Revealing route bias in air transport data : the case of the Bureau of Transport Statistics (BTS), Origin-Destination Survey (DB1B)

status: publishe

Planning for nodes, places and people in Flanders and Brussels : developing an empirical railway station assessment model for strategic decision-making

Against the backdrop of current policy discussions in Flanders dealing with urban development schemes for strategic railway stations, this paper develops an empirical railway station assessment tool. We build on the node-place modeling literature, and more specifically on the tradition of empirical station assessment models that has emerged from it. First, we propose a number of methodological contributions in which we aim to improve the analytical strength of some standard node-place parameters, to expand the model with a user-based accessibility account and to broaden the appraisal of a station's accessibility with a temporal component. Second, we apply the conceptual model to Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). Drawing on factor and cluster analysis, we produce two intelligible station typologies for both the node-place and user-based data. Both typologies are interpreted and complemented with station-specific rose diagrams, summarizing a station's accessibility profile. These diagrams inform about station-specific accessibility characteristics, some of which are not captured by conventional node-place analyses. Lastly, we elaborate on five exemplary cases and illustrate what the results of these analyses may mean for planning practice

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Spatio-temporal dynamics in airport catchment areas : the case of the New York Multi Airport Region

Using the example of domestic connections departing from the New York Metropolitan Area, this paper contributes to research on airports' catchment areas in Multi Airport Regions by exploring their spatio-temporal dynamics. Given that previous research has consistently shown that airport accessibility and different elements of airport utility (fare, connectivity characteristics, on-time performance) are key drivers of airport choice, we draw the analogy with Huff models to calculate airport attractiveness to passengers in different census block groups. We marshal data sources that allow for an assessment of the spatio-temporal variability in the accessibility and utility of airports, which allows us to compare catchment areas for different times of the day, days of the week, and quarters of the year, and this for different utilities as well as overall utility. Results reveal different types of dynamics, and can be used as the input to follow-up research. We argue that such a model-based approach holds major potential in comparative research and research on MAR dynamics, but should be finetuned through the use of other information sources, refined model specifications, and state preference data

SKYNET : an R package for generating air passenger networks for urban studies

There is a long tradition of urban studies invoking air transport data either for tackling the city/air transport-nexus head on (e.g. in research on the causality between urban-economic development and air transport connectivity) or as a secondary data source (e.g. in research mapping city networks). However, air transport statistics rarely come in a format that allows for their immediate scrutiny in light of the research questions at hand, so that handling and transforming these data often involves both practical challenges and considerable effort. Against this backdrop, this article introduces 'SKYNET', a flexible R package that allows generating bespoke air transport statistics for urban studies based on publicly available data from the Bureau of Transport Statistics (BTS) in the United States. The basic elements of the package are explained, after which we demonstrate its usefulness by showing its potential for addressing research questions emerging in the literatures on 1) evolving urban landscapes of air travel accessibility, and 2) differences in intercity air transport networks by scale, types and season. We argue that this R package has the potential to become the backbone of a range of easily navigable tools overcoming some of the main methodological challenges researchers face when handling complex airline data in an urban context

Survey on Non-Human Primates and Mosquitoes Does not Provide Evidences of Spillover/Spillback between the Urban and Sylvatic Cycles of Yellow Fever and Zika Viruses Following Severe Outbreaks in Southeast Brazil

International audienceIn the last decade, Flaviviruses such as yellow fever (YFV) and Zika (ZIKV) have expanded their transmission areas. These viruses originated in Africa, where they exhibit both sylvatic and interhuman transmission cycles. In Brazil, the risk of YFV urbanization has grown, with the sylvatic transmission approaching the most densely populated metropolis, while concern about ZIKV spillback to a sylvatic cycle has risen. To investigate these health threats, we carried out extensive collections and arbovirus screening of 144 free-living, non-human primates (NHPs) and 5219 mosquitoes before, during, and after ZIKV and YFV outbreaks (2015–2018) in southeast Brazil. ZIKV infection was not detected in any NHP collected at any time. In contrast, current and previous YFV infections were detected in NHPs sampled between 2017 and 2018, but not before the onset of the YFV outbreak. Mosquito pools screened by high-throughput PCR were positive for YFV when captured in the wild and during the YFV outbreak, but were negative for 94 other arboviruses, including ZIKV, regardless of the time of collection. In conclusion, there was no evidence of YFV transmission in coastal southeast Brazil before the current outbreak, nor the spread or establishment of an independent sylvatic cycle of ZIKV or urban Aedes aegypti transmission of YFV in the region. In view of the region’s receptivity and vulnerability to arbovirus transmission, surveillance of NHPs and mosquitoes should be strengthened and continuous

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved