A review on artificial intelligence in high-speed rail

High-speed rail (HSR) has brought a number of social and economic benefits, such as shorter trip times for journeys of between one and five hours; safety, security, comfort and on-time commuting for passengers; energy saving and environmental protection; job creation; and encouraging sustainable use of renewable energy and land. The recent development in HSR has seen the pervasive applications of artificial intelligence (AI). This paper first briefly reviews the related disciplines in HSR where AI may play an important role, such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and signalling and control. Then, an overview of current AI techniques is presented in the context of smart planning, intelligent control and intelligent maintenance of HSR systems. Finally, a framework of future HSR systems where AI is expected to play a key role is provided

Seagrass distribution changes in Swan Lake of Shandong Peninsula from 1979 to 2009 inferred from satellite remote sensing data

Seagrass and associated bio-resources are very important for swan’s overwintering in Swan Lake in Rongcheng of Shandong Peninsula of China. The seagrass distribution changes, which are usually affected by the regional human activities, can indirectly affect swan’s habitat. In this study the satellite remote sensing data in years 1979–2009 together with in-situ observations in recent years were used to examine the seagrass distribution changes in Swan Lake. The band ratio of band 1 to band 2, Lyzenga’s methods and band synthesize of band 1, band 2 and band 3 were used for seagrass retrieval. The band ratio of band 1 to band 2 with ranges greater than 4.5 was used for estimating the seagrass coverage greater than 50%. Results showed that in years 1979–1990 seagrass coverage greater than 50% occupied more than half of the surface area of Swan Lake. In years 2000–2005, the total area with seagrass distributions reduced greatly, only about one sixth to one fourth of Swan Lake’s surface area. After 2005, the seagrass area in Swan Lake increased gradually and occasionally was greater than one third of the total surface area of the Lake. It was shown that human activities such as the dam and fish pond establishment and the awareness of seagrass importance and protected actively result in the seagrass distributions changes in Swan Lake which decreased first and then increased afterwards

Effect of polyphenol extract from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. on endocrine hormones and monoamine oxidase activity in a mouse model of climacteric depression

Purpose: To investigate the effects of polyphenol extract from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (ZPPC) on endocrine hormones, monoamine  oxidase activity and behavior in a mouse model of climacteric depression.Methods: Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) female albino mice (n = 50) weighing 24 – 26 g (mean wt = 25.0 ± 1.0 g) were randomly assigned to five groups of ten rats each: normal control group, negative control, and ZPPC (50 mg/kg), ZPPC (100 mg/kg) and ZPPC (200 mg/kg) groups. Depression was induced in the mice via oral administration of moclobemide at a dose of 20 mg/kg, and intraperitoneal injection of imipramine (20 mg/kg) 1 h and 30 min, before treatment. Tail suspension, forced swimming and voluntary activity tests were performed on the mice. The activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in mouse brain and the levels of endocrine hormones were also determined.Results: Treatment of depressed mice with ZPPC significantly and dose-dependently increased their tail suspension and immobility time (p < 0.05). The activity of monoamine oxidase in the brains of mice in the negative control group was significantly higher than that of normal control mice, but was significantly and dose-dependently reduced by ZPPC treatment (p < 0.05). Similarly, treatment of depressed mice with ZPPC significantly and dose-dependently reduced their serum adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone levels (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that ZPPC exerts antidepressant effect via suppression of brain MAO activity. Keywords: Climacteric depression, Endocrine hormones, Menopause, Monoamine oxidase, Polyphenol