Consolidation and contestability in the European container handling industry

The first part of this paper brings into discussion some recent changes in the dynamics of the European container handling business, in particular as a result of vertical and horizontal integration strategies of container terminal operators. The industry structure has become sufficiently consolidated to raise a fundamental question about whether market forces are sufficient to prevent the abuse of market power. In this context, reference is made to the theory of contestable markets. The second part of the paper looks more closely to the issue of contestability by means of an exploratory and qualitative study of elements that could prevent other players entering or exiting the European container handling market. As such, a first indication is given of the degree of contestability in the container handling industry.     

Modelling the provision of transport with planned or market‐determined public transport services

Implications of the difference between planned and market‐determined public transport services for the modelling of the transport system and its use are examined. In the former case, the task for government seeking to optimise performance of the transport system has a standard bi‐level form, but in the latter case, the lower‐level problem in the bi‐level formulation is to determine mutually consistent solutions to a pair of optimisation problems. The relevance of the mutually consistent solution in this context is contrasted with its sometimes misleading role in the context of optimisation of urban traffic signal control.     

Nutrient cycling and primary production in the marine systems of the Arctic and Antarctic

Primary production events in both the Arctic and the Antarctic are highly localized. Carbon-14 incubations that did not account for this caused antarctic primary production estimates to be revised too far downwards from the historic view of high productivity. The primary production regime in the Arctic is even more heterogeneous than in the Antarctic. Arctic primary production rates are in the process of being revised upwards because of a better spatial and temporal distribution of incubation experiments and a re-awakening of interest in estimating new production from the distribution of chemical variables. Similarly, recent examination of temporal changes in nitrate concentrations and recognition of the importance of ice-edge blooms has caused antarctic primary productivity to be revised upwards. In both the Arctic and the Antarctic, the ratio of “new” to total primary production is high, and neglect of this fact can lead to an underestimation of the potential that these regions have for influencing global cycles of bioactive chemicals. Some recent data on temporal changes in nitrate from Fram Strait emphasize the poor state of our knowledge by suggesting an unexpectedly high “new” production rate of 1 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ for a 35 day experiment that encountered an early Phaeocystis bloom. Chemical distributions suggest that new production over the shelf seas that border the Polar Basin is about 50 g Cm⁻² yr⁻¹.The shelves in the Arctic Ocean's marginal and adjacent seas comprise 25% of the total global continental shelf. These extensive shallow regions have much higher rates of primary production than the Polar Basin and may be globally significant sites of denitrification. Globally significant silica deposition could occur on these shelves or on the adjacent slopes.Because of the differences in geomorphology and stratification, global warming is likely to increase primary production in the Arctic and will probably decrease antarctic primary production.In addition to sharing high ratios of “new” to total primary production, high ammonium concentrations occur in the Arctic and Antarctic. It is possible that these accumulations arise from a strong repression of nitrification at low temperatures.     

迫导向货车转向架与标准三大件转向架性能的比较

对2种车型的迫导向转向架进行了试验，并与同等条件下的标准三大件货车转向架进行了性能比较，结果是迫导向转向架可节省燃料、降低质量、提高装载能力。     

Performance Index for a Preview Active Suspension Applied to a Quarter-Car Model

A simple and convenient matrix expression is derived for the performance index in the case of a linear vehicle model with two degrees of freedom and a preview active suspension, subject to a unit step road input and employing optimal control. The usual quadratic integral-type performance index is assumed and the effect of an additional form of constraint is described briefly. The effects of preview time on the performance index and the optimal feed-forward control are illustrated graphically for a particular example.     

2006年铁道养路机械展销会成果介绍

在卡卢加举行的第12届"2006年铁道线路机械"例行国际专业展销会上,100多家俄罗斯及世界各国的企业和组织展示出了在铁路轨道技术装备方面最新的研发成果。展览会用实物反映了在铁道线路运营方面的2个重要的发展方向,一是利用功能更多的机械采用先进的养路作业工艺;二是线路整体在科学技术进步方面有了进一步的发展。展览会向参加者和各方来宾介绍了各种现代化的高生产率机械、检查设备和线路诊断设备、机械化的工具、高效的技术研发成果等。     

谐波对牵引变压器损耗的影响

根据一个牵引变压器的损耗,提出了谐波对绕组电阻的影响.对同心式和饼式线圈的变压器进行了分析.使用二维有限元计算软件"Flux2D"进行了多种仿真,并且将其结果与实际变压器测量值进行对比,提出一个简单的定律,由此可确定2种不同类型变压器电阻随频率的变化规律.     

Sail–sail and sail–hull interaction effects of hybrid-sail assisted bulk carrier

In a previously reported study, wind tunnel experiments were undertaken to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of hybrid-sails in isolation. Such sails are seen as providing a worthwhile reduction in the delivered power to the propeller and hence the engine generated thrust, with a corresponding reduction in the CO₂ production of diesel engine exhaust. In this paper, wind tunnel testing is used to investigate sail–sail interaction effects for two sets of four identical hybrid-sails, and the sail–hull interaction effects for the same two sets of four identical sails in the presence of a bulk carrier hullform. The analysis presented suggests that to build a sail-assisted ship requires an appreciation of the sail–sail and sail–hull interaction effects.     

A reduced-gravity model of the Catalan Sea

A reduced-gravity model is used to study the effects of the wind on the upper layer circulation in the Catalan Sea. The model parameters were set by observed features of the circulation in the basin. It is shown that the results are particularly sensitive to the open sea boundary conditions. Simulations were done using the following boundary fluxes: (i) mean values estimated by Bethoux (1980) and (ii) more recent geostrophic transports computed from hydrographic data by Font et al. (1988). The latter seem to lead to more realistic circulation patterns. The influence of seasonal winds (climatological data) on the dynamics is clear, especially during the winter.