Transportation Optimization Modeling for Washington State Hay Shipments: Mode and Cost Implications Due to Loss of Container Services at the Port of Portland

A recent issue impacting hay shipments in Washington State involves the reduction of container services at the Port of Portland, Oregon. Prior to this change, containers filled with hay were shipped almost exclusively via barge on the Columbia River to the Port of Portland. After reaching Portland, the containers were then loaded onto one of three steamship lines: Hyundai, K-Line, or Hanjin and destined to markets in Japan and China. As of September 2004, Hanjin is the only carrier that calls on the Port of Portland. This research effort collected firm level data on the production, transportation and marketing of hay in Washington and utilizes this information to develop an optimization model of regional hay movements. One alternative evaluated in this study is determining industry shifts in transportation usage and modal choice in reaction to the transportation changes after September 2004. The results indicate that after all barge and hay shipments were eliminated into Portland, total transportation costs decrease initially overall, while some producers experience shipping cost increase. Both rail and truck volumes increase substantially in the absence of container shipments on barge. The total industry impact is a $6.3 million increase in transportation costs from the Base Scenario to Scenario 3. Also, once trucks rates are allowed to increase due to the shortage of trucks and the increased demand for truck services, the total transportation cost increased by$8.7 million.International Relations/Trade,

Spatial Investigation of Mineral Transportation Characteristics in the State of Washington

This study investigates the spatial relationships between construction aggregate shipments and the per axle payload weights of trucks as they pertain to highway deterioration in the state of Washington. A previous study investigated the transportation characteristics of mined aggregates using a spatial autoregressive model, where a significant positive relationship between payload weights and shipment distances was established. This paper expands the previous study by assessing the contribution of aggregate hauling trucks to pavement deterioration using per-axle loads by truck configuration. Results showed a positive relationship between weights per axle load and several shipment distance categories. According to the well-established per axle weight and pavement damage relationship, incremental changes in per axle payload weights resulting from longer shipment distances clearly suggest that longer haulage increases the magnitude of pavement deterioration. This direct relationship between road impact and the distance hauled emphasizes the importance of the proximity of mine sites to different end users

Projecting Washington - British Columbia Truck Freight Border Crossings and Arterial Usage

Continuing adaptation to changing transportation needs is critical in maintaining efficiency and reducing costs of raw and manufactured goods to ensure economic stability and growth. With bilateral trade in excess of $1.4 billion per day between the U.S. and Canada and over 200 million annual crossings (passenger vehicles and freight trucks) (U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, 2006), knowledge of the composition of commodities crossing the border and the growth in the flow of those commodities is vital to future policy making. This report focuses on cross-border flows by truck between Washington and British Columbia, through decomposition of the northbound and southbound flows by industry and commodity, coupled with projection of the trade growth in those industries. By knowing expected increases in commodity flows across border port locations, policy makers can better adapt border ports to ensure efficiency in truck movements. Increased efficiency is important to trade competitiveness in the international marketplace

Advances in Understanding Carboxysome Assembly in \u3ci\u3eProchlorococcus\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eSynechococcus\u3c/i\u3e Implicate CsoS2 as a Critical Component

The marine Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus are the numerically dominant cyanobacteria in the ocean and important in global carbon fixation. They have evolved a CO2-concentrating-mechanism, of which the central component is the carboxysome, a self-assembling proteinaceous organelle. Two types of carboxysome, α and β, encapsulating form IA and form IB d-ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, respectively, differ in gene organization and associated proteins. In contrast to the β-carboxysome, the assembly process of the α-carboxysome is enigmatic. Moreover, an absolutely conserved α-carboxysome protein, CsoS2, is of unknown function and has proven recalcitrant to crystallization. Here, we present studies on the CsoS2 protein in three model organisms and show that CsoS2 is vital for α-carboxysome biogenesis. The primary structure of CsoS2 appears tripartite, composed of an N-terminal, middle (M)-, and C-terminal region. Repetitive motifs can be identified in the N- and M-regions. Multiple lines of evidence suggest CsoS2 is highly flexible, possibly an intrinsically disordered protein. Based on our results from bioinformatic, biophysical, genetic and biochemical approaches, including peptide array scanning for protein-protein interactions, we propose a model for CsoS2 function and its spatial location in the α-carboxysome. Analogies between the pathway for β-carboxysome biogenesis and our model for α-carboxysome assembly are discussed

What Every Business Student Needs to Know About Information Systems

Whether Information Systems should or should not be part of the core business school curriculum is a recurring discussion in many universities. In this article, a task force of 40 prominent information systems scholars address the issue. They conclude that information systems is absolutely an essential body of knowledge for business school students to acquire as well as a key element of the business school\u27s long-run strategic positioning within the university. Originally prepared in response to draft accreditation guidelines prepared by AACSB International, the article includes a compilation of the concepts that the authors believe to be the core information systems knowledge that all business school students should be familiar with