Improved Ant Colony Optimization for Seafood Product Delivery Routing Problem

This paper deals with a real-life vehicle delivery routing problem, which is a seafood product delivery routing problem. Considering the features of the seafood product delivery routing problem, this paper formulated this problem as a multi-depot open vehicle routing problem. Since the multi-depot open vehicle routing problem is a very complex problem, a method is used to reduce the complexity of the problem by changing the multi-depot open vehicle routing problem into an open vehicle routing problem with a dummy central depot in this paper. Then, ant colony optimization is used to solve the problem. To improve the performance of the algorithm, crossover operation and some adaptive strategies are used. Finally, the computational results for the benchmark problems of the multi-depot vehicle routing problem indicate that the proposed ant colony optimization is an effective method to solve the multi-depot vehicle routing problem. Furthermore, the computation results of the seafood product delivery problem from Dalian, China also suggest that the proposed ant colony optimization is feasible to solve the seafood product delivery routing problem

Efficacy of massage therapy for postprandial distress syndrome : a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), characterized by the presence of prevalently meal-related early satiation and fullness, is a highly prevalent condition with major socioeconomic and healthcare impact. To date, there is a lack of pharmacological treatment proven value for PDS. Therefore, an ideal strategy to relieve PDS is urgently needed. In recent years, massage therapy has been increasingly accepted by PDS patients due to its lower costs, fewer unwanted side effects and safety for clinical use. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with postprandial distress syndrome. METHODS: We will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy in treating postprandial distress syndrome: Wanfang and Pubmed Database, CNKI, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and EMBASE. Each database will be searched from inception to October 2020. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses. RESULTS: This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with postprandial distress syndrome. The outcomes will include changes in PDS relief and adverse effect. CONCLUSIONS: This proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients with postprandial distress syndrome. DISSEMINATION AND ETHICS: The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/9WRX8

Body Parts Features Based Pedestrian Detection for Active Pedestrian Protection System

A novel pedestrian detection system based on vision in urban traffic situations is presented to help the driver perceive the pedestrian ahead of vehicle. To enhance the accuracy and to decrease the time consumption of pedestrian detection in such complicated situations, the pedestrian is detected by dividing it into several parts according to their corresponding features in the image. The candidate pedestrian leg is segmented based on the gentle Adaboost algorithm by training the optimized histogram of gradient features. The candidate pedestrian head is located by matching the pedestrian head and shoulder model above the region of the candidate leg. Then the candidate leg, head and shoulder are combined by parts constraint and threshold adjustment to verify the existence of pedestrian. Experiments in real urban traffic circumstances were conducted finally. Results show that the proposed pedestrian detection method can achieve a pedestrian detection rate of 92.1% with less time consumption

Circle Line Optimization of Shuttle Bus in Central Business District without Transit Hub

The building density of Central Business District (CBD) is usually high. Land for a bus terminal is insufficient. In this situation, passengers in CBD have to walk far to take a bus, or take a long time to wait for a taxi. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an indirect approach: the design of a circle line of shuttle bus as a dynamic bus terminal in CBD. The shuttle bus can deliver people to the bus station through a circle line. This approach not only reduces the traffic pressure in CBD, but also saves travel time of the passenger. A bi-objective model is proposed to design a circle line of a shuttle bus for CBD. The problem is solved by non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). Furthermore, the Dalian city in China has been chosen as the case study to test the proposed method. The results indicate that the method is effective for circle line optimization of shuttle bus in central business district without a bus terminal

Modeling and Control of High-Velocity Oxygen-Fuel (HVOF) Thermal Spray: A Tutorial Review

This work provides a tutorial overview of recent research efforts in modeling and control of the high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray process. Initially, the modeling of the HVOF thermal spray, including combustion, gas dynamics, particle in-flight behavior, and coating microstructure evolution is reviewed. The influence of the process operating conditions as predicted by the fundamental models on particle characteristics and coating microstructure is then discussed and compared with experimental observations. Finally, the issues of measurement and automatic control are discussed and comments on potential future research efforts are made