Safety Impacts of the Actuated Signal Control at Urban Intersections

To reduce travel time, the actuated signal controls have been implemented at urban intersections. However, the safety impacts of actuated signal controls thus far have rarely been examined. In this assessment of the safety impact of urban intersections with semi-actuated signal controls, the safety performance functions and EB approaches were applied. The semi-actuated signal controls have increased injuries and total crashes in all crash types by around 5.9% and 3.8%, respectively. Regarding the most common crash types, such as angle, sideswipe & rear-end, and head-on crashes, semi-actuated signal controls have been seen to decrease injuries by 7.7%. Total crashes have been reduced by over 9.2% through the use of semi-actuated signal controls. This may be result of optimal signal timings considering traffic conditions during peak time periods. In conclusion, safety impact factors which have been established in this study can be used to improve safety and minimize travel times using semi-actuated signal controls

Recognition of and interventions for Mibyeong (subhealth) in South Korea: a national web-based survey of Korean medicine practitioners

AbstractBackgroundMedically unexplained symptoms (MUSs) are common in primary care. At present, there are no proven, comprehensive treatments available in primary care for patients with MUSs. However, MUS has parallels with “subhealth” or Mibyeong from traditional East-Asian medicine, and thus, Mibyeong interventions could be effective in treating MUS. Unfortunately, studies on Mibyeong and its intervention methods are relatively rare.MethodsWe administered a web-based survey to 17,279 Korean medicine (KM) practitioners registered with the Association of Korean Medicine. The response rate was 4.9% (n=849). Based on the responses received, we assessed how much they agreed with concepts related to Mibyeong on a 7-point scale from “do not agree” to “strongly agree.” Respondents were also asked to indicate how frequently they encountered various subtypes and patterns of Mibyeong, and how frequently they use listed intervention methods.ResultsData from 818 respondents were analyzed after excluding those with no clinical experience. On average, respondents were male general practitioners aged between 30 years and 49 years, working or living in metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do. Responses did not differ by demographics. Respondents generally thought that Mibyeong referred to subjective or borderline findings without certain disease, and that Mibyeong has various subtypes and patterns. Subtypes included fatigue, pain, and digestion problems; patterns were either deficiencies (e.g., qi, blood, and yin deficiency) or stagnations (e.g., liver qi depression and qi stagnation). Decoction was the most frequently used type of intervention for Mibyeong of all items listed, followed by acupuncture and moxibustion. Patient education was also recommended, suggesting healthy eating, promoting healthy environment, and exercise.ConclusionWe were able to provide preliminary results on KM practitioners’ recognition of and interventions for Mibyeong, but further research is needed to develop a detailed definition of Mibyeong and its myriad subtypes and patterns, and evaluations of the efficacy of Mibyeong interventions

Flux reversal in a two-state symmetric optical thermal ratchet

A Brownian particle's random motions can be rectified by a periodic potential energy landscape that alternates between two states, even if both states are spatially symmetric. If the two states differ only by a discrete translation, the direction of the ratchet-driven current can be reversed by changing their relative durations. We experimentally demonstrate flux reversal in a symmetric two-state ratchet by tracking the motions of colloidal spheres moving through large arrays of discrete potential energy wells created with dynamic holographic optical tweezers. The model's simplicity and high degree of symmetry suggest possible applications in molecular-scale motors.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review E, Rapid Communication

Giant Colloidal Diffusivity on Corrugated Optical Vortices

A single colloidal sphere circulating around a periodically modulated optical vortex trap can enter a dynamical state in which it intermittently alternates between freely running around the ring-like optical vortex and becoming trapped in local potential energy minima. Velocity fluctuations in this randomly switching state still are characterized by a linear Einstein-like diffusion law, but with an effective diffusion coefficient that is enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure