Longer Walking Research Articles

Behavior Classification and Analysis of Grazing Sheep on Pasture with Different Sward Surface Heights Using Machine Learning.

Simple SummaryThe monitoring and analysis of sheep behavior can reflect their welfare and health, which is beneficial for grazing management. For automatic classification and the continuous monitoring of grazing sheep behavior, wearable devices based on inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors are important. The accuracy of different machine learning algorithms was compared, and the best one was used for the continuous monitoring and behavior classification of three grazing sheep on pasture with three different sward surface heights. The results showed that the algorithm automatically monitored the behavior of grazing sheep individuals and quantified the time of each behavior.Behavior classification and recognition of sheep are useful for monitoring their health and productivity. The automatic behavior classification of sheep by using wearable devices based on IMU sensors is becoming more prevalent, but there is little consensus on data processing and classification methods. Most classification accuracy tests are conducted on extracted behavior segments, with only a few trained models applied to continuous behavior segments classification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of multiple combinations of algorithms (extreme learning machine (ELM), AdaBoost, stacking), time windows (3, 5 and 11 s) and sensor data (three-axis accelerometer (T-acc), three-axis gyroscope (T-gyr), and T-acc and T-gyr) for grazing sheep behavior classification on continuous behavior segments. The optimal combination was a stacking model at the 3 s time window using T-acc and T-gyr data, which had an accuracy of 87.8% and a Kappa value of 0.836. It was applied to the behavior classification of three grazing sheep continuously for a total of 67.5 h on pasture with three different sward surface heights (SSH). The results revealed that the three sheep had the longest walking, grazing and resting times on the short, medium and tall SHH, respectively. These findings can be used to support grazing sheep management and the evaluation of production performance.

The Influence of Treadmill Training on the Bioelectrical Activity of the Lower Limb Muscles in Patients with Intermittent Claudication.

Aim: Intermittent claudication is the most common symptomatic manifestation of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), presenting as ischemic leg muscle pain and gait dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in bioelectrical activity of the lower limb muscles activity in claudicating patients over a 12-week period of supervised treadmill training and to verify the hypothesis as to which muscles of lower limbs are activated by training treatment—the proximal, as compensatory mechanism, or the distal, which are the most ischemic. Methods: The study comprised 45 patients aged 60–70 years (height 168.8 ± 6.8 cm, weight 78.9 ± 9.2 kg) with PAD and unilateral intermittent claudication (Fontaine stage IIa/IIb), who participated in a 12-week supervised treadmill training program. Surface electromyography (sEMG) of the gastrocnemius lateralis (GaL), gastrocnemius medialis (GaM), tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris (BF), rectus femoris (RF) and gluteus medius (GM) muscles in the claudicated leg were continuously measured during the treadmill test. The average mean amplitude and mean amplitude range of the sEMG signal were analyzed. Results: During the treadmill test, after 12 weeks of training, the average mean amplitude of the GM (105 ± 43 vs. 74 ± 38%, p = 0.000008, ES = 0.76), BF (41 ± 22 vs. 33 ± 12%, p = 0.006, ES = 0.45) and GaM (134 ± 50 vs. 114 ± 30%, p = 0.007, ES = 0.48) muscles was significantly lower compared with baseline. The mean amplitude range was significantly decreased after 12 weeks of training in the GM (229 ± 64 vs. 181 ± 62%, p = 0.008, ES = 0.77) and BF (110 ± 69 vs. 84 ± 31%, p = 0.0002, ES = 0.48) muscles. After 12 weeks of training, the mean amplitude range of the TA muscle was significantly higher compared with baseline (104 ± 46 vs. 131 ± 53%, p = 0.001, ES = 0.54), but without significant changes in the average mean amplitude value. The most favorable changes, suggesting the lowest muscle fatigue and the highest walking capacity, were found in patients with the longest walking time. Conclusions: The obtained results may suggest that after 12 weeks of treadmill training, beneficial changes occurred in both the proximal and distal muscles. Therefore, greater foot plantar flexion and stronger push-off as well as greater hip extension may be considered the main mechanisms of observed gait pattern improvement. It may also be suggested that the therapy of gait alterations in patients with PAD should be focused not only on calf muscle pump improvement, but also on proximal hip extensor strengthening.

Reevaluating scorpion ecomorphs using a na\xefve approach

BackgroundEcomorphs create the opportunity to investigate ecological adaptation because they encompass organisms that evolved characteristic morphologies under similar ecological demands. For over 50 years, scorpions have been empirically assigned to ecomorphs based on the characteristic morphologies that rock, sand, vegetation, underground, and surface dwellers assume. This study aims to independently test the existence of scorpion ecomorphs by quantifying the association between their morphology and ecology across 61 species, representing 14 families of the Scorpiones order.ResultsWithout a priori categorization of species into ecomorphs, we identified four groups based on microhabitat descriptors, which reflect how scorpion ecospace is clustered. Moreover, these microhabitat groups, i.e., ecotypes, have significantly divergent morphologies; therefore, they represent ecomorphs. These ecomorphs largely correspond with the ones previously described in the literature. Therefore, we retained the names Lithophilous, Psammophilous, and Pelophilous, and proposed the name Phytophilous for vegetation dwellers. Finally, we sought to map the morphology-ecology association in scorpions and found that the morphological regions most tightly associated with ecology are at the extremities. Moreover, the major trend in ecomorphological covariation is that longer walking legs and relatively slender pedipalps (pincers) are associated with sandy microhabitats, while the inverse morphological proportions are associated with rocky microhabitats.ConclusionsScorpion ecomorphs are validated in a naïve approach, from ecological descriptors and whole body anatomy. This places them on a more solid quantitative footing for future studies of ecological adaptation in scorpions. Our results verify most of the previously defined ecomorphotypes and could be used as a current practice to understand the adaptive significance of ecological morphology.

Change of physical activity parameters of hip and pelvic fracture patients during inpatient rehabilitation and after discharge: analysis of global and in-depth parameters

BackgroundA growing number of older adults suffer hip and pelvic fractures leading to hospital admission. They often result in reduced physical activity (PA) and impaired mobility. PA can be objectively measured with body-worn sensors. Usually, global cumulative PA parameters are analysed, such as walking duration, upright-time and number of steps. These traditional parameters mix different domains of PA, such as physical capacity (PC), behaviour and living environment. We examined the change of global cumulative PA measures during rehabilitation and after discharge in patients with hip or pelvic fracture and whether more ‘in-depth’ PA parameters, such as walking interval length, variability of interval length and sit-to-stand transitions and their changes during rehabilitation and 3 months after discharge might better reflect the above mentioned three clinically relevant domains of PA.MethodsThis study is a secondary data analysis of a randomised controlled trial to improve PA and fall-related self-efficacy in hip or pelvic fracture patients (≥60 years) with concerns about falling. Changes of accelerometer-measured global cumulative and in-depth PA parameters (activPAL3) were analysed in an observational design before and after discharge combining both groups. For comparison, the same analyses were applied to the traditional PC measures gait speed and 5-chair-rise.ResultsSeventy-five percent of the 111 study participants were female (mean age: 82.5 (SD = 6.76) years. Daily walking duration, upright time and number of steps as aspects of global PA increased during inpatient rehabilitation as well as afterwards. The in-depth PA parameters showed differing patterns. While the total number of walking bouts increased similarly, the number of longer walking bouts decreased by 50% after discharge. This pattern was also seen for the average walking interval length, which increased by 2.34 s (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.68; 4.00) during inpatient rehabilitation and decreased afterwards below baseline level (− 4.19 s (95% CI: − 5.56; − 2.82)). The traditional PC measures showed similar patterns to the in-depth PA parameters with improvements during rehabilitation, but not at home.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the in-depth PA parameters add further information to the global cumulative PA parameters. Whereas global cumulative PA parameters improved significantly during inpatient rehabilitation and after discharge, in-depth PA parameters as well as PC did not continuously improve at home. In contrast to global cumulative PA parameters the in-depth parameters seem to reflect contextual factors such as the build environment and aspects of PC, which are traditionally assessed by clinical PC measures. These in combination with digital mobility measures can help clinicians to assess the health status of fragility fracture patients, individually tailor therapy measures and monitor the rehabilitation process.

Improved Single Inertial-Sensor-Based Attitude Estimation during Walking Using Velocity-Aided Observation.

This paper presents a Kalman filter-based attitude estimation algorithm using a single body-mounted inertial sensor consisting of a triaxial accelerometer and triaxial gyroscope. The proposed algorithm has been developed for attitude estimation during dynamic conditions such as walking and running. Based on the repetitive properties of the velocity signal of human gait during walking, a novel velocity-aided observation is used as a measurement update for the filter. The performance has been evaluated in comparison to two standard Kalman filters with different measurement update methods and a smoother algorithm which is formulated in the form of a quadratic optimization problem. Whereas two standard Kalman filters give maximum 5 degrees in both pitch and roll error for short walking case, their performance gradually decrease with longer walking distance. The proposed algorithm shows the error of about 3 degrees in 15 m walking case, and indicate the robustness of the method with the same performance in 75 m trials. As far as the accuracy of the estimation is concerned, the proposed method achieves advantageous results due to its periodic error correction capability in both short and long walking cases at varying speeds. In addition, in terms of practicality and stability, with simple parameter settings and without the need of all-time data, the algorithm can achieve smoothing-algorithm-performance level with lower computational resources.

Reliability of a smartphone application to measure physical activity

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate how accurate is a smartphone app to measure a physical activity parameter (steps). Physical Education undergraduate students (n = 46), both male and female, were recruited. A tally counter, a validated device (Xiaomi Mi Band 2®) and My Active Life app were used to perform the steps count. Each participant took three low-intensity treadmill walks (5 km h−1), with a number of target steps (500-, 1000- and 1500-steps walk). Visual agreement analyses was performed through Bland-Altman plots. There was no significant interaction between steps walks and device during treadmill walking test (F (2,84) = 3.854; p = 0.07). Differences in steps measured by Mi Band were not different from 0 in 500-steps walk (p = 0.243) and 1000-steps walk (p = 0.350), and in My Active Life in 500-steps walk (p = 0.177) and 1500-steps walk (p = 0.221). Bland-Altman analyses indicated an acceptable agreement between My active Life app and Mi Band devices for 1000-steps walk (−359.01; 310.43) and 1500-steps walk (−572.97; 377.11). In conclusion, My Active Life app showed accuracy in measuring total steps, in longer walking activities (e.g. higher than 1000 steps), and can be used on a daily basis and in research setting.

Neighbourhood and path-based greenspace in three European countries: associations with objective physical activity

BackgroundGreenspace has been associated with health benefits in many contexts. An important pathway may be through outdoor physical activity. We use a novel approach to examine the link between greenspace microenvironments and outdoor physical activity levels in the HEALS study conducted in Edinburgh (UK), the Netherlands, and Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece).MethodsUsing physical activity tracker recordings, 118 HEALS participants with young children were classified with regard to daily minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA); 60 were classified with regard to the metabolic equivalent task (MET)-minutes for each of the 1014 active trips they made. Greenspace indicators were generated for Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree cover density (TCD), and green land use (GLU). We employed linear mixed-effects models to analyse (1) daily MVPA in relation to greenspace within 300 m and 1000 m of residential addresses and (2) trip MET-minutes in relation to average greenspace within a 50 m buffer of walking/cycling routes. Models were adjusted for activity, walkability, bluespace, age, sex, car ownership, dog ownership, season, weekday/weekend day, and local meteorology.ResultsThere was no clear association between MVPA-minutes and any residential greenspace measure. For example, in fully adjusted models, a 10 percentage point increase in NDVI within 300 m of home was associated with a daily increase of 1.14 (95% CI − 0.41 to 2.70) minutes of MVPA. However, we did find evidence to indicate greenspace markers were positively linked to intensity and duration of activity: in fully adjusted models, 10 percentage point increases in trip NDVI, TCD, and GLU were associated with increases of 10.4 (95% CI: 4.43 to 16.4), 10.6 (95% CI: 4.96 to 16.3), and 3.36 (95% CI: 0.00 to 6.72) MET-minutes, respectively. The magnitude of associations with greenspace tended to be greater for cycling.ConclusionsMore strenuous or longer walking and cycling trips occurred in environments with more greenspace, but levels of residential greenspace did not have a clear link with outdoor MVPA. To build on our research, we suggest future work examine larger, more diverse populations and investigate the influence of greenspace for trip purpose and route preference.

Neighbourhood and trip-based greenspace in four European areas: Associations with physical activity

Background/Aim: Residential greenspace has been associated with beneficial health in many contexts. An important pathway to health may be opportunities for outdoor physical activity (PA). We used data from the HEALS study, which was conducted in four European areas (Edinburgh, UK; Netherlands; Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece), to examine pathways between greenspace and outdoor PA.Methods: We included three greenspace indicators (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI], tree cover density [TCD], and green land use [GLU]) and used personal PA data collected from the Fitbit flex and the ‘Moves’ mobile phone app to assign daily minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and metabolic equivalent task (MET)-minutes of individual trips, respectively. We employed mixed-effects models to assess 1) residential greenspace at buffers of 300 m and 1,000 m with daily MVPA-minutes and 2) average trip-based greenspace with MET-minutes. Models included data from individuals with at least four valid days of data and were adjusted for bluespace, age, sex, car ownership, dog ownership, season, weekday/weekend day, and local meteorology; we assessed effect modification by activity (i.e., walking or cycling).Results: The analysis of residential greenspace and MVPA-minutes (n=118 subjects) did not produce any consistent associations at either the 300 m or 1,000m buffer. Greenspace coefficients based on individual trip averages were positive and statistically significant in fully adjusted models (n=60 subjects; n= 1,014 trips): NDVI=7.34 MET-minutes (95% CI = 2.25 to 12.44) per 0.1-unit increase; TCD=9.16 MET-minutes (95% CI = 2.63 to 15.69) per 10 percentage point increase; GLU=3.15 MET-minutes (95% CI = 0.12 to 6.17) per 0.1 unit increase. Associations appeared to be greater with cycling compared to walking.Conclusions: Our interpretation is that more strenuous or longer walking and cycling trips occurred in environments with more greenspace, but residential greenspace did not have a clear link with physical activity.

Orthogonal Expansion of Network Functions

The power series expansion of functions of the adjacency matrix for a network can be interpreted in terms of walks in the network. This makes matrix functions, such as the exponential or resolvent, useful for the analysis of graphs. For instance, these functions shed light on the relative importance of the nodes of the graph and on the overall connectivity. However, the power series expansions may converge slowly, and the coefficients of these expansions typically are not helpful in assessing how important longer walks are in the network. Expansions of matrix functions in terms of orthogonal or bi-orthogonal polynomials make it possible to determine scaling parameters so that a given network has a specified effective diameter (the length after which walks become essentially irrelevant for the connectivity of the network). We describe several approaches for generating orthogonal and bi-orthogonal polynomial expansions, and discuss their relative merits for network analysis.

Six-minute walking distance in healthy Chinese people older than 60\u2009years

BackgroundThe six-minute walking test (6MWT) is a tool that plays a key role in evaluating the functional exercise capacity, prognosis and evaluation of treatment response of patients with various cardiopulmonary diseases. However, standard reference equations are currently unavailable for the six-minute walking distance (6MWD) for people aged 60–85 years in China. The purpose of this study was to 1) measure the 6MWD of healthy Chinese people aged 60–85 years, 2) establish reference equations for predicting the 6MWD, and 3) compare our reference equations with equations reported in previously published studies.MethodWe obtained informed consent from each participant prior to the test, and the research design was approved by the Ethics Committee of Wenzhou People’s Hospital. The demographic and anthropometric data and the 6MWD of healthy Chinese subjects aged 60–85 years old were measured using a standardized protocol. Every subject completed two 6MWTs, and the longest 6MWD further analyzed.ResultsTwo hundred sixty-six subjects (128 males and 138 females) completed the 6MWT, and the mean walking distance was 518 ± 72 m. Males achieved a longer walking distance than females (518 ± 72 m vs. 487 ± 70 m; p < 0.0001), and active subjects achieved a longer walking distance than nonactive subjects (512 ± 76 m vs. 485 ± 63 m; p < 0.0001). According to the univariate analysis, the 6MWD was significantly associated with age, height, body mass index (BMI), heart rate and blood pressure after exercise and changes in heart rate before and after exercise. The stepwise multivariate regression analysis identified age, height and BMI as independent predictors of the 6MWD. The reference equations for Caucasians and South Americans tended to overestimate the 6MWD of our subjects, while the equations for Asian and African populations tended to underestimate the 6MWD.ConclusionsThis study is the first to describe the 6MWD of healthy Chinese people aged 60–85 years, and reference prediction equations were proposed. These findings will help to improve the evaluation of Chinese patients with diseases that affect exercise capacity.

Continuous monitoring of mobility performance trajectory in patients receiving chemotherapy.

e14104 Background: Accurate performance status (PS) assessment is important for chemotherapy decisions, but current tools such as the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS assessment are subjective, static, and prone to inter-observer and recall biases. Continuous patient monitoring technology can enhance PS assessment by providing an objective and dynamic measurement of mobility performance (MP), defined as mobility in real-life situations. This study examined the feasibility of a pendant sensor to continuously track MP during a 4-week period of chemotherapy. Methods: Patients on chemotherapy were recruited from a single center. Patients were asked to continuously wear a water-resistant pendant sensor (PAMSys, Biosensics, USA) for 4-weeks during the day and night. Patients completed psychosocial surveys (cognitive, depression, and fatigue) and a technology acceptance survey measured on a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Chart review was completed for demographics, medical history, and baseline ECOG PS. Using a validated algorithm, postures (lying and sitting postures: LSP) and walking parameters (cadence, longest walking bout, total steps per day) were extracted from the pendant. We also calculated percent change from baseline activity to the lowest activity level during the 4-week period. To determine clinically meaningful digital biomarkers, we compared these MP measures between two groups: ECOG 0 or ECOG ≥1. Results: Fifteen patients (median age 68), with either a solid (n = 14) or hematologic (n = 1) malignancy, stages II-IV, with ECOG 0 (n = 7) and ECOG ≥1 (n = 8) were evaluated. Baseline psychosocial parameters were not significantly different. ECOG ≥1 tend to have poorer baseline walking compared to ECOG 0 with the largest effect size observed for cadence (79.2 ± 10.0 vs 73.3±3.7, Cohen’s d effect size d = 0.78). The percentage of MP decline was higher in ECOG 0 compared to ECOG ≥1 (89.0±22.9% vs 79.9±34.5%). None of the observed trends reached statistical significance. Patients reported that the pendant was comfortable to wear (4.9±0.30) and did not interfere with activities (4.9±0.25). Conclusions: This study showed the feasibility of a pendant sensor to continuously monitor MP and its trajectory during chemotherapy. Results suggest continuous MP monitoring may provide objective information to enhance PS assessment. Larger studies are needed to confirm statistical significance of digital MP metrics and its potential effect on clinical decisions such as dose reduction, rehabilitation, and palliative care.

Relationship of fatigue with depressive symptoms and level of physical activity in women with breast cancer diagnosis

Abstract Breast cancer is the most frequent in women, resulting in fatigue and depressive symptoms as consequence of treatment, but physical activity can help in this process. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between fatigue, depressive symptoms and practice of physical activity of women with breast cancer during treatment or after cancer treatment. This is a cross-sectional study with 179 women (56.89 ± 9.4 years) from the Oncology Research Center - CEPON, using questionnaire on general and clinical information, fatigue (Piper Fatigue Scale) depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory) and physical activity (IPAQ - short version). Women with moderate to severe fatigue underwent physiotherapy (p = 0.001) and women with no fatigue had minimum depressive symptoms (p ?0.001). Level of physical activity was not associated with fatigue, with most women being insufficiently active and women with mild fatigue had longer walking time than those without fatigue (p = 0.049). Women with depressive symptoms were almost three times more likely of having mild to severe fatigue and those who underwent physiotherapy were twice as likely of having mild to severe fatigue. Women with fatigue had greater presence of depressive symptoms. Professionals working in the field of oncology should recommend the practice of physical activity in order to minimize the side effects of treatment and observe depressive symptoms and fatigue in these women.

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy has an excellent therapeutic effect on plantar fasciitis

Objective To explore the long-term effectiveness of using extracorporeal shock waves in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. Methods Extracorporeal shock wave therapy was applied to 23 plantar fasciitis sufferers once a week for three weeks. MRI examinations were performed before and 4 hours after the first treatment. Before the treatment and one month after it was complete, all of the patients rated their pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS), and their infirmity was quantified using a heel tenderness index (HTI) and the ankle-hind foot scale of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS). The longest walking time was also recorded. Paired t-tests compared the T2 values of the fascia, muscles and fat pads, the longest walking time and the VAS scores before and after the treatment. Pearson correlation coefficients were evaluated to test the significance of any correlation between the T2 changes and the changes in the VAS scores. Results After the shock wave therapy, the average VAS, HIT and AOFAS scores had significantly decreased, while the longest walking time had increased significantly. The magnetic resonance imaging showed increased edema in the fascia and their surrounding soft tissues. And the extent and degree of the T2 weighted high signal increased four hours after the treatment. The changes in the T2 values correlated positively and significantly with the changes in the VAS scores. Conclusion Extracorporeal shock waves have an excellent therapeutic effect on plantar fasciitis. They can significantly relieve heel pain and improve foot movement. Key words: Plantar fasciitis; Extracorporeal shock wave therapy; Magnetic resonance imaging; Therapeutic effectiveness

Taking Regular Breaks From Sitting Prevents Reductions in Brain Blood Flow

Supplying the brain with enough blood flow is essential to keep us alive and maintain our brain health. Reductions in brain blood flow can negatively affect the ability to think. Decreased blood flow to the brain can also lead to brain diseases, such as dementia, which is a condition that causes permanent memory loss and confusion. Scientists are beginning to think that sitting may be bad for brain blood flow. Understanding how sitting affects the brain is therefore very important. We conducted a study in which participants either sat down without any breaks for 4 h, or sat down but took a short walking break every 30 min, or took a longer walking break every 2 h. After sitting without any breaks, brain blood flow decreased. However, when participants took a walking break every 30 min that prevented the decrease in brain blood flow. These results suggest we should encourage people to take regular breaks from sitting to help maintain brain health.

Smart Shoe-Assisted Evaluation of Using a Single Trunk/Pocket-Worn Accelerometer to Detect Gait Phases.

Wearable sensors may enable the continuous monitoring of gait out of the clinic without requiring supervised tests and costly equipment. This paper investigates the use of a single wearable accelerometer to detect foot contact times and estimate temporal gait parameters (stride time, swing and stance duration). The experiments considered two possible body positions for the accelerometer: over the lower trunk and inside a trouser pocket. The latter approach could be implemented using a common smartphone. Notably, during the experiments, the ground truth was obtained by using a pair of sensorized shoes. Unlike ambient sensors and camera-based systems, sensorized shoes enable the evaluation of body-worn sensors even during longer walks. Experiments showed that both trunk and pocket positions achieved promising results in estimating gait parameters, with a mean absolute error below 50 ms.

Effects of Reflective Labyrinth Walking Assessed Using a Questionnaire.

Background: Meditation as it is currently known is an ancient practice, which can be traced back to Asian traditions. With the proper technique, a state of physical relaxation and respiratory balance can be reached naturally and spontaneously. This paper considers meditative labyrinth walking to be a unique expression of Dr. Lauren Artress’ work, who studied and applied the image of the labyrinth on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France. Methods: This study used a qualitative approach. It is a cross-sectional non-randomized study, conducted at an institute for psychotherapies with a sample of 30 participants. Results: 99% of the group reported feeling emotional distress caused by the feeling of a longer walk on the way out, 21% reported feeling the same while walking the path, and 41% at the beginning. The remaining participants felt lost in time and space. Conclusions: This study showed that the practice of labyrinth walking is a physical, emotional, and sensory experience. On the clinical level, correlating this experience to the planning of care seems to be particularly relevant.

TOD residents\u2019 attitudes toward walking to transit station: a case study of transit-oriented developments (TODs) in Bangkok, Thailand

The study aims to analyze the attitude toward walking to the stations of residents living within 1 km of transit stations, or they are called transit-oriented development (TOD) residents. They are highly expected to walk to transit station and use rail in their daily travel. In this research, 249 respondents are asked 10 questions on attitudes of walking to station. The analysis was conducted in two stages: factor analysis and structural equation model. As the current access mode of respondents, walkers are more likely to be low-income households. People using motorized mode are mostly from middle- to high-income, households the largest group of respondents. For walking acceptance, high-income group accepts distance and time shorter than other incomes. Low-income households can accept the longer walking distance but shorter time. Middle-income households are more likely to walk in shorter distance than lower-income households, but they tend to accept longer walking time than others. As for the analysis results, the feeling of walking among all respondents significantly influences the walking acceptance. The benefit of walking significantly influences walking acceptance only among middle-income households. The walking attitudes on convenience, safety, a sense of freedom, healthiness, and environmental friendliness highly affect respondents’ acceptable walking distance and time in TODs.

Approximation algorithms for the bus evacuation problem

We consider the bus evacuation problem. Given a positive integer B, a bipartite graph G with parts S and $$T \cup \{r\}$$ in a metric space and functions $$l_i :S \rightarrow {\mathbb {Z}}_+$$ and $${u_j :T \rightarrow \mathbb {Z}_+ \cup \{\infty \}}$$ , one wishes to find a set of B walks in G. Every walk in B should start at r and finish in T and r must be visited only once. Also, among all walks, each vertex i of S must be visited at least $$l_i$$ times and each vertex j of T must be visited at most $$u_j$$ times. The objective is to find a solution that minimizes the length of the longest walk. This problem arises in emergency planning situations where the walks correspond to the routes of B buses that must transport each group of people in S to a shelter in T, and the objective is to evacuate the entire population in the minimum amount of time. In this paper, we prove that approximating this problem by less than a constant is $$\text{ NP }$$ -hard and present a 10.2-approximation algorithm. Further, for the uncapacitated BEP, in which $$u_j$$ is infinity for each j, we give a 4.2-approximation algorithm.

Neighborhood form and residents' walking and biking distance to food markets: Evidence from Beijing, China

This paper examines residents' walking and biking patterns for food shopping in China and the influence of neighborhood form and market characteristics on effective walk/bike catchment areas of food markets. Based on 1417 resident surveys at 15 food markets in three neighborhoods in the city of Beijing, we found that residents rarely shop at the nearest food stores and prefer larger farmer's markets and supermarkets instead. And they travel in much shorter distance compared with residents in the western cities. An ordinary least squares regression analysis reveals that, after controlling for the effect of personal socioeconomic and trip characteristics, traditional neighborhoods with dense street networks, mixed land uses and ample tree shades present the largest walk/bike catchment area, followed by enclave neighborhoods and superblock neighborhoods. In addition, markets with larger size, ground-level and adjacency to a park are significantly associated with longer walking and biking distances.

A Mapping Between Structural and Functional Brain Networks.

The relationship between structural and functional brain networks is still highly debated. Most previous studies have used a single functional imaging modality to analyze this relationship. In this work, we use multimodal data, from functional MRI, magnetoencephalography, and diffusion tensor imaging, and assume that there exists a mapping between the connectivity matrices of the resting-state functional and structural networks. We investigate this mapping employing group averaged as well as individual data. We indeed find a significantly high goodness of fit level for this structure-function mapping. Our analysis suggests that a functional connection is shaped by all walks up to the diameter in the structural network in both modality cases. When analyzing the inverse mapping, from function to structure, longer walks in the functional network also seem to possess minor influence on the structural connection strengths. Even though similar overall properties for the structure-function mapping are found for different functional modalities, our results indicate that the structure-function relationship is modality dependent.