Leveraging Connected Highway Vehicle Platooning Technology to Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Train Fleeting Under Moving Blocks

Future advanced Positive Train Control systems may allow North American railroads to introduce moving blocks with shorter train headways. This research examines how closely following trains respond to different throttle and brake inputs. Using insights from connected automobile and truck platooning technology, six different following train control algorithms were developed, analyzed for stability, and evaluated with simulated fleets of freight trains. While moving blocks require additional train spacing beyond minimum safe braking distance to account for train control actions, certain following train algorithms can help minimize this distance and balance fuel efficiency and train headway by changing control parameters

1994 CSRS Research Reports/1994 Blueberry Tax Reports

The 1994 edition of the CSRS Research Reports/Blueberry Tax Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include: CSRS Research Reports 1. Potential Uses for Green and Red Cull Blueberries 2. Preventing the Bleeding of Blueberry Fruit in Bakery Products 3. The Effect of Fertilization and Irrigation on Blueberry Fruit Quality 4. Determination of Pesticide Residue Levels in Freshly Harvested and Processed Lowbush Blueberries 5. The Effect of Mechanical Harvesting on Blueberry Fruit Quality 6. Removing Water from Blueberries Before Freezing 7. Application of Heat as a Method of Controlling Secondary Pest Insects in Lowbush Blueberries 8. Evaluation of Effectiveness of Eumenid Wasps for Biocontrol of Blueberry Pests 9. Pollination Ecology of Lowbush Blueberry in Maine 10. Fungicide Treatment for Control of Monilinia Blight 11. Field Sanitation for Control of Monilinia Blight 12. Cold-hardiness of Native Lowbush Blueberry 13. Phosphorus Dose/Response Curve 14. Multiple Cropping of Wild Blueberry Stands 15. Effect of Soil pH on Nutrient Uptake 16. Effect of Boron and Calcium on Lowbush Blueberry Fruit Set and Yield 17. Effect of Time of Fall Pruning on Growth and Productivity of Lowbush Blueberries 18. A Reinvestigation of the Economics of Mechanical Harvesting 19. Thresholds of Mechanical and Chemical Weed Controls in Wild Blueberries 20. Evaluation of Pressurized Rope Wick Master Wiper for Treating Weeds Growing Above Lowbush Blueberries 21. Evaluation of Infrared Burner for Selective Weed Control Blueberry Tax Reports 22. Control of Blueberry Pest Insects 23. Biology and Action Thresholds of Secondary Blueberry Pest Insects 24. Pollination Ecology of Low bush Blueberry in Maine 25. Nitrogen-Phosphorus Study 26. Evaluation of Pronone 10G for Control of Weeds in Lowbush Blueberries 27. Evaluation of Tribenuron Methyl for Bunchberry Control 28. Evaluation of Pendimethalin for Control of Annual Grasses in Lowbush Blueberries 29. Evaluation of Time of Application of Clopyralid for Control of Vetch, and Effect on Flowering of Lowbush Blueberries 30. Hexazinone Ground Water survey 31. Blueberry Extension Program Base 32. Blueberry ICM Program for Hancock Count

1993-94 Progress Report

The 1993 edition of the Progress Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include: 1. Effects of irrigation on lowbush blueberry yield and quality 2. The Economics of investigating irrigation for lowbush blueberries 3. Phosphorus dose/response curve 4. Winter injury protection by potassium 5. Multiple cropping of wild stands 6. Effect of Boron and Calcium on lowbush blueberry fruit set and yield 7. Comparison of N, NP, and NPK fertilizers to correct nitrogen and phosphorus deficiency 8. Determination of pesticide residue levels in freshly harvested and processed lowbush blueberries 9. Effects of calcium salts and citric acid on the quality of canned lowbush blueberries 10. Investigation of preprocess changes (chemical, microbiological, and/or physical) that can lead to the development of a simple and inexpensive method to measure preprocess berry spoilage 11. The effect of fertilization and irrigation in blueberry fruit quality 12. Pollination Ecology of lowbush blueberry in Maine 13. Current importance of insects in lowbush blueberry fields 14. Application of heat as a method of controlling secondary pest insects on lowbush blueberry: a feasibility study 15. Control of blueberry maggot 16. Control of secondary blueberry pest insects 17. Biology and action thresholds of secondary blueberry pest insects 18. Cold-hardiness of native lowbush blueberry 19. Design, fabrication, and testing of an experimental sterilizer for blueberry fields 20. Canned Product Quality--Heat-resistant molds 21. Sanitation for disease control 22. Evaluation of Velpar® impregnated DAP and Pronone® for weed control 23. Evaluation of postemergence applications of tribenuron methyl for bunchberry control 24. Evaluation of postemergence applications of a tank mix of tribenuron methyl and hexazinone for bunchberry control 25. Thresholds of dogbane and bracken fem by mechanical and chemical control in lowbush blueberry fields 26. Effect of time of application of clopyralid for control of vetch and effect on flowering in lowbush blueberries 27. Effect of time of fall pruning on growth and productivity of blueberries and evaluation of infrared burner to prune blueberries 28. Evaluation of infrared burner for selective seedling weed control 29. Evaluation of pressurized rope wick Wick Master wiper for treating weeds growing above lowbush blueberries 30. Blueberry Extension Education Program Base 31. Blueberry ICM program for Hancock County 32. Composting blueberry processing waste 33. Hexazinone ground water survey 34. Investigations of Lowbush Blueberry Fruit bud Cold-hardiness 35. Design, Fabrication, and Testing of an Experimental Sterilizer for Blueberry Field

The status of women police officers: an international review

This paper reports on a survey of English-language police department websites, annual reports and other reports in order to identify key aspects of the status of women police internationally. Findings are reported for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Eire, the United States, Canada, Australia (eight departments), New Zealand, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. Data on the proportion of female officers were available from 18 of 23 locations, with a range between 5.1% and 28.8%. Recruit numbers were available for six locations, and ranged between 26.6% and 37.0%. Limited data on rank and deployment indicated overall improvements. Available longer-term trend data suggested that growth in female officers was slowing or levelling out. Overall, the study showed an urgent need to improve gender-based statistics in order to better inform strategies aimed at maximising the participation of women in policing

Leveraging connected vehicle platooning technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of train fleeting under moving blocks

This paper leverages emerging highway vehicle platooning technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fleeting trains at minimum headways under moving blocks. The research aims to better understand how closely following trains respond to different throttle and brake control algorithms, and, using insights gained from automobile and truck platooning technology, develop improved train control algorithms balancing fuel efficiency and train headway. To do so, a detailed multi-train performance simulator is developed to evaluate following train control algorithms and then adapt highway vehicle platooning control methods to the heavy haul freight rail domain. Five following train control algorithms under two different communication topologies are formulated to more intelligently consider information on the status of the train ahead when specifying throttle or brake settings for each following train. With string stability, following trains attenuate the actions of preceding trains and each successive train requires less aggressive acceleration and braking rates to maintain headways. The simulation results suggest that certain families of control laws are better than others at managing train separation and fuel consumption within train fleets. The results of this research will allow industry practitioners to develop improved locomotive driver advisory and semi-autonomous adaptive train cruise control systems for the operation of fleets of trains under moving blocks, and railroad operators to make more informed decisions regarding the potential fuel efficiency and capacity benefits of these systems

Primary prevention: exposure reduction, skin exposure and respiratory protection.

Interventions for the primary prevention of occupational asthma have been reported in the medical literature, understanding the effectiveness of these efforts could help future interventions. The aim of our study was to evaluate the existing knowledge regarding the impact of controlling work exposure on the prevention of occupational asthma. We conducted systematic literature searches through April 2010 to examine if control of workplace exposures is effective for primary prevention of sensitisation and occupational asthma. The literature search for primary prevention of occupational asthma yielded 29 studies. Assessment of the available information led to the following conclusions and recommendations concerning primary prevention of occupational asthma. Exposure elimination is the strongest and preferred primary preventive approach to reduce the burden of occupational asthma. If elimination is not possible, exposure reduction is the second best option for primary prevention of occupational asthma. The evidence for the effectiveness of respirators in preventing occupational asthma is limited, and other options higher in the list of controls for occupational exposures, notably eliminating or minimising exposures at the source or in the environment, should be used preferentially. There is strong evidence to recommend not using powdered allergen-rich natural rubber latex gloves. There is weak evidence that suggests workers should minimise skin exposure to asthma-inducing agents

What are the benefits of medical screening and surveillance?

Pre-employment examination is considered to be an important practice and is commonly performed in several countries within the European Union. The benefits of medical surveillance programmes are not generally accepted and their structure is often inconsistent. The aim of this review was to evaluate, on the basis of the available literature, the usefulness of medical screening and surveillance. MEDLINE was searched from its inception up to March 2010. Retrieved literature was evaluated in a peer-review process and relevant data was collected following a systematic extraction schema. Pre-placement screening identifies subjects who are at an increased risk for developing work-related allergic disease, but pre-employment screening is too low to be used as exclusion criteria. Medical surveillance programmes can identify workers who have, or who are developing, work-related asthma. These programmes can also be used to avoid worsening of symptoms by implementing preventive measures. A combination of different tools within the surveillance programme, adjusted for the risk of the individual worker, improves the predictive value. Medical surveillance programmes provide medical as well as socioeconomic benefits. However, pre-employment screening cannot be used to exclude workers. They may act as a starting point for surveillance strategies. A stratified approach can increase the effectiveness and reduce the costs for such programmes