Recent advances in intelligent transportation system allow traffic safety studies to extend from historic data-based analyses to real-time applications. The study presents a new method to predict crash likelihood with...Recent advances in intelligent transportation system allow traffic safety studies to extend from historic data-based analyses to real-time applications. The study presents a new method to predict crash likelihood with traffic data collected by discrete loop detectors as well as the web-crawl weather data. Matched case-control method and support vector machines (SVMs) technique were employed to identify the risk status. The adaptive synthetic over-sampling technique was applied to solve the imbalanced dataset issues. Random forest technique was applied to select the contributing factors and avoid the over-fitting issues. The results indicate that the SVMs classifier could successfully classify 76.32% of the crashes on the test dataset and 87.52% of the crashes on the overall dataset, which were relatively satisfactory compared with the results of the previous studies. Compared with the SVMs classifier without the data, the SVMs classifier with the web-crawl weather data increased the crash prediction accuracy by 1.32% and decreased the false alarm rate by 1.72%, showing the potential value of the massive web weather data. Mean impact value method was employed to evaluate the variable effects, and the results are identical with the results of most of previous studies. The emerging technique based on the discrete traffic data and web weather data proves to be more applicable on real- time safety management on freeways.展开更多
Deepwater oil and gas projects embody high risks from geology and engineering aspects, which exert substantial influence on project valuation. But the uncer- tainties may be converted to additional value to the projec...Deepwater oil and gas projects embody high risks from geology and engineering aspects, which exert substantial influence on project valuation. But the uncer- tainties may be converted to additional value to the projects in the case of flexible management. Given the flexibility of project management, this paper extends the classical real options model to a multi-factor model which contains oil price, geology, and engineering uncertainties. It then gives an application example of the new model to evaluate deepwater oil and gas projects with a numerical analytical method. Compared with other methods and models, this multi-factor real options model contains more project information. It reflects the potential value deriving not only from oil price variation but also from geology and engi- neering uncertainties, which provides more accurate and reliable valuation information for decision makers.展开更多
AIM To investigated the real-world effectiveness and safety of various regimens of interferon-free treatments in patients infected with hepatitis C virus(HCV).METHODS We performed an observational study to analyze dif...AIM To investigated the real-world effectiveness and safety of various regimens of interferon-free treatments in patients infected with hepatitis C virus(HCV).METHODS We performed an observational study to analyze different antiviral treatments administered to 462 HCV-infected patients, of which 56.7% had liver cirrhosis. HCV RNA after 4 wk of treatment and at 12 wk after treatment sustained virologic response(SVR) as well as serious adverse events(SAEs) was analyzed first for the whole cohort and then separately in patients who met or did not meet the inclusion criteria of a clinical trial(CT-met and CT-unmet, respectively).RESULTS The most frequently prescribed treatment was simeprevir/sofosbuvir(36.4%), followed by sofosbuvir/ledipasvir(24.9%) and ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir(r)/dasabuvir(19.9%). Ribavirin(RBV) was administered in 198 patients(42.9%). SVRs occurred in 437/462 patients(94.6%). The SVRs ranged between 93.3% and 100% for genotypes 1-4. SVRs were achieved in 96.2% patients in the CTmet group vs 91.9% patients in the CT-unmet group(P = 0.049). Undetectable HCV RNA at week 4 occurred in 72.9% of the patients. In the univariate analysis, the factors associated with SVRs were lower liver stiffness, absence of cirrhosis, higher platelet count, higher albumin levels, no RBV dose reduction, undetectable HCV RNA at week 4 and CT-met group. In the multivariate analysis, only albumin was an independent predictor of treatment failure(P = 0.04). Eleven patients(2.4%) developed SAEs; 5.2% and 0.7% of the patients in the CT-unmet and CT-met groups, respectively(P = 0.003).CONCLUSION A high proportion of patients with HCV infection achieved SVRs. For patients who did not meet the CT criteria, treatment regimens must be optimized.展开更多
In the evaluation of road roughness and its effects on vehicles response in terms of ride quality, loads induced on pavement, drivers' comfort, etc., it is very common to generate road profles based on the equation p...In the evaluation of road roughness and its effects on vehicles response in terms of ride quality, loads induced on pavement, drivers' comfort, etc., it is very common to generate road profles based on the equation provided by ISO 8608 standard, according to which it is possible to group road surface profiles into eight different classes. However, real profiles are significantly different from the artificial ones because of the non-stationary fea- ture of the first ones and the not full capability of the ISO 8608 equation to correctly describe the frequency content of real road profiles. In this paper, the international roughness index, the frequency-weighted vertical acceleration awz according to ISO 2631, and the dynamic load index are applied both on artificial and real profiles, highlighting the different results obtained. The analysis carried out in this work has highlighted some limitation of the ISO 8608 approach in the description of performance and conditions of real pavement profiles. Furthermore, the different sensitivity of the various indices to the fitted power spectral density parameters is shown, which should be taken into account when performing analysis using artificial profiles.展开更多
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977), a Russian-born Ameri- can writer, is one of the most gifted exilic writers of the twentieth century. His first English novel, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, which inhe...Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977), a Russian-born Ameri- can writer, is one of the most gifted exilic writers of the twentieth century. His first English novel, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, which inherits certain aesthetic motifs of his Russian works, such as the artist in exile, the motif of the double, and the theme of the other world, has attracted the academic circle and received extreme views spreading between the good and the bad. But the core question in the whole of Nabokov scholarship is the ambiguous identities of the novel's two heroes, Sebastian and V. who are half-brothers. It is the identity puzzle that makes this novel more and more popular in Nabokov criticism. This essay attempts to review past reviews concerning this problem and analyze the four interpretations occa- sioned by the identity puzzle in Nabokov criticism.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (71301119)the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (12ZR1434100)
文摘Recent advances in intelligent transportation system allow traffic safety studies to extend from historic data-based analyses to real-time applications. The study presents a new method to predict crash likelihood with traffic data collected by discrete loop detectors as well as the web-crawl weather data. Matched case-control method and support vector machines (SVMs) technique were employed to identify the risk status. The adaptive synthetic over-sampling technique was applied to solve the imbalanced dataset issues. Random forest technique was applied to select the contributing factors and avoid the over-fitting issues. The results indicate that the SVMs classifier could successfully classify 76.32% of the crashes on the test dataset and 87.52% of the crashes on the overall dataset, which were relatively satisfactory compared with the results of the previous studies. Compared with the SVMs classifier without the data, the SVMs classifier with the web-crawl weather data increased the crash prediction accuracy by 1.32% and decreased the false alarm rate by 1.72%, showing the potential value of the massive web weather data. Mean impact value method was employed to evaluate the variable effects, and the results are identical with the results of most of previous studies. The emerging technique based on the discrete traffic data and web weather data proves to be more applicable on real- time safety management on freeways.
基金supported from the National Science and Technology Major Project under Grant No.2011ZX05030
文摘Deepwater oil and gas projects embody high risks from geology and engineering aspects, which exert substantial influence on project valuation. But the uncer- tainties may be converted to additional value to the projects in the case of flexible management. Given the flexibility of project management, this paper extends the classical real options model to a multi-factor model which contains oil price, geology, and engineering uncertainties. It then gives an application example of the new model to evaluate deepwater oil and gas projects with a numerical analytical method. Compared with other methods and models, this multi-factor real options model contains more project information. It reflects the potential value deriving not only from oil price variation but also from geology and engi- neering uncertainties, which provides more accurate and reliable valuation information for decision makers.
基金Supported by Fundación Burgos por la Investigación de la Salud and Gerencia Regional de Salud de Castilla y León,No.BUO/06/15
文摘AIM To investigated the real-world effectiveness and safety of various regimens of interferon-free treatments in patients infected with hepatitis C virus(HCV).METHODS We performed an observational study to analyze different antiviral treatments administered to 462 HCV-infected patients, of which 56.7% had liver cirrhosis. HCV RNA after 4 wk of treatment and at 12 wk after treatment sustained virologic response(SVR) as well as serious adverse events(SAEs) was analyzed first for the whole cohort and then separately in patients who met or did not meet the inclusion criteria of a clinical trial(CT-met and CT-unmet, respectively).RESULTS The most frequently prescribed treatment was simeprevir/sofosbuvir(36.4%), followed by sofosbuvir/ledipasvir(24.9%) and ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir(r)/dasabuvir(19.9%). Ribavirin(RBV) was administered in 198 patients(42.9%). SVRs occurred in 437/462 patients(94.6%). The SVRs ranged between 93.3% and 100% for genotypes 1-4. SVRs were achieved in 96.2% patients in the CTmet group vs 91.9% patients in the CT-unmet group(P = 0.049). Undetectable HCV RNA at week 4 occurred in 72.9% of the patients. In the univariate analysis, the factors associated with SVRs were lower liver stiffness, absence of cirrhosis, higher platelet count, higher albumin levels, no RBV dose reduction, undetectable HCV RNA at week 4 and CT-met group. In the multivariate analysis, only albumin was an independent predictor of treatment failure(P = 0.04). Eleven patients(2.4%) developed SAEs; 5.2% and 0.7% of the patients in the CT-unmet and CT-met groups, respectively(P = 0.003).CONCLUSION A high proportion of patients with HCV infection achieved SVRs. For patients who did not meet the CT criteria, treatment regimens must be optimized.
文摘In the evaluation of road roughness and its effects on vehicles response in terms of ride quality, loads induced on pavement, drivers' comfort, etc., it is very common to generate road profles based on the equation provided by ISO 8608 standard, according to which it is possible to group road surface profiles into eight different classes. However, real profiles are significantly different from the artificial ones because of the non-stationary fea- ture of the first ones and the not full capability of the ISO 8608 equation to correctly describe the frequency content of real road profiles. In this paper, the international roughness index, the frequency-weighted vertical acceleration awz according to ISO 2631, and the dynamic load index are applied both on artificial and real profiles, highlighting the different results obtained. The analysis carried out in this work has highlighted some limitation of the ISO 8608 approach in the description of performance and conditions of real pavement profiles. Furthermore, the different sensitivity of the various indices to the fitted power spectral density parameters is shown, which should be taken into account when performing analysis using artificial profiles.
文摘Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977), a Russian-born Ameri- can writer, is one of the most gifted exilic writers of the twentieth century. His first English novel, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, which inherits certain aesthetic motifs of his Russian works, such as the artist in exile, the motif of the double, and the theme of the other world, has attracted the academic circle and received extreme views spreading between the good and the bad. But the core question in the whole of Nabokov scholarship is the ambiguous identities of the novel's two heroes, Sebastian and V. who are half-brothers. It is the identity puzzle that makes this novel more and more popular in Nabokov criticism. This essay attempts to review past reviews concerning this problem and analyze the four interpretations occa- sioned by the identity puzzle in Nabokov criticism.