The Maraca: a tool for minimizing resource conflicts in a non-periodic railway timetable

While mathematical optimization and operations research receive growing attention in the railway sector, computerized timetabling tools that actually make significant use of optimization remain relatively rare. SICS has developed a prototype tool for non-periodic timetabling that minimizes resource conflicts, enabling the user to focus on the strategic decisions. The prototype is called the Maraca and has been used and evaluated during the railway timetabling construction phase at the Swedish Transport Administration between April and September 2010

Opportunities and challenges with new railway planning approach in Sweden

Long lead times in railway planning can give rise to a significant discrepancy between the original plan and the traffic eventually operated, resulting in inefficient utilization of capacity. Research shows that the railway sector in Sweden would benefit from a different planning approach in which capacity consuming decisions are pushed forward in time whenever possible. This approach is currently being implemented at Trafikverket, the Swedish Transport Administration. With it follows a number of mathematical opportunities and challenges, some of which will be presented in this paper

On the delivery robustness of train timetables with respect to production replanning possibilities

Measuring timetable robustness is a complex task. Previous efforts have mainly been focused on simulation studies or measurements of time supplements. However, these measurements don't capture the production flexibility of a timetable, which is essential for measuring the robustness with regard to the trains' commercial activity commitments, and also for merging the goals of robustness and efficiency. In this article we differentiate between production timetables and delivery timetables. A production timetable contains all stops, meetings and switch crossings, while a delivery timetable only contains stops for commercial activities. If a production timetable is constructed such that it can easily be replanned to cope with delays without breaking any commercial activity commitments it provides delivery robustness without compromising travel efficiency. Changing meeting locations is one of the replanning tools available during operation, and this paper presents a new framework for heuristically optimising a given production timetable with regard to the number of alternative meeting locations. Mixed integer programming is used to find two delivery feasible production solutions, one early and one late. The area between the two solutions represents alternative meeting locations and therefore also the replanning enabled robustness. A case study from Sweden demonstrates how the method can be used to develop better production timetables

Digitala tjänster för co-modal trafiksynkronisering i Göta älv-området

Detta dokument sammanfattar det som har framkommit under en mindre förstudie inom ramen för projektet "Utveckling av innovativa, kundorienterade IT-baserade järnvägstjänster". Målet med förstudien var att undersöka dagens förutsättningar för att synkronisera co-modala skärningspunkter, med broöppningar som konkret exempel. Studien har tittat på vilken information som påverkar beslut om broöppningar med avsikt att kunna ge en indikation på vilka mekanismer och vilken information som skulle behövas från Trafikverkets perspektiv för att möjliggöra smidigare broöppningar för sjöfarten. Den faktor som enligt förstudien påverkar broöppningsmöjligheterna mest är bristen på tydliga riktlinjer för hur olika trafikslag ska prioriteras

Serum levels of oxylipins in achilles tendinopathy: An exploratory study

Background: Linoleic acid-derived oxidation products are found in experimental pain models. However, little is known about the levels of such oxylipins in human pain. In consequence, in the present study, we have undertaken a lipidomic profiling of oxylipins in blood serum from patients with Achilles tendinopathy and controls. Methodology/Principal findings: A total of 34 oxylipins were analysed in the serum samples. At a significance level of P<0.00147 (<0.05/34), two linoleic acid-derived oxylipins, 13-hydroxy-10E,12Z-octadecadienoic (13-HODE) and 12(13)-dihydroxy-9Z-octadecenoic acid (12,13-DiHOME) were present at significantly higher levels in the Achilles tendinopathy samples. This difference remained significant when the dataset was controlled for age, gender and body-mass index. In contrast, 0/21 of the arachidonic acid- and 0/4 of the dihomo-γ-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid or docosahenaenoic acid-derived oxylipins were higher in the patient samples at this level of significance. The area under the Receiver-Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve for 12,13-DiHOME was 0.91 (P<0.0001). Levels of four N-acylethanolamines were also analysed and found not to be significantly different between the controls and the patients at the level of P<0.0125 (<0.05/4). Conclusions/Significance: It is concluded from this exploratory study that abnormal levels of linoleic acid-derived oxylipins are seen in blood serum from patients with Achilles tendinopathy. Given the ability of two of these, 9- and 13-HODE to activate transient receptor potential vanilloid 1, it is possible that these changes may contribute to the symptoms seen in Achilles tendinopathy

Computation of Capacity on Railway Networks

Banverket, the Swedish National Rail Administration, is interested in the development of a standard regarding how to assess capacity on railway networks. Jan Ekman and Per Kreuger at SICS AB propose that capacity on a section of a railway network for a specific traffic pattern can be assessed by computing its cycle time. This report covers an account of my implementation of Ekman and Kreuger's cycle time algorithm. It also describes my suggestion of an algorithm that transforms an intuitive representation of a traffic pattern to a graph that can be used as input to the cycle time algorithm. My major contribution to the project is to facilitate the computation of the cycle time of a traffic pattern by having designed a bridge between the description of a traffic pattern and the format suitable for Ekman and Kreuger's algorithm. The execution of these two tasks are important for an eventual continuation of the main project. My results constitute an important piece in a work that has the potential of making a real difference in the way in which capacity related issues in this field are handled

Conceptualizing an interface for an oral risk assessment decision support system

The objective of this study was to provide directions for further development of a caries risk assessment tool to be used by dentists in their daily work, with focus on the user experience. The tool itself is a clinical decision support system (CDSS) which is a system that help clinicians diagnose their patients. When designing any system that humans are going to interact with, we consider the users’ mental models which is the way in which they interpret and act in the world around them. We also utilize established usability heuristics, such as Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, because no matter how different we are as individuals, we still have some things in common. A formative evaluation was conducted for this study, including user interviews, two prototypes and user testing. The interviews provided insights and knowledge about current tools being used, users’ workflow and opinions which served as a basis for the development of a low fidelity (lo-fi) prototype. Feedback from the user testing of the lo-fi prototype contributed in the development of a high fidelity (hi-fi) prototype which was also user tested and measured a System Usablility Score of 77 out of 100, corresponding to a rating of good. The findings implicated that by adhering to established usability principles and practices we can design a concept of a risk assessment tool to be used within dentistry. Users also showed more concerns about the usefulness of the of the tool rather than the usability, suggesting a dissonance in addressing the purpose of the tool amongst stakeholders

Conceptualizing an interface for an oral risk assessment decision support system

The objective of this study was to provide directions for further development of a caries risk assessment tool to be used by dentists in their daily work, with focus on the user experience. The tool itself is a clinical decision support system (CDSS) which is a system that help clinicians diagnose their patients. When designing any system that humans are going to interact with, we consider the users’ mental models which is the way in which they interpret and act in the world around them. We also utilize established usability heuristics, such as Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, because no matter how different we are as individuals, we still have some things in common. A formative evaluation was conducted for this study, including user interviews, two prototypes and user testing. The interviews provided insights and knowledge about current tools being used, users’ workflow and opinions which served as a basis for the development of a low fidelity (lo-fi) prototype. Feedback from the user testing of the lo-fi prototype contributed in the development of a high fidelity (hi-fi) prototype which was also user tested and measured a System Usablility Score of 77 out of 100, corresponding to a rating of good. The findings implicated that by adhering to established usability principles and practices we can design a concept of a risk assessment tool to be used within dentistry. Users also showed more concerns about the usefulness of the of the tool rather than the usability, suggesting a dissonance in addressing the purpose of the tool amongst stakeholders

”… för att leva oss in i ett barns perspektiv går vi ned på knä vid dörröppningen och så tänker vi, vad ser vi? …” : En kvalitativ studie om barns delaktighet och inflytande i förhållande till lärandemiljön

Syftet med studien var att bidra med kunskap om hur förskollärare ser på och arbetar med att alla barn i förskolan ska få inflytande och delaktighet i utformandet av den fysiska lärandemiljön på avdelningen. Vi har undersökt hur förskollärare tolkar barns delaktighet och inflytande utifrån läroplansuppdraget, hur förskollärare arbetar med barns inflytande och delaktighet i relation till den fysiska lärandemiljön samt vilka utmaningar och hinder som kan identifieras i det pedagogiska arbetet med barns inflytande och delaktighet på avdelningen. Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med fem verksamma förskollärare och fem observationer på deras avdelningar. Resultatet visar att inflytande och delaktighet är ett komplext begrepp som har olika tolkningar beroende på vilken barnsyn det betraktas utifrån. Samtliga förskollärare menade emellertid att det är viktigt att ta på sig glasögon som hjälper att förstå hur barn ser sin omvärld. Dokumentation är ett viktigt verktyg för att identifiera det som barnen intresserar sig för i den fysiska lärandemiljön. Studien visade även på att planeringstiden för förskollärarna var begränsad vilket resulterade i ett flertal utmaningar i arbetet med barns inflytande och delaktighet i relation till den fysiska lärandemiljön. En viktig slutsats utifrån studiens resultat är att förskollärarna har som ambition att utgå från barns intressen i det pedagogiska innehållet, men ramfaktorerna begränsar och hindrar deras arbete

Relatives’ experiences of support in palliative home care : A literature review

Bakgrund: Närstående har en viktig roll i den palliativa vården då många svårt sjuka personer i livets slutskede har en önskan om att vårdas och dö i hemmet. I och med att de närstående får ett stort ansvar kan deras hälsa påverkas och det är därför viktigt att de får stöd i den situation som de befinner sig i. Den palliativa vården består av fyra hörnstenar där närståendestöd är en av dem. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva vad närstående upplever som stöd när de vårdar en person i livets slutskede. Metod: Metoden var en litteraturöversikt. 14 artiklar hämtades i databaserna Cinahl Complete, MEDLINE with Full Text och Nursing and Allied Health Source. Artiklarna analyserades och likheter och skillnader identifierades för att få fram olika teman. Resultat: Fyra huvudteman identifierades utifrån analysen: Upplevelse av stöd från den palliativa hemsjukvårdens organisation, Upplevelse av stöd från vårdpersonal, Upplevelse av stöd i grupp och Upplevelse av stöd från familj och vänner. I huvudtemat Upplevelse av stöd från vårdpersonal identifierades fem underteman: Att skapa relationer, Delat ansvar och avlastning, Att bli sedd och bekräftad, Behov av information för upplevelsen av stöd och Vikten av kontinuitet. Resultatet redovisar vad de närstående upplever som stöd. Diskussion: Med Meleis transitionsteori som teoretisk referensram har resultatet diskuterats mot litteraturöversiktens bakgrund och annan relevant litteratur. Det är viktigt att sjuksköterskan uppmärksammar de närståendes individuella behov och därefter utformar ett lämpligt stöd. Sjuksköterskan har en viktig roll i att skapa förtroendefulla relationer. Hon ska också vägleda och stötta de närstående så att de kan hantera situationen som de befinner sig i.Background: Relatives play an important role in the palliative care when many people with severe illness have a desire to be cared for and die at home. The relatives’ health may be affected and it is important that they receive support in this situation. Palliative care consists of four cornerstones and support for relatives is one of them. Aim: The aim was to describe what relatives experience as support when they care for a person in end of life. Method: The method was a literature review. 14 articles were retrieved in the databases Cinahl Complete, MEDLINE with Full Text and Nursing and Allied Health Source. The articles were analyzed and similarities and differences were identified in order to form different themes. Results: Four main themes were identified from the analysis: Experience of support from the palliative home care organisation, Experience of support from care staff, Experience of support in a group and Experience of support from family and friends. In the main theme Experience of support from care staff five sub-themes were identified: To create relationships, Shared responsibility and relief of burden, To be seen and affirmed, The need of information for the experience of support and The importance of continuity. The result reports what the relatives experience as support. Discussion: With Meleis transition theory as a theoretical framework the result has been discussed towards the background of the literature review and other relevant literature. It is important that the nurse observes the relatives’ individual needs and creates the appropriate support. The nurse has an important role in creating trusting relationships. She should also guide and support the relatives to handle their situation