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PurposeThis study proposes practical digitalization strategies and well-grounded evaluation criteria for maritime container supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe authors identified the status of supply chain digitalization of the Port of Busan in South Korea and developed three digitalization strategies based on industry requirements and consultations with port experts. The authors proposed 11 evaluation criteria for examining the main digitalization strategies in the supply chain operations reference model, based on a survey among 46 experts and used multi-criteria decision-making approaches to prioritize the strategies and evaluation criteria.FindingsThe results delineate the status of the digitalization of a real-world port-focal supply chain. The model can be successfully customized to include well-grounded evaluation criteria for digitalization strategies, and presents a practical way to advance the supply chain digitalization strategies. Based on the survey and evaluation, the authors find that increasing data accessibility and improving quality are preferred to adopting a data and information sharing platform.Research limitations/implicationsAs the study is limited to the Port of Busan, future case studies could be undertaken to container supply chains driven by different regional ports.Practical implicationsStakeholders, such as truckers, terminal operators, and shipping liners, might consider the proposed strategies and evaluation criteria when digitalizing their supply chains.Originality/valueBy identifying the needs and specifications of maritime container supply chain digitalization strategies, developing evaluation criteria, and conducting a case study for proof of concept, the study proposes an operational management process with practical, real-world benefits for port-focal supply chains.

Grains are often exposed to unprotected environment during post-harvest logistics processes. Since grains are usually accommodated in silos on farms, when importing grains, they are transported to silos or yards at ports by heavy vehicles, and imported to another country (or region) by bulk carriers. Thereafter the grains are stored at silos and transported in bulk or tone-sacks by heavy vehicles. The grain quality often deteriorates due to unprotected storage and transportation environment through the logistics processes, whereby they become affected by insects, pests, rancidity, discoloration, and so on. This study examines a containerized grain logistics contributing to well-known identity preservation, analyzes the applicability in terms of logistics cost, and discusses potential effects on sustainability improvement by tracing and preserving the grains for a longer duration in well-protected spaces during the logistics processes. This study introduces the necessity of preservation containers to implement the containerized grain logistics to prevent quality deterioration. A comparative cost analysis is conducted to investigate the effect of the containerized grain logistics. According to the comparative analysis, conventional bulk logistics has benefits in shipping (76.2%) and storage costs (89%), whereas the containerized logistics has economic viability in tariff (23.2%) and infrastructure costs (51.2%).

This study proposes a systematical approach to evaluate the operational capability of container terminals and discusses the effect of resource usages on operational performances. Two inter-dependen...

Service quality is one of the crucial factors for service providers to improve on their performance and enhance competitiveness in service operations. Service providers have been investing signific...

The CD226 (DNAM-1) axis has emerged as an important immune-modulatory pathway that regulates T cell and NK cell effector functions in the solid tumor microenvironment. Three inhibitory receptors, TIGIT, CD96, and PVRIG, inhibit the activating receptor CD226 by competing for shared ligands (CD112 and CD155) expressed on tumor cells and myeloid cells. Blocking the TIGIT receptor with monoclonal antibodies is a major focus of current clinical development efforts. However, the effectiveness of targeting TIGIT alone in a clinical setting has yet to be demonstrated. We hypothesize that blocking TIGIT alone may not lead to an optimal clinical outcome since immuno-stimulatory interaction between the ligands CD112 and CD155 with CD226 can be competed by inhibitory receptors CD96 and PVRIG in addition to TIGIT. It is therefore interesting to investigate whether all these checkpoints play critical roles in the tumor environment and if inhibiting one or more may be necessary to achieve the maximum CD226 activation in both innate and adaptive immune cells. To address that, we have conducted single-cell analysis and demonstrated high expression levels and co-expression of the three inhibitory receptors on T cell subsets and NK cells in the tumor microenvironment for multiple tumor types. Thus, simultaneous blockade of two or more of these receptors might be required for full CD226 activation and T and NK cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity. We envision developing blocking antibodies to these receptors in the CD226 axis toward potential combinations or multi-specific antibody therapies against solid tumors. Antibodies against all three checkpoints, i.e., TIGIT, CD96, and PVRIG, were selected based on receptor binding and their ability to block the receptor interaction with their ligands. We have demonstrated the functionality of the antibodies against these three targets and explored the best approach to alleviate the suppressive regulation of CD226 signaling. Detailed characterizations of these antibodies have been performed, and multi-specific antibodies have been generated and evaluated. Through this effort, we aim to define and develop the best therapeutic strategy for unleashing the CD226 axis for T and NK cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity. Citation Format: Tom Li Stephen, Qian Zhang, Byung-Kwon Lee, Chao Kong, Rain Sun, Jia Wu, Jie Cui, Hillary Shah, Wenhua Xu, Yun-Yueh Lu, Joshua Whitener, Emily Jackson, Jinping Gan, Francisco Adrian, Liang Schweizer. Maximizing the outcome of CD226 stimulation through targeting beyond TIGIT signaling with combination and multi-specific approaches for cancer immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3477.

Capacity sharing among neighboring terminals offer a means to meet increasing or unexpected demand for cargo-handling without additional capital investment. This study proposes a model for capacity requirement planning of major resources, such as quay cranes (QCs), storage space, and gate, in multiterminal port operations where demand is time dependent. A resource profile simulation is run to generate random events across the terminals and estimate the capacity requirement in the form of workload distributions on port resources over time-shifts. The effects on workload requirement, arising from multiterminal cooperation, are subsequently evaluated in consideration of different container flows among terminals. Experimental results suggest that higher transferring rate between terminals will reduce the QC intensity and storage space requirements but increase gate congestion. Variabilities in the QC intensity and storage space requirements also increase due to shorter stays and more movements in container inventory at the yard. The interaction effect between transferring and trans-shipment rates further shows that the average resource requirements for a terminal can be greatly reduced when the interterminal transferring of containers contributes positively to a more even workload redistribution across terminals. The most significant improvements occur when trans-shipment rate is 85% and transferring rate is 75% for QC intensity, trans-shipment rate is 90% and transferring rate is 60% for storage capacity, and trans-shipment rate is 80% and transferring rate is 75% for gate congestion.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology-based real-time indoor location awareness has been widely studied. In this paper, a passive RFID-based indoor inventory localization method for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is proposed to effectively manage their indoor inventory tracking in terms of the multi-stacking racking (MSR). To achieve this, we introduce a concept of reference tags and a calculation of measurement for the distance between the RFID reader and reference tag to improve the accuracy of the item location recognition. To illustrate the efficacy and applicability of the method, an empirical case study that applies it to an electronic device manufacturing company is conducted. It was noted that there was no significant difference in the location awareness rate of the proposed system compared with the existing active RFID-based methods. Also, it is demonstrated that the construction can be relatively inexpensive in terms of identifying the location of the items loaded in MSR and relatively narrow areas using a passive tag. This advantage makes it suitable for SMEs that have issues with large-scale facility investment, applying the method to compare the location difference between the registered location information in the inventory system and the actual location of the item in the rack.

High-speed rail (HSR) networks boost inter-city accessibility across a country and stimulate economic growth in inner cities. These economic gains, however, can often be accompanied by sharp increases in land and property prices along the lines that raise governmental concerns. This study examined the effect of the introduction of HSR on land prices in Taiwan and how the extent of such an effect varied with the stages of economic, societal, and infrastructural developments in different cities in Taiwan. Based on extensive published data, an empirical study was conducted using an integrated methodology comprising system dynamics, multivariate regression, and principal component analysis to examine the interacting relationships between the presence of HSR transportation and other important dimensions of city development in determining land prices. The study found that while land prices correlated with the greater locational accessibility brought about HSR, the extent of land price increases depended significantly on economic, societal, and infrastructural considerations such as the unemployment rate, risk-free interest rate, population density, and the existence of free trade zones, etc. This understanding of system behavior will be helpful for policy makers in devising ways to curb the escalation of property price while enjoying the benefits of HSR.

Lighterage contributes significantly to the maritime industry since thousand tons of necessary supplies have to be delivered to mother vessels anchored near sea every day. A single lighter waits to receive cargoes from multiple suppliers at the berth, while the trucks wait for their turns to enter the terminal. Due to the limited space, the terminal operation becomes vulnerable to the lack of coordination of their arrivals. In this study, despite a traditional industry, we are interested in applying the emerging technologies to improve the operation efficiency. We develop a simulation-based coordination strategy to construct coordinated schedules for both the lighters and suppliers to reduce congestions in the lighterage terminal The discrete event simulation model is developed based on understanding the real-world terminal in Singapore, and the controlled arrival method, determining coordinated arrival schedules of trucks, is introduced and embedded to the simulation model. The simulation model is tuned up with a benchmark setting of 6-month historical data. To find the optimal strategy, an advanced bi-objective simulation optimization algorithm is employed. According to our findings, the proposed strategy could significantly improve the efficiency of both lighters and trucks in various indicators. At the end, a mobile application prototype is proposed to deliver the coordinated schedules to different parties, and improve the communication between parties.

The operational efficiency of handling resources plays an important role in promoting container flows at a container terminal. As these handling resources operate on specific yard layouts, a well-d...

Service-quality is a major determinant of tourists’ choice of hotel. Tourists are likely to refer to user-created online reviews on online forums and other social networks comprising critical text data resources that represent the service quality experienced. This study develops a decision-support framework for hotel managers to comprehensively estimate the degree of guest satisfaction (i.e., service-quality measure) together with benchmarking guidelines on service quality improvement. The decision-support framework facilitates the discovery of the most important service attributes from the online reviews of 52 five-star hotels in South Korea (data preprocessing component). It clusters the reviews according to the discovered service attributes and conducts sentiment analysis to estimate the magnitude of positive opinions (sentiment analysis component). Further, it applies an output-oriented data envelopment analysis to calculate the degree of guest satisfaction and service positioning for each hotel (benchmarking analysis component). The framework also investigates how the service quality of each hotel is associated with that of others in terms of each service attribute (quality association analysis component). The framework enables managers to comprehensively understand the achievement goals of service quality for the service attributes by means of online review data analytics and modeling.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been widely used to measure organizational efficiencies and quality among decision-making units (DMUs). General DEA for efficiency measurement, however, does not consider the positive relation between quality and output factors. In this paper, we propose a new DEA-based efficiency evaluation model that applies the positive relation between quality improvement and profits provision, and we suggest benchmarking information that is separated for quality and quantity improvement, respectively. The proposed model evaluates efficiency using new outputs obtained by multiplying the relative quality score by each DEA-output profit factor. In this way, it provides for more accurate discrimination in performance evaluation as well as a practical benchmark target for the improvement of inefficient DMUs. To illustrate the effectiveness and demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method, we conducted efficiency evaluations and benchmarking for 13 Korean national university...

This paper suggests another candidate for isolated/bidirectional dc/dc converter in electric vehicle on-board charger based on PWM resonant converter (RC). The PWM-RC has good switching characteristics but it is not adequate for bidirectional applications because it is always operated under “buck type” operation regardless of power flow directions. This problem can be solved by structure change method, which increases the converter gain into double. Also, additional technique to increase the converter gain during discharging operation is suggested by analysis of the gain characteristics. The feasibility of bidirectional PWM-RC is verified with a 6.6-kW prototype charger.

Container terminals play a significant role as representative logistics facilities for contemporary trades by handling outbound, inbound, and transshipment containers to and from the sea (shipping liners) and the hinterland (consignees). Capacity planning is a fundamental decision process when constructing, expanding, or renovating a container terminal to meet demand, and the outcome of this planning is typically represented in terms of configurations of resources (e.g., the numbers of quay cranes, yard cranes, and vehicles), which enables the container flows to satisfy a high service level for vessels (e.g., berth-on-arrivals). This study presents a decision-making process that optimizes the capacity planning of large-scale container terminals. Advanced simulation-based optimization algorithms, such as Multi-Objective Multi-Fidelity Optimization with Ordinal Transformation and Optimal Sampling (MO-MO2TOS), Multi-Objective Optimal Computing Budget Allocation (MOCBA), and Multi-Objective Convergent...

Business entities are always exposed to potential risks as they are interconnected in a supply chain. The performance of a business entity would be disturbed by the realization of risks, and substantial effort would be required to bring its performance back to the previous level. This study proposes an approach to measure the degree of risk caused by a supplier to the manufacturer by considering the interaction between them in a supply chain. A supply chain simulation is developed based on a real business case for an assemble-to-order industry, and the operational dataset is used to measure the degree of risk. A binary response model with a latent variable is employed to estimate the degree of risk under different conditions. Sensitivity analyses are conducted using a numerical experiment. The results show that decremental demand outperforms incremental demand when the lead time of supply is the performance measure. In terms of the degree of risk, the converse is found to be true when the fulfillment rate is the performance measure. The proposed approach could be used to quantify the risk level, identify the bottleneck supplier, and provide a guide for updating the operational settings.

This paper suggests another candidate for a dc/dc converter in an electric vehicle onboard charger. Maintaining topological characteristics similar to those of conventional resonant converters, it is operated with a constant frequency PWM for charging control. Since the converter uses a secondary resonant tank, soft-switching and resonant operations can be separated. A practical design procedure is suggested to guarantee the normal operation, and the feasibility of the PWM SRT converter is verified with a 6.6-kW prototype charger designed by the procedure.

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd This study aimed to investigate the associations between physical acoustic factors, job characteristics, and job satisfaction. Acoustic measurements and questionnaire surveys were conducted in 12 open-plan offices. Active noise levels (LAeq,8-hour), reverberation time (T20), and speech privacy-related measures such as D2,S and Lp,A,S,4m were measured at each office. A total of 324 employees then completed the online questionnaire surveys. The questionnaire assessed perceived speech privacy, noise disturbance, job characteristics, and job satisfaction. The measures of job characteristics involved skill variety, task identity, task significance, and autonomy. The results showed that active noise level (LAeq,8-hour) was negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Also, job satisfaction showed a negative correlation with speech privacy, whereas the relationship between job satisfaction and noise disturbance was not significant. It was also observed that the relationship between task identity and job satisfaction was moderated by the active noise level and speech privacy.

A container yard is a storage facility that allows handling resources to improve operational efficiency by facilitating container flows at a container terminal. The container yard system consists of a set of storage blocks with yard cranes performing stacking and unstacking operations for containers to be transported by vehicles. High operational efficiency can be achieved by managing and coordinating the handling operations of yard cranes and vehicles (e.g., the yard crane scheduling, vehicle job dispatching, and coordinating handshakes between yard cranes and vehicles). This study proposes an integrated optimization approach for simultaneously determining the yard crane schedules and the vehicle parking positions under the Chebyshev movement allowing for the simultaneous movement of gantry and trolley of the yard crane. A mixed-integer programming model is formulated to optimize the problem, and the two-stage heuristic algorithm is developed to solve the problem efficiently. Several propositions are also provided to search the optimal boundary of vehicle parking slots for pairs of jobs. Numerical experiments are conducted to show the outperformance of the proposed heuristic algorithm compared to the well-known rule-based heuristics.

A container port consists of various sub-systems such as berth, block, gate, etc., which consists of different types of machines where containers are handled. Much research has been conducted on improving operational performance of a container port over the past decades by enhancing the handling efficiency at each sub-system, eliminating unproductive moves, and synchronizing the handshake activities between them. The high operational performance is achieved by efficiently scheduling handling activities of containers for each ship based on standardized operational processes, unless unexpected events disrupt container workflows in the operational processes. Therefore, it is imperative to effectively control the operational processes by looking into the manageability of container workflows. This study employs an event-based learning approach to analyze the operational discrepancy of container workflows in operational processes and estimate operational manageability in view of the proposed management components (i.e., logistics, machine, and time) from the analytical outcomes. The comparative experiments were conducted on a real-world dataset to estimate the operational manageability of a container port for ships of various shipping liners.

This paper suggests an Single-Phase isolated PFC converter and Non-isolated Buck converter for general-purpose EV chargers with a wide-output voltage range. Harmonic regulation are accomplished by PFC stage and charging control is performed by the simple non-isolated buck converter. Output controls and harmonic controls are performed by secondary switches and primary switches only operated 50% duty-ratio.The proposed charger has been verified with a 3.3kW prototype.

This paper examines the use of single and dual cycle operations for three types of resources, namely, quay cranes, vehicles, and yard cranes to improve the operating efficiency and reduce the energy consumption in a container terminal. Various cycle strategies are proposed and their corresponding estimation models, describing the stowage distributions of outbound and inbound containers on a ship and the storage sharing level of blocks in the yard, are formulated to estimate the total number of cycles for the resources. Statistical analyses are conducted to evaluate and compare the effect of different cycle strategies on the cycle reductions. From the experiment results, it was found that collaboration between resources with the single cycle operation always outperforms that under the dual cycle operation without collaboration.

This paper describes a prototype of modularized 3-phase semiconductor transformer which was developed in the lab for feasibility study. The developed prototype is composed of three units of single-phase semiconductor transformer coupled in Y-connection. Each single-phase unit has multiple units of high-voltage high-frequency resonant AC-DC converter, a low-voltage hybrid-switching DC-DC converter, and a low-voltage hybrid-switching DC-AC inverter. Also each single-phase unit has two DSP boards to control converter operation and to acquire monitoring data. Monitoring system was developed based on LabView by using CAN communication between the DSP board and the PC. Through diverse experimental analyses it was verified that the prototype operates with proper performance under normal and sag condition. The developed prototype confirms a possibility to fabricate a commercial high-voltage high-power semiconductor transformer by increasing the number of series-connected converter modules in high-voltage ...

The neurotrophin-inducible gene VGF plays an important role in the maintenance of organismal energy balance and in the mediation of hippocampal synaptic activity. The regulatory mechanism of VGF transcription is not fully understood. The neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) binds with the neuron-restrictive silencer element (NRSE), thereby suppressing the transcription of NRSE-containing genes. In this study, we show that the NRSE sequence of the VGF gene critically regulates the repression of VGF expression in NMB cells. Sequence analysis also establishes the presence of two putative NRSEs (NRSE-1 and NRSE-2) in the promoter region of the VGF gene. In reporter gene experiments, a more than eight-fold increase in the promoter activity was observed when both NRSE-1 and NRSE-2 were deleted. Deletion of NRSE-2 alone did not affect the promoter activity, thus indicating that NRSE-1 could be solely responsible for the repression of VGF gene expression. Mutations in the NRSE-1 sequence increased promoter activity. However, no change in activity was observed when NRSE-1 was coexpressed with dominant-negative NRSF, thereby suggesting that endogenous NRSF interacts with NRSE-1. Binding of NRSF to NRSE in a sequence-specific manner was confirmed with chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, respectively. Furthermore, the overexpressed NRSF in PC12 cells significantly suppressed the VGF gene expression by interacting with the NRSE located in the VGF promoter region. Our results indicate that NRSF plays an important role as a repressor of VGF gene regulation in NMB cells through a mechanism that is dependent on VGF-NRSE.

When designing a mega container terminal, simulation plays a key role in evaluating proposed configurations and strategies in terms of the targeted key performance indicators (KPIs). While there are currently several popular commercial software providing well-designed libraries and powerful graphic user interfaces, there are three major challenges: 1) the provided libraries are designed as a black box; only limited parameters and functions can be tuned, whereas other specific requirements such as simulating new equipment designs requires further support from the software developers; 2) many libraries are designed for evaluation at the operational level, i.e., tracking individual container movement. The scalability is limited for modelling a mega container terminal as it gets computationally expensive quickly; and 3) the libraries of simplified server-queue models are computationally affordable, but at the expense of details which gives important insights. To tackle these challenges, we proposed a hierarchical modelling paradigm that is suitable for simulation modelling of mega container terminals at different fidelity levels based on the O2DES.Net framework. With an open and modular structure, every terminal component with various fidelity models can be “plugged-and-played”. This allows analysts from different backgrounds to conduct various types of analysis to meet their aims.

Indoor noise level is a significant factor for occupants’ health, comfort, and psychological well-being in residential buildings; hence the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends guidelines for residential buildings based on the 24-h sound levels. However, only few studies have examined 24-h noise levels and sources from neighbours. Consequently, 24-h noise measurement is necessary for understanding noise level and acoustic comfort in homes. Field measurements were performed in 26 residential apartments in Korea to investigate levels and types of noise from neighbours. Noise recordings were carried out at each residence in unoccupied conditions. The recordings were analysed at 1 min intervals in terms of the A-weighted equivalent (LAeq) and maximum sound pressure levels (LAFmax) for three different time periods during the day. It was found that 20 apartments met the recommended WHO guidelines during the daytime (07:00–23:00). However, at night (23:00–07:00), eight apartments were in excess of the WHO guideline value in terms of LAeq while LAFmax exceeded the WHO limit level in 22 apartments during the night. Human footsteps, movement of furniture, and dropping of small items were found to be major sources accounting for approximately 80% of all the noise events. LAFmax of children’s jumping and dropping small items were greater than others. Adults’ walking showed larger variation of noise levels than other sources. Moreover, it was found that indoor noise levels were not affected by slab thickness and major noise sources.

We have developed a low-noise drainage system, which was installed in bathrooms of apartment building units as well as in a mock-up test building, to evaluate the noise level in order to reduce the noise produced in the bathrooms of multiunit dwellings. The drainage system installed in the mock-up building consists of six types of detachable drains, and the level of noise produced during toilet use in the upper unit was measured in the lower unit. The measurement results showed that low-noise drainage 4 exhibited the Leq(equivalent continuous sound level) at 34.7 dB(A). The noise measurement results of various types of low-noise drains installed in an apartment building showed that the Leqduring toilet use was 46.7 dB(A) on average, and the Leqduring sink use was 40.5 dB(A) on average.

The epicanthal fold (Mongolian fold) in Asians reduces the aesthetic results of eyelid surgery, and thus, medial epicanthoplasty is commonly performed in combination with a double fold operation or blepharoptosis correction. Epicanthoplasty is one of the most popular cosmetic operations conducted in Asia, but scarring is a common problem.From December of 2006 to July of 2011, we treated 60 cases using our epicanthoplasty method, which was designed to reduce scarring. A double fold operation and blepharoptosis correction was performed along with epicanthoplasty in 54 cases and an epicanthoplasty without a double fold operation in the remaining 6 cases. Follow-up periods ranged from 6 months to 4 years and 10 months. Previously, we used an elliptical excision epicanthoplasty method, which was simple and practical. However, the elliptical excision method leaves a vertical scar on the nasal side of the upper and lower eyelids. To avoid this scar, we placed an additional incision parallel with the ciliary margin of the lower and/or upper eyelids. The results of epicanthoplasty were evaluated by asking the patients and the surgeon involved to allocate visual analog scale scores.With the exception of 1 case of hypertrophic scarring and 4 cases of undercorrection, patients were satisfied with their results. Mean patient and surgeon visual analog scale scores were 4.6 and 4.2, respectively. The advantages of the described procedure are its simplicity and the minimal scarring caused in the epicanthal area.This method could become an effective means of removing the Asian epicanthal fold and minimizing vertical scars.

Floor impact sound in high-rise apartment building became one of social problems. A lot of civil complaints on floor impact sound occur continuously and the number of disputes between neighbors in small and aged apartment buildings is increasing. Interests on heavy-weight impact sound pressure level measurement and evaluation method is increased. Previous study reported that heavy-weight impact sound level was changed by the sound field condition of receiving reverberation chamber. In this study, heavy-weight impact sound pressure level change by the receiving sound field condition was measured in standard test facility and mock-up test room. These two experimental conditions were designed to simulate averaged living room of common apartment units. By the change of sound absorption power in receiving room, heavy-weight impact sound pressure level in most of frequency bands were changed in standard test facility and mock-up room. Normalized maximum sound pressure level regulated in ISO 16032 showed wider range of heavy/soft impact sound pressure level. Heavy/soft impact sound pressure level change was became smaller by the application of standardized maximum sound pressure level and ISO/CD 10140-3 Amd 2 method. In the case of standardized maximum sound pressure level, absolute sound pressure level changed. From these results, receiving sound field correction method regulated in ISO/CD 10140-3 Amd 2 is needed for the precision measurement and evaluation of heavy-weight impact sound.

This article examines the performances of 114 major international airlines between 1987 and 2010 using the resource-based theory. Results show that intangible resource is the most important resource among the human, physical and intangible resources at the aggregate industry level. In addition, successful airlines need to be able to provide an adequate level of service at relatively low cost. Nonetheless, some airlines enjoy higher profits than the others due to the country-specific differences arising from the bilateral open skies agreement between countries, the geographical location of the airline hub etc. There are also evidences suggesting an increasing consumer acceptance of new airlines, which connote that established airlines cannot be complacent. Following the emergence of budget airlines that provide point-to-point service to short distance destinations, full legacy carriers could differentiate themselves by offering direct connections on long-distant flights.

This paper studies a new automated container terminal (ACT) system which utilizes multi-storey frame bridges and rail-mounted trolleys to transport containers between the quay and the yard. Different from widely used AGV-ACT systems, the ACT system studied in this paper uses three types of handling machines, which collaborate to transport containers. This study decomposes the container flow in the new ACT system into three queuing sub-networks. Then an iterative method is developed to analyze the operational efficiency of the ACT system. We analyze its transport efficiency by comparing with the widely used AGV-based systems. This study tries to help port operators better understand the relative merits of this new design and decide whether it is applicable in their terminals.

This paper describes a prototype of 3-phase 3.3kV/220V 6kVA modular semiconductor transformer developed in the lab for feasibility study. The developed prototype is composed of three single-phase units coupled in Y-connection. Each single-phase unit with a rating of 1.9kV/127V 2kVA consists of a high-voltage high-frequency resonant AC-DC converter, a low-voltage hybrid-switching DC-DC converter, and a low-voltage hybrid-switching DC-AC converter. Also each single-phase unit has two DSP controllers to control converter operation and to acquire monitoring data. Monitoring system was developed based on LabView by using CAN communication link between the DSP controller and PC. Through various experimental analyses it was verified that the prototype operates with proper performance under normal and sag condition. The system efficiency can be improved by adopting optimal design and replacing the IGBT switch with the SiC MOSFET switch. The developed prototype confirms a possibility to build a commercial high-voltage high-power semiconductor transformer by increasing the number of series-connected converter modules in high-voltage side and improving the performance of switching element.

In this study, we propose how th implement a MDDI(Mobile Display Digital Interface) protocol packet generation method in software. MDDI protocol is widely used in mobile display device. MDDI protocol packets are generated by software within micro processor. This method needs the minimum hardware configuration. In order to implementation of this method, we design a hardware platform with a high performance microprocessor and a FPGA. The packets generated by software within microprocessor are converted into LVDS signals, and transmitted by hardware within FPGA. This study suggests the benefits of the way how software can easily create a variety of packet. But, this proposed method takes more time in packet transmission compared to the traditional method. This weakness remains as a future challenge, which can be soon improved.

This paper proposes a new configuration of bidirectional intelligent semiconductor transformer with rating of 1.9kV/127V, 2kVA. The proposed transformer consists of high-voltage high-frequency AC-DC rectifier, and low-voltage DC-DC and DC-AC converters. The operational feasibility of proposed transformer was verified by computer simulation with PSCAD/EMTDC software. Based on the simulation results, a hardware prototype with rating of 1.9kV/127V, 2kVA was built and tested in the lab to confirm the feasibility of hardware implementation. Using three units of this transformer, a 3-phase transformer with rating of 3.3kV/220V, 6kVA can be built.

Container ports handle outbound, inbound, and transshipment containers plying between the area for vessels on the quay and the storage space in the yard. Port operators typically concentrate their efforts on the container handling process with the aims of increasing the productivity of quay-side operations and reducing the time in port of vessels. Recognizing that operation processes necessitate containers to stay in the storage space for a certain period before moving to other areas, the operational efficiency at the yard (in addition to that at the quayside) plays an influential role in ensuring performance measures of a container port. This study develops analytical models based on the Markov chain to estimate the port capacity under various combinations of resources, namely, quay cranes, yard cranes, and prime movers. Important performance measures representing the capacity in the proposed models are analyzed and sensitivity analyses of the port capacity are conducted through numerical experiments. The results under the suggested operational strategies are also compared.

In this paper, we design and implement A4 sized, web-based POP(Print On Demand) system using multi-layer technique. We Propose the framework of POP system, which uses multi-layer technique, uses highly accessible web-service, produces template, enables a user to easily edit, and allows the user to instantly print edited files. This system will be widely used in web-based electronic publication and e-book.

The main activities of container terminals are to load outbound containers on to vessels, discharge inbound containers from vessels, and store those containers in the yard before loading (or after discharging) them. This study proposes a method for determining an optimal layout of container yards taking into consideration the storage space requirements and throughput capacities of yard cranes and transporters. Two types of yard layout are under consideration: a layout where blocks are laid out parallel to the quay and transfer points are located beside a bay per block, and a layout whose blocks are laid out perpendicular to the quay and transfer points are located at both ends of each block. Various cost factors are used for optimizing the yard layout, which include the construction cost of the ground space, the fixed overhead cost of yard cranes, and the operating costs of yard cranes and transporters. Sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the effect of various design parameters on the optimal layout of the yard. The two types of yard layout are compared with each other, and the results of this study are compared against those for real-world yard layouts from the perspective of throughput capacity and storage space capacity.

This report describes the use of a tubularized random flap for the curative treatment of recurrent anterior urethral stricture. Under the condition of pendulous lithotomy and suprapubic cystostomy, the urethral stricture was removed via a midline ventral penile incision followed by elevation of the flap and insertion of an 18-Fr catheter. Subcutaneous buried interrupted sutures were used to reapproximate the waterproof tubularized neourethra and to coapt with the neourethra and each stump of the urethra, first proximally and then distally. The defect of the penile shaft was covered by advancement of the surrounding scrotal flap. The indwelling catheter was maintained for 21 days. A 9 month postoperative cystoscopy showed no flap necrosis, no mechanical stricture, and no hair growth on the lumen of the neourethra. The patient showed no voiding discomfort 6 months after the operation. The advantages of this procedure are the lack of need for microsurgery, shortening of admission, the use of only spinal anesthesia (no general anesthesia), and a relatively short operative time. The tubularized unilateral penile fasciocutaneous flap should be considered an option for initial flap urethroplasty as a curative technique.

Hemophilia B is a rare blood coagulation disorder. Complications such as bleeding and hematoma can cause necrosis of flaps, wound disruption, and the disturbance of wound healing. In particular, guidelines for flap operations in hemophilia B patients have still not been defined, and case reports are rare. We reconstructed the heel of a 41-year-old male hemophilia B patient using a reverse sural artery flap operation. The patient presented with mild hemophilia, having 27% of the normal value of coagulation factor IX. Coagulation and the changing value of the coagulation factor were regularly measured, and 70% of the normal value of coagulation factor IX was maintained through the injection of recombinant coagulation factors and antihemorrhagics. Hematoma developed twice (postoperative day [POD] 5 and POD 7) and in each case the hematoma was removed. Injections of recombinant coagulation factors and antihemorrhagics were continuously administered until postoperative week 2. When the coagulation factors were within normal ranges. In this article, a hemophilia B patient underwent reverse sural artery flap surgery and the healing progress was analyzed. We conclude that higher than baseline levels of coagulation factors are needed for successful healing in reverse sural artery flap surgery.

Recently, Development of high-speed internet networks can be a real-time video conference system. SD-quality still images using the software codec system exists, and two-way system with mobile systems, but in most video only send and receive video system. In this study, HD web-cam using the two-way live broadcasts simultaneously in the education system and the mobile system has developed an audible system. In the study using the H.264 standard video compression techniques were applied to high-bandwidth compression technology, smart phones, to develop a streaming server for broadcasting were applied. Video sharing, document, web-sharing was made possible in real time. In addition, the private IP for WiFi zone, available anytime, anywhere that can be converted to a public IP technology, IP tunneling technology applied.

During the design process of a terminal, the handling capacity of a container yard needs to be evaluated in advance. This study suggests formulas for estimating the expectations and the variances of cycle times for various types of operations of a yard crane. Statistical analysis is used to estimate the expectations and variances. The main focus of this study is to show the impact of interdependencies among handling time elements on the expectation and variance of the cycle times; these interdependencies have not been considered in previous studies. Numerical experiments are done for evaluating the difference in the variance of cycle times and the waiting of trucks between the cases with and without the consideration of interdependencies.

In this study, we suggest the system to analyze network users’ action patterns by using Data-Mining Technique. We installed Network Tap to implement the analysis system of network action and copied the network packet. The copied packet is stored at the database through MainMemoryDB(MMDB) of the high-speed. The stored data analyze the users’ action patterns by using Data-Mining Technique and then report the results to the network manager on real-time. Also, we applied the standard XML document exchange method to share the data between different systems. We propose this action pattern analysis system operated embedded type of SetToBox to install easily and support low price.Keywords:Action Patterns, Network Tap, Data-Mining, Embedded System, Standard XML 1. 서 론 1) 인터넷의 발달은 개인은 물론 기업의 업무에도 많은 영향을 주고 있다. 사내에서 근무하는 직원은 기본적으로 인터넷을 통해 업무에 도움이 되는 정보를 검색하여 활용하기도 하고, 홈쇼핑 및 각종 블로그를 통해 개인 활동을 하기도 한다. 이런 개인이 속한 대부분의 단체에는 업무의 종류로 부서를 구분한다. 부서 각각은 그 업무의 형태에 따라 일정한 패턴을 가지고 활동하게 된다. 물론 그 활동의 패턴은 인터넷 사용에도 반영 된다. 영업 부서에서 개발 부서가 사용하는 패턴의 움직임이 생긴다면 분명 이상 행위로 분류할 수 있다. 최악의 경우 사내의 기밀이 유출될 가능성도 예측

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of prospective ECG-triggering 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) coronary angiography for evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD). Forty-two patients (31 males, 11 females, mean age 64 years) underwent cardiac CT and invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Patients with a heart rate of

Yard cranes are important pieces of handling equipment in container yards. This study analyzes cycle times of various handling operations of yard cranes, including receiving, loading, discharging, and delivery operations. An operation cycle is divided into elementary movements, and formulas for expected time and variance of each elementary movement are derived analytically. Cycle times of various types of yard crane are compared with each other analytically and numerically. The accuracy of the formulas is evaluated through a simulation study.

A block is the basic unit of storage space in container terminals. This study proposes two methods for optimizing the block size, by considering the throughput requirements of yard cranes (YCs) and the block storage requirements. To estimate the YC performance, cycle-time models of various handling operations of YCs are analytically derived. Two types of container yards are examined: those with blocks that are laid out parallel to the quay and those laid out vertical to the quay.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 2-aminobicyclo-(2,2,1)-heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH), an inhibitor of L-type amino acid transporters, on the cell growth suppression in KB human oral cancer cells and to study the roles of cell cycle regulatory factors in the BCH-induced growth inhibition. The effect of BCH on cell growth suppression and the influence of BCH to cell cycle regulatory factors in KB cell growth inhibition were examined using cell cycle analysis, immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. The BCH treatment induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in KB cells. The expression of cyclin D3 was remarkably decreased by BCH treatment. The BCH inhibited the expression of cyclin-dependent protein kinase 6 (CDK6) in a time-dependent manner. In addition, the expression of CDK inhibitor p27 was increased by BCH treatment in KB cells, but not CDK inhibitors p21 and p15. These results suggest that, in KB cells, the inhibition of LAT1 by BCH causes cell cycle arrest at G1 phase by inhibiting cyclin D3-CDK6 complex whereas increasing expression of a CDK inhibitor p27.

Mating in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is induced by the interaction of alpha-factor (W1H2W3L4Q5L6K7P8G9Q10P11M12Y13) with its cognate G protein-coupled receptor (Ste2p). Fifteen fluorescently labeled analogs of alpha-factor in which the 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl (NBD) group was placed at the alphaN-terminus and in side-chains at positions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12 and 13 were synthesized and assayed for biological activity and receptor affinity. Eleven of the analogs retained 6-60% of the biological activity of the alpha-factor, as judged using a growth arrest assay. The binding affinities depended on the position of NBD attachment in the peptide and the distance of the tag from the backbone. Derivatization of the positions 3 and 7 side-chains with the NBD group resulted in analogs with affinities of 17-35% compared with that of alpha-factor. None of the other NBD-containing agonists had sufficient receptor affinity or strong enough emission for fluorescence analysis. The position 3 and 7 analogs were investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy and collisional quenching by KI in the presence of Ste2p in yeast membranes. The results showed that the lambda max of NBD in the position 7 side-chain shifted markedly to the blue (510 nm) when separated by 4 or 6 bonds from the peptide backbone and that this probe was shielded from quenching by KI. In contrast, separation by 3, 5, 10 or more bonds resulted in lambda max ( approximately 540 nm) and collisional quenching constants consistent with increasing degrees of exposure. The NBD group in the position 3 side-chain was also found to be blue shifted (lambda max=520 nm) and shielded from solvent. These results indicate that the position 7 side-chain is likely interacting with a pocket formed by extracellular domains of Ste2p, whereas the side-chain of Trp3 is in a hydrophobic pocket possibly within the transmembrane region of the receptor.