Simulating the influence of life trajectory events on transport mode behavior in an agent-based system

this paper describes the results of a study on the impact of lifecycle or life trajectory events on activity-travel decisions. This lifecycle trajectory of individual agents can be easily incorporated in an agent-based simulation system. This paper focuses on two lifecycle events, change in residential location and change in number of household members. An Internet-based survey was designed to collect data concerning structural lifecycle events. Previous papers describe the conceptual framework underlying the model and the temporal effects of lifecycle events on mode choice. This paper focuses on predicting the occurrence of structural lifecycle events at a certain time. Structure and parameter learning are applied to build a Bayesian Belief Network based on the data

Modeling the impact of key events on long-term transport mode choice decisions : a decision network approach using event history data

This paper describes the first phase of a study of the impact of key events on long-term transport mode choice decisions. The suggested complexity of transport mode choice is modeled using a Bayesian Decision Network (BDN). An Internet-based questionnaire was designed to measure the various Conditional Probability Tables and the Conditional Utility Tables of the BDN. In total seven different key events were implemented in the questionnaire: Change in residential location, Change in household composition, Change in work location, Change in study location, Change in car availability, Change in availability of public transport pass, and Change in household income. The data of 554 respondents was used to illustrate how the tables can be constructed based on event history data

Modeling the influence of structural lifecycle events on activity-travel decisions using a structure learning algorithm

This paper describes the results of a study on the impact of lifecycle events on activity-travel choice decisions of individuals. An Internet-based survey was designed to collect data concerning structural lifecycle events. In addition, respondents answered questions about personal and household characteristics, possession and availability of transport modes and their current travel behavior. In total, 710 respondents completed the online survey. The complexity of transport mode choice is modeled using a Bayesian Belief Network. Previous papers describe the conceptual framework underlying the model and the temporal effects of lifecycle events on mode choice. This paper focuses on influences of structural life trajectory events on each other and on changes in resources that impact activity-travel decisions. We investigate the extent to which causal relations exist between these events and their direct and indirect effects on changes in transport mode availability and the possession of transit passes. A structure learning algorithm is used to build a Bayesian Belief Network of interdependencies between these events from the data

Do on-farm natural, restored, managed and constructed wetlands mitigate agricultural pollution in Great Britain and Ireland?: a systematic review

Wetlands in agricultural landscapes offer a number of benefits to the landscape function in which they are set, reducing nutrient runoff, providing additional habitat mosaics and offering various ecosystem services. They require careful planning and maintenance in order to perform their optimum design function over a prolonged period of time. They should be treated as functional units of farm infrastructure rather than fit-and-forget systems. A high priority topic within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) water quality programme is the mitigation of pollution from agriculture. This programme was set up to meet the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) EU (2000). Nutrient loss from agricultural land has been suggested as a major cause of elevated nutrient concentrations in surface waters in the UK. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are of particular concern as an excess of either nutrient can lead to eutrophication of freshwater systems and coastal waters. Agriculture has also been identified as a significant source of suspended sediment (SS) concentrations in UK rivers and agriculturally derived sediment has been identified as a source of increased bed-sediment P concentrations in rivers. High bed sediments loads have other negative impacts, such as clogging river gravels reducing fish spawning. There is considerable evidence in the published and grey literature that wetlands have the ability to remove nutrients and sediment and thus reduce the load on receiving waters. Wetlands have also been reported to perform other ecosystem services, such as reducing floods, supporting biodiversity and sequestering carbon. A policy to promote the conservation, management, restoration or construction of wetlands could help to mitigate the impacts of N, P and SS from agriculture delivering requirements of WFD through Catchment Sensitive Farming following an Ecosystem Approach and Catchment Based Approach promoted by Defra. It could also meet other commitments such as implementing the Ramsar and Biodiversity Conventions to which the UK is a signatory. However, the term wetlands covers a wide range of habitat types and it is important that policy makers are provided with accurate, robust and independently reviewed information on the degree to which different types of wetland perform these services under different circumstances, so that policy can most best targeted. This systematic review assesses the available evidence on the performance of various wetland types on farms to reduce nutrient input and suspended sediments to receiving waters. It provides a defensible evidence base on which to base policy. The studies reviewed cover different input loads and the analysis compares performance of these wetland systems in respect of % reduction efficiency. In England and Wales, Defra, working closely with the Environment Agency and Natural England, has commissioned this systematic review on how effective, and what influences the effectiveness of wetlands at mitigating N, P and SS inputs from agriculture to receiving freshwater in the United Kingdom and Ireland

The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix

Recovery of dialysis patients with COVID-19 : health outcomes 3 months after diagnosis in ERACODA

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related short-term mortality is high in dialysis patients, but longer-term outcomes are largely unknown. We therefore assessed patient recovery in a large cohort of dialysis patients 3 months after their COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods. We analyzed data on dialysis patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the European Renal Association COVID-19 Database (ERACODA). The outcomes studied were patient survival, residence and functional and mental health status (estimated by their treating physician) 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Complete follow-up data were available for 854 surviving patients. Patient characteristics associated with recovery were analyzed using logistic regression. Results. In 2449 hemodialysis patients (mean ± SD age 67.5 ± 14.4 years, 62% male), survival probabilities at 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis were 90% for nonhospitalized patients (n = 1087), 73% for patients admitted to the hospital but not to an intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1165) and 40% for those admitted to an ICU (n = 197). Patient survival hardly decreased between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. At 3 months, 87% functioned at their pre-existent functional and 94% at their pre-existent mental level. Only few of the surviving patients were still admitted to the hospital (0.8-6.3%) or a nursing home (∼5%). A higher age and frailty score at presentation and ICU admission were associated with worse functional outcome. Conclusions. Mortality between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis was low and the majority of patients who survived COVID-19 recovered to their pre-existent functional and mental health level at 3 months after diagnosis

Evaluating the protection levels of armoured vehicles for KE, mine and IED threats

Based on providing protection to the occupants of armoured vehicles a NATO standard is under implementation (STANAG 4569). The aim of this agreement is to standardize protection levels for armoured vehicle occupants to ensure that: a. Commanders in the field can select the right equipment to fulfil a mission under a given threat b. Nations have a planning guide to deploy the appropriate equipment to address theatre specific threat c. Nations can develop and upgrade their equipment to match given threats. The Team of Experts worked on the procedures for evaluating the protection levels are published for KE and Artillery threat, mine threat and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) threat. The protection level is based on a 90% probability of providing protection to the occupants at a given threat. The phases of qualification and the assessment method will be explained. The National Authorities have an important role in the qualification process of a vehicle. The paper will describe the main topics of the Allied Engineering Proposal for KE and Artillery threat (AEP 55, Volume 1), for mine threat (AEP 55, Volume 2) and for IED threat (AEP 55, Volume 3, when officially available) with the focus on occupant safety. The injury criteria and tolerance levels for vehicle blast mine protection are defined within NATO/RTO Human Factors Panel 090 – Task Group 25 and the follow-up HFM 148/RTG