Connection Dispatching - an Algorithmic and Visual Support for the Dispatcher

Securing connections in public transport is a mean to raise travellers' satisfaction and make their trips more convenient. Nevertheless, securing connections affects the trips of other travellers and therefore is not always the best solution regarding the complex train network.Thus, dispatching connecting trains is a complex task that demands special knowledge about the railway network, travellers, local situations and conditions, the schedule, rolling stock circulations, employees' duty rosters and rules concerning the dispatching process. Furthermore, the topic becomes more relevant recently as the traffic on European railway networks grows more complex whilst the demand for a proper connection dispatching on the part of travellers as well as the authorities rises. To further improve this complex task, a decision support for the dispatcher is desirable. We focus on methods to (visually) support the dispatcher in his daily work. A mean to achieve a better connection dispatching is the detection and display of conflicts. Detected conflicts are evaluated and prioritized. With the results of these processes, the connection conflicts are displayed in a proper and easy-to-catch way. Furthermore, we are investigating ways to automate conflict resolution routine processes. Here, many side conditions regarding the German railway's system of rules have to be taken into account. Also, we consider the whole dispatching process including the rejection of a connection and referencing to alternative possibilities for a connection request. The developed solution is tested in the Railway Operations Centre Darmstadt. Possible improvements are verified in cooperation with the (connection) dispatcher to assure an acceptance of the developed tools by the future user. The results of our research are designed such that algorithms can be directly implemented in the productive system of the German railway dispatching environment

Mapping the Knowledge on Coping Processes in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the malignant diseases with the highest cancer-specific mortality. At the time of diagnosis, life expectancy is often already very limited, as it is usually discovered late and in an advanced stage. Coping with cancer is a complex process. Coping strategies of patients with pancreatic cancer probably differ from those of other malignancies. Yet to date, there exists no pancreatic cancer-specific coping model. Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to explore and characterize the academic literature related to coping processes in patients with pancreatic cancer. Methods/Design: The JBI's three-step search strategy, combined with the Arksey and O'Malley framework, will be used to identify articles via PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CAMbase, CareLit, CC Med, Scopus, and PsycARTICLES (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005; Peters et al., 2017). It follows the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews (Tricco et al., 2018). Primary and secondary studies and reviews which report on coping with pancreatic cancer (adenocarcinoma) in adults in English or German language will be included in this scoping review, regardless of publication date or study design. Discussion: This scoping review will add new insights on coping with pancreatic cancer by summarizing current knowledge, and identifying research&nbsp

Information Exchange for Connection Dispatching

Travellers in public transport today expect current, precise and individual information. Existing systems have different approaches to provide this information. Most of them use proprietary exchange formats as existing standardized interfaces do not fulfil all needs. The German standardization project IP-KOM-OeV develops an interface that fulfils focuses on a service which allows to inform the traveller about his connections but also to inform the transportation companies about the travellers’ planned connections. The latter can have a direct impact on the operations when the connection demands are taken into consideration for the connection dispatching. We will present the results of the standardization project regarding the connection service and show how this service can be used by transportation companies to improve connection dispatching

Practical Eduacation of Young Academics for Railway Operation and Research

Education is one central aspect for winning and qualifying employees for railway operation and research. Most of the courses in this field are conventional organised by ex-cathedra teaching. Modern interactive forms of further education like business games or role-games are found. The advantage of these forms is that the participant can sample different roles, their relationship and the dependencies. Especially complex topics with different actors can be presented and sampled in this way very descriptively with the effect that the participants better understand and remind the topic. In this paper a business game for the topic planning and management of train paths is elaborated. This new seminar will replenish the existing educational program of the railway operation research centre which will be introduced at first

The impact of donor and recipient common clinical and genetic variation on estimated glomerular filtration rate in a European renal transplant population

Genetic variation across the HLA is known to influence renal‐transplant outcome. However, the impact of genetic variation beyond the HLA is less clear. We tested the association of common genetic variation and clinical characteristics, from both the donor and recipient, with post‐transplant eGFR at different time‐points, out to 5‐years post‐transplantation. We conducted GWAS meta‐analyses across 10,844 donors and recipients from five European ancestry cohorts. We also analysed the impact of polygenic risk scores (PRS), calculated using genetic variants associated with non‐transplant eGFR, on post‐transplant eGFR. PRS calculated using the recipient genotype alone, as well as combined donor and recipient genotypes were significantly associated with eGFR at 1‐year post‐transplant. 32% of the variability in eGFR at 1‐year post‐transplant was explained by our model containing clinical covariates (including weights for death/graft‐failure), principal components and combined donor‐recipient PRS, with 0.3% contributed by the PRS. No individual genetic variant was significantly associated with eGFR post‐transplant in the GWAS. This is the first study to examine PRS, composed of variants that impact kidney function in the general population, in a post‐transplant context. Despite PRS being a significant predictor of eGFR post‐transplant, the effect size of common genetic factors is limited compared to clinical variables

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

Angebotsabhängige Modellierung der reisezweckspezifischen Verkehrserzeugung und ihre Anwendung auf den städtischen Freizeitverkehr

The focus of this dissertation is the development and validation of a trip generation model. Its purpose is to calculate the trip rate measured as trips per person per day as well as the proportion of the population making at least one trip per day as a function of traffic supply and socio-economic and land use variables. Since the model has to accurately and realistically respond to changes in input variables, a special emphasis was placed on the detailed description of traffic supply. Walther's resistance model developed at the Institute of Transport Studies of the Aachen University of Technology was used a basis. The model includes 15 independent variables. A special characteristic of Walther's Resistance Model is that the independent variables are not directly entered into the model but rather as a separate non-linear function based on the human perception of the effects of each supply variable. The first step consists of the development of a decision algorithm. The method used was deductive without the help of travel surveys. Note that the usual method to develop travel behaviour models is inductive, whereby the basic functional form of the model is assumed or "guessed" a priori. For the deductive method used in this dissertation self-evident facts about travel behaviour are quantified. Furthermore values of the desired functions at the limits of the domain were determined. With the help of differential equations and differential inequalities the complete functional form of the new model could be derived mathematically. In the next step routines were developed to determine supply characteristics (especially for parking and bike traffic) germane to each study area without the need for costly surveys. From a methodological standpoint these routines form the indispensable basis for the validation of the trip generation model. The consistent determination of supply characteristics is very important for the accuracy of supply driven travel demand calculations. For the third step, the validation of the theoretically derived trip generation model, both travel survey results from 20 cities in Germany and resistances calculated based on the methods developed in step 2 were employed. Before validation the calculated resistances were checked for reasonableness. This was done with the help of previously mentioned travel surveys and publicly available aggregate data (distribution of trip length, mode split, etc.). These checks together with a regression analysis for model validation confirmed the accurateness of the model over a wide range of input values. By being able to model the trip rate as a function of supply characteristics it became possible to quantify induced demand. Each change in trip generation is identical to positively or negatively induced demand. The validation of the trip generation model was first performed using all urban trips. As an additional emphasis of the dissertation the transferability of the model to certain market segments was studied. In an exemplary fashion the applicability of the model to leisure trips was researched. For this the methods to calculate the travel supply characteristics had to be further developed. That made it possible to validate the model for this particular market segment