Prototype business models for Mobility-as-a-Service

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a promising concept which aims at offering seamless mobility to end users and providing economic, societal, transport-related and environmental benefits to the cities of the future. To achieve a successful future market take-up of MaaS it is important to develop prototype business models to offer high-value bundled mobility services to customers, as well as enable the MaaS operator and the involved actors to capture value. This paper aims at investigating the business perspective of MaaS by collecting qualitative data from workshops and in-depth interviews in three European metropolitan areas: Budapest, Greater Manchester and the city of Luxembourg. The analysis of the collected data contributed to the in-depth analysis of the MaaS business ecosystem and the identification of the champions of MaaS in the three areas. Prototype business models for MaaS are developed based on the Osterwalder's canvas, to describe how MaaS operators may create, deliver, and capture value. Our findings indicate that the MaaS ecosystem comprises of public and private actors who need to cooperate and compete in order to capture value. Although noticeable deviations among the study areas are observed, mobility service providers, public transport authorities and regional authorities were commonly indicated as the key actors in a MaaS partnership. In addition, viewed as a system, enablers and barriers to MaaS are identified based on the systems’ of innovation approach. The analysis indicates that the regulatory framework of the cities, the lack of standardization and openness of the application programming interfaces and the need for transport-related investments constitute risks for the successful implementation of MaaS in the study areas. Trust between MaaS actors and cooperation in e-ticketing are key enablers in some of the study areas

Exposure to phthalates from personal care products: Urinary levels and predictors of exposure

Phthalates are a large group of chemicals used in many everyday consumer products such as food packaging, household cleaners, cosmetics, fragrances and personal care products (PCPs). A number of diseases such as obesity, hypertension, as well as reproductive system effects and endocrine disorders have been linked to phthalate exposure through the use of PCPs, due to their frequent use and high phthalate content. In this study we review available literature on phthalates and their metabolites in urine and report the various determinants of exposure through the use of PCPs in infants, toddlers, children and adults. The range of creatinine-adjusted concentrations for each phthalate was 1.5–14956.1 μg/g for MEP, 0.4–94.5 μg/g for MEHP, 0.39–425.9 μg/g for MEHHP, 0.5–481.3 μg/g for MEOHP, 0.1–755.1 μg/g for MBzP, and 0.3–401.4 μg/g for MiBP. Time of sampling, frequency of use, race and age are critical factors that influence phthalate concentrations. Using PCPs 48 h before urine collection, using a combination of PCPs (i.e., particularly leave-on versus rinse-off products), being younger (i.e., children compared to their mothers), and being a woman of colour (i.e., Mexican-American and black versus white) leads to higher phthalate levels in urine. The most striking association between any phthalate and PCPs was observed between MEP and perfumes or fragrance-containing products such as shampoos, body lotions and hair products. Future studies should focus on different types and brands of PCPs (i.e., branded versus generic), explore possible ethnic/racial differences and the applicability of non-invasive matrices such as nails and hair for phthalate biomonitoring, as well as intervention studies that explore behavioural changes. © 2022 Elsevier Inc

Dimensional changes, gel layer evolution and drug release studies in hydrophilic matrices loaded with drugs of different solubility

The objective of this investigation was to explore the effects of drug solubility on the evolution of matrix dimensions and gel layer's during drug release and investigate the relationship between these effects and the mechanism and the rate of drug release. Two hydrophilic swellable polymers Polyox (POL) and cross-linked Carbopol (CARB) were employed as carriers. Caffeine (CAF) and theophylline (THE), two drugs having similar chemical structure but different aqueous solubility, were used as model drugs. Both drug and polymer characteristics were found to influence the dimensional changes of matrices and the development of the gel layer formed around the glassy core. The dimensional expansion in CAF matrices was always more pronounced than the THE matrices. Also the CARB matrices demonstrated greater maximum expansion and lower drug release than the POL matrices, due to a smaller degree of erosion of CARB. The dimensions of CARB/CAF matrices, unlike all the other matrices studied, exhibited a biphasic increase at early times, which was attributed to the cross-linked structure of CARB and the high solubility of CAF. With both polymers, a thinner gel layer was developed in the matrices containing the less soluble THE compared to the CAF matrices. The thickness of the gel layer increased continuously with time in the CAF matrices whereas it increased initially and after reaching a maximum started to decrease in THE matrices. All formulations except those of CARB/THE exhibited burst release, which depended on drug and polymer characteristics. The gel layer thickness and erosion rate appeared to determine the rate of drug release from the CARB and POL formulations. The results clearly indicate that for these matrices gel thickness and fluctuation of gel thickness affect the release rate/h of drug proportionally. Analysis of the release kinetics indicated that CAF was released mainly through diffusion whereas, THE was released mainly through matrix erosion. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

CO2 emissions associated with hubbing activities in air transport: An international comparison

Hubbing is an important operational practice in air transport. Many studies have been conducted to examine the benefits and impacts of hubbing from an economic perspective. However, its impact on CO2 emissions, especially across different air spaces, is not well understood. This paper explores the impact of hubbing activities in air transport from an environmental perspective. With a detailed methodology and data from the Greek and Hong Kong/Sanya flight information regions (FIRs), three levels of CO2 emissions are estimated: airport-based, airspace-based and flight-based. After contrasting the CO2 emission efficiencies of Athens International Airport (AIA) and the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), aircraft type and flight distance are examined to explain their emission efficiency differences. It is found that HKIA is associated with poorer CO2 emission efficiency at the airport and airspace levels because of the larger aircraft and longer flight distance. However, when CO2 emission efficiency at the flight level is considered, HKIA, with a higher passenger load factor, performs better. Major international hub airports should implement additional environmental measures to minimize the impact of hubbing activities on CO2 emissions at the airport and airspace levels

“Brittleness” in Diabetes: Easier Spoken than Broken

By definition, brittle diabetes (BD) is an unstable condition. Patients with BD suffer chronically from poor metabolic control, characterized by severe instability of glycemic values with frequent and unpredictable hypoglycemic and/or diabetic ketoacidosis episodes that cannot be attributed to failure in management. Quality of life is dramatically compromised because of very frequent acute complications leading to hospital admissions and because of premature chronic complications. It remains difficult to identify all patients with BD as diagnostic criteria are still not well defined. In practice, metabolic instability is manifested most obviously by chaotic glycemic profiles, which show greater and more unpredictable variation than in “stable” patients with diabetes. It is important that patients with BD are not adequately controlled, even by closely supervised, intensive insulin regimens, including continuous subcutaneous and/or intravenous insulin infusion. Their care is often very expensive in terms of time and resources, and their lives are constantly at risk for severe metabolic derangement. Management can also be frustrating and demoralizing for everyone involved, including the patient’s family as well as the diabetes care team. Adopting a team approach, involving a broad range of disciplines, is essential in treating patients with BD and helping them to achieve and maintain both normoglycemia and quality of life

Matching supply and demand in crowdshipping: A theoretical framework

The emergence of internet and smartphones had played an important role in the increase of on-demand economy. Crowdshipping (CS) is an emerging trend that is expected to reduce the externalities caused by Urban Freight Transport (UFT). However, modelling the CS services, predicting their market share and their effect in the network is not a trivial task. CS matches the demand created by freight transport companies with the available capacity offered by passengers. Currently a gap exists in the literature on models that integrate the decisions related to the supply and the choices that identify the demand and matches them in the real-time. This paper presents a theoretical methodological framework that proposes an innovative collection of preference data in order to develop choice models that identify the need willingness of commuters to crowdship. In parallel it calculates the demand and proposes the development of a real-time matching simulator for the assignment of packets to crowdshippers and then to the network

Novel anti-Alzheimer phenol-lipoyl hybrids: Synthesis, physico-chemical characterization, and biological evaluation

To date, drugs that hit a single target are inadequate for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases. The development of multitarget ligands, able to interact with the different pathways involved in the progession of these disorders, represents a great challenge for medicinal chemists. In this context, we report here the synthesis and biological evaluation of phenol-lipoyl hybrids (SV1-13), obtained via a linking strategy, to take advantage of the synergistic effect due to the antioxidant portions and anti-amyloid properties of the single constituents present in the hybrid molecule. Biological results showed that SV5 and SV10 possessed the best protective activity against Aβ1-42 induced neurotoxicity in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. SV9 and SV10 showed remarkable antioxidant properties due to their ability to counteract the damage caused by H2O2 in SHSY-5Y-treated cells. Hovewer, SV5, showing moderate antioxidant and good neuroprotective activities, resulted the best candidate for further experiments since it also resulted stable both simulated and plasma fluids. © 2019 Elsevier Masson SA

Influence of hypercholesterolemia on serum antibodies against oxidized LDL in children and adolescents

Background: The oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL; oxLDL) appears to play a key role in the early development of atherosclerosis. Increased serum antibodies against the oxLDL (anti-oxLDL antibodies) have been found in adults with atherosclerotic disease, as well as in healthy adults. The clinical significance and its precise role (atherogenic or atheroprotective), however, have not yet been clarified. This aim of this study was therefore to evaluate anti-oxLDL antibodies in healthy children and adolescents with and without hypercholesterolemia. Methods: The study involved 312 subjects, aged 4–18 years, 141 with LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) ≥130 mg/dL and 171 with acceptable LDL-C (<110 mg/dL). Total anti-oxLDL antibodies, total cholesterol, LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoproteins A1 and B, lipoprotein (a) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were measured in fasting serum. The anti-oxLDL antibodies were measured on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Anti-oxLDL antibodies were similar in the hypercholesterolemia and non-hypercholesterolemia groups. Girls had significantly higher anti-oxLDL antibodies compared with boys. There was no significant correlation of antibodies with age or body mass index. Increased apolipoprotein B was an important factor for lower anti-oxLDL antibodies, while all other parameters had no significant association with anti-oxLDL antibodies. Conclusion: In children and adolescents with hypercholesterolemia, total anti-oxLDL antibodies cannot serve as a marker for risk for atherosclerosis or for future cardiovascular disease. © 2018 Japan Pediatric Societ

Contemporary Role of Embolization of Solid Organ and Pelvic Injuries in Polytrauma Patients

Abdominopelvic trauma (APT) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the 15- to 44-year-old age group in the Western World. It can be life-threatening as abdominopelvic organs, specifically those in the retroperitoneal space, can bleed profusely. APT is divided into blunt and penetrating types. While surgery is notably considered as a definitive solution for bleeding control, it is not always the optimum treatment for the stabilization of a polytrauma patient. Over the past decades, there has been a shift toward more sophisticated strategies, such as non-operative management of abdominopelvic vascular trauma for haemodynamically stable patients. Angiographic embolization for bleeding control following blunt and/or penetrating intra- and retroperitoneal injuries has proven to be safe and effective. Embolization can achieve hemostasis and salvage organs without the morbidity of surgery, and the development and refinement of embolization techniques has widened the indications for non-operative treatment in solid organ injury. Moreover, advances in computed tomography provided more efficient scanning times with improved image quality. While surgery is still usually recommended for patients with penetrating injuries, non-operative management can be effectively used as well as an alternative treatment. We review indications, technical considerations, efficacy, and complication rates of angiographic embolization in APT. © Copyright © 2017 Ptohis, Charalampopoulos, Abou Ali, Avgerinos, Mousogianni, Filippiadis, Karydas, Gravanis and Pagoni