Automatic Recognition of Public Transport Trips from Mobile Device Sensor Data and Transport Infrastructure Information

Automatic detection of public transport (PT) usage has important applications for intelligent transport systems. It is crucial for understanding the commuting habits of passengers at large and over longer periods of time. It also enables compilation of door-to-door trip chains, which in turn can assist public transport providers in improved optimisation of their transport networks. In addition, predictions of future trips based on past activities can be used to assist passengers with targeted information. This article documents a dataset compiled from a day of active commuting by a small group of people using different means of PT in the Helsinki region. Mobility data was collected by two means: (a) manually written details of each PT trip during the day, and (b) measurements using sensors of travellers' mobile devices. The manual log is used to cross-check and verify the results derived from automatic measurements. The mobile client application used for our data collection provides a fully automated measurement service and implements a set of algorithms for decreasing battery consumption. The live locations of some of the public transport vehicles in the region were made available by the local transport provider and sampled with a 30-second interval. The stopping times of local trains at stations during the day were retrieved from the railway operator. The static timetable information of all the PT vehicles operating in the area is made available by the transport provider, and linked to our dataset. The challenge is to correctly detect as many manually logged trips as possible by using the automatically collected data. This paper includes an analysis of challenges due to missing or partially sampled information in the data, and initial results from automatic recognition using a set of algorithms. Improvement of correct recognitions is left as an ongoing challenge.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, 10 table

Proposing a Model for Religious Tourism Development: Evidence from Iran

This study proposes a model for religious tourism as one of the most promising types of tourism worldwide, by focusing on the conditions of Iran as a potentially popular destination for religious tourism. The study relies on a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) method. The qualitative phase identifies the model dimensions and strategies. To do this, practitioners and experts were interviewed and the data collected were investigated through the thematic analysis method. This process revealed four main dimensions and 18 subsidiary strategies. In the quantitative phase, the dimensions and strategies identified were arranged in a questionnaire and through the survey method, were prioritised by experts in the Iranian tourism industry. The data analysis results, based on intuitionistic fuzzy AHP, revealed that the most important dimensions in religious tourism, as assessed by experts and practitioners in the Iranian tourism industry, were: ‘marketing strategies’, ‘HR training and development’, ‘reinforcing executive management structures’, and ‘implementing information technology.’ Finally, following a comparison of the results with those of another studies in this field, some executive and research-related suggestions are proposed

Analysis of Potential Shift to Low-Carbon Urban Travel Modes: A Computational Framework Based on High-Resolution Smartphone Data

Given the necessity to understand the modal shift potentials at the level of individual travel times, emissions, and physically active travel distances, there is a need for accurately computing such potentials from disaggregated data collection. Despite significant development in data collection technology, especially by utilizing smartphones, there are limited efforts in developing useful computational frameworks for this purpose. First, development of a computational framework requires longitudinal data collection of revealed travel behavior of individuals. Second, such a computational framework should enable scalable analysis of time-relevant low-carbon travel alternatives in the target region. To this end, this research presents an open-source computational framework, developed to explore the potential for shifting from private car to lower-carbon travel alternatives. In comparison to previous development, our computational framework estimates and illustrates the changes in travel time in relation to the potential reductions in emission and increases in physically active travel, as well as daily weather conditions. The potential usefulness of the framework was evaluated using long-term travel data of around a hundred travelers within the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, Finland. The case study outcomes also suggest that in several cases traveling by public transport or bike would not increase travel time compared to the observed car travel. Based on the case study results, we discuss potentially acceptable travel times for mode shift, and usefulness of the computational framework for decisions regarding transition to sustainable urban mobility systems. Finally, we discuss limitations and lessons learned for data collection and further development of similar computational frameworks.Peer reviewe

Genistein inhibits aggregation of exogenous amyloid-beta1-40 and alleviates astrogliosis in the hippocampus of rats. Brain Res

Abstract We addressed the question of whether injection of Aβ in the rat brain is associated with pathology in the hippocampus, and if genistein has any protective effect against the neuronal damage caused by Aβ 1-40 . Genistein is a plant-derived compound with a structure similar to that of the female sex hormone oestrogen and it was recently shown that pretreatment with a single dose of genistein ameliorated learning and memory deficits in an amyloid beta (Aβ) 1-40 rat model of Alzheimer's disease. Here, we report that injection of the amyloid peptide into the hippocampus of rats led to formation of Aβ 1-40 positive aggregates close to the lateral blade of the dentate gyrus (DGlb). We also observed the following in the hippocampus: extensive cell death in the DGlb (P < 0.0001), CA1 (P = 0.03), and CA3 (P = 0.002); an increased number of iNOS-expressing cells (P = 0.01) and gliosis. Genistein given to rats by gavage one hour before Key words: amyloid-beta, Alzheimer's disease, genistein, neuronal degeneration 1 1 Abbreviations: AD, Alzheimer's disease; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; nNOS, neuronal nitric oxide synthase; CA1, cornu ammonis 1; CA2, cornu ammonis 2; CA3, cornu ammonis 3; Aβ, amyloid beta; DGlb, lateral blade of dentate gyrus; DGmb, medial blade of dentate gyrus; GFAP, glial fibrillary acidic protein; CC, corpus callosum; MAP, mitogenactivated protein; NFĸB, nuclear factor kappa B; MnSOD, manganese superoxide dismutase; APP, amyloid precursor protein; CrEL, Cremophor E

Extent of the Use of Drought Management Practices by Farmers in Tafresh County

The extent of utilization of drought management practices by the farmers of Tafresh County was studied in a descriptive-correlational research. Statistical population consisted of all farmers in Tafresh County which summed up to around 9061 people out of which 300 farmers were taken as the sample in accordance with Cochran’s formula. The main tool of the study was a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of expert consisting of some faculty members of Islamic Azad University, Garmsar Branch and the University of Tehran, and the reliability of the questionnaire was estimated as to be 0.848 using Cronbach Alpha. The results of correlation test indicated a direct, significant relationship between the extent of utilization of drought management practices and the variables of agricultural activities experience and the level of farmers’ social capabilities at 0.01 level. Moreover, there was a negative significant relationship among age, farming experience and the application of drought management practices at 0.01 level. Finally, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that three variables, i.e. extent of farmers’ social capabilities, experience of agricultural activities and the age of the farmers, had the greatest influence on the extent of utilization of drought management practices

Strategic Visits in The Field of Pharmacy, Challenges and Opportunities

Introduction: Regarding the needs of pharmacy field to targeted planning, ­­strategic and field visits with objective preconditioning approach is one of the effective methods for preparing students for strategic planning. Methods and Results: In this study, first, the papers were reviewed since1993to2016.Then opportunities and challenges such as the importance of strategic visits to education and research, the pharmacist's future job, the content of the visit, the achievements, and the place and time of the visit were assessed by Likert questionnaire contains 20questions and through google form for 2categories of students. The first group included students who had experiences of visiting during the travel conducted by the Strategic Studies Center; and second group included the students who did not have experience of Strategic Visits. Conclusions: In the first group with 20 people as statistical population, 90% agreed to the role of the visits in increasing the ability and creating educational and research attitudes, 70.4% opposed with the feeling of disappointment and confusion by visiting, 85% agreed to motivate and acquaint with job opportunities. In addition, 95% agreed to visit the policy-making centers, 100% agreed to visit the industry and university, and 30% agreed to visit cultural centers. 60% agreed to pass 2related syllabuses before visiting the relevant center, 45% agreed with the requirement of mentioned cases, and 65% agreed to make the visit in the elementary courses of education. These obtained results for the second group with 130 people as statistical population were 87.1%, 67.8%, 96.8%, 93.5%, 48.4%, 93.5%, 19.4%, 67.8%, 58.1% and 58.4%, respectively

A comparative study of pharmaceutical institutions in Iran and abroad

Introduction: In different countries, various organizations and associations are active in the field of pharmacy. These activities mainly consist of policy-making, implementation, training and supervision. In Iran, different tasks are concentrated in one or two institutions; and the active presence of the private sector is not tangible. On the other hand, in developed countries, tasks are divided between public and private institutions. In this article, by investigating and comparing these institutions in different countries and drawing conclusions, systems for dividing tasks with greater efficiency will be achieved. Methods and Results: The workgroup on "Investigating Pharmaceutical Institutions" of Pharmaceutical-Strategic-Studies-Office conducted a study on the responsibilities of each of these institutions, their target population, efficiency rate on the defined objectives in policy, implementation, monitoring and education areas in Iran, neighboring countries and developed countries, as well as their different and similar duties with each other. In this review article, several searches have been done in databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, specialized books as well as websites related to each of these institutions. The results show that in developed countries an average of six pharmaceutical associations exist, all of which are active in the field of education. In the United States, an organization that approves the competency of pharmacists and issues pharmacy establishment permits has been separated from overseeing organizations. In Japan, other than the Health Ministry as a policy-maker and a special council for legislative purposes, a formal overseeing institution, an Office of Health Assessment and two associations with a scientific-trade and research approach are active. In Australia, one third of the associations are active in the area of law enforcement; and the organization which is active in the field of policy-making and supervision does not have any executive activities. In the European Union, one institution has a role in the field of macro policy-making and two associations are involved in micro policy-making. In India and Pakistan, practically all affairs are carried out in the governmental format; NGOs operate in the field of education, research and government consultation. Overall, China is the most similar to Iran

A computational framework for revealing competitive travel times with low-carbon modes based on smartphone data collection

Evaluating potential of shifting to low-carbon transport modes requires considering limited travel-time budget of travelers. Despite previous studies focusing on time-relevant modal shift, there is a lack of integrated and transferable computational frameworks, which would use emerging smartphone-based high-resolution longitudinal travel datasets. This research explains and illustrates a computational framework for this purpose. The proposed framework compares observed trips with computed alternative trips and estimates the extent to which alternatives could reduce carbon emission without a significant increase in travel time.. The framework estimates potential of substituting observed car and public-transport trips with lower-carbon modes, evaluating parameters per individual traveler as well as for the whole city, from a set of temporal and spatial viewpoints. The illustrated parameters include the size and distribution of modal shifts, emission savings, and increased active-travel growth, as clustered by target mode, departure time, trip distance, and spatial coverage throughout the city. Parameters are also evaluated based on the frequently repeated trips. We evaluate usefulness of the method by analyzing door-to-door trips of a few hundred travelers, collected from smartphone traces in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, during several months. The experiment's preliminary results show that, for instance, on average, 20% of frequent car trips of each traveler have a low-carbon alternative, and if the preferred alternatives are chosen, about 8% of the carbon emissions could be saved. In addition, it is seen that the spatial potential of bike as an alternative is much more sporadic throughout the city compared to that of bus, which has relatively more trips from/to city center. With few changes, the method would be applicable to other cities, bringing possibly different quantitative results. In particular, having more thorough data from large number of participants could provide implications for transportation researchers and planners to identify groups or areas for promoting mode shift. Finally, we discuss the limitations and lessons learned, highlighting future research directions.Peer reviewe

The effects of aerobic, resistance, and combined exercises on the plasma irisin levels, HOMA-IR, and lipid profiles in women with metabolic syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

Background/objective Irisin is suggested to be an exercise beneficial effects mediator. This study aimed to examine the effects of the aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), and combined exercise (CE) on the plasma levels of irisin and some metabolic and anthropometric indices. Methods Sixty overweight women with metabolic syndrome were assigned equally into four groups: AE, RE, CE, and control. The study variables were measured before and 24 h after the intervention period. Results None of the study groups showed statistically significant changes in the serum irisin. However, muscle mass significantly increased in the RE and CE groups. Also, a significant decrease was observed in the body fat percentage in all groups. In addition, compared with the control group, the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance in the AE (p = 0.021), RE (p = 0.039), and in the CE (p = 0.003) groups reduced significantly. According to the analysis of indices’ changes, serum irisin was significantly correlated with the body fat percentage (r = 0.532) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.424). Conclusions The systematic exercise program for 8-weeks did not change circulating irisin and no statistically significant difference was observed between the exercise methods. Also, serum irisin seemed to be associated with the glycemic status, body fat and weight independent of exercise activity.publishedVersionUnit Licence Agreemen

Testing a New Anticoagulation Method for Free Flap Reconstruction of Head and Neck Cancers

Objectives Free flaps are widely used to reconstruct head and neck defects. Despite the improvement in the surgical techniques and the surgeons’ experiences, flap failures still occur due to thrombotic occlusion after small vessels anastomosis. To reduce the possibility of flap loss as a result of thrombotic occlusion, various anticoagulants have been used. In this study we decided to evaluate a new protocol for anticoagulation therapy and its effect on flap survival and complications. Methods In this interventional study, 30 patients with head and neck cancer underwent surgical defects were reconstructed by microvascular free flap between 2013 and 2014. In the postoperative period patients have taken aspirin (100 mg/day) for 5 days and enoxaparin (40 mg/day subcutaneously) for 3 days. The flap survival was followed for three weeks. Results Given that there was no complete necrosis or loss of flap, the free flap success rate was as much as 100%. The need for re-exploration occurred in 3 patients (10%). Only in one patient the need for re-exploration was due to problem in venous blood flow. Conclusion The aspirin-enoxaparin short-term protocol may be a good choice after free flap transfer in reconstruction of head and neck surgical defects