Search results for: vehicle routing with pickup and delivery

Authors: Sivanandan Balakrishnan, Sara Moridpour, Richard Tay

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Heavy vehicles make a significant contribution to many developed economies, including Australia, because they are a major means of transporting goods within these countries. With the increase in road freight, there will be an increase in the heavy vehicle traffic proportion, and consequently, an increase in the possibility of collisions involving heavy vehicles. Crashes involving heavy vehicles are a major road safety concern because of the higher likelihood of fatal and serious injury, especially to any small vehicle occupant involved. The primary objective of this research is to identify the factors influencing injury severity to occupants in vehicle collisions involving heavy vehicle at T- intersection using a binary logit model in Victoria, Australia. Our results show that the factors influencing injury severity include occupants' gender, age and restraint use. Also, vehicles' type, movement, point-of-impact and damage, time-of-day, day-of-week and season, higher percentage of trucks in traffic volume, hit pedestrians, number of occupants involved and type of collisions are associated with severe injury.

Keywords: binary logit model, heavy vehicle, injury severity, T-intersections

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Authors: Michael Moeti, Khuliso Sigama, Thapelo Samuel Matlala

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One of the principal challenges that the world is confronted with is insecurity. The crime rate is increasing exponentially, and protecting our physical assets especially in the motorist industry, is becoming impossible when applying our own strength. The need to develop technological solutions that detect and report theft without any human interference is inevitable. This is critical, especially for vehicle owners, to ensure theft detection and speedy identification towards recovery efforts in cases where a vehicle is missing or attempted theft is taking place. The vehicle theft detection system uses Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to recognize the driver's face captured using an installed mobile phone device. The location identification function uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine the real-time location of the vehicle. Upon identification of the location, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology is used to report or notify the vehicle owner about the whereabouts of the vehicle. The installed mobile app was implemented by making use of python as it is undoubtedly the best choice in machine learning. It allows easy access to machine learning algorithms through its widely developed library ecosystem. The graphical user interface was developed by making use of JAVA as it is better suited for mobile development. Google's online database (Firebase) was used as a means of storage for the application. The system integration test was performed using a simple percentage analysis. Sixty (60) vehicle owners participated in this study as a sample, and questionnaires were used in order to establish the acceptability of the system developed. The result indicates the efficiency of the proposed system, and consequently, the paper proposes the use of the system can effectively monitor the vehicle at any given place, even if it is driven outside its normal jurisdiction. More so, the system can be used as a database to detect, locate and report missing vehicles to different security agencies.

Keywords: CNN, location identification, tracking, GPS, GSM

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Authors: A. Degale Desta, Cheng Jian

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Background: Vehicle detection accuracy is critical to intelligent transportation systems and autonomous driving. The state-of-the-art object identification technology YOLOv8 has shown significant gains in efficiency and detection accuracy. This study uses the BDD100K dataset, which is renowned for its extensive and varied annotations, to assess how well YOLOv8 performs in vehicle detection. Objectives: The primary objective of this research is to assess YOLOv8's performance in intelligent transportation system vehicle identification and its ability to accurately identify cars in urban environments for safety prioritization. Methods: The primary objective of this research is to assess YOLOv8's performance in intelligent transportation system vehicle identification and its ability to accurately identify cars in urban environments for safety prioritization. Results: The results show that YOLOv8 achieves high mAP, recall, precision, and F1-score values, indicating state-of-the-art performance. This suggests that YOLOv8 can identify cars in complex urban environments with a high degree of accuracy and reliable results in a variety of traffic scenarios. Conclusion: The results indicate that YOLOv8 is a useful tool for enhancing vehicle detection accuracy in intelligent transportation systems, hence advancing urban public safety and security. The model's demonstrated performance shows how well it may be incorporated into autonomous driving applications to improve situational awareness and responsiveness.

Keywords: vehicle detection, YOLOv8, BDD100K, object detection, deep learning

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Authors: Baoshan Huang, Fanbiao Bao, Bing Li, Lianghua Zeng, Yi Zheng

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Parameter control strategy based on statistical characteristics can analyze the choice of the transmission ratio of an automobile transmission. According to the difference of the transmission gear, the number and spacing of the gear can be determined. Transmission ratio distribution of transmission needs to satisfy certain distribution law. According to the statistic characteristics of driving parameters, the shift control strategy of the vehicle is analyzed. CVT shift schedule adjustment algorithm based on statistical characteristic parameters can be seen from the above analysis, if according to the certain algorithm to adjust the size of, can adjust the target point are in the best efficiency curve and dynamic curve between the location, to alter the vehicle characteristics. Based on the dynamic characteristics and the practical application of the vehicle, this paper presents the setting scheme of the transmission ratio.

Keywords: vehicle dynamics, transmission ratio, transmission parameters, statistical characteristics

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Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale, José Ubiragi de Lima Mendes

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In elapsing of the years it elaborates automobile it is developing automobiles more and more modern that, every year, the vehicles recently of the assembly lines, practically they push for the past produced models there is very little time. Those innovations didn't also pass unperceived in 0respect the safety of the vehicles. It is in this development apprenticeship the brakes systems equipped more and more with resources sophisticated. In that way, before of that context, this research tried to project a brake system for a vehicle off-road and to analyze your acting as the brakes efficiency: distances traveled and time, concluding with possible improvements in the system.

Keywords: brakes system, off-road, vehicle acting, automotive and mechanical engineering

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Authors: AmirHossein Mohajerzadeh, Mohammad Alishahi, Saeed Aslishahi, Mohsen Zabihi

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In this paper, we consider sensor nodes with the capability of measuring the bearings (relative angle to the target). We use geometric methods to select a set of observer nodes which are responsible for collecting data from the target. Considering the characteristics of target tracking applications, it is clear that significant numbers of sensor nodes are usually inactive. Therefore, in order to minimize the total network energy consumption, a set of sensor nodes, called sentinel, is periodically selected for monitoring, controlling the environment and transmitting data through the network. The other nodes are inactive. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm provides a joint scheduling and routing algorithm to transmit data between network nodes and the fusion center (FC) in which not only provides an efficient way to estimate the target position but also provides an efficient target tracking. Performance evaluation confirms the superiority of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: coverage, routing, scheduling, target tracking, wireless sensor networks

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Authors: Michael C. Barbecho, Romeo B. Morcilla

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This study focused on the development of a solar powered front wheel drive electric trike for personal use and short distance travel, utilizing solar power and a variable speed transmission to adapt in places where varying road grades and unavailability of plug-in charging stations are of great problems. The actual performance of the vehicle was measured in terms of duration of charging using solar power, distance travel and battery power duration, top speed developed at full power, and load capacity. This project followed the research and development process which involved planning, designing, construction, and testing. Solar charging tests revealed that the vehicle requires 6 to 8 hours sunlight exposure to fully charge the batteries. At full charge, the vehicle can travel 35 km utilizing battery power down to 42%. Vehicle showed top speed of 25 kph at 0 to 3% road grade carrying a maximum load of 122 kg. The maximum climbing grade was 23% with the vehicle carrying a maximum load of 122 kg. Technically the project was feasible and can be a potential model for possible conversion of traditional Philippine made “pedicabs” and gasoline engine powered tricycle into modern electric vehicles. Moreover, it has several technical features and advantages over a commercialized electric vehicle such as the use solar charging system and variable speed power transmission and front drive power train for adaptability in any road gradient.

Keywords: electric vehicle, solar vehicles, front drive, solar, solar power

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Authors: Reenu Yadav, Vidhi Guha, Udit N. Soni, Jay Ram Patel

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Chewing gums are mobile novel drug delivery systems, with a potential for administering drugs either for local action or for systemic absorption via the buccal route. An antimicrobial chewing gum delivery system of the methanolic extracts of Beatea monosperma (barks and twigs), Cordia obliqua (leaves and seeds) and Cuminun cyminum (seeds) against periodontal diseases caused by some oral pathogens, was designed and characterized on various parameters.The results of the study support the traditional application of the plants and suggest, plant extracts possess compounds with antimicrobial properties that can be used as potential antimicrobial agents and gums can be a good carrier of herbal extracts. Developed formulation will cure/protect from various periodontal diseases. Further development and evaluations chewing gums including the isolated compounds on the commercial scale and their clinical and toxicological studies are the future challenges.

Keywords: periodontal diseases, herbal chewing gum, herbal extracts, novel drug delivery systems

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Authors: Takumi Shindo, Koji Okamura

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The first generation of the wide area network was circuit centric network. How the optimal circuit can be signed was the most important issue to get the best performance. This architecture had succeeded for line based telephone system. The second generation was host centric network and Internet based on this architecture has very succeeded world widely. And Internet became as new social infrastructure. Currently the architecture of the network is based on the location of the information. This future network is called Information centric network (ICN). The information-centric network (ICN) has being researched by many projects and different architectures for implementation of ICN have been proposed. The goal of this study is to compare performances of those ICN architectures. In this paper, the authors propose general ICN model which can represent two typical ICN architectures and compare communication performances using request routing. Finally, simulation results are shown. Also, we assume that this network architecture should be adapt to energy on-demand routing.

Keywords: ICN, information centric network, CCN, energy

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Authors: Muhammad Faizan Rehman Qureshi, Ahmed Al-Kaisy

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Accurate estimation of traffic loads is critical for pavement and bridge design, among other transportation applications. Given the disproportional impact of heavier axle loads on pavement and bridge structures, truck and heavy vehicle traffic is expected to be a major determinant of traffic load estimation. Further, heavy vehicle traffic is also a major input in transportation planning and economic studies. The traditional method for estimating heavy vehicle traffic primarily relies on AADT estimation using Monthly Day of the Week (MDOW) adjustment factors as well as the percent heavy vehicles observed using statewide data collection programs. The MDOW factors are developed using daily and seasonal (or monthly) variation patterns for total traffic, consisting predominantly of passenger cars and other smaller vehicles. Therefore, while using these factors may yield reasonable estimates for total traffic (AADT), such estimates may involve a great deal of approximation when applied to heavy vehicle traffic. This research aims at assessing the approximation involved in estimating heavy vehicle traffic using MDOW adjustment factors for total traffic (conventional approach) along with three other methods of using MDOW adjustment factors for total trucks (class 5-13), combination-unit trucks (class 8-13), as well as adjustment factors for each vehicle class separately. Results clearly indicate that the conventional method was outperformed by the other three methods by a large margin. Further, using the most detailed and data intensive method (class-specific adjustment factors) does not necessarily yield a more accurate estimation of heavy vehicle traffic.

Keywords: traffic loads, heavy vehicles, truck traffic, adjustment factors, traffic data collection

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Authors: Haluk Eren, Mucahit Karaduman

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This paper presents 15-year trends for scientific studies in a scientific database considering 3D and vehicle words. Two words are selected to find their associated publications in IEEE scholar database. Both of keywords are entered individually for the years 2002, 2012, and 2016 on the database to identify the preferred subjects of researchers in same years. We have classified closer research fields after searching and listing. Three years (2002, 2012, and 2016) have been investigated to figure out progress in specified time intervals. The first one is assumed as the initial progress in between 2002-2012, and the second one is in 2012-2016 that is fast development duration. We have found very interesting and beneficial results to understand the scholars’ research field preferences for a decade. This information will be highly desirable in smart city-based research purposes consisting of 3D and vehicle-related issues.

Keywords: Vehicle, three-dimensional, smart city, scholarly search, semantic

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Authors: Aref M. A. Soliman, Mahmoud A. Hassan

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In all vehicle suspension, there is a dry friction. One of the various active suspensions, which have been shown to have considerable practical potential, is a switchable damper suspension system. In this paper, vehicle ride comfort for the passive and switchable damper suspension systems as affected by the value of frictional force generated in springs is discussed. A mathematical model of a quarter vehicle model for two setting switchable damper suspension system with dry friction force is developed to evaluate vehicle ride comfort in terms of suspension performance criteria. The vehicle itself is treated as a rigid body undergoing vertical motions. Comparisons between passive and switchable damper suspensions systems with dry friction force in terms of ride performance are also discussed. The results showed that the ride comfort for the passive and switchable damper suspension systems was deteriorated due to dry friction occurring in the suspensions. The two setting switchable damper with and without dry friction force gives better ride improvements compared with the passive suspension system. Also, the obtained results show an optimum value of damping ratio of the passive suspension system.

Keywords: ride comfort, dry friction, switchable damper, passive suspension

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Authors: Feng-Tsai Weng, Dong- Syuan Cai, Tsochu-Lin

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A vehicle gasoline engine converts gasoline into power so that the car can move, and lubricants are important for engines and also gear boxes. Manufacturers have produced numbers of engine oils, and gear oils for engines and gear boxes to SAE International Standards. Some products not only can improve the lubrication of both the engine and gear box but also can raise power of vehicle this can be easily seen in the advertisement declared by the manufacturers. To observe the lubrication performance, a multi-leveled (heavy duty) gear oil was added to a gasoline engine as the oil in the vehicle. The oil was checked at about every 10,000 kilometers. The engine was detailed disassembled, cleaned, and parts were measured. The wear of components of the engine parts were checked and recorded finally. Based on the experiment results, some gear oil seems possible to be used as engine oil in particular vehicles. Vehicle owners should change oil periodically in about every 6,000 miles (or 10,000 kilometers). Used car owners may change engine oil in even longer distance.

Keywords: multi-level gear oil, engine oil, viscosity, abrasion

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Authors: Mohammad Hamed Asosheh

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The development of nanobiomaterials has opened new avenues in the field of biomedical engineering, offering unparalleled possibilities for advanced therapeutic applications. This study explores the synthesis and characterization of a distinct class of nanobiomaterials designed to enhance drug delivery systems and support tissue engineering. By integrating biodegradable polymers with bioactive nanoparticles, we have engineered a multifunctional platform that ensures controlled drug release, targeted delivery, and improved biocompatibility. Our findings demonstrate that these nanobiomaterials not only exhibit excellent mechanical properties but also promote cell proliferation and differentiation, making them ideal candidates for regenerative medicine. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo assessments reveal that the engineered materials significantly reduce cytotoxicity while enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of encapsulated drugs. This research presents a promising approach to addressing current challenges in drug delivery and tissue regeneration, with the potential to revolutionize the treatment of chronic diseases and injury repair. Future work will focus on optimizing the material composition for specific clinical applications and conducting large-scale studies to evaluate long-term safety and effectiveness.

Keywords: nanobiomaterials, drug delivery systems, therapeutic efficacy, bioactive nanoparticles

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Authors: Barenten Suciu, Ryoichi Kinoshita

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In this paper, an experimental and theoretical study on the bogie pseudo-hunting motion of a reduced-scale model railway vehicle, running on double-curved rails, is presented. Since the actual bogie hunting motion, occurring for real railway vehicles running on straight rails at high travelling speeds, cannot be obtained in laboratory conditions, due to the speed and wavelength limitations, a pseudo- hunting motion was induced by employing double-curved rails. Firstly, the test rig and the experimental procedure are described. Then, a geometrical model of the double-curved rails is presented. Based on such model, the variation of the carriage rotation angle relative to the bogies and the working conditions of the yaw damper are clarified. Vibration spectra recorded during vehicle travelling, on straight and double-curved rails, are presented and interpreted based on a simple vibration model of the railway vehicle. Ride comfort of the vehicle is evaluated according to the ISO 2631 standard, and also by using some particular frequency weightings, which account for the discomfort perceived during the reading and writing activities. Results obtained in this work are useful for the adequate design of the yaw dampers, which are used to attenuate the lateral vibration of the train car bodies.

Keywords: double-curved rail, octave analysis, vibration model, ride comfort, railway vehicle

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Authors: Soufiane Benoumhani, Nadia Saifi, Boubekeur Dokkar, Mohamed Cherif Benzid

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This work presents the design and simulation of electric equipment for a hybrid solar vehicle. The new drive train of this vehicle is a parallel hybrid system which means a vehicle driven by a great percentage of an internal combustion engine with 49.35 kW as maximal power and electric motor only as assistance when is needed. This assistance is carried out on the rear axle by a single electric motor of 7.22 kW as nominal power. The motor is driven by 12 batteries connecting in series, which are charged by three PV panels (300 W) installed on the roof and hood of the vehicle. The individual components are modeled and simulated by using the Matlab Simulink environment. The whole system is examined under different load conditions. The reduction of CO₂ emission is obtained by reducing fuel consumption. With the use of this hybrid system, fuel consumption can be reduced from 6.74 kg/h to 5.56 kg/h when the electric motor works at 100 % of its power. The net benefit of the system reaches 1.18 kg/h as fuel reduction at high values of power and torque.

Keywords: light car, hybrid system, PV panel, electric motor

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Authors: Bander Alzahrani

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Information-centric networking (ICN) using architectures such as Publish-Subscribe Internet Routing Paradigm (PSIRP) is one of the promising candidates for a future Internet, has recently been under the spotlight by the research community to investigate the possibility of redesigning the current Internet architecture to solve many issues such as routing scalability, security, and quality of services issues.. The Bloom filter-based forwarding is a source-routing approach that is used in the PSIRP architecture. This mechanism is vulnerable to brute force attacks which may lead to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. In this work, we present a new forwarding approach that keeps the advantages of Bloom filter-based forwarding while mitigates attacks on the forwarding mechanism. In practice, we introduce a special type of forwarding nodes called Edge-FW to be placed at the edge of the network. The role of these node is to add an extra security layer by validating and inspecting packets at the edge of the network against brute-force attacks and check whether the packet contains a legitimate forwarding identifier (FId) or not. We leverage Certificateless Aggregate Signature (CLAS) scheme with a small size of 64-bit which is used to sign the FId. Hence, this signature becomes bound to a specific FId. Therefore, malicious nodes that inject packets with random FIds will be easily detected and dropped at the Edge-FW node when the signature verification fails. Our preliminary security analysis suggests that with the proposed approach, the forwarding plane is able to resist attacks such as DoS with very high probability.

Keywords: bloom filter, certificateless aggregate signature, denial-of-service, information centric network

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Authors: Nungki Rositaningsih, Emil Budianto

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Starch has been widely used as an encapsulation material for drug delivery system. However, starch hydrogel is very easily degraded during metabolism in human stomach. Modification of this material is needed to improve the encapsulation process in drug delivery system, especially for gastrointestinal drug. In this research, three modified starch-based hydrogels are synthesized i.e. Crosslinked starch hydrogel, Semi- and Full- Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) starch hydrogel using Poly(N-Vinyl-Pyrrolidone). Non-modified starch hydrogel was also synthesized as a control. All of those samples were compared as biomaterials, floating drug delivery, and their ability in loading drug test. Biomaterial characterizations were swelling test, stereomicroscopy observation, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Buoyancy test and stereomicroscopy scanning were done for floating drug delivery characterizations. Lastly, amoxicillin was used as test drug, and characterized with UV-Vis spectroscopy for loading drug observation. Preliminary observation showed that Full-IPN has the most dense and elastic texture, followed by Semi-IPN, Crosslinked, and Non-modified in the last position. Semi-IPN and Crosslinked starch hydrogel have the most ideal properties and will not be degraded easily during metabolism. Therefore, both hydrogels could be considered as promising candidates for encapsulation material. Further analysis and issues will be discussed in the paper.

Keywords: biomaterial, drug delivery system, interpenetrating polymer network, poly(N-vinyl-pyrrolidone), starch hydrogel

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Authors: Diana Islam, Juan Fang, Vito Fanelli, Bing Han, Julie Khang, Jianfeng Wu, Arthur S. Slutsky, Haibo Zhang

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Introduction: MSC delivery in preclinical models of ARDS has demonstrated significant improvements in lung function and recovery from acute injury. However, the role of MSC delivery in ARDS associated pulmonary fibrosis is not well understood. Some animal studies using bleomycin, asbestos, and silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis show that MSC delivery can suppress fibrosis. While other animal studies using radiation induced pulmonary fibrosis, liver, and kidney fibrosis models show that MSC delivery can contribute to fibrosis. Hypothesis: The beneficial and deleterious effects of MSC in ARDS are modulated by the lung microenvironment at the time of MSC delivery. Methods: To induce ARDS a two-hit mouse model of Hydrochloric acid (HCl) aspiration (day 0) and mechanical ventilation (MV) (day 2) was used. HCl and injurious MV generated fibrosis within 14-28 days. 0.5x106 mouse MSCs were delivered (via both intratracheal and intravenous routes) either in the active inflammatory phase (day 2) or during the remodeling phase (day 14) of ARDS (mouse fibroblasts or PBS used as a control). Lung injury accessed using inflammation score and elastance measurement. Pulmonary fibrosis was accessed using histological score, tissue collagen level, and collagen expression. In addition alveolar epithelial (E) and mesenchymal (M) marker expression profile was also measured. All measurements were taken at day 2, 14, and 28. Results: MSC delivery 2 days after HCl exacerbated lung injury and fibrosis compared to HCl alone, while the day 14 delivery showed protective effects. However in the absence of HCl, MSC significantly reduced the injurious MV-induced fibrosis. HCl injury suppressed E markers and up-regulated M markers. MSC delivery 2 days after HCl further amplified M marker expression, indicating their role in myofibroblast proliferation/activation. While with 14-day delivery E marker up-regulation was observed indicating their role in epithelial restoration. Conclusions: Early MSC delivery can be protective of injurious MV. Late MSC delivery during repair phase may also aid in recovery. However, early MSC delivery during the exudative inflammatory phase of HCl-induced ARDS can result in pro-fibrotic profiles. It is critical to understand the interaction between MSC and the lung microenvironment before MSC-based therapies are utilized for ARDS.

Keywords: acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), hydrochloric acid (HCl), mechanical ventilation (MV)

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Authors: Jonas Mayer, Kai-Frederic Seitz, Thorben Kuprat

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In today’s competitive environment production’s logistic objectives such as ‘delivery reliability’ and ‘delivery time’ and distribution’s logistic objectives such as ‘service level’ and ‘delivery delay’ are attributed great importance. Especially for small and mid-sized enterprises (SME) attaining these objectives pose a key challenge. Within this context, one of the difficulties is that interactions between departments within the enterprise and their specific objectives are insufficiently taken into account and aligned. Interdepartmental independencies along with contradicting targets set within the different departments result in enterprises having sub-optimal logistic performance capability. This paper presents a research project which will systematically describe the interactions between departments and convert them into a quantifiable form.

Keywords: department-specific actuating and control variables, interdepartmental interactions, cybernetic model, logistic objectives

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Authors: Shiuh-Jer Huang, Yun-Han Yeh

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A 40 steps manual adjusting shock absorber was refitted with DC motor driving mechanism to construct as a semi-active suspension system for a four-wheel drive electric vehicle. Accelerometer and potentiometer sensors are installed to measure the sprung mass acceleration and suspension system compression or rebound states for control purpose. A fuzzy logic controller was designed to derive appropriate damping target based on vehicle running condition for semi-active suspension system to follow. The damping ratio control of each wheel axis suspension system is executed with a robust fuzzy sliding mode controller (FSMC). Different road surface conditions are chosen to evaluate the control performance of this semi-active suspension system based on wheel axis acceleration signal.

Keywords: semi-active suspension, electric vehicle, fuzzy sliding mode control, accelerometer

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Authors: Eisa A. Alsafran, Francis T. Edum-Fotwe, Wayne E. Lord

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The degree to which a public client actively participates in Public Private Partnership (PPP) schemes, is seen as a determinant of the success of the arrangement, and in particular, efficiency in the delivery of the assets of any infrastructure development. The asset delivery is often an early barometer for judging the overall performance of the PPP. Currently, there are no defined descriptors for the degree of such participation. The lack of defined descriptors makes the association between the degree of participation and efficiency of asset delivery, difficult to establish. This is particularly so if an optimum effect is desired. In addition, such an association is important for the strategic decision to embark on any PPP initiative. This paper presents a conceptual model of different levels of participation that characterise PPP schemes. The modelling was achieved by a systematic review of reported sources that address essential aspects and structures of PPP schemes, published from 2001 to 2015. As a precursor to the modelling, the common areas of Public Client Participation (PCP) were investigated. Equity and risk emerged as two dominant factors in the common areas of PCP, and were therefore adopted to form the foundation of the modelling. The resultant conceptual model defines the different states of combined PCP. The defined states provide a more rational basis for establishing how the degree of PCP affects the efficiency of asset delivery in PPP schemes.

Keywords: asset delivery, infrastructure development, public private partnership, public client participation

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Authors: Sean Hall

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Nanosystems for drug delivery are not new; as medicines evolve, so too does the desire to deliver a more targeted, patient-compliant medicine. Though, historically the widespread use of nanosystems for drug delivery has been fouled by non-replicability, scalability, toxicity issues, and economics. Examples include steps of manufacture and thus cost to manufacture, toxicity for nanoparticle scaffolding, autoimmune response, and considerable technical expertise for small non-commercial yields. This, unfortunately, demonstrates the not-so-obvious chasm between science and drug formulation for regulatory approval. Regardless there is a general and global desire to improve the delivery of medicines, reduce potential side effect profiles, promote increased patient compliance, and increase and/or speed public access to medicine availability. In this paper, the author will discuss NanoCelle®, a nano-delivery platform that specifically addresses degradation and solubility issues that expands from fundamental micellar preparations. NanoCelle® has been deployed in several Australian listed medicines and is in use of several drug candidates across small molecules, with research endeavors now extending into large molecules. The author will discuss several research initiatives as they relate to NanoCelle® to demonstrate similarities seen in various drug substances; these examples will include both in vitro and in vivo work.

Keywords: NanoCelle®, micellar, degradation, solubility, toxicity

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Authors: Ahsan Ahmed, Ming Lu, Syed Zaidi, Farhan Khan

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The Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method has been proposed as the solution to tackle complexity and fragmentation in the real world while addressing the construction industry’s growing needs for productivity and sustainability. Although the private sector has taken the initiative in implementing IPD and taken advantage of new technology such as building information modeling (BIM) in delivering projects, IPD remains less known and rarely used in public sector construction. The focus of this paper is set on the use of IPD in projects in public sector, which is potentially complemented by the use of analytical functionalities for workface planning and construction oriented design enabled by recent research advances in BIM. Experiences and lessons learned from implementing IPD in the private sector and in BIM-based construction automation research would play a vital role in reducing barriers and eliminating issues in connection with project delivery in the public sector. The paper elaborates issues challenges, contractual relationships and the interactions throughout the planning, design and construction phases in the context of implementing IPD on construction projects in the public sector. A slab construction case is used as a ‘sandbox’ model to elaborate (1) the ideal way of communication, integration, and collaboration among all the parties involved in project delivery in planning and (2) the execution of projects by using IDP principles and optimization, simulation analyses.

Keywords: integrated project delivery, IPD, building information modeling, BIM

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Authors: Daniel A. Walzer

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As the options for course delivery and development expand, plenty of misconceptions still exist concerning e-learning and online course delivery. Classroom instructors often discuss pedagogy, methodologies, and best practices regarding teaching from a singular, traditional in-class perspective. As more professors integrate online, blended, and hybrid courses into their dossier, a clearly defined rubric for gauging online course delivery is essential. The transition from a traditional learning structure towards an updated distance-based format requires careful planning, evaluation, and revision. This paper examines how new media stimulates reflective practice and guided inquiry to improve pedagogy, engage interdisciplinary collaboration, and supply rich qualitative data for future research projects in media arts disciplines.

Keywords: action research, inquiry, new media, reflection

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Authors: Amal G. Kurian

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The use of mathematical modeling has seen a considerable boost in recent times with the development of many advanced algorithms and mathematical modeling capabilities. The advantages this method has over other methods are that they are much closer to standard physics theories and thus represent a better theoretical model. They take lesser solving time and have the ability to change various parameters for optimization, which is a big advantage, especially in automotive industry. This thesis work focuses on a thorough investigation of the effects of vehicle speed and road roughness on a heavy commercial vehicle ride and structural dynamic responses. Since commercial vehicles are kept in operation continuously for longer periods of time, it is important to study effects of various physical conditions on the vehicle and its user. For this purpose, various experimental as well as simulation methodologies, are adopted ranging from experimental transfer path analysis to various road scenario simulations. To effectively investigate and eliminate several causes of unwanted responses, an efficient and robust technique is needed. Carrying forward this motivation, the present work focuses on the development of a mathematical model of a 4-axle configuration heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) capable of calculating responses of the vehicle on different road PSD inputs and vehicle speeds. Outputs from the model will include response transfer functions and PSDs and wheel forces experienced. A MATLAB code will be developed to implement the objectives in a robust and flexible manner which can be exploited further in a study of responses due to various suspension parameters, loading conditions as well as vehicle dimensions. The thesis work resulted in quantifying the effect of various physical conditions on ride comfort of the vehicle. An increase in discomfort is seen with velocity increase; also the effect of road profiles has a considerable effect on comfort of the driver. Details of dominant modes at each frequency are analysed and mentioned in work. The reduction in ride height or deflection of tire and suspension with loading along with load on each axle is analysed and it is seen that the front axle supports a greater portion of vehicle weight while more of payload weight comes on fourth and third axles. The deflection of the vehicle is seen to be well inside acceptable limits.

Keywords: mathematical modeling, HCV, suspension, ride analysis

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Authors: Felix Gbenoba, Opeyemi Dahunsi

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Customised, self-instructional materials are at the heart of instructional delivery in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). The success of any ODL institution depends on the availability of learning materials in quality and quantity. An ODL study material is expected to imitate what the teacher does in the face-to-face learning environment. This paper evaluates these expectation based on existing data and evidence. It concludes that the reality has not matched the expectation so far in terms of pedagogic aspect of instructional delivery especially in West Africa. This does not mean that instructional materials development has not produced any significant positive results in improving the overall learning (and teaching) experience in these institutions; it implies what will help further to identify the new challenges. Obstacles and problems of instructional materials development that could have affected the open educational resource initiatives are well established. The first section of this paper recalls some of the proposed values of instructional materials. The second section compares achievements so far and suggests that instructional materials development should be consider first at an early stage to realise the aspirations of instructional delivery. The third section highlights the challenges of instructional materials development in the future.

Keywords: face-to-face learning, instructional delivery, open and distance education, self-instructional materials

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Authors: Fernando G. Torres, Omar P. Troncoso

Abstract:

Quercetin is a naturally occurring polyphenol found in many vegetables, such as onion, with antioxidant properties. It is a dietary component with a documented role in reducing different human cancers. However, its low bioavailability, poor water solubility, and chemical instability limit its applications. Different nano-delivery systems such as nanoparticles, micelles, and nanohydrogels have been studied in order to improve the bioavailability of quercetin. Nanoparticles based on natural polymers such as starch have the advantage of being biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic. In this study, quercetin was loaded into starch nanoparticles using a nanoprecipitation method. Different routes, using sodium tripolyphosphate and Tween® 80 as tensioactive agents, were tested in order to obtain an optimized starch-based nano-delivery system. The characterization of the nanoparticles loaded with quercetin was assessed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, Zeta potential, and Differential scanning calorimetry. UV-vis spectrophotometry was used to evaluate the loading efficiency and capacity of the samples. The results showed that starch-based systems could be successfully used for the nano-delivery of quercetin.

Keywords: starch nanoparticles, nanoprecipitation, quercetin, biomedical applications

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: James Brown, Stella Kortekaas, Ian Finnie, George Zhang, Christine Devine, Neil Healy

Abstract:

The use of GIS as an analysis tool for engineering decision making is now best practice in the offshore industry. GIS enables multidisciplinary data integration, analysis and visualisation which allows the presentation of large and intricate datasets in a simple map-interface accessible to all project stakeholders. Presenting integrated geoscience and geotechnical data in GIS enables decision makers to be well-informed. This paper is a successful case study of how GIS spatial analysis techniques were applied to help select the most favourable pipeline route. Routing a pipeline through any natural environment has numerous obstacles, whether they be topographical, geological, engineering or financial. Where the pipeline is subjected to external hydrostatic water pressure and is carrying pressurised hydrocarbons, the requirement to safely route the pipeline through hazardous terrain becomes absolutely paramount. This study illustrates how the application of modern, GIS-based pipeline routing techniques enabled the identification of a single most-favourable pipeline route crossing of a challenging seabed terrain. Conventional approaches to pipeline route determination focus on manual avoidance of primary constraints whilst endeavouring to minimise route length. Such an approach is qualitative, subjective and is liable to bias towards the discipline and expertise that is involved in the routing process. For very short routes traversing benign seabed topography in shallow water this approach may be sufficient, but for deepwater geohazardous sites, the need for an automated, multi-criteria, and quantitative approach is essential. This study combined multiple routing constraints using modern least-cost-routing algorithms deployed in GIS, hitherto unachievable with conventional approaches. The least-cost-routing procedure begins with the assignment of geocost across the study area. Geocost is defined as a numerical penalty score representing hazard posed by each routing constraint (e.g. slope angle, rugosity, vulnerability to debris flows) to the pipeline. All geocosted routing constraints are combined to generate a composite geocost map that is used to compute the least geocost route between two defined terminals. The analyses were applied to select the most favourable pipeline route for a potential gas development in deep water. The study area is geologically complex with a series of incised, potentially active, canyons carved into a steep escarpment, with evidence of extensive debris flows. A similar debris flow in the future could cause significant damage to a poorly-placed pipeline. Protruding inter-canyon spurs offer lower-gradient options for ascending an escarpment but the vulnerability of periodic failure of these spurs is not well understood. Close collaboration between geoscientists, pipeline engineers, geotechnical engineers and of course the gas export pipeline operator guided the analyses and assignment of geocosts. Shorter route length, less severe slope angles, and geohazard avoidance were the primary drivers in identifying the most favourable route.

Keywords: geocost, geohazard, pipeline route determination, pipeline route optimisation, spatial analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: S. Thomas, D. Ho, A. Kerroux, L. Lixi, N. Rackham, S. Rosenfeld

Abstract:

In this first paper, the different concepts and designs to build a single-wing MAV are discussed. Six scratch-building prototypes using three different designs have been tested regarding sufficient lift and weight distribution, of which various configurations were explored. Samare prototypes achieved wireless control over the motor and flap whilst obtaining data from the IMU, though obtaining an increase in lift was the key issue due to insufficient thrust. The final prototype was able to demonstrate an improvement in weight distribution.

Keywords: SAMARE, micro aerial vehicle (MAV), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), mono-copter, single-wing, mono-wing, flight control, aerofoil, lift

Procedia PDF Downloads 456