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This paper examines global patterns of Transnational Human Smuggling through container boxes. The dataset compiled for this study analyzes known global cases of fatal incidents in containers from 2000 to 2024, with a total of 1,824 smuggled persons found either (a) dead, (b) unhealthy/injured, or (c) alive and relatively healthy. 3. It provides a comprehensive study on how smugglers obtain lucrative fees for transporting persons on perilous, often deadly voyages. An originally compiled dataset demonstrates the primary global smuggling routes while addressing (i) the type of containers that smugglers use over time, (ii) the transport mode (i.e., land and sea), (iii) the ethnicity of smugglers vs. smuggled persons, (iv) statistics of persons found alive, sick, injured, or dead, and (v) death causes of smuggled groups. While human smuggling in maritime containers represents a small percentage of the illegitimate flows at U.S. borders, its significance cannot be overstated as it poses increased health and safety risks to travelers. This paper highlights the critical smuggling-related security vulnerabilities of sea and land containerized commerce. Furthermore, this study focuses on persons smuggled in containers, hence excluding undocumented migrants entering national borders on foot. Smugglers use various modes of transportation to move people illegally, but the use of containers is particularly noteworthy. Containers are secured from the outside and transported through highly monitored hubs. Unfortunately, the smuggled individuals cannot open these containers from the inside, making them highly susceptible to harsh weather conditions or abandonment by smugglers if they are alerted of approaching authorities. In such instances, the smuggled individuals are often left to perish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study addresses the problem of identifying the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on the situation on the grain market in Poland. The analysis covered price changes, the volume and structure of exports and imports. The effects of the crisis in the field of trade policy were assessed. The source of materials for the analyzes was the literature on the subject and empirical research conducted by various institutions dealing in trade in agricultural products. The information used in the work came from the European Agricultural Products Exchange (MATIF), the World Bank, market reports of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the European Commission. The most up-to-date reports from the United Nations, Reuters and European institutions were also used. It was found that the situation on the cereal market is extremely dynamic. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has caused many problems on EU agricultural markets, including grain markets. There was a significant increase in the prices of wheat and corn. There were no significant changes in foreign trade directions. In the structure of Polish grain exports and imports, corn and wheat are still the most important, and in 2022, the dominant place for wheat and corn purchases was Ukraine. However, the dominant direction of grain exports was Germany.

Copyright of International Relations & International Law Journal / Seriâ Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ & Meždunarodnoe Pravo is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists is the property of Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Economía, Sociedad y Territorio is the property of El Colegio Mexiquense and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT: The road system is the main mode used for the transportation of agricultural cargo, and in some cases, it is the only option for handling this type of product. This dependence means that the implementation of tools to support the management of logistical costs can reduce the financial impact with the transport felt by the economic agents operating in the soybean chain. This study contributed to a better understanding of the variables that make up the cost of road freight, generating a system of road freight prediction from a multiple linear regression model using the selection of variables Stepwise, Forward, and Backward elimination. This being said, this research intends to evaluate whether the behavior of soybean road freight is influenced by the variables that make up the productive, economic, and infrastructure dimensions in price formation. The regression models had an explanatory power of 87.20%. In the infrastructure dimension, the most impact variable in soybean road freight was the distance traveled; in the economic dimension, the variables of inflation and fuel price stood out; while in the productive dimension, the main contribution was the volume of production. A more assertive predictability of logistical costs and better understanding of the dynamics of freight price formation helps industry agents in planning and decision-making. Another contribution of this study is that it can be used as a practical tool for predicting soybean road freight on several transportation routes.

The article considers the investment sources in transport, justifies the need for financial investments on the example of costs on a global and Russian scale. The dynamics of changes in investments by categories of transport routes for 2016–2019 has been analysed. The research of the authors’scientific works on this topic has been given. Renovation and optimisation of the transport structure brings a number of advantages to the Russian transport infrastructure. In addition to the positive aspects of infrastructure modernisation, there is a percentage of losses – these are risks from investments. The methodology of the study presents formulas for calculations, by which the investment programs profitability has been determined. As a solution to the lack of investment funds, the creation of aggregate investment sources has been proposed.

Since 2009, Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act has promoted the erection of ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) plants next to transport routes (railways, federal roads and federal highways) as these areas are considered to be socially, economically and ecologically less valuable. Recent amendments to the act have gradually expanded this strip next to transport routes from 110 m in 2009, to 200 m in 2021 and 500 m in 2023. Our study investigated the effect of these amendments by analysing the development of ground-mounted PV systems next to transport routes between 2000 and 2023 using geo-information data on plant sites, transport networks and site properties. The area data for ground-mounted PV plants indicate that more and more PV plants are being built on land next to transport routes. Currently, 39 % of all ground-mounted PV plants (area) are located within 500 m of a transport route (6919.5 MW). Our analysis shows that the introduction of subsidies has stimulated the expansion of such installations along transport routes, however there has also been a general expansion of ground-mounted PV systems. Our research also reveals that this expansion did not start from zero, as it was already common practice that PV plants were being built on the 500-m strip many years before the subsidy was introduced. In terms of land use patterns and soil quality, the areas covered by PV plants next to transport routes are mostly agricultural areas with all levels of yield potential. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical Abstract

Phytosociological research of the vegetation of Kyiv railways has been completed. Based on the analysis of 379 relevés using modified TWINSPAN and PC-ORD algorithms, it was found that the syntaxonomical structure of the study area includes 7 classes (Artemisietea vulgaris, Festucetea vaginatae, Galio-Urticetea, Plantaginetea majoris, Polygono-Poetea annuae, Robinietea, Stellarietea mediae), 12 orders, 18 alliances, 35 associations, 13 derivate and basal communities. The development of vegetation in man-made habitats leads to its significant complexity. It is manifested by changes in plant associations, their fragmentation and the formation of overgrowth type coenoses dominated by individual plant species. A significant degree of synanthropization, and in particular adventization, of the studied phytocoenoses was established. The participation of highly invasive species reduces local plant diversity and destroys their floristical and phytocoenotic structure. On the other hand, fragmented railway landscapes can function as new habitats or distribution corridors for local natural species. Trends of anthropogenic changes in the vegetation of the railways of Kyiv are the transformation and reduction of areas of natural vegetation, a decrease in its productivity, as well as an increase in the number of derivate plant communities, which are the successive stages of ecosystem development. The ecological features of the vegetation of the railways of the Kyiv urban area are discussed in comparison with the ruderal vegetation outside the railways. Comparative ordination analysis of these phytocoenoses shows that communities on the railways develop in extreme conditions of ecotopes poor on soil moisture and nitrogen content. The results of our research can be used for effective management of biodiversity on railways, and for the monitoring and development of control measures for the spread of non-native species. They can also be useful for sustainable planning and management of urban landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brazil, in particular, the states of the North Region themselves as new agricultural frontiers for soybeans. However, they need to be competitive in transporting production. In this context, this research performed an analysis of intermodal alternative routes using an optimization model based on linear programming, to analyze the transport network, plan the infrastructure and identify the best solution to flow production, in supporting of decision-making in the transport of soybeans for export. The case study was in the region located between states of Pará and Tocantins, close to the Araguaia-Tocantins waterway. Within the categories of linear programming models, the transport and transshipment problem cases were used. The model aimed to minimize transport costs from the production centers to the exporting ports, through the current infrastructure and, under scenarios of intermodal alternatives formed by the projects of Paraense Railway and Araguaia-Tocantins Waterway. The results showed that the scenarios with waterway transport bring greater benefit, achieving savings up to 23%, furthermore, the Vila do Conde port complex expands its zone of influence; thus, obtain an increase in the exported quantity in up to 1059.7%. Beyond that, the new routes reduce the flow in the main highways. The conclusion is that the intermodal alternatives favor the development of the states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A procedure of overall work is given for the current engineering study of the emergency section of the access transport route on seaport territory. Results of the overall engineering study is provided, and analysis is completed, on the basis of which the zones that are hazardous due to rock falls are localized. Substantiation was given, and optimal technical solutions for engineering protection of the plant were developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric heavy metals have important environmental and health threats. To investigate atmospheric deposition and contamination of heavy metal elements in the glaciers of the eastern Tibetan Plateau (ETP), we collected the surface snow (cryoconites) samples in the Lenglongling Glacier (LG), the Gannan Snowpack (GS), the Dagu Glacier (DG), the Hailuogou Glacier (HG) and Yulong Snow-mountain Glacier (YG) in summer 2017. Samples were analyzed for concentrations and enrichment factors (EFs) of Al and trace elements (Pb, Co, Cd, Ba, Mn, Ga, Sc, V, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Rb, Sb, Cs, As, Mo, Li) using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results showed that the concentrations and EFs of heavy metals (e.g. Sb, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Mo) were generally high value in YG, GS and LG, while were relatively low value in DG and HG, implying that ETP glaciers may have been affected by atmospheric anthropogenic pollutants deposition to varying degrees. Comparing the heavy metal concentrations in the glaciers with those in the precipitation of middle/eastern China cities and also the South Asian cities, we find that the glacial heavy metal concentrations were generally low level, though the anthropogenic pollutants were still significantly enriched. Taking the spatial distribution of As and Ni concentration/EFs in the glaciers and surrounding urban precipitation as an example, we find that the heavy metal pollutants were probably transported to the glaciers through three routes from the surrounding densely populated area of Asia. The MODIS AOD and NCEP/NCAR wind vector also demonstrated that the atmospheric pollutants originated from anthropogenic emissions of urban areas of both South Asia, and northwest and east China, mainly caused by the large scale atmospheric circulation (e.g. the South Asian Monsoon, westerlies and Eastern Asian Summer Monsoon). Therefore, control of these potential pollution emission sources of the surrounding densely populated areas in Asia could be important to ETP glaciers in future perspectives.

The article discloses possible consequences of the Chinese project of creating the Silk Road Economic Belt for the Eurasian Economic Union and European Union with recommendations for Russian authorities on conducting the policy that would allow to utilize Chinese investments for development of Russian transport infrastructure and entrepreneurship on adjacent territories. The author concludes that realization of the project could lead to expansion of Chinese trade to the EU states, in particular by means of creation and modernization of enterprises in the Eastern and Central Europe.

The ensemble of European traffic roads is changing in relation to the economic geography that has been developing these recent years and also to the localisation of production and logistics centres. The development of communication has been defined through the project of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Undoubtedly this new geography of European communication offers member States new development opportunities, but it is also true that the distance of the different territories from the major traffic roads can be a disparity factor. In fact, this phenomenon can worsen the marginalisation processes of some European territories, contrary to the objective of the interconnection policy of the EU territories. In front of these possible territorial disparities the idea to realise an important road infrastructure, which may connect Belluno directly with Austria, is presented in this paper as an emblematic case, in which the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) permits to verify the best performing infrastructure on a territorial scale.

The peptide QAGLSPVR, which features high angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, was identified in our previous study. In this study, the in vivo antihypertensive effect of QAGLSPVR was evaluated. Results showed that QAGLSPVR exerts a clear antihypertensive effect on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of the rats remarkably decreased by 41.86 and 40.40 mm Hg, respectively, 3 h after peptide administration. The serum ACE activities of SHRs were determined at different times, and QAGLSPVR was found to decrease ACE activities in serum; specifically, minimal ACE activity was found 3 h after administration. QAGLSPVR could be completely absorbed by the Caco-2 cell monolayer, and its transport percentage was 3.5% after 2 h. The transport route results of QAGLSPVR showed that Gly-Sar and wortmannin exert minimal effects on the transport percentage of the peptide (p> 0.05), thus indicating that QAGLSPVR transport through the Caco-2 cell monolayer is not mediated by peptide transporter 1 or transcytosis. By contrast, cytochalasin D significantly increased QAGLSPVR transport (p< 0.05); thus, QAGLSPVR may be transported through the Caco-2 cell monolayer via the paracellular pathway.

This work presents the procedure of transport simulation at the Open Pit South Mining District for two locations of the primary ore crushing and comparison of the achieved capacities and consumption of normative material, in order to determine the optimum location. Simulation was performed using the haulage and loading simulation software, Talpac.

This article analyzes the opportunities of the Chinese initiative "One Belt, One Road", for the development of the Baltic Sea macro-region (BSR), as a single transport cluster. One of the objectives of the initiative is to strengthen transport linkages from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea Region. Thus, the contemporary macro-regional approach to the development of EU macro-regions can provide an additional impulse to the creation of formal macro-regional inter-cooperation, via in this case, the project that will advance the transport infrastructure of the region. This study examines the situation of the railway sector in the BSR in the period 2004-2015, through hierarchical cluster analysis, to identify countries with similar trends in cargo flow turnover. Taking into account the favorable geographical position of Poland, its transport performance and advanced (in comparison to other Baltic Sea region countries) relations with China, it is concluded that Poland's conditions are more suitable to promote economic integration with its closest neighbors - the Baltic countriesthrough the creation of formal macro-regional railway transport within the Rail Baltic project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to public transport is widely recognized as a welfare and livelihood issue. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), public transport is predominately paratransit which holds the largest modal share. Paratransit services are often accessed through their terminals and service routes, critical elements which directly distribute the service to populations. However, the allocation of paratransit terminals and routes is rarely equitable in SSA, where they are often erratic, dedicated to profitable routes, and vehicles not available on some routes and at certain times of the day (e.g. night time). Consequently, this study evaluates the allocation of paratransit terminals and routes, their access to populations, and overall coverage in the Oforikrom Municipality of Ghana. This was achieved by compiling General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS)-like data, conducting a nearest neighbor analysis and a service area estimation, and evaluating the allocation of paratransit service routes. The findings show that paratransit allocation is highly inefficient being associated with fragmented routes and poor connectivity, where the travel distance to paratransit service ranges from 1 to 2800 m, and existing routes can be reduced considerably by 53%. A close matching with an R-square of 0.977 was found between the proportion of the population served by paratransit and the coverage of the land area where they live. Economic status based on the relative wealth index was found to be moderately related to the travel distance to paratransit services, the population served, and the land area covered. While paratransit operators and driver unions have their roles, the inefficient configuration of terminals and routes is a direct outcome of the existing systemic structural arrangement with paratransit operators mostly built on underlying political economy, social injustice, labor exploitation, and lack of investment. It is recommended that enhanced paratransit allocation be co-formulated, co-developed, and co-enforced by all stakeholders, especially local governments, driver unions, paratransit operators, passengers, and pedestrians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the compactness and high concentration of socio-economic phenomena urban areas require a developed transport infrastructure and a coherence in communication with the surrounding territory and centres of different levels to ensure the proper functioning. The article is dedicated to estimation of the position of medium-sized cities in an Western part ofUkrainerelative to the existing transport system. Particular attention is paid to location relative to international transport corridors and European routes, to the proximity and transport accessibility to state border checkpoints. It has been determined that in general cities are characterized by an advantageous position, as being situated within the border area, within or close to major highways, and most of them have easy connection to regional centres. The most favourable transport and geographical position, which can be described as arterial, belongs to Kovel, Mukacheve and Stryi. Kovel and Stryi are important transport hubs inWestern Ukraine. However, comparing to other medium-sized cities of the area, the greatest amount of international and European transport routes lies across Mukacheve. Transport and geographical position of Colomyia and Chervonohrad can be considered as advantageous, as evidenced by their status of railway hubs, less advantageous – Drohobych and Kalush. Novovolynsk has the least advantageous, peripheral transport and geographical position. The transport and geographical position of medium-sized cities in the region serves as an additional incentive to use their potential, which is particularly important in view of their role as industrial and administrative centres.

This study explored the temporospatial distribution, gas-particle partition, and pollution sources of atmospheric speciated mercury (ASM) from the eastern offshore waters of the Taiwan Island (TI) to the northern South China Sea (SCS). Both gaseous and particulate mercury were simultaneously sampled at three remote sites in four seasons. The average concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), and particulate bound mercury (PBM) were 2.05 ± 0.45 ng/m3, 19.17 ± 5.39 pg/m3, and 0.11 ± 0.06 ng/m3, respectively. The concentrations of GEM and PBM in the cold seasons were higher than those in the warm seasons, but those of GOM had an opposite trend. In terms of gas-solid partition, ASM was apportioned as 91.3–97.3% of GEM and 2.7–8.7% of GOM and PBM. The average concentrations of GEM, GOM, and PBM at the Green Island (GI) were 2.21 ± 0.47 ng/m3, 22.31 ± 5.35 pg/m3, and 0.12 ± 0.06 ng/m3; those at the Kenting Peninsula (KT) were 2.11 ± 0.43 ng/m3, 20.57 ± 4.38 pg/m3, and 0.11 ± 0.06 ng/m3; and those at the Dongsha Islands (DS) were 1.84 ± 0.40 ng/m3, 15.19 ± 3.58 pg/m3, and 0.08 ± 0.05 ng/m3, respectively. Overall, the spatial distribution of ASM concentrations showed the order as: GI > KT > DS. Air masses blown mainly from the West Pacific Ocean (WPO) and SCS in summer showed the lowest ASM concentrations. Oppositely, high ASM concentrations were commonly observed in spring and winter when polluted air masses were blown by Asian Northeastern Monsoons (ANMs). The transport routes of polluted air masses were originated mainly from North China, Central China, Northeast China, Korea and Japan, and mostly passed through the urban and industrial regions in the northeastern Asian countries. [Display omitted] • ASM was apportioned as 91.3–97.3% of GEM and 2.7–8.7% of GOM and PBM. • LRT of ASM was observed from the eastern waters of Taiwan Island to northern SCS. • ASM was originated from anthropogenic sources in the northeastern Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the differences in the commercial landscape-shaping ability of various transport routes is important in proactive urban planning and achieving joint development. This study probes which type of transport routes (expressways, rail transit and trunk roads) is more closely associated with which type of commercial activities (retail, wholesale, auto service, catering, finance and recreation). At the city-wide scale, the density of rail transit is highly correlated with the locations of catering, retail, and recreation establishments. Among the three types of activities, catering exhibits the highest correlation with rail transit, retail the next and recreation last. Expressway density is significantly correlated with the locations of recreation, automobile service, and wholesale activities and its correlations increase in turn. The density of trunk roads is positively related to the locations of auto service, wholesale, and finance activities and that correlations increase sequentially. At the microscale, expressways, trunk roads and rail transit exhibit various corridor effects on locational selection of different types of commercial activities, and the strength of the corridor effect is contingent on the type of transport routes. • The research explore the differences in commercial landscape-abilities of different types of transport routes from two perspective — at city-wide and corridor scales. • We explore which type of transport routes is more closely correlated with which type of density of commercial activities at city-wide scale. • We compared the strength of corridor effects of different types of transport routes on commercial establishments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the compactness and high concentration of socio-economic phenomena urban areas require a developed transport infrastructure and a coherence in communication with the surrounding territory and centres of different levels to ensure the proper functioning. The article is dedicated to estimation of the position of medium-sized cities in an Western part of Ukraine relative to the existing transport system. Particular attention is paid to location relative to international transport corridors and European routes, to the proximity and transport accessibility to state border checkpoints. It has been determined that in general cities are characterized by an advantageous position, as being situated within the border area, within or close to major highways, and most of them have easy connection to regional centres. The most favourable transport and geographical position, which can be described as arterial, belongs to Kovel, Mukacheve and Stryi. Kovel and Stryi are important transport hubs in Western Ukraine. However, comparing to other medium-sized cities of the area, the greatest amount of international and European transport routes lies across Mukacheve. Transport and geographical position of Colomyia and Chervonohrad can be considered as advantageous, as evidenced by their status of railway hubs, less advantageous – Drohobych and Kalush. Novovolynsk has the least advantageous, peripheral transport and geographical position. The transport and geographical position of medium-sized cities in the region serves as an additional incentive to use their potential, which is particularly important in view of their role as industrial and administrative centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a monstrously large single cell visible by an unaided eye. The slime mold explores space in parallel, is guided by gradients of chemoattractants, and propagates toward sources of nutrients along nearly shortest paths. The slime mold is a living prototype of amorphous biological computers and robotic devices capable of solving a range of tasks of graph optimization and computational geometry. When presented with a distribution of nutrients, the slime mold spans the sources of nutrients with a network of protoplasmic tubes. This protoplasmic network matches a network of major transport routes of a country when configuration of major urban areas is represented by nutrients. A transport route connecting two cities should ideally be a shortest path, and this is usually the case in computer simulations and laboratory experiments with flat substrates. What searching strategies does the slime mold adopt when exploring 3-D terrains? How are optimal and transport routes approximated by protoplasmic tubes? Do the routes built by the slime mold on 3-D terrain match real-world transport routes? To answer these questions, we conducted pioneer laboratory experiments with Nylon terrains of USA and Germany. We used the slime mold to approximate route 20, the longest road in USA, and autobahn 7, the longest national motorway in Europe. We found that slime mold builds longer transport routes on 3-D terrains, compared to flat substrates yet sufficiently approximates man-made transport routes studied. We demonstrate that nutrients placed in destination sites affect performance of slime mold, and show how the mold navigates around elevations. In cellular automaton models of the slime mold, we have shown variability of the protoplasmic routes might depends on physiological states of the slime mold. Results presented will contribute toward development of novel algorithms for sensorial fusion, information processing, and decision making, and will provide inspirations in design of bioinspired amorphous robotic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The risk associated with the transport of radioactive materials can be impacted by many factors of the transport system, as well as by the area through which the materials may travel. Informed decision making requires a quantitative evaluation of pertinent information or conditions. Geographic information systems are often used to display spatial information. The authors have developed a simplified methodology that can be used to quantify the conditions that impact risk over a segment of a transport route. The methodology aggregates the impact of a condition based on the magnitude of the impacting condition and its location with respect to the transport corridor. This paper is a proof-of-concept demonstration for the methodology for the factors of the population in the vicinity of the roadway and the highway design criteria with respect to access ramps and medians. The methodology is particularly suited to a comparison of alternative routes for decision making, where an easily implemented methodology is needed to narrow down multiple alternatives to those few requiring a more detailed analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Chillan has a structured road network based on the physical infrastructure that the city has developed since its foundations, organising collective vehicle traffic around it, generating therefore transport routes from the periphery into the core area of the city. Thee present investigation will analise how vehicular traffic that circulates within the city centre limits affects accessibility rates. In this context, the investigation will take the red céntrica of Chillan as the object of study, as well as the vehicular influx from the periphery into the core part of the city, bearing in mind networks' analysis, their accessibility and also in the distribution system of collective transport . The most appropriate tool to establish such analysis is GIS, that allows to create an existing reality while at the same time it generates proposals of vehicular influx that will increase the rates of accessibility into the core of the city of Chillán. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) have a substantial biomass production and export potential. The objective of this study is to assess whether the market for biofuels and trade can be profitable enough to realize a supply of biofuels from the CEEC to the European market and to estimate the cost performance of the energy carriers delivered. Five NUTS-2 (Nomenclature d''Unités Territoriales Statistiques) regions with high biomass production potentials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic were analysed for biofuel export options. From these regions pellets from willow can be provided to destination areas in Western European countries (WEC) at costs of 105.2–219.8€t−1. Ethanol can be provided at 11.95–20.89€ per GJ if the biomass conversion is performed at the destination areas in the WEC or at 14.84–17.83€ GJ−1J if the biomass to ethanol conversion takes place (at small scale) at the CEEC region where the biomass is produced. Short sea shipping shows most cost advantages for longer distance international transport compared to inland waterway shipping and railway. Another reason for lower biofuel supply costs are shorter distances between the regions of biomass production and the destination areas. Therefore the Szczecin region in Poland, closely located to the Baltic Sea, shows a better economic performance for long distance trade of biomass production than the selected region in Hungary (‘land-locked’). It is concluded that in future key CEEC regions can supply (pre-treated) biomass and biofuels to the European market at cost levels, which are sound and attractive to current and expected diesel and gasoline prices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bushmeat is a major food and economic resource in sub-Saharan Africa, and with increasing urbanization bushmeat consumption has spread from villages to cities. To facilitate long-term monitoring of the bushmeat market in Yaoundé, Cameroon, we carried out a baseline survey of the transportation routes of bushmeat into the city and of urban bushmeat sales. We inventoried all bushmeat sales points, and located 15 markets and 145 restaurants and cafeterias selling an estimated total of 1,052 bushmeat dishes per day. This trade provides an occupation for 249 people, of whom 84.3% are women. Trains from Ngaoundere in the north and minibuses from the east supply more than 70% of the sales points the Elig-Edzoa market, located next to the railway, and the Nkoldongo bus station. From these two places bushmeat is redistributed to other commercial sites within the city. The routes into Yaoundé transport bushmeat from a vast area of the country and in particular from the savannah and central provinces, which are rich in wildlife and contain National Parks and safari hunting areas. However, overall, bushmeat consumption at commercial outlets in the city is low relative to the number of inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]