Research on Active Safety Methodologies for Intelligent Railway Systems

Safety is essential when building a strong transportation system.As a key development direction in the global railway system,the intelligent railway has safety at its core,making safety a top priority while pursuing the goals of efficiency,convenience,economy,and environmental friendliness.This paper describes the state of the art and proposes a system architecture for intelligent railway systems.It also focuses on the development of railway safety technology at home and abroad,and proposes the active safety method and technology system based on advanced theoretical methods such as the in-depth integration of cyber–physical systems(CPS),data-driven models,and intelligent computing.Finally,several typical applications are demonstrated to verify the advancement and feasibility of active safety technology in intelligent railway systems.

NEXRAD的技术升级和发展方向

阐述了NEXRAD雷达网产品升级、业务改造和技术更新的内容及现状,介绍了美国天气雷达网和雷达探测技术的可能发展趋势。NEXRAD产品升级的主要内容是建立开放的雷达系统、增加新算法、建立公共业务开发环境,研发不同型雷达的资料融合方法。NEXRAD业务改造主要包括更新雷达的网络设备,建立雷达基数据传输方案,升级和改造雷达系统部件。NEXRAD的未来将向提高探测时空精度和资料的综合应用发展。结合我国天气雷达的状况,就开展我国新一代天气雷达运行保障、资料应用开发和新技术研究试验阐述了几点认识和建议。

Model Uncertainty Representation for a Convection-Allowing Ensemble Prediction System Based on CNOP-P

Formulating model uncertainties for a convection-allowing ensemble prediction system(CAEPS)is a much more challenging problem compared to well-utilized approaches in synoptic weather forecasting.A new approach is proposed and tested through assuming that the model uncertainty should reasonably describe the fast nonlinear error growth of the convection-allowing model,due to the fast developing character and strong nonlinearity of convective events.The Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbation related to Parameters(CNOP-P)is applied in this study.Also,an ensemble approach is adopted to solve the CNOP-P problem.By using five locally developed strong convective events that occurred in pre-rainy season of South China,the most sensitive parameters were detected based on CNOP-P,which resulted in the maximum variations in precipitation.A formulation of model uncertainty is designed by adding stochastic perturbations into these sensitive parameters.Through comparison ensemble experiments by using all the 13 heavy rainfall cases that occurred in the flood season of South China in 2017,the advantages of the CNOP-P-based method are examined and verified by comparing with the well-utilized stochastically perturbed physics tendencies(SPPT)scheme.The results indicate that the CNOP-P-based method has potential in improving the under-dispersive problem of the current CAEPS.

Community Based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition: The MSF Experience from an Urban Slum Setting in Bangladesh

Background: Until recently, the experience on implementing community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) among children has been largely based in African settings. While the government in Bangladesh is yet to scale up CMAM approach, there is still paucity of knowledge on the experience of CMAM within the complex milieu of an urban slum context. In Kamrangirchar slum, Dhaka, Bangladesh, this paper describes a CMAM programme performance and outcomes run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors without Borders, in light to performance indicators set by MSF and the Sphere minimum standards. Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective study using routinely collected programme data of children admitted with severe acute malnutrition between May 2010 and November 2011. Kamrangirchar is an urban slum of a large migrant population in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Results: There was a total of 640 new admissions, of whom 333 (52%) were males. The median age was 18 months (Inter-quartile range (IQR) 12 - 41). 599 children had a reported nutritional outcome at discharge from ambulatory therapeutic feeding centre (ATFC), this included: cure rate of 69% with an average length of stay of 68.8 (SD ± 46.0) days and average weight gain of 3.8 g/kg/day (SD ± 2.7). The lost-to-follow-up rate was 18% and 5% reported to the programme that they will leave the slum and go back to their villages. These performance indicators did not meet the threshold level indicators set by MSF and Sphere standards. Conclusions: Our experience highlights the need for developing more adapted and contextualised indicators for assessing the performance of CMAM programmes in settings such as urban slums. Community engagement in the process of developing relevant standards is crucial. Nutrition humanitarian actors have a vital role to collaborate with local authorities to contextualize and refine these standards.

Accessibility Analysis of Healthcare Delivery System within Enugu Urban Area Using Geographic Information System

The problem of accessibility of health institution, with respect to the available facility to serve the entire population leaving in an area, can be solved using GIS. This paper presents an analysis on accessibility of healthcare facilities in Enugu urban area in a GIS environment. This was achieved through acquisition of a base map of Enugu State showing geographic extent of Enugu Urban, determining the geometric positions of health institutions in Enugu urban using handheld GPS, Creation of a spatial database of existing healthcare facilities and demonstrating through various analyses the potentials of GIS in measurement of accessibility to healthcare facilities in Enugu urban Area. The analysis includes network analysis, used to determine the closeness of a facility and shortest route to these healthcare facilities. ARCGIS 9.3 was the main software used. This was supported by Geocal for coordinate conversion and Microsoft office packages. The result of the study showed the spatial distribution of health institutions, closest facilities in case of emergency and route to those health institutions within Enugu urban Area. It was noticed that most of the healthcare facilities were located within Enugu North local government area (LGA). Other settlements and LGAs had fewer healthcare facilities. Areas deprived of healthcare facility were also identified. Routes and closest facilities to those deprived areas were identified in the settlements/area. The analysis showed the efficacy of GIS in determining accessibility of healthcare institutions in Enugu urban area. The study is thus, recommended as a spatial decision support system for decisions regarding spatial accessibility of healthcare facilities in an urban area.

Exploring Gaps in Healthcare Workers Knowledge, Attitude, Perception and Practice of COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Rivers State Nigeria

Background Knowledge, attitude, perception, and practice of Covid-19 prevention affect the effectiveness of healthcare workers in the pandemic response. This study assessed gaps in awareness, knowledge, attitude, perception, and practice of Covid-19 prevention among healthcare workers in Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey carried out six weeks into Rivers State response that commenced on February 20, 2020, in the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs). State Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers used multistage sampling to recruit 555 healthcare workers for the survey. A self-designed structured interviewer-administered questionnaire built into the Open Data Kit application for android phones was used for data collection. Descriptive data analysis was done, and outputs presented as frequency and percentages. Results There was a total of 372 (67.0%) female respondents. Majority of study participants had tertiary education 453 (81.6%). The mean age of study participants was 40.6 years (Standard Deviation = 7.8 years). Furthermore, 285 (51.4%) were Community Health Workers, and had over ten years practicing experience 393 (70.8%). Most healthcare workers 554 (99.8%) had heard about Covid-19, through radio 539 (97.1%), and television 445 (80.2%) yet 213 (38.4%) respondents did not know that it is caused by a virus. Most respondents 415 (74.8%) had good knowledge about Covid-19. However, only 148 (26.7%) would refer suspected cases to a facility and only 365 (65.8%) respondents demonstrated the correct hand washing technique. Conclusion There are some gaps in health worker knowledge, attitude, perception, and practice of Covid-19 prevention. Interventions to bridge these gaps are needed for effective containment of this pandemic.

马拉维在规划中同时使用奈韦拉平和利福平的治疗结果和安全性

地点:马拉维农村Thyolo区医院。目的:报告临床、免疫学和病毒学结果和艾滋病合并结核病患者同时接受奈韦拉平(NVP)和利福平(RMP)治疗的安全性。设计:回顾性队列研究。方法:分析2007年6—12月的规划数据。结果:在156例接受基于NVP抗病毒治疗的艾滋病合并结核病患者中,136例(87%)成功地完成了结核病治疗,16例(10%)死亡,5例(4%)迁出。平均体质量和CD4细胞计数增量(成人)分别为4.4 kg(95%可信区间为3.3～5.4)和140个/mm^3(95%可信区间为117～162)。在完成抗结核治疗且获得病毒载量检测结果的患者中(n=74),74%的患者病毒载量处于未检出水平(<50个拷贝/ml),17例(22%)患者的病毒载量为50～1 000个拷贝/ml。在基线时,2例(1.3%)患者出现肝中毒。在抗结核治疗期间,2例患者和1例患者分别达到2级和3级谷丙转氨酶升高(每10年的随访发病率为4.2,95%可信区间为1.4～13.1)。没有与肝中毒相关的死亡报告。结论:在马拉维的农村地区,同时服用NVP和RMP可以获得很好的结核病治疗效果,并且安全。对患者进行进一步的随访,将有助于确定目前治疗的远期效果。

Assessing people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Objective:This study aims to estimate the proportion of adults that are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus,and to investigate the association of participants at high risk for developing diabetes with various risk factors.Methods:A 2-yearprospective community based cross-sectional design was carried out in Freetown using the standardized Finnish Diabetes Risk Score assessment questionnaire,at two community pharmacies in the East,Central Freetown,and at a Peripheral Health Unit in the west where participants were randomly selected.Results:The study included a total of 1013 adults(ages 18 years and above)which reveals that 36.5%had a family history of diabetes mellitus and 42.8%were physically inactive.Assessment of obesity depicted 35.4%have class 1–2 obesity,with 19.4%males and 35.4%females having central obesity respectively.In terms of risk score,17.8%of total participants were found to be at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.Conclusion:There is a high prevalence of risk for developing diabetes among residents of Freetown.Major risk factors such as,age,family history of Diabetes,obesity,high blood pressure contributed to this.Increase in obesity rate was also seen especially among females having a wider waist circumference and Body Mass Index.Interventions to adequately address issues of physical inactivity,poor dietary habits are highly needed to prevent those at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Epidemiology of injuries in male and female youth football players:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological data of injuries in male and female youth football players.Methods:Searches were performed in MEDLINE/PubMed,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,and SPORTDiscus databases.Studies were considered if they reported injury incidence rate in male and female youth(≤19 years old)football players.Two reviewers(FJRP and ALV)extracted data and assessed trial quality using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology(STROBE)statement and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale.The Grading of Recommendations Assessment,Development,and Evaluation approach determined the quality of evidence.Studies were combined using a Poisson random effects regression model.Results:Forty-three studies were included.The overall incidence rate was 5.70 injuries/1000 h in males and 6.77 injuries/1000 h in females.Match injury incidence(14.43 injuries/1000 h in males and 14.97 injuries/1000 h in females)was significantly higher than training injury incidence(2.77 injuries/1000 h in males and 2.62 injuries/1000 h in females).The lower extremity had the highest incidence rate in both sexes.The most common type of injury was muscle/tendon for males and joint/ligament for females.Minimal injuries were the most common in both sexes.The incidence rate of injuries increased with advances in chronological age in males.Elite male players presented higher match injury incidence than sub-elite players.In females,there was a paucity of data for comparison across age groups and levels of play.Conclusion:The high injury incidence rates and sex differences identified for the most common location and type of injury reinforce the need for implementing different targeted injury-risk mitigation strategies in male and female youth football players.

China’s 1-3-7 surveillance and response strategy for malaria elimination: Is case reporting, investigation and foci response happening according to plan?

Background:The China’s 1-3-7 strategy was initiated and extensively adopted in different types of counties(geographic regions)for reporting of malaria cases within 1 day,their confirmation and investigation within 3 days,and the appropriate public health response to prevent further transmission within 7 days.Assessing the level of compliance to the 1-3-7 strategy at the county level is a first step towards determining whether the surveillance and response strategy is happening according to plan.This study assessed if the time-bound targets of the 1-3-7 strategy were being sustained over time.Such information would be useful to improve implementation of the 1-3-7 strategy in China.Methods:This cross-sectional study involved country-wide programmatic data for the period January 1st 2013 to June 30th 2014.Data variables were extracted from the national malaria information system and included socio-demographic information,type of county,date of diagnosis,date of reporting,date of case investigation,case classification(indigenous,or imported,or unknown),focus investigation,date of reactive case detection(RACD),and date of indoor residual spraying(IRS).Summary statistics and proportions were used and comparisons between groups were assessed using the chi-square test.Level of significance was set at a P-value≤0.05.Results:Of a total of 5,688 malaria cases from 731 counties,there were 55(1%)indigenous cases(only in Type 1 and Type 2 counties)and 5,633(99%)imported cases from all types of counties.There was no delay in reporting malaria cases by type of county.In terms of case investigation,97.5%cases were investigated within 3 days with the proportion of delays(1.5%)in type 2 counties,being significantly lower than type 1 counties(4.1%).Regarding active foci,96.4%were treated by RACD and/or IRS.Conclusions:The performance of 1-3-7 strategy was encouraging but identified some challenges that if addressed can further improve implementation.

Strategic Bidding in Distribution Network Electricity Market Focusing on Competition Modeling and Uncertainties

Developing the electricity market at the distribution level can facilitate the energy transactions in distribution networks with a high penetration level of distributed energy resources(DERs)and microgrids(MGs).However,the lack of comprehensive information about the marginal production cost of competitors leads to uncertainties in the optimal bidding strategy of participants.The electricity demand within the network and the price in the wholesale electricity market are two other sources of the uncertainties.In this paper,a day-ahead-market-based framework for managing the energy transactions among MGs and other participants in distribution networks is introduced.A game-theory-based method is presented to model the competition and determine the optimal bidding strategy of participants in the market.Robust optimization technique is employed to capture the uncertainties in the marginal cost of competitors.Additionally,the uncertainties in demand are modeled using a scenario-based stochastic approach.The results ob-tained from case studies reveal the merit of considering competition modeling and uncertainties.

Raw Material Consumption Controls on Environment Impacts of Sofa Production: A Case Study Based on Ecological Footprint

Wooden furniture production consumes a lot of forest resource and other resources,so it is important to estimate its environmental effect.In this research,we collected data in a sofa factory of China and appraised its environment impacts by the ecological footprint(EF)methodology.The results showed that the total EF of the sofa factory was 2316.25 gha/year(gha:global hectare).The average EF of a sofa was 0.18 gha/year.For the total EF of the sofa factory,main contribution came from wooden materials(55%),followed by non-wooden materials(41.26%),and these two categories contributed above 96% of the total EF.Human labor accounted for 2.21% of the total footprint.The built land and water contributed a little to the total EF.For the total EF of the wooden materials,main contribution came from wood beams(57.6%),followed by plywood(41.08%);and for the total EF of the non-wooden materials,main contribution came from sponge(95.37%).In the end,we concluded that the incorporate of recycled wooden material and reused sponge in the sofa production could be viewed as an important strategy to achieve more sustainable manufacturing.

Ecological Footprint Evaluation of Three Types of Wood Flooring in China based on Their Production Data from 2000 to 2018

To encourage the environmental responsibility of consumers and manufacturers for forest management,it is necessary to evaluate the environmental influences of forest products.Ecological footprint(EF) is an internationally recognized indicator for estimating the natural capital consumption and environmental influences of various forest products.In this study,we developed an accounting model for the EF evaluation of wood flooring,which is a tertiary forest product,by the method of transformation.Next,we used that model to evaluate the EF of three types of wood flooring in China according to their production data from 2000 to 2018.We collected the necessary data by visiting typical enterprises in China and referring to the relevant literature.According to our results,the average EFs of solid wood flooring,engineered solid wood flooring and laminate flooring between 2000 to 2018 were 3.13×10^(6),1.05×10^(7) and 5.07×10^(6) gha,respectively.The total EFs of solid wood flooring,engineered solid wood flooring and laminate flooring from 2000 to 2018 were 5.95×10^(7),1.99×10^(8) and 9.64×10^(7 )gha,respectively.The coefficients of variation(CV) of the EFs for these three types of wood flooring were 0.45,0.87 and 0.76,respectively.The average and total EFs of the engineered solid wood flooring were the largest among the three types of wood flooring.The per capita EF and unit EF for the engineered solid wood flooring were also the highest among the three types of wood flooring.The EFs showed an upward trend with irregular fluctuations from 2000 to 2018 for all three types of wood flooring.It is necessary to reduce the EF of the engineered solid wood flooring and use more environmentally friendly products,such as solid wood flooring,for environmental protection.

Assessment of household ownership of bed nets in areas with and without artemisinin resistance containment measures in Myanmar

Background:Myanmar lies in the Greater Mekong Subregion where there is artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria.As the artemisinin compound is the pillar of effective antimalarial therapies,containing the spread of artemisinin resistance is a national and global priority.The use of insecticide-treated bed nets/long-lasting insecticidal nets(ITNs/LLINs)is the key intervention for ensuring the reduction of malaria transmission and the spread of resistant strains,and for eventually eliminating malaria.This study aimed at assessing household ownership of,access to,and utilization of bed nets in areas of Myanmar with and without artemisinin resistance containment measures.Methods:Secondary data from a nationwide community-based malaria survey conducted by the National Malaria Control Program in 2014 were analyzed.Based on evidence of artemisinin resistance,Myanmar was divided into tiers 1,2,and 3:townships in tiers 1 and 2 were aggregated as the Myanmar Artemisinin Resistance Containment(MARC)areas and were compared with tier 3 townships,which were defined as non-MARC areas.The chi-square test was used to compare groups,and the level of significance was set at P≤0.05.Results:Of the 6328 households assessed,97.2%in both MARC and non-MARC areas had at least one bed net(any type),but only 63%of households had ITNs/LLINs.Only 44%of households in MARC areas and 24%in non-MARC areas had adequate numbers of ITNs/LLINs(one ITN/LLIN per two persons,P<0.001).Nearly 44%of household members had access to ITNs/LLINs.Regarding the utilization of ITNs/LLINs,45%of household members used them in MARC areas and 36%used them in non-MARC areas(P<0.001,desired target=100%).Utilization of ITNs/LLINs among children aged below five years and pregnant women(high malaria risk groups)was low,at 44%and 42%,respectively.Conclusions:This study highlights the nationwide shortfalls in the ownership of,access to,and utilization of ITNs/LLINs in Myanmar,which is of particular concern in terms of containing the spread of artemisinin resistance.It highlights the need for priority attention to be paid and mobilization of resources in order to improve bed net coverage and utilization through bed net distribution and/or social marketing,information dissemination,and awareness-raising.