Dynamic pricing or not?:pricing models of Finnish taxi dispatch centers under the act on transport services

Abstract. In 1.7.2018, Finnish government liberalized Finnish taxi markets to create possibilities to introduce new technology, digitalization and new business models into transport sector. Also allowing usage of dynamic pricing in Finnish taxi markets was specifically mentioned. Before the Act on Transport Services came into effect, Finnish regulations specified maximum limits for fares, taxi licenses and operational area where dispatch centers were allowed to operate. In this study, I will look into how pricing models have evolved after the Act on Transport Services came into effect by collecting data from internet and conducting interviews to understand purposes of the changes more in-depth. Also, I looked into how pricing models have become more dynamic compared to old pricing model, and how dynamic pricing is described in literature. Lastly, I combined list of different aspects that affect to implementation of dynamic pricing. Currently, none of the Finnish dispatch centers have implemented similar dynamic pricing based on demand and supply in real-time as what Uber uses. But based on results, Finnish dispatch center’s pricing models have evolved to be more dynamic even though Finnish dispatch center’s do not consider them to be dynamic. Also, there are obstacles related to willingness, technology and regulations why Finnish dispatch centers do not consider dynamic pricing similar to what Uber uses to be currently possible to implement

Personoinnin toteuttaminen verkko-oppimisjärjestelmissä

Tiivistelmä. Personointi on monitieteellinen konsepti, mikä ymmärretään eri aloilla eri tavoin. Tämän tutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia, kuinka personointia voidaan toteuttaa verkko-oppimisjärjestelmissä. Verkko-oppimisjärjestelmät ovat internetin kautta käytettäviä järjestelmiä, joita opiskelijat voivat käyttää ajasta tai paikasta riippumatta opiskelutarkoituksessa ja ne ovat nykyään käytössä monissa kouluissa. Useat näistä käytössä olevista järjestelmistä tarjoavat kaikille oppilaille samat työkalut ja materiaalit huolimatta oppilaan tietotaitotasosta. Personoinnin avulla on mahdollista huomioida oppilaan henkilökohtaiset piirteet ja oppimiseen liittyvät tarpeet. Tässä kirjallisuuskatsauksessa käyn läpi erilaisia tapoja toteuttaa personointia ja tuon esille tapoja, miten personointi näkyy verkko-oppimisjärjestelmissä. Tietojärjestelmien toteuttamaan personointiin liittyy keskeisesti datan kerääminen käyttäjästä ja sen hyödyntäminen personoinnin toteuttamisessa. Keskustelen kirjallisuuskatsauksessa myös mahdollisista ongelmista ja huomioitavista asioista mitä liittyy oppimisjärjestelmien personointiin sekä personoinnin vaikutuksesta oppilaiden oppimisprosessiin

An analysis of the acoustic cavitation noise spectrum: The role of periodic shock waves

Research on applications of acoustic cavitation is often reported in terms of the features within the spectrum of the emissions gathered during cavitation occurrence. There is, however, limited understanding as to the contribution of specific bubble activity to spectral features, beyond a binary interpretation of stable versus inertial cavitation. In this work, laser-nucleation is used to initiate cavitation within a few millimeters of the tip of a needle hydrophone, calibrated for magnitude and phase from 125 kHz to 20 MHz. The bubble activity, acoustically driven at f0 = 692 kHz, is resolved with high-speed shadowgraphic imaging at 5 × 106 frames per second. A synthetic spectrum is constructed from component signals based on the hydrophone data, deconvolved within the calibration bandwidth, in the time domain. Cross correlation coefficients between the experimental and synthetic spectra of 0.97 for the f 0/2 and f 0/3 regimes indicate that periodic shock waves and scattered driving field predominantly account for all spectral features, including the sub-harmonics and their over-harmonics, and harmonics of f 0

Closed-loop optimization of transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography feedback

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is widely used in brain research and treatment of various brain dysfunctions. However, the optimal way to target stimulation and administer TMS therapies, for example, where and in which electric field direction the stimuli should be given, is yet to be determined. Objective: To develop an automated closed-loop system for adjusting TMS parameters (in this work, the stimulus orientation) online based on TMS-evoked brain activity measured with electroencephalography (EEG). Methods: We developed an automated closed-loop TMS-EEG set-up. In this set-up, the stimulus parameters are electronically adjusted with multi-locus TMS. As a proof of concept, we developed an algorithm that automatically optimizes the stimulation orientation based on single-trial EEG responses. We applied the algorithm to determine the electric field orientation that maximizes the amplitude of the TMS-EEG responses. The validation of the algorithm was performed with six healthy volunteers, repeating the search twenty times for each subject. Results: The validation demonstrated that the closed-loop control worked as desired despite the large variation in the single-trial EEG responses. We were often able to get close to the orientation that maximizes the EEG amplitude with only a few tens of pulses. Conclusion: Optimizing stimulation with EEG feedback in a closed-loop manner is feasible and enables effective coupling to brain activity. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.Peer reviewe

Predictors of Sinonasal Improvement After Highly Effective Modulator Therapy in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis

The 22-question SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) assesses chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) severity. We aimed to identify predictors of SNOT-22 score improvement following highly effective modulator therapy (HEMT) initiation and to corroborate the SNOT-22 minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF)

Effect of stimulus orientation and intensity on short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (SICF) : A multi-channel transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Tugin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Besides stimulus intensities and interstimulus intervals (ISI), the electric field (E-field) orientation is known to affect both short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (SICF) in paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). However, it has yet to be established how distinct orientations of the conditioning (CS) and test stimuli (TS) affect the SICI and SICF generation. With the use of a multi-channel TMS transducer that provides electronic control of the stimulus orientation and intensity, we aimed to investigate how changes in the CS and TS orientation affect the strength of SICI and SICF. We hypothesized that the CS orientation would play a major role for SICF than for SICI, whereas the CS intensity would be more critical for SICI than for SICF. In eight healthy subjects, we tested two ISIs (1.5 and 2.7 ms), two CS and TS orientations (anteromedial (AM) and posteromedial (PM)), and four CS intensities (50, 70, 90, and 110% of the resting motor threshold (RMT)). The TS intensity was fixed at 110% RMT. The intensities were adjusted to the corresponding RMT in the AM and PM orientations. SICI and SICF were observed in all tested CS and TS orientations. SICI depended on the CS intensity in a U-shaped manner in any combination of the CS and TS orientations. With 70% and 90% RMT CS intensities, stronger PM-oriented CS induced stronger inhibition than weaker AM-oriented CS. Similar SICF was observed for any CS orientation. Neither SICI nor SICF depended on the TS orientation. We demonstrated that SICI and SICF could be elicited by the CS perpendicular to the TS, which indicates that these stimuli affected either overlapping or strongly connected neuronal populations. We concluded that SICI is primarily sensitive to the CS intensity and that CS intensity adjustment resulted in similar SICF for different CS orientations.Peer reviewe

Multi-locus transcranial magnetic stimulation system for electronically targeted brain stimulation

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) allows non-invasive stimulation of the cortex. In multi-locus TMS (mTMS), the stimulating electric field (E-field) is controlled electronically without coil movement by adjusting currents in the coils of a transducer. Objective: To develop an mTMS system that allows adjusting the location and orientation of the E-field maximum within a cortical region. Methods: We designed and manufactured a planar 5-coil mTMS transducer to allow controlling the maximum of the induced E-field within a cortical region approximately 30 mm in diameter. We developed electronics with a design consisting of independently controlled H-bridge circuits to drive up to six TMS coils. To control the hardware, we programmed software that runs on a field-programmable gate array and a computer. To induce the desired E-field in the cortex, we developed an optimization method to calculate the currents needed in the coils. We characterized the mTMS system and conducted a proof-of-concept motor-mapping experiment on a healthy volunteer. In the motor mapping, we kept the transducer placement fixed while electronically shifting the E-field maximum on the precentral gyrus and measuring electromyography from the contralateral hand. Results: The transducer consists of an oval coil, two figure-of-eight coils, and two four-leaf-clover coils stacked on top of each other. The technical characterization indicated that the mTMS system performs as designed. The measured motor evoked potential amplitudes varied consistently as a function of the location of the E-field maximum. Conclusion: The developed mTMS system enables electronically targeted brain stimulation within a cortical region. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Occurrence of medical co-morbidity in mild cognitive impairment: implications for generalisation of MCI research

Background: diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) typically excludes individuals with medical co-morbidity. Interest in MCI screening raises the questions of what are the best criteria to identify a representative sample and what factors are associated with MCI progression to dementia

Expanding the clinical phenotype of the 3q29 microdeletion syndrome and characterization of the reciprocal microduplication

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interstitial deletions of 3q29 have been recently described as a microdeletion syndrome mediated by nonallelic homologous recombination between low-copy repeats resulting in an ~1.6 Mb common-sized deletion. Given the molecular mechanism causing the deletion, the reciprocal duplication is anticipated to occur with equal frequency, although only one family with this duplication has been reported.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we describe 14 individuals with microdeletions of 3q29, including one family with a mildly affected mother and two affected children, identified among 14,698 individuals with idiopathic mental retardation who were analyzed by array CGH. Eleven individuals had typical 1.6-Mb deletions. Three individuals had deletions that flank, span, or partially overlap the commonly deleted region. Although the clinical presentations of individuals with typical-sized deletions varied, several features were present in multiple individuals, including mental retardation and microcephaly. We also identified 19 individuals with duplications of 3q29, five of which appear to be the reciprocal duplication product of the 3q29 microdeletion and 14 of which flank, span, or partially overlap the common deletion region. The clinical features of individuals with microduplications of 3q29 also varied with few common features. <it>De novo </it>and inherited abnormalities were found in both the microdeletion and microduplication cohorts illustrating the need for parental samples to fully characterize these abnormalities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our report demonstrates that array CGH is especially suited to identify chromosome abnormalities with unclear or variable presentations.</p