Profiting logistics businesses through optimised light rail transit system: Application to the city of Bangkok

The objective of this study was to develop a new method for freight movement in urban areas by combining a light rail transit system and a road transport system to distribute and deliver parcels. Utilisation of light rail transportation systems for parcel delivery can help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in cities. This paper presents a location–allocation model to determine the optimum number and location of light rail stations suitable to establish rail distribution hubs, in a bid to minimise transportation costs. A case study is conducted to assess this approach in the city of Bangkok. The results show that the cost, time, and distance of transportation can be reduced by 10%, 16.67%, and 33.33%, respectively

Calibrating polypropylene particle model parameters with upscaling and repose surface method

The discrete element method (DEM) is a computational technique extensively utilized for simulating particles on a large scale, specifically focusing on granular materials. Nonetheless, its implementation requires a substantial amount of computational power and accurate material properties. Consequently, this study delves into an alternative approach referred to as volume-based scaled-up modeling, aiming to simulate polypropylene particles using DEM while mitigating the computational burden and regenerating new material properties. This novel method aims to reduce the CPU time required for the simulation process and represent both the macro mechanical behavior and micro material properties of polypropylene particles. To accomplish this, the dimensions of the polypropylene particles in the DEM simulation were magnified by a factor of two compared to the original size of the prolate spheroid particles. In order to determine the virtual micro material properties of the polypropylene particles, a calibration method incorporating the design of experiments (DOE) and repose surface methodology was employed. The predicted bulk angle of repose (AOR) derived from the upscaled DEM parameters exhibited a remarkably close agreement with the empirical AOR test, demonstrating a small relative error of merely 1.69 %. Moreover, the CPU time required for the upscaled particle model proved to be less than 71 % of that necessary for the actual-scale model of polypropylene particles. These compelling results confirm the effectiveness of enlarging the particle volume used to calibrate micro-material properties in the Discrete Element Method (DEM) through the DOE technique. This approach proves to be a reliable and efficient metho

Optimizing Design Parameters for Maximizing Mass Discharge Rates in Silos for Soybeans Using Dem Simulations

The purpose of this study is to utilize the discrete element method (DEM) in combination with the design of experiment (DOE) approach to determine the appropriate key parameters for optimizing the discharge silo. The researchers employed a full factorial design of the experiment and response surface methodology to establish the mass discharge rate (MDR) of soybeans from the silo. By employing an optimal exact methodology, the study identified suitable values for the discharge angle and outlet width of the hopper that would result in the maximum mass discharge rate. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the silo discharge design and provide valuable guidance for designing silos and hoppers

Incorporating physiologically relevant mobile phases in micellar liquid chromatography for the prediction of human intestinal absorption

Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) is a popular method used in the determination of a compounds lipophilicity. This study describes the use of the obtained micelle/water partition coefficient (log Pmw) by such a method in the prediction of human intestinal absorption (HIA). As a result of the close resemblance of the novel composition of the micellar mobile phase to that of physiological intestinal fluid, prediction was deemed to be highly successful. The unique micellar mobile phase consisted of a mixed micellar mixture of lecithin and six bile salts, i.e. a composition matching that found in the human intestinal environment, prepared in ratios resembling those in the intestine. This is considered to be the first method to use a physiological mixture of biosurfactants in the prediction of HIA. As a result, a mathematical model with high predictive ability (R2PRED= 81 %) was obtained using multiple linear regression. The micelle/water partition coefficient (log Pmw) obtained from MLC was found to be a successful tool for prediction where the final optimum model included (log Pmw) and polar surface area (PSA) as key descriptors with high statistical significance for the prediction of HIA. This can be attributed to the nature of the mobile phase used in this study which contains the lecithin-bile salt complex, thus forming a bilayer system therefore mimicking absorption across the intestinal membrane

DEA/ARIにおけるウェイト制限のための一対比較

早大学位記番号:新7151早稲田大

Chrysanthemum improvement through tissue culture

The use of two in vitro techniques for Chrysanthemum improvement were studied. Firstly, the direction and extent of somaclonal variation was observed using different explants from cultivars with a range of flower shape and colour. Secondly, an attempt was made to produce chimaeras from mixed calluses. Tissue culture methods were developed for callus induction and shoot regeneration from 6 cultivars of Chrysanthemum morifolium and for C. carinaturn (Syn. C. tricolour), C. parthenium (Pyrethrum) and Aster novi-belqii (Michaelmas daisy) which were included in the chimaera work. Flower colour changes were seen among regenerated plants from red, pink and bronze but not from yellow and white cultivars. The direction of colour change was similar to that recorded from spontaneous mutation. Colour change variants were most frequent in plants regenerated from stem (internodal) or petal explants and least from bud explants. All cultivars showed variants in flower shape amongst regenerated plants. The yellow-flowered cultivars showed the greatest range of types of flower shape, variation in shape was less in the bronze, pink, red and white cultivars. The most distinctive variant types of flower shape were the single, quill and pompon types. The explant types giving the greatest variation in flower shapes were buds or petals. Overall, the proportion of normal true-to-type flowers obtained was highest using bud cultures. This could be because in bud cultures some buds retain their structure despite the development of callus, or because new shoots are produced much faster from bud callus than from petal or stem callus. The most successful method for inducing callus fusion was to place fresh explants in contact with each other side-by-side on the medium. Isozyme analysis was used to screen for chimaeric plants, combinations of parent' types being chosen for their distinctively different isozyme patterns. No regenerated plants showed the isozyme pattern of more than one 'parent', but some somaclonal variants in banding patterns of isozymes were obtained

Resilient Supplier Selection in Electronic Components Procurement: An Integration of Evidence Theory and Rule-Based Transformation into TOPSIS to Tackle Uncertain and Incomplete Information

The experience of disruptive events causing supply chain vulnerability and business downturns has motivated manufacturing purchasers to consider resilience capability when selecting suppliers. However, this problem is complex, mainly due to difficulties in obtaining precise data on supplier performance. Disruptions are viewed as low-possibility events, leading to incomplete or insufficient evidence to support assessment. A literature review presented in this paper identifies a list of prospective criteria for resilient supplier selection, within the electronics market, considering both quantitative and qualitative aspects in a symmetrical way. A new hybrid methodology, able to handle various forms of uncertain and incomplete data, is proposed to facilitate the supplier selection process. Evidence theory, which suggests the assignment of degrees of belief, instead of traditional probabilities, to expected results, is adopted to construct a decision matrix. The rule-based transformation technique is then employed to transform various forms of the assessment results into a unified format before further aggregation by the modified Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The proposed methodology is tested with a case of resilient supplier selection in a company producing computer hardware components. The proposed decision-making methodology can be applied not only by electronics purchasers but also by practitioners in other industries to logically and straightforwardly model the uncertainty and incompleteness of the available information