Vehicle and crew scheduling: solving large real-world instances with an integrated approach

In this paper we discuss several methods to solve large real-worldinstances of the vehicle and crew scheduling problem. Although,there has been an increased attention to integrated approaches forsolving such problems in the literature, currently only small ormedium-sized instances can be solved by such approaches.Therefore, large instances should be split into several smallerones, which can be solved by an integrated approach, or thesequential approach, i.e. first vehicle scheduling and afterwardscrew scheduling, is applied.In this paper we compare both approaches, where we considerdifferent ways of splitting an instance varying from very simplerules to more sophisticated ones. Those ways are extensivelytested by computational experiments on real-world data provided bythe largest Dutch bus company.

Preparation of a Resorbable Osteoinductive Tricalcium Phosphate Ceramic

Over the past decade we have demonstrated numerous times that calcium phosphates can be rendered with osteoinductive properties by introducing specific surface microstructures1. Since most of these calcium phosphates contained hydroxyapatite, they are either slowly or not resorbable2. Resorbability is an often sought after characteristic of calcium phosphates so that they can be gradually replaced by newly formed bone. The objective of this study was to prepare a resorbable surface microstructured tricalcium phosphate (TCP) ceramic and evaluate its osteoinductive property and resorption rate after intramuscular implantation in dogs. This material was then compared to the established and slowly resorbable osteoinductive biphasic calcium phosphate ceramic (BCP)

Anisotropic Flow and Viscous Hydrodynamics

We report part of our recent work on viscous hydrodynamics with consistent phase space distribution f(x,\p) for freeze out. We develop the gradient expansion formalism based on kinetic theory, and with the constraints from the comparison between hydrodynamics and kinetic theory, viscous corrections to f(x,\p) can be consistently determined order by order. Then with the obtained f(x,\p), second order viscous hydrodynamical calculations are carried out for elliptic flow $v_2$.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Proceedings for the 28th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Dorado Del Mar, Puerto Rico, United States Of America, 7 - 14 Apr 201

Gov-aargh-nance: "Even Criminals Need Law and Order"

We present a theoretical model postulating that the relationship between crime and governance is "hump-shaped" rather than linearly decreasing. State failure, anarchy and a lack of infrastructure are not conducive for the establishment of any business. This includes illegal businesses, as criminals need protection and markets to convert loot into consumables. At the bottom end of the spectrum, therefore, both legal business and criminal gangs benefit from improved governance, especially when this is delivered informally. With significant improvements in formal governance criminal activities decline. We use data from the International Maritime Bureau to create a new dataset on piracy and find strong and consistent support for this non-linear relationship. The occurrence, persistence and intensity of small-scale maritime crime are well approximated by a quadratic relationship with governance quality. Organised crime benefits from corrupt yet effective bureaucrats, and informally governed areas within countries.Governance, Crime, Piracy, Informal Institutions, Law enforcement

Mapping of sensitivity to oil spills in the Lithuanian Baltic Sea coast.

This research develops an integrated environmental assessment tool for Lithuanian coastal area that takes due account of the major oil spill risks posed by the D-6 oil drilling platform, vessel traffic in the south-eastern Baltic Sea, and operation of the Butinge oil terminal. The goal of this paper is to present an environmental sensitivity index (ESI) mapping approach based on four specific indexes: coastal features (ESIC), socio-economic aspects (ESISE), biological (ESIB) and fishery resources (ESIF). The relevant methodology approach was selected. The core dataset is provided by GIS-based environmental atlas updated with other relevant GIS data of Lithuanian coastal resources. Four ESI maps were developed and an overall environmental sensitivity index (OESI) map produced. Results indicate that in the case of an oil spill, two areas need to be prioritized due to their biologic and socio-economic resources: the 25 km long shoreline between the settlements of Nida-Juodkrante on the Curonian Spit (CS) and the mainland coast (MC) between the settlements Palanga and Sventoji

GOV-AARGH-NANCE – “EVEN CRIMINALS NEED LAW AND ORDER”

We present a theoretical model postulating that the relationship between crime and governance is “hump-shaped”, rather than linearly decreasing, when criminals need access to markets. State collapse, violent conflict and a lack of infrastructure are not conducive for the establishment of any business, legal or illegal. At the bottom end of the spectrum, therefore, criminal gangs benefit from improved governance, especially when this is delivered informally. With significant improvements in formal governance criminal activities decline. We use data from the International Maritime Bureau to create a new dataset on piracy and find strong and consistent support for this non-linear relationship.Governance; Crime; Piracy; Informal governance; Law enforcement

Dissipative effects from transport and viscous hydrodynamics

We compare 2->2 covariant transport theory and causal Israel-Stewart hydrodynamics in 2+1D longitudinally boost invariant geometry with RHIC-like initial conditions and a conformal e = 3p equation of state. The pressure evolution in the center of the collision zone and the final differential elliptic flow v2(pT) from the two theories agree remarkably well for a small shear viscosity to entropy density ratio eta/s ~ 1/(4 pi), and also for a large cross section sigma ~ 50 mb. A key to this agreement is keeping ALL terms in the Israel-Stewart equations of motion. Our results indicate promising prospects for the applicability of Israel-Stewart dissipative hydrodynamics at RHIC, provided the shear viscosity of hot and dense quark-gluon matter is indeed very small for the relevant temperatures T ~ 200-500 MeV.Comment: Presentation at Quark Matter 2008. 4 pages, 3 figure

Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions: Zone of Reactions and Space-Time Structure of a Fireball

A zone of reactions is determined and then exploited as a tool in studying the space-time structure of an interacting system formed in a collision of relativistic nuclei. The time dependence of the reaction rates integrated over spatial coordinates is also considered. Evaluations are made with the help of the microscopic transport model UrQMD. The relation of the boundaries of different zones of reactions and the hypersurfaces of sharp chemical and kinetic freeze-outs is discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Hard thermal loops with a background plasma velocity

I consider the calculation of the two and three-point functions for QED at finite temperature in the presence of a background plasma velocity. The final expressions are consistent with Lorentz invariance, gauge invariance and current conservation, pointing to a straightforward generalization of the hard thermal loop formalism to this physical situation. I also give the resulting expression for the effective action and identify the various terms.Comment: 11 pages, no figure

Asymmetric gate induced drain leakage and body leakage in vertical MOSFETs with reduced parasitic capacitance

Vertical MOSFETs, unlike conventional planar MOSFETs, do not have identical structures at the source and drain, but have very different gate overlaps and geometric configurations. This paper investigates the effect of the asymmetric source and drain geometries of surround-gate vertical MOSFETs on the drain leakage currents in the OFF-state region of operation. Measurements of gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL) and body leakage are carried out as a function of temperature for transistors connected in the drain-on-top and drain-on-bottom configurations. Asymmetric leakage currents are seen when the source and drain terminals are interchanged, with the GIDL being higher in the drain-on-bottom configuration and the body leakage being higher in the drain-on-top configuration. Band-to-band tunneling is identified as the dominant leakage mechanism for both the GIDL and body leakage from electrical measurements at temperatures ranging from ?50 to 200?C. The asymmetric body leakage is explained by a difference in body doping concentration at the top and bottom drain–body junctions due to the use of a p-well ion implantation. The asymmetric GIDL is explained by the difference in gate oxide thickness on the vertical (110) pillar sidewalls and the horizontal (100) wafer surface