Minutes Of Travel Research Articles

Risk-Based Mapping Tools for Surveillance and Control of the Invasive Mosquito Aedes albopictus in Switzerland.

Background: In Switzerland, Aedes albopictus is well established in Ticino, south of the Alps, where surveillance and control are implemented. The mosquito has also been observed in Swiss cities north of the Alps. Decision-making tools are urgently needed by the local authorities in order to optimize surveillance and control. Methods: A regularized logistic regression was used to link the long-term dataset of Ae. albopictus occurrence in Ticino with socioenvironmental predictors. The probability of establishment of Ae. albopictus was extrapolated to Switzerland and more finely to the cities of Basel and Zurich. Results: The model performed well, with an AUC of 0.86. Ten socio-environmental predictors were selected as informative, including the road-based distance in minutes of travel by car from the nearest cell established in the previous year. The risk maps showed high suitability for Ae. albopictus establishment in the Central Plateau, the area of Basel, and the lower Rhone Valley in the Canton of Valais. Conclusions: The areas identified as suitable for Ae. albopictus establishment are consistent with the actual current findings of tiger mosquito. Our approach provides a useful tool to prompt authorities’ intervention in the areas where there is higher risk of introduction and establishment of Ae. albopictus.

CITIZEN-GENERATED GEODATA FOR NATURAL PARKS USE ANALYSIS: INSIGHTS FROM FACEBOOK IN THE INSUBRIA REGION

Abstract. Green areas such as natural parks provide citizens with a number of health and leisure benefits, often accessible with a few minutes of travel from urban centres. Moreover, the natural heritage enclosed in most green areas plays a pivotal role also in the economic integrity of these territories by driving local growth thanks to the establishment of tourism activities. In this context, the monitoring of both visitors and dwellers fluxes, as well as destination preferences, is key to provide land managers with critical information to shape local management and promotion strategies. This paper presents a preliminary investigation on the use of citizen-generated geodata -provided by Facebook- to empower the generation of space- and time-resolved insights into people fluxes in natural parks through a comparison with neighbouring urbanized areas. The Insubria region, a historical-geographical area between Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland, is considered a case study. Facebook users’ population and movements data are analysed to identify trends and metrics on fluxes and support the estimation of the recreational and tourism value of natural parks. Results are presented as graphs and summary statistics and discussed according to their possible integration into territorial management and promotional practices.

Composición, abundancia y distribución de Diatomeas en dos localidades de la provincia del Guayas entre octubre 2013 y febrero 2014.

El presente trabajo se desarrolló en dos localidades de la Provincia del Guayas entre octubre y febrero 2014. El objetivo de esta investigación fue comparar la composición, abundancia y distribución de diatomeas centrales en las aguas estuarinas de la parroquia Posorja y en el Cantón General Villamil Playas de influencia oceánica. Los arrastres superficiales se realizaron quincenalmente a bordo de una embarcación un motor de 75 HP a una velocidad de 2 nudos, en un tiempo de 5 minutos de recorrido por cada estación a 1 milla de la orilla del mar. En total se identificaron 71 especies en las que predominan las Diatomeas Centrales con 60 especies y se registraron 11 especie de Diatomeas Pennales, la especie con mayor densidad. Chaetoceros coarctatus, mayor densidad poblacional con 15576 cel. 100m3, correspondiendo al 12,80% en las dos áreas muestreadas de un total de 36 muestras colectadas. Mediante el índice de Shannon – Wiener se muestra una similitud entre estaciones. En Posorja hubo irregularidad en todas las estaciones, coincidente con el índice de Simpson que registró que no hay similitud entre estaciones. La abundancia y distribución corresponde al 51% de las Diatomeas del orden Centrales en Posorja en tanto el 49% concierne a General Villamil.

An unusual case of car seat burn

Motor vehicle related burns occur due to various causes. The documented causes include flame burns arising from motor vehicle crashes, scalds as a result of steam or hot water from the radiator and unsafe use of matches. Car seat burns have been reported in infants especially when the car has been parked in direct sunlight, as a result of contact with the hot vinyl upholstery or metal components. More recently, increased incidence of car seat burns from heated car seats was reported. We describe the circumstances leading to a 62-year-old lady who presented with burns to the perianal region. She was a back seat passenger who after a few minutes of travel felt a sudden sharp pain in her buttock. On examination, she was found to have two patches of full thickness burns on either sides of the perianal region. On closer questioning, it was evident that the cause of these burns was an electric short circuit from the battery situated under the back seat. Burns may result from a variety of causes and are associated with varying degrees of morbidity and mortality. Burns resulting from road traffic crashes form the majority of car related burns and are associated with intermediate risk of mortality. Burns associated with car batteries are usually as a result of the leakage of acid resulting in chemical burns or as a result of electrical burn due to a short circuit between electrical components and metal jewellery. The location of the battery varies according to the manufacturer. In this case the burn occurred due to the battery positioned under the rear passenger seat. This case illustrates that this location is potentially unsafe and suggests a need for design modification by the manufacturers. Language: en

Effects of residence and race on burden of travel for care: cross sectional analysis of the 2001 US National Household Travel Survey.

BackgroundTravel burden is a key element in conceptualizing geographic access to health care. Prior research has shown that both rural and minority populations bear disproportionate travel burdens. However, many studies are limited to specific types of patient or specific locales. The purpose of our study was to quantify geographic and race-based differences in distance traveled and time spent in travel for medical/dental care using representative national data.MethodsData were drawn from 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), a nationally representative, cross-sectional household survey conducted by the US Department of Transportation. Participants recorded all travel on a designated day; the overall response rate was 41%. Analyses were restricted to households reporting at least one trip for medical and/or dental care; 3,914 trips made by 2,432 households. Dependent variables in the analysis were road miles traveled, minutes spent traveling, and high travel burden, defined as more than 30 miles or 30 minutes per trip. Independent variables of interest were rural residence and race. Characteristics of the individual, the trip, and the community were controlled in multivariate analyses.ResultsThe average trip for care in the US in 2001 entailed 10.2 road miles (16.4 kilometers) and 22.0 minutes of travel. Rural residents traveled further than urban residents in unadjusted analysis (17.5 versus 8.3 miles; 28.2 versus 13.4 km). Rural trips took 31.4% longer than urban trips (27.2 versus 20.7 minutes). Distance traveled did not vary by race. African Americans spent more time in travel than whites (29.1 versus 20.6 minutes); other minorities did not differ. In adjusted analyses, rural residence (odds ratio, OR, 2.67, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.39 5.1.5) was associated with a trip of 30 road miles or more; rural residence (OR, 1.80, CI 1.09 2.99) and African American race/ethnicity (OR 3.04. 95% CI 2.0 4.62) were associated with a trip lasting 30 minutes or longer.ConclusionRural residents and African Americans experience higher travel burdens than urban residents or whites when seeking medical/dental care.

On-Board Estimation of the Rollover Threshold of Tractor Semitrailers

SUMMARYThis paper describes a working prototype of a Roll Stability Advisor (RSA) system for tractor-semitrailer combination vehicles. The RSA estimates the quasi-static rollover threshold of the vehicle while it is underway in normal service. This estimate is obtained within a few minutes of travel following any significant change in loading condition. The rollover threshold and the current operating level of lateral acceleration are displayed to the driver while under way and are also recorded to provide fleet managers with a resource for accessing and improving the overall rollover risk of their fleet. A three-year field test to evaluate the effectiveness of a second generation of RSA in actual commercial service is planned.

Cartalk! Conversational Topics of Preschool Children En Route Home From Preschool

The conversations of 9 preschool-age children (chronological age [CA] 4:0 to 5:2, years:months) were tape-recorded as they traveled home from school with their parent in the family car. The speech samples (5 to 20 minutes in length) were coded to identify the semantic content of topics the children spoke about most often in this setting. References to specific persons, time frames, and content were noted. Overall, the children spoke most often about the here and now, making frequent references to the present and themselves or their parent. References to past and future events, however, were made more frequently in the car setting than at home or school by the same children (Marvin, Beukelman, Brockhous, & Kast, 1994). The content of most cartalk addressed the children's school projects and play, vehicles, food, and people's actions or positions. Most references to the past and to school projects occurred during the first 5 minutes of travel and often were prompted by the presence of a project remnant in the car or by a parent's questions or comments. References to future events occurred more frequently during the latter portion of the trip. The merits of viewing the family car (and car travel time) as an important setting for advancing young children's decontextual use of language are discussed.