Solving a dial-a-ride problem with a hybrid evolutionary multi-objective approach: Application to demand responsive transport

Demand responsive transport allows customers to be carried to their destination as with a taxi service, provided that the customers are grouped in the same vehicles in order to reduce operational costs. This kind of service is related to the dial-a-ride problem. However, in order to improve the quality of service, demand responsive transport needs more flexibility. This paper tries to address this issue by proposing an original evolutionary approach. In order to propose a set of compromise solutions to the decision-maker, this approach optimizes three objectives concurrently. Moreover, in order to intensify the search process, this multi-objective evolutionary approach is hybridized with a local search. Results obtained on random and realistic problems are detailed to compare three state-of-the-art algorithms and discussed from an operational point of view.     

Internet marketing: a content analysis of the research

The amount of research related to Internet marketing has grown rapidly since the dawn of the Internet Age. A review of the literature base will help identify the topics that have been explored as well as identify topics for further research. This research project collects, synthesizes, and analyses both the research strategies (i.e., methodologies) and content (e.g., topics, focus, categories) of the current literature, and then discusses an agenda for future research efforts. We analyzed 411 articles published over the past eighteen years (1994-present) in thirty top Information Systems (IS) journals and 22 articles in the top 5 Marketing journals. The results indicate an increasing level of activity during the 18-year period, a biased distribution of Internet marketing articles focused on exploratory methodologies, and several research strategies that were either underrepresented or absent from the pool of Internet marketing research. We also identified several subject areas that need further exploration. The compilation of the methodologies used and Internet marketing topics being studied can serve to motivate researchers to strengthen current research and explore new areas of this research.     

Comparative laminar distribution of various autoradiographic cholinergic markers in adult rat main olfactory bulb

To provide anatomical information on the complex effects of acetylcholine (ACh) in the olfactory bulb (OB), the distribution of different cholinergic muscarinic and nicotinic receptor sub-types was studied by quantitative in vitro autoradiography. The muscarinic M1-like and M2-like sub-types, as well as the nicotinic bungarotoxin-insensitive (alpha 4 beta 2-like) and bungarotoxin-sensitive (alpha 7-like) receptors were visualized using [3H]pirenzepine, [3H]AF-DX 384, [3H]cytisine and [125I] alpha-bungarotoxin (BTX), respectively. In parallel, labelling patterns of [3H]vesamicol (vesicular acetylcholine transport sites) and [3H]hemicholinium-3 (high-affinity choline uptake sites), two putative markers of cholinergic nerve terminals, were investigated. Specific labelling for each cholinergic radioligand is distributed according to a characteristic laminar and regional pattern within the OB revealing the lack of a clear overlap between cholinergic afferents and receptors. The presynaptic markers, [3H]vesamicol and [3H]hemicholinium-3, demonstrated similar laminar pattern of distribution with two strongly labelled bands corresponding to the glomerular layer and the area around the mitral cell layer. Muscarinic M1-like and M2-like receptor sub-types exhibited unique distribution with their highest levels seen in the external plexiform layer (EPL). Intermediate M1-like and M2-like binding densities were found throughout the deeper bulbar layers. In the glomerular layer, the levels of muscarinic receptor subtypes were low, the level of M2-like sites being higher than M1. Both types of nicotinic receptor sub-types displayed distinct distribution pattern. Whereas [125I] alpha-BTX binding sites were mostly concentrated in the superficial bulbar layers, [3H]cytisine binding was found in the glomerular layers, as well as the mitral cell layer and the underlying laminae. An interesting feature of the present study is the visualization of two distinct cholinoceptive glomerular subsets in the posterior OB. The first one exhibited high levels of both [3H]vesamicol and [3H]hemicholinium-3 sites. It corresponds to the previously identified atypical glomeruli and apparently failed to express any of the cholinergic receptors under study. In contrast, the second subset of glomeruli is not enriched with cholinergic nerve terminal markers but displayed high amounts of [3H]cytisine/nicotinic binding sites. Taken together, these results suggest that although muscarinic receptors have been hypothesized to be mostly involved in cholinergic olfactory processing and short-term memory in the OB, nicotinic receptors, especially of the cytisine/ alpha 4 beta 2 sub-type, may have important roles in mediating olfactory transmission of efferent neurons as well as in a subset of olfactory glomeruli.     

Drug interactions and antibiotics

Situations that require the use of systemic antibiotic therapy are common and drug interactions are potentially frequent. These interactions may be deleterious and lead to reduction of therapeutic index, enhancement of toxic risk or may be favourable, with optimization of pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics. The mechanisms of these interactions are discussed.     

Impact of Green Buildings( LEED and Estidama) in the Middle East and China

<正>0 Introduction The growing number of accredited green buildings reflects the development and adoption of various green building rating systems in our building construction industry globally and within the Middle East over the past 5 years.While the US based LEED system,Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,has been widely utilized as an international accreditation     

Release of isoprostanes by human pulmonary artery in organ culture: a cyclo-oxygenase and nitric oxide dependent pathway

Isoprostanes are prostaglandin (PG)-like compounds initially described as formed by a direct action of radicals on arachidonic acid. However, the isoprostane 8-iso PGF2 alpha, is released by platelets and monocytes by cyclo-oxygenase dependent pathways. The free radical NO can modulate arachidonic acid metabolism in some cells, but its potential role in isoprostane formation has not been studied. Using human pulmonary artery in organ culture (24 h), we therefore investigated the role of cyclo-oxygenase and NO in 8-iso PGF2 alpha release. In endothelium-denuded segments of pulmonary artery, the inflammatory agennts tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1 beta, interferon gamma, and lipopolysaccharide stimulated the release of PGE2 and 8-iso PGF2 alpha, which were attenuated in both cases by the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. By contrast, the NO synthase inhibitor L-N(G)-intro-L-arginine methyl ester inhibited 8-iso PGF2 alpha but not PGF2 release. Thus, we show for the first time that human pulmonary vessels can produce isporostanes and that NO synthase and cyclo-oxygenase pathways are involved in their release.     

Interpretation of dynamic mechanical measurements on butyl-acrylate vinyl-acetate based systems

Dynamic mechanical measurements have been performed in order to get information on the morphology of butyl-acrylate (BuA)-vinyl-acetate (V Ac) based systems. The samples were obtained after emulsion polymerization by three different pathways: (a) Physical blending from homopolymer latexes (b) a conventional batch process leading to a BuA rich core-V Ac rich shell latex particle (c) a two-step polymerization leading to an abrupt concentration gradient Inside the particle. Films were obtained by evaporation of water at room temperature. The spectra of the films were interpreted with the help of Kerner's model, and new information has been obtained on the morphology: (i) in the simple blend (case a), the p(V Ac) latexes tend to coalesce to form the matrix; and (ii) it is possible to determine whether random copolymer formed during a polymerization process is located at the interface of p(BuA) and P(V Ac) (case b) or inside the p(BuA) inclusion (case c).     

Recovery requirements of branch prediction storage structures in the presence of mispredicted-path execution

Execution along mispredicted paths may or may not affect the accuracy of subsequent branch predictions if recovery mechanisms are not provided to undo the erroneous information that is acquired by the branch prediction storage structures. In this paper, we study four elements of the Two-Level Branch Predictor: the Branch Target Buffer (BTB), the Branch History Register (BHR), the Pattern History Tables (PHTs), and the Return Address Stack (RAS). For each we determine whether a recovery mechanism is needed, and, if so, show how to design a cost-effective one. Using five benchmarks from the SPECint92 suite, we show that there is no need to provide recovery mechanisms for the BTB and the PHTs, but that performance is degraded by an average of 30% if recovery mechanisms are not provided for the BHR and RAS.     

In situ statistical study of the nucleation,the variant selection and the orientation memory effect during the α⇌β titanium martensitic transformation

The h c p bcc and reverse phase transformation of titanium has been watched in situ and in real time by synchrotron X-ray topography from large single crystals. Due to the large crystal volume investigated, the results can be considered as statistical. The heterogeneous nucleation character of this transformation has been shown and the orientation relationships between the two phases have been elucidated. This transformation is characterized by a severe selection of the variants. Very frequently, the transformation product, in the direct and reverse transformation, resolves into a texture composed of several little crystals with a same and sole orientation. An orientation memory effect of the titanium single crystals has been displayed. Also the sample geometric shape, the unit cell volumes, the shape deformation and the unusual temperature dependence of the vibrational entropy have been taken into account in discussing the results.