Study on the Train Operation Optimization of Passenger Dedicated Lines Based on Satisfaction

The passenger transport demands at a given junction station fluctuate obviously in different time periods, which makes the rail departments unable to establish an even train operation schedule. This paper considers an optimization problem for train operations at the junction station in passenger dedicated lines. A satisfaction function of passengers is constructed by means of analyzing the satisfaction characteristics and correlative influencing factors. Through discussing the passengers’ travel choice behavior, we formulate an optimization model based on maximum passenger satisfaction for the junction and then design a heuristic algorithm. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the application of the method proposed in this paper

A Bilevel Programming Model to Optimize Train Operation Based on Satisfaction for an Intercity Rail Line

The passenger travel demands for intercity rail lines fluctuate obviously during different time periods, which makes the rail departments unable to establish an even train operation scheme. This paper considers an optimization problem for train operations which respond to passenger travel demands of different periods in intercity rail lines. A satisfactory function of passenger travelling is proposed by means of analyzing the passengers’ travel choice behavior and correlative influencing factors. On this basis, the paper formulates a bilevel programming model which maximizes interests of railway enterprises and travelling satisfaction of each passenger. The trains operation in different periods can be optimized through upper layer planning of the model, while considering the passenger flow distribution problem based on the Wardrop user equilibrium principle in the lower layer planning. Then, a genetic algorithm is designed according to model features for solving the upper laying. The Frank-Wolfe algorithm is used for solving the lower layer planning. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the application of the method proposed in this paper

A Tale of Two Counties: How Two School Libraries in Rural Western China Serve Local Needs

This report presents a case study of school library programs in two rural counties in Western China. Since 2002, the libraries of Tianzhu and Tongwei high schools have undertaken a series of outreach initiatives to improve local residents’ access to information and to address their cultural and educational needs. Over the past decade, both school libraries have played a leading role in improving the quality of life and enhancing the information literacy of local residents. Tianzhu No. 1 High School Library 天祝一中图书馆—which serves a large Tibetan and other minority populations—has gained a reputation for its oral history of local culture program. This program trains students to conduct interviews with folk artists and scholars and then post their audiovisual recordings on websites. Tongwei No. 1 High School Library 通渭一中图书馆 is known for providing health care information through both in-person workshops and online. Recently, it implemented a tutoring service aimed at teaching residents to use online resources. These programs have been successful and sustainable in part because of the sponsorship and funding of the U.S.-based Evergreen Education Foundation (EEF) 美国青树教育基 金会. This report analyzes the results of these major initiatives, both of which do a great deal to reach out to rural residents, particularly farmers and the elderly

A Tale of Two Counties: How Two School Libraries in Rural Western China Serve Local Needs

This report presents a case study of school library programs in two rural counties in Western China. Since 2002, the libraries of Tianzhu and Tongwei high schools have undertaken a series of outreach initiatives to improve local residents’ access to information and to address their cultural and educational needs. Over the past decade, both school libraries have played a leading role in improving the quality of life and enhancing the information literacy of local residents. Tianzhu No. 1 High School Library 天祝一中图书馆—which serves a large Tibetan and other minority populations—has gained a reputation for its oral history of local culture program. This program trains students to conduct interviews with folk artists and scholars and then post their audiovisual recordings on websites. Tongwei No. 1 High School Library 通渭一中图书馆 is known for providing health care information through both in-person workshops and online. Recently, it implemented a tutoring service aimed at teaching residents to use online resources. These programs have been successful and sustainable in part because of the sponsorship and funding of the U.S.-based Evergreen Education Foundation (EEF) 美国青树教育基 金会. This report analyzes the results of these major initiatives, both of which do a great deal to reach out to rural residents, particularly farmers and the elderly

One for All: One-stage Referring Expression Comprehension with Dynamic Reasoning

Referring Expression Comprehension (REC) is one of the most important tasks in visual reasoning that requires a model to detect the target object referred by a natural language expression. Among the proposed pipelines, the one-stage Referring Expression Comprehension (OSREC) has become the dominant trend since it merges the region proposal and selection stages. Many state-of-the-art OSREC models adopt a multi-hop reasoning strategy because a sequence of objects is frequently mentioned in a single expression which needs multi-hop reasoning to analyze the semantic relation. However, one unsolved issue of these models is that the number of reasoning steps needs to be pre-defined and fixed before inference, ignoring the varying complexity of expressions. In this paper, we propose a Dynamic Multi-step Reasoning Network, which allows the reasoning steps to be dynamically adjusted based on the reasoning state and expression complexity. Specifically, we adopt a Transformer module to memorize & process the reasoning state and a Reinforcement Learning strategy to dynamically infer the reasoning steps. The work achieves the state-of-the-art performance or significant improvements on several REC datasets, ranging from RefCOCO (+, g) with short expressions, to Ref-Reasoning, a dataset with long and complex compositional expressions.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure

Genetic Manipulation Toolkits in Apicomplexan Parasites

Apicomplexan parasites are a group of intracellular pathogens of great medical and veterinary importance, including Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium , which cause toxoplasmosis and malaria, respectively. Efficient and accurate manipulation of their genomes is essential to dissect their complex biology and to design new interventions. Over the past several decades, scientists have continually optimized the methods for genetic engineering in these organisms, and tremendous progress has been made. Here, we review the genetic manipulation tools currently used in several apicomplexan parasites, and discuss their advantages and limitations. The widely used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technique has been adapted in several apicomplexans and shown promising efficiency. In contrast, conditional gene regulation is available in only a limited number of organisms, mainly Plasmodium and Toxoplasma , thus posing a research bottleneck for other parasites. Conditional gene regulation can be achieved with tools that regulate gene expression at the DNA, RNA or protein level. However, a universal tool to address all needs of conditional gene manipulation remains lacking. Understanding the scope of application is key to selecting the proper method for gene manipulation

Preparation and characterization of a novel triple composite scaffold containing silk fibroin, chitosan, extracellular matrix and the mechanism of Akt/FoxO signaling pathway in colonic cancer cells cultured in 3D

This work examined the physical and chemical properties and biocompatibility in vivo and in vitro of a unique triple composite scaffold incorporating silk fibroin, chitosan, and extracellular matrix. The materials were blended, cross-linked, and freeze-dried to create a composite scaffold of silk fibroin/chitosan/colon extracellular matrix (SF/CTS/CEM) with varying CEM contents. The SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) scaffold demonstrated the preferable shape, outstanding porosity, favorable connectivity, good moisture absorption, and acceptable and controlled swelling and degradation properties. Additionally, HCT-116 cells cultivated with SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) showed excellent proliferation capacity, cell malignancy, and delayed apoptosis, according to the in vitro cytocompatibility examination. We also examined the PI3K/PDK1/Akt/FoxO signaling pathway and discovered that cell culture using a SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) scaffold may prevent cell death by phosphorylating Akt and suppressing FoxO expression. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) scaffold as an experimental model for colonic cancer cell culture and for replicating the three-dimensional in vivo cell growth environment