The rider behavior questionnaire to explore associations of motorcycle taxi crashes in Cartagena (Colombia)

Objective: This study aimed to identify the association between behavioral factors and crashes of motorcycle taxi riders using the Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ). Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey of motorcycle taxi riders in Cartagena. The MRBQ was adapted to the socio-cultural context and contained 45 items. The survey was conducted between February 2019 and May 2019. The items of the MRBQ were processed using factor analysis. Four logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between behavioral factors and aspects of demographics, operating conditions, and experiencing nearcrashes, crashes, traffic tickets, and at-fault crashes. Results: Four hundred and thirty-eight motorcyclists participated. The exploratory factor analysis extracted five elements: stunts, speed violations, traffic errors, control errors, and safety, explaining 42% of the variance. The increase in riding per week showed significant differences with stunts, speed violations, and traffic errors. Riding experiences, traffic errors, control errors, and safety were significantly associated with crashes and near-crashes. Stunts were the strongest factors related to traffic tickets. Speed violations were the strongest factors associated with at-fault accidents. Conclusions: The study showed recent results considering behavioral, exposure, and operational conditions in a group of motorcycle taxi riders. The study recommends some practical implications for the well-being of motorcyclists and road safety

Predicción de accidentes viales en Cartagena, Colombia, con árboles de decisión y reglas de asociación

El objetivo principal de esta investigación es predecir los factores asociados con la severidad en los accidentes viales de Cartagena (Colombia), la metodología está basada en técnicas de minería de datos como arboles de decisión (J48) y reglas de asociación (soporte, confianza, Lift). La investigación fue desarrollada con 10.053 registros de accidentes de tráfico entre 2016 y 2017, por medio del uso del Software WEKA (Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis). En el análisis, la severidad fue definida de bajo riesgo (daños materiales), y alto riesgo (victimas heridas y fatales), y su validación consideró la técnica transversal 10-fold. Entre los resultados más significativos, se evidenció que los motociclistas y ciclistas son los actores viales más vulnerables, además los moto-usuarios entre los 20-39 años son propensos a accidentes viales con alta severidad. Finalmente, los factores de accidentalidad vial identificados ayudan a promover contramedidas para mejorar la seguridad vial de la ciudad.gráficos, tablas.Incluye referencias bibliográficas (páginas 109-113)

Dataset of traffic accidents in motorcyclists in Bogotá, Colombia

According to the World Health Organization, in 2016, Colombia obtained the tenth position worldwide, the third in the continent and the second in South America, according to the accident rate of 9.7 motorcycle fatalities per 100,000 populations. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of deceased and injured motorcyclists among all road users was 50%, with an annual average of 3140 fatal victims and 20,800 injured victims. Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín were the cities with the most accidents. In Bogota in 2017, the deaths of motorcyclists on the roads were around 32% of the road actors. This data article presents the dataset used to analyze and predict the severity of motorcyclist road accidents in Bogota in the article entitled “Extraction of decision rules using genetic algorithms and simulated annealing for prediction of severity of traffic accidents by motorcyclists” [1]. The data set was consolidated from the registration of 175,245 traffic accidents and the report of 337,828 road actors involved in crashes in Bogotá between January 2013 and February 2018. The data was compiled, processed, and enriched with additional information about infrastructure and weather conditions. The data corresponds to 35,693 motorcyclist traffic accidents, represented by 28 variables, and classified into five categories: road actors, motorcyclists and individuals involved, weather conditions and timing, road conditions and location and characteristics of the accident. The data on motorcyclist traffic accidents opens up a scenario to deepen and compare road safety in Latin America, where studies on vulnerable road users are limited. According to severity, the data on motorcycle traffic accidents recorded 28% with material damage, 69% with injured and 3% with fatal victim

Bibliometric analysis in motorcycle accident research: a global overview

770 million motorcycles are estimated on the roads. Motorcyclists represent more than 380,000 annual deaths worldwide. 28% of the global fatalities in the roads in 2016. With the increase of the accident rate, studies have been developed within the scientific literature. Bibliometric analysis is applied in the field of motorcycle safety in order to identify relevant publications on risk factors of road crashes and their implications. The information in this research was extracted from Web of Science and Scopus databases between 1947 and May 31, 2018. The study identified the key bibliometric indicators such as publications, authors, journals, countries, institutions, citation and co-citation analysis, subject categories, and co-occurrence of terms. EndNote, Microsoft Excel, Statgraphics Centurion and VOS-viewer software were used for the analysis. In total, 1813 articles were considered. The publications from 2000 to 2017 exhibits an average growth of 9%. The journal “Accident Analysis and Prevention” was the key issue in the publication and citation. The top institutions were the University of California, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Monash University. The average citation of the top 10 articles was 134. A network visualization map showed that ‘vehicle’, ‘model’, ‘system’, ‘road’, ‘safety’, and ‘behavior’ were the most commons key terms. Bibliometric analysis demonstrates a high collaboration between authors and institutions. Two growing trends were identified. First, studies on the protection of the motorcyclist and the safe design considering the performance. Second, studies in analysis, characterization, and prevention of accidents. These studies are more related to the generation of strategies for the protection of road safety for motorcyclists

A cooperative game approach to a production planning problem

This paper deals with a production planning problem formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model that has a competition component, given that the manufacturers are willing to produce as much products as they can in order to fulfil the market’s needs. This corresponds to a typical game theoretic problem applied to the productive sector, where a global optimization problem involves production planning in order to maximize the utilities for the different firms that manufacture the same type of products and compete in the market. This problem has been approached as a cooperative game, which involves a possible cooperation scheme among the manufacturers. The general problem was approached by Owen (1995) as the “production game” and the core was considered. This paper identifies the cooperative game theoretic model for the production planning MILP optimization problem and Shapley Value was chosen as the solution approach. The results obtained indicate the importance of cooperating among competitors. Moreover, this leads to economic strategies for small manufacturing companies that wish to survive in a competitive environment

Extraction of decision rules using genetic algorithms and simulated annealing for prediction of severity of traffic accidents by motorcyclists

The objective of this study is to analysis of accident of motorcyclists on Bogotá roads in Colombia. For detection of conditions related to crashes and their severity, the proposed model develops the strategies to enhance road safety. In this context, data mining and machine learning techniques are used to investigate 34,232 accidents by motorcyclists during January 2013 to February 2018. Both the Genetic algorithm and simulated annealing are applied in conjunction with mining rules (support, confidence, lift, and comprehensibility) as per objectives of the problem. The application of a hybrid algorithm allows for the creation and definition of optimal hierarchical decision rules for the prediction of the severity of motorcycle traffic accidents. The proposed method yields good results in the metrics of recall (90.07%), precision (89.87%), and accuracy (90.06%) on the data set. The results increase the prediction by 20–21% in comparisons with the following methods: Decision Trees (CART, ID3, and C4.5), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Naive Bayes, Neural Networks, Random Forest, and Random Tree. The proposed method defines 11 rules for the prediction of accidents with material damage, 24 rules with injuries, and 12 rules with fatalities. The variables with the most recurrence in the definition of rules are time, weather and road conditions, and the number of victims involved in the accidents. Finally, the interactions of the conditions and characteristics presented in motorcycle accidents are analyzed which contribute to the definition of countermeasures for road safety. © 2021, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Detection and characterization of Bacillus cereus isolated from the dialysis fluid

In this study, B. cereus was detected in dialysis fluids within international parameters (ultrapure – maximum limit of 0.1 CFU/mL for heterotrophic bacteria count) by analyzing the pellet obtained through the centrifugation method. We also investigated the ability of the B. cereus isolate to form a biofilm at different temperatures, the production of virulence factors, and the susceptibility to commercial antimicrobial agents. This study demonstrated a high ability of B. cereus to persist in the hemodialysis system, which can be explained by its broad ability to produce a biofilm at 25 °C, its relevant production of virulence factors, such as β-hemolysin, lecithinase and cereulide, and its important resistance pattern to antimicrobial drugs. In conclusion, these new findings expand the understanding that this microorganism should not be neglected and new methods for tracking it should be considered

Estudio de comportamiento peatonal basado en video: Desarrollo y prueba de los métodos

Objective The aim of this paper is to develop a computer algorithm that analyzes pedestrian behavior at an urban site in Bogota, Colombia, considering that the assessment of pedestrian behavior is a road safety priority.Methods Pedestrians were video-taped as they crossed a selected road. An algorithm was developed in order to record, from these videos, pedestrian and vehicle positions and speeds. This information made possible the identification of hazardous behaviors, which were compared through visual assessments.Results 429 pedestrians crossed the selected road at an average distance of 4.5 meters from vehicles that moved at an average speed of 21 km/h. With a maximum difference of 19 % with respect to visual assessments, the algorithm estimated that 58.5 % pedestrians crossed through non-designated locations; 62.2 % crossed near moving vehicles, and that 41.2 % ran while they were crossing the road.Conclusions Video-based analysis can be used to assess pedestrians’ behavior. Future research work should focus on improving both the accuracy and the number of safety parameters of the algorithm.Objetivo La medición del comportamiento de peatones es una prioridad de la seguridad vial. Por lo anterior, se desarrolló un algoritmo para analizar el comportamiento de los peatones en una zona urbana de Bogotá, Colombia.Métodos Los peatones fueron filmados mientras cruzaban la calle. Mediante el algoritmo se midieron las posiciones y velocidades de peatones y vehículos en los videos. Se identificaron los comportamientos riesgosos y se compararon visualmente. Resultados 429 peatones cruzaron la vía a una distancia promedio de 4.5 metros de los vehículos (velocidad promedio 21 km/h). El algoritmo estimó, con una diferencia máxima de 19 % con respecto a lo observado, que 58.5 % de los peatones cruzaron por zonas incorrectas, 62.2 % cruzaron cerca de vehículos en movimiento y 41.2 % corrieron al cruzar.Conclusiones El análisis basado en video puede utilizarse para medir el comportamiento de los peatones. Los trabajos sobre el tema que se realicen en el futuro deben enfocarse en mejorar la precisión y los parámetros de seguridad del algoritmo

Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries

Child growth failure (CGF), manifested as stunting, wasting, and underweight, is associated with high 5 mortality and increased risks of cognitive, physical, and metabolic impairments. Children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face the highest levels of CGF globally. Here we illustrate national and subnational variation of under-5 CGF indicators across LMICs, providing 2000–2017 annual estimates mapped at a high spatial resolution and aggregated to policy-relevant administrative units and national levels. Despite remarkable declines over the study period, many LMICs remain far from the World Health 10 Organization’s ambitious Global Nutrition Targets to reduce stunting by 40% and wasting to less than 5% by 2025. Large disparities in prevalence and rates of progress exist across regions, countries, and within countries; our maps identify areas where high prevalence persists even within nations otherwise succeeding in reducing overall CGF prevalence. By highlighting where subnational disparities exist and the highest-need populations reside, these geospatial estimates can support policy-makers in planning locally 15 tailored interventions and efficient directing of resources to accelerate progress in reducing CGF and its health implications

Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations: A systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background: A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index for 195 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in seven countries, from 1990 to 2016. Methods Drawing from established methods and updated estimates from GBD 2016, we used 32 causes from which death should not occur in the presence of effective care to approximate personal health-care access and quality by location and over time. To better isolate potential effects of personal health-care access and quality from underlying risk factor patterns, we risk-standardised cause-specific deaths due to non-cancers by location-year, replacing the local joint exposure of environmental and behavioural risks with the global level of exposure. Supported by the expansion of cancer registry data in GBD 2016, we used mortality-to-incidence ratios for cancers instead of risk-standardised death rates to provide a stronger signal of the effects of personal health care and access on cancer survival. We transformed each cause to a scale of 0-100, with 0 as the first percentile (worst) observed between 1990 and 2016, and 100 as the 99th percentile (best); we set these thresholds at the country level, and then applied them to subnational locations. We applied a principal components analysis to construct the HAQ Index using all scaled cause values, providing an overall score of 0-100 of personal health-care access and quality by location over time. We then compared HAQ Index levels and trends by quintiles on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary measure of overall development. As derived from the broader GBD study and other data sources, we examined relationships between national HAQ Index scores and potential correlates of performance, such as total health spending per capita. Findings In 2016, HAQ Index performance spanned from a high of 97\ub71 (95% UI 95\ub78-98\ub71) in Iceland, followed by 96\ub76 (94\ub79-97\ub79) in Norway and 96\ub71 (94\ub75-97\ub73) in the Netherlands, to values as low as 18\ub76 (13\ub71-24\ub74) in the Central African Republic, 19\ub70 (14\ub73-23\ub77) in Somalia, and 23\ub74 (20\ub72-26\ub78) in Guinea-Bissau. The pace of progress achieved between 1990 and 2016 varied, with markedly faster improvements occurring between 2000 and 2016 for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia, whereas several countries in Latin America and elsewhere saw progress stagnate after experiencing considerable advances in the HAQ Index between 1990 and 2000. Striking subnational disparities emerged in personal health-care access and quality, with China and India having particularly large gaps between locations with the highest and lowest scores in 2016. In China, performance ranged from 91\ub75 (89\ub71-93\ub76) in Beijing to 48\ub70 (43\ub74-53\ub72) in Tibet (a 43\ub75-point difference), while India saw a 30\ub78-point disparity, from 64\ub78 (59\ub76-68\ub78) in Goa to 34\ub70 (30\ub73-38\ub71) in Assam. Japan recorded the smallest range in subnational HAQ performance in 2016 (a 4\ub78-point difference), whereas differences between subnational locations with the highest and lowest HAQ Index values were more than two times as high for the USA and three times as high for England. State-level gaps in the HAQ Index in Mexico somewhat narrowed from 1990 to 2016 (from a 20\ub79-point to 17\ub70-point difference), whereas in Brazil, disparities slightly increased across states during this time (a 17\ub72-point to 20\ub74-point difference). Performance on the HAQ Index showed strong linkages to overall development, with high and high-middle SDI countries generally having higher scores and faster gains for non-communicable diseases. Nonetheless, countries across the development spectrum saw substantial gains in some key health service areas from 2000 to 2016, most notably vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, national performance on the HAQ Index was positively associated with higher levels of total health spending per capita, as well as health systems inputs, but these relationships were quite heterogeneous, particularly among low-to-middle SDI countries. Interpretation GBD 2016 provides a more detailed understanding of past success and current challenges in improving personal health-care access and quality worldwide. Despite substantial gains since 2000, many low-SDI and middle- SDI countries face considerable challenges unless heightened policy action and investments focus on advancing access to and quality of health care across key health services, especially non-communicable diseases. Stagnating or minimal improvements experienced by several low-middle to high-middle SDI countries could reflect the complexities of re-orienting both primary and secondary health-care services beyond the more limited foci of the Millennium Development Goals. Alongside initiatives to strengthen public health programmes, the pursuit of universal health coverage hinges upon improving both access and quality worldwide, and thus requires adopting a more comprehensive view-and subsequent provision-of quality health care for all populations