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Without experiences of electric buses, public transport authorities and bus operators have faced questions about how to implement them in a cost-effective way. Simple cost modelling cannot show how costs for different types of electric buses differ between different routes and timetables. Tools (e.g., HASTUS, PtMS, and optibus) which can analyse such details are complicated, time consuming to use, and provide insufficient insights into the mechanisms that influence the cost. This paper therefore proposes a method for how to calculate total cost of ownership, for different types of electric buses, in a way which can predict how the cost varies based on route and timetable. The method excludes factors which cause minor cost variations in an almost random manor, in order to better show the fundamental mechanisms influencing different costs. The method will help in finding ways to reduce the cost and help to define a few cases which deserve a deep analysis with more complete tools. Testing of the method in a Swedish context showed that the results are in line with other theoretical and practical studies, and how the total cost of ownership can vary depending on the variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is the most common type of spinal deformity and has a significant genetic background. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) identified several susceptibility loci associated with AIS. Among them is a locus on chromosome 6q24.1 that we identified by a GWAS in a Japanese cohort. The locus is represented by rs6570507 located within GPR126. To ensure the association of rs6570507 with AIS, we conducted a meta-analysis using eight cohorts from East Asia, Northern Europe and USA. The analysis included a total of 6,873 cases and 38,916 controls and yielded significant association (combined P = 2.95 × 10−20; odds ratio = 1.22), providing convincing evidence of the worldwide association between rs6570507 and AIS susceptibility. In silico analyses strongly suggested that GPR126 is a susceptibility gene at this locus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: Cross-sectional.Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the self-experienced trunk appearance in individuals with and without idiopathic scoliosis.Summary Of Background Data: Idiopathic scoliosis is the most common spinal deformity. A large scoliotic deformity increases the risk of back pain and pulmonary dysfunction. The deformity has also a psychological impact.Methods: The pictorial part of the spinal appearance questionnaire (pSAQ) was administered to 1416 individuals with idiopathic scoliosis (386 untreated, 529 brace treated, 501 surgically treated) and 272 individuals without scoliosis from the general population. Comparisons were made between individuals with and without scoliosis, between treatment groups and sex in the scoliosis group.Results: Mean (95% confidence interval) age of the individuals with scoliosis was 36.2 (35.5-36.9) years and for the individuals without scoliosis 40.2 (37.9-42.4). pSAQ total was 12.3 (12.1-12.5) for individuals with scoliosis and 7.4 (7.3-7.6) for individuals without scoliosis (P < 0.001, adjusted for age and sex). pSAQ total was 11.5 (11.1-11.9) for untreated, 13.0 (12.6-13.3) for brace treated, and 12.3 (11.9-12.6) for surgically treated individuals (P < 0.001, adjusted for sex and curve size). The pSAQ total between males and females with idiopathic scoliosis did not differ (P = 0.22 adjusted for age and curve size).Conclusion: This study shows that individuals with idiopathic scoliosis have more concern about their body appearance than individuals without scoliosis. Untreated individuals are not as bothered of their spinal appearance as treated individuals. Males and females with scoliosis do not differ significantly in the perception of their spinal appearance.Level Of Evidence: 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Posterior spinal fusion with pedicle screws is the gold-standard treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS); however, it is unclear whether this procedure results in improved long-term back pain and health-related quality of life compared with patients not surgically treated for AIS. The aim of the present study was to evaluate back pain and quality of life in surgically managed patients with a minimum follow-up of 5 years compared with patients with untreated AIS and a healthy control group.Methods: Fifty-five consecutive adolescent patients who underwent posterior pedicle screw instrumentation for AIS by a single orthopaedic surgeon were prospectively enrolled. At a minimum of 5 years postoperatively, 49 patients completed Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)-24 questionnaires, and data on reoperation were collected. Pain and quality-of-life parameters were compared with those of 49 age and sex-matched patients with untreated AIS and 49 healthy controls.Results: The major curve averaged 53° preoperatively and 12° at 2 years postoperatively. One reoperation (pedicle screw removal) was needed because of a new neurological deficit (transient). The SRS-24 pain, function, and total scores improved significantly from preoperatively to 5 years postoperatively (all p ≤ 0.016), with pain scores improving from 4.0 to 4.3 (p = 0.003). There was no association between pain scores and the preoperative major curve, instrumentation below L1, or postoperative rib hump. The surgical treatment group had significantly better pain, activity, and self-image domain scores at 5 years postoperatively compared with the untreated AIS group (all p ≤ 0.014), and similar pain, self-image, and activity domain scores compared with the healthy control group; however, function scores were significantly lower among patients in the surgical treatment group (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion with pedicle screws experienced improved back pain and health-related quality of life compared with patients with untreated AIS. Patients in the surgical treatment group had similar health-related quality of life to that of the healthy control group, except for function, which was significantly lower.Level Of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Data on heritability in twin studies of scoliosis have not been previously reported. Objectives: To study the heritability of scoliosis in the Swedish Twin Registry. Material and Methods: Data from questionnaire-based surveys of twins aged 20 years or older (n=104349) were used. 64731 twins participated (62%). Pair-wise concordance is reported. Tetrachoric correlations were calculated. Heritability analyses were conducted in Mx software. Results: 14632 complete same-sex twin pairs answered, 6853 monozygotic and 7779 dizygotic pairs. The number of monozygotic pairs in which both twins reported scoliosis was 51 and the number of monozygotic pairs in which one twin reported scoliosis was 483 (concordance 0.10). Corresponding figures for dizygotic pairs were 24 and 555 (concordance 0.04). Tetrachoric correlations estimated the genetic effect in scoliosis to be 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.33–0.49). The additive genetic effect from the Mx analyses was estimated to 0.40 (95% confidence interval 0.32–0.47). The unique environment effect was found to be 0.60 (95% confidence interval 0.53–0.68). Conclusion and Significance: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first twin study of scoliosis that report heritability data. The limitation of the study is that the type and degree of scoliosis is not verified. However, we assume that most cases are idiopathic. The strengths of the study are the large sample and the populationbased design. The results confirm a hereditary component in the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of optimal sizing of a series PHEV is studied by formulating a convex program that minimizes the sum of operational and component costs. The solution gives the optimal sizes of the main powertrain components, simultaneously with the vehicle's optimal energy management. Investigations are performed on driving cycles generated stochastically from real data using Markov chains, with different driving distance distributions and charging patterns. The results show that the optimal component sizing is affected more from the driving distances between charging opportunities, than the speed profile of the driving. With anticipated future battery and petroleum prices, larger battery sizes are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a common spinal deformity with the prevalence of approximately 3%. We previously conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a Japanese cohort and identified a novel locus on chromosome 9p22.2. However, a replication study using multi-population cohorts has not been conducted. To confirm the association of 9p22.2 locus with AIS in multi-ethnic populations, we conducted international meta-analysis using eight cohorts. In total, we analyzed 8,756 cases and 27,822 controls. The analysis showed a convincing evidence of association between rs3904778 and AIS. Seven out of eight cohorts had significant P value, and remaining one cohort also had the same trend as the seven. The combined P was 3.28 × 10 -18 (odds ratio = 1.19, 95% confidence interval = 1.14-1.24). In silico analyses suggested that BNC2 is the AIS susceptibility gene in this locus.