Building a large-scale micro-simulation transport scenario using big data

A large-scale agent-based microsimulation scenario including the transport modes car, bus, bicycle, scooter, and pedestrian, is built and validated for the city of Bologna (Italy) during the morning peak hour. Large-scale microsimulations enable the evaluation of city-wide effects of novel and complex transport technologies and services, such as intelligent traffic lights or shared autonomous vehicles. Large-scale microsimulations can be seen as an interdisciplinary project where transport planners and technology developers can work together on the same scenario; big data from OpenStreetMap, traffic surveys, GPS traces, traffic counts and transit details are merged into a unique transport scenario. The employed activity-based demand model is able to simulate and evaluate door-to-door trip times while testing different mobility strategies. Indeed, a utility-based mode choice model is calibrated that matches the official modal split. The scenario is implemented and analyzed with the software SUMOPy/SUMO which is an open source software, available on GitHub. The simulated traffic flows are compared with flows from traffic counters using different indicators. The determination coefficient has been 0.7 for larger roads (width greater than seven meters). The present work shows that it is possible to build realistic microsimulation scenarios for larger urban areas. A higher precision of the results could be achieved by using more coherent data and by merging different data sources

Toward the use of temporary tattoo electrodes for impedancemetric respiration monitoring and other electrophysiological recordings on skin

The development of dry, ultra-conformable and unperceivable temporary tattoo electrodes (TTEs), based on the ink-jet printing of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on top of commercially available temporary tattoo paper, has gained increasing attention as a new and promising technology for electrophysiological recordings on skin. In this work, we present a TTEs epidermal sensor for real time monitoring of respiration through transthoracic impedance measurements, exploiting a new design, based on the application of soft screen printed Ag ink and magnetic interlink, that guarantees a repositionable, long-term stable and robust interconnection of TTEs with external “docking” devices. The efficiency of the TTE and the proposed interconnection strategy under stretching (up to 10%) and over time (up to 96 h) has been verified on a dedicated experimental setup and on humans, fulfilling the proposed specific application of transthoracic impedance measurements. The proposed approach makes this technology suitable for large-scale production and suitable not only for the specific use case presented, but also for real time monitoring of different bio-electric signals, as demonstrated through specific proof of concept demonstrators

Toward the use of temporary tattoo electrodes for impedancemetric respiration monitoring and other electrophysiological recordings on skin

The development of dry, ultra-conformable and unperceivable temporary tattoo electrodes (TTEs), based on the ink-jet printing of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on top of commercially available temporary tattoo paper, has gained increasing attention as a new and promising technology for electrophysiological recordings on skin. In this work, we present a TTEs epidermal sensor for real time monitoring of respiration through transthoracic impedance measurements, exploiting a new design, based on the application of soft screen printed Ag ink and magnetic interlink, that guarantees a repositionable, long-term stable and robust interconnection of TTEs with external “docking” devices. The efficiency of the TTE and the proposed interconnection strategy under stretching (up to 10%) and over time (up to 96 h) has been verified on a dedicated experimental setup and on humans, fulfilling the proposed specific application of transthoracic impedance measurements. The proposed approach makes this technology suitable for large-scale production and suitable not only for the specific use case presented, but also for real time monitoring of different bio-electric signals, as demonstrated through specific proof of concept demonstrators

Striving for more good days: patient perspectives on botulinum toxin for the treatment of cervical dystonia

Michele Poliziani,1 Marco Koch,2 Xierong Liu1 1Opinion Health, London, UK; 2Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Background: The recommended reinjection interval for botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) formulations in the treatment of cervical dystonia (CD) is generally ≥12 weeks, though intervals ≥10 weeks are approved for incobotulinumtoxinA in Europe. However, recurring symptoms can occur before the end of this period. Using qualitative research, we sought a greater understanding of disease burden, unmet patient needs, and barriers to treatment. Methods: We conducted online semistructured, focus-group discussions, and online forum follow-up discussions among patients with CD, focusing on disease burden, patient needs, injection cycle preferences, and relationships with health care professionals. A subset of patients was also questioned in telephone interviews about individual experiences of CD and BoNT treatment. All participants were UK residents who had received onabotulinumtoxinA or abobotulinumtoxinA for CD for ≥1 year. Results: Thirty-one patients (81% female; mean duration of CD 16.4 [range 4–31] years; mean BoNT injection cycle length 12.8 weeks) participated in the online focus-group and forum follow-up discussions. Of these, seven patients participated in telephone interviews. All had recurring symptoms between treatments, which substantially impacted on their work, family, and social life. Symptom severity fluctuated throughout an injection cycle and differed between patients and across injection cycles. Participants’ relationships with health care professionals and treatment satisfaction varied greatly. Many participants wanted longer-lasting and/or more stable symptom relief with shorter and/or more flexible injection intervals, according to individual needs. Lack of health care resources, long journeys to treatment centers, and immunogenicity/side-effect concerns were perceived as the main barriers to more flexible treatment. Conclusion: The high burden of recurring primary and secondary symptoms of CD considerably affects patients’ quality of life. Patient-led assessments of disease burden revealed that personalized, more flexible, and/or shorter BoNT injection intervals may reduce the day-to-day impact of CD. Collaboration between patients, clinicians, and health care systems may effect change and improve treatment for patients with CD. Keywords: botulinum toxin type A, cervical dystonia, patient survey, spasmodic torticollis, treatment satisfactio

Cyclist's waiting time estimation at intersections, a case study with GPS traces from Bologna

Waiting time plays an important role in the cyclists' route choice, most likely because cyclists, after a stop, need to pedal harder to regain their previous speed. Literature review highlights that cyclists generally overestimate waiting time approximately three to five times higher than their actual waiting time. The aim of this paper is to quantify cyclists' waiting time in function of specific intersection characteristics and person attributes. This aim is achieved in two steps: (1) a recent algorithm that estimates cyclists' waiting time from GPS traces is validated, using data from a manual survey, (2) a second manual survey has been conducted to test the representativeness of a big data set of 270,000 GPS traces recorded in the city of Bologna, Italy; the same survey also showed how many cyclists pass with the red signal for different maneuvers; and finally (3) the mentioned algorithm is applied to the big data set in order to estimate the waiting time for different intersection types and cyclist attributes. Such estimations have not been addressed in literature due to the difficulty of associating the cyclists' waiting times with infrastructure elements based using GPS traces. Results show that waiting time represents a not-negligible share of the bike trip (11% of total trip duration). On average, particularly large waiting times have been found (1) at complex intersections by (2) for cyclists younger than 25 years old, (3) for infrequent cyclists and (4) for women. During rush hour, cyclists have recorded waiting times only 6% above the daily average, demonstrating that traffic congestion has a limited effect on waiting times. Furthermore, approximately 14% of all cyclists have crossed the red traffic light, especially when the opposite traffic volume is not high and there is good visibility. The study contributes to provide a novel and validated tool to evaluate waiting times of cyclists from GPS traces, which can support the calibration of cyclists route choice models

“Breathing new life into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)” – Results From an online survey of UK patients

Background: There is a lack of data on the impact of COPD on individuals, their illness, behavior and attitude to the disease. Method: 500 UK patients with a primary care diagnosis of COPD responded to an online survey. Results: 61.2% of respondents were female and 85.8% were between 50 and 80 years old. Two-thirds (67.8%) of respondents did not smoke at the time of the survey. Almost half of those surveyed (46.2%, n=231) used three inhalers, and 31% (n=155) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I feel that my treatment is not adequately controlling my condition”, while 39.4% (n=197) disagreed or strongly disagreed. 48.8% (n=244) agreed their COPD was well managed. Over half the sample (56.8%, n=284) said they never forgot to use their inhaler as prescribed. Checks on inhaler use by doctors or nurses were reported as every six months/twice a year by 24.4% (n=122) and once a year by 38.8% (n=194). However, 17.2% (n=86) said their technique had never been checked, and at their last annual review, a third (33.2%, n=166) did not receive inhaler technique advice. Exacerbations were reported to affect an average of 7.4 days a year. They led to time in hospital, time off work and significantly affected quality of life. Patients reported that their COPD affected all aspects of their daily lives to a greater or lesser extent, with some living in fear of what the impact of the next flare-up could bring. Conclusion: COPD impairs people’s ability to carry out daily tasks, leads to hospital admission, time off work and even unemployment. Respondents reported stress, worry and depression or low mood because of their COPD. This study highlights areas of concern for patients not being addressed by health care practitioners, including: pulmonary rehabilitation referral, better information giving and medicines optimization.</p

Impact of the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy on the population aged 70 and over

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is reported to be better tolerated than open cholecystectomy by patients aged 70 and over. We evaluate its impact on patients aged 70 and over, from one single center

Considerations on early diagnosis of carcinoma of the pancreas

Pancreas carcinoma is seldom recognized at an early stage. Through an attentive retrospective evaluation of the patient's history a frequent pattern of early presentation is sought