Road safety risk evaluation and target setting using data envelopment analysis and its extensions

Currently, comparison between countries in terms of their road safety performance is widely conducted in order to better understand one's own safety situation and to learn from those best-performing countries by indicating practical targets and formulating action programmes. In this respect, crash data such as the number of road fatalities and casualties are mostly investigated. However, the absolute numbers are not directly comparable between countries. Therefore, the concept of risk, which is defined as the ratio of road safety outcomes and some measure of exposure (e.g., the population size, the number of registered vehicles, or distance travelled), is often used in the context of benchmarking. Nevertheless, these risk indicators are not consistent in most cases. In other words, countries may have different evaluation results or ranking positions using different exposure information. In this study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a performance measurement technique is investigated to provide an overall perspective on a country's road safety situation, and further assess whether the road safety outcomes registered in a country correspond to the numbers that can be expected based on the level of exposure. In doing so, three model extensions are considered, which are the DEA based road safety model (DEA-RS), the cross-efficiency method, and the categorical DEA model. Using the measures of exposure to risk as the model's input and the number of road fatalities as output, an overall road safety efficiency score is computed for the 27 European Union (EU) countries based on the DEA-RS model, and the ranking of countries in accordance with their cross-efficiency scores is evaluated. Furthermore, after applying clustering analysis to group countries with inherent similarity in their practices, the categorical DEA-RS model is adopted to identify best-performing and underperforming countries in each cluster, as well as the reference sets or benchmarks for those underperforming ones. More importantly, the extent to which each reference set could be learned from is specified, and practical yet challenging targets are given for each underperforming country, which enables policymakers to recognize the gap with those best-performing countries and further develop their own road safety policy.     

打印层厚度对FDM薄板固有特性的影响

针对不同打印层厚度对熔融沉积成型(fused deposition modeling,简称FDM)薄板固有特性的影响规律及相应的机理进行了研究。首先,以悬臂边界条件下的FDM薄板为研究对象,创建了固有特性理论模型;其次,完成了薄板样件的制备,同时搭建了样件的动力学测试系统,实验研究了样件的固有特性参数;最后,对比分析理论与实验结果,以验证理论模型的正确性。研究结果表明,所建模型可以准确预测FDM薄板结构的固有特征参数;打印层越厚,样件的固有频率越高,但其模态振型不会随着打印层厚度的变化而变化。该研究为提高FDM产品动力学性能提供了理论基础和技术支持。     

Formation Mechanism of Alkyl Nitrites,Valuable Intermediates in C1-Upgrading Chemistry and Oxidation Processes

In this contribution we use computational tools to investigate the reaction of alcohol substrates with reactive nitrogen oxide species such as N₂O₃ and N₂O₄, leading to the formation of alkyl nitrites. These nitrites are interesting intermediates which can be processed to various valuable chemicals such as ketones/aldehydes and dimethyl oxalate while regenerating NO _x . As such, NO _x is used as an oxidation mediator, converting alcohol substrates to more reactive nitrites which can be selectively converted to more desired compounds, closing a catalytic cycle in NO _x species.     

Moving cultures: The perilous problems of cultural dichotomies in a globalizing society.

The accelerating process of globalization and the increasing interconnections between cultures involve an unprecedented challenge to contemporary psychology. In apparent contrast to these trends, academic mainstream conceptions continue to work in a tradition of cultural dichotomies (e.g., individualistic vs. collectivistic, independent vs. interdependent), reflecting a classificatory approach to culture and self. Three developments are presented that challenge this approach: (a) cultural connections leading to hybridization, (b) the emergence of a heterogeneous global system, and (c) the increasing cultural complexity. By elaborating on these challenges, a basic assumption of cross-cultural psychology is questioned: culture as geographically localized. Finally, 3 themes are described as examples of an alternative approach: a focus on the contact zones of cultures rather than on their center, the complexities of self and identity, and the experience of uncertainty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of two models of a double inlet miniature pulse tube refrigerator: Part B electrical analogy

The design of a double inlet pulse tube refrigerator is investigated by means of an analogy with an electric circuit. The results obtained are compared with both those of the thermodynamic model (Part A) and experiments. The basic formulation of equivalent electronic components is discussed and a few improvements are proposed for adjusting the theoretical expressions of the electric impedance concerning the capillaries and the regenerator. Then additional effects such as pressure drops due to geometrical singularities are taken into account considering the different internal flow regimes that may occur. Besides a simplified formulation for the regenerator efficiency is deduced from considerations on its harmonic functioning. In this analysis, the emphasis concerns principally the design of miniature cryocoolers dedicated to electronic applications. Those models are applied to a commercial miniature refrigerator. A discussion of their relevance is achieved and a few suggestions on the refrigerator design are proposed in order to improve the cooling production.     

Latent risk and trend models for the evolution of annual fatality numbers in 30 European countries

In this paper a unified methodology is presented for the modelling of the evolution of road safety in 30 European countries. For each country, annual data of the best available exposure indicator and of the number of fatalities were simultaneously analysed with the bivariate latent risk time series model. This model is based on the assumption that the amount of exposure and the number of fatalities are intrinsically related. It captures the dynamic evolution in the fatalities as the product of the dynamic evolution in two latent trends: the trend in the fatality risk and the trend in the exposure to that risk. Before applying the latent risk model to the different countries it was first investigated and tested whether the exposure indicator at hand and the fatalities in each country were in fact related at all. If they were, the latent risk model was applied to that country; if not, a univariate local linear trend model was applied to the fatalities series only, unless the latent risk time series model was found to yield better forecasts than the univariate local linear trend model. In either case, the temporal structure of the unobserved components of the optimal model was established, and structural breaks in the trends related to external events were identified and captured by adding intervention variables to the appropriate components of the model. As a final step, for each country the optimally modelled developments were projected into the future, thus yielding forecasts for the number of fatalities up to and including 2020.     

Nebulized Gadolinium‐Based Nanoparticles: A Theranostic Approach for Lung Tumor Imaging and Radiosensitization

Lung cancer is the most common and most fatal cancer worldwide. Thus, improving early diagnosis and therapy is necessary. Previously, gadolinium‐based ultra‐small rigid platforms (USRPs) were developed to serve as multimodal imaging probes and as radiosensitizing agents. In addition, it was demonstrated that USRPs can be detected in the lungs using ultrashort echo‐time magnetic resonance imaging (UTE‐MRI) and fluorescence imaging after intrapulmonary administration in healthy animals. The goal of the present study is to evaluate their theranostic properties in mice with bioluminescent orthotopic lung cancer, after intrapulmonary nebulization or conventional intravenous administration. It is found that lung tumors can be detected non‐invasively using fluorescence tomography or UTE‐MRI after nebulization of USRPs, and this is confirmed by histological analysis of the lung sections. The deposition of USRPs around the tumor nodules is sufficient to generate a radiosensitizing effect when the mice are subjected to a single dose of 10 Gy conventional radiation one day after inhalation (mean survival time of 112 days versus 77 days for irradiated mice without USRPs treatment). No apparent systemic toxicity or induction of inflammation is observed. These results demonstrate the theranostic properties of USRPs for the multimodal detection of lung tumors and improved radiotherapy after nebulization.     

Ultrasmall Nanoplatforms as Calcium‐Responsive Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The preparation of ultrasmall and rigid platforms (USRPs) that are covalently coupled to macrocycle‐based, calcium‐responsive/smart contrast agents (SCAs), and the initial in vitro and in vivo validation of the resulting nanosized probes (SCA‐USRPs) by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is reported. The synthetic procedure is robust, allowing preparation of the SCA‐USRPs on a multigram scale. The resulting platforms display the desired MRI activity—i.e., longitudinal relaxivity increases almost twice at 7 T magnetic field strength upon saturation with Ca²⁺. Cell viability is probed with the MTT assay using HEK‐293 cells, which show good tolerance for lower contrast agent concentrations over longer periods of time. On intravenous administration of SCA‐USRPs in living mice, MRI studies indicate their rapid accumulation in the renal pelvis and parenchyma. Importantly, the MRI signal increases in both kidney compartments when CaCl₂ is also administrated. Laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy experiments confirm accumulation of SCA‐USRPs in the renal cortex. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first studies which demonstrate calcium‐sensitive MRI signal changes in vivo. Continuing contrast agent and MRI protocol optimizations should lead to wider application of these responsive probes and development of superior functional methods for monitoring calcium‐dependent physiological and pathological processes in a dynamic manner.