Explaining light vehicle demand evolution in interurban toll roads: a dynamic panel data analysis in Spain

Tolls have increasingly become a common mechanism to fund road projects in recent decades. Therefore, improving knowledge of demand behavior constitutes a key aspect for stakeholders dealing with the management of toll roads. However, the literature concerning demand elasticity estimates for interurban toll roads is still limited due to their relatively scarce number in the international context. Furthermore, existing research has left some aspects to be investigated, among others, the choice of GDP as the most common socioeconomic variable to explain traffic growth over time. This paper intends to determine the variables that better explain the evolution of light vehicle demand in toll roads throughout the years. To that end, we establish a dynamic panel data methodology aimed at identifying the key socioeconomic variables explaining changes in light vehicle demand over time. The results show that, despite some usefulness, GDP does not constitute the most appropriate explanatory variable, while other parameters such as employment or GDP per capita lead to more stable and consistent results. The methodology is applied to Spanish toll roads for the 1990?2011 period, which constitutes a very interesting case on variations in toll road use, as road demand has experienced a significant decrease since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008.

Light vehicle antilock brake research program. Report 1 - evaluation of an electronic four sensor, three circuit integrated system. Final report.

Mode of access: Internet.

Light vehicle antilock brake research program. Report 2 - evaluation of a fully mechanical, two circuit, two sensor system. Final report.

Mode of access: Internet.

Light Vehicle Obscuration Smoke System (LVOSS).

Mode of access: Internet.

Kentucky motor vehicle use study, year 1953-1954. Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads.

On cover: Prepared by the Kentucky State Highway Dept., State-Wide Highway Planning Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads.

Red light (Processo contra-ordenacional em meio urbano)

Devido ao acréscimo significativo de viaturas e peões nas grandes cidades foi necessário recorrer aos mecanismos existentes para coordenar o tráfego. Nesta perspectiva surge a implementação de semáforos com o objectivo de ordenar o tráfego nas vias rodoviárias. A gestão de tráfego, tem sido sujeita a inovações tanto ao nível dos equipamentos, do software usado, gestão centralizada, monitorização das vias e na sincronização semafórica, sendo possível a criação de programas ajustados às diferentes exigências de tráfego verificadas durante as vinte e quatro horas para pontos distintos da cidade. Conceptualmente foram elaborados estudos, com o objectivo de identificar a relação entre a velocidade o fluxo e o intervalo num determinado intervalo de tempo, bem como a relação entre a velocidade e a sinistralidade. Até 1995 Portugal era um dos países com maior número de sinistros rodoviários Na sequência desta evolução foram instalados radares de controlo de velocidade no final de 2006 com o objectivo de obrigar ao cumprimento dos limites de velocidade impostos pelo código da estrada e reduzir a sinistralidade automóvel na cidade de Lisboa. Passados alguns anos sobre o investimento realizadoanteriormente, constatamos que existe a necessidade de implementar novas tecnologias na detecção das infracções, sejam estas de excesso de velocidade ou violação do semáforo vermelho (VSV), optimizar a informação disponibilizada aos automobilistas e aos peões, coordenar a interacção entre os veículos prioritários e os restantes presentes na via, dinamizar a gestão interna das contra ordenações, agilizar os procedimentos informatizar a recolha deinformação de modo a tornar os processos mais céleres.

Functional assessment tools for paediatric clients with Juvenile Chronic Arthritis: An update and review for occupational therapists

Juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) is one cause of chronic illness and disability in childhood. Traditional clinical assessment of clients with JCA include objective measures of joint deformity, joint swelling, range of motion, duration of morning stiffness, pain, walking speed, running speed and muscle strength. In many instances, these traditional measures have little or no significance or relevance to paediatric clients and their parents whereas functional skills used in everyday living are more likely to be meaningful. Measures of physical, social, and psychological functioning ensure a comprehensive health assessment. Responsible occupational therapy assessment and management of paediatric clients diagnosed with JCA requires the use of reliable, valid and sensitive measures of function. Several instruments are now available which measure a child's or adolescent's functional abilities. In this paper, JCA and the impact of JCA on functional development are reviewed. As well, seven functional assessment tools designed for use with paediatric clients with JCA which occupational therapists can use in their clinical practice will be appraised. The various characteristics of these tools are discussed in order to assist practitioners and researchers in selecting the functional instrument which best meets their needs.

Day-ahead resource scheduling in smart grids considering Vehicle-to-Grid and network constraints

Energy resource scheduling becomes increasingly important, as the use of distributed resources is intensified and massive gridable vehicle use is envisaged. The present paper proposes a methodology for dayahead energy resource scheduling for smart grids considering the intensive use of distributed generation and of gridable vehicles, usually referred as Vehicle- o-Grid (V2G). This method considers that the energy resources are managed by a Virtual Power Player (VPP) which established contracts with V2G owners. It takes into account these contracts, the user´s requirements subjected to the VPP, and several discharge price steps. Full AC power flow calculation included in the model allows taking into account network constraints. The influence of the successive day requirements on the day-ahead optimal solution is discussed and considered in the proposed model. A case study with a 33 bus distribution network and V2G is used to illustrate the good performance of the proposed method.

Use of nanoparticles in Swiss industry: a targeted survey

A large number of applications using manufactured nanoparticles of less than 100 nm are currently being introduced into industrial processes. There is an urgent need to evaluate the risks of these novel particles to ensure their safe production, handling, use, and disposal. However, today we lack even rudimentary knowledge about type and quantity of industrially used manufactured nanoparticles and the level of exposure in Swiss industry. The goal of this study was to evaluate the use of nanoparticles, the currently implemented safety measures, and the number of potentially exposed workers in all types of industry. To evaluate this, a targeted telephone survey was conducted among health and safety representatives from 197 Swiss companies. The survey showed that nanoparticles are already used in many industrial sectors; not only in companies in the new field of nanotechnology, but also in more traditional sectors, such as paints. Forty-three companies declared to use or produce nanoparticles, and 11 imported and traded with prepackaged goods that contain nanoparticles. The following nanoparticles were found to be used in considerable quantities (> 1000 kg/year per company): Ag, Al-Ox, Fe-Ox, SiO2, TiO2, and ZnO. The median reported quantity of handled nanoparticles was 100 kg/year. The production of cosmetics, food, paints, powders, and the treatment of surfaces used the largest quantities of these nanoparticles. Generally, the safety measures were found to be higher in powder-based than in liquid-based applications. However, the respondents had many open questions about best practices, which points to the need for rapid development of guidelines and protection strategies

Unequal Teeth Widths for Torque Ripple Reduction in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines With Fractional-Slot Non-Overlapping Windings

Permanent magnet synchronous machines with fractional-slot non-overlapping windings (FSPMSM), also known as tooth-coil winding permanent magnet synchronous machines (TCW PMSM), have been under intensive research during the latest decade. There are many optimization routines explained and implemented in the literature in order to improve the characteristics of this machine type. This paper introduces a new technique for torque ripple minimization in TCW PMSM. The source of torque harmonics is also described. The low order torque harmonics can be harmful for a variety of applications, such as direct drive wind generators, direct drive light vehicle electrical motors, and for some high precision servo applications. The reduction of the torque ripple harmonics with the lowest orders (6th and 12th) is realized by machine geometry optimization technique using finite element analysis (FEA). The presented optimization technique includes the stator geometry adjustment in TCW PMSMs with rotor surface permanent magnets and with rotor embedded permanent magnets. Influence of the permanent magnet skewing on the torque ripple reduction and cogging torque elimination was also investigated. It was implemented separately and together with the stator optimization technique. As a result, the reduction of some torque ripple harmonics was attained.

The use of grafting to improve the net photosynthesis of cucumber

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

The use of thermal manikin to evaluate interface pressure distribution

The use of a thermal buttocks manikin(1) was explored as a tool to standardize the evaluation of seat comfort. Thermal manikin buttocks were developed and calibrated thermally and anatomically to simulate the sensible heat transfer of a seated person and used to evaluate interface pressure distribution. In essence, the pressure maps of manikin buttocks with and without heating were compared to those of a seated person. The results of average pressure demonstrated that the thermal manikins have a better response in interface pressure measurement than manikins without heating.

Drug use in college students: a 13-year trend

OBJECTIVE: To analyze drug use trends among college students in 1996, 2001 and 2009. METHODS: A cross-sectional epidemiological study with a multistage stratified cluster sample with 9,974 college students was conducted in the city of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on drug use assessed in lifetime, the preceding 12 months and the preceding 30 days. The Bonferroni correction was used for multiple comparisons of drug use rates between surveys. RESULTS: There were changes in the lifetime use of tobacco and some other drugs (hallucinogens [6.1% to 8.8%], amphetamines [4.6% to 8.7%], and tranquilizers [5.7% to 8.2%]) from 1996 to 2009. Differences in the use of other drugs over the 12 months preceding the survey were also seen: reduced use of inhalants [9.0% to 4.8%] and increased use of amphetamines [2.4% to 4.8%]. There was a reduction in alcohol [72.9% to 62.1%], tobacco [21.3% to 17.2%] and marijuana [15.0% to 11.5%] use and an increase in amphetamine use [1.9% to 3.3%] in the preceeding 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Over the 13-year study period, there was an increase in lifetime use of tobacco, hallucinogens, amphetamines, and tranquilizers. There was an increase in amphetamine use and a reduction in alcohol use during the preceding 12 months. There was an increase in amphetamine use during the preceding 30 days.

Condom use at last sexual relationship among adolescents of Santiago Island, Cape Verde, - West Africa

Objective: To estimate factors associated with condom use at last sexual intercourse among adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 368 sexually active adolescents aged 13-17 years from eight public high schools on Santiago Island, Cape Verde, 2007. The level of significance was 5.0% obtained from logistic regression, considering the association between condom use and socio-demographic, sexual and reproductive variables. Results: The prevalence of condom use at last sexual intercourse was 94.9%. Factors associated with condom use at last sexual relationship were: non-Catholic religion (OR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.52; 0.88) and affective-sexual partnership before the interview (OR=5.15, 95%CI: 1.79; 14.80). Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of condom use at last sexual intercourse of adolescents.

The use of participant-observation protocol in an industrial engineering research

Based on literature, this article aims to present the "participant-observation" research protocol, and its practical application in the industrial engineering field, more specifically within the area of design development, and in the case shown by this article, of interiors' design. The main target is to identify the concept of the method, i.e., from its characteristics to structure a general sense about the subject, so that the protocol can be used in different areas of knowledge, especially those ones which are committed with the scientific research involving the expertise from researchers, and subjective feelings and opinions of the users of an engineering product, and how this knowledge can be benefic for product design, contributing since the earliest stage of design.