Passengers' perceptions and effects of bus‐holding strategy using automatic vehicle location technology

This study reports bus passengers' behavior and perceptions related to the use of potential features of an automatic vehicle location (AVL) system in bus transit through conducting an attitudinal on‐board survey in Bangkok. A passenger waiting‐time survey conducted as part of this study revealed that passengers perceive waiting‐time at bus stops to be greater than actually experienced. The other aim of this study is to examine the potential benefits of bus‐holding using an AVL technology, in terms of waiting‐time, through minimizing bus bunching under different congestion levels. The results are obtained using PARAMICS, and reveal a significant reduction in average waiting‐time.     

A B-spline method used to calculate added resistance in waves

Making an exact computation of added resistance in sea waves is of high interest due to the economic effects relating to ship design and operation. In this paper, a B-spline based method is developed for computation of added resistance. Based on the potential flow assumption, the velocity potential is computed using Green's formula. The Kochin function is applied to compute added resistance using Maruo's far-field method, the body surface is described by a B-spline curve and potentials and normal derivation of potentials are also described by B-spline basis functions and B-spline derivations. A collocation approach is applied for numerical computation, and integral equations are then evaluated by applying Gauss–Legendre quadrature. Computations are performed for a spheroid and different hull forms; results are validated by a comparison with experimental results. All results obtained with the present method show good agreement with experimental results.     

采用遗传算法进行球鼻艏优化的流体动力计算(英文)

Computational fluid dynamics(CFD) plays a major role in predicting the flow behavior of a ship.With the development of fast computers and robust CFD software,CFD has become an important tool for designers and engineers in the ship industry.In this paper,the hull form of a ship was optimized for total resistance using CFD as a calculation tool and a genetic algorithm as an optimization tool.CFD based optimization consists of major steps involving automatic generation of geometry based on design parameters,automatic generation of mesh,automatic analysis of fluid flow to calculate the required objective/cost function,and finally an optimization tool to evaluate the cost for optimization.In this paper,integration of a genetic algorithm program,written in MATLAB,was carried out with the geometry and meshing software GAMBIT and CFD analysis software FLUENT.Different geometries of additive bulbous bow were incorporated in the original hull based on design parameters.These design variables were optimized to achieve a minimum cost function of "total resistance".Integration of a genetic algorithm with CFD tools proves to be effective for hull form optimization.     

Development of 19-plex Y STR system and polymorphism studies in Pakistani population

For the development of 19-plex Y STR system and polymorphism studies in locl ethnic populations sixteen markers of non-recombining regions (NRY) of Y chromosome, which show high power of discrimination among individuals, were selected in this study. Blood samples (600) were e.ollected from the males of three most common castes of Pakistani population (Arnin, Awan and Rajput) with different parent lineages. Three markers (DYS385a/b, DYS389Ⅰ/Ⅱ and YCAⅡa/b) among 16 Y STRs are double-targeted regions of the Y chromosome and thus provide two polymorphie peaks for each respective primer set. These 16 Y-STRs were developed into Megaplex system for simultaneous amplification of all markers within the population. The overall power of discrimination observed in focused populations was 60.5%, 66.5% and 55% in Rajput, Awan and Arain casts respectively. This discrimination power will be helpful in haman identification for forensic casework studies including sexual assaults and paternity testing.