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The papers included in this special issue of the EJTIR evolved from discussions and presentations given at the 2013 Transport Research Day of BIVEC, the ‘Benelux Interuniversity Association of Transport Researchers’, which took place at the University of Luxembourg in May 2013. This biannual event is organized in order to foster scientific exchange on related issues and offers a platform for early career researchers, most importantly PhD candidates, to present their work and receive scientific feedback. Different from the topic-wise rationale that is usually behind most other academic associations, submissions have to come from universities or representatives of the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg., European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, Vol 15 No 4 (2015)

La valle del Giordano è oggi come un laboratorio di modernizzazione idraulica connesso a progetti di ingegneria sociale: qui le nuove modalità di pensare, produrre e distribuire l’acqua sono state intimamente connesse ad un’intensa e contesa trasformazione sociale. Come in altri contesti, la gestione di popolazioni e territori rurali “altri” ha seguito le vie delle canalizzazioni di larga scala. All’interno di questa iconografia di produttività e di efficienza in una regione semi-arida, la vita quotidiana di questa industria è caratterizzata da continue manipolazioni degli apparati tecnici e da continui furti di acqua all’apparato amministrativo da parte delle popolazioni locali; un sabotaggio quotidiano di un sistema vasto e complesso e l’appropriazione di una risorsa cruciale centralizzata oggi nelle ma-ni dell’apparato amministrativo e del sapere esperto. Proprio in un contesto dove la scarsità dell’acqua è stata oggetto di manipolazioni politiche tese al controllo sociale, le forme di resistenza e conflitto nascono proprio all’interno del processo produttivo tra chi controlla la gestione idrica e gli irrigatori, contesa tanto materiale quanto simbolica attorno all’acqua.

Italy is one of the countries participating in a prospective epidemiological survey of cryptococcosis set up in July 1997 by the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM). Over a 30-month period 156 cases, all caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans, were reported by 29 hospitals in 9 regions. An ECMM questionnaire was used to report the clinical presentation and the diagnostic and treatment approach used. Cryptococcosis was associated with HIV infection in 147 cases and was considered indicative of AIDS in 65%. The estimated incidence in the Lombardy region was 0.85/100 in the AIDS population. One isolate from each of 129 patients was serotyped and genotyped. PCR fingerprinting using the primer (GACA)(4) proved to be a more reproducible typing method than the slide agglutination test. Genotypes VN1 (serotype D), VN6 (serotype A) and VN3-VN4 (serotype AD hybrid strains) occurred in Italy at similar levels nationwide, but VN1 (D) was prevalent in the North. In vitro resistance to antifungals was uncommon.

Emissions by road traffic can be reduced by optimising traffic control. The impact of this optimisation on emission can be analysed ex ante by simulation. The simulation programs used for this analysis should be valid with respect to the traffic characteristics that determine the emissions. Thus calibration of the parameters is a prerequisite. In most cases, volumes, travel times and queues are used to calibrate simulation models, rather than detailed driving characteristics such as speed and acceleration patterns. However, these driving behaviour parameters determine the vehicular emissions to a great extent.A study was carried out in which the driving behaviour parameters in a microscopic simulation model (VISSIM) were calibrated using real trajectories collected by image processing at an intersection in Rotterdam. The sensitivity of the simulation results for driving behaviour parameters was investigated. The most influential parameters were identified and adjusted to ensure that the simulation results were consistent with the observed traffic and could provide valid estimations of the total production of emissions. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Constrained cognitive abilities cause imperfections in traveler’s choice behavior which are largely systematic and predictable. This paper introduces the concept ‘regulation flexibility’ to build upon this knowledge, taking it as an advantage to increase the effectiveness of traffic network management rather than a threat. It assumes that within set boundaries, traffic management measures are perceived as acceptable by travelers, enabling road operators to have certain control over behavioral response and undesirable consequences. A conceptual framework for regulation flexibility is provided, following the three stages of the decision-making process: observation, evaluation and choice. Emphasis is on the processes underlying choice and behavior, to explain deviations from rational behavior, rather than the outcome itself. The notion of indifference bands reported in literature is taken as a starting point and applied in a broader context to specify regulation flexibility in all three stages. This paper debates that: (1) travelers’ ability to detect changes in attributes of their trip or the performance of a traffic system is limited, (2) travelers make mistakes in estimating the value of changes, and (3) great diversity in applied choice patterns cannot be explained by observation and evaluation factors alone. In each of the three decision-making stages, multiple aspects are of influence to the perception of travelers and point toward the need for more empirical research. Future research will focus on travelers’ ability to observe changes in attributes of their trip or the performance of a traffic system.

Multi objective optimization of externalities of traffic solving a network design problem in which Dynamic Traffic Management measures are used, is time consuming while heuristics are needed and solving the lower level requires solving the dynamic user equilibrium problem. Use of response surface methods in combination with evolutionary algorithms could accelerate the determination of the Pareto optimal set. Three of these methods are compared with employing the SPEA2+ evolutionary algorithm without use of these methods. The results show that the RSM methods accelerate the search considerably at the start, but tend to converge faster and therefore loose their head start.

Roads in the Netherlands are often heavily congested. Real-time travel time information can be a valuable instrument to reduce the impact of increasing traffic demand on travel time with advantages for traffic participants as well as for the traffic network managers. For urban roads travel time estimation is a more complex problem than for freeways. In order to provide online, real-time and accurate travel times, in this paper a new estimation approach is developed based on measurements supplied by the (vehicle-dependent) traffic controllers. These measurements include the occupancy from the corresponding long loop, the flow from the short loop, and the green percentages. Based on these measurements the location and length of the queues is estimated. Moreover, the approach transforms the data in a way that the underlying reason(s) of congestion becomes apparent (in terms of bottleneck location), which can be very useful for, e.g., advanced traffic information systems or decision support systems. Compared with the approach based on license plate recognition cameras, which is used in the Netherlands in many locations, this approach is expected to be more accurate in heavily congested situations, since for license plate recognition vehicles have to pass the end of the route before the traveled time can be measured. The approach is tested with real traffic data for an urban route in the Netherlands. The test case presented in the paper shows that the use of the additional data from traffic controllers (occupancy, green percentage, waiting time of first vehicle in queue) is beneficial.

In order to share interesting data located in various institutions, it may be necessary to ensure secure accesses and privacy preservation. For example, it is the case of biomedical images, since they are related to confidential information corresponding to real patients. This paper describes an approach to enable the use of PIMA(GE)(2) Lib, Parallel IMAGE processing GEnoa Library, in the the analysis of distributed medical images complying with privacy preservation policy imposed by the owner institutions. To achieve this goal, a set of specialized I/O functions was developed to enable secure remote data access and elaboration. exploiting the Grid infrastructure and without copy data from their original position. The work considers the use of the EGEE infrastructure and the GFAL API. The approach was experimented in the analysis of images obtained through the Tissue MicroArray technique; the tests gave positive results also in the execution time.

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PURPOSE: The expression of extra domain B (ED-B) fibronectin is always associated with angiogenic processes and can be exclusively observed in tissues undergoing growth and/or extensive remodeling. Due to this selective expression, ED-B fibronectin is an interesting target for radioimmunotherapy of malignant diseases. The aim of this study was to identify the most appropriate ED-B-targeting radioimmunoconjugate for the therapy of solid tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Three ED-B fibronectin-binding human antibody formats of L19 were investigated: dimeric single-chain Fv (approximately 50 kDa), "small immunoprotein" (SIP, approximately 80 kDa), and immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1, approximately 150 kDa). These L19 derivatives were either labeled with I-125 or with In-111 (using MX-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, MX-DTPA). Pharmacokinetics and tumor accumulation of the radiolabeled immunoconjugates were investigated in F9 (murine teratocarcinoma) tumor-bearing mice. Subsequently, dosimetry for the corresponding therapeutic isotopes I-13-1 and Y-90 was done. After testing the myelotoxicity of I-131-L19-SIP and I-131-L19-IgG1 in non-tumor-bearing mice, the therapeutic efficacy of these iodinated antibody formats was finally investigated in F9 tumor-bearing mice. RESULTS: The most favorable therapeutic index was found for I-131-L19-SIP followed by I-131-L19-IgG1. The therapeutic index of all In-111-labeled derivatives was significantly inferior. Considering the bone marrow as the dose-limiting organ, it was calculated that activities of 74 MBq I-131-L19-SIP and 25 MBq I-131-L19-IgG1 could be injected per mouse without causing severe myelotoxicity. The best therapeutic efficacy was observed using I-131-L19-SIP, resulting in significant tumor growth delay and prolonged survival after a single injection. CONCLUSION: Compared with other L19-based radioimmunoconjugates, I-131-L19-SIP is characterized by superior antitumor efficacy and toxicity profile in the F9 teratocarcinoma animal model. These results indicate that ED-B fibronectin-targeted radioimmunotherapy using I-131-L19-SIP has potential to be applied to treatment of solid cancers.