Search Results (216)

To address the substantial disparities in operational characteristics between social vehicles and dedicated bus lanes, as well as the sub-optimal coordination control effects, a comprehensive approach is proposed. This approach integrates social vehicle arterial coordination with bus priority control in dedicated bus lanes. Initially, an analysis of the differences in travel time distribution on both types of roads is conducted. The likelihood of buses passing through upstream and downstream intersections without stopping is also assessed. This analysis aids in determining the correlated traffic states and the corresponding signal adjustment strategies for arterial coordination. Subsequently, an incentive mechanism is established by quantitatively analyzing vehicle delay losses and bus priority benefits based on the signal adjustment strategy. Finally, a deep reinforcement learning framework is proposed to solve, in real-time, the optimal signal adjustment strategy. Simulation experiments indicate that, in comparison to the arterial coordination of social vehicles and dedicated bus arterial coordination control, this method significantly reduces the average per capita delay by 38.63% and 27.43%, respectively, under conventional traffic flow scenarios. This is in contrast to the separate arterial coordination for social vehicles and dedicated bus lanes. Furthermore, it leads to a reduction of 52.17% in the number of bus stops at intersections when compared solely with the arterial coordination of social vehicles. In saturated traffic flow scenarios, this method achieves a reduction in average per capita delay by 29.7% and 9.6%, respectively, while also decreasing the number of bus stops at intersections by 39.5% and 8.7%, respectively. Full article

As urban traffic systems become increasingly complex, traditional traffic data collection methods based on fixed detectors face challenges such as poor data quality and acquisition difficulties. Traditional methods also lack the ability to capture complete vehicle path information essential for signal optimization. While vehicle trajectory data can provide rich spatiotemporal information, its sampling characteristics present new technical challenges for traffic parameter extraction. This study addresses the key issue of extracting traffic parameters suitable for signal timing optimization from sampled trajectory data by proposing a comprehensive method for traffic parameter extraction and analysis based on vehicle trajectory data. The method comprises five modules: data preprocessing, basic feature processing, exploratory data analysis, key feature extraction, and data visualization. An innovative algorithm is proposed to identify which intersections vehicles pass through, effectively solving the challenge of mapping GPS points to road network nodes. A dual calculation method based on instantaneous speed and time difference is adopted, improving parameter estimation accuracy through multi-source data fusion. A highly automated processing toolchain based on Python and MATLAB is developed. The method advances the state of the art through a novel polygon-based trajectory mapping algorithm and a systematic multi-source parameter extraction framework specifically designed for signal control optimization. Validation using actual trajectory data containing 2.48 million records successfully eliminated 30.80% redundant data and accurately identified complete paths for 7252 vehicles. The extracted multi-dimensional parameters, including link flow, average speed, travel time, and OD matrices, accurately reflect network operational status, identifying congestion hotspots, tidal traffic characteristics, and unstable road segments. The research outcomes provide a feasible technical solution for areas lacking traditional detection equipment. The extracted parameters can directly support signal optimization applications such as traffic signal coordination, timing optimization, and congestion management, providing crucial support for implementing data-driven intelligent traffic control. This research presents a theoretical framework validated with real-world data, providing a foundation for future implementation in operational signal control systems. Full article

The extension of high-speed rail (HSR) lines around the world is increasing. The largest network today is in China, followed by Spain, Japan, France, and Italy; currently, new lines are being built in Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The goal of the new lines built is to drastically reduce the time distances between the extreme railway terminals by intervening on the two main components of time: space and speed. The two components have been investigated in various fields of engineering for design conditions (ex ante/a priori). In the literature, there is no analysis of what happened in the realization of the projects (ex post/retrospective). The research problem that arises is to analyze the high-speed lines built in order to verify, given a pair of extreme terminals, how much the length is reduced by passing from a conventional line to a high-speed line, and to verify how this length is getting closer and closer to the distance as the crow flies. The reduction of spatial distance produces direct connections between two territories, making the railway system (HSR) more competitive compared to other transport alternatives (e.g., air travel). To address the problem posed, information and data are collected on European HSR lines, which constitute a sufficiently homogeneous set in terms of railway and structural standards. The planimetric characteristics of specially built lines such as HSR are examined. A test method is proposed, consisting of a model that is useful to compare the length along the HSR line, with direct lengths, and existing conventional lines. The results obtained from the elaborations offer a first answer to the problem posed, demonstrating that in the HSR lines realized the spatial distances approach the distance as the crow flies between the cities located at the extremes, and are always shorter than the lengths of conventional lines. The final indications that can be drawn concern the possibility of using the results obtained as a reference for decision-makers and planners involved in the transport planning process at national and international level. Future research directions should study the values of the indicators in other large HSR networks, such as those built in Asia, and more generally study all the elements of the lines specially built to allow better sustainable planning, reducing the negative elements found and increasing the positive ones. Full article

In this study, we analysed remote sensing data collected during the Beirut port explosion on 4 August 2020 at 15.08 UT. For this purpose, we selected three Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite missions that passed near the Beirut port explosion site immediately after the event. The satellites involved were Swarm-B, the Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP-F17), and the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-2). This study focused on identifying the possible ionospheric signatures of explosion in both hemispheres. The conjugate hemispheric points were traced using the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) model. We found that the satellite data revealed disturbances not only over the explosion site in the Northern Hemisphere, but also in its corresponding conjugate region in the Southern Hemisphere. Ionospheric electron density disturbances were observed poleward in the conjugate hemispheres along the paths of the Swarm and DMSP satellites, whereas the magnetic field data from Swarm-B showed both equatorward and poleward disturbances. Additionally, the ionospheric disturbances detected by Swarm-B (18:52 UT) and DMSP-F17 (16:30 UT) at the same location suggested travelling ionospheric disturbance (TID) oscillations with identical spatial patterns for both satellites, whereas the disturbances observed by COSMIC-2 south of the explosion site (10°N) indicated the radial propagation of TIDs. COSMIC-2 not only recorded equatorward topside (>550 km) ionospheric electron density disturbances, but also in the conjugate hemispheres, which aligns with the time frame reported in previous studies. These ionospheric features observed by multiple LEO satellites indicate that the detected signatures originated from the event, highlighting the importance of integrating space missions for monitoring and gaining deeper insight into space hazards. The absence of equatorward ionospheric disturbances at the altitudes of DMSP-F17 and Swarm-B warrant further investigation. Full article

Accepting the premise that sociocultural anthropology is colonialist and Audre Lorde’s maxim that the master’s tools cannot remake the master’s house, I consider the value of a tool from outside the master’s house to reconstruct sociocultural anthropology. Intersectionality, variously known as a theory, a lens, or a metaphor, is rooted in U.S. Black women’s abolitionism of the mid-nineteenth century, which argued that rights-seeking efforts framed out Black women. The 1970s and 1980s brought increased attention, especially from Black American feminists, to the multiplying effects of the intersections of race, gender, and class. In 1989, the term intersectionality first appeared in print, and a theory was named. Since then, many fields of study and activism have embraced intersectionality. Edward Said posited that radical theories lose their edge when they travel outside their original context. I explore intersectionality’s travels to sociocultural anthropology—its chronology, advocates, and transformations. Although barely visible in much of sociocultural anthropology’s Whitestream, intersectionality has gained not only in numbers but also a stronger voice since its first published appearance in 2001. Nearly two centuries have passed since intersectionality’s origins in U.S. enslavement, but interlocking conditions of inequality pervade the world today, nurturing intersectionality’s radical ethos in sociocultural anthropology. Full article

Additive manufacturing of metals is limited by a fundamental tradeoff between deposition rates and manufacturability of fine-scale features. To overcome this problem, a laser-ablated bound metal deposition (laBMD) process is demonstrated in which 3D-printed green-state bound metal deposition (BMD) parts are post-processed via laser ablation prior to conventional BMD debinding and sintering. The laBMD process is experimentally characterized via a full-factorial design of experiments to determine the effect of five factors—number of laser passes (one pass, three passes), laser power (25%, 75%), scanning speed (50%, 100%), direction of laser travel (perpendicular, parallel), and laser resolution (600 dpi, 1200 dpi)—on as-sintered ablated depth, surface roughness, width, and angle between ablated and non-ablated regions. The as-sintered ablation depth/pass ranged from 3 to 122 µm/pass, the ablated surface roughness ranged from 3 to 79 µm, the angle between ablated and non-ablated regions ranged from 1° to 68°, and ablated bottom widths ranged from 729 to 1254 µm. This study provides novel insights into as-manufactured ablated geometries and surface finishes produced via laser ablation of polymer–metallic composites. The ability to inexpensively and accurately manufacture fine-scale features with tailorable geometric tolerances and surface finishes is important to a variety of applications, such as manufacturing molds for microfluidic devices. Full article

Background/Objectives: Pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare and poorly understood disease. Patients and parents can have varying experiences including barriers to care, time to treatment, and treatments offered. Here, we report on patient experiences regarding their care of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. Methods: Two separate online parent support groups were invited to participate in a survey. The survey included questions that sought to collect patient demographics, history of rhabdomyosarcoma, treatment timelines, and barriers to care. Results: A total of 215 surveys were completed. The average time from diagnosis to treatment was 12 days (SD = 14). Only 26% were offered fertility preservation prior to treatment. For patients with recurrence, an average of 75 days passed between detection of recurrence and treatment re-initiation. Patients traveled to centers with a dedicated sarcoma program in 52% of the cases. A total of 42% of parents sought a second opinion. Of those, the majority had to wait between one week and one month to be seen by another expert. Conclusions: The data collected from the survey suggests there are several opportunities to improve care among patients with pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. Many patients may benefit from more efficient rhabdomyosarcoma referral networks, delivering patients to experts who can quickly begin multidisciplinary treatment. Full article

Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) in the Philippines were at the forefront of public health surveillance and response during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rapid spread of COVID-19 to Philippine cities, local government units continuously assessed, adapted, and implemented public health interventions (PHIs) and depended on available open-source government data (OSGD). This study consolidated PHIs in selected HUCs in the Philippines using high-quality OSGD to create a timeline of interventions and document good practices in local COVID-19 control. OSGD resources were collected from February 2020 to January 2023, and the data quality of OSGD was evaluated using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks. A total of 180 metadata sources that met at least two core standards (Authorship and Currency) were included in the analysis. COVID-19 control strategies were analyzed vis-à-vis the rise of COVID-19 cases and types of PHIs, including the control of imported cases, case management, contact management, behavioral modification, and pharmaceutical intervention. Travel bans and hard lockdowns in Luzon early in the pandemic delayed the introduction of COVID-19 to other parts of the country. Good practices of LGUs for local COVID-19 control, such as quarantine passes, curfews and liquor bans, using QR-based contact tracing, massive community testing in high-risk communities, and free public swabbing centers, were implemented to slow down the local spread of COVID-19. With the evolving scenarios in city-level COVID-19 epidemics, local risk assessments based on available OSGD drove the adoption of relevant and innovative control strategies in HUCs in the Philippines. Lessons learned must be integrated into epidemic preparedness and response programs against future emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases. Full article

To address the challenges of cross-city travel for different types of electric vehicles (EV) and to tackle the issue of rapid charging in regions with weak power grids, this paper presents a strategic approach for locating and sizing highway charging stations tailored to such grid limitations. Initially, considering the initial EV state of charge, a path-demand-based model for EV charging station location–allocation is proposed to optimize station numbers and enhance vehicle flow, which indicates the passing rate of vehicles. Subsequently, a capacity configuration model is formulated, integrating wind, photovoltaic, storage, and diesel generators to manage the stations’ load. This model introduces a new objective function, the annual comprehensive cost, encompassing installation, operation, maintenance, wind and solar curtailment, and diesel generation costs. Simulation examples on north-western cross-city highways validate the efficacy of this approach, showing that the proposed wind–solar storage fast-charging station site selection and capacity optimization model can effectively cater to diverse electric vehicle charging demands. Moreover, it achieves a 90% self-consistency rate during operation across various typical daily scenarios, ensuring a secure and economically viable operational performance. Full article

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) are widely deployed in smart factory environments, where efficient task assignment and path planning for agents can greatly enhance production efficiency. Existing algorithms usually ignore resource constraints, overly simplify the geometric shape of agents, and perform poorly in large-scale scenarios. In this paper, we propose a Multi-Factor Task Assignment and Adaptive Window Enhanced Conflict-Based Search (MTA-AWECBS) algorithm to solve these problems, which considers the resource constraints and volume of agents, improving the algorithm’s scalability and adaptability. In task assignment, a novel scheme is designed by considering distance cost, maximum travel distances, and maximum number of executable tasks. In path planning, we first propose a new mathematical description of global traffic congestion level. Based on this, an adaptive window is proposed to dynamically adjust the time horizon in the WECBS algorithm, improving search efficiency and solving the deadlock issue. Additionally, based on experimental observations, two optimization strategies are proposed to further improve operation efficiency. The experimental results show that MTA-AWECBS outperforms Token Passing (TP), Token Passing with Task Swaps (TPTSs), and Conflict-Based Steiner Search (CBSS) in handling a large number of tasks and agents, achieving an average $39\%$ reduction in timestep cost and an average $22\%$ reduction in total path cost. Full article

We collected approximately 500 ScS–S differential travel times passing beneath the Philippines with various azimuths to discuss whether there were azimuthal variations in the ScS–S time residuals. By correcting for mantle heterogeneity using a three-dimensional (3D) mantle velocity model, we found a large variance reduction in the ScS–S residuals. In addition, the strong negative correlation between the S and ScS–S time residuals was greatly reduced, while the positive correlation between the ScS and ScS–S time residuals moderately improved, indicating that the corrected ScS–S residuals are manifestations of the lower half of the lower mantle structure. Next, we corrected for the local-scale heterogeneity in the lower mantle by subtracting the bin-averaged ScS–S residuals, and we experimented with fitting the trigonometric functions in terms of the propagation azimuth θ to the ScS–S residuals, suggesting that a 2θ variation is significant. If we accept the hypothesis of azimuthal anisotropy in the lowermost mantle, the fastest direction of the S-wave velocity was east-southeast–west-northwest (N97.5° E– N82.5° W), and the amplitude of the azimuthal anisotropy was approximately 1.4% anisotropy if we assume a D″ thickness of 300 km. Full article

Cultural heritage is a precious treasure left to mankind by history. With the development of the times and the improvement of people’s education, more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of protecting cultural heritage. Chinese porcelain inlay is a type of architectural decoration born out of the specific historical, geographical, and cultural conditions of Fujian and Guangdong, and was included in the second batch of The National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China published in 2008 and the third batch of The National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China—Expanded Projects in 2011. It represents an important part of the complex traditional culture of Fujian and Guangdong, acting as the essence of national culture, a symbol of national wisdom, and the refinement of national spirit. Using targeted analysis and making changes based on negative reviews, organizations that protect cultural heritage can improve their actions and find new ways to spread cultural heritage. The craft of Chinese porcelain inlay is used as an example in this paper. It combines Python Octopus crawler technology, data analysis, and sentiment analysis methods to perform a cognitive social media visualization analysis of Chinese porcelain inlay, which is a form of national intangible cultural heritage in China. Then, by looking at network text data from social media, it seeks to find out how the Chinese porcelain inlay culture is passed down, what its main traits are, and how people feel about it. Finally, this study summarizes the public’s understanding of inlay porcelain and proposes strategies to promote its future development and dissemination. This study found that (1) as a form of national intangible cultural heritage in China and a unique traditional architectural decoration craft, Chinese porcelain inlay has widely recognized cultural and artistic value. (2) The emotional evaluation of Chinese porcelain inlay is mainly positive (73 and 60.76%), while negative evaluations account for 12.62 and 20.79% of responses, mainly reflected in regret regarding the gradual disappearance of old buildings, the lament that Chinese porcelain inlay is highly regional and difficult to popularize, the regret that the individual has not visited locations with Chinese porcelain inlay, a feeling of helplessness with regard to inconvenient transportation links to these places, and discontent with the prohibitively high prices of Chinese porcelain inlay products. These findings offer valuable guidance for the future dissemination and development of Chinese porcelain inlay as a form of intangible cultural heritage. (3) The LDA topic model is used to divide the perception of Chinese porcelain inlay into nine major themes: arts and crafts, leisure and entertainment, cultural travel, online appreciation, heritage protection, dissemination scope, prayer and blessing, inheritance and innovation, and collection and research. This also provides a reference for the future direction of the inheritance of Chinese porcelain inlay cultural heritage. Full article

Despite over four decades since its emergence, canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) remains a relevant disease for dogs. Few studies, primarily only recent ones based on phylodynamic and phylogeography approaches, have highlighted the impact of rapid and long-distance transport of dogs on the CPV-2 spreading dynamics. The present study reports the genomic characterization of a CPV-2 strain detected in a dog introduced into Italy from the coasts of North Africa through the Mediterranean Sea route to Europe. The nearly complete CPV-2 sequence was obtained and analyzed. The viral isolate was characterized as a CPV-2b variant, showing genetic signatures distinct from those of CPV-2 strains detected to date in Europe. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic approaches revealed a close correlation with CPV-2 strains recently reported in the Middle East (Turkey and Egypt), which likely originated or co-evolved from Asian ones. It is at least suggestive that the inferred spreading pattern overlaps with the routes often followed by migrants travelling from Asia and Middle East to Europe, passing through Africa. This evidence for the introduction of CPV-2 via the Mediterranean Sea route to Europe highlights the relevant role of the dog movements in the global spread of emerging or re-emerging viral pathogens. Full article

Aquaculture and tourism can both be important industries for economic development, particularly in isolated geographies endowed with natural beauty. However, spatial conflict can arise, particularly along scenic coastlines, such as that in Oban, Scotland. This area is notable for the frequent overlap between marine tours and cage culture sites, with tours passing by or near these aquaculture locations. This study aims to understand whether tourists who encounter aquaculture operations during these tours have positive attitudes toward aquaculture–tourism integration, which refers to the favourable perception and acceptance of the coexistence of aquaculture and tourism activities, and whether this exposure influences their intention to consume locally farmed aquatic products. A face-to-face survey was conducted to recruit 200 tourists who experienced marine tours in Oban, Scotland. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three types of tourists based on tourism motivation: (1) Multiple motivations, (2) “Relaxers”, and (3) “Outgoing nature enthusiasts”. Among the three tourist segments, the “Relaxers” were particularly unfamiliar with the concept of farming aquatic food. In general, the majority of tourists were positive about being exposed to aquaculture during marine tours. The results of the structural equation modelling analysis indicated that attitudes towards being exposed to aquaculture during marine tours mediate the relationship between attitudes towards aquaculture and the intention to eat locally farmed aquatic food. Motivational tourism factors, socialisation, and learning positively and significantly influenced attitudes towards being exposed to aquaculture during marine tours. Compared to age, gender, education, income, and travel frequency, only tourists’ dietary patterns significantly influenced behavioural intention. The findings suggest that aquaculture might serve as a potential site for social knowledge exchange, which might be crucial not only for tourism to be successful but also for promoting aquaculture’s social acceptability. The results can be used to inform policymakers, marketers, and aquaculture/tourism practitioners to promote sustainable aquaculture tourism in Scotland or similar sites where tourism and aquaculture coexist. Full article

Traffic calming measures are implemented more and more often in residential districts as part of home zone sustainability projects. For economic reasons, road humps are the most commonly used traffic calming measures to slow down the traffic within the home zone. Prefabricated units or concrete pavers are the materials of choice for their construction. The studies carried out so far on many different road hump types covered the effect of height, approach/departure ramp inclination(s), and intervals between successive humps on the final speed and the safety of road traffic. The impacts of braking before and acceleration after passing a hump on the pavement and the effect of the associated shocks on the riding comfort of both drivers and passengers and vehicle suspension were also investigated. What is missing in the available literature is information on the slowing effect of road humps depending on the longitudinal gradient of the street and the street’s landscaping. This article is intended to fill this gap by presenting the results of speed surveys carried out on three selected two-way streets located in home zones with different longitudinal gradients and a few humps of different designs that are placed at different intervals. Speeds were measured both before and after each of the successive humps. The “after” speeds were found to depend not only on the hump type and parameters but also on the direction of travel, vertical alignment of the street, parking location, and orientation of the parking space relative to the road axis. Full article