Data Power Decisions (United States)

Abstract Ridesharing has become an increasingly popular transportation method over the past decade. Transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft generally provide two types of rideshare services: personal rideshare, in which users ride alone or with individuals they know, and pooled rideshare, in which users ride with passengers they do not know but share similar routes. Pooled rideshare is capable of reducing energy consumption and traffic in the transportation system in comparison to personal rideshare. Despite the growth in trip volume, ridesharing usage is still low compared to other popular transportation methods in the U.S., particularly traveling in one’s own personal vehicle. Furthermore, pooled rideshare usage is lower than personal rideshare. To understand riders’ preferences, a national survey ( N = 2884) was conducted in the U.S. to investigate users’ choice behaviors in rideshare services examining personal versus pooled rideshare. Each survey respondent completed 20 stated-preference scenarios where participants choose between a personal or pooled rideshare option. Based on the responses, a mixed logit model was developed to capture the choice behavior preferences of the participants. The model unveiled the impact of demographic and trip attribute variables on users’ rideshare preferences. The discussion encompassed insights into demographic backgrounds and trip attributes, accompanied by a set of policy recommendations aimed at enhancing future pooled rideshare utilization.

BackgroundThe complex ecosystem on skin comprising tens of thousands of microorganisms plays an important role in health and disease. The last decade in particular has witnessed a surge in microbiome research, which has been elucidating the role of the microbiota in numerous skin pathologies. Of relevance to the current study, are recent evidences implicating the microbiome in skin pigmentary conditions. Melasma is one such refractory, hyperpigmentary condition with a poorly understood pathogenesis. The present study was carried out to characterize the nature of microbial dysbiosis and its impact on microbial community structure in melasma subjects.ResultsThe clinical assessment of melasma carried out using biophysical, biochemical and biomarker-based measures confirmed significant changes in melasma lesions, most notably, those linked to redox, inflammation and barrier properties. A deep characterization of the skin microbiome in melasma from human face, indicated significant differences between lesional and peri-lesional areas. Of the 377 genera identified through an agglomeration of all OTUs at the Genus level through 16S rRNA sequencing, 344 were common, while 12 were unique to lesional and 21 unique in peri-lesional areas. A significant decrease was observed in alpha diversity in melasma lesion as compared to peri-lesion areas, with an accompanying decrease in number of interconnections among them. The differences in the microbiome also appeared to correlate with several clinical parameters, notably with the melasma severity measured through modified MASI (mMASI) scoring. The observed changes in both host and microbiome, point to a potential role for the latter in melasma pathogenesis.ConclusionsOur study indicates that there are significant differences in the microbiome between lesional and peri-lesional areas of melasma subjects, with associated changes in microbial community structures. Additionally, the observed changes were seen to correlate with measured clinical parameters. These findings provide the opportunity to further probe the nature of host and microbiome links that may underlie the phenotypic manifestation, as well as provide effective routes for managing this recalcitrant disorder.

Mixtures of multiple surfactants that have superior performance to the individual components are highly sought-after commercially. Mixtures with a reduced Krafft point (TK) are particularly useful as they enable applications at lower temperatures. Such an example is the soap maker's eutectic: the mixture of sodium laurate (NaL) and sodium oleate (NaOl). A true eutectic implies that the two surfactants do not mix in the solid state but mix readily in the micellar solution above TK, leading to a sharp TK depression at a specific composition. However, the NaL/NaOl mixture shows a broad TK depression of >15 °C at a NaOl weight fraction (wO) of about 0.5. Our tie-line analysis shows that pure NaL and NaOl do not coexist in the solid phase on either side of the TK minimum. X-ray analysis of the isolated solids with varying wO reveals that a unique intermediate compound (I.C.) forms in the solid state with a NaL-to-NaOl mole ratio of about 4/3. Below the TK minimum, NaL and the I.C. coexist in the solids for wO < 0.5, whereas the I.C. and NaOl coexist in the solids for wO > 0.5. Each pair of solids exhibits eutectic or monotectic solubility behavior, and the congruent I.C. melting point is so close to that of the eutectic point(s) that a broad TK minimum ensues. Thermal analysis and modeling via the freezing-point depression approach support the above interpretation. The fact that surfactants with other headgroups but the same blend of chain lengths do not exhibit similar depressed TK is a topic for further study.

Mixtures of multiple surfactants that have superior performance to the individual components are highly sought-after commercially. Mixtures with a reduced Krafft point (TK) are particularly useful as they enable applications at lower temperatures. Such an example is the soap maker’s eutectic: the mixture of sodium laurate (NaL) and sodium oleate (NaOl). A true eutectic implies that the two surfactants do not mix in the solid state but mix readily in the micellar solution above TK, leading to a sharp TK depression at a specific composition. However, the NaL/NaOl mixture shows a broad TK depression of &gt; 15 °C at a NaOl weight fraction (wO) of about 0.5. Our tie-line analysis shows that pure NaL and NaOl do not coexist in the solid phase on either side of the TK minimum. X-ray analysis of the isolated solids with varying wO reveals that a unique intermediate compound (I.C.) forms in the solid state with a NaL-to-NaOl mole ratio of about 4/3. Below the TK minimum, NaL and the I.C. coexist in the solids for wO &lt; 0.5, whereas the I.C. and NaOl coexist in the solids for wO &gt; 0.5. Each pair of solids exhibits eutectic or monotectic solubility behavior, and the congruent I.C. melting point is so close to that of the eutectic point(s) that a broad TK minimum ensues. Thermal analysis and modeling via the freezing-point depression approach support the above interpretation. The fact that surfactants with other headgroups but the same blend of chain lengths do not exhibit similar depressed TK is a topic for further study.

Topical tretinoin is the mainstay of treatment for photoageing, despite the risk of skin irritation. Cosmetic combination anti-ageing formulations may offer similar efficacy to tretinoin, while improving on tolerability. We aim to demonstrate facial appearance benefits of a novel triple-active cosmetic formulation containing 4-hexylresorcinol, retinyl propionate, and niacinamide and to identify transcriptomic biomarkers underpinning these benefits. A cosmetic prototype formulation containing 4-hexylresorcinol, retinyl propionate, and niacinamide was evaluated exvivo and in a clinical study. For exvivo experiments, the cosmetic formulation was applied for 3 days to healthy surgical discard skin from female donors aged 31-51 years, with tissues harvested for gene expression and histologic analyses. In the clinical study, females aged 47-66 years with moderate-to-severe overall visual photodamage on the face applied either topical 0.02% tretinoin or the cosmetic formulation to the face for 16 weeks and to forearms for 1 week, with forearm biopsies taken for gene expression analyses. Visual grading for facial photodamage and VISIA-CR images was taken throughout the clinical study. Safety was visually assessed during site visits, and adverse event monitoring was conducted throughout. Gene expression analyses in both studies revealed modulation of pathways associated with skin rejuvenation, with several genes of interest identified due to being implicated in ageing and differentially expressed following the application of the cosmetic formulation. Reversal of a consensus skin ageing gene signature was observed with the cosmetic formulation and tretinoin in the exvivo and clinical studies. Both the cosmetic formulation and tretinoin clinically improved the overall appearance of photoageing, crow's feet, lines, wrinkles, and pores. Adverse event reporting showed that the cosmetic formulation caused less skin irritation than tretinoin. In a double-blind clinical study, the novel triple-active cosmetic combination formulation improved the visual appearance of photoageing similarly to prescription tretinoin. The cosmetic formulation and tretinoin reversed a consensus gene signature associated with ageing. Together with adverse event reporting, these results suggest that the cosmetic formulation may be a well-tolerated and efficacious alternative to tretinoin for improving the visual features of photoageing.