Development and Evaluation of Bus Operation Control System Based on Cooperative Speed Guidance

Buses often have strong bunching or large interval tendency when traveling further along the route. To restrain this further deterioration of operation service, this paper developed a bus operation control system to dynamically adjust bus speed, bus dwell time, and traffic signal timings along the running path. In addition, a simulation platform was developed to evaluate the proposed control system with the actual data collected from bus route number 210 in Shanghai. The simulation results show that the proposed control system can mitigate the amplification trend of the headway deviation along the route to produce headways within a given tolerance

In Vitro Antimicrobial, Antioxidant Activities and Phytochemical Analysis of Canarium patentinervium Miq. from Malaysia

Six different extracts of Canarium patentinervium Miq. (Burseraceae) leaves and barks were screened for their phytochemical composition, and antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities. Among the different extracts tested, the ethanol extract of leaves showed significant antimicrobial and radical scavenging activities. The most susceptible micro-organisms were found to be Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA) and Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed that the antimicrobial and the radical scavenging activities are mainly due to the presence of tannins and flavonoids. The results obtained suggest that Canarium patentinervium Miq. could be exploited in the management of various infectious diseases

Fuzzy Weight Cluster-Based Routing Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Cluster-based protocol is a kind of important routing in wireless sensor networks. However, due to the uneven distribution of cluster heads in classical clustering algorithm, some nodes may run out of energy too early, which is not suitable for large-scale wireless sensor networks. In this paper, a distributed clustering algorithm based on fuzzy weighted attributes is put forward to ensure both energy efficiency and extensibility. On the premise of a comprehensive consideration of all attributes, the corresponding weight of each parameter is assigned by using the direct method of fuzzy engineering theory. Then, each node works out property value. These property values will be mapped to the time axis and be triggered by a timer to broadcast cluster headers. At the same time, the radio coverage method is adopted, in order to avoid collisions and to ensure the symmetrical distribution of cluster heads. The aggregated data are forwarded to the sink node in the form of multihop. The simulation results demonstrate that clustering algorithm based on fuzzy weighted attributes has a longer life expectancy and better extensibility than LEACH-like algorithms

Process Decoupling of Plasma Enhanced Synthesis of Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) Particles in a Circulating Fluidized Bed

Plasma enhanced synthesis of CPVC particles in a gas-solid plasma circulating fluidized bed reactor (PCFBR) is proposed as a novel CPVC synthesizing method. The chlorination process is decoupled into a fast initiation step in a plasma riser and a slow chlorination process in the accompanying bed. The CPVC product has good properties in terms of chlorine content and microstructure

Redetermination of Ce[B5O8(OH)(H2O)]NO3·2H2O

The crystal structure of Ce[B5O8(OH)(H2O)]NO3·2H2O, cerium(III) aqua­hydroxidoocta­oxidopenta­borate nitrate dihydrate, has been redetermined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. In contrast to the previous determination [Li et al. (2003 ▶). Chem. Mater. 15, 2253–2260], the present study reveals the location of all H atoms, slightly different fundamental building blocks (FBBs) of the polyborate anions, more reasonable displacement ellipsoids for all non-H atoms, as well as a model without disorder of the nitrate anion. The crystal structure is built from corrugated polyborate layers parallel to (010). These layers, consisting of [B5O8(OH)(H2O)]2− anions as FBBs, stack along [010] and are linked by Ce3+ ions, which exhibit a distorted CeO10 coordination sphere. The layers are additionally stabilized via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between water mol­ecules and nitrate anions, located at the inter­layer space. The [BO3(H2O)]-group shows a [3 + 1] coordination and is considerably distorted from a tetra­hedral configuration. Bond-valence-sum calculation shows that the valence sum of boron is only 2.63 valence units (v.u.) when the contribution of the water mol­ecule (0.49 v.u.) is neglected

Cyclic lateral response of FRP-confined circular concrete-filled steel tubular columns

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) columns are widely used as columns in many structural systems and a common failure mode of such tubular columns is inelastic outward local buckling near a column end. The use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) jackets/wraps for the suppression of such local buckling has recently been proposed and has been proven to possess excellent potential in both retrofit/strengthening and new construction. This paper presents the results of an experimental study into the behaviour of large-scale FRP-confined CFT (CCFT) columns under combined axial compression and lateral loading. The test parameters included the stiffness of the FRP jacket and the loading scenario. The test results showed that the FRP jacket can effectively delay or even prevent outward local buckling at the end of a cantilevered CFT column, leading to significantly improved structural performance under combined constant axial compression and cyclic lateral loading. Compared to monotonic lateral loading, cyclic lateral loading was found to introduce more severe localized deformation near the column end and may lead to earlier FRP rupture within that region