Collective Transport Research Articles

Applying Graph Neural Networks to Support Decision Making on Collective Intelligent Transportation Systems

Recent advancements in autonomous vehicles and vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) have presented diverse solutions for vehicle safety and automation. The demand to establish a connection between the two worlds has increased significantly to augment road safety and provide benefits to end users. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) vehicle station leaves a signed trace of its geographic location that is rated as personal data. An attacker can misuse existing V2V communication to track a vehicle’s CAM-trace and to avoid misusing CAMs to harm privacy, selectives communication approaches for CAMs should be chosen instead of continuous communication of current CAMs. In this article we propose a VANET topology learning methodology prioritizing anonymization that can use any existing Graph Learning framework. Further, this work enhances the quality of graph models applied to the context of VANETs and autonomous vehicles. With the real coordinates, establishment of a grid of cells and the generation and training of the graph, we can compare different frameworks generally used in these issues and one can chose the one that fits better to each scenario.

Inverse thermodiffusion of active matter in temperature gradient systems

We have revealed an inverse thermodiffusion phenomenon for active particles under temperature gradient in one-species systems. This counterintuitive behavior is supported by numerical calculations as well as theoretical analyses. It is presented that the active particles flow from high-temperature to low-temperature regions when the self-driving force is small. On the contrary, the active particles can flow from low-temperature to high-temperature regions as long as the self-driving force is large enough. The mass current reversal phenomenon can be explained analytically from the special swimming pressures of the active particles. The P é clet numbers defined in our work indicate a potential application in separating the particles with different activities. The findings may bring a new understanding of the physical properties of active matter and provide enlightenment for the study of the non-equilibrium collective transport of active particles.

Exploring the Impact of Surface Functionalization on the Reaction, Magnetophoretic, and Collective Transport Behavior of Nanoscale Zerovalent Iron.

This study provides a systematic analysis of the transport and magnetophoretic behavior of nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) particles, both bare and surface functionalized by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), after undergoing a chemical reaction. Here, a simple and well-investigated chemical reaction of methyl orange (MO) degradation by nZVI was used as a model reaction system, and the sand column transport and low-gradient magnetophoretic profiles of the nanoparticles were measured before and after the reaction. The results were compared over time and analyzed in the context of extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory to understand the particle interactions involved. The colloidal stability of both bare and functionalized nZVI particles was enhanced after the reaction due to the consumption of metallic Fe content, resulting in a significant drop in their magnetic properties. As a result, they exhibited improved mobility across the sand column and a slower magnetophoretic collection rate compared to the unreacted particles. Here, the colloidal filtration theory (CFT) was employed to analyze the transport behavior of nZVI particles across the packed sand column. It has been observed that the surface properties of the reacted functionalized particles changed, possibly due to the entrapment of degraded products within the polymer adlayer. Moreover, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) measurements were performed to reveal the viscoelastic contribution of the adlayer formed by both bare and functionalized nZVI particles after the reaction on influencing their transport behavior across the sand column. Finally, we proposed the implementation of a high-gradient magnetic trap (HGMT) to reduce the transport distance of the colloidally stable CMC-nZVI, both before and after the reaction. This study sheds light on the behavioral changes of iron nanoparticles after the reaction and highlights environmental concerns regarding the presence of reacted nanoparticles.

Merging transport network companies and taxis in Curitiba’s BRT system

AbstractThe Brazilian city of Curitiba became known around the world for pioneering bus rapid transit (BRT) in the 1970s. Five decades later, public transport ridership is declining on the city’s bus-based system. One-person car trips and car ownership are soaring, and services provided by transport network companies rapidly proliferate and then disappear as congestion worsens and expands across the road network. This was the macro-scale scenario for mobility and modal trends in Curitiba until COVID-19 brought things to a screeching halt in 2020. The widespread use of information and communication technologies has allowed taxi and car ride-hailing transport network schemes to emerge while blurring the lines between public and private and individual and collective transport, locally as well as globally. In 2016, transport network company systems, apps, private cars, services, drivers and passengers disrupted Curitiba’s longstanding and well-regulated taxi system and market for licenses. In 2023, hailing a cab or a shared ride feels and costs the same for passengers (now customers). This study investigates whether these actors and technologies compete with or complement each other in this city, locating and quantifying the benefits for passengers of merging taxi and car ridesharing with the BRT system as first- and last-mile transport to and from BRT corridors. We developed mobile information and communication technologies and acquired, processed, and analyzed millions of data points for passenger location on BRT, ordinary bus, and taxi trips at the city scale. The shareability index for Curitiba’s taxi or car rides was calculated, demonstrating that 60% of all taxi trips have the potential to serve as first- and last-mile transport solution to and from the BRT terminals, stations, and corridors and that nearly 40% of taxi trips both originate and end near (< 500 m) this BRT system infrastructure. By envisioning how transport network companies could merge into the built environment thanks to urban transport digitization, we have developed a model for integrating public transport with the analytic framework of transport network companies that could be deployed in other cities with similar challenges related to public transport, sociotechnical arrangements, system complexity, policymaking, and planning.

An Evaluation of Sustainable Public Services in Light of Turkstat Data on The 100TH Anniversary of The Turkish Republic

Diversifying the expectations of internal and external stakeholders, as well as increasing consumption, require a management practice that takes into account both the use of current resources and the needs of future generations. This situation has been addressed by the participating countries, which have implemented a number of regulations to support the global implementation of the sustainability vision. Although targets and regulations may be established, the primary actor responsible for implementing and achieving sustainability is public institutions. These institutions serve a large group of people and utilize resources on a large scale. The sustainable service delivery performance of public institutions has a direct impact on the welfare and future of society. Sustainable public service is the process of implementing management practices that effectively and efficiently utilize available resources to meet the needs of both today and tomorrow's generations while preserving those resources for future use. This study examines citizen satisfaction levels as a concrete indicator of public service performance in various service areas between 2003 and 2022, in the context of the 100-year achievements of the Republic of Turkey. TUIK data was used and associated with the UN 2030 Sustainability Goals. Based on the data, it was determined that the highest level of general satisfaction is in public security services, while the lowest is in pavement and sidewalk, education, and greenbelt services. To address low satisfaction, it is urgent to develop innovative, digital, and smart solutions and systems in education, network water, sewer services, waste collection, and mass public transportation. Additionally, developing new policies and practices to increase the number of green spaces and improve satisfaction in health services, which have recently decreased, would be appropriate for sustainable public service delivery and welfare in the second century of the Republic of Turkey.

Exploration of bio-convection for slippery two-phase Maxwell nanofluid past a vertical induced magnetic stretching regime associated for biotechnology and engineering

Research in the fields of thermal and process engineering has been growing daily due to the nanoparticles' broad relevance and dynamic applications. Nanomaterials are being researched because of their potential to make remarkable contributions in a number of different areas due to their exceptional thermal and physical characteristics. The thermal efficiency of heat transfer phenomena is considerably improved when nanoparticles are combined with microbes in a solution for collective transport, a process known as mix fluids. Light, gravity, density, and electric and magnetic forces are all physical stimuli that may be used to influence the particles in a fluid mixture. Several branches of biotechnology that rely on fluids and their properties have debated the viability of the bioconvection notion. Nanofluid flow has several potential uses, including but not limited to the storage of electronic devices, the cooling and heating of industrial frameworks, and the construction of accompanying information setups for pharmaceutical governance. The flow model is constructed using relevant variables and dimensionless equations.Under the effect of remarkable Maxwell nanofluid, which is two-dimensional and electrically conducting and includes gyrotactic microorganisms, the present work aims to give some novel uses of induced magnetic field for the bio-convection pattern nanoliquid. Interference between slip effects regulates the thermal phenomena.The BVP4C numerical determination of problem is worked out through fine accuracy. The physical dynamic of flow terms is visualized graphically. It is claimed that manage of thermal transportation phenomenon is produced when the slip effects are dominant. The physical outcomes of interesting terms are visualized.The motile density profile is goes up by increasing Pe. Nano fluid velocity with Momentum slip parameter decreases near the plate and increases as one moves away from it. Motile profile behavior of microorganisms is goes down with Lb.

Construction of Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics with Many-Body Non-Markovian Memory.

We introduce a machine-learning-based coarse-grained molecular dynamics model that faithfully retains the many-body nature of the intermolecular dissipative interactions. Unlike the common empirical coarse-grained models, the present model is constructed based on the Mori-Zwanzig formalism and naturally inherits the heterogeneous state-dependent memory term rather than matching the mean-field metrics such as the velocity autocorrelation function. Numerical results show that preserving the many-body nature of the memory term is crucial for predicting the collective transport and diffusion processes, where empirical forms generally show limitations.

Anesthetic effect and acute toxicity of Citrus sinensis essential oil in betta

This study investigated the use of Citrus sinensis essential oil (EOCS) in Betta splendens, evaluating toxicity, induction and recovery times to anesthesia, its action on agonist behavior, and on male collective transport. To toxicity, fish were exposed to EOCS at different concentrations during 48 h. The induction test was performed to evaluate sedation, anesthesia, and recovery under different concentrations. To assess agonist behavior, male subjects were maintained with different dosages of EOCS, assessing opercular beat and fin expansion, while exposed to untreated animals. In the mass transport study, males were divided into two treatments with two levels of EOCS, for 6 h, also analyzing gill histometry at the end of transport. The results obtained show that the mean lethal concentration in 48 h of exposure to EOCS was calculated at 49.17 μL·L−1. The shortest anesthesia induction time was at 300 μL·L−1 EOCS. EOCS was able to reduce agonist behavior in males individual. Histometric analyzes revealed a reduction in the height of gill filaments in fish transported with 20 μL·L-1 EOCS. EOCS can be used as a sedative and anesthetic agent for B. splendens.

Overcrowding induces fast colloidal solitons in a slowly rotating potential landscape

Collective particle transport across periodic energy landscapes is ubiquitously present in many condensed matter systems spanning from vortices in high-temperature superconductors, frictional atomic sliding, driven skyrmions to biological and active matter. Here we report the emergence of fast solitons propagating against a rotating optical landscape. These experimentally observed solitons are stable cluster waves that originate from a coordinated particle exchange process which occurs when the number of trapped microparticles exceeds the number of potential wells. The size and speed of individual solitons rapidly increase with the particle diameter as predicted by theory and confirmed by numerical simulations. We show that when several solitons coexist, an effective repulsive interaction can stabilize their propagation along the periodic potential. Our experiments demonstrate a generic mechanism for cluster-mediated transport with potential applications to condensed matter systems on different length scales.

Weaver ants regulate the rate of prey delivery during collective vertical transport.

The collective transport of massive food items by ant teams is a striking example of biological cooperation, but it remains unclear how these decentralized teams coordinate to overcome the various challenges associated with transport. Previous research has focused on transport across horizontal surfaces and very shallow inclines, disregarding the complexity of natural foraging environments. In the ant Oecophylla smaragdina, prey are routinely carried up tree trunks to arboreal nests. Using this species, we induce collective transport over a variety of angled surfaces with varying prey masses to investigate how ants respond to inclines. We found that weight and incline pose qualitatively different challenges during transport. Prey were carried over vertical and inclined surfaces faster than across horizontal surfaces, even though inclines were associated with longer routes and a higher probability of dropping the load. This additional speed is associated with more transporters being allocated to loads on steeper inclines and not from the persistence of individual ants. Ant teams also regulated a stable prey delivery rate (rate of return per transporter) across all treatments. Our proposed constrained optimization model suggests a possible explanation for these results; theoretically, prey intake rate at the colony level is maximized when the allocation of transporters yields a similar prey delivery rate across loads.

Number of kinesins engaged in axonal cargo transport: A novel biomarker for neurological disorders

Kinesin motor proteins play crucial roles in anterograde transport of cargo vesicles in neurons, moving them along axons from the cell body towards the synaptic region. Not only the transport force and velocity of single motor protein, but also the number of kinesin molecules involved in transporting a specific cargo, is pivotal for synapse formation. This collective transport by multiple kinesins ensures stable and efficient cargo transport in neurons. Abnormal increases or decreases in the number of engaged kinesin molecules per cargo could potentially act as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spastic paraplegia, polydactyly syndrome, and virus transport disorders. We review here a model constructed using physical measurements to quantify the number of kinesin molecules associated with their cargo, which could shed light on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases related to axonal transport.

Re-evaluating roles and relationships between city authorities and informal public transport operators in sub-saharan africa: A comparative analysis of five cities

Informal Public Transport (IPT) is the primary form of transport throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, responding dynamically to passenger needs, including those of the poorest travellers. Despite this form of collective transport's positive contribution to growing cities, there remain important negative aspects to be addressed, including strong competition for passengers, severe air pollution and poor safety records. The TRANSITIONS project (funded by UKAID) sought to better understand how IPT can be supported to deliver improved service quality, and investigated the relationship between public authorities and IPT operators in the five cities of Accra, Kumasi, Freetown, Cape Town and Maputo. Based on research activities that included stakeholder interviews and workshops, this paper compares the regulatory frameworks of the cities and their evolution. It finds that Cape Town has been an ‘early mover’ in terms of its attempts to professionalise and support the sector, but that self-regulation continues to play a significant role. Accra, Kumasi and Maputo have the main IPT licensing frameworks in place, but limited enforcement capacity and elements of corruption undermine this. Freetown is currently developing a regulatory structure for IPT, which is likely to be informed by major public transport schemes that are frequently seen as the catalyst for IPT professionalisation initiatives.

Spontaneous collective transport in a heat-bath

Spontaneous collective transport in a heat-bath

Zooming in and out on everyday mobility practices in a rural, mountainous area of Switzerland

To combat climate change, carbon emissions from everyday mobility must be lowered. This can be achieved by improving vehicle efficiency, shifting to low-carbon modes of transport and avoiding travel. Most of the literature focuses on shifting mobility away from cars, mainly in the context of commuting. However, mobility is embedded deeply in everyday life and is much more complex. This research tries to broaden the scope and not only analyse the mode of transport that people choose but also the purposes that their mobility serves and how this influences their modal choice. Contrary to the dominant literature's emphasis on urban mobility, this study focuses on rural mobility, highlighting its specific challenges. As a case study, the mobility practices of residents of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Entlebuch (UBE) in Switzerland were investigated. Using a social practice approach has proven useful in analysing how individuals shape their everyday mobility. The study ‘zooms in’ on how practices are configured and ‘zooms out’ on the connection between mobility practices and mobility purposes, with the overarching aim to explore the key characteristics and dynamics of rural everyday transport in Switzerland, using the UBE as a case study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed adopting a thematic analysis approach. The results indicate that in the rural context geographical conditions and infrastructure availability exert more influence on how practices are performed than in urban contexts. Also, the time spent on mobility was valued differently depending on the mobility purpose, leading to different modal choices for different mobility purposes. Finally, the results demonstrate that strong social capital within a community can foster low-carbon mobility in three ways: shorter distances travelled for shopping and leisure purposes; a preference for active modes of transport; and self-organised collective transport. These findings highlight the importance of considering mobility practices' embeddedness in everyday life while identifying potentials for shifting to low-carbon modes of transport, as well as avoiding travel in the first place.

Understanding the process of improving accessibility and affordability of inter-municipal bus transport system

This paper examines the ways an inter-municipality bus system for passengers improved its accessibility and affordability for end-users at regional level. Using archetype theory, we conducted a case-study in FÖLI, a not-for-profit organization tasked with collective transport of passengers by bus in Southwest Finland. We find that FÖLI implemented a radical revolutionary change by introducing a new framework for the carriage of passengers by bus at a regional level, in which a zone free and flat fare policy applies. The sequence of change became central; with a continuous reorientation linearity aiming to improve the accessibility and affordability of collective transport by bus for commuters. The paper contributes to archetype theory by examining the relevance of accessibility and affordability in the configuration process of designing and implementing change, and extending knowledge in this area. Specifically, for the first time, our research shows the way in which FÖLI used the accessibility and affordability policy as an interpretative scheme to design and implement the change process successfully. The practical implication is that municipalities understood the relevance of improving collective transport infrastructures (roads, systems and technologies) to attract commuters as a way of saving total costs to fund underperforming buslines.

Assessing the Relationship between Ecological Water Demand of Haloxlon ammodendron and Its Wind Erosion Prevention Effect

Desert vegetation in the outer transition zone of an arid oasis serves as a protective barrier against wind and sand, safeguarding the oasis ecosystem. However, intensive agricultural water usage within the oasis has led to water depletion, posing a threat to the survival and growth of desert vegetation, as well as the associated increase in wind and sand phenomena. To ensure the sustainable distribution of water resources and maintain the stability of the oasis peripheral ecosystem, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the ecological water demand of desert vegetation and its effectiveness in preventing wind erosion. Through a combination of field sample tests, field pit tests, and data analysis, this research focused on Haloxlon ammodendron, the most prevalent species on the oasis periphery, to explore the intricate relationship between its ecological water demand and resistance to wind erosion. The results showed that medium-vegetation-coverage soils exhibited a higher soil moisture content (7.02%) compared to high-vegetation-coverage soils (1.57%) and low-vegetation-coverage soils (3.41%). As the soil water content decreased, the growth rate of H. ammodendron’s plant height, new branches, and crown width decelerated. The ecological water requirement of H. ammodendron during its growth period was 70.95 mm under medium-vegetation-coverage conditions, exhibiting a significant increase of 14.6% and 12.3% compared to high- and low-vegetation-coverage conditions, respectively. Meanwhile, H. ammodendron exhibits remarkable wind erosion prevention effects in moderate coverage conditions, resulting in a significant reduction in surface sand collection and sand transport by 53.15% and 51.29%, respectively, compared to low vegetation coverage; however, no significant difference was observed when compared to high vegetation coverage. The SEM model results revealed that soil water content had an indirect effect on sand transport (R2 = 0.90) and sand collection (R2 = 0.96) through three pathways of action, namely: volatile water content–crown growth rate–wind speed–sediment discharge; volatile water content–plant height growth rate–vegetation coverage–wind speed–sediment discharge; and volatile water content–plant height growth rate–vegetation coverage–sediment accumulation. This study provides valuable insights for the scientific formulation and implementation of strategies aimed at protecting desert vegetation.

Sustainable mobility in Ibero Puebla, México. Initiatives and challenges

Within the framework of strengthening a sustainable, healthy, affordable, supportive, safe and diversified mobility system for the university community, the Ibero Puebla in Mexico works on the consolidation of cycling routes, pedestrianization and collective transport. In this context, the dialogue with municipal and state authorities has been essential to materialize the Comprehensive mobility project of the Boulevard del Niño Poblano and the Inter-university digital electromobility pilot program, both developed with a gender perspective. The first one consists of improving the conditions of public space to connect different types of transport, pacify traffic, create safe paths, bike lanes, while the second one, offers students from three universities the possibility of sharing an electric digital minibus, routes oriented to user demand, maximizing connectivity, continuous feedback and access to low coverage areas for public transportation. The intervention of the university has been fundamental so that different secretariats at the state level coordinate for the projection and budgeting of the project, as well as articulate with the municipal authorities, on the one hand, as well as to offer a possibility of interuniversity collective transport, which decreases the use of electrical fossil, the emission of greenhouse gases, as a real option.

Anomalous High-Temperature Magnetoresistance in a Dilute 2D Hole System.

We report an unusual magnetoresistance that strengthens with the temperature in a dilute two-dimensional (2D) hole system in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells with densities p=1.98-0.99×10^{10}/cm^{2} where r_{s}, the ratio between Coulomb energy and Fermi energy, is as large as 20-30. We show that, while the system exhibits a negative parabolic magnetoresistance at low temperatures (≲0.4 K) characteristic of an interacting Fermi liquid, a positive magnetoresistance emerges unexpectedly at higher temperatures, and grows with increasing temperature even in the regime T∼E_{F}, close to the Fermi energy. This unusual positive magnetoresistance at high temperatures can be attributed to the viscous transport of 2D hole fluid in the hydrodynamic regime where holes scatter frequently with each other. These findings give insight into the collective transport of strongly interacting carriers in the r_{s}≫1 regime and new routes toward magnetoresistance at high temperatures.

Non-Equilibrium Turbulent Transport in Convective Plumes Obtained from Closure Theory

The non-equilibrium property of turbulence modifies the characteristics of turbulent transport. With the aid of response function formalism, such non-equilibrium effects in turbulent transport can be represented by the temporal variation of the turbulent energy (K) and its dissipation rate (ε) along the mean stream through the advective derivatives of K and ε. Applications of this effect to the turbulent convection with plumes are considered for the first time in this work. The non-equilibrium transport effects associated with plumes are addressed in two aspects. Firstly, the effect associated with a single plume is evaluated using data measured in the recent plume/jet experiments. The second argument is developed for the collective turbulent transport associated with multiple plumes mimicking the stellar convection zone. In this second case, for the purpose of capturing the plume motions into the advective derivatives, use has to be made of the time–space double-averaging procedure, where the turbulent fluctuations are divided into the coherent or dispersion component (which represents plume motions) and the incoherent or random component. With the aid of the transport equations of the coherent velocity stress and the incoherent counterpart, the interaction between the dispersion and random fluctuations are also discussed in the context of convective turbulent flows with plumes. It is shown from these analyses that the non-equilibrium effect associated with plume motions is of a great deal of relevance in the convective turbulence modeling.

Abstract 95: Vehicle Fleet is Associated With Hospitalizations for Oncological Treatment and Surgery in Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Purpose: Vehicles are a giant source of carcinogenic substances, given the fact they power up by the combustion of gasoline, gas, or even ethanol, which can be harmful on a daily basis. Thus, our objective is to ascertain if the vehicle fleet in a region is related to its hospitalizations for oncological treatment and surgery. We expect that the vehicle fleet is directly related to oncological treatment and surgical procedures. Methods: A cross sectional study was designed using data collected from the DATASUS database, related to the number of hospitalizations for oncological treatment and surgery among Brazilian macro regions and states in the period of 2008 to 2021. It was then correlated with the vehicle fleet data of each macro region and state of July 2021 released by the Secretaria Nacional de Trânsito, federal institution that manages vehicle fleets in Brazil. Motorcycles, trailers, automobiles, trucks, tractors and buses are considered in this analysis. Pearson correlation test was performed using the Graphpad Prism software. P<0.05 was defined as significant. Results: Brazil’s vehicle fleet amounts to 113,406,884 vehicles. The Southeast region has the biggest fleet, as well as the highest number of hospitalizations, followed by south, northeast, central-west, and north, respectively. São Paulo has the most vehicles, 31,920,712, and also the highest number of hospitalizations, accounting for 24.3% of the total. At the same time, Amazonas showed the lowest vehicle fleet (228,731) as well as oncological hospitalizations (6,373). Pearson correlation was statistically significant considering states (p<0.0001, R²=0,9516) and macro regions (p=0,0038, R²=0,9574). Conclusion: These results suggest that the fleet is directly related to oncological surgical procedures and treatment. Data from this study can help public policies to take further decisions on investments in collective transport and transition to electric powered vehicles. It is important to note that this is a cross-sectional study, which can only light up hypotheses, not ascertain causality and there may be factors of confusion, such as southeast being the most developed and richest region, capable of a higher number of diagnoses. Citation Format: Lucas Kieling, Pedro Antonio Paludo Menna Barreto, Laura Tibola Marques da Silva, Rafaela de Andrade, Luiza Seixas de Sá Beltramo, Gabriele Eckerdt Lech, Fernando Azambuja, Arthur Minas Alberti, Pedro Arthur Zimmer Silveira. Vehicle Fleet is Associated With Hospitalizations for Oncological Treatment and Surgery in Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Closing the Research-to-Implementation Gap; 2023 Apr 4-6. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 95.