Over the course of human history, influenza pandemics have been seen as major disasters, so studies on the influenza virus have become an important issue for many experts and scholars. Comprehensive research has been ...Over the course of human history, influenza pandemics have been seen as major disasters, so studies on the influenza virus have become an important issue for many experts and scholars. Comprehensive research has been performed over the years on the biological properties, chemical characteristics, external environmental factors and other aspects of the virus, and some results have been achieved. Based on the chaos game representation walk model, this paper uses the time series analysis method to study the DNA sequences of the influenza virus from 1913 to 2010, and works out the early-warning signals indicator value for the outbreak of an influenza pandemic. The variances in the CCR wall〈 sequences for the pandemic years （or ＋ -1 to 2 years） are significantly higher than those for the adjacent years, while those in the non-pandemic years are usually smaller. In this way we can provide an influenza early-warning mechanism so that people can take precautions and be well prepared prior to a pandemic.展开更多
Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada...Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada, during 2019, the National Collision Database shows that 28% of traffic fatalities and 42% of serious injuries occurred at intersections. Likewise, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40% of the estimated 5,811,000 accidents in the U.S. during the year studied were intersection-related crashes. In fact, a major survey by the car insurance industry found that nearly 85% of drivers could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light at an intersection. One major reason for these accidents is the “yellow light dilemma,” the ambiguous situation where a driver should stop or proceed forward when unexpectedly faced with a yellow light. This situation is even further exacerbated by the tendency of aggressive drivers to inappropriately speed up on the yellow just to get through the traffic light. A survey of Canadian drivers conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that 9% of drivers admitted to speeding up to get through a traffic light. Another reason for these accidents is the increased danger of making a left-hand turn on yellow. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), left turns occur in approximately 22.2% of collisions—as opposed to just 1.2% for right turns. Moreover, a study by CNN found left turns are three times as likely to kill pedestrians than right turns. The reason left turns are so much more likely to cause an accident is because they take a driver against traffic and in the path of oncoming cars. Additionally, most of these left turns occur at the driver’s discretion—as opposed to the distressingly brief left-hand arrow at busy intersections. Drive Safe Now proposes a workable solution for reducing the number of accidents occurring during a yellow light at intersections. We believe this fairly simple solution will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce damage to public and private property, and decrease insurance costs.展开更多
A significant proportion of urban crashes,especially serious and fatal crashes,occur at traffic signals.Many of the black-spots in both Australia and New Zealand cities occur at high volume and/or high-speed traffic s...A significant proportion of urban crashes,especially serious and fatal crashes,occur at traffic signals.Many of the black-spots in both Australia and New Zealand cities occur at high volume and/or high-speed traffic signals.Given this,crash reduction studies often focus on the major signalised intersections.However,there is limited information that links the phasing configuration,degree of saturation and overall cycle time to crashes.While a number of analysis tools are available for assessing the efficiency of intersections,there are very few tools that can assist engineers in assessing the safety effects of intersection upgrades and new intersections.Safety performance functions have been developed to help quantify the safety impact of various traffic signal phasing configurations and level of intersection congestion at low and high-speed traffic signals in New Zealand and Australia.Data from 238 signalised intersection sites in Auckland,Wellington,Christchurch,Hamilton,Dunedin and Melbourne was used to develop crash prediction models for key crash-causing movements at traffic signals.Different variables(road features)effect each crash type.The models indicate that the safety of intersections can be improved by longer cycle times and longer lost inter-green times,especially all-red time,using fully protected right turns and by extending the length of right turn bays.The exception is at intersections with lots of pedestrians where shorter cycle times are preferred as pedestrian crashes increase with longer wait times.A number of factors have a negative impact on safety including,free left turns,more approach lanes,intersection arms operating near or over capacity in peak periods and higher speed limits.展开更多
Complex systems from different fields of knowledge often do not allow a mathematical description or modeling, because of their intricate structure composed of numerous interacting components. As an alternative approac...Complex systems from different fields of knowledge often do not allow a mathematical description or modeling, because of their intricate structure composed of numerous interacting components. As an alternative approach, it is possible to study the way in which observables associated with the system fluctuate in time. These time series may provide valuable information about the underlying dynamics. It has been suggested that complex dynamic systems, ranging from ecosystems to financial markets and the climate, produce generic early-warning signals at the ＂tipping points,＂ where they announce a sudden shift toward a different dynamical regime, such as a population extinction, a systemic market crash, or abrupt shifts in the weather. On the other hand, the framework of Self- Organized Criticality （SOC）, suggests that some complex systems, such as life itself, may spontaneously converge toward a critical point. As a particular example, the quasispecies model suggests that RNA viruses self-organize their mutation rate near the error-catastrophe threshold, where robustness and evolvability are balanced in such a way that survival is optimized. In this paper, we study the time series associated to a classical discrete quasispecies model for different mutation rates, and identify early-warning signals for critical mutation rates near the error-catastrophe threshold, such as irregularities in the kurtosis and a significant increase in the autocorrelation range, reminiscent of 1/f noise. In the present context, we find that the early-warning signals, rather than broadcasting the collapse of the system, are the fingerprint of survival optimization.展开更多
交通事故导致车辆被迫采取换道、减速等行为,严重影响路段的通行能力。为缓解交叉口处因事故导致的交通阻塞,有必要基于事故车道位置、与交叉口距离及事故规模等信息,分析事故前后交通流变化规律,从而进行交通影响研究,并制定满足交通...交通事故导致车辆被迫采取换道、减速等行为,严重影响路段的通行能力。为缓解交叉口处因事故导致的交通阻塞,有必要基于事故车道位置、与交叉口距离及事故规模等信息,分析事故前后交通流变化规律,从而进行交通影响研究,并制定满足交通需求的临时性信号配时方案。该研究借助实地调研事故数据,构建了宏观交通流仿真模型,以选定交叉口的交通量、平均车速、最大排队车辆数和平均延误作为优化目标,并通过SUMO(Simulation of Urban Mobility)仿真试验验证4种信号配时方案的有效性。最后,建立基于熵权-TOPSIS法的综合评估模型,对4种信号配时方案的效果进行综合评估。结果表明:事故发生位置、事故规模对交通运行的影响呈非线性变化;在4种信号配时方案中,方案2的整体优化效果最佳,事故方向交通量提升了11.76%,平均车速提升了16.37%,事故方向平均延误降低了12.59%,最大排队车辆数降低22.41%。展开更多
基金Project supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. JUSRP21117)the Program for Innovative Research Team of Jiangnan University (Grant No. 2008CX002)
文摘Over the course of human history, influenza pandemics have been seen as major disasters, so studies on the influenza virus have become an important issue for many experts and scholars. Comprehensive research has been performed over the years on the biological properties, chemical characteristics, external environmental factors and other aspects of the virus, and some results have been achieved. Based on the chaos game representation walk model, this paper uses the time series analysis method to study the DNA sequences of the influenza virus from 1913 to 2010, and works out the early-warning signals indicator value for the outbreak of an influenza pandemic. The variances in the CCR wall〈 sequences for the pandemic years （or ＋ -1 to 2 years） are significantly higher than those for the adjacent years, while those in the non-pandemic years are usually smaller. In this way we can provide an influenza early-warning mechanism so that people can take precautions and be well prepared prior to a pandemic.
文摘Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada, during 2019, the National Collision Database shows that 28% of traffic fatalities and 42% of serious injuries occurred at intersections. Likewise, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40% of the estimated 5,811,000 accidents in the U.S. during the year studied were intersection-related crashes. In fact, a major survey by the car insurance industry found that nearly 85% of drivers could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light at an intersection. One major reason for these accidents is the “yellow light dilemma,” the ambiguous situation where a driver should stop or proceed forward when unexpectedly faced with a yellow light. This situation is even further exacerbated by the tendency of aggressive drivers to inappropriately speed up on the yellow just to get through the traffic light. A survey of Canadian drivers conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that 9% of drivers admitted to speeding up to get through a traffic light. Another reason for these accidents is the increased danger of making a left-hand turn on yellow. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), left turns occur in approximately 22.2% of collisions—as opposed to just 1.2% for right turns. Moreover, a study by CNN found left turns are three times as likely to kill pedestrians than right turns. The reason left turns are so much more likely to cause an accident is because they take a driver against traffic and in the path of oncoming cars. Additionally, most of these left turns occur at the driver’s discretion—as opposed to the distressingly brief left-hand arrow at busy intersections. Drive Safe Now proposes a workable solution for reducing the number of accidents occurring during a yellow light at intersections. We believe this fairly simple solution will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce damage to public and private property, and decrease insurance costs.
文摘A significant proportion of urban crashes,especially serious and fatal crashes,occur at traffic signals.Many of the black-spots in both Australia and New Zealand cities occur at high volume and/or high-speed traffic signals.Given this,crash reduction studies often focus on the major signalised intersections.However,there is limited information that links the phasing configuration,degree of saturation and overall cycle time to crashes.While a number of analysis tools are available for assessing the efficiency of intersections,there are very few tools that can assist engineers in assessing the safety effects of intersection upgrades and new intersections.Safety performance functions have been developed to help quantify the safety impact of various traffic signal phasing configurations and level of intersection congestion at low and high-speed traffic signals in New Zealand and Australia.Data from 238 signalised intersection sites in Auckland,Wellington,Christchurch,Hamilton,Dunedin and Melbourne was used to develop crash prediction models for key crash-causing movements at traffic signals.Different variables(road features)effect each crash type.The models indicate that the safety of intersections can be improved by longer cycle times and longer lost inter-green times,especially all-red time,using fully protected right turns and by extending the length of right turn bays.The exception is at intersections with lots of pedestrians where shorter cycle times are preferred as pedestrian crashes increase with longer wait times.A number of factors have a negative impact on safety including,free left turns,more approach lanes,intersection arms operating near or over capacity in peak periods and higher speed limits.
文摘Complex systems from different fields of knowledge often do not allow a mathematical description or modeling, because of their intricate structure composed of numerous interacting components. As an alternative approach, it is possible to study the way in which observables associated with the system fluctuate in time. These time series may provide valuable information about the underlying dynamics. It has been suggested that complex dynamic systems, ranging from ecosystems to financial markets and the climate, produce generic early-warning signals at the ＂tipping points,＂ where they announce a sudden shift toward a different dynamical regime, such as a population extinction, a systemic market crash, or abrupt shifts in the weather. On the other hand, the framework of Self- Organized Criticality （SOC）, suggests that some complex systems, such as life itself, may spontaneously converge toward a critical point. As a particular example, the quasispecies model suggests that RNA viruses self-organize their mutation rate near the error-catastrophe threshold, where robustness and evolvability are balanced in such a way that survival is optimized. In this paper, we study the time series associated to a classical discrete quasispecies model for different mutation rates, and identify early-warning signals for critical mutation rates near the error-catastrophe threshold, such as irregularities in the kurtosis and a significant increase in the autocorrelation range, reminiscent of 1/f noise. In the present context, we find that the early-warning signals, rather than broadcasting the collapse of the system, are the fingerprint of survival optimization.
文摘交通事故导致车辆被迫采取换道、减速等行为,严重影响路段的通行能力。为缓解交叉口处因事故导致的交通阻塞,有必要基于事故车道位置、与交叉口距离及事故规模等信息,分析事故前后交通流变化规律,从而进行交通影响研究,并制定满足交通需求的临时性信号配时方案。该研究借助实地调研事故数据,构建了宏观交通流仿真模型,以选定交叉口的交通量、平均车速、最大排队车辆数和平均延误作为优化目标,并通过SUMO(Simulation of Urban Mobility)仿真试验验证4种信号配时方案的有效性。最后,建立基于熵权-TOPSIS法的综合评估模型,对4种信号配时方案的效果进行综合评估。结果表明:事故发生位置、事故规模对交通运行的影响呈非线性变化;在4种信号配时方案中,方案2的整体优化效果最佳,事故方向交通量提升了11.76%,平均车速提升了16.37%,事故方向平均延误降低了12.59%,最大排队车辆数降低22.41%。
