Optimizing the transportation of international container cargoes in Korea

This paper considers a multimodal transportation problem, which is the problem of determining the transportation flow, i.e. volume of container cargoes, and the transportation mode in each trade route, for the objective of minimizing the sum of shipping and inland transportation costs. The problem takes account of two restrictions: maximum cargo volumes capacitated at each seaport and maximum number of vehicles available at each transportation mode. To solve optimally the problem, this paper employs a mixed integer programming, which is an operations research technique. A case study is performed on the container cargo data in Korea and we draw several implications to improve efficiency in the transportation of international trade cargoes in Korea.     

Factors Influencing the Participation of Local Governmental Officials in the National Estuary Program

Participation by local governmental officials is not given the same attention in the literature as that of citizens, publics, technical experts, or stakeholders. Yet, local governments are often a keystone to successfully implementing and enforcing coastal management policies. Qualitative analysis of open-ended interviews with local government officials from three national estuary program applications in New England revealed factors related to nine themes that shaped decisions to participate or not. Three categories of factors help to clarify the different types of influence agencies have over local government officials' decisions about whether or not to participate: factors associated with the character of individuals, with the context, and with the process. This taxonomy helps to clarify the kinds of opportunities available to project leadership to influence local government officials toward participating in regional coastal management processes. An important finding is that project staff should listen and learn about the concerns of local government officials and then create a process that accommodates and overcomes barriers to their participation.     

Cyclone Mitigation Perspectives in the Islands of Bangladesh: A Case of Sandwip and Hatia Islands

Most coastal areas of the world are now at risk from natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges, beach erosions, tsunamis, sea level rises, and so on, resulting from geological and meteorological disturbances. In Bangladesh, during premonsoon and post-monsoon periods cyclone and tidal surges are considered the most catastrophic phenomena in coastal regions, including islands. Most coastal island residents of Bangladesh have been facing cyclones for centuries. The present study establishes a comparison between two neighboring islands, Sandwip and Hatia, of the Meghna estuary with respect to disaster reaction and management. Based on a questionnaire survey and observations, the study shows that the inhabitants of Hatia are more aware of and confident in disaster management than the inhabitants of Sandwip. Residents of both islands in the Meghna estuary have established trust in the warning signals following the heavy devastation of great cyclones of 1970, 1985, 1991, and 1997. The residents of Hatia have been facing cyclones and tidal surges more frequently than the residents of Sandwip due to the island's geographical location. In addition, shelter management and relief management are better developed in Hatia than Sandwip.     

香港地铁的可持续发展探索

以香港地铁的发展历程为题材,从经济贡献、环境保护和社会责任三方面,探讨轨道交通系统可持续发展的含义.为了达到可持续发展的目标,分析城市轨道交通新线在规划和建设阶段需要考虑的因素,探索城市规划与城市轨道交通规划之间的关系.介绍香港地铁运营服务的良好效果,以及降低运营成本所采取的有效措施.     

Suspended sediment and erosion dynamics in Kugmallit Bay and Beaufort Sea during ice-free conditions

The Mackenzie River is the largest river on the North American side of the Arctic and its huge freshwater and sediment load impacts the Canadian Beaufort Shelf. Huge quantities of sediment and associated organic carbon are transported in the Mackenzie plume into the interior of the Arctic Ocean mainly during the freshet (May to September). Changing climate scenarios portend increased coastal erosion and resuspension that lead to altered river-shelf-slope particle budgets. We measured sedimentation rates, suspended particulate matter (SPM), particle size and settling rates during ice-free conditions in Kugmallit Bay (3–5 m depth). Additionally, measurements of erosion rate, critical shear stress, particle size distribution and resuspension threshold of bottom sediments were examined at four regionally contrasting sites (33–523 m depth) on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf using a new method for assessing sediment erosion. Wind induced resuspension was evidenced by a strong relationship between SPM and wind speed in Kugmallit Bay. Deployment of sediment traps showed decreasing sedimentation rates at sites along an inshore–offshore transect ranging from 5400 to 3700 g m^− 2 day^− 1. Particle settling rates and size distributions measured using a Perspex settling chamber showed strong relationships between equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) and particle settling rates (r² = 0.91). Mean settling rates were 0.72 cm s^− 1 with corresponding ESD values of 0.9 mm. Undisturbed sediment cores were exposed to shear stress in an attempt to compare differences in sediment stability across the shelf during September to October 2003. Shear was generated by vertically oscillating a perforated disc at controlled frequencies corresponding to calibrated shear velocity using a piston grid erosion device. Critical (Type I) erosion thresholds (u) varied between 1.1 and 1.3 cm s^− 1 with no obvious differences in location. Sediments at the deepest site Amundsen Gulf displayed the highest erosion rates (22–54 g m^− 2 min^− 1) with resuspended particle sizes ranging from 100 to 930 µm for all sites. There was no indication of biotic influence on sediment stability, although our cores did not display a fluff layer of unconsolidated sediment. Concurrent studies in the delta and shelf region suggest the importance of a nepheloid layer which transports suspended particles to the slope. Continuous cycles of resuspension, deposition, and horizontal advection may intensify with reduction of sea ice in this region. Our measurements coupled with studies of circulation and cross-shelf exchange allow parameterization and modeling of particle dynamics and carbon fluxes under various climate change scenarios.     

Research trends and agenda on the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative with a focus on maritime transport

The ‘Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road’ (collectively known as Belt and Road, B&R) has been initiated by the Chinese government in 2013. The B&R is increasingly becoming a focal point for socio-economic–political interests because of its likely impact on land and sea transport and maritime logistics. The aims of this study were threefold: first, to provide an overview on the B&R, focusing on its key structural elements, such as transport corridors, city clusters, dry ports, infrastructure, zoning, and area development; second, to identify the expected impacts of the B&R on trade and implications on structural changes in transportation systems, port networks, and international logistics. Finally, to discuss major research trends and setting up of research agenda which will contribute to enriching the existing literature and shaping the global trade operations and drive economic growth in the context of the B&R.     

KERFIX, a time-series station in the Southern Ocean: a presentation

Between January 1990 and March 1995, the research project KERFIX undertook the first regular noncoastal multiyear acquisition of parameters related to the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean at a time series station located at 50°40′ S–68°25′ E, 60 miles southwest of the Kerguelen Islands. The objectives of KERFIX are (1) to monitor the ocean/atmosphere CO₂ and O₂ exchanges and to understand which processes govern these exchanges (2) to observe and interpret the seasonal and interannual variability of the production, flux, decomposition and dissolution of carbon and associated elements at this location. In addition, micropaleontological studies describe the present and past flux dynamics in this oceanic area, to improve the knowledge of the transfer functions of some oceanographic proxies. This paper presents a survey of the KERFIX program: scientific objectives, organization of the field operations and some main results obtained since the beginning of KERFIX program, as well as the results of the temporal evolution of hydrological, chemical and biological parameters.     

THE EFFECT OF RT-PA ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH THROMBIN INHIBITORS IN A MODEL OF CEREBROVASCULAR THROMBOSIS IN THE RABBIT

Occlusivevasculardisorders,bothvenousandarterial,aresomeofthemostcommoncausesofmorbidityandmortalityindevelopedcountries.Theaimoftherapyinsuchconditionsis,firstly,torestoreandmaintainbloodflowtotheaffectedtissueororgan,andsecondly,torestorethesystemtothenormalhaemostaticstatewithoutovercompensatingandproducingcomplicationssuchashaemorrhage.Thrombolyticagents,suchasrecombinanttissueplasminogenactivator(rt-PA),arewidelyusedinthetreatmentofpatientswithacutemyocardialinfarction.However,successful…