Both alcohol and sleepiness are known to be major contnbutors to road traffic accidents m the UK. There has been much debate on whether the current legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving (008%) should be lowered to 005%, like several other countries in the European Union. The present limit may be sabsfactory when a driver IS fully alert, however the pressures of today's society mean that an mcreasmg number of people may be sleep deprived. The consequences of a sleepy person drivmg after drinking a current legally acceptable amount of alcohol have not been fully investigated. An initial literature review idenbfied specific areas that needed to be investigated throughout this programme of work The research took the form of a "hfelike" scenario, with only moderate sleep restnction (5h in bed at night) and moderate alcohol consumpbOn, producmg BACs of approximately half the UK legal driving limit The drive, on a Simulated dual carriageway, lasted for 2h and was very monotonous The research programme was split into four main areas (i) young men (the most at risk group of drivers for sleep related crashes) driving in the afternoon (a time when the number of sleep related crashes are known to increase), under a 2 x 2 experimental deSIgn, With and without alcohol at lunch-time and with and without the prior night's sleep restncted to 5h, (u) an identical gender comparison usmg young women, (hi) a time-of-day companson using young men, but with the drive and alcohol consumption takmg place m the early evening (a bme of day when we are naturally more alert); (iv) a near-zero BAC, when young men have the same alcohol intake as in (I) but earlier, such that their BACs have reduced to nearly zero before startIng the afternoon drive. Dunng the afternoon circadian trough the driving performance of both men and women is severely impaired when moderate sleep restriction and alcohol consumption are combined Of particular concern, is that men seem to be unable to perceive this greater impairment Women generally appear to have better perception of alcohol impairment, even without sleep loss. Unlike men, women's driving is less impaired by modest amounts of alcohol when they are alert, which seems to be because they know their performance IS affected and thus apply more compensatory effort. On the other hand, their rrnpamnent after alcohol when combmed WIth sleep loss is well in excess of any compensatory effort. Trrne of day also affects imp3lrment after alcohol and/or sleep loss. Driving performance IS generally better during the early evening holtrS, when we are nat\lfally more alert, compared with the afternoon, and for all conditions. Moderate alcohol intake does not impair drivmg performance during the early evening, unlike during the afternoon. However, if combined with sleepiness, mcreased driving impamnent does become apparent during the early evening, although, not to the extent that it does durmg the afternoon. BACs are not a good indicator of alcohol-related driving impairment, especially when combmed with sleepiness. During the afternoon, even when BACs fall almost to zero at the start of a drive, sleepy drivers are still more impaired for the first hour of the drive if they have consumed this modest amount of alcohol at lunchtime An unexpected rebound improvement m dnvmg performance is seen ID the second hour of the drive In non-sleep deprived, alert drivers, these same near zero BAC levels did not affect driving performance or significantly increase subjective sleepiness. Overall the results indicate that, combined WIth modest sleepiness, the current legal dnnk drive limtt (008%) is too htglt Thts outcome supports recent and extensIve findmgs WIth fatal and senous road crashes in France (Philip et al., 2001). During the afternoon, a time of day when people are nat\lfally less alert BACs of less than half this UK limit will impair driving even in non-sleep depnved people If drivers are also sleepy, this combmation produces dangerous levels of Impairment durmg the afternoon; the combination also leads to impairment (but to a lesser extent) in the early evening The research was carried out with only moderate levels of sleepiness and alcohol consumptIon, It is fair to conclude that driving impairment would be greater if the sleep loss was greater and/or BACs were htgher, but just under the legal liemt Greater public awareness is required on the knowledge that driving after consuming any alcohol when tired or sleepy is extremely dangerous.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / O uso dos tratores agrÃcolas na agricultura, a cada ano se intensifica no Brasil. Atualmente à fundamental sua utilizaÃÃo em diversas atividades, seja no meio rural (preparo de solo, plantio, tratos culturais e colheita), seja no meio urbano (recapeamento de vias e terraplanagem). PorÃm, a intensificaÃÃo do uso do trator, tem corroborado para a ocorrÃncia dos acidentes causados pelo uso indevido desta mÃquina, como operar sem conhecÃ-la ou desrespeitar os seus limites. Acidentes com tratores sÃo um problema mundial, entretanto no Brasil ainda nÃo se dà a devida importÃncia para esse tema, quando comparados com outros assuntos da Ãrea de mÃquinas (ensaios, avaliaÃÃes de equipamentos e etc). O conhecimento sobre as condiÃÃes em que ocorreram um acidente à necessÃrio para tentar evitar ou reduzir a frequÃncia com que o mesmo ocorra novamente, por isso existe a necessidade de caracterizar o acidente com tratores. Diante dessa realidade o presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar os acidentes com tratores nas rodovias federais brasileiras, no perÃodo de 2008 a setembro de 2011, identificando os principais tipos e causas de acidentes, o perÃodo do dia, a faixa etÃria de operadores acidentados e as rodovias que mais tiveram acidentes. Os registros foram obtidos atravÃs do Boletim de Acidentes de TrÃnsito (BAT), obtidos atravÃs de um convÃnio com a DÃcima Sexta SuperintendÃncia Regional da PolÃcia RodoviÃria Federal em Fortaleza. No BAT constam informaÃÃes como: tipo de acidente, a causa do acidente, a rodovia onde ocorreu o acidente, a idade do acidentado e o horÃrio do acidente entre outras informaÃÃes. A partir dessas informaÃÃes foi realizada a aplicaÃÃo de mÃtodos de estatÃstica descritiva para os dados referentes aos acidentes no Brasil, os dados foram agrupados em classes, posteriormente as frequÃncias absolutas foram transformadas em frequÃncias relativas para melhor representa-los. A partir dos resultados foi possÃvel concluir que as colisÃes foram responsÃveis por aproximadamente 82% dos acidentes, sendo a colisÃo traseira o principal tipo de colisÃo com 33,81% dos acidentes no Brasil. A falta de atenÃÃo foi a principal causa de acidentes com 62,77%, a maioria dos acidentes ocorreram no perÃodo da tarde com 37,12%. A faixa etÃria dos acidentados de maior frequÃncia foi a faixa entre 25-30 anos com 16,03% e a rodovia com mais acidentes foi a BR-101 com 14,94% dos acidentes nacionais em sua extensÃo total. A grande maioria dos acidentes ocorreu em condiÃÃes climÃticas boas, com boa visibilidade, em rodovias em bom estado de conservaÃÃo e devido a falta de atenÃÃo havendo inÃmeras explicaÃÃes para essa ocorrÃncia, porÃm uma das possibilidades à a diferenÃa de velocidade entre o trator e os demais veÃculos. / The use of tractors in agriculture intensifies every year in Brazil. Currently their use is critical in various activities whether in rural areas (soil preparation, planting, cultural and harvest treatment), whether in the urban environment (resurfacing of roads and earthworks). However, the intensified use of the tractor, has corroborated the occurrence of accidents caused by improper use of the machine, how to operate without knowing her or disrespect your boundaries. Accidents with tractors is a global problem, however in Brazil still does not give due importance to this issue, when compared with other subjects in the area of machines (tests, reviews of equipment, etc.). The knowledge about the conditions under which an accident occurred is necessary to try to prevent or reduce the frequency with which it occurs again, so there is a need to characterize the accident with tractors. Given this reality, the present study aimed to characterize accidents with tractors in the Brazilian federal highways in the period 2008 to September 2011, identifying the main types and causes of accidents, time of day, age of injured operators and highways that had more accidents. The records were obtained by the Bulletin of Traffic Accidents (BAT), obtained through an agreement with the Sixteenth Regional Superintendence of the Federal Highway Police in Fortaleza. In BAT is information such as: type of accident, the cause of the accident, the highway where the accident occurred, the age of the victim and the time of the accident and other information. From this information the application of methods of descriptive statistics for the data relating to accidents in Brazil was performed, the data were grouped into classes, later the absolute frequencies were transformed into relative frequencies to better represent them. From the results it was concluded that the collisions were responsible for approximately 82% of accidents, with the rear-end collision the main type of collision with 33.81% of the accidents in Brazil. Inattention was the main cause of accidents with 62.77%, the majority of accidents occurred in the afternoon with 37.12%. The age group with the highest frequency of accidents was the range between 25-30 years with 16.03% and highway accidents was more BR -101 with 14.94 % of domestic accidents in total length. The large majority of accidents occurred in good weather with good visibility on highways in good repair and however due to lack of attention and there are numerous explanations for this occurrence, one possibility is the difference in speed between the tractor and the other vehicles.

Orientador: Elenice Aparecida de Moraes Ferrari / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T13:20:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sousa_GrazielleAurelinaFragade_M.pdf: 2482319 bytes, checksum: 98003776bf4be1025c31d965be705e09 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Este estudo investigou se o desempenho de estudantes universitários, em testes de memória episódica e operacional, varia em função do horário e do intervalo de tempo em que são realizados os testes de evocação. Na Fase 1, o Questionário Cronotipo foi utilizado para classificar o tipo cronobiológico. Dos 396 alunos avaliados, 59% foram classificados como intermediários, 35% como vespertinos e 6% como matutinos. Na Fase 2, foi avaliada uma amostra de 43 alunos, de ambos os sexos, classificados como intermediários, com 20,12 ± 2,18 anos de idade, falantes nativos de Português, sem histórico de distúrbios do sono ou uso de drogas psicoativas. Foram constituídos quatro grupos de acordo com os horários das sessões de treino/teste imediato e teste tardio: GMN - treino pela manhã e teste à noite, após 12horas; GMM - treino pela manhã e teste pela manhã, após 24 horas; GNM - treino à noite e teste pela manhã, após 12 horas; GNN - treino à noite e teste à noite, após 24 horas. Para avaliação da memória episódica e operacional foram utilizados: Teste de Aprendizagem Auditivo Verbal de Rey (TAAVR), Teste de Memória Lógica (TML), Teste de Extensão de Dígitos e Teste dos Blocos de Corsi. O Diário de Sono foi usado para avaliar o ciclo vigília-sono e o uso de termistor e de actímetro permitiu avaliar os ritmos de temperatura de punho e atividade motora. Questionários específicos foram utilizados para avaliação da percepção de estresse, ansiedade e estado de humor. Os dados do TAAVR e TML em três diferentes momentos de avaliação (imediato, após 30 minutos e tardio - após 12 ou 24horas) não indicaram efeito do horário ou do intervalo entre os testes de evocação (ANOVA; p > 0,05); no entanto, foi observada uma redução significativa dos escores ao longo dos momentos de avaliação (ANOVA; p < 0,05). Os escores médios obtidos no teste 30 minutos e no teste tardio do TAAVR correlacionaram-se positivamente com a média de duração do sono global (Teste de Spearman, p < 0,05). A média de duração do sono anterior à sessão de teste imediato apresentou correlação positiva com o escore médio do teste tardio do TML (Teste de Spearman, p < 0,05). Não houve efeito de horário ou de sessão sobre os índices do Teste de Extensão de Dígitos, Teste dos Blocos de Corsi e fatores de avaliação do humor (ANOVA; p > 0,05). Os grupos não diferiram quanto ao índice de estresse percebido e características de traço e estado de ansiedade (ANOVA, p > 0,05). O ritmo da temperatura de punho e o ritmo da atividade motora apresentaram relações de fase adequadas para a maioria dos sujeitos avaliados. A distribuição dos cronotipos na população avaliada concorda com os dados descritos para a população brasileira. Os dados indicaram a ausência de efeito do horário sobre o desempenho de indivíduos com cronotipo intermediário e sugerem uma relação entre a duração do sono e a memória episódica verbal. Estas evidências contribuem para o conhecimento sobre a variação do desempenho cognitivo durante a fase de vigília / Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate if the performance of undergraduate students in episodic and working memory tests is influenced by the time-of-day and the interval between the retrieval tests. In Phase 1, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire was used for assessment of the chonotype in a sample of students. Of 396 students assessed, 59% were classified as intermediate-type, 35% evening-type and 6% morning-type. The Phase 2 was conducted with 43 students classified as intermediatetype, both genders, with 20.12 ± 2.18 years old, native Portuguese speakers, without history of sleep disorders or use of drugs known to influence sleep and memory. These students were allocated in four groups according to the time-of-day of the training and the tests: GMN - trained in the morning (7:30 a.m.) and tested at same day, at night (6:30 p.m.); GMM - trained in the morning (7:30 a.m.) and tested after 24 hours (7:30 a.m.); GNM - trained at night (6:30 p.m.) and tested in the morning of the next day (7:30 a.m.); and the GNN - trained at night (6:30 p.m.) and tested after 24 hours (6:30 p.m.). The Rey Auditory Learning Test (RAVLT), Logical Memory Test (LMT), Corsi Block- Tapping Test and Digit Span Test were used to assess episodic and working memories. The sleep-wake cycle was assessed by sleep-logs and the wrist temperature and motor activity rhythmics was evaluated by thermistor and actigraphy. The levels of perceived stress, state of anxiety and mood were also evaluated. There was no time-of-day effect or interval effect on the retrieval of the RAVLT and LMT in the immediate test, 30 minutes test and delayed test - after 12 or 24 hours (ANOVA, p > 0.05). However, the scores showed a significant decrease across these three assessments (ANOVA p < 0.05). Positive correlation was observed between the mean sleep duration and the mean scores of the RAVLT after 30 minutes and in the delayed test (Spearman Test, p < 0.05). The mean of sleep duration before the immediate test was positively correlated with the LMT score during the delayed test (Spearman Test, p < 0.05). There was no effect of the time-of-day on Digit Span Test, Corsi Block-Tapping Test and mood assessment (ANOVA, p > 0.05). No between-group differences occurred in the level of perceived stress and trait-state anxiety (p > 0.05). The rhythm of wrist temperature and the rhythm of motor activity showed appropriate phase relations for the most part of evaluated subjects. The data indicate absence of time-of-day effect on the performance of intermediate-type individuals and suggest a relationship between memory and the sleep duration. Such evidence contributes to our understanding of the variation in cognitive performance during the wake period / Mestrado / Fisiologia / Mestre em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Tato práce se zabývá technologiemi velkých dat v kontextu měření parametrů sítě. Popisuje téma velkých dat a jejich využití, představuje základní parametry sítě, jejich měření a metody zhodnocení. Vyhodnocuje RTR NetTest aplikaci, testovací proceduru a měřené parametry. Byla vytvořena skupina nástrojů pro posouzení základních kvantitativních parametrů mobilní sítě na základě dat z databáze RTR. Rozbor denního efektu shrnuje časovou proměnlivost sítě. Chování v prostoru je posouzeno binováním a shlukovou analýzou, současně se srovnáním řízeného testování a crowdsourcingu.

Originally designed for wind velocity estimation over the ocean, scatterometers have since been applied to climate studies of the Earth's cryosphere and bioshere. As an integral part of climatological studies of the planet, the NASA Scatterometer Climate Record Pathfinder (SCP) supplies scatterometer-based products designed to aid researchers in climatological studies of the planet. In this thesis, necessary steps are taken to facilitate data from the Oceansat-2 Ku-band scatterometer (OSCAT) to be used in extending the Ku-band SCP dataset of conically scanning pencil-beam scatterometers begun by the Seawinds scatterometer flown on the QuikSCAT mission 1999-2009. As a standard SCP product, a temporal resolution enhancement technique for the scatterometer image reconstruction (SIR) algorithm is applied to OSCAT data. A relative cross-calibration method is developed to ensure consistency amongst datasets of conically scanning pencil-beam scatterometers in the SCP data time series. By application of the method, both raw data and SIR image data of OSCAT is cross-calibrated with QuikSCAT. To enable creation of SCP products requiring knowledge of the spatial response function (SRF) with OSCAT data, a method of estimating the SRF of pencil-beam scatterometers is developed. The estimation method employs rank-reduced least-squares to invert the radar equation using measurements over islands. A simulation is performed to validate the efficacy of the method and provide optimum choice of island size and number of singular values used in rank-reduced least-squares. The utility of the SRF estimates is demonstrated by applying an estimate of the OSCAT SRF to SIR image construction with OSCAT data.

Master of Science / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Anil Pahwa / A time may soon come where prices of electricity vary by time of day or season. Time of Day (TOD) pricing is considered by many to be a key part of creating a more energy-efficient and renewable-energy friendly grid. TOD pricing is also an integral part of Smart Grid and is already available to some customers. With TOD pricing becoming a reality, intelligent dispatching systems that utilize Energy Storage Devices (ESDs) to maximize the use of renewable resources, such as energy produced by small, customer owned wind generators and roof-top solar generators, and grid energy while determining the most economical dispatch schedule could play an important role for both the customer and the utility. This purpose of this work is to create an algorithm upon which these dispatching systems can be based. The details of one proposed algorithm are presented. The full development of the algorithm from its most simplistic form into a much more complex system that takes into account all of the major nonidealities of a real system is given. Additionally, several case studies are presented to show the effectiveness of the algorithm from both a technical standpoint and an economic standpoint. The case studies simulated both wind and solar powered devices using data taken in the state of Kansas, but case studies to emulate electric rates and renewable resources in other areas of the country are presented as well. For each of these case studies, 20 year net present value calculations are presented to determine the economic viability of both the renewable energy production and the dispatching systems.

Recent advances in travel demand modeling have concentrated on adding behavioral realism by focusing on an individual’s activity participation. And, to account for trip-chaining, tour-based methods are largely replacing trip-based methods. Alongside these advances and innovations in dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) techniques, however, time-of-day (TOD) modeling remains an Achilles’ heel. As congestion worsens and operators turn to variable road pricing, sensors are added to networks, cell phones are GPS-enabled, and DTA techniques become practical, accurate time-of-day forecasts become critical. In addition, most models highlight tradeoffs between travel time and cost, while neglecting variations in travel time. Research into stated and revealed choices suggests that travel time variability can be highly consequential. This dissertation introduces a method for imputing travel time variability information as a continuous function of time-of-day, while utilizing an existing method for imputing average travel times (by TOD). The methods employ ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques, and rely on reported travel time information from survey data (typically available to researchers), as well as travel time and distance estimates by origin-destination (OD) pair for free-flow and peak-period conditions from network data. This dissertation also develops two models of activity timing that recognize the imputed average travel times and travel time variability. Both models are based in random utility theory and both recognize potential correlations across time-of-day alternatives. In addition, both models are estimated in a Bayesian framework using Gibbs sampling and Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithms, and model estimation relies on San Francisco Bay Area data collected in 2000. The first model is the continuous cross-nested logit (CCNL) and represents tour outbound departure time choice in a continuous context (rather than discretizing time) over an entire day. The model is formulated as a generalization of the discrete cross-nested logit (CNL) for continuous choice and represents the first random utility maximization model to incorporate the ability to capture correlations across alternatives in a continuous choice context. The model is then compared to the continuous logit, which represents a generalization of the multinomial logit (MNL) for continuous choice. Empirical results suggest that the CCNL out-performs the continuous logit in terms of predictive accuracy and reasonableness of predictions for three tolling policy simulations. Moreover, while this dissertation focuses on time-of-day modeling, the CCNL could be used in a number of other continuous choice contexts (e.g., location/destination, vehicle usage, trip durations, and profit-maximizing production). The second model is a bivariate multinomial probit (BVMNP) model. While the model relies on discretization of time (into 30-minute intervals), it captures both key dimensions of a tour’s timing (rather than just one, as in this dissertation’s application of the CCNL model), which is important for tour- and activity-based models of travel demand. The BVMNP’s ability to capture correlations across scheduling alternatives is something no existing two-dimensional choice models of tour timing can claim. Both models represent substantial contributions for continuous choice modeling in transportation, business, biology, and various other fields. In addition, the empirical results of the models evaluated here enhance our understanding of individuals’ time-of-day decisions. For instance, average travel time and its variance are estimated to have a negative effect on workers’ utilities, as expected, but are not found to be that practically relevant here, probably because most workers are rather constrained in their activity scheduling and/or work hours. However, correlations are found to be rather strong in both models, particularly for home-to-work journeys, suggesting that if models fail to accommodate such correlations, biased application results may emerge. / text

This thesis jointly models the 24 hour work trip timing and mode choice decisions of commuters in the Greater Toronto Area. A discrete-continuous specification, with a multinomial logit model for mode choice and an accelerated time hazard model for trip timing, is used to allow for unrestricted correlation between these two fundamental decisions. Statistically significant correlations are found between mode choice and trip timing for work journeys with expected differences between modes. Furthermore, the joint models have a wide range of policy sensitive statistically significant parameters of intuitive sign and magnitude, revealing expected differences between workers of different occupation groups. Furthermore, the estimated models have a high degree of fit to observed cumulative departure and arrival time distribution functions and to observed mode choices. Finally, sensitivity tests have demonstrated that the model is capable of capturing peak spreading in response to increasing auto congestion.

This thesis jointly models the 24 hour work trip timing and mode choice decisions of commuters in the Greater Toronto Area. A discrete-continuous specification, with a multinomial logit model for mode choice and an accelerated time hazard model for trip timing, is used to allow for unrestricted correlation between these two fundamental decisions. Statistically significant correlations are found between mode choice and trip timing for work journeys with expected differences between modes. Furthermore, the joint models have a wide range of policy sensitive statistically significant parameters of intuitive sign and magnitude, revealing expected differences between workers of different occupation groups. Furthermore, the estimated models have a high degree of fit to observed cumulative departure and arrival time distribution functions and to observed mode choices. Finally, sensitivity tests have demonstrated that the model is capable of capturing peak spreading in response to increasing auto congestion.

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