Busy Highway Research Articles

Motorways to boreens: the story of the Irish Health Sciences Libraries Group virtual journal club

Boreens (from the Gaelic bóthairín meaning little road) are the narrow roads that twist through the Irish countryside. Travel is slower than the busy major roads that cut straight through, but these routes enable the traveller to easily change course as options arise and to discover hidden opportunities for exploration. It is in this context that we share how we moved from the idea of a journal club for health librarians to the reality of an active knowledge sharing group. Through the story of the governing committee and our first three presenters, we explain what is required to drive this kind of club. At the beginning there were so many options and decisions it felt like moving quickly along a busy motorway, often changing lanes to avoid snarl-ups, and watching out for tolls. However, as we settled in for the long haul, we decided to take our own quieter but ultimately more interesting route. We found that if you are clear about your destination, ensure you have sufficient resources, plan carefully but are flexible about how you get there, then you may just enjoy the journey.

Faith, Fear, and Other F-Words

Faith, Fear, and Other F-Words

Asthma and Environmental Justice at Ezra Prentice Homes: The South End Community Health Survey

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Ezra Prentice Homes (EP) is a public housing complex located in the industrial, southernmost tip of Albany, NY, dissected by a busy state highway and adjacent to the Port of Albany. Residents, community leaders, and environmental activists drew attention to residents’ environmental health concerns and residents requested a community-based health survey. In response to this attention, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation launched the Albany South End Community Air Quality Study, observing traffic related air pollutants (TRAPs) at ‘considerably higher’ levels in the EP community compared to the rest of the neighborhood (Report October 2019). AIM: Measure the impact of living at Ezra Prentice homes on asthma prevalence. METHODS: The South End Community Health Survey of EP households, in partnership with local community-based organizations, began in 2016. A Resident Outreach Worker (ROWs) model was developed. ROWs connected with neighbors, introduced the survey, and created appointments for graduate students to administer an in-depth health survey. In 2018, it expanded to Creighton Storey Homes (CS), a public housing complex in a residential section of the South End that is surrounded by green space, to capture data from a demographically similar group. RESULTS:119 households (301 individuals) from EP (66%) and 66 households (164 individuals) from CS (52%) participated. When tested by z-score for 2 population proportions, the number of children under 18 with active asthma was significantly higher at EP (34%) than CS (18%) (p=.02). A similar pattern was observed for all ages combined: 34% and 21%, p=.0002, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Initial analysis of the South End Community Health Study data observed significantly higher rates of asthma at a public housing complex where elevated TRAPs have been documented. Analyses adjusted for race and smoking status will be explored. Results will be shared with the community to inform future policy. KEYWORDS: Environmental justice, asthma, traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPS), public housing

«FIRST DOCTOR'S HOUSE»  HISTORICAL DOMESTIC EXPERIENCE OF DESIGNING AN APARTMENT HOUSE FOR RESIDENCE AND WORK OF DOCTORS

The article reveals the historical experience of designing an apartment building in Kiev, intended for living and organizing the work of doctors. The purpose of the article is to present and analyze the domestic experience in the design and further functioning of multi-apartment buildings for residents of certain professions, in particular medicine. The article may be of interest to an audience who studies national historical monuments, unique buildings, or deals with the problems of designing multi-apartment buildings for certain groups of the population. The research methodology is based on historical analysis, systematization of the data obtained from various information sources. Ukraine has its own historical experience in the design and construction of unique and special buildings, which may arouse interest among the international community, domestic specialists in the architectural and design sphere and among investors interested in creating multi-apartment housing for a group of residents united by a certain profession. Unfortunately, these Ukrainian practical developments are still insufficiently disclosed and not represented at the proper level in the research community. In particular, the problem of designing apartment buildings for doctors and medical personnel is an open and unresolved issue for international researchers. Today, the First Doctor's House is a prestigious building, although over time it turned out to be located on a very noisy and busy city highway in the center of the capital city. In this house there are no longer any indigenous people of Kyiv and those for whom this project was developed by the architect - people of the medical profession. Almost none of today's residents of the building and its surroundings remember why it has such an unusual name. Alas ... A couple of decades ago, well-known Kiev doctors, some of the best Ukrainian surgeons of the Soviet school, lived in the First House of Doctors. Now the house is filled with «new Ukrainians», «new financial elite». And the people who were the pride of Kyiv and Ukraine, the best specialists in their field, remained only in memories. Such a personal fate of this particular historical building, it has lost its purpose to unite people of medical professions, perhaps this is due to its location in the prestigious central urban environment of Kyiv. But at the time when doctors really lived in the «First House of the Doctor» - the building was an ultra-comfortable object for combining residential, professional functions for its residents.

EMC Risk Management: Like Choosing Where to Cross the Street

Imagine this: you are standing at one side of a busy highway and want to get to the other side. You consider your options: you could walk alongside the highway to the next bridge, cross it, then walk on the opposite side to your destination; or you could save time and cross the highway from where you stand. Easy choice, right?

Response of Bolivian gray titi monkeys (Plecturocebus donacophilus) to an anthropogenic noise gradient: behavioral and hormonal correlates.

Worldwide urban expansion and deforestation have caused a rapid decline of non-human primates in recent decades. Yet, little is known to what extent these animals can tolerate anthropogenic noise arising from roadway traffic and human presence in their habitat. We studied six family groups of titis residing at increasing distances from a busy highway, in a park promoting ecotourism near Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. We mapped group movements, sampled the titis’ behavior, collected fecal samples from each study group and conducted experiments in which we used a mannequin simulating a human intrusion in their home range. We hypothesized that groups of titi monkeys exposed to higher levels of anthropogenic noise and human presence would react weakly to the mannequin and show higher concentrations of fecal cortisol compared with groups in least perturbed areas. Sound pressure measurements and systematic monitoring of soundscape inside the titis’ home ranges confirmed the presence of a noise gradient, best characterized by the root-mean-square (RMS) and median amplitude (M) acoustic indices; importantly, both anthropogenic noise and human presence co-varied. Study groups resided in small, overlapping home ranges and they spent most of their time resting and preferentially used the lower forest stratum for traveling and the higher levels for foraging. Focal sampling analysis revealed that the time spent moving by adult pairs was inversely correlated with noise, the behavioral change occurring within a gradient of minimum sound pressures ranging from 44 dB(A) to 52 dB(A). Validated enzyme-immunoassays of fecal samples however detected surprisingly low cortisol concentrations, unrelated to the changes observed in the RMS and M indices. Finally, titis’ response to the mannequin varied according to our expectation, with alarm calling being greater in distant groups relative to highway. Our study thus indicates reduced alarm calling through habituation to human presence and suggests a titis’ resilience to anthropogenic noise with little evidence of physiological stress.

Quantifying metal emissions from vehicular traffic using real world emission factors.

Road traffic emissions are an increasingly important source of particulate matter in urban and non-road environments, where non-tailpipe emissions can contribute substantially to elevated levels of metals associated with adverse health effects. Thus, better characterization and quantification of traffic-emitted metals is warranted. In this study, real-world emission factors for fine particulate metals were determined from hourly x-ray fluorescence measurements over a three-year period (2015-2018) at an urban roadway and busy highway. Inter-site differences and temporal trends in real-world emission factors for metals were explored. The emission factors at both sites were within the range of past studies, and it was found that Ti, Fe, Cu, and Ba emissions were 2.2-3.0 times higher at the highway site, consistent with the higher proportion of heavy-duty vehicles. Weekday emission factors for some metals were also higher by 2.0-3.5 times relative to Sundays for Mn, Zn, Ca, and Fe, illustrating a dependence on fleet composition and roadway activity. Metal emission factors were also inversely related to relative humidity and precipitation, due to reduced road dust resuspension under wetter conditions. Correlation analysis revealed groups of metals that were co-emitted by different traffic activities and sources. Determining emission factors enabled the isolation of traffic-related metal emissions and also revealed that human exposure to metals in ambient air can vary substantially both temporally and spatially depending on fleet composition and traffic volume.

The impact of socio-demographic characteristics and driving behaviors on fuel efficiency

Fuel efficiency intuitively differs between drivers, depending on their socio-demographic characteristics and driving behavior, and can change even for the same driver in different driving environments. In this work, we examine the impact of socio-demographic characteristics, driving behavior on fuel efficiency using naturalistic driving data collected from a busy freeway in Austin, Texas. Our results show that during off-peak period, fuel efficiency is negatively correlated with commute frequency. Furthermore, fuel efficiency is also closely related to commute purpose, age and gender. During peak period, female drivers’ fuel efficiency is worse, while correlations with other socio-demographic characteristics become less prominent. In terms of driving behavior, high-speed drivers with higher average speeds and less speed variance achieve the best fuel efficiency during both peak and off-peak hours. Our study sheds lights on specific eco-friendly driving behavior and education can be targeted at those who tend to consume more fuel.

Triboelectric Nanogenerator technology potential in agricultural LED lighting

Nanogenerator Technology is gaining more and more popularity among the scientist society. The triboelectric nanogenerators in particular already are used in different industries. The aim of the work was to see the achievements in the field, and what the state of art of triboelectric technology can offer to solve some of the problems agriculture industry is facing today. A way to implement the technology to a greenhouse was introduced in the work, to reduce the cost for the usage of LED lighting in the greenhouse. It was calculated that triboelectric nanogenerator system that is a kilometre long and a metre wide can potentialy support LED lighting in a greenhouse with an actual area of coverage of more than 650 hectares. The actual numbers are expected to be very different since there are no evidences of the technology being implemented at this stage of its development into the agriculture as a LED energy source. The system was suggested to be made near a busy motor way to convert the kinetic energy of the cars into the electrical power. The system is expected to have many advantages over the conventional electromagnetic power generating system, but due to obvious disadvantages of the dependence of the energy generated on the traffic, the technology is suggested best to be used in combination with electricity from public network.

Probabilistic evaluation of maximum dynamic traffic load effects on cable-supported bridges under actual heavy traffic loads

The traffic load has grown significantly in recent years, which might be a threat for the service safety of existing bridges. Thus, it is an urgent task to assess the actual traffic load effects on bridges, considering actual heavy traffic load instead of design traffic load. This study presents a framework for extrapolating maximum dynamic traffic load effects on large bridges using site-specific traffic monitoring data. The framework involves vehicle–bridge interaction analysis and probabilistic modelling of extreme values. The weigh-in-motion measurements of a busy highway in China were collected for stochastic traffic load modelling. Case studies of two long-span cable-supported bridge based on the weigh-in-motion measurements were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. It is demonstrated that Rice’s level-crossing approach can capture both dynamic and probabilistic characteristics of the traffic load effects. The root-mean-square displacement of the cable-stayed bridge follows a C-type distribution, and the one for the suspension bridge follows an M-type distribution, which is associated with the first-order mode shapes of the two types of bridges. The amplification factors for the cable-stayed bridge and the suspension bridge are 5.9% and 3.6%, respectively. The numerical analysis indicates that the dynamic effect for extrapolation is weaker with the increase in bridge span length, but the effect of traffic volume growth will be more significant.

How Much Does Weather Matter? Effects of Rain and Wind on PM Accumulation by Four Species of Australian Native Trees

As interest in improving urban air quality grows, phytoremediation—amelioration through plants—is an increasingly popular method of targeting particulate matter (PM), one of the most harmful pollutants. Decades of research has proven that plants effectively capture PM from air; however, more information is needed on the dynamics of PM accumulation. Our study evaluated the effects of meteorological conditions on the dynamics of PM deposition, wash off and resuspension using four Australian tree species growing under natural conditions near a busy highway. Accumulation of PM on foliage was analyzed over the short term (daily changes) and over a longer time period (weekly changes). The results obtained were correlated with ambient concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10, rain intensity and wind strength. The highest accumulation of PM was recorded for Eucalyptus ovata (100.2 µg cm−2), which also had the thickest wax layer while the lowest was for Brachychiton acerifolius (77.9 µg cm−2). PM accumulation was highly changeable, with up to 35% different PM loads on the foliage from one day to the next. Importantly these dynamics are hidden in weekly measurements. Changes in PM deposition on the leaves was mostly affected by rain and to a lesser extent by wind, but the extent of the effect was species specific. The large PM fraction (10–100 µm) was the first to be removed from leaves, while the smallest PM fraction (0.2–2.5 µm) was retained for longer. Precipitation affects also PM retained in waxes, which until now were believed to be not affected by rain. This work demonstrates important interactions between PM load and weather, as well as adding to the small inventory of Australian native tree PM accumulation data.

Environmental Assessment and Evaluation of Oxidative Stress and Genotoxicity Biomarkers Related to Chronic Occupational Exposure to Benzene.

Environmental and occupational exposure to benzene from fuels is a major cause for concern for national and international authorities, as benzene is a known carcinogen in humans and there is no safe limit for exposure to carcinogens. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic effects of chronic occupational exposure to benzene among two groups of workers: filling station workers (Group I) and security guards working at vehicles entrances (Group II), both on the same busy highway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sociodemographic data on the workers were evaluated; the concentration of benzene/toluene (B/T) in atmospheric air and individual trans,trans-muconic acid (ttMA) and S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) were measured; oxidative stress was analyzed by catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), thiol groups (THIOL) and malondialdehyde (MDA); genotoxicity was measured by metaphases with chromosomal abnormalities (MCA) and nuclear abnormalities, comet assay using the enzyme formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (C-FPG), and methylation of repetitive element LINE-1, CDKN2B and KLF6 genes. Eighty-six workers participated: 51 from Group I and 35 from Group II. The B/T ratio was similar for both groups, but Group I had greater oscillation of benzene concentrations because of their work activities. No differences in ttMA and S-PMA, and no clinical changes were found between both groups, but linearity was observed between leukocyte count and ttMA; and 15% of workers had leukocyte counts less than 4.5 × 109 cells L−1, demanding close worker’s attention. No differences were observed between the two groups for THIOL, MDA, MCA, or nuclear abnormalities. A multiple linear relationship was obtained for the biomarkers MCA and C-FPG. A significant correlation was found between length of time in current job and the biomarkers C-FPG, MCA, GST, and MDA. Although both populations had chronic exposure to benzene, the filling station workers were exposed to higher concentrations of benzene during their work activities, indicating an increased risk of DNA damage.

Vehicle speed measurement model for video-based systems

Advanced analysis of road traffic data is an essential component of today’s intelligent transportation systems. This paper presents a video-based vehicle speed measurement system based on a proposed mathematical model using a movement pattern vector as an input variable. The system uses the intrusion line technique to measure the movement pattern vector with low computational complexity. Further, the mathematical model introduced to generate the pdf (probability density function) of a vehicle’s speed that improves the speed estimate. As a result, the presented model provides a reliable framework with which to optically measure the speeds of passing vehicles with high accuracy. As a proof of concept, the proposed method was tested on a busy highway under realistic circumstances. The results were validated by a GPS (Global Positioning System)-equipped car and the traffic regulations at the measurement site. The experimental results are promising, with an average error of 1.77 % in challenging scenarios.

Assessment of a passive sampling method and two on-line gas chromatographs for the measurement of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in ambient air at a highway site

Accurate, continuous long-term measurements of aromatic volatile organic compounds with known health impacts are needed for comprehensive assessments of air quality in the vicinity of industrial and vehicular emission sources. Historically, evacuated canister sampling and on-line gas chromatography (GC) have been the most popular approaches applied by government institutions in North America to measure benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) in ambient air. Canister sampling is labour-intensive and typically does not provide the continuous data needed for epidemiological studies, while on-line GCs are costly and require shelter and power. In this work, the accuracy and suitability of three techniques for generating long-term ambient BTEX datasets are assessed. The first is a passive sampling method involving sorbent-packed thermal desorption tubes, the second is an on-line miniature gas chromatograph (miniGC) coupled with a photoionization detector (PID) and the third is a more traditional on-line gas chromatograph coupled with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID). These three techniques were deployed at an air quality monitoring station located adjacent to a busy highway for six weeks in summer 2018 to compare method performance and accuracy. Ambient mean concentrations of BTEX determined from the three methods for the entire study period were found to agree within 7% for benzene and within 30% for the other species. Interestingly, a temperature dependent positive bias previously identified for 14-day passive tube sampling for ethylbenzene and xylenes under cold wintertime conditions was found to be negligible under summertime conditions.

The Labors of Failure: Labor, Toxicity, and Belonging in Mumbai

AbstractShivaji Nagar in the Deonar suburb of Mumbai is popularly known as “Bombay's Gas Chamber.” Located between one of Asia's largest garbage dumps and Mumbai's largest municipal slaughterhouse, this neighborhood is environmentally vulnerable, situated at the crossroads of clusters of heavy and petrochemical industries, and a network of the city's busiest highways. In popular, official, and scholarly narratives, this neighborhood has been constructed as a place of failure, waste, and death. The residents of Shivaji Nagar, well aware of these narratives, use the demonstration of “failure” to their advantage to stake claims of belonging to the neighborhood, and demand state assistance, albeit often with punitive consequences. They contend that in doing so, “failure” becomes not merely a judgment conferred upon the neighborhood, its residents, and their way of life, but rather a medium of exchange for and a condition of possibility of their futures, and thus elicits an additional amount of labor. The article will focus on these labors performed by the waste workers who live and work in the neighborhood.

Childhood leukaemia risk and residential proximity to busy roads

BackgroundCurrent evidence suggests that childhood leukaemia can be associated with residential traffic exposure; nevertheless, more results are needed to support this conclusion. ObjectivesTo ascertain the possible effects of residential proximity to road traffic on childhood leukaemia, taking into account traffic density, road proximity and the type of leukaemia (acute lymphoid leukaemia or acute myeloid leukaemia). MethodsWe conducted a population-based case-control study of childhood leukaemia in Spain, covering the period 1990–2011. It included 1061 incidence cases gathered from the Spanish National Childhood Cancer Registry and those Autonomous Regions with 100% coverage, and 6447 controls, individually matched by year of birth, sex and autonomous region of residence. Distances were computed from the respective participant's residential locations to the different types of roads and four different buffers. Using logistic regression, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs), were calculated for four different categories of distance to roads. ResultsCases of childhood leukaemia had more than three-fold increased odds of living at <50 m of the busiest motorways compared to controls (OR = 2.90; 95%CI = 1.30–6.49). The estimates for acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL) were slightly higher (OR = 2.95; 95%CI = 1.22–7.14), while estimates for cases with the same address at birth and at diagnosis were lower (OR = 2.40; 95%CI = 0.70–8.30). ConclusionsOur study agrees with the literature and furnishes some evidence that living near a busy motorway could be a risk factor for childhood leukaemia.

Method for Imputing Missing Data using Online Calibration for Urban Freeway Control

Real-time traffic control systems are widely implemented on roadways around the world as a measure to improve freeway mobility. However, the systems, which rely on data from road-side and on-road sensors and other electronic equipment, continue to suffer from issues related to missing and erroneous data. While many data imputation methods are documented in the related literature, traffic control systems still lack an imputation method that is applicable in practice, accurate in imputation, and simple in computation. In response, this paper puts forth a linear imputation model that considers both temporal traffic trend and spatial detector correlations. To adapt the model to dynamic traffic variations, the imputation method was equipped with an online calibration module. The proposed imputation method was evaluated with field data from two stations on the Whitemud Drive, a busy urban freeway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The proposed model benefited from its time-of-day temporal trend and outperforms the previous model that considers only spatial correlations. Moreover, the online calibration module was effective in improving imputation accuracy. Finally, the sensitivity of imputation performance was analyzed. The results show that the imputation with online calibration is more sensitive to missing data ratios than that with offline calibration. The sensitivity analysis revealed that imputation with online calibration is more suitable for online imputation in traffic control implementations.

Habitat fragmentation determines diversity of annual plant communities at landscape and fine spatial scales

The aim of this study was to disentangle the effects of landscape configuration (i.e., fragment area, connectivity, and proximity to a busy highway) on the assembly of annual plant communities at different spatial scales. Our main hypothesis was that larger and more connected fragments would have higher species densities per plot and this may result in differences in turnover and nestedness patterns at the fine spatial scales where plants interact. Specifically, since Mediterranean annuals are known to form strong competitive hierarchies, we expected to find a nested pattern of beta diversity due to sequential species loss. The study area was a fragmented gypsum habitat in central Spain with a semiarid climate where two fragmentation drivers coexist: agricultural practices and a roadway. Larger fragments had higher species densities per plot (20×20m). Nevertheless, we detected no effect on the species assembly at fine spatial scales (30×30cm). However, when the fragment connectivity was high the species that appeared in poor quadrats (30×30cm) comprised a subset of the species in rich quadrats. These results agree well with the establishment of strong competitive hierarchies among annual species. The distance to the highway influenced the identity of the species established in the community (i.e., species composition) at fine spatial scales, but we detected no effect on species turnover, nestedness, or species densities. The main conclusion of our study is that the effects of habitat fragmentation extend beyond the landscape scale and they determine the spatial assembly at fine spatial scales.

Rehabilitation of Old Flatts Bridge, UK

The Old Flatts Bridge in Rotherham, UK, carries the A630 Sheffield Parkway over a busy freight railway. The A630 is a key link between Rotherham, Sheffield and the M1. It is also a major arterial route into Sheffield and nearby industrial and business parks. A principal inspection of the bridge identified that the span between the abutment faces had shortened by 216 mm compared with the as-built drawings. The bearings were badly corroded and were translated well beyond their design limit, both laterally and longitudinally. The bearings were thus non-functional. The nominal movement gaps at both free and fixed ends were closed, thus ‘locking’ the structure in position. This paper describes the damage observed and the construction mechanisms that led to the failure. The paper also identifies the cause of the problem and discusses the innovative approach taken in rehabilitating the bridge. From the outset, the principal aim of the rehabilitation design was to reduce future maintenance of the structure, as the bridge is very close to a very busy motorway junction. The paper also discusses the mode of retrofitting involved in modifying the bridge’s sub- and superstructure to transform the bridge deck behaviour.

A study of horizontal distribution pattern of particulate and gaseous pollutants based on ambient monitoring near a busy highway

Understanding vehicular emissions, near-roadway pollutant dispersion, and their potential impact on near-roadway populations is an area of growing environmental interest in the developing countries. This paper presents horizontal distribution of coarse and fine particulate matter and gaseous pollutants in communities situated near the busy highway (NH-2) in the city of Agra. Over the total measured distance (0–500m), the maximum decreases of NO2, SO2, O3, NH3, PM10, PM2.5, PM1.0 were found within 250m distance from the highway of sites Khandari and Kaushalpur respectively. Annual average concentration for PM10 and PM2.5 was found to be much higher than the standards prescribed by NAAQS and WHO, whereas levels of NO2, O3, NH3 and SO2 were somewhat within permissible limits. Significant seasonal variations were obtained with maximum concentration found in winter followed by summer and monsoon seasons. Higher values of winter/monsoon average ratios than the winter/summer average ratios of pollutants further signify the effect of meteorological conditions. The diurnal trend of pollutants clearly shows the effect of traffic density on the pollution level, as the peaks were obtained during the rush hours. Three factors have been identified using factor analysis (PCA) at 0m, 250m and 500m distance from the highway. It showed that fine particles contributed a major part of PM10 with other gaseous pollutants at the roadsides, which is most likely attributed to the combinations of local sources including exhausted particulate matter from vehicles and re suspended fine dust and other variable sources.