Journey Length Research Articles

Professional and public views about early return of patients from Comprehensive Stroke Centers to local Acute Stroke Centers in England following displacement by emergency care pathways

BackgroundMechanical thrombectomy is a highly effective emergency treatment for selected cases of ischemic stroke but can only be provided at hospitals with appropriate facilities and interventionists. Many patients require transfers for treatment, including some who are subsequently considered ineligible. To maintain capacity at thrombectomy centers, displaced patients should soon be returned to their local hospital following assessment and treatment, but return processes vary. We sought the views of stroke and ambulance services, clinicians, and public representatives about the timing, planning and implementation of acceptable processes to inform recommendations about the early return of patients (< 24 h) displaced as a result of thrombectomy pathways.MethodsThree workstreams were undertaken between 01/05/2023 and 31/10/2023: 1. An online survey of hospital stroke services supplemented by a convenience poll of stroke clinicians. 2. An online survey of ambulance services. 3. Focus groups with stroke patients and carers using a topic guide describing typical early return scenarios. The surveys used multiple choice answers supplemented by free text boxes for additional comments. Data were reported descriptively without statistical comparison. Focus group data were analyzed thematically using emergent coding.ResultsResponses were obtained from 32 stroke services, 44 stroke clinicians, and 11 ambulance services. Stroke service and clinician respondents generally supported early return for most clinical scenarios but advised caution regarding transfers < 4 h after thrombectomy and < 24 h for hemorrhagic stroke due to the higher risk of complications. Ambulance respondents highlighted travel time, immediate service pressures and crew type as influences upon providing early returns, but supported 24/7 provision. Twenty-nine patients and four carers participated in three focus groups. There was general acceptance of early return processes but these participants emphasized the need for clear communication and individualized decisions based upon clinical status, age, journey length, patient preferences and individual contextual factors.ConclusionsAll contributors were generally supportive of early patient returns to maintain thrombectomy center capacity, but the results suggest important organizational, clinical, and patient-focused considerations for successful implementation.

Network analysis of U.S. non-fatal opioid-involved overdose journeys, 2018–2023

We present a nation-wide network analysis of non-fatal opioid-involved overdose journeys in the United States. Leveraging a unique proprietary dataset of Emergency Medical Services incidents, we construct a journey-to-overdose geospatial network capturing nearly half a million opioid-involved overdose events spanning 2018–2023. We analyze the structure and sociological profiles of the nodes, which are counties or their equivalents, characterize the distribution of overdose journey lengths, and investigate changes in the journey network between 2018 and 2023. Our findings include that authority and hub nodes identified by the HITS algorithm tend to be located in urban areas and involved in overdose journeys with particularly long geographical distances.

Development of a multifactorial prediction model for commute mode choice in 10 983 Finnish public sector employees: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to examine the feasibility of using survey data to identify factors that predict commute mode choice.DesignThe study design is cross-sectional.SettingSurvey data from the Finnish...

Évaluation en vie réelle du parcours de soins des patients éligibles à un traitement par axicabtagene ciloleucel : cohorte multicentrique IMPA-CT

The arrival of CAR-T cell treatments in Europe in 2018 has considerably changed the clinical and logistical management of lymphoma patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate pathways of patients eligible for axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel), particularly previously and afterwards of its administration, stages that are currently poorly documented in the literature. Ninety-eight patients from eleven French qualified centers eligible for axi-cel treatment between June 2020 and February 2021 were retrospectively included. Of all the stages in the care pathway evaluated, the median time observed between relapse after the previous line and prescription of axi-cel was 27days, and the median time between the multidisciplinary consultation meeting and axi-cel administration was 63days. The two main methods of discharge from hospital were a return home (65% of cases) or hospitalisation in a rehabilitation unit (20% of cases). Among all the geographical and organizational characteristics assessed, no factor was found to have a significant impact on the time length of the patient's journey, apart from the patient capacity of the qualified center, and the origin of the patient's referral (coming from a qualified or a referral center). Since the study was carried out, the number of qualified centers has continued to rise, improving territorial coverage and access to treatment.

The problem of homogeneity of rail passenger delay compensation scheme rules in Great Britain: impacts on passenger engagement and operator revenues

BackgroundA rail passenger delay compensation scheme aiming at improving attractiveness of rail services and providing minimum customer service standards for delayed passengers operates in the European Union and Great Britain. British rail passengers are eligible to claim 50% of fare for delays of more than 30 min and 100% for delays of over 1 h. The scheme rules were chosen arbitrarily and are homogeneous across all ticket types and journey lengths. As longer journeys are usually more expensive and subjected to longer delays, long distance operators are likely to see more passengers being eligible to claim compensation. This, combined with higher engagement rates due to differences in sensitivity to lateness or opportunity cost of not claiming compensation is likely to have an impact on the differing revenue burden for operating companies.ObjectiveAgainst this background, this study aims to quantify the revenue impact of homogeneity of scheme rules for different types of train operators to advance understanding of the scheme’s costs and motivate further research into the economic rationale behind the scheme’s provision and design.MethodologyAn econometric model was constructed to empirically test the impact of performance levels and train operator characteristics on the compensation payments made to passengers through the ’Delay Repay’ scheme in Great Britain.ResultsThe combined differences in the nature of operation and engagement levels mean that with delay levels and engagement increasing with journey length and fare, short, medium and long distance train operating companies (TOCs) repay on average respectively 0.3%, 0.8% and 1.8% of their ticket revenues, increasing the scheme’s proportionate burden on the revenues of long distance operators. Further research is needed to either explain the economic or regulatory reasons behind the differing revenue impact of the scheme on different types of TOCs or suggest how the scheme can be redesigned to take these differences into account.

Changes in intra-city transport accessibility accompanying the occurrence of an urban flood

Flooding of the urban transport systems is becoming ever more common, and their ability to function under such conditions requires detailed research. The main objective of this study was to determine the changes (mainly in their spatial nature) of intra-urban transport accessibility of a large city (Lodz) when impacted by urban flooding. The study utilised a variety of data, including the Digital Terrain Model, the Topographic Object Database and the Road Transport Speed Model. These were employed to determine those areas where disruption to the transport system may occur under varying degrees of rainfall (15-minute rainfall with a 20% probability of occurrence and maximum daily totals – an empirical probability of approximately 1.4%). Next, the changes in potential accessibility due to the occurrence of flooding were determined for different scenarios (various depths of flood water). In order to identify the absolute and relative changes in potential accessibility following a flood in the different scenarios, its value in a “normal” situation had to be calculated for all journey lengths in question. The study revealed that there is no correlation between the location of flooded sections of the network and the spatial differentiation of drops in travel times (analysed topologically) or declines in potential accessibility (irrespective of how attractive the destination is).

38. Safe and Effective Handover for Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Patients – Enhancing the Patient Journey and Reducing Length of Stay

38. Safe and Effective Handover for Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Patients – Enhancing the Patient Journey and Reducing Length of Stay

New York City Taxi Trip Duration Prediction Using Machine Learning

Abstract: Given the complexity of urban transportation networks and the multiple variables that might affect journey times, estimating the length of cab rides in New York City (NYC) is a difficult process. In this study, we provide a unique method for resolving this issue that makes use of machine learning techniques and a wide range of attributes gleaned from taxi trip data. We start by gathering a sizable collection of historical records of NYC taxi trips,providing specifics like pick-up and drop-off points, timestamps, and lengths of trips. To deal with outliers, missing values, and geographical and temporal irregularities, we preprocess the data. Furthermore, we design a broad range of characteristics, such as geographic coordinates, time of day, day of the week, and weather conditions, to capture the spatial, temporal, and contextual elements of each journey. Then, using gradient boosting methods, we create a prediction model that efficiently uncovers the intricate patterns seen in the data. We carefully adjust the model's hyperparameter to enhance performance and use cross-validation techniques to guarantee resilience. In addition, we apply ensemble techniques to enhance prediction precision and minimise model bias. We conduct lengthy tests on a held-out test set and compare the performance of our model to a number of baseline techniques frequently employed in triptime prediction in order to assess the efficacy of our suggested strategy. The outcomes show that our strategy works better than the competition, with lower prediction errors and higher accuracy. We also do interpretability assessments to learn more about the variables that have the most impact on estimates of trip time. Our results demonstrate the potential of feature engineering and M L approaches for precise and trustworthy taxi trip length prediction in NYC. The suggested method not only helps taxi service companies by allowing them to more accurately predict journey lengths, but it also improves customer experience by giving more precise travel time estimates. Additionally, our approach may be used as a starting point for future studies in the field of urban transportation prediction, enabling better efficiency and planning in urban mobility networks.

100 A survey of general road transportation of horses in the United States

An online survey was conducted to understand the most common reasons for travel and the types of journeys horses take when being transported by road in the United States. Qualtrics was used to create a survey, with a subset of 20-questions that asked about the demographics of the survey taker and general questions about road transportation. To participate in the survey, respondents had to be at least 18 years old and own, lease, or be in the full care of one or more horses or ponies that resided in the U.S and were transported by road in 2021. The survey was advertised on Facebook and through various equine media publications where responses were collected from 1294 participants. While there was at lease one response from every state in the continental US, the majority of responses were from the Southeast (41.6%). The most common survey taker was a female (93.9%), adult amateur (81.2%), horse owner (64.4%), who owns 1 to 3 horses (55.6%), and transports their own horse (79.4%). Overall, the most common reasons for travel were trail or leisure riding (34.2%) followed by showing and competition (25.3%); however, this varied by discipline with dressage (42.6%) and eventing (46.2%) riders most common reasons for travel being for lessons and schooling. The most common trip length was less than one hour (46.8%) with only 12.4% of triplengths being 4 h or more in length. The roads traveled most often were highways (60.7%) that were mostly straight with some curves (41.7%) and flat with some hills (46.9%). As the length of trip increased, the frequency in which a horse was transported decreased and the amount of time between trips increased. The length of the most common trip also varied by reason for transportation with the most common length to travel for showing or competition being one to 3 h (51%); traveling for lessons was typically less than an hour (71.2%) and transporting for trail or leisure riding usually took less than 3 h (92.1%) when comparing to other trip lengths. These results provide insight into the main reasons why horses are being transported by road in the US and the types of journeys they are transported most frequently. It also highlights differences in reasons for transportation and journey lengths between horse owners. Although previous equine road transportation research has focused mainly on long-distance trips, these findings support the need for further research on how short-distance road transportation might impact horse health in the US

Parking on the integers

Models of parking in which cars are placed randomly and then move according to a deterministic rule have been studied since the work of Konheim and Weiss in the 1960s. Recently, Damron, Gravner, Junge, Lyu, and Sivakoff ((2019) Ann. Appl. Probab. 29 2089–2113) introduced a model in which cars are both placed and move at random. Independently at each point of a Cayley graph G, we place a car with probability p, and otherwise an empty parking space. Each car independently executes a random walk until it finds an empty space in which to park. In this paper we introduce three new techniques for studying the model, namely the space-based parking model, and the strategies for parking and for car removal. These allow us to study the original model by coupling it with models where parking behaviour is easier to control. Applying our methods to the one-dimensional parking problem in Z, we improve on previous work, showing that for p<1/2 the expected journey length of a car is finite, and for p=1/2 the expected journey length by time t grows like t3/4 up to a polylogarithmic factor.

Exposures to Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds across Multiple Transportation Modes

Travellers may be exposed to a wide range of different air pollutants during their journeys. In this study, personal exposures within vehicles and during active travel were tested in real-world conditions across nine different transport modes on journeys from London Paddington to Oxford City Centre, in the United Kingdom. The modes tested covered cycling, walking, buses, coaches, trains and private cars. Such exposures are relevant to questions of traveller comfort and safety in the context of airborne diseases such as COVID-19 and a growing awareness of the health, safety and productivity effects of interior air quality. Pollutants measured were particle number (PN), particle mass (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2) and speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), using devices carried on or with the traveller, with pumped sampling. Whilst only a relatively small number of journeys were assessed—inviting future work to assess their statistical significance—the current study highlights where a particular focus on exposure reduction should be placed. Real-time results showed that exposures were dominated by short-term spikes in ambient concentrations, such as when standing on a train platform, or at the roadside. The size distribution of particles varied significantly according to the situation. On average, the coach created the highest exposures overall; trains had mixed performance, while private cars and active transport typically had the lowest exposures. Sources of pollutants included both combustion products entering the vehicle and personal care products from other passengers, which were judged from desk research on the most likely source of each individual compound. Although more exposed to exhaust emissions while walking or cycling, the active traveller had the benefit of rapid dilution of these pollutants in the open air. An important variable in determining total exposure was the journey length, where the speed of the private car was advantageous compared to the relative slowness of the coach.

The problem of homogeneity of rail passenger delay compensation scheme rules in Great Britain: impacts on passenger engagement and operator revenues

A rail passenger delay compensation scheme operates in the EU and Great Britain. British travellers are eligible to claim 50% of fare for delays of more than 30 minutes and 100% for delays of over 1 hour. The scheme rules were chosen arbitrarily and are homogenous across all ticket types and journey lengths. This study quantifies the impact of combined differences in the nature of operation and passenger engagement levels on the scheme's revenue burden for British rail operators. Short, medium and long distance operators repay on average respectively 0.3%, 0.8% and 1.8% of their ticket revenues as the scheme's proportionate revenue burden increases with fares and delay lengths. Further research is needed to either explain the reasons behind the differing revenue impact on different types of operators or suggest how the scheme can be redesigned to take these differences into account.

A survey of handling and transportation of UK farmed deer.

Studies on the transport of deer (Cervidae), in the UK, were published > 15 years ago. A more recent study of deer transport is required to allow for assessments and improvements to the transport of farmed deer. Sixteen deer farmers participated in a survey describing their management practices related to transport. Their responses showed that most vehicles used to transport deer were designed for other livestock. Participating farmers estimated journey times to slaughter as 1-8 h, with an arithmetic mean of 4.8 (± 2.38) h. Specific concerns raised by the respondents, relating to the transport of deer, included a need for deer-specific vehicles, stop-off areas for long journeys, market locations and haulier experience. Furthermore, data were collected from two abattoirs between July 2019 and June 2020 comprising journey times, slaughter times, bruising, location of origin, vehicle type and the number of animals. In total, 4,922 deer were transported across 133 journeys (from farm to abattoir) from 61 farms. Median and range for journey length were 3.2 (0.4-9.8) h and 154.2 (7.1-462.2) km, whereas group size and time spent in the lairage were 24 (1-121) and 17.8 (10.2-68.9) h, respectively. Group size was found to be significantly associated with both the presence of bruising in a group and the amount of bruising per deer. This study provides a much-needed update on the transport of farmed deer in the UK and highlights key areas for future research including the welfare impact of transport in larger groups and for longer durations.

Across the deserts and sea: inter-individual variation in migration routes of south-central European barn swallows (Hirundo rustica)

BackgroundThe spatiotemporal organization of migratory routes of long-distance migrants results from trade-offs between minimizing the journey length and en route risk of migration-related mortality, which may be reduced by avoiding crossing inhospitable ecological barriers. Despite flourishing avian migration research in recent decades, little is still known about inter-individual variability in migratory routes, as well as the carry-over effects of spatial and temporal features of migration on subsequent migration stages.MethodsWe reconstructed post- and pre-breeding migration routes, barrier crossing behaviour and non-breeding movements of the largest sample (N = 85) analysed to date of individual barn swallows breeding in south-central Europe, which were tracked using light-level geolocators.ResultsMost birds spent their non-breeding period in the Congo basin in a single stationary area, but a small fraction of itinerant individuals reaching South Africa was also observed. Birds generally followed a ‘clockwise loop migration pattern’, moving through the central Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert during post-breeding (north to south) migration yet switching to a more western route, along the Atlantic coast of Africa, Iberia and western Mediterranean during the pre-breeding (south to north) migration. Southward migration was straighter and less variable, while northward migration was significantly faster despite the broader detour along the Atlantic coast and Iberia. These patterns showed limited sex-related variability. The timing of different circannual events was tightly linked with previous migration stages, considerably affecting migration route and speed of subsequent movements. Indeed, individuals departing late from Africa performed straighter and faster pre-breeding migrations, partly compensating for the initial departure delays, but likely at the cost of performing riskier movements across ecological barriers.ConclusionsDifferent spatiotemporal migration strategies during post- and pre-breeding migration suggest that conditions en route may differ seasonally and allow for more efficient travelling along different migration corridors in either season. While highlighting patterns of inter-individual variability, our results support increasing evidence for widespread loop migration patterns among Afro-Palearctic avian migrants. Also, they suggest that carry-over effects acting across different phases of the annual cycle of migratory species can have major impacts on evolutionary processes.

Female Dispersion Is Necessary, but Not Sufficient, for Pairbonded Monogamy in Mammals

Explanations for the evolution of social monogamy in mammals typically emphasise one of two possibilities: females are overdispersed (such that males cannot defend access to more than one female at a time) or males provide a service to the female. However, the first claim has never been formally tested. I test it directly at three levels using population-level data from primates and ungulates. First, I show that the females of monogamous genera do not have territories that are significantly larger, either absolutely or relatively, than those of polygynous genera. Second, using two indices of territorial defendability, I show that, given their typical day journey lengths, males of most monogamous species could easily defend an area large enough to allow them to monopolise as many as 5–10 females if they ranged solitarily. Finally, I use a model of male mate searching strategies to show that the opportunity cost incurred by pairbonded males is typically 5–10 times the reproductive success they actually obtain by being obligately monogamous. This suggests that the selection pressure dissuading them from pursuing a roving male strategy must be very considerable. At present, the evidence is undecided as to whether mitigating predation or infanticide risk is the primary function, but estimates of their impacts suggest that both are in fact plausible.

Land use variables affecting travel behaviour: a review

Research on the impact of land use variables on travel behaviour is reviewed. The focus is on density as an important measure of land use and its interaction with transportation systems. The effect of density was first addressed decades ago, so research published since the 1960s was reviewed. The reviewed works were classified into two groups according to the most commonly used measure of density and the most common variables of travel behaviour. The first group comprised 26 studies published before 2000 and the second group comprised more than 45 studies published after 2000. Population density was the main density term used in the first group while employment density and configurations of densities were integrated as measures in the second group. A direct relationship between mode choice and journey length was established. However, knowledge gaps were also identified, such as the effect of density on trip generation rate, type of trip according to trip purpose, internal and external trips, and trips on weekdays and weekends.

Future scenarios for the European railway sector: A methodology based on past trends and a stated preference survey

The strengthening of the railway mode is one of the main policies that can help to achieve more sustainable future mobility. A methodology is presented to estimate future transport demand scenarios over the medium (2030) and long term (2050) considering three trip lengths: urban, regional, and long distance for two trip purposes: work and leisure. The objective of the scenarios is to answer the question: would railways benefit from a 10% drop in car usage? Qualitative techniques have been applied, based on in-depth interviews and focus groups, as well as a stated preference survey where the people sampled answered to different scenarios which included the presence of a new train, with a high level of service, and other possible new modes of transport such as autonomous cars and buses. The results obtained using Best-Worst discrete choice models show that the rail mode could capture a significant part of the demand from the car over all three journey lengths, but especially for long distance, if the new rail mode were introduced.

Analysis of Food and Beverage Sales and Consumer Profile of Railway Restaurants

This research was motivated by the fact that the number of sales of food and beverages in railroad restaurants is still very small and can still be increased considering all the potentials of the company. It takes the right strategy in order to increase sales at railroad restaurants. However, before formulating this strategy, it is necessary to study the factors that influence sales in railroad restaurants. This study aims to analyze the variables of the schedule, duration, and class of travel on sales at the Kereta Api Restaurant (RESKA). The method used to process the data is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)-PLS version 3.0. The results showed that the train travel schedule had a significant and positive effect on sales at the Railway Restaurant. While other variables have no significant effect. Therefore, to improve the sales performance of railroad restaurants, programs and product innovations related to train travel schedules are needed, so as to improve sales performance, both sales of heavy food, snacks and drinks at Railway Restaurants. Keywords: train journey duration, train travel class, train journey length, train restaurant sales, SEM.

Impact of body truck’s microclimate on pig skin temperature during pre-slaughter logistics

Handling of pigs under hot weather conditions face a critical challenge in meeting thermal comfort and animal welfare standards. Moreover, climate variation affects production and pre-slaughter logistics. This study assesses the thermal comfort of pigs during pre-slaughter procedures under different weather conditions. The case study was conducted at two commercial pig farms in Southeastern Brazil. The bioclimatic index more accurately indicated the pigs' thermal comfort than the temperature-humidity index. The length of the transportation journey critically affected the pigs' thermal comfort, as shown by the rise in pigs' skin temperature (1.56 °C and 1.64 °C on pigs from Farm 2 and Farm 1, respectively). The pigs reached the critical upper limit of the thermoneutral zone under hot weather conditions. Adequate microclimate control during the pre-slaughter management procedures might improve pig welfare. To increase the animals' thermal comfort, both farms should reschedule their transportation to a cooler time of the day. Both farms should also improve their pre-slaughter management processes by training workers to comply with animal welfare requirements and reduce loss.

Quantifying Covid19-vaccine location strategies for Germany

BackgroundVaccines are an important tool to limit the health and economic damage of the Covid-19 pandemic. Several vaccine candidates already provided promising effectiveness data, but it is crucial for an effective vaccination campaign that people are willing and able to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Taking Germany as an example, we provide insights of using a mathematical approach for the planning and location of vaccination sites to optimally administer vaccines against Covid-19.MethodsWe used mathematical programming for computing an optimal selection of vaccination sites out of a given set (i.e., university hospitals, health department related locations and general practices). Different patient-to-facility assignments and doctor-to-facility assignments and different constraints on the number of vaccinees per site or maximum travel time are used.ResultsIn order to minimize the barriers for people to get vaccinated, i.e., limit the one-way travel journey (airline distance) by around 35 km for 75% of the population (with a maximum of 70 km), around 80 well-positioned facilities can be enough. If only the 38 university hospitals are being used, the 75% distance increases to around 50 km (with a maximum of 145 km). Using all 400 health departments or all 56 000 general practices can decrease the journey length significantly, but comes at the price of more required staff and possibly wastage of only partially used vaccine containers.ConclusionsIn the case of free assignments, the number of required physicians can in most scenarios be limited to 2 000, which is also the minimum with our assumptions. However, when travel distances for the patients are to be minimized, capacities of the facilities must be respected, or administrative assignments are prespecified, an increased number of physicians is unavoidable.