A new linear programming approach and genetic algorithm for solving airline boarding problem

The airline industry is under intense competition to simultaneously increase efficiency and satisfaction for passengers and profitability and internal system benefit for itself. The boarding process is one way to achieve these objectives as it tends itself to adaptive changes. In order to increase the flying time of a plane, commercial airlines try to minimize the boarding time, which is one of the most lengthy parts of a plane’s turn time. To reduce boarding time, it is thus necessary to minimize the number of interferences between passengers by controlling the order in which they get onto the plane through a boarding policy. Here, we determine the passenger boarding problem and examine the different kinds of passenger boarding strategies and boarding interferences in a single aisle aircraft. We offer a new integer linear programming approach to reduce the passenger boarding time. A genetic algorithm is used to solve this problem. Numerical results show effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

Numerical investigation of flow structures around a sphere

A numerical investigation of flow around a sphere is performed and compared with previous studies. Here, a second-order accurate, finite volume method is used in order to predict the instantaneous and time-averaged flow characteristics using large eddy simulation (LES) on the multi-block grid system. Namely, the objectives of this article are: (i) the presentation of flow structures in the wake region downstream of the sphere with a wide variety of flow properties such as the distribution of velocity vectors, patterns of streamlines, Reynolds stress correlations, root mean square of velocity components and other time-averaged flow data in order to reveal the vortical flow structures in detail and (ii) to demonstrate the abilities of computational methods in simulation of vortical flow data. Finally, it has been concluded that there are good agreements between the experimental results and numerical predictions.     

Numerical simulation of inertial flow of heated and cooled viscoelastic fluids inside a planar sudden expansion channel: investigation of stresses effects on the total dissipation

In this paper, the inertial and non-isothermal flow of viscoelastic fluids in a planar channel with 1:3 sudden expansion has been simulated for Brinkman numbers in the range \( - \,20 \le Br \le 20 \). The mass, momentum and energy conservation equations with the non-linear form of Phan-Thien–Tanner constitutive equation are used to describe the behavior of heated and cooled viscoelastic fluids flow. The properties of fluid are assumed temperature-dependent and the viscous dissipation terms are considered in the energy equation. The object of the current paper is to investigate the stresses and their effects on heat generation via the viscous dissipation terms in the energy equation for inertial flow of heated and cooled viscoelastic fluids. Therefore, plots of streamlines, isothermal lines, normal stress (\( \tau_{xx} \)), normal-transverse stress (\( \tau_{yy} \)) and shear stress (\( \tau_{xy} \)), total dissipation, temperature and local Nusselt numbers have been drawn and examined in the channel expansion. The results show that for the asymmetric flow of heated and cooled viscoelastic fluids, the maximum values of total dissipation are located adjacent to the lower wall and at the centerline of the channel expansion. Also, by incrementing the Brinkman number in the hydrodynamically and thermally developing and fully developed zones, the values of total dissipation are increased.     

Statistical methods and regression analysis of stratospheric ozone and meteorological variables in Isfahan

Data of seven meteorological variables (relative humidity, wet temperature, dry temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, ground temperature and sun radiation time) and ozone values have been used for statistical analysis. Meteorological variables and ozone values were analyzed using both multiple linear regression and principal component methods. Data for the period 1999-2004 are analyzed jointly using both methods. For all periods, temperature dependent variables were highly correlated, but were all negatively correlated with relative humidity. Multiple regression analysis was used to fit the meteorological variables using the meteorological variables as predictors. A variable selection method based on high loading of varimax rotated principal components was used to obtain subsets of the predictor variables to be included in the linear regression model of the meteorological variables. In 1999, 2001 and 2002 one of the meteorological variables was weakly influenced predominantly by the ozone concentrations. However, the model did not predict that the meteorological variables for the year 2000 were not influenced predominantly by the ozone concentrations that point to variation in sun radiation. This could be due to other factors that were not explicitly considered in this study.     

Amine‐Assisted Syntheses of Carbonate‐Free and Highly Crystalline Nitrate‐Containing Zn‐Al Layered Double Hydroxides

Zn‐Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs), with nitrate as the charge balancing anion in the interlayer space, were synthesized by precipitation from homogeneous solution containing different amines [e.g., hexamethylenetetraamine (HMTA), diethylenediamine (DEDA), trimethylamine (TMA) and dimethylamine (DMA)]. The applied method does not require nitrogen atmosphere. The solution pH and concentration of different amines were varied in order to identify the controlling parameters and whether nitrate or carbonate are the interlayer anion. Particularly, the addition of amines turns out to be an effective tool for the synthesis of nitrate containing Zn‐Al LDHs independent from the nitrogen atmosphere. The structure, textural, composition, and morphological properties were investigated using the powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FT‐IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analyses showed that the samples had high crystallinity and purity. The NO₃‐ZnAl LDHs samples show that LDH sheets are predominantly smooth textured and the thickness of LDH sheets are found to be around 23 nm. The results also indicate that this method successfully produces a NO₃^– form Zn‐Al LDH that is almost identical to the one synthesized by conventional methods.     

Overview on the recently developed thiazolyl heterocycles as useful therapeutic agents

Thiazoles are important heterocyclic compounds which have many biological activities and different applications such as useful ligands, in optical sensors, etc. A literature survey shows that there are different routes to thiazoles. One of the most frequently used synthetic approaches consists of a reaction between α-halocarbonyl compounds with a CSNH₂ moiety. In this mini-review we have classified the contents based on the reagent or material providing the sulfur atom of the thiazole ring. Also, among many articles which have been devoted to thiazole syntheses here we presented some synthetic approaches published from 2012 to 2014.     

Synthesis and dynamic NMR studies of Pt(eta(5)-C(5)Me(5))(CO){C(O)NR(2)} complexes

The formation of Pt(eta(5)-C(5)Me(5))(CO){C(O)NR(2)} (R=Me, Et) complexes was established by spectroscopic analysis. The infrared spectra of these complexes showed a sharp absorption due to the presence of coordinated carbonyl group in the region 2017-2013cm(-1). The N,N-dialkylcarbamoyl ligands showed a characteristic CO stretching absorption in the range 1609-1616cm(-1). The proton NMR spectra of these complexes revealed the expected singlet arising from five equivalent methyl groups on the cyclopentadienyl ring with satellites due to coupling to (195)Pt. The N-methyl and N-ethyl protons exhibited very broad resonances due to restricted rotation about the N-C bond at room temperature. On cooling to -30 degrees C, the N,N-dimethyl protons for complex Pt(eta(5)-C(5)Me(5))(CO){C(O)NMe(2)} showed two sharp singlets at delta 2.86 and 3.09ppm as expected for the static structure. For the N,N-diethyl derivative, Pt(eta(5)-C(5)Me(5))(CO){C(O)NEt(2)}, the methyl protons exhibited only a single triplet at delta 1.06ppm at -10 degrees C due to coupling with the methylene protons. This single resonance arises through accidental overlap as the methylene protons of the ethyl groups are inequivalent at this temperature and each exhibited a quartet at delta 3.33 and 3.70ppm due to coupling with the methyl protons. The singlet resonances for the methyl and ring carbons of the eta(5)-C(5)Me(5) group found in (13)C{(1)H} NMR spectra are illustrative of the chemical equivalence of all the carbon atoms caused by free rotation of the ring in these complexes. The signals attributable to the carbonyl and carbamoyl carbon atom resonances are found downfield as two singlets each with a large coupling constant to platinum. The platinum coupling constants of the downfield resonances could not be identified for Pt(eta(5)-C(5)Me(5))(CO){C(O)NMe(2)} due to presence of impurities.     

A note on quasi-Gorenstein rings

In this paper, after giving a criterion for a Noetherian local ring to be quasi-Gorenstein, we obtain some sufficient conditions for a quasi-Gorenstein ring to be Gorenstein. In the course, we provide a slight generalization of a theorem of Evans and Griffith. Received: 16 February 2008