Train schedule coordination at an interchange station through agent negotiation

In open railway markets, coordinating train schedules at an interchange station requires negotiation between two independent train operating companies to resolve their operational conflicts. This paper models the stakeholders as software agents and proposes an agent negotiation model to study their interaction. Three negotiation strategies have been devised to represent the possible objectives of the stakeholders, and they determine the behavior in proposing offers to the proponent. Empirical simulation results confirm that the use of the proposed negotiation strategies lead to outcomes that are consistent with the objectives of the stakeholders

Passenger flow and station facilities modelling for metro station layout design

This paper presents the simulation model development of passenger flow in a metro station. The model allows studies of passenger flow in stations with different layouts and facilities, thus providing valuable information, such as passenger flow and density of passenger at critical locations and passenger-handling facilities within a station, to the operators. The adoption of the concept of Petri nets in the simulation model is discussed. Examples are provided to demonstrate its application to passenger flow analysis, train scheduling and the testing of alternative station layouts

Review of Small Gauge Vitrectomy: Progress and Innovations

Purpose. To summarise the surgical advances and evolution of small gauge vitrectomy and discuss its principles and application in modern vitreoretinal surgery. The advent of microincisional vitrectomy systems (MIVS) has created a paradigm shift away from twenty-gauge vitrectomy systems, which have been the gold standard in the surgical management of vitreoretinal diseases for over thirty years. Advances in biomedical engineering and surgical techniques have overcome the technical hurdles of shifting to smaller gauge instrumentation and sutureless surgery, improving surgical capabilities and expanding the indications for MIVS

Diagnostic accuracy of mediastinal width measurement on posteroanterior and anteroposterior chest radiographs in the depiction of acute nontraumatic thoracic aortic dissection

We aimed to explore the diagnostic accuracy of various mediastinal measurements in determining acute nontraumatic thoracic aortic dissection with respect to posteroanterior (PA) and anteroposterior (AP) chest radiographs, which had received little attention so far. We retrospectively reviewed 100 patients (50 PA and 50 AP chest radiographs) with confirmed acute thoracic aortic dissection and 120 patients (60 PA and 60 AP chest radiographs) with confirmed normal aorta. Those who had prior history of trauma or aortic disease were excluded. The maximal mediastinal width (MW) and maximal left mediastinal width (LMW) were measured by two independent radiologists and the mediastinal width ratio (MWR) was calculated. Statistical analysis was then performed with independent sample t test. PA projection was significantly more accurate than AP projection, achieving higher sensitivity and specificity. LMW and MW were the most powerful parameters on PA and AP chest radiographs, respectively. The optimal cutoff levels were LMW = 4.95 cm (sensitivity, 90 %; specificity, 90 %) and MW = 7.45 cm (sensitivity, 90 %; specificity, 88.3 %) for PA projection and LMW = 5.45 cm (sensitivity, 76 %; specificity, 65 %) and MW = 8.65 cm (sensitivity, 72 %; specificity, 80 %) for AP projection. MWR was found less useful and less reliable. The use of LMW alone in PA film would allow more accurate prediction of aortic dissection. PA chest radiograph has a higher diagnostic accuracy when compared with AP chest radiograph, with negative PA chest radiograph showing less probability for aortic dissection. Lower threshold for proceeding to computed tomography aortogram is recommended however, especially in the elderly and patients with widened mediastinum on AP chest radiograph

Enhancing protection of vehicle drivers and road safety by deploying ADAS and Facial Features Pattern Analysis (FFPA) technologies

The latest technology associated with Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have been designed with the aim to minimize the numbers of person injury in road accidents and improve the overall road safety. The driver behavior is one major concern in many accidents in HK urban road links. In particular, the driver\u27s attitudes, such as fatigue, drowsiness and concentration are the major causes to road accidents. It will affect the driver\u27s ability and decisions in properly controlling their vehicles. Very often, this kind of driver distraction is particularly obvious when driving after 2 to 3 hours from most research sources. In the traffic data sourced from Transport Department of HKSAR, around 82% of the personal injury in road accidents belongs to the driver\u27s fault. This paper used the latest technology and applied it to a group of transport vehicles, i.e. taxi. The objective is set up to monitor, record and analyze the fatigue and drowsiness situation of drivers by means of advanced AI system, facial recognition detection system (the sensors) and early warning devices (LDWS) via ADAS technology. The result will be used to give real time early warning and subsequent analysis for the transport operators or researchers for better and safer management of their transport fleets. The system aimed to have a good precaution and protection on all road users, including drivers, passengers and pedestrians. In turn, it largely saves our community resources, such as the medical and social services consumed on treating the injured persons

China

Economic development processes in post-1949 China can be divided into two periods. In the first, 1950-70, the economy was extensively and intensively controlled by the state with a priority for developing heavy industries. In the second, since the 80s and known as the \u27reform period,\u27 the Chinese economy has increasingly been integrated with the world economy and relying on light (rural) industries as the prime motor of economic growth. Yet, in both these periods, Chinese policymakers shared the same \u27developmental\u27 philosophy in which social costs, that is the reproduction costs of human labour and nature, are largely ignored. The following is a critical sketch of government policies and their impact on the domestic population in these two periods

Real-time electrocatalytic sensing of cellular respiration

In the present work we develop a real-time electrochemical mediator assay to enable the assessment of cell numbers and chemical toxicity. This allowed us to monitor metabolism down to a single cell in a low cost easy to use rapid assay which is not possible with current technology. The developed assay was based on the determination of oxygen. This was made possible via the use of electrochemical mediator ferrocene carboxylic acid (FcA). The FcA showed distinctive catalytic properties in interacting with reactive oxygen species generated from oxygen when compared to ferrocene methanol (FcMeOH). A deeper insight into the chemistry controlling this behaviour is provided. The behaviour is then taken advantage of to develop a cellular aerobic respiration assay. We describe the properties of the FcA system to detect, in real-time, the oxygen consumption of Escherichia coli DH5-α (E. coli). We demonstrated that the FcA-based oxygen assay is highly sensitive, and using a population of cells, oxygen consumption rates could be calculated down to a single cell level. More importantly, the results can be accomplished in minutes, considerably outperforming current commercially available biooxygen demand assays. The developed assay is expected to have a significant impact in diverse fields and industries, ranging from environmental toxicology through to pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries

Age composition and survival of public housing stock in Hong Kong

Emerging notably in more developed regions, building stock ageing which is characterised by shrinking new completions and falling “mortality” has been posing challenges to various stakeholders in built environment. To find way out of this transition, we need to know how long buildings will last these days and the factors leading to their “mortality”. By using data from 1950s till to date, a comprehensive investigation is conducted to analyse the age composition and life expectancy of public housing stock in Hong Kong. What comes after are survival analysis and empirical analysis of those demolished to identify the key factors leading to demolition. Presented in this paper are the preliminary findings as well as the research agenda on the theme to model age composition and survival of both private and public building stocks in Hong Kong and other similar cities in Asia Pacific Rim such as Adelaide and Singapore, together with research activities to formulate policies for sustainable urban management

The cytotoxic mechanisms of disulfiram and copper(ii) in cancer cells

The anticancer activity of disulfiram (DS) is copper(II) (Cu)-depen-dent. This study investigated the anticancer mechanisms of DS/Cuusingin vitrocytotoxicity and metabolic kinetic analysis. Our studyindicates that DS/Cu targets cancer cells by the combination oftwo types of actions: (1) instant killing executed by DS/Cu reactiongenerated reactive oxygen species; (2) delayed cytotoxicity intro-duced by the end product, DDC-Cu. Nanoencapsulation of DSmight shed light on repositioning of DS into cancer treatment

An Epstein-Barr virus–encoded microRNA targets PUMA to promote host cell survival

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a herpesvirus associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), gastric carcinoma (GC), and other malignancies. EBV is the first human virus found to express microRNAs (miRNAs), the functions of which remain largely unknown. We report on the regulation of a cellular protein named p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) by an EBV miRNA known as miR-BART5, which is abundantly expressed in NPC and EBV-GC cells. Modulation of PUMA expression by miR-BART5 and anti–miR-BART5 oligonucleotide was demonstrated in EBV-positive cells. In addition, PUMA was found to be significantly underexpressed in ∼60% of human NPC tissues. Although expression of miR-BART5 rendered NPC and EBV-GC cells less sensitive to proapoptotic agents, apoptosis can be triggered by depleting miR-BART5 or inducing the expression of PUMA. Collectively, our findings suggest that EBV encodes an miRNA to facilitate the establishment of latent infection by promoting host cell survival