Impact Force Evaluation of the Derailment Containment Wall for High-Speed Train through a Collision Simulation

Fatal train accidents usually involve derailments or collisions. These derailment/collision accidents are infrequent. However, the damage due to derailment can be catastrophic. Derailment containment walls are usually used in Korea to minimize such damages. However, the impact forces that are needed to design the derailment containment walls were not well defined, and only limited studies were conducted for the behavior of the derailment containment walls. In this study, the focus was made on the impact force analysis of the containment wall through a series of 3D collision simulation after train derailment. Finite element modeling was conducted to analyze the dynamic behavior of the derailed train that collides with a structure such as containment wall using the LS-DYNA analysis software application. The FE models of car bodies, bogie frames, and wheel sets were created such that full conformity was achieved between their numerical models and actual vehicles with respect to the masses and principal mass moments of inertia. In addition, various installation situations of the containment wall were considered for the collision simulation. Finally, the economical alternative method to reduce the impact force was proposed

Radiation Dose-Volume Effects in the Esophagus

Publications relating esophageal radiation toxicity to clinical variables and to quantitative dose and dose–volume measures derived from three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for non–small-cell lung cancer are reviewed. A variety of clinical and dosimetric parameters have been associated with acute and late toxicity. Suggestions for future studies are presented

Radiotherapy Dose–Volume Effects on Salivary Gland Function

Publications relating parotid dose-volume characteristics to radiotherapy-induced salivary toxicity were reviewed. Late salivary dysfunction has been correlated to the mean parotid gland dose, with recovery occurring with time. Severe xerostomia (defined as long-term salivary function of <25% of baseline) is usually avoided if at least one parotid gland is spared to a mean dose of less than ≈20 Gy or if both glands are spared to less than ≈25 Gy (mean dose). For complex, partial-volume RT patterns (e.g., intensity-modulated radiotherapy), each parotid mean dose should be kept as low as possible, consistent with the desired clinical target volume coverage. A lower parotid mean dose usually results in better function. Submandibular gland sparing also significantly decreases the risk of xerostomia. The currently available predictive models are imprecise, and additional study is required to identify more accurate models of xerostomia risk

Radiation Dose–Volume Effects and the Penile Bulb

The dose, volume, and clinical outcome data for penile bulb are reviewed for patients treated with external-beam radiotherapy. Most, but not all, studies find an association between impotence and dosimetric parameters (e.g., threshold doses) and clinical factors (e.g., age, comorbid diseases). According to the data available, it is prudent to keep the mean dose to 95% of the penile bulb volume to <50 Gy. It may also be prudent to limit the D70 and D90 to 70 Gy and 50 Gy, respectively, but coverage of the planning target volume should not be compromised. It is acknowledged that the penile bulb may not be the critical component of the erectile apparatus, but it seems to be a surrogate for yet to be determined structure(s) critical for erectile function for at least some techniques

The Use of Normal Tissue Complication Probability (NTCP) Models in the Clinic

The QUANTEC (quantitative analysis of normal tissue effects in the clinic) review summarizes the currently-available three dimensional dose/volume/outcome data to update and refine the normal tissue dose/volume tolerance guidelines provided by the classic “Emami” paper (IJROBP 21:109, 1991). A “clinician’s view” on using the QUANTEC information in a responsible manner is presented along with a description of the most commonly-used normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. A summary of organ-specific dose/volume/outcome data, based on the QUANTEC reviews, is included

A Multi-Class Multi-Movement Vehicle Counting Framework for Traffic Analysis in Complex Areas Using CCTV Systems

Traffic analysis using computer vision techniques is attracting more attention for the development of intelligent transportation systems. Consequently, counting traffic volume based on the CCTV system is one of the main applications. However, this issue is still a challenging task, especially in the case of complex areas that involve many vehicle movements. This study performs an investigation of how to improve video-based vehicle counting for traffic analysis. Specifically, we propose a comprehensive framework with multiple classes and movements for vehicle counting. In particular, we first adopt state-of-the-art deep learning methods for vehicle detection and tracking. Then, an appropriate trajectory approach for monitoring the movements of vehicles using distinguished regions tracking is presented in order to improve the performance of the counting. Regarding the experiment, we collect and pre-process the CCTV data at a complex intersection to evaluate our proposed framework. In particular, the implementation indicates the promising results of our proposed method, which achieve accuracy around 80% to 98% for different movements for a very complex scenario with only a single view of the camera

Mechanisms for electrochemical performance enhancement by the salt-type electrolyte additive, lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate, in high-voltage lithium-ion batteries

Lithium difluoro(oxalato) borate (LiDFOB) with one oxalate moiety bonded to a central boron core was employed as a salt-type additive to enhance the interfacial stabilities of high-voltage Li-rich cathodes and graphite anodes. Our investigation revealed that the LiDFOB additive modified the surface film on the electrodes and effectively restrained degradation of the cycling performance of the electrodes. Investigation of the surface chemistries of the electrodes confirmed that LiDFOB produces a LiF-less surface film on the Li-rich cathode and a LiF-rich surface film on the graphite anode. Moreover, the use of 1% LiDFOB drastically improved the rate capabilities of Li-rich cathodes and graphite anodes. Within 100 cycles at a rate of C/2 at 25 degrees C, only 45.8% of the initial discharge capacity of a high-voltage Li-rich/graphite full cell was delivered in the baseline electrolyte, while the LiDFOB-containing electrolyte retained 82.7%