Performance Measures to Assess Resiliency and Efficiency of Transit Systems

Transit agencies are interested in assessing the short-, mid-, and long-term performance of infrastructure with the objective of enhancing resiliency and efficiency. This report addresses three distinct aspects of New Jersey’s Transit System: 1) resiliency of bridge infrastructure, 2) resiliency of public transit systems, and 3) efficiency of transit systems with an emphasis on paratransit service. This project proposed a conceptual framework to assess the performance and resiliency for bridge structures in a transit network before and after disasters utilizing structural health monitoring (SHM), finite element (FE) modeling and remote sensing using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). The public transit systems in NY/NJ were analyzed based on their vulnerability, resiliency, and efficiency in recovery following a major natural disaster

Integration and Operation of an Advanced Weigh-in-Motion (A-WIM) System for Autonomous Enforcement of Overweight Trucks

69A3551747119The ultimate objective of this project is to assist and support the NYCDOT in establishing the legislation to operate the autonomous OW enforcement system and extend the service life of the BQE corridor. This project evaluates the effectiveness of the implemented enforcement system. The report first presents the work on the existing advanced weight-in-motion system (A-WIM) and proposed new A-WIM system, as well as the automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system. A new structural health monitoring (SHM) system was also implemented in the testbed to evaluate the responses of structures under the traffic. Then evaluations of the multiple systems in the testbed are presented by presenting the results of accuracy of different weighing sensors, and practices of automated enforcement. Lastly, reliability-based live load factors for bridge load rating are developed

Implementation and Effectiveness of Autonomous Enforcement of OW Trucks in an Urban Infrastructure Environment

USDOT 69A3551747124In this study, the team presented the effort to summarize different WIM standards, develop the calibration procedure for the A-WIM system, and implement the calibration procedure to prove that the A-WIM system is capable of complying with ASTM E1318-09 Type III accuracy. Three prevailing WIM standards were compiled and compared, ASTM E1318-09, COST 323, and OIML R134-1. At least three trucks are required for an excessive number of calibration/optimization tests to meet the accuracy and compliance level and the Type-Approval test requirement of the ASTM E1318-09. The calibration and optimization tests provided the accuracy and compliance required in ASTM E1318-09 even though the pavement conditions did not meet the ASTM E1318-09 requirement. Based on the preliminary analysis of the change in the number of trucks after the enforcement, direct enforcement would reduce the number of overweight trucks by up to 76.9% for > 10% overweight trucks. More in-depth study would be required to evaluate the efficiency of direct enforcement

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster and Vector Mosquito Developmental Genes

Genome sequencing projects have presented the opportunity for analysis of developmental genes in three vector mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Anopheles gambiae. A comparative genomic analysis of developmental genes in Drosophila melanogaster and these three important vectors of human disease was performed in this investigation. While the study was comprehensive, special emphasis centered on genes that 1) are components of developmental signaling pathways, 2) regulate fundamental developmental processes, 3) are critical for the development of tissues of vector importance, 4) function in developmental processes known to have diverged within insects, and 5) encode microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate developmental transcripts in Drosophila. While most fruit fly developmental genes are conserved in the three vector mosquito species, several genes known to be critical for Drosophila development were not identified in one or more mosquito genomes. In other cases, mosquito lineage-specific gene gains with respect to D. melanogaster were noted. Sequence analyses also revealed that numerous repetitive sequences are a common structural feature of Drosophila and mosquito developmental genes. Finally, analysis of predicted miRNA binding sites in fruit fly and mosquito developmental genes suggests that the repertoire of developmental genes targeted by miRNAs is species-specific. The results of this study provide insight into the evolution of developmental genes and processes in dipterans and other arthropods, serve as a resource for those pursuing analysis of mosquito development, and will promote the design and refinement of functional analysis experiments