Integrated production-distribution systems : Trends and perspectives

During the last two decades, integrated production-distribution problems have attracted a great deal of attention in the operations research literature. Within a short period, a large number of papers have been published and the field has expanded dramatically. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature by classifying the existing models into several different categories based on multiple characteristics. The paper also discusses some trends and list promising avenues for future research

A railway timetable rescheduling approach for handling large scale disruptions

On a daily basis, relatively large disruptions require infrastructure managers and railway operators to reschedule their railway timetables together with their rolling stock and crew schedules. This research focuses on timetable rescheduling for passenger trains at a macroscopic level in a railway network. An integer programming model is formulated for solving the timetable rescheduling problem, which minimizes the number of cancelled and delayed trains while adhering to infrastructure and rolling stock capacity constraints. The possibility of rerouting trains in order to reduce the number of cancelled and delayed trains is also considered. In addition, all stages of the disruption management process (from the start of the disruption to the time the normal situation is restored) are taken into account. Computational tests of the described model on a heavily used part of the Dutch railway network show that we are able to find optimal solutions in short computation times. This makes the approach applicable for use in practice

Aspergillus felis sp. nov., an emerging agent of invasive aspergillosis in humans, cats, and dogs

Published June 14, 2013We describe a novel heterothallic species in Aspergillus section Fumigati, namely A. felis (neosartorya-morph) isolated from three host species with invasive aspergillosis including a human patient with chronic invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, domestic cats with invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and a dog with disseminated invasive aspergillosis. Disease in all host species was often refractory to aggressive antifungal therapeutic regimens. Four other human isolates previously reported as A. viridinutans were identified as A. felis on comparative sequence analysis of the partial β-tubulin and/or calmodulin genes. A. felis is a heterothallic mold with a fully functioning reproductive cycle, as confirmed by mating-type analysis, induction of teleomorphs within 7 to 10 days in vitro and ascospore germination. Phenotypic analyses show that A. felis can be distinguished from the related species A. viridinutans by its ability to grow at 45°C and from A. fumigatus by its inability to grow at 50°C. Itraconazole and voriconazole cross-resistance was common in vitro.Vanessa R. Barrs, Tineke M. van Doorn, Jos Houbraken, Sarah E. Kidd, Patricia Martin, Maria Dolores Pinheiro, Malcolm Richardson, Janos Varga, Robert A. Samso

Multi-Element Airfoil System

A multi-element airfoil system includes an airfoil element having a leading edge region and a skin element coupled to the airfoil element. A slat deployment system is coupled to the slat and the skin element, and is capable of deploying and retracting the slat and the skin element. The skin element substantially fills the lateral gap formed between the slat and the airfoil element when the slat is deployed. The system further includes an uncoupling device and a sensor to remove the skin element from the gap based on a critical angle-of-attack of the airfoil element. The system can alternatively comprise a trailing edge flap, where a skin element substantially fills the lateral gap between the flap and the trailing edge region of the airfoil element. In each case, the skin element fills a gap between the airfoil element and the deployed flap or slat to reduce airframe noise

Auditory feature perception and auditory hallucinatory experiences in schizophrenia spectrum disorder

Schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SZ) is associated with deficits in auditory perception as well as auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). However, the relationship between auditory feature perception and auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH), one of the most commonly occurring symptoms in psychosis, has not been well characterized. This study evaluated perception of a broad range of auditory features in SZ and to determine whether current AVHs relate to auditory feature perception. Auditory perception, including frequency, intensity, duration, pulse-train and temporal order discrimination, as well as an embedded tone task, was assessed in both AVH (n = 20) and non-AVH (n = 24) SZ individuals and in healthy controls (n = 29) with the Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities (TBAC). The Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ) was used to assess the experience of auditory hallucinations in patients with SZ. Findings suggest that compared to controls, the SZ group had greater deficits on an array of auditory features, with non-AVH SZ individuals showing the most severe degree of abnormality. IQ and measures of cognitive processing were positively associated with performance on the TBAC for all SZ individuals, but not with the HPSVQ scores. These findings indicate that persons with SZ demonstrate impaired auditory perception for a broad range of features. It does not appear that impaired auditory perception is associated with recent auditory verbal hallucinations, but instead associated with the degree of intellectual impairment in SZ

Algorithmic Complexity for Short Binary Strings Applied to Psychology: A Primer

Since human randomness production has been studied and widely used to assess executive functions (especially inhibition), many measures have been suggested to assess the degree to which a sequence is random-like. However, each of them focuses on one feature of randomness, leading authors to have to use multiple measures. Here we describe and advocate for the use of the accepted universal measure for randomness based on algorithmic complexity, by means of a novel previously presented technique using the the definition of algorithmic probability. A re-analysis of the classical Radio Zenith data in the light of the proposed measure and methodology is provided as a study case of an application.Comment: To appear in Behavior Research Method

Indications of Linkage and Association of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome in Two Independent Family Samples: 17q25 Is a Putative Susceptibility Region

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is characterized by multiple motor and phonic tics and high comorbidity rates with other neurobehavioral disorders. It is hypothesized that frontal-subcortical pathways and a complex genetic background are involved in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder. The genetic basis of GTS remains elusive. However, several genomic regions have been implicated. Among them, 17q25 appears to be of special interest, as suggested by various independent investigators. In the present study, we explored the possibility that 17q25 contributes to the genetic component of GTS. The initial scan of chromosome 17 performed on two large pedigrees provided a nonparametric LOD score of 2.41 near D17S928. Fine mapping with 17 additional microsatellite markers increased the peak to 2.61 (P=.002). The original families, as well as two additional pedigrees, were genotyped for 25 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), with a focus on three genes in the indicated region that could play a role in the development of GTS, on the basis of their function and expression profile. Multiple three-marker haplotypes spanning all three genes studied provided highly significant association results (P<.001). An independent sample of 96 small families with one or two children affected with GTS was also studied. Of the 25 SNPs, 3 were associated with GTS at a statistically significant level. The transmission/disequilibrium test for a three-site haplotype moving window again provided multiple positive results. The background linkage disequilibrium (LD) of the region was studied in eight populations of European origin. A complicated pattern was revealed, with the pairwise tests producing unexpectedly high LD values at the telomeric TBCD gene. In conclusion, our findings warrant the further investigation of 17q25 as a candidate susceptibility region for GTS

ADC Nonlinearity Correction for the Majorana Demonstrator

Imperfections in analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) cannot be ignored when signal digitization requirements demand both wide dynamic range and high resolution, as is the case for the Majorana Demonstrator 76Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay search. Enabling the experiment's high-resolution spectral analysis and efficient pulse shape discrimination required careful measurement and correction of ADC nonlinearities. A simple measurement protocol was developed that did not require sophisticated equipment or lengthy data-taking campaigns. A slope-dependent hysteresis was observed and characterized. A correction applied to digitized waveforms prior to signal processing reduced the differential and integral nonlinearities by an order of magnitude, eliminating these as dominant contributions to the systematic energy uncertainty at the double-beta decay Q value

Comparing tropical precipitation simulated by the Met Office NWP and climate models with satellite observations

Forecasts of precipitation and water vapor made by the Met Office global numerical weather prediction (NWP) model are evaluated using products from satellite observations by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) for June–September 2011, with a focus on tropical areas (308S–308N). Consistent with previous studies, the predicted diurnal cycle of precipitation peaks too early (by ;3 h) and the amplitude is too strong over both tropical ocean and land regions. Most of the wet and dry precipitation biases, particularly those over land, can be explained by the diurnal-cycle discrepancies. An overall wet bias over the equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans and a dry bias over the western Pacific warmpool and India are linked with similar biases in the climate model, which shares common parameterizations with the NWP version. Whereas precipitation biases develop within hours in the NWP model, underestimates in water vapor (which are assimilated by the NWP model) evolve over the first few days of the forecast. The NWP simulations are able to capture observed daily-to-intraseasonal variability in water vapor and precipitation, including fluctuations associated with tropical cyclones