Land Travel Research Articles

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Driving Factors of Vegetation Greenness in Typical Tourist Region: A Case Study of Hainan Island, China

Vegetation greenness has been one of the most widely utilized indicators to assess the vegetation growth status for the better ecological environment. However, in typical tourist regions, the impact of the geographical environment, socioeconomic development, and tourism development on vegetation greenness changes is still a challenge. To address this challenge, we used the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform combined with a series of Landsat remote sensing images to calculate the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) which can be used as an indicator to characterize the spatiotemporal evolution of vegetation greenness in Hainan Island from 2000 to 2020. Furthermore, we employed geographic detector and structural equation models to quantify the relative importance and explanatory power of the geographical environment, socioeconomic development, and tourism development on vegetation greenness changes and to clarify the interaction of mechanisms of various factors in Haikou and Sanya. The results show that the annual growth rate of the FVC in Hainan Island was 0.0025/a. In terms of spatial distribution, the trend of the FVC changes was mainly characterized by non-significant and extremely significant improvement, accounting for 35.34% and 29.38% of the study area. Future vegetation greenness was dominated by weak counter-persistent increase and weak persistent increase. The geographical environmental factors were the main factors affecting vegetation greenness in Haikou, followed by the socioeconomic and the tourism development factors, while the geographical environmental factors also dominate in Sanya, followed by the tourism development factors and finally the socioeconomic factors. Specifically, the spatial distribution of vegetation greenness was primarily influenced by land use types, elevation, slope, and travel services. Geographical environmental factors could indirectly affect changes in socioeconomic and tourism development, thereby indirectly affecting the spatial distribution of vegetation greenness. These findings can provide some significant implications to guide the ecological environmental protection for sustainable development in Hainan Island in China.

EID AL-FITR INFLUENCES THE NUMBER OF TRAIN PASSENGERS ON THE SUMATRA ISLAND (CALENDAR VARIATIONS TIME SERIES MODEL)

The Train is one of the transportation options for land travel on the island of Sumatra because of its affordable cost, comfort, and fast mobility. The majority of the population of Sumatra Island who are Muslims influenced the sharp increase in the number of train passengers during Eid Al-Fitr due to the large number of residents who returned to their hometowns (Sumatra Island). The time of Eid Al-Fitr will change every year on the Gregorian calendar, but it is always the same if using the Hijri calendar. This study aims to predict the number of train passengers on the island of Sumatra based on calendar variations (Eid Al-Fitr). To overcome this calendar variation, time series modeling will be used with the addition of exogenous variables (ARIMAX). This model consists of a time series regression equation added with a time series model of the residual regression equation of an exogenous variable. The resulting model can forecast the number of train passengers in the next few months and find that Eid Al-Fitr affects the data. Every Eid Al-Fitr, there is an increase in the number of train passengers by 49 passengers. The model obtained is in the good category with MAPE in-sample of 18.12% and out-sample of 9.93%.

Wastewater sequencing as a powerful tool to reveal SARS-CoV-2 variant introduction and spread in French Guiana, South America

The origin of introduction of a new pathogen in a country, the evolutionary dynamics of an epidemic within a country, and the role of cross-border areas on pathogen dynamics remain complex to disentangle and are often poorly understood. For instance, cross-border areas represent the ideal location for the sharing of viral variants between countries, with international air travel, land travel and waterways playing an important role in the cross-border spread of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, monitoring the point of entry and the evolutionary dynamics of viruses in space and time within local populations remain challenging. Here we tested the efficiency of wastewater-based epidemiology and genotyping in monitoring Covid-19 epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics in French Guiana, a tropical country located in South America. Our results suggest that wastewater-based epidemiology and genotyping are powerful tools to monitor variant introduction and disease evolution within a tropical country but the inclusion of both clinical and wastewater samples could still improve our understanding of genetic diversity co-circulating. Wastewater sequencing also revealed the cryptic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants within the country. Interestingly, we found some amino acid changes specific to the variants co-circulating in French Guiana, suggesting a local evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 variants after their introduction. More importantly, our results showed that the proximity to bordering countries was not the origin of the emergence of the French Guianese B.1.160.25 variant, but rather that this variant emerged from an ancestor B.1.160 variant introduced by European air plane travelers, suggesting thus that air travel remains a significant risk for cross-border spread of infectious diseases. Overall, we suggest that wastewater-based epidemiology and genotyping provides a cost effective and non-invasive approach for pathogen monitoring and an early-warning tool for disease emergence and spread within a tropical country.

Using machine-learning models to understand nonlinear relationships between land use and travel

Using machine-learning models to understand nonlinear relationships between land use and travel

Understanding community level influences on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in England: new insights from comparison over time and space.

Understanding and monitoring the major influences on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence is essential to inform policy making and devise appropriate packages of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Through evaluating community level influences on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and their spatio-temporal variations in England, this study aims to provide some insights into the most important risk parameters. We used spatial clusters developed in Jahanshahi and Jin (2021 Transportation 48, 1329-1359 (doi:10.1007/s11116-020-10098-9)) as geographical areas with distinct land use and travel patterns. We also segmented our data by time periods to control for changes in policies or development of the disease over the course of the pandemic. We then used multivariate linear regression to identify influences driving infections within the clusters and to compare the variations of those between the clusters. Our findings demonstrate the key roles that workplace and commuting modes have had on some of the sections of the working population after accounting for several interrelated influences including mobility and vaccination. We found communities of workers in care homes and warehouses and to a lesser extent textile and ready meal industries and those who rely more on public transport for commuting tend to carry a higher risk of infection across all residential area types and time periods.

Does built environment matter in a medium-sized African city? Empirical evidence from the interaction between land use and travel behavior

A bulk of the empirical studies on land use and travel behavior seem to focus on Western, European, and Asian cities. The experience of cities in Africa has been grossly understudied and left unaccounted for in global literature. A substantial number of these studies concluded that variables in the built environment are important determinants of travel behavior. It is the view of this paper that some African cities, like the Benin metropolitan region, may deviate from the hypothesis of land use-travel behavior interaction in several other studies, which seems to imply that built environment components are among the key factors impacting travel behavior. This paper is aimed at examining how the built environment and socioeconomic and demographic attributes affect travel behavior in a medium-sized African city, using the Benin metropolitan region as an example. Using remotely sensed datasets and metropolitan-wide survey data of 1,735 valid responses, a nested logit choice model was estimated. The result revealed that built environment indicators have a weak association with travel behavior and that individual characteristics like socioeconomics and demographics prove to be strong variables that influence people’s travel behavior in the study area. The study provides support for the association between built environment indicators, individual indicators, and travel behavior. It suggested that, unlike the cities of most advanced nations, the Benin metropolitan region somewhat deviated in the manifestation of travel behavior. It was recommended that more studies be conducted in African cities. Such research could disclose additional important details regarding African behavior and how it influences their decision-making.

Impact of land use, travel behavior, and socio-economic characteristics on carbon emissions in cool-climate cities, USA.

US cities of cool-climate zone such as Chicago and Boston are witnessing a reduction in carbon emissions potentially due to promoting public transportation and alternative energy resources. It is difficult to validate or deny optimal integration between land-use practices and transportation policies in mitigating carbon emissions due to the lack of urban comparative studies among metropolitan areas. Therefore, this research aims to examine the relationship between land use, travel behavior, and socio-economic characteristics related to carbon dioxide emissions at the zip code level. The research tends to investigate the carbon emissions in four metropolitan regions in cool climatic zone 5 compared to the carbon emissions in all US zip codes, to generate benchmarking predictive models. To this end, nine regression models were developed in this research. These include the US data model, zone 5 model, zone 5 cities model, zone 5 metropolitan areas model, zone 5 micropolitan areas model, Boston model, Chicago model, Columbus model, and Detroit model considering 14 independent variables. The nine models were calibrated and evaluated to include the statistically significant variables having the expected logical sign and acceptable values for t-statistic and multicollinearity. The adjusted R2 values vary between 0.62 and 0.91, where Boston, Chicago, Columbus, and Detroit models are statistically better than other models. The results indicate that the policies that can be adopted to reduce carbon emissions vary among the models.

Anatomical features of the breast bone of the Baikal nerpa

The breast bone forms the lower limits of the chest, where, under the influence of inspiratory muscles, it moves down, and expiratory muscles - up. During land travel, kinetic energy is absorbed through the breast bone. In the available literature, there are descriptions of the breast bone in some mammals, however, in the Baikal seal, the data require additional clarification. The material was sternum from Baikal seals aged from 6 months to 11 years (n=7). In the course of the study, the specific features of the morphology of the sternum of the Baikal seal in the age aspect were established. In particular, the sternum is formed from the handle, seven body segments, the xiphoid process and well-defined cartilages (the handle and the xiphoid process). The value of the length of the breast bone increases 1.4 times with age and is 47.7 ± 1.87 cm. Features of the morphology of the cartilaginous structures of the sternum, create mobility in its cranial part, and maximum strength between the 7th segment and the xiphoid process. The cartilage of the handle at the base is expanded, with age it undergoes ossification. In kumutkans, it is 68.4±2.33 mm long, 13.1±1.09 mm wide and 5.8±0.13 mm thick; by the age of mature seals, these values increased 1.6 times, 1.8 and 1.9 times, respectively. The segments of the thoracic bone body have a prismatic shape with rounded edges, and on the surfaces from the 3rd-4th cranial ends of the segments and from the 1st (2nd) to the 7th caudal ends, the presence of a pronounced median furrow is noted. On the xiphoid process, two pits and a protruding dorsally ridge stand out, and its cartilage has a pronounced pedicle, which caudally turns into a rounded plate.

US-Mexico binational COVID-19 cases in southern California border counties, California, February–June 2020

BackgroundCOVID-19 has had a significant public health impact on both the United States and Mexico. Cross-border mobility between southern California and Mexico raises questions of transmission trends between these jurisdictions. The objective of this project was to describe binational cases amongst California US-Mexico border county COVID-19 cases and compare incidence trends to cross-border Mexico jurisdictions. MethodsInterview data from persons with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in San Diego County, CA and Imperial County, CA from February to June 2020 were reviewed for binational cases; demographics and connection to COVID-19 outbreaks were assessed. Graphs of COVID-19 incidence in San Diego County and Imperial County were compared to incidence graphs in cross-border Mexico jurisdictions of Tijuana and Mexicali. ResultsPersons with COVID-19 and a binational case were older, more likely to be Hispanic, and reside in a border ZIP code than those without. Binational cases were a small proportion and tracked with overall cases during the study period. ConclusionsBinational cases had different trends than non-binational cases of SARS-CoV-2 in San Diego and Imperial counties from February to June 2020. Findings could inform SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies specific to the US-Mexico land border, particularly recommendations regarding cross-border land travel.

Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Western Burkina Faso, West Africa.

After its initial detection in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly, causing successive epidemic waves worldwide. This study aims to provide a genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Burkina Faso. Three hundred and seventy-seven SARS-CoV-2 genomes obtained from PCR-positive nasopharyngeal samples (PCR cycle threshold score < 35) collected between 5 May 2020, and 31 January 2022 were analyzed. Genomic sequences were assigned to phylogenetic clades using NextClade and to Pango lineages using pangolin. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses were performed to determine the geographical sources and time of virus introduction in Burkina Faso. The analyzed SARS-CoV-2 genomes can be assigned to 10 phylogenetic clades and 27 Pango lineages already described worldwide. Our analyses revealed the important role of cross-border human mobility in the successive SARS-CoV-2 introductions in Burkina Faso from neighboring countries. This study provides additional insights into the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in West Africa. It highlights the importance of land travel in the spread of the virus and the need to rapidly implement preventive policies. Regional cross-border collaborations and the adherence of the general population to government policies are key to prevent new epidemic waves.

Exploring the Association of Spatial Capital and Economic Diversity in the Tourist City of Surat Thani, Thailand

Diversity in economic activity can be found at different spatial scales in cities’ urban morphology. Spatial capital is defined as the area’s physical appearance, which is important for enhancing economic activities in urban areas. It addresses how urban form, as a result of urban design, influences urban life—that is, how it supports and creates the potential for variations of urbanity and spatial diversity. The aims of this study are (i) to measure the economic diversity based on Simpson’s diversity index by using points of interest (POI) data, which can reflect economic activity functions in the tourist city of Surat Thani, which is mainly used as a jumping off point for land travel to other islands off the east coast of Thailand; (ii) to explore the space syntax to measure the values of urban morphology by integrations with DepthMapX Software; and (iii) to investigate the relationship between measures of the degree of spatial morphology configuration and patterns of spatial diversity of economic activities using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The study found that measuring the values of urban morphology can generate variations in spatial accessibility that are positively related to the variety of economic diversity, especially in terms of the availability of convenience stores, shops, and bank branches. This research is beneficial to planners in identifying important economic areas of the city, whose complex spatial interactions between commerce and urban morphology influence the current demand for economic space.

Regional importation and asymmetric within-country spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in the Netherlands.

Variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 have caused resurging waves of infections worldwide. In the Netherlands, the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta VOCs circulated widely between September 2020 and August 2021. We sought to elucidate how various control measures, including targeted flight restrictions, had impacted the introduction and spread of these VOCs in the Netherlands. We performed phylogenetic analyses on 39,844 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected under the Dutch national surveillance program. We found that all four VOCs were introduced before targeted flight restrictions were imposed on countries where the VOCs first emerged. Importantly, foreign introductions, predominantly from other European countries, continued during these restrictions. After their respective introductions into the Netherlands, the Alpha and Delta VOCs largely circulated within more populous regions of the country with international connections before asymmetric bidirectional transmissions occurred with the rest of the country and the VOC became the dominant circulating lineage. Our findings show that flight restrictions had limited effectiveness in deterring VOC introductions due to the strength of regional land travel importation risks. As countries consider scaling down SARS-CoV-2 surveillance efforts in the post-crisis phase of the pandemic, our results highlight that robust surveillance in regions of early spread is important for providing timely information for variant detection and outbreak control. None.

Regional connectivity drove bidirectional transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East during travel restrictions

Regional connectivity and land travel have been identified as important drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. However, the generalizability of this finding is understudied outside of well-sampled, highly connected regions. In this study, we investigated the relative contributions of regional and intercontinental connectivity to the source-sink dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 for Jordan and the Middle East. By integrating genomic, epidemiological and travel data we show that the source of introductions into Jordan was dynamic across 2020, shifting from intercontinental seeding in the early pandemic to more regional seeding for the travel restrictions period. We show that land travel, particularly freight transport, drove introduction risk during the travel restrictions period. High regional connectivity and land travel also drove Jordan’s export risk. Our findings emphasize regional connectedness and land travel as drivers of transmission in the Middle East.

Multimodal Evaluation of Changes in National Potential Passenger and Freight Accessibility during the EU-Driven Big Push to Transport Infrastructure

The main purpose of the paper is to present a methodical approach to differences in changes in intra-national potential accessibility. Research concerns level of accessibility and its dispersion, both for freight and passenger transport regarding four transport modes. The main added value of the paper is an indication of how to monitor changes in the accessibility of many modes of transport at the municipal level, as a result of investment processes, while taking into account the available data sources, both on the land use data and travel times, with the support of regional and central offices. We focus on the intensive development of transport infrastructure after Poland’s accession to the EU. We conclude that outcomes of reducing territorial differences in accessibility are diverse depending on the transport mode: from a generally positive effect in passenger transport to varied effects in freight transport, including particularly highly polarising effects in rail transport. The research method provides the possibility of analysing multimodal changes in accessibility concerning numerous transport modes for any large country or group of countries. Certain development opportunities of the model to be implemented in the future are discussed.

Associations of land use around rail transit stations with jobs–housing distribution of rail commuters from smart-card data

ABSTRACT Previous studies generally used land use and travel flow to investigate the efficiency of the railway system in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) cities. Furthermore, to study the association of land use and jobs–housing distribution of commuters, we can find out the potential development of rail commuting. In this research, four railway lines in Wuhan, China, were selected to explore the land use in promoting practical commuting population according to the smart-card data obtained. For land use issues, except the road density and building density, a Normalized Location-Weighted Landscape Index (NLWLI) based on the source – sink theory in landscape ecology was established to assess the jobs–housing land use around rail transit stations. Meanwhile, employment and housing details of commuters around rail transit stations were identified using smart-card data. We found that the generation of commuting flow was affected by building density and the land use of employment in the immediate vicinity of rail transit stations. The distribution of building density and commuters in a mature rail line was roughly a normal distribution. However, due to the inconsistency of land use and jobs – housing distribution around stations, the requirement of the balance of land use and jobs – housing distribution should be reduced at the scale of rail stations in the TOD planning systems. This study is the application of massive smart-card data in the field of urban research. It identifies land use issues that affect rail transit commuting flow, and can help urban planners improve the efficiency of rail transit through planning and design.

Economic Viability and Emissions of Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure in a Changing Arctic

Abstract As Arctic open water increases, shipping activity to and from mid- and western Russian Arctic ports to points south has notably increased. A number of Arctic municipalities hope increased vessel traffic will create opportunities to become a major transshipment hub. However, even with more traffic passing these ports, it might still be economically cheaper to offload cargo at a more southern port, which may also result in lower emissions. Ultimately, the question of whether to use a transshipment in the Arctic versus an established major European port is determined by the relative costs (or emissions) of sea versus land travel. This study calculates the relative competitiveness of six Norwegian coastal cities as multimodal hubs for shipments. We quantify the relative prices and CO2 emissions for sea and land travel for routes starting at the Norwegian–Russian sea border with an ultimate destination in central Europe and find that all existing routes are not competitive with routes using the major existing Port of Rotterdam (Netherlands); even with investments in port expansion and modernization, they would be underutilized regardless of an increase in vessel traffic destined for central Europe. We then examine under what relative prices (emissions) these routes become economically viable or result in lower emissions than using existing southern ports. Notably, the cheapest routes generally produce the lowest emissions, and the most expensive routes tend to have the largest emissions. Communities should consider relative competitiveness prior to making large infrastructure investments. While some choices are physically possible, they may not be economically viable. Significance Statement Climate change, while disruptive, can also create new opportunities. Many Arctic cities hope to become a major transshipping hub as declining sea ice opens new shipping routes from western and mid-Russian Arctic ports to European ports. This paper quantifies the relative competitiveness of six Norwegian coastal cities as multimodal transportation hubs and finds that they are uncompetitive with the more southern port in Rotterdam (Netherlands). We also show that the most economically competitive routes have lower direct emissions. Thus, while Arctic ports provide critical services in support of local and regional economic activity, even with year-round Arctic navigation Arctic ports’ development into major transshipment hubs for cargo destined for more distant locations may be neither economically viable nor desirable.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant of Concern AY.57 and Clinical Characteristics of Imported Cases on a Vietnamese Coal Carrier Vessel in East Kalimantan, Indonesia: A Case Report

Introduction: The 2019 Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) continues to be a severe public health issue throughout the world. Disease transmission channels exist across all modes of transportation, including land, air, and water. The presence of this disease has been demonstrated by a study conducted in South Korea, which discovered that 90% of ship passengers have also been tested with SARS-CoV-2 virus. Case: At the port of Samarinda, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was performed on 20 Vietnamese coal carrier vessel crew members. According to the findings obtained from the RT-PCR test, every single member of the team had been infected with the virus. Since they exhibited symptoms of an infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus (such as coughing, fever, and shortness of breath), a total of 6 members had to be taken to the hospital. According to the results of genomic sequencing, the crew members were found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus and variant of concern (VOC) of Delta AY.57, Vietnam lineage. Conclusion: COVID-19 can be transmitted via public transportation, including land, air, and sea travel. Controlling the spread of the virus requires RT-PCR testing at terminals, stations, and ports. SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant is still dominating Southeast Asia region, particulary Delta VOC AY.57.

A hypothetical urban layout generation model for exploring land use impacts on travel behavior

In urban planning, land-use policies are commonly applied to reduce automobile travel and encourage active transport because land use is believed to affect travel behavior. However, a debate about such effects continues in literature. Empirical studies differing in context, methodology, and geographic scale come to different results. Although questioned because of self-selection, the accumulated empirical evidence provides a solid foundation for conducting simulation research that helps systematically examine the effects of land use attributes on travel behavior. This paper introduces an urban layout generation (ULG) model specially developed for simulations. The ULG model is not a land use and transport interaction model. It generates hypothetical urban layouts corresponding directly to D-variables, a set of land use measurements widely used in empirical studies. The D-variables are controlled on multiple spatial scales in the ULG model. Besides the spatial aspects of the road network and land use commonly included in virtual city models, the ULG model also simulates the population density. Performance tests showed the ability of the ULG model to generate hypothetical though reasonable urban layouts which meet the requirements of simulation research of land use and travel behavior. Finally, several examples combing the ULG model and a travel behavior simulation model show potential applications of the ULG model.

Budget Travel in the Mediterranean: A Methodology for Reconstructing Ancient Journeys through Least Cost Networks

Least cost paths have been used extensively in the archaeological study of ancient routeways. In this paper the principal interest is less in tracing detailed paths than in modelling long-distance travel through an extensive network over land and water. We present a novel, computationally-efficient method for avoiding the direction-dependent, positive biases in least cost paths encountered in standard algorithms. A methodology for generating networks of such paths is introduced based on a trade-off between building and travel costs, minimizing the total cost. We use the Peutinger Table, an illustrated <em>itinerarium</em> of the Roman empire, to calibrate the parameter controlling network complexity. The problem of how to weight land versus sea travel costs in the network is tackled by comparing itineraries of Delphic <em>theoroi</em> of the third century BCE with solutions of the asymmetric travelling salesman problem, a classic graph theory puzzle.

Inferring land use from spatialtemporal taxi ride data

Different functions of urban spaces generate travel demand, and urban travel inversely influences urban spaces. Collective human mobility patterns can reveal land use patterns and urban structure although previous studies constrained the area around transportation stations. This paper explores the relationship between urban movements and land use patterns of a whole city using taxi ridership data in Seoul, South Korea. This study takes advantages of taxi datasets that are not bounded by routes and stations and contain more precise information in terms of space and time. In addition, we verify the connection between land use and travel patterns using a statistical method. To reveal the interaction between trip mobility patterns and land use, taxi ridership patterns are grouped by a clustering method. Each clustered pattern is then analyzed with the corresponding urban context. We also statistically verify the relationship between land use and the pattern clusters, and show that the seven obtained clusters can be categorized into four types and were significantly correlated with land use. Furthermore, more detailed land use can be classified using the spatiotemporal properties of taxi ridership patterns. The proposed method is expected to monitor change in land use development.