The influence of urban form on car travel following residential relocation : a current and retrospective study in Scottish urban areas

Spatial planning and spatial policy continues to be used as a tool to bring about changes in travel behaviour. Policy suggests that by creating particular urban forms, demand for travel by car can be reduced. This paper uses data collected in 2006 from 280 households in Glasgow and Edinburgh to analyse the relationships between urban form and vehicle miles driven, with an emphasis on those who had recently relocated. Population densities, housing type, distance to urban centre and measures of mix were collected for the current residential location and previous, for those who had relocated in the previous three years. An ordinal regression model of change in urban form showed significant associations with reported change in miles driven, although the effect was small compared with the effects of socio-economic factors and car ownership. While the results give some weight to intensification as a policy to bring about a reduction in average distance driven, there may be an increase in distance driven in the intensified area. Whether or not such intensification can be enacted against a backdrop of preferences towards suburban, car oriented living is contentious. As such, this study calls into question the use of planning policy as a means to reduce car use in Scottish cities

Generalized Fibonacci Numbers and Blackwell's Renewal Theorem

We investigate a connection between generalized Fibonacci numbers and renewal theory for stochastic processes. Using Blackwell's renewal theorem we find an approximation to the generalized Fibonacci numbers. With the help of error estimates in the renewal theorem we figure out an explicit representation

Nutrient utilization by and diet preference of American white pelicans when offered diets of channel catfish and (or) grass carp

Twelve pelicans captured in northeast Mississippi were used for a 7 day metabolism trial followed by a 2 day preference trial and a trial to evaluate the effect of consuming plastic tags. In the metabolism trial, pelicans were allotted to one of three treatment diets (4 birds/diet): catfish only, carp only or both (50 % catfish and 50% carp). Pelicans consuming the catfish only diet metabolized less dry matter, organic matter and energy than those consuming only carp or both. Four pelicans were used to determine preference for carp or catfish. Pelicans ate more (P = 0.001) carp (89 % of diet) and digested nutrients from carp more efficiently than they did from catfish. Plastic tags were attached to numerous fish fed to pelicans in the preference trial, which were regurgitated or retained by pelicans, with no effect on the plastic tags by digestion

American White Pelicans Hand Raised until Fledging and Examination of the Trematode Infection Bolbophorus Damnificus in these Birds

Because little is known about juvenile American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) this study was conducted to gather more information on disease, general ecology and growth of American White Pelicans from hatching to fledging. In July 2011, American White Pelican regurgitate samples from North and South Dakota sub-colonies were collected/analyzed in preparation for a captive trial. Nutrient content compared between the colonies was found to be significantly different. Concentrations of Immunoglobulin Y and A in regurgitate samples were significantly different between colonies. A captive trial began 29 May 2012 and ended 30 July 2012, in which 16 American White Pelicans were hand raised from hatching to fledging. During the captive trial, various growth parameters, intake and fecal output were examined to determine the effect of the parasite Bolbophorus damnificus in 8 infected and 8 non-infected (parasite free) pelicans. Growth data collected on B. damnificus infected (n = 8) American White Pelicans was compared to previously mentioned parasiteree pelicans (n = 8) to determine effects of the parasite. There were no differences between groups for culmen length (P= 0.214), tarsal length (P = 0.306), body weight (P = 0.884) or intake (P = 0.963). There was also no effect of the parasite on body temperature. Towards the end of the captive trial, several pelicans both on (n = 16) and off (n = 11) trial became naturally infected with West Nile Virus. Clinical symptoms ranged from lethargy and/or wing droop to total paralysis. Progression of disease is detailed in two well-defined case studies with additional information included on clinical signs, physiological parameters, and a review of the pathology of disease for other infected birds

InSPeCT: Integrated Surveillance for Port Container Traffic

This paper describes a fully-operational content-indexing and management system, designed for monitoring and profiling freight-based vehicular traffic in a seaport environment. The 'InSPeCT' system captures video footage of passing vehicles and uses tailored OCR to index the footage according to vehicle license plates and freight codes. In addition to real-time functionality such as alerting, the system provides advanced search techniques for the efficient retrieval of records, where each vehicle is profiled according to multi-angled video, context information, and links to external information sources. Currently being piloted at a busy national seaport, the feedback from port officials indicates the system to be extremely useful in supplementing their existing transportation-security structures