Driving with intelligent speed adaptation: Final results of the Belgian ISA-trial

In October 2002 the first ISA-trial in Belgium was started in Ghent. Thirty-four cars and three buses were equipped with the "active accelerator pedal". In this system a resistance in the accelerator is activated when the driver attempts to exceed the speed limit. If necessary, the driver can overrule the system. The main research goals of the trial in Ghent were to evaluate the effects of ISA on speed-change, traffic safety, drivers' attitude, behaviour and drivers' acceptance. To study these effects of the ISA-system both surveys and logged speed data were analyzed. In the surveys drivers noticed that the pedal assisted them well in upholding the speed limits and that the system increased driving comfort. Most important drawbacks were technical issues. Data analysis shows a reduction in the amount of speeding due to the ISA-system. There is however still a large remaining percentage of distance speeding, especially in low speed zones. Differences between drivers are large. For some drivers speeding even increases despite activation of the system. For less frequent speeders average driving speed almost always increases and for more frequent speeders average speed tends to decrease. With the system, less frequent speeders tend to accelerate faster towards the speed limit and drive exactly at the speed limit instead of safely below, which causes average speeds to go up. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA); Acceptance; Driving behaviou

Auction-Based Allocation of Shared Electricity Storage Resources through Physical Storage Rights

This article proposes a new electricity storage business model based on multiple simultaneously considered revenue streams, which can be attributed to different market activities and players. These players thus share electricity storage resources and compete to obtain the right to use them in a dynamic allocation mechanism. It is based on the design of anew periodically organized auction to allocate shared storage resources through physical storage rights between different market players and ac-companying applications. Through such a flexibility platform owners of flexible resources can commercialize their flexible capacity over different applications, while market players looking for additional flexibility can obtain this through a pay-per-use principle and thus not having to make long-term investment commitments. As such, they can quickly adapt their portfolio according to the market situation. Alternatively, through such an allocation mechanism players can effectively share storage re-sources. Players may be incentivized to participate as they can share the investment cost, mitigate risk, exploit economies of scale, overcome regulatory barriers, and merge time-varying and player-dependent flexibility needs. The mechanism allocates the limited storage resources to the most valuable application for each market-clearing, based on the competing players' willingness-to-pay. An illustrative case study is provided in which three players share storage resources that are allocated through a daily auction with hourly market-clearings

Demographics of extra-articular calcaneal fractures: Including a review of the literature on treatment and outcome

Introduction: Extra-articular calcaneal fractures represent 25-40% of all calcaneal fractures and an even higher percentage of up to 60% is seen in children. A disproportionately small part of the literature on calcaneal fractures involves the extra-articular type. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of extra-articular calcaneal fractures in a Level 1 trauma centre, define the distribution of the various types of fractures and compare patient demographics between extra- and intra-articular calcaneal fractures. In addition the literature was reviewed for the most common types of extra-articular calcaneal fractures with regard to incidence, treatment and clinical outcome. Methods: The radiological records between 2003 and 2005 were reviewed for intra- and extra-articular calcaneal fractures. Patient gender-distribution and age were compared. A literature search was conducted for the treatment of extra-articular calcaneal fractures. Results: In this 3-year study period a total of 49 patients with 50 extra-articular calcaneal fractures and 91 patients with 101 intra-articular fractures were identified. The median age for the first group was 32.7 years, and for the second group 40.3 years; P = 0.04. Male predominance was significantly less pronounced for extra-articular (63%) compared with intra-articular fractures (79%; P = 0.04). Conclusion: One-third of all calcaneal fractures are extra-articular. Significant differences exist between the intra- and extra-articular groups, in terms of lower age and male-female ratio. The literature study shows inconsistencies in treatment options, but most extra-articular fractures are well manageable conservatively

Pseudotumoral tophaceous involvement of the Achilles paratenon

Gout is the most common form of microcrystalline arthropathy which usually does not pose a diagnostic challenge when patients have typical presentation, appropriate biochemical picture and classical radiographic appearance. However, formation of gouty tophi in unusual locations and with atypical presentations may mislead clinicians and radiologists, thereby justifying gout nickname as the “great mimicker”. When interpreting images of tendon related masses, radiologists should be aware of gouty tophi as a possible differential given its variable and nonspecific imaging appearance. In this article, we present a case of a patient with a painless tophaceous gout nodule, adjacent to the Achilles tendon

Oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance: blurring ecology and physiology

No abstract available