Incidence and costs of bicycle-related traumatic brain injuries in the Netherlands

The main cause of death and serious disability in bicycle accidents is traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this population-based study was to assess the incidence and costs of bicycle-related TBI across various age groups, and in comparison to all bicycle-related injuries, to identify main risk groups for the development of preventive strategies.Data from the National Injury Surveillance System and National Medical Registration were used for all patients with bicycle-related injuries and TBI who visited a Dutch emergency department (ED) between 1998 and 2012. Demographics and national, weighted estimates of injury mechanism, injury severity and costs were analysed per age group. Direct healthcare costs and indirect costs were determined using the incidence-based Dutch Burden of Injury Model.Between 1998 and 2012, the incidence of ED treatments due to bicycle-related TBI strongly increased with 54%, to 43 per 100,000 persons in 2012. However, the incidence of all bicycle-related injuries remained stable, from 444 in 1998 to 456/100,000 in 2012. Incidence of hospital admission increased in both TBI (92%) and all injuries from cycling (71%). Highest increase in incidence of both ED treatments and hospital admissions was seen in adults aged 55+. The injury rate of TBI per kilometre travelled increased (44%) except in children, but decreased (−4%) for all injuries, showing a strong decrease in children (−36%) but an increase in men aged 25+, and women aged 15+. Total costs of bicycle-related TBI were €74.5 million annually. Although bicycle-related TBI accounted for 9% of the incidence of all ED treatments due to cycling, it accounted for 18% of the total costs due to all bicycle-related injuries (€410.7 million). Children and adolescents (aged 0–24) had highest incidence of ED treatments due to bicycle-related injuries. Men in the working population (aged 15–64) had highest indirect costs following injuries from cycling, including TBI. Older cyclists (aged 55+) were identified as main risk group for TBI, as they had highest ED attendance, injury rate, injury severity, admission to hospital or intensive care unit, and costs.Incidence of ED treatments due to cycling are high and often involve TBI, imposing a high burden on individuals and society. Older cyclists aged 55+ were identified as main risk group for TBI to be targeted in preventive strategies, due to their high risk for (serious) injuries and ever-increasing share of ED visits and hospital admissions.     

Model repair — aligning process models to reality

Process mining techniques relate observed behavior (i.e., event logs) to modeled behavior (e.g., a BPMN model or a Petri net). Process models can be discovered from event logs and conformance checking techniques can be used to detect and diagnose differences between observed and modeled behavior. Existing process mining techniques can only uncover these differences, but the actual repair of the model is left to the user and is not supported. In this paper we investigate the problem of repairing a process model w.r.t. a log such that the resulting model can replay the log (i.e., conforms to it) and is as similar as possible to the original model. To solve the problem, we use an existing conformance checker that aligns the runs of the given process model to the traces in the log. Based on this information, we decompose the log into several sublogs of non-fitting subtraces. For each sublog, either a loop is discovered that can replay the sublog or a subprocess is derived that is then added to the original model at the appropriate location. The approach is implemented in the process mining toolkit ProM and has been validated on logs and models from several Dutch municipalities.     

Evolving team behaviors with specialization

This article evaluates Collective Neuro-Evolution (CONE), a cooperative co-evolutionary method for solving collective behavior tasks and increasing task performance via facilitating behavioral specialization in agent teams. Specialization is used as a problem solving mechanism, and its emergence is guided and regulated by CONE. CONE is comparatively evaluated with related methods in a simulated evolutionary robotics pursuit-evasion task. This task required multiple pursuer robots to cooperatively capture evader robots. Results indicate that CONE is appropriate for evolving specialized behaviors. The interaction of specialized behaviors produces behavioral heterogeneity in teams and collective prey capture behaviors that yield significantly higher performances compared to related methods.     

Increased Bone Resorption during Lactation in Pycnodysostosis

Pycnodysostosis, a rare autosomal recessive skeletal dysplasia, is caused by a deficiency of cathepsin K. Patients have impaired bone resorption in the presence of normal or increased numbers of multinucleated, but dysfunctional, osteoclasts. Cathepsin K degrades collagen type I and generates N-telopeptide (NTX) and the C-telopeptide (CTX) that can be quantified. Levels of these telopeptides are increased in lactating women and are associated with increased bone resorption. Nothing is known about the consequences of cathepsin K deficiency in lactating women. Here we present for the first time normalized blood and CTX measurements in a patient with pycnodysostosis, exclusively related to the lactation period. In vitro studies using osteoclasts derived from blood monocytes during lactation and after weaning further show consistent bone resorption before and after lactation. Increased expression of cathepsins L and S in osteoclasts derived from the lactating patient suggests that other proteinases could compensate for the lack of cathepsin K during the lactation period of pycnodysostosis patients.     

Stability of Y-TZP during hydrothermal treatment: neutron experiments and stability considerations

The degradation of yttria-stabilised zirconia in humid atmospheres at temperatures around 250 °C is influenced by a number of microstructural parameters. The corrosive attack starts from the surface and is associated with the tetragonal to monoclinic transformation. In order to investigate structural changes chemically homogeneous single phase t-powders had been hydrothermally treated in a D₂O-atmosphere and subsequently investigated by neutron diffraction. Slight structural changes were observed after water treatment: a general contraction of both a and c parameters, hence, the “free” structural z(oxygen) parameter as well as the c/a-ratio are closer to the values of cubic zirconia. In this paper the structural changes due to the penetration of water radicals during hydrolysis are discussed. They give rise to stresses which then have an impact on the energy balance between the tetragonal and the monoclinic phase (martensitic transformations). Since the powder state can be assumed to be mostly free from macro-straining, the changes of the lattice constants were used to deduct a shape change tensor. Hence assuming linear elastic behaviour (isotropic elastic modulus of 200 GPa for both a surface grain and its environment) maximum stresses of 328 MPa for the a-axis and 488 MPa for the c-axis were found. Thus, water radicals basically lead to further tensile stresses in the surface which increase the energy difference between the t and m phase, i.e. a further destabilisation.     

Ready to preorder: The case of weak process semantics

Recently, Aceto, Fokkink and Ingólfsdóttir proposed an algorithm to turn any sound and ground-complete axiomatisation of any preorder listed in the linear time-branching time spectrum at least as coarse as the ready simulation preorder, into a sound and ground-complete axiomatisation of the corresponding equivalence—its kernel. Moreover, if the former axiomatisation is ω-complete, so is the latter. Subsequently, de Frutos Escrig, Gregorio Rodríguez and Palomino generalised this result, so that the algorithm is applicable to any preorder at least as coarse as the ready simulation preorder, provided it is initials preserving. The current paper shows that the same algorithm applies equally well to weak semantics: the proviso of initials preserving can be replaced by other conditions, such as weak initials preserving and satisfying the second τ-law. This makes it applicable to all 87 preorders surveyed in “the linear time-branching time spectrum II” that are at least as coarse as the ready simulation preorder. We also extend the scope of the algorithm to infinite processes, by adding recursion constants. As an application of both extensions, we provide a ground-complete axiomatisation of the CSP failures equivalence for BCCS processes with divergence.     

Soft computing and cooperative strategies for optimization

In the last years, metaheuristics have emerged as powerful algorithmic approaches which have been applied with great success to difficult combinatorial optimization problems. However, this does not mean that metaheuristics can be applied blindly to any new problem.In this contribution we showed how the most basic ingredients of Soft Computing, namely fuzzy sets and fuzzy rules, are used in the context of a simple metaheuristic and a cooperative strategy based on it, to obtain successful results for the p-median problem.     

Flux line lattice states and pinning in niobium wire networks in high magnetic fields

The properties of the flux line lattice in the thin strands of superconducting niobium wire networks with thickness and width comparable to the penetration depth are investigated in the limit of very few flux lines. An angle dependent upper critical field is observed that is consistent with the existence of surface superconductivity. Our results indicate the existence of a flux line lattice in the complete field range B_c1 B B_c 1.4 B_c2. The flux line lattice undergoes a dimensional crossover when the transversal correlation length R_c is of the order of the strand width. The field dependence of the Labusch parameter due to surface pinning is determined and compared to a model for surface pinning by Bean-Livingston barriers.     

Modeling organizational performance indicators

Performance measurement and analysis is crucial for steering the organization to realize its strategic and operational goals. Relevant performance indicators and their relationships to goals and activities need to be determined and analyzed. Current organization modeling approaches do not reflect this in an adequate way. This paper attempts to fill the gap by presenting a framework for modeling performance indicators within a general organization modeling framework.     

Effects of differences in office chair controls, seat and backrest angle design in relation to tasks

In this study the influence of chair characteristics on comfort, discomfort, adjustment time and seat interface pressure is investigated during VDU and non-VDU tasks: The two investigated office chairs, both designed according to European and Dutch standards are different regarding: 1) seat cushioning and shape, 2) backrest angle and 3) controls. Thirty subjects in total, both male and female, participated in two experiments: twenty in the first and ten in the second.Significant differences are found for ease of adjustment and adjustment time of controls, independent of the tasks. Related to tasks, a significant difference was found for the backrest range of motion. For non-VDU tasks a larger range of backrest motion was preferred by 70% of the subjects. The chair design differences were most clear for comfort and adjustment time of controls, followed by comfort of backrest angle. No differences are found between seat pan comfort and discomfort, first impressions and peak interface pressure.