A Hybrid Meta-heuristic for the Container Loading Problem

It is very common in an enterprise daily operation to solve Container Loading Problem (CLP). Especially, it is an important issue in the logistic management. The problem aims to determine the arrangement of objects with the best utilization ratio in a container. It belongs to the combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, a two-phased method focusing on the improvement of the efficiency and on the reducing of the problem size is proposed. In the first phase, a constructive method incorporated with a decision rule borrowing from ant colony optimization is used to construct tower set. The pheromone updating mechanism is useful in choosing proper object while constructing tower using decision rule. In the second phase, an improvement method based on genetic algorithm is used. First, the method sorts the towers by the utilization ratio and then assigns a number to each tower accordingly. The chromosome is a sequence of tower numbers which represents the arrangement of towers in the container’s bottom plane. The fitness function is defined as the utilization ratio. A new structure to store the pheromone is proposed which can help the ant in choosing the appropriate object while constructing tower. In this way, the efficiency of the method and the utilization of the container are improved

A Simulation Study on von Karman Vortex Shedding with Navier-Stokes and Shallow-Water Models

This study aims to investigate the advantages of employing numerical models based on Shallow-water equations for simulating von Karman vortex shedding. Furthermore, a comparative analysis with Navier-Stokes equations will be conducted to assess their effectiveness. In addition to Reynolds number (Re), Froude number (Fr), relevant to water depth, plays an important role in the Shallow-Water modeling of the von Karman vortex. In this study, simulations of 2D von Karman vortex shedding are performed using the Navier-Stokes model and Shallow-Water model, employing the least-squares finite-element method for space discretization and θ-method for time integration. The computed vortices characteristics, including the recirculation zone behind the cylinder, vortices size, and frequency, are presented. In the Navier-Stokes modeling, the computed results indicate that the size of vortices in space decreases and the Strouhal number increases as Re increases. In the Shallow-Water modeling for the same Re condition, the size of vortices increases and the Strouhal number decreases as Fr increases

Assessing the Effects of Acupuncture by Comparing Needling the Hegu Acupoint and Needling Nearby Nonacupoints by Spectral Analysis of Microcirculatory Laser Doppler Signals

We aimed to assess the effects of acupuncture by analyzing the frequency content of skin blood-flow signals simultaneously recorded at the Hegu acupoint and two nearby nonacupoints following acupuncture stimulation (AS). Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals were measured in male healthy volunteers in two groups of experiments: needling the Hegu acupoint (n = 13) and needling a nearby nonacupoint (control experiment; n = 10). Each experiment involved recording a 20 min baseline-data sequence and two sets of effects data recorded 0–20 and 50–70 min after stopping AS. Wavelet transform with Morlet mother wavelet was applied to the measured LDF signals. Needling the Hegu acupoint significantly increased the blood flow, significantly decreased the relative energy contribution at 0.02–0.06 Hz and significantly increased the relative energy contribution at 0.4–1.6 Hz at Hegu, but induced no significant changes at the nonacupoints. Also, needling a nearby nonacupoint had no effect in any band at any site. This is the first time that spectral analysis has been used to investigate the microcirculatory blood-flow responses induced by AS, and has revealed possible differences in sympathetic nerve activities between needling the Hegu acupoint and its nearby nonacupoint. One possible weakness of the present design is that different De-Qi feelings following AS could lead to nonblind experimental setup, which may bias the comparison between needling Hegu and its nearby nonacupoint. Our results suggest that the described noninvasive method can be used to evaluate sympathetic control of peripheral vascular activity, which might be useful for studying the therapeutic effects of AS

Endemic melioidosis in central Taiwan—A longitudinal case cohort study

BackgroundMelioidosis is a systemic and suppurative disease endemic in the Southeast Asia. In Taiwan, most cases are reported in the southern region and no relevant profiles have been reported in central region. In this study, we performed the epidemiologic and clinical analyses from the melioidosis cases in central Taiwan.MethodsThe demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and outcome profiles were collected retrospectively and analyzed from patients whom Burkhoderia pseudomallei was isolated from clinical specimens during the 12-year study period (2011–2022).ResultsTotally 11 melioidosis cases (10 males and 1 female) were diagnosed, among them only 2 (18.2%) cases lived in suburban areas. Seven (63.6%) cases were diagnosed during 2019–2020, and diabetes mellitus was the most relevant comorbidity (5, 45.4%). All cases presented with fever at arrival, but only 4 (36.4%) and 2 (18.2%) cases presented with dyspnea and shock, respectively. Pneumonitis and extrapulmonary involvement were found in 5 cases (45.4%) each. Appropriate empiric and targeted antibiotic treatments were found in 4 (36.4%) and 10 (91.0%) case, respectively. Two cases (18.2%) succumbed to infection despite appropriate treatment including targeted antibiotics.ConclusionMelioidosis has become endemic in central Taiwan. Septic patients who present with suppurative or undetermined foci and have unsatisfied responses to standard treatment should arouse clinicians to take melioidosis into consideration