Linear,non-linear,bi-directional? Testing the nature of the relationship between mobility and satisfaction with life

Transportation - Travel is one of the most important facilitators of life and has been widely acknowledged as a prerequisite for economic and social activity. Research developing in recent decades...     

SIMPLE METHOD OF PUNCHING AND RE-LOCATING TISSUES FOR MANUAL CONSTRUCTION OF TISSUE MICROARRAY

A series of human tissue samples and cultured cell lines were formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded. Specimen cylinder ( 1.2 - 1.8mm) were punched by a modified bone marrow biopsy needle and arrayed on a recipient paraffin block. Microscopic analysis on the sections from this tissue microarray (TMA) block demonstrated that the spots of tissues and cells were well preserved, and the cultured cell samples were successfully embedded from 5 × 104 to 2 × 105 in number. These TMA sections were also suitable for immunohistochemistry and RNA in situ hybridization.     

E-bike user groups and substitution effects: evidence from longitudinal travel data in the Netherlands

Transportation - In recent years, the e-bike has become increasingly popular in many European countries. With higher speeds and less effort needed, the e-bike is a promising mode of transport to...     

A random heaping model of annual vehicle kilometres travelled considering heterogeneous approximation in reporting

Transportation - Annual vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) is a long used index of car use. Usually, the annual VKT, as reported by respondents, is used for the analysis. But the reported values...     

Estimating the value of risk reductions for car drivers when pedestrians are involved: a case study in Spain

We estimated the benefits associated with reducing fatal and severe injuries from traffic accidents using a stated choice experiment where choice situations were generated through a statistically efficient design. Specifically, the risk variables were defined as the expected annual number of vehicle car-users that suffered their death or were severely injured in a traffic accident. In addition, and differing from previous research, the number of pedestrians that died or were severely injured in traffic accidents per year was also included as a risk attribute in the choice experiment, to attempt at measuring drivers’ willingness to pay to reduce the risk of hitting pedestrians in a crash. The empirical setting was a choice of route for a particular trip that a sample of car drivers periodically undertakes in Tenerife, Spain. Models were estimated accounting for random taste heterogeneity and pseudo-panel data correlation. The median of the distribution of simulated parameters was used to obtain a representative measure for the monetary valuation of risk reductions. We found that the ratio between the values of reducing the risk of suffering a serious injury and that of reducing a fatality was approximately 18 %. Further, and quite novel, we also found that the value of reducing a pedestrian fatality was 39 % of the value of reducing a car occupant fatality.     

In situ colonization of marine biofilms on UNS S32760 duplex stainless steel coupons in areas with different water qualities: Implications for corrosion potential behavior

In the presence of biofilms, stainless steels （SS） exhibits an increase in corrosion potential, called ennoblement. In the present study, the corrosion potential （Eco,） behavior of the duplex SS UNS S32760 was recorded simultaneously with the in situ marine biofilm formation in two areas at Arraial do Cabo, Southeastern Brazil. The biofilm at Forno Harbor （an anthropogenically disturbed area） was characterized by higher relative abundances of Bacteria at day 2, followed by diatoms （especially Navicula sp.） on day 10 and dinoflagellates on day 18, whereas no clear trend was recorded at Cabo Frio Island （an undisturbed area）. The ennoblement of Ecor values was site-dependent. In a complementary laboratory assay, biofilms were removed and the Eco values registered in sterile conditions for the subsequent 10 days and corroborated in situ results. Understanding biofilms and SS interactions has important implications for materials science and engineering decisions as well as helping to fill in imnortant gaps in this knowledge.     

A proposal for cost-related and market-oriented train running charges

This paper examines some key aspects of a charging system for promoting railway transport, including charges reflecting a clear relationship with costs (transparency) and charges reflecting the quality of the infrastructure manager's service. Train running charges recover track-related costs and can help to develop a charging system that meets these requirements. To orient train running charges to the market, a method for processing track maintenance and renewal costs is proposed whereby the quality of the service provided by an infrastructure is measured according to its utility to the railway undertaking. To achieve transparency, a single indicator is used for cost planning and the subsequent levying of costs on railway undertakings. The paper includes an example of how proposed train running charges would be calculated according to data from 14 European countries. The example shows that short-distance trains generate the lowest maintenance and renewal costs, followed by long-distance trains and freight trains.     

大型半潜式钻井平台安全关键技术研究

BINGO—9000型平台是目前世界上最先进的第五代半潜式钻井平台，能在深海(工作水深3000m)，恶劣气候海况(零下20℃、风速41m／s、浪高32m)下开采石油。以BINGO—9000型平台为例，介绍了平台结构和压载状态实时监测系统设计的关键技术问题，以及基于疲劳寿命分析的结构设计思想。展开了该平台波浪载荷的分析计算，在此基础上对主体结构进行了三维有限元强度分析。对平台特殊结构如K型管节点及支撑结构和立柱结构进行了强度分析和疲劳寿命分析。还研究了平台吃水数据采集、压载状态监测等技术。通过以上关键技术的研究，平台结构设计更趋安全可靠合理，既具有必需的强度储备，又可减轻结构重量。     

The influence of the Agulhas Current on the adjacent coastal ocean: possible impacts of climate change

The dynamics of the coastal ocean along the southeastern coast of Africa is dominated by a strong and intense western boundary current, the Agulhas Current. With a near-uniform, narrow continental shelf and a steep shelf slope that stabilizes this current, the trajectory of the Agulhas exhibits great stability. The only substantial perturbation occurs with the irregular passage of a Natal Pulse, a soliton meander. The initiation of this meander at the Natal Bight is due to a barotropic instability when the intensity of the landward border of the current exceeds a certain threshold value. This may come about with natural fluctuations in the current or with the adsorption of deep-sea eddies onto the current. Under a climate change scenario of altered wind stress curl over the South Indian Ocean it is conceivable that the threshold for the triggering of a Natal Pulse will occur more frequently. This will lead to a situation where the current axis on average lies further offshore. The possible consequences of such a situation on the rainfall of the coast, on the ecology of estuaries and the coastal ocean, and on the socio-economics of the region is discussed.