Movement generation and trip distribution for freight demand modelling applied to city logistics

The quantification of the freight movements disaggregated by supply chain occurring in each traffic zone for the urban delivery of goods and that of the corresponding Origin - Destination trip tables is essential to evaluate the effects of any city logistic poli cy in terms of vehicle congestion and polluting emissions through the assignment of truck flows on the road network. In this paper we propose two innovative demand models: the first one for movement generation, the second one for trip distribution. The mov ement generation is addressed through an extension of the category index model, which takes into account the hierarchy in the classification system of the economic activities, thus avoiding aggregating the many existing classification codes into pre - specif ied groups. The trip distribution is addressed through an adaptation of the gravity model, which takes into account that deliveries are organized in tours. This approach has been successfully applied to the case of Emilia - Romagna Region in Italy, where an extensive campaign of surveys has permitted to calibrate both models for several towns and cities with various dimensions and vocations

Synchronization of traffic signals through a heuristic-modified genetic algorithm with GLTM

Urban signal timing is a non-convex NLP problem. Finding an optimal solution on not very small and simple networks may take long time, wherever possible. The present paper focuses on signal synchronization, thus creating fast-flow corridors on one or more network road arterials. To do this, a genetic-like algorithm is applied, in which new solutions generation follows heuristic conceptions. This can be carried out thanks to the specific formulation adopted, suitable for synchronization problems. The objective function is evaluated by the General Link Transmission Model, a very fast macroscopic dynamic simulator referring to the kinematic waves theory. Through this, queues dynamic evolution, spillback phenomenon and vehicles travel times are explicitly taken into account. Key-words: traffic control, signal setting, synchronization, optimization, genetic algorithm, general link transmission model

Fast estimation of point-to-point travel times for real-time vehicle routing

Abstract To provide the optimal allocation of requests to the available fleet vehicles, routing algorithms typically assume the availability of complete and correct information about point-to-point travel times. Actually, in real applications non-recurrent events and traffic conditions make the estimation and the prediction of such travel times a difficult task, further complicated in real-time applications by the dynamicity of the information and the number of needed estimates. In this paper we present a complete methodology to achieve a computation of point-to-point travel times on a large network which proves to be both extremely fast and consistent with dynamically updated traffic information

Pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus infection associated with purpuric skin lesions: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The influenza virus infection may be severe in non-immune people. Common complications of influenza virus include upper and lower respiratory tract infections, otitis media, myocarditis, acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ failure. There have been cases of vasculitis following influenza vaccination, and rash and acute purpura may occur in certain viral infections. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports concerning cases of systemic vasculitis associated with pandemic 2009 (H₁N₁) infection.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 23-year-old Caucasian woman was hospitalized at the "L. Spallanzani" National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome, Italy. Clinical and radiological features including laboratory findings of this case are illustrated. Notably, the patient had fever, severe abdominal pain, hematuria, arthritis, and purpuric manifestations associated with a normal platelet count. Nasopharyngeal and rectal swabs revealed pandemic 2009 (H₁N₁) virus by reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction assay. Routine laboratory analyses showed elevated inflammatory parameters. The autoimmune panel tests were normal. Steroid therapy associated with oseltamivir achieved an evident and rapid improvement. On day seven the patient chose to leave the hospital against medical advice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Complications related to influenza infection can be life threatening, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Henoch-Schönlein purpura triggered by the novel influenza virus infection could be an attractive pathogenetic hypothesis. We have discussed both the diagnosis and the challenge of therapy protocols. Steroid therapy is part of the management of severe vasculitis. Our case suggests that steroid therapy associated with antivirals can prevent the risk of further complications such as hemorrhage and multi-organ failure during severe vasculitis, without enhancing the virulence of the influenza virus. The possible role of pandemic 2009 (H₁N₁) in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic manifestations should be further investigated.</p

DRUDIT: web-based DRUgs DIscovery Tools to design small molecules as modulators of biological targets.

Abstract Motivation New in silico tools to predict biological affinities for input structures are presented. The tools are implemented in the DRUDIT (DRUgs DIscovery Tools) web service. The DRUDIT biological finder module is based on molecular descriptors that are calculated by the MOLDESTO (MOLecular DEScriptors TOol) software module developed by the same authors, which is able to calculate more than one thousand molecular descriptors. At this stage, DRUDIT includes 250 biological targets, but new external targets can be added. This feature extends the application scope of DRUDIT to several fields. Moreover, two more functions are implemented: the multi- and on/off-target tasks. These tools applied to input structures allow for predicting the polypharmacology and evaluating the collateral effects. Results The applications described in the article show that DRUDIT is able to predict a single biological target, to identify similarities among biological targets, and to discriminate different target isoforms. The main advantages of DRUDIT for the scientific community lie in its ease of use by worldwide scientists and the possibility to be used also without specific, and often expensive, hardware and software. In fact, it is fully accessible through the WWW from any device to perform calculations. Just a click or a tap can start tasks to predict biological properties for new compounds or repurpose drugs, lead compounds, or unsuccessful compounds. To date, DRUDIT is supported by four servers each able to execute 8 jobs simultaneously. Availability and implementation The web service is accessible at the www.drudit.com URL and its use is free of charge. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online

A systematic review and meta-analysis

The relationship between antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) has never been systematically addressed. The aim of this study is to assess the link between aPL and AIHA in adult systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). This study performed an EMBASE/PubMed search from inception to June 2019 and meta-analysis using Peto’s odds ratios. The pooled prevalence (PP) of IgG/IgM anticardiolipin (aCL) and lupus anticoagulant (LA) was greater in AIHA +ve than AIHA –ve patients (34.7% vs. 27.6%, p = 0.03; 33.3% vs. 21.8%, p < 0.0001; 20.9% vs. 8.3%, p = 0.01). The PP of AIHA was greater in: (1) IgG and IgM aCL +ve than-ve patients (21.8% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.001 and 18.7% vs. 6.3%, p < 0.0001), (2) in SLE related APS than in primary APS patients (22.8% vs. 3.9% p < 0.0001), (3) in APS +ve than APS-ve SLE patients (23.2% vs. 8.4%, p = 0.01), and (4) in thrombotic APS than non-thrombotic APS/SLE patients (26.8% vs. 10%, p = 0.03). The PP of IgG/IgM aCL and LA was greater in DAT +ve than DAT-ve patients (42.4% vs. 12.8%, p < 0.0001; 26.2% vs. 12.8%, p = 0.03 and 29.2% vs. 15.7%, p = 0.004 respectively). It was found that AIHA prevalence is maximal in SLE with aPL/APS, low-moderate in SLE without aPL and minimal in PAPS. Moreover, AIHA is rightly included among the classification criteria for SLE but not for APS/aPL. The significance of an isolated DAT positivity remains unclear in this setting.publishersversionpublishe

An integrated cryogenic optical modulator

Integrated electrical and photonic circuits (PIC) operating at cryogenic temperatures are fundamental building blocks required to achieve scalable quantum computing, and cryogenic computing technologies. Optical interconnects offer better performance and thermal insulation than electrical wires and are imperative for true quantum communication. Silicon PICs have matured for room temperature applications but their cryogenic performance is limited by the absence of efficient low temperature electro-optic (EO) modulation. While detectors and lasers perform better at low temperature, cryogenic optical switching remains an unsolved challenge. Here we demonstrate EO switching and modulation from room temperature down to 4 K by using the Pockels effect in integrated barium titanate (BaTiO3)-based devices. We report the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of BaTiO3 in a temperature range which has previously not been explored, showing an effective Pockels coefficient of 200 pm/V at 4 K. We demonstrate the largest EO bandwidth (30 GHz) of any cryogenic switch to date, ultra-low-power tuning which is 10^9 times more efficient than thermal tuning, and high-speed data modulation at 20 Gbps. Our results demonstrate a missing component for cryogenic PICs. It removes major roadblocks for the realisation of novel cryogenic-compatible systems in the field of quantum computing and supercomputing, and for interfacing those systems with the real world at room-temperature

Multifaceted enrichment analysis of RNA-RNA crosstalk reveals cooperating micro-societies in human colorectal cancer

Alterations in the balance of mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles contribute to the onset and development of colorectal cancer. The regulatory functions of individual miRNA-gene pairs are widely acknowledged, but group effects are largely unexplored. We performed an integrative analysis of mRNA–miRNA and miRNA–miRNA interactions using high-throughput mRNA and miRNA expression profiles obtained from matched specimens of human colorectal cancer tissue and adjacent non- tumorous mucosa. This investigation resulted in a hypernetwork-based model, whose functional back- bone was fulfilled by tight micro-societies of miR- NAs. These proved to modulate several genes that are known to control a set of significantly enriched cancer-enhancer and cancer-protection biological processes, and that an array of upstream regulatory analyses demonstrated to be dependent on miR-145, a cell cycle and MAPK signalling cascade master regulator. In conclusion, we reveal miRNA-gene clusters and gene families with close functional relationships and highlight the role of miR-145 as potent upstream regulator of a complex RNA–RNA crosstalk, which mechanistically modulates several signalling path- ways and regulatory circuits that when deranged are relevant to the changes occurring in colorectal carcinogenesis

Dynamic causal modelling of the reduced habituation to painful stimuli in migraine : an EEG study

A consistent finding in migraine is reduced cortical habituation to repetitive sensory stimuli. This study investigated brain dynamics underlying the atypical habituation to painful stimuli in interictal migraine. We investigated modulations in effective connectivity between the sources of laser evoked potentials (LEPs) from a first to final block of trigeminal LEPs using dynamic causal modelling (DCM) in a group of 23 migraine patients and 20 controls. Additionally, we looked whether the strength of dynamical connections in the migrainous brain is initially different. The examined network consisted of the secondary somatosensory areas (lS2, rS2), insulae (lIns, rIns), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (lS1), and a hidden source assumed to represent the thalamus. Results suggest that migraine patients show initially heightened communication between lS1 and the thalamus, in both directions. After repetitive stimulations, connection strengths from the thalamus to all somatosensory areas habituated in controls whereas this was not apparent in migraine. Together with further abnormalities in initial connectivity strengths and modulations between the thalamus and the insulae, these results are in line with altered thalamo-cortical network dynamics in migraine. Group differences in connectivity from and to the insulae including interhemispheric connections, suggests an important role of the insulae