some priority criteria for public health interventions. So, the future national road safety strategy should be in line with the EU objectives, but also with the national priorities. Romania is far away from the average EU target for 2010 of halving the death by traffic accidents registered in 2001. To describe the circumstances and the consequences related to traffic accidents registered in Romania, for the year 2009. An ecological study was conducted. The traffic accidents circumstances were analyzed in terms of magnitude, geographic space, time and cause. The consequences were analyzed as affected people and damaged cars. A total of 28,627 traffic accidents were registered in Romania during the year 2009. 2,796 people were killed and 27,968 were hospitalized and 42,443 cars were damaged. 3 of 4 accidents were caused by violations on behalf of the car drivers. Most common violations in car drivers were excess of speed and priority violations (52.4%). Among the pedestrians, 7 of 10 accidents were caused by illegal crossing. A higher number of accidents occurred during the summer months and during the evening hours (from 5.00 pm till 8.00 pm). The traffic accidents represent a real public health problem in Romania and a serious burden for the health system. The gap between Romania and the other EU member states needs to be diminished in the next decade. In this purpose, the future national road safety strategy should be in line with the EU objectives, but also with the national priorities. Research is needed to understand the causes and the socio-economical impact of traffic accidents and to define appropriate national

Contextual deprivation, daily travel and road traffic injuries among the young in the Rhône Département (France).

Science.gov (United States)

Licaj, Idlir; Haddak, Mouloud; Pochet, Pascal; Chiron, Mireille

2011-09-01

This study investigated the effect of the socioeconomic level of the municipality of residence on personal injury road traffic accident risk among young persons of 10-24 years of age in the Rhône Département. This effect was assessed by comparing incidences of injuries (n=2792 casualties) on the basis of three denominators: the resident population of young people, the number of users of each mode and the distances covered by each mode. The results are presented for each type of road users (pedestrians, car passengers, car drivers, motorised two-wheeler riders, cyclists, public transport users). Young persons from deprived municipalities use motorised-two wheelers, bicycles and the car (as passengers and drivers) less frequently, they walk more and take public transports more often than those from other municipalities. When considering injury risk, motorised two wheeler injuries among adolescent males, for example, are significantly less frequent in deprived municipalities. But the motorised two-wheeler riders as well as car passengers from deprived municipalities are characterized by an excess injury risk, whether the selected denominator is the number of users or the kilometres travelled by this mode. For the first time in France, this study has enabled a comparison of the effects of a contextual socioeconomic indicator (the type of municipality of residence, deprived, or not) on daily travel practices and injury incidences among the population, among the users of each mode and per km of travel. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Area-wide traffic calming for preventing traffic related injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunn, F; Collier, T; Frost, C; Ker, K; Roberts, I; Wentz, R

2003-01-01

It is estimated that by 2020 road traffic crashes will have moved from ninth to third in the world disease burden ranking, as measured in disability adjusted life years, and second in developing countries. The identification of effective strategies for the prevention of traffic related injuries is of global health importance. Area-wide traffic calming schemes that discourage through traffic on residential roads is one such strategy. To evaluate the effectiveness of area-wide traffic calming in preventing traffic related crashes, injuries, and deaths. We searched the following electronic databases: Cochrane Injuries Group's Specialised Register, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE and TRANSPORT (NTIS, TRIS, TRANSDOC). We searched the web sites of road safety organisations, handsearched conference proceedings, checked reference lists of relevant papers and contacted experts in the area. The search was not restricted by language or publication status. Randomised controlled trials, and controlled before-after studies of area-wide traffic calming schemes. Two reviewers independently extracted data on type of study, characteristics of intervention and control areas, and length of data collection periods. Before and after data were collected on the total number of road traffic crashes, all road user deaths and injuries, pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions and road user deaths. The statistical package STATA was used to calculate rate ratios for each study, which were then pooled to give an overall estimate using a random effects model. We found no randomised controlled trials, but 16 controlled before-after trials met our inclusion criteria. Seven studies were done in Germany, six in the UK, two in Australia and one in the Netherlands. There were no studies in low or middle income countries. Eight trials reported the number of road traffic crashes resulting in deaths. The pooled rate ratio was 0.63 (0.14, 2.59 95% CI). Sixteen studies reported the number

Longitudinal surveys on effects of changes in road traffic noise: effects on sleep assessed by general questionnaires and 3-day sleep logs

Science.gov (United States)

Öhrström, E.

2004-09-01

Adverse health effects including sleep disturbances by road traffic noise were studied among inhabitants in a residential area near Västra Bräckevägen in Göteborg city, Sweden, in 1986 and 1987, before and after the introduction of night traffic regulations. The results of those studies showed a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances and poorer sleep quality in the exposed areas as compared with the control area. This paper presents results on sleep based on new studies done with general questionnaires and daily sleep logs for a period of 3 nights in 1997 and 1999 in the same areas, before and after the opening of a new tunnel for road traffic. At this time, road traffic had been substantially reduced from about 25 000 to 2 400 vehicles per 24 h and from 1375 to 180 vehicles per night (22-06). It is concluded from these long-term investigations that exposure to high levels of road traffic noise induces adverse effects on sleep and that sleep quality is significantly improved after an extensive noise reduction. Sleep quality assessed by a single general questionnaire may give equally good precision as daily reports on sleep over several days. Furthermore, a higher response rate is achieved by a single questionnaire.

Road Artery Traffic Light Optimization with Use of the Reinforcement Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rok Marsetič

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The basic principle of optimal traffic control is the appropriate real-time response to dynamic traffic flow changes. Signal plan efficiency depends on a large number of input parameters. An actuated signal system can adjust very well to traffic conditions, but cannot fully adjust to stochastic traffic volume oscillation. Due to the complexity of the problem analytical methods are not applicable for use in real time, therefore the purpose of this paper is to introduce heuristic method suitable for traffic light optimization in real time. With the evolution of artificial intelligence new possibilities for solving complex problems have been introduced. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that the use of the Q learning algorithm for traffic lights optimization is suitable. The Q learning algorithm was verified on a road artery with three intersections. For estimation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm comparison with an actuated signal plan was carried out. The results (average delay per vehicle and the number of vehicles that left road network show that Q learning algorithm outperforms the actuated signal controllers. The proposed algorithm converges to the minimal delay per vehicle regardless of the stochastic nature of traffic. In this research the impact of the model parameters (learning rate, exploration rate, influence of communication between agents and reward type on algorithm effectiveness were analysed as well.

Analysis of the distributions of hourly NO2 concentrations contributing to annual average NO2 concentrations across the European monitoring network between 2000 and 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. S. Malley

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2 is associated with negative human health effects, both for short-term peak concentrations and from long-term exposure to a wider range of NO2 concentrations. For the latter, the European Union has established an air quality limit value of 40 µg m−3 as an annual average. However, factors such as proximity and strength of local emissions, atmospheric chemistry, and meteorological conditions mean that there is substantial variation in the hourly NO2 concentrations contributing to an annual average concentration. The aim of this analysis was to quantify the nature of this variation at thousands of monitoring sites across Europe through the calculation of a standard set of chemical climatology statistics. Specifically, at each monitoring site that satisfied data capture criteria for inclusion in this analysis, annual NO2 concentrations, as well as the percentage contribution from each month, hour of the day, and hourly NO2 concentrations divided into 5 µg m−3 bins were calculated. Across Europe, 2010–2014 average annual NO2 concentrations (NO2AA exceeded the annual NO2 limit value at 8 % of > 2500 monitoring sites. The application of this chemical climatology approach showed that sites with distinct monthly, hour of day, and hourly NO2 concentration bin contributions to NO2AA were not grouped into specific regions of Europe, furthermore, within relatively small geographic regions there were sites with similar NO2AA, but with differences in these contributions. Specifically, at sites with highest NO2AA, there were generally similar contributions from across the year, but there were also differences in the contribution of peak vs. moderate hourly NO2 concentrations to NO2AA, and from different hours across the day. Trends between 2000 and 2014 for 259 sites indicate that, in general, the contribution to NO2AA from winter months has increased, as has the contribution from the rush-hour periods of

Analysis of the distributions of hourly NO2 concentrations contributing to annual average NO2 concentrations across the European monitoring network between 2000 and 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Malley, Christopher S.; von Schneidemesser, Erika; Moller, Sarah; Braban, Christine F.; Hicks, W. Kevin; Heal, Mathew R.

2018-03-01

Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is associated with negative human health effects, both for short-term peak concentrations and from long-term exposure to a wider range of NO2 concentrations. For the latter, the European Union has established an air quality limit value of 40 µg m-3 as an annual average. However, factors such as proximity and strength of local emissions, atmospheric chemistry, and meteorological conditions mean that there is substantial variation in the hourly NO2 concentrations contributing to an annual average concentration. The aim of this analysis was to quantify the nature of this variation at thousands of monitoring sites across Europe through the calculation of a standard set of chemical climatology statistics. Specifically, at each monitoring site that satisfied data capture criteria for inclusion in this analysis, annual NO2 concentrations, as well as the percentage contribution from each month, hour of the day, and hourly NO2 concentrations divided into 5 µg m-3 bins were calculated. Across Europe, 2010-2014 average annual NO2 concentrations (NO2AA) exceeded the annual NO2 limit value at 8 % of > 2500 monitoring sites. The application of this chemical climatology approach showed that sites with distinct monthly, hour of day, and hourly NO2 concentration bin contributions to NO2AA were not grouped into specific regions of Europe, furthermore, within relatively small geographic regions there were sites with similar NO2AA, but with differences in these contributions. Specifically, at sites with highest NO2AA, there were generally similar contributions from across the year, but there were also differences in the contribution of peak vs. moderate hourly NO2 concentrations to NO2AA, and from different hours across the day. Trends between 2000 and 2014 for 259 sites indicate that, in general, the contribution to NO2AA from winter months has increased, as has the contribution from the rush-hour periods of the day, while the contribution from

Traffic Light Options

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Peter Løchte

This paper introduces, prices, and analyzes traffic light options. The traffic light option is an innovative structured OTC derivative developed independently by several London-based investment banks to suit the needs of Danish life and pension (L&P) companies, which must comply with the traffic...... 2006, and supervisory authorities in many other European countries have implemented similar regulation. Traffic light options are therefore likely to attract the attention of a wider audience of pension fund managers in the future. Focusing on the valuation of the traffic light option we set up a Black...... light scenarios. These stress scenarios entail drops in interest rates as well as in stock prices, and traffic light options are thus designed to pay off and preserve sufficient capital when interest rates and stock prices fall simultaneously. Sweden's FSA implemented a traffic light system in January...

Traffic Light Options

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Peter Løchte

2007-01-01

This paper introduces, prices, and analyzes traffic light options. The traffic light option is an innovative structured OTC derivative developed independently by several London-based investment banks to suit the needs of Danish life and pension (L&P) companies, which must comply with the traffic...... 2006, and supervisory authorities in many other European countries have implemented similar regulation. Traffic light options are therefore likely to attract the attention of a wider audience of pension fund managers in the future. Focusing on the valuation of the traffic light option we set up a Black...... light scenarios. These stress scenarios entail drops in interest rates as well as in stock prices, and traffic light options are thus designed to pay off and preserve sufficient capital when interest rates and stock prices fall simultaneously. Sweden's FSA implemented a traffic light system in January...

Complete Vision-Based Traffic Sign Recognition Supported by an I2V Communication System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Gavilán

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a complete traffic sign recognition system based on vision sensor onboard a moving vehicle which detects and recognizes up to one hundred of the most important road signs, including circular and triangular signs. A restricted Hough transform is used as detection method from the information extracted in contour images, while the proposed recognition system is based on Support Vector Machines (SVM. A novel solution to the problem of discarding detected signs that do not pertain to the host road is proposed. For that purpose infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V communication and a stereo vision sensor are used. Furthermore, the outputs provided by the vision sensor and the data supplied by the CAN Bus and a GPS sensor are combined to obtain the global position of the detected traffic signs, which is used to identify a traffic sign in the I2V communication. This paper presents plenty of tests in real driving conditions, both day and night, in which an average detection rate over 95% and an average recognition rate around 93% were obtained with an average runtime of 35 ms that allows real-time performance.

Complete vision-based traffic sign recognition supported by an I2V communication system.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Garrido, Miguel A; Ocaña, Manuel; Llorca, David F; Arroyo, Estefanía; Pozuelo, Jorge; Gavilán, Miguel

2012-01-01

This paper presents a complete traffic sign recognition system based on vision sensor onboard a moving vehicle which detects and recognizes up to one hundred of the most important road signs, including circular and triangular signs. A restricted Hough transform is used as detection method from the information extracted in contour images, while the proposed recognition system is based on Support Vector Machines (SVM). A novel solution to the problem of discarding detected signs that do not pertain to the host road is proposed. For that purpose infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication and a stereo vision sensor are used. Furthermore, the outputs provided by the vision sensor and the data supplied by the CAN Bus and a GPS sensor are combined to obtain the global position of the detected traffic signs, which is used to identify a traffic sign in the I2V communication. This paper presents plenty of tests in real driving conditions, both day and night, in which an average detection rate over 95% and an average recognition rate around 93% were obtained with an average runtime of 35 ms that allows real-time performance.

Noxious substances in the air - traffic planning measures - traffic of the future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koestenberger, H

1985-01-01

Necessary bundle of measures: Extension of public transport and restriction of individual traffic, extension and activation of large main roads (by-passes) to unload inhabited areas, building garages, creation of residential streets, pedestrian precincts and cycle paths. The best possible traffic system can only be achieved if all means of transport are used efficiently. It is the duty of traffic planners to develop an overall traffic system with the aims of benefiting the whole community. Due to wrong slowing down of traffic, the reduction of emitted quantities of noxious substances from private cars can be counteracted by general slowing down of traffic; frequent braking and restarting. The functional separation of residential areas for living, areas for working, supply, education and leisure pursuits which has been aimed at in recent decades must be slowly changed. This could reduce the traffic and mobility (mixed functions). The aims for traffic of the future are: suitability for the environment, economy, safety and capacity. In an integrated road network, the traffic must take over the correct purpose of traffic. (orig.).

PM10 concentration levels at an urban and background site in Cyprus: the impact of urban sources and dust storms.

Science.gov (United States)

Achilleos, Souzana; Evans, John S; Yiallouros, Panayiotis K; Kleanthous, Savvas; Schwartz, Joel; Koutrakis, Petros

2014-12-01

Air quality in Cyprus is influenced by both local and transported pollution, including desert dust storms. We examined PM10 concentration data collected in Nicosia (urban representative) from April 1, 1993, through December 11, 2008, and in Ayia Marina (rural background representative) from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2008. Measurements were conducted using a Tapered Element Oscillating Micro-balance (TEOM). PM10 concentrations, meteorological records, and satellite data were used to identify dust storm days. We investigated long-term trends using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) after controlling for day of week, month, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity. In Nicosia, annual PM10 concentrations ranged from 50.4 to 63.8 μg/m3 and exceeded the EU annual standard limit enacted in 2005 of 40 μg/m3 every year A large, statistically significant impact of urban sources (defined as the difference between urban and background levels) was seen in Nicosia over the period 2000-2008, and was highest during traffic hours, weekdays, cold months, and low wind conditions. Our estimate of the mean (standard error) contribution of urban sources to the daily ambient PM10 was 24.0 (0.4) μg/m3. The study of yearly trends showed that PM10 levels in Nicosia decreased from 59.4 μg/m3 in 1993 to 49.0 μg/m3 in 2008, probably in part as a result of traffic emission control policies in Cyprus. In Ayia Marina, annual concentrations ranged from 27.3 to 35.6 μg/m3, and no obvious time trends were observed. The levels measured at the Cyprus background site are comparable to background concentrations reported in other Eastern Mediterranean countries. Average daily PM10 concentrations during desert dust storms were around 100 μg/m3 since 2000 and much higher in earlier years. Despite the large impact ofdust storms and their increasing frequency over time, dust storms were responsible for a small fraction of the exceedances of the daily PM10 limit. Implications: This

Combining Radar and Daily Precipitation Data to Estimate Meaningful Sub-daily Precipitation Extremes

Science.gov (United States)

Pegram, G. G. S.; Bardossy, A.

2016-12-01

Short duration extreme rainfalls are important for design. The purpose of this presentation is not to improve the day by day estimation of precipitation, but to obtain reasonable statistics for the subdaily extremes at gauge locations. We are interested specifically in daily and sub-daily extreme values of precipitation at gauge locations. We do not employ the common procedure of using time series of control station to determine the missing data values in a target. We are interested in individual rare events, not sequences. The idea is to use radar to disaggregate daily totals to sub-daily amounts. In South Arica, an S-band radar operated relatively continuously at Bethlehem from 1998 to 2003, whose scan at 1.5 km above ground [CAPPI] overlapped a dense (10 km spacing) set of 45 pluviometers recording in the same 6-year period. Using this valuable set of data, we are only interested in rare extremes, therefore small to medium values of rainfall depth were neglected, leaving 12 days of ranked daily maxima in each set per year, whose sum typically comprised about 50% of each annual rainfall total. The method presented here uses radar for disaggregating daily gauge totals in subdaily intervals down to 15 minutes in order to extract the maxima of sub-hourly through to daily rainfall at each of 37 selected radar pixels [1 km square in plan] which contained one of the 45 pluviometers not masked out by the radar foot-print. The pluviometer data were aggregated to daily totals, to act as if they were daily read gauges; their only other task was to help in the cross-validation exercise. The extrema were obtained as quantiles by ordering the 12 daily maxima of each interval per year. The unusual and novel goal was not to obtain the reproduction of the precipitation matching in space and time, but to obtain frequency distributions of the gauge and radar extremes, by matching their ranks, which we found to be stable and meaningful in cross-validation tests. We provide and

Effects of mental workload on physiological and subjective responses during traffic density monitoring: A field study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fallahi, Majid; Motamedzade, Majid; Heidarimoghadam, Rashid; Soltanian, Ali Reza; Miyake, Shinji

2016-01-01

This study evaluated operators' mental workload while monitoring traffic density in a city traffic control center. To determine the mental workload, physiological signals (ECG, EMG) were recorded and the NASA-Task Load Index (TLX) was administered for 16 operators. The results showed that the operators experienced a larger mental workload during high traffic density than during low traffic density. The traffic control center stressors caused changes in heart rate variability features and EMG amplitude, although the average workload score was significantly higher in HTD conditions than in LTD conditions. The findings indicated that increasing traffic congestion had a significant effect on HR, RMSSD, SDNN, LF/HF ratio, and EMG amplitude. The results suggested that when operators' workload increases, their mental fatigue and stress level increase and their mental health deteriorate. Therefore, it maybe necessary to implement an ergonomic program to manage mental health. Furthermore, by evaluating mental workload, the traffic control center director can organize the center's traffic congestion operators to sustain the appropriate mental workload and improve traffic control management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Atmospheric BTEX-concentrations in an area with intensive street traffic

Science.gov (United States)

Buczynska, Anna Jolanta; Krata, Agnieszka; Stranger, Marianne; Locateli Godoi, Ana Flavia; Kontozova-Deutsch, Velichka; Bencs, László; Naveau, Inge; Roekens, Edward; Van Grieken, René

The major threat to clean air in developed and industrializing countries is now posed by traffic emissions. The effects of traffic road modifications on the air quality are, however, rarely reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the modernization and renovation of a traffic artery in the region of Mortsel (Antwerp, Belgium) on the concentration of volatile organic compounds such as: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and m-, p-, o-xylenes (BTEX). The original goal of the reconstruction works was to reduce the traffic lanes of one of the busiest streets in Antwerp, in order to discourage the road traffic and in consequence also to improve the air quality in this region. The average concentrations of BTEX before these works in 2003 were: 1.6, 7.0, 0.9, 2.3, and 0.9 μg/m 3, for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m + p xylenes, and o-xylene, respectively. However, after the completion of the works, in 2005, they were slightly higher: 2.5, 9.5, 1.6, 3.4, and 1.3 μg/m 3, respectively. The scatter plots of benzene against toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in 2003 and 2005 showed very good correlations. This fact indicated that all of the measured compounds originated from the same source, namely the road traffic. Moreover, the data obtained from an air-monitoring station at less than 6 km distance from the sampling site (operated by the Flemish Environment Agency, and located in Borgerhout, Antwerp), confirmed the lack of influence of background concentrations of BTEX. The obtained results led to the conclusion that the reduction of the number of traffic lanes had apparently increased the traffic jams and also increased the emission from cars. Therefore, these modernization works had even a negative impact on the local concentration of traffic-related pollutants as BTEX.

Traffic Infrastructure in the Development of the Croatian Traffic System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damir Šimulčik

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The absence of a long-term traffic policy and of the policyof financing the constntction and maintenance of traffic infrastructurefacilities, represents a synthesis of numerous unresolvedrelations whose negative effects are felt in the overalleconomic and traffic development and consequently theevaluation of national potentials in the field. Adverse aspectcaused by the lack of a clear and feasible policy of financing thetraffic infrastructure facilities, is also a result of not having definedan adequate traffic policy, programme and strategiccourses of development, nor financing models that would be inaccordance with the market and economy system.This indicates that it is necessary to determine a policy forfinancing the constntction and maintenance of traffic infrastntcture,which has to be based on scientific development,team work, availability of plans and programmes to scientistsand experts, determined methodology based on marketing andeconomic logic in defining the programme and strategic tasksand assignments so as to make them feasible.In the near future, intensive preparations for investments inthe overall traffic sysiem are necessary, especially regarding thetraffic infrastntcture facilities - the pivotal points in the processof evaluating the traffic in our national tenitory. Croatia needsto define clearly its strategy in constructing and maintaining thegeneral traffic infrastructure, appointing at the same time thosewho will carry out the given tasks.

No overall relationship between average daily weight gain and the serological response to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in eight chronically infected Danish swine herds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Margit; Mousing, Jan; Thomsen, Lars Krogsgård

2001-01-01

approximately 4 weeks of age), and sera were analyzed for antibodies to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2, 5-7 and 12. Mixed analysis of covariance analyzed the relationship between the average daily weight gain and a categorical variable defining seroconversion as none...... most pigs included in the study were subclinically infected, or because a temporary negative influence of the infections is hidden due to an increased growth in the period following infection. In conclusion. at least in these eight herds, seroresponses to M. hyopneumoniae and A. pleuropneumoniae could...

[Reduction of automobile traffic: urgent health promotion policy].

Science.gov (United States)

Tapia Granados, J A

1998-03-01

During the last few decades, traffic injuries have become one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world. In urban areas, traffic congestion, noise, and emissions from motor vehicles produce subjective disturbances and detectable pathological effects. More than one billion people are exposed to harmful levels of environmental pollution. Because its combustion engine generates carbon dioxide (CO2), the automobile is one of the chief sources of the gases that are causing the greenhouse effect. The latter has already caused a rise in the average ambient temperature, and over the next decades it will predictable cause significant climatic changes whose consequences, though uncertain, are likely to be harmful and possibly catastrophic. Aside from the greenhouse effect, the relentless growth of parking zones, traffic, and the roadway infrastructure in urban and rural areas is currently one of the leading causes of environmental degradation. Urban development, which is nearly always "planned" around traffic instead of people, leads to a significant deterioration in the quality of life, while it also destroys the social fabric. Unlike the private automobile, public transportation, bicycles, and walking help reduce pollution, congestion, and traffic volume, as well as the morbidity and mortality resulting from injuries and ailments related to pollution. Non-automobile transportation also encourages physical activity--with its positive effect on general health--and helps reduce the greenhouse effect. The drop in traffic volume and the increased use of alternate means of transportation are thus an integrated health promotion policy which should become an inherent part of the movement for the promotion of healthy cities and of transportation policies and economic policy in general.

A 10-year incidence of acute whiplash injuries after road traffic crashes in a defined population in northern Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Styrke, Johan; Stålnacke, Britt-Marie; Bylund, Per-Olof; Sojka, Peter; Björnstig, Ulf

2012-10-01

To examine the annual incidence of acute whiplash injuries after road traffic crashes in a geographic catchment area in Northern Sweden during the period 2000-2009. Descriptive epidemiology determined by prospectively collected data from a defined population. The study was conducted at a public hospital in Sweden. The population of the hospital's catchment area (136,600 inhabitants in 1999 and 144,500 in 2009). At the emergency department, all injured persons (approximately 11,000 per year) were asked to answer a questionnaire about the injury incident. Data from the medical records also were analyzed. From 2000-2009, 15,506 persons were injured in vehicle crashes. Persons who were subject to an acute neck injury within whiplash-associated disorder grades 1-3 were included. The overall and annual incidences were calculated as incidence. Age, gender, type of injury event, and direction of impact were described. The incidences were compared with national statistics on insurance claims from 2003, 2007, and 2008 to detect changes in the proportions of claims. The annual incidence of acute whiplash injuries. Secondary outcome measures were types of injury events, age and gender distribution, changes in the proportion of rear-end crashes during 2000-2009, and changes in the proportion of insurance claims during 2003-2008. During 2000-2009, 3297 cases of acute whiplash injury were encountered. The overall incidence was 235/100,000/year. The average yearly increase in incidence was 1.0%. Women comprised 51.9% and men 48.1% of the injured. Car occupants (86.4%) and bicycle riders (6.1%) were most frequently injured. The proportion of rear-end crashes decreased from 55% to 45% from 2000-2009. The proportion of insurance claims significantly decreased between 2003 and 2008 (P whiplash injuries after road traffic crashes have been relatively stable during the past decade in our area, except in 2007 and 2008, when a peak occurred. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Physical

Reduction in Heart Rate Variability with Traffic and Air Pollution in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Zanobetti, Antonella; Gold, Diane R.; Stone, Peter H.; Suh, Helen H.; Schwartz, Joel; Coull, Brent A.; Speizer, Frank E.

2010-01-01

Introduction Ambient particulate pollution and traffic have been linked to myocardial infarction and cardiac death risk. Possible mechanisms include autonomic cardiac dysfunction. Methods In a repeated-measures study of 46 patients 43–75 years of age, we investigated associations of central-site ambient particulate pollution, including black carbon (BC) (a marker for regional and local traffic), and report of traffic exposure with changes in half-hourly averaged heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of autonomic function measured by 24-hr Holter electrocardiogram monitoring. Each patient was observed up to four times within 1 year after a percutaneous intervention for myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome without infarction, or stable coronary artery disease (4,955 half-hour observations). For each half-hour period, diary data defined whether the patient was home or not home, or in traffic. Results A decrease in high frequency (HF; an HRV marker of vagal tone) of −16.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), −20.7 to −11.8%] was associated with an interquartile range of 0.3-μg/m3 increase in prior 5-day averaged ambient BC. Decreases in HF were independently associated both with the previous 2-hr averaged BC (−10.4%; 95% CI, −15.4 to −5.2%) and with being in traffic in the previous 2 hr (−38.5%; 95% CI, −57.4 to −11.1%). We also observed independent responses for particulate air matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm and for gases (ozone or nitrogen dioxide). Conclusion After hospitalization for coronary artery disease, both particulate pollution and being in traffic, a marker of stress and pollution, were associated with decreased HRV. PMID:20064780

Distributed Dynamic Traffic Modeling and Implementation Oriented Different Levels of Induced Travelers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to respond to the variable state of traffic network in time, a distributed dynamic traffic assignment strategy is proposed which can improve the intelligent traffic management. The proposed dynamic assignment method is based on utility theory and is oriented to different levels of induced users. A distributed model based on the marginal utility is developed which combines the advantages of both decentralized paradigm and traveler preference, so as to provide efficient and robust dynamic traffic assignment solutions under uncertain network conditions. Then, the solution algorithm including subroute update and subroute calculation is proposed. To testify the effectiveness of the proposed model in optimizing traffic network operation and minimizing traveler’s cost on different induced levels, a sequence numerical experiment is conducted. In the experiment, there are two test environments: one is in different network load conditions and the other is in different deployment coverage of local agents. The numerical results show that the proposed model not only can improve the running efficiency of road network but also can significantly decrease the average travel time.

Estimation of daily traffic emissions in a South-European urban agglomeration during a workday. Evaluation of several 'what if' scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassomenos, Pavlos; Karakitsios, Spyros; Papaloukas, Costas

2006-01-01

Detailed traffic data collected from seven major roads in the city of Athens, Greece are presented and analysed in this study. Vehicles are split into seven categories while vehicle speed is also recorded. Based on these data the emissions of five major pollutants (CO, Benzene, NO x , PM 10 and VOCs) were calculated with the aid of the COPERT methodology and, based on these results, an Artificial Neural Network was also developed. The results of the two methodologies were compared and it was found that the differences were very small. The ANN model seems to be a reliable alternative to calculate road traffic emissions in a busy road environment. The results reflect the spatial and temporal distribution of the concentrations of the pollutants examined. Alternative 'what if' scenarios of the fleet distribution were also applied by means of environmental policy. Since Athens experiences low air quality conditions the correct estimation of traffic emissions is crucial since they play a significant role in the design of an environmental abatement strategy. (author)

Measurement of traffic parameters in image sequence using spatio-temporal information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Daeho; Park, Youngtae

2008-01-01

This paper proposes a novel method for measurement of traffic parameters, such as the number of passed vehicles, velocity and occupancy rate, by video image analysis. The method is based on a region classification followed by spatio-temporal image analysis. Local detection region images in traffic lanes are classified into one of four categories: the road, the vehicle, the reflection and the shadow, by using statistical and structural features. Misclassification at a frame is corrected by using temporally correlated features of vehicles in the spatio-temporal image. This capability of error correction results in the accurate estimation of traffic parameters even in high traffic congestion. Also headlight detection is employed for nighttime operation. Experimental results show that the accuracy is more than 94% in our test database of diverse operating conditions such as daytime, shadowy daytime, highway, urban way, rural way, rainy day, snowy day, dusk and nighttime. The average processing time is 30 ms per frame when four traffic lanes are processed, and real-time operation could be realized while ensuring robust detection performance even for high-speed vehicles up to 150 km h −1

Traffic instabilities in self-organized pedestrian crowds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Moussaïd

Full Text Available In human crowds as well as in many animal societies, local interactions among individuals often give rise to self-organized collective organizations that offer functional benefits to the group. For instance, flows of pedestrians moving in opposite directions spontaneously segregate into lanes of uniform walking directions. This phenomenon is often referred to as a smart collective pattern, as it increases the traffic efficiency with no need of external control. However, the functional benefits of this emergent organization have never been experimentally measured, and the underlying behavioral mechanisms are poorly understood. In this work, we have studied this phenomenon under controlled laboratory conditions. We found that the traffic segregation exhibits structural instabilities characterized by the alternation of organized and disorganized states, where the lifetime of well-organized clusters of pedestrians follow a stretched exponential relaxation process. Further analysis show that the inter-pedestrian variability of comfortable walking speeds is a key variable at the origin of the observed traffic perturbations. We show that the collective benefit of the emerging pattern is maximized when all pedestrians walk at the average speed of the group. In practice, however, local interactions between slow- and fast-walking pedestrians trigger global breakdowns of organization, which reduce the collective and the individual payoff provided by the traffic segregation. This work is a step ahead toward the understanding of traffic self-organization in crowds, which turns out to be modulated by complex behavioral mechanisms that do not always maximize the group's benefits. The quantitative understanding of crowd behaviors opens the way for designing bottom-up management strategies bound to promote the emergence of efficient collective behaviors in crowds.

Noise, air pollutants and traffic: continuous measurement and correlation at a high-traffic location in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Zev; Kheirbek, Iyad; Clougherty, Jane E; Ito, Kazuhiko; Matte, Thomas; Markowitz, Steven; Eisl, Holger

2011-11-01

Epidemiological studies have linked both noise and air pollution to common adverse health outcomes such as increased blood pressure and myocardial infarction. In urban settings, noise and air pollution share important sources, notably traffic, and several recent studies have shown spatial correlations between noise and air pollution. The temporal association between these exposures, however, has yet to be thoroughly investigated despite the importance of time series studies in air pollution epidemiology and the potential that correlations between these exposures could at least partly confound statistical associations identified in these studies. An aethelometer, for continuous elemental carbon measurement, was co-located with a continuous noise monitor near a major urban highway in New York City for six days in August 2009. Hourly elemental carbon measurements and hourly data on overall noise levels and low, medium and high frequency noise levels were collected. Hourly average concentrations of fine particles and nitrogen oxides, wind speed and direction and car, truck and bus traffic were obtained from nearby regulatory monitors. Overall temporal patterns, as well as day-night and weekday-weekend patterns, were characterized and compared for all variables. Noise levels were correlated with car, truck, and bus traffic and with air pollutants. We observed strong day-night and weekday-weekend variation in noise and air pollutants and correlations between pollutants varied by noise frequency. Medium and high frequency noise were generally more strongly correlated with traffic and traffic-related pollutants than low frequency noise and the correlation with medium and high frequency noise was generally stronger at night. Correlations with nighttime high frequency noise were particularly high for car traffic (Spearman rho=0.84), nitric oxide (0.73) and nitrogen dioxide (0.83). Wind speed and direction mediated relationships between pollutants and noise. Noise levels are

Measured performance of a 1.72 kW rooftop grid connected photovoltaic system in Ireland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayompe, L.M.; Duffy, A.; McCormack, S.J.; Conlon, M.

2011-01-01

This paper presents results obtained from monitoring a 1.72 kW p photovoltaic system installed on a flat roof of a 12 m high building in Dublin, Ireland (latitude 53.4 o N and longitude 6.3 o E). The system was monitored between November 2008 and October 2009 and all the electricity generated was fed into the low voltage supply to the building. Monthly average daily and annual performance parameters of the PV system evaluated include: final yield, reference yield, array yield, system losses, array capture losses, cell temperature losses, PV module efficiency, system efficiency, inverter efficiency, performance ratio and capacity factor. The maximum solar radiation, ambient temperature and PV module temperature recorded were 1241 W/m 2 in March, 29.5 o C and 46.9 o C in June respectively. The annual total energy generated was 885.1 kW h/kW p while the annual average daily final yield, reference yield and array yield were 2.41 kW h/kW p /day, 2.85 kW h/kW p /day and 2.62 kW h/kW p /day respectively. The annual average daily PV module efficiency, system efficiency and inverter efficiency were 14.9%, 12.6% and 89.2% respectively while the annual average daily performance ratio and capacity factor were 81.5% and 10.1% respectively. The annual average daily system losses, capture losses and cell temperature losses were 0.23 h/day, 0.22 h/day and 0.00 h/day respectively. Comparison of this system with other systems in different locations showed that the system had the highest annual average daily PV module efficiency, system efficiency and performance ratio of 14.9%, 12.6% and 81.5% respectively. The PV system's annual average daily final yield of 2.4 kW h/kW p /day is higher than those reported in Germany, Poland and Northern Ireland. It is comparable to results from some parts of Spain but it is lower than the reported yields in most parts of Italy and Spain. Despite low insolation levels, high average wind speeds and low ambient temperature improve Ireland

49 CFR 537.9 - Determination of fuel economy values and average fuel economy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Determination of fuel economy values and average fuel economy. 537.9 Section 537.9 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AUTOMOTIVE FUEL ECONOMY REPORTS § 537.9 Determination of fuel...

Incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder after traffic accidents in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Stephan; Otte, Dietmar; Petri, Maximilian; Decker, Sebastian; Stübig, Timo; Krettek, Christian; Müller, Christian W

2014-01-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is possibly an overlooked diagnosis of victims suffering from traffic accidents sustaining serious to severe injuries. This paper investigates the incidence of PTSD after traffic accidents in Germany. Data from an accident research unit were analyzed in regard to collision details, and preclinical and clinical data. Preclinical data included details on crash circumstances and estimated injury severity as well as data on victims' conditions (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, breath rate). Clinical data included initial assessment in the emergency department, radiographic diagnoses, and basic life parameters comparable to the preclinical data as well as follow-up data on the daily ward. Data were collected in the German-In-Depth Accident Research study, and included gender, type of accident (e.g. type of vehicle, road conditions, rural or urban area), mental disorder, and AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) head score. AIS represent a scoring system to measure the injury severity of traffic accident victims. A total 258 out of 32807 data sets were included in this analysis. Data on accident and victims was collected on scene by specialized teams following established algorithms. Besides higher AIS Head scores for male motorcyclists compared to all other subgroups, no significant correlation was found between the mean maximum AIS score and the occurrence of PTSD. Furthermore, there was no correlation between higher AIS head scores, gender, or involvement in road traffic accidents and PTSD. In our study the overall incidence of PTSD after road traffic accidents was very low (0.78% in a total of 32.807 collected data sets) when compared to other published studies. The reason for this very low incidence of PTSD in our patient sample could be seen in an underestimation of the psychophysiological impact of traffic accidents on patients. Patients suffering from direct experiences of traumatic events such as a traffic accident

Study on the effect of lead and lead compounds as pollutants on traffic air and traffic policemen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd Alrhman, Heba Elyas Khider

2009-05-01

This study was conducted in Khartoum state to determine the magnitude of air pollution, resulting from traffic density, due to lead and lead compounds which had been used as additives for gasoline in the form of tetra-ethyl and tetra methyl lead. The level of lead in ambient air and SPM was determined in 14 samples taken randomly at the intersections and entrances to the bridges using personal sampler (Cassella. UK). The mean concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was found to be 5.77+4.04 mg/m 3 . with range between 0.85-12.50 mg/m 3 including three sites above the limit of 10 mg/m 3 allowed. The samples were analyzed with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for their lead content. The average concentration of lead in the sites is found to be 0.1937±0.1768 mg/m 3 . With range between 0.000-0.5166 mg/m 3 . The concentrations in seven sites were above the limit of 0.15 mg/m 3 permitted internationally. The impact of lead pollution on traffic police men was measured by analyzing blood lead concentration of 30 members exposed to traffic air pollution, from the three cities and (10 samples) from non-exposed ( control). It was found to be 2.4601±1.4065μg/100 ml and 0.3944±1.2471 μg/ 100 ml respectively. The data analysis by used SPSS program. There is no significant difference between the two groups. A questionnaire was designed to find out some data about the exposed members including their knowledge of impact, range of age, duration of their service as traffic police, their previous work, and complaints from some of the health effects. The findings were: average age mean of 35.9 ±7.7 years, 47.48% worked for periods of more than 20 years, 74.19% did not work before joining the traffic police, 51.6% of them believe that there is a problem of high level of air pollution, 45.2% medium and 3.2%, pollution is low. As habits 38.71% are smokers. As for health complains, 61.29% have various complains of headaches, fatigue, abdominal, hypertension and anemia

Mobile Traffic Alert and Tourist Route Guidance System Design Using Geospatial Data

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, D.; Painho, M.; Mishra, S.; Gupta, A.

2017-09-01

The present study describes an integrated system for traffic data collection and alert warning. Geographical information based decision making related to traffic destinations and routes is proposed through the design. The system includes a geospatial database having profile relating to a user of a mobile device. The processing and understanding of scanned maps, other digital data input leads to route guidance. The system includes a server configured to receive traffic information relating to a route and location information relating to the mobile device. Server is configured to send a traffic alert to the mobile device when the traffic information and the location information indicate that the mobile device is traveling toward traffic congestion. Proposed system has geospatial and mobile data sets pertaining to Bangalore city in India. It is envisaged to be helpful for touristic purposes as a route guidance and alert relaying information system to tourists for proximity to sites worth seeing in a city they have entered into. The system is modular in architecture and the novelty lies in integration of different modules carrying different technologies for a complete traffic information system. Generic information processing and delivery system has been tested to be functional and speedy under test geospatial domains. In a restricted prototype model with geo-referenced route data required information has been delivered correctly over sustained trials to designated cell numbers, with average time frame of 27.5 seconds, maximum 50 and minimum 5 seconds. Traffic geo-data set trials testing is underway.

Traffic congestion and blood pressure elevation: A comparative cross-sectional study in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Bou Samra, Patrick; El Tomb, Paul; Hosni, Mohammad; Kassem, Ahmad; Rizk, Robin; Shayya, Sami; Assaad, Sarah

2017-12-01

This comparative cross-sectional study examines the association between traffic congestion and elevation of systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure levels among a convenience sample of 310 drivers. Data collection took place during a gas station pause at a fixed time of day. Higher average systolic (142 vs 123 mm Hg) and diastolic (87 vs 78 mm Hg) blood pressures were detected among drivers exposed to traffic congestion compared with those who were not exposed (P<.001), while controlling for body mass index, age, sex, pack-year smoking, driving hours per week, and occupational driving. Moreover, among persons exposed to traffic congestion, longer exposure time was associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Further studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms of the significant association between elevated blood pressure and traffic congestion. ©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improved road traffic emission inventories by adding mean speed distributions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, R.; Poelman, M.; Schrijver, J.

2008-01-01

Does consideration of average speed distributions on roads-as compared to single mean speed-lead to different results in emission modelling of large road networks? To address this question, a post-processing method is developed to predict mean speed distributions using available traffic data from a

Impacts of Traffic Noise and Traffic Volume on Birds of Roadside Habitats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten M. Parris

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Roadside habitats are important for a range of taxa including plants, insects, mammals, and birds, particularly in developed countries in which large expanses of native vegetation have been cleared for agriculture or urban development. Although roadside vegetation may provide suitable habitat for many species, resident animals can be exposed to high levels of traffic noise, visual disturbance from passing vehicles, and the risk of collision with cars and trucks. Traffic noise can reduce the distance over which acoustic signals such as song can be detected, an effect known as acoustic interference or masking. Studies from the northern hemisphere show that the singing behavior of birds changes in the presence of traffic noise. We investigated the impact of traffic noise and traffic volume on two species of birds, the Grey Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica and the Grey Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa, at 58 roadside sites on the Mornington Peninsula, southeastern Australia. The lower singing Grey Shrike-thrush sang at a higher frequency in the presence of traffic noise, with a predicted increase in dominant frequency of 5.8 Hz/dB of traffic noise, and a total effect size of 209 Hz. In contrast, the higher singing Grey Fantail did not appear to change its song in traffic noise. The probability of detecting each species on a visit to a site declined substantially with increasing traffic noise and traffic volume, with several lines of evidence supporting a larger effect of traffic noise. Traffic noise could hamper detection of song by conspecifics, making it more difficult for birds to establish and maintain territories, attract mates and maintain pair bonds, and possibly leading to reduced breeding success in noisy roadside habitats. Closing key roads during the breeding season is a potential, but untested, management strategy to protect threatened bird species from traffic noise and collision with vehicles at the time of year when they are most

Average wind statistics for SRP area meteorological towers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurinat, J.E.

1987-01-01

A quality assured set of average wind Statistics for the seven SRP area meteorological towers has been calculated for the five-year period 1982--1986 at the request of DOE/SR. A Similar set of statistics was previously compiled for the years 1975-- 1979. The updated wind statistics will replace the old statistics as the meteorological input for calculating atmospheric radionuclide doses from stack releases, and will be used in the annual environmental report. This report details the methods used to average the wind statistics and to screen out bad measurements and presents wind roses generated by the averaged statistics

Estimating the real world daily usage and cost for exenatide twice daily and liraglutide in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK based on volumes dispensed by pharmacies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McDonell AL

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Amanda L McDonell,1 Urpo Kiiskinen,2 Danielle C Zammit,3 Robert W Kotchie,1 Per-Olof Thuresson,3 Claudia Nicolay,4 Thomas Haslam,1 Michiel Bruinsma,5 Anne-Jeanine Janszen-Van Oosterhout,6 Thorsten Otto41IMS Health, London, UK; 2Eli Lilly and Company, Helsinki, Finland; 3IMS Health, Basel, Switzerland; 4Eli Lilly and Company, Bad Homburg, Germany; 5IMS Health, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 6Eli Lilly Nederland, Houten, the NetherlandsBackground: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1 receptor agonists are indicated for improvement of glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Cost is one aspect of treatment to be considered, in addition to clinical benefits, when selecting optimal therapy for a patient. The objective of this study was to estimate the average dose usage and real world daily cost of the GLP-1 receptor agonists, exenatide twice daily and liraglutide once daily, in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.Methods: Administrative databases were used to source the data from longitudinal records of dispensed prescriptions. Data were extracted from the IMS Longitudinal Prescription database which captures details of prescriptions dispensed in pharmacies. Information on the dispensed quantity of each product was used to estimate average daily usage per patient. Daily dose usage was multiplied by the public price per unit to estimate daily cost.Results: The dispensed volume in Germany corresponded to a mean dispensed daily dose of 16.81 µg for exenatide twice daily and 1.37 mg for liraglutide (mean daily cost €4.02 and €4.54, respectively. In the Netherlands, average dispensed daily doses of 17.07 µg and 1.49 mg were observed for exenatide twice daily and liraglutide (mean daily cost €3.05 and €3.97, respectively. In the UK, the mean dispensed volume corresponded to a daily usage of 20.49 µg for exenatide twice daily and 1.50 mg for liraglutide (mean daily cost £2.53 and £3.28, respectively.Conclusion: Estimates of average daily

Modeling the heterogeneous traffic correlations in urban road systems using traffic-enhanced community detection approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Feng; Liu, Kang; Duan, Yingying; Cheng, Shifen; Du, Fei

2018-07-01

A better characterization of the traffic influence among urban roads is crucial for traffic control and traffic forecasting. The existence of spatial heterogeneity imposes great influence on modeling the extent and degree of road traffic correlation, which is usually neglected by the traditional distance based method. In this paper, we propose a traffic-enhanced community detection approach to spatially reveal the traffic correlation in city road networks. First, the road network is modeled as a traffic-enhanced dual graph with the closeness between two road segments determined not only by their topological connection, but also by the traffic correlation between them. Then a flow-based community detection algorithm called Infomap is utilized to identify the road segment clusters. Evaluated by Moran's I, Calinski-Harabaz Index and the traffic interpolation application, we find that compared to the distance based method and the community based method, our proposed traffic-enhanced community based method behaves better in capturing the extent of traffic relevance as both the topological structure of the road network and the traffic correlations among urban roads are considered. It can be used in more traffic-related applications, such as traffic forecasting, traffic control and guidance.

Reducing automobile traffic: an urgent policy for health promotion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tapia Granados José A.

1998-01-01

Full Text Available In recent decades traffic injuries have become a leading cause of death and disability the world over. In congested urban areas, the noise and emissions from vehicle engines cause discomfort and disease. More than one billion people are exposed daily to harmful levels of atmospheric contamination. Because internal combustion generates carbon dioxide (CO2 , the automobile is a principal contributor to the greenhouse effect, which has significantly raised the temperature of the atmosphere. Scientists anticipate that in coming decades the greenhouse effect will produce alterations in climate that are very likely to be harmful and possibly catastrophic. Meanwhile, burgeoning traffic and rural and urban highway infrastructures are already among the principal causes of environmental degradation. Urban development, because it is nearly always "planned" to accommodate automobiles rather than people, reduces the quality of life and tears the social fabric. In contrast to private automobiles, public transportation, bicycles, and walking produce little environmental contamination or injury-related morbidity and mortality. These modes of transport involve more physical activity, with its positive health effects, and avoid contributing to the greenhouse effect. The reduction of automobile traffic and substitution of alternative modes of transport are essential policies for health promotion. They should be incorporated in "healthy cities" programs and general economic policies.

Effect of Traffic Noise on Sleep: A Case Study in Serdang Raya, Selangor, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bavani Nadaraja

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Traffic noise has been recognised as a serious threat to the quality of life in most industrialised nations. The rapid growth of towns, cities and population has increased the density of traffic. There are various effects of traffic noise on people and these effects are often interrelated. The most common yet serious problem is sleep disturbance. In this study field measurement and questionnaire survey were carried out to determine the overall noise level and the view and opinion of the residents on their sleep disturbance. As the LAeq was higher than the guideline values, contradictorily the survey results showed that most of the residents sleep time was not affected and they were not really annoyed by the traffic noise. This is mainly because most of the residents at the study area residing there for more than 19 years and this is sufficient enough to describe the pattern of outcome where most of the residents were get used with the traffic noise and they adapt it in their daily life as a norm. Yet, countermeasures such as construction of noise barrier are highly recommended to curb the chronic effects. So, a further study is required to establish this.

Beef steers with average dry matter intake and divergent average daily gain have altered gene expression in the jejunum

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of this study was to determine the association of differentially expressed genes (DEG) in the jejunum of steers with average DMI and high or low ADG. Feed intake and growth were measured in a cohort of 144 commercial Angus steers consuming a finishing diet containing (on a DM basis) 67...

Managing Traffic Flows for Cleaner Cities: The Role of Green Navigation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiamma Perez-Prada

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Cities worldwide suffer from serious air pollution problems and are main contributors to climate change. Green Navigation systems have a great potential to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions from traffic. This research evaluates the impacts of different percentages of green drivers on traffic, CO2, and NOx over the entire Madrid Region. A macroscopic traffic model was combined with an enhanced macroscopic emissions model and a GIS (Geographic Information Systems to simulate emissions on the basis of average vehicle speeds and traffic intensity at the link level. NOx emissions are evaluated, taking into account not only the exhaust emissions produced by transport activity, but also the amount of the population exposed to these air pollutants. Results show up to 10.4% CO2 and 13.8% NOx reductions in congested traffic conditions for a 90% penetration of green drivers; however, the population’s exposure to NOx increases up to 20.2%. Moreover, while traffic volumes decrease by 13.5% for the entire region, they increase by up to 16.4% downtown. Travel times also increase by 28.7%. Since green drivers tend to choose shorter routes through downtown areas, eco-routing systems are an effective tool for fighting climate change, but are ineffective to reduce air pollution in dense urban areas.

The effect of personality on daily life emotional processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Komulainen, Emma; Meskanen, Katarina; Lipsanen, Jari; Lahti, Jari Marko; Jylhä, Pekka; Melartin, Tarja; Wichers, Marieke; Isometsä, Erkki; Ekelund, Jesper

2014-01-01

Personality features are associated with individual differences in daily emotional life, such as negative and positive affectivity, affect variability and affect reactivity. The existing literature is somewhat mixed and inconclusive about the nature of these associations. The aim of this study was to shed light on what personality features represent in daily life by investigating the effect of the Five Factor traits on different daily emotional processes using an ecologically valid method. The Experience Sampling Method was used to collect repeated reports of daily affect and experiences from 104 healthy university students during one week of their normal lives. Personality traits of the Five Factor model were assessed using NEO Five Factor Inventory. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the effect of the personality traits on daily emotional processes. Neuroticism predicted higher negative and lower positive affect, higher affect variability, more negative subjective evaluations of daily incidents, and higher reactivity to stressors. Conscientiousness, by contrast, predicted lower average level, variability, and reactivity of negative affect. Agreeableness was associated with higher positive and lower negative affect, lower variability of sadness, and more positive subjective evaluations of daily incidents. Extraversion predicted higher positive affect and more positive subjective evaluations of daily activities. Openness had no effect on average level of affect, but predicted higher reactivity to daily stressors. The results show that the personality features independently predict different aspects of daily emotional processes. Neuroticism was associated with all of the processes. Identifying these processes can help us to better understand individual differences in daily emotional life.

77 FR 23114 - Modification, Revocation and Establishment of Air Traffic Service Routes; Windsor Locks Area; CT

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-18

... Traffic Service Routes; Windsor Locks Area; CT AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION... coordinate for one point in the description of area navigation (RNAV) route T-300. DATES: Effective date 0901... action under 1 CFR part 51, subject to the annual revision of FAA Order 7400.9 and publication of...

OPTIMAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT FOR AIRCRAFT APPROACHING THE AERODROME LANDING AREA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor B. Ivenin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The research proposes a mathematical optimization approach of arriving aircraft traffic at the aerodrome zone. The airfield having two parallel runways, capable of operating independently of each other, is modeled. The incoming traffic of aircraft is described by a Poisson flow of random events. The arriving aircraft are distributed by the air traffic controller between two runways. There is one approach flight path for each runway. Both approach paths have a common starting point. Each approach path has a different length. The approach trajectories do not overlap. For each of the two approach procedures, the air traffic controller sets the average speed of the aircraft. The given model of airfield and airfield zone is considered as the two-channel system of mass service with refusals in service. Each of the two servicing units includes an approach trajectory, a glide path and a runway. The servicing unit can be in one of two states – free and busy. The probabilities of the states of the servicing units are described by the Kolmogorov system of differential equations. The number of refusals in service on the simulated time interval is used as criterion for assessment of mass service system quality of functioning. This quality of functioning criterion is described by an integral functional. The functions describing the distribution of aircraft flows between the runways, as well as the functions describing the average speed of the aircraft, are control parameters. The optimization problem consists in finding such values of the control parameters for which the value of the criterion functional is minimal. To solve the formulated optimization problem, the L.S. Pontryagin maximum principle is applied. The form of the Hamiltonian function and the conjugate system of differential equations is given. The structure of optimal control has been studied for two different cases of restrictions on the control of the distribution of incoming aircraft

MOPITT Gridded Daily CO Retrievals (Thermal Infrared Radiances) V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MOPITT L3 files contain daily and monthly mean gridded versions of the daily L2 CO profile and total column retrievals. The averaging kernels associated with...

Forcasting Philippine daily stock exchange index | Urrutia | Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of the study is to produce a model that can estimate a three-year forecast of the Philippine Daily Stock Exchange Index. Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model is applied ona total of 4,927 daily data observations from 1995 to 2014. By then, actual and predicted values was ...

Adaptive traffic signal control with actor-critic methods in a real-world traffic network with different traffic disruption events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aslani, Mohammad; Mesgari, Mohammad Saadi; Wiering, Marco

2017-01-01

The transportation demand is rapidly growing in metropolises, resulting in chronic traffic con-gestions in dense downtown areas. Adaptive traffic signal control as the principle part of in-telligent transportation systems has a primary role to effectively reduce traffic congestion by making a

enviroCar - citizen science for sustainable traffic

Science.gov (United States)

Stasch, Christoph; Remke, Albert; Jirka, Simon; Nuest, Daniel

2015-04-01

Optimizing traffic flow is a challenging task, affecting both the mobility of people and the environment. Up to now, traffic monitoring is based on small samples using GPS devices or remote sensors such as cameras. Citizens are usually not actively involved in the process of collecting or analyzing traffic data. The enviroCar project (www.envirocar.org) aims at addressing this situation by providing an open platform that can be used by everyone to collect and analyze traffic-related data and thus to achieve sustainable traffic management by answering questions such as: How is the average speed on a certain route? Where are exceptionally long waiting times in front of traffic lights? At which crossings do more cars stop than drive through? Where are hotspots of fuel consumption and air pollutant emission during a certain time interval? In this presentation, an overview on the enviroCar project is given and current research challenges addressed in the context of the project are presented. Citizens are able to participate by registering at the enviroCar portal and downloading the enviroCar Android app. Once installed, the Android app allows citizens to collect car sensor data, e.g. speed, mass air flow, or intake temperature via an On-Board Diagnosis 2 (OBD-II) Adapter. After finishing a car ride, the data can be uploaded to the central enviroCar server where the data is anonymized and published as open data. Each enviroCar member has a profile page giving control on his own data and providing statistics on personal driving behavior. The portal also allows comparing personal statistics with the statistics of other members. It thus facilitates analysis whether, for example, a member is driving in a more fuel saving manner than other users. Besides only acting as a data collector, citizens can also explore the enviroCar data in online maps or download the data in standard formats for certain spatial areas and/or time intervals allowing them to conduct spatio

Frogs Call at a Higher Pitch in Traffic Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten M. Parris

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Male frogs call to attract females for mating and to defend territories from rival males. Female frogs of some species prefer lower-pitched calls, which indicate larger, more experienced males. Acoustic interference occurs when background noise reduces the active distance or the distance over which an acoustic signal can be detected. Birds are known to call at a higher pitch or frequency in urban noise, decreasing acoustic interference from low-frequency noise. Using Bayesian linear regression, we investigated the effect of traffic noise on the pitch of advertisement calls in two species of frogs, the southern brown tree frog (Litoria ewingii and the common eastern froglet (Crinia signifera. We found evidence that L. ewingii calls at a higher pitch in traffic noise, with an average increase in dominant frequency of 4.1 Hz/dB of traffic noise, and a total effect size of 123 Hz. This frequency shift is smaller than that observed in birds, but is still large enough to be detected by conspecific frogs and confer a significant benefit to the caller. Mathematical modelling predicted a 24% increase in the active distance of a L. ewingii call in traffic noise with a frequency shift of this size. Crinia signifera may also call at a higher pitch in traffic noise, but more data are required to be confident of this effect. Because frog calls are innate rather than learned, the frequency shift demonstrated by L. ewingii may represent an evolutionary adaptation to noisy conditions. The phenomenon of frogs calling at a higher pitch in traffic noise could therefore constitute an intriguing trade-off between audibility and attractiveness to potential mates.

A simple method to downscale daily wind statistics to hourly wind data

OpenAIRE

Guo, Zhongling

2013-01-01

Wind is the principal driver in the wind erosion models. The hourly wind speed data were generally required for precisely wind erosion modeling. In this study, a simple method to generate hourly wind speed data from daily wind statistics (daily average and maximum wind speeds together or daily average wind speed only) was established. A typical windy location with 3285 days (9 years) measured hourly wind speed data were used to validate the downscaling method. The results showed that the over...

Predicting the development of traffic fatalities in Latin-American and Carribean countries. Paper presented at the OECD conference on road safety in Latin-American and Carribean countries, Sao Paulo, Brazil, December 1995.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koornstra, M.J.

1997-01-01

Long-term developments in traffic growth and fatality rate can be rather well described by non-linear functions of time. The basics are an S-shaped function for saturating traffic growth (measured by annual motor vehicle kilometres or motorised vehicle volumes) and an exponentially decreasing

MOBILE TRAFFIC ALERT AND TOURIST ROUTE GUIDANCE SYSTEM DESIGN USING GEOSPATIAL DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Bhattacharya

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The present study describes an integrated system for traffic data collection and alert warning. Geographical information based decision making related to traffic destinations and routes is proposed through the design. The system includes a geospatial database having profile relating to a user of a mobile device. The processing and understanding of scanned maps, other digital data input leads to route guidance. The system includes a server configured to receive traffic information relating to a route and location information relating to the mobile device. Server is configured to send a traffic alert to the mobile device when the traffic information and the location information indicate that the mobile device is traveling toward traffic congestion. Proposed system has geospatial and mobile data sets pertaining to Bangalore city in India. It is envisaged to be helpful for touristic purposes as a route guidance and alert relaying information system to tourists for proximity to sites worth seeing in a city they have entered into. The system is modular in architecture and the novelty lies in integration of different modules carrying different technologies for a complete traffic information system. Generic information processing and delivery system has been tested to be functional and speedy under test geospatial domains. In a restricted prototype model with geo-referenced route data required information has been delivered correctly over sustained trials to designated cell numbers, with average time frame of 27.5 seconds, maximum 50 and minimum 5 seconds. Traffic geo-data set trials testing is underway.

Best response game of traffic on road network of non-signalized intersections

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Wang; Jia, Ning; Zhong, Shiquan; Li, Liying

2018-01-01

This paper studies the traffic flow in a grid road network with non-signalized intersections. The nature of the drivers in the network is simulated such that they play an iterative snowdrift game with other drivers. A cellular automata model is applied to study the characteristics of the traffic flow and the evolution of the behaviour of the drivers during the game. The drivers use best-response as their strategy to update rules. Three major findings are revealed. First, the cooperation rate in simulation experiences staircase-shaped drop as cost to benefit ratio r increases, and cooperation rate can be derived analytically as a function of cost to benefit ratio r. Second, we find that higher cooperation rate corresponds to higher average speed, lower density and higher flow. This reveals that defectors deteriorate the efficiency of traffic on non-signalized intersections. Third, the system experiences more randomness when the density is low because the drivers will not have much opportunity to update strategy when the density is low. These findings help to show how the strategy of drivers in a traffic network evolves and how their interactions influence the overall performance of the traffic system.

From Goods to Traffic:First Steps Toward an Auction-based Traffic Signal Controller

OpenAIRE

Raphael, Jeffery; Maskell, Simon; Sklar, Elizabeth Ida

2015-01-01

Traffic congestion is a major issue that plagues many urban road networks large and small. Traffic engineers are now leaning towards Intelligent Traffic Systems as many physical changes to road networks are costly or infeasible. Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) have become a popular paradigm for intelligent solutions to traffic management problems. There are many MAS approaches to traffic management that utilise market mechanisms. In market-based approaches, drivers “pay” to use the roadways. Howeve...

Reducing Traffic Congestions by Introducing CACC-Vehicles on a Multi-Lane Highway Using Agent-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Arnaout, Georges M.; Bowling, Shannon R.

2011-01-01

Traffic congestion is an ongoing problem of great interest to researchers from different areas in academia. With the emerging technology for inter-vehicle communication, vehicles have the ability to exchange information with predecessors by wireless communication. In this paper, we present an agent-based model of traffic congestion and examine the impact of having CACC (Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control) embedded vehicle(s) on a highway system consisting of 4 traffic lanes without overtaking. In our model, CACC vehicles adapt their acceleration/deceleration according to vehicle-to-vehicle inter-communication. We analyze the average speed of the cars, the shockwaves, and the evolution of traffic congestion throughout the lifecycle of the model. The study identifies how CACC vehicles affect the dynamics of traffic flow on a complex network and reduce the oscillatory behavior (stop and go) resulting from the acceleration/deceleration of the vehicles.

Impacts of temporary traffic control measures on vehicular emissions during the Asian games in Guangzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Zhiliang; Zhang, Yingzhi; Shen, Xianbao; Wang, Xintong; Wu, Ye; He, Kebin

2013-01-01

To guarantee good traffic and air quality during the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, the government carried out two traffic control Drills before the Games and adopted traffic control measures during the Games. Vehicle activities before and during the first and second Drills, and during the Games, were surveyed. Based on the data under investigation, the impacts of control measures on traffic volumes and driving characteristics were analyzed during the first and second Drills, and the Games. The emission reduction of traffic control measures was also evaluated during the three stages using the MOBILE-China model. The results show that there were significant effects of implementing temporary traffic control measures on transportation activity and vehicular emissions. During the first and second Drills, and the Games, the average traffic volumes in monitored roads decreased, and the average speed of vehicles increased significantly The co-effects of traffic flow reduction, traffic congestion improvement, and the banning of high-emitting vehicles helped to greatly reduce the estimated emissions from motor vehicles in Guangzhou during the first and second Drills, and the Games. Estimated vehicular emissions were reduced by 38-52% during the first Drill and 28-36% for the second Drill. During the Asian Games, vehicular emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NO), and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter vehicular emissions of CO, HC, NOx, and PM10. Motor vehicles have become the most prevalent source of emissions and subsequently air pollution within Chinese cities. Understanding the impacts that different control measures have on vehicular emissions is very important in order to be able to control vehicle emissions. The results of this study will be very helpful for the further control of vehicle emissions in Guangzhou in the future. In addition, the effects of temporary transportation control measures will provide

A Two-Stage Fuzzy Logic Control Method of Traffic Signal Based on Traffic Urgency Degree

OpenAIRE

Yan Ge

2014-01-01

City intersection traffic signal control is an important method to improve the efficiency of road network and alleviate traffic congestion. This paper researches traffic signal fuzzy control method on a single intersection. A two-stage traffic signal control method based on traffic urgency degree is proposed according to two-stage fuzzy inference on single intersection. At the first stage, calculate traffic urgency degree for all red phases using traffic urgency evaluation module and select t...

Determination of vehicle density from traffic images at day and nighttime

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrübeoğlu, Mehrübe; McLauchlan, Lifford

2007-02-01

In this paper we extend our previous work to address vehicle differentiation in traffic density computations1. The main goal of this work is to create vehicle density history for given roads under different weather or light conditions and at different times of the day. Vehicle differentiation is important to account for connected or otherwise long vehicles, such as trucks or tankers, which lead to over-counting with the original algorithm. Average vehicle size in pixels, given the magnification within the field of view for a particular camera, is used to separate regular cars and long vehicles. A separate algorithm and procedure have been developed to determine traffic density after dark when the vehicle headlights are turned on. Nighttime vehicle recognition utilizes blob analysis based on head/taillight images. The high intensity of vehicle lights are identified in binary images for nighttime vehicle detection. The stationary traffic image frames are downloaded from the internet as they are updated. The procedures are implemented in MATLAB. The results of both nighttime traffic density and daytime long vehicle identification algorithms are described in this paper. The determination of nighttime traffic density, and identification of long vehicles at daytime are improvements over the original work1.

Traffic Accidents in Kosovo – A Major Concern for Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merita Muharremi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The number of traffic c accidents in Kosovo is increasing rapidly from year to year. As a result of traffi c accidents the number of injured and deaths has increased. During the period of January-December 2016 there were 18541 accidents, which resulted in 110 casualties (Kosovo Police Annual Reports. Campaigns undertaken by the Government of Kosovo, Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Kosovo Police, as well as various video-spots intended to raise awareness of the dangers of traffic c accidents have not accomplished the expected results and did not reduce the number of accidents. Therefore, we can conclude that the number of accidents taking place in Kosovo is concerning. Despite the best efforts of relevant institutions, despite the increased engagement to pass legislation, which would be in line with the European standards, and despite substantial improvements and major investments on the infrastructure, and despite all the measures taken, reducing the number of road accidents remains a significant challenge. With this paper, I will try to draw attention to the actions, measures and activities that I consider the relevant institutions of Kosovo should focus on in order to prevent and to reduce the high number of traffic accidents.

Traffic Feasibility Study for a Grade Separator at a Busy Intersection in Vellore

Science.gov (United States)

Vasantha Kumar, S.; Gulati, Himanshu; Arora, Shivam

2017-11-01

One of the byproduct of urbanization is traffic congestion and before suggesting any solutions to reduce congestion, understanding the present context becomes very important. Study of traffic volumes at busy intersections to find the percentage composition of different vehicle types, directional distribution and peak hour traffic volume is a first step towards understanding the present context of traffic. Hence in the present study, one of the busy intersections in Vellore, namely, Gandhi nagar intersection in Vellore-Katpadi road was selected and traffic flow data was collected using video surveys. It was found that at the selected intersection, the two wheelers and three wheelers alone share 80% of the total traffic when compared to other vehicle types. Nearly 700 trucks and multi axle trailers were observed to pass through the intersection during the analysis period of five hours. That is, on an average 2 trucks/multi axle trailers were passing through the intersection in each minute. As like in other major cities, entry of trucks and other heavy vehicles such as multi axle trailers into the city needs to be banned during peak hours for smooth flow of traffic within city limits. A highest hourly volume of 6939 PCU’s was observed between 4 and 5 pm at the selected intersection. By assuming a 10% uniform traffic growth every year, it was found that after about 4 years, i.e., in 2019, the traffic volume at the intersection may reach 10,000 PCU’s and may warrant for a grade separator or interchange at the intersection.

Traffic violations in Guangdong Province of China: speeding and drunk driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guangnan; Yau, Kelvin K W; Gong, Xiangpu

2014-03-01

The number of speeding- and drunk driving-related injuries in China surged in the years immediately preceding 2004 and then began to decline. However, the percent decrease in the number of speeding and drunk driving incidents (decrease by 22%) is not proportional to the corresponding percent decrease in number of automobile accident-related injuries (decrease by 47%) from the year 2004 to 2010 (Traffic Management Bureau, Ministry of Public Security, Annual Statistical Reports on Road Traffic Accidents). Earlier studies have established traffic violations as one of the major risks threatening road safety. In this study, we examine in greater detail two important types of traffic violation events, speeding and drunk driving, and attempt to identify significant risk factors associated with these types of traffic violations. Risk factors in several different dimensions, including driver, vehicle, road and environmental factors, are considered. We analyze the speeding (N=11,055) and drunk driving (N=10,035) data for the period 2006-2010 in Guangdong Province, China. These data, obtained from the Guangdong Provincial Security Department, are extracted from the Traffic Management Sector-Specific Incident Case Data Report and are the only comprehensive and official source of traffic accident data in China. Significant risk factors associating with speeding and drunk driving are identified. We find that several factors are associated with a significantly higher probability of both speeding and drunk driving, particularly male drivers, private vehicles, the lack of street lighting at night and poor visibility. The impact of other specific and unique risk factors for either speeding or drunk driving, such as hukou, road type/grades, commercial vehicles, compulsory third party insurance and vehicle safety status, also require particular attention. Legislative or regulatory measures targeting different vehicle types and/or driver groups with respect to the various driver

Studying the Epidemiology of Fatal Traffic Accidents in the Khuzestan Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajaei Behbahani

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background Traffic accidents with about 1.24 million deaths and 20 to 50 million cases of injury or disability per year are one of the most important public health challenges around the world. In Iran, traffic accidents, with an annual incidence of 32 cases per 100 thousand people, are considered as the second leading cause of death and the most common cause of injury. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological pattern and mortality rate caused by traffic accidents during year 2012 in the Khuzestan province and its cities. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study, all data related to fatal traffic accident referrals to legal medicine center of Khuzestan province during year 2012 were obtained and analyzed. Road traffic accidents mortality rate during this year was calculated for the province and its cities. The data were analyzed using Stata 11 statistical software. Results In 2012, one thousand and twenty deaths related to traffic accidents occurred in Khuzestan province. The incidence of deaths due to accidents in Khuzestan province was 22.5 and the standardized age of incidence was 24.3 per 100 thousand people. Regarding gender, 78.24% of the dead individuals were male and 21.76% were female. The most common final causes of death were head trauma (76.27% cases and bleeding (12.55% cases. The most deceased people were drivers (42.55%, passengers (34.90%, and pedestrians (21.27%. The highest traffic accidents mortality rate in Khuzestan province was observed in Hoveizeh (55.43 per one hundred thousand, Omidiye (55.30 per one hundred thousand and Ramhormuz (53.12 per one hundred thousand, and the lowest incidence rates belonged to Lali (5.35 per one hundred thousand and Shadegan (9.78 per one hundred thousand. Conclusions This study showed that drivers, passengers and pedestrians were the most vulnerable road users. Regarding the fact that most of them were illiterate or had primary education and were self-employed or

A Numerical Simulation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Exposures in Urban Street Canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, J.; Fu, X.; Tao, S.

2016-12-01

Urban street canyons are usually associated with intensive vehicle emissions. However, the high buildings successively along both sides of a street block the dispersion of traffic-generated air pollutants, which enhances human exposure and adversely affects human health. In this study, an urban scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed with the consideration of street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. Vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows will first disperse inside a street canyon along the micro-scale wind field (generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model) and then leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing, China. We found that an increase of building height along the streets leads to higher pollution levels inside streets and lower pollution levels outside, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, street canyons with equal (or highly uneven) building heights on two sides of a street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry in consideration of traffic demand as well as local weather pattern may significantly reduce the chances of unhealthy air being inhaled by urban residents.

Modernizing the Professional Capabilities of Driving Instructors and Traffic Safety Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolarov Ivan

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The effective traffic safety training is a long process; it starts from very young age and continues throughout life. This is not only a process of acquiring knowledge and skills, but also a matter of social importance. Pedagogical forms of education depend on the position of a man in society, respectively, on abilities to percept the environment. The recent investigations of traffic accidents show, that the young drivers generally have poorer than average self-reflection skills. It is therefore important to foster self-reflection skills and attitudes from an early age, especially in matters that relate to road and driving safety. All of staff that have career in traffic safety training (mainly instructors for driving and traffic safety teachers in Europe have their responsibility for decreasing the traffic accidents and incidents by polishing their skills. They work under variety conditions, specific National Lows and Regulations, but the features of their target groups are one and the same. In order to meet the new challenges put by EU Commission they need to have common vision about traffic safety training in Europe, to know what traffic safety means for different age groups, to know what is the best practice of their colleagues, including curricula, methods, training materials, and to be aware their work is very important for traffic safety. Aim of this paper is to present an approach for non-formal instructors for driving and traffic safety teachers training for modernizing their professional capabilities with students form 0 to 30 years old. The investigations and main results are based on the theoretical investigation for hierarchical level of behavior, made by Hatakka for instructors for driving training. The students are divided in four age groups: pre-school children (0-6 years, schoolchildren (7-12 years, teenagers (13-17 years and young adults (18-30 years. For each age group a curriculum is developed according to common EU rules and

A bibliometric analysis of the published road traffic injuries research in India, post-1990.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Neeraj; Bairwa, Mohan; Gowthamghosh, B; Gupta, S D; Mangal, D K

2018-03-01

Globally, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among those aged 15-29 years. However, road traffic injury research has not received adequate attention from the scientific community in low- and middle-income countries, including India. The present study aims to provide a bibliometric overview of research assessing road traffic injuries in India. We used Scopus to extract relevant research in road traffic injuries published from 1991 to 2017. This study presented the key bibliometric indicators such as trends of annual publications and citations, top 10 authors, journals, institutions and highly cited articles, citation analysis of articles, co-occurrence of keywords, etc. Analysis was performed using Scopus, Microsoft Excel, and VOS-viewer. A total of 242 articles were retrieved with an h-index of 18, excluding self-citations. A steadfast growth of publications was documented in last decade, especially after the year 2010. The h-index of the top 10 authors, institutions, journals and highly cited articles did not surpass single digits. A network visualisation map showed that 'traffic accident', 'male', 'adolescent' and 'child' were the most commonly encountered key terms. The prominent authors were Gururaj G, Dandona R, and Hyder AA, whereas the top journals were the Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Medico Legal Update, and the International Journal of Applied Engineering Research and top institutions were the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the Administrative Staff College of India. In India, road traffic injuries research is inadequate in quantity and quality, warranting greater attention from researchers and policy planners to address the burden of road traffic injuries.

Properties of Traffic Risk Coefficient

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Tie-Qiao; Huang, Hai-Jun; Shang, Hua-Yan; Xue, Yu

2009-10-01

We use the model with the consideration of the traffic interruption probability (Physica A 387(2008)6845) to study the relationship between the traffic risk coefficient and the traffic interruption probability. The analytical and numerical results show that the traffic interruption probability will reduce the traffic risk coefficient and that the reduction is related to the density, which shows that this model can improve traffic security.

Identifying the Safety Factors over Traffic Signs in State Roads using a Panel Quantile Regression Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Šarić, Željko; Xu, Xuecai; Duan, Li; Babić, Darko

2018-06-20

This study intended to investigate the interactions between accident rate and traffic signs in state roads located in Croatia, and accommodate the heterogeneity attributed to unobserved factors. The data from 130 state roads between 2012 and 2016 were collected from Traffic Accident Database System maintained by the Republic of Croatia Ministry of the Interior. To address the heterogeneity, a panel quantile regression model was proposed, in which quantile regression model offers a more complete view and a highly comprehensive analysis of the relationship between accident rate and traffic signs, while the panel data model accommodates the heterogeneity attributed to unobserved factors. Results revealed that (1) low visibility of material damage (MD) and death or injured (DI) increased the accident rate; (2) the number of mandatory signs and the number of warning signs were more likely to reduce the accident rate; (3)average speed limit and the number of invalid traffic signs per km exhibited a high accident rate. To our knowledge, it's the first attempt to analyze the interactions between accident consequences and traffic signs by employing a panel quantile regression model; by involving the visibility, the present study demonstrates that the low visibility causes a relatively higher risk of MD and DI; It is noteworthy that average speed limit corresponds with accident rate positively; The number of mandatory signs and the number of warning signs are more likely to reduce the accident rate; The number of invalid traffic signs per km are significant for accident rate, thus regular maintenance should be kept for a safer roadway environment.

Assessment of exposure to traffic related air pollution of children attending schools near motorways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janssen, Nicole A.H.; Vliet, Patricia H.N. van; Aarts, Francee; Harssema, Hendrik; Brunekreef, Bert

2001-01-01

To assess exposure to air pollution from traffic of children attending schools near motorways, traffic related air pollution (PM 2.5 , NO 2 and benzene) was measured in and outside 24 schools located within 400m of motorways in the Netherlands. Reflectance of PM 2.5 filters was measured as a proxy for elemental carbon (EC). The relationship between this proxy and measurements of EC was studied in a sub-sample and a high correlation was established. In both indoor and outdoor air, concentrations of PM 2.5 and 'soot' significantly increased with increasing truck traffic density and significantly decreased with increasing distance. Indoor NO 2 concentrations significantly increased with increasing car traffic. The percentage of time that the school was downwind of the motorway during the measurements was significantly associated with 'soot' and NO 2 , but no with PM 2.5 and benzene. Estimated yearly averaged concentrations, calculated after standardising for differences in the background concentrations during the measurements, showed an about 2.5 fold range in 'soot', benzene (indoors and outdoors) and NO 2 (indoors) concentrations. For PM 2.5 (indoors and outdoors) and NO 2 outdoors the range was smaller (1.4-1.7). Standardised concentrations were highly correlated with the results of two other approaches that were used to order the exposures at the schools. This study has shown that concentrations of air pollutants in and outside schools near motorways are significantly associated with distance, traffic density and composition, and percentage of time downwind. These variables can therefore be used to assess exposure to traffic related air pollution of subjects living near motorways. Furthermore, the yearly averaged concentrations of PM 2.5 , soot, NO 2 and benzene can be used as a more direct measure of long-term exposure in epidemiological studies of the children attending the 24 schools. (Author)

[Effects of calorie information and nutrition traffic light on alimentation behaviour in public catering].

Science.gov (United States)

Bruder, A; Honekamp, W; Hackl, J M

2013-08-01

Due to the significant increase in overweight and obese people, action is needed to raise eating behaviour awareness. A significant main meal (lunch) is witnessing a growing trend in the catering (part of the out-of-home nutrition). The aim of this study is to determine whether the selection of lunch menus is affected through the display of nutritional information in the form of number of calories or a traffic light model. In this exploratory study, quantitative data were collected in a cross-sectional design. In addition to the established measurement instruments, socio-demographic and socio-economic information of the subjects based on the study were evaluated. The survey took place in 2008 in 2 passes (time t A/t B). The identical lunch menu of a catering company was applied twice respectively for 4 weeks. In the second run (t B) the lunch menu contained additional nutritional information (big 4 instructions) in the form of calories or a traffic light nutrition. The test of group differences was based on scientific statistical analysis in SPSS. The overall results for the illustration of kilocalories or traffic light do not have a unique significance in the direction of a low average number of calories at the time t B in comparison to the time t A. The food participants, on average, choose a lower calorie-containing menu, when a combination of traffic light and calories is given. The nutrition behaviour is accompanied by an oversupply of unhealthy foods. Lunch participants are sensitised for the selection of healthier lunch menus by a traffic light nutrition information or calories information. Nutrition labelling for lunch menus in the form of calories nutrition information or a coloured traffic light could trigger preventive effects. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

HOW TRAVEL DEMAND AFFECTS DETECTION OF NON-RECURRENT TRAFFIC CONGESTION ON URBAN ROAD NETWORKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Anbaroglu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Occurrence of non-recurrent traffic congestion hinders the economic activity of a city, as travellers could miss appointments or be late for work or important meetings. Similarly, for shippers, unexpected delays may disrupt just-in-time delivery and manufacturing processes, which could lose them payment. Consequently, research on non-recurrent congestion detection on urban road networks has recently gained attention. By analysing large amounts of traffic data collected on a daily basis, traffic operation centres can improve their methods to detect non-recurrent congestion rapidly and then revise their existing plans to mitigate its effects. Space-time clusters of high link journey time estimates correspond to non-recurrent congestion events. Existing research, however, has not considered the effect of travel demand on the effectiveness of non-recurrent congestion detection methods. Therefore, this paper investigates how travel demand affects detection of non-recurrent traffic congestion detection on urban road networks. Travel demand has been classified into three categories as low, normal and high. The experiments are carried out on London’s urban road network, and the results demonstrate the necessity to adjust the relative importance of the component evaluation criteria depending on the travel demand level.

The effects of disjunct sampling and averaging time on maximum mean wind speeds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsén, Xiaoli Guo; Mann, J.

2006-01-01

Conventionally, the 50-year wind is calculated on basis of the annual maxima of consecutive 10-min averages. Very often, however, the averages are saved with a temporal spacing of several hours. We call it disjunct sampling. It may also happen that the wind speeds are averaged over a longer time...

CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1)

Science.gov (United States)

Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=1998-08-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost

Traffic-related air pollution and noise and children's blood pressure: results from the PIAMA birth cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilenko, Natalya; van Rossem, Lenie; Brunekreef, Bert; Beelen, Rob; Eeftens, Marloes; Hoek, Gerard; Houthuijs, Danny; de Jongste, Johan C; van Kempen, Elise; Koppelman, Gerard H; Meliefste, Kees; Oldenwening, Marieke; Smit, Henriette A; Wijga, Alet H; Gehring, Ulrike

2015-01-01

Elevation of a child's blood pressure may cause possible health risks in later life. There is evidence for adverse effects of exposure to air pollution and noise on blood pressure in adults. Little is known about these associations in children. We investigated the associations of air pollution and noise exposure with blood pressure in 12-year-olds. Blood pressure was measured at age 12 years in 1432 participants of the PIAMA birth cohort study. Annual average exposure to traffic-related air pollution [NO2, mass concentrations of particulate matter with diameters of less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and less than 10 µm (PM10), and PM2.5 absorbance] at the participants' home and school addresses at the time of blood pressure measurements was estimated by land-use regression models. Air pollution exposure on the days preceding blood pressure measurements was estimated from routine air monitoring data. Long-term noise exposure was assessed by linking addresses to modelled equivalent road traffic noise levels. Associations of exposures with blood pressure were analysed by linear regression. Effects are presented for an interquartile range increase in exposure. Long-term exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 absorbance were associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, in children who lived at the same address since birth [adjusted mean difference (95% confidence interval) [mmHg] 0.83 (0.06 to 1.61) and 0.75 (-0.08 to 1.58), respectively], but not with systolic blood pressure. We found no association of blood pressure with short-term air pollution or noise exposure. Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution may increase diastolic blood pressure in children. © The European Society of Cardiology 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Impact of commuting exposure to traffic-related air pollution on cognitive development in children walking to school.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez-Pedrerol, Mar; Rivas, Ioar; López-Vicente, Mònica; Suades-González, Elisabet; Donaire-Gonzalez, David; Cirach, Marta; de Castro, Montserrat; Esnaola, Mikel; Basagaña, Xavier; Dadvand, Payam; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Sunyer, Jordi

2017-12-01

A few studies have found associations between the exposure to traffic-related air pollution at school and/or home and cognitive development. The impact on cognitive development of the exposure to air pollutants during commuting has not been explored. We aimed to assess the role of the exposure to traffic-related air pollutants during walking commute to school on cognitive development of children. We performed a longitudinal study of children (n = 1,234, aged 7-10 y) from 39 schools in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) who commuted by foot to school. Children were tested four times during a 12-month follow-up to characterize their developmental trajectories of working memory (d' of the three-back numbers test) and inattentiveness (hit reaction time standard error of the Attention Network Test). Average particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), Black Carbon (BC) and NO 2 concentrations were estimated using Land Use Regression for the shortest walking route to school. Differences in cognitive growth were evaluated by linear mixed effects models with age-by-pollutant interaction terms. Exposure to PM 2.5 and BC from the commutes by foot was associated with a reduction in the growth of working memory (an interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 and BC concentrations decreased the annual growth of working memory by 5.4 (95% CI [-10.2, -0.6]) and 4.6 (95% CI [-9.0, -0.1]) points, respectively). The findings for NO 2 were not conclusive and none of the pollutants were associated with inattentiveness. Efforts should be made to implement pedestrian school pathways through low traffic streets in order to increase security and minimize children's exposure to air pollutants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Traffic safety strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Sadauskas

2003-04-01

Full Text Available Fast development of the number of vehicles is closely related not only to large benefit for the public but also to certain undesirable social and economic consequences. Firstly - large numbers of injured and killed people are involved into the accidents. The target to improve traffic safety situation in Lithuania can be reached only after the detailed evaluation of transport system, environment, traffic participants, road and vehicle. Taking into consideration the accident situation in Lithuania and its causes the followings priority trends are suggested: The improvement of the coordination of road traffic safety system, the training and education of road users, the explanation of the importance of traffic safety and its propagation, the improvement of traffic conditions. Recommendations and proposals for differentiated criterion of maximum speed limit selection taking into account different factors are provided in the work.

Travelers ability to observe changes in traffic intensities and traffic light settings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vreeswijk, Jacob Dirk; Do, Michael; Middag, Wilco; Martens, Marieke Hendrikje; van Berkum, Eric C.; van Arem, Bart; ITSC,

2011-01-01

Travel choice behavior is an important determinant in traffic and subject to human imperfection and bounded rationality. In decision-making processes travelers seldom act perfectly rational. Traffic models and traffic network management measure could become more realistic and effective, if

Influence of Ergonomics on Traffic Safety and Economy Development

OpenAIRE

Teodor Perić; Nada Štrumberger; Dean Perić

2004-01-01

As an interdisciplinary science, ergonomics needs to makethe operating of traffic safer, faster and more reliable, for thesake of higher profitability and generally improved economiceffects. This is achieved by adapting and shaping the workplace,machines, transport means, equipment, physical environment,working process etc. according to experience abouthuman anatomic physica~ sociologica~ intellectual and otherminimal, average or maximal capabilities. Therefore, it is necessaryto analyse ergo...

Traffic breakdown at a signal: classical theory versus the three-phase theory of city traffic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kerner, Boris S; Schreckenberg, Michael; Klenov, Sergey L

2014-01-01

Physical reasons for a crucial difference between the results of a three-phase theory developed recently (Kerner 2011 Phys. Rev. E 84 045102(R); 2013 Europhys. Lett. 102 28010; 2014 Physica A 397 76) and the classical theory are explained. Microscopic characteristics of traffic passing a traffic signal during the green signal phase and their dependence on the duration of the green phase have been found. It turns out that a moving synchronized flow pattern (MSP), which occurs in under-saturated traffic at the signal, causes ‘compression’ of traffic flow: the rate of MSP discharge can be considerably larger than the saturation flow rate of the classical traffic theory of city traffic. This leads to a considerably larger rate of traffic passing the signal in comparison with the saturation flow rate. This effect together with traffic behavior at the upstream queue front explains the metastability of under-saturated traffic with respect to a random time-delayed traffic breakdown. (paper)

40 CFR 264.193 - Containment and detection of releases.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... conducted at least annually. [Note: The practices described in the American Petroleum Institute (API... stress of daily operation (including stresses from nearby vehicular traffic). (2) Placed on a foundation... provisions outlined in the Steel Tank Institute's (STI) “Standard for Dual Wall Underground Steel Storage...

Control of ribosome traffic by position-dependent choice of synonymous codons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mitarai, Namiko; Pedersen, Steen

2013-01-01

Messenger RNA (mRNA) encodes a sequence of amino acids by using codons. For most amino acids, there are multiple synonymous codons that can encode the amino acid. The translation speed can vary from one codon to another, thus there is room for changing the ribosome speed while keeping the amino...... acid sequence and hence the resulting protein. Recently, it has been noticed that the choice of the synonymous codon, via the resulting distribution of slow- and fast-translated codons, affects not only on the average speed of one ribosome translating the mRNA but also might have an effect on nearby...... ribosomes by affecting the appearance of 'traffic jams' where multiple ribosomes collide and form queues. To test this 'context effect' further, we here investigate the effect of the sequence of synonymous codons on the ribosome traffic by using a ribosome traffic model with codon-dependent rates, estimated...

The influence of mechanical vibrations of railway and car traffics on the radon exhalation using track detector technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moharram, B.M.

2000-01-01

The influence of train and car traffic vibrations on the radon concentration (CRn) increase near the railway tracks and the heavy traffic roads. It was estimated along the railway road, and perpendicular directions using CR-39 detectors. The special radius of the influence is about 32 m, while the related value for car traffics is found to be about 25 m. The base line of radon concentration in soil gas and radon exhalation are estimated in the whole area, far from the center of traffic roads by a distance (> 100 m) in different different directions and found to be 0.6 Bq/L and 1.25 x 10 4 Bq m -2 respectively.It is easy to detect that the average ratio between the radon concentration at its higher level and its base line, which is regular concentration of radon in the ordinary positions far from the effect of traffics, is about 1.18 for railway traffics. While the related value to vehicle traffic is about 1.23, which is higher than that of railway traffic because the ground is stimulated per minutely

Survival, disabilities in activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning among the oldest-old in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Yi; Feng, Qiushi; Hesketh, Therese

2017-01-01

age at the time of the assessment in the 1998 and 2008 surveys. Four health outcomes were investigated: annual death rate, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), physical performance in three tests and cognitive function measured by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We used different tests......BACKGROUND: The oldest-old (those aged ≥80 years) are the most rapidly growing age group globally, and are most in need of health care and assistance. We aimed to assess changes in mortality, disability in activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning among oldest......, and that disability according to activities of daily living had significantly reduced annually between 0·8% and 2·8%. However, cognitive impairment in the later cohorts increased annually between 0·7% and 2·2% and objective physical performance capacity (standing up from a chair, picking up a book from the floor...