Since 2002 the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has been working with the Australian Customs Service to develop a scanner capable of directly imaging airfreight containers in 1-2 minutes [1-4]. The scanner combines fast neutron and gamma-ray radiography (FNGR) to provide high-resolution images that include information on material composition. By collecting trans...

The container, a standard size metal box designed to be moved with common handling equipment into which cargo is packed for shipment aboard in specifically configured oceangoing vessels, has evolved into the key physical and logistical support of international trade and globalization. Although available in several sizes, all containers adhere to a single standard, which accelerated containeriza...

Autophagy protects cellular homeostasis by capturing cytosolic components and invading pathogens for lysosomal degradation. Autophagy receptors target cargo to autophagy by binding ATG8 on autophagosomal membranes. The expansion of the ATG8 family in higher eukaryotes suggests that specific interactions with autophagy receptors facilitate differential cargo handling. However, selective interact...

The proposed paper summarises the work done in WP4 of the EU sponsored RTD project TRAPIST. The needs of small to medium sized ports / terminals with 'multi-purpose' capability had to be addressed and the combination of: the absence of extensive IT support and how to deal with it, information flows to/from and within the terminal, cargo flows to/from and within the terminal and in association w...

Safe and humane transportation of live animals requires dedicated, informed personnel who carefully plan and attend to the details of appropriate animal care and handling throughout the shipping process. Specifically, although transportation of non-human primates shares goals common to all live animal transport, it also poses unique challenges stemming from the nature of these animals. Some of ...

Cross docking is a form of operating break-bulk freight terminals in which the receiving products are not stocked but, instead, the incoming cargo is internally transferred to be immediately shipped in distribution trucks. With this approach, inventory costs and lead-times are significantly reduced. In this work, an approximate, continuous, non-stationary queueing model is established to estima...

Electronic business and agents are among the most important and exciting areas of research and development in information and communication technology, with considerable potential impact and opportunities for the Maritime sector. This paper proposes the design of a Multi-Agent system for Internet Virtual Chartering Markets (MAVCM). The MAVCM system applies for business-to-business transactions ...

In recent years a number of seaport facilities have been awarded in Demsetz auctions to the operator that bidding the lowest cargo-handling fee. A major concern is that the port operator may integrate into shipping and sabotage competitors, thereby rendering the competitive auction irrelevant. The standard policy recommendation to mitigate this problem, is to ban the seaport from operating in t...

Chronic degeneration of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) is a precursor to pathological changes in the outer retina. The RPE monolayer, which lies beneath the neuroretina, daily internalises and digests large volumes of spent photoreceptor outer segments. Impaired cargo handling and processing in the endocytic/phagosome and autophagy pathways lead to the accumulation of lipofuscin and pyrid...