Shipper collaboration matching: fast enumeration of triangular transports with high cooperation effects

The logistics industry in Japan is facing a severe shortage of labor. Therefore, there is an increasing need for joint transportation allowing large amounts of cargo to be transported using fewer trucks. In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence and other new technologies has gained wide attention for improving matching efficiency. However, it is difficult to develop a system that can instantly respond to requests because browsing through enormous combinations of two transport lanes is time consuming. In this study, we focus on a form of joint transportation called triangular transportation and enumerate the combinations with high cooperation effects. The proposed algorithm makes good use of hidden inequalities, such as the distance axiom, to narrow down the search range without sacrificing accuracy. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm is thousands of times faster than simple brute force. With this technology as the core engine, we developed a joint transportation matching system. The system has already been in use by over 150 companies as of October 2022, and was featured in a collection of logistics digital transformation cases published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

辞書式最適ネットワークフローによる公平なクラス編成問題へのアプロ ーチ

Network flow problems, which are a subclass of linear optimization problems, are not only computationally tractable, but also applicable to real world problems in various fields. The class assignment problem is a research topic to which network flow algorithm can be applied. In this paper, we introduce the concepts of lexicographically optimal class assignments and give network flow based algorithms for the fair class assignment problems In addition, we evaluate the performance of the proposed methods through computational experiments

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy With Concurrent Membranous Nephropathy: An Anti-paranode and Podocyte Protein Antibody Study and Literature Survey

Background: Several case reports have described the concurrence of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and membranous nephropathy (MN). The presence of autoantibodies against podocyte antigens phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) and thrombospondin type 1 domain containing 7A (THSD7A) in MN suggests an autoimmune mechanism. Some CIDP patients also harbor autoantibodies against paranodal proteins such as neurofascin 155 (NF155) and contactin-1 (CNTN1). We investigated the relationship between CIDP and MN by assaying autoantibodies against paranodal and podocyte antigens in a CIDP patient with MN, and by a literature survey on the clinical features of CIDP with MN.Methods: Anti-CNTN1 and NF155 antibodies were measured by flow cytometry using HEK293 cell lines stably expressing human CNTN1 or NF155. Binding capacity of antibodies was validated by immunostaining mouse teased sciatic nerve fibers. Anti-PLA2R antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked sorbent assay and anti-THSD7A antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Clinical features between 14 CIDP with MN cases including two with anti-CNTN1 antibodies and 20 anti-CNTN1 antibody-positive CIDP cases were compared.Results: A patient whose ages was in the late 70 s complained of progressive weakness and superficial and deep sensory impairment in four extremities over 6 months. Nerve conduction studies showed prominent demyelination patterns. The patient presented with nephrotic syndrome. Renal biopsy disclosed basement membrane thickening with local subepithelial projections and glomerular deposits of IgG4, compatible with MN. Autoantibody assays revealed the presence of IgG4 and IgG1 anti-CNTN1 antibodies, but an absence of anti-NF155, anti-PLA2R, and anti-THSD7A antibodies. The patient's serum stained paranodes of teased sciatic nerves. CIDP with MN and anti-CNTN1 antibody-positive CIDP commonly showed male preponderance, relatively higher age of onset, acute to subacute onset in 35–50% of cases, distal dominant sensorimotor neuropathy, proprioceptive impairment leading to sensory ataxia, and very high cerebrospinal fluid protein levels. However, 11 of 13 CIDP patients with MN had a favorable response to mono- or combined immunotherapies whereas anti-CNTN1 antibody-positive CIDP was frequently refractory to corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin administration.Conclusion: CIDP with MN and anti-CNTN1 antibody-positive CIDP show considerable overlap but are not identical. CIDP with MN is probably heterogeneous and some cases harbor anti-CNTN1 antibodies