Investigation to enhance sustainable improvements in high speed rail transport

Transport systems are essential for the life of modern societies and economies. A sustainable transport system can shape a sustainable development pattern and socio-economic attributes of urban centres and regions. The use of private cars and trucks is increasing in most countries, creating more congestion, accidents, pollution and energy consumption. Many governments desire to achieve growth in public transport to overcome these adverse trends. A massive shift toward an environmentally sound type of transport is crucial and railways are deemed to be one of the most sustainable modes. All over the world the railway industry is involved in a renewal to reform and up-date rail, prompted largely by environmental concerns. The trend is to develop speed-competitive systems to expand transportation capacity. The focus of the current research, which is at its commencing stages, is to investigate the opportunities to apply an alternative approach to railway operations to overcome the difficulty of high speed transport in servicing larger amounts of demand, while achieving minimum point to point travel time, in a viable and integrated environment for both passenger and freight services. The expected outcome of the research project is to present a framework that may be used to identify and evaluate the most cost-effective transport solution to service not only major cities, but also regional centres along an interregional rail corridor, thus providing greater benefits on local economies and to build a spine for future development

Intralymphatic Immunotherapy (ILIT) With Bee Venom Allergens: A Clinical Proof-of-Concept Study and the Very First ILIT in Humans

BackgroundSubcutaneous venom immunotherapy (VIT) represents an effective treatment against bee venom allergy. However, it involves long treatment times, high costs, and the risk of adverse events (AEs). Shorter, safer, and cheaper treatment options are therefore pursued.ObjectiveTo determine the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of bee venom intralymphatic immunotherapy (ILIT).MethodsIn an open pilot study, 12 patients received bee venom ILIT in three sessions with 14-day intervals: 0.1–5 μg/dose. Ultrasound imaging was applied to guide an injection and to document the lymph node structure. In a second study, 67 patients from 15 centers in Europe and Australia were randomized to receive four doses of either 10- or 20-μg bee venom ILIT with 28-day intervals. Clinical endpoints included specific IgE and IgG and protection after a bee sting challenge. These studies were performed in the years 2000–2003.ResultsIn a proof-of-concept study, no serious AEs were observed. An increase in allergen-specific IgG1 but no IgG4 and IgE was observed. ILIT induced the protection against a bee sting challenge in 7 out of 8 challenged patients. In a multicenter study, an increase in allergen-specific IgG and IgE was observed, with the highest increase in patients receiving a higher ILIT dose. The study was terminated due to several serious AEs upon the sting challenge provocation after the completion of treatment. However, out of 45 patients challenged, 15 (65%) and 18 (82%) patients in the 10- and 20-μg group, respectively, showed an improvement of two grades or more. No correlation was observed between antibody levels and sting protection.ConclusionsWhile a pilot study suggested the safety and efficacy of bee venom ILIT, a high number of AEs seen after the sting challenge following a randomized study indicate that the immunology protection offered by bee venom ILIT is insufficient. Of note, the bee venom allergen extract used in the two studies were from the two different providers. While the first study used a formulation approved for use in subcutaneous VIT, the second study used a nonapproved formulation never tested in humans. Further studies on approved formulations should be performed to generate conclusive results regarding the safety and efficacy of bee venom ILIT

O Sistema Nacional de Transplantes: saúde e autonomia em discussão

É forçoso admitir a existência de temas-tabu na sociedade brasileira. Com uma tradição fortemente lastreada em valores cristãos, aos quais se associa a ideia da intangibilidade corporal, falar-se dos limites ético-jurídicos da autonomia da pessoa em relação aos usos do corpo, no Brasil, é tarefa bastante árdua, principalmente se se pretende explorar a fundo a temática dos transplantes de órgãos e tecidos. Embora consista no maior programa público de transplantes do mundo, o Sistema Nacional de Transplantes, totalmente estruturado a partir de doações, não tem conseguido suprir o problema da escassez de enxertos. Registra-se aumento da demanda, com número considerável de pessoas aguardando nas filas de espera. Ao problema da escassez, associam-se a falta de precisão nos critérios de morte e as restrições à autonomia individual nas decisões sobre doação, sendo, portanto, indispensável discutirem-se as bases sobre as quais esse sistema se assenta. Frise-se que a construção de qualquer consenso em uma sociedade democrática, aberta e plural - como pretendido pela nossa - pressupõe um debate fundado no uso público da razão e no império do melhor argumento. Assim, e (re)pensando a questão sob uma perspectiva eminentemente ético-intersubjetiva, é possível apontar falhas, acertos e novas propostas para se tentar alcançar os principais objetivos de um sistema ético de transplantes: reduzir o déficit entre a oferta e a demanda de enxertos, tornar os procedimentos transplantatórios mais seguros, universalmente acessíveis, bem como se valorizarem as escolhas autônomas dos envolvidos

Brazilian national transplantation system: discussing health and autonomy

It must be admitted that some subjects are still taboo in Brazilian society. With a moral tradition strongly attached to Christian values, to which the idea of corporeal intangibility can be associated, to speak, in Brazil, of the ethical-juridical limits of personal autonomy in regard to the uses of the human body is quite an arduous task, especially if one intends to thoroughly explore the topic of organ and tissue transplantation. In spite of possessing the largest public transplantation program in the world - the National Transplant System, which is totally structured on donations - the country has not been able to solve the problem of the dearth of organs. There has been an increase in demand, with a considerable number of people waiting years on the transplant lists. Besides the problem of scarcity, there is a lack of precision in defining death criteria and restrictions to individual autonomy on donation decisions, so that it is essential to discuss the basis in which this system is established. It must be stressed that achieving a form of valid consensus in a society - such as ours - that deems itself as democratic, open and plural, presupposes a debate founded on the public use of reason and on the imperative principle according to which the best argument should always prevail. Therefore, by (re)thinking the question from an eminently intersubjective-ethical perspective, it becomes possible to identify flaws, merits and to formulate new proposals to try to reach the main objectives of an ethical organ transplantation system: to curtail the deficit between graft supply and demand, to make transplantation procedures safer, universally accessible, as well as valuing the autonomous choices of the involved individuals.É forçoso admitir a existência de temas-tabu na sociedade brasileira. Com uma tradição fortemente lastreada em valores cristãos, aos quais se associa a ideia da intangibilidade corporal, falar-se dos limites ético-jurídicos da autonomia da pessoa em relação aos usos do corpo, no Brasil, é tarefa bastante árdua, principalmente se se pretende explorar a fundo a temática dos transplantes de órgãos e tecidos. Embora consista no maior programa público de transplantes do mundo, o Sistema Nacional de Transplantes, totalmente estruturado a partir de doações, não tem conseguido suprir o problema da escassez de enxertos. Registra-se aumento da demanda, com número considerável de pessoas aguardando nas filas de espera. Ao problema da escassez, associam-se a falta de precisão nos critérios de morte e as restrições à autonomia individual nas decisões sobre doação, sendo, portanto, indispensável discutirem-se as bases sobre as quais esse sistema se assenta. Frise-se que a construção de qualquer consenso em uma sociedade democrática, aberta e plural - como pretendido pela nossa - pressupõe um debate fundado no uso público da razão e no império do melhor argumento. Assim, e (re)pensando a questão sob uma perspectiva eminentemente ético-intersubjetiva, é possível apontar falhas, acertos e novas propostas para se tentar alcançar os principais objetivos de um sistema ético de transplantes: reduzir o déficit entre a oferta e a demanda de enxertos, tornar os procedimentos transplantatórios mais seguros, universalmente acessíveis, bem como se valorizarem as escolhas autônomas dos envolvidos

Continuous Railway Systems: An Innovative Approach to Improve High Speed Rail Sustainability

The forgotten practice of detaching carriages from moving express trains still holds intriguing insights for today’s railway industry. Travel time and energy savings with increased accessibility were only a few of the benefits of non-stopping trains with detachable coaches. The revival of the continuous transport concept could greatly improve the sustainability of more modern practices, such as high speed rail systems, thanks to technologies not available in the past. Nowadays in fact it would be possible to deploy innovative transport approaches that only few decades ago were inconceivable due to prevailing safety issues. This paper represents a first step in creating a framework for the appraisal of sustainable Continuous Railway Systems. A formative methodology for analysing the effectiveness of such an innovative concept is presented with particular consideration of the potential impacts on the economy, society and the environment. This paper also reviews operational methods and associated safe working issues of the docking between moving trains; moreover it shows the need for further theoretical and practical research in this new area of investigation to face the posed challenges

Railways, urban development and town planning in Britain

This book is a thorough investigation of the relationship between land use planning and the railways in Britain, through review of the factors affecting the two sectors and their integration during the period of public ownership. The rationale behind the book is explained as a timely analysis of the dynamic correlation involving town planning and management of the railway in a period when growing congestion on the road network is forcing people to look for alternative modes and capacity is badly needed to accommodate this increased demand for travel. The book calls for a modal shift from road to rail for passenger and freight traffic

Investigation to enhance high speed rail accessibility

High Speed Rail (HSR) is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide as a safe and efficient transport option for long-distance travel. Designed to win market shares from air transport, HSR systems optimise their productivity between increasing speeds and station spacing to offer high quality service and gain ridership. Recent studies have investigated the effects that the deployment of HSR infrastructure has on spatial distribution and the economic development of cities and regions. Findings appear mostly positive at higher geographical scales, where HSR links connect major urban centres several hundred kilometres apart and already well positioned within a national or international context. Also, at the urban level, studies have shown regeneration and concentration effects around HSR station areas with positive returns on city’s image and economy. However, doubts persist on the effects of HSR at an intermediate scale, where the accessibility trade off on station spacing limits access to many small and medium agglomerations. Thereby, their ability to participate in the development opportunities facilitated by HSR infrastructure is significantly reduced. The locational advantages deriving from transport improvements appear contrasting especially in regions that tend to have a polycentric structure, where cities may present greater accessibility disparities between those served by HSR and those left behind. This thesis fits in this context where intermediate and regional cities do not directly enjoy the presence of an HSR station while having an existing or planned proximate HSR corridor. With the aim of understanding whether there might be a solution to this apparent incongruity, the research investigates strategies to integrate HSR accessibility at the regional level. While current literature recommends to commit with ancillary investments to the uplift of station areas and the renewal of feeder systems, I hypothesised the interoperability between the HSR and the conventional networks to explore the possibilities offered by mixed traffic and infrastructure sharing. Thus, I developed a methodology to quantify the exchange of benefits deriving from this synergistic interaction. In this way, it was possible to understand which level of service quality offered by alternative transit strategies best facilitates the distribution of accessibility benefits for areas far from actual HSR stations. Therefore, strategies were selected for their type of service capable of regional extensions and urban penetrations, while incorporating a combination of specific advantages (e.g. speed, sub-urbanity, capacity, frequency and automation) in order to emulate HSR quality with increasingly efficient services. The North-eastern Italian macro region was selected as case study to ground the research offering concurrently a peripheral polycentric metropolitan form, the presence of a planned HSR corridor with some portions of HSR infrastructure implementation, and the project to develop a suburban rail service extended regionally. Results show significant distributive potential, in terms of network effects produced in relation with HSR, in increasing proportions for all the strategies considered: a regional metro rail strategy (abbreviated RMR), a regional high speed rail strategy (abbreviated RHSR), a regional light rail transit (abbreviated LRT) strategy, and a non-stopping continuous railway system (abbreviated CRS) strategy. The provision of additional tools to value HSR infrastructure against its accessibility benefits and their regional distribution through alternative strategies beyond the actual HSR stations, would have great implications, both politically and technically, in moving towards new dimensions of HSR evaluation and development

Scenari infrastrutturali e strategie metropolitane per uscire dal declino. Il caso dell'Italia Settentrionale

In questo saggio si ipotizzano e si descrivono alcuni macro scenari infrastrutturali, per il Nord Italia, attraverso le configurazioni spaziali macroregionali che questi assumono a ridosso dei quattro corridoi europei che attraversano il territorio dell\u2019Italia settentrionale. Cerchiamo di assumere, come prospettiva degli scenari, un orizzonte temporale medio-lungo (intorno al 2030) perch\ue9 questo \ue8 il tempo che viene fissato dalla programmazione europea della Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) come orizzonte per la realizzazione del cosiddetto Core network

Il progetto del porto-regione

Gli autori presentano i lineamenti fondamentali del cosiddetto porto-regione, ne spiegano la genesi e le potenzialit\ue0 future in termini di scenari di crescita, ne articolano e analizzano le molteplici componenti su spazi, a mano a mano, pi\uf9 vasti. Identificano, inoltre, la catena di relazioni sistemiche che legano le diverse parti e che, bench\ue9 ci si concentri sul territorio del FVG, occupano un territorio ben pi\uf9 ampio di quello di stretta pertinenza della nostra regione