Uncertain Programming for Network Revenue Management

The mathematical model for airline network seat inventory control problem is usually investigated to maximize the total revenue under some constraints such as capacities and demands. This paper presents a chance-constrained programming model based on the uncertainty theory for network revenue management, in which the fares and the demands are both uncertain variables rather than random variables. The uncertain programming model can be transformed into a deterministic form by taking expected value on objective function and confidence level on the constraint functions. Based on the strategy of nested booking limits, a solution method of booking control is developed to solve the problem. Finally, this paper gives a numerical example to show that the method is practical and efficient

An Irregular Flight Scheduling Model and Algorithm under the Uncertainty Theory

The flight scheduling is a real-time optimization problem. Whenever the schedule is disrupted, it will not only cause inconvenience to passenger, but also bring about a large amount of operational losses to airlines. Especially in case an irregular flight happens, the event is unanticipated frequently. In order to obtain an optimal policy in airline operations, this paper presents a model in which the total delay minutes of passengers are considered as the optimization objective through reassigning fleets in response to the irregular flights and which takes into account available resources and the estimated cost of airlines. Owing to the uncertainty of the problem and insufficient data in the decision-making procedure, the traditional modeling tool (probability theory) is abandoned, the uncertainty theory is applied to address the issues, and an uncertain programming model is developed with the chance constraint. This paper also constructs a solution method to solve the model based on the classical Hungarian algorithm under uncertain conditions. Numerical example illustrates that the model and its algorithm are feasible to deal with the issue of irregular flight recovery

An Uncertain Programming for the Integrated Planning of Production and Transportation

The goal of this paper is to tackle joint decisions in assigning production and organizing transportation for single product in a production-transportation network system with multiple manufacturers and multiple demands. In order to meet practical situation, assume that the variant costs and the amounts of the consumption of raw materials that every manufacturer produces per unit product are all uncertain variables in manufacturing processes; meanwhile, the demands that each destination needs are random variables in the transportation problem. Then, a joint optimization model of production and transportation is developed, in which the uncertain chance constraint and the stochastic chance constraint are applied in the manufacturing processes and the transporting processes, respectively, and transformed into a deterministic form by taking expected value on objective function and confidence level on the constraint functions. Finally, a practical example points out the effectiveness of our model

Functional analysis and expressional characterization of rice ankyrin repeat-containing protein, OsPIANK1, in basal defense against Magnaporthe oryzae attack.

The ankyrin repeat-containing protein gene OsPIANK1 (AK068021) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) was previously shown to be upregulated following infection with the rice leaf blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae (Xoo). In this study, we further characterized the role of OsPIANK1 in basal defense against Magnaporthe oryzae (M.oryzae) by 5' deletion analysis of its promoter and overexpression of the gene. The promoter of OsPIANK1 with 1,985 bps in length was sufficient to induce the OsPIANK1 response to inoculation with M.oryzae and to exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or salicylic acid (SA), but not to exogenous application of abscisic acid (ABA). A TCA-element present in the region between -563 bp and -249 bp may be responsible for the OsPIANK1 response to both M.oryzae infection and exogenous SA application. The JERE box, CGTCA-box, and two MYB binding sites locating in the region between -1985 bp and -907 bp may be responsible for the response of OsPIANK1 to exogenous MeJA. OsPIANK1 expression was upregulated after inoculation with M.oryzae and after treatment with exogenous SA and MeJA. Overexpression of OsPIANK1 enhanced resistance of rice to M.oryzae, although it did not confer complete resistance. The enhanced resistance to M.oryzae was accompanied by enhanced transcriptional expression of SA- and JA-dependent genes such as NH1, WKRY13, PAL, AOS2, PR1b, and PR5. This evidence suggests that OsPIANK1 acted as a positive regulator in rice basal defense mediated by SA- and JA-signaling pathways

Over-Expression of Rice CBS Domain Containing Protein, OsCBSX3, Confers Rice Resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae Inoculation

Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) domain containing proteins (CDCPs) constitute a big family in plants and some members in this family have been implicated in a variety of biological processes, but the precise functions and the underlying mechanism of the majority of this family in plant immunity remain to be elucidated. In the present study, a CBS domain containing protein gene, OsCBSX3, is functionally characterized in rice resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae). By quantitative real-time PCR, transcripts of OsCBSX3 are up-regulated significantly by inoculation of M. oryzae and the exogenously applied salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). OsCBSX3 is exclusively localized to the plasma membrane by transient expression of OsCBSX3 fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) through approach of Agrobacterium infiltration in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The plants of homozygous T3 transgenic rice lines of over-expressing OsCBSX3 exhibit significant enhanced resistance to M. oryzae inoculation, manifested by decreased disease symptoms, and inhibition of pathogen growth detected in DNA. Consistently, the over-expression of OsCBSX3 enhances the transcript levels of immunity associated marker genes including PR1a, PR1b, PR5, AOS2, PAL, NH1, and OsWRKY13 in plants inoculated with M. oryzae. These results suggest that OsCBSX3 acts as a positive regulator in resistance of rice to M. oryzae regulated by SA and JA-mediated signaling pathways synergistically

Nuclear localization of <i>Os</i>PIANK1 protein in <i>N. benthamiana</i> leaves.

<p><i>Os</i>PIANK1–GFP exclusively localized in the nucleus of cells in <i>N. benthamiana</i> leaves. Only the green fluorescent (GFP) localized throughout the whole cells. Cells were detected for GFP fluorescence by fluorescence microscopy 48 h after agroinfiltration.</p

Nucleotide sequence of 5′ flanking promoter regions and stress-related sequence motifs putatively acting as <i>cis</i>-elements of the <i>OsPIANK1</i> gene.

<p>HSE: <i>cis</i>-acting element involved in heat stress responsiveness. CGTCA-box: <i>cis</i>-acting regulatory element involved in the MeJA-responsiveness. JERE: <i>cis</i>-acting regulatory element involved in the MeJA-responsiveness. ERE: ethylene-responsive element. DRE: <i>cis</i>-acting element involved in dehydration, low-temp, salt stresses. MBS: MYB binding site involved in drought-inducibility. GCC-box: ethylene-responsive element. ABRE: <i>cis</i>-acting element involved in the abscisic acid responsiveness. TCA-element: <i>cis</i>-acting element involved in salicylic acid responsiveness.</p

Analysis of resistance to blast fungus in <i>OsPIANK1</i>-overexpressing (OE) rice plants.

<p>(A) Quantitative PCR analysis of <i>OsPIANK1</i> expression in WT and OE plants (3#, 4#, and 6#). Data represent means ± SE of three independent experiments. (B) Lesions in leaves at 6 days after inoculation. The number of expanding lesions (Els) with an area greater than 0.5 mm² per leaf and their mean areas were determined using 10 leaves for WT (Nipponbare) and <i>OsPIANK1</i>-OE plants. Values represent means ± SE. (C) The amount of <i>M. oryzae</i> DNA in the WT and <i>OsPIANK1</i>-OE rice leaves. The leaves were harvested at 6 days after inoculation. Values represent the mean ± SE of three independent experiments. (D) Symptoms of rice blast in <i>OsPIANK1</i>-OE and WT rice plants grown in the greenhouse at 30 days after inoculation with spores of <i>M. oryzae</i> strain guy11. (**,*indicate significant differences between WT and <i>OsPIANK1</i>-OE plants at <i>P</i><0.01 or <i>P</i><0.05, respectively, as determined by the SNK test.).</p