Pedestrian detection for mobile bus surveillance

In this paper, we present a system for pedestrian detection involving scenes captured by mobile bus surveillance cameras in busy city streets. Our approach integrates scene localization, foreground and background separation, and pedestrian detection modules into a unified detection framework. The scene localization module performs a two stage clustering of the video data. In the first stage, SIFT Homography is applied to cluster frames in terms of their structural similarities and second stage further clusters these aligned frames in terms of lighting. This produces clusters of images which are differential in viewpoint and lighting. A kernel density estimation (KDE) method for colour and gradient foreground-background separation are then used to construct background model for each image cluster which is subsequently used to detect all foreground pixels. Finally, using a hierarchical template matching approach, pedestrians can be identified. We have tested our system on a set of real bus video datasets and the experimental results verify that our system works well in practice.

Everyday multiculturalism: Catching the bus in Darwin, Australia

Following acts of violence in major cities, the future of multiculturalism as a philosophy and a state-sponsored policy to promote peace and interdependence in white majority societies seem uncertain. Ethnographic research that explores the lived experience of multiculturalism in shared public spaces, however, offers the possibility to explore emotional stress as well as possibilities for change in culturally diverse cities. Within this literature, however, there is little grounded research that explores Indigenous-ethnic minority relationships. This paper foregrounds and describes a seemingly mundane event such as catching a bus that entangles my body with an Aboriginal woman and a migrant woman from Fiji in Darwin, Australia. The paper demonstrates how injury, anger, shame and discomfort unfolds when bodies of colour are sites of stress. I explore the emergence of this bodily stress that has outcomes for the capacity of racially differentiated bodies of colour to respond ethically in encounters with strangers. I argue that thick descriptions of events, conceptualisations of agency as distributed and broader understandings of the social have the potential to contribute to anti-racist agendas in Euro-colonial societies with separate Indigenous and multicultural policy frameworks in ways that do not require bodies to 'accumulate' or 'inhabit' whiteness. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

A C-DBSCAN algorithm for determining bus-stop locations based on taxi GPS data

Determining suitable bus-stop locations is critical in improving the quality of bus services. Previous studies on selecting bus stop locations mainly consider environmental factors such as population density and traffic conditions, seldom of them consider the travel patterns of people, which is a key factor for determining bus-stop locations. In order to draw people’s travel patterns, this paper improves the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm to find hot pick-up and drop-off locations based on taxi GPS data. The discovered density-based hot locations could be regarded as the candidate for bus-stop locations. This paper further utilizes the improved DBSCAN algorithm, namely as C-DBSCAN in this paper, to discover candidate bus-stop locations to Capital International Airport in Beijing based on taxi GPS data in November 2012. Finally, this paper discusses the effects of key parameters in C-DBSCAN algorithm on the clustering results. Keywords Bus-stop locations, Public transport service, Taxi GPS data, Centralize density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise.

Z(bus) transmission network cost allocation

This paper addresses the problem of allocating the cost of the transmission network to generators and demands. A physically-based network usage procedure is proposed. This procedure exhibits desirable apportioning properties and is easy to implement and understand. A case study based on the IEEE 24-bus system is used to illustrate the working of the proposed technique. Some relevant conclusions are finally drawn.

Observational study on efficacy of negative expiratory pressure test proposed as screening for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome among commercial interstate bus drivers - protocol study

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a respiratory disease characterized by the collapse of the extrathoracic airway and has important social implications related to accidents and cardiovascular risk. The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether the drop in expiratory flow and the volume expired in 0.2 s during the application of negative expiratory pressure (NEP) are associated with the presence and severity of OSA in a population of professional interstate bus drivers who travel medium and long distances.Methods/Design: An observational, analytic study will be carried out involving adult male subjects of an interstate bus company. Those who agree to participate will undergo a detailed patient history, physical examination involving determination of blood pressure, anthropometric data, circumference measurements (hips, waist and neck), tonsils and Mallampati index. Moreover, specific questionnaires addressing sleep apnea and excessive daytime sleepiness will be administered. Data acquisition will be completely anonymous. Following the medical examination, the participants will perform a spirometry, NEP test and standard overnight polysomnography. The NEP test is performed through the administration of negative pressure at the mouth during expiration. This is a practical test performed while awake and requires little cooperation from the subject. In the absence of expiratory flow limitation, the increase in the pressure gradient between the alveoli and open upper airway caused by NEP results in an increase in expiratory flow.Discussion: Despite the abundance of scientific evidence, OSA is still underdiagnosed in the general population. In addition, diagnostic procedures are expensive, and predictive criteria are still unsatisfactory. Because increased upper airway collapsibility is one of the main determinants of OSA, the response to the application of NEP could be a predictor of this disorder. With the enrollment of this study protocol, the expectation is to encounter predictive NEP values for different degrees of OSA in order to contribute toward an early diagnosis of this condition and reduce its impact and complications among commercial interstate bus drivers.

Analysis of electric torque in single machine-infinite bus system using phase shifters

ResumoThe main idea of this work is based on the analysis of the electric torque through the acting of the PS in the power system, provided of a control for the compensation degree (PSC). A linear model of the single machine-infinite bus system is used with a PS installed (SMIB/PS system). The variable that represents the presence of PS in the net is associated to the phase displacement introduced in the terminal voltage of the synchronous machine by PS. For the input signals of the PSC are evaluated variations of the angular speed of the rotor, the current magnitude and the active power through the line where the PS is located. The simulations are accomplished to analyze the influence of the PS in the torque formation (synchronizing and damping), of the SMIB/PS system. The analysis are developed in the time and frequency domain.

Development of a DC-DC converter for DC bus voltage control of series connected device

The purpose of this work is to study voltage control and energy balance of a split DC bus topology within a power electronics equipment connected to the AC mains, such as UPS systems, wind power generators, active filters and FACTS devices. A typical configuration in such equipment has two mains connected converters sharing a common DC bus, one series connected and the other parallel connected. The DC bus is usually composed by a battery or a capacitor bank. In the proposed topology, the DC bus is divided in two sides, interconnected with a buck-boost converter, which controls power flow and DC voltage on both sides. © 2009 IEEE.

Evaluation of Estrogenic Potential of Flavonoids Using a Recombinant Yeast Strain and MCF7/BUS Cell Proliferation Assay

Phytoestrogens are of interest because of their reported beneficial effects on many human maladies including cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Furthermore, there is a search for compounds with estrogenic activity that can replace estrogen in hormone replacement therapy during menopause, without the undesirable effects of estrogen, such as the elevation of breast cancer occurrence. Thus, the principal objective of this study was to assess the estrogenic activity of flavonoids with different hydroxylation patterns: quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, fisetin, chrysin, galangin, flavone, 3-hydroxyflavone, 5-hydroxyflavone and 7-hydroxyflavone via two different in vitro assays, the recombinant yeast assay (RYA) and the MCF-7 proliferation assay (E-screen), since the most potent phytoestrogens are members of the flavonoid family. In these assays, kaempferol was the only compound that showed ERα-dependent transcriptional activation activity by RYA, showing 6.74±1.7 nM EEQ, besides acting as a full agonist for the stimulation of proliferation of MCF-7/BUS cells. The other compounds did not show detectable levels of interaction with ER under the conditions used in the RYA. However, in the E-screen assay, compounds such as galangin, luteolin and fisetin also stimulated the proliferation of MCF-7/BUS cells, acting as partial agonists. In the evaluation of antiestrogenicity, the compounds quercetin, chrysin and 3-hydroxyflavone significantly inhibited the cell proliferation induced by 17-β-estradiol in the E-screen assay, indicating that these compounds may act as estrogen receptor antagonists. Overall, it became clear in the assay results that the estrogenic activity of flavonoids was affected by small structural differences such as the number of hydroxyl groups, especially those on the B ring of the flavonoid. © 2013 Resende et al.

El transporte interurbano por bus en Argentina, Brasil y Chile: un análisis comparativo

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El efecto de los subsidios, la reglamentación y las diversas formas de propiedad en la calidad y eficacia operativa de los servicios del transporte urbano en América Latina = The impacts of subsidies, regulation, and different forms of ownership on the service quality and operational efficiency of urban bus systems in Latin America

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How do driver compensation schemes affect bus system performance?: a comparison between fixed wage and "guerra por el boleto" in Santiago, Chile.

Two systems of bus driver compensation exist in Santiago, Chile. The majority of drivers are paid per passenger transported, which leads to drivers trying to maximize the number of passengers each one conveys. Some of these effects are beneficial, such as a more active effort to minimize the problem of bus bunching, while others, such as aggressive driving, can be harmful. Drivers are said to "race" and the term "War for the Fare" is commonly used. Drivers also pay freelance workers called "sapos" to provide spacing information. Similar phenomena occur in other Latin American capitals.The other system, a fixed wage, is used by 2 companies holding recently awarded concessions for routes feeding metro stations.This paper discusses, quantitatively and qualitatively, the effects of these two compensation systems on accidents, quality of service, attitudes of both users and drivers, and average waiting times for passengers.

Effects of nemorosone, isolated from the plant Clusia rosea, on the cell cycle and gene expression in MCF-7 BUS breast cancer cell lines

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)