Search

The escalating severity of global warming has drawn worldwide attention to ecological problems. Nevertheless, with the introduction of environmental policies, biomass resources have been effectively developed as a renewable energy source. This paper investigates an advanced biomass supply chain design wherein biomass resources are initially converted into bio-oil through widely distributed fast pyrolysis facilities, and are subsequently transported to a centralised biorefinery for further refining into biofuels. This novel biomass supply chain addressed three key issues: (1) The number of fast pyrolysis facilities, (2) The allocation of resources, and (3) The routes of resources transport. In respect of these problems, a two-stage stochastic mixed integer programming model is established to minimise the total cost of the biomass supply chain considering the uncertainty collection price of fast pyrolysis facilities. A hybrid simulated annealing algorithm which incorporates the sample average approximation method is proposed to solve the stochastic model and is effectiveness for large-scale examples. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed using the proposed algorithm and the results show that the proposed stochastic model outperforms the deterministic model under uncertain collection price. The model allows optimising the biomass supply chain economic performances and minimise financial risk on investment by determining the fast pyrolysis facility locations, reasonable resource allocation and optimal transport routes under uncertain collection price. • The collection price uncertainty impact is considered on biomass supply chain. • A combined biomass supply chain design is suggested. • Facility location, resource allocation and vehicle routing problem are considered. • A two-stage stochastic mixed integer programming model is established. • A hybrid simulated annealing algorithm is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass has attracted considerable attention from both researchers and practitioners as an important renewable energy source that can help achieve sustainable development. However, inefficient biomass logistics systems hinder the development of biomass utilisation. This study investigates a two-echelon biomass resource location-routing problem (2E-BRLRP). Considering a predetermined supply of biomass resources, a mixed integer programming model for the 2E- BRLRP is established to determine the best locations for biomass collection facilities and corresponding vehicle routes. To address the computational complexity, a hybrid heuristic algorithm that embeds variable neighbourhood search into the tabu search framework is developed. A set of comprehensive computational examples are used to test the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach. • This study investigates a two-echelon biomass resource location-routing problem. • A novel mixed integer programming model is established for the proposed problem. • A hybrid heuristic algorithm is developed for problem solution. • Comprehensive computational examples are conducted to verify the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advantages of low power consumption, flexibility, and high readability against bright ambiance, electrophoretic displays (EPDs) have wide application prospects in the fields of education, smart supermarkets, Internet of Things, smart homes, wearable devices, etc. EPDs suffer from a severe history dependence during grayscale switching, which results in annoying ghost images. However, currently, it is difficult to distinguish diverse types of ghost images automatically; thus, lookup-tables (LUTs) for multi-grayscale waveform design cannot be effectively generated but require cumbersome manual adjustment. In this article, we proposed to adopt a convolutional neural network (CNN) to automatically recognize ghost images, based on which, LUTs that could suppress ghost images and achieve accurate grayscales were automatically generated for waveform design. Moreover, the workforce for manual adjustment was significantly saved. The results suggest that the CNN is a powerful tool for EPDs to achieve better image quality, as well as less manual cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the integrated berth allocation and quay crane assignment problem in container terminals. A deterministic model is formulated by considering the setup time of quay cranes. However, data uncertainties widely exist, and it may cause the deterministic solution to be infeasible. To handle the uncertainties, a robust optimization model is established. Furthermore, to control the level of conservativeness, another robust optimization model with the price constraints is proposed. A genetic algorithm and an insertion heuristic algorithm are suggested to obtain near optimal solutions. Computational experiments indicate that the presented models and algorithms are effective to solve the problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forecasting of short-term traffic flow is one of the key issues in the field of dynamic traffic control and management. Because of the uncertainty and nonlinearity, short-term traffic flow forecasting could be a challenging task. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) could be a good solution to this issue as it is possible to obtain a higher forecasting accuracy within relatively short time through this tool. Traditional methods for traffic flow forecasting generally based on a separated single point. However, it is found that traffic flows from adjacent intersections show a similar trend. It indicates that the vehicle accumulation and dissipation influence the traffic volumes of the adjacent intersections. This paper presents a novel method, which considers the travel flows of the adjacent intersections when forecasting the one of the middle. Computational experiments show that the proposed model is both effective and practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the daily storage yard manage problem arising in maritime container terminals, which integrates the space allocation and yard crane deployment decisions together with the consideration of container traffic congestion in the storage yard. The integrated problem is formulated as an integer linear programming model with the objective of minimizing the yard crane operating cost and the yard crane interblock movement cost. A divide-and-conquer solution approach is designed to solve the problem in an efficient manner in which harmony search and constraint satisfaction techniques are employed. Numerical experiments are conducted to validate the performance of the solution approach and the improvement from the integrated optimization method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the unique features of electronic ink displays, including the bistability, paper‐like appearance, and sunlight visibility, electronic ink displays have been applied in many Internet of Things (IoT) fields. We reviewed mechanisms that have been proposed to be essential for electro‐optical behavior of electronic ink displays. This review might facilitate beginners to start their research in electronic ink studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We implemented the individualized treatment (IT) regimen for children with inguinal hernia and the Lichtenstein hernioplasty using an acellular tissue matrix patch (LHAP) for those with high risks. This retrospective study compares the complications of conventional laparoscopic high hernia sac ligation (LHSL) with those of the IT regimen for the management of pediatric inguinal hernia and investigates whether the recurrence rate of inguinal hernias in children treated by IT is lower than that of those treated by LHSL. Methods: The subjects of this retrospective study were 3006 children who underwent LHSL or IT for inguinal hernia between February, 2008 and February, 2016 at the Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital (Beijing, China). They comprised 1516 (50.4%) children who underwent LHSL between February, 2008 and December, 2012, and 1490 (49.6%) who underwent IT between January, 2013 and June, 2016. We analyzed the patients' data, including clinical characteristics and postoperative complications. The mean follow-up was 85.31 months for the LHSL group and 43.34 months for the IT group (P < 0.01). Given the difference in the follow-up periods, the log-rank test was used to analyze the recurrence rate. Results: The mean age, weight, and height of these children at the time of surgery were 6 years old, 24.17 kg, and 114.48 cm in the LHSL group and 6 years old, 24.57 kg, and 115.18 cm in the IT group, respectively (P = 0.647, P = 0.393, P = 0.505). The mean age, body weight, and height for adolescents at the time of surgery were 14.7 years old, 57.19 kg, and 168.37 cm in the LHSL group and 14.9 years old, 57.96 kg and 169.21 cm in the IT group, respectively (P = 0.099, P = 0.061, P = 0.059). The male/female ratio was 5.1:1 (1268/248) in the LHSL group and 4.9:1 (1241/249) in the IT group (P = 0.795). The side ratio of inguinal hernia (right/left/bilateral) was about 10:7:8 (602/430/484) in the LHSL group and 3.8:2.8:3.4 (567/422/501) in the IT group (P = 0.551). The comorbidities of the male patients included hydrocele (206), cryptorchidism (15), umbilical hernia (12), congenital heart disease (16), and other congenital diseases (25). The comorbidities in the female patients included round ligament cysts (11). There was no significant difference between the groups in postoperative complications including hydrocele (P = 0.687), hematoma (P = 0.061), surgical site infection (P = 0.742), testicular atrophy (not found), and umbilical trocar hernia (P = 0.585). There were two cases of recurrence in the IT group and eight in the LHSL group (P = 0.07). The frequency of postoperative recurrence of adolescent inguinal hernia was 3.16% (7/221) in the LHSL group, 0 (0/223) in the IT group (P = 0.008), and 0 (0/128) in the LHSL subgroup in the IT group (P = 0.045). Conclusion: The favorable outcomes of IT, which had a lower recurrence rate than LHSL for adolescent inguinal hernia, demonstrate that this is a reasonable treatment regimen for pediatric inguinal hernia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrophoretic display encountered several challenges towards high frame rate applications, such as long response time and high driving voltage. In this study, liquid crystal additive doping can simultaneously increase the response speed by 2.8 times and reduce the driving voltage to half of the initial value of electrophoretic dispersion. The backflow effect of liquid crystal, which induces an inversely electrorheological effect and facilitates the reverse micelles' dielectrophoretic separation, was suggested to be the main reason for the performance improvement. The proposed method is facile and effective which shows promising potential for fast response and low power consumption e-paper applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]