Development of passenger demand o-d matrix for public bus transportation in western province

The objective of this research is to develop a passenger demand Origin-Destination (O-D) matrix for public bus transport in the Western Province. This O-D matrix can be used to redesign a new network of bus routes for the Colombo Metropolitan Region. Non availability of detailed service information and passenger demand is some of the constraints encountered. The state own bus companies have limited information on bus service while the private sector has only the number of buses that have registered in each route and the number of buses operated each day. This paper identifies the input parameters that are required for creating O-D Matrices. These parameters have to be obtained from the limited amount of information available with the operators and the survey data such as bus passenger interviews, number and size of household's etc. for different zones. This paper describes a methodology to be used for the development of an O-D matrix subject to the constraints regarding availability of information

Empirical evidence for taxi customer-search model

A mutinomial logit model of urban taxi services has been developed for the study of the operational characteristics of the taxi industry, in which it is hypothesised that the customer-searching behaviour of vacant taxis follows a multinomial logit choice model. Although the model is commonly used, little empirical evidence exists to validate the choice mechanism and determine the set of important factors that affect the choice. In the present study, a stated preference survey of 400 taxi drivers was conducted to analyse the customer-searching behaviour of vacant taxis. The results explain how the considered parameters of waiting time, journey time, travel distance and toll affect the driver behaviour when searching for customers. In addition, market segmentation analysis was carried out to study the effects of driver demographics and operational characteristics on the searching behaviour. The parameters that were considered in this section of the study were the age of the driver, taxi ownership, driver experience and marital status

Sinteza i antimikrobno vrednovanje nekoliko 6-aril-5-cijano-2-tiouracil derivata

A series of 6-aryl-5-cyano-2-thiouracil derivatives (1a-d) was synthesized by the reaction of ethyl cyanoacetate with thiourea and aldehydes. These products were used as intermediate compounds for the synthesis of a number of thiouracil derivatives (2a-d to 10a-d). All compounds were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities. Some of the prepared compounds, 6-(4-fluorophenyl)-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxamide (2a), 4-oxo-2-thioxo-6-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxamide (2d), 6-(4-fluorophenyl)-4-hydrazino-2-thioxo-1,2-dihydropyrimidine-5-cabonitrile (7a) and 4-hydrazino-2-thioxo-6-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-1,2-dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitrile (7d) revealed promising antimicrobial activityPolazeći iz etil-cijanoacetata, tiouree i odgovarajućeg aldehida sintetizirana je serija (6-aril-5-cijano)-2-tiouracil derivata (1a-d), koji su potom upotrijebljeni za dobivanje tiouracil derivata (2a-d do 10a-d). Svim spojevima ispitano je antibakterijsko i antimikotsko djelovanje. Neki od sintetiziranih spojeva, 6-(4-fluorofenil)-4-okso-2-tiokso-1,2,3,4-tetrahidropirimidin-5-karboksamid (2a), 4-okso-2-tiokso-6-(3,4,5-trimetoksifenil)-1,2,3,4-tetrahidropirimidin-5-karboksamid (2d), 6-(4-fluorofenil)-4-hidrazino-2-tiokso-1,2-dihidropirimidin-5-kabonitril (7a) i 4-hidrazino-2-tiokso-6-(3,4,5-trimetoksifenil)-1,2-dihidropirimidin-5-karbonitril (7d) imaju značajno antimikrobno djelovanje

A role for transferrin receptor in triggering apoptosis when targeted with gambogic acid

Transferrin receptor (TfR) has been shown to be significantly overexpressed in different types of cancers. We discovered TfR as a target for gambogic acid (GA), used in traditional Chinese medicine and a previously undiscovered link between TfR and the rapid activation of apoptosis. The binding site of GA on TfR is independent of the transferrin binding site, and it appears that GA potentially inhibits TfR internalization. Down-regulation of TfR by RNA interference decreases sensitivity to GA-induced apoptosis, further supporting TfR as the primary GA receptor. In summary, GA binding to TfR induces a unique signal leading to rapid apoptosis of tumor cells. These results suggest that GA may provide an additional approach for targeting the TfR and its use in cancer therapy