Institutional Digital Repository (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpu)

Bose, Lina

Mainstreaming Margins: Mapping Challenges and Potentials of Chandannagar from Heritage Conservation Perspectives

Nath, Ankurita

Catalytic Use of Modified Eggshell Powder and Chitosan Gel Bead for Dye Degradation and 4-Nitrophenol Reduction

Rathi, Preeti

Decision Support Systems for Planning Contemporary Intermodal Freight 
Operations  
 
Abstract  
The container traffic has increased in the last decade worldwide, burdening the 
terminals with high container volumes. Container trains are crucial to handle the 
growing container traffic, however, the rail network and terminal infrastructure remain 
limited due to the lack of space and large investments required to build additional 
capacities. To increase train utilization and reduce transportation costs, double-stack 
container trains are introduced. However, double-stacking containers on wagons 
introduces additional operational and safety constraints, which makes the planning 
problem of assigning containers to wagon positions difficult to solve. Hence, train 
operators plan only one train at a time, negatively affecting the utilization of future 
trains. The first research objective proposes a model for planning trains simultaneously 
and practical solution approaches that account for the utilization of future trains while 
planning the present train. Computational experiments on real-life container train 
loading data show an improvement of up to ten containers in train utilization.  
With the growing container traffic, container terminals face the challenge to improve 
their productivity and at the same time reduce operating costs. The second research 
objective aims to improve the terminal’s operational efficiency for double-stack train 
loading operations by minimizing cranes’ handling time while considering multifarious 
terminal and train loading constraints. It presents heuristic algorithms that provide an 
efficient retrieval and loading plan. Numerical experiments based on the real-life 
loading of container trains show that the proposed retrieval and loading policy can 
decrease the cranes’ handling time by an average of 11.79% compared to the commonly 
used policy.  
RORO trains, another intermodal freight transport mode, carry freight trucks and are 
used to transport time-sensitive cargo. The third research objective analyses RORO 
train operations and formulates a new integer program for the RORO service design 
problem. This problem determines an optimal train formation, routing, and block 
assignment jointly. Numerical experiments to solve the model provide an optimal total 
cost of service design within 32 minutes of computation time for practical problem size 
instances.  
Keywords: Intermodal Transport, Terminal Operations Planning, Decision Support 
System, Heuristics, Train Service Design, Indian Railways, Lexicographic 
Optimization.  
 
 
 
Preeti Rathi (17BM92R01) 
Research Scholar  
Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur  


Decision Support Systems for Planning Contemporary Intermodal Freight Operations

Dash, Sagarika

Abstract 
To the PhD thesis titled 
“Molecular recognition between cadherins and nectins that drive cell-cell adhesion”  
by  
Sagarika Dash (17BS92R01) 
 
The ability of a cell to interact with another cell is the fundamental property of a multicellular organism. 
This interaction and their subsequent organization, orchestrate the formation of higher order 
multicellular structures to perform various biological functions. Cell to cell adhesion is elemental to 
facilitate these intercellular interactions and it is achieved through the formation of multiprotein 
complexes that organize and assemble to form intercellular junctions at the contact sites of interacting 
cells. Cell adhesion molecules are the cell surface proteins that function in structuring these cell-to-cell 
junctions. Of the many junctions, adherens junction primarily operates to mechanically link cells 
through their cytoskeletal actin belt. Interactions mediated by the membrane glycoproteins, cadherins 
and nectins, form these adherens junctions. The study undertaken aims to understand the interactions 
mediated by these cadherins and nectins in details, and the various crosstalk involving them, to 
comprehend the understanding of their function as cell adhesion molecules in assembly of adherens 
junction.  
Although extensive research suggests that classical cadherins engage in homophilic interaction to 
facilitate cell adhesion, reports of heterophilic recognition between them have recently surfaced. In the 
first objective of the work, the molecular and structural bases of the heterophilic interacting 
cadherin pair, the E- and N-cadherin, was thoroughly researched. Surface plasmon resonance-
based and fluorosphere based binding studies show the interaction between the membrane distal 
ectodomain of E- and N-cadherin. Site direct mutagenesis and complementary interaction studies 
further identify some critical residues that are involved in this heterophilic association.  
Cadherins and nectins colocalize and cooperate to build the architecture of adherens junction. 
Accounting to previous references of the direct crosstalk between N-cadherin and nectin-2, other 
such direct crosstalk was hypothesized and investigated in the second objective of the work. 
Through surface plasmon resonance-based protein-protein interaction studies, a direct recognition 
between E-cadherin and nectin-4 is reported that is validated through cell-based binding studies. 
Furthermore, single molecule force spectroscopy studies show the interaction between E-cadherin and 
nectin-4 to be strong and stable with koff value of 0.062±0.03 s-1.  
Cell adhesion function of the heterophilic interactions under study was demonstrated in the third 
objective of the work. By performing in vitro cell aggregation assays, the adhesion behavior of the 
heterophilic interactions under study, was elucidated. The results show that E- and N-cadherin and E-
cadherin and nectin-4 interactions can drive cell adhesion by forming heterophilic aggregates. 
In spite of cadherins and nectins being in research since longtime, there are increasing studies that 
demonstrate the numerous interactions mediated by them and the functional significance of it. They 
thus continue to be the important regulators of various physiological processes in our body. With regard 
to this, the current findings can provide insight to the complex interactions that they participate in while 
performing their function. 
 
Keywords: cell adhesion, cadherin, nectin, protein-protein interaction, surface plasmon resonance, site 
directed mutagenesis, single molecule force spectroscopy, flow cytometry, cell aggregation assay 
 
 


Molecular Recognition Between Cadherins and Nectins That Drive Cell-Cell Adhesion

Basu, Soumya Shankar

Structural and Optoelectronic Configuration of Novel Nanostructures for Dual Applications in Clean Energy Catalysis: Photodegradation and Electrochemical Water Splitting

Choudhury, Siba Prasad

An Experimental and Numerical Study of Tulip Flame Formation in Constant Volume Channels

Patel, Ashim Kumar

Carbonatite-Hosted Rare Earth Element Mineralization by Magmatic and Hydrothermal Processes at Kamthai and Amba Dongar, Western India

Sathish, G

Career Adaptability and Cross-Cultural Adjustment: A Study on Indian Self-Initiated Expatriates

Mehta, Arun Kumar

Multiscale Integration of Mixotrophic Microalgal Cultivation and Harvesting Using Tap Water and Wastewater in Pilot-Scale Bubble-Column Photobioreactors

Roy, Avishek Sinha

Error Analysis and Design of Approximate Arithmetic Circuits

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