Service Area Research Articles

Development and evaluation of public‐supply community water service area boundaries for the conterminous United States

Development and evaluation of <scp>public‐supply</scp> community water service area boundaries for the conterminous United States

Maximizing profitability through cloud-enabled Reinforcement Learning for UAV coverage in real-time e-business applications

Real-time e-business applications are vital for operational efficiency, but connectivity challenges persist, particularly in remote or crowded areas. Drone Base Station (DBS) architecture, proposed for Beyond fifth Generation (B5G) and Sixth Generation (6G) multi-cell networks, offers on-demand hotspot coverage, addressing connectivity gaps in remote or crowded environments. DBSs provide a promising solution to meet the demanding requirements of high data rates, real-time responsiveness, low latency, and extended network coverage, particularly for real-time e-business applications. A critical challenge in this context involves efficiently allocating the needed number of DBSs to the different hotspot service areas, referred to as cells, to optimize the operator’s total profit under unpredictable user demands, varying area-specific service costs, and price dependence real-time e-service. The objective is to achieve the highest total revenue while minimizing the cost (cost savings) throughout the multi-cell system. This challenge is formulated as a profit-maximization discount return problem, integrating the coverage constraint, the variable cell-dependent operational cost, the e-service-based price and the uncertain demands of users across cells. Traditional optimization methods fail due to environmental uncertainty, which leads to the need to reformulate the problem as a Markov Decision Problem (MDP). We introduce a cloud-based Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm for DBS dispatch to address the MDP formulation. This algorithm dynamically adjusts to uncertain per-cell user distributions, considering variable operating costs and service-dependent prices across cells. Through extensive evaluation, the RL-based dispatch approach is compared with reference drone dispatch algorithms, demonstrating superior performance in maximizing operator profit through cost savings by optimizing DBS dispatch decisions based on learned user behaviors, variable operational costs, and e-service types.

Coalition for Global Hearing Health Hearing Care Pathways Working Group: Guidelines for Clinical Guidance for Readiness and Development of Evidence-Based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs.

Editor's Note: The following article discusses the timely topic Clinical Guidance in the areas of Evidence-Based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs. This article aims to discuss areas of services needed, guidance to countries/organizations attempting to initiate early hearing detection and intervention systems. Expert consensus and systematic/scoping reviews were combined to produce recommendations for evidence-based clinical practice. In Ear and Hearing, our long-term goal for the Point of View article is to stimulate the field's interest in and to enhance the appreciation of the author's area of expertise. Hearing is an important sense for children to develop cognitive, speech, language, and psychosocial skills. The goal of universal newborn hearing screening is to enable the detection of hearing loss in infants so that timely health and educational/therapeutic intervention can be provided as early as possible to improve outcomes. While many countries have implemented universal newborn hearing screening programs, many others are yet to start. As hearing screening is only the first step to identify children with hearing loss, many follow-up services are needed to help them thrive. However, not all of these services are universally available, even in high-income countries. The purposes of this article are (1) to discuss the areas of services needed in an integrated care system to support children with hearing loss and their families; (2) to provide guidance to countries/organizations attempting to initiate early hearing detection and intervention systems with the goal of meeting measurable benchmarks to assure quality; and (3) to help established programs expand and improve their services to support children with hearing loss to develop their full potential. Multiple databases were interrogated including PubMed, Medline (OVIDSP), Cochrane library, Google Scholar, Web of Science and One Search, ERIC, PsychInfo. Expert consensus and systematic/scoping reviews were combined to produce recommendations for evidence-based clinical practice. Eight essential areas were identified to be central to the integrated care: (1) hearing screening, (2) audiologic diagnosis and management, (3) amplification, (4) medical evaluation and management, (5) early intervention services, (6) family-to-family support, (7) D/deaf/hard of hearing leadership, and (8) data management. Checklists are provided to support the assessment of a country/organization's readiness and development in each area as well as to suggest alternative strategies for situations with limited resources. A three-tiered system (i.e., Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced) is proposed to help countries/organizations at all resource levels assess their readiness to provide the needed services and to improve their integrated care system. Future directions and policy implications are also discussed.

Community Health Assessment to Identify and Prioritize Health Problems

Background: Community health assessment is a process in which researchers achieve a proper understanding of the community health status through the community active participation. The present study was conducted aiming to identify and prioritize health problems of Meshkin Tappeh village with people’s direct involvement. Methods: This study was conducted using the community assessment method in Meshkin Tappeh village in the city of Bueen Zahra, Iran, based on the North Carolina model. One person was selected from each household, and a total of 271 people were entered into the study. The community health assessment process was performed in 8 stages and problem prioritizing was also carried out using Hanlon’s scoring matrix method. Results: At the village level, 32 problems were identified in 6 areas, including problems related to health area (31.2%), municipal services area (21.8%), educational and cultural area (15.6%), economic and employment area (12.5%), social and citizenship rights area (12.5%), and security area (6.4%). Based on the matrix table scoring criteria, the problem of drug peddlers (15 points), poverty and low income (14 points), dropping out of school (13 points), emergency preparedness in unexpected events (12 points), and non-financial support for many health costs (12 points) were identified as 5 main problems at the village level. Conclusion: In this research, a broad spectrum of social, cultural, economic, and health problems were identified. Although the selected priority for further assessment was allocated to the problem of drug peddlers, solving all these problems requires the consultation and cooperation of all public institutions and organizations and the people.

Original Research: Addressing Nurse Burnout: The Relationship Between Burnout and Physical Activity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have faced innumerable challenges, which have contributed to staggering increases in burnout rates. In the health care arena, burnout has been associated with the onset or exacerbation of physical illness, neglect of self-care, fatigue, decreased patient satisfaction, higher medication error rates, lack of nurse engagement, and increased nurse turnover. This cross-sectional study sought to determine whether a correlation exists between self-reported physical activity and nurses' perception of burnout in a sample of hospital RNs. The secondary aim was to determine whether a correlation exists between the level of perceived burnout and the number of medication errors or near misses. Participants were asked to provide demographic information, complete the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ), and self-report the number of medication errors or near misses they were involved in during the previous 12 months. Data were analyzed using Stata version 17 software. A total of 216 participants returned usable surveys. Regarding the relationship between burnout and physical activity levels, data analysis was performed for the 210 participants who completed both the CBI and the GLTEQ. Compared with the least physically active nurses, the most active nurses had significantly lower CBI scores, with 68.5% of those reporting low or no burnout also scoring 24 or more on the GLTEQ. The least physically active nurses had significantly higher CBI scores, with 47.6% of those reporting high burnout also scoring 13 or less on the GLTEQ. Moreover, 90% of the nurses with high burnout levels had directly cared for COVID-19 patients at some point between 2020 and 2022. Medical-surgical nurses experienced significantly higher levels of burnout compared with nurses working in other service areas. No significant relationship was found between the number of medication errors or near misses and burnout levels. This study found that the most physically active nurses reported lower levels of burnout, while the highest levels of burnout were found in the least active nurses. Although COVID-19 infection rates have eased, many nurses, particularly those who have cared for COVID-19 patients and those who work in medical-surgical environments, continue to experience burnout. Targeted programs to reduce work-related burnout, as well as organizational sponsorship of and unit-level support for such programs, are urgently needed. This study's findings suggest that promotion of physical activity may be an essential component to alleviating burnout.

Development of violence-associated penetrating trauma in the Düsseldorf metropolitan region over a5-year period (GewPen study)

Penetrating injuries are arare but recurring emergency situation in the out-of-hospital and in-hospital emergency settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of injuries associated with penetrating violence across aGerman metropolitan region over a5-year period. In the retrospective study, adatabase query of the control center of the Düsseldorf rescue service area was used to identify and descriptively analyze all rescue service operations with penetrating violence-associated injuries in the years 2015, 2017, and 2019. For those patients who were transferred to the major trauma center, afurther analysis of the in-hospital course was performed. In the 3 years 2015, 2017 and 2019 atotal of 266 patients (age: 33 ± 14years, male: 79%) could be recorded (2015 vs. 2017 vs. 2019: n = 81 vs. n = 93 vs. n = 92, respectively). The most common age group involved had an age range of 15-34years. Aparticularly higher frequency of emergency calls was found for the areas of Old Town, City Center, and one other district (Oberbilk). Ahigh frequency of rescue missions was found in the nights from Saturday to Sunday between 20.00 p.m. and 04.00 a.m. Rescue missions with emergency physicians on board increased over the years (2015 vs. 2019: 27 vs. 42%, p = 0.04). The primary weapons used were knives (56%), broken glass bottles (18%) and broken glasses (6%). Out of all patients 71 (27%, injury severity score11 ± 14) were admitted to the major trauma center. Among these patients, the proportion of immediate surgical care (2015 vs. 2019: 20% vs. 35%, p < 0.05) and positive alcohol detection increased over the years (2015 vs. 2019: 10% vs. 43%, p < 0.05). The 30-day mortality in the 3 years studied was 1.1% (n = 3). Penetrating injuries associated with violence are relevant but rare rescue missions. Future care strategies should focus on deployment of rescue resources close to the scene of the incident ("old town guard", central station), and prevention strategies should focus on weapon prohibition zones. A control of alcohol consumption should be discussed.

Stomach Cancer Prediction Model (SCoPM): An approach to risk stratification in a diverse U.S. population.

Population-based screening for gastric cancer (GC) in low prevalence nations is not recommended. The objective of this study was to develop a risk-prediction model to identify high-risk patients who could potentially benefit from targeted screening in a racial/ethnically diverse regional US population. We performed a retrospective cohort study from Kaiser Permanente Southern California from January 2008-June 2018 among individuals age ≥50 years. Patients with prior GC or follow-up <30 days were excluded. Censoring occurred at GC, death, age 85 years, disenrollment, end of 5-year follow-up, or study conclusion. Cross-validated LASSO regression models were developed to identify the strongest of 20 candidate predictors (clinical, demographic, and laboratory parameters). Records from 12 of the medical service areas were used for training/initial validation while records from a separate medical service area were used for testing. 1,844,643 individuals formed the study cohort (1,555,392 training and validation, 289,251 testing). Mean age was 61.9 years with 53.3% female. GC incidence was 2.1 (95% CI 2.0-2.2) cases per 10,000 person-years (pyr). Higher incidence was seen with family history: 4.8/10,000 pyr, history of gastric ulcer: 5.3/10,000 pyr, H. pylori: 3.6/10,000 pyr and anemia: 5.3/10,000 pyr. The final model included age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking, proton-pump inhibitor, family history of gastric cancer, history of gastric ulcer, H. pylori infection, and baseline hemoglobin. The means and standard deviations (SD) of c-index in validation and testing datasets were 0.75 (SD 0.03) and 0.76 (SD 0.02), respectively. This prediction model may serve as an aid for pre-endoscopic assessment of GC risk for identification of a high-risk population that could benefit from targeted screening.

A geospatial perspective of flood risk hotspots, transport networks and emergency response services in Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACT This paper adds to existing knowledge about flood management in Accra and contributes insights into emergency responses to major flood events in a geospatial context. The study identifies and analyses the specific routes from the facilities of emergency responders to designated flood-prone areas within four sites in the peripheral areas of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. Flood hotspots were ascertained from several sources including local knowledge and bluespot maps derived from a 10 m resolution elevation model. GIS-based network analysis was used to determine the fastest routes from emergency responder facilities to flood hotspots, based on OpenStreetMap data. Interviews revealed that the computed routes are unsuitable for emergency services due to narrow passages and prevailing conditions during the floods. It is necessary to incorporate the individual responder’s knowledge gained through familiarization with the local terrain to identify the optimal routes. The study further analysed the accessibility of emergency response services using indicative service area maps that present an account of time-distance from various emergency responders’ bases. Finally, the study recommends the need for better planning of the expanding areas of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, in terms of accessibility for emergency responders.

Всероссийский съезд психологических служб в системе образования Российской Федерации как единое пространство, объединяющее профессионалов

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The article highlights the key events and results of the All-Russian Congress of Psychological Services in the Education system of the Russian Federation on December 8-9, 2023. The content and directions of the work of the plenary session, panel discussion, workshops and expert sessions held within the framework of the Congress are described. Among the most urgent issues are the actualization of the Concept of the development of psychological services and the professional standard &amp;ldquo;Educational psychologist (psychologist in the field of education)&amp;rdquo;; the role of a teacher-psychologist in the formation of a favorable socio-psychological climate in educational groups and the psychological safety of the educational environment; psychological and pedagogical support for students with disabilities, etc. Following the results of the All-Russian Congress, there was made a decision defining the prospects for the development of the Service and priority areas of activity. Decisions for execution have been sent by the Ministry of Education to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.&lt;/p&gt;

Influencing Factors of Delayed Diagnosis of COVID-19 in Gangwon, South Korea.

This study aimed to identify the time to diagnosis among COVID-19 patients and factors associated with delayed diagnosis (DD). Data from COVID-19 patients in Gangwon, South Korea, diagnosed between 22 February 2020 and 29 January 2022, were analyzed, excluding asymptomatic cases and those who underwent mandatory testing. DD was defined as a period exceeding 2 or more days from symptom recognition to COVID-19 diagnosis. Univariate analysis was performed to investigate the demographic characteristics, COVID-19 symptoms, and underlying medical conditions associated with DD, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis for significant variables. Among 2683 patients, 584 (21.8%) were diagnosed within a day of symptom onset. DD rates were lower in patients with febrile symptoms but higher among those with cough, myalgia, or anosmia/ageusia. High-risk underlying medical conditions were not significantly associated with DD. Older age groups, the Wonju medical service area, time of diagnosis between November 2020 and July 2021, symptom onset on nonworkdays, and individuals in nonwhite collar sectors were significantly associated with increased DD risks. These findings were consistent in the sensitivity analysis. This study underscores the need for enhanced promotion and system adjustments to ensure prompt testing upon symptom recognition.

Opinion Change or Differential Turnout: Changing Opinions on the Austin Police Department in a Budget Feedback Process

In 2020 the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement ignited and intensified nationwide protests, demanding changes in police funding and allocation. This happened during a budgeting feedback exercise where residents of Austin, Texas were invited to share opinions on the budgets of various city service areas, including the Police Department, on an online platform designed by our team. Daily responses increased by a hundredfold and responses registered after the “exogenous shock” overwhelmingly advocated for reducing police funding. This opinion shift far exceeded what we observed in 14 other Participatory Budgeting elections on our Participatory Budgeting Platform, and can’t be explained by shifts in the respondent demographics. Analysis of the results from an Austin budgetary feedback exercise in 2021 and a follow-up survey indicates that the opinion shift from 2020 persisted, with the opinion gap on police funding widening. We conclude that there was an actual change of opinion regarding police funding. This study not only sheds light on the enduring impact of the 2020 events and protests on public opinion, but also showcases the value of analysis of clustered opinions as a tool in the evaluation toolkit of survey organizers.

Establishment of an equity evaluation method for urban parkland layout under the process-outcome perspective

Urban parkland, as a critical component of urban green space, reflects the distribution of public resources. Combined with the concept of the 15-min Living Circle, this paper comprehensively evaluated the equity of urban parkland in the Central Area of Zhengzhou from a process-outcome perspective and established an evaluation method for assessing the equity of parkland in high-density urban areas. The objective of this approach is to provide a systematic and applicable evaluation method for metropolises that is more comprehensive than traditional evaluation methods, which rely solely on accessibility. In terms of process equity, spatial equity values were calculated using the Three Step Catchment Area Method (3SFCA) with walking and bicycle travel models. For outcome equity, Zone Entropy was utilized with demographic characteristics. The results illustrated that the overall accessibility and equity of urban parkland layout in the Central Area of Zhengzhou were inferior, with an extensive number of blind service areas and serious polarization. The Zone Entropy varied considerably among streets, which indicated significant differences in the allocation of parkland and population. Further analysis illustrated that economic factors, such as house prices, were not significantly relevant to parkland equity. Instead, geographic factors such as location and intensity of development had a remarkable impact on parkland equity. Although urban parkland layout has been prone to the elderly, the total number of park spaces is still insufficient. In the long run, the construction of the 15-min Living Circle still needs to be vigorously promoted in the research area.

Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Indian Banking Sector: A Case Study on Bank of Baroda

Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Indian Banking Sector: A Case Study on Bank of Baroda

Telehealth Expansion and Medicare Beneficiaries’ Care Quality and Access

Understanding the association of telehealth use with health care outcomes is fundamental to determining whether telehealth waivers implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency should be made permanent. The current literature has yielded inconclusive findings owing to its focus on select states, practices, or health care systems. To estimate the association of telehealth use with outcomes for all Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries by comparing hospital service areas (HSAs) with different levels of telehealth use. This US population-based, retrospective cohort study was conducted from July 2022 to April 2023. Participants included Medicare claims of beneficiaries attributed to HSAs with FFS enrollment in Parts A and B. Low, medium, or high tercile of telehealth use created by ranking HSAs according to the number of telehealth visits per 1000 beneficiaries. The primary outcomes were quality (ambulatory care-sensitive [ACS] hospitalizations and emergency department [ED] visits per 1000 FFS beneficiaries), access to care (clinician encounters per FFS beneficiary), and cost (total cost of care for Part A and/or B services per FFS Medicare beneficiary) determined with a difference-in-difference analysis. In this cohort study of claims from approximately 30 million Medicare beneficiaries (mean [SD] age in 2019, 71.04 [1.67] years; mean [SD] percentage female in 2019, 53.83% [2.14%]) within 3436 HSAs, between the second half of 2019 and the second half of 2021, mean ACS hospitalizations and ED visits declined sharply, mean clinician encounters per beneficiary declined slightly, and mean total cost of care per beneficiary per semester increased slightly. Compared with the low group, the high group had more ACS hospitalizations (1.63 additional hospitalizations per 1000 beneficiaries; 95% CI, 1.03-2.22 hospitalizations), more clinician encounters (0.30 additional encounters per beneficiary per semester; 95% CI, 0.23-0.38 encounters), and higher total cost of care ($164.99 higher cost per beneficiary per semester; 95% CI, $101.03-$228.96). There was no statistically significant difference in ACS ED visits between the low and high groups. In this cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries across all 3436 HSAs, high levels of telehealth use were associated with more clinician encounters, more ACS hospitalizations, and higher total health care costs. COVID-19 cases were still high during the period of study, which suggests that these findings partially reflect a higher capacity for providing health services in HSAs with higher telehealth intensity than other HSAs.

Determining the depth and rate of soil movement down the soil profile using an environmental tracer: a hillslope scale assessment

Context Soil materials can be delivered to depth from both in situ and ex situ materials. Here, we examine a hillslope in an agricultural environment that has been used for cropping and cattle grazing for over 150 years and a parallel area where cattle have been excluded for approximately 20 years. The exclusion area is a shelterbelt and also provides ecological services. Aims To quantify the depth and rate of down profile soil movement using the environmental tracer 137Cs at points along a hillslope profile. Methods 137Cs concentration is measured to bedrock at regular intervals both inside and outside a fenced of ecological services area pre-drought (2015) and post-drought (2021). In Australia. 137Cs is the by-product of nuclear weapons use and testing from1945 to 1972. Therefore, this places an age constraint on any labelled soil. Key results Results show that soil materials can move down the soil profile to reach bedrock at decadal time scales. An important finding is that materials from the surface can reach depths of up to 80 cm near the hillslope crest and up to 2.2 m at the base of the hillslope. Conclusions This demonstrates a relatively rapid translocation of surface material. Implications The method provides the ability to quantify the rapid movement of soil components and demonstrates the potential for deep sequestration of soil organic carbon. The results demonstrate the potential for soil amendments and agrochemicals to be rapidly transported to depth. The findings suggest that cattle exclusion has no impact on the movement of soil materials down the profile over the 20-year exclusion period.

The landscape of liver transplantation for patients with alcohol-associated liver disease in the United States.

Indications for liver transplants have expanded to include patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) over the last decade. Concurrently, the liver allocation policy was updated in February 2020 replacing the Donor Service Area with Acuity Circles (ACs). The aim is to compare the transplantation rate, waitlist outcomes, and posttransplant survival of candidates with ALD to non-ALD and assess differences in that effect after the implementation of the AC policy. Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients data for adult candidates for liver transplant were reviewed from the post-AC era (February 4, 2020-March 1, 2022) and compared with an equivalent length of time before ACs were implemented. The adjusted transplant rates were significantly higher for those with ALD before AC, and this difference increased after AC implementation (transplant rate ratio comparing ALD to non-ALD = 1.20, 1.13, 1.61, and 1.32 for the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease categories 37-40, 33-36, 29-32, and 25-28, respectively, in the post-AC era, p < 0.05 for all). The adjusted likelihood of death/removal from the waitlist was lower for patients with ALD across all lower Model for End-Stage Liver Disease categories (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio = 0.70, 0.81, 0.84, and 0.70 for the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease categories 25-28, 20-24, 15-19, 6-14, respectively, p < 0.05). Adjusted posttransplant survival was better for those with ALD (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.81, p < 0.05). Waiting list and posttransplant mortality tended to improve more for those with ALD since the implementation of AC but not significantly. ALD is a growing indication for liver transplantation. Although patients with ALD continue to have excellent posttransplant outcomes and lower waitlist mortality, candidates with ALD have higher adjusted transplant rates, and these differences have increased after AC implementation.

Effects of Mobi’s equity initiatives on public bike share access and use

Since its launch, Vancouver’s public bike share system has implemented changes to reduce barriers, enhance uptake, and make bike sharing more equitable. These include hiring an equity coordinator, expanding the service area, adding e-bikes to the fleet, reducing the age eligibility, reducing financial barriers through their Community Pass, and partnering with community organizations. We used a mixed methods study design to assess the impact of these initiatives on access to and use of public bike share. We found that the service area expansion reduced inequities in spatial access by socioeconomic status, age, and race, but higher socioeconomic status and white populations continue to have better access. Our analysis of system and survey data, and interviews with community organizations, revealed how the Community Pass is enhancing transport justice by expanding the benefits of bike share and improving access to opportunities for more diverse populations.

Addressing food insecurity in rural primary care: a mixed-methods evaluation of barriers and facilitators

BackgroundFood insecurity (FI) is associated with negative health outcomes and increased healthcare utilization. Rural populations face increased rates of FI and encounter additional barriers to achieving food security. We sought to identify barriers and facilitators to screening and interventions for FI in rural primary care practices.MethodsWe conducted a mixed-methods study using surveys and semi-structured interviews of providers and staff members from rural primary care practices in northern New England. Survey data were analyzed descriptively, and thematic analysis was used to identify salient interview themes.ResultsParticipants from 24 rural practices completed the survey, and 13 subsequently completed an interview. Most survey respondents (54%) reported their practices systematically screen for FI and 71% reported food needs were “very important” for their patients and communities. Time and resource constraints were the most frequently cited barriers to screening for and addressing FI in practices based on survey results. Interview themes were categorized by screening and intervention procedures, community factors, patient factors, external factors, practice factors, process and implementation factors, and impact of FI screening and interventions. Time and resource constraints were a major theme in interviews, and factors attributed to rural practice settings included geographically large service areas, stigma from loss of privacy in small communities, and availability of food resources through farming.ConclusionsRural primary care practices placed a high value on addressing food needs but faced a variety of barriers to implementing and sustaining FI screening and interventions. Strategies that utilize practice strengths and address time and resource constraints, stigma, and large service areas could promote the adoption of novel interventions to address FI.

Optimizing service design for the intercity demand responsive transit system: Model, algorithm, and comparative analysis

Intercity Demand Responsive Transit (IDRT) systems, providing on-demand “door-to-door” services for intercity travelers, have been recently implemented in a few cities and gained popularity. To devise a theoretical tool for designing efficient IDRT systems, this study proposes a continuous approximation (CA) model to describe the operation metrics of the IDRT. In a two-city system, an optimization model is proposed to study the zoning strategies in the main city, the service area in the satellite city, and headways. The objective is to minimize the average system cost, including the costs of both the operators and the passengers. A two-stage partition algorithm is proposed to generate a near-optimal solution by combining the greedy algorithm and sensitivity-based coordination optimization method. Subsequently, we develop a direct solution algorithm to establish a lower bound for the optimal solution, facilitating a comparison with the near-optimal solution. Throughout all sensitivity analyses, the gaps between the near-optimal solution and the lower-bound solution remain below 3 %. The comparison results demonstrate that the computation time and solution quality of the two-stage partition algorithm are considered acceptable. Simulation is performed to test the validity of the CA model, and the errors in the average system costs are less than 1.16 %. Sensitivity analyses are carried out to evaluate the impacts of several key parameters (e.g., demand densities and line-haul distances) on the optimization results. By comparison with Intercity Fixed Route Transit (IFRT), it can be seen that the choice of IDRT depends on passengers' preference for door-to-door transportation. This study may serve as a valuable reference for the practical implementation of IDRT.

Investigation on manhole sludge in Can Tho City

During the rainy season, Can Tho city frequently faces severe flooding on its streets. In this study, the investigation is carried out on 30 streets and 10 canals nearby the streets in the center of Can Tho city. The results indicate that the surveyed manholes contain a lot of sludge with an average volume percent of 39.29%. In the food service areas, the average volume percent of sludge in manholes is found more than 70%. In the concentrated residential areas, the amount of sludge is less, but still at a relatively high rate (over 50%). In addition, the results show that the studied canals in the inner city are polluted due to waste directly from the drainage system. These issues have an effect on the drainage capacity of the roads. Some discussion on sand also shows that the sand shortage has reached an alarming level, which is the main factor leading to slow progress of some road projects. The sand reserves in the Mekong Delta region decrease sharply and the scarcity of sand causes sand prices to skyrocket, which is a difficult problem for this area. The development of mobile sludge treatment technology to produce a replacement material suitable for levelling and fertilizer purposes can be a potential topic for future research.