Search

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.