STUDY ON OPTIMAL COMBINATION SETTLEMENT PREDICTION MODEL BASED ON LOGISTIC CURVE AND GOMPERTZ CURVE

The Logistic and Gompertz embankment settlement prediction models have poor prediction accuracy for the late settlement of high-filled soil. This study proposes a combination of the two models based on their common characteristics and individuality, and their respective advantages and specific limitations. The minimum logarithmic error square sum of the combined model was used as the objective function to solve the optimal weighting coefficient. The optimal weighted geometric mean combination prediction model was deduced, to improve the confidence of the prediction accuracy of the settlement of high-filled soil. By fitting and analysing the measured settlement data of the engineered high-filled soil with each prediction model, the feasibility of the proposed optimal combination prediction model in the settlement prediction of high-filled soil was tested. It was found that the proposed optimal combination forecasting model was more accurate and adaptable compared to any single model, and was more reliable. Therefore, the proposed combination forecasting model could be used as an effective method to predict the settlement of high-filled soil in the later stages of settlement

Traffic signal coordination control for arterials with dedicated CAV lanes

Purpose: This study aims to make full use of the advantages of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and dedicated CAV lanes to ensure all CAVs can pass intersections without stopping. Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed a signal coordination model for arteries with dedicated CAV lanes by using mixed integer linear programming. CAV non-stop constraints are proposed to adapt to the characteristics of CAVs. As it is a continuous problem, various situations that CAVs arrive at intersections are analyzed. The rules are discovered to simplify the problem by discretization method. Findings: A case study is conducted via SUMO traffic simulation program. The results show that the efficiency of CAVs can be improved significantly both in high-volume scenario and medium-volume scenario with the plan optimized by the model proposed in this paper. At the same time, the progression efficiency of regular vehicles is not affected significantly. It is indicated that full-scale benefits of dedicated CAV lanes can only be achieved with signal coordination plans considering CAV characteristics. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that develops a signal coordination model for arteries with dedicated CAV lanes

Spatiotemporal evolution and drivers of carbon inequalities in urban agglomeration:An MLD-IDA inequality indicator decomposition

Increasing countries are articulating ambitious goals of carbon neutrality. However, large inequalities in regional emissions within a country may hinder progress toward a carbon–neutral future, as the unequal distribution of reduction responsibilities among regions could impair just transition and exacerbate uneven development, which necessitates an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of multi-scale carbon inequalities within country, region, and city. Yet, the evolution of carbon inequalities within urban agglomerations and the differences between adjacent or distant urban agglomerations have not been well understood, especially in countries undergoing rapid urbanization. Using the data of 89 cities in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) during 2006–2021, this paper quantifies carbon emissions inequality (CEI) at different scales in a systematic regional-urban agglomeration-city hierarchical structure. Then, under the integrated mean logarithmic deviation-logarithmic mean Divisia index (MLD-LMDI) decomposition framework, multi-scale CEIs are perfectly decomposed into six interrelated drivers, i.e., industrial emission structure, energy emission intensity, industrial energy mix, energy intensity, industrial structure, and economic development. The results show that economic development, energy intensity, and industrial energy mix disparities are the main determinants accounting for CEIs at different scales. The decreasing CEI in YREB is mainly due to the changes in industrial structure and economic development, while the energy intensity effect partially hinders the mitigation of CEI. In the upper reaches of the YREB, the energy intensity effect accounts for over 94% growth of CEI during 2006–2021, while the decline in CEIs in middle and lower reaches is primarily caused by the effects of industrial energy mix and industrial structure, respectively. Further spatial decomposition analysis reveals more refined city-level heterogeneous effects and emphasizes the prioritized emission reduction direction for each city. This paper offers implications for reducing carbon inequality and insights into coordinated carbon emissions mitigation at the regional level for a carbon–neutral future

Comparative efficacy and safety of pemetrexed and crizotinib in Chinese patients with advanced lung cancer: A preliminary clinical trial

Purpose: To carry out a pilot clinical trial to compare the effectiveness and safety of crizotinib and pemetrexed-based regimens in Chinese patients with advanced lung cancer (ALC). Method: Patients with confirmed diagnosis of ALC were randomly grouped and treated intravenously with a mixture of pemetrexed (500 mg/m2 ) and cisplatin (75 mg/m2 ) plus BSC, or crizotinib (250 mg BD) + BSC in a 1:1 ratio. Efficacy parameters such as overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed after pemetrexed and crizotinib treatments. The safety of pemetrexed and crizotinib was determined. Survival time with respect to disease progression was also assessed. Results: Pemetrexed-based regimens showed significantly higher OS and PFS than crizotinib (OS: median = 13.23 and 7.47 months, respectively; p < 0.001; PFS: median = 11.32 and 4.17 months, respectively). Objective response was also favorable in the patients treated with pemetrexed, when compared with those given crizotinib. Pemetrexed-based regimen was superior to crizotinib in improving OS, PFS and ORR, and it offered significantly greater clinical benefits than crizotinib in Chinese patients with ALC. Conclusion: The results of clinical trial would help clinicians select appropriate therapeutic intervention for patients with ALC

A New Caspase-8 Isoform Caspase-8s Increased Sensitivity to Apoptosis in Jurkat Cells

Caspase-8 is a key initiator of death receptor-induced apoptosis. Here we report a novel short isoform of caspase-8 (caspase-8s), which encodes the first (Death Effector Domain) DED and part of the second DED, missing the C-terminal caspase domain. In vivo binding assays showed that transfected caspase-8s bound to (Fas-associated death domain protein) FADD, the adaptor protein in (death-induced signal complex) DISC. To investigate the potential effects of caspase-8s on cell apoptosis, Jurkat cells were stably transfected with caspase-8s. Overexpression of caspase-8s increased sensitivity to the apoptotic stimuli, Fas-agonistic antibody CH11. These results suggest that caspase-8s may act as a promoter of apoptosis through binding to FADD and is involved in the regulation of apoptosis. In addition, the results also indicate that the first DED was an important structure mediating combination between caspase-8 and FADD

Recent advances in mRNA cancer vaccines: meeting challenges and embracing opportunities

Since the successful application of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines in preventing COVID-19, researchers have been striving to develop mRNA vaccines for clinical use, including those exploited for anti-tumor therapy. mRNA cancer vaccines have emerged as a promising novel approach to cancer immunotherapy, offering high specificity, better efficacy, and fewer side effects compared to traditional treatments. Multiple therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccines are being evaluated in preclinical and clinical trials, with promising early-phase results. However, the development of these vaccines faces various challenges, such as tumor heterogeneity, an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and practical obstacles like vaccine administration methods and evaluation systems for clinical application. To address these challenges, we highlight recent advances from preclinical studies and clinical trials that provide insight into identifying obstacles associated with mRNA cancer vaccines and discuss potential strategies to overcome them. In the future, it is crucial to approach the development of mRNA cancer vaccines with caution and diligence while promoting innovation to overcome existing barriers. A delicate balance between opportunities and challenges will help guide the progress of this promising field towards its full potential