107 research outputs found
A Multistage Stochastic Programming Approach to the Dynamic and Stochastic VRPTW - Extended version
We consider a dynamic vehicle routing problem with time windows and
stochastic customers (DS-VRPTW), such that customers may request for services
as vehicles have already started their tours. To solve this problem, the goal
is to provide a decision rule for choosing, at each time step, the next action
to perform in light of known requests and probabilistic knowledge on requests
likelihood. We introduce a new decision rule, called Global Stochastic
Assessment (GSA) rule for the DS-VRPTW, and we compare it with existing
decision rules, such as MSA. In particular, we show that GSA fully integrates
nonanticipativity constraints so that it leads to better decisions in our
stochastic context. We describe a new heuristic approach for efficiently
approximating our GSA rule. We introduce a new waiting strategy. Experiments on
dynamic and stochastic benchmarks, which include instances of different degrees
of dynamism, show that not only our approach is competitive with
state-of-the-art methods, but also enables to compute meaningful offline
solutions to fully dynamic problems where absolutely no a priori customer
request is provided.Comment: Extended version of the same-name study submitted for publication in
conference CPAIOR201
A reduced integer programming model for the ferry scheduling problem
We present an integer programming model for the ferry scheduling problem,
improving existing models in various ways. In particular, our model has reduced
size in terms of the number of variables and constraints compared to existing
models by a factor of approximately O(n), where n being the number of ports.
The model also handles efficiently load/unload time constraints, crew
scheduling and passenger transfers. Experiments using real world data produced
high quality solutions in 12 hours using CPLEX 12.4 with a performance
guarantee of within 15% of optimality, on average. This establishes that using
a general purpose integer programming solver is a viable alternative in solving
the ferry scheduling problem of moderate size.Comment: To appear in Public Transpor
Large scale stochastic inventory routing problems with split delivery and service level constraints
A stochastic inventory routing problem (SIRP) is typically the combination of stochastic inventory control problems and NP-hard vehicle routing problems, which determines delivery volumes to the customers that the depot serves in each period, and vehicle routes to deliver the volumes. This paper aims to solve a large scale multi-period SIRP with split delivery (SIRPSD) where a customer’s delivery in each period can be split and satisfied by multiple vehicle routes if necessary. This paper considers SIRPSD under the multi-criteria of the total inventory and transportation costs, and the service levels of customers. The total inventory and transportation cost is considered as the objective of the problem to minimize, while the service levels of the warehouses and the customers are satisfied by some imposed constraints and can be adjusted according to practical requests. In order to tackle the SIRPSD with notorious computational complexity, we first propose an approximate model, which significantly reduces the number of decision variables compared to its corresponding exact model. We then develop a hybrid approach that combines the linearization of nonlinear constraints, the decomposition of the model into sub-models with Lagrangian relaxation, and a partial linearization approach for a sub model. A near optimal solution of the model found by the approach is used to construct a near optimal solution of the SIRPSD. Randomly generated instances of the problem with up to 200 customers and 5 periods and about 400 thousands decision variables where half of them are integer are examined by numerical experiments. Our approach can obtain high quality near optimal solutions within a reasonable amount of computation time on an ordinary PC
Elucidation of Phosphatidylcholine Composition in Krill Oil Extracted from Euphausia superba
High performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was used to elucidate the phospholipids in krill oil extracted from Euphausia superba, an emerging source for human nutritional supplements. The study was carried out in order to map the species of the choline-containing phospholipid classes: phosphatidylcholine and lyso-phosphatidylcholine. In addition, the prevalent phosphatidylcholine class was quantified and the results compared with prior analysis. The qualification was performed with separation on a reverse phase chromatography column, while the quantification was obtained with class separation on a normal phase chromatography column. An Orbitrap system was used for the detection, and pulsed-Q dissociation fragmentation was utilized for the identification of the species. An asymmetrical exclusion list was applied for detection of phospholipid species of lower concentration, significantly improving the number of species observed. A total of 69 choline-containing phospholipids were detected, whereof 60 phosphatidylcholine substances, among others seven with probable omega-3 fatty acids in both sn-1 and sn-2. The phosphatidylcholine concentration was estimated to be 34 ± 5 g/100 g oil (n = 5). These results confirm the complexity of the phospholipid composition of krill oil, and the presence of long chained, heavily unsaturated fatty acids
A multiple ship routing and speed optimization problem under time, cost and environmental objectives
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a multiple ship routing and speed optimization problem under time, cost and environmental objectives. A branch and price algorithm as well as a constraint programming model are developed that consider (a) fuel consumption as a function of payload, (b) fuel price as an explicit input, (c) freight rate as an input, and (d) in-transit cargo inventory costs. The alternative objective functions are minimum total trip duration, minimum total cost and minimum emissions. Computational experience with the algorithm is reported on a variety of scenarios. © 2017 Elsevier Lt
Laser-Induced Hydrogen Radical Removal in UV MALDI-MS Allows for the Differentiation of Flavonoid Monoglycoside Isomers
The UEFA Champions League seeding is not strategy-proof since the 2015/16 season
Fairness has several interpretations in sports, one of them being that the
rules should guarantee incentive compatibility, namely, a team cannot be worse
off due to better results in any feasible scenario. The current seeding regime
of the most prestigious annual European club football tournament, the UEFA
(Union of European Football Associations) Champions League, is shown to violate
this requirement since the 2015/16 season. In particular, if the titleholder
qualifies for the first pot by being a champion in a high-ranked league, its
slot is given to a team from a lower-ranked association, which can harm a top
club from the domestic championship of the titleholder. However, filling all
vacancies through the national leagues excludes the presence of perverse
incentives. UEFA is encouraged to introduce this policy from the 2021-24 cycle
onwards.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, 1 tabl
Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) of phospholipids and sphingolipids: Ionization, adduct formation, and fragmentation
Direct qualitative analysis of triacylglycerols by electrospray mass spectrometry using a linear ion trap
Determination of the glycosylation site of flavonoid monoglucosides by metal complexation and tandem mass spectrometry
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