Comparative evaluation of microscopic car-following behavior

Microscopic traffic-simulation tools are increasingly being applied to evaluate the impacts of a wide variety of intelligent transport, systems (ITS) applications and other dynamic problems that are difficult to solve using traditional analytical models. The accuracy of a traffic-simulation system depends highly on the quality of the traffic-flow model at its core, with the two main critical components being the car-following and lane-changing models. This paper presents findings from a comparative evaluation of car-following behavior in a number of traffic simulators [advanced interactive microscopic simulator for urban and nonurban networks (AIMSUN), parallel microscopic simulation (PARAMICS), and Verkehr in Statiten-simulation (VISSIM)]. The car-following algorithms used in these simulators have been developed from a variety of theoretical backgrounds and are reported to have been calibrated on a number of different data sets. Very few independent studies have attempted to evaluate the performance of the underlying algorithms based on the same data set. The results reported in this study are based on a car-following experiment that used instrumented vehicles to record the speed and relative distance between follower and leader vehicles on a one-lane road. The experiment was replicated in each tool and the simulated car-following behavior was compared to the field data using a number of error tests. The results showed lower error values for the Gipps-based models implemented in AIMSUN and similar error values for the psychophysical spacing models used in VISSIM and PARAMICS. A qualitative drift and goal-seeking behavior test, which essentially shows how the distance headway between leader and follower vehicles should oscillate around a stable distance, also confirmed the findings

Increasing Students’ Understanding of the Simple Past Tense Using Discovery Learning at VII grade students of SMP Negeri 4 Doloksanggul in Academic Year 2017/218

The purpose of this research is to know whether students\u27 understanding of the simple past tense could be increased by discovery learning. This research was conducted at VII grade students of SMP Negeri 4 Doloksanggul in Academic Year 2017/218.which consisted of 36 students as respondent. This research used Classroom Action Research (CAR) method in solving the students\u27 problem in understanding of the simple past tense. The researcher used the Kurt Lewin\u27s model that consists of four phases, planning, acting, observing and reflecting. There are two kinds of data in this research, namely quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data can be derived from the test result. Besides, the qualitative data can be derived from the observation, interview and field notes. In analyzing the data, the researcher used descriptive analysis and statistic analysis to know the result of the implementation the Classroom Action Research (CAR) to the students. The result of this study showed that the students\u27 progress during teaching and learning process using discovery learning to increase the students\u27 understanding of the simple past tense was good. It was proved by three data results, first, from the observation result, it showed that the students were more motivated, active and interested in learning simple past tense in the classroom. Second, from interview result, it could be seen that students\u27 skill in understanding of the simple past tense has improved than before in which suitable with interview result with the English teacher. Last, from the test result. It consisted of three tests, namely pretest, posttest 1 and posttest 2. There was found 22.78 point of improvement of students\u27 mean score after using discovery learning. The mean score of the pre-test was 48.19. There were only 8.33% of the whole students who could pass Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM). Then the mean score of posttest 1 was 59.86. The percentage of students was 33.33% who could get the score above Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM). Next, the mean score of posttest 2 was 70.97. In this test, there were 77.78% students who got the score above Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM)

Profil Gr-1 Dan CD34 Mencit Yang Diinfeksi Staphylococcus Aureus Pacsa Pemberian Ekstrak Buah Mengkudu (Morinda Citrifolia)

S. aureus menyebabkan berbagai macam penyakit infeksi sistemik, seperti endokarditis, osteomielitis, sindrom kulit melepuh, pneumonia dan penyakit Toxic Shock Syndrom (TSS). Faktor virulen S. aureus dapat menginduksi peningkatan neutrofil, inflamasi, serta menstimulasi sel T sehingga terjadi sekresi citokin proinflamasi secara besar-besaran. S. aureus resisten terhadap antibiotic sehingga mendorong masyarakat untuk mencari tanaman obat tradisional. Tanaman obat lebih efektif, efek samping lebih kecil, dan harga lebih murah dibandingkan obat sintetik. M. citrifolia dijadikan bahan alternatif pengobatan karena memiliki potensi sebagai anti mikroba, anti kanker, anti inflamasi dan antioksidan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui profil Gr-1 dan CD34 mencit yang diinfeksi S. aureus pacsa pemberian ekstrak air buah mengkudu (M. citrifolia). Penelitian menggunakan RAL factorial. Terdapat 2 kelompok yaitu kelompok non infeksi dan infeksi. Kedua kelompok diberi ekstrak air buah M. citrifolia dengan dosis berturut-turut 25 mg/kgBB, 100 mg/kgBB, dan 300 mg/kgBB selama 20 hari kemudian diinfeksi S. aureus sebanyak 1 x 109 sel. Deteksi jumlah relatif Gr-1 dan CD34 menggunakan Flow cytometry, dianalisis dengan progam CellQuest dan dilakukan uji statistik ANOVA dan uji BNJ menggunakan progam SPSS 16. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, Pada kelompok non infeksi terjadi peningkatan Gr-1 pada dosis 100 mg/kgBB, dosis 25 mg/kgBB dan 100 mg/kgBB serta terjadi peningkatan dan penurunan CD34 secara signifikan (P<0.05). Pada kelompok Infeksi terjadi penuruan Gr-1 pada dosis 300 mg/kgBB, dan peningkatan CD34 pada dosis 100 mg/kgBB. Penurunan Gr-1 dimungkinkan karena senyawa M. citrifolia yang berperan sebagai anti inflamasi

Evolutionary Computation in Coded Communications: an Implementation of Viterbi Algorithm

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Prehabilitation for frail patients undergoing colorectal surgery: lessons learnt from a randomised feasibility study

There is substantial interest by clinicians to improve the health outcomes of older and frail patients followingmajor surgery, with prehabilitation a potential and important component of future standard patient care. We studied the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of pre-operative prehabilitation in frail patients scheduled for colorectal surgery in regional Australia. We conducted a single blind, parallel arm, randomised controlled trial in a regional referral centre where colorectal surgical patients aged over 50 were invited to participate and screened for frailty. Frail patients were randomised to undertake either a 4-week supervised exercise program with dietary advice, or usual care. The primary outcome was 6-min-walk-distance at baseline, pre-surgery (4 weeks later) and at follow-up (4–6 weeks post-operation). Secondary outcomes included physical activity level, health-related quality of life, and post-surgical complications. Feasibility outcomes were numbers of patients reaching each stage and barriers or reasons for withdrawal. Of 106 patients eligible for screening during the 2-year study period, only five were able to be randomised, of which one alone completed the entire study to follow-up. Fewer patients than expected met the frailty criteria (23.6%), and many (22.6%) were offered surgery in a shorter timeframe than the required 4 weeks. Physical and psychological aspects of frailty and logistical issues were key for patients declining study participation and/or not complying with the intervention and/or all outcome assessments. Feasibility for a large randomised controlled trial of prehabilitation for frail colorectal patients was poor (~5%) for our regional location. Addressing barriers, examination of a large, dense population base, and utilisation of a frailty-screening tool validated in surgical patients are necessary for future studies to identify the impact of prehabilitation for frail patients

An agent-based approach to assess drivers’ interaction with pre-trip information systems.

This article reports on the practical use of a multi-agent microsimulation framework to address the issue of assessing drivers’ responses to pretrip information systems. The population of drivers is represented as a community of autonomous agents, and travel demand results from the decision-making deliberation performed by each individual of the population as regards route and departure time. A simple simulation scenario was devised, where pretrip information was made available to users on an individual basis so that its effects at the aggregate level could be observed. The simulation results show that the overall performance of the system is very likely affected by exogenous information, and these results are ascribed to demand formation and network topology. The expressiveness offered by cognitive approaches based on predicate logics, such as the one used in this research, appears to be a promising approximation to fostering more complex behavior modelling, allowing us to represent many of the mental aspects involved in the deliberation process

A Reactive Agent-based Neural Network Car Following Model

This paper presented a novel approach to develop car following models using reactive agent techniques for mapping perceptions to actions. The results showed that the model outperformed the Gipps and Psychophysical family of car following models. The standing of this work is highlighted by its acceptance and publication in the proceedings of the International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which is now recognised as the premier international conference on ITS. The paper acceptance rate to this conference was 67 percent. The standing of this paper is also evidenced by its listing in international databases like Ei Inspec and IEEE Xplore. The paper is also listed in Google Scholar. Dr Dia co-authored this paper with his PhD student Sakda Panwai

Species occurrence of cetaceans in Guinea, including humpback whales with southern hemisphere seasonality

An initial inventory of the dolphins and whales occurring in Guinea's coastal waters is documented primarily from specimens and photographic evidence obtained from strandings and by-catches. Seven species are fully validated, four odontocetes, Tursiops truncatus, Sousa teuszii, Stenella frontalis, Kogia breviceps and three balaenopterid whales: Balaenoptera brydei, Balaenoptera acutorostrata and Megaptera novaeangliae. Another three reported species (Globicephala macrorhynchus, Steno bredanensis and Delphinus delphis) are insufficiently supported but thought to be valid. Small cetaceans landed as by-catch and a stranded whale were used for human consumption, but no evidence of substantial takes, directed or by-catch, was found. However, concern is raised about even minimal takes of the vulnerable Atlantic humpback dolphin. The seasonal presence of three confirmed humpback whales, two strandings (July and September) and a sighting (October), is synchronous with the species' southern hemisphere wintering/breeding season in low latitudes. We hypothesize that these whales may comprise the north-westernmost range of the population that breeds/overwinters in coastal waters of the Bight of Benin, northern Gulf of Guinea