A Constraint Programming Approach for Non-Preemptive Evacuation Scheduling

Large-scale controlled evacuations require emergency services to select evacuation routes, decide departure times, and mobilize resources to issue orders, all under strict time constraints. Existing algorithms almost always allow for preemptive evacuation schedules, which are less desirable in practice. This paper proposes, for the first time, a constraint-based scheduling model that optimizes the evacuation flow rate (number of vehicles sent at regular time intervals) and evacuation phasing of widely populated areas, while ensuring a nonpreemptive evacuation for each residential zone. Two optimization objectives are considered: (1) to maximize the number of evacuees reaching safety and (2) to minimize the overall duration of the evacuation. Preliminary results on a set of real-world instances show that the approach can produce, within a few seconds, a non-preemptive evacuation schedule which is either optimal or at most 6% away of the optimal preemptive solution.Comment: Submitted to the 21st International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2015). 15 pages + 1 reference pag

Comprehensive sequence-to-function mapping of cofactor-dependent RNA catalysis in the glmS ribozyme.

Massively parallel, quantitative measurements of biomolecular activity across sequence space can greatly expand our understanding of RNA sequence-function relationships. We report the development of an RNA-array assay to perform such measurements and its application to a model RNA: the core glmS ribozyme riboswitch, which performs a ligand-dependent self-cleavage reaction. We measure the cleavage rates for all possible single and double mutants of this ribozyme across a series of ligand concentrations, determining kcat and KM values for active variants. These systematic measurements suggest that evolutionary conservation in the consensus sequence is driven by maintenance of the cleavage rate. Analysis of double-mutant rates and associated mutational interactions produces a structural and functional mapping of the ribozyme sequence, revealing the catalytic consequences of specific tertiary interactions, and allowing us to infer structural rearrangements that permit certain sequence variants to maintain activity

Development of allergy in children. I. Association with virus infections.

Children born into allergic families, with two allergic parents, are at high risk of developing allergy within the first 5 years of life. In order to observe possible external factors in the sensitization process, a prospective study of 13 such children was done, in which serial clinical and immunologic observations were made at 3- to 6-month intervals over a period of 1 to 4 yr. Eleven of these children are now clinically allergic; 5 have asthma. Immunologic evidence for allergic sensitization was observed in these 11 children by RAST, antigen-induced leukocyte histamine release, lymphoblastogenesis, and rise in serum IgE. Upper respiratory infections (URI) occurred in these 11 allergic children 1 to 2 months prior to the onset of allergic sensitization. In 10 of these 11 URI children, complement-fixing antibodies to viruses (parainfluenza, RSV, CMV) increased in the same blood samples in which immunologic allergic sensitization was first evidenced. This coincidence suggests that certain viruses may contribute to the allergic sensitization process

Emission spectrum of hot HDO in the 380-2190 cm(-1) region

Fourier transform emission spectra were recorded using a mixture of H2O and D2O at a temperature of 1500 degreesC. The spectra were recorded in three overlapping sections and cover the wavenumber range 380-2190 cm(-1). A total of 22106 lines were measured, of which 60% are thought to belong to HDO. A total of 6430 FIDO transition,, are assigned, including the first transitions to the (040) vibrational state, with a term value of 5420.042 cm(-1). A total of 1536 new energy levels of HDO belonging to the (000), (010) (020), (030), and (040) stated are presented, significantly extending the degree of rotational excitation compared to previous studies. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science

Research, Development and Innovation: The case of social housing in Mt Druitt, NSW

Cities must innovate to achieve liveable and sustainable urban futures. The role of academia has been significant to urban innovation partly because academia has become, to an extent, a R&D laboratory for the public sector. Furthermore, government agencies have increased partnership models to strengthen this relationship; however, there are still various gaps between public sector and academia. These gaps exclude significant tacit knowledge, experience and expertise of government agencies and the communities they serve and represent from the innovation process. This paper discusses the experience of the Winter School in bridging the gap between academia and the public sector. The Winter School is a course part of a partnership between a housing authority and two universities. This partnership addresses urban and community renewal in public housing estates in Mt Druitt, NSW. The Winter School is a collaborative design laboratory in which students from different design disciplines engage in explorations of an identified and concerning crime issue in Mt Druitt. The aim of the course is to generate design concepts that will be implemented in the real world. This course is based on the deep knowledge and understanding the housing authority has on local issues; and the outcomes often are innovative design concepts that invigorate their work. The Winter School integrates and engages the housing authority, students and academics into looking at issues from different perspectives. They move beyond the actual problem, and generate shared knowledge that focus on design solutions that emphasise on the liveability of the local community

ExoMol line lists - III. An improved hot rotation-vibration line list for HCN and HNC

A revised rotation-vibration line list for the combined hydrogen cyanide (HCN)/hydrogen isocyanide (HNC) system is presented. The line list uses ab initio transition intensities calculated previously and extensive data sets of recently measured experimental energy levels. The resulting line list has significantly more accurate wavelengths than previous ones for these systems. An improved value for the separation between HCN and HNC is adopted, leading to an approximately 25 per cent lower predicted thermal population of HNC as a function of temperature in the key 2000 to 3000 K region. Temperature-dependent partition functions and equilibrium constants are presented. The line lists are validated by comparison with laboratory spectra and are presented in full as supplementary data to the article and at www.exomol.com

Breast cancer incidence and mortality in a transitioning Chinese population: current and future trends

Parallel Session 1 - Population Health & Policy: no. S3Conference Theme: Translating Health Research into Policy and Practice for Health of the PopulationBACKGROUND: Projections of future trends in cancer incidence and mortality are important for public health planning. Moreover, as the most economically developed city in China, Hong Kong may provide a sentinel for a substantial proportion of the global population. OBJECTIVES: To model and evaluate recent trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality in Hong Kong, and to project the trends on short to medium terms, which have significant implications on future burdens on our health care …published_or_final_versio