Evaluating rail transit\u27s comparative advantages in travel cost and time over taxi with open data in two U.S. cities

This paper presents a comparative analysis of rail transit and taxi by travel cost and time based on the large-scale taxi trip data and public transit schedule information in two major U.S. cities. To quantify the relative advantage of one mode over the other, we introduce the notion of travel gradient, which is travel cost difference divided by travel time difference. Based on the signs of travel cost and time differences, we classify all trips into four quadrants. Quadrant II trips are selected for further analysis because rail transit is identified to be competitive with taxi for such trips. We also explore the relation between various trip characteristics and travel gradient with and without considering the spatial variation of such a relation. Main research findings include: (1) around 70% of the taxi trips in the considered datasets can be substituted with rail transit trips if the maximum walking distance is 0.5 miles at each trip end; (2) for around 10% of taxi trips with both modes being viable, rail transit dominates taxi in both travel cost and time; for the rest, rail transit is competitive with taxi; (3) the marginal travel cost saving due to mode switching from taxi to rail transit is about $70; and (4) there exist clearly spatial variations of the relation between trip characteristics and travel gradient. The main policy recommendation from this study is that rail transit can be better marketed by highlighting its relative advantage over taxi in travel time and cost, especially for travels in certain directions and time periods

Role of telomeres and telomeric proteins in human malignancies and their therapeutic potential

10.3390/cancers12071901Cancers127Jan-3

A review on the commonly used methods for analysis of physical properties of food materials

The chemical composition of any food material can be analyzed well by employing various analytical techniques. The physical properties of food are no less important than chemical composition as results obtained from authentic measurement data are able to provide detailed information about the food. Several techniques have been used for years for this purpose but most of them are destructive in nature. The aim of this present study is to identify the emerging techniques that have been used by different researchers for the analysis of the physical characteristics of food. It is highly recommended to practice novel methods as these are non-destructive, extremely sophisticated, and provide results closer to true quantitative values. The physical properties are classified into different groups based on their characteristics. The concise view of conventional techniques mostly used to analyze food material are documented in this work.Axencia Galega de Innovación | Ref. IN607A2019/0

Long noncoding RNAs: a novel insight in the leukemogenesis and drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a common hematological disorder with heterogeneous nature that resulted from blocked myeloid differentiation and an enhanced number of immature myeloid progenitors. During several decades, different factors, including cytogenetic, genetic, and epigenetic have been reported to contribute to the pathogenesis of AML by inhibiting the differentiation and ensuring the proliferation of myeloid blast cells. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been considered as potential diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic factors in different human malignancies including AML. Altered expression of lncRNAs is correlated with the transformation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells into leukemic blast cells because of their distinct role in the key cellular processes. We discuss the significant role of lncRNAs in the proliferation, survival, differentiation, leukemic stem cells in AML and their involvement in different molecular pathways (insulin-like growth factor type I receptor, FLT3, c-KIT, Wnt, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase-B, microRNAs), and associated mechanisms such as autophagy, apoptosis, and glucose metabolism. In addition, we aim to highlight the role of lncRNAs as reliable biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and drug resistance for precision medicine in AML