Determining construction method patterns to automate and optimise scheduling – a graph-based approach

Construction projects have been experiencing project delays for decades. As an executive guide to construction activities, construction schedules can mitigate delay risks and are essential to project success. Yet, creating a quality construction schedule is often the outcome of experienced schedulers, and what makes it harder is the fact that historic information including decision reasoning was not documented and disseminated for future use. This study proposes a graph-based method to find the time- and risk-efficient construction method patterns from historic projects to help schedulers improve productivity and accuracy. The method leverages schedule data (including activity names, Work Breakdown Structure, and start and finish date) that were obtained from a Tier-1 contractor for this study. The method was validated for excavation activities. The results indicate that the most time-efficient excavation activities can be done in 0.6% of total project time. The proposed method can help industry professionals standardise scheduling guidelines and automate the generation of construction schedules for critical subtasks

Polyethylenimine-Enhanced Alumina Nanoscale Adjuvant for Cancer Vaccine

Aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3 NPs) have been shown to increase the efficiency of cell-mediated immune response. Specifically, CD8 and CD4 immune response is required for T cell activation by dendritic cells. These nanoparticles, when functionalized with peptides and other molecules, can be used as vaccine in cancer treatment. In this study, Al2O3 NPs were attached to E6/E7 proteins. HPV-induced cervical cancer expresses E6/E7 antigens. E6/E7 proteins were attached using surface modification of the Al2O3 NPs; different types of molecules were tested to see which adhered the highest amount of protein and produced the strongest cell response. Protein measurements were done using bicinchoninic acid assay (BCA assay) and spectrophotometry. CD8 and CD4 immune response was measured in vivo using flow cytometry. In vitro measurements of immune response were done using B3Z T cells. When coated on the nanoparticles and conjugated with E6E7 protein, the polymer polyethylenimine (PEI) proved to be most effective at strengthening the immune response in vaccinated mice. The NPs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Our findings in this study demonstrate the growing importance of applied physics in the fields of medicine and biology. Fabrication and characterization of nano-materials are important for improving vaccine delivery and ensuring effectiveness

Bank Efficiency and Regional Economic Growth: Evidence from China

This paper examines for the first time the relationship between bank efficiency and regional economic growth in China with provincial data over 1995 - 2014. We find consistent and strong evidence that bank efficiency positively affects regional economic growth. Further, bank efficiency exerts a more pronounced impact on economic growth in inland provinces than coastal regions. The insignificant effect of the quantity of credit in our regressions suggests that a mere expansion of financial volume is not effective in promoting regional economic growth, whereas the improvement in the quality of financial intermediation plays an important role fostering provincial economic growth

蛋白质多肽氨基端乙酰化酶NatB介导底物特异性乙酰化反应的分子基础

文章简介蛋白质多肽氨基端乙酰化(N-terminal acetylation)发生在蛋白质或多肽的氨基端第一个氨基酸的(N端)α氨基上,是真核生物中一种最常见的蛋白质翻译后修饰方式。该修饰是由6类N端乙酰转移酶(NAT)来完成的(Nat A至Nat F),而每一种都只作用于其特异的蛋白国家自然科学基金委;;科技部的经费支

Growth of Human Colorectal Cancer SW1116 Cells Is Inhibited by Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells

Previous reports have suggested that treatment with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells may benefit patients with various types of tumor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antitumor effects of CIK cells against the colorectal cancer line SW1116 in vitro and in vivo. CIK cells were generated routinely from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy human donors, and the number of CD3+CD56+ cells was expanded more than 1300-fold after 14-day culture. At an effector : target cell ratio of 50 : 1, the percentage lysis of SW1116 cells reached 68% in the presence of CIK cells, Experimental mice injected with SW1116 cells subcutaneously were divided randomly into four groups: untreated, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-treated, CIK-consecutive treated (injected once/day) and CIK-interval treated (injected once every 5 days). CIK cells were injected abdominally five times in total. Compared with the untreated group, xenograft growth was inhibited greatly by CIK treatment, to nearly the same extent as with 5-FU treatment. We demonstrated that the necrotic area in the tumor xenograft was markedly larger in the CIK-treated groups than in the other groups. These findings suggest that CIK-based immunotherapy may represent an effective choice for patients with colorectal cancer