DESIGN OF A STATED RANKING EXPERIMENT TO STUDY INTERACTIVE FREIGHT BEHAVIOUR: AN APPLICATION TO ROME'S LTZ

City logistics policies require an understanding of several issues (e.g. freight distribution context, preferences and relationship among agents) seldom accounted for in current research. Policies run the risk of producing unsatisfactory results because behavioural and contextual aspects are not considered. The acquisition of relevant data is crucial to test hypothesis and forecast agents' reactions to policy changes. Despite recent methodological advances in modelling interactive behaviour the development of apt survey instruments is still lacking to test innovative policies acceptability. This paper expands and innovate the methodological literature by describing a stated ranking experiment to study freight agent interactive behaviour and discusses the experimental design implemented to incorporate agent-specific priors when efficient design techniques are employed.urban freight distribution, group decision making, agent-specific interaction, stated preference, stated ranking experiments

Development and distribution of the non-indigenous Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in the Dutch Wadden Sea

Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) were first observed in the Dutch Wadden Sea near Texel in 1983. The population increased slowly in the beginning but grew exponentially from the mid-1990s onwards, although now some stabilisation seems to be occurring. They occur on a variety of substrates such as mussel beds (Mytilus edulis), shell banks, dikes and poles. After initial settlement spat may fall on older individuals and congregate to dense clumps and subsequently form reefs. Individual Pacific oysters grow 3–4 cm long in their first year and 2–3 cm in their second year. Many mussel beds (Mytilus edulis) are slowly taken over by Pacific oysters, but there are also several reports of mussel spat settling on Pacific oyster reefs. This might in the end result in combined reefs. Successful Pacific oyster spat fall seems to be related to high summer temperatures, but also after mild summers much spat can be found on old (Pacific oyster) shells. Predation is of limited importance. Mortality factors are unknown, but every now and then unexplained mass mortality occurs. The gradual spread of the Pacific oyster in the Dutch Wadden Sea is documented in the first instance based on historical and anecdotal information. At the start of the more in-depth investigation in 2002, Pacific oysters of all size classes were already present near Texel. Near Ameland the development could be followed from the first observed settlement. On dense reefs each square metre may contain more than 500 adult Pacific oysters, weighing more than 100 kg per m² fresh weigh

Some extended Pareto Type I distributions

Probability distributions are essential in data modeling. Introduction of parameter(s) into existing probability distributions is a method of extending or generalizing distributions to produce more flexible distributions and for better fit to data. The Pareto type 1 distribution (PT1) is a right skewed continuous distribution originally used in description of wealth and income but also used for modeling other right skewed data. To add flexibility, Pareto type 1 distribution was extended by introducing parameter(s) into its probability distribution to accommodate more types of data. Some functions of the extended Pareto type 1 distributions were derived using five parameter induction methods. Flexibility of extended distributions was demonstrated through comparisons of density and hazard function shapes of some of the extended distributions with those of the PT1. Further study on properties of non-existing extended Pareto Type I distributions and real-life applications are recommended

A pilot study on the e-kayak system: A wireless DAQ suited for performance analysis in flatwater sprint kayaks

Nowadays, in modern elite sport, the identification of the best training strategies which are useful in obtaining improvements during competitions requires an accurate measure of the physiologic and biomechanical parameters that affect performance. The goal of this pilot study was to investigate the capabilities of the e-Kayak system, a multichannel digital acquisition system specifically tailored for flatwater sprint kayaking application. e-Kayak allows the synchronous measure of all the parameters involved in kayak propulsion, both dynamic (including forces acting on the paddle and footrest) and kinematic (including stroke frequency, displacement, velocity, acceleration, roll, yaw, and pitch of the boat). After a detailed description of the system, we investigate its capability in supporting coaches to evaluate the performance of elite athletes\u2019 trough-specific measurements. This approach allows for a better understanding of the paddler\u2019s motion and the relevant effects on kayak behavior. The system allows the coach to carry out a wide study of kayak propulsion highlighting, and, at the same time, the occurrences of specific technical flaws in the paddling technique. In order to evaluate the correctness of the measurement results acquired in this pilot study, these results were compared with others which are available in the literature and which were obtained from subjects with similar characteristics

Age-dependent modifications of AMPA receptor subunit expression levels and related cognitive effects in 3xTg-AD mice

GluA1, GluA2, GluA3, and GluA4 are the constitutive subunits of amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs), the major mediators of fast excitatory transmission in the mammalian central nervous system. Most AMPARs are Ca2+-impermeable because of the presence of the GluA2 subunit. GluA2 mRNA undergoes an editing process that results in a Q-R substitution, a key factor in the regulation of AMPAR Ca2+-permeability. AMPARs lacking GluA2 or containing the unedited subunit are permeable to Ca2+and Zn2+. The phenomenon physiologically modulates synaptic plasticity while, in pathologic conditions, leads to increased vulnerability to excitotoxic neuronal death. Given the importance of these subunits, we have therefore evaluated possible associations between changes in expression levels of AMPAR subunits and development of cognitive deficits in 3xTg-AD mice, a widely investigated transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). With quantitative real-time PCR analysis, we assayed hippocampal mRNA expression levels of GluA1-4 subunits occurring in young [3 months of age (m.o.a.)] and old (12 m.o.a) Tg-AD mice and made comparisons with levels found in age-matched wild type (WT) mice. Efficiency of GluA2 RNA editing was also analyzed. All animals were cognitively tested for learning short- and long-term spatial memory with the Morris Water Maze (MWM) navigation task. 3xTg-AD mice showed age-dependent decreases of mRNA levels for all the AMPAR subunits, with the exception of GluA2. Editing remained fully efficient with aging in 3xTg-AD and WT mice. A one-to-one correlation analysis between MWM performances and GluA1-4 mRNA expression profiles showed negative correlations between GluA2 levels and MWM performances in young 3xTg-AD mice. On the contrary, positive correlations between GluA2 mRNA and MWM performances were found in young WT mice. Our data suggest that increases of AMPARs that contain GluA1, GluA3, and GluA4 subunits may help in maintaining cognition in pre-symptomatic 3xTg-AD mice.© 2014 Cantanelli, Sperduti, Ciavardelli, Stuppia, Gatta and Sensi

Elastic behavior and pressure-induced structural modifications of the microporous Ca(VO)Si4O10·4H2O dimorphs cavansite and pentagonite

The behavior of natural microporous cavansite and pentagonite, orthorhombic dimorphs of Ca(VO) (Si4O10)x4H2O, was studied at high pressure by means of in situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction with a diamond anvil cell using two different pressure-transmitting fluids: methanol:ethanol: water = 16:3:1 (m.e.w.) and silicone oil (s.o.). In situ diffraction-data on a cavansite sample were collected up to 8.17(5) GPa in m.e.w, and up to 7.28(5) GPa in s.o. The high-pressure structure evolution was studied on the basis of structural refinements at 1.08(5), 3.27(5) and 6.45(5) GPa. The compressional behavior is strongly anisotropic. When the sample is compressed in s.o. from Pamb to 7.28(5) GPa, the volume contraction is 12.2%, whereas a, b and c decrease by 1.6%, 10.3% and 0.3%, respectively. The main deformation mechanisms at high-pressure are basically driven by variation of the T\u2013O\u2013T angles. Powder diffraction data on a pentagonite sample were collected up to 8.26(5) GPa in m.e.w and 8.35(5) GPa in s.o. Additional single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments were performed in m.e.w. up to 2.04(5) GPa. In both cases, pressure-induced over-hydration was observed in m.e.w. at high pressure. The penetration of a new H2O molecule leads to a stiffening effect of the whole structure. Moreover, between 2.45(5) and 2.96(5) GPa in m.e.w., a phase transition from an orthorhombic to a triclinic phase was observed. In s.o. pentagonite also transformed to a triclinic phase above 1.71(5) GPa. The overall compressibility of pentagonite and cavansite in s.o. is comparable, with a volume contraction of 11.6% and 12.2%, respectively

Immunotherapeutic efficacy of retargeted ohsvs designed for propagation in an ad hoc cell line

Our laboratory has pursued the generation of cancer‐specific oncolytic herpes simplex viruses (oHSVs) which ensure high efficacy while maintaining a high safety profile. Their blueprint included retargeting to a Tumor‐Associated Antigen, e.g., HER2, coupled to detargeting from natural receptors to avoid off‐target and off‐tumor infections and preservation of the full complement of unmodified viral genes. These oHSVs are “fully virulent in their target cancer cells”. The 3rd generation retargeted oHSVs carry two distinct retargeting moieties, which enable infection of a producer cell line and of the target cancer cells, respectively. They can be propagated in an ad hoc Vero cell derivative at about tenfold higher yields than 1st generation recombinants, and more effectively replicate in human cancer cell lines. The R‐335 and R‐337 prototypes were armed with murine IL‐12. Intratumorally‐administered R‐337 conferred almost complete protection from LLC‐ 1‐HER2 primary tumors, unleashed the tumor microenvironment immunosuppression, synergized with the checkpoint blockade and conferred long‐term vaccination against distant challenge tumors. In summary, the problem intrinsic to the propagation of retargeted oHSVs—which strictly require cells positive for targeted receptors—was solved in 3rd generation viruses. They are effective as immunotherapeutic agents against primary tumors and as antigen‐agnostic vaccines