Privatization of urban transit: The Los Angeles jitney experience

This paper reports on a recent attempt to provide private transit in the form of jitney service in downtown Los Angeles. It describes the process undertaken to initiate jitney service and the resultant organization's structure and operation. A survey of jitney passengers provided information on the users and their tripmaking characteristics. A group of loyal jitney riders emerged who patronized the service because of its lower travel times and more personalized atmosphere. This group formed the core of frequent users. The Los Angeles experience is analyzed in terms of the economic feasibility of jitney service and the impact on the financial status of public transit. The public transit agency experienced a slight negative financial impact as a result of the jitney service. Ridership during peak hours declined somewhat but the jitney service was not frequent enough to carry sufficient passengers to allow the transit agency to cut costly peak hour service. This analysis shows that the jitney service ultimately was not an economically successful operation. The factors which would have increased the likelihood of success were increased frequency of service and higher fares, which would have been sustainable if not for unexpected developments in public transit financing. A labor pool willing to work for low wages, high transit use in the central city, relatively high transit fares and the availability of inexpensive vehicles appear to be prerequisites to a successful urban jitney operation.     

扩大B75集装箱正面吊运机功能的简易方法

1 引言 我公司于1985年、1986年先后从意大利引进了两台B75集装箱正面吊运机,用于集装箱的搬运、叠堆、装卸作业.其实,这种机械配以其他属具,还有多种用途.如利用原吊臂装上液压马达、卷扬机、吊钩等,就可成为名符其实的吊运车了.据原厂介绍,该正面吊除去集装箱吊具自重后,可吊60 t重物,而在集装箱吊具下多加4只固定吊耳,穿上索具后,只允许吊运40 t重物(PPM正面吊),要吊运60 t重物,只有卸去集装箱的吊具.那么,能否利用简易方法搬运长大重件,发挥设备的功能呢?     

Management of coastal eutrophication: Integration of field data, ecosystem-scale simulations and screening models

A hybrid approach for eutrophication assessment in estuarine and coastal ecosystems is presented. The ASSETS screening model (http://www.eutro.org) classifies eutrophication status into five classes: High (better), Good, Moderate, Poor and Bad (worse). This model was applied to a dataset from a shallow coastal barrier island system in southwest Europe (Ria Formosa), with a resulting score of Good. A detailed dynamic model was developed for this ecosystem, and the outputs were used to drive the screening model. Four scenarios were run on the research model: pristine, standard (simulates present loading), half and double the current nutrient loading. The Ria Formosa has a short water residence time and eutrophication symptoms are not apparent in the water column. However, benthic symptoms are expressed as excessive macroalgal growth and strong dissolved oxygen fluctuations in the tide pools. The standard simulation results showed an ASSETS grade identical to the field data application. The application of the screening model to the other scenario outputs showed the responsiveness of ASSETS to changes in pressure, state and response, scoring a grade of High under pristine conditions, Good for half the standard scenario and Moderate for double the present loadings. The use of this hybrid approach allows managers to test the outcome of measures against a set of well-defined metrics for the evaluation of state. It additionally provides a way of testing and improving the pressure component of ASSETS. Sensitivity analysis revealed that sub-sampling the output of the research model at a monthly scale, typical for the acquisition of field data, may significantly affect the outcome of the screening model, by overlooking extreme events such as occasional night-time anoxia in tide pools.     

基于遗传算法的重载与非重载去向开行方案比较研究

本文道德简要介绍重载运输在我国开行的现状，在此基础上建立一个重载列车去向模型。引进一个先进的算法－遗传算法求解模型，根据求得最终优化方案，比较普通直达列车和重载列车开行方案的不同，计算结果表明重载列车的开行应该重新调整现有编组计划，而不是仅仅加大原有开行方向上的编成辆数以实现重载。     

A game-theoretic analysis of competition among container port hubs: the case of Busan and Shanghai 1

Countries throughout the world, and especially within Asia, are investing heavily in container port infrastructure in the hopes of capturing a larger share of global shipping activity for their economies. Many existing ports are emphasizing developing the capacity to serve as a hub port, building deepwater berths with large terminals to facilitate transfer of containers from feeder ships to mother ships for intercontinental transport. We develop a game-theoretic best response framework for understanding how competitor ports will respond to development at a focus port, and whether the focus port will be able to capture or defend market share by building additional capacity. We apply this model to investment and competition currently occurring between the ports of Busan and Shanghai.     

亚洲牛带绦虫成虫延伸因子-1基因的表达、纯化及免疫学分析

目的 对亚洲牛带绦虫成虫延伸因子-1(elongation factor 1,EF-1)基因进行克隆、表达和免疫学初步研究.方法 将亚洲牛带绦虫成虫EF-1克隆到原核表达质粒pET-28a( )中,在大肠杆菌BL-21/DE3中用异丙硫代-β-D半乳糖苷诱导表达,表达产物通过十二烷基磺酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)进行鉴定,用镍离子金属螯合剂亲和层析柱进行纯化,用蛋白印迹法(Western blotting)进行免疫学分析.结果 PCR、双酶切及DNA测序结果 均表明重组质粒pET-28a( )-EF-1构建成功.重组蛋白可被感染了亚洲牛带绦虫患者血清和猪血清识别,表明其具有免疫反应性.结论 亚洲牛带绦虫成虫EF-1基因可在原核表达系统中获得具有免疫学活性的表达,为进一步研究该蛋白的功能奠定了基础.     

Analysis of the capabilities of a two-stage turbocharging system to fulfil the US2007 anti-pollution directive for heavy duty diesel engines

This article presents a two-stage turbocharged heavy-duty diesel (HDD) engine designed to fulfil the US2007 anti-pollution directive. This directive imposes very restrictive limits on the NOx and particle emissions of HDD engines. In this work, the possibility of combining particle traps in the exhaust line to reduce soot emissions with very high EGR rates to reduce NOx emissions is considered. This new generation engine implements two-stage turbocharging in order to improve the bsfc when the engine is working on steady conditions as well as to optimize the engine transient response. After carrying out the tests, the results were analyzed and the engine settings were adjusted to maximise its behaviour and minimise pollutant emissions. NOx and soot emission peaks were also analyzed at engine transient conditions in order to keep them under certain levels, and thus maintain the overall pollutant emissions to a level that is as low as possible. In summary, a double-stage turbocharging configuration can greatly improve engine driveability (between 23% and 36% depending on engine speed), while reducing NOx emissions during transient evolution without increasing opacity peaks beyond the stated limits.     

Méthode de validation formelle d’un poste d’aiguillage informatique

In this article, we discuss on how to solve the following problems: the checks and tests before putting the safety facilities into service, and the results of these tests which are essential, time consuming and may show great variations among each other. Economic constraints and the increasing complexity associated with the development of computerized tools tend to limit the capacity of the classic approval process. In practice, a reduction of the test cover rate is observed. The method presented in this article makes it possible to formally validate the new computerized mechanisms of the existing French interlocking systems with real-time functional interpreted Petri nets. The aim of our project was to provide SNCF with an operating method for the formal validation of interlocking systems. A formal proof method by assertion, applicable to our interlocking system, which covers equally the specification and its real software implementation, is presented in this article. With the proposed method and its associated tools, we completely verify that the system follows all safety procedures at all times and does not show superfluous conditions. This replaces all plateform tests checks. It is included in the existing testing procedures. The advantages of using this method are the following: a significant reduction of testing time and of the related costs, an increase of the test coverage rate (determinisitic safety vs. probabilistic safety), and an answer to the new demand of railway infrastructure maintenance engineering to modify and validate computerized interlocking systems. The mastery of formal methods by infrastructure engineers is surely a key to prove that additional safety is not expensive.     

化马隧道涌水处理浅析

化马隧道涌水为高压宽张岩溶裂隙水,具水量大,压力高,涌水连续、贯通性好、补给水头稳定等特点。通过详细地质勘探、水文地质条件分析及准确地质超前预报,掌握了涌水的特点和性质,提出了采用迂回导坑绕避结合泄水洞排水的处理方案,顺利通过了隧道涌水段。     

同步碎石封层技术在北疆地区公路应用研究

通过在新疆北部地区采用同步碎石封层技术对试验路段各路况指标进行跟踪检测,验证了同步碎石封层对原路面行驶质量、路面损坏状况、抗滑能力的改善效果以及其防渗水作用,从而得出同步碎石封层具有优良路面养护性能的结论。