An Optimal Allocation Model of Public Transit Mode Proportion for the Low-Carbon Transportation

Public transit has been widely recognized as a potential way to develop low-carbon transportation. In this paper, an optimal allocation model of public transit mode proportion (MPMP) has been built to achieve the low-carbon public transit. Optimal ratios of passenger traffic for rail, bus, and taxi are derived by running the model using typical data. With different values of traffic demand, construction cost, travel time, and accessibilities, MPMP can generate corresponding optimal ratios, benefiting decision impacts analysis and decision makers. Instead of considering public transit as a united system, it is separated into units in this paper. And Shanghai is used to test model validity and practicality

Study on Evaluation Models of Highway Safety Based on Catastrophe Theory

Evaluating safety performance of first-class highways in China is important due to their high mortality rates. Traditional models for statistical crash prediction and traffic conflict techniques require long periods of data collection which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. This paper introduces a safety evaluation method based on catastrophe theory for highways in China. The method firstly divides the highway into multiple road sections and uses video-based road detection (VRD) system to collect video data of existing road conditions. Then, experienced drivers and experts are invited to watch the collected videos to establish a multilayer safety index system and assign values to bottom indexes. By applying catastrophe theory, a general safety index is derived, which indicates the relative safety level of a road section. Finally, all road sections can be ranked based on the general safety index. A case study shows encouraging results where (1) the safety index is highly correlated with real mortality rates and (2) the safety index successfully identifies most dangerous road sections. The proposed method can be considered as a promising supplementary safety evaluation method that could help traffic engineers to better understand safety implications of first-class highways in China

Positive Solutions for Discrete Boundary Value Problems to One-Dimensional -Laplacian with Delay

We study the existence of positive solutions for discrete boundary value problems to one-dimensional -Laplacian with delay. The proof is based on the Guo-Krasnoselskii fixed-point theorem in cones. Two numerical examples are also provided to illustrate the theoretical results

Spin gap and magnetic resonance in superconducting BaFe1.9_{1.9}Ni%_{0.1}As2_{2}

We use neutron spectroscopy to determine the nature of the magnetic excitations in superconducting BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ ($T_{c}=20$ K). Above $T_{c}$ the excitations are gapless and centered at the commensurate antiferromagnetic wave vector of the parent compound, while the intensity exhibits a sinusoidal modulation along the c-axis. As the superconducting state is entered a spin gap gradually opens, whose magnitude tracks the $T$-dependence of the superconducting gap observed by angle resolved photoemission. Both the spin gap and magnetic resonance energies are temperature \textit{and} wave vector dependent, but their ratio is the same within uncertainties. These results suggest that the spin resonance is a singlet-triplet excitation related to electron pairing and superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Improving E-Bike Safety on Urban Highways in China

This paper aims to examine characteristics of e-bike fatal crashes on urban highways in China. Crash data were retrieved from the three-year crash reports (2010–2012) of Taixing City. Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine characteristics of e-bike riders, drivers, and crashes. The important findings include the following: (1) most fatal crashes were related to e-bike riders’ aberrant driving behaviors, including driving in motorized lanes, red-light running, driving against the direction of traffic, inattentive driving, and drunk driving; (2) e-bike riders with lower educational background tended to perform illegal or inattentive driving behaviors in fatal crashes; (3) most drivers were not found to commit any faults and very few drivers were found to commit drunk driving offences; (4) most nighttime fatal crashes were related to absence of street lightings; (5) heavy good vehicles (HGVs) and small passenger cars were the two vehicle types that were mostly involved in the e-bike fatal crashes. This study provides useful information that can help traffic engineers better understand e-bike safety in China and develop safety countermeasures

A STUDY ON THE ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT OF CORIOLUS VERSICOLOR POLYSACCHARIDE IN RAT BRAIN TISSUES

The objective of the study was to investigate the antioxidant effect of Chinese medicine Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide on brain tissue and its mechanism in rats. SOD, MDA and GSH-Px levels in rat brain tissues were determined with SD rats as the animal model. The results showed that Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide can reduce the lipid peroxidation level in brain tissues during exhaustive exercise in rats, and can accelerate the removal of free radicals. The study concluded that its antioxidant effect is relatively apparent

Rethinking Brain Health

poster abstractProject Supervisor: Youngbok Hong “Safe And Effective Deprescribing of Anticholinergics (SEDA)” project, led by Regenstrief Institute and IU Center for Aging and Eskenazi, focuses on patient safety harms from medications with anticholinergic effects. Drugs with anticholinergic effects have been implicated in cognitive impairment in older adults. The Rethinking Brain Health research project was conducted in the course of Collaborative Action Research in Design. Our team adopted a people-centered design approach, aimed to develop a behavioral and cultural understanding of brain safety issues related to anticholinergic medication. At the beginning of the research, we identified the key stakeholders as patients, family and community support, caregivers, registered nurses, care coordinators, pharmacists, primary doctors, and geriatricians in order to understand the complexity of the problems from multiple perspectives and a systematic view. The poster identifies 3 different personas that exemplify the major characteristics from the patients interviewed such as their communication with their provider, the sources of support, and their quality of life. It also shows the relationship between the patient and providers. By using research methods, we were able to gain a contextual understanding of the behaviors and the needs of patients and caregivers. This gigamap poster serves as a tool to reveal the interconnectedness of the problems associated with the patients’ experience with anticholinergics from the perspective of both the patient and provider. A deep understanding of the problems associated with anticholinergics helped us to identify the opportunity areas as assisting the patients’ support system in playing an active role in health decisions, assisting the patient in taking ownership of their health decisions and developing a holistic approach to treatment options, and creating a better information system between providers. Framing the problems into opportunities allows the SEDA team to take the next appropriate actionable steps in identifying appropriate solutions