Alternative fuel vehicle policy : a lifecycle analysis tool for emissions, cost and energy efficiency with an application to the U.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-235).by Jeremy K. Hackney.M.S

Collecting data on leisure travel: The link between leisure contacts and social interactions

The aim of a new survey project is to collect data on the link between leisure contacts and leisure activities. The paper introduces briefly into former studies that applied the methods of social network analysis in transport planning. Using these projects as starting points the methodology and background of the new project are presented in detail. This is followed by first descriptive analyses checking how representative the data are for the Swiss population. The paper finishes by giving an outlook on further work and next steps to analyze the data

The relationship between foot arch measurements and walking parameters in children

BACKGROUND: Walking mechanics are influenced by body morphology. Foot arch height is one aspect of body morphology central to walking. However, generalizations about the relationship between arch height and walking are limited due to previous methodologies used for measuring the arch and the populations that have been studied. To gain the knowledge needed to support healthy gait in children and adults, we need to understand this relationship in unimpaired, typically developing children and adults using dynamic measures. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between arch height and gait in a sample of healthy children and adults using dynamic measures. METHODS: Data were collected from 638 participants (n = 254 children and n = 384 adults) at the Museum of Science, Boston (MOS) and from 18 4- to 8-year-olds at the Motor Development and Motor Control Laboratories. Digital footprints were used to calculate two arch indices: the Chippaux-Smirak (CSI) and the Keimig Indices (KI). The height of the navicular bone was measured. Gait parameters were captured with a mechanized gait carpet at the MOS and three-dimensional motion analyses and in-ground force plates in the Motor Development and Motor Control Laboratories. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses on data from the MOS confirmed that as age increases, step length increases. With a linear mixed effect regression model, we found that individuals who took longer steps had higher arches as measured by the KI. However, this relationship was no longer significant when only adults were included in the model. A model restricted to children found that amongst this sample, those with higher CSI and higher KI values take longer relative step lengths. Data from the Motor Development and Motor Control Laboratories showed that both CSI and KI added to the prediction; children with lower anterior ground reaction forces had higher CSI and higher KI values. Arch height indices were correlated with navicular height. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that more than one measure of the arch may be needed elucidate the relationship between arch height and gait.K12 HD055931 - NICHD NIH HHS; K12HD055931 - NICHD NIH HH

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Mögliche Vorgehensweisen zur Erhebung sozialer Netzwerkdaten durch die iterative Kombination ego-zentrierter Netzwerke

Der Arbeitsbericht stellt verschiedene Vorgehensweisen zur iterativen Erhebung ego-zentrierter Netzwerke mittels eines so genannten Schneeballverfahrens vor. Die Auflistung der Möglichkeiten ist Teil der Vorbereitung eines Pretests für das Projekt „Travel impacts of social networks and networking tools“, einer gemeinschaftlichen Unternehmung des Instituts für Verkehrsplanung und Transportsysteme (IVT) der ETH Zürich und des Instituts für Land- und Seeverkehr der TU Berlin. Die aufgezeigten Möglichkeiten dienen der Festlegung der im Pretest zu verwendenden Vorgehensweisen und Methoden. Daneben wird in die grundlegende Terminologie von Erhebungen, die sich netzwerktheoretischer Methoden bedienen, eingeführt. Die Erhebung wird letztlich aus zwei Teilen bestehen. Einem Block zu ego-zentrierten Netzwerken, indem die jeweils befragte Person sich zu für sie bedeutenden Kontakten äussern soll. Der zweite Teil der Befragung besteht in einem aktivitätsbasierten Tagebuch und soll unter anderem eher alltägliche soziale Kontakte erfassen. Der vorliegende Text befasst sich hauptsächlich mit dem ersten Teil, da in diesem auch der Mechanismus zur Fortsetzung des Schneeballs enthalten ist