A simultaneous bus route design and frequency setting problem for Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong

A bus network design problem for Tin Shui Wai, a suburban residential area in Hong Kong, is investigated, which considers the bus services from the origins inside this suburban area to the destinations in the urban areas. The problem aims to improve the existing bus services by reducing the number of transfers and the total travel time of the users. This has been achieved by the proposed integrated solution method which can solve the route design and frequency setting problems simultaneously. In the proposed solution method, a genetic algorithm, which tackles the route design problem, is hybridized with a neighborhood search heuristic, which tackles the frequency setting problem. A new solution representation scheme and specific genetic operators are developed so that the genetic algorithm can search all possible route structures, rather than selecting routes from the predefined set. To avoid premature convergence, a diversity control mechanism is incorporated in the solution method based on a new definition of hamming distance. To illustrate the robustness and quality of solutions obtained, computational experiments are performed based on 1000 perturbed demand matrices. The t-test results show that the design obtained by the proposed solution method is robust under demand uncertainty, and the design is better than both the current design and the design obtained by solving the route design problem and the frequency setting problem sequentially. Compared with the current bus network design, the proposed method can generate a design which can simultaneously reduce the number of transfers and total travel time at least by 20.9% and 22.7% respectively. Numerical studies are also performed to illustrate the effectiveness of the diversity control mechanism introduced and the effects of weights on the two objective values. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.postprin

An artificial bee colony algorithm for the capacitated vehicle routing problem

Session MF-03: Population-based metaheuristics for routing problems - Stream: Metaheuristics - Invited session no. 3This paper introduces an artificial bee colony heuristic for the capacitated vehicle routing problem. The artificial bee colony heuristic is a swarm-based heuristic, which mimics the foraging behavior of a honey bee swarm. The performance of the heuristic is evaluated on two sets of benchmark instances. A new scheme is also developed to improve the performance of the artificial bee colony heuristic. Computational results show that the heuristic with the new scheme produces good solutions.postprintThe 24th European Conference on Operational Research (EURO 24), Lisbon, Portual, 11-14 July 2010. In Abstract Book of EURO 24, 2010, p. 89, MF-03-

Designing bus routes and frequencies for Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong

A real bus network design problem for a suburban residential area, Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong, is investigated. The problem considers bus service from origins inside this area to destinations in the city. The aim is to improve the existing bus network by reducing the number of transfers and total travel time of users. This is achieved by the proposed integrated solution method, which simultaneously solves the route design and frequency setting problems. In the proposed method, a genetic algorithm that tackles the route design problem is hybridized with a neighborhood search heuristic that addresses the frequency setting problem. A new representation scheme and specific genetic operators are developed so that the genetic algorithm can search all possible route structures rather than selecting from an initial set of predefined routes. The proposed method reduces the number of transfers and total travel time by 20.6% and 7.0%, respectively.postprintThe 2010 HKIE Civil Division Conference on Infrastructure Solutions for Tomorrow, Hong Kong, 12-14 April 2010. In Proceedings of the HKIE Civil Division Conference 2010: Infrastructure Solutions for Tomorrow, 201

An artificial bee colony algorithm for the capacitated vehicle routing problem

This paper introduces an artificial bee colony heuristic for solving the capacitated vehicle routing problem. The artificial bee colony heuristic is a swarm-based heuristic, which mimics the foraging behavior of a honey bee swarm. An enhanced version of the artificial bee colony heuristic is also proposed to improve the solution quality of the original version. The performance of the enhanced heuristic is evaluated on two sets of standard benchmark instances, and compared with the original artificial bee colony heuristic. The computational results show that the enhanced heuristic outperforms the original one, and can produce good solutions when compared with the existing heuristics. These results seem to indicate that the enhanced heuristic is an alternative to solve the capacitated vehicle routing problem. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.postprin

Two-dimensional object recognition through two-stage string matching

[[abstract]]A two-stage string matching method for the recognition of two-dimensional (2-D) objects is proposed in this work. The first stage is a global cyclic string matching. The second stage is a local matching with local dissimilarity measure computing. The dissimilarity measure function of the input shape and the reference shape is obtained by combining the global matching cost and the local dissimilarity measure. The proposed method has the advantage that there is no need to set any parameter in the recognition process. Experimental results indicate that the two-stage string matching approach significantly improves the recognition rates while comparing to the one-stage string matching method.[[fileno]]2020405010059[[department]]工工

Communal space design of high-rise apartments: a literature review

Satisfactory communal space in high-rise apartments helps to create a harmonious living atmosphere and enhance neighbourhood relations. This review summarises and analyses the research on the design of communal areas in high-rise apartments with consideration of five aspects: space division, universal design, security design, landscape design and decoration design. The aim is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of current design concepts relating to communal space in high-rise apartments and to identify key design considerations that are necessary for the development of sustainable high-rise apartments. The paper proceeds with three objectives: (1) to develop a comprehensive policy for communal space to support the sustainable development of high-rise apartments; (2) to identify research on the building materials that can be used to improve the environment of the communal spaces; and, (3) to identify areas that can improve the planning and management of open spaces in high-rise apartments with the help of existing information technology. Overall, this review provides some useful insights for the sustainable development of high-rise apartments in terms of shared-space design, while revealing gaps in the literature and areas for further research

Promoting innovation through the accumulation of intellectual capital, social capital, and entrepreneurial orientation

[[abstract]]This study attempts to explore how a firm's operational mode can reinforce the advantages of intellectual capital on innovation. Specifically, the main purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive research model to integrate the interrelationships among social capital, entrepreneurial orientation, intellectual capital, and innovation. In addition to identifying the influences of intellectual capital on innovation, this study focuses in particular on the mediating effect of intellectual capital and the moderating effects of social capital and entrepreneurial orientation on innovation, which have largely been neglected in previous literature. The results support the mediating role of intellectual capital and the moderating roles of entrepreneurial orientation and social capital on innovation. Specifically, firms that have higher levels of social capital and entrepreneurial orientation tend to amplify the effects of intellectual capital on innovation

Interaction between genetic factors, Porphyromonas gingivalis and microglia to promote Alzheimer’s disease

In late onset Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis, genes, infections and immunity could be significant factors. We have reviewed if the keystone periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis may affect genes and microglia (primary immune cells in the brain) to promote AD development. Genes for apolipoprotein, clusterin, CD33, triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM-2), tyrosine kinase binding protein (TYR-OBP), and complement receptors can affect microglia. Most of these genes can also be affected by P. gingivalis via its mastering of immune suppression. Besides, P. gingivalis can affect microglia directly in several ways. Taken together, genetic predisposition, P. gingivalis infection and microglia could promote neurodegeneration typical of that reported for AD

Diagnostic Value of Methylated Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase in Human Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

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A breath-hold R2 mapping pulse sequence detects a decrease in myocardial ferritin iron after one-week of iron chelation

Oral Abstract Session XI – New CMR Methods Applied to Human Imaging: O69Intracellular ferritin iron is evidently in equilibrium with the cytosolic iron pool that can change rapidly with iron chelation. This study demonstrates the feasibility of quantitatively detecting short-term changes in myocardial iron produced by iron-chelating therapy using RR2 measurement.postprintThe 13th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), Phoenix, AZ., 21-24 January 2010. In Final Program of the 13th Annual Scientific Sessions of SCMR, 2010, p. 29, abstract no. O6